Player Discussion Colin Miller

[SPV]

I work with people who are Monarchs season ticket holders and Bruins fans and they love this move. I'm told he gets involved and plays physical. He will take a hit to make plays.

Brw- happy belated birthday MMB- you the man

This was my experience in watching him in Manchester as well. Very good skater, looks good on the power play, and does get involved physically. I don't know how well he can translate that to Boston, but I'm hopeful he and Morrow can both make the leap.

I think Sweeney feels that he, Morrow, and Trotman might be close enough that he doesn't need any kind of panic move (like Franson) to address the defense. Which I like as well.

 

[Over the volcano]

Regardless of what Gagne got paid, was he a good player from what you saw? Was it better to keep him on the roster instead of giving that job to a younger player from Providence? Would the team have been better served getting that younger player some in game experience?

And you can say he did a good job with Krug and Hammy over and over. It doesn't change the facts of how they were used to start with. Krug sat behind retreads like Wade Redden. Hamilton was given limited minutes and sat for long stretches. The ironic part is that Krug didn't get any meaningful regular season experience before being dropped into the middle of a playoff run. Do you think that kind of philosophy generally works out on a regular basis?

Krug was forced to wait and sit behind Wade Redden?!? Redden played like 10 games total for Boston. . .Does not compute.

I guess. The thing I recall is that for Krug to even play, they had so many injuries that he got bumped up the depth chart, and it wasn't because Julien liked his game. Sure it was the playoffs, but he never got a shake prior to the playoffs (3 NHL games in two seasons) where they were so desperate for bodies that he got time by default. He obviously took advantage of that opportunity, but it took a lot for that to even present itself. Seems to me that it would have been easier had he gotten some time in regular season games prior to being thrown into the fire of the playoffs. Luckily enough, he did well with the baptism by fire, but it wasn't an ideal situation, you know?

In terms of Hamilton, he got barely a half season of games in during his rookie year. He was benched pretty regularly by Julien.

Krug had not played a full year of professional hockey at that point. He was well served by his time in the AHL.

And Hamilton's first year he was 19 years old coming straight out of junior. It was the lockout year and he played 42 games out of a 48 game season.

Miller and Douggie are the same age, if he were 19 today coming straight out of junior I'd say it could be an issue but he's had his time and thrived in the AHL.

 

[LSCII]

Krug was forced to wait and sit behind Wade Redden?!? Redden played like 10 games total for Boston. . .Does not compute.

So Redden didn't start in the playoffs over Krug, and Krug didn't take his place only after Redden was hurt? That's how highly Claude thought of Krug. He took a guy who had been relegated to the AHL for years and put him in ahead of their youth. So yeah, it does compute. In fact, it's exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[LSCII]

Let me ask everyone here another question. What did you guys all think of Joe Morrow last year in the very limited time he got up in Boston?

 

[Dellstrom]

Let me ask everyone here another question. What did you guys all think of Joe Morrow last year in the very limited time he got up in Boston?

I thought he was very impressive. Didn't want him sent down. Unfortunately he gets injured a lot, but his time is soon.

 

[BB88]

Let me ask everyone here another question. What did you guys all think of Joe Morrow last year in the very limited time he got up in Boston?

I was sure our 3rd pairing was going to be Morrow-Trotman/K.Miller when the season ended.

But next year is Morrow's last chance, after that I can't see him ever winning a regular spot, Zboril, O'Gara, Grzelcyk, Carlo. One of those will steal his chance next offseason and then there are the trades/signigns we could see next offseason.

 

[wintersej]

Let me ask everyone here another question. What did you guys all think of Joe Morrow last year in the very limited time he got up in Boston?

I thought he looked like a dynamic skater with a great shot and good in the o-zone anticipation.

But, I don't pretend to know enough about gap control or positioning to accurately say if those facets of his game where good enough.

He certainly didn't have the tenacity that a Krug has, and I'd say he seemed less physical than Bart, and physicality is important when defending around your own net.

 

[chizzler]

I'm excited to see him play. Just like I'm excited to see Morrow play. At the end of the day though, I don't think Julien will keep either around, unless he's forced to, because it's not how he likes to execute his system. Morrow looked a lot better than some of the other guys they brought up and let play regularly last year, but as soon as he could, Julien sent him down because his offensive skill set represents risk. Same thing with Spooner. He was good offensively, but couldn't get a sniff because with Julien it's not about being good offensively. It's about being good defensively. I fully expect Miller to be an exciting player to watch during camp, and then for this place to blow up once Julien sends him down...

Your absolutely right. If this happens, then Sweeney needs to make a desision.

 

[LSCII]

I thought he was very impressive. Didn't want him sent down. Unfortunately he gets injured a lot, but his time is soon.

I was sure our 3rd pairing was going to be Morrow-Trotman/K.Miller when the season ended.

But next year is Morrow's last chance, after that I can't see him ever winning a regular spot, Zboril, O'Gara, Grzelcyk, Carlo. One of those will steal his chance next offseason and then there are the trades/signigns we could see next offseason.

I thought he looked like a dynamic skater with a great shot and good in the o-zone anticipation.

But, I don't pretend to know enough about gap control or positioning to accurately say if those facets of his game where good enough.

He certainly didn't have the tenacity that a Krug has, and I'd say he seemed less physical than Bart, and physicality is important when defending around your own net.

I agree with what you guys are saying. To me, he looked really good. Certainly not out of place in the NHL at all. Certainly worthy of a longer look. Yet he didn't get it. I'm sure someone here smarter than me will point out something to the effect of left hand and right hand shots, but at the end of the day, a good player is a good player regardless of handedness. He looked ready, yet he was played sparingly, given a random game, sat for 3, played again, looked good, and was sent down. It all has to do with his mindset, IMO, and not which way he shoots. He pinches, he jumps up into the play. That's risk. That's something Julien hates.

I really don't think he's been afforded much of an actual opportunity here, and I'm not sure he will be as long as Claude is behind the bench. If Miller is similar to Morrow in regards to his mindset, I fully expect him to get the same treatment. Same goes with Zboril and any of the other young prospects. Claude is a youth killer, not someone you want developing young talent, IMO.

 

[wintersej]

I agree with what you guys are saying. To me, he looked really good. Certainly not out of place in the NHL at all. Certainly worthy of a longer look. Yet he didn't get it. I'm sure someone here smarter than me will point out something to the effect of left hand and right hand shots, but at the end of the day, a good player is a good player regardless of handedness. He looked ready, yet he was played sparingly, given a random game, sat for 3, played again, looked good, and was sent down. It all has to do with his mindset, IMO, and not which way he shoots. He pinches, he jumps up into the play. That's risk. That's something Julien hates.

I really don't think he's been afforded much of an actual opportunity here, and I'm not sure he will be as long as Claude is behind the bench. If Miller is similar to Morrow in regards to his mindset, I fully expect him to get the same treatment. Same goes with Zboril and any of the other young prospects. Claude is a youth killer, not someone you want developing young talent, IMO.

I won't say he is a youth killer. Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic, Marchand, etc were all developed under Julien. Thats a Cup winning core developed under him.

Julien's system and style has worked. There are only a couple teams that have done better since Julien took over. The Julien-era Bruins are probably the best Boston Bruins since the Orr-era Bruins.

Is he anti-risk? I don't know if that is entirely fair. He plays Krug 20 mins a night. He clearly would prefer only taking risks that have a better chance of working out. Which isn't crazy. A wild pinch that if failed leads to a 2 on 1 isn't a smart way to play hockey. And younger players, especially of the offense first variety, are inherently risky. Sometimes, offensive players have bought in (Savard) and become much better players. Sometimes they didn't (Kessel).

Where I totally think we are on the same page is that Julien needs to let kids learn by making mistakes this season.

In all fairness, when the parent club is making Cup runs, thats what the AHL is for, so I don't know how much you can fault Julien for the past, but, this year, he is going to have to adjust.

 

[sarge88]

Tanabe was the biggest wuss to ever put on a Bruins uniform.

From what I understand, Miller still actively engages in the physical part of the game, despite his size.

I don't think they'll be playing similar games.

I agree about the physicality. I was more talking about the defensive awareness/getting caught out of position aspect.

 

[Estlin]

Let me ask everyone here another question. What did you guys all think of Joe Morrow last year in the very limited time he got up in Boston?

I also thought that he looked very good. Assuming that he has a strong training camp—and I expect that he will—he should be on the Bruins this coming season. If Sweeney is true to his word about how he wants to have an up-tempo team, then Morrow should be there, Julien's predilections be damned.

 

[LSCII]

I also thought that he looked very good. Assuming that he has a strong training camp—and I expect that he will—he should be on the Bruins this coming season. If Sweeney is true to his word about how he wants to have an up-tempo team, then Morrow should be there, Julien's predilections be damned.

I'm with you that he should be there. I just question if he will. No matter what Julien says, the proof will be in the pudding.

 

[DKH]

Morrow starts off with two strikes- one he is a left shot and finds himself shooting the same way as Chara, Seidenberg, and Krug; secondly he has the rep of questionable hockey sense in the organization.

He's very entertaining in Providence and I like him- can skate well, excellent offensive player. I don't think Claude will give him the chance as Colin Miller will.

Big year for him- he's not a stiff by any means and will get a lot of time I'd think.

My take if Chara or Seidenberg cant do it, Morrow is in real good position

 

[DoubleAAAA]

I kind of felt like Morrow was a victim of circumstance a bit in the L/R shot mix. I thought he looked smooth and about as comfortable as to be expected for a kid with his experience level.

I hope that with the current group, Julien at least considers the prospect of moving Krug to the right side. I think he fully deserves a shot in the top 4 next to Z or Seids. I know he and Quaider play fine together but it's time to let him sink or swim.

That frees up the 3rd pairing LH slot for Morrow to play with #54 and Julien can shelter him a bit. Maybe that means you opt for a safer option like Trotman over C Miller to round out the group.

Regardless I'd like to see one of C Miller/J Morrow over K Miller or Irwin in the starting 6, but I think we're better served with one of the latter as the 7th.

The one thing that will be sorely missed from Bart is his ability to skate it out of trouble, now often he skated or passed it right back into trouble , but still no one on the roster save Dougie had his ability to do it so hopefully they let a kid play who has that skillset.

 

[Over the volcano]

Morrow starts off with two strikes- one he is a left shot and finds himself shooting the same way as Chara, Seidenberg, and Krug; secondly he has the rep of questionable hockey sense in the organization.

He's very entertaining in Providence and I like him- can skate well, excellent offensive player. I don't think Claude will give him the chance as Colin Miller will.

Big year for him- he's not a stiff by any means and will get a lot of time I'd think.

My take if Chara or Seidenberg cant do it, Morrow is in real good position

Morrow also has a laid back kind of approach to the game which won't translate well to a team looking to build a focused intensity- reminds me of matt lashoff in a way.

 

[sarge88]

I kind of felt like Morrow was a victim of circumstance a bit in the L/R shot mix. I thought he looked smooth and about as comfortable as to be expected for a kid with his experience level.

I hope that with the current group, Julien at least considers the prospect of moving Krug to the right side. I think he fully deserves a shot in the top 4 next to Z or Seids. I know he and Quaider play fine together but it's time to let him sink or swim.

That frees up the 3rd pairing LH slot for Morrow to play with #54 and Julien can shelter him a bit. Maybe that means you opt for a safer option like Trotman over C Miller to round out the group.

Regardless I'd like to see one of C Miller/J Morrow over K Miller or Irwin in the starting 6, but I think we're better served with one of the latter as the 7th.

The one thing that will be sorely missed from Bart is his ability to skate it out of trouble, now often he skated or passed it right back into trouble , but still no one on the roster save Dougie had his ability to do it so hopefully they let a kid play who has that skillset.

I still can't believe that after watching them both during their stint out west last year, that Trotman got called back up and Morrow didn't.

Trotman was abysmal, while Morrow looked relatively good, as you said; given his experience.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

that's an absolutely horrific comparison lmao

he's as similar to boychuk as zac rinaldo is to carl hagelin: both are really fast

Is there some kind of rule about you having to mention Rinaldo in a certain percentage of your posts in order to keep the username?

Boychuk is bigger and Miller is a much better skater (which was obvious in the few times I saw him). Others have said that Miller has a mean streak and he's not small at 6'0" 195, but I don't know if he will be as consistently physical. They both have a cannon shot and put up points in the AHL, so there is some similarity.

I guess. The thing I recall is that for Krug to even play, they had so many injuries that he got bumped up the depth chart, and it wasn't because Julien liked his game. Sure it was the playoffs, but he never got a shake prior to the playoffs (3 NHL games in two seasons) where they were so desperate for bodies that he got time by default. He obviously took advantage of that opportunity, but it took a lot for that to even present itself. Seems to me that it would have been easier had he gotten some time in regular season games prior to being thrown into the fire of the playoffs. Luckily enough, he did well with the baptism by fire, but it wasn't an ideal situation, you know?

In terms of Hamilton, he got barely a half season of games in during his rookie year. He was benched pretty regularly by Julien.

Zach Parise
Travis Zajac
Paul Martin
Johnny Oduya
Andy Greene
David Hale
Cam Janssen

Al guys 25 or under that played key roles for the Devils the year Julien was there. Parise was 22, and Zajac only 21 and they averaged 17+ and 16+ minutes for 80 games.

Kessel
Stuart
Wideman
Lucic
Bergeron
Hunwick
Wheeler
Bitz
Rask
Krejci
Marchand
Seguin
Krug
Hamilton
Smith
Pastrnak
Spooner


All played significant roles for the B's under Julien at a young age.


Every coach has his vets that he plays, but if Julien thinks young guys can contribute without being liabilities, they will play.

Let me ask everyone here another question. What did you guys all think of Joe Morrow last year in the very limited time he got up in Boston?

I am in the minority on Morrow apparently. Like the tools and physical skills, but was not a fan of his mental game or his play in his own end. Thought he made a lot of mistakes and bad decisions in the D zone. If he was not the flavor of the month at the time, he would have caught a lot more flack for it IMO.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

I am in the minority on Morrow apparently. Like the tools and physical skills, but was not a fan of his mental game or his play in his own end. Thought he made a lot of mistakes and bad decisions in the D zone. If he was not the flavor of the month at the time, he would have caught a lot more flack for it IMO.

Say what you want about Morrow's future, game etc but to say he had problems in his own end last year is something I would take issue with all day long. He was very, very good back there with his decisions, skating and getting the puck out under pressure *the catch was that he wasn't pushing the envelope at all and trying to anything on offense. My apologies if you were referring to his AHL play (which I did not watch) but up in Boston he was really good in his own end.

Too bad he didn't score on that breakaway!

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Say what you want about Morrow's future, game etc but to say he had problems in his own end last year is something I would take issue with all day long. He was very, very good back there with his decisions, skating and getting the puck out under pressure *the catch was that he wasn't pushing the envelope at all and trying to anything on offense. My apologies if you were referring to his AHL play (which I did not watch) but up in Boston he was really good in his own end.

Too bad he didn't score on that breakaway!

Colt, agree with you most of the time, but not here.

Thought he made some good plays, and then would do something boneheaded to offset it. Definitely things that can be fixed, but he was way too tentative. I saw Boychuk play a great deal in the AHL and he was horrible defensively. He was able to overcome that and Morrow is a much better skater than JB ever was, but he has a lot of work to do IMO. It concerns me that he's on his 3rd team at such a young age. Makes me think that there are things going on that we don't know about, or that teams are realizing that he is not the player they thought they were getting.

 

[BB88]

Colt, agree with you most of the time, but not here.

Thought he made some good plays, and then would do something boneheaded to offset it. Definitely things that can be fixed, but he was way too tentative. I saw Boychuk play a great deal in the AHL and he was horrible defensively. He was able to overcome that and Morrow is a much better skater than JB ever was, but he has a lot of work to do IMO. It concerns me that he's on his 3rd team at such a young age. Makes me think that there are things going on that we don't know about, or that teams are realizing that he is not the player they thought they were getting.

Well he helped to get Seguin for them and Pens D prospect pool was damm impressive at the time with Maatta/Pouliot/Despres leading the way, all left hand D's.

Can we use the trades against him when Dallas got Seguin for him?

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Well he helped to get Seguin for them and Pens D prospect pool was damm impressive at the time with Maatta/Pouliot/Despres leading the way, all left hand D's.

Can we use the trades against him when Dallas got Seguin for him?

He was one of four players coming back in a deal that almost everyone thinks was a mistake, either because of the players the B's got or because fans felt management should have been more patient.

I don't pretend to know anything nefarious about Morrow, I just find it odd that a kid that was taken 23rd overall has been moved twice in two years. On the one hand, I guess it's good that he was in demand, on the other it bothers me that his former teams were willing to let him go (twice).

There have probably been other instances of first rounders getting moved multiple times, but I honestly cannot remember another time it has happened.


Edit: I went back 15 years and the closest examples I could find of 1st rounders being traded twice in such a short span (and then amounting to something) were Boyes and Lupul, but even those examples are not really the same.

 

[BB88]

He was one of four players coming back in a deal that almost everyone thinks was a mistake, either because of the players the B's got or because fans felt management should have been more patient.

I don't pretend to know anything nefarious about Morrow, I just find it odd that a kid that was taken 23rd overall has been moved twice in two years. On the one hand, I guess it's good that he was in demand, on the other it bothers me that his former teams were willing to let him go (twice).

There have probably been other instances of first rounders gettting moved multiple times, but I honestly cannot remember another time it has happened.

Sure it was, but I didn't say he made the trade look good for us, I meant he helped Dallas to get Seguin.

Didn't he spend like few months in Dallas before he got traded to us?
I doubt too many teams would think too long for moving him to Seguin.

Pens had 3 LD's ahead of him and Dallas got Sequin, those 3 LD's are not players at all so he didn't lose to bad players, Pens went all in that year and he returned Morrow to them.
Edit:
he had 4 points in 9 regular season games with Dallas AHL team and 3 points in 8 payoff games.

But I also can't see him in our longterm plans same as Trotman, Zboril, O'Gara, Carlo will beat them in the rankings maybe as soon as 2016-17.

 

[EverettMike]

He was one of four players coming back in a deal that almost everyone thinks was a mistake, either because of the players the B's got or because fans felt management should have been more patient.

I don't pretend to know anything nefarious about Morrow, I just find it odd that a kid that was taken 23rd overall has been moved twice in two years. On the one hand, I guess it's good that he was in demand, on the other it bothers me that his former teams were willing to let him go (twice).

There have probably been other instances of first rounders getting moved multiple times, but I honestly cannot remember another time it has happened.


Edit: I went back 15 years and the closest examples I could find of 1st rounders being traded twice in such a short span (and then amounting to something) were Boyes and Lupul, but even those examples are not really the same.

I waived this red flag immediately. Still worries me.

 

[DNE3]

Joe Morrow having negative tags applied to his prospect status by posters who for the most part did not watch him play regular in Providence. They can't pinpoint anything specific like skating, puck-handling, playmaking, shot, so they turn elsewhere, generalize something about 'hockey sense', 'adventure in own end', 'traded twice so must be something wrong there'. These kind of tags are never applied to the local hometown talent prospects. Said it before, Joe Morrow was the best defensive prospect in Providence for last two years, and he proved it on the ice where it counts. The last obstacle to his NHL career stands behind the bench in Boston, and this applies to Khokhlachev also. But the obstacle could be removed at any time in '16.