Prospect Info: 2014/15 OKC Barons Thread 2: Gerry Fleming Named Head Coach of the Condors

[misfit]

Last one hit 1000.

Some recent posts:

Listened a radio interview, don't know who was interviewed but it was a guy who is in Oklahoma and covers the Barons.

In a nutshell:

- Klefbom has been a dominant defender.
- Pakarinen is a "beast". Right now better player than Pitlick.
- Tuohimaa has been standing on his head. Not surprised if he gets an extension.
- Kessy has developed a scoring touch and his stickhandling is a lot better than last year.
- Ewanyk got compliments as well, I missed it though.
- Moroz's beginning as a professional hasn't started as well as he was hoping for. He gets a good chance though in the next game as he is playing in the top line with Lander and Pakarinen
- Yakimov has been improving every game. He constantly outmuscles his opponents and is very good at faceoffs

Pitlick being over a PPG is surprising.

Buddy down in OKC is a big fan of the Barons. Said Klefbom is absolutely dominating in every game hes played.

good read on Jason Williams
http://theahl.com/williams-spreads-winning-wisdom-p194418

thats AWESOME. so happy he is down there showing them the ropes

Click to read more...

 

[Senor Catface]

Does anyone know why Pitlick is out of the lineup? 6 points in 5 games means it's likely an injury, and not a healthy scratch.

 

[Senor Catface]

And Iiro Pakarinen now has 5 goals in 6 games. Maybe a good viable callup at this stage.

 

[sepHF]

Barons Gameday ‏@BaronsGameDay 3h3 hours ago

#OKCBarons scratches: Tyler Pitlick, Kale Kessy & C.J. Ludwig (all healthy), Laurent Brossoit (day-to-day)

I haven't been watching the games but Pitlicks statline looks good, seems weird to healthy scratch him.

 

[sepHF]

Barons Gameday ‏@BaronsGameDay 3h3 hours ago

@plus60man @RyGarner By design, the 14 forwards are rotating right now, so eventually all will sit. Happens to be Pitlick's turn.

lol really? Is this atom or something?

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

So OKC lose the game 5-4 in OT

Klefbom with 1 assist
Lander with 1 goal 2 assists
Pakarinen with 1 goal 2 assists

Klefbom had a good game, but he had some issues tonight he had 2 clearing attempts that he should of got out but didn't and he had atleast 3 turnovers off passes, they were tape to tape passes that were too hard, they looked like something a normal NHL player could handle, but at this level you have to take some mustard off them. Other then that he was noticeable in all facets of the game and generally was pushing the momentum in our direction, he played with Musil tonight, I think part of his frustration is he gave 3 passes to Musil early in the game that should of been easy outs that Musil failed to get out of our zone so he started trying to do it all himself at times.

Lander despite the stat line still looks off to me, he took a stupid penalty on the powerplay with about 6 mins to go, that would of made it a lot easier to hold onto our 1 goal lead. He also pushed a player directly onto Tuohimaa for no apparent reason after the whistle.

Pakarinen looked good, if we need to call up a winger it should really just be a 2 horse race between him and Pitlick. Pitlick getting sat out tonight sucked, his absence is very much noticed he brings a lot of energy to the team and he seems to drive possession.

This game confirmed to my why Williams isn't in the NHL anymore he thinks the game at a good level and has skill, but he's too slow and too weak on the puck for the NHL level.

Yakimov seemed to be earning the trust of Nelson seen him playing a lot more then usual, but sadly he was injured with I think about 5 mins left in the game, he crashed into the boards pretty hard and the announcers thought he ate a high stick to the face when he was crashing into the boards, but with no replay couldn't tell for certain. He skated off under his own power so I doubt it was really serious.

 

[WinTheRightGames]

How many of Pakarinen's goals have been through the five hole? It's his forte.

 

[Senor Catface]

lol really? Is this atom or something?

Yeah, a little baffling. Pitlick isn't some world beater, but you simply shouldn't sit a guy who's putting up more than a point a game.

 

[Fourier]

Does anyone know why Pitlick is out of the lineup? 6 points in 5 games means it's likely an injury, and not a healthy scratch.

Nelson said they are using a roster rotation and that this was Pitlick's turn to sit.

 

[40oz]

So when are we going to start talking about Iiro Pakarainen? 8 points in 6 games, 2nd in rookie scoring.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

So when are we going to start talking about Iiro Pakarainen? 8 points in 6 games, 2nd in rookie scoring.

If he keeps it up.. I'd like to see him tried in the top 6

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

If he keeps it up.. I'd like to see him tried in the top 6

Our top 6!? You know we have some pretty good wingers on the big squad. His skill set is that of a 3rd/4th line winger with possibly some scoring touch, let's stick with that and see what he can do with that kind of opportunity when and if he gets the call to the big club.

 

[Aceboogie]

Klefbom with another assist and a +3 in a 4-3 win. Moves into 8th in AHL D scoring, but played 3 less games than every player around him. Has the 2nd highest PPG for all AHL D.

PPG is also around top 15 for all players

Khaira with a goal

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Score actually ended up 5-3 Kessy with the late empty netter.

Pitlick was injured, he was skating a million miles an hour into the offensive zone, looked like he chipped the puck into the zone and then Justin Falk stood up at the blueline elbowed him in the head. Announcers said he looked wobbly after the play and the early suspicion is a possible concussion, but nothing confirmed.

Tonight was Landers best game IMO, despite getting no points when he has typically been scoring pretty regularly was just moving his feet a lot better, created a lot of plays and made smart little plays both offensively and defensively.

This was also Khaira's best game so far, he was involved in the play a lot seemed to get a lot more ice time with the Yakimov injury and used it well, was hard to get off the puck down low and did a good job pressuring on the forecheck.

From watching Moroz he really seems like one of those guys from junior who is going to take a little while to get a handle on the AHL, I suspect he'll remain pretty quiet scoring wise and will likely look noticably better in the last 1/3 of the season.


Gazdic also looked pretty good and was moving his feet well for a guy just coming off injury.

 

[McMozesmadness]

Why wasn't Pakarinen playing tonight?

 

[Baronsfan]

Why wasn't Pakarinen playing tonight?

It's been said in this thread, but Nelson is on a rotation for the first handful of games so everyone gets their opportunity in a game to prove their worth. Tonight was Pakarinen's turn to sit out. Every forward takes their turn to sit in the rotation, whether it's a 1st liner or 4th liner, vet or rookie, every player will have their day to sit. So far only one who hasn't sat is Lander, which okc is short a C with Yakimov being out 2-4 weeks so he likely skips his rotation by default.

 

[McMozesmadness]

It's been said in this thread, but Nelson is on a rotation for the first handful of games so everyone gets their opportunity in a game to prove their worth. Tonight was Pakarinen's turn to sit out. Every forward takes their turn to sit in the rotation, whether it's a 1st liner or 4th liner, vet or rookie, every player will have their day to sit. So far only one who hasn't sat is Lander, which okc is short a C with Yakimov being out 2-4 weeks so he likely skips his rotation by default.

Ohhh... That seems a bit odd, but I guess I can see why they'd do it.

Either way its nice problem to have.

They can't do this for very long... So whats the next move? Some guys going to ECHL?

 

[Baronsfan]

Ohhh... That seems a bit odd, but I guess I can see why they'd do it.

Either way its nice problem to have.

They can't do this for very long... So whats the next move? Some guys going to ECHL?

Matter of fact the past 5 games the Barons leading scorer for that day has been scratched while they had the team lead in points. R. Hamilton, Miller, Williams, Pitlick, then Pakarinen. Seems odd, but don't really have much of a choice I suppose.

If it's based off of play I can say that for me Moroz and C. Hamilton seem to be the least productive, but especially in Moroz's case he needs to play, but he seems to have difficulty keeping up at this level and doesn't accomplish much. He's yet to even show much physical bite, which I heard he has plenty of. I bet they keep the 2 around, but won't see a full rotation, just the bottom 4 or so on totem pole.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Didn't watch much of todays game score ended up being 4-2 Barons in the end.

Right near the end of the game Gernat got ran into the boards the hit was 3-4 seconds late per the announcer and he was rocked pretty bad. Pakarinen also got hurt in the last minute or so of the game, he was favouring his leg a little bit, but didn't look serious.

No one anyone really cares about put up much in the way of points. Kessy got an assist I think that makes 4 points in 7 games which is pretty impressive for someone who is mainly a tough guy, his skating improvements make him a far better player then he was a year ago.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

It'd be great if Kessy could become our Kyle Clifford.

 

[McMozesmadness]

It'd be great if Kessy could become our Kyle Clifford.

I think he will be get to that point and I think it will be sooner than people think.

I was in favor of the deal when it went down, and while Rieder has progressed extremely well I still don't hate the deal. We lost... but if Kessy becomes a Zack Kassian Kyle Clifford type, the burn wont be too bad.

 

[Spawn]

I think he will be get to that point and I think it will be sooner than people think.

I was in favor of the deal when it went down, and while Rieder has progressed extremely well I still don't hate the deal. We lost... but if Kessy becomes a Zack Kassian Kyle Clifford type, the burn wont be too bad.

Kassian and Clifford both had better offensive numbers in junior and both were already in the NHL at the same stage of their career as Kessy is now. And even if he does become a Kyle Clifford type... what is that exactly? A 15 point a year 4th liner?

Kassian is a poor comparison honestly. He was a first round pick who put up good offensive numbers in junior, good offensive numbers in the AHL, and even he is struggling at the NHL level.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

A bigger and better fighting version of Hendricks wouldn't be the end of the world either IMO. It'd just be nice if we could start developing some of our own depth for a change.

 

[Oilers4life1987]

I havent seen any games but how are our rookie pros doing in their first year.
Any comment on the following players?
Laurent Brossoit:
Moroz:
Yakimov:
Khraira:

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

I havent seen any games but how are our rookie pros doing in their first year.
Any comment on the following players?
Laurent Brossoit:
Moroz:
Yakimov:
Khraira:

• Brossoit- Not enough games played for me to give a fair assessment.
• Moroz- worst forward on the team largely ineffective, doesn't contribute in terms of being physical or in producing scoring chances, just a passenger at this point. I always knew he was a project it's going to take him a little bit to get up to the level of the AHL.
• Yakimov- was getting better with every game and was getting more ice-time and quality chances with each game, sad to see him get injured. Needs to improve his acceleration a bit, but is really tough to handle with his size and shows much the same things we seen in main camp.
• Khaira- Pretty quiet for most part, but was still physical and a pain to deal with on the forecheck and down low. Is showing progress and when given more ice-time with Yakimov going down seemed to start playing better these last couple games.