Are we sleeping on Ozhiganov?

[Peasy]

Last year alone Falkenberg, Jerabek, Antipin and Mironov came over and the first 3 did just fine. Voynov would walk into any NHL teams top 4.

Players swap NHL and KHL all the time and Oz played well over there prior to this season before he was blacklisted for agreeing to come over here. Players were parachuted onto CSKA to aid in winning in the Olympics. He should do fine for us

Jerabek played 31 games, wasn't an NHL regular.
Antipin only 47 games.
Mironov only 10.

Voynov has already spent years in the NHL, and spent 3 years in the AHL before making the NHL.

Again, there is an extremely slim number of KHL defencemen that come over and stick and play well in the NHL instantly. So I'm taking the odds that Ozhiganov struggles just like several others.

 

[BrainyBomber]

Jerabek played 31 games, wasn't an NHL regular.
Antipin only 47 games.
Mironov only 10.

Voynov has already spent years in the NHL, and spent 3 years in the AHL before making the NHL.

Again, there is an extremely slim number of KHL defencemen that come over and stick and play well in the NHL instantly. So I'm taking the odds that Ozhiganov struggles just like several others.

But they don't always struggle - Fantenberg is the other one - was a regular late in the season and in the playoffs.

Yes Voynov was a very good NHLer before and looks like he will be coming back to the NHL soon so my point is that he is a current KHL Dman that would succeed in the NHL now.

It was just reported that Leafs brass expect Ozhi "to step in immediately" on the bottom pair.

I reckon that's a perfectly reasonable assumption for them to take given the level of play Ozhi has shown before last season and the fact that others have achieved that in recent years.

Anyway he's found money in by far our weakest position. Given Babcock's reservations about Carrick and the need for more toughness at the back which Ozhi delivers, I don't think it's unreasonable to believe he has the inside track for the 6th Dman slot.

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Who are we sleeping with?

 

[Obliviate]

I just think there should be more excitement. I mean, there is a chance he is a really decent right-handed defender, and that would mean the world for this team.

I think we have to have realistic expectations. So many players have not been able to transition over.

I do like the fact that he has a physical element to his game. That's the one weakness of this team overall. We lack sand paper.

 

[Commander Clueless]

I really hope so.

 

[Go4soda]

Looks like a mover for a big guy, nhl shot, high compete level... babs will like him

 

[Iapyi]

These type of players seldom pan out especially not right away. The KHL is grossly over rated on these boards, let's see if he can play in the AHL first.

 

[moon111]

With a recorded 159.47 km/h shot, it's possible he even gets a look at on the PP. Really his game might be more suitable for a NA game. Even going from team-to-team, some players might fit better in the Leaf's high flowing style better then they would on a team that tries to stagnant creativity. The Leafs definitely have open holes when it comes to having players with any physical presence. What is the bar? If it's replacing Polak...

 

[Dayjobdave]

I have a love-hate relationship with d-men who can blast it from the point. It’s beautiful when it works but we have a lot of high priced ankles in front of the net.

 

[Advanced stats]

Likely the most intriguing battle going into training camp is the fight for the 6 and 7 defensive spots.
Really a 5 way battle for 2 spots and each guy could argue he deserves it. They'll all be hungry and scrapping like dogs.

Calle Rosen
Andreas Borgman
Connor Carrick
Ozhiganov
Marincin
And the slightest of chances to Liljeren if he has a heck of a training camp.

Im honestly very excited for this fight.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Agree with with above "my name is Bob". It's really no different than almost all the teams in the league. You're OK with your top 4 or 5, it's getting the next 2 or 3, hoping a few are NHL competent.

 

[Bluelines]

Jerabek played 31 games, wasn't an NHL regular.
Antipin only 47 games.
Mironov only 10.

Voynov has already spent years in the NHL, and spent 3 years in the AHL before making the NHL.

Again, there is an extremely slim number of KHL defencemen that come over and stick and play well in the NHL instantly. So I'm taking the odds that Ozhiganov struggles just like several others.

..its not that easy of an assessment, every player has his own skillset and every player who comes on to a team comes in with different conditions/systems that may or may not be favorable for that player. Some Euros play well on a small ice, some don't.

If the only deciding factor in the filter scouts used is did the guy play in the KHL therefore he will struggle in the NHL, well then a scouts job would be as easy as going to hockeydb.com and checking out which league that player last played in and then eliminate him based on that criteria.

With all that said most "Grade B" Euro's benefit from playing in the AHL, to give them time to adjust to the smaller ice and the faster game in North America.

 

[Martin Skoula]

I have a love-hate relationship with d-men who can blast it from the point. It’s beautiful when it works but we have a lot of high priced ankles in front of the net.

That and I cringe remembering the amount of times Phaneuf lost us the zone by having his shot go off the boards and out.

 

[Bluelines]

Likely the most intriguing battle going into training camp is the fight for the 6 and 7 defensive spots.
Really a 5 way battle for 2 spots and each guy could argue he deserves it. They'll all be hungry and scrapping like dogs.

Calle Rosen
Andreas Borgman
Connor Carrick
Ozhiganov
Marincin
And the slightest of chances to Liljeren if he has a heck of a training camp.

Im honestly very excited for this fight.

Going into last year most scouts agreed that Borgman was better now (back then) but Rosen had the better upside in the long term.

IMO its Rosen's job to lose, if no one of that group stands out its Carick's job. I think you can add Holl to that list.

For what ever reason Marty has the Coaches eye and seems to get away with a lot more (poor play) than most players do under a Babcock system. He's a AHL defender.

 

[zeke]

Going into last year most scouts agreed that Borgman was better now (back then) but Rosen had the better upside in the long term.

nah, it was the reverse.

 

[81Leafs50]

I think zaitsev and oshi get a shot together in training camp.
the leafs hardly ever screw up bringing in players under shanahan ,
zaitsev had a down year ,but he played well enuff his first year to warrant 4 mill a year .
don't forget we put up with jake gardner game 7 follies twice in his career here .

they are both Right handed shooters.

Babcock loves the Lefty with the Right match-up and so do I.

Reilly-Hansey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Ozhi
Carrick

Ozhiganov has the BIG shot from the point that the Leafs are missing. Could be very uselful on the PP. IF he can establish the shot then the PKers need to take that away which opens up Mattews, Marner, Tavares, Kadri to make plays and shoot. DEADLY!

 

[Peasy]

they are both Right handed shooters.

Babcock loves the Lefty with the Right match-up and so do I.

Reilly-Hansey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Ozhi
Carrick

Ozhiganov has the BIG shot from the point that the Leafs are missing. Could be very uselful on the PP. IF he can establish the shot then the PKers need to take that away which opens up Mattews, Marner, Tavares, Kadri to make plays and shoot. DEADLY!

Yeah, the Leafs really needed a big shot from the blue line with their second overall pp...

 

[Bluelines]

nah, it was the reverse.

U could be right.

 

[Discordia]

Babs likes soft Euro defense. Doubt he gets more than 8 games before Marincin replaces him.

 

[crump]

Hainsey is 37 going on 38 by next March.
Take into consideration the following WAR graph
A New Look at Aging Curves for NHL Skaters (part 1)

Everyone is an individual but this graph shows a steep decline at 37-38, the spike at 39 is probably due to small sample size (only 6 skaters in that age range at that point)

The results from that study also show that defensemen will take more penalties as they age. We all know Hainsey isn't a long term answer here, but he might degrade even before Christmas at these rates. Instead of looking for 1 or Dman to round out the top 6, we might be looking for 3 total by Christmas...add injuries and you can bet players like Ozhiganov, Rosen and Borgman will all get looks this year.

 

[Boutette]

Babs likes soft Euro defense. Doubt he gets more than 8 games before Marincin replaces him.

Sure, that's supported by how Babcock has behaved in the past.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

But they don't always struggle - Fantenberg is the other one - was a regular late in the season and in the playoffs.

Yes Voynov was a very good NHLer before and looks like he will be coming back to the NHL soon so my point is that he is a current KHL Dman that would succeed in the NHL now.

It was just reported that Leafs brass expect Ozhi "to step in immediately" on the bottom pair.

I reckon that's a perfectly reasonable assumption for them to take given the level of play Ozhi has shown before last season and the fact that others have achieved that in recent years.

Anyway he's found money in by far our weakest position. Given Babcock's reservations about Carrick and the need for more toughness at the back which Ozhi delivers, I don't think it's unreasonable to believe he has the inside track for the 6th Dman slot.

The linked article sounds more like speculation than anything provided by the Leafs management in regards to Ozhi or Lindholm stepping right in.

 

[Buds17]

Could make the bottom pairing, but that'd be an inexperienced pairing with likely Dermott. Can't imagine they'd want to keep him as a 7th or 8th though being new to the N.A game.

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

Hope So

 

[member 262271]

Who are we sleeping with?

No on top of him... same diff I guess?