Prospect Info: 2019-20 Syracuse Crunch & Prospects Thread

[Felonious Python]

7 fewer players. Clint Windsor was in Bolts dev and rookie camps and got released. That's how brutal this year's Bears camp is.

Taylor Doherty is listed as 6'8, but looks like he's lost about 3 inches from the last time he played for Orlando. Probably all the height around him.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Crunch lose first one 3-2 in OT





Looks like lines were:

Martel - Mueller - Conacher
Katchouk - Colton - Raddysh
Barre-Boulet - Stephens - Yan
Huntington - Somppi - Abbandonato

Thomas - Gaunce
Valleau - Foote
Masin - Snuggerud

scratches:

Condon, Sosunov, and Shalagin

“I thought Rochester took the play to us for a good 35, if it’s not 40 minutes,” Groulx said. "It’s disappointing. We got better in the third. That’s why we got a point. But too little, too late for me. It’s one thing to have a good week of practice. It’s another thing to play in the game. I don’t think we need practice players. We need gamers.

"Tonight I’m disappointed because some guys, I didn’t see them. It’s not enough. The season is on. They know what we want to accomplish. First game of the year, individually some guys were not good enough. When you practice hard, when you do a lot of good things during the week, you should be able to carry this in a game. That’s got to be translated in the game. It’s not the case tonight."

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Some college prospect action starting up. Minnesota (Walker, Zuhlsdorf), UMD (Koepke), Denver (Guttman, Chrona), St. Cloud (Perbix), UNH (Taylor), Clarkson (Oldham), and Providence (Crozier) have all started their exhibition games this weekend. I didn't see anything for Cornell and Alex Green.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Magnus Chrona played the first 2 exhibition games for Denver in a back-to-back against Alaska Fairbanks this past weekend and got the shutout on Sunday. It'll be interesting to see what his playing time will look like this season. Last year, Denver had their top 2 goalies evenly split playing time on a team that made it to the Frozen Four. 1 of them, Devin Cooley, is back this year.

Also Chrona's new player profile on the Denver Athletics website has him listed as 6'6", 216. He was 6'4", 194 when he was drafted in 2018.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[Felonious Python]

The Bears have their season-opening roster. It's not a big deal other than being in compliance with league rules.


Bird and Lodge (which sounds like a generic hipster business) on IR does put the roster at 23 of 23 by my count. No goalies are on IR.

Edit: the league was late getting yesterday's transactions out. Michael Brodzinski has been signed by the Bears. He was team MVP last season IIRC, so I've removed the comment about not enough d-men.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

The real matchmaker momentum between the two sides comes down to Abbandonato’s size and style. The Lightning has a long history of exploiting the skills of undersized, overlooked players such as Jonathan Marchessault, Tyler Johnson, Yanni Gourde and Cory Conacher.

“He’s similar, because he competes. He’s smart. He works hard,” said Syracuse general manager Stacy Roest. “For us, they have to have those attributes to be involved. He fits the mold. He’s got to work on his skating. He’s got to be a little bit quicker for the pace, but he’s showed a lot of good things so far. He’s got the things, the smarts and the competitiveness is key. He has a good opportunity to become a good pro.”

“For sure, we look up to them, the Gourdes, the Tyler Johnsons, Barre-Boulet. The free agent guys that didn’t have a chance of getting drafted, signed as free agents. We try to take them as role models and we just try and follow their path.”

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

A lot of college hockey teams starting their seasons tonight

A quick look at a few lineups:

• Crozier starting on the top pairing for #7 Providence
  
• Koepke starting on the top line for #1 UMD
• Walker starting on the top line & Zuhlsdorf on the top pair for Minnesota
• Perbix starting on the top pair for #8 St. Cloud State
• Guttman starting on the top line & Chrona in net for #2 Denver

 

[Werewolf]

Lineups Tonight vs Cleveland Monsters:

Smith - Mueller - Conacher
Yan - Stephens - Barre Boulet
Abbandonato - Colton - Martel
Katchouk - Huntington - Raddysh

Gaunce - Schenn
Valleau - Foote
Masin - Thomas

Wedgewood

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Fortier, who's had a rough start to the season (0g + 4a in 7games), broke out tonight with 2 goals & 2 assists.

highlights >> QMJHL – Includes live game day coverage, audio and video clips, exclusive stories, game tickets, stats, standings, schedules and features.

Cajkovic also made his return to the Saint John lineup on the 4th line after being out with a "lower body injury." This was his first game since September 21st.

N.Foote with 2 goals so far tonight

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Felonious Python]

I've mentioned player pouting before, but a reference in another organization should be evidence of its widespread existence.

about the SC Stingrays

One of the biggest issues with players under AHL contracts that come down to the ECHL is their attitude toward the league and their teammates. Bergin has seen players sent down from the AHL that pout in the locker room and give less then their best efforts on the ice. That hasn’t been the case with this group during the preseason.

This sort of stuff is why I suggested the Lightning dev and rookie camps have a meeting about guys not trying to read too much into their (often years old) draft positions or contracts, since they're basically making the same money against the totality of the team player budget.

 

[Felonious Python]

Guys who are drawn to jobs like law enforcement sometimes get into officiating, at least as a hobby. That could be a halfway point for a guy like Monfredo. He's also a bigger guy, and a good skater, so he could work as a linesman straight-away.

 

[Felonious Python]

Trying to make lemons into at least still lemons.


#TealTeamSix

 

[HoseEmDown]

The AHL doesn't keep track of time on ice, or at least I haven't seen it anywhere, but I didn't see Raddysh, Colton or Katchouk as much as I would have liked. The team didn't play well for long stretches and we're saved by the goaltender again but they need to be playing the kids more. Conacher is a good vet but his NHL time is done, we need to groom guys who still have a future.

 

[Tampacuseforever]

The AHL doesn't keep track of time on ice, or at least I haven't seen it anywhere, but I didn't see Raddysh, Colton or Katchouk as much as I would have liked. The team didn't play well for long stretches and we're saved by the goaltender again but they need to be playing the kids more. Conacher is a good vet but his NHL time is done, we need to groom guys who still have a future.

Ben doesn’t gift ice time to anyone. Play better and earn it.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Ben doesn’t gift ice time to anyone. Play better and earn it.

Then why did Gemel Smith get into the lineup right away while Sommpi got scratched after being the best Crunch player in the preseason?

 

[Tampacuseforever]

Then why did Gemel Smith get into the lineup right away while Sommpi got scratched after being the best Crunch player in the preseason?

Your right he should have scratched Smith and played sommpi. What was Ben thinking ?

 

[HoseEmDown]

Your right he should have scratched Smith and played sommpi. What was Ben thinking ?

How can you say play better and earn it yet be ok with Sommpi being scratched after the preseason he just had? What more does Sommpi have to do to earn it? I have no problem with Smith getting in the lineup because he earned it too but to scratch someone who was arguable the best Crunch player in the preseason after one game doesn't make sense. It just seems to me like the vets get better treatment than the younger players and don't have to earn their spot like the kids do.

 

[Felonious Python]

The idea the Bears should have televised their home opener was ill-conceived. The Bears hadn't played in a week (although pretty sure neither had SC), after a two-game preseason. Also, Drake doesn't really seem to like to do a lot of scrimmaging. The idea that the Bears would put their best on display on night one was always a stretch and more of a business move than one that works hand-in-hand with the realities of ECHL hockey.

On the one hand, having all the returning players could maybe indicate that the team would be ready for tonight, but home openers are overrated. They're the night where you're guaranteed gaffes.

Spencer Martin had to make the AHL-to-ECHL adjustment and pick up the slack from having a worse defense in front of him. That maybe cost us a few goals early on.

As for the jerseys, they're abysmal to see in action. I don't get how the media figures around the team keep calling them "sharp". Plato would have called that a 'noble lie'. #TealTeamSix

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[Felonious Python]

Your right he should have scratched Smith and played sommpi. What was Ben thinking ?

There are other things that can happen besides these two scenarios.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Boris Katchouk is cooked. I don't know what happened between the end of his junior career and the start of his pro but he isn't the same player. He still plays hard every shift, is physical and a pest on the forecheck he just doesn't have the offense for the pro game. I don't know what happened to his shot but he just can't find a corner or opening, his playmaking isn't even there to back it up. He could still turn it around and become an NHL player but he's looking more like a Paquette than a Palat.

Gemel Smith is too good for the AHL but also not good enough to be an everyday NHL player. You can see he is more skilled than just about any player in the AHL but he just doesn't have that one skill that keeps you in the NHL. Would like to see him find that skill cause I think he could be a Brandon Tanev type guy who finds a role and makes an NHL career out of it. Schenn also looks a bit too good but I can why he's not in the NHL too. He's on a one way deal so he can't be too upset. Team had a good weekend in Cleveland getting some revenge for the playoffs last year but still don't look like they've found chemistry just yet. Goaltending has been a strength which is no surprise.