David Rundblad

[Guest]

The fact that he was traded by St. Louis and Ottawa relatively quickly and hasn't been able to stick with the Coyotes makes me feel like there is definitely something up with this guy. I just wish we had the reporters here to uncover that story when there is clearly a story there to be revealed.

I want to know who from our scouting staff endorsed trading for him and why this defect failed to be identified in advance.

Why is it that our only 2 top 5 picks in the past 20 years turned out to be such a waste for the franchise (Turris & Wheeler)? The Coyotes could have had someone like Couture, Voracek, or Gagner instead of Turris. I know hindsight is 20/20, but man that would have been making a difference for where the team is at today if we had any of those three. The same with having Smid, Meszaros, or Stafford instead of Wheeler. Those two bad picks combined with everything else probably means the difference of the Coyotes being near a contender right now (not saying Gagner & Smid is the difference of us being a contender either).

 

[hbk]

The fact that he was traded by St. Louis and Ottawa relatively quickly and hasn't been able to stick with the Coyotes makes me feel like there is definitely something up with this guy. I just wish we had the reporters here to uncover that story when there is clearly a story there to be revealed.

I want to know who from our scouting staff endorsed trading for him and why this defect failed to be identified in advance.

Why is it that our only 2 top 5 picks in the past 20 years turned out to be such a waste for the franchise (Turris & Wheeler)? The Coyotes could have had someone like Couture, Voracek, or Gagner instead of Turris. I know hindsight is 20/20, but man that would have been making a difference for where the team is at today if we had any of those three. The same with having Smid, Meszaros, or Stafford instead of Wheeler. Those two bad picks combined with everything else probably means the difference of the Coyotes being near a contender right now (not saying Gagner & Smid is the difference of us being a contender either).

What's up is the time commitment and patience required to teach an undisciplined player the defensive skills required so he's not a complete liability each and every time he steps on the ice. Rundblad had that far to go. It reminds me of the comments about Jack Johnson and how there were shots made that his NCAA coach failed to teach the kid how to actually play Defense. Played lots of minutes but had no structure.

Our Eastern Scout is based in Ottawa and was familiar with Rundblad. we chose Rundblad over a different offer that included a first rounder. What the scout saw is the upside that everyone sees with this kid. Talent the kid has. What he doesn't have is waiver eligibility.

As for our drafts. We fired our head scout and brought in Knickle from Nashville. Right now his boldest moves have been selection of Martinook, trading up to grab Dauphin, and signing of FA 6'5" SSM center Tyler Gaudet. Too early to make a call on these. Keep in mind every franchise is guilty of passing on someone who turned out to be better. Hell we drafted Andrew McBain one spot ahead of Cam Neely.

 

[XX]

Turris was a consensus top 3 player and the Wheeler pick actually looks very, very good right about now for whomever called that one.

Whiffing on 3 top 10 picks in terms of actual contributions to the franchise isn't very good.

None of it has anything to do with Rundblad.

 

[letowskie]

The fact that he was traded by St. Louis and Ottawa relatively quickly and hasn't been able to stick with the Coyotes makes me feel like there is definitely something up with this guy. I just wish we had the reporters here to uncover that story when there is clearly a story there to be revealed.

I want to know who from our scouting staff endorsed trading for him and why this defect failed to be identified in advance.

That part about St. L and Ottawa makes zero sense. At the time Kekaleinen had two very highly rated picks in the first round, both of them (Schwartz and Tarasenko) fell to the middle of the 1st round. Schwartz would definitely have been a top-10 if the draft is redone today (he is arguably among the 3 best players to come out of that draft so far). Tarasenko would likely have been a top-5 pick that year if not for his uncertainty of coming to NA and his father's relationship with KHL personelles. Plus at the time they already had Johnson, Pietrangelo, Polak as RHD.

Tarasenko at the time was not on Ott radar at all. They would have to have picked Pysyk or Tinordi to get someone that their system needed, and Rundblad definitely had higher offensive upside than either of those two. It was pretty much set up to be a deal as perfectly as possible. And the following season Rundblad validated that choice by his ground-breaking season in the Elitserien that really raised his stock even higher, it was absolutely a win-win for both sides at that time, and when Ottawa decided to move him.

Why is it that our only 2 top 5 picks in the past 20 years turned out to be such a waste for the franchise (Turris & Wheeler)? The Coyotes could have had someone like Couture, Voracek, or Gagner instead of Turris. I know hindsight is 20/20, but man that would have been making a difference for where the team is at today if we had any of those three. The same with having Smid, Meszaros, or Stafford instead of Wheeler. Those two bad picks combined with everything else probably means the difference of the Coyotes being near a contender right now (not saying Gagner & Smid is the difference of us being a contender either).

I don't think these are wastes were primarily due to management decisions, they were mostly due to the perception of the organization and its long term health by the hockey world. Of course, Tippett had some responsibility with Turris' (lack of) development; he could definitely have done a better job in allowing him to progress and become accustomed to the franchise.

 

[Guest]

I appreciate the response from HBK and Letowskie. I so rarely get a response to any of my comments that I really enjoy when I am able to get a dialog going.

I think I agree with both of your comments, clearly Rundblad has been on a short leash ever since he was drafted and has fallen out of favor in now three organizations that had him highly valued. The odd part to me is how can someone be that highly valued/considered at one point yet never really given an opportunity to develop? Just by the little time he has spent with the 3 NHL teams, you cannot point to any of the three as giving him much investment to develop. It's like everyone has had buyers remorse on Rundblad which makes me ask the question, what is it that is deceiving the buyers in the first place? The raw potential? Obviously that's something that degrades with age, you can only live off potential for so long before you have to start to show something.

My rant about our best top 5 picks in the past 20 years isn't so much a slam towards management. I'm just saying that it stinks that our only top 5 picks in the past 20 years have literally turned out to essentially be Chris Summers and David Runblad (I won't specifically credit the 2nd that went for Vermette and that could have just as easily been our 2nd). If we had taken any number of players picked within the next 10-15 spots with those picks, even if they were not as good as players as who we picked, they in theory would have been more valuable to the Coyotes. I.E. a couple of years of Sam Gagner would have been more valuable than Chris Summers has been to the franchise at this point. Those ghosts from the Gretzky era will take a long time to exercise.

 

[DesertDawg]

Ottawa didn't want to draft Tarasenko because of what they experienced with Yashin (even though they made out like bandits when they traded him to the Islanders).

 

[hbk]

-1 with no points in 1st game back in AHL but team scored 2 PP goals with him on the ice.

 

[Longwayfromhome]

-1 with no points in 1st game back in AHL but team scored 2 PP goals with him on the ice.

Make that 3 pp goals. Going to be interesting to see how he performs at ahl level.

 

[hbk]

Make that 3 pp goals. Going to be interesting to see how he performs at ahl level.

He was an all-star last year in the A. My guess is at an all-star level again.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

RT you were good in the Connolly thing I get exactly where you were coming from.

I think you undershoot connolly his d would be ok now and he would earn the top six spot but you said need playmaker and connolly aint that he is a shooter his playmaking skills are questionable right now compared to our other guys for sure. He is like one of lowest on teams in terms of that

I think Rundblad has a lot of worth for right team situation unfortunately for Tampa they have Marc Barberio whom is pretty much a clone might not be as good offensively might be more ahead defensively neither is going to earn top 4 anytime soon

Think we make great trading partners but will be something around Teddy Purcell. Probably purcell and stone.

 

[hbk]

Make that 3 pp goals. Going to be interesting to see how he performs at ahl level.

On the ice for 4 PPG's (1 assist) in 4 periods. Looking good in today's game.

 

[hbk]

make that 5 PPG's. Rundblad with 2 assists and looking very good. Better than expected defensively. Making smart decisions.

 

[letowskie]

I appreciate the response from HBK and Letowskie. I so rarely get a response to any of my comments that I really enjoy when I am able to get a dialog going.

I think I agree with both of your comments, clearly Rundblad has been on a short leash ever since he was drafted and has fallen out of favor in now three organizations that had him highly valued. The odd part to me is how can someone be that highly valued/considered at one point yet never really given an opportunity to develop? Just by the little time he has spent with the 3 NHL teams, you cannot point to any of the three as giving him much investment to develop. It's like everyone has had buyers remorse on Rundblad which makes me ask the question, what is it that is deceiving the buyers in the first place? The raw potential? Obviously that's something that degrades with age, you can only live off potential for so long before you have to start to show something.

My rant about our best top 5 picks in the past 20 years isn't so much a slam towards management. I'm just saying that it stinks that our only top 5 picks in the past 20 years have literally turned out to essentially be Chris Summers and David Runblad (I won't specifically credit the 2nd that went for Vermette and that could have just as easily been our 2nd). If we had taken any number of players picked within the next 10-15 spots with those picks, even if they were not as good as players as who we picked, they in theory would have been more valuable to the Coyotes. I.E. a couple of years of Sam Gagner would have been more valuable than Chris Summers has been to the franchise at this point. Those ghosts from the Gretzky era will take a long time to exercise.

No sweat. Yeah the top picks were a mix of franchise misfortune and management/coaching issues. There just wasn't that much to be done in Wheeler's case with the deck stacked against us; Turris' case was definitely more salvageable, but both he and Tippett probably had too much of an ego to budge to make the situation work; DM got the best deal he could have (Rundblad was one of the top 10 D prospects in the league at that time). So it's hard to put that on Maloney.

 

[letowskie]

RT you were good in the Connolly thing I get exactly where you were coming from.

I think you undershoot connolly his d would be ok now and he would earn the top six spot but you said need playmaker and connolly aint that he is a shooter his playmaking skills are questionable right now compared to our other guys for sure. He is like one of lowest on teams in terms of that

I think Rundblad has a lot of worth for right team situation unfortunately for Tampa they have Marc Barberio whom is pretty much a clone might not be as good offensively might be more ahead defensively neither is going to earn top 4 anytime soon

Think we make great trading partners but will be something around Teddy Purcell. Probably purcell and stone.

The more I think about this, the more it makes sense for both teams.

How about if we revisit some of the stuff discussed in this thread:

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1602585&page=2

 

[YotesFan47]

Gormley is supposed to get a shot too over the next 2 weeks right? With Rundblad down, Summers up, who else to they put down for Gormley?

I honestly think we could keep Rundblad as our 3rd pairing guy, but make sure we get a 3rd pairing shut down D with similar speed and enough puck control that he wont destroy any offensive opportunities Rundblad can provide. Not sure who that might be honestly.

I vote Stone and Schlemko get traded, let klesla walk, and resign Morris as the #7 guy on a sub $2.0 million contract.

OEL - Michalek
Yandle - Murphy
Shut Down D - Rundblad
Morris, Summers, Gormley

This kind of set up makes the most sense because of what we require from our forwards. Keeping Rundblad could be a blessing unless they are planning on moving Morris to the 3rd pair to play with Gormley next season, which is also very realistic. Giving Rundblad half a year to actually make a difference and show he can play NHL hockey seems like good asset management to me though.

 

[SweYote]

Gormley is supposed to get a shot too over the next 2 weeks right? With Rundblad down, Summers up, who else to they put down for Gormley?

I honestly think we could keep Rundblad as our 3rd pairing guy, but make sure we get a 3rd pairing shut down D with similar speed and enough puck control that he wont destroy any offensive opportunities Rundblad can provide. Not sure who that might be honestly.

I vote Stone and Schlemko get traded, let klesla walk, and resign Morris as the #7 guy on a sub $2.0 million contract.

OEL - Michalek
Yandle - Murphy
Shut Down D - Rundblad
Morris, Summers, Gormley

This kind of set up makes the most sense because of what we require from our forwards. Keeping Rundblad could be a blessing unless they are planning on moving Morris to the 3rd pair to play with Gormley next season, which is also very realistic. Giving Rundblad half a year to actually make a difference and show he can play NHL hockey seems like good asset management to me though.

Murphy can use more time in the AHL imo. He's done well but not better than anyone else on the team. Send him down and put Morris back with Yandle. I don't think there's a market for Schlemko or Stone.

 

[hbk]

3rd period was a disaster for the Pirates. Rundblad on ice for a shortie 10 secs in and later in the period he played puck instead of the man and when puck jumped over his stick it was an easy tap in. Of course a long pass in final minute resulted in a goal which kept it close. No assist on play though.

 

[Grimes]

I actually think Murphy could spend another year in the AHL and be the main guy for injury call ups. This makes room for Gormely/Rundblad . Morris as the 7th sounds good, I also wonder if he would pair well with Rundblad. I'd like to see how Yandle-Gormely looks.

 

[Kaibur]

3rd period was a disaster for the Pirates. Rundblad on ice for a shortie 10 secs in and later in the period he played puck instead of the man and when puck jumped over his stick it was an easy tap in. Of course a long pass in final minute resulted in a goal which kept it close. No assist on play though.

I was surprised they had him paired with Brodeur instead of Klesla. He also tried to skate it out a time or two, where he should have simply moved the puck. He got caught at least once, which led to a scoring chance. But that might be working with AHL forwards breaking out too.

 

[Desert Ice 11]

I was surprised they had him paired with Brodeur instead of Klesla. He also tried to skate it out a time or two, where he should have simply moved the puck. He got caught at least once, which led to a scoring chance. But that might be working with AHL forwards breaking out too.

Yea I saw the third...It was pretty bad. I was thinking no wonder he has been sitting.

 

[lanky]

Trade Stone for a young forward. Groom Murphy in the A next year. Let Klesla walk and bring Morris back for one more.

OEL - Michalek
Yandle - Morris
Gormley - Rundblad
Schlemko

 

[hbk]

I was surprised they had him paired with Brodeur instead of Klesla. He also tried to skate it out a time or two, where he should have simply moved the puck. He got caught at least once, which led to a scoring chance. But that might be working with AHL forwards breaking out too.

Brodeur looked awful IMO.

 

[CNS]

Runblad looked good in his 1st AHL game at times but also is very guilty of trying too much. You can see the skill there. I was really hoping for him to open up his game and wheel a bit more but he didn't. Regardless, he was one of the better defenseman for the team that night.

 

[zerekstar]

How is Klesla playing? Any chance he could help another team or even us in a play-off run or has he just thrown in the towel?

 

[Kaibur]

Brodeur looked awful IMO.

I think that may be why Rundblad tried to skate the one out himself. Brodeur was the cause of that one goal (the go ahead?) where he wandered into the corner after the winger instead of staying by the crease. Where the hell was he going? What good did he think he was going to do over there? It was hard to evaluate Rundblad's defense because Brodeur was so unpredictable, which is the opposite of what Rundblad needs. Rundblad needs a partner he can count on covering his back when he decides to pinch. I thought Klesla would be perfect, but they've never given that pairing a real long look.