Are you guys serious lol? This whole year there have been multiple posters clamouring how Finn looks like he has "legit top pairing potential" and he's gonna be "at least a great #3" down the road. I dont have a list of folks who said stuff like that because i dont care enough to keep track of such stupid things, but oh my god yes, people were definitely saying such things.
Training Camp Thread - First round of Cuts Made (10 players)
- Thread starter Shaw65
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Semantics
PUBLIC ENEMY #1
Keep in mind that he was also left off the WJC team, probably for the same reasons as we're seeing now and in the MC - difficulty handling high end speed and skill. I don't think he's the sure thing 2nd/3rd pairing D a lot of people made him out to be last year. Probably less than 50/50 to be an NHL regular.
bobermay
Registered User
Connor Brown and Matt Finn not making the WJC is just another reason why they haven't been successful in the last few years..
Absolute joke that neither of them were on the team.
lol, People harping on Finn? They want him to get ready for the season. They have enough guys vying for the 1 spot on defense as it is. Rather him get down to the Marlies, learn the system and get ready for his first AHL season.
Not surprised at all with the cuts except for Verhaghe - thought they'd give him an exhibition game.
Glad to see the Rupert twins and Della Rovere cut, they're a waste of space.. Not sure why Brad Ross wasn't included with them... He's terrible and doesn't belong in an NHL camp.
I would have trimmed the roster even more.. There's lot of guys still in main camp who are just taking ice time from guys you'd like to see get a long look.
Glad to see the Rupert twins and Della Rovere cut, they're a waste of space.. Not sure why Brad Ross wasn't included with them... He's terrible and doesn't belong in an NHL camp.
I would have trimmed the roster even more.. There's lot of guys still in main camp who are just taking ice time from guys you'd like to see get a long look.
Gary Nylund
Registered User
- Oct 10, 2013
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matt finn was cut because his focus needs to be on the marlies not with the leafs. We've got a ton of bodies at main camp and theres only so many preseason games.
I agree with your sentiment, but I think they're keeping a lot of guys around because of all the games (including a split-squad game) this week - they need the bodies for that. I would prefer less preseason games so that they could cut the roster right down to those with a legit shot of playing for the Leafs at some point during the season.
sommervr
Registered User
- Feb 25, 2013
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The kid probably has friends and family reading the board. I feel bad for the kid because he is not out of the woods yet. The AHL will be a tough transition from what I have seen so far.
From the hype I was expecting a top 3 prospect coming in. I had never seen him play before.
Finn has definitely been overrated by Leaf fans over the last two years. People have had him penciled in everywhere in future lineups.
The guy is still a good prospect even if he was part of the first cuts. Im sure he knew as well as Leaf management knew that he was a long shot to make the roster this year and getting him ready early for Marlies camp will give him an advantage in the sense that he already knows this is where he will be playing so he can get use to it.
I think his play this training camp/rookie tourny has shown us that he needs a lot of work but the potential is there.
The one thing going for him is he played a massive role in Guelph and played a ton of minutes and is guaranteed to be gifted a spot on the Marlies this year while some guys who may even perform better won't get that chance.
The guy is still a good prospect even if he was part of the first cuts. Im sure he knew as well as Leaf management knew that he was a long shot to make the roster this year and getting him ready early for Marlies camp will give him an advantage in the sense that he already knows this is where he will be playing so he can get use to it.
I think his play this training camp/rookie tourny has shown us that he needs a lot of work but the potential is there.
The one thing going for him is he played a massive role in Guelph and played a ton of minutes and is guaranteed to be gifted a spot on the Marlies this year while some guys who may even perform better won't get that chance.
Mess
Global Moderator
Top rank prospects are not usually early cuts so it's a bit of a reality check and eye opener for Finn to be among the first cuts.
Perhaps he came in a little over confident based on his OHL success and now this might be a motivational tool for him to focus on his weaknesses and push him a little.
So is Finn a bust?
I don't see any way this kid could make the Leafs this year anyway.He still could develop as a top 4 dman but he clearly needs to step his game up to do it.
I don't see any way this kid could make the Leafs this year anyway.He still could develop as a top 4 dman but he clearly needs to step his game up to do it.
The Jersey Number
number nerd
Already asked several pages ago, but does anyone happen to have a numerical (jersey number) listing of the Leafs' training camp roster?
Community
44 is Rielly good
He has the best season of his junior career, showed tremendous improvement since being drafted (both offensively and defensively), is a captain that all of the storm players loved, and after 2 meaningless games with a dpartner who was horrible he's thrown under the bus and his entire last season means nothing?
Who cares if he got cut, management is obviously keen on letting their junior players play in the AHL before transitioning to the NHL.
Who cares if he got cut, management is obviously keen on letting their junior players play in the AHL before transitioning to the NHL.
Mess
Global Moderator
Finn's mobility seems to be an issue as he got walked numerous times in the rookie tournament and got caught standing still or flat footed.
Perhaps management want him to get some 1 on 1 time with skating coach Barb Underhill and work on this skating before the Marlies season begins and the rest of the team shows up for their camp.
Gary Nylund
Registered User
- Oct 10, 2013
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I hope his friends and family aren't reading this board. But if they are, they better develop a thick skin in a hurry.
diceman934
Help is on the way.
You are among the posters who have been pumping his tires....you are not alone.....look at the posters who voted him among our top prospects...
You need not look farther then at our top 30 prospect polls to see just how over rated he was by many on here when he was ranked second and over Holland I may add....
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1703681&highlight=leafs+top+prospects+matt+finn
He was over rated...
paulhiggins
Registered User
- Feb 4, 2006
- 2,807
- 827
In any case, Finn has a much higher probability of making the NHL as a player than a typical HFBoards poster would in making the NHL as a scout.
GoodNewfieBoy
We got a guy
I haven't been impressed anytime I've ever seen him play.
He seems to play like Phaneuf in his own zone, where he stands still waiting for others to do the work.
If you look at Phaneuf's 'touches' in his own zone, it backs up my statement about him standing still too.
I don't believe Finn will make the NHL, as his mobility is sorely lacking.
Nithoniniel
Registered User
Matt Finn might have been overrated by some before but that's nothing compared to the kind of verdict people are tossing around right now about a 20-year old who just had a rather bad camp.
I guess we will see many of the same posters make predictions of the teams long-term chances based on how the pre-season goes as well, would be the same kind of logic.
Matt Finn is who he has always been, a player with the skillset and character to become a good player down the road, if he addresses and develops a few weaknesses. He was always going to go back to AHL, he had no shot at the NHL club so the cut shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
I guess we will see many of the same posters make predictions of the teams long-term chances based on how the pre-season goes as well, would be the same kind of logic.
Matt Finn is who he has always been, a player with the skillset and character to become a good player down the road, if he addresses and develops a few weaknesses. He was always going to go back to AHL, he had no shot at the NHL club so the cut shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
Community
44 is Rielly good
I'll stand by him now and be ready for everybody to jump back on his bandwagon before the end of the AHL season.
In all fairness, all players, especially defenseman have weaknesses at his age. I wasn't overly impressed with him either, but he still has a lot of opportunity to improve.
Look at Tavares for example; he wasn't a very good skater at 19 or 20, but a few years really focussing on skating can have excellent results. I'm sure he knows it's something he needs to improve, now it's up to him to put in the work and get better.
No 20 year old should be written off so early.
diceman934
Help is on the way.
What does him improving have to do with him being over rated now?
Nothing, his character and work ethic will allow him to improve, but that changes nothing about him being over rated. He has a long road ahead of him if he is ever going to be a full time NHL D man....his skating is a huge issue and that is not a quick fix. I hope he exceeds the expectations of his biggest supporters as it would mean that he is a top 4 D man in the NHL and I would be ecstatic if that were to happen.
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