Is this a full rebuild or what?

[AintLifeGrand]

Good to hear from you Seth. I didn't realize Novak had that path. He's really earned it. Hoping he plays his way to a multi year deal

hes like the neo rich peverley with more upside imo

 

[adsfan]

He was drafted same year as Trenin, just took the longer college route. He's talented for sure. I don't know if he's as good as his numbers but I hope he is. His defense was lacking, which would probably keep him from being a center full time.

Novak is another Rich Peverly type player, except that he was actually drafted at #85.

He is from St Paul, like Herb Brooks. He played at the U of Minnesota for 4 years. His senior year, he was 6th in scoring on the team, which was 18-16-4. That is not a stellar record at that school. He had 4 G 17 A and a -14 that year. His other years had +/- of 3, -1 and 6. The leading scorer on his college team that year was some guy named Rem Pitlick, who had 45 points.

After his senior season at Minnesota, he came to the Admirals and played 3 games and had 1 assist. He played in one playoff game with no results. I watched him in that game. He won a few faceoffs in period 1 playing Center. (Richard, Trenin and Blackwell were the regular Centers on that team.) In period two, the other team's Center used his stick as a lever to lift Novak off the ice. I saw that during the rest of the game. He must have been about 160 pounds and the other team took advantage of that fact. NovaK is now listed at 179 pounds.

The next season, Novak played 60 games for the Ads with 11 G 31 A 18 PIMs and + 20. He was #3 in scoring on a team that went 41-14-0-8 in the COVID-19 shortened season. Only Daniel Carr and Cole Schneider with 50 and 46 points were ahead of him. Carrier was #4 and Tolvy was #5. The Admirals piled up 90 points in 63 games to lead the AHL. The next highest teams had 82 points. I was sure that Milwaukee would go to the Calder Cup Finals that year. Their biggest obstacle was the Iowa Wild, one of the 2 teams that had 82 points along with the Providence Bruins. The Wild was the only team that I saw that could play even with Milwaukee. The Ads had 211 goals (3.35 GPG), the second highest total in the AHL. Iowa had 194 goals (3.08 GPG), also in 63 games. They would have met in Round 2 if the playoffs were held. Milwaukee would have crushed the team from the Pacific Division. It would have been Providence or Belleville as the final opponent.

Novak played with the Wolves in 2020-21 as the Ads sat out the season. He had 8 G 24 A in 27 games for a 1.19 PPG average and a +12. He was second in scoring to Tomasino, who also had 32 points, but played two more games and had 13 goals to be listed first among "Chicago" scorers. No playoffs were held for the second year in a row.

In 2021-22, Novak played 42 games in Milwaukee with 7 G and 27 A and a +4. He played in six playoff games with 1 goal and 5 assists. He played 27 games in Nashville with 1 G and 6 A, -4.

Last year, he played 25 games in Milwaukee with 26 points on 11 G and 15 A before being called up. He continued his goal scoring streak with 17 G and 26 A in 51 NHL games. That projects to 27 goals in 81 NHL games.

Novak was always a big assist man. Scoring 28 goals in one season was a surprise to me. I remember thinking "where did this come from?" when he was around 9 or 10 goals in Milwaukee. He had only scored 11 goals in 60 games on a team that was loaded on offense and now he hits that in a mere 25 AHL games. That would be 33 goals in a 76 game AHL season.

Novak is a good passer, which makes him a good Center. But now, he scores goals from both hash marks. He is fast enough to get there first and he is deadly from that range. Don't be surprised if he has 25 goals next season. He works hard to improve his game. There may be more up side to go.

 

[nine_inch_fang]

Novak is another Rich Peverly type player, except that he was actually drafted at #85.

He is from St Paul, like Herb Brooks. He played at the U of Minnesota for 4 years. His senior year, he was 6th in scoring on the team, which was 18-16-4. That is not a stellar record at that school. He had 4 G 17 A and a -14 that year. His other years had +/- of 3, -1 and 6. The leading scorer on his college team that year was some guy named Rem Pitlick, who had 45 points.

After his senior season at Minnesota, he came to the Admirals and played 3 games and had 1 assist. He played in one playoff game with no results. I watched him in that game. He won a few faceoffs in period 1 playing Center. (Richard, Trenin and Blackwell were the regular Centers on that team.) In period two, the other team's Center used his stick as a lever to lift Novak off the ice. I saw that during the rest of the game. He must have been about 160 pounds and the other team took advantage of that fact. NovaK is now listed at 179 pounds.

The next season, Novak played 60 games for the Ads with 11 G 31 A 18 PIMs and + 20. He was #3 in scoring on a team that went 41-14-0-8 in the COVID-19 shortened season. Only Daniel Carr and Cole Schneider with 50 and 46 points were ahead of him. Carrier was #4 and Tolvy was #5. The Admirals piled up 90 points in 63 games to lead the AHL. The next highest teams had 82 points. I was sure that Milwaukee would go to the Calder Cup Finals that year. Their biggest obstacle was the Iowa Wild, one of the 2 teams that had 82 points along with the Providence Bruins. The Wild was the only team that I saw that could play even with Milwaukee. The Ads had 211 goals (3.35 GPG), the second highest total in the AHL. Iowa had 194 goals (3.08 GPG), also in 63 games. They would have met in Round 2 if the playoffs were held. Milwaukee would have crushed the team from the Pacific Division. It would have been Providence or Belleville as the final opponent.

Novak played with the Wolves in 2020-21 as the Ads sat out the season. He had 8 G 24 A in 27 games for a 1.19 PPG average and a +12. He was second in scoring to Tomasino, who also had 32 points, but played two more games and had 13 goals to be listed first among "Chicago" scorers. No playoffs were held for the second year in a row.

In 2021-22, Novak played 42 games in Milwaukee with 7 G and 27 A and a +4. He played in six playoff games with 1 goal and 5 assists. He played 27 games in Nashville with 1 G and 6 A, -4.

Last year, he played 25 games in Milwaukee with 26 points on 11 G and 15 A before being called up. He continued his goal scoring streak with 17 G and 26 A in 51 NHL games. That projects to 27 goals in 81 NHL games.

Novak was always a big assist man. Scoring 28 goals in one season was a surprise to me. I remember thinking "where did this come from?" when he was around 9 or 10 goals in Milwaukee. He had only scored 11 goals in 60 games on a team that was loaded on offense and now he hits that in a mere 25 AHL games. That would be 33 goals in a 76 game AHL season.

Novak is a good passer, which makes him a good Center. But now, he scores goals from both hash marks. He is fast enough to get there first and he is deadly from that range. Don't be surprised if he has 25 goals next season. He works hard to improve his game. There may be more up side to go.

Great post

 

[NoNecksCurse]

I think if you look at Vegas odds it will sum up what my problem with the current direction is.

7th worst odds to win the Stanley Cup.

2nd best odds to win the Vezina for Saros.

 

[Armourboy]

I think if you look at Vegas odds it will sum up what my problem with the current direction is.

7th worst odds to win the Stanley Cup.

2nd best odds to win the Vezina for Saros.

Your in a rebuild and your worried about odds on winning the Cup? Saros was just 4th in Vezina voting, I would hope Vegas has him that high.

 

[LCPreds]

I think if you look at Vegas odds it will sum up what my problem with the current direction is.

7th worst odds to win the Stanley Cup.

2nd best odds to win the Vezina for Saros.

I get where you’re going with this. Saros is pretty much the only thing standing between being a bubble playoff team and the abyss. Basically.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

Your in a rebuild and your worried about odds on winning the Cup? Saros was just 4th in Vezina voting, I would hope Vegas has him that high.

are we in a rebuild? we just signed ROR schenn and nyquist to 3-4 year deals. we let go of a guy in Duchene that had 3 years left. I’m not going to pretend I know what’s going on in the locker room but I really hope these character signings pay off and these kids really learn a lot.

Just a little perplexed at some of the moves and quotes from when Trotz being the GM was announced until now.

I’m by no means saying Trotz doesn’t know what’s he doing but I am a little confused on the exact direction.

 

[NSH615]

are we in a rebuild? we just signed ROR schenn and nyquist to 3-4 year deals. we let go of a guy in Duchene that had 3 years left. I’m not going to pretend I know what’s going on in the locker room but I really hope these character signings pay off and these kids really learn a lot.

Just a little perplexed at some of the moves and quotes from when Trotz being the GM was announced until now.

I’m by no means saying Trotz doesn’t know what’s he doing but I am a little confused on the exact direction.

I think it's a rebuild in the sense of re-building large chunks of the roster without going full scorched earth and trading away anyone over the age of 25 like the tanking teams do. Those teams basically instill in the young players that losing is ok. Trotz does not want anyone on the team be ok with losing.

 

[Armourboy]

are we in a rebuild? we just signed ROR schenn and nyquist to 3-4 year deals. we let go of a guy in Duchene that had 3 years left. I’m not going to pretend I know what’s going on in the locker room but I really hope these character signings pay off and these kids really learn a lot.

Just a little perplexed at some of the moves and quotes from when Trotz being the GM was announced until now.

I’m by no means saying Trotz doesn’t know what’s he doing but I am a little confused on the exact direction.

Don't know why, he's said exactly what he's doing. He's bringing in guys that know how to win, he's building a culture for the kids to play in and learn from.

In 2 years these older guys he brought in start rolling out. It starts with Nyquist, the following year its Schenn, and the year after will be O'Reilly. Each time one drops another young guy comes up to replace them. Within 4 years the only old guys left will be Josi and Forsberg.

 

[PredsV82]

I think it's a rebuild in the sense of re-building large chunks of the roster without going full scorched earth and trading away anyone over the age of 25 like the tanking teams do. Those teams basically instill in the young players that losing is ok. Trotz does not want anyone on the team be ok with losing.

This is absolutely correct. Which is why he was rumored to be offering Askarov at the draft, not Saros. Saros will keep us from being the kind of bad that ruins some franchises for many years

 

[Olderfan]

Trotz does not want anyone to think losing is ok. I get that. He is also getting rid of expensive contracts(more or less!). I get that. He is also acquiring focused players to get rid of the “country club” environment. I get that. He has also brought on defensive forwards and a big tough Dman. That I sorta, almost get. That is Trotzy hockey and he’s hardly ever been an O guy. His team’s weren’t all that much fun to watch and they were contenders but not winners for years. Except the Kariya couple of years. He grew a lot while gone and got that Cup. But I sure hope Preds don’t rebuild to a D only, get rid of all the O guys cause they’ve been drafting a bunch of O types. Before you beat me up, mull that over and yes, I know you gotta play both.

 

[Armourboy]

Trotz does not want anyone to think losing is ok. I get that. He is also getting rid of expensive contracts(more or less!). I get that. He is also acquiring focused players to get rid of the “country club” environment. I get that. He has also brought on defensive forwards and a big tough Dman. That I sorta, almost get. That is Trotzy hockey and he’s hardly ever been an O guy. His team’s weren’t all that much fun to watch and they were contenders but not winners for years. Except the Kariya couple of years. He grew a lot while gone and got that Cup. But I sure hope Preds don’t rebuild to a D only, get rid of all the O guys cause they’ve been drafting a bunch of O types. Before you beat me up, mull that over and yes, I know you gotta play both.

Alot of that was cause he didn't have the guys to score with anyways except in those years.

 

[ShagDaddy]

Trotz does not want anyone to think losing is ok. I get that. He is also getting rid of expensive contracts(more or less!). I get that. He is also acquiring focused players to get rid of the “country club” environment. I get that. He has also brought on defensive forwards and a big tough Dman. That I sorta, almost get. That is Trotzy hockey and he’s hardly ever been an O guy. His team’s weren’t all that much fun to watch and they were contenders but not winners for years. Except the Kariya couple of years. He grew a lot while gone and got that Cup. But I sure hope Preds don’t rebuild to a D only, get rid of all the O guys cause they’ve been drafting a bunch of O types. Before you beat me up, mull that over and yes, I know you gotta play both.

In my opinion, “Trotz hockey” is a bit misleading. Trotz coached what he had.

Trotz brought in a coach that is touted as an “offensive” guy so I don’t think he will build a team that isn’t focused more on speed and skill. That would set up his guy for failure out of the gate. Every team needs players that are considered two way players or defensive players to create balance on the team. Without some kind of balance, teams will always fail because their flaws are much easier to expose and take advantage of.

I really like what Trotz is doing so far. The guys he’s brought in aren’t all world all stars that can carry a team to the cup but they’re guys that can help lay a very solid foundation for an organization that can built off of going forward. O’Reilly, Schenn, McDonagh, Nyquist, these are the type of players that can mentor and show young players what it takes to be winners and how to play to be winners. Those are characteristics that will be passed on for years to each new player that comes in to the organization. It’s a cultural mind set that can be infectious throughout the whole organization and set the tone for generations.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

I bet we make the playoffs with this crew...