LD Travis Dermott - Erie Otters, OHL (2015, 34th, TOR)

[BlueBaron]

At least try to be objective. Dermott not making the team was more circumstantial than warranted by play. Would this be the first time a player is kept off a team due to contract status, play style and/or opportunity (in the case of Marinicin who won a spot in the press box)?

Oh I am sure he knows NHL quality players who do not need to clear waivers get sent down all the time, it just does not mesh with his narrative.

Like that guy who said Kappy must be crap because he did not make our team so why would anyone want him? These guys know, they just have an agenda. Luckily for them trolling the Leafs is sanctioned here.

 

[Mitchy]

I think we've heard enough from a former fan who thought we made a massive mistake taking his 9th ranked player 4th overall.

Interactif has had a lot of memorable moments, but that is an all-time one.

 

[BayStreetBully]

For all a player that was coined a better player than Konecny by some, he was sent down to the AHL by the Leafs. Reading his preseason reviews, thought he was a shoe in to make the Leafs Defence in his D +3 on a team that had many openings for D men.

Oops, I thought I was in the Kyle Connor thread. I heard this useless plug just got sent down to the AHL today. I'm still waiting for your favorite son to 1) make the NHL, and 2) become better than Marner.

 

[Knies iT]

I wont criticize Dermott over not making the team. I just watched Sanheim have an outrageous preseason after a strong year in the AHL last season and he still appears to be heading back to the AHL for at least the start of 17-18. Politics and Waiver status work against these young guys sadly.

Difference is, Dermott had a tremendous pre-season. For me, he was better than Carrick, Marincin, Rosen and Borgman, but was sent down due to political reasons like you suggested. Not only is he the youngest (only 20), but is already familiar with the AHL and likely wasn't promised the same opportunities that Rosen/Borgman were to lure them overseas. He can still learn from the AHL since his rookie season was cut short (high ankle sprain) and will be thrusted in to a top offensive role from the backend beside Liljegren. Those two looked perfect together during their brief pairings and compliment each other well.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

reminds me when nylander was ready to play in the show but was sent to play in the A to season a bit more. very similar situation to dermotts.

 

[LeafChief]

You tell me? When a player was coined better than Travis Konecny(which created false expectations) and so many raved about his preseason. Surely one would expect him to win a spot ahead of Carrick, Marincin, or Borgman shouldn't he? 3 spots qualifies as many openings. None are signed to locked in contracts or are core D men. Maybe he didn't play as well as some claimed he did since the Leafs sent him back to start the year. Which ultimately means he did not win a job over 3 players, 3 openings, he realistically could have.

Why haven't you posted in the Lupul thread since the decision came down today?

Your motives are so obvious.

 

[Judas Tavares]

I think we've heard enough from a former fan who thought we made a massive mistake taking his 9th ranked player 4th overall.

He used to be all over the Leaf boards. Honestly, as much as his opinions differed from the rest of ours, I still really liked his insight. I remember he was very active in the 2011 and 2012 draft threads specifically, and again even though opinions differed, he still brought up interesting discussion and info on certain prospects.

Now it seems like the differing of opinions made him bolt to the main boards, where it seems its everyone > Leafs, kind of like a "No, No! I'm not one of those crazies! I don't associate with them" mentality. I've rarely seen him criticize non-Leaf prospects, whether its the Virtanen, Vrana, Barzal, etc... thread, all praise, no matter the circumstance. The Leaf player threads, there is always some sort of shot. Very sad if differing opinions caused that mentality. Your team is now exciting with potential to be very good, whether or not they drafted who you wanted. Embrace it. Have fun.

 

[93LEAFS]

He used to be all over the Leaf boards. Honestly, as much as his opinions differed from the rest of ours, I still really liked his insight. I remember he was very active in the 2011 and 2012 draft threads specifically, and again even though opinions differed, he still brought up interesting discussion and info on certain prospects.

Now it seems like the differing of opinions made him bolt to the main boards, where it seems its everyone > Leafs, kind of like a "No, No! I'm not one of those crazies! I don't associate with them" mentality. I've rarely seen him criticize non-Leaf prospects, whether its the Virtanen, Vrana, Barzal, etc... thread, all praise, no matter the circumstance. The Leaf player threads, there is always some sort of shot. Very sad if differing opinions caused that mentality. Your team is now exciting with potential to be very good, whether or not they drafted who you wanted. Embrace it. Have fun.

Some one bolts a team as they become good, is constantly inflamatory about Leafs related subject, constantly throws subtle jibes, and the conclusion you come to is that he was pushed to be that way due to backlash for previous ridiculous posts? That's radically different than the one I and many others have come to. They constantly use confirmation bias (just see how he changes opinions of different prospect evaluators, Pronman went from joke to expert for ranking Laine first.

If a message board made someone hate their own team and fanbase, I think the logical conclusion is that person would just leave the message board, and not cause constant problems.

He's in here today bashing Dermott for not making the Leafs and picking opinions of people who only represent a minority of Leafs fans opinions to rip on them. Competely ignores that Kyle Connor was also cut today, who he's been pimping for 2 years, and at many times said was a better prospect than 2 guys who just got 60 points at 19 and 20.

 

[NarcoPolo]

You tell me? When a player was coined better than Travis Konecny(which created false expectations) and so many raved about his preseason. Surely one would expect him to win a spot ahead of Carrick, Marincin, or Borgman shouldn't he? 3 spots qualifies as many openings. None are signed to locked in contracts or are core D men. Maybe he didn't play as well as some claimed he did since the Leafs sent him back to start the year. Which ultimately means he did not win a job over 3 players, 3 openings, he realistically could have.

Sure thing. Travis Konecny has absolutely nothing to do with Dermott making the leafs or not, lets try and keep this discussion relevant. Dermott had a good preseason, Borgman was just better imo, and if you bothered watching the games, you would know that Borgman is a pretty damn good young defensemen (I'm talking about Borgman specifically because he's the only one that won a spot on the roster). No one knew what to expect from him because no one has seen him play. The leafs value see value in Marincin and the only reason he's with the team is because they would have had to risk loosing him to waivers if they sent him down. You tell me, what is the point of penciling Dermott into a #7D position where he gets a handful of games every now and then where he can instead play big minutes again with the Marlies? Its not a hard concept to understand.

 

[Legion34]

Following a team does not mean one is more knowledgeable, it means they only see a prospect through 1 lens. This is also the Main board, and anyone from any fanbase can comment on a NHL prospect in a prospects thread. You may check my post history. I post on a great number of prospects here. If you want to just view how a home team's fans view a prospect, then the team's board may be for you, not the main board. Thanks.

Except for in the Laine threads, where you think Leaf fans weren't allowed. Will you ever tell us why an adult acts like this????

 

[Legion34]

Some one bolts a team as they become good, is constantly inflamatory about Leafs related subject, constantly throws subtle jibes, and the conclusion you come to is that he was pushed to be that way due to backlash for previous ridiculous posts? That's radically different than the one I and many others have come to. They constantly use confirmation bias (just see how he changes opinions of different prospect evaluators, Pronman went from joke to expert for ranking Laine first.

If a message board made someone hate their own team and fanbase, I think the logical conclusion is that person would just leave the message board, and not cause constant problems.

He's in here today bashing Dermott for not making the Leafs and picking opinions of people who only represent a minority of Leafs fans opinions to rip on them. Competely ignores that Kyle Connor was also cut today, who he's been pimping for 2 years, and at many times said was a better prospect than 2 guys who just got 60 points at 19 and 20.

And the funny part is, Matthews went from his sure fire first overall, to a "pretty good center" the day the leafs won the lottery. Like within days.

 

[Menzinger]

For all a player that was coined a better player than Konecny by some, he was sent down to the AHL by the Leafs. Reading his preseason reviews, thought he was a shoe in to make the Leafs Defence in his D +3 on a team that had many openings for D men.

Sometimes good young players become the victim of a numbers game.

Could have made the Leafs this year, as you rightly point out he was superb in the preseason, but given his young age management opted for a bit longer in the AHL and kept the older players up. Hardly the first time this has happened to a player.

 

[firstemperor]

He used to be all over the Leaf boards. Honestly, as much as his opinions differed from the rest of ours, I still really liked his insight. I remember he was very active in the 2011 and 2012 draft threads specifically, and again even though opinions differed, he still brought up interesting discussion and info on certain prospects.

Now it seems like the differing of opinions made him bolt to the main boards, where it seems its everyone > Leafs, kind of like a "No, No! I'm not one of those crazies! I don't associate with them" mentality. I've rarely seen him criticize non-Leaf prospects, whether its the Virtanen, Vrana, Barzal, etc... thread, all praise, no matter the circumstance. The Leaf player threads, there is always some sort of shot. Very sad if differing opinions caused that mentality. Your team is now exciting with potential to be very good, whether or not they drafted who you wanted. Embrace it. Have fun.

I don't think said poster is a Leafs fan and if they were, they might have been a bandwagon fan at some point. There are only a handful of posters on here who hate the Leafs more than they like their own team. Then you have the very select few who simply have an agenda and will go out of their way to rationalize the other way, on any borderline qualm that is Leaf-related and genuinely try to antagonize others.

In any case, the poster appears to be a content fan of the Jets now. I don't know how one can be a supposed life-long Leafs fan and change allegiances off of some petty disputes on a message board but that's just me, he certainly has the prerogative to cheer for any team he likes. As an aside, this is mostly off of hearsay, I have no clue who said poster is besides their opinions.

I think in general, differing opinions and discourse should be welcomed on any board, let alone the main board, but there are limits when your talking those that don't want to engage intellectually, rationally and without a clear agenda.

As for Dermott, he could have very easily won the job for the D battle but in between long-term considerations (as a more prized investment long-term), Babcock's desire to have his prospects dominate their level of competition, and the inherent luxury of overgrooming him- secondary to other free wallet Swedish D prospects that have impressed at camp, there was no need to have him play bottom-pairing minutes, zero PP time versus primetime AHL minutes. Especially at his age and his value to our organization, long-term.

 

[Pyromaniac]

I don't think said poster is a Leafs fan.

He never was. Even if you somehow swap allegiances from one team to another your posting style should not do a 180. For instance if you were negative and antagonistic as a fan of your first team then you would carry over those tendencies to your next team. Yet that isn't the case with Interactif.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

Talk about the topic, not about each other.

 

[4thline]

Hoping he takes the demotion in stride and absolutely dominates the A, he's an NHL quality player today, and not just a 6-7.

 

[Knies iT]

Not much talk about this guy but now has 13 points in his last 10 games after his performance against Laval. Up to .65 PPG on the year as a primarily defense-first player. He has been trending very, very well since his junior days. Voted best offensive defender by coaches in the OHL, arose as one of team Canada's best d-men in the WJC, and then became the Marlies #1 defensemen in his rookie AHL season, all despite his calling card being his shut-down ability.

Some rumblings that he is about to be called up in Zaitsev's place, especially considering Marincin's poor play in his absence. He's been NHL ready for quite a while now.

 

[Scott Malkinson]

6 assists in the last 2 days.

He's going to be a stud on the blue line.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Babcock implied he may have been the call up over Marincin to begin with had he not been injured. Could just be a matter of waiting for him to get back up to speed and then comes up in Marty’s place.

 

[weems]

This guy might be the most underrated D prospect in the league.

 

[bobermay]

Not much talk about this guy but now has 13 points in his last 10 games after his performance against Laval. Up to .65 PPG on the year as a primarily defense-first player. He has been trending very, very well since his junior days. Voted best offensive defender by coaches in the OHL, arose as one of team Canada's best d-men in the WJC, and then became the Marlies #1 defensemen in his rookie AHL season, all despite his calling card being his shut-down ability.

Some rumblings that he is about to be called up in Zaitsev's place, especially considering Marincin's poor play in his absence. He's been NHL ready for quite a while now.

Well done sir, do you have some kind of insider info?

 

[Semantics]

LOL, the posts from October are good for a laugh now. What an embarrassing train wreck. Sad that a certain poster cheers so hard for a Leafs player to fail. IIRC, he was even high on Dermott before he got drafted by the Leafs.

I'll take a solid two-way defenseman who at this point is virtually guaranteed to be a top-4 mainstay (maybe even top-2) over an undersized 15g/30p third line winger any day. The latter are a dime a dozen, just ask VGK.

Speaking of Dermott and Flyers players, it's the two year anniversary of HF having a meltdown when I predicted that Dermott would be as good or better an all-around defenseman in the NHL than Sanheim (they were on the WJC team together and Dermott looked better then). Well, here we are, and Dermott's draft+3 numbers in the AHL are significantly better than Sanheim's draft+3 numbers, *and* he's a way better defender. As usual, the legions of people who evaluate prospects based purely on junior numbers and draft position come away looking pretty foolish on that one.

 

[LeafChief]

LOL, the posts from October are good for a laugh now. What an embarrassing train wreck. Sad that a certain poster cheers so hard for a Leafs player to fail. IIRC, he was even high on Dermott before he got drafted by the Leafs.[/B][/B]

I'll take a solid two-way defenseman who at this point is virtually guaranteed to be a top-4 mainstay (maybe even top-2) over an undersized 15g/30p third line winger any day. The latter are a dime a dozen, just ask VGK.

Speaking of Dermott and Flyers players, it's the two year anniversary of HF having a meltdown when I predicted that Dermott would be as good or better an all-around defenseman in the NHL than Sanheim (they were on the WJC team together and Dermott looked better then). Well, here we are, and Dermott's draft+3 numbers in the AHL are significantly better than Sanheim's draft+3 numbers, *and* he's a way better defender. As usual, the legions of people who evaluate prospects based purely on junior numbers and draft position come away looking pretty foolish on that one.

You're surprised by this? He's got verbal diarrhea every day.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

This guy might be the most underrated D prospect in the league.

Not really. A Leaf's prospect can never be the most underrated in the league. That's not a knock on the team / fan base, or even a bad thing, just that the Leafs have such a big fan base and so much more media coverage, that Leaf's prospects will never go under the radar. For sure there are some "Leaf's haters" that counteract that to some extent, but not enough to make a guy like Dermott underrated. Put him on Arizona, Carolina, Florida, Dallas, etc.. and this thread would be a most 3 pages and very few people would even know who he is.

I've been excited to see this guy play in the NHL since pre-season so hopefully he gets a chance soon.

 

[stickty111]

Not really. A Leaf's prospect can never be the most underrated in the league. That's not a knock on the team / fan base, or even a bad thing, just that the Leafs have such a big fan base and so much more media coverage, that Leaf's prospects will never go under the radar. For sure there are some "Leaf's haters" that counteract that to some extent, but not enough to make a guy like Dermott underrated. Put him on Arizona, Carolina, Florida, Dallas, etc.. and this thread would be a most 3 pages and very few people would even know who he is.

I've been excited to see this guy play in the NHL since pre-season so hopefully he gets a chance soon.

This may be the best post from a non Leafs fan on this board. If only every post from non Leafs fans was this objective!
Great post.
Good luck to the Canes this season. One of the teams that I kind of would like to make the playoffs. This coming from a Leafs fan