Ontario Reign 21-22 : I'm only happy when it Reigns

[kings11]

Yep guy needs some protein and gym time. If he can pack on 20 lbs he'll be good to go.

This isn’t the NFL, he isn’t packing on 20lbs before he plays on the Kings.
He’ll start right around where he is now and will need to slightly adjust his game which he’s capable of doing. The weight and strength gains will happen as he matures.. the kid is likely to never be over 195-200lbs.

 

[Trash Panda]

This isn’t the NFL, he isn’t packing on 20lbs before he plays on the Kings.
He’ll start right around where he is now and will need to slightly adjust his game which he’s capable of doing. The weight and strength gains will happen as he matures.. the kid is likely to never be over 195-200lbs.

200 pounds at his height is pretty damned burly for a guy not in the NFL.

He will be just fine.

 

[Eagle Fang]

This isn’t the NFL, he isn’t packing on 20lbs before he plays on the Kings.
He’ll start right around where he is now and will need to slightly adjust his game which he’s capable of doing. The weight and strength gains will happen as he matures.. the kid is likely to never be over 195-200lbs.

Have you watched him play in the AHL? I was half joking about adding 20lbs, but he isn't ready physically for the NHL yet. Skill, IQ, work ethic yes, but he'll get abused in the NHL right now. If it were up to me, which it's not, I'd give him a call up for a taste of real NHL action, but let him grow in the AHL and have him push for a roster spot next season.

 

[kings11]

Have you watched him play in the AHL? I was half joking about adding 20lbs, but he isn't ready physically for the NHL yet. Skill, IQ, work ethic yes, but he'll get abused in the NHL right now. If it were up to me, which it's not, I'd give him a call up for a taste of real NHL action, but let him grow in the AHL and have him push for a roster spot next season.

I have, just watch him last week vs the silver knights.. whose were pretty physical
He looked really, really good..
if you watch him live rather than on tv, you’ll notice just how much better he is vs last season and he is also noticeably bigger and stronger.
The biggest thing I noticed is his IQ and awareness, unlike most of the team he knows exactly where to be and what to do. If people are waiting for him to physically mature you’ll be waiting a few years. There isn’t going to be a difference between this year and next, his biggest issues have been illness/injuries

 

[Fishhead]

Turcotte is 5 pounds lighter than Mike Richards was when he was drafted, and it was a much rougher and bigger league back then. I don't think size will be that much of an issue. MR played around 195, I think Alex will hit that size without too much trouble, they have similar frames.

 

[Fishhead]

Here is a sampling of the top 30 scorers in the NHL right now who are similar in weight to Turcotte:

Kyle Connor - 182
Troy Terry - 185
Brad Marchand - 181
Johnny Gaudreau - 165
RNH - 184
Lucas Raymond - 182
Patrick Kane - 177
Oliver Bjorkstrand - 177
Mitch Marner - 172
Artemi Panarin - 175
Adam Fox - 183
Claude Giroux - 185

Some of those guys are skinnier, some a little thicker, but I wouldn’t say any of them are getting abused. Turcotte is close to as big or bigger weight wise than 40% of the top 30 in points so far this year. The only player on that list that is younger than Turcotte is Raymond, and he’s literally the exact same size as Alex.

You can’t even argue that some have room to grow, the only one that’s still getting bigger is Raymond. The rest are 23 and older.

 

[cyclones22]

And it ain't like the kid is just eating ding dongs and drinking soda then heading off to games and practices. Dude has been working out like made in the offseason.

 

[Schrute farms]

To play devils advocate a bit, i'd say the one difference is that Turcotte plays a style that is way different than most of those guys listed. He plays a bruiser, go thru guys style....rather than a scoring darter/floater type like Raymond, JG, Kane, Panarian, etc.

But overall, i agree with you. He will be fine. Likely he'll adjust a bit (i hope) to save his body somewhat LT.

 

[Eagle Fang]

I have, just watch him last week vs the silver knights.. whose were pretty physical
He looked really, really good..
if you watch him live rather than on tv, you’ll notice just how much better he is vs last season and he is also noticeably bigger and stronger.
The biggest thing I noticed is his IQ and awareness, unlike most of the team he knows exactly where to be and what to do. If people are waiting for him to physically mature you’ll be waiting a few years. There isn’t going to be a difference between this year and next, his biggest issues have been illness/injuries

We just have to agree to disagree then. It's incredibly clear to me that he's just not strong enough yet FOR THE TYPE OF GAME HE PLAYS. I'm a huge Turcotte fan and have supported the pick and his progress. Beast at the WJCs and showed a lot of great things last year but against older, stronger players he's often out matched physically. No one is questioning his skill, IQ or compete.

The Henderson game is a great example actually. He was put on his ass a few times including one where he basically leveled himself when he went to hit a guy who wasn't even paying attention to him.

And you think 1 year won't make a difference, yet you think he's noticeably bigger and stronger this year compared to last...

If you take Tyler Madden as a comparative, he could use some added strength, but imo it isn't as much of an issue because he plays a very different type of game.

Regardless, would love nothing more than to be wrong. I hope he gets a call up and does his thing because I think he'll be a big part of the team.

 

[Fishhead]

We just have to agree to disagree then. It's incredibly clear to me that he's just not strong enough yet FOR THE TYPE OF GAME HE PLAYS. I'm a huge Turcotte fan and have supported the pick and his progress. Beast at the WJCs and showed a lot of great things last year but against older, stronger players he's often out matched physically. No one is questioning his skill, IQ or compete.

The Henderson game is a great example actually. He was put on his ass a few times including one where he basically leveled himself when he went to hit a guy who wasn't even paying attention to him.

And you think 1 year won't make a difference, yet you think he's noticeably bigger and stronger this year compared to last...

If you take Tyler Madden as a comparative, he could use some added strength, but imo it isn't as much of an issue because he plays a very different type of game.

Regardless, would love nothing more than to be wrong. I hope he gets a call up and does his thing because I think he'll be a big part of the team.

He will definitely have to tone it down a bit, I think, he needs to be a little smarter when he goes in even in the AHL. One can still play with that edge and pick their spots. I think as he matures he will do that, he's got good IQ. Kupari does exactly that, and he probably weighs about the same as Turcotte.

If he puts on a little more mass and gets a dirty streak like Marchand I would be ecstatic.

 

[King'sPawn]

Turcotte will need to add little muscle mass. It's about learning how to use that weight effectively.

 

[Eye of Ra]

how is grans handling the physicality of ahl?

 

[bland]

Turcotte will need to add little muscle mass. It's about learning how to use that weight effectively.

And it takes a bit to learn what you can handle at each level. The smart ones manage their physicality. Its not as though he is Lizotte, whose modest skill won't support any drop off in pure effort. Lizotte has to put his body on the line every night. Turcotte chooses to - and will learn how to pick his spots.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

how is grans handling the physicality of ahl?

He's looked good from that standpoint, not shy at all. Not imposing really either. I still like the Brent Burns comp in that regard. He looks like he's the biggest dude on the ice most of the time but won't put anything extra into his hits. In any case it hasn't affected his game, outside of just calculating distances and time/space.

 

[cyclones22]

And it takes a bit to learn what you can handle at each level. The smart ones manage their physicality. Its not as though he is Lizotte, whose modest skill won't support any drop off in pure effort. Lizotte has to put his body on the line every night. Turcotte chooses to - and will learn how to pick his spots.

And people mistake Turcotte's mindset for his skill level. He's not just some north-south player who is undersized. He's a great skater and puck-handler who can go east-west just as well. He's a high skill level player who likes to mix it up.

 

[Eagle Fang]

He will definitely have to tone it down a bit, I think, he needs to be a little smarter when he goes in even in the AHL. One can still play with that edge and pick their spots. I think as he matures he will do that, he's got good IQ. Kupari does exactly that, and he probably weighs about the same as Turcotte.

If he puts on a little more mass and gets a dirty streak like Marchand I would be ecstatic.

For sure and no doubt he will. I don't know if he'll have a dirty streak, but he's definitely not afraid of the dirty areas.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

And people mistake Turcotte's mindset for his skill level. He's not just some north-south player who is undersized. He's a great skater and puck-handler who can go east-west just as well. He's a high skill level player who likes to mix it up.

I think people overlook this. Top six skillset, bottom six mindset.

 

[Eagle Fang]

Nice tenacity on the puck by Turcotte. Moverare with the goal.

 

[Sybil227]

Paywalled, but if you want more opinions:
How are Alex Turcotte, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and other Kings prospects progressing? Their AHL coach explains

Hope this isn't too long of a quote to put up here:
"What I tell him, and what I think that he ultimately believes, is that you were drafted to be Alex Turcotte. We know where you live, and where you thrive. And that’s down in the trenches. It’s at the net front. It’s in the corners. It’s doing the dirty work. That’s why L.A. drafted you.

But not many 18- and 19-year-olds, that their games thrive on grit and tenacity, are ready to make the jump to the NHL. You got to work through that and find your way against men who’ve been playing this game for 10 years in the minors"

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Nice tenacity on the puck by Turcotte. Moverare with the goal.

Tuned in just in time for this, stupid time change

Nice rush at the end, Frk just BURIED a guy, annoyed that he didn't score so threw a huge hit instead

Good period from what I saw, just sloppy

 

[Choralone]

Paywalled, but if you want more opinions:
How are Alex Turcotte, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and other Kings prospects progressing? Their AHL coach explains

Yeah, Dillman covers a lot of territory with Wroblewski, with conversations about each of the following: Frk, Kaliyev, Kupari, Villalta, JAD, and Turcotte. They also have a brief bit about Spence and Grans:

You’re obviously impacted by things that go on at the big club, and with the injuries, especially on defense to Drew Doughty and Sean Walker. Presumably, the trickle-down effect means more is required from Jordan Spence and Helge Grans. How have they responded to that challenge in their first professional season in North America?

Of course, they’ve had their rookie moments, and some of them have even ended up in our net, but the best part about them having those rookie moments is that they’re learning on the fly, and they’re not costing the team, and they’re helping the team as well.

At this point, they’re showing what they were drafted for, the offensive prowess and just being able to get up and down the sheet, their passing, their distribution, and then their offensive zone play.

You can already see that they’re going to be playing for a long time. They’re great kids and they seem to really enjoy the coaching, which isn’t always the case. Some guys will listen, and they’ll do what they’re asked, but these guys actually seem to really enjoy the tutelage and the studying part of the game.

 

[Eagle Fang]

Tuned in just in time for this, stupid time change

Nice rush at the end, Frk just BURIED a guy, annoyed that he didn't score so threw a huge hit instead

Good period from what I saw, just sloppy

Haha yep, Frk just obliterated some poor guy! I missed the first 10 of the game too, but it sounded like ONT was getting dominated early on. Looked pretty even when I started watching so hopefully that carries over into period 2

 

[Sybil227]

Hudson Fasching is their leading scorer. I remember when we drafted him, I thought he was going to be good.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Holy shit what a play. Dudas goal from Spence after an extended sequence on the PP that continued after the Roadrunner came out of the box...still looked like the PP, just unreal movement.

 

[Eagle Fang]

Domination shift