Blues defense

[Dbrownss]

I haven´t seen Carl play this year. Sounds like he need some time to come back to his form.

But I´m afraid that many on the board don´t really understand how valueable his is or how his style of play is. Same in Toronto where fans didn´t like his style. But coaches like the style because he is a perfect compliment to offensive d-men. He had Phaneufs back in Toronto, and he has Shattys here. Gunnars strength is his sound positions. He reads the game well and is very good in blocking shots. He is not a rough beast that destroys opponents. Not at all. But he is not weak along the boards. He just don´t hit. But what he does, is to stay close to either poke check, or to tangle the opponent up and strip him of the puck. Or to keep opponent locked up so that a team mate can take the puck. And he does these things without taking penalties. Just 2 minutes in 61 games last year. What´s the value of that ? An extremely underrated value anyway.

I can agree in that he could be stronger or tougher in front of the crease, but he compensates by just being steady, aware and mostly in right position.

He has a good pass. His shot is not a goal scorers shot, but he mostly has a meaning with it. That might be to aim for a tip in or a rebound.

A problem is that he seems to become more injury prone from year to year.
Of course there are younger guys moving up from depht, but don´t forget the huge difference between being a veteran d-man and being a promising young gun.

So go for it Gunnar, and I hope we can at least give him time to recover and show who he can be this season. At his best he is our #4 d-man without no doubt.

We've said that time and time again. We're also aware of his play style, the problem is he's not playing like a top 4 dman right now. His mobility as really taken a hit. We all agree that he deserves the chance to prove his worth. What were saying is that if he's not cutting it, then he needs to be moved out of the way and let Lindbohm get his chance

 

[Dbrownss]

[Tweet]654021113568215041[/Tweet] even hitch is on the Parayko hype train

 

[KirkOut]

[Tweet]654021113568215041[/Tweet] even hitch is on the Parayko hype train

to be fair that is a ridiculously dumb question. 4 or 5 years?

 

[SirPaste]

The Gunnar bashing has gotten quite ridiculous

 

[KirkOut]

The Gunnar bashing has gotten quite ridiculous

It is insane. It's been 2 games and while he hasn't been good it's not like he's been an abomination. I don't see why people aren't equally angry at Bortuzzo. If Petteri Lindbohm had played identical games, nobody would be saying anything. I'm not claiming that Gunnarson should get comfortable in the lineup, but I can't remember such an outrageous overreaction about such a minor issue.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

[Tweet]654021113568215041[/Tweet] even hitch is on the Parayko hype train

"Hitch, do you pray before every game?"

"Yeah, I always make sure to talk to Parayko before we step on the ice - Gooch bless everyone".

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Gooch bless us everyone!

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

to be fair that is a ridiculously dumb question. 4 or 5 years?

haha ya agreed... I wouldn't doubt in next 4 or 5 games he gets some #1 PP time

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

I like Parayko as much as anyone as I have always been intrigued by prospects. I don't see much of his flaws noted though, which you should pay attention to rounding out his game into a future star.

1.) His shot though a rocket is often fairly high. Be more effective tippable.
2.) Replacing Shatty or Petro isn't an option, if he lacks their vision in transition. That is what sets both of them apart as our #1 and #2 guys.
3.) Right now I see a less defensive, much bigger, slower version of JBo with more grit and a booming shot. (This isn't a slight. Much like Petro..if he only uses his size)
4.) Rag doll a few folks. Drop some smaller players clean. (He just has to run into them by accident or on purpose.) Draw some penalty minutes in retaliation from the other teams enforcers.

We could do what the Kings did in recent years with the size we now have on D in the playoffs. He is potentially the main catalyst.

 

[Robb_K]

Benoit sucks, he won't see much if any.

Pietrangelo
Shattenkirk
Bouwmeester
Gunnarsson
Parayko
Edmundson
Bortozzo
Lindbohm
Butler

That's the 9 that will be used this year, which is roughly the amount that will typically be used in a season. Benoit and Harrold are only NHL caliber on bad NHL teams or just bad defenses like Buffalo, Colorado, Ottawa, and New Jersey.

If we get decimated with injuries, we'd make a trade before Benoit and Harrold play any sort of significant minutes.

Absolutely true. Neither can defend worth a lick on The NHL level. Bortuzzo and Butler are the lowest we can go, and they shouldn't be used even in long-term 3rd pairing positions.

 

[Robb_K]

[Tweet]654021113568215041[/Tweet] even hitch is on the Parayko hype train

I LOVE it! The man has a sense of humour!

 

[HighNote]

Could Parayko possibly play the left side? I'd love to see a Parayko-Shattenkirk pairing. Offensive zone starts and one-timers all day long.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Could Parayko possibly play the left side? I'd love to see a Parayko-Shattenkirk pairing. Offensive zone starts and one-timers all day long.

I don't think anyone honestly knows the answer to that question at this point.

I appeared to me that Parayko played the left side a handful of shifts in the Minny game but we just don't know. Perhaps the Blues will try him more on the left side but until/if they do and we have a significant sample size of him playing the left side, we don't really honestly have anything to go by on how effective he is/will be on the left side. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Parayko has played left side on the PP and in "crunch time," when usually it would have been Shatty and Petro playing together. This is fine for trying to generate extra offense, but there's no reason to do it for a full game because it leaves you so vulnerable to backchecking. Counting on Parayko to switch over to his offside is fantasy... it's not going to happen outside of those select circumstances.

 

[simon IC]

Unless Parayko plays his off side, ( Which I am not keen on, for reasons stated above ), all our offence comes from the right side on all 3 of our defense pairings. Is anyone else concerned that this may cause us to be predictable and easier to defend against? IIRC, Schmaltz, Dunn and Vanelli are righties too. Do we even have a lefty PMD prospect?

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Unless Parayko plays his off side, ( Which I am not keen on, for reasons stated above ), all our offence comes from the right side on all 3 of our defense pairings. Is anyone else concerned that this may cause us to be predictable and easier to defend against? IIRC, Schmaltz, Dunn and Vanelli are righties too. Do we even have a lefty PMD prospect?

Not having a lefty PMD (outside of Bouw) is a good problem to have - Righties are far rarer. We can make some moves to acquire lefties. Lindbohm's breakout pass is very solid, and he's not a slow skater.

 

[Dbrownss]

Unless Parayko plays his off side, ( Which I am not keen on, for reasons stated above ), all our offence comes from the right side on all 3 of our defense pairings. Is anyone else concerned that this may cause us to be predictable and easier to defend against? IIRC, Schmaltz, Dunn and Vanelli are righties too. Do we even have a lefty PMD prospect?

Dunn is a LHD

Both Edmundson and Lindbohm are good with their 1st pass and they have wheels. So while they aren't the typical PMD...they can get the job done

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Dunn is a LHD

Both Edmundson and Lindbohm are good with their 1st pass and they have wheels. So while they aren't the typical PMD...they can get the job done

Dunn, while highly skilled, isn't anywhere near for-sure because of his size and lack of defense. He could be a solid 3rd pairing PMD PP specialist, or he could also be an AHL superstar that never makes it to the big leagues. We'll eventually need something more solid unless he progresses quickly.

Does Edmundson possess "wheels"? Really? If so - LOVE.

 

[Dbrownss]

Dunn, while highly skilled, isn't anywhere near for-sure because of his size and lack of defense. He could be a solid 3rd pairing PMD PP specialist, or he could also be an AHL superstar that never makes it to the big leagues. We'll eventually need something more solid unless he progresses quickly.

Does Edmundson possess "wheels"? Really? If so - LOVE.

Dunn is 6' sub 200lbs as an 18yr old....he's bit big but he's not undersized given his role.

Why do we need anybody quickly?
This is for the next couple years...


Boumeester Pietrangelo
Edmundson Shattenkirk
Lindbohm Parayko


As for Edmundson, I wouldn't say he's speedy but he's more then capable of leading a rush and joining one. He moves well for a big man

 

[ManyIdeas]

Dunn, while highly skilled, isn't anywhere near for-sure because of his size and lack of defense. He could be a solid 3rd pairing PMD PP specialist, or he could also be an AHL superstar that never makes it to the big leagues. We'll eventually need something more solid unless he progresses quickly.

Does Edmundson possess "wheels"? Really? If so - LOVE.

They were on display last night, to be honest. He was on right point for some reason, forward on left point, and a flame got a puck behind ed at some point, and he caught up even with a decent head start for the forward.

 

[simon IC]

I had a close eye on Edmundson in last night's game. Calgary is supposed to be one of the faster teams in the NHL, and Edmundson did not look out of place. He certainly wasn't exploited. He skates very well.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Dunn is 6' sub 200lbs as an 18yr old....he's bit big but he's not undersized given his role.

Why do we need anybody quickly?
This is for the next couple years...


Boumeester Pietrangelo
Edmundson Shattenkirk
Lindbohm Parayko

As for Edmundson, I wouldn't say he's speedy but he's more then capable of leading a rush and joining one. He moves well for a big man

I really thought Dunn was more in the 5'10" category. How did he fall this low?!?!

I don't see us keeping Bouwmeester if we resign Shatty, and we don't keep Shatty if we can't extend him this off-season - so somebody has to step up if we aren't to regress. As much as I love Lindbohm, Lindbohm < Bouwmeester, and Parayko (currently, before he chooses to reveal himself)< Shattenkirk

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Bill Armstrong used is voodoo magic to hide Dunn until we were ready to pick him

 

[2 Minute Minor]

If Parayko is what he appears to be, and completes his season successfully this year...at what point does he make Shattenkirk expendable? I'm assuming Pietro stays regardless of all else.

I want to keep Shattenkirk, but he has good trade value and in 2-3 years it's harder to see the Blues keep all three on the right side. If they were willing to dangle Shattenkirk this past offseason, I would think they may see what the bidding yields again this summer.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Bill Armstrong used is voodoo magic to hide Dunn until we were ready to pick him

Armstrong needs to never ever leave this organization (Bill, that is).