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Player Discussion Sens sign free wallet defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo

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armani said:
Yeah I thought he was a Zub like free wallet, now he is bringing the same type of defensive defenceman mentality to the NHL. Kleven looked his best playing with Jensen and Zub at times last night, but his game started to steady since Matinpalo became his partner. JBD and Hamonic weren’t sheltering or really mentoring the rookie, who is improving game by game. His K-Bomb resulted in Gaudette’s game winning goal and he is using his size more and more. Another legit 2020 draft prospect. We always lacked that 3rd pairing guy for Kleven, thus far Matinpalo looks to be a fit.
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Kleven and Matinpalo have played extensively together with the B Sens and are comfortable with each other as D-partners. This is clearly evident in their recent play with Ottawa.
 
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there doesn't seem to be anything hamonic does better than matinpalo from what we've seen so far.

this is a young man's game and especially for players like hamonic who relied on physicals rather than hockey sense to be a good player.

it sucks trying to be a competitive team where you wanna win every night but you have a player who is a liability.

great teams don't have liabilities.
 
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Agent Zuuuub said:
there doesn't seem to be anything hamonic does better than matinpalo from what we've seen so far.

this is a young man's game and especially for players like hamonic who relied on physicals rather than hockey sense to be a good player.

it sucks trying to be a competitive team where you wanna win every night but you have a player who is a liability.

great teams don't have liabilities.
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Hamonic must be some sort of Locker Room gem, because the coach loves him and it cant be because of his on-ice play.
 
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The biggest improvement with this team has been in net this yr with Ullmark when he is healthy & with Merilainen G who has come in & played solid keeping them in games & giving them a chance to win while Ullmark has been out. They have also improved on defence reducing the goals against, moving the puck out of their end much quicker & making better decisions with the puck & not getting hemmed in as often. They still make mistakes & bad decisions at times, but they have cut down on them substantially & goaltending has been there to save them when it's needed.
 
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Possible he has an advantage because of his familiarity with Kleven but end of the day he's looked great in his role
 
Very serviceable.

Calm, takes few risks, has size, reach, reasonably mobile. No glaring mistakes.

Not dynamic, but that's not why he's here.

Advantage of having a Euro league vet in this role, he is poised and experienced.

I'd be comfortable with Mat as the #7 next year, competing with JBD for #6. Yak up from the AHL for looks / injuries.
 
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I was concerned when we signed Jeremy Davies and Filip Roos that they were going to be our first two defensive callups. I'm delighted that Matinpalo and Sebrango were given that opportunity and have have been more than equal to the task.
 
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Mantipalo changes the makeup of the D in such a positive way. I am sure Hamonic gets back in right away, but I would hope they would have some form of rotation.

He has been too good to just dismiss him when Hamonic is back.
 
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zenator said:
Very serviceable.

Calm, takes few risks, has size, reach, reasonably mobile. No glaring mistakes.

Not dynamic, but that's not why he's here.

Advantage of having a Euro league vet in this role, he is poised and experienced.

I'd be comfortable with Mat as the #7 next year, competing with JBD for #6. Yak up from the AHL for looks / injuries.
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He's better than JBD and Hamonic at this point. Likely next year too.

Should stay in the lineup even if either guy comes back. For this season, probably see Hamonic at some point again. Currently really like what Matinpalo brings though. Steady, physical, good size. Skates fairly well, and makes simple smart breakout passes. Doesn't panic, so he is able to take a second and make a good pass that relieves pressure.
 
Honestly our Euro pro-scouting is surprisingly not terrible being able to get Zub and Matinpalo. When has Detroit or Buffalo ever got an Euro free agent that played nearly as well as Zub or even better than Matinpalo? Our North American pro-scouting needs a massive overhaul though.
 
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Bileur said:
That’s a lot of different ways of saying “not playing Hamonic”
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One of the effects is the veterans are playing more because Matinpalo isn’t playing as many minutes as Hamonic would. I like Matinpalo but we need Hamonic too. They’ve all given us good minutes and the depth has really been what’s gotten us into a playoff spot
 
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