Flgatorguy87
Registered User
First fire I saw from Tomasino was in the playoffs starting in the 2nd round. Hope that was the start to figuring out the compete level he needs to be a player.
If you would have watched Tomasino play in Milwaukee, you’d know exactly why he got sent back to the AHL. And those that did watch every game he played in Milwaukee actually have a really good idea how much of last season was Tomasino vs Hynes.Where we have no idea... zero idea... how much of last season was "Tomasino" vs "Hynes". Sure, if next season is a bit iffy, it's "Tomasino". But I just won't sign up to any predictions on that front at all, because I KNOW FOR A FACT that Hynes was abysmal. Correspondingly, I don't have a clue if Tomasino has issues or not. For me, it's a clean slate for Tomasino in 2023-24. Make of it what he will.
When he averaged over a point per game?If you would have watched Tomasino play in Milwaukee, you’d know exactly why he got sent back to the AHL. And those that did watch every game he played in Milwaukee actually have a really good idea how much of last season was Tomasino vs Hynes.
Shouldn’t have unignored, my bad!If you would have watched Tomasino play in Milwaukee, you’d know exactly why he got sent back to the AHL. And those that did watch every game he played in Milwaukee actually have a really good idea how much of last season was Tomasino vs Hynes.
Parsinnen plays like a 29 year old top 6 center , so much poise and hockey iqI’m gonna be blown away if Parsinen gets ranked above Tomasino. I just don’t get it. Tomasino has more potential, I love Parssinen but wow, I feel like he may be a bit overhyped here.
Last season,Parsinnen plays like a 29 year old top 6 center , so much poise and hockey iq
Tomasino plays the game like a skittish dog
Well the idea is Parssinen brings a lot more than his raw pts though. He maintains possession, he digs, he makes his wingers better, whether he gets a point or not. He’s a big guy who can be a handful for the opposing D.Last season,
Tomasino: 18 points in 31 games .58ppg
Parsinen: 25 points in 45 games .55ppg
What am I missing? Tomasino is less of a top six forward?
Actually, they’re both Preds. And both have skills. And that’s a real good thing. Training camp is gonna be a couple of things. Great fun and a time to put “it’s Hynes fault” to rest. A lot was his fault but not everything.Well the idea is Parssinen brings a lot more than his raw pts though. He maintains possession, he digs, he makes his wingers better, whether he gets a point or not. He’s a big guy who can be a handful for the opposing D.
Tomasino didn’t seem the least bit “skittish” in Year 1 in the NHL. I’m willing to write last season off to an incompetent coach.
I don't think it's really arguable. Did Tomasino come in and blow the door off its hinges? Force his way into a top-6 spot. No. Was the head coach ultimately very reluctant to give young players playing time and the latitude to make and learn from mistakes? Yep. We know the latter because it was by far the prevalent modus operandi with the young players, right down to Poile acknowledging straight up that putting younger players in the lineup had been a mistake and that he course corrected with free agents to give his coach a chance to win.There's no reason Tomasinos problems can't be a combination of both how he prepared himself for last season and how he was utilized. But when push comes to shove, if he shows up to camp this year ready to play, he should be fine. If he shits the bed again, he's gonna get passed by some hungrier, more disciplined players.
Tend to agree that I think it's a combination of both Hynes and Tomasino. I've stated several times that I'm not sold that even if Tomasino would have had a solid camp that he still wouldn't have been in Milwaukee. I think Hynes got this stubborn idea in his head that every single player needed to be able to hit and be physical or he didn't really want to play them. I think ultimately decisions like that is why he isn't here.I don't think it's really arguable. Did Tomasino come in and blow the door off its hinges? Force his way into a top-6 spot. No. Was the head coach ultimately very reluctant to give young players playing time and the latitude to make and learn from mistakes? Yep. We know the latter because it was by far the prevalent modus operandi with the young players, right down to Poile acknowledging straight up that putting younger players in the lineup had been a mistake and that he course corrected with free agents to give his coach a chance to win.
The argument that there is room for both things to be true is further proven by what Trotz did after being hired. He fired Hynes and Lambert. He got rid of the core leadership that he could, taking a hefty cap hit. I fully suspect he had massive input into the TDL tear down, approving moving some of the untouchable players who played heavy minutes under Hynes, and giving younger players like Tomasino the opportunities down the stretch.
Based on everything we saw and heard coming out of camp I think it's a pretty good indication that he certainly didn't push himself last offseason by any stretch of the imagination.Tomasino WILL get pushed. Both Kemell and Wood project as top-6 RWers. So if he doesn't establish himself firmly this coming season, those guys are coming for him the next season.
Maybe (? who knows ?) he rested on his laurels a little bit last season. And suffered the consequences. But if he has any active brain cells at all, he will have learned from that, and he can look at our prospect rankings and see 2 RWers ranked above him, and know he has to go gonzo preparing for the coming season. If he can't do it with all the red alerts flashing as they are... well then, ok, that's on him.
Good post, but I have a quibble about this bit. The Tomasino-glass-Tolvanen line got exactly 22 minutes in 2021-22.Hynes completely changed strategy on the 4th line between seasons. From a tolvanen glass tomasino young and sheltered to whatever the eff you want to call smith jankowski rotating cast line.
Good observation.Good post, but I have a quibble about this bit. The Tomasino-glass-Tolvanen line got exactly 22 minutes in 2021-22.
(And looked great in them)
By contrast, Tomasino got 246 minutes with Michael McCarron, his most frequent center.
I’m not sure what to call those minutes, but Michael McCarron is not a scoring threat in the NHL in any context.
Tolvanen was such a bad loss, since IMO he DID push himself and did do pretty much everything that was asked of him, and was nevertheless dropped despite that. Fabbro almost hit this level. Tomasino was "slightly saved" by virtue of having waiver exemption and minor league eligibility. But to me, all 3 cases trace back identically to a coach who "just didn't get it". Hynes was so bad that I am not ready to project anything based on his mismanagement of our young players. I don't think that guy will EVER get another NHL job. He shouldn't. NHL GMs are a little dumb too, of course, but Hynes really needs to re-imagine his approach at least... he got himself in the door and has a lot of energy and enthusiasm for his job, but he still has failed both attempts so far, he really needs to re-evaluate how he screwed those opportunities up.Based on everything we saw and heard coming out of camp I think it's a pretty good indication that he certainly didn't push himself last offseason by any stretch of the imagination.
Now some of that may just be a learning curve and getting the understanding of now that you are a professional how you do that or maybe he kind of picked up that vibe from some of the Vets on the team that are no longer here. Whatever it was he better not do that again this offseason cause he definitely needs to hit the ground running.
Tolvanen got screwed by Poile/Hynes in my mind, although this coming season with Seattle will either reinforce that or maybe prove it wrong. However, Tomasino has the benefit of getting that change this season without being moved, he has a coach coming in that is known to be more offensive minded, and he needs to take serious advantage of it.
As you said the push may not be as much from the organization but more from the players coming up in the system.
His biggest issue is he wants to play how those NJ teams did in the 90's, and the rules and the speed in the game just won't let that happen.Tolvanen was such a bad loss, since IMO he DID push himself and did do pretty much everything that was asked of him, and was nevertheless dropped despite that. Fabbro almost hit this level. Tomasino was "slightly saved" by virtue of having waiver exemption and minor league eligibility. But to me, all 3 cases trace back identically to a coach who "just didn't get it". Hynes was so bad that I am not ready to project anything based on his mismanagement of our young players. I don't think that guy will EVER get another NHL job. He shouldn't. NHL GMs are a little dumb too, of course, but Hynes really needs to re-imagine his approach at least... he got himself in the door and has a lot of energy and enthusiasm for his job, but he still has failed both attempts so far, he really needs to re-evaluate how he screwed those opportunities up.
The comment about being great with young players came from Poile's introduction of Hynes as his new coach, I believe.His biggest issue is he wants to play how those NJ teams did in the 90's, and the rules and the speed in the game just won't let that happen.
There is nothing wrong with being defensive minded, Trotz was, but you gotta move with the times, and Hynes seems like he is stuck trying to play a game from his childhood.
I also don't get where the idea that he was good with young players came from either. Everything about his tenure here seemed to be bad for most of them. There are a few exceptions, but most of them seemed to come along because his hand was forced, not so much from anything he did.
Yeah but seems like we had heard that from other places, but it may stem solely from that. If Poile did say that he was definitely wrong.The comment about being great with young players came from Poile's introduction of Hynes as his new coach, I believe.
Agreed that a lot is up to Tomasino. He has to put in the work, continue to develop his game, and seize the opportunity provided (if it is provided). He has to prove himself like anybody else in a meritocracy. That's why I keep referring to the gestalt in my posts. We should fully expect some prospects to fail, some to make it but not for long, and a few to really graduate and contribute for multiple seasons. It's the nature of the beast. Tomasino is one data point who fits in that spectrum somewhere. But the interesting thing to me is all the data points leaning a certain direction.Tend to agree that I think it's a combination of both Hynes and Tomasino. I've stated several times that I'm not sold that even if Tomasino would have had a solid camp that he still wouldn't have been in Milwaukee. I think Hynes got this stubborn idea in his head that every single player needed to be able to hit and be physical or he didn't really want to play them. I think ultimately decisions like that is why he isn't here.
That said, Tomasino coming in and having the camp he did just made it easier for Hynes to be able to send him back down, and then Tomasino more or less going down and being rather lackluster to start the season didn't help his case.
I still stick with the thought that this season is very important for him from an organizational stand point. He might not get traded away yet but he is going to have some guys that are more than capable of pushing him out of the lineup behind him and that leash is going to get short pretty quick.
We have no way of knowing yet just how much patience Trotz is going to have with some of these players. Yeah he mentioned wanting to overcook them a bit in the AHL but that says to me when you do get your shot you better take it because he may only bring you to the table for dinner so many times.
It might stem from Hynes' involvement with Team USA U-18? He spent like 6 years with the USNTDP? That probably made Poile think he'd be "good with kids". Except, it didn't turn out that way when the coach felt he had to win NHL games to stay afloat. He turned out to be a coach who just made bad choices in a "present tense" evaluation of players, without allowing for development on the fly from young players?Yeah but seems like we had heard that from other places, but it may stem solely from that. If Poile did say that he was definitely wrong.
I would have loved to have been inside Poile's head coming into last season and then by the end. Everything indicates he was willing to roll with Hynes again this year, which just blows my mind.