Ontario Reign 22-23 thread. Nothin' lasts forever, even cold November Reign

[Fishhead]

I know a lot of folks are high on Grans, but I dont think either he nor Fagemo have a future with the org. I think a move for both of them would actually benefit them more as players than anything the organization gets out of it.

 

[Surf Nutz]

I read somewhere , Fagey and Grans were knocked up and therefore scratched,

 

[Schrute farms]

I read somewhere , Fagey and Grans were knocked up and therefore scratched,

Oh great....first Turc with his concussions, Byfield with his ankle and now both Fagemo/Grans get pregnant. Kings prospects can't catch a break. They need to do a better job teaching these kids about contraception.

 

[redcard]

I read somewhere , Fagey and Grans were knocked up and therefore scratched,

Bad luck if they're both out 9 months.

 

[Maynard]

Bad luck if they're both out 9 months.

It’s be a shame if one of them fell down the stairs.

 

[Surf Nutz]

Alard was totally serviceable . I don't like that they gave him away and are now down to just 6D in Ont.

Cuda pbp guy straight calls out Vilalta is better than Cal.

 

[kinghock]

Alard was totally serviceable . I don't like that they gave him away and are now down to just 6D in Ont.

Cuda pbp guy straight calls out Vilalta is better than Cal.

Reign looks horrible today.

Spence looks not very interested playing in AHL anymore.

I cannot blame him at all.

 

[Surf Nutz]

Reign looks horrible today.

Spence looks not very interested playing in AHL anymore.

I cannot blame him at all.

Ya Sturms PP giving up 13 sh g.
Toxic.
I am sure Spence hoped walker would be moved and even adding a left d hurts his callupability

 

[Statto]

If he’s pouting he needs to refocus because it’ll only hurt him. No idea if that’s the case as for 1 game a bit of disappointment is ok. He needs to get his head down and I’m sure he will as he seems a good kid. I fine it strange that he’s not playing because I still think he’s better than Walker/Durzi and I would play Björnfot over Edler. The D would be set in that scenario and then we‘d have the best chance of going deep. I see the argument for Durzi playing over him, especially on the 3rd pair but he’s always such a high risk player defensively I cannot get on board. To win you need players that you can rely on to at least try to make the smart play.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Honestly, at this point I'm betting Spence is nothing to this org but a big trade chip this coming offseason. The way they've treated him is criminal. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one reportedly feeling grumpy earlier this year.

 

[Master Yoda]

For those watching the Reign this season, how has Villalta looked? We've all shit on him for the last two years but his numbers look great.

 

[KingLB]

Honestly, at this point I'm betting Spence is nothing to this org but a big trade chip this coming offseason. The way they've treated him is criminal. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one reportedly feeling grumpy earlier this year.

I doubt it, just because later round picks, even if performing well are never center pieces of a trade, or valued as their 1/2 round brethren.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I doubt it, just because later round picks, even if performing well are never center pieces of a trade, or valued as their 1/2 round brethren.

probably true but I don't mean as the centerpiece necessarily, we detailed the waiver/contracts in another thread and it just doesn't seem like the org has plans for Spence, Fagemo, and a few others, so those two and a pick could fetch something.

Note I'm not advocating it, I'm one of Spence's biggest fans, but they can't just bury him in the A for another year, and it doesn't look like walker is going anywhere anytime soon. If theyr'e not going to open up spots for some guys, they've gotta go somewhere. You can't just have a bunch of 1st and 2nd round-level players/performers hang out in the AHL for life.

 

[kinghock]

For those watching the Reign this season, how has Villalta looked? We've all shit on him for the last two years but his numbers look great.

He was good, but not great this year.
Last game he was bad.

 

[kinghock]

Ya Sturms PP giving up 13 sh g.
Toxic.
I am sure Spence hoped walker would be moved and even adding a left d hurts his callupability

For the last few games Spence was not sharp on defense and created some stupid turnovers.

 

[Surf Nutz]

For the last few games Spence was not sharp on defense and created some stupid turnovers.

The Kings need to bid adieu to Sturm.
Kings PP now 2nd in the league under Jim the professor Hiller.
Great pick up by Blake after recognizing his misstep.

 

[Herby]

Honestly, at this point I'm betting Spence is nothing to this org but a big trade chip this coming offseason. The way they've treated him is criminal. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one reportedly feeling grumpy earlier this year.

I don’t blame him if this the case. He is 22 years old now, so not exactly a kid, his 4th season since being drafted, he has played at a high level in the AHL for two seasons and looked good in his NHL time last year, but can’t see NHL ice this season over Walker and Edler. He is the same age that Voynov was when he was finally given a permanent roster spot.

It’s easy for fans to say that a player should not sulk, be a pro etc. but a guy like Spence, (who most feel is better than the guy in the NHL over him) is missing out on NHL checks to be playing at a level he’s already been a multi-time all-star at. His AHL salary is 70k and his NHL salary is 900k.

He’s a human not a robot.

After thinking on this, I think it's more net positive, but not overwhelmingly so.

I think Vilardi really benefitted, it helped him finally understand what he needed to do and he took off. I don't think JAD is who he is now without it, I think he would have crashed out if he was put right up on the big club. I think it's given Spence a tremendous about of confidence. I do think it benefitted Kupari slightly, although being overseas wouldn't have hurt him either. I don't think he's an NHL scorer, and it helped him find his niche quicker.

I don't think it made much of a difference either way for a few guys. Fagemo is just below NHL regular level, but he was always a tweener guy. I don't think it changed Byfield's trajectory one bit, it may have helped him get back up to speed from his injury but that's all. Same with Bjornfot, I think he'd be about the same or slightly better, but it did help him get back to game speed.

Turcotte is obviously the negative, that decision didn't work out at all. I still feel that if no pandemic is going on he stays down another year, but in any case the AHL was a terrible place for him. Now he's stuck there for the time being. The biggest waste of an asset in a while. I also think it's the absolutely wrong place for Clarke, so if they go that route next year it's nothing but a risk because he won't learn a damn thing there.

The Kings have done an OK job with identifying pathways for prospects, but their mistakes have been glaring.

I have no issues with guys in the AHL at 20 or 21, it’s the teenagers the Kings have consistently sent there that deserves criticism.

It’s tough to give them the benefit of the doubt and blame Covid for the Turcotte disaster signing because none of the other players from that draft other than Zegras (who played the majority of the year in the NHL) were pulled out of college. None of York, Zegras, Knight, Boldy, Caufield, Newhook, Beecher, Johnson or Pinto were signed despite the supposed Covid concerns. It’s just way more likely that the Kings thought their AHL team was a better place for Turcotte to develop, they were wrong, we all know it now and everyone who knew the history of those types of signings knew it was wrong then.

The AHL is a good league for guys as a final step before the NHL. It’s a good league for older and more developed players to learn a professional system after developing their skill at lower levels, it’s not a league for undeveloped (either body or skill) teenagers to try and reach a ceiling. It seems easy to argue that so many of the Kings top prospects struggling to hit their ceiling has a lot to do with AHL exposure sooner than they would have seen for other teams, who have had more success developing higher end guys.

 

[kinghock]

The Kings need to bid adieu to Sturm.
Kings PP now 2nd in the league under Jim the professor Hiller.
Great pick up by Blake after recognizing his misstep.

yes, for sure.
Even Chromiak looks bad on his PP.

 

[KingLB]

probably true but I don't mean as the centerpiece necessarily, we detailed the waiver/contracts in another thread and it just doesn't seem like the org has plans for Spence, Fagemo, and a few others, so those two and a pick could fetch something.

Note I'm not advocating it, I'm one of Spence's biggest fans, but they can't just bury him in the A for another year, and it doesn't look like walker is going anywhere anytime soon. If theyr'e not going to open up spots for some guys, they've gotta go somewhere. You can't just have a bunch of 1st and 2nd round-level players/performers hang out in the AHL for life.

Meh, we knew there wasn’t going to be room for all these picks. Guys like Thomas/Madden/Turcotte/Fagemo really haven’t shown enough to say they deserve a spot over Kupari?

Spence has, so I hope it’s just they figured he would be first or second man up incase of injuries, and this year has been nothing like last year.

Oh and some random love of Edler/Walker..

 

[funky]

At least with the cap room we won’t get dinged with Edlers performance bonus next year.

Edler will be gone. Hopefully replaced by Gavrikov. One spot left. Do they finally trust Bjornfot with it.

doughty and Roy patrol the right side going into next year. That leaves one spot for Walker, Durzi, Spence,and Clarke.

- hopefully Walker and Durzi get moved. Most expensive contracts and I really don’t like Durzi’s defensive game. Clarke may end up in the AHL but Spence cannot be held back any longer.

Up front we need to re-sign Vilardi and find more playing time for Kaliyev. If we can’t find playing time for them we won’t find it for the AHL guys like Fagemo, Madden, Chromiak etc. how many years do they stay down to ripen before they stop progressing?

Needs to be at least one move like Iafallo , Arvidsson, or Moore. If Turcotte comes back do we put him in the AHL or bring him up?

A lot of bodies, not enough chairs.

Then there is the goalie situation

Villalta, Peterson and possibly Portillo

Copley is doing well so far and we will see if Korposalo pans out and gets a contract.

I personally think it’s time to get Spence and Fagemo into the lineup or trade them while they hold value. Would rather see them in the lineup.

 

[Herby]

At least with the cap room we won’t get dinged with Edlers performance bonus next year.

Edler will be gone. Hopefully replaced by Gavrikov. One spot left. Do they finally trust Bjornfot with it.

doughty and Roy patrol the right side going into next year. That leaves one spot for Walker, Durzi, Spence,and Clarke.

- hopefully Walker and Durzi get moved. Most expensive contracts and I really don’t like Durzi’s defensive game. Clarke may end up in the AHL but Spence cannot be held back any longer.

Up front we need to re-sign Vilardi and find more playing time for Kaliyev. If we can’t find playing time for them we won’t find it for the AHL guys like Fagemo, Madden, Chromiak etc. how many years do they stay down to ripen before they stop progressing?

Needs to be at least one move like Iafallo , Arvidsson, or Moore. If Turcotte comes back do we put him in the AHL or bring him up?

A lot of bodies, not enough chairs.

Then there is the goalie situation

Villalta, Peterson and possibly Portillo

Copley is doing well so far and we will see if Korposalo pans out and gets a contract.

I personally think it’s time to get Spence and Fagemo into the lineup or trade them while they hold value. Would rather see them in the lineup.

The Kings are probably going to have four RHD in the lineup next season and two LHD.

The excess prospects and one of the RHD should be traded to try and strengthen the C position, especially if QB ends up as a winger long term. Danault is a high-end 3C type player now and will probably continue to regress a bit. And despite how well he’s playing Kopitar is still a very old player.

Turcotte in the minors, hopefully with a full and healthy season.

Portillo will be the AHL goalie, he will be 23 next season and they traded a decent pick to get him. No way is he in the ECHL.

 

[Schmooley]

The Kings are probably going to have four RHD in the lineup next season and two LHD.

The excess prospects and one of the RHD should be traded to try and strengthen the C position, especially if QB ends up as a winger long term. Danault is a high-end 3C type player now and will probably continue to regress a bit. And despite how well he’s playing Kopitar is still a very old player.

Turcotte in the minors, hopefully with a full and healthy season.

Portillo will be the AHL goalie, he will be 23 next season and they traded a decent pick to get him. No way is he in the ECHL.

I think Todd said recently that Byfield is still going to be a center in the future. Would be nice to try a Fiala-Byfield-Kempe line next year in camp and see what happens.

 

[Surf Nutz]

Meh, we knew there wasn’t going to be room for all these picks. Guys like Thomas/Madden/Turcotte/Fagemo really haven’t shown enough to say they deserve a spot over Kupari?

Spence has, so I hope it’s just they figured he would be first or second man up incase of injuries, and this year has been nothing like last year.

Oh and some random love of Edler/Walker..

Blake is saving a year on ELC with Spence and I think that is one of the reasons he does not bring him up.
That keeps salaries down.

 

[KingLB]

Blake is saving a year on ELC with Spence and I think that is one of the reasons he does not bring him up.
That keeps salaries down.

Still using the ELC year, only thing it does is maybe keep his numbers down for a potential second contract.

 

[Surf Nutz]

At least with the cap room we won’t get dinged with Edlers performance bonus next year.

Edler will be gone. Hopefully replaced by Gavrikov. One spot left. Do they finally trust Bjornfot with it.

doughty and Roy patrol the right side going into next year. That leaves one spot for Walker, Durzi, Spence,and Clarke.

- hopefully Walker and Durzi get moved. Most expensive contracts and I really don’t like Durzi’s defensive game. Clarke may end up in the AHL but Spence cannot be held back any longer.

Up front we need to re-sign Vilardi and find more playing time for Kaliyev. If we can’t find playing time for them we won’t find it for the AHL guys like Fagemo, Madden, Chromiak etc. how many years do they stay down to ripen before they stop progressing?

Needs to be at least one move like Iafallo , Arvidsson, or Moore. If Turcotte comes back do we put him in the AHL or bring him up?

A lot of bodies, not enough chairs.

Then there is the goalie situation

Villalta, Peterson and possibly Portillo

Copley is doing well so far and we will see if Korposalo pans out and gets a contract.

I personally think it’s time to get Spence and Fagemo into the lineup or trade them while they hold value. Would rather see them in the lineup.

The team is gelling, winning , battling for position and then going to the playoffs.
Blake will not be trying to inject guys unless there is injuries, nor should he.

Especially Alex after yet another ringing.

Rob is not one to lose guys on waivers instead of getting a return on them over the summer.

One thing we know Blake can do is kick the can down the road, but you are right the off ramp for many of these guys i dead ending next season.

guys is dead ending next season.Blake is saving a year on ELC with Spence and I think that is one of the reasons he does not bring him up.
That keeps salaries down.

Saying this awhile ago. and the reason is Fiala plays the Alpha winger well, like he did with young center deferrrin a little, like Matt Boldy in Minny..
But its gotta be on the back burner with him Juice and Kopi whistling like a boiling kettle.