You would think fans would be excited, but that is not the sense you get here. 3-0 start is all about the pending disaster regarding the center position. You would think they ran out of dman having to play 4 forwards and 1 d.
2019-20 Utica Comets
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You would think fans would be excited, but that is not the sense you get here. 3-0 start is all about the pending disaster regarding the center position. You would think they ran out of dman having to play 4 forwards and 1 d.
chaputonyou
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I've bolded your 'insightful' comments about how the Comets are constructed.
1. Schenn was offered a contract by Jim Benning and opted for Tampa Bay as he felt he had a shot at winning the Cup with them.
2. Juloevi and Brisebois the only draft picks? What about DiPietro? What about Lind? What about Jasek? What about Gadjovich?
3. Need to fill talent with NCAA players? What about Teves? What about Rafferty? Both guys were NCAA free agents signed by Benning.
Seriously Bad Goalie - reading your negative verbage is a WASTE of my time. I come on this board to see how the Utica players are doing, and after reading your biased and incorrect information, I seriously wonder if anyone is stupid enough to believe everything you write.
By the way, this amazing Syracuse team with a model Tampa Bay franchise lost 6-2 tonight to this 'poorly constructed' Utica team tonight.
The comets are now 3-0, but if someone actually listened to your crap, they would think Utica is 0-3.
Canucks have won 3 in a row with Canuck draft picks leading the way along with some good free agent signings. If you updated everyone about how the Canucks were doing, you'd point to Michael Ferland not playing well instead. You probably walk down the street on a sunny day and look up at the sky and see one cloud and complain it's going to rain.
Remind me to ignore any of your posts.
1. Schenn was offered a contract by Jim Benning and opted for Tampa Bay as he felt he had a shot at winning the Cup with them.
2. Juloevi and Brisebois the only draft picks? What about DiPietro? What about Lind? What about Jasek? What about Gadjovich?
3. Need to fill talent with NCAA players? What about Teves? What about Rafferty? Both guys were NCAA free agents signed by Benning.
Seriously Bad Goalie - reading your negative verbage is a WASTE of my time. I come on this board to see how the Utica players are doing, and after reading your biased and incorrect information, I seriously wonder if anyone is stupid enough to believe everything you write.
By the way, this amazing Syracuse team with a model Tampa Bay franchise lost 6-2 tonight to this 'poorly constructed' Utica team tonight.
The comets are now 3-0, but if someone actually listened to your crap, they would think Utica is 0-3.
Canucks have won 3 in a row with Canuck draft picks leading the way along with some good free agent signings. If you updated everyone about how the Canucks were doing, you'd point to Michael Ferland not playing well instead. You probably walk down the street on a sunny day and look up at the sky and see one cloud and complain it's going to rain.
Remind me to ignore any of your posts.
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wrote about the game here: 10/16/19 – Utica Comets vs. Syracuse Crunch
Liked: Goldobin, Bailey, MacEwen, Rafferty, Chatfield and Arseneau
Arseneau has been playing really good hockey for a guy who's just a fourth-line role player. He was leading the fourth line in some seriously aggressive forechecking, everytime they were on the ice they were gaining the zone and either generating offense or drawing penalties. It was hilarious seeing him receive a cross-ice pass from Goldy to make it 6-2. Like the big guy, he brings more to the table than just a big potato sack.
liked seeing Mac get a bit of his mojo back tonight and see him excelling on the PK, he and Jasek both looked good on the PK when they got their multiple shorthanded rushes
Liked seeing Rafferty usurp Juolevi on PP1. Just so smooth on the blueline. He overskate one puck leading to a rush for Syracuse but he quite calmly recovered and denied any real chance for them. He also bailed out Brisebois on one clearing attempt as well
Chatfield played pretty solid all things considered, getting paired with Juolevi should be a death sentence given how slow he's looked in three games. His game will likely never work at the NHL level, but his crash-bang style with absolutely zero regard for the health or safety of his body is entertaining and leads to some pretty wild offensive moments and wild backchecking moments...i appareciate his tenacity even though, frustrating.
So-So: Jasek looked ok, he looked good because Goldy/Bae were propping him up a bit, but you can just tell the move to center isn't his wheelhouse...he's better served as a winger. but like i said he looked solid on the PK...if he and MacEwen can make Hamilton expendable then sweet.
Brisebois/Teves - both do their jobs as d-men but they aren't dynamic or exciting, and both bobble the puck way too often in their own end for me to think they have any NHL upside. Brise can be flashy in zone-entry attempts, but he lacks poise with the puck in his own end.
yikers: OJ48 holy moly that short handed goal was all him, and the interference penalty was jarring to see him stand flat-footed as cory conacher charged the line for a poke check...that penalty likely prevented a second short handed goal... was glad to see Cull yank him off PP1 because he's a huge liability.
Liked: Goldobin, Bailey, MacEwen, Rafferty, Chatfield and Arseneau
Arseneau has been playing really good hockey for a guy who's just a fourth-line role player. He was leading the fourth line in some seriously aggressive forechecking, everytime they were on the ice they were gaining the zone and either generating offense or drawing penalties. It was hilarious seeing him receive a cross-ice pass from Goldy to make it 6-2. Like the big guy, he brings more to the table than just a big potato sack.
liked seeing Mac get a bit of his mojo back tonight and see him excelling on the PK, he and Jasek both looked good on the PK when they got their multiple shorthanded rushes
Liked seeing Rafferty usurp Juolevi on PP1. Just so smooth on the blueline. He overskate one puck leading to a rush for Syracuse but he quite calmly recovered and denied any real chance for them. He also bailed out Brisebois on one clearing attempt as well
Chatfield played pretty solid all things considered, getting paired with Juolevi should be a death sentence given how slow he's looked in three games. His game will likely never work at the NHL level, but his crash-bang style with absolutely zero regard for the health or safety of his body is entertaining and leads to some pretty wild offensive moments and wild backchecking moments...i appareciate his tenacity even though, frustrating.
So-So: Jasek looked ok, he looked good because Goldy/Bae were propping him up a bit, but you can just tell the move to center isn't his wheelhouse...he's better served as a winger. but like i said he looked solid on the PK...if he and MacEwen can make Hamilton expendable then sweet.
Brisebois/Teves - both do their jobs as d-men but they aren't dynamic or exciting, and both bobble the puck way too often in their own end for me to think they have any NHL upside. Brise can be flashy in zone-entry attempts, but he lacks poise with the puck in his own end.
yikers: OJ48 holy moly that short handed goal was all him, and the interference penalty was jarring to see him stand flat-footed as cory conacher charged the line for a poke check...that penalty likely prevented a second short handed goal... was glad to see Cull yank him off PP1 because he's a huge liability.
Megaterio Llamas
el rey del mambo
Lots of new blood in the game commentary this year. Great to see, last year was so much fun. It isn't quite the same without The fridge, honestly, but I guess we'll make do.
Bailey seems to have some serious wheels.....radio guys commenting on how he blows by a defender at least one or twice a game. Didn't know much about him or why Jimbo signed him in the off-season. But seems to developing into a nice pickup for the Comets at least, and has a history of scoring at the AHL level with Rochester.
If the guy was a bit more physical, at his size you'd think he could carve out a role for himself in the NHL as a fourth-liner at least.
If the guy was a bit more physical, at his size you'd think he could carve out a role for himself in the NHL as a fourth-liner at least.
chaputonyou
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This is great. Objective feedback on how the players did tonight. Many thanks for this.
Pastor Of Muppetz
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Goldy's too good for the AHL...not good enough for the NHL..There's probably been a lot of players that are sort of stuck in that no mans land.
Comets were 1/10 on the PP coming in and went 0/5 tonight so, are now 1/15 on the PP for the 1st 3 games. hey have too much skill and fire power for that to be the case. Cull HAS to get this fixed. The PP will be crucial as the season moves on.
Chatty was very good in his end. Too bad the word offense didn't mean anything to him growing up. He was able to start and/or join many rushes which saw him receiving the puck in the offensive zone, but offense dies on his stick in the attacking zone.
Goldy played the same game we saw when he was here last. The guy just won't shoot unless it's positively the only option he has. However, if he has another option he is dynamite in a jar as far as the setup pass is concerned. His eventual pass to MacEwen on their 2 on 1 goal after getting the d-man to slide down to block the pass as Goldy just stopped and let him slide through the play before connecting tape to tape with Mac for a one timer was an ESPN play of the night contender.
Agree on Teves except he will just throw it when he starts up ice and is cut off, particularly along the boards from the dot to the top of the circle. Has to realize he can reverse direction either by himself or with a pass when his lane is totally blocked. Those throwaways often result in turnovers, shots, and goals.
Mac has been invisible for long spans in the first 2 games. He's been trying to do his own thing like last season. He did it a few times in the 1st period tonight. He showed up and became effective later on when he started working with his line mates, Perron and Bailey. These guys pass and skate. When he joined in, the line was a handful for the Crunch.
He was used a lot last season on the PK and was just kind of out there. Tonight he was aggressive on the puck, charged the points and dove, slid ,etc to beat the point man to the puck out near the blueline. That made him effective and allowed the D-man behind him to get loose chips that got by Mac. This is how he has to kill penalties. Standing at the right top of the box at top of the circle depth turns him into a pylon and a big screen. Fact of the matter is, the entire kill played with that hard on the puck reckless style which made the kill effective tonight including a brief 5 on 3. Mac and Camper both won draws in that sequence which allowed the Comets to clear the zone.
Only thing I have to add on Brogan is he can skate, which allows for all the rest he does to happen.
Boucher was in clean 3 times tonight and was stuffed twice. His PP shot is not happening because the Comets out there with him are all trying to utilize him almost exclusively and the opponents all know it. They have to use each other when this is happening and create offense away from him to force them out of their special attention to Boucher and this will open him up for his rocket one timer. The same way Washington works away from Ovie and when they do return to him it has devastating affects.
The other thing is that besides the forecheck, the guy is actually busting his ass to effectively back check and disrupt the rushes by the opponent. Once the team was out of it last year he became a lazy floater defensively. He's totally into it right now as the rest of the forwards are doing the same. He would really look the fool doing that crap right now.
Bailey is lightning in a bottle. He catches plays going the other way in a flash. He is on the D in a similar flash. They are actually forced to increase their gap or he would blow by them in the neutral zone. He is a hard act to handle. He said he needed to be more physical and play better defensively if he was going to earn a chance at the show. He is practicing what he preached.
Arseneau is not the typical 4th line plug. He has decent speed. He's physical. He has a decent set of hands. He can shoot the puck. He is not shifty nor a slick puckhandler. He will give you everything he's got. He stands up for his mates, but I think Archi gave him some valuable advice which he appears to have adopted after breaking his hand in a fight. He doesn't start anything. He will get in between anybody challenging his guys. He'll take a push, a shove, a whack, even an occasional face wash, but he will be right back in your face. If he has to, he will drop 'em and he is a force to handle. Thus, he keeps things under control out there by being strong, but not just a plow into it guy like Pedan was. He is a great guy to have in your lineup.
You have summarized in a few sentences what I and many of the Comets followers have said now entering this the 3rd season of his less than appealing play. He is at the root of the center problems because Cull and Johnson believe he belongs in the lineup every game. The Comets are instantly 1 center short with him in the lineup. With the forwards this team has, he is a detriment to the 4th line's offensive potential. Gadjovich and Arseneau can produce offense with a center who can pass the puck and set up his wings. With injuries, he has been moved up the lineup as far as the #2 center. This has been my major complaint. The first time a center was hurt, Graovac. The Comets were left with Hamitlon and Camper with a converted center in Jasek who is just not working out with any wings with offensive talent and a line of MacEwen, Bailey, and Perron who were all trying to act as a center at different times in the game. Any 2 of those guys with a play maker is the making of a very dangerous line. Without a center, they were oftentimes all guilty of trying to do too much.
As to Jasek , your take mirrors what I said in the previous paragraph. Jasek cannot play with Bailey(game 1), Goldobin and MacEwen (game 2), nor Goldobin and Baertschi (tonight). His lack of speed alone kills the line. His skill set is not in their league. His offensive IQ isn't on the same chart. HE IS NOT A CENTER. It's not his fault. Trying to put a square peg into a round hole is going to kill him and it's shortchanging any 2 wings he centers. The kid is a WING and was getting it when it last season ended. It is obvious they don't intend to bring in a center. I'm not sure Schaller or Motte or whom ever else the Canucks may eventually demote will be a lot better between the likes of Baertschi, Goldobin, Bailey, and even MacEwen. Cull put guys like Darcy with Boucher and Goldobin the last time because they could work together and not rely on their center so Chaput made the second line much more dangerous. I think that when this season gets into the grind and the going gets much tougher, the lack of quality in the middle will bite this team in the ass. There will be injuries here and in Vancouver at the same time and the middle down here will be filled by ECHL trash.
I'll just say Olli is a work in progress. He does a lot of good things, but this is not any where near an NHL D-man yet. That's on any any pair, 1-6. I actually saw him show some emotion. He had a clear lane to the the net and got off a popgun shot, shoulder high that saw the keeper pick cherries. He turned to return to the bench at the whistle as the keeper held on to kill the play, slammed his stick against the boards, shook his head a couple of quick times, looked to the heavens, and uttered an expletive. He actually showed he cared. That may be the most important piece to his recovery. He has to play like what happens out there matters! That has not been evident thus far. This team is gelling and they all care. If he's going to be a part of their movement, he has to become involved.
I've seen Mikey twice now and both times he has been way too active. He is attacking the puck. He dives and flails all over the place and ends up face first on the ice facing the play without the puck. He said he was nervous and after the boys saved his ass a couple of times he settled in and got better. He joked that on the first Crunch goal by Conacher on a wide angle over his shoulder into the roof that a 6 foot goalie needs to stay up longer so as not to get beat by such a high low % angle shot. The shot was pro for sure. Don't think he saw many like it in JRs. His take was correct.
He's just a kid and he has a lot to learn about the pro game, but he has reflexes, skills, and brains. As long as they get him the pro level coaching he might just be okay.
No more to add on Lind or Brisebois.
Perron is not a flashy player and with guys like Goldobin, Boucher, and Bailey sticking out on every line, his game gets lost a bit, but he does the right things at both ends of the rink. He has only played 2 games, 1 preseason and one tonight. He has scored in both of them and didn't make any glaring errors. He will become more and more visible if Cull keeps him with Bailey. They both scored while playing together in the other game Perron played. He is smart, skilled, and knows where the net is.
In spite of the positive efforts put forth by the Comets D-men tonight, Blujus stood out as the best defender. He is so good in front of the net. If the kids sit and watch how he handles traffic around the net front, their games can only get better. To do such, Cull has to play the guy! You can't exile your best defender because he only has an AHL contract. He's not bad on the other end either as the goal he scored tonight acts as evidence.
Camper had an active game. he's good in the circle and Boucher and Lind seem to like him. Lind has has to use him better instead of trying to both his own and the center's work. He is starting to remind me of Grenier who always seemed to want to be the playmaker.
If Kole wants to be a Conacher and chirp, pester, and antagonize, he needs to become the scorer that Cory has become first, .94 PPG/314 AHL GP. Might want to concentrate on the scoring part first.
Gadjovich had settled into a hard working winger who forechecked and back checked every shift and went to the net on every possible occasion as was the case on his first goal of the season tonight. Arseneau was fighting for possession on the boards and got the puck to Hamilton who threw it at the net and there was Gadj right in front to tip an otherwise harmless shot over the keeper. He left the game at some point, maybe never came out after the first period. I noticed him missing in the 2nd and didn't leave the bench with the team at the end of the 2nd. Unless I was dreaming, I didn't see them open the gate and let him out during the period.
My single take on this game is one short sentence. SPEED kills! I don't think the Crunch had any idea what they were going to face tonight. The Comets never had a team with this much speed through the lineup.
Cull must have been up some butts since Saturday in Pennsylvania. He said he was not pleased with the team game that night. The win was nice, but the team did not play the way they were supposed to. Tonight, all 4 lines were going on all cylinders. There were no passengers. They were on the puck like hair on a dog. They can seemingly explode out of anywhere at any moment. When a puck came loose, they jumped to the attack. The 1st passes were sharp and accurate and they were gone. Sometimes they didn't need the first pass because the guy that got that loose puck was gone already and a mate or 2 broke to open space and a serious scoring effort was in the making. The opponent had someone on him almost the second he came into possession. It was a team effort to thwart any offensive thrust the Crunch tried to mount. This was not the team that played and won the first 2 games of the season with the exception of the 4 goal outburst in the 2nd period in Binghamton in game 1. This was a full team effort for the better part of every one of the 60 minutes. The foot did not come off the gas for more than a second or 2 every few minutes.
Green got a 200 foot checking game out of his Comets' teams, but none of them had the offensive jump and scoring potential this team showed tonight as a whole, back to front. If this is the kind of effort this team is going to put forth on a nightly basis, there may be something here. It's 3 games and 75 more will be several months in the making. It sure was fun game to watch. The building was jumping and loud and the boys were having a great time. Playing winning hockey will do that for a team and it's fan base.
Charlotte on Friday and Rochester Saturday, both in the friendly confines of the Utica Aud.
Wow! Comets outshoot the Crunch 38-18 and dominate large stretches of the game......in past seasons the top farm team of the Lightning have basically owned Utica and handed them their lunch afterwards.....been a long time since the Comets dominated a North Division opponent like tonight's opener.
Uticans are going to enjoy watching Goldy and Baertschi this season, but don't know how long it'll last....both guys will likely be back in the NHL somewhere before this season is over.
Uticans are going to enjoy watching Goldy and Baertschi this season, but don't know how long it'll last....both guys will likely be back in the NHL somewhere before this season is over.
Please do. Your quotes of my quotes are inaccurate.
The Schenn info was never published here and I didn't see it on HF so that one is on me.
I said the DEFENSE had 2 drafted players.
Thus, Mikey and the forwards you mentioned are not in the conversation. The drafted forwards were listed when I talked about the forwards.
I never said they needed to fill vacancies with NCAA players. I said they have to fill the vacancies left on the AHL roster by guys playing in the NCAA and Europe. These draft selections don't end up on the farm when the Jrs normally arrive at 20 years of age so the farm is absent that number of prospects that have to be replaced.
I said the wings were a check.
I said the goal was a check.
I said the center spot was glaringly weak and damn it, it is.
I said an AHL team with no veteran D-men would normally be a disaster waiting to happen.
My analysis for the 6 years of the Comets' existence has basically been spot on and I have always said I would gladly eat crow if I was wrong. Haven't swallowed many feathers in those 6 years. This is number 7 and I take the same stance. I am looking up the crow recipes once again.
I think your major problem is reading comprehension.
Your bigger problem is you don't want to read anything but rosy descriptions of the great things being done by the Vancouver prospects in Utica. Absent of the platitudes you want to read, I am Mr. negative. You will find that my posts go into greater detail, but the likes of @orcatown, @MS, @vanuck, @Megaterio Llamas, @UticaHockey, @Son of a Dawson, @mossey3535, @go comets, @Cheeks Clapinski, @I am toxic and lots of times @VanJack and @Hit the post, and now THRILLHOIAF are often in agreement with me so I think I'll just keep posting as many facts and stats as I can along with what I think. It is an opinion site, correct?
I dealt with these same kind of posts since 2015-16. Last season when I pointed out the center crisis and the Comets were winning early on they came once again. 3-0, 5-2, 10-5 in a 76 game season means squat. When it was becoming obvious all of the great wing prospects, who were going to bring prosperity to the Comets were not doing any such thing, I again stated this is the results you can expect with Darcy, Woods, and Hamilton as 3 of your every day centers. NON blue chip, can't miss wings can't succeed without play makers. and they didn't! All the naysayers disappeared when the winning became consistent losing and the centers remained the same.
I have never said this current team had no talent. On the contrary, this may be the best group of wings ever to suit up for the Comets.
The goaltending should at least be adequate with 2 vets and a top prospect rookie and another promising kid sent to Kalamazoo.
There are 2 centers with solid AHL credentials. However, they are it. @orcatown pointed out just above that the experiment with Jasek in the middle is not working out. The poor kid is lost. He needs to be back on the wing. Hamilton has lost more of his former self every year since 2014-15.
They comprise the entire group of centers on the roster.
The last 2 games they were not all healthy or had to be sacrificed because of the vet rule. So, last Saturday Hamilton was the vet scratch and Bancks was a center and with Graovac injured, ECHL material Stevenson, was the other one.
Tonight Hamilton returned and MacEwen/Perron/Bailey appeared to be filling the slot as the 4th. The 3 just weaved in and out and back and forth to keep all 3 lanes filled on the rush and in the zone and came back defensively in the same order they came out of the offensive zone.
We have accepted that Vancouver will not remedy this issue and the center position will be a crap shoot on a nightly basis. It will be criminal if this team really has the makings of a good one and loses out due to the absence of at least AHL quality centers.
Right now the D is holding their own, but 76 games is a long time and injuries will occur, guys not used to so many games in short spans will burn out over the long haul. The Comets play 3 in 4 days this week and will play back to backs on all but, I believe off the top of my head, 2 weekends this season. and a lot of those back to backs will be part of 3 in 4 days like this week. They will also lose players to Vancouver to cover their injuries like Sautner who is already there. Lop off one or 2 of the more experienced to play in Vancouver and add an injury or 2 here and the Comets could be even younger than the youngest AHL D-corps they already are.
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chaputonyou
Registered User
- Oct 17, 2019
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Post whatever you want. I'm just calling you out for your negative verbage. The team won 6-2 last night despite your expert pre-game analysis. The team hasn't lost so far and is 3-0. I'm also calling you out, because it sounds like you have deluded yourself that others 'are often in agreement with me'. I'm calling you out, because not many on here go out of their way to disagree with you.
I've jumped on this Utica board from time to time and read your stuff and it has become progressively more negative. If the team lost every single game this season, if this team didn't do anything to address the goaltending issues, if this team didn't sign a few NCAA players on the backend, if the team didn't sign some free agents to play in Utica this year, I wouldn't be posting what I have posted.
Post all the facts you want to twist whatever deluded opinions you want. I'm just going to ignore your 'insightful opinions and stats'.
Personally, I just want to see how the Utica players are developing. If the team is playing awful and losing every game, I'd like to know who in particular is struggling and why. If the team is winning games and playing well, I'm wondering who in particular is playing well and developing. I am also wondering who is struggling despite the wins. I'm not looking for a 'rosy' perspective. I'm looking for an objective perspective.
Welcome to being an AHL fan! Guess what? You're never going to be happy. Players who are playing well in Utica are going to get called up to Vancouver and it's going to leave holes on the Utica roster. You're not going to get to watch Elias Petteresson, Brock Boesser or Quinn Hughes in Utica, you're going to watch young players with potential, but with holes in their game. That's why they are in Utica.
Re-read your pre-game negative ramblings and then compare it to your post game analysis? Big difference, right?
Finally - yeah, you are Mr. Negative. Calling it out - particularly to those who have gotten used to your repetitive comments (gee, Bad Goalie, do ya think Utica needs a centre? We GET IT) and accepted it as 'that's just Bad Goalie'.
Chaputonyou
PS - how come I have gotten so many likes on my posts last night? Guess a few people on here agree with me.
I've jumped on this Utica board from time to time and read your stuff and it has become progressively more negative. If the team lost every single game this season, if this team didn't do anything to address the goaltending issues, if this team didn't sign a few NCAA players on the backend, if the team didn't sign some free agents to play in Utica this year, I wouldn't be posting what I have posted.
Post all the facts you want to twist whatever deluded opinions you want. I'm just going to ignore your 'insightful opinions and stats'.
Personally, I just want to see how the Utica players are developing. If the team is playing awful and losing every game, I'd like to know who in particular is struggling and why. If the team is winning games and playing well, I'm wondering who in particular is playing well and developing. I am also wondering who is struggling despite the wins. I'm not looking for a 'rosy' perspective. I'm looking for an objective perspective.
Welcome to being an AHL fan! Guess what? You're never going to be happy. Players who are playing well in Utica are going to get called up to Vancouver and it's going to leave holes on the Utica roster. You're not going to get to watch Elias Petteresson, Brock Boesser or Quinn Hughes in Utica, you're going to watch young players with potential, but with holes in their game. That's why they are in Utica.
Re-read your pre-game negative ramblings and then compare it to your post game analysis? Big difference, right?
Finally - yeah, you are Mr. Negative. Calling it out - particularly to those who have gotten used to your repetitive comments (gee, Bad Goalie, do ya think Utica needs a centre? We GET IT) and accepted it as 'that's just Bad Goalie'.
Chaputonyou
PS - how come I have gotten so many likes on my posts last night? Guess a few people on here agree with me.
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chaputonyou
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- Oct 17, 2019
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Maybe some of the younger guys are playing better as they add another season to their resume, and some of the new additions are making a difference.
PS - same old cast of characters that battle with all the guys I listed on all of the other pages.
I know more about the AHL than you will apparently ever ever know. Know exactly how farms work and the good ones build in depth around the call-ups that won't be involved with the promotions so they can survive the call-ups. Been with them for 58 years in many ways.
Never argued against all of the BS you keep throwing out about what the Management group did send here.
I have praised the group of forwards brought in this season.
Have praised the goaltending.
Have praised half the D-corps. Understand the rookie acquisitions.
Have no concept of what would prevent a veteran signing back there.
The center issue in Utica HAS been mismanaged every season since Henning left. If you don't have centers in your system you bring them in just like you would every other posi5tion. Banging that drum is not being negative it is point blank black and white reality! Benning himself admitted that Virtanen didn't score "because he needed to with play making centers and UTICA DIDN'T HAVE ANY!"
Can the point be made any clearer than the words of the master builder?
Henning did the job the way an astute minor league GM does his job. He took a group of not so hot AHL leftovers. Made a few tweaks and built an AHL contender that survived all of the call-ups and in house injuries to become the second best AHL team in league play and the Calder Cup run. Took him 2 years. Markstrom, Baertschi, Gaunce, and Archibald (late season acquisition for Vancouver who became available when the Canucks were ousted by Calgary) were the only 4 future Vancouver Canucks under contract to Vancouver at the time. The back and forths on the merits of Gaunce and Archibald have been thoroughly waged by the 2 groups we have seemed to list on opposite sides in our recent posts. Now we can throw Biega into that conversation since Vancouver did eventually give him a contract and the same back and forth has taken place regarding his value.
Since Henning left the Comets under Benning and Johnson have been a struggling team that had first round ousters twice and failed to qualify twice. Every one of those 4 teams had good goaltending, a decent defense corps, and weak forward production that can easily be linked to there dearth of centers.
I fail to see what these guys have against signing up five centers who actually have a history of playing the position and putting up a PPG that says they at least must do a decent job. Prospect wings "need play making centers." The quote is Benning's.
Yeah, I'm just a negative Nellie. Have you ever followed my posts during away games? Like the game you may have just followed in posts by Blue and Green and Megaterio Llamas. I am as upbeat as hell about the good things the Comets do. Cheer their goals with huge !!!!! enthusiasm. I also tell you when something went wrong. what mistakes take place. I bring up PP and PK records, trends, and team difficulties to go along with all the positive things that occur. That's providing an accurate picture of what is taking place. They did exactly the same thing.
Did you read my post game assessments playing off of orcatown? Did you find that to be offensive as well?
I'll keep detailing the Comets season and doing my best to analyze the play of the team and its individual players as I have done since their inception. There are a lot of Vancouver posters who appreciate it. If you don't like my style you do know how to ignore me. By the way I still haven't eaten enough crow to even really know what it tastes like.
I see no reason to badger back and forth over the same old same old. Bye for now.
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I am toxic
. . . even in small doses
Bad Goalie, I always appreciate your analysis. Thank you for contributing.
- Jun 25, 2007
- 2,350
- 2,438
Lots of new blood in the game commentary this year. Great to see, last year was so much fun. It isn't quite the same without The fridge, honestly, but I guess we'll make do.
Here are some ideas for you ML:
Baertschi scores: pot of cheese fondue
Jasek scores: bottle of Pilsner
Goldobin scores: vodka
Rafferty: Baker Street album cover
Gadjovich: Inspector Gadget
Blujus: the blue man
Dipietro makes a big save: Ayers rock
chaputonyou
Registered User
- Oct 17, 2019
- 206
- 140
Whatever you say there Bad Goalie. In my 50 years (45 as a Canucks fan) I am not going to argue with you about your AHL superiority. All I am saying is : new season. 3-0 so far: new players. Players not perfect. Welcome to the AHL.
C.
C.
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krutovsdonut
eeyore
- Sep 25, 2016
- 16,843
- 9,516
i appreciate anyone who takes the time to provide their eyewitness takes on farm team or prospect games here, and also any inside baseball about farm teams. it's helpful even if delivered with a healthy dose of opinion, and even if the opinion is not one i necessarily share.
it's true the recent really strong complaints of multiple utica fans about the team compared to the results on ice is just not lining up so far. i would not single out bad goalie on that. it's almost a consensus of serious utica fans here seeming to be 180 degrees out of sync with reality so far.
but it's early days though, and i do not know the league, so i will definitely go with wait and see for now. i mean the oilers also look like cup contenders right now from a distance, but i know that league.
it's true the recent really strong complaints of multiple utica fans about the team compared to the results on ice is just not lining up so far. i would not single out bad goalie on that. it's almost a consensus of serious utica fans here seeming to be 180 degrees out of sync with reality so far.
but it's early days though, and i do not know the league, so i will definitely go with wait and see for now. i mean the oilers also look like cup contenders right now from a distance, but i know that league.
Hey guys I also did a broad summary of the Comets game for theSinBin.net
Comets Dominate Syracuse in Home Opener | The Sin Bin
give'r a click to at least pad my views
Comets Dominate Syracuse in Home Opener | The Sin Bin
give'r a click to at least pad my views
@RonningMorrisonBooth
Ordinarily I might agree with you as to your take on Sautner as a vet, but in spite of this being his 5th pro season he has only played in 191 games of the 304 he has been a Comet. It's 261 GP before the league even considers him a Veteran Exempt. he would have to play 321 to be considered a Veteran by their standards.
If injuries were the primary reason for these numbers I'd go along with it, but he was a 7/8 D-man for 2 of his 4 seasons and then lost half of last season with an injury. He is the second most experienced in terms of games played (191 to Blujus's 240 , but that doesn't make either of them "veterans" in my eyes nor the league they play in. It's a matter of opinion with us and we'll have to agree to disagree.
Ordinarily I might agree with you as to your take on Sautner as a vet, but in spite of this being his 5th pro season he has only played in 191 games of the 304 he has been a Comet. It's 261 GP before the league even considers him a Veteran Exempt. he would have to play 321 to be considered a Veteran by their standards.
If injuries were the primary reason for these numbers I'd go along with it, but he was a 7/8 D-man for 2 of his 4 seasons and then lost half of last season with an injury. He is the second most experienced in terms of games played (191 to Blujus's 240 , but that doesn't make either of them "veterans" in my eyes nor the league they play in. It's a matter of opinion with us and we'll have to agree to disagree.
chaputonyou
Registered User
- Oct 17, 2019
- 206
- 140
I have been a Canucks fan for a long time - since 1975. I posted this (my password for larrygoodenough stopped working so I switched to Chaputonyou) a few days ago: the best farm team the Canucks have ever had was the Manitoba Moose teams in the 2000’s. Those teams had future REAL stars - Kevin Bieksa, Ryan Kessler, Cory Schneider, Janik Hansen, Alex Burrows AND they had veteran AHL guys who were there to provide stability for those future NHL stars - guys like Wade Flahery. Mike Keane, Jimmy Roy and Dallas Eakins. Those teams never won a Calder Cup but they were good teams and well coached. Future NHL coaches like Randy Carlyle and Scott Arniel coached the Moose.
I have seen Canuck farm teams that had better results than those Moose teams, but those teams were loaded with career minor league hockey all star players who weren’t part of the future of the Canucks in years to come.
I get the last few years were not good - especially last year. The biggest joke to me was goaltending with Demko away due to injury or call up and Bachman injured with Utica stuck with questionable goalies. I get Dahlen was a perimeter softie and Palmu was a whiner. I get all of that and yeah - blame Benning and Johnson all you want.
All I am saying is that Utica has a lot of new players that have contributed to a 3-0 start. Younger players are getting better after a year of minor pro hockey. Some players need more time to recover from injuries, etc It looks like the team has more depth on the backend, in goal and up front.
My issue is reading some pre-game analysis where all the sins of the past and lack of drafted players on the roster or whatever comes up. It’s like - ‘wow, how about looking at the present and not the past ‘. How about being objective about who is on the roster in 2019/2020 instead of dredging up past sins. The past is the past! Get over it!
As a Canucks fan, I would prefer prospects play in a hockey town and from what I can tell - Utica is definitely a hockey town. I think the Canucks are going to have a good season, and my gut tells me Utica will have a better season as well, but need to see a larger sample size.
One big thing for me: I have no time for watching overpaid NHLers go through the motions like Loui Eriksson. I would rather watch Jalen Chatfield or Zack McKewan - two undrafted guys signed by Benning (Sorry - Benning never drafted them but was smart enough to sign them ) play any day of the week. I do like how the Canucks play a faster and more up tempo game. It has been obvious the past three games. Based on what I see on the Utica roster, speed seems to have improved with guys like Bailey on the team. I watched him in preseason and that guys has wheels.
I’ll read some of the objective Utica fan posts. The ones that just dredge up the past or repeat the same stuff...well my eyes can go past those posts.
C
I have seen Canuck farm teams that had better results than those Moose teams, but those teams were loaded with career minor league hockey all star players who weren’t part of the future of the Canucks in years to come.
I get the last few years were not good - especially last year. The biggest joke to me was goaltending with Demko away due to injury or call up and Bachman injured with Utica stuck with questionable goalies. I get Dahlen was a perimeter softie and Palmu was a whiner. I get all of that and yeah - blame Benning and Johnson all you want.
All I am saying is that Utica has a lot of new players that have contributed to a 3-0 start. Younger players are getting better after a year of minor pro hockey. Some players need more time to recover from injuries, etc It looks like the team has more depth on the backend, in goal and up front.
My issue is reading some pre-game analysis where all the sins of the past and lack of drafted players on the roster or whatever comes up. It’s like - ‘wow, how about looking at the present and not the past ‘. How about being objective about who is on the roster in 2019/2020 instead of dredging up past sins. The past is the past! Get over it!
As a Canucks fan, I would prefer prospects play in a hockey town and from what I can tell - Utica is definitely a hockey town. I think the Canucks are going to have a good season, and my gut tells me Utica will have a better season as well, but need to see a larger sample size.
One big thing for me: I have no time for watching overpaid NHLers go through the motions like Loui Eriksson. I would rather watch Jalen Chatfield or Zack McKewan - two undrafted guys signed by Benning (Sorry - Benning never drafted them but was smart enough to sign them ) play any day of the week. I do like how the Canucks play a faster and more up tempo game. It has been obvious the past three games. Based on what I see on the Utica roster, speed seems to have improved with guys like Bailey on the team. I watched him in preseason and that guys has wheels.
I’ll read some of the objective Utica fan posts. The ones that just dredge up the past or repeat the same stuff...well my eyes can go past those posts.
C
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This post seems to me to have misunderstood the points BG was making in all three numbered rebuttals. To some extent it was clear enough in BG’s post, though to some extent it helps to have read his previous material in understanding the points he was making.
1. Schenn-This was a timing issue. BG’s point, though he didn’lt go through the history in this post, wasn’t about the time when the Canucks offered Schenn a contract, but earlier, when they chose not to.
The Canucks had the exclusive rights to offer him a contract from the time they acquired him through the end of June and chose to put off making him an offer until well after the season was over, even though he'd proven useful both in Vancouver and Utica. This was a guy whose career was in the dumpster when the Canucks acquired him and if they’d made him an offer when he’d proven how useful he could be to them, the chances are much better that he’d have accepted it.. Refusing to offer a player a contract for a couple of months until you’re done with undrafted free agents doesn’t make a player feel the team is really interested in him and makes him more likely to consider his other options than if they considered him enough of a priority to offer him a contract ahead of, for example, Mitch Eliot.
2. Your # 2 ignores completely the fact that BG was talking about defence. He'd just gone on at length about the construction of the Syracuse defence, including how many were Tampa draft picks and their AHL vet status. He constrasted that with the construction of the Comets defence, with reference to the number of vets and of Canuck draft picks.
It's really impossible to read that post and think that referring to Lind and DiPietro has anything to do with the point he was making.
3. I don’t really understand what point you’re trying to make with your # 3. The fact that Rafferty and Teves were unsigned NCAA free agents doesn't affect BG's point that the Canucks had prospects playing in the NCAA and Europe as opposed to Utica, reduces the number of drafted prospects available to the Comets.
Whether you agree with or understand his points or not, he’s been a great source of information for those of us who like to follow the Canucks’ AHL team and prospects. If, however, you want to put him on ignore, there’s no reason to tell him to remind you to ignore him. Just use the convenient Ignore feature on hfb and voila-you no longer see the posts of someone whose posts, for whatever reason, you don’t want to read.
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