Moose Season Discussion

[voyageur]

Thanks for the deep dives, @surixon, and nice to see Coughlan back on the scoresheet. Would have liked to see a bit more of with the Jets, maybe he hops up with the expanded roster later in the season.

They may want to keep him playing to at least have some game action. Not sure he'd get any more ice time right now than Ville on the Jets, and if the Jets add on defense, they may just subtract Heinola to keep the equilibrium and still have an injury callup that can play in Coghlan. Running the #1 PP on the Moose is at least some reps at a position that Heinola isn't getting and hasn't got at all this year.

The Moose seem kind of settled now with him and Phillips as their top d pairing. Which has come at the expense though of Salomonsson's offensive production. But maybe @surixon or someone who has watched them more closely can say if they are trying to use him in a more shutdown role?

 

[howkie]

Question, if we moved Moose to the US, would that attract better players, say we move it somewhere near the Canadian border?

 

[Bender Duster]

Question, if we moved Moose to the US, would that attract better players, say we move it somewhere near the Canadian border?

I doubt it. I don't think there's a shortage of decent AHL vets that could have been signed by the Moose. We've typically had a couple solid AHL scorers every year (Griffith, Shaw, De Leo, etc.) but they didn't pick any of those guys up this year.

Plus, I doubt Duluth or Fargo or some other minor league border city would be any more appealing to minor league free agents than Winnipeg.

 

[surixon]

I doubt it. I don't think there's a shortage of decent AHL vets that could have been signed by the Moose. We've typically had a couple solid AHL scorers every year (Griffith, Shaw, De Leo, etc.) but they didn't pick any of those guys up this year.

Plus, I doubt Duluth or Fargo or some other minor league border city would be any more appealing to minor league free agents than Winnipeg.

Yeah it's not that. They just didn't bring in the correct vets this year.

 

[Gm0ney]

I doubt it. I don't think there's a shortage of decent AHL vets that could have been signed by the Moose. We've typically had a couple solid AHL scorers every year (Griffith, Shaw, De Leo, etc.) but they didn't pick any of those guys up this year.

Plus, I doubt Duluth or Fargo or some other minor league border city would be any more appealing to minor league free agents than Winnipeg.

JAD and Coghlin were supposed to be those guys. But JAD's been BAD and Coghlin's only played 15 games for the Moose (12 points though, so he's doing alright).

Maybe they were hoping for a step forward from some of the prospects and at least decent production from AJF and Toninato, but it seems everyone's having a bad year at the same time.

And of course goaltending's been largely brutal which has sabotaged everything else.

 

[surixon]

JAD and Coghlin were supposed to be those guys. But JAD's been BAD and Coghlin's only played 15 games for the Moose (12 points though, so he's doing alright).

Maybe they were hoping for a step forward from some of the prospects and at least decent production from AJF and Toninato, but it seems everyone's having a bad year at the same time.

And of course goaltending's been largely brutal which has sabotaged everything else.

The issue to me is all the vet scoring they brought in are NHL cast offs who survived in show by being fourth line energy guys. While they may score in the AHL their style is still more suited to a bottom 6 role. We needed some vets that play a more skilled game to help Lambert and Co.

I also do think they expected more out of Chibrikov and Lambert and were hopeful Lucius could stay healthy and be productive.

They are going to have to reevaluate with Jager and Barlow coming in. My guess is one or bot of Lambert and Chibrikov will also be there.

 

[voyageur]

The issue to me is all the vet scoring they brought in are NHL cast offs who survived in show by being fourth line energy guys. While they may score in the AHL their style is still more suited to a bottom 6 role. We needed some vets that play a more skilled game to help Lambert and Co.

I also do think they expected more out of Chibrikov and Lambert and were hopeful Lucius could stay healthy and be productive.

They are going to have to reevaluate with Jager and Barlow coming in. My guess is one or bot of Lambert and Chibrikov will also be there.

I think the whole season was a disarray. Start 2 d-men down so the guy who was supposed to replace Capo is up to start. JAD breaks his foot after a promising camp, when many were upset about his demotion. Lucius and Zhilkin go down early.

Veteran goalie lost on waivers seemed overwhelmed by the time he was reclaimed and got to rejoin his family. Milic never finds his game from the beginning.

Lambo and Chibrikov don't get started well for whatever reason, maybe lack of chemistry, missing some key pieces. Or coaching?

Through it all Parker Ford has kind of been like Kristian Reichel's rise, where some of the higher prospects like Spacek, Vesalainen and Mc Kenzie all fizzle out, and vets like Griffith and Lipon don't make their teammates better, but the unheralded player just keeps battling to make the show. Though I think Ford was good enough from his first TC last year to be in consideration, it was less of a progression, more steady development with opportunity.

Forwards have the potential to be good next year. JAD is back with a NHL salary for next year, and Toninato probably comes back, but the youth infusion should make a difference. If Zhilkin ever figures it out. Julien looked good at the Young Stars if he gets signed.

But the defense next year? How does it improve? By Salomonsson improving? Do you bring the kid over at 19? Bring in a vet like Capo? Try and bring Lundmark back for another year for some kind of depth? Bauer? Phillips? Garret Brown? Is Coghlan good enough to get a one way ticked to the Jets next year at someone's expense?

Sauntner and Barteaux are signed for another year. Is Anhorn going to be re-signed he seems buried again in the shuffle?

Di Vincentiis looks like he could clearly be the #1 goalie on the farm by next TC.

 

[ennsjd07]

Sometimes I wonder if it would do the Moose a solid by signing some AHL champions. Finding a vet or two who has made it to the finals in the playoffs and prepares like he's planning on winning a championship this year. As far as I know, we don't have ANY of those guys on the Moose. Lambert, Ford, Chibs etc would probably benefit from a guy who isn't just good, but also has a knack for winning the big games... finding a way to put 2-3 vets who tend to win (Stempniak anyone? JK JK).

In other news, if Walton, Barlow, He, Yager and any other incoming draft picks make the Moose out of camp next year, that's a pretty top loaded top 6. If Chibs/Lucius (when healthy)/Lambo are returning, that's almost a full top 9.

Need Chevy to find a few more Sambergs in the 2nd/3rd round the next few years and we'll be sitting pretty I think no?

 

[Buffdog]

Sometimes I wonder if it would do the Moose a solid by signing some AHL champions. Finding a vet or two who has made it to the finals in the playoffs and prepares like he's planning on winning a championship this year. As far as I know, we don't have ANY of those guys on the Moose. Lambert, Ford, Chibs etc would probably benefit from a guy who isn't just good, but also has a knack for winning the big games... finding a way to put 2-3 vets who tend to win (Stempniak anyone? JK JK).

In other news, if Walton, Barlow, He, Yager and any other incoming draft picks make the Moose out of camp next year, that's a pretty top loaded top 6. If Chibs/Lucius (when healthy)/Lambo are returning, that's almost a full top 9.

Need Chevy to find a few more Sambergs in the 2nd/3rd round the next few years and we'll be sitting pretty I think no?

Walton has to go back to OHL next year (along with He). Yager and Barlow will be on the Moose

 

[ICdave]

Moose start off road trip with big win over one of the top teams in the AHL defeating Rocket 5-4:

 

[BoneDocUK]

Moose start off road trip with big win over one of the top teams in the AHL defeating Rocket 5-4:

Thanks for this Dave.

I'm actually encouraged by Lambert racking up the assists. He's had the rep at times of not having the vision or playmaking skills to use his linemates effectively and I wonder if he's working on this specifically.

We've seen Ehlers raise his passing game this season given the opportunities, especially on the PP, and tho Lambert is no Ehlers, it's good to see him growing that dimension of his game. Makes him a more versatile player and more of a threat as a puck carrier and distributor.