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ekblad is a bunch of tiers above kulikov as a prospect
Well, I guess I'd invite him to camp and evaluate him then. Nothing should be set in stone is I guess what I'm trying to say.
ekblad is a bunch of tiers above kulikov as a prospect
ekblad is a bunch of tiers above kulikov as a prospect
Meanwhile, we've still got goaltending to look at...Luongo's not Stanley Cup material
Ekblad jumping in at 18? So, do we want to ruin him like we did Kulikov? I'd rather keep him in the OHL another year. Let's not make the same mistakes Sexton and Martin made.
seth jones came up immediately and he's doing fine. gudbranson only spent one extra year and ekblad is way better than him (nothing against guddy). he's the most nhl ready player in the whole draft. he also has an extra year of ohl play under his belt anyways from his exceptional player status. he has nothing more to learn at the ohl level. if we do draft him, he'll be playing here next season. just keep jovo away from him! theres several different solid vets we could pair with him that wouldnt break the bank. i think mitchell would be great.
After getting shutout by the Canes 3-0..
My opinion is swaying towards offense again.
Well yeah, all of that.to play a true north south game you need great outlets, and our D cant do that
to play a true north south game you need great outlets, and our D cant do that
If a lot of our forwards would not have only an offensive mentally, we would be a much better defensive team. Flash, Kopecky, Upshall, Bergenheim , Pirri, they all play that way. They only focus on offense, in all three zones and no thoughts about defense. That's why we're so bad defensively, and the fact that they don't play defense actually slows down the offense.
I think we need forwards who play a more well rounded game before we even know what kind of defensemen we have. Because no matter who you bring in here defensively, it will be the same thing. They will constantly be under siege because our forwards turn the puck over just inside the defensive blue line, because they are only thinking about the other net instead of also trying to keep the puck out of our net.
Same thing in the offensive zone. They turn the puck over and never can put any offensive pressure on the other team because they're trying some fancy offensive move and don't care about defense, so they'll gladly turn it over for the once in a blue moon offensive chance they get on net from that fancy play.
If we could replace two or three of Flash, Kopecky, Upshall, Bergenheim , Pirri with guys like Winchester or Shore, this team would be miles better.
Well, not just one guy at forward. And it's the people we take out as well as the people we bring in. Plus the guys we replace are not good offensive forwards. That's the biggest problem. What offense they bring is no where near enough to make up for their bad defense. They are mediocre at best offensively, and terrible defensively. The best offensively being Bergenheim and probably Pirri. Those two I would probably keep. Upshall, Flash and Kopecky can definitely be replaced.the problem is that htere are VERY few cases that a good defensive forward with limited offensive talent denies more goals than a good offensive forward thats floating scores
there's been two bona fide cases of elite two way forwards, thats nighbor and bobby clarke
people seem to forget that a d-man will still produce 40-50 points and help the transition game A LOT
Best defense is a good offense. We need players who create scoring chances and maintain puck possession. Our offensive pressure is not sustained and even when it is we can't finish.
Yes we need a good pmd to make strong outlet passes but we also need a forward to receive them to take the puck up ice. You need both. I always felt the transition game from your end up the ice is a result of quality coaching.
I do not want to draft a d-man with our high first round pick. They take too long to develop. We need to win now. Get a forward or trade the pick.
Seth Jones took too long to develop?
huh? Most dmen take a long time to develop. It's the nature of the position. You think Seth Jones is developed?