Confirmed with Link: Anton Lindholm signs ELC

[The Kingslayer]

Whoever it is, I hope they actually invest into developing their players there rather than just having it as some weird storage container for prospects. Seriously, when will the Avs get that you actually need to invest the time and money into development rather than just letting them stew for a while in mediocrity?

We've come this far. I dont think they will ever get it.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

We've come this far. I dont think they will ever get it.

It'll probably always be the biggest downfall for this organization. They have this firm belief (regardless of who is in charge) that just having talent means that it'll develop. I firmly believe we wouldn't have had these consistent lagging periods where we have no prospects that can fill in for the holes in the roster that has been present since the original crop of Nordiques prospect ran dry. You also can't convince me the Avs wouldn't have won another cup or two if there had been a more proven coaches hired.

 

[cgf]

Good for him. Happy to have another prospect that they actually felt was worth signing. And curious to watch him in the AHL next season.

Token European summer signing

Have any of them really worked out? I think we just get excited because they're European.

Martinsen's a nice 13th man/4th liner as long as he's scratched intermittently to keep him on form. He even got to show off his hands a little down the stretch.

I'm pretty sure EVB could've established himself as an NHL bottom 6er if he had a little better luck with health/injuries-to-our-crap-players this season.

Noreau was awesome in the AHL, and had crap luck with being injured every time there was a chance he'd get called up. Ultimately he wouldn't have been anything but a smarter & smaller Redmond, if he had gotten a shot, but I really like what he was able to do for our AHL club. Having him leading the way down there, definitely helped both Bigras & Zadorov get comfortable & make the progress that they did.

Rendulic was always a raw project that might not stick around, and we didn't do much to help him with Dean as the coach down in the A.

And Henley is a kid I still like as a potential 4th line C & PK-specialist...basically what we once thought Winchester would be for us...he's a NCAA UFA, not a euro, but he still came in during that initial wave of prospect signings from outside the organization; so in my mind he's connected to the euros.

So I'm not expecting an impact NHLer, but that doesn't mean he can't be useful for this organization until he gives up on cracking the NHL.

Decent. Why not if we have space.

Lets see if he can earn that deal and if we ever see him in the NHL.

I'm not one who celebrates getting these kind of deals done, remember people jumping up and down over Geertsen.

Why shouldn't we have been thrilled that they didn't throw Geertsen away? Does he have bad corsi or something?

I could see Guenin sticking around for another year to see how it goes. The Avs know what a good locker room presence he is and could offer some help to the new staff in SA as a liaison between the staff and players. He would have to know and accept that as his role but if the Avs want him back, I could see him doing the organization that gave him so many opportunities with the big club a solid. I would really like it if he was the vet on D (prefer him over Clark). I could see Corbett splitting time with Ft. Wayne again too, depending how the organization and new coaching staff feels about him.

Up front, I could see Street and Beck both returning for the vet roles there. Probably some others as well. I would personally like to see Pepin get a shot on an ELC to develop his game further but we would definitely have to have the right coach for him to get the most out of him.

I really hope we see the general back on a fat AHL deal. He's a great locker-room presence, he's great for the young guys, and he's a good Dman at that level. He was a lot of help last season for Grigorenko & Zadorov, and if he accepts that role for next season I think he'd be great for us again. If someone else is offering him an NHL shot then I can't blame him for going, but if his NHL days are behind him for good; I do hope his next few years are in SA.

Corbett is a guy I just don't rate, like an AHL Ryan Wilson. He has some skills, some size, and every now n then pulls off a ridiculously big hit that you don't completely understand how he pulled off; but he's just blah to me. At best a passable dman at that level, but so often not even that. He'd need to take a huge developmental step this season.

 

[AvsRobin]

Why shouldn't we have been thrilled that they didn't throw Geertsen away? Does he have bad corsi or something?

Why would they throw him away? We expect these guys to get signed. Not the opposite. I just don't throw a party over us signing a 20 year old drafted D who is a long shot to ever make the big club.

What's your take on him?

I think he has maybe bottom pairing NHL potential. But he has to be in the right situation to get a shot. He needs a team that likes what he brings and doesn't think what he not brings is a concern.

Lindholm isn't fancy, smallish but physical, tough guy but no real upside except for being strong in his own zone when defending. Lets hope it's enough to be a helpful guy at this level.

 

[RockLobster]

Why would they throw him away? We expect these guys to get signed. Not the opposite. I just don't throw a party over us signing a 20 year old drafted D who is a long shot to ever make the big club.

Not every draft pick gets signed. SJ has their '14 3rd and 4th round picks (Sadowy and Vanier) that haven't signed, Buffalo's '14 2nd round pick (Karabacek) hasn't signed.

So, signing a prospect should still merit a positive response combined with tempered expectations about how they'll perform.

 

[henchman21]

A good number of selections from every draft won't be offered contracts (there used to be a number out there, but I can't recall what it was). IIRC 17 of the 101 CHL picks in the 2013 draft were not given contracts. That is just the CHL (where they have a much higher percentage of players signed) and in a strong draft year.

Interesting factoid: In the 2014 NHL draft, 41 OHL players were selected... as of now, 16 are unsigned. I see 2 maybe 3 of them signing.

 

[tigervixxxen]

And Henley is a kid I still like as a potential 4th line C & PK-specialist...basically what we once thought Winchester would be for us...he's a NCAA UFA, not a euro, but he still came in during that initial wave of prospect signings from outside the organization; so in my mind he's connected to the euros.

Splitting hairs because I know what you are getting at but Henley is from the Q. I hope he stays after his ELC is up and can be a bit of a mentor and leader especially with (hopefully) some more Frenchy prospects making their way to SA. I'd like to see some organic leadership, not everyone needs to be older vets brought in from FA. I know the kids already look up to Henley a bit as well.

Roman Will and Corbett were part of that signing wave too.

It's always exciting for me because I enjoy the prospect side of things, it's exciting seeing guys move on to the next level. For someone to have a future in our org it has to start somewhere. I get there's varying levels of excitement. Geertsen is one who had risen his stock over his junior career, so there was a little bit of excitement there. Or a guy like Nantel was a 7th rounder but to get a guy signed from that position is good. There's other guys that would excite me a lot to see the Avs take the next step with. I don't see a ton of upside with Lindholm but it's nice to get someone in the stable and have a little better idea of who is going to make up the team. For an Avs fan that doesn't get into much beyond the team, no this isn't a notable one but we definitely aren't in a position to feel dismissive about guys who sign because we need all the help we can get and its a pretty rare occurrence.

 

[Jayevs]

Could he be a pre-breakout Stralman?

 

[CalderKing21]

Whoever it is, I hope they actually invest into developing their players there rather than just having it as some weird storage container for prospects. Seriously, when will the Avs get that you actually need to invest the time and money into development rather than just letting them stew for a while in mediocrity?

I need it to be now.

 

[AvsRobin]

Could he be a pre-breakout Stralman?

Not similar players at all. Unfortunately.