GDT: ChaChi5

[HisIceness]

I hope they get an invite to the Governors Mansion, that would be awesome!

 

[HisIceness]

I hope Ron Francis is also ejoying a celebratory beverage wherever he is. His stamp is on this team top to bottom. 5 years after a commitment to building for the long-term, a roster of prospects primarily in their early 20s just went wire to wire.

This is so true. Francis did a lot to build this crop of prospects up to tonights result. The way he was dismissed sucks but he did a lot to build this from the ashes of the JR regime and deserves to get a shout-out for it.

 

[Roboturner913]

Necas, Gauthier, Bean, Nedeljkovic all look NHL ready right now and I'm pretty sure Roy and/or Bishop could hold down 4th line C jobs with aplomb. Then there's Saarela and Kuokkanen who could both be 2nd line talents in the NHL. Fleury is already somewhat proven as a bottom pairing NHLer. And Sellgren. And Geekie. holy **** what a squad

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

We will have no choice but to Red Wings at least a few of these guys, but the flexibility that having this depth gives us is crazy.

There will be at least one move no one saw coming this offseason, opening up a hole or two.

 

[Highest Boss]

This is so true. Francis did a lot to build this crop of prospects up to tonights result. The way he was dismissed sucks but he did a lot to build this from the ashes of the JR regime and deserves to get a shout-out for it.

Half glass full: Francis built a great minor league team.
Half glass empty: Francis built a great minor league team.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I’m tempted to make a main board thread. We just had one of the most successful seasons as an organization probably ever.

What, you want to ruin it?

 

[Wolfpuck]

Checkers with the big dick power move!

Congrats you beautiful sum*****es!

 

[Lempo]

HAPPY DAYS *****EZZZZZZ

Potsie in Chachi.

 

[AD Skinner]

Sit on it Potsie!

 

[Tryamw]

From Martinook:

 

[Drivebytrucker]

Porturalski is a Group 6 UFA I guess due to his age.

Hope he signs somewhere that will give him a shot. Writing is on the wall that we're too deep for him to have a legitimate chance here

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Bigger question is what happens with Vellucci. But that’s for another day. Just enjoy the win now.

 

[MinJaBen]

Bigger question is what happens with Vellucci. But that’s for another day. Just enjoy the win now.

Ducks still need a coach, right?

 

[A Star is Burns]

Hopefully we can keep him, but good for him it he gets a better opportunity somewhere.

 

[Lempo]

Porturalski is a Group 6 UFA I guess due to his age.

Hope he signs somewhere that will give him a shot. Writing is on the wall that we're too deep for him to have a legitimate chance here

Capfriendly says he's RFA, but I think you're right. He seems to meet the Group 6 UFA criteria in CBA 10.1 (c):

• 25 or older (is 25),
• has completed three or more professional seasons (any pro games while under the SPC in his case),
• SPC is expired (about to), and
• has played less than 80 NHL games (has played 2).

Edit: no actually CapFriendly too says UFA Group 6.

 

[Roboturner913]

I'm assuming Poturalski hasn't been called up because he's Derek Ryan; not enough scoring for a top 6 role, not enough grit for a bottom 6 role. Which makes sense when you look at the guys they have brought up, Brown, Bishop, Roy, McKegg all have a little more snarl in their game.

Still, if you're penciling Lucas Wallmark into your lineup for next season you'd have to think Pots would be capable of at least that kind of production. I guess in an ideal world either one of those guys is your 13th forward and 1st callup.

 

[Drivebytrucker]

I'm assuming Poturalski hasn't been called up because he's Derek Ryan; not enough scoring for a top 6 role, not enough grit for a bottom 6 role. Which makes sense when you look at the guys they have brought up, Brown, Bishop, Roy, McKegg all have a little more snarl in their game.

Still, if you're penciling Lucas Wallmark into your lineup for next season you'd have to think Pots would be capable of at least that kind of production. I guess in an ideal world either one of those guys is your 13th forward and 1st callup.

More like Keith Aucoin 2.0

Ryan has played too many nhl games now for that comparison

 

[emptyNedder]

Still, if you're penciling Lucas Wallmark into your lineup for next season you'd have to think Pots would be capable of at least that kind of production.

So glad to see Poturalski be named MVP. He is a terrific AHL player.
Still Wallmark is being under appreciated. As a 22-year-old he scored 1.22 ppg in the AHL. This year at 24 Poturalski put up .97 ppg. That is the difference between Nathan MacKinnon and Elias Lindholm this season.

 

[bleedgreen]

He’s hasn’t been given enough of a shot to be proven to be a Ryan or Aucoin. I’m sure someone will give him the look he deserves, good luck to him if it happens. He’s been one of our best free agent signings out of NCAA, no?

 

[My Special Purpose]

I'm assuming Poturalski hasn't been called up because he's Derek Ryan; not enough scoring for a top 6 role, not enough grit for a bottom 6 role.

I think we tend to make comparisons based on size/stats and we completely miss 90 percent of what goes on in hockey games. This quote is a huge over-simplification and doesn't accurately reflect the differences between Poturalski and Ryan.

I'm not a fan of the way Ryan was used by Peters when they were here, but the guy was quick on his feet, aggressive on the boards, thought the game well, and was always on the right side of the puck. Yes, Ryan had an advantage having his juniors coach as his NHL coach. But we glaze over a lot of other stuff. Ryan played four years of Canadian University hockey *after* junors. Then he went to Europe for four more seasons, concluding with a dominant season in the SHL. Ryan proved himself in four leagues (CIS, Austria, Sweden, AHL) *after* juniors to get his shot in the NHL.

What I saw of Poturalski -- and Saarela, also, to be honest -- is a guy who is fine as long as the game is free-flowing, played between the dots, and up and down the ice. But he's completely ineffective along the boards, and not able to handle anything but the simplest of defensive assignments.

Look at Patrick Brown, for instance. He's a legit first-line AHL player, with 5g, 5a in 11 playoff games. In eight playoff games for Carolina, he was a non-factor. And Brown has legit NHL size at 6-1, 210 and is in his prime at 27-years-old.

The NHL game is different, not just a faster version of the same thing. If you want ice time in the NHL, you have to show the coach that he's not risking a goal against every time you're on the ice. You can show him you can score, and it won't matter if he can't trust you not to give up a goal.

That's why Wallmark, Brown, Bishop and Roy come up and Saarela and Poturalski don't. There's nothing that says Poturalski *can't* be Derek Ryan, but even Derek Ryan wasn't Derek Ryan until he was 29-year-old and had played four seasons in men's leagues.