I actually don't remember that but regardless, you can waive and assign a player. That player doesn't have to report immediately. So I am confused as to your comment about needing to recall a player for Biega to go back to Van to pick up his stuff.
2018-19 Utica Comets, Pt. II
- Thread starter Zombotron
- Start date
- Status
I actually don't remember that but regardless, you can waive and assign a player. That player doesn't have to report immediately. So I am confused as to your comment about needing to recall a player for Biega to go back to Van to pick up his stuff.
RobertKron
Registered User
- Sep 1, 2007
- 15,444
- 8,531
It was a joke, poking fun at when they assigned Virtanen to the minors while on the road, then recalled him to Vancouver, sat him for two games, and then reassigned him to the minors again with the reason given for his recall being that the team was on the road when they sent him down, so they had to recall him so he could “get his stuff.” I’m assuming that this is what OP was referencing as well. Maybe your explanation would be better addressed to Canuck management.
cc
Registered User
- Feb 28, 2002
- 9,618
- 1,483
Not liking Kero this game. He screws up too many chances and he loses the puck too easily
I was expecting more game updates on the thread tonight. hope for a game summary or two. Heard Utica broke a sell out record today. Congratulations!
Chaput was so much better than Kero. He could carry the puck into the O-zone and get a play set up. Michael also had a shot. Kero does not in both cases.
If you watched the game perhaps you can back me up on the fact that Darcy and Woods can't do it either. Cull finally agreed tonight as Woods saw little ice time in the 3rd. I didn't see him get hurt so I assume it was due to his performance. Bancks gets in and dumps it, then goes and gets it, but the finesse stuff is not in his tool box. Thus, the center work is absent from the the Comets game. Archibald, MacEwen, and MacMaster are the only forwards since Gaudette left who can actually carry the puck and turn it into offense.
Boucher is desperately trying to do such, but is a turnover more often than he gets in with it and gets a shot, his #1 objective any time the puck is on his stick, or actually completes a pass. His forte is taking the set up pass and depositing it in the opposition net.
Archi is the best of the 4 at actually creating offensive chances.
MacEwen is much like last season. His stick handling is good until he is in a position to make a set up pass or launch a shot and then the pass is terrible or he flubs up the effort and the pass or the shot doesn't happen. If he does get the shot, he is more often high wide or both. He still needs too much space to make something happen. He's like the big dog as a puppy, all legs, feet too big, coordination can't catch up with his parts. He has to grow into the sleek, smooth, coordinated, agile, controlled dog his species is known for. Don't know if this is ever going to happen for him. Power forwards still have to be able to work in close spaces in order to score in front of the net and handle the puck well enough to get their shots off. His ability to make subtle direction changes is very evident in his checking game. He has a player set up for a hit and the guy makes a little move and Mac misses the hit completely crashing into the boards or just gets a little piece. This issue is so glaring when he is carrying the puck. He is stripped or fails to get by on his move precisely because of this weakness.
MacMaster carries the puck in the 0-zone much like a center working from the side boards and into the middle as a he is playing LW. Tonight his skills and agility were missing as it was his turn to get scratched.
Dahlen, Lind, Gadjovich (in the lineup for MacMaster and Archi moved up to take his place with Kero and Boucher), Arseneau, Palmu, and Carcone along with Kero, Darcy and Woods cannot skate with the puck and move up the ice and dish it to a mate in order to begin an offensive thrust. The offense after Boucher shooting is based on getting the puck to the net on long shots or getting the puck off the boards after dumping it in and fighting through scrums in several successive battles along the boards and finally throwing it in front for a quick shot or a series of attempted pokes, slams, pushes, swings, and however else it can be propelled in the general direction of the net in mad scrambles from the slot to the net front.
-Carcone is a hanger looking for the breakaway on every shift. He will make one happen every 3 0r 4 games and that's his offense. Can't make a pass to save his life mainly because the last thing on earth he wants to do is pass. Loses the puck in most challenge situations.
-Palmu skates miles and accomplishes close to nothing. Always a second too late on the forecheck and just can't seem to ever get to a puck in a shooting position and the occasional time he does, he misfires for an easy save. Cannot beat anyone with his stickhandling. Can't knock him down though.
Gadjovich is active, but has never once taken the puck and gone anywhere with it. It's either a shot (very few) or a stride and dump or attempt a pass no matter the degree of openness the player his pass is intended for. He always seems to act like he is wondering where he should go.
Lind is at least starting to try to skate the puck, but his moves when confronting an opponent have rarely worked. His passing has improved, but he is rarely any kind of threat.
Arseneau is a reserve plug. Responsible in his own zone. goes up and down his wing. Will hand out some big hits. Will go to battle in support of any team mate. Not an offensive threat, but does get the puck into shooting lanes and puts it on the net.
Jasek the previous 2 games started to look more like the Jasek we saw at the end of last season doing a little work with Dahlen, but his other linemates have been Bancks and Gadjovich. He is a skill player that works well with other skill players and last season those 2 guys were Chaput and MacMaster. He is not a dominant player. He works well with players who pass, receive passes , and work the puck into shooting spots. He looks lost without that. At least Dahlen was able to give him a pass and receive one. He skated well with the puck, but his passes and the play often died on a team mate's stick. Cull is not deploying him im a position to succeed.
Dahlen is major disappointment to me. I was expecting to see a guy who could skate with the puck, deliver crisp clean passes, and had a good shot with an eye for the net. I thought he would be a big piece of the offense the Comets have been missing. He doesn't skate with the puck. He has rarely used any moves to avoid a defender when he has the puck. He does make nice passes, but rarely when he is up to speed. That speed is another question mark. I was led to believe he is fast. That hasn't been exhibited either. If he has another gear, I would really like to see it. His shot has not been on display either. he always appears to be on the perimeter of things or floating in the open as if he expects the puck will just magically appear for him. His forecheck is poor, he avoids physicality, and is a stick checker in his own zone and slowly comes back defensively much like Goldobin used to do. He does pass the puck very quickly when he does receive it in his zone which is an asset.
The fact is that's the main problem with the Comets offense. It dies on a player's stick and the opponent heads the other way or there is board play after board play as they work the puck around but so often fail get it loose long enough to set something up. When they do get the puck on the net and it's loose they just can't seem to get the puck off their stick to the net. It's like follow the bouncing ball. The opponents shoot darts and also tip them and blast rebounds. The Comets shoot long drives, many from the D, which are easy to stop or dying quails in close or hammer it off a body or miss the net. It's a comedy of missed chances all night long. So, recorded shots on goal like last night gives one the impression they must be snakebit, but if you witness those shots you would see what I mean. The actual bona fide scoring chances and great saves are much lower than the shot total would seem to indicate must be taking place.
Perhaps it's a learning curve. However, it doesn't matter what level you play at. If you have always been a goal scorer, when the puck is there and the net is yawning, you know what to do with it. You may not score, but you shoot and follow your shot. There is little of that thus far. Hence, after 7 games Boucher has 9 goals, Archibald has 3, and MacEwen 2. No one else has more than 1 and 15 of them have 0, nada, zilch. Gaudette had 2, but he's gone. He was the only forward along with MacMaster who could skate the puck into the zone on the PP and maintain possession long enough to get a pass to an open guy and thus get the PP set up. Tonight it was Archi, sometimes MacEwen or Boucher, and most surprising Biega. Dump and chase has became the other method which is not the best way to get a PP set up.
Since he has been gone the PP has no longer been the lethal weapon. They did get 2 tonight in 7 tries, but it was a night of frustration as well. Best evidence was the full 2-minute, 2-man advantage tonight. They not only didn't score, but hardly even got set up and passed the puck past their OWN players, effectively icing the puck for Cleveland. Then in their own zone misplayed passes and kept resetting in order to bring the puck up the ice. Then they lost possession on that stupid carry it up the ice with speed and then drop it all the way back into their own end to a guy who couldn't get it to anyone else or carry it in themselves. They also misplayed that pass in the first place. Juolevi actually turned around to find a trailer to pass it to. Never once did he head man the puck or carry it in open space when he could have. Cleveland was laying in wait for that pass and disrupted the rush continuously. They basically killed the penalties themselves. It was embarrassing. On the other PPs the first unit had all kinds of problems and when they did set up, for the first time this season, a team blocked Boucher out of the picture. That meant the other half board where MacMaster or Gaudette usually set up was open all night. That spot tonight was manned by Kero or Dahlen and their moves to the net when the pass to Boucher didn't exist were not as fruitful.
Alex Biega suited up tonight and was the first D-man in 2 seasons to look like a D-man with NHL possibilities. Not one D-man on this roster this season or last has looked even close to the way Alex played tonight. He was always in position. He played the man consistently. He never got walked. If the player went to the end boards he was quickly made a part of them and Bulldog came away with the puck, made a quick pass to a forward, and out of the zone they came. The fact that little happened after they got up ice was no fault of his.
Getting the puck up ice usually saw him take a stride or 2 with the puck making an assessment of his options. Then low and behold what we have been told Juolevi and Brisebois can do, but haven't, Alex did. He skated the puck up the ice, beat a defender or even 2, and then got the puck to an open mate as he already reduced the opponent's numbers. If the opportunity presented itself, he carried it further into the zone and then dished it off. On occasion he was able to carry it even deeper and took the clean shot. That's his weakness. He doesn't have a good shot, but it was on net and there were rebounds. He handled the puck in his own end and the offensive end cleanly, no flubs, no miscues, no blind passes, no turnovers. He never looked harried or panic stricken. He didn't have the hand grenade on his stick that had to be gotten rid of immediately before it blew up that Brisebois and Chatfield are prone to. When Juolevi, Brisebois, Charfield, and the more defensively skilled Sautner or McEneny can play like that, the NHL is a place they will be welcome. Until then, the Canucks will just get another D-man who just doesn't get the job done above the level of maybe adequate. This is the AHL. That's what I keep reading. "Let the kids dominate down there this year." There is nothing resembling dominance from any one of them. They are currently struggling to stay afloat. Some show spurts of skill and then it's gone. A lot of floating or the reverse of running around. Both cases result in little getting done.
They have played some of the league's, thus far anyways, top teams. Rochester, Cleveland, and Charlotte. Toronto is floundering at the moment with no goalies, having lost the league's best tandem to waivers. They also have some injuries to good players and lost 8 of last year's Calder Cup Champs to the Leafs. They are not a top team at the moment.
Syracuse tomorrow in Syracuse. They shut out Binghamton tonight 4-0. Rochester beat Toronto sinking the Marlies into last place in the North while the Amerks now lead the North with 10 points and Cleveland is right behind them with 8. Charlotte has yet to lose and lead the Atlantic. They are back in Utica on Wednesday.
Utica has defeated the struggling Marlies 2 of 3 times and an equally struggling Bellevile in a 3-1 game that saw the Comets ice it with a late empty net goal. The future is full of tough matchups. The Comets D has to play better. The offense has to become much better. The goal tending can't be surrendering 4 goals a game or more. Before anyone talks about a deep run at the Calder Cup with all of these great young prospects "dominating" the AHL, this team better learn to play as a team, tighten up their defensive game, and learn how to actually run an organized offensive scheme of some sort.
I do like Kulbakov, but I also know that when Demko is healthy, Ivan will be off to the Zoo. However, at this time he is the better bet between the pipes. I also think I know that Cull will keep playing Bachman to try and get him up to speed. Ivan has surrendered 4, 3 4 in his 3 starts. So, while he has looked much better, the end result is still not going to win many games. The D in front of anyone minding the Comets' net will have to be much better or this will be a long winter, especially if the offense can't become a consistent threat night in and night out.
Tonight's lineup was not the best the Comets can ice. Cull is still mixing and matching. He will need to come to decision within in the next month or so on a fixed lineup. No chemistry can develop from a scattergram lineup on a nightly basis. Most players can't can't be at the their best shuffling in and out of the lineup and playing with different line mates every other game.
Gadjovich/Woods/Arseneau
Archibald/Kero/Boucher
Palmu/Bancks/Lind
Dahlen/Darcy/MacEwen
Sautner/Biega
Brisebois/Sifers
Juolevi/Chatfield
Kulbakov- 2-1, 24SA, 20SVS, 4 GA, GAA/3.72, SV% .889
Scratches:
Jasek
MacMaster
Blujus
McEneny
Carcone
Graham
Bachman
Injured:
Gaunce
Demko
Hamilton
Laplante?
Dahlen (1) from MacEwen (5) and Juolevi (3) PP
Archibald (3) from Darcy (3) and Biega (1) PP
Boucher (9) from Kero (7) (6 on 5, Goalie pulled)
SOG
Cleveland - 11 6 7 = 24
Comets - 8 16 11 = 35
PP
Cleveland - 0/2
Comets - 2/7
3 Stars -
1 - Gabriel Carlsson (Cleveland Monsters) 3A
2 - Mark Letestu (Cleveland Monsters) 2G
3 - Darren Archibald (Utica Comets) 1G
If you watched the game perhaps you can back me up on the fact that Darcy and Woods can't do it either. Cull finally agreed tonight as Woods saw little ice time in the 3rd. I didn't see him get hurt so I assume it was due to his performance. Bancks gets in and dumps it, then goes and gets it, but the finesse stuff is not in his tool box. Thus, the center work is absent from the the Comets game. Archibald, MacEwen, and MacMaster are the only forwards since Gaudette left who can actually carry the puck and turn it into offense.
Boucher is desperately trying to do such, but is a turnover more often than he gets in with it and gets a shot, his #1 objective any time the puck is on his stick, or actually completes a pass. His forte is taking the set up pass and depositing it in the opposition net.
Archi is the best of the 4 at actually creating offensive chances.
MacEwen is much like last season. His stick handling is good until he is in a position to make a set up pass or launch a shot and then the pass is terrible or he flubs up the effort and the pass or the shot doesn't happen. If he does get the shot, he is more often high wide or both. He still needs too much space to make something happen. He's like the big dog as a puppy, all legs, feet too big, coordination can't catch up with his parts. He has to grow into the sleek, smooth, coordinated, agile, controlled dog his species is known for. Don't know if this is ever going to happen for him. Power forwards still have to be able to work in close spaces in order to score in front of the net and handle the puck well enough to get their shots off. His ability to make subtle direction changes is very evident in his checking game. He has a player set up for a hit and the guy makes a little move and Mac misses the hit completely crashing into the boards or just gets a little piece. This issue is so glaring when he is carrying the puck. He is stripped or fails to get by on his move precisely because of this weakness.
MacMaster carries the puck in the 0-zone much like a center working from the side boards and into the middle as a he is playing LW. Tonight his skills and agility were missing as it was his turn to get scratched.
Dahlen, Lind, Gadjovich (in the lineup for MacMaster and Archi moved up to take his place with Kero and Boucher), Arseneau, Palmu, and Carcone along with Kero, Darcy and Woods cannot skate with the puck and move up the ice and dish it to a mate in order to begin an offensive thrust. The offense after Boucher shooting is based on getting the puck to the net on long shots or getting the puck off the boards after dumping it in and fighting through scrums in several successive battles along the boards and finally throwing it in front for a quick shot or a series of attempted pokes, slams, pushes, swings, and however else it can be propelled in the general direction of the net in mad scrambles from the slot to the net front.
-Carcone is a hanger looking for the breakaway on every shift. He will make one happen every 3 0r 4 games and that's his offense. Can't make a pass to save his life mainly because the last thing on earth he wants to do is pass. Loses the puck in most challenge situations.
-Palmu skates miles and accomplishes close to nothing. Always a second too late on the forecheck and just can't seem to ever get to a puck in a shooting position and the occasional time he does, he misfires for an easy save. Cannot beat anyone with his stickhandling. Can't knock him down though.
Gadjovich is active, but has never once taken the puck and gone anywhere with it. It's either a shot (very few) or a stride and dump or attempt a pass no matter the degree of openness the player his pass is intended for. He always seems to act like he is wondering where he should go.
Lind is at least starting to try to skate the puck, but his moves when confronting an opponent have rarely worked. His passing has improved, but he is rarely any kind of threat.
Arseneau is a reserve plug. Responsible in his own zone. goes up and down his wing. Will hand out some big hits. Will go to battle in support of any team mate. Not an offensive threat, but does get the puck into shooting lanes and puts it on the net.
Jasek the previous 2 games started to look more like the Jasek we saw at the end of last season doing a little work with Dahlen, but his other linemates have been Bancks and Gadjovich. He is a skill player that works well with other skill players and last season those 2 guys were Chaput and MacMaster. He is not a dominant player. He works well with players who pass, receive passes , and work the puck into shooting spots. He looks lost without that. At least Dahlen was able to give him a pass and receive one. He skated well with the puck, but his passes and the play often died on a team mate's stick. Cull is not deploying him im a position to succeed.
Dahlen is major disappointment to me. I was expecting to see a guy who could skate with the puck, deliver crisp clean passes, and had a good shot with an eye for the net. I thought he would be a big piece of the offense the Comets have been missing. He doesn't skate with the puck. He has rarely used any moves to avoid a defender when he has the puck. He does make nice passes, but rarely when he is up to speed. That speed is another question mark. I was led to believe he is fast. That hasn't been exhibited either. If he has another gear, I would really like to see it. His shot has not been on display either. he always appears to be on the perimeter of things or floating in the open as if he expects the puck will just magically appear for him. His forecheck is poor, he avoids physicality, and is a stick checker in his own zone and slowly comes back defensively much like Goldobin used to do. He does pass the puck very quickly when he does receive it in his zone which is an asset.
The fact is that's the main problem with the Comets offense. It dies on a player's stick and the opponent heads the other way or there is board play after board play as they work the puck around but so often fail get it loose long enough to set something up. When they do get the puck on the net and it's loose they just can't seem to get the puck off their stick to the net. It's like follow the bouncing ball. The opponents shoot darts and also tip them and blast rebounds. The Comets shoot long drives, many from the D, which are easy to stop or dying quails in close or hammer it off a body or miss the net. It's a comedy of missed chances all night long. So, recorded shots on goal like last night gives one the impression they must be snakebit, but if you witness those shots you would see what I mean. The actual bona fide scoring chances and great saves are much lower than the shot total would seem to indicate must be taking place.
Perhaps it's a learning curve. However, it doesn't matter what level you play at. If you have always been a goal scorer, when the puck is there and the net is yawning, you know what to do with it. You may not score, but you shoot and follow your shot. There is little of that thus far. Hence, after 7 games Boucher has 9 goals, Archibald has 3, and MacEwen 2. No one else has more than 1 and 15 of them have 0, nada, zilch. Gaudette had 2, but he's gone. He was the only forward along with MacMaster who could skate the puck into the zone on the PP and maintain possession long enough to get a pass to an open guy and thus get the PP set up. Tonight it was Archi, sometimes MacEwen or Boucher, and most surprising Biega. Dump and chase has became the other method which is not the best way to get a PP set up.
Since he has been gone the PP has no longer been the lethal weapon. They did get 2 tonight in 7 tries, but it was a night of frustration as well. Best evidence was the full 2-minute, 2-man advantage tonight. They not only didn't score, but hardly even got set up and passed the puck past their OWN players, effectively icing the puck for Cleveland. Then in their own zone misplayed passes and kept resetting in order to bring the puck up the ice. Then they lost possession on that stupid carry it up the ice with speed and then drop it all the way back into their own end to a guy who couldn't get it to anyone else or carry it in themselves. They also misplayed that pass in the first place. Juolevi actually turned around to find a trailer to pass it to. Never once did he head man the puck or carry it in open space when he could have. Cleveland was laying in wait for that pass and disrupted the rush continuously. They basically killed the penalties themselves. It was embarrassing. On the other PPs the first unit had all kinds of problems and when they did set up, for the first time this season, a team blocked Boucher out of the picture. That meant the other half board where MacMaster or Gaudette usually set up was open all night. That spot tonight was manned by Kero or Dahlen and their moves to the net when the pass to Boucher didn't exist were not as fruitful.
Alex Biega suited up tonight and was the first D-man in 2 seasons to look like a D-man with NHL possibilities. Not one D-man on this roster this season or last has looked even close to the way Alex played tonight. He was always in position. He played the man consistently. He never got walked. If the player went to the end boards he was quickly made a part of them and Bulldog came away with the puck, made a quick pass to a forward, and out of the zone they came. The fact that little happened after they got up ice was no fault of his.
Getting the puck up ice usually saw him take a stride or 2 with the puck making an assessment of his options. Then low and behold what we have been told Juolevi and Brisebois can do, but haven't, Alex did. He skated the puck up the ice, beat a defender or even 2, and then got the puck to an open mate as he already reduced the opponent's numbers. If the opportunity presented itself, he carried it further into the zone and then dished it off. On occasion he was able to carry it even deeper and took the clean shot. That's his weakness. He doesn't have a good shot, but it was on net and there were rebounds. He handled the puck in his own end and the offensive end cleanly, no flubs, no miscues, no blind passes, no turnovers. He never looked harried or panic stricken. He didn't have the hand grenade on his stick that had to be gotten rid of immediately before it blew up that Brisebois and Chatfield are prone to. When Juolevi, Brisebois, Charfield, and the more defensively skilled Sautner or McEneny can play like that, the NHL is a place they will be welcome. Until then, the Canucks will just get another D-man who just doesn't get the job done above the level of maybe adequate. This is the AHL. That's what I keep reading. "Let the kids dominate down there this year." There is nothing resembling dominance from any one of them. They are currently struggling to stay afloat. Some show spurts of skill and then it's gone. A lot of floating or the reverse of running around. Both cases result in little getting done.
They have played some of the league's, thus far anyways, top teams. Rochester, Cleveland, and Charlotte. Toronto is floundering at the moment with no goalies, having lost the league's best tandem to waivers. They also have some injuries to good players and lost 8 of last year's Calder Cup Champs to the Leafs. They are not a top team at the moment.
Syracuse tomorrow in Syracuse. They shut out Binghamton tonight 4-0. Rochester beat Toronto sinking the Marlies into last place in the North while the Amerks now lead the North with 10 points and Cleveland is right behind them with 8. Charlotte has yet to lose and lead the Atlantic. They are back in Utica on Wednesday.
Utica has defeated the struggling Marlies 2 of 3 times and an equally struggling Bellevile in a 3-1 game that saw the Comets ice it with a late empty net goal. The future is full of tough matchups. The Comets D has to play better. The offense has to become much better. The goal tending can't be surrendering 4 goals a game or more. Before anyone talks about a deep run at the Calder Cup with all of these great young prospects "dominating" the AHL, this team better learn to play as a team, tighten up their defensive game, and learn how to actually run an organized offensive scheme of some sort.
I do like Kulbakov, but I also know that when Demko is healthy, Ivan will be off to the Zoo. However, at this time he is the better bet between the pipes. I also think I know that Cull will keep playing Bachman to try and get him up to speed. Ivan has surrendered 4, 3 4 in his 3 starts. So, while he has looked much better, the end result is still not going to win many games. The D in front of anyone minding the Comets' net will have to be much better or this will be a long winter, especially if the offense can't become a consistent threat night in and night out.
Tonight's lineup was not the best the Comets can ice. Cull is still mixing and matching. He will need to come to decision within in the next month or so on a fixed lineup. No chemistry can develop from a scattergram lineup on a nightly basis. Most players can't can't be at the their best shuffling in and out of the lineup and playing with different line mates every other game.
Gadjovich/Woods/Arseneau
Archibald/Kero/Boucher
Palmu/Bancks/Lind
Dahlen/Darcy/MacEwen
Sautner/Biega
Brisebois/Sifers
Juolevi/Chatfield
Kulbakov- 2-1, 24SA, 20SVS, 4 GA, GAA/3.72, SV% .889
Scratches:
Jasek
MacMaster
Blujus
McEneny
Carcone
Graham
Bachman
Injured:
Gaunce
Demko
Hamilton
Laplante?
Dahlen (1) from MacEwen (5) and Juolevi (3) PP
Archibald (3) from Darcy (3) and Biega (1) PP
Boucher (9) from Kero (7) (6 on 5, Goalie pulled)
SOG
Cleveland - 11 6 7 = 24
Comets - 8 16 11 = 35
PP
Cleveland - 0/2
Comets - 2/7
3 Stars -
1 - Gabriel Carlsson (Cleveland Monsters) 3A
2 - Mark Letestu (Cleveland Monsters) 2G
3 - Darren Archibald (Utica Comets) 1G
Last edited:
sting101
Registered User
- Feb 8, 2012
- 15,838
- 14,675
How long can the Comets keep rotating four or five different guys through the lineup every night? Obviously they've got too many bodies. You just can't achieve any consistency with a revolving door of different players every night. Really becoming noticeable on the pp, where they had a poor night against Lake Erie. Could have put the game away in the first period if they'd done anything on the pp, and are giving up way too many shorthanded chances.
You still have to wonder why the Canucks/Comets went out and signed so many guys to AHL contracts. Were they expecting another rash of injuries like last season? They need to get some guys to the ECHL or the kids back to junior. Something has to give.
You still have to wonder why the Canucks/Comets went out and signed so many guys to AHL contracts. Were they expecting another rash of injuries like last season? They need to get some guys to the ECHL or the kids back to junior. Something has to give.
Megaterio Llamas
el rey del mambo
I guess the way they're playing they don't want me watching or listening to their games. That makes sense.
Did I not mention several times that most of the AHL signings should go to the Zoo?
Well Bancks, the Captain, isn't going anywhere.
Blujus will be a reserve D-man especially now that Biega has arrived. Graham should probably get an ECHL ticket until such time the manpower #s show a need for him. Two D will be in reserve and they will likely be Sifers and Blujus. The Top 6 will all be Vancouver contracts.
Up front MacMaster should be your only other Comets contracts playing every night. 8 others will be Vancouver contracts. Why only 8? Because the brilliance of Benning and worthless GM Johnson has forced Cull to use Darcy and Woods or subtract one and add in Hamilton at center. Gaunce and the return of Gaudette (if the Canucks stay injury free in the middle after Elias comes back) should sit that group. That's 10 Vancouver contract forwards with MacMaster who should absolutely be there and Bancks. That will still leave prospects out of the lineup.
Arseneau will be in the wings with Darcy and Woods
4 of the vets on the roster, Archibald, Boucher, Biega, Bancks, will be the only vets playing. They will not sit. Sifers and Hamilton will. Thus, the vets will not be robbing spots.
Maybe a little European shopping could have netted a couple non vet centers that could possibly have served a s call-ups or at least been signed to Vancouver 2-ways. The rest of the AHL keeps finding them and they do very well in the AHL. The kids could sure use some quality centers.
So in conclusion, the AHL contracts are not going to be holding the kids back once Cull gets his lineup set. It will be Vancouver contracts that block Vancouver contracts who prove not to be good enough. That will be something new, eh?
I don't think that's what the poster you replied to was referencing. Regardless, I wasn't sure what you meant so I only responded with a ? seeking clarification.
Maybe you should talk to @Zombotron
Askel
By the way Benning should be fired.
Bad Goalie, do you think it would be a good idea to try MacEwen and Macmaster at center for a few games. They both played some center in junior/college. Im really not impressed with Woods or Darcy, none of them is impressing in any way.
If Gaunce comes back I hope they play him at center, he is a much better player than Woods, Banks or Darcy. I think he is a better Center than Kero too. But hey I´ve only watched half a Utica game yet this year.
If Gaunce comes back I hope they play him at center, he is a much better player than Woods, Banks or Darcy. I think he is a better Center than Kero too. But hey I´ve only watched half a Utica game yet this year.
Wow!!! That must taken some time!!!!
I'll condense it down
We have no centers ( 3rd yr in a row)
Too many scrubs, ECHL types....
The young wingers are lost without centers
The Canucks need to hire someone who can properly manage an AHL team.. my suggestion is Lawrence Gilman ... Oh wait the dumb a**** fired him....
So sad.. and easily fixable with even sub standard management which apparently comets do not even possess.......
Centers...
Tanner Kero( hopefully will come around but a complete disappointment so far)
Woods... ( Shaking my head)
Darcy... ( Echl)
Bancks( wtf he's not Even a center)
Not to mention I wouldn't wish this group of centers on even the crunch....
Might Gaunce and Guadette help?Maybe should have sent Gagner. I guess not enough depth but with 3 organization centers injured any organizations depth would be tested. Also seems like you are missing allstar goaltending that Demko gives. It is earlier Ahl wise as lineups change throughout the year.
I'd prefer Henning over Gilman, but WTF the dumb a**** fired him as well.
"Centers? Who needs centers? You guys have gottten along well enough in the past without them. You had O'Reilly, but he actually thought he should get a agme or 2 in Vancouver. The audacity. I let his ass walk.
I said you needed playmakers. Come on you have AHL centers in Kero, Woods, and Darcy. What's the problem. Besides, I gave you Gaunce as well. He would have filled the net in Vancouver if he wssn't so damned snakebitten. on top of them you have great playmakers in the prospects i sent down. They have always been effective in carrying offenses in the past. They'll be fine with the centers you have.
Demko will stop the bleeding as soon as he shakes the cobwebs. Maybe we shouldn't have made him fly. I heard somewhere that can be bad for a head injury. Ah, he'll shake it off and be good as rain in a jiff. Elias has the same minor issue. They'll both be fine.
Also, Brisebois is having another great year in Utica. Ryan tells me they are all having great years and looking real good. They must be playing well with the way the fan base fills that building every night. New AHL record for consecutive sellouts. Why should I worry about a couple expensive classy AHL centers. We have all we need up here."
I wonder who is talking here????
"I guess not enough depth but with 3 organization centers injured any organizations depth would be tested."
How many times have I had to state this obvious fact over the past 4 years. That's why you don't sign incompetent plugs like Woods and Darcy. You sign proven AHL centers to take up the slack in moments like this that you absolutely know are going to occur several times during a season. How many times does it have to happen before you take the simple safeguards. Mueller and Greening in Toronto last season are prime examples. 3 guys down and these 2 guys in the lineup with Kero and, voila, you still compete at a high level.
It's not rocket science. It's all based on how serious you are about developing a crop of prospects on the farm. I'm not encouraged as to how serious Jim is on this task.
1. Gagner-this is one that really demonstrates what this management team is about.
They had a hole at center that should have been obvious. It has been an ongoing hole that has now been there for four seasons in a row and which Benning has commented about in the past, then not fixed.
They have a bunch of developing wingers who are reported to be able to shoot the puck and no centers who are actually good at getting it to them.
They have Sam Gagner, due to make $3.5 million this season and $3.2 million next season, going to the minors. He's played center (as well as wing) in the NHL. It would be very surprising if he isn't a good center in the AHL-maybe not a pure playmaker, but a good center with balanced offence nevertheless.
That $3.5 million this season isn't enough for the Canucks to consider it appropriate to make him endure living in Utica and being the #1 center that the Comets don't have. Btw, I consider the "reason" that there are more scouts at Marlies games to be nothing more than an after-the-fact nonsensical excuse. While no doubt there are more scouts in Toronto than Utica, the thought that Sam Gagner, a veteran of 11 NHL seasons, is going to get forgotten or go unnoticed playing in the AHL against the minor league affiliates of most of the other NHL teams is laughably ridiculous.
2. "Might Gaunce and Guadette help?" Neither is a pure playmaker but Gaudette was pretty clearly better than the Comets' alternatives.
IIRC Gaunce was being used as a winger this season in his 2 games with the Comets before getting hurt. He may well be more effective there than at center, but I'd be happier seeing him at center as I think the team needs a center more than it needs another winger.
3. " ... with 3 organization centers injured any organizations depth would be tested."
I agree that most, perhaps even all, organizations would be tested if three centers went down.
This organization was marginal at center at the AHL level before any centers went down.
Gaudette and Kero belonged in the lineup. Darcy and Woods should be depth for injury fillins. Gaunce was playing wing. Gagner, who can play either, is being paid by the Canucks to play for the Marlies. Bancks is primarily a defensive winger.
Comets at Syracuse 7pm eastern
Kulbakov gets another start. I approve.
Comets have given up the #3 most goals in the league. I have said all summer that this D would be soft.
D-pairs:
Juolevi/Biega - I suggested this pairing. Must be Cull heard me. LOL
Sautner/McEneny
Brisebois/Sifers
Forwards: I'll fill these in as they become apparent.
MacEwen/Kero/Boucher
Dahlen/Bancks/Lind
Carcone/Jasek/Archibald/
Arseneau/Woods/MacMaster - If this is the actual line the Master is being abused.
I would get MacMaster and Jasek back together. They had the best chemistry of any two Comets last year other than Goldobn and Boucher.
Goal - Kulbakov
Kulbakov gets another start. I approve.
Comets have given up the #3 most goals in the league. I have said all summer that this D would be soft.
D-pairs:
Juolevi/Biega - I suggested this pairing. Must be Cull heard me. LOL
Sautner/McEneny
Brisebois/Sifers
Forwards: I'll fill these in as they become apparent.
MacEwen/Kero/Boucher
Dahlen/Bancks/Lind
Carcone/Jasek/Archibald/
Arseneau/Woods/MacMaster - If this is the actual line the Master is being abused.
I would get MacMaster and Jasek back together. They had the best chemistry of any two Comets last year other than Goldobn and Boucher.
Goal - Kulbakov
Last edited:
Comets to the PP and they SCORE!!!!!
MacEwen tips in a shot in front from a Juolevi wrister straight out.
MacEwen tips in a shot in front from a Juolevi wrister straight out.
- Status
