Post-Game Talk: 2 points closer to the playoffs

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DearDiary

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Malkin finally moving made it apparent how slow Rakell is at skating and getting to the right spots. I think he's a bigger problem than Smith who still has more he can show.
 

ChaosAgent

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May 8, 2018
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Yeah I'm not crazy about O'Connor on L1 but it's clearly working, so why try to mess with it? He can also be a stopgap until Yager or Koivunen takes his spot hopefully next year.

I really like their 1st and 3rd lines right now. If they can upgrade on Rakell for Malkin's RW, I'd really like their entire top-9 in general.

I think Puustinen takes a big step forward next year and seizes that spot.
We'd need a new L3 RW. Or bump Rakell down I suppose.
 
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Sidney the Kidney

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I think Puustinen takes a big step forward next year and seizes that spot.
We'd need a new L3 RW. Or bump Rakell down I suppose.
Wasn't Puustinen supposed to be more of a goal scorer? Not that I'm complaining about his performance, but it's surprising that so far he's looked better as a passer than shooter when I thought it would be the opposite.
 

ChaosAgent

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Wasn't Puustinen supposed to be more of a goal scorer? Not that I'm complaining about his performance, but it's surprising that so far he's looked better as a passer than shooter when I thought it would be the opposite.

He just hasn't had a lot of space to release the shot from what I've seen. But the skill is very evident so I find it hard to believe that he won't have a good shot if he gets more opportunities.

I'm not a Puustinen Stan, but I'm high on his game and upside.
 

DrDangles

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I wouldn't expect either of them to take the role out of pre-season, I meant later in the year.

Start with:

O'Connor-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-XXXXXX (upgrade on Rakell)
Smith-Eller-Puustinen

And hope that at least one of Yager, Koivunen or Ponomarev can take one of these top-9 roles by the trade deadline next year.

With the way this team handles prospects I highly doubt Sully is going to trust Yager with a top 9 role next season, so I doubt we see Yager on the roster past his 9 game look (if he even gets that far)
 
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Empoleon8771

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With the way this team handles prospects I highly doubt Sully is going to trust Yager with a top 9 role next season, so I doubt we see Yager on the roster past his 9 game look (if he even gets that far)

Yager is AHL eligible next year, I'd expect him to spend like a half season in the AHL and then get called up.
 
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Pancakes

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Yager is AHL eligible next year, I'd expect him to spend like a half season in the AHL and then get called up.
I don't think we see him next year. They're not gonna rush their top offensive prospect. Maybe if he goes to WBS and blows the doors off but I doubt he will immediately do that.
 

Empoleon8771

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We have 12+ million that should be going towards a top six forward and a LHD.

Exactly how they should be spending the money. Get a new RW for Malkin and a LD for Letang, while making the 3rd pair something like Graves-St. Ivany.

Technically we need to petition for him to be. He was born after January 1st.

He was born after January 1st but he has the required 4 years of WHL service to be AHL eligible. There may be some additional requirement to fully get him AHL eligible, but him having 4 full seasons in the WHL should make him AHL eligibel.

How is he AHL eligible? Did I miss a rule change?

He's 19-20 for the entirety of next season.

It's either 20 years old or 4 full years of WHL games. Yager hits the second one.

It's just super rare for non-20 year olds to also have 4 full years in juniors.

I don't think we see him next year. They're not gonna rush their top offensive prospect. Maybe if he goes to WBS and blows the doors off but I doubt he will immediately do that.

I can easily see him blowing the doors off in the AHL and having a Guentzel type of impact there. He's a really good prospect.
 
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AlphaMikeFoxtrots

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Will be interesting to see how the prophecy’s turn out for us, but sometimes it’s just about players switching to systems that are better fits. So far it’s a relative win for Dubas, if 1-2 of those prospects work out it’s a slam dunk
Prophecies aside, something's given them a shot in the arm. That may have been letting a, shall we say, comfort player go.

Save for Jake being a better player than Neal ever thought about, it's presently looking a lot like the trade for Horny - the return wasn't exactly thrilling at the outset, but proved a mighty benefit.
 

Gurglesons

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Exactly how they should be spending the money. Get a new RW for Malkin and a LD for Letang, while making the 3rd pair something like Graves-St. Ivany.



He was born after January 1st but he has the required 4 years of WHL service to be AHL eligible. There may be some additional requirement to fully get him AHL eligible, but him having 4 full seasons in the WHL should make him AHL eligibel.



It's either 20 years old or 4 full years of WHL games. Yager hits the second one.

It's just super rare for non-20 year olds to also have 4 full years in juniors.

It’s been covered by prospect websites that they should have to petition from what I’ve seen.

I agree though that he likely will be AHL eligible if we want him to be.
 

Sidney the Kidney

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Exactly how they should be spending the money. Get a new RW for Malkin and a LD for Letang, while making the 3rd pair something like Graves-St. Ivany.



He was born after January 1st but he has the required 4 years of WHL service to be AHL eligible. There may be some additional requirement to fully get him AHL eligible, but him having 4 full seasons in the WHL should make him AHL eligibel.



It's either 20 years old or 4 full years of WHL games. Yager hits the second one.

It's just super rare for non-20 year olds to also have 4 full years in juniors.



I can easily see him blowing the doors off in the AHL and having a Guentzel type of impact there. He's a really good prospect.
Not sure he qualifies because his first year wasn't a "full" year. It was a 24 game call-up.

That's different than, say, Shane Wright who played his full 15 year old season in the OHL, thus why he's eligible to be in the AHL this year.
 
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DrDangles

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It's either 20 years old or 4 full years of WHL games. Yager hits the second one.

It's just super rare for non-20 year olds to also have 4 full years in juniors.

Ah I learned something new today, thanks, this is amazing news

the-more-you-know.gif
 

AlphaMikeFoxtrots

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I remember a time when every Mike Sullivan press conference sounded like an intelligent breath of fresh air…. Now he sounds like a dollar store trinket that spits out sports-related fortune cookie sayings.
Gone are the days of "studying the game."
 

Pancakes

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I can easily see him blowing the doors off in the AHL and having a Guentzel type of impact there. He's a really good prospect.
I mean Jake did basically do just that but Jake was 21 when he had his first full WBS season. Yager is going to be not even 20 yet.
 

Empoleon8771

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Not sure he qualifies because his first year wasn't a "full" year. It was a 24 game call-up.

That's different than, say, Shane Wright who played his full 15 year old season in the OHL, thus why he's eligible to be in the AHL this year.

No, that was the full season. That was the CHL seasons that got screwed over by COVID. Moose Jaw only played in 24 games that season.
 
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