Player Discussion Dominik Kubalik

[NyQuil]

Levi looks pretty legit, they just need to fix their team defense just like we do.

Betting on a goalie prospect is tough sledding.

That being said, one average goalie is as good as another, so as long as they can get a decent journeyman for a few seasons they should still be able to challenge for the playoffs.

 

[KingAlfie11]

Enjoy, because it's probably the only good day we're gonna have all summer.


Levi looks pretty legit, they just need to fix their team defense just like we do.

How can you say that after only 7 games? Thats a very small sample size. I'm not so sure he's a legit as you think he is.

 

[KingAlfie11]

Mainly because we've only seen him for 12 games. I hope he's the right fit for this team.

He absolutely needs to stay healthy which he hasn't done in his career very much.

With both Norris and Chychrun we are looking at relatively small sample sizes to date in a Senators uniform.

We gave Norris 8 million bucks over 8 years for 52 goals over 122 games, and I'm a big Norris supporter.

He still has to live up to that contract post-injuries.

In the wake of the ADB trade, a lot of the rationale for how Ottawa will exceed last year's point totals is that we will have Norris and Chychrun for a full season.

I don't think it's gonna be that hard to replace DeBrincat's 27 goals. Kubalik could do that all by himself.

 

[NyQuil]

I don't think it's gonna be that hard to replace DeBrincat's 27 goals. Kubalik could do that all by himself.

I'm not aiming to equal last year's team performance.

 

[Big Muddy]

Mainly because we've only seen him for 12 games. I hope he's the right fit for this team.

He absolutely needs to stay healthy which he hasn't done in his career very much.

With both Norris and Chychrun we are looking at relatively small sample sizes to date in a Senators uniform.

We gave Norris 8 million bucks over 8 years for 52 goals over 122 games, and I'm a big Norris supporter.

He still has to live up to that contract post-injuries.

In the wake of the ADB trade, a lot of the rationale for how Ottawa will exceed last year's point totals is that we will have Norris and Chychrun for a full season.

We've got 4 good defenders now. I'm waiting to see who plays with whom to see if we got two good top pairs. By that I mean whether the players compliment each other and mix well together helping to mitigate relative weaknesses in their partners while allowing strengths to shine through to their optimal levels. The sample was too small last year to get a good feel for that.

 

[NyQuil]

We've got 4 good defenders now. I'm waiting to see who plays with whom to see if we got two good top pairs. By that I mean whether the players compliment each other and mix well together helping to mitigate relative weaknesses in their partners while allowing strengths to shine through to their optimal levels. The sample was too small last year to get a good feel for that.

It's going to be a long year if they don't.

Off the top of my head, I'm still thinking Chabot-Zub and Sanderson-Chychrun to start.

 

[Big Muddy]

It's going to be a long year if they don't.

Off the top of my head, I'm still thinking Chabot-Zub and Sanderson-Chychrun to start.

That's my guess as well.

Hope Chychrun can stay healthy. We don't have a lot RD depth (good RDs), so an injury to a RD could mess things up. I guess it would boil down to JBD and Hamonic moving up which might do in a pinch hopefully for just a short time.

 

[KingAlfie11]

I don't think that's completely true. I think you ultimately win with your depth. Most teams in the playoffs have a very very good top end. What separates a team like Vegas and Edmonton is the depth that Vegas has in all positions. There was no way Edmonton could counter since Vegas had 4 lines coming at them all game and a deeper defensive core.

The teams that win have both depth and the top end players. In the playoffs and especially as you go deeper you see the teams with depth really shining through. Seattle last year is the perfect example of a team that was very well rounded but that did not really have any top end talent. They beat the Avs who undoubtedly have better top end talent at forward and on defense. They beat the Avs because everyone played their part and they played a strong system game.

It's the same thing for a team like Tampa, they still have a strong top end but their depth has suffered a lot with their best players getting new contracts. The league is now at a point where the window to win is pretty small and the competition is harsh. You have a chance to win when you have your best players under team friendly contracts and you are able to fill out your roster with players that can matchup with the other teams best players or if you have a bunch of guys who can contribute on ELCs. If your bottom 6 isn't able to match against good players you might make the playoffs but you're not winning the cup.

I think for this team the defense is set. I think that's the area where you can look at and say I think we have the pieces to make it work and the depth to withstand injuries. On the forward front though we are lacking quite clearly. If Kubalik produces and plays a good all around game I think we have the top 6. We arguably only have 1 legit 3rd line player right now with Pinto, let's see what happens with Greig he might be another. I think you at least need another 3rd liner. Joseph is the type of guy you want on your 4rth line who can step in the top 9 when injuries will come, and they will happen. Then on the 4rth line you have Kastelic who'll be a staple there. Kelly/MacEwen are 13th forward material. Can Sokolov/Crookshank/Reinhardt take those spots? A lot of question marks and that's not even considering that we will likely face some injuries.

With Kubalik being very streaky you hope he can own that top 6 spot. If one of our top 5 forwards gets injured we are extremely thin really quick (Same situation as last year). We're missing probably 2 bottom 6 forwards to really take the next step and compete with teams like Buffalo and New Jersey who are getting better and better with young players coming in to their roster.

I think a guy like Laughton would go a long way in making us tougher to play against and give some trouble to other teams top lines.

Yeah you make some good points, yes Buffalo are deeper then us but they have no goaltenders, I don't think Levi and Comrie can carrie them into the playoffs. I think we're in a good spot, do we need more depth at forward yes, but I like our goaltenders better.

 

[NyQuil]

Yeah you make some good points, yes Buffalo are deeper then us but they have no goaltenders, I don't think Levi and Comrie can carrie them into the playoffs. I think we're in a good spot, do we need more depth at forward yes, but I like our goaltenders better.

I really don't know what we have in terms of goaltenders. It's such a crap shoot.

I'm amazed that people are so confident.

We just saw a no-name win the Stanley Cup.

I'm leery about saying that our goaltending is better (or worse) than anyone, aside from those few teams that have franchise guys.

 

[Mingus Dew]

I really don't know what we have in terms of goaltenders. It's such a crap shoot.

I'm amazed that people are so confident.

We just saw a no-name win the Stanley Cup.

I'm leery about saying that our goaltending is better (or worse) than anyone, aside from those few teams that have franchise guys.

Yeah hard to say a team has no goaltenders when we're relying on Korpisalo and Forsberg to carry us to the promised land.

I think we are neck and neck with Buffalo this year. Which kind of blows considering they have better prospects and depth than we do.

 

[RickyLafleur]

How can you say that after only 7 games? Thats a very small sample size. I'm not so sure he's a legit as you think he is.

Same reason people on this board thought that Gustavvson was the goalie of the future in 2021. Buffalo seems to play better and with a certain swagger with Levi in net, compared to their other goalies. It's not a coincidence that when he played he did not let go of the net outside of the final Craig Anderson game vs Ottawa. It's not like our goalies are much better at this point anyways.

 

[NyQuil]

I think we are neck and neck with Buffalo this year. Which kind of blows considering they have better prospects and depth than we do.

I'm jealous of their riches but they've also sucked a lot longer than us as well.

We need Batherson, Chabot, Chychrun and Norris to step up big to even things out with them in terms of having a better high-end.

 

[JD1]

Yeah hard to say a team has no goaltenders when we're relying on Korpisalo and Forsberg to carry us to the promised land.

I think we are neck and neck with Buffalo this year. Which kind of blows considering they have better prospects and depth than we do.

I think we've got a better top 6 than they do.

 

[NyQuil]

I think we've got a better top 6 than they do.

I hope so, because their bottom six and likely their top two defencemen are better than ours.

They had 5 guys who scored 28 or more goals. Is Olofsson gone?

Quinn, Peterka, Jost, Girgensons, Okposo, Krebs in the bottom 6?

 

[JD1]

I hope so, because their bottom six and likely their top two defencemen are better than ours.

They had 5 guys who scored 28 or more goals.

I'd like to see both make the playoffs and I think it's possible

 

[Mingus Dew]

I think we've got a better top 6 than they do.

I tend to agree but it's close. Will be better for us if Stutzle takes another leap. As it stands Tage Thompson is better than any forward on our team. Tuch is a monster too. Lots of size and goal scoring on their top line.

They have better depth, arguably better D men and a deeper propsect pool to keep filling holes with cheap ELCs.

 

[Ice-Tray]

It's going to be a long year if they don't.

Off the top of my head, I'm still thinking Chabot-Zub and Sanderson-Chychrun to start.

They want to play Chych with Chabot, so expect that with Zub playing with Sandy and Bran/Hammy Kleven/JBD to round camp pairs

 

[NyQuil]

They want to play Chych with Chabot, so expect that with Zub playing with Sandy and Bran/Hammy Kleven/JBD to round camp pairs

Based on?

Chychrun is playing on his wrong side and Chabot is coming off an unspectacular season.

I'd almost rather balance them out with steady guys.

Not to mention, Chychrun can mentor Sanderson.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I hope so, because their bottom six and likely their top two defencemen are better than ours.

They had 5 guys who scored 28 or more goals. Is Olofsson gone?

Quinn, Peterka, Jost, Girgensons, Okposo, Krebs in the bottom 6?

I wouldn’t put Powers over Sanderson right now, and we still have Chych and Chabby.

Given that we’re pretty much neck and neck right now, Buffalo should be a sweet rival for years to come!

Based on?

Chychrun is playing on his wrong side and Chabot is coming off an unspectacular season.

I'd almost rather balance them out with steady guys.

Based on Dorion and DJ saying as much. Not trying to ruin your day, just expecting it since that was mentioned as what they eventually wanted to see/try.

I don’t want either guy treated with kids gloves. Chabby had a rough season but was better at the end, and was apparently injured for much of the year. I want these guys playing our best 4 D in the top 4 and I want Sanderson still sheltered a bit playing with Zub.

 

[NyQuil]

Based on Dorion and DJ saying as much.

Ok. I'll take your word for it.

Given that we’re pretty much neck and neck right now, Buffalo should be a sweet rival for years to come!

Meanwhile, they've got Zachary Benson and Matt Savoie in the last two drafts while we have no one.

7 picks in the first 2 rounds, we had 1.

If we're neck and neck right now, we've got to get a hell of a lot better at drafting in the next few years.

 

[JD1]

I tend to agree but it's close. Will be better for us if Stutzle takes another leap. As it stands Tage Thompson is better than any forward on our team. Tuch is a monster too. Lots of size and goal scoring on their top line.

They have better depth, arguably better D men and a deeper propsect pool to keep filling holes with cheap ELCs.

Is Thompson better than Stuetzle? Given their respective ages who's more likely to continue to improve? It is close, both groups are strong

 

[Mingus Dew]

Is Thompson better than Stuetzle? Given their respective ages who's more likely to continue to improve? It is close, both groups are strong

6'6 C 47 goal scorer. I dunno man.

Stutzle could be better down the road but if we're talking next year I'm taking Tage without hesitation.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Ok. I'll take your word for it.



Meanwhile, they've got Zachary Benson and Matt Savoie in the last two drafts while we have no one.

7 picks in the first 2 rounds, we had 1.

If we're neck and neck right now, we've got to get a hell of a lot better at drafting in the next few years.

Well there are only so many spots on the roster and we also have a handful of guys who have potential to gamers in the bottom six which absolutely matters.

We have another 1st next year to make up for a lost one (later obviously) and we got Chych, who is better than most of what Buffalo has on D at the moment.

Neck and neck i think still fits for now and going forward.

I agree on drafting, and guess what? We‘ll definitely have a new head scout and perhaps GM for the next draft.

 

[NyQuil]

Well there are only so many spots on the roster and we also have a handful of guys who have potential to gamers in the bottom six which absolutely matters.

We have another 1st next year to make up for a lost one (later obviously) and we got Chych, who is better than most of what Buffalo has on D at the moment.

Neck and neck i think still fits for now and going forward.

Neck and neck now perhaps, but it's going to be hard to keep pace.

Even if they don't bring their picks into the roster, they can package them together to improve it through trades.

 

[Ice-Tray]

6'6 C 47 goal scorer. I dunno man.

Stutzle could be better down the road but if we're talking next year I'm taking Tage without hesitation.

No chance I’m not taking Stu and his 90 point season in his first full season at centre. Look how much faster Stu has reached where he is than Thompson.

I mean we’re talking a few more goals here.

I like Thompson, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think the smart money is betting against Stu.