I think there is a big range of outcomes with Brindley, as far as we know. He's not built square like Cam is, so you still have to wonder if injuries might hold him back. On the other hand, I think Brindley has better hockey sense, maybe high end. That opens up the possibility that we'll have a very special player someday.
Player Discussion: Gavin Brindley
- Thread starter Iron Balls McGinty
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I think there is a big range of outcomes with Brindley, as far as we know. He's not built square like Cam is, so you still have to wonder if injuries might hold him back. On the other hand, I think Brindley has better hockey sense, maybe high end. That opens up the possibility that we'll have a very special player someday.
ClevelandJacketFan
Awesome Mascots!
Brindley, to me, seems much more well rounded than Cam. He won't put up those same big goal numbers, but he'll be on every specialist unit, and will probably put up the same amount of points as Cam because I think he can be an elite wing distributor.
koteka
Registered User
I think a big question with Brindley is can he avoid concussions. Cam was able to. Calvert and Blanks weren’t.
And I've seen this with many other prospects over the years. Short guys built square like Cam, or Mateychuk, or Gourde, or Stankoven, are much less likely to get elbowed in the head on routine contact. They get fewer concussions. Brindley isn't that thick and he has to be super careful. The league is littered with formerly promising small players who got hit in the head too often, like Tyler Johnson and Kailer Yamamoto. Brindley has already changed his playstyle significantly from his first year at Michigan when he was a physical buzzsaw. Most teams looked at that and didn't think he was going to survive the NHL physically. Thankfully for us he is so much more than a little physical player.
Cowumbus
Registered User
Brindley is our top prospect AINEC 
Seriously though, *I hope* he’s going to be a “secondary” piece on a very good playoff team. How Point and Palat were for the TBL during their early reign. Point obviously just kept getting better.
Seriously though, *I hope* he’s going to be a “secondary” piece on a very good playoff team. How Point and Palat were for the TBL during their early reign. Point obviously just kept getting better.
EspenK
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AndBoomGoesTheCannon
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Cowumbus
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koteka
Registered User
Is his brain in his finger? It is possible - he did go to Michigan.
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I get what you're saying but Blank's injuries were almost always "playing above his weight class" type injuries. A broken finger isn't really in that category.
Could prove indicative, I guess, but I'm not there yet.
Just makes me very nervous to see a small sparkplug type player getting hurt, even if it's a freak sort of injury that's the result of a bouncing puck. Most of Blanks' injuries were individually freak injuries, too.
On average, I’m wondering how many “undiagnosed” concussions you think NHL players have had growing up playing through minor hockey, juniors/college, and once they hit the pros?? Hint, it’s A LOT more than most people realize.
“Concussions” didn’t have much of an impact on Calvert, nor is that what’s going to hold back Blankenburg from being an NHL player. Obviously severe concussions or getting knocked out repeatedly/often is not a good thing, but, the game has changed significantly and Brindley has more than enough on ice awareness, that I don’t think they should really be looked at as a threat or issue.
What, that he’s willing to sacrifice his body to block a shot??
Looks like they teach players how to play hockey the right way up here, eh?
Side note: Why do you guys focus on NCAA football here, and not NCAA hockey?? Just curious.
Matt Calvert wears darkened visor despite ‘recovery’ from concussion
UPDATED: Matt Calvert ‘out indefinitely,’ absence related to concussion issues
That was his last NHL game, mid 2021.
Was Johnny Gaudreau not playing hockey "the right way?" Since you expect even little guys to sacrifice the body and all.
I don't give a fraction of a s*** about college sports, period. I'm glad the athletes are getting paid as they should now.
I could/should dug a bit more before making the comment, but, my point is that “concussions” didn’t really impact his ability or impact on the ice. What do ALL players retire from? Age? Or what comes with age, injuries?
That said, I also didn’t realize he was as young as he is, so it’s clear that’s obviously had an impact on his retirement/career so I guess I’ll backtrack on my wording, and yet still claim the semantics defense.
But, going to HDB to check his age, what stands out is I thought Calvert put up a little better offensive numbers for a couple years. Things I want to point out is that his production stayed consistent, injuries (diagnosed?) or not.
And getting back to Brindley, because of this lack of offensive skill, guys like Calvert, who did have some legit skill, (and Blankenburg) are asked and tasked with playing a certain way, and in both guys’ case, as “undersized” NHL players, did what was needed and went out there like warriors shift after shift. This is not what will be asked of Brindley.
Honestly, thinking more about Calvert, and how he played in Junior’s to get himself to the NHL, just imagine what he went through as an undersized player even before Juniors in Western Canada, probably just to get him into the WHL. Again, I think some of you would be fascinated at the true number of concussions some of these players have had over the years.
It's hard to say with Calvert because he had concussion issues from very early. It can permanently lower your ability, not always a short term thing.
Viqsi
"that chick from Ohio"
I can't speak for others, but in my case, while I eventually became a hockey fan in general and Jackets fan in particular thanks to George Matthews, I was born a Buckeye football fan - born on-campus at OSU Medical Center not far from where my grandather taught classes at OSU to a pair of Buckeyes who were married on-campus two decades before the Jackets ever existed. It's a simple first-mover advantage.
Cowumbus
Registered User
In two years at UM I believe he only missed one game. And tbh Brindley is a much better skater and more elusive than NB.
Well, the timing isn’t great here, but, Gaudreau didn’t really consistently play exactly how I would have liked or how he could have. To be clear, I’m a human being that is smaller than JG. To me, “little guy” is a slur. Apology accepted.
Do you even understand how Brindley was hurt? There’s a difference between banging bodies every shift and guys blocking shots at the blue line. Nobody is asking Brindley or Gaudreau, or Mateychuk etc. to take runs at people or take dumb risks to “sacrifice their body” for the team, but, EVERY player should be willing to get in front of a shot to block it.
What this REALLY brings to question, is if you want your players to go out of their way to block shots during the preseason. This is where I stray away from wanting players to go all out every shift. There were a few instances on the PK where I was a bit worried about Chinakhov, and is now a new aspect I’m thinking about, not wanting guys like him or KJ on the PK regularly.
To add, I absolutely cringe when players stick their hands/palms out to block shots. The dude shooting at Brindley hit him right in the “gut”, his hand just happened to be right there.
Johnny didn't hit everything that moved like Blankenburg did, but used his speed, much like Atkinson. In addition, the rules are tightening up. Of course, anything can happen, there will always be someone who isn't careful, but if he plays smart he'll be fine.
