About Hakstol

[Foggy14]

 

[kudymen]

Haha, k, grampa Simpson 180

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

A bit of a bump, but I have to say that Hak is getting this team no where other than mediocrity. We're wildly inconsistent, and while it doesn't help that our goalies are not that great, the decisions to play worse players over some others in the game (in terms of TOI) and the people he would play/bench after a play is infuriating. I really want a new change and to have Knoblauch be the head coach. Oh, and Lappy should go as well. Our PK is balls...

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Lappy once blocked a shot with his face. He is here to stay, old boy's club and all.

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

A bit of a bump, but I have to say that Hak is getting this team no where other than mediocrity. We're wildly inconsistent, and while it doesn't help that our goalies are not that great, the decisions to play worse players over some others in the game (in terms of TOI) and the people he would play/bench after a play is infuriating. I really want a new change and to have Knoblauch be the head coach. Oh, and Lappy should go as well. Our PK is balls...

It's not just Hak though. Under Lappy's watch, the PK has finished in the bottom 3rd of the league since he took over as an assistant. As for Gord Murphy, during his time as an assistant coach, only two of his defenses he's coached has ever finished in the top 10. The majority of his defenses have finished in the bottom in 3rd as well, including a worst, a 2nd worst, three 5th worst, two 7th worst. They finished 15th under Murphy's first year, were 3rd worst last year and are 16th worst this year. I get that goaltending certainly hasn't helped, but come on. There's more than enough talent on defense to make it work.

I said in another post that Hakstol should have replaced those two with more capable assistants, but someone mentioned that it was the GM who hires the assistants. To me, that makes no sense. I'm pretty certain that head coaches have a say who is on their staff with regards to assistants. I don't buy that Hakstol has no say in terms of hiring and firing assistants. The Flyers had a chance to get rid of Murphy and Laperriere, but they blew it. I'm sure though that being 'quality' guys and being 'leaders' as players has certainly helped them keep their jobs, even though Murphy and Laperriere have clearly shown that they are in over their heads with regards to coaching. Great way to keep the mediocre train running though and blame the players.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Didn't he want to bring his assistant from UND, who declined his offer and went onto winning frozen four?

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Honestly, if Hexy wants to save face and also help the team at the same time, replace Hakstol and Lappy. Luckily we aren't as stupid as the Jets to re-up the contract.

Also, while Hexy would be the ones to hire the assistant coaches, the head coach can have a say in what he'd like.

 

[deadhead]

Or maybe just get Patrick and Gudas healthy, have Lindblom and Vorobyev progress to the point where they force a promotion, have Morin learn to maintain possession in the neutral zone, and take a shot on Martel.

Oh yeah, and get those veteran goalies to play more consistently.

I'll bet that would have a much greater impact than any conceivable coaching change!

It amazes me that the same people who complain about how Lehtera, Read, Weise aren't AHL players, that Manning, Hagg and Alt shouldn't be out there, then complain the coach can't turn them into an elite team.

If the talent and coach both suck, how come we're not candidates for the #1 pick?

 

[Magua]

It's still early where the %s are in flux, especially on special teams.

FWIW, the Flyers are 9th best in xGA/60 on the PK. 8th best in xGF/60. There is time for that to stabilize in the results, provided the goalies stop shitting the bed. 4th lowest save % on the PK. It's a goalie problem right now on that unit, not a skater problem, maybe not even a Lappy problem (maybe).

Those stats are pretty close to what they were last year in xGA/60 and save %. Chances get suppressed, shots get suppressed, but goalies cannot make saves (3rd worst save % last year). They were at the bottom in shorthanded chances though, now they're near the top. Wonder why.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Guess what? Even with those people being healthy we were still inconsistent. We still have a coach that makes questionable line-playing decisions. We have a coach that likes to play the worse players over the better ones. And we have an assistant coach that makes our PK an easy target for goals for the past few years, and he's basically still only here because f***ing reasons. For the last 3 years, it's basically been mediocity or just over that, but nothing ever solid. It's been a few years since we've been considered "pretty good" or a "really solid" team. Hak and Lappy aren't going to win us anything here in Philly.

 

[tucson83]

what about our goaltending? after mason came here, this team has been playing 500 at best, i mean if you think changing coaches every season is going to change the mentality of the players, it's not. the goaltending has been hurting us for a long time. i dont know anything about the goalie prospects, i dont know if they are going to be any better than what we have.

all i know is if hextall wanted to win, he should have went after an elite goalie like ben bishop in the offseason because he would have made this team better but he's too patient and he has to realize that his best players are not getting any younger and going after elliot was not the right move because he's not going to get this team over the hump. hextall is the one that screwed up.

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

Or maybe just get Patrick and Gudas healthy, have Lindblom and Vorobyev progress to the point where they force a promotion, have Morin learn to maintain possession in the neutral zone, and take a shot on Martel.

Oh yeah, and get those veteran goalies to play more consistently.

I'll bet that would have a much greater impact than any conceivable coaching change!

It amazes me that the same people who complain about how Lehtera, Read, Weise aren't AHL players, that Manning, Hagg and Alt shouldn't be out there, then complain the coach can't turn them into an elite team.

If the talent and coach both suck, how come we're not candidates for the #1 pick?

Because there's still enough talent outside Lehtera, Read, Weise, Manning, Hagg and Alt that keep the team competitive.

As for Lindblom and Vorobyev progressing to the point they force a promotion, let's be honest, it's not happening this year. Christ, Martel is tearing up the AHL and they won't call him up, so what does that tell you? None of those guys are seeing playing time in the NHL this year and I'm sure we'll hear at the town hall how nobody understands hockey and that Hakstol is a head coach and he knows what good players in spite of everything, you know, the same condescending tone he took last year at the town hall while talking to season ticket holders who spend thousands of dollars on season tickets.

 

[Striiker]

When did Vorobyev become a Lindblom-tier prospect?

I have no idea why he's being talked about as if he's going to force his way onto the team at some point this year.

 

[CodyTheHuman]

When did Vorobyev become a Lindblom-tier prospect?

I have no idea why he's being talked about as if he's going to force his way onto the team at some point this year.

Vorobyev > Allison.

 

[kelmitchell]

Lappy once blocked a shot with his face. He is here to stay, old boy's club and all.

Twice

 

[deadhead]

When did Vorobyev become a Lindblom-tier prospect?

I have no idea why he's being talked about as if he's going to force his way onto the team at some point this year.

Uh, because he has size and instincts?
6'2 206 at 21 ain't bad.

Sure 11 points in 44 KHL games at age 20 doesn't make you a future star, but it's not awful either. Add in a dominant WJC performance.

Now we'll see how he develops, but he has the basics, he shows good ice vision. He's improved after a slow start, but the jury is still out.

 

[Striiker]

Vorobyev > Allison.

Hey mods, can we just skip the whole middle part and just give me the infraction for flaming him?

 

[Striiker]

Uh, because he has size and instincts?
6'2 206 at 21 ain't bad.

Sure 11 points in 44 KHL games at age 20 doesn't make you a future star, but it's not awful either. Add in a dominant WJC performance.

Now we'll see how he develops, but he has the basics, he shows good ice vision. He's improved after a slow start, but the jury is still out.

I should have known...

 

[Lindberg]

I should have known...

He's really starting to sound like Jim Benning or something. He's big of course he's going to be good!

 

[Striiker]

If the first thing you mention when praising a forward prospect is size, then the prospect probably isn't all that special. With defensemen it's a little different. But for a forward I'd rather hear about skills or certain roles they excel at.

Not that I dislike Vorobyev or think he's a bad prospect, but I've never seen anything from him that would suggest he's going to force his way onto this lineup mid season or force you to trade guys to make room for him.

He's a pretty good passer and seems like a smart player, but I can't imagine him ever being a scorer and his skating is average. If he makes it then I expect it to be as the 4C, but I can't imagine him stealing that role in the immediate future, based on how great Laughton's been.

Plus, there's a few potential C prospects I'd rank over him, like Rubtsov and Frost.

 

[Magua]

If Patrick wasn't here, I think Vorobyev might have pushed harder at camp or as the season went on. He's advanced for his age. You can tell the Flyers are enamored with him too.

He looks like a future middle 6 center, not bottom 6. Kid just gets shit done.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Vorobyev > Allison.

 

[Striiker]

If Patrick wasn't here, I think Vorobyev might have pushed harder at camp or as the season went on. He's advanced for his age. You can tell the Flyers are enamored with him too.

He looks like a future middle 6 center, not bottom 6. Kid just gets **** done.

Personally, I have a tough time seeing him ending up as mid 6 C.

Or actually, let me rephrase that, I have a hard time seeing him being a good fit as a mid 6 C. If he isn't a good one (which I'm not saying he definitely won't be, just that I would be surprised) he could certainly still end up playing as a mid 6 C since Hakstol's lineup choices don't really rely on little annoying concepts like "fit" or "ability".

But hey, I'd love to be wrong (for the first time ever, obviously ) and pleasantly surprised. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Embiid]

Lappy once blocked a shot with his face. He is here to stay, old boy's club and all.

Can you imagine if he did it with his balls like Thoresen....lifetime contract!

 

[deadhead]

Size matters for certain roles, like center if you're not a speed merchant, or PF.
With Vorobyev, the skating is good enough, the size allows him to match up defensively and fits his skills, patience, passing, by allowing him to handle himself in a crowd.

Couts ain't exactly the fastest guy out there, but he has the combination of size, adequate speed, vision and IQ.