Ontario Reign 20-21

[Raccoon Jesus]

It's completely fair to wonder if Turcotte will be worthy of a Top 5 selection in his draft year based on the current progress of the 2019 draftees.

We'd all take Zegras and Cozens probably. Detroit still keeps Seider over him. The four before him remain above him.

It doesn't mean he is garbage but it's completely fair to wonder if they missed on the pick a bit.

Maybe Blake is really following the Lombardi rebuild by making the wrong pick with his first Top 5 selection. The injury thing is a legit issue right now.

Different draft slot but I think the Vilardi comparison is fair.

So many people gave up on him right away because it was going to take a little longer with the injuries. I firmly remember a common poster saying "call me when he hits NHL ice," and one more calling his career over. well, he did it, and said posters can't own it. I believe that will happen here, too.

As I said above concern is fine. But I'm not going to dumpster him because he takes a little longer, and especially not after four f***ing pro games, especially when he looked very strong throughout, but box score watching damns him. And again this isn't an exclusive-to-Turcotte issue. Tyler Madden, the darling of the preseason, has one point but no one is teeing off on him--how come?

 

[Mats26]

I said it on the main boards that Turcotte has to change his game to produce and stay injury free at the Pro level. He can't be banging and crashing all the time. Needs to pick his spots. Hopefully it's nothing serious maybe just a tweak from his WJC injury?

Just a thought:
If we compare Turcotte to Brayden Schenn, both being #5 picks for LA. Will Turc end up being the better player?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I said it on the main boards that Turcotte has to change his game to produce and stay injury free at the Pro level. He can't be banging and crashing all the time. Needs to pick his spots. Hopefully it's nothing serious maybe just a tweak from his WJC injury?

Just a thought:
If we compare Turcotte to Brayden Schenn, both being #5 picks for LA. Will Turc end up being the better player?

It took Schenn a long time to really get going, too. Let's hope we don't have to wait as long to find out.

 

[Mats26]

It took Schenn a long time to really get going, too. Let's hope we don't have to wait as long to find out.

Thought he played well with the flyers right after the trade. You can tell he was putting it together after each year. He also smoked the AHL, think he was a PPG player.

For me Turcotte has to produce, I can deal with the injuries if he' scoring.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

Turcotte out with a lower body injury again, not expected to play Wednesday.

Poop

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Thought he played well with the flyers right after the trade. You can tell he was putting it together after each year. He also smoked the AHL, think he was a PPG player.

For me Turcotte has to produce, I can deal with the injuries if he' scoring.

He thrashed the AHL, but he didn't really get going in the NHL until ~24, at least with regards to production. That's what I was thinking of. And I agree he was always growing--I'd like to think Turcotte could arrive there faster but the injuries are really continually derailing him every time he gets going and it sucks.

 

[All The Kings Men]

You can hear exactly what Wroblewski said about Turcotte here.

 

[BigKing]

Different draft slot but I think the Vilardi comparison is fair.

So many people gave up on him right away because it was going to take a little longer with the injuries. I firmly remember a common poster saying "call me when he hits NHL ice," and one more calling his career over. well, he did it, and said posters can't own it. I believe that will happen here, too.

As I said above concern is fine. But I'm not going to dumpster him because he takes a little longer, and especially not after four f***ing pro games, especially when he looked very strong throughout, but box score watching damns him. And again this isn't an exclusive-to-Turcotte issue. Tyler Madden, the darling of the preseason, has one point but no one is teeing off on him--how come?

I'm not saying he is Hickey, but I said first Top 5 pick and not first ever selection.

Turcotte hasn't looked bad but Madden has looked better. Madden is also a 3rd round pick whereas Turcotte was the reward for suffering through the 2019 season.

I don't dislike Turcotte at all. Think he's a great player. Can he stay healthy and is he the right guy at #5 are extremely valid questions, however.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

Different draft slot but I think the Vilardi comparison is fair.

So many people gave up on him right away because it was going to take a little longer with the injuries. I firmly remember a common poster saying "call me when he hits NHL ice," and one more calling his career over. well, he did it, and said posters can't own it. I believe that will happen here, too.

As I said above concern is fine. But I'm not going to dumpster him because he takes a little longer, and especially not after four f***ing pro games, especially when he looked very strong throughout, but box score watching damns him. And again this isn't an exclusive-to-Turcotte issue. Tyler Madden, the darling of the preseason, has one point but no one is teeing off on him--how come?

I was one who needed to see Vilardi on this ice before I believed in him. That was exclusively based off of a history of NHL players having their career derailed by back injuries. Turcotte isn't a good comparison because some are questioning him based on his on ice production. I'm much more patient with talented players who are are not world beaters immediately.

 

[funky]

Very young kid playing pro hockey for the first time. Was injured in the gold medal game at the WJC and stayed in the game to the bitter end.

the kid brought it when it counted scoring the game winning goal in that game and was on the ice when Zegras put in the only other goal.

that injury kept him out of most the AHL camp and was only activated 12 days ago.

I too have concerns with his injury history but I am not gonna worry about his offense just yet. Just hopes he shakes those injuries so we can actually see what we have.

shout out to Fagemo and Kupari who seem to know how to find the back of the net and to Byfield on his first of many.

 

[Herby]

You can hear exactly what Wroblewski said about Turcotte here.

He is very well spoken, contrast him with Sutter, ha. He is right with his description of a couple of the games, they’ve deserved better.

But damn he laid into Brickley/Durzi bad. “We’ve been doing scraping the puck out of our net to much with those 2 out there”

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'm not saying he is Hickey, but I said first Top 5 pick and not first ever selection.

Turcotte hasn't looked bad but Madden has looked better. Madden is also a 3rd round pick whereas Turcotte was the reward for suffering through the 2019 season.

I don't dislike Turcotte at all. Think he's a great player. Can he stay healthy and is he the right guy at #5 are extremely valid questions, however.

Yes, but I think most would agree it's a little too early for those questions to have answers, though. Especially when he has a history of production when healthy (hell, even when not if you put stock into the WJC at all--which often say I don't so unfair to reference it).

Yes, Madden has looked fantastic but if we're ripping people on 4 games of production my point is there's enough 'blame' to go around (I'd translate 'blame' to 'other goaltenders currently look like prime Vladislav Tretiak' but whatever the euphemism it's the case). look to Turcotte as a leader, sure, based on history and draft pedigree. But disproportionate critcism when we're rushing to judgments on one player alone.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Turcotte out with a lower body injury again, not expected to play Wednesday.

Tough to hear young Turcotte out again! Love his skating and work on the face-off dot! Impressed me during the World Juniors and continues to,all at 19 years old! He's a Center period! No wing for him please!Always looking to make a play,sometimes I wish he'd shoot more! In the AHL he's one of the youngest and I bet one of the fastest!

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

He is very well spoken, contrast him with Sutter, ha. He is right with his description of a couple of the games, they’ve deserved better.

But damn he laid into Brickley/Durzi bad. “We’ve been doing scraping the puck out of our net to much with those 2 out there”

I don't blame Durzi so much as the whole team! Defense needs to be a total team effort...if the D-man leads an attack someone has to play back and cover! Besides that he's playing a lot minutes for a 2nd year pro...regular duty,PP,PK?When the Kings send a D-man or two back perhaps they don't miscast him? I liked his "Quarterbacking" and passing on the PP's against Tucson,he's got skills there!Brickley isn't too bad either,at times he looks shaky but hey he's got two markers already! He's better than the "player" that got sent to Manitoba Moose for Michael Spacek a year ago or so!

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

It's completely fair to wonder if Turcotte will be worthy of a Top 5 selection in his draft year based on the current progress of the 2019 draftees.

We'd all take Zegras and Cozens probably. Detroit still keeps Seider over him. The four before him remain above him.

It doesn't mean he is garbage but it's completely fair to wonder if they missed on the pick a bit.

Maybe Blake is really following the Lombardi rebuild by making the wrong pick with his first Top 5 selection. The injury thing is a legit issue right now.

Do you have a Crystal Ball or maybe you're a Soothsayer or shaman? Turcotte is going to be fine,us Kings fans like the pick and wish only good things for young Alex Turcotte

 

[All The Kings Men]

He is very well spoken, contrast him with Sutter, ha. He is right with his description of a couple of the games, they’ve deserved better.

But damn he laid into Brickley/Durzi bad. “We’ve been doing scraping the puck out of our net to much with those 2 out there”

He's great. I just hope it's not because he's not been drilled out of it yet. He frequently gives really insightful honest answers to questions and sometimes answers the questions that we didn't even think to ask!

 

[regulate]

Reign highlights:
The good: Reign fought back from a two goal deficit, overall the effort is there, Byfield gets his 1st pro goal, Kaliyev his 1st AHL point, Hults makes his pro debut, Reign collect their 1st point of the season.

The bad: Inconsistent goaltending, defensive breakdowns, and seemingly beating themselves with mental and physical mistakes, all part of the learning process for a team full of professional rookies. Turcotte injured yet again. Lower body.

The ugly: Brickley and Durzi were a combined -14 in the 1st 4 games + 2/3 of this game before Wrobo made a change in the pairings. That sparked the comeback as the team was better in the 3rd period.

Goals breakdown:

1st goal: During a scrum along the boards in the Tucson zone, Byfield's entire forward line was below the puck. When Brickley loses the puck battle and Tucson kicks the puck ahead, Durzi loses the speed and strength battle on the rush, 1-0 Roadrunners.

2nd goal: Tucson passes the puck to a man in the neutral zone along the boards. That player hit a man at full speed in transition, with Brickley going for the kamikaze steal and missing everything, leading to a 2 on 1 rush with Durzi the loan defender. He fails to block either pass leaving Berube hanging out to dry. 2-0 Roadrunners.

3rd goal: Reign come out firing in the 3rd period, a rebound off of Kaliyev's shot and Byfield picks up the garbage and roofs a shot for his first pro goal from in tight.

4th goal: As the penalty is expiring on Tucson, Durzi's soft dish at the top of the slot to an unencumbered Fagemo, and he wastes no time blasting a one-timer in the lower right corner. We're tied.

5th goal: With Tucson pressuring, a pass off the end boards to to the left of Berube caroms to Roy a few feet but to the side of Berube. Berube is leaning but fails to seal off the post and a soft flip shot finds the back of the net. Hults was about 5 ft from his man. Roadrunners regain the lead.

6th goal: The Reign come right back, Brickley fires a shot from just inside the blue line which changes direction to tie the game back up. It looked as if Byfield may have tipped it from up high, but the official scoring never changed. Tie game.

OT: Byfield steals the puck behind his own net and sees Madden breaking. He hesitates for a split second as two defenders are in the way, then attempts to flip the puck over them puck partially fans on the pass and it's intercepted inside the blue line of the Reign. They immediately counter-attack with Madden trying desperately to get back, Alt partially blocks a one-touch pass attempt to and open man in front, which dribbles to the front of Berube who fails to covers the puck immediately and Tucson taps the puck into the net for the game winner as Madden can't tie up his man.

Tucson 4
Reign 3

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

You say I'm extremely critical, I think you continue to give a free pass more than I criticize. Last year what was it, Granato and his teammates? + The Mike Richards viral infection for the entire Big Ten season. Remember that? You think I am overly critical, but at what point do you get concerned at all?

We're 5 games in and he has yet to find the scoresheet and is now going to miss time with an injury, so it's more than likely that he ends up struggling offensively than not
But would you be happier if I said, second straight year where a player the Kings expect to be a dominant offensive player isn't?

The other one is just ridiculous to even compare apples to pickup trucks. Players, especially defenseman took much longer to develop then, and I was just giving credit to Boucher for sticking with it when basically the entire league had given up on him. I don't know how that compares to discussing Alex Turcotte and comparing him vs. players that were picked around him. If Alex Turcotte is Phillipe Boucher it's awful for the Kings.

Edit: Maybe we should move this to a different thread as to not clutter the Reign thread

5 games does not a career make! Players need to find some chemistry! At the World Junior he played with Kaliyev. Doesn't seem to work in the AHL because Turcotte is 200 foot player while Kaliyev is a scorer trying to find his way! Perhaps there's a better fit with Turcotte,Kaliyev throughout the lineup?Things will work out!Be positive be happy!

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Reign highlights:
The good: Reign fought back from a two goal deficit, overall the effort is there, Byfield gets his 1st pro goal, Kaliyev his 1st AHL point, Hults makes his pro debut, Reign collect their 1st point of the season.

The bad: Inconsistent goaltending, defensive breakdowns, and seemingly beating themselves with mental and physical mistakes, all part of the learning process for a team full of professional rookies. Turcotte injured yet again. Lower body.

The ugly: Brickley and Durzi were a combined -14 in the 1st 4 games + 2/3 of this game before Wrobo made a change in the pairings. That sparked the comeback as the team was better in the 3rd period.

Goals breakdown:

1st goal: During a scrum along the boards in the Tucson zone, Byfield's entire forward line was below the puck. When Brickley loses the puck battle and Tucson kicks the puck ahead, Durzi loses the speed and strength battle on the rush, 1-0 Roadrunners.

2nd goal: Tucson passes the puck to a man in the neutral zone along the boards. That player hit a man at full speed in transition, with Brickley going for the kamikaze steal and missing everything, leading to a 2 on 1 rush with Durzi the loan defender. He fails to block either pass leaving Berube hanging out to dry. 2-0 Roadrunners.

3rd goal: Reign come out firing in the 3rd period, a rebound off of Kaliyev's shot and Byfield picks up the garbage and roofs a shot for his first pro goal from in tight.

4th goal: As the penalty is expiring on Tucson, Durzi's soft dish at the top of the slot to an unencumbered Fagemo, and he wastes no time blasting a one-timer in the lower right corner. We're tied.

5th goal: With Tucson pressuring, a pass off the end boards to to the left of Berube caroms to Roy a few feet but to the side of Berube. Berube is leaning but fails to seal off the post and a soft flip shot finds the back of the net. Hults was about 5 ft from his man. Roadrunners regain the lead.

6th goal: The Reign come right back, Brickley fires a shot from just inside the blue line which changes direction to tie the game back up. It looked as if Byfield may have tipped it from up high, but the official scoring never changed. Tie game.

OT: Byfield steals the puck behind his own net and sees Madden breaking. He hesitates for a split second as two defenders are in the way, then attempts to flip the puck over them puck partially fans on the pass and it's intercepted inside the blue line of the Reign. They immediately counter-attack with Madden trying desperately to get back, Alt partially blocks a one-touch pass attempt to and open man in front, which dribbles to the front of Berube who fails to covers the puck immediately and Tucson taps the puck into the net for the game winner as Madden can't tie up his man.

Tucson 4
Reign 3

Finished ugly...but take the point and move on! Hope the next practice and game are more in this vein...where the Reign came back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to gain a point

 

[Herby]

Do you have a Crystal Ball or maybe you're a Soothsayer or shaman? Turcotte is going to be fine,us Kings fans like the pick and wish only good things for young Alex Turcotte

So anyone who isn’t 100% on board or is in any way doubting the pick or the development of the player isn’t a true fan of the Kings and wishes ill on Turcotte?

Just so you know the guy you replied to has been posting here for 18 years, “us kings fans” lol.

 

[Herby]

Reign highlights:
The good: Reign fought back from a two goal deficit, overall the effort is there, Byfield gets his 1st pro goal, Kaliyev his 1st AHL point, Hults makes his pro debut, Reign collect their 1st point of the season.

The bad: Inconsistent goaltending, defensive breakdowns, and seemingly beating themselves with mental and physical mistakes, all part of the learning process for a team full of professional rookies. Turcotte injured yet again. Lower body.

The ugly: Brickley and Durzi were a combined -14 in the 1st 4 games + 2/3 of this game before Wrobo made a change in the pairings. That sparked the comeback as the team was better in the 3rd period.

Goals breakdown:

1st goal: During a scrum along the boards in the Tucson zone, Byfield's entire forward line was below the puck. When Brickley loses the puck battle and Tucson kicks the puck ahead, Durzi loses the speed and strength battle on the rush, 1-0 Roadrunners.

2nd goal: Tucson passes the puck to a man in the neutral zone along the boards. That player hit a man at full speed in transition, with Brickley going for the kamikaze steal and missing everything, leading to a 2 on 1 rush with Durzi the loan defender. He fails to block either pass leaving Berube hanging out to dry. 2-0 Roadrunners.

3rd goal: Reign come out firing in the 3rd period, a rebound off of Kaliyev's shot and Byfield picks up the garbage and roofs a shot for his first pro goal from in tight.

4th goal: As the penalty is expiring on Tucson, Durzi's soft dish at the top of the slot to an unencumbered Fagemo, and he wastes no time blasting a one-timer in the lower right corner. We're tied.

5th goal: With Tucson pressuring, a pass off the end boards to to the left of Berube caroms to Roy a few feet but to the side of Berube. Berube is leaning but fails to seal off the post and a soft flip shot finds the back of the net. Hults was about 5 ft from his man. Roadrunners regain the lead.

6th goal: The Reign come right back, Brickley fires a shot from just inside the blue line which changes direction to tie the game back up. It looked as if Byfield may have tipped it from up high, but the official scoring never changed. Tie game.

OT: Byfield steals the puck behind his own net and sees Madden breaking. He hesitates for a split second as two defenders are in the way, then attempts to flip the puck over them puck partially fans on the pass and it's intercepted inside the blue line of the Reign. They immediately counter-attack with Madden trying desperately to get back, Alt partially blocks a one-touch pass attempt to and open man in front, which dribbles to the front of Berube who fails to covers the puck immediately and Tucson taps the puck into the net for the game winner as Madden can't tie up his man.

Tucson 4
Reign 3

excellent summary.

Thanks

 

[lumbergh]

At this point where we are almost a whole year into this damn pandemic, we've got a bunch of first year pros, with a brand new coach, some players just coming off injuries. I think its absolutely ridiculous to criticize any prospect not just within this organization, but everyone else as well and especially when we are barely a month into the season. Lafreniere has 1 f***ing point this season for crying out loud. Give. Prospects. Time.

Isn’t the bolded part the entire reason this board even exists?

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

So anyone who isn’t 100% on board or is in any way doubting the pick or the development of the player isn’t a true fan of the Kings and wishes ill on Turcotte?

Just so you know the guy you replied to has been posting here for 18 years, “us kings fans” lol.

Been a Kings Fans since the Early years of Widing, Goring,Vachon,Bernier,Murphy,Williams,Murdoch,Sargent, Dionne,Taylor...I think the discussion was about you being so negative about Turcotte and already labeling him a bust...and liking other prospects better...given time everything sorts itself out

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Isn’t the bolded part the entire reason this board even exists?

Absolutely, but take the whole post, not just the boldfaced. There's a whoooooole world of difference between criticizing a prospect and extrapolating "he hasn't scored in his first 5 pro games so he's going to struggle all year."

Criticism is picking at their games, not leaping to conclusions like kids suck after 5 games because they haven't scored/won. That's box score watching, and folks that have watched have seen the same things: we have excellent prospects that are learning the pro ropes while running into hot goalies and struggling with rough defense and goalies behind them.

We all have our favorite prospects and if people want to pick on one in particular, that's an opinion and individual perogative, but one can't be grumpy when asked to defend it, especially when the criticism is disproportionate.

IMO--it's wrong to dumpster anyone after 5 pro games, but picking one guy out as a sacrifice when all but 1-2 are having the same learning curve is just rough is all.

 

[kilowatt]

I think Turcotte's going to be fine. I was pretty hard on Clague after a couple games in the NHL and now he's one of our best defensemen. I think this year, out of any year, we should be extra lenient with how these kids are playing. It's been such a weird year, these guys haven't been playing the schedules they're accustomed to, and most of them have never played together before. Plus, Turcotte has even less chemistry than the rest of these guys because he didn't get to play in the preseason.

With that said, it's a bummer seeing Turcotte out with another injury, zero points scored so far, and the worst (prior to yesterday's game) plus-minus on the team. I hope that when Turcotte gets back into the lineup, the Reign get Bjornfot and Strand back and have a better defense in place.

Hopefully we can all agree on one thing: we all want all of our prospects to succeed. If we remember that, then disagreements on performance and potential will be more civil.