Pre-Game Talk: Hockey is back!!! Ducks @ Sharks at 7pm on 9/17/19

[Trojans86]

Lundestrom has always been good but just hasnt found the scoring touch. I only saw a period last night but liked what I saw from him.

 

[TheStuntman]

Hey guys, scheme wise how does the team look? Does it look better, better puck flow and speed?

 

[Paul4587]

Hey guys, scheme wise how does the team look? Does it look better, better puck flow and speed?

Way more entertaining. Better than Carlyle’s system. Way too soon to say how Eakins system will fare over the course of a season.

 

[TheStuntman]

Way more entertaining. Better than Carlyle’s system. Way too soon to say how Eakins system will fare over the course of a season.

That's good to hear. I'm just asking for preliminary observations. First game of the preseason, so the players are most likely learning as well.

 

[duxfan1101]

That's good to hear. I'm just asking for preliminary observations. First game of the preseason, so the players are most likely learning as well.

The first 10 minutes or so they looked pretty awful. But as the game went on, they got much more comfortable out there. And it's also tough to evaluate when pretty much every line had a guy or two that won't be in the NHL this season anyway. As far as the individuals go, the Jones-Shore-Sprong line looked dangerous, but also a little disorganized, which is almost a given with those wingers. The Benoit-Wideman pairing was pretty solid all game. Mahura-Hakanpaa was atrocious at the start, but they got better. Lindholm-Manson started off a little iffy, but they also got better, although not as good as I would like them to be.

 

[JabbaJabba]

I would have to say from watching the game his skating needs drastic improvement as well as his positioning which can be corrected. I would think a few more big minute preseason games might help with the latter but he took a few unnecessary penalties. Everyone has a bad game or weak preseason but I have never seen someone so highly touted from media and the organization have such difficulty.

Has Hakanpää been touted highly by the media and the organization? I honestly haven't seen anything.

 

[Frosted Tips]

Here's the Hakanpää incident that resulted in the first goal. It looks bad, but Thornton did really well to knock it off his stick. Hope he does better. I really don't remember him standing out in a bad way at all during the World Champs. Can't speak for his Liiga performance as I don't follow it.

 

[Paul4587]

Here's the Hakanpää incident that resulted in the first goal. It looks bad, but Thornton did really well to knock it off his stick. Hope he does better. I really don't remember him standing out in a bad way at all during the World Champs. Can't speak for his Liiga performance as I don't follow it.

Yeah as bad as that was, Thornton is a seasoned vet with a really good stick who has stripped the puck off far better dmen in his time.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Lundestrom didn't struggle last year... he was actually one of our best forwards at the time which isn't saying much

If you only saw Lundestrom as a defensive 3C with no offense, then sure. Then to see Lundestrom scoring in the SHL and SHL playoffs allows some perspective that Lundestrom could be better than what we saw out of him in his 15 games. Lundestrom was pushed into the NHL lineup due to necessity - injuries and his talents at skating along with his defensive mind. It was a very good move by mgmt to loan Lundestrom back across the pond for Lundestrom's development. If the org didn't think Lundestrom didn't need improvement in his game, then why didn't the org keep him in the NHL all season?

I am very happy to see we have enough center depth to keep Lundestrom in the AHL to continue acclimating to the NA game as well as develop his offensive game.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

There have been a large number of players who looked horrible in their debut then got better and just as many who looked good then were clearly overmatched at the NHL (and sometimes AHL) level.

Preseason games, especially the first one, aren’t meant to decode a player’s career trajectory. Everyone settle down. Miller was HORRIBLE in preseason last year.

I believe we have found this year's t-shirt theme.

 

[Mortal Wombat]

Has Hakanpää been touted highly by the media and the organization? I honestly haven't seen anything.

Yeah, this is what I was going to ask as well. I have seen some people mentioning that there has been a lot of hype around him. But where is this hype, because I haven't seen anything either?

 

[dracom]

Yeah as bad as that was, Thornton is a seasoned vet with a really good stick who has stripped the puck off far better dmen in his time.

the thing that i noticed was his inability to get balanced right after that, ultimately becoming a complete non-factor.

 

[rlstine]

My main takeaway from what I saw last night is that Hampus is already in midseason form when it comes to falling down for no reason.

 

[GeraldDucksworth]

My main takeaway was the Ducks could beat an AHL goalie, but not an NHL backup

 

[eternalbedhead]

the thing that i noticed was his inability to get balanced right after that, ultimately becoming a complete non-factor.

Yeah. Players make mistakes and fumble pucks, and I've seen lots of solid NHL players turn the puck over like that. What screwed Hakanpaa over is that it took him 13 years to recover his balance and get back in the play, and that's what's concerning. Yes, he's a big guy, but he'll get absolutely torched at the NHL level with that level of agility. His skating overall just looked positively terrible last night, and he was slow in his reaction time, too. I know preseason games (especially this early on) aren't the best indicators, but for a guy who just came across the pond, he made a pretty damn bad first impression. Coming across as an exceptionally poor skater with the processing speed of a potato isn't exactly the best way to earn a roster spot.

 

[branmuffin17]

If I remember correctly he was standing almost upright...he needed a wider stance, and he would have probably been able to recover more quickly.

 

[MilesNewton]

The first 10 minutes or so they looked pretty awful. But as the game went on, they got much more comfortable out there. And it's also tough to evaluate when pretty much every line had a guy or two that won't be in the NHL this season anyway. As far as the individuals go, the Jones-Shore-Sprong line looked dangerous, but also a little disorganized, which is almost a given with those wingers. The Benoit-Wideman pairing was pretty solid all game. Mahura-Hakanpaa was atrocious at the start, but they got better. Lindholm-Manson started off a little iffy, but they also got better, although not as good as I would like them to be.

I would have to see more of the Mahura-Hakanpaa another game with that pairing.

 

[MilesNewton]

Lmao, a guy who hasn't played on North American 4 years is supposed to magically be excellent the moment he's out there. I get that he had a bad game, but it's just one game. Hopefully he'll turn it around

I guess the question is how much time do you give him?

 

[AngelDuck]

I guess the question is how much time do you give him?

More than one preseason game, less than one regular season game

 

[KaseMeOutside]

So Hakanpää had a bad game, apparently. How was his skating (was earlier his biggest weakness)? Was he getting burned because of that? Or was it more that he's not familiar with NA ice and style of play? The latter can be improved, the former not so much at this point if it hasn't so far.

People are overreacting it's the first pre-season game he hasn't played in North America for awhile, which is a faster game than in Europe, let's give him some time to adjust, or atleast wait until the regular season

 

[cheesymc]

I’m just hoping Hakanpaa adjust to be at least better than Holzer, who should really be a part time player-coach for our Gulls. I think he would be great for developing our prospects... like a Dipenta guy.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Jeeze tough crowd here for hakanpaa.

Give it the preseason then make your judgement.. idk I know some were thinking he was going to fit in our top 4.... but he was more of a depth signing imo…. which is why ive been pretty strong about acquiring a top 4 RHD(like faulk/risto etc) all off season.

If he can take some mins off our top 2 pairings, and let our younger guys continue to develop, im fine with the signing... guys like Larsson/mahura/Guhle really havnt shown enough to be given a spot... and guys like benoit/drew etc are still a bit raw.

Hakanpaa is more of a stop gap

 

[bsu]

I don't think Benoit is raw at all unless you are talking about experience.... He has physical tools and has shown high hockey iq thus far hopefully it continues

 

[MilesNewton]

People are overreacting it's the first pre-season game he hasn't played in North America for awhile, which is a faster game than in Europe, let's give him some time to adjust, or atleast wait until the regular season

Agree on adjustment but how are you going to fix his skating??

 

[MilesNewton]

I’m just hoping Hakanpaa adjust to be at least better than Holzer, who should really be a part time player-coach for our Gulls. I think he would be great for developing our prospects... like a Dipenta guy.

Hakanpaa needs to get some time in the AHL. If he will do that, he is on a one-way I think but can go back to Finland but has he played any ALH games at all? If he wants to play in the NHL I would think that would be a requirement for him.