Helene St. James New PP units

Martinez

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Oct 10, 2015
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People say power play specialist like it's a bad thing. We could use a power play specialist
 

jkutswings

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If they trade Green, they might even end up going with 5 forwards on one of the units. #LimitedOptions
 

MikeyDee

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I like the idea of moving Nyquist to the slot as the RW occasionally do. Not all the time, but sometimes just to change the look. Maybe, moving him from the half-boards to the slot on the same PP could create some opportunities for him and others. Not just with the Wings, but other teams get the same staleness and I find a lot of times its because of not enough of one or more of the following:
1) movement of the puck in general,
2) movement of players,
3) shots being taken,
4) low to high, or high to low puck movement,
5) screening of the goalie.
 

Ezekial

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I can already see the first unit being a pass drill between Z and Kronwall with the occasional pass to Frk for his one timer. AA seems to be on that unit just for the entrance.
As opposed to having what role on PP2? The same one without needing to do zone entries?


I think Z's ability to possess the puck might help Frk a little bit, but who knows. I'm just glad they're making a change rather than continuing to bash their heads against the wall.

The second quarter of this season PP2 has been bad with sustained O-zone time.
 
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The Zetterberg Era

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As opposed to having what role on PP2? The same one without needing to do zone entries?


I think Z's ability to possess the puck might help Frk a little bit, but who knows. I'm just glad they're making a change rather than continuing to bash their heads against the wall.

The second quarter of this season PP2 has been bad with sustained O-zone time.

It is interesting in that it would appear that Z will switch the half wall he operates off of typically to run this unit, so he will go to the other side of the ice. I also think he will have the ability to make a cross ice pass and get it through more often than anybody else on the team to Frk which might cause problems for the opposition. I like the changes, lets see if they pay off.
 
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Flowah

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Nov 30, 2009
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It is interesting in that it would appear that Z will switch the half wall he operates off of typically to run this unit, so he will go to the other side of the ice. I also think he will have the ability to make a cross ice pass and get it through more often than anybody else on the team to Frk which might cause problems for the opposition. I like the changes, lets see if they pay off.
We almost never do that cross ice pass anymore. Used to be our bread and butter when Z/D were in their prime. What a thing of beauty. Now it's passing it around at the point around the perimeter for a minute and losing the zone.
 
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The Zetterberg Era

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Blashill, Mantha was drafted as a goal scorer why not use him for that? Quit putting him in front of the net and let him use his shot. Yeah, he’s big at 6’5 but come on now...

Mantha needs to be given the freedom that Franzen had on the PP. Especially since Athanasiou, Larkin and some others actually can play a little in front of the net. Our PP needs more movement. Mantha can be a tremendous asset there. What made Franzen so lethal on the PP was yes he might start down low, but he could also drift out and interchange with guys and had a lethal shot while doing so. Mantha has that ability. I think scoring down low is important.

IcyData » Shots

He isn't robbing Mantha of good goal scoring opportunities so much as he is robbing the PP of lethal movement and multiple options (so more balanced scoring opportunities) that cause chasing out of the defense. Our PP has become too stationary, it really hurts players like Nyquist and Tatar because at the end of the day Mantha is at least in a scoring area where most goals are scored from at this level. But we need to create more spacing and movement on the PP desperately. We can laugh about Zetterberg skating around bored on the halfwall, but his brain is waiting for people to get open and move, we are a stagnant team without enough belief. That and our passing really needs to move quicker and with more accuracy, too often our guys are gathering the puck and deciding, they should know their options and read and react while the puck is on the way to them not once they corral the puck. Hopefully the change has some of this in mind as well.
 
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Claypool

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Blashill, Mantha was drafted as a goal scorer why not use him for that? Quit putting him in front of the net and let him use his shot. Yeah, he’s big at 6’5 but come on now...
Blashill doesn't run the power play. The reason Mantha is in front of the next is because to score in the NHL with some regularity you need to screen the goalies. Today's goalies are all 6'5.
 

Christien

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Blashill doesn't run the power play. The reason Mantha is in front of the next is because to score in the NHL with some regularity you need to screen the goalies. Today's goalies are all 6'5.
Oh yeah, I forgot it was the assistants. I still think that Mantha can be utilized in a much better way rather than being a net front presence. He should be a triggerman on the powerplay.
 

Martinez

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Oh yeah, I forgot it was the assistants. I still think that Mantha can be utilized in a much better way rather than being a net front presence. He should be a triggerman on the powerplay.
Waiting for Rasmussen, and dahlin ;)
 

Claypool

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Oh yeah, I forgot it was the assistants. I still think that Mantha can be utilized in a much better way rather than being a net front presence. He should be a triggerman on the powerplay.
I guess. I don't think a lot of goalies will have a problem stopping Mantha's shot when Tomas Tatar is standing in front of them.
 

Henkka

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Blashill, Mantha was drafted as a goal scorer why not use him for that? Quit putting him in front of the net and let him use his shot. Yeah, he’s big at 6’5 but come on now...

Player have to learn other things also in the game, and not just be that one-trick-pony. Go to talk with any smart hockey coach, and he agrees with this.

Letting Mantha be just a goal-scorer would be probably the biggest mistake we can do on his development. He has to learn more aspects of the game to become a COMPLETE Goals-scorer with no weaknesses.

When being the net-front guy, you learn about shooting behind the net-front guy. You understand better his moves where to hit etc. when it's your time to be that triggerman again.

Don't think one-dimensionally. Playmakers have to playmake! Scorers have always be scorers! They will be in their prime. But with young players, it's a learning process towards that prime.
 

Winger98

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People focus too much on size with a guy being net front. When a powerplay is as stationary as ours, having the biggest guy on the team in front of the net doesn't really matter in making it harder for the PK to shut us down and the goalie to track the play. If moving Mantha out from the net encourages better puck movement, we can find someone else to move down low whether it's tatar or Athanasiou or whoever. The guy moving to the net will still suck other PKers down to him, and better puck movement will generate the sort of movement/confusion needed to actually take advantage of having a guy down there.

Also, with regards to size on your net front guy, his hand/eye coordination is still more important. Holmstrom was listed at 6', he wasn't a giant down there. But he was big enough and he could get his stick on pucks. Tatar might be small but if his hands are good enough to nick the puck as it comes by, that's going to create more havoc than having a bigger butt planted there while the puck languors on the half board with Z waiting to find a place to move it.
 

Claypool

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Holmstrom was listed at 6', he wasn't a giant down there. But he was big enough and he could get his stick on pucks.

In 2007 only 7 starting goalies (50+ GP) were 6'2 or taller.

In 2017 there were 21 starting goalies (50+ GP) that were 6'2 or taller.

No clue why you think a player that was effective over a decade ago would still be effective in today's NHL. That's dinosaur thinking.
 

Henkka

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In 2007 only 7 starting goalies (50+ GP) were 6'2 or taller.

In 2017 there were 21 starting goalies (50+ GP) that were 6'2 or taller.

No clue why you think a player that was effective over a decade ago would still be effective in today's NHL. That's dinosaur thinking.

Yep.

Michael Rasmussen will be our future net-front player, which will relieve Mantha from those duties.
 

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