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Around the NHL, Part III

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Bench

Bench

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I get it, size is a positive virtue in most sports. It's important. Big guys make tackles, hit baseballs, and dunk basketballs. But Babcock always puts out those soundbites about big guys that make you think he's giving it a little more preference than is healthy.
 
Winger98

Winger98

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Feb 27, 2002
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Bench said:
I get it, size is a positive virtue in most sports. It's important. Big guys make tackles, hit baseballs, and dunk basketballs. But Babcock always puts out those soundbites about big guys that make you think he's giving it a little more preference than is healthy.
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Not for the type of game he wants to play. Minimize mistakes, slow it down, and control the play and possession. Even if a big guy screws up, he can is likely to be more able to still eat the puck along the boards, clog it up, and at least not allow the other team to take off with it. A smaller guy screws up, easier to get pushed off the puck/out of his lane, there's a smaller margin for error.

Just look at the national teams he has a hand in. He routinely sits a guy like Subban while giving time to Vlasic, Hamhuis, etc. I know the handedness issue will get brought up, but Subban would be pretty good wherever he is on the ice. Babcock, though, opts for the safer play.
 

TheRatPoisoner

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Feb 23, 2015
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So was just looking at the prospect board, and apparently Chychrun got a 9 game tryout. Great. I have this horrible feeling now that we wind up regretting passing on him like some people here said we would from day 1.
 
Bench

Bench

3 is a good start
Aug 14, 2011
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Winger98 said:
Not for the type of game he wants to play. Minimize mistakes, slow it down, and control the play and possession. Even if a big guy screws up, he can is likely to be more able to still eat the puck along the boards, clog it up, and at least not allow the other team to take off with it. A smaller guy screws up, easier to get pushed off the puck/out of his lane, there's a smaller margin for error.

Just look at the national teams he has a hand in. He routinely sits a guy like Subban while giving time to Vlasic, Hamhuis, etc. I know the handedness issue will get brought up, but Subban would be pretty good wherever he is on the ice. Babcock, though, opts for the safer play.
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You're not wrong. It's undeniably an effective strategy when you have the Team Canada pool to draw from. The team is a defensive juggernaut, but oh yeah, they also have the highest scoring player of this generation leading the charge to help soften that blow of not having PK moving the puck.

I think the real question mark is if the style he wants to play can be successful with a salary capped NHL roster, particularly with the game moving towards speed and skill at all positions. With the Wings it always felt like his game plan was a high floor, low ceiling type of scenario. Once we didn't have the top 2 defensive centers in the world with Lidstrom, things got harrrrdddd.

I think for the first time in Babcock's career he's going to get the roster he really wants at the NHL level. He had to overachieve in Anaheim, he was gifted the most skilled NHL roster in Detroit, and then it seemed Holland wasn't always feeding him the pieces he wanted after 2009, instead folding in skilled European wingers or busts like Weiss. Should be really interesting to see it shake out. I certainly think they'll do well.
 
Frk It

Frk It

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Bench said:
You're not wrong. It's undeniably an effective strategy when you have the Team Canada pool to draw from. The team is a defensive juggernaut, but oh yeah, they also have the highest scoring player of this generation leading the charge to help soften that blow of not having PK moving the puck.

I think the real question mark is if the style he wants to play can be successful with a salary capped NHL roster, particularly with the game moving towards speed and skill at all positions. With the Wings it always felt like his game plan was a high floor, low ceiling type of scenario. Once we didn't have the top 2 defensive centers in the world with Lidstrom, things got harrrrdddd.

I think for the first time in Babcock's career he's going to get the roster he really wants at the NHL level. He had to overachieve in Anaheim, he was gifted the most skilled NHL roster in Detroit, and then it seemed Holland wasn't always feeding him the pieces he wanted after 2009, instead folding in skilled European wingers or busts like Weiss. Should be really interesting to see it shake out. I certainly think they'll do well.
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Thought it was very interesting that the first 3 picks after Babcock went there were under 6 feet tall.

The draft they had this year is more what I was expecting with Korshkov, Greenway, and Middleton.

The Zetterberg Era said:
Freddy the GOAT.:laugh:

Former first rounder Frédérik Gauthier.
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I actually liked Gauthier quite a bit in his draft year :x
 
Winger98

Winger98

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Feb 27, 2002
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Bench said:
You're not wrong. It's undeniably an effective strategy when you have the Team Canada pool to draw from. The team is a defensive juggernaut, but oh yeah, they also have the highest scoring player of this generation leading the charge to help soften that blow of not having PK moving the puck.

I think the real question mark is if the style he wants to play can be successful with a salary capped NHL roster, particularly with the game moving towards speed and skill at all positions. With the Wings it always felt like his game plan was a high floor, low ceiling type of scenario. Once we didn't have the top 2 defensive centers in the world with Lidstrom, things got harrrrdddd.

I think for the first time in Babcock's career he's going to get the roster he really wants at the NHL level. He had to overachieve in Anaheim, he was gifted the most skilled NHL roster in Detroit, and then it seemed Holland wasn't always feeding him the pieces he wanted after 2009, instead folding in skilled European wingers or busts like Weiss. Should be really interesting to see it shake out. I certainly think they'll do well.
Click to expand...

That style carried us to seven games against a much better Hawks team and made a series against TB competitive. I think Babcock's style is going to play fine regardless of teams trying to get faster or whatever. What really stands out to me is that every time people talk about teams getting faster it's always about footraces. It's almost never about puck movement. I think that's far easier to gum up and slow down than teams that move the puck well.

Toronto won't be the prettiest team in five years but I bet they'll be the biggest headache. They're just going to keep chucking the puck to little deadspots and grinding the hell out of you.
 
Bench

Bench

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Winger98 said:
That style carried us to seven games against a much better Hawks team and made a series against TB competitive. I think Babcock's style is going to play fine regardless of teams trying to get faster or whatever. What really stands out to me is that every time people talk about teams getting faster it's always about footraces. It's almost never about puck movement. I think that's far easier to gum up and slow down than teams that move the puck well.

Toronto won't be the prettiest team in five years but I bet they'll be the biggest headache. They're just going to keep chucking the puck to little deadspots and grinding the hell out of you.
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To bolded: I don't think that's true at all. This off-season we saw a handful of defenders go for premium prices not due to speed or even defensive play, but due to their ability to distribute the puck really well. Yandle, Goligoski, and Demers all come with faults, unlike a paragon like Keith, but they are all strong first pass guys who can set up plays.

As for the rest, well, we'll see. I already said they'll do well, so I don't feel the need to expound too much more. Babcock is a very good coach. I still think the lack of emphasis on offense and skill plays from Babcock caps the team's potential, even if it makes a roster more competitive against high skill teams.
 
gretskidoo

gretskidoo

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Toronto has been drafting almost entirely skill lately. They're not going to be a team full of grinders.
 

Mijatovic

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In other news, it looks like Chychrun is on the verge of making the Coyotes blue line straight out of the draft. Here's hoping picking the weedy boy pays dividends in the end.
 

Claypool

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Jan 12, 2009
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Mijatovic said:
In other news, it looks like Chychrun is on the verge of making the Coyotes blue line straight out of the draft. Here's hoping picking the weedy boy pays dividends in the end.
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In 4 games played he has no points and is a -3.

If he makes the team it'll be as a #5 or #6. They'll probably put him on the roster because he can't go to the AHL. He'd have to go back to Sarnia for another year. I'm not sure if that's best for his development.
 
BinCookin

BinCookin

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Mijatovic said:
In other news, it looks like Chychrun is on the verge of making the Coyotes blue line straight out of the draft. Here's hoping picking the weedy boy pays dividends in the end.
Click to expand...

Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Michael Stone
Alex Goligoski
Zbynek Michalek
Connor Murphy
Klas Dahlbeck
Luke Schenn

Chychrun has no chance.
 
Frk It

Frk It

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Claypool said:
In 4 games played he has no points and is a -3.

If he makes the team it'll be as a #5 or #6. They'll probably put him on the roster because he can't go to the AHL. He'd have to go back to Sarnia for another year. I'm not sure if that's best for his development.
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I agree with the last sentence, but it still stinks to see (if it does happen).
 
Henkka

Henkka

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BinCookin said:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Michael Stone
Alex Goligoski
Zbynek Michalek
Connor Murphy
Klas Dahlbeck
Luke Schenn

Chychrun has no chance.
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Yep. That group is pretty much set. They are gonna kill him as prospect by sending him to lower leagues, just like Red Wings will always do for everybody.
 

Mijatovic

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I havent watched him play but I was just going off recent news reports in which it sounded like was more likely than not that he would be stayingf up.
 
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