It really is. Most don't know that a couple AHL teams considered him for a contract, similar to what Hershey did with the thought he may be good for the ECHL team and a call up option. He seems to have gotten his head on straight and has worked hard at his game. It's great to see. Too often, people just look at fancy stats and forget the other things like the mental aspect of the person, knowledge of the game, and if they really have the physical tools for the long haul. There's a couple players currently who are getting a lot of work in on their strength and stamina as it was lacking and is needed against men and a longer season.
Prospect Info: Hershey Bears/South Carolina Stingrays 2022-2023 Vol. 1
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Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
That’s not really fair. How many of their D was in DC? At least 3?
Outplayed them tonight and got beat 1-0. What a disappointment. lol maybe I'm bad luck. Haven't had much luck lately at the bears games.
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
General observations
-They need to shoot. I'm not a guy who yells shoot on the pp or anything. But they try to get way too cute with the dipsy doodling and passing, especially on odd man rushes or when they have a clear lane as it is. Pilon had a maddening 2-on-1 in the 2nd in which he carried the puck in, tried a spinorama pass for no real reason, and gave up possession. Especially a team like Providence. They won't give you the lanes or opportunity to do same thing like that. You basically need a dirty goal against a team like that.
-They will go nowhere with this powerplay. I said it before: a powerplay with the personnel they have should not be below top 10, let alone in the bottom 10 of the league. Maybe I'm just nostalgic but as far as I remember, the Bears teams that had postseason success (including the ones that lost in the Final) since the start of the Caps affiliation all had dangerous PPs. Maybe there's no Aucoin or Giroux or Bourque on this team, but they still have some pretty damn good offensive weapons. They had a couple okay looks today but they hardly ever sustain any pressure on the powerplay. That's gotta change but with only a month left in the season, well, old habits die hard.
-It seems like they're just never in position for those loose pucks. Granted, Keyser (Providence goalie) didn't face a whole lot of tough shots, but there were so many pucks in the offensive zone that just rolled right by without a Bear to claim them, and so many passes just *barely* off the mark.
So yeah, they were the better team today, but it still wasn't a horribly impressive performance, particularly offensively. The D did their job just fine, only 11 shots against and Nelson said in his postgame presser that was the least shots against in Bears history. But they can't keep going on scoring 2 or less every two or three games and expect to make a deep run.
I've witnessed three wins live this year. This was my eighth game of the season.
-They need to shoot. I'm not a guy who yells shoot on the pp or anything. But they try to get way too cute with the dipsy doodling and passing, especially on odd man rushes or when they have a clear lane as it is. Pilon had a maddening 2-on-1 in the 2nd in which he carried the puck in, tried a spinorama pass for no real reason, and gave up possession. Especially a team like Providence. They won't give you the lanes or opportunity to do same thing like that. You basically need a dirty goal against a team like that.
-They will go nowhere with this powerplay. I said it before: a powerplay with the personnel they have should not be below top 10, let alone in the bottom 10 of the league. Maybe I'm just nostalgic but as far as I remember, the Bears teams that had postseason success (including the ones that lost in the Final) since the start of the Caps affiliation all had dangerous PPs. Maybe there's no Aucoin or Giroux or Bourque on this team, but they still have some pretty damn good offensive weapons. They had a couple okay looks today but they hardly ever sustain any pressure on the powerplay. That's gotta change but with only a month left in the season, well, old habits die hard.
-It seems like they're just never in position for those loose pucks. Granted, Keyser (Providence goalie) didn't face a whole lot of tough shots, but there were so many pucks in the offensive zone that just rolled right by without a Bear to claim them, and so many passes just *barely* off the mark.
So yeah, they were the better team today, but it still wasn't a horribly impressive performance, particularly offensively. The D did their job just fine, only 11 shots against and Nelson said in his postgame presser that was the least shots against in Bears history. But they can't keep going on scoring 2 or less every two or three games and expect to make a deep run.
They lost two of the five games on their home stand. GUESS WHICH TWO I WAS AT??
I've witnessed three wins live this year. This was my eighth game of the season.
Agreed on the shoot thing...I was in 106 tonight and some guy yelled for the love of God would you shoot it?! And I think that pretty much summed it up. Snivley had at least two grade A chances he threw away trying to make a pretty pass. He's got to understand he's a sniper at the AHL level and needs to let it rip. I did think he looked good though. Frank had a chance or two as well but couldn't break through. Lujo still belongs in Hershey...he just ain't got it. Malenstyn is a PKing god. Kid deserves a chance in the NHL next season instead of plugs like NAK. I actually thought Sutter had a really good game too.
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
I rag on the fourth line being on the ice so much in ozone faceoff situations (and tonight, when they were on the ice with a couple minutes left down by one), but they often end up having some of the most sustained zone time and even get a good chance or two now and then. They've definitely earned some more goodwill from me, lol.
The team in general is just frustrating to me. They have all the pieces and depth in the world to be at least as good as, say, the 08-09 team. And their record is probably on par with that team. But they just can't put it together consistently. They should have the capability to score 3-5 goals on a regular basis but they just lay so many stinkers, and even a lot of their wins they have to steal back after choking away 2-plus goal leads. I really want to be optimistic about this bunch heading into the playoffs, but I just don't have confidence that they'll go far. I will be very happy if they flip a switch and prove me wrong though!
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I watched the third period after the Caps game. Bears still significantly outshot Bruins. Agree Snively needs to take advantage of being a sniper. That is what Frank has done this year.
NAK is a righty so you can’t compare him to Malenstyn. But Beck should defintely be in the NHL next year. Caps got lucky with him being a 10 game call-up and got hurt so was able to pass back down. He won’t clear waivers out of camp next year.
NAK is a righty so you can’t compare him to Malenstyn. But Beck should defintely be in the NHL next year. Caps got lucky with him being a 10 game call-up and got hurt so was able to pass back down. He won’t clear waivers out of camp next year.
I have done that before.
Back to Hershey. Those guys have to know they are playing for looks next year, right. Frank and Snively have stood out the most. McMichael has looked good as well. Lappy benched but I’m not worried about that. Beck is NHL ready but he needs to stay healthy. I also like Rybinski but he hasn’t stood out. If he gets his shit together he can be a good callup next year.
but look who we have under contract next year on dee. It is ugly. Iorio and Johanson (one-way). That is it. Chelsey will play a second year in college Unless he gets pressured to come to Hershey. Maybe they sign Gucharardi. Brent Johnson doesn’t look like an NHL contract. Not sure what they look for here.
Back to Hershey. Those guys have to know they are playing for looks next year, right. Frank and Snively have stood out the most. McMichael has looked good as well. Lappy benched but I’m not worried about that. Beck is NHL ready but he needs to stay healthy. I also like Rybinski but he hasn’t stood out. If he gets his shit together he can be a good callup next year.
but look who we have under contract next year on dee. It is ugly. Iorio and Johanson (one-way). That is it. Chelsey will play a second year in college Unless he gets pressured to come to Hershey. Maybe they sign Gucharardi. Brent Johnson doesn’t look like an NHL contract. Not sure what they look for here.
hb13xchamps
Registered User
Sam Anas getting healthy will significantly help them. That was a big loss that hurt the secondary scoring. He’s a Bourque, Giroux, Aucoin type AHL talent
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
Lappy's out hurt at the moment. His benching was a couple weeks ago, but he briefly came back and played a couple games after
Assuming none of the free agent D get re-signed they'll just sign another vet or two probably. I'm guessing at least one or two will be brought back. Or maybe the Caps make a summer trade that gets them a D prospect in return. I'd like to see them add another offensive QB type (especially if Nardella leaves) because they've mostly got two way and stay at home guys right now.
Offensively, I'd love to see what Bear Hughes can do at this level but unfortunately I see him taking the Travis Morin route and getting his shot elsewhere.
hb13xchamps
Registered User
Going over well with the casuals. I’m sure there’s a NHL contract player that will be loaned to Hershey. That’s usually how these types of deals go when one player is on an AHL deal and the other an NHL deal
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
Similar deals went down between STL/NSH (Anthony Angello for futures) and DET/ARI (Steven Kampfer for futures) today. Assuming a WSH/COL deal will be announced at some point?
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
Well, another game, another blown lead. Up 2-0 after one period, lose 3-2 in regulation. Another game of 2 goals or less. That's not gonna cut it. Charlotte is now three points back of Hershey, albeit with three more games played than the Bears. I'd really like to see them put it together but if it hasn't happened yet, I'm not sure it will. I just hope they can keep a top-2 spot in the division and avoid the stupid qualifying round.
This is the result of playing one team 12 times & another 14. If you can beat those teams regularly, you'll rack up a bunch of points but not actually be that good. This Bears team is not a 1st or 2nd place team, unfortunately. They've taken advantage of a terrible scheduling format but can't beat the "good" teams with regularity.
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
Big 6-3 W in Allentown with so many players out hurt (Sgarbossa has been out since last weekend in Providence, Iorio is out, Borgstrom left the game early). Big contributions from guys that we don't usually hear from. Strome scored his first of the year, Napravnik scored two to triple his goal total for the year. As for the guys you Caps fans would care about, McMichael opened the scoring and Rybinski had at least a couple assists. Lehigh played an awful defensive game and allowed plenty of clean breaks and offensive opportunities.
Imo Fucale has retaken the net. Not that he had a whole lot of work but they've been playing a lot better with him in net recently, and he's had his fair share of good saves before tonight. He's definitely come a long way since the fiasco against WBS in early December.
I'm not sure what Intel they would have on the Bears, but on the Phantoms broadcast (which is what aired on NHL Network) the PBP guy was saying there's a chance Sgarbossa and Anas could play on Friday. I'm not sure how his progress has been since he starting practicing in a non contact jersey a few weeks ago, but getting Anas back soon would be big for the Bears' offense.
Imo Fucale has retaken the net. Not that he had a whole lot of work but they've been playing a lot better with him in net recently, and he's had his fair share of good saves before tonight. He's definitely come a long way since the fiasco against WBS in early December.
I'm not sure what Intel they would have on the Bears, but on the Phantoms broadcast (which is what aired on NHL Network) the PBP guy was saying there's a chance Sgarbossa and Anas could play on Friday. I'm not sure how his progress has been since he starting practicing in a non contact jersey a few weeks ago, but getting Anas back soon would be big for the Bears' offense.
Rayquaza64
McMichael>McDavid
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
hockeykicker
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- Dec 3, 2014
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I saw this and had a good laugh this morning. The average Hershey fan is stuck in the AHL of 30 years ago. They are angry that Kessy got traded and think Washington is screwing them by making them play the skilled guys. Also, the amount of whining about "we should still be at the old building..." is ridiculous. I mean, that building was run down 30 years ago, so I can only imagine its condition now. It's been 20 years at Giant Center, give it a rest.
Rayquaza64
McMichael>McDavid
thats hilarious, i bet they would take kessy over half the forwards
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
HP Arena closed when I was a little kid so I never saw a game there, but both my parents (60+) unequivocally agree that Giant Center is better in every way.
I like Gersich in his role but he is in no way more important to the team than someone like Snively. You need balance in your lineup for sure but it amazes me (especially in a lifetime of suffering as a Flyers fan, believe me) how much people fetishize grit. Especially the older crowd. Maybe my parents are different (dad grew up going to Springfield Kings games in the late 60s/early 70s and then they both regularly went to Amerks games after they got married in the mid 80s so they were brought up in that "old school" era) but they both agree they'd rather see scoring and offense above anything else. I like a good hit or fight too but I just want to see W's first and foremost.
Kessy just isn't needed. He was far too often good for a stupid unnecessary penalty and didn't provide much else of value. His five minute major in a tie game against WBS back in December comes to mind and nearly cost them. There's just no way you roll the dice dressing a guy like that in the playoffs. Give me a Malenstyn (who will provide physicality with a more rounded game and a lower likelihood of costing the team) over a Kessy or Rechlicz in that depth role anyday. I know the goons are popular in the community but they just have no use on the ice anymore.
The guy did comment on another post after Wednesday's win that grit is more important than skill. I was incredibly tempted to respond and tell him to get in touch with the Flyers cause they might have a job opening for him.
Marshall
A Mahoney guy
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
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