The Utica Comets | 2020-2021 Thread
- Thread starter Mr. Canucklehead
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All the season ticket holders I know received E-mail info 2 or 3 times. Don't understand how you got left in the dark.
Contact the Aud and choose to speak to someone in charge of tickets. They supposedly have a way for people who paid already to deal with this. Point of importance, it's only Utica Comets games, home and away, that were covered. If you wanted the whole package that would be on you. Everyone now also has free local cable TV coverage of the home games as well.
The Blues have faced a shitload of injuries. Thus, the Utica Comets have lost both Nathan Walker (LW/RW) on Friday, 2/19 and Dakota Joshua (RW/LW) on Sunday, 2/21) to the St.Louis Blues on recall.
Both of the above players were in the lineup with Utica on Thursday, 2/18.
Forwards scratched from Thursday's lineup were:
Curtis McKenzie (family reasons - wife gave birth)
Vincent Arseneau - healthy
Tanner Kaspick - healthy
Robby Jackson - healthy
I would guess Arseneau will slot in on RW and McKenzie will come back into his LW position.
Hugh McGing is a center who has been playing LW with John Stevens at center and Dakota Johnson, also a center, on the RW. This line has been the Comets top checking line and have been dangeous offensively as the result of the turnovers they have caused. Stevens and Joshua were also a penalty killing pair. I would expect to see Arseneau replace Joshua.
McKenzie had been Jasek's LW until the baby came along. Walker moved over from the right side where he had played with this line the first 2 games. He will simply go back to his spot.
Lockwood had moved up to the RW on Focht's line with Gadjovich in game 3 and they have remained together.
The first line has been Baertschi/Lind/Anas since day 1 and I expect it to stay that way.
Cull says he expects to play Rathbone on Friday at home vs the Rochester Americans.
Santini and Tucker have been together since game 1.
Reinke started the 1st 2 games with Teves and has partnered with Woo for the last 3. WOO and Reinke worked well together.
Rathbone gets one of Eliot, Wesley, or Teves unless Cull wants to mix everything up again and disturb the chemistry that has been building with the other 2 pairs. My guess would be Eliot. Personally I belive he is the best of the rest and if Rathbone is anything like they say he is, the two will do okay together, at least much better than Eliot and Wesley worked out.
I brought up a looming problem last week that is looming even larger today, DEPTH!
They started this season without enough to begin with.
7 D was outright stupid. Rathbone eases that problem, but only slightly.
They had 16 forwards, but turns out 9 were centers counting Lind who got moved to the middle. J.Stevens, Lind, Jasek, and Focht have become the centers. McGing and Kaspick got 1 game each in the middle the 1st 2 games and it's been John Stevens ever since.
Anas, McGing, and Joshua got moved out to the wings.
Robby Jackson has seen no action. Cruel as it may sound to say, he is the least talented of all of the forwards. He played 4 AHL games last season with San Antonio and 57 with ECHL Tulsa where he put up typical ECHL numbers for guys that put up 0 points in their short stays in the AHL next to numbers like 40Pts/57GP. This is only his 2nd season and things could look up for him, but the fact that he hasn't even been given a look early when the season only has 32 games doesn't light a bright candle.
The Comets need to pick up a couple more D-men for the inevitable and a couple more forwards. The Canucks haven't come knocking yet, but it's likely just a matter of time.
Both of the above players were in the lineup with Utica on Thursday, 2/18.
Forwards scratched from Thursday's lineup were:
Curtis McKenzie (family reasons - wife gave birth)
Vincent Arseneau - healthy
Tanner Kaspick - healthy
Robby Jackson - healthy
I would guess Arseneau will slot in on RW and McKenzie will come back into his LW position.
Hugh McGing is a center who has been playing LW with John Stevens at center and Dakota Johnson, also a center, on the RW. This line has been the Comets top checking line and have been dangeous offensively as the result of the turnovers they have caused. Stevens and Joshua were also a penalty killing pair. I would expect to see Arseneau replace Joshua.
McKenzie had been Jasek's LW until the baby came along. Walker moved over from the right side where he had played with this line the first 2 games. He will simply go back to his spot.
Lockwood had moved up to the RW on Focht's line with Gadjovich in game 3 and they have remained together.
The first line has been Baertschi/Lind/Anas since day 1 and I expect it to stay that way.
Cull says he expects to play Rathbone on Friday at home vs the Rochester Americans.
Santini and Tucker have been together since game 1.
Reinke started the 1st 2 games with Teves and has partnered with Woo for the last 3. WOO and Reinke worked well together.
Rathbone gets one of Eliot, Wesley, or Teves unless Cull wants to mix everything up again and disturb the chemistry that has been building with the other 2 pairs. My guess would be Eliot. Personally I belive he is the best of the rest and if Rathbone is anything like they say he is, the two will do okay together, at least much better than Eliot and Wesley worked out.
I brought up a looming problem last week that is looming even larger today, DEPTH!
They started this season without enough to begin with.
7 D was outright stupid. Rathbone eases that problem, but only slightly.
They had 16 forwards, but turns out 9 were centers counting Lind who got moved to the middle. J.Stevens, Lind, Jasek, and Focht have become the centers. McGing and Kaspick got 1 game each in the middle the 1st 2 games and it's been John Stevens ever since.
Anas, McGing, and Joshua got moved out to the wings.
Robby Jackson has seen no action. Cruel as it may sound to say, he is the least talented of all of the forwards. He played 4 AHL games last season with San Antonio and 57 with ECHL Tulsa where he put up typical ECHL numbers for guys that put up 0 points in their short stays in the AHL next to numbers like 40Pts/57GP. This is only his 2nd season and things could look up for him, but the fact that he hasn't even been given a look early when the season only has 32 games doesn't light a bright candle.
The Comets need to pick up a couple more D-men for the inevitable and a couple more forwards. The Canucks haven't come knocking yet, but it's likely just a matter of time.
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Luke Schenn is on waivers for the purpose of returning him to the taxi squad. He makes $800K. Briesbois would make $700K if he were to get to the roster. I don't exactly know what Schenn's $800K would do to the cap, but picking him back up would be a better fit for Vancouver and Brisebois would be the perfect partner for Rathbone.
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NuxFan09
Registered User
End of an era. Hamilton-Bancks have been a glue duo for the franchise since day 1.
Do the Utica coaches seem to care about handedness, re Brisebois and Rathbone both being lefties?
I know it works for Schmidt shooting L and playing R, but that's not the norm for whatever reason. You would think
a raw rookie like Rathbone would be playing his regular side. What righties are available for him to play with?
Since season 2 actually but your point is well taken and respected. it does seem like the only teams they ever played for were the Comets.
Carter was actually in Abbottsford during Comets season #1 2013-14:
Carter Bancks Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com
Wacey was in Bingo: Wacey Hamilton Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com
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Good honest hockey players who gave it everything they had on every shift they played for Utica and the other AHL squads they played for.
But this damn pandemic has curtailed the careers of a lot of good hockey players, and cut down on a lot of available jobs. At some point a young man has to think about his family's well-being, even if means walking away from the game you love.
All the best to Wacey and Carter in the future.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Ah, right. Thanks for the correction. That's exactly it, though. It's easy to forget those guys did have a career before Utica haha.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Brisebois has played both sides.
The current Comets roster only has Teves and Tucker who shoot left.
Tucker has become a fit with Santini. Teves has disappeared since game 2 and the D has played better.
Jett Woo shoots right but has been playing the left side with RH Reinke and Reinke is the experienced D-man.
Eliot shoots right but played the left side with Wesley.
So, Rathbone becomes the team's 3rd left shooter of whom only 1 has been playing.
Cull has his choice of RH shooters to match Rathbone with. However, as I previously stated I believe Cull would be best off leaving Tucker/Santini and Woo/Reinke alone for now. Let Jack play his left side and see how Eliot does moving back to his natural right side. Eliot has not played all that bad and if Jack is all of what they say he should be, it should go just fine, especially if Cull starts them out as the 3rd pair. Efficient play allows Cull to rearrange the 1,2,3 as he sees fit.
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Snatcher Demko
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So Jett Woo, one of our best D prospects, is starting off his pro career playing on his off-side? Did he play the left side in Junior?
I suppose if Woo had learn to play either side, it'll be a career-enhancer for him.....certainly worked for Jordie Benn.
UticaHockey
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mriswith
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- Oct 12, 2011
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It's especially silly because we need shut down RHD way more than anything on the left side.
In theory Woo is a perfect fit with Hughes if he develops well enough. Or Juolevi. Or Luke Hughes.
In theory Woo is a perfect fit with Hughes if he develops well enough. Or Juolevi. Or Luke Hughes.
Blue and Green
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- Dec 17, 2017
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A guy gets shifted over to his opposite side for a few games and people act as though he's being ruined.
LOL! I can't believe how casually you just announce these call-ups and then sit back to watch for my reactions. You know how close these bozos are to courting disaster. You keep playing that fiddle while the kindling is burning. LOL! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha-Ha-Ha (The mad man laughing connoted by the Ha-Has)
Rathbone couldn't have arrived closer to a pure emergency. They has 7 D before his assignment here. He made 8. Now Santini is gone making 7 again and Reinke is the only experienced (vet type) on the team. Guess it's not going to matter who plays with whom because they are all rookies or guys who have never held down a fixed role on an AHL team.
Reinke and then:
Tucker (Rookie)
Woo (Rookie)
Rathbone (Rookie)
Eliot (2nd yr, 8/9 last season)
Wesley (5th year, 135 ECHL GP for 3 teams/77AHL GP for 4 teams counting the Comets/last year 26 ECHL Tulsa/25 AHL San Antonio) He has been a call-up when the AHL clubs were shorthanded
Teves (2nd yr, 8/9 last year) He hasn't played since game 2 and there has been no reason given besides a healthy scratch.
Tucker, Rathbone, and Teves are left handed. Tucker's full season partner in Santini is gone. Teves played with Reinke, but Woo has settled in there for the last 3 games and that duo looks much better than it did with Teves. I'm thinking Cull thought so too.
What a shit fest this is soon to become. In the normal scheme of things on an AHL hockey team players are always lost to call-ups and injury and often both occur at the same time. I have been saying depth would kill them back before the team was even finalized when they only had 7 in camp that soon became their only 7 D-men on the roster. The fact is Vancouver brought no one in who they hadn't sent down to Utica. That included AHL contracts from last year. St. Louis on the other hand signed several new guys, mostly experienced players and a couple of their AHL contracts. Had Vancouver signed up a handful of extras with the same type of AHL experience that St. Louis did, this situation wouldn't seem so dire.
They have already lost one of their only 2 D-men with experience and 2 of their forwards to the Blues. Their depth now is 1 D-man and 2 forwards. How much longer do you think it will be before the extras are used up and the team doesn't have enough players? Pseudo GM Johnson should have been all over the numbers issue weeks ago, but he has done nothing.
Everyday NHL teams waive guys to send down to the taxi. All Vancouver has to do is claim one like Schenn a couple days ago. Put hi on the 23 man roster and send one of the forwards to the taxi like Eriksson and Brisebois could be sent to Utica. He's not doing a damned thin there and Schenn is a better NHL D-man than him anyways. I suppose they could make the same kind of move and send Rafferty down, but Briesbois is the better choice to mentor this primary school group of D. Their other option is to see what's out there in the way of a couple AHL experienced D-men that are still looking for work in North America. There have to be a bunch. There is lots of time between Comets games to work guys into game shape. The time for Johnson and whoever else to get off their asses is now, not when the roof caves in. It will be too late then.
Snatcher Demko
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It's a legitimate clarification. I want to know if there's a plan for the kid. It's okay if he's playing his off-side but it also makes sense to put him in a position to succeed. Also there is the question of if he played both sides in JR.
Given this management's track record with defensemen and ability to create a supporting cast for its prospects, I am used to assuming the worst.
UticaHockey
Registered User
We used to think Vancouver was an injury prone team but this year's St Louis Blues makes Vancouver look like the healthiest team on the planet.
UticaHockey
Registered User
Add Sam Anas to the list of players called up by the Blues this week. It's crazy how a team technically with two parent teams this season can be so thin on skaters right now.
At this point there is no need to concern ourselves with winning. Neither should the coaching staff. The goal at this minute should be to enable the players to survive playing games. I am not the least bit confident that player development is even possible. This team will be a ragtag assemblage of rookies, lesser than sound AHL players trying to hold onto a career before their NHL team fails to offer them a qualifying offer. Mixed in are a few players that were actually hoping to make their mark this season and get a chance with the big club. They would be Lind, Jasek, and Gadjovich with Vancouver and Nolan Stevens Dakota Joshua, and Tanner Kaspick with St. Louis. These players needed to play with a mix of seasoned AHL/NHL tweeners and a few new top prospects.
St.Louis has recalled Sam Anas, Nathan Walker, Steve Santini, and Dakota Joshua. Curtis McKenzie and Mitch Reinke are the sole veteran types acquired by St. Louis left in Utica and Sven Baertschi was the sole veteran sent here from Vancouver and he's still here.
However, unlike St.Louis, Benning and GM Johnson did not go outside of their own system to acquire any players to aid their prospects in their development. That is the reason I said I don't believe Benning views any players in Utica as serious threats to crack the Vancouver roster now or in the future. The exception may be Rathbone. If he was serious about any of the guys he has here he would have supported them a whole lot better than this.
St. Louis made a concerted effort and their injury chaos has required them to recall guys they didn't really expect to need in St.Louis. You have to remember they took 2 players off the original Utica list before they ever got here. That would be Jake Walman and Scott Perunovich. Brisebois was ticketed here by Vancouver but the early injury to Chatfield and then Hamonic kept him in Vancouver. Chatfield has returned and Hamonic has been reported ready to go, but he remains on LTIR. I get the feeling that Vancouver's cap may have something to do with this particular issue, but I don't know. They only have 5 on the Taxi squad and they carried 6 when this all started. The only other guy out injured is Motte.
The Canucks are extremely healthy. Meanwhile their farm has been decimated by necessary St. Louis recalls. This team has no way of surviving with only 1 extra forward and 1 extra d-man. The negligence of the farm continues to be the legacy of Benning.
**********
Hamonic has been activated. The only Canuck not healthy is Motte. Meanwhile the Comets have been decimated. Not by injury, but by St.Louis chaos. The Blues are suffering a plethora of injuries. The result is that they have recalled all of their best players shrinking the roster.
Hey, Jimbo. Think you could take care of your obligation to your prospects and the farm? St. Louis acquired extra players to support their prospects. Since you didn't bother to do the same, with the call-ups by St. Louis and your failure to have held up your end of the responsibility to your prospects, the Comets are down to 13 F and 7 D. This number absolutely cannot sustain the trials and tribulations looming ahead of them. Hold up your end of the agreement you made with the Blues to share a farm and even moreso with the promise you made with your own prospects.
GET _______THEM__________ SOME________ HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Fatass
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- Apr 17, 2017
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Rathbone is good, really good. Lockwood and Bone dominate and set up a beauty goal. Skill and speed. These are are clearly NHL players.
WTG
December 5th
God damn computer won't let me access the internet. I'm gonna miss this game. Hopefully I can watch the replay.
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