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Ontario Reign 20-21 Part III

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Fat Elvis said:
Where did you see this? From all accounts, he’s a stabilizing presence on the blue line. I haven’t read anywhere that he is “really bad” defensively.
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This is from John Hoven report from last year:
Known as primarily a puck-mover, Spence is starting to find a greater appreciation for the defensive side of things.
Like most prospects his age, he’ll need to find another step in his skating, add some speed, and needs to build strength (which will also enhance his skating).
 
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kinghock said:
This is from John Hoven report from last year:
Known as primarily a puck-mover, Spence is starting to find a greater appreciation for the defensive side of things.
Like most prospects his age, he’ll need to find another step in his skating, add some speed, and needs to build strength (which will also enhance his skating).
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If that's his quote, I don't understand how that translates to "really bad" on the defensive side.
 
kinghock said:
Defensemen with the following issues: skating, speed, and strength sound great on defensive side.
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He's agile as all hell. They're just talking about explosiveness/top end speed.

Strength--obviously he's a little on the smaller side--as pointed out, neither is something to worry about at this point, BOTH are normal concerns for a younger player especially one on his trajectory--and again, he was a FOURTH rounder, so of course he's 'flawed'--but his rise has been meteoric. He wouldn't have been included on a Team Canada flush entirely with 1st rounders if he were 'really bad' defensively.

I think you're reading too much into it
 
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Raccoon Jesus said:
He's agile as all hell. They're just talking about explosiveness/top end speed.

Strength--obviously he's a little on the smaller side--as pointed out, neither is something to worry about at this point, BOTH are normal concerns for a younger player especially one on his trajectory--and again, he was a FOURTH rounder, so of course he's 'flawed'--but his rise has been meteoric. He wouldn't have been included on a Team Canada flush entirely with 1st rounders if he were 'really bad' defensively.

I think you're reading too much into it
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Yes, he was included on a Team Canada, but only played only like 10 minutes for tournament.
I have watched few of games he played and was not impressed.
Again, it is only my opinion.
 
kinghock said:
Yes, he was included on a Team Canada, but only played only like 10 minutes for tournament.
I have watched few of games he played and was not impressed.
Again, it is only my opinion.
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He was by FAR the lowest drafted player to surprise and make the squad. Acquitted himself well when he was played. Honestly just making a team that stacked is a major accomplishment and speaks to his development post draft.
 
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He's a 4th rd pick. He's the kind of guy that has to make you excited about his potential, not be excited about his potential and then see what happens.
 
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Spence, like an other undersized D man in North America, will have to show or at least develop over time enough strength to hold his own in his own end. He may already have it, we just don't now yet. He sounds like he has a lot of offensive potential, but it's a big step up to the pros, so it's likely he'll have his challenges. I remember how excited many where when the Reign obtained Jordan Subban. He was a dynamic undersized puck mover. He was rag dolled almost every night on the D side, so he didn't stick around for long. I hope Spence can show he belongs and makes the Reign. Not fun to get sent back down to juniors for an overager season. It happened to Phillips also, he couldn't hang and wasn't getting enough playing time so he was sent back to the OHL in 19-20. Although he had some pretty horrendous turnovers last season, Phillips continued to improve as the season wore along and ended up being a plus player for the season as he adapted to the pace of the play as a pro.
 
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I guess it's just my opinion but Spence has impressed me.

From the prospect thread:

"Just won QMJHL Defenseman of the year. It’s pretty rare that an 18 year old wins this award, especially one who went undrafted hist first year eligible in the Q.

His trajectory the last three seasons has been pretty insane and Kings fans should be thrilled in what they have here. I’ve stated since the draft he should be a 1st/2nd round pick.

He was pretty lacklustre as a 15 year old which leads him to go undrafted in the Q. Tears apart his league as a 16 year old and gets drafted as an overage draftee by Moncton in the second round. Has a very unexpected rookie season scoring almost 50points quarterbacking Moncton’s PP but some defensive concerns lead him to being a mid NHL draft pick.

Comes back to Moncton and is dominant in all areas of the ice as an 18 year old, wins D of the year. Really curious to see what he works on for next season as he had very few holes to his game. Getting bigger and more physical for next season would solidify him for me as a future top 4 all around type D. Think Jared Spurgeon IMO. "

D of the year has some good ones, too...Girard, Chabot, Kulikov...

I'm not comparing him to first rounders, that's all you can hope for and more from a 4th rounder.
 
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Spence has shown a lot of maturation in his game. He doesn't do one thing exceptionally, which, mixing in his size, can be an issue.

However, it's his adaptability which is very impressive.

He was rookie of the year in his draft year. He became defenseman of the year the following season. Then he became the No. 1 defenseman on the best defensive team in the league (2 teams had fewer goals against, but they both had fewer games played in the season). He doubled the 2nd highest defenseman scorer in the playoffs, playing in fewer games.

He could grow and become a Visnovsky type of player - not necessarily impact. But he was a skilled player who played well within his means despite his lack of size. He relied more on body position and stick work rather than strength.
 
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King'sPawn said:
Spence has shown a lot of maturation in his game. He doesn't do one thing exceptionally, which, mixing in his size, can be an issue.

However, it's his adaptability which is very impressive.

He was rookie of the year in his draft year. He became defenseman of the year the following season. Then he became the No. 1 defenseman on the best defensive team in the league (2 teams had fewer goals against, but they both had fewer games played in the season). He doubled the 2nd highest defenseman scorer in the playoffs, playing in fewer games.

He could grow and become a Visnovsky type of player - not necessarily impact. But he was a skilled player who played well within his means despite his lack of size. He relied more on body position and stick work rather than strength.
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I really like the Spurgeon comp too. Impactful without huge point totals.
 
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I am speculating that Bjornfot starts the year in Ontario, with Clague and Wolanin battling for the 6/7 spots with Maatta, loser leaving on waivers.

Bjornfot and Moverare, should he stay in NA, would both be valuable help for Grans in his first year away from home.

And just to pile on to the Ontario experience, if you are respectful its not difficult to get into conversations with the staff. I have had several opportunities to speak with Emerson, great guy. Asked him once about how the Pacioretty deal would have affected the Reign, and he joked about how they would have to sign half the NCAA just to keep their jobs.
 
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bland said:
I am speculating that Bjornfot starts the year in Ontario, with Clague and Wolanin battling for the 6/7 spots with Maatta, loser leaving on waivers.

Bjornfot and Moverare, should he stay in NA, would both be valuable help for Grans in his first year away from home.

And just to pile on to the Ontario experience, if you are respectful its not difficult to get into conversations with the staff. I have had several opportunities to speak with Emerson, great guy. Asked him once about how the Pacioretty deal would have affected the Reign, and he joked about how they would have to sign half the NCAA just to keep their jobs.
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What was the rumored pacioretty trade?
Anyone remember?
My memory is shorter than my Richard
 
LT Dan said:
What was the rumored pacioretty trade?
Anyone remember?
My memory is shorter than my Richard
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Can't say for certain, obviously, but word was Muzzin, JAD and the 2nd round pick used on Akil Thomas.

So JAD, Thomas, Bjornfot, Grundstrom and Durzi or Pacioretty. Funny thing is that I am sure some here would make that trade right now.
 
Did some google search.

Kings Backed Out Of Trade For Pacioretty.


The Kings were interested in acquiring some scoring punch at the deadline and Pacioretty would be the perfect fit due to his low cap hit.
However the deal fell apart when the Canadiens demands simply ended up being too high for the Kings.

According to Friedman, the Canadiens wouldn't move from their asking price of Tyler Toffoli, top prospect Gabe Vilardi and a draft pick.

Toffoli ended up going to Montreal a couple years later. Funny how that goes.
 
bland said:
Can't say for certain, obviously, but word was Muzzin, JAD and the 2nd round pick used on Akil Thomas.

So JAD, Thomas, Bjornfot, Grundstrom and Durzi or Pacioretty. Funny thing is that I am sure some here would make that trade right now.
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That's not how you look at a trade. You don't know who Muzzin would've eventually been traded for, and don't know who would've been taken by Montreal with the pick. You look at the deal at the moment of the trade, and that's it.

That's the same as SJ traded Stutzle for Karlsson. No, they did not.
 
KingsFan7824 said:
That's not how you look at a trade. You don't know who Muzzin would've eventually been traded for, and don't know who would've been taken by Montreal with the pick. You look at the deal at the moment of the trade, and that's it.

That's the same as SJ traded Stutzle for Karlsson. No, they did not.
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You can look at it any way you want, but that IS what happened and I prefer to deal with the reality of things instead of wording things in a manner that doesn't set off message board hall monitors who never have anything of value to say.

Muzzin was going to be dealt regardless of it being that trade or the next. His deal was coming up and they weren't going to re-sign him. I don't give a soaked, barren, or moderately moistened fart how you choose to see it.
 
Mattias said:
Did some google search.

Kings Backed Out Of Trade For Pacioretty.


The Kings were interested in acquiring some scoring punch at the deadline and Pacioretty would be the perfect fit due to his low cap hit.
However the deal fell apart when the Canadiens demands simply ended up being too high for the Kings.

According to Friedman, the Canadiens wouldn't move from their asking price of Tyler Toffoli, top prospect Gabe Vilardi and a draft pick.

Toffoli ended up going to Montreal a couple years later. Funny how that goes.
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That report is wildly inaccurate. The deal was already set, not for any of those pieces, and the only reason it didn't happen was that they gave Pacioretty minimal time to sign off on a 6 x 6 contract and he was so upset by the way it was handled that he fired his agent.

Muzzin was the pro player because of the contract. They needed to clear more than what Toffoli was being paid to gain the cap space needed for Pacioretty AND Kovalchuk, not one or the other.
 
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bland said:
he was so upset by the way it was handled that he fired his agent
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That's the only part that matters. Everybody can clutch their pearls as hard as they want over what might have been but the reality is the entire deal hinged on something that was never going to happen.
 
For the record, Patches fired Pat Brisson (Luc’s BFF) and signed with Alan Walsh, famous for tweeting the stabbed in the back picture of Fleury during the playoffs. At the time, Luc was quoted saying the deal never got far enough along to get down to the player killing it by not signing an extension.

Agent denies report Max Pacioretty wants out of Montreal - Sportsnet.ca

Sorry in advance for being off topic.
 
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