Prospects and Marlies Discussion - Gauthier to the Memorial Cup?

[johnny_rudeboy]

Because the Leafs are going to hire the coach that just beat the Marlies, Jeff Blashill.

Yeah, he beat us in the 5th and final game with a much better squad.

Having said that. If Babcock signs with Detroit I reckon they will allow Blashill to become an NHL coach and I would not turn him down.

 

[Judas Tavares]

Was disappointing to see the Marlies blow the series, but to me after losing game 3 it seemed inevitable. I figured game 4 was a must win or game 5 would be trouble. The Griffins are just too good and as much as we hate when vets take away the young guns' time, the Marlies needed a Keith Aucoin type to get them through the series.

I didn't watch the whole series but I'll say my one main concern through everything was Percy. To me he didn't look great and he got beat a bunch. I really hope he can be a solid contributor for us down the road. With Finn now a major question mark and if the 3 Swedes aren't a huge factor, it's really only Valiev in the pipeline.

I hope we go centre top heavy this draft (Strome/Marner at 4 and Barzal at 6 ) and then pick almost all defenceman the rest of the draft.

 

[Bullseye]

Thanks Marlies for making it a relevant season and having a chance to carry. I enjoyed the games and watching the individual progression.

Thanks for a fun season.

 

[HockeyNightInBelfast]

just my two cents

agreed that it would be really harsh to let Dineen / King go after this past season.

Re Keefe - fyi: when he was at his WORST as a player w/ Danton/Barnes & Frost playing at St Mikes, guess who the head coach was....

GM candidate Mike Futa....

If the appointment of Keefe is made, which seems increasingly likely, given the Dubas connection, then it's bound to get a few tongues wagging.

Keefe has clearly put his past behind him though & hopefully that's where it stays & if so good for him.

People deserve a second chance, especially when they were maniacs as kids.

It's ripe fer the pickin' though at some stage & in THIS market, my fear is that it's inevitable someone brings it up if things start to go awry for whatever reason.

 

[hockeywiz542]

According to the Toronto Star, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Frederik Gauthier is making strides.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/break...rospect-frederik-gauthier-making-strides.html

The Maple Leafs are starting to get excited about Frederik Gauthier.

The 2013 first-round pick (21st overall) is heading to the Memorial Cup with the Rimouski Oceanic. First they battle the Quebec Remparts for the Presidents Cup, beginning Tuesday, but because Quebec is hosting the Memorial Cup, Rimouski has already earned the right to be the second team from the Quebec league.

"If there is a defensive-zone faceoff, he's on the ice," Scott Pellerin, the Leafs assistant manager of player development. "If there's a penalty kill, he's on the ice. If there's a power play, he's on the ice.

"It's unbelievable really to see the value he brings to his team."

Offence has long been the issue with Gauthier. He is as defensively sound as they come. But the offence looks like it's turning around.

He had 32 points in 37 games for the Oceanic. He missed some time with injury and, of course, for winning gold with Team Canada at the world junior tournament.

he has 13 points in 13 games so far through the QMJHL playoffs, including an assist in the clincher over Val D'or, a game in which he was named la première étoile.

"People get mixed up when they say he's too defensive," said Pellerin. "He plays his position very well. He's always in good support for his defencemen, he's doesn't cheat on the breakout, he's available for his wingers, he'll get in hard on the forecheck, he'll make sure he's (in the right spot) in the offensive zone to get a shot.

"For us, the progression is: how do we get him to be able to attack more and be a little bit more aggressive on the puck. With my conversations with him, we've been able to have a bit of a dialogue in relation to the areas on the ice where he has to be stronger and the areas where he can be more dominant than he is right now."

 

[FreeBird]

Has Pellerin been announced as Asst player development, not on Leafs site.

Obviously the Leafs have hired front office personnel and haven't announced it publicly. Scott Pellerin is new name that is a former NHL player.

 

[darrylsittler27]

On Gauthier.

Great news, looks like some fans will be eating some crow and we will all learn some patience when our prospects don't come into the NHL (at 18)and score 40 goals the first year. "He is a bust" they said minutes after the draft. Holland better start looking over his shoulder.

 

[Sergei Berezin]

Obviously the Leafs have hired front office personnel and haven't announced it publicly. Scott Pellerin is new name that is a former NHL player.

It was announced on December 4th... he's merely one of the guys who survived cuts. Not sure why he's not listed on the website, though.

http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=742519

The addition of Darryl Belfry is also noted in that piece.

 

[Duffman955]

Looks like lack of size and strength really got to the small forwards on the Marlies.

Don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy with the development of the likes of Nylander, Leipsic, Brown,etc. but to compete in the playoffs, you need a mix of size and skill. If only Biggs had taken a few more strides in his development.

 

[HockeyNightInBelfast]

Whilst Ross & possibly Devane will be gone next season, Freddy The Goat will be locking horns w/ AHL opposition next season for the Marlies.

He's 6'4""

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

A lot of people eating crow on GOAT. The kids size is what I like, just let him get confident and grow into a stud. Not too worried about the D, Percy seems like the top D prospect but we got guys filling that spot who could blossom into studs.

 

[Leafidelity]

He'll have a solid NHL career. A system first guy like Goat can flourish with the right coaching.

 

[Hugh Mongusbig]

The only way the Marlies are going to win this series is if we can out duel them. We've got lots of talent, but so do they. They've got many talented forwards, but so do we. Same with defense.

Nylander vs. Pulkkinen
Brown vs. Mantha
R. Rupert vs. Zengerle
Frattin vs. Miele
Froese vs. Athanasiou
Leipsic vs. Nastasiuk
Leivo vs. Frk
Carrick vs. Nosek
McKegg vs. Porter
Rodewald vs. Tvrdon
M. Rupert vs. Hoggan
Manderson vs. Aubry

Brennan vs. Paetsch
Percy vs. Ouellet
Mikkelson vs. Sproul
Granberg vs. Lashoff
Loov vs. Jensen
MacWilliam vs. Evans

Gibson vs. McCollum
Bibeau vs. Coreau

Whomever can win the most matchups will likely win the series. I'm confident that we can beat them here... Their goalies will be their Achilles Heel.

Nylander 0 goals in 5 games.
Pulkkinen 6 goals in 5 games.

Did somebody forget to tell Nylander that this was a 5 game series?

 

[Judas Tavares]

Nylander 0 goals in 5 games.
Pulkkinen 6 goals in 5 games.

Did somebody forget to tell Nylander that this was a 5 game series?

This was an unfair "matchup" to begin with. Pulkkinen is 23 years old. If anything, the Wings blew it by not having him help in the Tampa series.

 

[91Stammer*]

Nylander 0 goals in 5 games.
Pulkkinen 6 goals in 5 games.

Did somebody forget to tell Nylander that this was a 5 game series?

Nylander 18 yo and Pulkinnen 23.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Whilst Ross & possibly Devane will be gone next season, Freddy The Goat will be locking horns w/ AHL opposition next season for the Marlies.

He's 6'4""

Devane will be there to make sure our young guns develop. No one took liberties with our team when Devane was in the line up. I'm not even a big advocate of enforcers in the NHL or in general. In the AHL I think you need a tough guy presence.

 

[mikebel111*]

Nylander 0 goals in 5 games.
Pulkkinen 6 goals in 5 games.

Did somebody forget to tell Nylander that this was a 5 game series?

Fail post

Nylander over Pulkkinen. Especially considering age.
We have a nice player in William

 

[carko32]

Fail post

Nylander over Pulkkinen. Especially considering age.
We have a nice player in William

Trade him, he's too small. Pulkkinen gave him so much troubles, since he is a giant at 5'11'' and 183 lbs.

 

[William Hylander]

I was surprised how strong Nylander is on his skates, it's actually pretty hard to hit him off the puck and when someone tried he would give a shoulder into the guy trying to hit him.

Everyone saying he plays like kessel, I have never ever seen Kessel even get remotely as physically involved as Nylander. If kessel is getting hit he absolutely does anything in his power to get out of the way, even if it means giving the puck away.

 

[romelson]

Granberg has been selected to represent Sweden in the world cup.
Coach Par Marts says he hopes Granberg will arrive in time to play against Canada, tomorrow.

 

[leafsfuture]

Looks like lack of size and strength really got to the small forwards on the Marlies.

Don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy with the development of the likes of Nylander, Leipsic, Brown,etc. but to compete in the playoffs, you need a mix of size and skill. If only Biggs had taken a few more strides in his development.

Exactly. You still need guys like Gauthier.

This is why I am not the most keen on drafting Marner. Not because there isnt major talent, but Kadri, Nylander, Brown are all on the smaller size. If all those guys make our top 6, well it wont be much different from way things are now.

Skill is important, the most important thing, but this is a physical sport. When all else is equal (It never is) size has advantage

 

[darrylsittler27]

We do need size.

Wasn't Lucic a 2nd rounder? We wasted a first on Biggs when it should have been a 2nd rounder. Dubas talked about the need for skill and then you get size later.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Wasn't Lucic a 2nd rounder? We wasted a first on Biggs when it should have been a 2nd rounder. Dubas talked about the need for skill and then you get size later.

Nah, he said you make decisions based on skill and if the size of the team becomes a problem, you correct it then. It's not like we'll avoid size until it's time for the playoffs.

 

[ULF_55]

Nah, he said you make decisions based on skill and if the size of the team becomes a problem, you correct it then. It's not like we'll avoid size until it's time for the playoffs.

Well, the great thing is size doesn't have a bearing on talent.

You don't have to got small to get skill.

Jaromir Jagr

Right Wing -- shoots L
Born Feb 15 1972 -- Kladno, Czech Rep.
[43 yrs. ago]
Height 6.03 -- Weight 230 [191 cm/104 kg]

 

[SprDaVE]

Well, the great thing is size doesn't have a bearing on talent.

You don't have to got small to get skill.

Jaromir Jagr

Right Wing -- shoots L
Born Feb 15 1972 -- Kladno, Czech Rep.
[43 yrs. ago]
Height 6.03 -- Weight 230 [191 cm/104 kg]

And being a great player has nothing to do with size either.

Martin St. Louis
Right Wing -- shoots L
Born Jun 18 1975 -- Laval, PQ
[39 yrs. ago]
Height 5.08 -- Weight 176 [173 cm/80 kg]


It almost like it doesn't really matter how big or small you are, as long as you have the talent, drive and motivation, you'll find a place in the NHL.