GDT: Someone at PNC at Some time

[MrazeksVengeance]

VERY WELL.

LET’S DO THIS AGAIN SOMETIME IN THE SEASON.

 

[Lempo]

GOATier is the comparative of GOAT.

 

[Vagrant]

Of course, I have no idea how much they've worked on it at this point.

they talked about this a little on the broadcast. john and tripp were sort of advocating for a traditional two man defense on the powerplay, but i suspect the analytics are saying 4 forward units in the 1-3-1 is the better system against the speed of the modern penalty killer. i don't recall us playing it a lot last season, but i could be mistaken. there is certainly an adjustment period happening, but i thought the unit with gardiner moved the puck incredibly well and just didn't have a shooter a lot of the time. dzingel was getting a lot of the quick hitters from the dead slot. if he connects on a few of those, the powerplay goes from looking ineffectual to looking superb. it's my understanding that he doesn't miss a lot from there, so maybe it's good to get some of the bad puck luck behind him. aho looked a little uncomfortable in that setup because he likes to maneuver in space and there's not a lot of freewheeling rotation in a 1-3-1 and aho likes to generate speed in the zone by circling the ice and seeing what opens up as the angles change. they'll ask him to make faster decisions and to shoot a lot more decisively if they keep this formation. he only had 3 goals on the pp last season.

 

[DougieSmash]

Happy to see Gauthier performing well. He's labeled as a bust ofter around here. Still young, good hands, good speed.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Happy to see Gauthier performing well. He's labeled as a bust ofter around here. Still young, good hands, good speed.

I don’t recall anyone calling him a bust.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Nice thing about preseason is you can sit center ice upper bowl and just watch certain players. Gauthier was probably the best player on the ice for the Canes and Necas was probably the worst. I cant see Goat not making the team considering he's the kind of young guy who can play on a 4th line if needed.

A bottom 6 consisting of Haula, Goat, McGinn, Wallmark, Marty, and Foegle is pretty impressive.

I didn’t watch past the first period. Gauthier is in a spot where he likely doesn’t feel a need to defer to others on his line, because he’s equal to or better than them. For some young guys, There can be a natural tendency to defer to NHLERS and play more timidly because of it if the are on a line with NHL guys. He also has zero pressure as there’s no expectation on him so he can let it all hang out and has nothing to lose.

Necas has more expectations/pressure and as a playmaker, maybe is looking to defer to the NHL players more than he should. Maybe overthinking it.

Either way though, it’s what you do on the ice that counts and while it’s only 2 games (1 for Necas), Gauthier is looking good and is taking full advantage of his situation, kind of like Foegele did last year.

For those that watched Charlotte last year, how is his play away from the puck and in the defensive zone? That will likely be a deciding factor with Rod. Foegele was known for that in Charlotte so Rod probably wasn’t worried about that aspect of his game.

 

[tarheelhockey]

they talked about this a little on the broadcast. john and tripp were sort of advocating for a traditional two man defense on the powerplay, but i suspect the analytics are saying 4 forward units in the 1-3-1 is the better system against the speed of the modern penalty killer. i don't recall us playing it a lot last season, but i could be mistaken. there is certainly an adjustment period happening, but i thought the unit with gardiner moved the puck incredibly well and just didn't have a shooter a lot of the time. dzingel was getting a lot of the quick hitters from the dead slot. if he connects on a few of those, the powerplay goes from looking ineffectual to looking superb. it's my understanding that he doesn't miss a lot from there, so maybe it's good to get some of the bad puck luck behind him. aho looked a little uncomfortable in that setup because he likes to maneuver in space and there's not a lot of freewheeling rotation in a 1-3-1 and aho likes to generate speed in the zone by circling the ice and seeing what opens up as the angles change. they'll ask him to make faster decisions and to shoot a lot more decisively if they keep this formation. he only had 3 goals on the pp last season.

The PP movement and overall sense of purpose was excellent at times. There were so many plays where the puck just skittered wide or the goalie made a phenomenal save. Trivial differences kept this from being a 5-0 game where we have to remind ourselves that it was against AHL’ers.

 

[Stickpucker]

He's probably referring to the trade board?

 

[NotOpie]

GOAT wants that job bad. He is earning it too

Maybe I’m wrong but Goat is outplaying necas

I think Necas has looked good while Goat has looked great.

I was at the game sitting in the lower bowl and ^^ this was exactly the case. Necas didn't look bad, despite a couple of miscues, but Gauthier was clearly the best player on the ice. Sitting down low, you can really catch GOAT's speed. And the Lorentz goal doesn't happen without all the work Julien put in. After a slow start, I thought McLovin looked good too. Both goalies were dialed in. Didn't see the Slavin errors as I mostly saw him dominate...Hamilton played good defense for the majority of the night (didn't I even see him on the PK?).

Anyway, it wasn't the prettiest because we were slightly off on our timing, but man, this group looks even better than last seasons.

Bishop IMO is going to make the final roster. He’s waiver-eligible and our best 4th liner after our main guys.

I think Bishop has the #13 forward slot locked up; it's his to lose. His $700K salary is the lowest on the team (tied with McCormick) and he's a multi-positional player. Plus, he looked damn good last night too.

 

[A Star is Burns]

I didn’t watch past the first period. Gauthier is in a spot where he likely doesn’t feel a need to defer to others on his line, because he’s equal to or better than them. For some young guys, There can be a natural tendency to defer to NHLERS and play more timidly because of it if the are on a line with NHL guys. He also has zero pressure as there’s no expectation on him so he can let it all hang out and has nothing to lose.

Necas has more expectations/pressure and as a playmaker, maybe is looking to defer to the NHL players more than he should. Maybe overthinking it.

Either way though, it’s what you do on the ice that counts and while it’s only 2 games (1 for Necas), Gauthier is looking good and is taking full advantage of his situation, kind of like Foegele did last year.

For those that watched Charlotte last year, how is his play away from the puck and in the defensive zone? That will likely be a deciding factor with Rod. Foegele was known for that in Charlotte so Rod probably wasn’t worried about that aspect of his game.

Damn BBA, we think too much alike sometimes. You made many of the points I wanted to.

No secret I'm not a Gauthier fan. But I hope he turns out well as any team can use a player with his size and skill set. From what I've seen in these two games, I'd just be worried he ends up like Foegele last year. Goes balls out to make the team, maybe balls out the first several games to solidify it. Then when he's called the perfect Cane, he realizes you can't play like that for 82 games and he's suddenly not the guy that made the team.

 

[Ole Gil]

I really enjoy the way the Canes are scoring goals, but not letting the other team score any goals. This is a solid strategy I hope continues into the regular season.

Svechnikov looks like he can go around people at will. Also the kid likes hitting people. He wasn't crushing people, but he was still finishing checks last night, while pretty much everyone else was easing up.

 

[2Minutes4Surging]

I was at the game last night and can confirm the Gauthier was one of, if not the best player on the ice. He had some chemistry with Svech when they ended up playing on the same line and he is built to sustain this high level of play. I can not see him going to Charlotte at this point.

Lorentz was impressive even if he had not scored. I thought he was great when I saw him down in Charlotte in the AHL playoffs last season. He is a maximum effort player at all times, similar to Foegele, though I don't see him on the Canes roster this season.

Bishop will be the 13th forward. I have little doubt about it. He does all the right things.

Aho was definitely in mid-season form. I think he wants the C, and will most likely get it.

TT, NN, Staal and Dzingle were all very solid. They too looked in mid-season form physically. They just need to get their timing down.

Svechnikov is ready to take the next step. He was a beast. He created his own opportunities and had great chemistry with all his line mates. I think he pushes for 70 pts this season.

The defense was impressive all around. Hamilton looked great in our own end. Gardiner is fantastic to watch with the puck on his stick in transition and on the PP. He makes things look effortless. Claesson was solid and looks like he belongs in the NHL. Faulk Faulked, but was able to recover and won some puck battles. Slavin made his usual high quality defensive stick plays though he looks like he has not gotten fully in his groove. Forsling will play with the Checkers, which is fine.

Mrazek was calm in the crease though he didn't really face any high danger chances. Ned was spastic and looked a little shaky at times but clearly he got the job done. I see him leading Charlotte to another deep run.

My only concern is Necas. I had a rare opportunity to go down to the locker room and meet a few of the players after the game, the last of which was Martin. We spoke about the game and he was really down on himself. He was not confident at all. I think he has put a lot of pressure on himself and let the few miscues on the power play dictate his mind set. I thought he played a good game and told him so, but he said he needs to better and hopes he can improve. I came away feeling bad for him. He needs someone in the room to lift him up and help him build his confidence. He has all the tools but clearly needs to be stronger mentally.

I am interested to see how the defense shakes out. We have 9 defensemen worthy of being on the opening night roster. It is a shame they can't all have the opportunity to play. We have some tough decisions to make in this area, and I have a feeling 2 of them will not be with organization come February (TDL.)

All that said, we have a bright future ahead of us. We are in for a great season with this group. Quite possibly the best one yet!

 

[Neighbor Lee]

All is true that I read here

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

No secret I'm not a Gauthier fan. But I hope he turns out well as any team can use a player with his size and skill set. From what I've seen in these two games, I'd just be worried he ends up like Foegele last year. Goes balls out to make the team, maybe balls out the first several games to solidify it. Then when he's called the perfect Cane, he realizes you can't play like that for 82 games and he's suddenly not the guy that made the team.

The difference between Foegele and Goat other than the size is Goat has way more talent with the puck. When Foegle is making a run with the puck I am always thinking "how is he holding on to that?"

When Gauthier is carrying the puck up the ice he is far more in control and both uses his body effectively to drive to the net a la Erik Cole and can deke you out of your skates (at least last night to Foote (?)). Granted I have had limited viewings of Gauthier as I dont watch the Checkers too often

My only concern is Necas. I had a rare opportunity to go down to the locker room and meet a few of the players after the game, the last of which was Martin. We spoke about the game and he was really down on himself. He was not confident at all. I think he has put a lot of pressure on himself and let the few miscues on the power play dictate his mind set. I thought he played a good game and told him so, but he said he needs to better and hopes he can improve. I came away feeling bad for him. He needs someone in the room to lift him up and help him build his confidence. He has all the tools but clearly needs to be stronger mentally.

Agree here. He has the talent, but fees a ton of pressure on him. Good thing is I think the coaching staff sees this as the put him with Aho and NN some at the end of the game. Time will tell if he will put it together this year. I think this is a guy who could have really used Williams in the room.


Other thoughts:

That Gauthier Staal Svech line is the most physically imposing line the Canes have ever put together - if that line gets some time in the regular season we will have to find an ungulate nickname for Svech.... A moose a goat and a ???

Svech is ready for the next step

Aho is still Aho this year so thats good

Need more viewings of the new adds

 

[GoldiFox]

Svechnikov - Staal - Gauthier

Imagine being a tired opponent that just threw a puck down the ice for icing and seeing that line come out. Average 6'3", 215 lbs of straight muscle.

It's worth noting that the D that Gauthier roasted last night was Mikhail Sergachev who is both a great skater and defender:

 

[Stickpucker]

Goat - Moose - Tank

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Svechnikov - Staal - Gauthier

Imagine being a tired opponent that just threw a puck down the ice for icing and seeing that line come out. Average 6'3", 215 lbs of straight muscle.

It's worth noting that the D that Gauthier roasted last night was Mikhail Sergachev who is both a great skater and defender:

He roasted more than 1 guy last night haha. I was referring to the Aho pull up move he did just outside the circle

 

[A Star is Burns]

The difference between Foegele and Goat other than the size is Goat has way more talent with the puck. When Foegle is making a run with the puck I am always thinking "how is he holding on to that?"

When Gauthier is carrying the puck up the ice he is far more in control and both uses his body effectively to drive to the net a la Erik Cole and can deke you out of your skates (at least last night to Foote (?)). Granted I have had limited viewings of Gauthier as I dont watch the Checkers too often

Obviously Gauthier is a more talented, physically gifted player than Foegele. But right now he's getting noticed largely because he's flying out there and going balls to the wall. That's against vets that don't care that much this early in preseason and other young guys that he should look great against even if they are all giving their all, given his skills and size. It's all he can do at this stage of course, and it's a great sign, but I still want to know what he looks like when he's playing against real NHL players that are giving their all and are a physical match and maybe he can't go full tilt every single game. I still wonder if he has the talent and vision to make it work this year or if he fades similar to Foegele last year. As I said, I'll admit I'm biased as I haven't been his biggest fan. I do like what I've seen and if he can keep it going, he's something every team needs. I'm just still skeptical, or at the very least I'm not as ready to anoint him as a roster lock as some are.

 

[Svechhammer]

Both Svech and Staal displayed an ability to just power past the defense in the game last night. Svech I expected. Staal I did not.

There were some really nifty passing sequences out there that couldn't quite find the stick on the finishing move. In the regular season, those would be goals, and there were at least 2 times that I remember where that happened.

And the speed of this team is going to give opponents nightmares. Once Dzingel and Haula are able to develop some chemistry with their linemates, we are going to fast break teams to death nightly. If you pinch in a defender against us, we're going to have a 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 going the other way the second we get control of the puck. That should help make Mrazek's life easier.

I didn't think Necas was that bad last night. He looked rough, sure, but he's very young. You can see the talent he has, he just needs some time to get some confidence at this level.

Gardiner and Hamilton running point on the PP is going to significantly improve us this year. You can see it already. Once we set up shop, they're able to find open guys for good looks.

Speaking of Gardiner, he does a lot of little things very well. In the 3rd last night he had a great pass interception in traffic to keep the puck in the offensive zone, and nearly broke us for a 3 on 1 because none of Tampa was expecting him to get it.

 

[My Special Purpose]

It's not surprising that the guys with the most to gain are playing the best right now. They came to camp knowing they had to make an impression early. Most of last night's lineup is gearing up to peak in early October. With that in mind, I'd caution folks against making any roster determinations about guys like Gauthier, Necas and Bishop at this point. It's also possible the stuff Necas is trying to show Brindy isn't as flashy as the stuff Gauthier is showing off.

We talked yesterday about every line having a shooter, a playmaker and a grinder, but it just didn't work, at least not last night. Guys like TT, Aho, Necas, Niederreiter were never even *threats* to shoot. They weren't even facing the net when they had the puck. There was a lot of trying to set up the shooter, and the offense was way to predictable, especially on the power play with Svech and Necas inexplicably playing their off-sides. There's got to be more of a threat for any player to get a shot off at any time.

In the end, it's still real early. And I'm kinda glad the vets looked disorganized last night. Hopefully, Roddy keeps mixing it up.

Special shout-out to Steve Lorentz who won several races for pucks last night. If his skating comes around, he's an interesting player.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Obviously Gauthier is a more talented, physically gifted player than Foegele. But right now he's getting noticed largely because he's flying out there and going balls to the wall. That's against vets that don't care that much this early in preseason and other young guys that he should look great against even if they are all giving their all, given his skills and size. It's all he can do at this stage of course, and it's a great sign, but I still want to know what he looks like when he's playing against real NHL players that are giving their all and are a physical match and maybe he can't go full tilt every single game. I still wonder if he has the talent and vision to make it work this year or if he fades similar to Foegele last year. As I said, I'll admit I'm biased as I haven't been his biggest fan. I do like what I've seen and if he can keep it going, he's something every team needs. I'm just still skeptical, or at the very least I'm not as ready to anoint him as a roster lock as some are.

Yeah, I’ve held off saying this because I’m not trying to **** on Gauthier after a good game. But we’re talking about a preseason split-squad game against the other team’s B unit. This is a step above looking good at camp, but we’re setting the table for disappointment if we think he’s going to seamlessly translate this to the regular season.

Like Foegele, he needs to bring a strong enough all-around game to be useful when he’s not scoring. That’s where his case for a roster spot is a little hazier for me.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

If the preseason is telling me anything, it's that Charlotte's going to be great again this season. If there's no Necas dominating the AHL, there will be Gauthier dominating the AHL. Bean looks like he will destroy AHL competition for one more season. The depth behind Bean on D is even more absurd, with the likes of Priskie, McKeown, Forsling, Wood, Claesson, Lintuniemi, etc.

 

[geehaad]

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic: when watching that video of Lorentz scoring, it's terrible quality until the 10-second mark...is that true for anyone else? I figured it could be heavily pixelated for the first viewing, but afterward it would've downloaded all the bits and be solid, but that's not what's happening here.

 

[Svechhammer]

Oh right, the most important part of the game last night

Storm Brew is incredibly easy to drink. Its a light pils but its not filling at all, and it has a far more crisp taste than any of the macro pils you can get. And its the same price as a Bud Light in stadium.

 

[MinJaBen]

Anyone heard any updates on Haula after last night?