Well, I think the playoffs will tell the continued story that grit plays a big part into a teams success. Although Kingston had looked very good at times and controlled the play for several periods, they just didn’t get the calls and the goal tending to prolong this series and possibly upset NB. Vaccari was either a brick wall stopping the most difficult shots or he let in some very weak goals.
As much as Kingston on paper should be fairly good next year, I think they will lack character. Losing Dubois, Hemstrom, Ludwinski, Schmidt, Holmes, and maybe Poole and Heyes will leave this team empty on leadership.
I think Thibideau could be moved. He became an easy target in the playoffs as NB knew how to control his speed by playing him physical and he was knocked down consistently. As soon as Mann moved him down in the lineup, he immediately became injured?? Maybe I’m wrong but it sure did look strange.
Frasca was another player that was really hyped this year, but he really struggled in my opinion, after seeing some early success with overtime goals, he was going through the paces for good spans of time. There probably wasn’t another player in the league where a coach moved lines around continuously trying to get that player going more than Frasca. His best game of the playoffs was between Miedema and Heyes. I think he was and maybe still is the replacement for Ludwinski but I don’t think he has the speed, or strength required to be 1C, I could see him being moved. McNammara can play center and wing, he has tremendous speed but his hands turn to cement when handling pucks and when it comes to grit, he’s more of just a showman. Lots of chirping between whistles and at players once the linesmen hold him, he’s a tough player to figure out, I really don’t know the best spot for him.
Battaglia and Soto will have good years next year. Battaglia stepped up his physical side in the playoffs and I can only see him getting better. Soto competes, he didn’t have the best playoffs but he was also playing with different lines each game. Cavelin is in a tough spot, regardless of players they bring in, they will continue to push him down to the 4th line. He may end up saying it’s just not worth it and move on. Miedema made the biggest strides coming into the playoffs in my opinion. Up until that line change I thought Miedema would be moved as well, but he showed how valuable he can be. It also showed the type of players he needs to be with, As soon as Mann moved him with Poole and Heyes, his energy got better, he used his size and started to win the puck battles. Miedema needs line mates that push him, and are more suited to his strengths.
Hopkins played pretty decent down the stretch, I do think Kingston did an excellent job this year playing him in a ton of different situations while not putting pressure on his play. He will be way better for it next season, mark my words but being in year two, he could also be a player traded away to bring in a points leader.
Bottom line, the way this team sits right now they could lose 11 to 12 players. I only see Burns, Uens and McGowan as guys who play with a bit of heat, you just can’t win games long term with softer players. There is no way that new imports, this years drafted players or last years picks will be able to replace the types of players being lost, and I don’t see any of many existing players taking on those roles.
I do really like Mann, hopefully he returns. The structure he put in place was a world of difference over Caputi, unfortunately he had too many players he was trying to light a fire under to pick up their game. I strongly believe if Caputi was still the coach we would not have even made the playoffs. I think NB is way better then what they are given credit for, there would be no surprise to me if they took the east.
