Totally agree that Lias is playing solely to avoid mistakes.A lot of people really underestimate the value of confidence. Unfortunately, that's not something Quinn can give Lias simply by giving him more minutes and/or better linemates. It's something Lias needs to earn for himself. Having success at the AHL level can do that and hopefully, when he comes back, it will carry over into his play at the NHL level.
I see Lias as an NHL player right now, but one that is playing to avoid mistakes rather than to make things happen. He needs to find his swagger again.
Fortunately/unfortunately finally!Finally!!!
Does Gordie deserve to be fired if Lias busts? No probably not, because that's just how these things go.
At this point, I can only see Gordie leaving because he is retiring and they will have Bobrov *hopefully* take over
Is it me, or does a lot of the discussion about Lias remind anyone of the Malholtra situation?
On the flip end of this.......how much you wanna bet GETTINGER is much more noticeable and makes a few plays due to his speed. With Lias.......Zippo.Very happy, I'd much rather him get minutes and have a 4th liner play the 4th line.
Well, for Gettinger I would be surprised if he isn't. He is a former 5th round pick who is likely suited for a career bottom 6 role at best. He knows his opportunities will be few and far between.On the flip end of this.......how much you wanna bet GETTINGER is much more noticeable and makes a few plays due to his speed. With Lias.......Zippo.
This is an excellent point, and BEGS the question "is that all they are expecting him to become?"Are they going to play in a 3rd/4th line role with PK time in Hartford? That would make the most sense if that's what they want from him in the NHL. Having him go down there and play as the 1C with huge PP time and neglect defensive responsibilities won't help him when his NHL roll will be completely different.
Being responsible for drafting one of the biggest busts in franchise history is a pretty big negative. Lias looks like he could be heading down the same road. Not to mention wasting 2nd rounders on crappy goalies. This franchise isn't in any position to be pissing away draft picks.
Gettinger isn't fast. He's your standard "Skates well for a big guy" player.On the flip end of this.......how much you wanna bet GETTINGER is much more noticeable and makes a few plays due to his speed. With Lias.......Zippo.
Size is a good thing. Use it better than Brian Boyle and hit more than Boyle with more speed.......would be a wonderful thing. I like the kid, he had a very decent camp and deserves the call up. Let's see if he can stick.Well, for Gettinger I would be surprised if he isn't. He is a former 5th round pick who is likely suited for a career bottom 6 role at best. He knows his opportunities will be few and far between.
Additionally, the guy is 6'6 so that alone might make him more noticeable![]()
Oh okay, seemed he had decent speed in camp.Gettinger isn't fast. He's your standard "Skates well for a big guy" player.
His skating is average at best. But he covers a lot of ground because he's huge.Oh okay, seemed he had decent speed in camp.
And Malholtra was a 7OA as well.i wasn't around here then, but if Lias turns into a player like that it's totally fine.
I think some people are too hung up on the 7th OA tag. Yes it'd be ideal if that guy was a top 6 player.
But this team desperately needs a Malholtra type player. And if you can get a good matchup C who can play around the net, win faceoffs, and PK well that's great news.
If Lias turns into that guy, I won't be disappointed.
Also, neither was a favorite of the head coach.I don't think he deserves to be fired but anytime a high pick isn't doing well the scouts deserve even minimal amounts of blame. The Rangers were working hard to move up to grab Petterson and that fell through and ultimately had to pick the guy that was 3rd on their list for the 7th overall pick. It isn't like Mittelstadt is tearing it up with 7 points in 20 games and is currently on a 10 game pointless streak.
This isn't a McIlrath level miss. I don't even really know that it is a miss because there is still plenty of time for Lias to still develop.
In the sense that they were both picked 7th overall and rushed into the NHL? Sure.
Also, neither was a favorite of the head coach.
Is it me, or does a lot of the discussion about Lias remind anyone of the Malholtra situation?
I don't think one of them is any better than the other overall, but what exactly is with this myth that Howden is good defensively?
He looks and seems like he should be good defensively, but he's not. I think by the metrics he's one of the worst defensive players in the entire league and by the eye test he makes countless poor decisions in the D zone, is always out of position and always seems to win battles or make smooth zone exits. I'm sorry, I'm not done with Howden I have time for him him but he stinks defensively. From the eye test, Howden is the one guy who seems to always seems to be out of position, always seems to fail to take away a lane and also seems to really struggle clearing the puck when the opportunity is there - both of which are why he's an abysmal penalty killer. Moreso the positioning.
Howden would be better served getting no PK time and sheltered minutes from DQ. As of now he's being fed 3c defensive minutes and tons of PK time and he is completely floundering in that role. He works hard and maybe he can be that guy in the future but last season and now this season DQ has been using him like he's already that guy and he has failed to improve one iota, if anything he's regressed. He looks worse this season than he did last year at this time. Maybe slide Fast down to his RW to give him a defensively responsible linemate.
Honestly, the only thing I can definitively say he has over Lias is that he's bigger than him. And he's a better skater sure but his horrible positioning seems to neutralize that so it's basically even. Who cares if you're a better skater if you're never in the right spot and not using your superior skating effectively? Other than that they've both been pretty much nothings.
I'm curious why we're calling up Gettinger and not Vinny.
I think at 24, nearly 25, Lettieri is pretty well-established as a 4A guy. So as a rebuilding team, you call up the guy that could be an NHLer.
Great? I think that's a strong word. Kakko fell into his lap, but his other top 10 picks have not advanced this organization forward. McIlrath was a bust. The jury is still out on Kravtsov and Andersson, but it ain't looking too good right now.
The Rangers are crawling out of the rebuild primarily because they got lucky with Kakko and acquired Trouba and Panarin. As a fan who is happy with the direction the organization is going, I'd argue it's been in spite of Clark, not because of him.
Until Kravtsov packed up and went back to Russia, this board was swooning over him. He was largely considered to be a top-10 prospect league wide. If you want to say he's whiffed on some high picks then go right ahead, but let's not pretend that he hasn't stocked the pool with a number of other high quality players since the rebuild kicked off. We can debate the true meaning of "Great" as much as we like but I can't for a minute buy the notion that this organization has the best prospect pool in the league in spite of the guy who is supposed to be leading the way.