Wallmark. There was no Pu in sight.Was Pu the number 2 star?
Wallmark. There was no Pu in sight.Was Pu the number 2 star?
Makes for a good night indeed.Wallmark. There was no Pu in sight.
Technically Slavic is a linguistic term, and Romanians got a Romance language.I don't see Wallachia in there
Didn’t follow the game, saw we won, then saw a 26-page GDT.
Did I miss something? Big fight/injury? Or is it just everyone being hype that hockey is finally back?
I’m not completely sold on Bean yet, but I do like the stylistic changeup he brings to our group. On a team full of big lumbering guys who just want to get the puck to someone else, he’s an interesting asset. My concern is he seems to play smaller than his size, but maybe that comes with time for him. In any case I think he’s made a strong argument to be part of the long term plans here and not just another trading chip.
My random and worthless thoughts from Preseason Game No. 1:
- Andrei Svechnikov is as-advertised. Big, fast, smart, skilled. Did it all tonight. If he has games like this in the regular season, he'll be in the Calder race all year.
- I like Jake Bean's game more than Noah Hanifin's. Bean picks his spots, where Hanifin just went all the time. The result is fewer "oops" moments, and more control. Especially on the power play. where I think Bean would be an upgrade on Hanifin right now.
- Hadyn Fleury is the very definition of "meh." I would not be surprised to see him sent back to Charlotte, especially with the massive logjam we have on defense. Considering Hamilton, de Haan, Slavin, Pesce, Faulk and TvR are locks, I'm not sure that's even a stretch at this point. I'd rather keep Fora, Cajkovsky and/or Carrick if all they're going to do is watch from the press box. Bean, McKeown, Fleury and Fora would be a decent Top 4 in Charlotte, no?
- Far too much has been made of Valentin Zykov's skating and not enough of Lucas Wallmark's. I think Wallmark's ceiling is as a fourth-liner in the NHL, and maybe a second power-play unit (where his skating is less of an issue). I don't see any reason Zykov can't stay in our Top 6 all season and compete with Svech in goal scoring.
- Greg McKegg was really good. Seemed faster than I thought he was.
- Pu, Bishop, DiGuiseppe were basically invisible.
- I'm treating the goaltending like a pitcher working on a no-no.
Fleury in the first half of last season was smart, solid and played within himself. whatever may have happened late last season, I'm not inclined to pin too much on him since he was a rookie on a team that went to dog****. I feel like the "good" Fleury we saw early on was probably close to what we can expect of him long term. On this team maybe that only makes him a 6/7 d-man right now and that's OK, it beats the hell out of somebody like Dahlbeck.
In fairness, he is only 173 lbs, so at 6'1", that IS pretty small for an NHL defenseman.
Waste of a 1st round pick if that's all he will be.
I guess I’m saying it’s one thing to be small, it’s another thing to play small. Bean’s obviously never going to be out there throwing people around, but the guys who have his physical dimensions and have been successful as defensemen (the Enstroms, Russells, Spurgeons) have at least a little tenacity in them, and willingness to engage. Bean’s got some growing to do in that respect, some physical and some mental.
Just watched the highlights, no love for PDG’s assist on Svech’s goal? That was sweet.
My guess is he is likely Seattle bound. And with guys like Bean and Fox as options behind him, or maybe a guy like Cajkovsky that you can pick up as a PTO, that is not a big loss in my opinion. We'd be better off with a more offensive threat from the left side third pair if the pairings are going to be Slavin-Hamilton, de Haan-Faulk, 3rd left-Pesce. Putting Fleury in the 3rd left spot seems like a wasted opportunity.We already know it wasn’t a great pick, based on the players taken immediately after him.
But getting a long-term asset on defense, someone who reliably holds it down for 5-10 years, doesn’t need to be managed, doesn’t end up getting overpaid, that’s not a disaster. It’s a disappointing pick but not a waste.
Svechnikov just appeared out of nowhere too. Sweet all around
Seeing this consistently in his approach to the offensive zone. He likes to circle way up high and then cut to the net along with the puck, and his instincts are strong enough that he seems to “magically” arrive at just the right instant when the defense is breaking down. I’m not sure I’ve seen him stand still yet.
We already know it wasn’t a great pick, based on the players taken immediately after him.
But getting a long-term asset on defense, someone who reliably holds it down for 5-10 years, doesn’t need to be managed, doesn’t end up getting overpaid, that’s not a disaster. It’s a disappointing pick but not a waste.
And your point? We all accept Fleury was a swing and a miss at 7OA. If Hanifin at 5OA was a disappointment, Fleury is a disaster. He should be more than he is, but he's not, and that's not changing. But dwelling on something that happened 4 years ago under a different owner, GM, and coach. I dunno, just doesn't seem worthwhile.I'm not sure I agree with you. 6/7 guys are a dime a dozen. A 7th overall pick should be more than this. Otherwise it's a doozie. Teams historically build from the draft. We have seen us trade out 1st round picks lately. Skinner, Lindy, Hanifin. One could argue we got Hamilton in return which is fair.
But trading away our 1st rounders while potentially watching others not live up to their potential isn't a great spot to be in. Especially that Skinner for Pu trade. Complete disaster.