Player Discussion Rasmus Andersson breakout

[Darth Vladar]

I have to say that I’m kinda surprised to hear how little faith there is among certain fans in the possibility of the guys that I mentioned panning out. Obviously much can change from one season to the next, but as of right now, we have two of the OHL’s four highest scoring dmen in Mews and Parekh, and one of the QMJHL’s highest scoring dmen in Morin. Granted, points aren’t everything, but for what it’s worth, Morin is also tied for third in the league at +25. The surprise for me is how Brzu’s gaudy offensive numbers from last year haven’t quite translated to the AHL, as he sits presently tied with Kuznetsov for fourth in team scoring among dmen behind Poirier and Solo (and -2 for the record). That said, anybody who’s ever heard the kid speak knows he oozes confidence and is already a consummate pro for being so young, his game still just might need a season or two more to adjust. But assuming all of the aforementioned hit their ceiling, you’d have a pretty formidable natural four with

Parekh - Mews
Morin - Brzu

Not sure why the one commenter is so high on Kuzy, when Poirier has been knocking on the door for a minute now, and as mentioned, Solo has suited up for 10 NHL games already and didn’t look out of place. The jury might still be out on Jamieson, but he looks poised to shatter his impressive numbers from last year with Everett. Add Grush to the mix, and I don’t see how you couldn’t squeeze a third pairing out of that, whether Poirier/Solo or Kuzy/Grush. In any case, I still say there is plenty there to add to a base trio of Weegs, Bahl, and Pachal (who holds down that 3RD at a bargain, and is still only 25), making it entirely feasible that Conny could cop another 1st in one of the next two drafts as part of a package for Razzy without it setting them back too much in the relative short-term.

Note to the mods: you can move this to a separate thread if necessary, I just didn’t know how to create a new thread navigating the site on my mobile browser. Thanks in advance.

 

[MrLunatik]

You keep Weegs and Ras on the blueline to insulate the kids, or you just become the Sabres/Wings/etc and create a losing culture thats hard to shake. In reality the Flames will be lucky if they get 1 top pairing guy and 1 or 2 other defensemen out of the prospects they currently have. Weegs, Ras and Bahl are the base of a solid foundation for years to come.

100%, IMO the only way Ras is traded is if he makes it clear that he's not returning. Then in the summer you do your damnedest to bring in a new top 4 defenseman to replace him (I'd target Chychrun or Lindgren since they'd be 26y/o UFAs

 

[Zirakzigil]

I have to say that I’m kinda surprised to hear how little faith there is among certain fans in the possibility of the guys that I mentioned panning out. Obviously much can change from one season to the next, but as of right now, we have two of the OHL’s four highest scoring dmen in Mews and Parekh, and one of the QMJHL’s highest scoring dmen in Morin. Granted, points aren’t everything, but for what it’s worth, Morin is also tied for third in the league at +25. The surprise for me is how Brzu’s gaudy offensive numbers from last year haven’t quite translated to the AHL, as he sits presently tied with Kuznetsov for fourth in team scoring among dmen behind Poirier and Solo (and -2 for the record). That said, anybody who’s ever heard the kid speak knows he oozes confidence and is already a consummate pro for being so young, his game still just might need a season or two more to adjust. But assuming all of the aforementioned hit their ceiling, you’d have a pretty formidable natural four with

Parekh - Mews
Morin - Brzu

Not sure why the one commenter is so high on Kuzy, when Poirier has been knocking on the door for a minute now, and as mentioned, Solo has suited up for 10 NHL games already and didn’t look out of place. The jury might still be out on Jamieson, but he looks poised to shatter his impressive numbers from last year with Everett. Add Grush to the mix, and I don’t see how you couldn’t squeeze a third pairing out of that, whether Poirier/Solo or Kuzy/Grush. In any case, I still say there is plenty there to add to a base trio of Weegs, Bahl, and Pachal (who holds down that 3RD at a bargain, and is still only 25), making it entirely feasible that Conny could cop another 1st in one of the next two drafts as part of a package for Razzy without it setting them back too much in the relative short-term.

Note to the mods: you can move this to a separate thread if necessary, I just didn’t know how to create a new thread navigating the site on my mobile browser. Thanks in advance.

Points dont really mean a lot coming from junior. If you cant play meaningful minutes in the NHL, doesnt matter how much you score. Teams dont want to a liability on the ice. Parekh looked absolutely lost playing against NHL level talent. Brzu took awhile to adjust in the AHL and its another massive step up from there to the NHL. Odds are that the Flames will be lucky if one of Parekh or Brzu become a top pairing defenseman. Defensemen are so fickle with development. You keep Ras to insulate them and not leave them out to dry and also Wolf out to dry. Dont forget you have a young goalie behind these guys. Scorched earthing the defense is exactly what Buffulo has done and its had them go nowhere fast. 1st overall picks playing in front of inexperienced goalies and losing regularly. If both Parekh and Brzu develop strongly, then you can trade from a position of strength. You trade Ras now and you are just searching for another Ras to stabilize the blueline.

 

[Darth Vladar]

Points dont really mean a lot coming from junior. If you cant play meaningful minutes in the NHL, doesnt matter how much you score. Teams dont want to a liability on the ice. Parekh looked absolutely lost playing against NHL level talent. Brzu took awhile to adjust in the AHL and its another massive step up from there to the NHL. Odds are that the Flames will be lucky if one of Parekh or Brzu become a top pairing defenseman. Defensemen are so fickle with development. You keep Ras to insulate them and not leave them out to dry and also Wolf out to dry. Dont forget you have a young goalie behind these guys. Scorched earthing the defense is exactly what Buffulo has done and its had them go nowhere fast. 1st overall picks playing in front of inexperienced goalies and losing regularly. If both Parekh and Brzu develop strongly, then you can trade from a position of strength. You trade Ras now and you are just searching for another Ras to stabilize the blueline.

That makes perfect sense, and I actually think we could still get a 1st in a deal for Raz even as a pending UFA at the 2026 deadline if a young guy or two end up surprising us next season a la Hutson. I personally have high expectations for at least six of the guys in the system (Poirier, Brzu, Morin, Parekh, Mews, and Jamieson) and would love to see Solo settle into that bottom pair LD at some point. No worse than Bean or Hanley defensively, bigger than either, and far more offensively inclined imho. I honestly hope that next season’s opening night corps looks something like:

Bahl - Weegar
Poirier - Raz
Solo - Pachal
Bean - Miro (spares)

Give all three of Brzu, Morin, and Parekh a full season with the Wranglers, and assess at the deadline whether it’s worth re-upping Razzy or dealing him. Who knows what GM might be willing to cough up a 1st (and whatever) else for him, and Brzu will be 21 turning 22 by then.

 

[Yepthatsme]

Points dont really mean a lot coming from junior. If you cant play meaningful minutes in the NHL, doesnt matter how much you score. Teams dont want to a liability on the ice. Parekh looked absolutely lost playing against NHL level talent. Brzu took awhile to adjust in the AHL and its another massive step up from there to the NHL. Odds are that the Flames will be lucky if one of Parekh or Brzu become a top pairing defenseman. Defensemen are so fickle with development. You keep Ras to insulate them and not leave them out to dry and also Wolf out to dry. Dont forget you have a young goalie behind these guys. Scorched earthing the defense is exactly what Buffulo has done and its had them go nowhere fast. 1st overall picks playing in front of inexperienced goalies and losing regularly. If both Parekh and Brzu develop strongly, then you can trade from a position of strength. You trade Ras now and you are just searching for another Ras to stabilize the blueline.

Parekh is in his D+1 and Brzus his D+2, expecting either to immediately fit in to pro hockey was not a great expectation considering defense develop until about the age 25-28. I in know way expect Brzustewicz to be a shoe in for a top pair defenseman, but a good 2 way high IQ second pair guy is his reasonal upside. Definitely think you re-sign Andersson then you have Parekh and Brzus insolated until they’re ready to be our next generation blue line main stays.

I have to say that I’m kinda surprised to hear how little faith there is among certain fans in the possibility of the guys that I mentioned panning out. Obviously much can change from one season to the next, but as of right now, we have two of the OHL’s four highest scoring dmen in Mews and Parekh, and one of the QMJHL’s highest scoring dmen in Morin. Granted, points aren’t everything, but for what it’s worth, Morin is also tied for third in the league at +25. The surprise for me is how Brzu’s gaudy offensive numbers from last year haven’t quite translated to the AHL, as he sits presently tied with Kuznetsov for fourth in team scoring among dmen behind Poirier and Solo (and -2 for the record). That said, anybody who’s ever heard the kid speak knows he oozes confidence and is already a consummate pro for being so young, his game still just might need a season or two more to adjust. But assuming all of the aforementioned hit their ceiling, you’d have a pretty formidable natural four with

Parekh - Mews
Morin - Brzu

Not sure why the one commenter is so high on Kuzy, when Poirier has been knocking on the door for a minute now, and as mentioned, Solo has suited up for 10 NHL games already and didn’t look out of place. The jury might still be out on Jamieson, but he looks poised to shatter his impressive numbers from last year with Everett. Add Grush to the mix, and I don’t see how you couldn’t squeeze a third pairing out of that, whether Poirier/Solo or Kuzy/Grush. In any case, I still say there is plenty there to add to a base trio of Weegs, Bahl, and Pachal (who holds down that 3RD at a bargain, and is still only 25), making it entirely feasible that Conny could cop another 1st in one of the next two drafts as part of a package for Razzy without it setting them back too much in the relative short-term.

Note to the mods: you can move this to a separate thread if necessary, I just didn’t know how to create a new thread navigating the site on my mobile browser. Thanks in advance.

Kuznetsov has fantastic 4 way mobility for a defensive defenseman of his size, and is still extremely young for his profile. He also isn’t a bad puck mover compared to other defensive specialists which is a great trait. +/- isn’t a perfect stat, but a defensive guy leading the wranglers by a large margin at +21 is telling (only 3 players on the team are in double digits). Defensive defenseman don’t get the attention, but he’s a guy who I think is going to carve out a very nice NHL career.

Also that is a terribly suited top 4. Parekh and Mews both are very known for cheating for offense and sometimes lackadaisical effort in their own zone, but both still would blush at Poiriers composure. None of them compliment eachother and you have the highest profile name on their offside. Both of Parekh and Mews even hitting their absolute ceilings will still need a safe minded babysitter, and Brzustewicz could be complimented by a defensive minded player but would be neutered playing with a riskier partner.

Us having a defensive minded left side amongst our prospects bodes super well for our future, in the short term the group could look something along the lines of:

Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Parekh
Kusnetsov-Brzustewicz

And in the long term:

Bahl-Parekh
Kuznetsov-Mews/Brzustewicz
Weegar-Brzustewicz/Mews
Morin

Poirier lost his role here the second we drafted Parekh. We don’t need a powerplay specialist we have to hide in terms of usage when Parekh is better in that role in every imaginable way, and he’d be in tough to beat out Andersson/Weegar/Mews/Brzus for the the 2nd PP role either. I’d bet a large sum he is not on our roster when the new arena opens.

 

[Darth Vladar]

Parekh is in his D+1 and Brzus his D+2, expecting either to immediately fit in to pro hockey was not a great expectation considering defense develop until about the age 25-28. I in know way expect Brzustewicz to be a shoe in for a top pair defenseman, but a good 2 way high IQ second pair guy is his reasonal upside. Definitely think you re-sign Andersson then you have Parekh and Brzus insolated until they’re ready to be our next generation blue line main stays.

Kuznetsov has fantastic 4 way mobility for a defensive defenseman of his size, and is still extremely young for his profile. He also isn’t a bad puck mover compared to other defensive specialists which is a great trait. +/- isn’t a perfect stat, but a defensive guy leading the wranglers by a large margin at +21 is telling (only 3 players on the team are in double digits). Defensive defenseman don’t get the attention, but he’s a guy who I think is going to carve out a very nice NHL career.

Also that is a terribly suited top 4. Parekh and Mews both are very known for cheating for offense and sometimes lackadaisical effort in their own zone, but both still would blush at Poiriers composure. None of them compliment eachother and you have the highest profile name on their offside. Both of Parekh and Mews even hitting their absolute ceilings will still need a safe minded babysitter, and Brzustewicz could be complimented by a defensive minded player but would be neutered playing with a riskier partner.

Us having a defensive minded left side amongst our prospects bodes super well for our future, in the short term the group could look something along the lines of:

Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Parekh
Kusnetsov-Brzustewicz

And in the long term:

Bahl-Parekh
Kuznetsov-Mews/Brzustewicz
Weegar-Brzustewicz/Mews
Morin

Poirier lost his role here the second we drafted Parekh. We don’t need a powerplay specialist we have to hide in terms of usage when Parekh is better in that role in every imaginable way, and he’d be in tough to beat out Andersson/Weegar/Mews/Brzus for the the 2nd PP role either. I’d bet a large sum he is not on our roster when the new arena opens.

Parekh is a RHS. Not saying he wouldn’t play either side like Weegar does, but he typically does play on the left side with Saginaw.

You make a strong case for Kuznetsov, I didn’t realize he was leading the team in +\- by such a wide margin. Surely that speaks for itself.

As far as Poirier, I don’t quite regard him as the one-trick PP pony you seem to. His IQ is far too high, he’s far too skilled, and skates far too well to not be able to simply reinvent his game however the team needs him to. I still see his ceiling as 2nd pairing, but the competition is stiff as it is with Bahl, Morin, Kuznetsov, and to an extent, Solo and Jamieson, even if they do end up moving Parekh to the right. It’s worth noting that Poirier can play either side as well, and his game is actually eerily reminiscent of Raz’s.

As far as RHS, you still have Weegar and Raz, then Brzu and Mews, and of course Pachal who locks down that 3rd pair at a bargain and is still only 24.

If you ask me, I think they will keep Parekh on his stronger side, which bumps Bahl down to 2nd pair LD, and leaves it between Morin, Kuzy, Solo, and possibly Poirier to fight it out for that last spot.

I still think the plethora of options makes it more feasible to move Raz for assets rather than re-up him. Even with a year in the A under his belt, I think Brzu will still need to develop, but I could see his game complimenting Morin’s nicely, and there’s a good chance that ends up being a pairing for the Wranglers next season.

If Parekh wows them and ends up making the team out of camp, I’d pair him with Weegar. If we end up moving Razzy for assets, I’d have Poi take his place on the second pairing with Bahl. Plenty of personnel there for the rest to resolve itself, no reason to rush anybody.

 

[Yepthatsme]

Parekh is a RHS. Not saying he wouldn’t play either side like Weegar does, but he typically does play on the left side with Saginaw.

You make a strong case for Kuznetsov, I didn’t realize he was leading the team in +\- but such a wide margin. Surely that speaks for itself.

As far as Poirier, I don’t quite regard him as the one-trick PP pony you seem to. His IQ is far too high, he’s far too skilled, and skates far too well to not be able to simply reinvent his game however the team needs him to. I still see his ceiling as 2nd pairing, but the competition is stiff as it is with Bahl, Morin, Kuznetsov, and to an extent, Solo and Jamieson, even if they do end up moving Parekh to the right. It’s worth noting that Poirier can play either side as well, and his game is actually eerily reminiscent of Raz’s.

As far as RHS, you still have Weegar and Raz, then Brzu and Mews, and of course Pachal who locks down that 3rd pair at a bargain and is still only 24.

If you ask me, I think they will keep Parekh on his stronger side, which bumps Bahl down to 2nd pair LD, and leaves it between Morin, Kuzy, Solo, and possibly Poirier to fight it out for that last spot.

I still think the plethora of options makes it more feasible to move Raz for assets rather than re-up him. Even with a year in the A under his belt, I think Brzu will still need to develop, but I could see his game complimenting Morin’s nicely, and there’s a good chance that ends up being a pairing for the Wranglers next season.

If Parekh wows them and ends up making the team out of camp, I’d pair him with Weegar. If we end up moving Razzy for assets, I’d have Poi take his place on the second pairing with Bahl. Plenty of personnel there for the rest to resolve itself, no reason to rush anybody.

Playing on his off side is a great role on the offensive blue line as it lets you be a one timer potion easier and lets you walk the line easier creating openings. It does usually hurt transition and zone defense though, though some players do adjust. I just think RDs are already hard enough to find, we don’t currently have a RD on our roster or in our system who would synergize with him, and we will also likely always need to mitigate his defensive woes for his career. Weegar would be neutered playing with a guy like Parekh, he’d lose most of his offensive touch with how safe and deep he’d have to play to cover.

I honestly don’t understand why Kuz doesn’t get more love around here. Sure he has zero offense to his name, but he’s our best defensive player in our system and he’s another giant who skates well like. He has the potential people seemingly think Solovyov has, but with the age and frame to actually reach it.

 

[Fig]

Playing on his off side is a great role on the offensive blue line as it lets you be a one timer potion easier and lets you walk the line easier creating openings. It does usually hurt transition and zone defense though, though some players do adjust. I just think RDs are already hard enough to find, we don’t currently have a RD on our roster or in our system who would synergize with him, and we will also likely always need to mitigate his defensive woes for his career. Weegar would be neutered playing with a guy like Parekh, he’d lose most of his offensive touch with how safe and deep he’d have to play to cover.

I honestly don’t understand why Kuz doesn’t get more love around here. Sure he has zero offense to his name, but he’s our best defensive player in our system and he’s another giant who skates well like. He has the potential people seemingly think Solovyov has, but with the age and frame to actually reach it.

I didn't realize there were those unhappy with Kuznetsov. Isn't he another Bahl archetype? Those types of guys are important.

 

[MrLunatik]

I didn't realize there were those unhappy with Kuznetsov. Isn't he another Bahl archetype? Those types of guys are important.

I don't think anyone is unhappy with Kuznetsov, I think it's more they don't talk about him because very few of us watch the Wranglers and he's no longer a shiny new toy.

 

[Darth Vladar]

I don't think anyone is unhappy with Kuznetsov, I think it's more they don't talk about him because very few of us watch the Wranglers and he's no longer a shiny new toy.

I think he’s simply been a victim of shiny object syndrome now that they have all these new younger guys with gaudy offensive numbers. I’ve certainly been guilty of overlooking him.