Blum, what to expect now ? good season with Milwaukee ?

[zrep]

all is asked

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[PredsV82]

Especially now that ekholm is hurt Blum will likely be on the Preds roster when the season starts. Whether he plays regularly or is the 7th defenseman and is frequently scratched remains to be seen

 

[adsfan]

Especially now that ekholm is hurt Blum will likely be on the Preds roster when the season starts. Whether he plays regularly or is the 7th defenseman and is frequently scratched remains to be seen

That would be madness. Blum is better off playing regularly in Milwaukee until a spot is open in Nashville. Then he can step in there. Why pay a guy NHL money to sit in the stands and lose conditioning?

Blum is playing very well at the moment, the best I have ever seen him play.

Ekholm has his foot in a boot. I expect that he won't play in January. That is just my opinion, no facts to back that up.

 

[nomorekids]

Weber Josi
Klein Hannan
Gill Ellis

Maybe he knocks Ellis out, otherwise I see us going with 6 D

 

[Top 6 Spaling]

Weber Josi
Klein Hannan
Gill Ellis

Maybe he knocks Ellis out, otherwise I see us going with 6 D

I agree that is what starts the year, but injuries can happen. Also, I think the plan for Hannan is to be a stopgap until Ellis/Blum are ready for 2nd pairing time. And I think that will be this year. I expect Hannan to be #6/7 before the year ends.

 

[PredsV82]

That would be madness. Blum is better off playing regularly in Milwaukee until a spot is open in Nashville. Then he can step in there. Why pay a guy NHL money to sit in the stands and lose conditioning?

Blum is playing very well at the moment, the best I have ever seen him play.

Ekholm has his foot in a boot. I expect that he won't play in January. That is just my opinion, no facts to back that up.

I didnt seem to hurt Klein to spend a year as a healthy scratch with the big club rather than playing in Milwaukee.

I suspect with everyone healthy and rested Blum will be the 7th d-man, but with the likelihood of a compressed schedule, I think whoever is the 7th d-man will end up playing at least 1/3 of the games...

 

[adsfan]

I agree that is what starts the year, but injuries can happen. Also, I think the plan for Hannan is to be a stopgap until Ellis/Blum are ready for 2nd pairing time. And I think that will be this year. I expect Hannan to be #6/7 before the year ends.

I haven't noticed Blum and Ellis playing together in Milwaukee. The coach doesn't want to pair two smaller D-men together. Ellis and Bartley have been paired. Blum was paired with Valentine last game. Jarvinen was with COR last game. That way you have a bigger physical guy with a smaller speedier guy. Bartley isn't too physical, but Ellis isn't afraid to throw some hits out there, so it evens out.

 

[Cashville]

That Klein / Hannan 2nd pairing scares me. Hannan is not a second pairing defenseman. This whole season hinges on Josi; if he can't handle first pairing match-ups and minutes, then we are screwed. Yes, he was awesome last year, but Blum was pretty solid his first half-season up in 2010-11 and look where we are now.

In short, for this season, I think our defense has almost no upside, and a whole whole lot of downside potential.

 

[Seth Lake]

That Klein / Hannan 2nd pairing scares me. Hannan is not a second pairing defenseman. This whole season hinges on Josi; if he can't handle first pairing match-ups and minutes, then we are screwed. Yes, he was awesome last year, but Blum was pretty solid his first half-season up in 2010-11 and look where we are now.

In short, for this season, I think our defense has almost no upside, and a whole whole lot of downside potential.

I strongly disagree. Josi has shown himself for a season now and you can say that he hasn't yet shown the ability to stay healthy for a full season yet, but to believe that the odds are in favor of him regressing like Blum did is not the case. Unlike Blum, Josi has played against men from the age of 15 and excelled. He has gone from an offensive PP specialist type to a two-way offensive defenseman as he has continued to mature. I believe that Josi has proven that he can play as a No. 3 defenseman already and with Weber by his side, will have a partner back there that he can lean on a little as he adjusts to the No. 2 role.

Hannan was someone that the team has wanted for two seasons now. Is he the Scott Hannan that dominated Forsberg and others in the playoffs for San Jose pre-lockout? No, but he is still a solid veteran defenseman that can play a simple game and provide Klein with a steady partner on the PK and at even-strength.

Gill provides a veteran BIG bodied stay-at-home partner for whomever he pairs with and I could see that being either Ellis or Blum depending on their respective performances and the matchups. FWIW, the Nashville brass has been in Milwaukee a lot since the start of the lockout and are there again this weekend watching the prospects to see who is ready for an opportunity and who is likely going to stay should the lockout be lifted.

Are there question marks on defense? Sure, but is it a weakness of the team? I don't believe it will be. The loss of Suter cannot be understated, but it's also an opportunity for others to grow and step up given new roles. We are deep on defense and I believe that if given the chance to play, the players will show that.

 

[adsfan]

Excellent post Slake! You still have guys in Milwaukee that can play in the NHL, at defense, forward and maybe in goal, if needed.

Milwaukee played the same D-man pairings again. Blum with Valentine, Bartley with Ellis, COR with Jarvinen. They played one heck of a game tonight. Milwaukee had only 13 shots on goal against OKC and nearly won the game. I think OKC could beat Columbus 7 out of 10 games. They are big, fast and skilled. The Barons are the best passing team that I have seen this season.

 

[Cashville]

I strongly disagree. Josi has shown himself for a season now and you can say that he hasn't yet shown the ability to stay healthy for a full season yet, but to believe that the odds are in favor of him regressing like Blum did is not the case. Unlike Blum, Josi has played against men from the age of 15 and excelled. He has gone from an offensive PP specialist type to a two-way offensive defenseman as he has continued to mature. I believe that Josi has proven that he can play as a No. 3 defenseman already and with Weber by his side, will have a partner back there that he can lean on a little as he adjusts to the No. 2 role.

Hannan was someone that the team has wanted for two seasons now. Is he the Scott Hannan that dominated Forsberg and others in the playoffs for San Jose pre-lockout? No, but he is still a solid veteran defenseman that can play a simple game and provide Klein with a steady partner on the PK and at even-strength.

Gill provides a veteran BIG bodied stay-at-home partner for whomever he pairs with and I could see that being either Ellis or Blum depending on their respective performances and the matchups. FWIW, the Nashville brass has been in Milwaukee a lot since the start of the lockout and are there again this weekend watching the prospects to see who is ready for an opportunity and who is likely going to stay should the lockout be lifted.

Are there question marks on defense? Sure, but is it a weakness of the team? I don't believe it will be. The loss of Suter cannot be understated, but it's also an opportunity for others to grow and step up given new roles. We are deep on defense and I believe that if given the chance to play, the players will show that.

Probably all correct, but I'm still nervous. The margin for error on defense is incredibly narrow this year. A sustained injury to Klein or even Gill would be devastating; Weber would be panic mode.