Player Discussion Cam Fowler

[Ducks in a row]

Cam Fowler with a shorthanded goal tonight from a great shot.

 

[McDonald19]

Reminded me of a Paul Kariya goal.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Reminded me of a Paul Kariya goal.

Yep, that one.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Looks a lot like the one PK doesn't remember too...

 

[DarthYenik]

It looks like one of his juniors highlights, where he would burn everyone and make them look bad.

 

[DaGeneral]

Fowler out 4-8 weeks per Murray. He’s one week into that prognosis.

 

[Firestorm]

I assume when Fowler comes back, he'll be on the top PP line again?

 

[Kalv]

I assume when Fowler comes back, he'll be on the top PP line again?

Hmm, good question, actually. But most likely yes. Everything depends how right handers Vatanen and Montour do until Cam is back.

 

[bumperkisser]

yes fowler will be on the top pp unit when he gets back. as RC has said, hes the best on our team at lugging the puck up the ice.

 

[Ducks in a row]

Fowler was 4th in power play time in his 1st game back from injury. I wonder how he will rank in tonight's game.

 

[AngelDuck]

With the way Montour is hammering the one timer and setting people up on the PP, I'd expect him to start taking PP time from others

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

With the way Montour is hammering the one timer and setting people up on the PP, I'd expect him to start taking PP time from others

I sure hope so. He’s the one guy who shows some life on the PP.

 

[Paul4587]

With the way Montour is hammering the one timer and setting people up on the PP, I'd expect him to start taking PP time from others

Yeah the first unit with Montour and Vatanen on the points right now is working for the first time this season, there’s no need to chance anything right now. Plus Montour is really good at getting the puck into the offensive zone.

Cam and Hampus on the second unit is a pretty good luxury to have. Pity we don’t have any good forwards to go with them.

 

[Lyons71]

So I’m just checking if I’m crazy or something. Cam seems to be struggling this year. He just makes a lot of mistakes and doesn’t have that swagger anymore. Do you guys think he’s been pretty bad this year too? Or is it really just all Bieksa’s fault?

 

[Kalv]

I think he was very very good yesterday

 

[Opak]

So I’m just checking if I’m crazy or something. Cam seems to be struggling this year. He just makes a lot of mistakes and doesn’t have that swagger anymore. Do you guys think he’s been pretty bad this year too? Or is it really just all Bieksa’s fault?

He's very sloppy in the D zone, for whatever reason. It's as if he's trying to defend against multiple guys, but in doing so he ends up exposing himself defensively.

 

[Trojans86]

I think he was very very good yesterday

I've been out of town and missed the last two games but I'm really curious how cam will look with a new partner because my belief is that it is all Bieksa that is dragging him down but I could be totally wrong. I think Cams big issue is he isn't very good when he is hemmed in and doesn't have a lot of space and when you play with Bieksa that happens all the time. Cam needs space so he can use his skating as a very effective tool.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Thanks for making me think Cam is out 4-8 weeks with a timely bump...

 

[Paul4587]

I think he was very very good yesterday

I thought he was very up and down yesterday. Had some great and not so great moments.

So I’m just checking if I’m crazy or something. Cam seems to be struggling this year. He just makes a lot of mistakes and doesn’t have that swagger anymore. Do you guys think he’s been pretty bad this year too? Or is it really just all Bieksa’s fault?

He’s been good offensively. And up and down defensively. The same as he has always been. A good but flawed player who is very streaky. People forget even last year which was regarded as a really good year that he really struggled down the stretch for us.

Last game was the perfect example of good and bad he can be all in one game. He had one absolutely dominant shift where he created two great chances with his awesome skating in the offensive zone and other shifts where he looked really good. And then he had shifts where he lost battles along the boards and gave opposing players too much to work with when entering the zone.

It is who he is and he’s still a very good Dman. I don’t like his contract and don’t like how the coach uses him but the team is still miles better off with him in the lineup.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Given the crappiness all our better Ds have shown at times this year, I'm going with a system that fails to work to the players strong points. Throw in a dash of Bieksa here and there and yes it can at times look like total chaos.

 

[nilssont]

Thought he played good against Minny.
One of few who actually looks like they give a shit and trying to create some offense.

 

[Kalv]

Thought he played good against Minny.
One of few who actually looks like they give a **** and trying to create some offense.

Yeah, a few moves he pulled off were very good, he kept their defending forwards on their toes for sure. He is our most dangerous offensive defenseman, as he should be.

 

[Duck Off]

So I’m just checking if I’m crazy or something. Cam seems to be struggling this year. He just makes a lot of mistakes and doesn’t have that swagger anymore. Do you guys think he’s been pretty bad this year too? Or is it really just all Bieksa’s fault?

Cam, Josh, Hampus, etc. all struggle with the same thing: Consistency. When Manson and Lindholm are paired together, they are definitely the most consistent pairing. When split up, both become incredibly inconsistent. I don't think it's a coincidence that Fowler's best play came with long stretches with Manson last year. Josh is the ideal partner in a top 4 role. Can skate, move the puck on his own, solid positional play, and can f*** someone up if they mess with you. I should mention that I don't think Josh can carry a pair on his own. Any time we try it, he struggles.

As far as Cam goes specifically: The biggest difference between this year and last year is the swagger that you mentioned. He didn't have it all of last season, but he had for a lot of it and it showed. That confidence with the puck doesn't show as often. Last year, he was consistently a threat offensively. It's not that way this year. I do not like blaming his play on Bieksa, despite my unbelievable hatred for him, but I do think it's a factor. Hard to play confident when your defensive partner is a liability every time he touches the puck.

Cam's never been great along the boards, but he seems to be turning the puck over much more often recently. If the team sends two guys on the forecheck, he's screwed. It wasn't that way last season. Maybe that's playing with Bieksa too much, maybe it isn't. Regardless, that can't happen. I also think he's struggling defensively when following the puck carrier. He's never been a guy who pushes someone off the puck, but now he seems to get deked more often.

Again, I don't like blaming Bieksa as an excuse for Fowler. He makes too much money to struggle that much simply because of who he's paired with. However, it should be incredibly obvious that Fowler and Bieksa shouldn't be together so hopefully RC realizes that. I still think Cam is by far the best D we have with the puck. Just needs to be better defensively and more consistent.

 

[Lyons71]

Thanks for the responses. He’s one of my favorites so it’s hard to watch him struggle.

Maybe it is the system, since the majority of our d seem to be playing poorly, and have major lapses in coverage.

Hopefully playing with other partners than Bieksa can help him.

 

[Paul4587]

Thanks for the responses. He’s one of my favorites so it’s hard to watch him struggle.

Maybe it is the system, since the majority of our d seem to be playing poorly, and have major lapses in coverage.

Hopefully playing with other partners than Bieksa can help him.

Part of it is definitely system related. I don’t know how RC still implements the same d zone system that hasn’t worked since he had two hall of famers playing for him.