I’m done with # 47 on our team !!

[Teeder Keon]

His hands and IQ will probably never improve. But maybe he realizes that playing with tenacity and toughness to go along with his speed, he can make himself a valuable regular ala Hyman.

 

[sittler rules!!!]

I like him as a regular season player, not sure if I would want him in the playoffs

Even Joe who isn't a good skater or ever was, knows what to do in a big game. Throws his weight around, tries to make up for lack of offense

Engvall's like GOAT, the game doesn't change much. It's just vanilla. Has the tools, the hands are there, the legs are there too, just lacks willingness

A hard pass for playoffs over Nash. I know nothing about Nash, but I'll take my chances

Looks like Brooks, Nash and Smerfoot will be our 3rd/4th line centres.

 

[notDatsyuk]

I agree - when Uncle Leo left, they should have retired that number.

 

[Le Cobra]

Engvall on fire lately

 

[Gabriel426]

He is heating up for the playoffs

 

[Antropovsky]

He is heating up for the playoffs

Or he wants to play in the playoffs.... he's got alot of competition.

 

[Mitch nylander]

I’m done with #65 on this team...

 

[Gabriel426]

Or he wants to play in the playoffs.... he's got alot of competition.

Either ways, he is making it tough for Keefe to leave him off the roster which is a good thing.

 

[Antropovsky]

Either ways, he is making it tough for Keefe to leave him off the roster which is a good thing.

Keefe has tough decisions to make for sure....I know i would have a tough time picking the lineup with a healthy roster.

 

[crump]

Made a case for some playing time if a few players get hurt.

Matthews
Tavares
Kerfoot
Brooks
(Inj..Nash)

Are probably all ahead of him at centre

Even as a winger he’s in tough.

But depth is good and he has had a few good games.

 

[SoCal Leafs]

View attachment 426310

Love this. Looks like you and I watched the same shows back in the day.

To the topic of Engvall: His skillset is intriguing but I'd give more seasoned players the first chance to play in the playoffs. He has had a strong past few games so, if anything, he can be a solid replacement in case of injury or if the vets ahead of him can't do the job.

 

[zeke]

Kid's been killing it since he was scratched.

Also, mikky-engvall-hyman is still the most dominant 3rd line we've used this year.

 

[PanniniClaus]

A fan of Pierre, always have been. He certainly divides our fan base..

 

[Stephen]

A fan of Pierre, always have been. He certainly divides our fan base..

I don’t know why he’s divisive at all. Maybe he doesn’t hit enough for his size or sometimes makes softer puck reversals you don’t think a guy lower on the depth chart should consistently make but he has his uses and can chip in from time to time.

 

[Teeder Keon]

A fan of Pierre, always have been. He certainly divides our fan base..

And he loves you 2

 

[Teeder Keon]

He is heating up for the playoffs

If you can call this heating it up , allrighty then !

 

[Guy Boucher]

It’s funny that people who have cried about the leafs being bad defensively for years now hate the guts of some of the strongest impact defensive forwards on the team like Engvall and Mikheyev.

 

[meefer]

Kid's been killing it since he was scratched.

Also, mikky-engvall-hyman is still the most dominant 3rd line we've used this year.

Agreed. Their combined skating abilities, especially vs McDavid, helped neutralize the Oilers for 3 games straight.

 

[slozo]

It’s funny that people who have cried about the leafs being bad defensively for years now hate the guts of some of the strongest impact defensive forwards on the team like Engvall and Mikheyev.

Absolutely an insightful comment!

Me personally, I've really liked Engvall - fantastic skater, big body who moves well, really good skill set, and very responsible defensively. Sure, he's he's had trouble being a true finisher. Sure, he could use his body more. But he's still young, and he's definitely an NHL ready player who will continue to grow and gain confidence.

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

A fan of Pierre, always have been. He certainly divides our fan base..

I don't think that's really true outside of this thread and a few vocal posters. He's a pretty vanilla bottom 6er with some good tools. I can't see average fans getting especially excited or enraged about him.

Kid's been killing it since he was scratched.

I'm not sure if Keefe and the coaches care that much about the goals* which have mostly been lousy goaltending rather than wicked snipes/skill moves, but it should make it a harder decision to scratch him.

*I seem to recall that Boyd and Brooks (amongst others) got scratched the game after scoring a goal.

 

[cesareborgia]

Absolutely an insightful comment!

Me personally, I've really liked Engvall - fantastic skater, big body who moves well, really good skill set, and very responsible defensively. Sure, he's he's had trouble being a true finisher. Sure, he could use his body more. But he's still young, and he's definitely an NHL ready player who will continue to grow and gain confidence.

He's Gauthier 2.0. Literally all of the criticism towards him would immediately evaporate if he used the body. Using the body isn't a matter of skill, it's a matter of willpower. This is why many think of him as pathetic. He could crush anyone on the ice if he wanted to, but he's a gentle giant.

 

[Nylander88]

I’m done with #65 on this team...

Come playoff time I'd rather play Nash over him. Both good on the PK, Mikheyev is faster but Nash is grittier, Nash plays the harder position and is a true shutdown centreman. Not to mention brings much more experience in playoffs and tight games. Engvall has gotten into a couple games lately and managed to score in less ice time. He skates fast and PKs as well. Everyone is hard on Engvall (and I don't want him on this team at full health either), but nobody talks about Mikheyev. They're such wildly similiar players. Mikheyev has been a black hole on offence, and he has more giveaways than takeaways when being a reliable defensive forward is supposed to be his specialty. Only time I notice him in a positive way is out PK. And Nash can PK and take draws, so it's really a no brainer for me. However that's just my opinion. Glad to see I'm not the only one seeing his poor play though

 

[Nylander88]

It’s funny that people who have cried about the leafs being bad defensively for years now hate the guts of some of the strongest impact defensive forwards on the team like Engvall and Mikheyev.

Mikheyev has 25 giveaways to his 19 takeaways
Engvall has a whopping 19 giveaways to his 4 takeaways.
How is the acceptable for soft players thats calling card is supposed to be "defensively responsible". When you don't provide offense and don't throw the body...you have to be good with the puck. This season, they haven't been. They're best calling cards are the PK cuz they're long/rangy guys who can skate fast. And that said, we are in the bottom third of the league at killing penalties. They for sure have this narrative that's been created around them about how good they are defensively, but that hasn't at all been the case this season if you look at the numbers. Heck, Engvall is a +4 and Mikheyev is a +5 on a team that almost doesn't even have a minus player! The only regulars that puts them infront are Spezza and Kerfoot who are +3, and Dermott, Simmonds, Galchenyuk. Brooks is already a +4 after 10 games and Foligno a +5 after 5 games. No matter which way you look at it, it's hard to make a case for #65 and #47 being defensive wizards

 

[Fogelhund]

Mikheyev has 25 giveaways to his 19 takeaways
Engvall has a whopping 19 giveaways to his 4 takeaways.
How is the acceptable for soft players thats calling card is supposed to be "defensively responsible". When you don't provide offense and don't throw the body...you have to be good with the puck. This season, they haven't been. They're best calling cards are the PK cuz they're long/rangy guys who can skate fast. And that said, we are in the bottom third of the league at killing penalties. They for sure have this narrative that's been created around them about how good they are defensively, but that hasn't at all been the case this season if you look at the numbers. Heck, Engvall is a +4 and Mikheyev is a +5 on a team that almost doesn't even have a minus player! The only regulars that puts them infront are Spezza and Kerfoot who are +3, and Dermott, Simmonds, Galchenyuk. Brooks is already a +4 after 10 games and Foligno a +5 after 5 games. No matter which way you look at it, it's hard to make a case for #65 and #47 being defensive wizards

Engvall and Mikheyev have the two highest D-zone 5v5 starts of any players on the team at 59.8% and 64.8% respectively. Despite this, their possession stats hover around 50%, and most importantly their GA/60 is amongst the lowest on the team, at 1.6GA/60 for Mik and 1.9 for Engvall. If you judge someone as being good defensively, I'd suggest how many goals are scored against them (not many), while having the most defensive responsibility on the team, is pretty good.

 

[justashadowof]

There's a compulsion in some to instantly identify the outgroup individuals from any group. It's a feature not a bug when survival is at stake. It's a bug not feature when we're talking about a perfectly reasonably skilled and energetic player like Engvall.