Prospect Info: Matt O'Connor #29

[topshelf15]

I can't say a lot of good things about his performance.

Very shaky on those long shots.

Oh well.

Nerves probably,hopefully he will work those things out .On the farm this season

 

[ChabotToTrot]

As a goalie, its almost impossible to come in cold halfway through a game and succeed; especially when the last time you got shots taken at you was an hour before. O'Connor struggled on his rebound control, and did have a tough time seeing the far shots. He was caught deep in his net on the 4th goal of the game, where he should have been at the top of the crease to make an easy shoulder stop. However he has great lower net coverage and it should be good to see him in full game on Sunday. Give him a little time to acclimate to the pace and style of the Pro game; he'll do well once he does.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

I can't say a lot of good things about his performance.

Very shaky on those long shots.

Oh well.

This might be his MO...first day of camp he was shakey too. Then he went "Beast Mode Cowboy".

 

[bert]

As a goalie, its almost impossible to come in cold halfway through a game and succeed; especially when the last time you got shots taken at you was an hour before. O'Connor struggled on his rebound control, and did have a tough time seeing the far shots. He was caught deep in his net on the 4th goal of the game, where he should have been at the top of the crease to make an easy shoulder stop. However he has great lower net coverage and it should be good to see him in full game on Sunday. Give him a little time to acclimate to the pace and style of the Pro game; he'll do well once he does.

I agree its a strange move, why not just rotate them and give them full games?

 

[ChabotToTrot]

I agree its a strange move, why not just rotate them and give them full games?

Most likely to give them equal playing time, probably gave O'Connor second half to see if he had the ability to come in cold and play well, knew what Driedger was capable of from Bingo and Evansville. Should be interesting to see what O'Connor can do tomorrow

 

[Ttracer*]

How is Matts puck handling and decision making? It's not all about stopping shots, goalie coaches will tell you

 

[Xspyrit]

He's the reason I don't mind Lehner's departure.

Same. Even though I was a huge Lehner fan... and he was swedish

Anderson, Hammond and O'Connor all seem to have a great attitude. I think this could lead to at least a few years of stable and drama free goaltending which is going to be really nice.

No matter what happens, some fans will find a way to build some drama.

The only thing im worried about him and im a big fan of his, is how he will react when he's not on the best team in the country. As everyone knows, confidence is the biggest thing for a goalie and winning instills confidence.. curious to see how he reacts to playing for a mediocre (or atleast i think binghamton will be mediocre) hockey team.

He's one year removed from coming 14 of 14 in gaa and 12 of 14 in save% in the HockeyEast division.

Regardless.. it will be fun to watch the crease battles for the next couple of years.

Maybe because it was before he broke out and earned a contract?

 

[Sens Rule]

Hammond is injured for two weeks so O'Connor is in the NHL to start the season. I bet Anderson starts the first few games regardless but maybe O'Connor ends up seeing action?

Gonna be nice for him to cash NHL cheques for awhile to start his pro career!

 

[Lenny the Lynx]

How is Matts puck handling and decision making? It's not all about stopping shots, goalie coaches will tell you

If you want to see his puck handling I suggest looking him up on YouTube

 

[Busboy]

0-5 with pretty horrendous stats. Has anyone been watching Bingo? I'd love to hear how things are going for Matt down there. I noticed he's played less than Dreidger, are they splitting starts?

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

0-5 with pretty horrendous stats. Has anyone been watching Bingo? I'd love to hear how things are going for Matt down there. I noticed he's played less than Dreidger, are they splitting starts?

Team is horrid in front of him. It's good though, he's learning to deal with adversity and he's seeing more rubber than a tire factory. This is actually good for his development. At least according to Luke Richardson.

 

[Sun God Nika]

Goalies aren't suppose to be good from the get go, especially if they are under their mid twenties, they will have bursts but they get their consistency after playing for a while.

 

[Viletho]

Team is horrid in front of him. It's good though, he's learning to deal with adversity and he's seeing more rubber than a tire factory. This is actually good for his development. At least according to Luke Richardson.

Is it possible also that since he play every 2 games that he cannot get his game going? I understand that he doesn't really deserve the net more the Driedger, but it is important for a goalie to be in the net several game in a row.

 

[tenpinsplit]

he is terrible. has a five hole larger than lehner.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

he is terrible. has a five hole larger than lehner.

Well at least the issue is identifiable

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Not to knock all Bingo fans, but remember how many of them told us Hammond sucked?

 

[aragorn]

I think O'Connor has all the tools to be a great goaltender, it may take some time for him to learn the ropes & there will be ups & downs but he has already shown that he has all the skill. But it will take more than one player, once Luke gets these guys going together as a team Bingo will be better & O'Connor will be better. I thought for the last couple of yrs that Dreidger wasn't very good & then he went on a bit of a streak last yr to end the season & he is off to a good start this season.

 

[Ouroboros]

Has Wamsley been down to Binghamton yet this year?

In the games I've seen it looks like O'Connor has a lot of trouble picking up the puck when it comes off the stick of a pro shooter - in college there are huge disparities between the abilities of the professional prospects and the filler, but in the AHL everybody can shoot it. He's often very late to react. Lots of holes for a big guy as well - pucks beating him between his arm and body and things like that.

He got a Bronx cheer against the Marlies which seemed to visibly bother him.

The goaltending situation in Bingo is a bit different than it's been in the past as both guys down there this year are prospects. It's easy to forget that Driedger was a relatively high draft choice a few years ago and is a good deal younger than O'Connor - it's not a situation where a guy like Brust or Greenham or some other journeyman is taking the crease from a overweight, petulant child from, say, Gothenburg for example.

 

[BonkTastic]

I'm not too worried about the first ~5 games of a player's pro career.

Ask me how he's playing in March.

 

[Very Stable Genius]

Not to knock all Bingo fans, but remember how many of them told us Hammond sucked?

Well he did suck.

 

[Busboy]

I'm not too worried about the first ~5 games of a player's pro career.

Ask me how he's playing in March.

I wasn't asking because I'm worried. I'm just generally interested how his start has gone.

I'm going to ask again before March.

 

[Beville]

Well at least Dreidger's doing alright, bring him up

 

[BonkTastic]

I wasn't asking because I'm worried. I'm just generally interested how his start has gone.

I'm going to ask again before March.

Oh, my post wasn't in response to your question. It was more my reaction to seeing his stat line after only a handful of games.

 

[Gibbie42]

Not to knock all Bingo fans, but remember how many of them told us Hammond sucked?

Last season, when Bingo send Scott Greenham down to Evansville mid-season, Bingo fans were outraged, outraged I tell you over it. The good goalie was sent away and they were stuck with Hammond, why couldn't he go down to Evansville cause he sucks so bad. We laughed and laughed and laughed at the end of the season.

 

[Xspyrit]

I think O'Connor has all the tools to be a great goaltender, it may take some time for him to learn the ropes & there will be ups & downs but he has already shown that he has all the skill. But it will take more than one player, once Luke gets these guys going together as a team Bingo will be better & O'Connor will be better. I thought for the last couple of yrs that Dreidger wasn't very good & then he went on a bit of a streak last yr to end the season & he is off to a good start this season.

That's the most important thing but yes he has to adapt to a new level. The team in front of him is young and inconsistent. I think Richardson has more work to do to make them gel. Skill is there, but skill is not enough against better structured and team work teams.

Who knows what will happen with the goalie situation in the future? Maybe Hogberg will be the best...

Anyway, in the meanwhile... Carey Price :

2007-08 20 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 10 6 4 0 26 251 225 .896 2.69 1 581

It was during his rookie year where he played 41 NHL games. And those numbers are not too bad because he finished strong but his first few games were awful and people were talking bust lol