Fatass
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- Apr 17, 2017
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Sounds like Lind popped a couple and was a rat too. Does he still have the face of a boy, or is he starting (hopefully) to get his man muscles?
The Utica Comets | 2020-2021 Thread
- Thread starter Mr. Canucklehead
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Lind learned big time from Boucher. He was on the ice with Reid for almost every Bouch PP goal last season and most of Reid's PP goals came on one timers from the RW dot, not to mention the plethora of more one timers he unleashed wide, were stopped, or blocked.
A pure simple example of how prospects benefit from playing with experienced pros, veteran (Boucher, Baertschi, Bailey, Goldobin, Camper) or not (Anas).
Benning did not get any of these types for the Comets this year other than the demoted Baertschi. Whereas St.Louis went out and Acquired Anas, McKenzie, and Walker up front, Santini and Reinke on D, and Gillies in goal, while Benning didn't acquire a single player they didn't already have and Baertschi is the only one meeting the definition of an experienced player to aid the prospects.
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3 years as a pro with more GP in the ECHL than the AHL and not a single sparkle. Still on an ELC and likely doesn't get a QO unless Cull becomes a miracle worker.
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Unlikely it would happen before next season and you can bet he'll probably be gone by then. Even if he's still there in the off season, Benning usually drags his feet until the good ones are gone before he gets around to filling out his farm's roster. Toronto is a team among several others that does exactly that kind of thing.
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Sloppy game and poorly reffed. Late calls on Woo and Eliot to create the 5 on 3 were very weak unless you're saying body checking is no longer allowed.
Liked
Lind - at least on his shooting. Looked like Brett Hull on his one timers. However, defensive game is lacking and his line were on for some against and I thought Lind could have worked harder in that area. Ended up a -2
Woo - good composure and strong on his skates. Did a good job of eliminating people from the play and taking them off the puck. Was able to hold the blue line and still get back to the puck. Skating looks a strength. Doesn't show much offense and made a bad play in OT when with his team mates down low he went in and slammed one of the boards creating a breakaway the other way. Also got caught turning the wrong way at times as on the first goal against. Overall, however, thought he had strong game
Focht - didn't play a lot but when he did showed good positioning and used that to get offensive chances (like on his goal) and break up plays in the neutral zone. Smart player but probably needs a little more speed.
Eliot - much better game. Showed good range and hustle throughout.
Others
Lockwood - has speed and agility - but might need a better stick. Good on the PK. Little like Motte
Baertschi - seems to have lost any speed he might have had. Has enough moxie to create some offensive chances but slow through the neutral zone and getting behind the play.
Kielly - couple of softies but he was outstanding on the late 5 on 3 and in OT were he was left to fend for himself against open breakaways.
Gadjovich - did nothing all game. Hardly knew he played
Jasek - very ordinary. Not much to see here as well.
Liked
Lind - at least on his shooting. Looked like Brett Hull on his one timers. However, defensive game is lacking and his line were on for some against and I thought Lind could have worked harder in that area. Ended up a -2
Woo - good composure and strong on his skates. Did a good job of eliminating people from the play and taking them off the puck. Was able to hold the blue line and still get back to the puck. Skating looks a strength. Doesn't show much offense and made a bad play in OT when with his team mates down low he went in and slammed one of the boards creating a breakaway the other way. Also got caught turning the wrong way at times as on the first goal against. Overall, however, thought he had strong game
Focht - didn't play a lot but when he did showed good positioning and used that to get offensive chances (like on his goal) and break up plays in the neutral zone. Smart player but probably needs a little more speed.
Eliot - much better game. Showed good range and hustle throughout.
Others
Lockwood - has speed and agility - but might need a better stick. Good on the PK. Little like Motte
Baertschi - seems to have lost any speed he might have had. Has enough moxie to create some offensive chances but slow through the neutral zone and getting behind the play.
Kielly - couple of softies but he was outstanding on the late 5 on 3 and in OT were he was left to fend for himself against open breakaways.
Gadjovich - did nothing all game. Hardly knew he played
Jasek - very ordinary. Not much to see here as well.
The refs gave the Devils the same 5 on 3 that they had legitimately called for the Comets a few minutes earlier. The AHL officials are famous for evening things up so as not to appear having been one-sided instead of just calling the game as it unfolds. I mean it is just insanely obvious. It's why whenever I am reporting on a game I stress the Comets have to make good on their PPs because the refs will even up the calls later on and they usually don't fail to disappoint as the script is followed game in and game out.
Kole Lind- Kole is the Kole Lind of last season. He is offensive minded and he has the shot and IQ to get where you put up goals. He is very much like the guy I recently described as the player Kole was on the ice with a lot last season and he is emulating his play, Reid Boucher. Lots of scoring chances, but weak defensively even though you will see them sporadically make a great defensive play. Cull even had Boucher on the PK at times, but looking for the turnover short handed tally. Haven't seen Kole in that role yet.
Boucher and his line mates were on the ice for the most goals against last season with Bouch being the team leader with 58. That's more than 1GPGA since he only played 53 games.
Baertschi was the most common LW on his line and he was on for 45 against in 43 GP.
Camper got pulled into this as his center for 26 games and ended up on the ice for 36 GA in 48 GP.
Goldobin also got to share in the negativity as RW and LW with Boucher for 16 games ended up on the ice for 41 GA in 51 GP.
Goldobin and Camper were on the ice together for a bunch of games as well contributing to their numbers together.
All of these guys also killed penalties and were major PP participants.
The Comets were one the worst in the league at goals surrendered on the PK, 5th considering teams tied for spots and were 1st in the league with SHGA with 15.
Where does Lind fit into this picture? He was on the bumper on the 1st PP with Boucher/Baertschi/
Camper. He was on Boucher's line for the first 6 games of the season centered by Camper. Centered Bouch and Goldobin once. Centered Goldobin and Bailey twice.
Goldobin and Lind were wings on the same line 11 times.
Camper was also Lind's center for 14 additional games. Lind was on the ice for 39GA in 61 GP.
They tried to teach him defense by skating him with Bancks and Hamilton, Bancks and Malone for 2 straight games early on, but gave up on that quickly and put Malone between Bart and Boucher for a run, one bizarre combo with Pope and Stevens. He finished the season with Stevens or Hamilton centering Bailey and himself in the last few games with Jasek either out of the lineup or skating wing with Graovc the final 2 games of the season.
Bocher, Baertschi, Goldobin, Camper, Bailey, and Lind were intertwined all season, but Kole was the guy shifting all over the place as the season progressed getting a lot of time with Bailey and different centers between them, but Camper made their line most successful. Bailey was also on the 1st PP stationed in front of the net. He was on the ice for 32GA in 53GP. None of the players Kole played with were defensively responsible players aside from Camper who ended up having his numbers beaten up by being aligned with irresponsible players and also used as a main penalty killer.
Right now Kole still hasn't got the hang of the defensive part of the game. He's tied for the lead being on the ice for goals against with 5 while scoring 4. Just like Boucher. He would be stapled to Green's bench in a short order just like every other newbie that makes a mistake while the older guys continue to dress mistake after mistake.
Sam Anas - It is obvious how he won the AHL scoring title and it's also obvious why he's still in the AHL. He doesn't play good defensively either. He does, however, have a knack for getting the puck onto the sticks of others in open space for attempts to score and unlike Baertschi, he will shoot himself. He is dangerous every time he touches the puck.
Sven Baertschi - A veteran by AHL rules. Sven is the third cog on this line. Agree with your assessment here. I get the feeling he is out of shape due to a lot of down time. His skating either comes around or we may be seeing the decline of this player. It easily could be a combined result of his perceived dissing by Vancouver and the down time. His heart might just not be in it, but the money is damned good and there is no reason to walk away from $2mil+. He is still the best option for LW the Comets have on their cobbled together outfit. It has to be one of the league's top lines. We won't really know since they are really only going to be playing against 2 other teams, Syracuse and Rochester with 2 games against Bingo and 2 games against Providence.
The 2nd line has been Curtis McKenzie on LW with Jasek in the middle and 3 different RWs in 3 games. I believe it was intended for Nathan Walker to be the man there. He wasn't all that in Game 1 and played on Focht's line in game 2 and took a hit from Syracuse goon Witkowski and teetered off holding his jaw, didn't return, and wasn't in the lineup yesterday. I have a feeling he is injured, but I didn't hear any explanation. Maybe a Twitter/Facebook follower could fill me in. Our newspaper has been farmed out to USA Today and the local sports news sucks.*
*They played Saturday and a report on the game has not happened as of today, Monday.
*Walker is injured. The Witkowski hit did it.
*Gilles is also injured, upper body. That's why Kielly got 2 games in a row.
Both may be available by the middle of the week. Comets play Wednesday and Thursday and then are off until 2/26 & 27.
McKenzie - Curtis has played steady, had a few chances, kills penalties, but hasn't done all that much to appear to be a key to the team's success as of yet. He is counted upon to do such. He did score the lone goal vs Syracuse shorthanded on a centering pass by Jasek. He is a 29 yr-0ld, 8-year veteran. One of only 3 vets by AHL rules. He has produced at a .81 PPGA in his 395 AHL GP career. Cull needs to get him with the 2 next best players after Baertschi and Anas. That is job #1 at this moment. The team needs 2 dangerous lines or the Lind line will get shut down.
Walker - Walker is the other vet with a .50 PPGA in 384 AHL GP. Nathan did a lot of floating around between bursts attempting to make something happen. The line was not manufacturing a whole lot of offense. So in game 2 he was moved off the "veteran line" with McKenzie and Jasek to skate with Focht and Gadjovich. Then he got hurt.
Jasek - Lukas is playing the same way he did last season, but the wingers he's centering are not the ones he had last season: Goldobin, Bailey, MacEwen, Baertschi, Lind, and Boucher. When he was matched up with these people he did well, but when his mates did not include these guys, he was invisible. Jasek is a complementary player in the middle. He is much better on the wing with only that chore. Vancouver, due to their inability to obtain centers either through the draft, from free agency, or trades for minor league players, has insisted upon making this player into a center which he is not. He isn't even skilled enough to help make new players productive. Thus, his return to the Czech is right down the road.
So for the time being Jasek has to empower this line. He has to spearhead offense. The other 2 will produce if their center is leading the way. Her is the key. We'll see just exactly what they have in Jasek as a center over the next few games.
Woo - Lots of HF posters have expressed hope for Jett. I have always expressed hope for all of the Vancouver prospects. After 3 games this kid has not done a thing to change my mind, but I need more than a 3-game sample to make any kind of projection. I can only say I have liked what I have seen. He has already impressed more than Teves or Eliot did all of last season.
Eliot - Mitch has seemed to be better, but he and Wesley were on the ice for 3 of the Devils 5 goals the other night. The specific rules of boxing out, keeping a rush to the outside, playing the body, stepping up into a rushing puck carrier and refraining from a poke check unless the puck carrier is so lax it's an easy task to accomplish, clearing the crease, making a quick clean pass to start a rush or put it off the glass or boards if it's not there, and other defense 101 behaviors seems to be overlooked by Teves, Wesley, and often Eliot. Other than that I cede to your opinion of the Jett at this time.
Teves has not changed a thing and as far as I'm concerned was a poor decision and $700k for this guy is the epitome of dumb!!!!!!!!
Focht is like Woo for me. I have seen good things but also a kind of lost puppy look. He does know where the net is. As a center I should also see him initiating a rush and finding his linemates with the good pass and then moving to open ice to get one back. That element is essential to a center and that has been missing. Gadjovich can't function without a functioning center and Lockwood's promise will be relegated to forechecking and backchecking which he has done well. Will is a very aggressive player and works his ass off. This line lacks any high level skills or at least has not revealed any to this date.
Santini and Tucker -
Steve Santini and rookie Tyler Tucker seem to have become the #1 pair. The rookie is stepping up and challenging the puck carrier. His game is simple and defense first. Santini has flaws, but obviously had promise at one time. New Jersey signed him to an ELC at the end of the 2016 season and played him 1 game in New Jersey to burn a year off his ELC. He then played 2 years splitting time between the NHL Devils and the AHL Binghamton Devils. In 2018 at the end of his ELC they signed him to an RFA contract for 3 years at $4.25mil. He played the first season with N.J. He was traded to Nashville in the Subban trade and ended up in AHL Milwaukee for the 2019-20 season. In October of 2020 he was waived by Nashville for the purpose of buying him out. St. Louis claimed him off wavers for their AHL franchise in San Antonio and thus he is now a Comet for this season. He is not an offensive wiz and defense is supposed to be his game.
He and Tucker have been on the ice for 2 even strength goals and 2 goals on the penalty killing unit.
The verdict is out as to just how good Santini is as he has seemingly made more errors than Tucker.
Reinke - Mitch has been an offensive contributor playing the right side half boards on the PP and has assists on 2 of the Comets 3 PPGs. He was paired with Teves the 1st 2 games and Woo the third. The Woo/Reinke pair was good vs the Devils. Woo and Reinke were on for 1 PPGA, Woo was on for the 5th and tieing goal with Tucker and Santini after the 5 on 3 was killed and N. Stevens was the forward playing with no stick. The first was killed and while fending off the Devils with another extra man on a delayed penalty to Santini, the Devils tied it up. That whole episode was f***ing wild and they lost it in the final seconds of the kill and then had to kill another 2 minutes with barely 2 minutes left. Woo and Reinke were back out there again for part of that kill as were Tucker and Eliot while Santini served that final nerve racking 2 minutes.
Nolan Stevens - Nolan is on an RFA contract in his 3rd pro season. He has skills and has been more of a setup man than goal scorer in his previous 2 seasons in San Antonio, 18 points his rookie season but 31 in 50GP last season. He has been misused thus far. He sat out the 1st game, was deployed on the 4th line with Arseneau and rookie center Kaspick in the 2nd game, (not the pair you'd expect to be threats to score), and the the last game he was kicked up to play with Jasek and McKenzie and he came to life. He is an active forechecker, passes the puck with accuracy and back checks. He rewarded the coaching staff with an unassisted goal. I think he is the right fit for the 2nd line RW.
John Stevens - John, Nolan's brother, is in his 2nd season with Utica on an AHL contract. He was as he has been. A hard worker lacking in the hands and stick skills of a top 6 center. He is actually a 4th line grinder that has been forced into a higher role last season due to center issues. It is likely he will often find himself as the 3rd line center due to the fact that the rest of the centers are rookies or were poor performers in their previous AHL efforts.
McGing, Joshua, Kaspick, Jackson
Hugh McGing is a rookie as is Focht. Dakota Joshua, Tanner Kaspick. and Robby Jackson are the ones with the less than impressive pasts.
McGing and Kaspick have each centered 1 game and their efforts were not strong.
McGing played RW Saturday while Joshua played LW for the 2nd time. They were the 4th line centered by John Stevens. Joshua piled up the breakout at the blue line and and pushed the puck ahead to Stevens who walked in alone and scored. The line was active on the forecheck similar to the Lockwood and Focht on the 3rd line. The problem with the 3rd was ghost LW, Gadjovich.
There is a possibility of building a hard forechecking physical 4th line with Arseneau and Lockwood and or Gadjovich (if he gets his head out of his ass), but they need a center of the same caliber. It's probably Stevens, which would mean Focht has to pick it up and fast.
It's obvious to me that Cull and associate head coach, Drew Bannister, are trying guys out to find the right mix. At least that's the way it looks. If they keep up this continual rotation of bodies in and out and guys moving up and down the lines for the season to keep every guy playing, there will be no chemistry, no fixed roles, no continuity, just a 32 game fiasco with very little being accomplished. In this kind of season it is imperative to decide who has the best chance for growth to something better and who, as unfortunate as it may seem, will have to be passed over. You can't let the good ones sit out most of a season or get jockeyed all around when they do. Those with the greatest promise have to be given the best opportunity to move on.
D-man Wesley is in his 5th pro season and hasn't even made a permanent stop in the AHL. He's been given his chance, but due to the D reduced to 7 he will get lots of ice.
McGing is fresh out of NCAA Western Michigan and was drafted by the Blues. He has to get time.
Focht is a Vancouver draft pick fresh out of Jrs. He has to get time.
Lockwood is a Vancouver selection fresh out of NCAA Michigan. He has to get time.
Joshua is in the 3rd year of his ELC and has done nothing to date.
Kaspick is in his 3rd season and has not done anything impressive thus far.
Jackson 2nd yr pro on a last minute AHL contract has spent most of his 1st season in ECHL Tulsa. He's on the bottom of this list.
C
Lind
Jasek
Focht
J.Stevens
McGing - needs to get some time in the middle to see if it's a fit for the future.
LW
Baertschi
McKenzie
Gadjovich
Arseneau
RW
Anas
Nolan Stevens
Lockwood
Walker
Extras:
McGing - When not playing center he has to play some wing so that if the center thing doesn't work out he gets experience on the wing.
Joshua
Kaspick
Jackson
These 3 are depth players and can fill in where needed. Guys are going to get hurt and that's when these 3 will have to prove they deserve to be kept around for another season. There are a lot of experienced AHL players around every season that are way better than anyone in this group ave shown to date. This is where the game gets cruel, but necessary.
This team will be in big trouble before this season is over due to the lack of depth just in the matter of bodies.
A team with only one extra D-man will never get through a season before they are shorthanded.
4 forwards is pushing the limit as well considering they are all centers and will have to play out of position.
Walker and Nolan Stevens on RW are already on their wrong wings.
Rathbone and Michaelis should be sent here if they are going to rot in the taxi cab.
Di Pietro as well.This is the absolute worst thing you can to the development of a goalie. It's almost as if Benning has concluded that 2 really bad games, one as JR at 19 that he only played because of Benning's stupidity and negligence, and the other as a 20-yr old rookie with very limited pro experience at the AHL level, have proven he won't make the grade and therefore sitting his ass for this entire season is no big deal. Again, ASSININE thinking
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NuxFan09
Registered User
Not sure about Michaelis and Rathbone, but I'm sure about now DiPietro would welcome the opportunity to be thrust into game action.
And from what I understand, DiPietro was a real hit with the Utica fan-base, even though I guess the arenas are empty right now. Unfortunately with the AHL schedule only 26 games or so, if they wait much longer he won't get a lot of games in anyway. Such a waste of your best goaltending prospect.
And from what I understand, DiPietro was a real hit with the Utica fan-base, even though I guess the arenas are empty right now. Unfortunately with the AHL schedule only 26 games or so, if they wait much longer he won't get a lot of games in anyway. Such a waste of your best goaltending prospect.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Jon Gillies in the net for the Comets today against the Syracuse Crunch. Puck drop in about half an hour.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Shots 6-2 Comets so far halfway through the 1st. A pretty uneventful game so far.
NuxFan09
Registered User
A few good saves by Gillies here.
Random thought: Will Lockwood. Hard worker, has a lot of energy out there. Offensive upside seems real low though. Best case scenario is the Canucks get an effective 4th line energy guy with this player.
Random thought: Will Lockwood. Hard worker, has a lot of energy out there. Offensive upside seems real low though. Best case scenario is the Canucks get an effective 4th line energy guy with this player.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Ugh. Anas makes a nice pass to Baertschi and Baertschi tries to force the pass back instead of shooting from a prime position.
Anas makes plays on every shift, seemingly. Great player, at least at this level.
Anas makes plays on every shift, seemingly. Great player, at least at this level.
NuxFan09
Registered User
GOAL! 1-0 Comets.
Lockwood made what looked like a slap pass from a really sharp angle and Gadjovich deflects it in deftly. This Gadjovich - Focht - Lockwood line was pretty effective in the last game as well.
Lockwood made what looked like a slap pass from a really sharp angle and Gadjovich deflects it in deftly. This Gadjovich - Focht - Lockwood line was pretty effective in the last game as well.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Comets will finish the period on the powerplay. 1:50 to go in the 1st.
Baertschi - Lind - Walker
Reinke - Anas
^ is the 1st unit out there.
Baertschi - Lind - Walker
Reinke - Anas
^ is the 1st unit out there.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Pretty good PP for the Comets but just nothing going. The 1st unit played the whole thing.
1st period shots: 9-7 Comets
1st period shots: 9-7 Comets
NuxFan09
Registered User
NuxFan09
Registered User
Both teams sort of have rag-tag rosters as, just like Utica, Syracuse is also sharing their roster. The Panthers farm team, Charlotte Checkers, are one of the 3 AHL teams to opt out and are lending most of their players to Syracuse as a result.
vanuck
Now with 100% less Benning!
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Lockwood is one of the few guys down there who actually intrigues me for his two-way upside. That being said, I know next to nothing about him.
How's his defensive play so far? Does he win his puck battles?
NuxFan09
Registered User
GOAL! 2-0 Comets
Shot by the D-man Steven Santini sneaks through the Crunch goalie. Another goal created by the Baertschi - Lind - Anas line. Anas and Baertschi with the assists.
PP for the Crunch now.
Shot by the D-man Steven Santini sneaks through the Crunch goalie. Another goal created by the Baertschi - Lind - Anas line. Anas and Baertschi with the assists.
PP for the Crunch now.
NuxFan09
Registered User
He does win battles, though from the little I've watched (about a game and a half) he hasn't really been involved in many battles. Cull, like Green in the NHL, is playing his 4th line more as a 3rd line, leaving Lockwood's line without much ice time. Beyond that he also seems to have good defensive IQ and a good stick.
NuxFan09
Registered User
GOAL! 3-0 Comets.
The Comets got a PP after the Crunch took themselves off their PP. Sam Anas again makes a nice feed from the right side all the way over to Nathan Walker on the left doorstep, who taps it in.
Anas and Reinke with the assists.
When everything goes back to normal the Comets are really going to miss Anas. Repeating myself here but he's literally making plays on every shift. Good get by the Blues, even if he's never an NHL player for them.
The Comets got a PP after the Crunch took themselves off their PP. Sam Anas again makes a nice feed from the right side all the way over to Nathan Walker on the left doorstep, who taps it in.
Anas and Reinke with the assists.
When everything goes back to normal the Comets are really going to miss Anas. Repeating myself here but he's literally making plays on every shift. Good get by the Blues, even if he's never an NHL player for them.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Focht has a partial break as the Comets penalty expires but he's stoned by Montembeault.
NuxFan09
Registered User
Pretty quick 2nd period comes to an end.
3-0 Comets. Shots are 14-13 Comets.
Pretty workmanlike effort by the Comets defensively and Gillies in goal. The Comets aren't giving the Crunch much but when they did get some looks Gillies was strong.
3-0 Comets. Shots are 14-13 Comets.
Pretty workmanlike effort by the Comets defensively and Gillies in goal. The Comets aren't giving the Crunch much but when they did get some looks Gillies was strong.
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