Toggle sidebar

Speculation: Speculation: Roster Building Thread - Part XXIV

  • Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
Status
Not open for further replies.
Uninstaaled said:
Miller's package of skills gives him the highest ceiling of all of our D by a long shot too...

The hate he gets is so stupid. He started getting blamed for shit that wasn't even his fault towards the end of the year. Some people just can't get over the fact that he's 6'5" and doesn't kill people on the regular.

If any of the other young D prospects make the team and play significant minutes this season, I guarantee that the love for them a year from now will NOT be as strong as it is now.
Click to expand...

"By a long shot," is ridiculous... and I assume you're only referring to prospects here. He has great potential but he's not a young Brian Leetch or a Zdeno Chara. I think Miller will become at least a very solid #4 defenseman with a potential for more, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Schnieder or Lundkvist went on to have stronger careers. All 3 have terrific potential and it's anyone's guess who develops to be the best player.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DutchShamrock, Tob and egelband
NYR Viper said:
I'm curious if Drury has any sort of plan for guys like Hajek or Gauthier. It seems like both are without a role here.

Gauthier specifically, to me, still has some potential to be a middle-6 power forward winger. His p/60 of 1.7 last year given his limited minutes is actually a pretty solid number considering who he was playing with most of the time.

To put this into a bit of perspective:

Morgan Barron just played is 22 year old season where he put up 10 goals and 21 points in 21 games in the AHL.

Julien Gauthier in his 22 year old season had 26 goals and 37 points in 44 games in the AHL.
Click to expand...

I think Gauthier may be on the outs unless he has a terrific camp/preseason. Just based on the current depth he's not a top 9 forward. He doesn't play center and Blais will be in the lineup on the 4th line at least. So he's down to competing with Reaves and Hunt for a spot. Last year would have been his chance to establish himself but unfortunately he wasn't given the proper opportunity. If Gauthier makes it, then it most likely is happening with another club. Too bad, best thing for the kid probably would have been if he was drafted or dealt to a team like Seattle.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RickChartraw and egelband
Lays said:
We’ve seen it this past year. Miller has ability and tools that Fox does not. I’m not saying he’s better, he’s just much more physically gifted. One of the most physically gifted players in the entire league.
Click to expand...

Now we are getting a little crazy... guy has a great skillset and hopefully he realizes all of his potential. You're making it sound like he's Chara, who shoots like a young Weber, and skates like a prime Erik Karlsson.
 
Last edited:
Defense is such a difficult position, and being so tall and fast, while an advantage also comes with a huge learning curve. There's more apace between stick and skates which is a big deal when you're defending skating backwards.

Miller looked to me no worse than like Hanafin did as a rookie. Hanafin was big and fast and smart, but he's not really peaked yet at 25 or whatever he is and hes come miles defensively. I dont mind Miller's turnovers because playing aggressively and looking to attack and pressure could be the difference between a ceiling like Jay Bouwmeester and Victor Hedman. In either case though, I dont think Miller will be any worse than a top 4 defenseman in 4 or 5 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: THE BIG WHISTLE and Barnaby
Lays said:
I don’t even have to explain, you’re just playing dumb if you think Fox is more physically talented than Miller.
Click to expand...

What does this even mean? Rico Fata could skate like the wind. Mcilrath was huge. Gauthier is built like a brick sh**house. Europe has plenty of formerly drafted players taken high in NHL drafts whose skillsets just didn't translate to their physical abilities. I'm not saying that's going to be Miller but being big and fast isn't enough to say he's more physically talented than Fox. Is he more physically talented than Brian Leetch and Ray Bourque too?
 
Barnaby said:
"By a long shot," is ridiculous... and I assume you're only referring to prospects here. He has great potential but he's not a young Brian Leetch or a Zdeno Chara. I think Miller will become at least a very solid #4 defenseman with a potential for more, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Schnieder or Lundkvist went on to have stronger careers. All 3 have terrific potential and it's anyone's guess who develops to be the best player.
Click to expand...

It isn't.

He's 6'5", skates well, has the wingspan of a condor, a heavy shot and has shown flashes of some pretty great passing.

this isn't a conversation about who is going to be the best defender, but if all the guys hit their top end he will be the best, and by quite a bit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: THE BIG WHISTLE and TheDirtyH
Barnaby said:
He actually moved the puck quite well. I think you're underselling him a bit here. He was quite competent early in his career prior to his injuries. Was he Fox or Deangelo? No, but he wasn't awkward by any stretch.
Click to expand...
This is my memory too. Big man who was hard to knock off the puck. He didn’t have anything once he got to the offensive zone but he was quite good moving the puck out of his end and also in transition. Simple and reliable. Those injuries were fairly tragic though he makes-do amazingly well with his limitations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: THE BIG WHISTLE and Barnaby
Barnaby said:
I think Gauthier may be on the outs unless he has a terrific camp/preseason. Just based on the current depth he's not a top 9 forward. He doesn't play center and Blais will be in the lineup on the 4th line at least. So he's down to competing with Reaves and Hunt for a spot. Last year would have been his chance to establish himself but unfortunately he wasn't given the proper opportunity. If Gauthier makes it, then it most likely is happening with another club. Too bad, best thing for the kid probably would have been if he was drafted or dealt to a team like Seattle.
Click to expand...
I think he shouldn’t even be considered for a fourth line role. He’s not good at it. It’s bad for him and the team. You’re right, though I want him to blossom with us, his best shot was probably with Seattle.
How Seattle missed that, I don’t know. I would have selected Gauthier over Blackwell 100 times out of 100.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jay from jersey and Barnaby
Uninstaaled said:
It isn't.

He's 6'5", skates well, has the wingspan of a condor, a heavy shot and has shown flashes of some pretty great passing.

this isn't a conversation about who is going to be the best defender, but if all the guys hit their top end he will be the best, and by quite a bit.
Click to expand...

I do agree with this, man I want see him lay some hits this year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: egelband
Barnaby said:
Now we are getting a little crazy... guy has a great skillset and hopefully he realizes all of his potential. You're making it sound like he's Chara, who shoots like a young Weber, and skates like a prime Erik Karlsson.
Click to expand...
If we’re talking comparisons I see Miller a lot like Staal, which has been mentioned a lot. But also I see some Skjei in him. He’s faster than Staal. Though stylistically i want him to be more like Staal. Though his wildcard is having a better slapped than either of those guys. Though I’m for Miller ignoring the offensive end for the time being, I wouldn’t mind him as trigger man on occasion.
 
RickChartraw said:
I do agree with this, man I want see him lay some hits this year.
Click to expand...
Me too. But I don’t see him as that kind of player. He’s also kind of tall. The best hitters have a lower center of gravity. Though I guess Chara would disagree :)
Anyhow, while I’d love to see Miller play with a little edge and mean streak, I can’t imagine what that would look like.
 
Lays said:
I don’t even have to explain, you’re just playing dumb if you think Fox is more physically talented than Miller.
Click to expand...

I don't think you even know what physically talented means. Under your illogic, Reaves would similarly be more physically talented than Fox.
 
Fox's chin is more physically talented than all of K'Andre's body. Fight me.
 
Miller has tremendous physical tools, which I think he demonstrated last year. The question is can he process the game at the fastest speeds, make good reads, make good decisions consistently, and just generally grasp the mental aspects of the game at the highest levels. I think that he can and will within the next couple of years. Everyone learns on the fly so to speak, but for Miller it has been even more of a challenge moving from F to D at 16. When you do that you're automatically placed at a disadvantage as other guys know way more about the nuances of their position than you do about yours. I think he has done a superb job of picking it up. Where he was mentally the second half of his sophomore year compared to his entire freshman year (the year "experts" considered "better") was like night and day.

This was the year I was expecting him to push for a spot. That he was able to play in the NHL at all last year, let alone at a high level for stretches, is fantastic. He has a very bright future ahead of him, and hopefully it's here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FUZfan, East Coast Bias, ArPanet and 7 others
egelband said:
I think he shouldn’t even be considered for a fourth line role. He’s not good at it. It’s bad for him and the team. You’re right, though I want him to blossom with us, his best shot was probably with Seattle.
How Seattle missed that, I don’t know. I would have selected Gauthier over Blackwell 100 times out of 100.
Click to expand...

the above is correct. Gauthier just doesn’t play that 3rd/4th line physical role. He needs to have offensive guys around him to succeed. It’s likely he would have been traded by now if anyone was offering something of value.
Odds are he’s going to be waived. Despite what some people think, I don’t think our top 9 is set in stone. Nor do I see a Blais-Rooney-Reaves 4th line.
I think Blais is going to be fighting for a top 9 spot in camp.
Opening night I think our 4th line is Hunt-Rooney-Reaves
It’s going to be tough. Blais might mesh with Strome-Panarin or Chytil-Kreider??
I think your going to see sets of 2 that have chemistry together and in camp they are looking for the 3rd element that line needs. The straw that stirs the drink presumably

Kreider/LaF -Zibby- ???
Panarin-Strome-???
Kreider/Goodrow-Chytil-???
Hunt-Rooney-Reaves
The ??? Are LaF switching to RW, kakko, Blais, Kravtsov, or anyone who has an amazing camp and forces his way on the team.
Gallant is going to ice the best combo he thinks can win. He’s not relegating Blais to only 4th line, Goodrow might also find himself higher then 3rd line.
I’m a big fan of all 3 of Barron, Richards, and Ruesschoff.
I think Barron and Richards can both probably play in the NHL right now and Ruesschoff gets another year in the A before he could possibly play a 4th line role.
The sheer amount of guys we have right now is crazy. Some guys who we would love to break in with the team right now aren’t even an after thought.
Having Goodrow locked up and a steady influx of Barron, Richards, Berard, Vierling, Cuylle, Othmann, Ruesschoff, maybe Edstrom, Lamb, Korszak, Grubbe, etc should give us an abundance of cheap young hard nosed bottom 6 talent to feed the big club for years.
 
Last edited:
nyr2k2 said:
Miller has tremendous physical tools, which I think he demonstrated last year. The question is can he process the game at the fastest speeds, make good reads, make good decisions consistently, and just generally grasp the mental aspects of the game at the highest levels. I think that he can and will within the next couple of years. Everyone learns on the fly so to speak, but for Miller it has been even more of a challenge moving from F to D at 16. When you do that you're automatically placed at a disadvantage as other guys know way more about the nuances of their position than you do about yours. I think he has done a superb job of picking it up. Where he was mentally the second half of his sophomore year compared to his entire freshman year (the year "experts" considered "better") was like night and day.

This was the year I was expecting him to push for a spot. That he was able to play in the NHL at all last year, let alone at a high level for stretches, is fantastic. He has a very bright future ahead of him, and hopefully it's here.
Click to expand...

He's clearly a smart kid. Brady Skjei had all the athletic tools and decent smarts, but he was exciting as a rookie because of how he moved the puck up the ice and could cover himself across the length of the rink. He also, over time, showed himself to be behind the play mentally. Miller didn't resemble Brady to me at all. I thought he was much more obviously focused on learning the position. He made his pinches and made risky plays at times, but not with the same deer in headlights kind of energy. He clearly has that ability to see his options and see them opening and closing in real time, it's just a matter of picking the right ones and picking them consistently, which I saw no reason to think he won't.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nyr2k2
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom