2018-19 Colorado Eagles (AHL) and Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)
- Thread starter RockLobster
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- Feb 24, 2012
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Avsrule2022
"No more rats"
Friday is a jersey retirement night and Saturday is the annual fundraiser and jersey auction. You shouldn't have any trouble getting tix to future games after those as long as it's 2 or 3 days before.
Also I believe if you do it over the phone you can save the extra ticket charges
So I got a chance to head up yesterday and watched the game. The atmosphere was great and the place had to be sold out, but the incensive cowbell was ridiculous. This isn't your son's PeeWee game nor is it LNAH scrub league either. But it was interesting to see all the farmers who love the Eagles and just the game of hockey in general. I mean I shouldn't since I played in farm land capital of Canada, but perhaps I stereotyped American farmers with sports like throwball.
Lines were...
Kosmachuk - Nantel - Kaut (started the game, but seemed more like the 3rd line)
Greer - Toninato - McCormick
O'Connor - Dries - Joly
Kessy - Shvyryov - McGauley
Did not play: Barron, Bass, Dickinson, & Lewis (not sure who's in Utah)
Warsofsky - Alt
Geertsen - Meloche
Boikov - Lindholm
Francouz
Did not play: Davis
30 thoughts...
- First and foremost, Eagles were the better team. So before I get into any negatives, just understand that they looked good without Agozzino.
- Defencive lines got put in a blender once Boikov got ejected, but the Warsofsky and Alt pairing remained together. Boikov's crosscheck was most definitely a penalty, but a little harsh to throw him out of the game. It was pretty much 5 minute major for simply being stronger than Harkins. It was not a very good penalty to take because Eagles had a 4 minute double highstick they were killing off at the same time. So picture on the scoreboard when you see one penalty at 2:03 and the other one at 5:00 to give the Moose a super long 5v3.
- Let me say that the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Eagles strengths are almost 180 contrasts of each other. Avs PK is terrible, while Eagles killed majority of the 5v3 (got scored on at the very last seconds). Avs PP is solid, while Eagles is just terrible. Avs are super soft, while the Eagles are filled with a ton of grit. The Avs team doesn't have a lot of good two-way talent, while Eagles pride themselves with it.
- I think we as fans tend to get overloaded when it comes to certain player usage, but holy smokes I disagreed with some of them last night (I'll get more into that when I talk about indiviudal players).
- I was severely disappointed with some of the AHL veteran players last night. Alt and Warsofsky are actually a perfect duo so it wasn't really them, but a couple others. On the other hand I was very impressed by how good and talented the AHL as a league actually was.
- To start off the battle, holy **** Kosmachuk was bad. It's not like an AHL mercenary who gets his one-way contract and then half-asses it 50% of the season, he's just a really bad hockey player. Looked almost confused out there majority of the time and had to be the worst corsi player on the ice. Hoping we cut ties with him as soon as the season is over.
- Kaut was very disappointing, especially on the PP. It seems he's hit the plateau of the AHL season and perhaps playing this many games is a reason why. He's not getting any points and one reason is because he loses like 90% of the board battles. They put him on the MacKinnon spot for the second PP unit and every time the puck went to his side he eventually lost it and the Moose cleared. He does have an underrated shot though. I will say that his line doesn't make any sense, Nantel isn't even a first liner in the ECHL yet Kaut is stuck with some of the two limited talented players.
- Francouz was extremely average and got absurdly outplayed by Mikhail Berdin for the Moose. He had a ton of Varlamov's struggles yesterday; sort of second-guess attitude, kept looking behind him if he let in pucks, and allowed so many effin' rebounds back into the slot. Berdin was very scrambly at times, but wow I came away impressed by him. There might be some fatigue with Francouz.
- Best player out there was easily Greer, he was one of the few non-Agozzino Colorado Eagles that had a semblance of multiple scoring chances. But he's still pretty green or perhaps that's why he won't ever get higher in the NHL. One example is he dumped the puck in and was trying to chase it. He tried to push the Moose defender away, but accidentally punched him in the face and got a stupid penalty. He did a couple more those sort of iffy plays throughout the game where he does 99% good, but that 1% is noticeably bad.
- Nicolas Meloche was easily the second best player in the game after Greer. This is where my player usage criticism comes into play. I like Alt and he's a great captain for an AHL team like ours, but I just don't understand how he gets to play on the PP instead of Meloche. Eagles use four forwards on each unit, but Warsofsky is on 1st and Alt is on the 2nd. Meloche besides Warsofsky is the only lad who can rush the puck up the ice and make smart decisions. He had a couple of grade A zone keep-in's yet gets no PP time for a struggling PP. Honestly, every about his game is fantastic, the only thing he lacks is experience and that comes through time.
- Toninato is what you think he is in the AHL. Good hard-working-blue-collar two-way centre that can play at both ends of the ice. I would like to see him be more of a catalyst with the puck in the offencive zone, but he's going to make the NHL by his gritty defencive ability instead.
- I thought we would have a bit more talent in McCormick to be fairly honest.
- O'Connor is a great player, he's very JT Compher on the PK where you really cannot underestimate him or he will make you pay. Not sure how much talent he has long-term, but he's been one hell of a signing.
- Joly is the Derick Brassard of the AHL. Great shot, okay talent, laziness abounds, and loses many, many board-battles. I think this experiment should end once the season is over and play someone like Ty Lewis in his spot instead. He was the other AHL veteran I was very disappointed in.
- Shvyryov was pretty good, but to me he looked super raw and that might be why he's stuck on the fourth line. He knows his role though and plays good as the 4th line centre, but I was expecting him to have a bit more individual talent than what I saw.
- Geertsen won't get any higher until he fixes his skating ability, at times you saw that as a weakness even in the AHL. Lindholm was actually very good, but considering how reckless he is in the NHL best that we move on or we keep him as a veteran AHLer. Lastly, Boikov was solid in the period and half he played before getting ejected. Looked like that physical shutdown defenceman we drafted him, just got a tad too physical.
Lines were...
Kosmachuk - Nantel - Kaut (started the game, but seemed more like the 3rd line)
Greer - Toninato - McCormick
O'Connor - Dries - Joly
Kessy - Shvyryov - McGauley
Did not play: Barron, Bass, Dickinson, & Lewis (not sure who's in Utah)
Warsofsky - Alt
Geertsen - Meloche
Boikov - Lindholm
Francouz
Did not play: Davis
30 thoughts...
- First and foremost, Eagles were the better team. So before I get into any negatives, just understand that they looked good without Agozzino.
- Defencive lines got put in a blender once Boikov got ejected, but the Warsofsky and Alt pairing remained together. Boikov's crosscheck was most definitely a penalty, but a little harsh to throw him out of the game. It was pretty much 5 minute major for simply being stronger than Harkins. It was not a very good penalty to take because Eagles had a 4 minute double highstick they were killing off at the same time. So picture on the scoreboard when you see one penalty at 2:03 and the other one at 5:00 to give the Moose a super long 5v3.
- Let me say that the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Eagles strengths are almost 180 contrasts of each other. Avs PK is terrible, while Eagles killed majority of the 5v3 (got scored on at the very last seconds). Avs PP is solid, while Eagles is just terrible. Avs are super soft, while the Eagles are filled with a ton of grit. The Avs team doesn't have a lot of good two-way talent, while Eagles pride themselves with it.
- I think we as fans tend to get overloaded when it comes to certain player usage, but holy smokes I disagreed with some of them last night (I'll get more into that when I talk about indiviudal players).
- I was severely disappointed with some of the AHL veteran players last night. Alt and Warsofsky are actually a perfect duo so it wasn't really them, but a couple others. On the other hand I was very impressed by how good and talented the AHL as a league actually was.
- To start off the battle, holy **** Kosmachuk was bad. It's not like an AHL mercenary who gets his one-way contract and then half-asses it 50% of the season, he's just a really bad hockey player. Looked almost confused out there majority of the time and had to be the worst corsi player on the ice. Hoping we cut ties with him as soon as the season is over.
- Kaut was very disappointing, especially on the PP. It seems he's hit the plateau of the AHL season and perhaps playing this many games is a reason why. He's not getting any points and one reason is because he loses like 90% of the board battles. They put him on the MacKinnon spot for the second PP unit and every time the puck went to his side he eventually lost it and the Moose cleared. He does have an underrated shot though. I will say that his line doesn't make any sense, Nantel isn't even a first liner in the ECHL yet Kaut is stuck with some of the two limited talented players.
- Francouz was extremely average and got absurdly outplayed by Mikhail Berdin for the Moose. He had a ton of Varlamov's struggles yesterday; sort of second-guess attitude, kept looking behind him if he let in pucks, and allowed so many effin' rebounds back into the slot. Berdin was very scrambly at times, but wow I came away impressed by him. There might be some fatigue with Francouz.
- Best player out there was easily Greer, he was one of the few non-Agozzino Colorado Eagles that had a semblance of multiple scoring chances. But he's still pretty green or perhaps that's why he won't ever get higher in the NHL. One example is he dumped the puck in and was trying to chase it. He tried to push the Moose defender away, but accidentally punched him in the face and got a stupid penalty. He did a couple more those sort of iffy plays throughout the game where he does 99% good, but that 1% is noticeably bad.
- Nicolas Meloche was easily the second best player in the game after Greer. This is where my player usage criticism comes into play. I like Alt and he's a great captain for an AHL team like ours, but I just don't understand how he gets to play on the PP instead of Meloche. Eagles use four forwards on each unit, but Warsofsky is on 1st and Alt is on the 2nd. Meloche besides Warsofsky is the only lad who can rush the puck up the ice and make smart decisions. He had a couple of grade A zone keep-in's yet gets no PP time for a struggling PP. Honestly, every about his game is fantastic, the only thing he lacks is experience and that comes through time.
- Toninato is what you think he is in the AHL. Good hard-working-blue-collar two-way centre that can play at both ends of the ice. I would like to see him be more of a catalyst with the puck in the offencive zone, but he's going to make the NHL by his gritty defencive ability instead.
- I thought we would have a bit more talent in McCormick to be fairly honest.
- O'Connor is a great player, he's very JT Compher on the PK where you really cannot underestimate him or he will make you pay. Not sure how much talent he has long-term, but he's been one hell of a signing.
- Joly is the Derick Brassard of the AHL. Great shot, okay talent, laziness abounds, and loses many, many board-battles. I think this experiment should end once the season is over and play someone like Ty Lewis in his spot instead. He was the other AHL veteran I was very disappointed in.
- Shvyryov was pretty good, but to me he looked super raw and that might be why he's stuck on the fourth line. He knows his role though and plays good as the 4th line centre, but I was expecting him to have a bit more individual talent than what I saw.
- Geertsen won't get any higher until he fixes his skating ability, at times you saw that as a weakness even in the AHL. Lindholm was actually very good, but considering how reckless he is in the NHL best that we move on or we keep him as a veteran AHLer. Lastly, Boikov was solid in the period and half he played before getting ejected. Looked like that physical shutdown defenceman we drafted him, just got a tad too physical.
Last edited:
- Aug 25, 2006
- 9,324
- 7,387
How disappointing of a recap! You said 30 thoughts and there were only 16!!!!
Joking! Great post. Thanks.
Why does this team seem to have such a hard time picking AHL vets? Is it just a scouting/Billington problem?
I'll tell you why.....it's because they constantly go after AHL veterans and not after depth NHL talent and play them in the AHL. Well, I would classify Alt as one of those #13 forward or #7 defender, but nothing beyond that except for Francouz who might be better than NHL depth.
Last edited:
AvsFan2123
Registered User
At least they’re still alive and playing lol. Usually the vets they sign blow out their knee 1/5 into the season. But I totally get it and I notice it too how their vets aren’t good for the most part. Really hope we bring back Agozzino and Warsofsky for vet roles. But smell ya later Kosmachuk, Joly, Bass, Martin, Boikov, Lindholm and probably Geertsen.
I feel like it's not the insurmountable task they always make it out to be. Detroit had absolutely nothing in the system a couple years back and decided to just load up Grand Rapids with vets and, voila, Calder Cup.
I suppose maybe they're a bit gun-shy about getting "tweener" players since what allegedly happened with Darren Haydar and the Monsters way back when. But that's no excuse. It cannot be this frickin' hard to get another Brian Willsie.
Well, they have the wrong ideology because some teams think that when they sign players they have in their mind a certain role for that player. So when Sakic signed Agozzino for the second time, he probably notified his agent that he wants him to be a star/veteran player for the AHL. This is different to players like Carr, Mueller, Conacher, and Terry to name a few where teams say we want you to challenge for a bottom role, but if you don't make it I want you to lead our AHL club.
All those players are in the top 15 of AHL scoring, however there are a ton of young and mid-age players that came from within their organizations like Bracco, Poturalski, Barre-Boulet, Boucher (was traded though), Olofsson, and Barber. The only AHL mercenaries in the top 15 are Agozzino, ROR's bro, and Verhaeghe.
Avsrule2022
"No more rats"
My dream, however naive, is that the Avs/Eagles can develop their own AHL vets to some extent. Take someone like Geertsen. Avs draft pick who we probably all agree won't play for the Avs. But he seems to like playing for the Eagles and the fans like him. He plays well enough to be the 6/7 in Loveland. He can drop the gloves which makes knuckleheads like Kale Kessy unnecessary. He also doesn't (shouldn't) block a prospect from playing time. A year to year AHL deal that makes it worth it for him not to pursue somewhere else seems like something better than what they are doing right now. As soon as he falls off you have the next expiring ELC to take his place on an AHL deal.
That is unless someday the Avs have enough prospects to fill the whole AHL team lol
That is unless someday the Avs have enough prospects to fill the whole AHL team lol
LTC Pain
Registered User
Barberio on loan to the Eagles for conditioning.
Defenseman Barberio Assigned to Eagles on Conditioning Stint | Colorado Eagles
Defenseman Barberio Assigned to Eagles on Conditioning Stint | Colorado Eagles
LTC Pain
Registered User
- Oct 24, 2008
- 22,494
- 29,651
At some point, he might want to make more than $65k-$85k per year. Europe or whatever.
AvsFan2123
Registered User
So did we sign this Tischke guy just for him to ride pine lol. And how are people like Kessy and Nantel playing over Lewis?
Foppa Frossa
Registered User
When is Bowers going to play? Next home game is April 12th, or does he join them on the roadie?
AvsFan2123
Registered User
Sure hope he plays next weekend. Going to the game in Chicago and can post a few quick thoughts from the game.
I believe he had an assist.
I would like to hear more about the Eagles current structure and system, because giving up 45 plus shots per game is not a good look. They do have some talent on the roster compared to some other AHL squads.
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