Recalled/Assigned: Akeson and Heeter recalled from Phantoms

[FlyersFan61290]

Eh, not going to say he has an NHL future or what not but you are severely underrating his season. At multiple long period of time the Phantoms had 2-3 ECHL fillers on defense. Heeter has had a very good season, way better than average. And this defense system Murray tries (tries is a key word) to apply hasnt worked out yet.

As someone who had watched over 40 AHL games this season, Heeter had been a main reason why they have won any games or came close to winning. I dont know if he will play in the NHL but this average season stuff is easily incorrect.

People seem to forget that around midseason, he had one of the top 5 best goalie stats in the league. It wasnt until the defenders started to get hurt, echl fillers started to play and the overall system exploding did Heeter start to do average.

He was tops in SV% and 2nd in GAA at one point.

I agree, number don't tell the whole story. Heeter has played well for the Phantoms. I don't necessarily think he has an NHL future either but to cast him aside for 30 bad minutes of hockey in his first NHL game is ridiculous. I would give him every opportunity to earn a job in camp next season.

Now of course if a premier backup is still available you go after him but if it's between him and Emery or something then I would give him a shot to earn it in camp.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I agree, number don't tell the whole story. Heeter has played well for the Phantoms. I don't necessarily think he has an NHL future either but to cast him aside for 30 bad minutes of hockey in his first NHL game is ridiculous.

He's a 26 year old undrafted free agent still playing in the minors, I think that's more of a factor than yesterday's game here when people are looking at his future.

His bad game yesterday just reinforced the idea that he's not ready for a backup role if he ever even will be.

 

[FlyersFan61290]

He's a 26 year old undrafted free agent still playing in the minors, I think that's more of a factor than yesterday's game here when people are looking at his future.

His bad game yesterday just reinforced the idea that he's not ready for a backup role if he ever even will be.

The first part is fine, even though with most I don't think its the case. The last part I don't agree with.

Lots of people suck in their first game. Just like playing lights out wouldn't have proved he was ready for the NHL, having a bad half a game doesn't mean he can't/won't.

 

[sa cyred]

I know people around here don't like to go this route, but I think you go with what you know. Akeson looked good yesterday, no doubt. But it is one game. Go with the lineup that got you there. If someone doesn't work, then swap him out for Akeson. I don't think you want to go into the playoffs, against a huge rival, with a guy who is known to have defensive issues and has only two NHL games under his belt. Granted the Rangers aren't an offensive dynamo, but I'd still be more comfortable with the 12 guys that got us there. If Rinaldo has a bad game (as I'm assuming he is the one most people would swap for Akeson), then you put Akeson out there.

I wouldn't be mad if Akeson got the start or Rinaldo, it just wouldn't be the route I'd go.

Im guessing you want Downie back out there? There is a reason he is a healthy scratch. Berube himself said he is not happy with Downies play. We can play Rinaldo and Akeson at the same time.

Even if you like Rinaldo I think you can even agree that he is not a top 9 forward. Also Downie and Rinaldo have defensive issues also. There would be no loss on defensive play if Akeson played. The only player I see would play over Akeson is McGinn because Berube likes him. Otherwise McGinn has been average.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Im guessing you want Downie back out there? There is a reason he is a healthy scratch. Berube himself said he is not happy with Downies play. We can play Rinaldo and Akeson at the same time.

Even if you like Rinaldo I think you can even agree that he is not a top 9 forward. Also Downie and Rinaldo have defensive issues also. There would be no loss on defensive play if Akeson played. The only player I see would play over Akeson is McGinn because Berube likes him. Otherwise McGinn has been average.

Rinaldo is definitely not a top 9 guy. No doubt about that. But I think he can be effective in the playoffs as a fourth liner. Downie has been bad as of late, no doubt, but again, I think at least for game one you roll with what you know. Like I said, I wouldn't be mad if Akeson got the start, I just wouldn't do it myself.

 

[FlyersFan61290]

Rinaldo is definitely not a top 9 guy. No doubt about that. But I think he can be effective in the playoffs as a fourth liner. Downie has been bad as of late, no doubt, but again, I think at least for game one you roll with what you know. Like I said, I wouldn't be mad if Akeson got the start, I just wouldn't do it myself.

But what you know is that Downie has been bad for a while now.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

The first part is fine, even though with most I don't think its the case. The last part I don't agree with.

Lots of people suck in their first game. Just like playing lights out wouldn't have proved he was ready for the NHL, having a bad half a game doesn't mean he can't/won't.

Come on man you know damn well if he played well yesterday people if they weren't already would have been penciling him into the lineup.

 

[FlyersFan61290]

Come on man you know damn well if he played well yesterday people if they weren't already would have been penciling him into the lineup.

Very true, but they would be just as wrong. Assuming his play in that one game is their only justification for thinking that way.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

But what you know is that Downie has been bad for a while now.

I understand that, but with Akeson you know nothing. He's played in two NHL games. Sure, he might be fine. He might be better than fine. He might ultimately be a cog that helps the team advance. But he is also a rookie with known defensive issues. He might cost the team a goal or two out there. I know Downie has been bad lately, not arguing that, but he's got NHL experience. He's got playoff experience. I know that for some reason people think that trusting a veteran is a bad thing, but if I'm going into a playoff series with a bitter rival, I'm not starting the kid with two NHL games over the kid with 300+ games because the kid looked good more recently in his one game and the veteran looked bad more recently. Call me crazy, say I'm just a veteran lover and that's what is wrong with this team or whatever you want, but again, I think you go with what you know.

If Downie plays like **** on Thursday, bench him. That's fine with me. Put Akeson in. See how he does. But in what is likely to be a very intense series, I don't think you roll with the 23 year old with essentially zero NHL experience based on two NHL games and a couple AHL seasons over the 27 year old with 300+ NHL games and good playoff experience (scored at nearly a PPG in his last playoff run). Again, I must stress that I know Downie has played poorly as of late, and I know that it is possible that it might continue. But I still go with the slumping veteran over the kid with no experience. If he sucks, go ahead and bench him. Same thing with Rinaldo. Bench away. But I go with what you know over what you don't to start the series.

And again, I won't be mad if they start Akeson it just isn't what I would do.

 

[sa cyred]

I understand that, but with Akeson you know nothing. He's played in two NHL games. Sure, he might be fine. He might be better than fine. He might ultimately be a cog that helps the team advance. But he is also a rookie with known defensive issues. He might cost the team a goal or two out there. I know Downie has been bad lately, not arguing that, but he's got NHL experience. He's got playoff experience. I know that for some reason people think that trusting a veteran is a bad thing, but if I'm going into a playoff series with a bitter rival, I'm not starting the kid with two NHL games over the kid with 300+ games because the kid looked good more recently in his one game and the veteran looked bad more recently. Call me crazy, say I'm just a veteran lover and that's what is wrong with this team or whatever you want, but again, I think you go with what you know.

If Downie plays like **** on Thursday, bench him. That's fine with me. Put Akeson in. See how he does. But in what is likely to be a very intense series, I don't think you roll with the 23 year old with essentially zero NHL experience based on two NHL games and a couple AHL seasons over the 27 year old with 300+ NHL games and good playoff experience (scored at nearly a PPG in his last playoff run). Again, I must stress that I know Downie has played poorly as of late, and I know that it is possible that it might continue. But I still go with the slumping veteran over the kid with no experience. If he sucks, go ahead and bench him. Same thing with Rinaldo. Bench away. But I go with what you know over what you don't to start the series.

And again, I won't be mad if they start Akeson it just isn't what I would do.

Going by your logic then, you would want to play jay rosehill over akeson no?

Luckily Berube sees that Downie has been killing this team and thats why he was benched. Hopefully he goes with a player that is performing well over one that is not

 

[zarley zelepukin]

3 Backups who will be FA after this season and who have been talked about in the Emery thread:

Anton Khudobin- 19-14-1, .926 sv%, 2.30 GAA, 1 SO
Thomas Greiss- 9-8-5, .920 sv%, 2.35 GAA, 2 SO
Al Montoya- 13-8-3, .920 sv%, 2.30 GAA, 2 SO

Emery? 9-12-2, .903 sv%, 2.96 GAA, 2 SO

He is a goalie who is streaky with a degenerative hip. He has his good games but he will just keep getting worse. Today a guy in his first ever NHL game was clearly nervous and shaky in the first half of the game yet was still able to put on a similar performance to Emery in his last couple games as well as some of Emery's other games in which Emery received a W or L this season. Emery isn't really that great of a backup. I would be interested in seeing how he matches up to other backups, especially the ones on playoff teams.

In sticking with the actual topic...Heeter needs more experience and coaching. Keep Akeson up for playoffs, if he does well keep him in the lineup and if not scratch him but have him ready in case of injury. He did well today.

Our backup is certainly upgradeable. Emery's not going to play well enough to steal a starter's job like Khodobin and Montoya, but for a backup he did his job this year. Emery started that game against Washington early in the year where the team didn't show up and was blown off the ice, and the game against Chicago where they were overmatched and blown off the ice; his stats were good the rest of the time. The team just needs to be competitive in front of him and he's done fine.

Next year could be a different story if his hip continues to get worse, so I wouldn't be opposed to getting someone else. Should that someone else be Heeter? I'm not going to write him off based on one start but I definitely wouldn't pencil him in as the backup either.

 

[FlyersFan61290]

I understand that, but with Akeson you know nothing. He's played in two NHL games. Sure, he might be fine. He might be better than fine. He might ultimately be a cog that helps the team advance. But he is also a rookie with known defensive issues. He might cost the team a goal or two out there. I know Downie has been bad lately, not arguing that, but he's got NHL experience. He's got playoff experience. I know that for some reason people think that trusting a veteran is a bad thing, but if I'm going into a playoff series with a bitter rival, I'm not starting the kid with two NHL games over the kid with 300+ games because the kid looked good more recently in his one game and the veteran looked bad more recently. Call me crazy, say I'm just a veteran lover and that's what is wrong with this team or whatever you want, but again, I think you go with what you know.

If Downie plays like **** on Thursday, bench him. That's fine with me. Put Akeson in. See how he does. But in what is likely to be a very intense series, I don't think you roll with the 23 year old with essentially zero NHL experience based on two NHL games and a couple AHL seasons over the 27 year old with 300+ NHL games and good playoff experience (scored at nearly a PPG in his last playoff run). Again, I must stress that I know Downie has played poorly as of late, and I know that it is possible that it might continue. But I still go with the slumping veteran over the kid with no experience. If he sucks, go ahead and bench him. Same thing with Rinaldo. Bench away. But I go with what you know over what you don't to start the series.

And again, I won't be mad if they start Akeson it just isn't what I would do.

I understand all that, what I don't understand is why give him another game? What makes you think that one game will make a difference? He's been given more then one game and he hasn't turned it around. I don't understand the logic behind giving him one more game. It seems rather arbitrary especially considering the importance of every game in the playoffs. If you were of the mind that you're sticking with your vets regardless, I think I would be more understanding (by no means would I agree with that though but I would at least understand).

Downie also has known defensive issues, I just want to point that out. He tends to take dumb penalties at the most inopportune times which have really hurt the team in the past. Akeson gives the team another pker as well. These are all things (outside of the offense) that should be taken into consideration.

 

[Striiker]

Ok here's just some highlights that I found in the last 30 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pHyw1E_fKc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk7k_SWJFBE

Pretty good five whole saves here on a no named player like Crosby.

Granted, these highlights are supposed to be good saves BUT regardless, Emery hasn't been quite as bad as you've said he's been

Well you know what? You're right. Clearly since he made a save there the likely 1-3 weak goals per gamer never happened. I forgot that when you make a save like that they take away one of the opponents goals...

Give me a break.

I meant watch full highlights of the last few games he's playing in and pay attention to the goals he's let in. Are you guys being willfully ignorant of how bad he is or do you really not see it?

 

[Striiker]

I thought Akeson looked decent yesterday. Much better than McGinn has looked. Wouldn't mind going into the playoffs with...

Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Akeson-Schenn-Simmonds
Read-Couturier-Downie
Hall/Rinaldo-Lecavalier-Raffl

Gives you 4 lines that can score

Hell no, Downie shouldn't be on that line.

Hartnell-Giroux-Voracek
Schenn-Raffl-Simmonds
Read-Couturier-Akeson
Downie-Vinny-Hall

 

[bauerhockey02]

Going by your logic then, you would want to play jay rosehill over akeson no?

Luckily Berube sees that Downie has been killing this team and thats why he was benched. Hopefully he goes with a player that is performing well over one that is not

Rosehill has half as many goals as Downie does but in only about half as many games this season

I will take the player with a history of minimal penalties over the player with a history of many penalties going into the playoffs. Playing a responsible game is important in the playoffs. Swapping the two players doesn't even make a difference as far as size goes which some posters have mentioned since Akeson and Downie are only an inch apart in height.

Downie won't be back next year more than likely and while he has more NHL experience, there are many flaws in his game. Play the kid who did well with Couts and Read while not really doing much wrong in his two games of play. It gives Akeson the playoff experience while providing Couts and Read with a player who has outperformed Downie offensively at every other level of play.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Going by your logic then, you would want to play jay rosehill over akeson no?

No, for the obvious reasons (one of which being I said that quite clearly that if Downie or Rinaldo play poorly, Akeson would be in). But obviously I am not suggesting that we play Jay Rosehill over Akeson. As much as I like the rough stuff, Rosehill in the playoffs is not a good idea.

Luckily Berube sees that Downie has been killing this team and thats why he was benched. Hopefully he goes with a player that is performing well over one that is not

If we are critiquing the logic of my argument, shouldn't we scratch Emery and go with Heeter as the backup? According to you he's played way better than average, presumably more recently than Emery. He had a bad game yesterday but he's played great in the AHL!

It is not a knock against Akeson. It is not a ringing endorsement of Downie. It is looking at a 300+ game veteran who is having a down year vs. looking at a 2 game NHL veteran who played well in those two games (spread out over two years). It is entirely possible that Downie sucks on Thursday. It is entirely possible that Akeson would dominate. But if it is me, I look at the guy with experience and give him the first crack. I know he is 27 and once you pass 26 there is no chance that you rebound. I also know that in the playoffs guys never get hot and turn around a bad season. It is also well known that a 23 year old with two NHL games where he looked good will always follow that up with a similar performance, especially in a high intensity playoff game (if nothing else it is at least MORE likely for the 23 year old with no experience continue his play than for the 27 year old with 300+ games to turn it around). Why don't we bench Grossmann and Schenn and call up Manning and Alt? Manning's put up some good numbers in the AHL and he looked pretty decent last season in his six games. Mark Alt has looked good in the AHL too. Ohhh, Ben Holmstrom has had a good year in the AHL. Let's start Holmstrom and Akeson over Downie and Rinaldo. They've earned it.

In all seriousness, you aren't worried that Akeson will **** the bed? You are more certain that the guy with more experience will continue to suck than you are that the guy with less experience will continue to play well? That just doesn't make sense to me. Both are possible. I'm not saying Akeson WILL suck. I'm not saying Downie WILL rebound in the playoffs. I'm just saying to me it seems like going with a no-experience guy and hoping he continues his play is less likely to occur than the experienced guy turning it around.

 

[NHLAlert]

Well you know what? You're right. Clearly since he made a save there the likely 1-3 weak goals per gamer never happened. I forgot that when you make a save like that they take away one of the opponents goals...

Give me a break.

I meant watch full highlights of the last few games he's playing in and pay attention to the goals he's let in. Are you guys being willfully ignorant of how bad he is or do you really not see it?

Do you go to Saint Joes elementary school with my 8 year old niece?

Honestly man, there's no point in discussing this with you anymore. You want to think he'll let in all of those goals that Heeter did, then be my guest.

Your the one being willfully ignorant because no one here is acting like Ray is a starter because he's not. When it comes to the routine saves that Heeter was supposed to make yesterday, he didn't and I and others believe Ray would have.. If you think differently that's fine because your entitled to your opinion, I just don't agree with it... We'll agree to disagree, that's all

 

[bauerhockey02]

Our backup is certainly upgradeable. Emery's not going to play well enough to steal a starter's job like Khodobin and Montoya, but for a backup he did his job this year. Emery started that game against Washington early in the year where the team didn't show up and was blown off the ice, and the game against Chicago where they were overmatched and blown off the ice; his stats were good the rest of the time. The team just needs to be competitive in front of him and he's done fine.

Next year could be a different story if his hip continues to get worse, so I wouldn't be opposed to getting someone else. Should that someone else be Heeter? I'm not going to write him off based on one start but I definitely wouldn't pencil him in as the backup either.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8469548&view=log#&navid=nhl-keymatch

He has had a number of other games besides the Washington and Chicago games where he hasn't performed well. There are better backups out there. Neither Emery nor Heeter should be the backup next year.

 

[Striiker]

Do you go to Saint Joes elementary school with my 8 year old niece?

Honestly man, there's no point in discussing this with you anymore. You want to think he'll let in all of those goals that Heeter did, then be my guest.

Your the one being willfully ignorant because no one here is acting like Ray is a starter because he's not. When it comes to the routine saves that Heeter was supposed to make yesterday, he didn't and I and others believe Ray would have.. If you think differently that's fine because your entitled to your opinion, I just don't agree with it... We'll agree to disagree, that's all

Haha, way to look immature.

You're right, there might not be a point in discussing this, but it's because you and the other people defending Emery don't know what you're talking about. And I never said Emery would have let in all the goals that Heeter did, I said Emery lets in just as many soft goals.

I'm not even saying Heeter is better than Emery, I'm saying that Heeter played poorly yesterday, just like Emery has. Then I have people saying "Emerys not that bad of a goalie" and "why are you expecting a backup to be perfect?!?!", which is hilariously wrong, he IS horrible and I never said that he had to be perfect, just not complete garbage.

I swear, people can't read.

 

[sa cyred]

No, for the obvious reasons (one of which being I said that quite clearly that if Downie or Rinaldo play poorly, Akeson would be in). But obviously I am not suggesting that we play Jay Rosehill over Akeson. As much as I like the rough stuff, Rosehill in the playoffs is not a good idea.



If we are critiquing the logic of my argument, shouldn't we scratch Emery and go with Heeter as the backup? According to you he's played way better than average, presumably more recently than Emery. He had a bad game yesterday but he's played great in the AHL!

It is not a knock against Akeson. It is not a ringing endorsement of Downie. It is looking at a 300+ game veteran who is having a down year vs. looking at a 2 game NHL veteran who played well in those two games (spread out over two years). It is entirely possible that Downie sucks on Thursday. It is entirely possible that Akeson would dominate. But if it is me, I look at the guy with experience and give him the first crack. I know he is 27 and once you pass 26 there is no chance that you rebound. I also know that in the playoffs guys never get hot and turn around a bad season. It is also well known that a 23 year old with two NHL games where he looked good will always follow that up with a similar performance, especially in a high intensity playoff game (if nothing else it is at least MORE likely for the 23 year old with no experience continue his play than for the 27 year old with 300+ games to turn it around). Why don't we bench Grossmann and Schenn and call up Manning and Alt? Manning's put up some good numbers in the AHL and he looked pretty decent last season in his six games. Mark Alt has looked good in the AHL too. Ohhh, Ben Holmstrom has had a good year in the AHL. Let's start Holmstrom and Akeson over Downie and Rinaldo. They've earned it.

In all seriousness, you aren't worried that Akeson will **** the bed? You are more certain that the guy with more experience will continue to suck than you are that the guy with less experience will continue to play well? That just doesn't make sense to me. Both are possible. I'm not saying Akeson WILL suck. I'm not saying Downie WILL rebound in the playoffs. I'm just saying to me it seems like going with a no-experience guy and hoping he continues his play is less likely to occur than the experienced guy turning it around.

You might want to go back through my posts first. I think you are misunderstanding me. I never said to play Heeter over Emery. Not once have I said that. My issue with what you said to Heeter was how he played in the AHL. You said he played average in the AHL which you couldnt be more wrong. Ask someone other than me who watched the Phantoms and you will get the same response. The only fact here is that Heeter has done very well in the AHL on the worse team in the league.

Now on to the other part (I am going to ignore the other stuff because I think you misunderstood me). I am a statistical analyst by trade so trends of all sorts is important in my job. To me, I can not put faith into Downies poor play. Over the season, it had regressed for about the past 30 games. The probability of Downie, after being healthy scratched for the 2nd period (remember he was a healthy scratch earlier due poor play) turning back into the 10 or so good games he played when he first came over here is too low for me to buy. Past years are irrelevant in this case. There are too many variables (different teams, system, teammates, injuries, and mentally) for me to trust the past. Now, on one hand Akeson's one NHL game might be a mishap. But he has followed this after a extremely good season in the AHL. He has been their best forward all season. While he has struggled at times defensively he is known to pick it back up after short stretches. Now I would typically say that the one game in the NHL is too short of a span to make assumptions, but going back to a strong AHL season, it goes to show there is a higher probability for him to do better. I just play with the percentages. To me, i have more faith in Akeson not hurting the team and maybe contributing than Downie who has been hurting the team for the past 30 games, resulting in two stretches of healthy scratches.

To me, just because they are vets is not good enough. I dont have a thing to play the young guys over the vets. I would not trust Alt and Manning (especially manning who has been average at best this season) over Schenn and Grossmann. But come next season, say Alt does great in preseason, plays well on Phantoms, Grossmann gets hurt and Alt gets called up and plays 10-15 good games, I am guessing that you and I will be debating again over who should play. But see if that was Streit or Timonen I wouldnt even bat an eye if Alt was sent down. It's all about the regression analysis.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

You might want to go back through my posts first. I think you are misunderstanding me. I never said to play Heeter over Emery. Not once have I said that. My issue with what you said to Heeter was how he played in the AHL. You said he played average in the AHL which you couldnt be more wrong. Ask someone other than me who watched the Phantoms and you will get the same response. The only fact here is that Heeter has done very well in the AHL on the worse team in the league.

I know you never said to play Heeter over Emery, but your logic is that Akeson has played better this season than Downie. Well, it seems by your comments that you think that Heeter has played pretty well in ADK. It would seem that if you think Akeson should play based on his AHL season that you would also think Heeter should get the nod over Emery as the backup, no? I know you never said that, but if that is how you feel about Akeson, wouldn't you also feel that way about Heeter?

Now on to the other part (I am going to ignore the other stuff because I think you misunderstood me). I am a statistical analyst by trade so trends of all sorts is important in my job. To me, I can not put faith into Downies poor play. Over the season, it had regressed for about the past 30 games. The probability of Downie, after being healthy scratched for the 2nd period (remember he was a healthy scratch earlier due poor play) turning back into the 10 or so good games he played when he first came over here is too low for me to buy. Past years are irrelevant in this case. There are too many variables (different teams, system, teammates, injuries, and mentally) for me to trust the past. Now, on one hand Akeson's one NHL game might be a mishap. But he has followed this after a extremely good season in the AHL. He has been their best forward all season. While he has struggled at times defensively he is known to pick it back up after short stretches. Now I would typically say that the one game in the NHL is too short of a span to make assumptions, but going back to a strong AHL season, it goes to show there is a higher probability for him to do better. I just play with the percentages. To me, i have more faith in Akeson not hurting the team and maybe contributing than Downie who has been hurting the team for the past 30 games, resulting in two stretches of healthy scratches.

To me, just because they are vets is not good enough. I dont have a thing to play the young guys over the vets. I would not trust Alt and Manning (especially manning who has been average at best this season) over Schenn and Grossmann. But come next season, say Alt does great in preseason, plays well on Phantoms, Grossmann gets hurt and Alt gets called up and plays 10-15 good games, I am guessing that you and I will be debating again over who should play. But see if that was Streit or Timonen I wouldnt even bat an eye if Alt was sent down. It's all about the regression analysis.

It isn't just because they are vets. They are vets that aside from this season, have played well. Different teams, different circumstances, whatever, they have played well in the past. I put more stock in that than a kid playing well in the AHL. To me, especially in the playoffs, I want the guy who has done it before. If he comes out flat, fine with me if you want to bench him. But going in to what is going to be a very tough, likely very physical, likely very intense playoff series, I want the guy who has been there before (and to avoid any confusion about whether or not I want Rosehill out there...the guy who has played well before). I don't know the statistics to which you are alluding, but I would think statistically speaking it is probably more likely for a guy who has played well in the past in the NHL to improve than it is for the guy who has no experience to play well. Perhaps you could cite to the stats to which you are talking about? That could sway the way I feel if I saw something that tended to prove me wrong. Otherwise I go with Downie to start the series.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Heeter really had no pressure on him yesterday at all. last game of the season nothing on the line against a below average hockey club. granted that team has some skill guys but still Heeter did not play well enough at all.
He is what he is. an AHL goaltender.

 

[Striiker]

Heeter really had no pressure on him yesterday at all. last game of the season nothing on the line against a below average hockey club. granted that team has some skill guys but still Heeter did not play well enough at all.
He is what he is. an AHL goaltender.

No pressure in his first NHL game ever?

Maybe not from the Flyers side of things but from his side, yes.

 

[sa cyred]

I know you never said to play Heeter over Emery, but your logic is that Akeson has played better this season than Downie. Well, it seems by your comments that you think that Heeter has played pretty well in ADK. It would seem that if you think Akeson should play based on his AHL season that you would also think Heeter should get the nod over Emery as the backup, no? I know you never said that, but if that is how you feel about Akeson, wouldn't you also feel that way about Heeter?



It isn't just because they are vets. They are vets that aside from this season, have played well. Different teams, different circumstances, whatever, they have played well in the past. I put more stock in that than a kid playing well in the AHL. To me, especially in the playoffs, I want the guy who has done it before. If he comes out flat, fine with me if you want to bench him. But going in to what is going to be a very tough, likely very physical, likely very intense playoff series, I want the guy who has been there before (and to avoid any confusion about whether or not I want Rosehill out there...the guy who has played well before). I don't know the statistics to which you are alluding, but I would think statistically speaking it is probably more likely for a guy who has played well in the past in the NHL to improve than it is for the guy who has no experience to play well. Perhaps you could cite to the stats to which you are talking about? That could sway the way I feel if I saw something that tended to prove me wrong. Otherwise I go with Downie to start the series.

Thats fine. I am on my iphone now so its hard looking and behind the net and such when comparing and then writing. I will do it when I get back. I will also search for the BSH article I found showing how Downie has done.

If I forget will will agree to disagree. If you think he will change his play after his 2nd long benching thats fine. I dont think that it will happen so I would go with Akeson. Luckily I do think Berube has Downie on an extremely short leash so while he may get a shot if he does below average (which probability is extremely high) he is out. Berube seems pissed at Downie so maybe we (well i guess i and some others) will get lucky and wont have to watch him play lazy hockey.

 

[zarley zelepukin]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8469548&view=log#&navid=nhl-keymatch

He has had a number of other games besides the Washington and Chicago games where he hasn't performed well. There are better backups out there. Neither Emery nor Heeter should be the backup next year.

I'm not saying those were his only less than stellar games, just they they've had a huge impact on his overall stat-line and both were bad team performances against dangerous offensive teams. Overall he's been a very capable backup, but I agree that there are better guys out there.