Bridgeport Sound Tigers Discussion Part VI
- Thread starter The Underboss
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WinhallVT124
Head on a swivel
For depth there are still some decent guys out there who can be signed to aid this thin offense.
Justin Fontaine: a guy with good NHL experience who played all of last season in the AHL. Would be an upgrade over Gionta IMO.
Quinton Howden: Former 1st round pick, 25 yr old. About 100 NHL games, decent size.
Scott Kosmachuk: played past 3 seasons in WPG org, 0.5 ppg player, 23 yr old. Good OHL goal scorer.
I think if you add those 3 the team will be a lot better.
They still haven't made up any players to replace the offense they will be losing from Kearns and Verhaeghe.
Justin Fontaine: a guy with good NHL experience who played all of last season in the AHL. Would be an upgrade over Gionta IMO.
Quinton Howden: Former 1st round pick, 25 yr old. About 100 NHL games, decent size.
Scott Kosmachuk: played past 3 seasons in WPG org, 0.5 ppg player, 23 yr old. Good OHL goal scorer.
I think if you add those 3 the team will be a lot better.
They still haven't made up any players to replace the offense they will be losing from Kearns and Verhaeghe.
danteipp
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I would have to think that they need to add at least two more forwards to the BST roster, right? Just as a hedge in case at least two of Beauvillier, Ho-Sang or Barzal make the Isles roster.
I am thinking Ho-Sang makes the Isles as the RW2 or RW3 and whoever earns a center spot between Barzal and Beauvillier, with all three potentially making it if Beauvillier plays LW or he proves to be better at center than Nelson. Then you need at least 2-3 more bodies for the AHL.
In terms of offense, if Bernier is healthy he probably contributes more since he played well when healthy last season. Perhaps Fritz keeps improving or Johnston makes a big jump in production. Or maybe they really think players like Gaudreau, Eansor, Kubiak and John Stevens will also chip in some needed offense up front?
I feel comfortable with the goaltending and the mix on defense right now. I also like that some of these youngish college/juniors players appear to be getting a legit shot and might log some big minutes, however, it would be nice to add a couple more players in the Bernier/Gionta mold to have as leadership and for emergency vet recalls. I don't think Gionta has signed with anyone yet?
Fontaine really interests me. He has a nice resume for an AHL/NHL tweener type. He could definitely help at the AHL level and probably hold his own for a few games in the NHL if needed. Howden is also interesting, he could be a nice reclamation project.
I am thinking Ho-Sang makes the Isles as the RW2 or RW3 and whoever earns a center spot between Barzal and Beauvillier, with all three potentially making it if Beauvillier plays LW or he proves to be better at center than Nelson. Then you need at least 2-3 more bodies for the AHL.
In terms of offense, if Bernier is healthy he probably contributes more since he played well when healthy last season. Perhaps Fritz keeps improving or Johnston makes a big jump in production. Or maybe they really think players like Gaudreau, Eansor, Kubiak and John Stevens will also chip in some needed offense up front?
I feel comfortable with the goaltending and the mix on defense right now. I also like that some of these youngish college/juniors players appear to be getting a legit shot and might log some big minutes, however, it would be nice to add a couple more players in the Bernier/Gionta mold to have as leadership and for emergency vet recalls. I don't think Gionta has signed with anyone yet?
Fontaine really interests me. He has a nice resume for an AHL/NHL tweener type. He could definitely help at the AHL level and probably hold his own for a few games in the NHL if needed. Howden is also interesting, he could be a nice reclamation project.
Those are some good thoughts.
There have been several times where the NYI/BPort have added players of this nature, often on two-way contracts (like Bernier now).
Maybe we'll see one added by October.
In light of the what, 14 bodies, that the NYI currently have as NHL forwards entering the season (that includes Ho-Sang), I'm not expecting Barzal to be rushed. I think he plays a good 15-20 games in the A before any assessment is made about bringing him up.
And ideally, we'd all like to see him being the team's topscorer right out of the gate.
Agree on Bernier, who only played 33 games last season. Theoretically all the makings of the team's topscorer, if his heart is in it.
I think Ross Johnston can have a 10-12-22 style season.
St. Denis had a poor +/-, but 20 pts in 50 games. 70 some games and he should be good for 15-15-30.
Connor Jones can chip in 25 points.
Tanner Fritz has really been coming on and looks primed for a 55-point season. Definitely a young man who has been a pleasant surprise.
Not quite sure what the newbies are good for. Could be anything from ECHL fodder to St. Denis/Fritz to topscorers. Both Stevens and Gaudreau look like full-fledged playmakers and other than Dal Colle, I really don't see any sniper types in this group. Will that hinder them?
I know far too little about Kubiak, who wasn't much of a goal-scorer in college, but I have seen Eansor a bit and feel he's definitely one of those guys with a real motor who gets under opponent's skin. Dunno if he puts up 10 or 40 points, but any 3rd/4th line can use a player like this. I would hope that Stevens, who looks likely to stay, is ready to be a 10-30-40 guy right off the bat. Heck, that could just as easily be Gaudreau. It would be nice to have a recent college kid actually do some damage and look like a legitimate prospect.
This said, this season 'needs' to be all about Michael Dal Colle. He needs to go from 41 to 65+ points and earn himself a good hard look on the Island, where he'd ideally end up with four or five points in 10-15 games. It's time for him to step up as a legitimate prospect and former 5th overall in a draft where plenty of guys taken after him have become big-time contributors at the NHL level.
Gionta could still be a topic. Gudlevskis has had a good body of AHL work while Gibson was 6-0 and McAdam 15-8 last season, even if McAdam's save percentage was fairly lousy. Goaltending is a strength right now, even if Halak is dealt and probably Gudlevskis becomes the back-up.
Defense should be very exciting to watch, especially when the season kicks off. Toews, Aho, Wotherspoon, Vande Sompel - all fascinating kids to follow. Helgeson and Burroughs are solid AHL Dmen. Lafranchise wasn't half bad last season, having chipped in 21 points and led the team with a +17 rating.
Howden is just the type of guy I'd like to see them add. I don't think he'd bring Kearns' offence though.
With that in mind, I'd like the team to retain Winquist. He was on pace for a 22-25-47 point season. If he suits up for 70 games, he's good for 45 points as well.
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TheWhiteWhale30
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leeroggy
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Chapin, don't be surprised if Toews wins a spot on the main team during training camp. Weight has been dropping enough hints that he's in the mix.
Kevin27NYI
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They have a lot of god pieces but I'd feel better if they had a Joe Whitney or Seth Griffith or someone of that ilk.
Also, surprised they didn't keep Connor Jones.
rikker
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WinhallVT124
Head on a swivel
Islanders have 8 defensemen who are waiver eligible, unless the Islanders trade one of them my guess is Toews is first injury replacement on the depth charts. I basically don't think Islanders are going to risk losing Mayfield(one of 3 right handed defensemen) for nothing so Toews can basically be our 8th defenseman
leeroggy
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He won't be here for the 8th spot. If he makes the roster of 23 it's because he beat out Hickey, Seidenberg and Pelech for the 3rd pair left side. Listen to Weight, he's been very positive on Toews. It's within reach for him, he's our most underappreciated prospect.
WhitePony
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Its not, not this year. He's a callup candidate unless we have a ton of injuries in training camp.
danteipp
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If Toews essentially beats out the group of Pulock, Hickey, Seidenberg, Pelech and Mayfield, even if they send him down to start the season until the inevitable injury hits, that would be a huge plus for the team. Going nine-plus players deep on defense, along with several other interesting prospects in the AHL in Aho, Spoon and MVS, would be formidable depth and an economic boon to the team with so many cheap, young players.
I only got to a couple BST games last year, after watching 10-12 the prior season, but will definitely catch a bunch given the interesting mix of players this year. Especially if Barzal starts in the AHL.
I only got to a couple BST games last year, after watching 10-12 the prior season, but will definitely catch a bunch given the interesting mix of players this year. Especially if Barzal starts in the AHL.
You're very right about this.
We saw the fluff piece and positive words during the prospects camp. The guy had 46 points as a first year pro (having left college a year early) and he's basically the same build and ilk as de Haan.
I mentioned a good week ago that the talking-up of Toews and the signing of Aho had me thinking that maybe de Haan will be moved in a deal for a lesser-discussed 2nd line center, particularly one who is currently an RFA with his club. Hasn't happened yet.
For certain is that we currently have 8 Dmen who can't end up in the AHL without at least having to go through waivers first. 3 of these Dmen are Pelech, Pulock, and Mayfield and you can bet your bottom dollar that they'd be grabbed on waivers.
If the organization feels that Toews is ready and can be anything from Hickey to de Haan (and neither ever had an AHL season like Toews just put in) once he's gotten his feet wet and comes to understand NHL hockey (he's already 23), then the onus is on Snow to use Dmen to pull in what he needs up front. No getting around that, because Helgeson has 50 games of NHL experience and is a tough cookie and Aho has been playing regular minutes in the world's 3rd best pro league for more than 3 seasons now and may be ready sooner than later.
The depth is there.
eoin92
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This is an interesting concept. Could explain why DeHaan remains unsigned. Do you have any centers in mind when you say, "a lesser-discussed 2nd line center"?
leeroggy
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The latest Spotrac (not exactly accurate given Kuznetsov is signed) search for RFA centers shows:
http://www.spotrac.com/nhl/free-agents/center/rfa/available/
PLAYER POS. AGE FROM
Ryan Johansen
C 24 NSH
Leon Draisaitl
C 21 EDM
Sam Bennett
C 21 CGY
Mikael Granlund
C 25 MIN
Evgeny Kuznetsov
C 25 WAS
Alex Galchenyuk
C 23 MTL
Mika Zibanejad
C 24 NYR
Bo Horvat
C 22 VAN
Alexander Wennberg
C 22 CBJ
Curtis Lazar
C 22 CGY
Zemgus Girgensons
C 23 BUF
Brandon Pirri
C 26 NYR
Brendan Gaunce
C 27 VAN
Ryan Spooner
C 25 BOS
Andreas Athanasiou
C 22 DET
Mike Vecchione
C 24 PHI
Bogdan Yakimov
C 22 EDM
Jean-Gabriel Pageau
C 25 OTT
Tyler Gaudet
C 24 AZ
Austin Czarnik
C 24 BOS
Jonny Brodzinski
C 24 LAK
Adam Tambellini
C 22 NYR
Ryan Dzingel
C 25 OTT
Kyle Platzer
C 22 EDM
Felix Girard
C 23 COL
Linden Vey
C 25 CGY
Grayson Downing
C 25 AZ
Blake Coleman
C 25 NJD
J.C. Lipon
C 24 WPG
Liam O'Brien
C 22 WAS
Ryan Rupert
C 23 OTT
Kevin Rooney
C 24 NJD
Ben Johnson
C 23 NJD
Alex Broadhurst
C 24 CBJ
Andrew Crescenzi
C 24 LAK
Michael Chaput
C 25 VAN
Jean-Sebastian Dea
C 23 PIT
Frederick Gaudreau
C 24 NSH
Daniel Catenacci
C 24 BUF
leeroggy
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You mean Granlund? or Backlund?
Granlund is not a placeholder, he put up 69 points last year.
And Backlund had 53 points. Both would fit fine.
Kevin27NYI
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Team blessedwe really need anything that could help
Oh I missed that!
WinhallVT124
Head on a swivel
Josh Winquist signed an AHL contract with Toronto.
He was one of the better offensive players Bridgeport had last year.
He was one of the better offensive players Bridgeport had last year.
Would have much rather have burned an NHL contract on him over Jones or LaFranchise
WinhallVT124
Head on a swivel
We could've signed him to an NHL deal regardless, we still have plenty of contract spaces.
In all fairness to LaFranchise, he was very good last season. Whether he deserved an NHL 2 way is up for debate.
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