Toggle sidebar

Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects Thread - 2021/22

  • Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
Status
Not open for further replies.
Where do people think Abruzesse plays? He’s a natural center but given his size, I wouldn’t be surprised if they spotted him on the left side to start off in the NHL?
 
SeaOfBlue said:
I think that applies to player rights. We owned their rights before the deadline, so it should be fine.

I don't think Ben Meyers would be eligible though (for example).
Click to expand...
Ah yes.....that makes sense.
 
I'm skeptical about Abruzzese's transition but he's worth a try for PP2 alone. Legitimate special teams wizard.

Then again, you could say the same for NR89 and that hasn't happened.
 
TMLAM34 said:
Where do people think Abruzesse plays? He’s a natural center but given his size, I wouldn’t be surprised if they spotted him on the left side to start off in the NHL?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind seeing Abruzesse on Tavares's wing for a bit to see if they can get Tavares and Nylander running on separate lines. They don't exactly work well together anyways,
Keep Kerfoot with Nylander who we know mesh well. And hopefully Abruzesse's play making ability is as advertised so he can get Tavares going.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cookie, Minty Cowboy, stickty111 and 1 other person
LeafParade said:
I wouldn't mind seeing Abruzesse on Tavares's wing for a bit to see if they can get Tavares and Nylander running on separate lines. They don't exactly work well together anyways,
Keep Kerfoot with Nylander who we know mesh well. And hopefully Abruzesse's play making ability is as advertised so he can get Tavares going.
Click to expand...

Abruzzese - Tavares - Blackwell
Kerfoot - Spezza - Nylander

I said he will play center with Spezza taking draws, but I think that is ultimately what he does. I think right now, this is what I expect.

I am mostly just surprised at how well Tavares plays at both ends when he is not around Nylander recently. Counter intuitive, but Tavares probably plays better with Abruzzese and Blackwell than he does with Nylander and whomever.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stickty111
SeaOfBlue said:
Abruzzese - Tavares - Blackwell
Kerfoot - Spezza - Nylander

I said he will play center with Spezza taking draws, but I think that is ultimately what he does. I think right now, this is what I expect.

I am mostly just surprised at how well Tavares plays at both ends when he is not around Nylander recently. Counter intuitive, but Tavares probably plays better with Abruzzese and Blackwell than he does with Nylander and whomever.
Click to expand...
I think this should be the approach irrespective of how Abruzzese plays.

If he struggles, move Blackwell to LW and insert Kase at RW.

The Kerfoot-Spezza-Nylander trio seems too obvious not to try and Kase's game fits with JT.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stickty111
Knies iT said:
I think this should be the approach irrespective of how Abruzzese plays.

If he struggles, move Blackwell to LW and insert Kase at RW.

The Kerfoot-Spezza-Nylander trio seems to obvious not to try and Kase's game fits with JT.
Click to expand...

Only issue is that Spezza is not someone who can play a ton of minutes anymore. It is hard to make it work for an entire game.

I guess you could just double shift Tavares though.
 
SeaOfBlue said:
Only issue is that Spezza is not someone who can play a ton of minutes anymore. It is hard to make it work for an entire game.
Click to expand...
Agreed but it's a bit of a catch 22 because the alternative is a slow 4th line w/ Spezza that doesn't gel + a 2nd line that is sputtering.

I think Spezza would look much better if he had two excellent skaters beside him as opposed to another slug. If he can be a coasting trigger man with high OZ starts that sounds good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zero1 and stickty111
SeaOfBlue said:
Abruzzese - Tavares - Blackwell
Kerfoot - Spezza - Nylander

I said he will play center with Spezza taking draws, but I think that is ultimately what he does. I think right now, this is what I expect.

I am mostly just surprised at how well Tavares plays at both ends when he is not around Nylander recently. Counter intuitive, but Tavares probably plays better with Abruzzese and Blackwell than he does with Nylander and whomever.
Click to expand...

Tavares is an odd player because he seems to work better with less skilled players or players with very defined roles.
You give him a playmaker like Abruzzese to feed him and a 3rd wheel to cycle along the boards with, and he probably gives you better results than if you stick him with a couple of multi-dimensional run and gun types.

I am not sure if Abruzzese and Blackwell can play on the same line give their size.
If the 3rd line wasn't playing so well, I would be probably sticking Engvall with Tavares/Abruzzese and Mik with Nylander/Kerfoot.

If Knies signs, then he seems like the perfect player to stick with Tavares/Abruzzese.
All of a sudden you have too many forwards, a good problem to have.
 
  • Like
Reactions: keonsbitterness and stickty111
LeafParade said:
Tavares is an odd player because he seems to work better with less skilled players or players with very defined roles.
You give him a playmaker like Abruzzese to feed him and a 3rd wheel to cycle along the boards with, and he probably gives you better results than if you stick him with a couple of multi-dimensional run and gun types.

I am not sure if Abruzzese and Blackwell can play on the same line give their size.
If the 3rd line wasn't playing so well, I would be probably sticking Engvall with Tavares/Abruzzese and Mik with Nylander/Kerfoot.

If Knies signs, then he seems like the perfect player to stick with Tavares/Abruzzese.
All of a sudden you have too many forwards, a good problem to have.
Click to expand...

I don't think size is as much of an issue. It is not meant to be an energy line, and Tavares/Blackwell have no issue getting in tight. Even Abruzzese operates below the hashmarks and between the dots as much as possible. He is not a guy like Marner or Nylander who likes to skate around with the puck. He plays more like Kerfoot, and I think that is perfect for a guy like Tavares and a perfect scenario for Abruzzese. I had some concerns that it may be too crowded in the high danger areas because there are not really any guys who like to operate from the outside, but Abruzzese is smart enough to adapt and the way that line would work is not much unlike how his line in the NCAA would work.
 
SeaOfBlue said:
Well why are they misplaying 2-on-1's? Are we not practicing how to handle 2-on-1 situations? It is one thing when you get to the NHL and you are mostly a finished product, but a lot of these guys are not finished products. If a guy is not handling 2-on-1's properly, then it is his job to make sure they learn. That is the main purpose of our AHL team after all.

It is also the line combinations too. A casual fan think it is easy for a LD to just switch over to RD and play the same way, or to play with a new partner every game, but it is not that easy. He is the one who makes those decisions, and he is the one who makes is next to impossible for these guys to get into any kind of rhythm. They don't need to have the same partner every game for the entire season, but sticking with a pairing (that works) for more than a couple of games would be nice and would likely help them perform better.

This is where development vs. drafting comes in. We are putting good prospects in that lineup, and it is on the coaching to make sure they develop into good players who don't make those mistakes. At least not as often they are making them now. We are not asking him to turn them into star players, but it seems like even the basic fundamentals for pro players are not getting taught at times. The quality of prospect on the Marlies has not really been getting worse, but it seems like few are really benefitting from development under Moore (at least relative to Keefe), and that most of the noticeable gains in prospect development are had in the offseason when they are working with the Leafs coaching or their own skill coaches rather than seeing general progression over the course of the AHL season.
Click to expand...

I'll disagree with you on the first point that you made, but agree with the rest. I could maybe excuse it in the OHL, but not in the AHL if you're having to understand what to do on a 2 on 1. That kind of stuff you learn in pewee and bantam.

The defensive combinations will always be an issue with the AHL because of many factors, so trying to establish a set d-pairing is often tough. You'll have games where you play 3 games in 4 nights, you'll have guys called up on injury spell with the Leafs, injuries on the AHL roster and you have to balance ECHL call ups as well.

I don't think Moore has done a good job with the team, but I think it's a lot harder to say he should do a better job with d-pairings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom