Am I crazy, or is Dvorskys skating not bad like people like to label it?
I think it was late 1st period or in the 2nd he got the puck at the top of his own zone, or in the NZ and looked like he turned on the jets to create a scoring chance.
I’m not trying to say he had a fantastic game. But I feel like you see this every once in a while where he can turn on the jets but generally looks like he skates a little more conservatively.
His first step isn't the greatest but he has very solid speed once he gets going.
It really doesn't help the perception that he is a bit of a "slow the game down" type that does a lot of things without having to move his feet.
Agreed on Bolduc, and it wasn’t even close. I’ve been trying to temper my expectations with Dean but I thought he was solid tonight. Didn’t watch him in the A last year but seemed to have that hockey sense tonight to go to the right spots. Familiarity with Bolduc on that line no doubt helps. And was it just me or did Dvorsky win like three quarters of his faceoffs?So nice to watch hockey again, this is how I rank performances.
Top player: Bolduc
Next best: Dean, Dvorsky, Buchinger
Good: Robertsson, Dickinson, Peterson, Kaskimaki, Zherenko (other than the 2nd goal)
Not bad: Gudelj, Burns, Fischer, Mayich
Unnoticeable: Jecho, Pekarcik, Mrsic, McISaac
Bad: Gaudet, Stancl
Dean started slow but got better as the game went on, he had a hat trick of posts. Dvorsky was solid on the dot and playing smart with getting in passing lanes, my criticism for him was that when it got physical it seemed to knock him off his game.Agreed on Bolduc, and it wasn’t even close. I’ve been trying to temper my expectations with Dean but I thought he was solid tonight. Didn’t watch him in the A last year but seemed to have that hockey sense tonight to go to the right spots. Familiarity with Bolduc on that line no doubt helps. And was it just me or did Dvorsky win like three quarters of his faceoffs?
Yes indeedy
Let me pre-throw up in my mouth before saying this, but Chicago has some promising prospects/young players.Loved that hockey was back. First impression though was that the crowd size was a little disappointing. Hockey’s back and it was free and they filled maybe 1/5 to 1/4 of the seats? Disappointing. I watched the Blues/Hawks here in MN a year ago and the Wild practice rink was at max capacity. Standing room only with people standing along the glass. And at least 75% of people appeared to be Wild fans so didn’t even have a vested interest in that game.
Anyway, as for the actual game, both teams looked decent. Lots of sloppy play but that’s to be expected from youngsters, especially ones that have had 2ish days to practice together.
Bolduc, Dean and Buchinger were the best players for the Blues. I wasn’t a huge fan of Buchinger for the Storm last season but he was poised and played hard. Good showing for him.
Dvorsky was ok for me. Clearly one of the better players and as usual, very good on the dot, but he seemed to rush plays a bit. He was good but didn’t stand out as much as I was hoping he would.
Burns and Fisher were good too. Mayich made some nice plays. I liked what I saw from Robertsson, not as much from Kaskimäki. Great individual effort by Robertsson to get his own rebound on the OT winner.
Pekarcik wasn’t as effective as I was hoping he’d be and Jecho looked downright lost and tentative at times.
On the Hawks side, Nazar was the best player on the ice. He’s going to be an assist machine for the Hawks for years assuming he can handle the physicality. Slaggert, Allen and Commesso looked good for them too.
It’s a good showing versus a top 5 prospect pool.Let me pre-throw up in my mouth before saying this, but Chicago has some promising prospects/young players.
I’m glad Buchinger has put in some work to become a better prospect. Perhaps the Blues drafts made him look over his shoulder and realize he better step up and take a spot before there isn’t one to take.Loved that hockey was back. First impression though was that the crowd size was a little disappointing. Hockey’s back and it was free and they filled maybe 1/5 to 1/4 of the seats? Disappointing. I watched the Blues/Hawks here in MN a year ago and the Wild practice rink was at max capacity. Standing room only with people standing along the glass. And at least 75% of people appeared to be Wild fans so didn’t even have a vested interest in that game.
Anyway, as for the actual game, both teams looked decent. Lots of sloppy play but that’s to be expected from youngsters, especially ones that have had 2ish days to practice together.
Bolduc, Dean and Buchinger were the best players for the Blues. I wasn’t a huge fan of Buchinger for the Storm last season but he was poised and played hard. Good showing for him.
Dvorsky was ok for me. Clearly one of the better players and as usual, very good on the dot, but he seemed to rush plays a bit. He was good but didn’t stand out as much as I was hoping he would.
Burns and Fisher were good too. Mayich made some nice plays. I liked what I saw from Robertsson, not as much from Kaskimäki. Great individual effort by Robertsson to get his own rebound on the OT winner.
Pekarcik wasn’t as effective as I was hoping he’d be and Jecho looked downright lost and tentative at times.
On the Hawks side, Nazar was the best player on the ice. He’s going to be an assist machine for the Hawks for years assuming he can handle the physicality. Slaggert, Allen and Commesso looked good for them too.
Parking was awful on Friday but the seats were only half filled so plenty of seating. I can’t say how it will be later in the weekend. But I’d wager Sunday would be a lighter crowd.How crowded was it there? I'd like to go Sunday and just wanted to know what to expect.
He was interviewed on the radio the other day and said he only added a few pounds since he feels comfortable playing at 195 right now. But he said he definitely feels like he got stronger over the offseason.Did Bolduc look like he's filled out a decent amount over the off-season?