- Feb 12, 2008
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The bookie, who got his thumbs broken?
Yup
The bookie, who got his thumbs broken?
At this point I am just waiting for him to get fired so the real season can start. If we don't go at least 3-3 in the next games...
The weird thing is while the Wild had some similar issues regarding youth and the powerplay, they were always still a good defensive team under Yeo. I don't really know what's going on there.
I re-watched the Chicago and Anaheim games and noticed something about our system. It is 3-2 zone to man on man. It seems like the center always stays in middle while the wingers challenge the points and along the boards in a man to man. If the opposing player moves the puck below the dots the winger disengages and joins the zone coverage while the corresponding defenseman breaks from the zone coverage and picks up the man and vice versa when the puck is moved out high again. As you can tell this is causing a lot of confusion and leaving large gaps in the middle of the ice. This is why a team like Chicago who rotates players into different positions in the offensive zone seems like they are being given free ice. I hate these kinds of defensive systems as I feel they are over complicated and rarely work at professional levels.
If Yeo wants to save his job he needs to revert back to a simple zone coverage like a "collapsing protect" where we flood the middle of the ice with bodies and let opposing teams have the shots from the outside and hope Allen is up to the task. Personally I am not a huge fan of this system either but it is very simple to play and has proved effective, though limited, over the years.
Ask and you shall receive!!!!!Where to start?
His handling of youth is pretty crazy. I'm not a proponent for giving the kids minutes they don't deserve, such as Tage Thompson last year, but he has a history of keeping the younger guys so much more accountable than the vets. Case in point this year....Jbo and Dunn. Dunn sits 2 games and then gets 10 minutes last game when anyone and everyone can see that Jbo is just awful at this point. He's at best a 5/6 at this point and I'd argue that Schmaltz looks much better looking so far and he's also sitting over Jbo. Jbo even gets more minutes right now that Edmundson. This is just nuts and reminds me exactly of Yeo's time with the Wild.
I'd argue Kyrou should be getting much more time than he is as well. He already looks to be a difference maker and only a matter of time that he starts converting. I think it's time to see what he looks like on the ROR/91 line. He could be the Blues version of Panarin for Vladi. Thomas should be getting more than 7-8 minutes too, otherwise just send him back to Hamilton and let him murder the OHL this year with Kaliyev.
Then we come to how consistently inconsistent the Blues are in game. They can go from looking like an AHL squad to dominating the pace and then back to an AHL squad in the same game. That tells me the players are getting mixed messages in game plan and they look like they are already starting to tune him out just 5 games in. He should have never been the hire in the first place and there was no need to do the whole stupid coach in waiting thing either. Gerard Gallant was who I wanted and there were a few others as well that I would have taken over Yeo. It's not like he's some hockey genius. He doesn't even look like he knows what he wants to do half the time.
Eh, it's not realistic to expect a rookie to play 82 games so I don't really mind that. I'd like to see what Sanford looks like too. We haven't really gotten to see him at all in the NHL for the past year and a half.
There is nothing to decide. He's staying up this year. The way the team is using him points to them having a long patient plan for him this season. They can play him smaller minutes and increase as his game comes along. The 9 game cut-off for juniors is not truly a big decision-point for him.True. I guess my issue is they have 4 games left to decide what they are really going to do with Thomas. As I have stated before Army has said he has nothing left to prove in Jr's. So if they sit him them send him back did they really give him a shot? I just want to see him with better players so we have an idea what he really can do.
There is nothing to decide. He's staying up this year. The way the team is using him points to them having a long patient plan for him this season. They can play him smaller minutes and increase as his game comes along. The 9 game cut-off for juniors is not truly a big decision-point for him.
Its no big deal if he gets scratched occasionally. 82 games is a long season, and he's taking a huge step up from juniors. His minutes have been increasing little by little, but his play has continued to be very uneven. He just needs to continue going through this process of transitioning to the NHL game. This board is a little obsessed with his usage, but I think playing him on the 4th line with reasonably skilled wingers (like Barbashev, Blais, etc) is a good way for him to learn. Folks act like he can be an impact player for the Blues RIGHT NOW. Well, he's not. And he has a ways to go before he gets to that. Once you accept that reality, his usage seems pretty reasonable provided his minutes modulate up as his play evens out.
Kyrou's minutes are already going up. 15 minutes last game, and now getting minutes on the top line. That's a good spot for him. Excited to see how that line looks next game.