Speculation: Minor League Affiliates (Hershey Bears, SC Stingrays) - summer 2018 to summer 2019
- Thread starter Calicaps
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crab
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- Jan 26, 2019
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Holtbyisms
Matt Irwin is a legit talent
Couldn't agree more. Young forwards are starting to understand the pro game and the defense is slowly getting healthy. Don't see any differences in the coaching or system from what I can tell. That paired with Samsonov staring to figure out NA size rinks as well and Vanacek already playing great has been a good deal. I still expect this to be one of our worst seasons but if they continue to upward trend they won't finish in the cellar. Best case scenario IMO they are in the hunt to the end for a final playoff spot but very likely won't get there.
hb12xchamps
Registered User
Vanecek made some pretty incredible saves in the All Star game last night. Saved 18/20 shots he faced in the 3 on 3 format which is pretty impressive. The Atlantic Division ended up losing in the shootout to The North Division. Vitek wasn’t in net for the shootout
Melkor
Registered User
If Copley is not re-signed this summer, is he ready to handle a backup role next season?
BiPolar Caps
Registered User
Resign Copley at something what Grubauer had received from us, about 1.5. Vanecek progresses where he can competently back up Holtby then can move Copley during the 19/20 season for assets. Samsonov can have one more year of development in Hershey.
hb12xchamps
Registered User
I personally think so. He's grown a lot since he's been here and I honestly think he has been vastly overlooked since Samsonov arrived. Even Izzy's latest article concerning the future at the goaltender position barely mentioned Vanecek. I'd like to see him given the recall if either Holtby or Copley goes down. He truly has earned it this year, especially when Samsonov was playing horribly and 3/4ths of the Bears D was injured.
Melkor
Registered User
Langway
In den Wolken
- Jul 7, 2006
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hb12xchamps
Registered User
SHEESH
Bears win again, 2-1. Samsonov with 21 saves and he looked real sharp. LuJo not back in the lineup tonight but might have to play tomorrow with Joey Leach getting injured at the end of the game. The Walker-Pilon-Malenstyn line was my top line of the game. They were buzzing from the start and set the tone for the rest of the team. All of the prospects played well tonight. Overall, arguably Hershey’s best game of the year.
Bears win again, 2-1. Samsonov with 21 saves and he looked real sharp. LuJo not back in the lineup tonight but might have to play tomorrow with Joey Leach getting injured at the end of the game. The Walker-Pilon-Malenstyn line was my top line of the game. They were buzzing from the start and set the tone for the rest of the team. All of the prospects played well tonight. Overall, arguably Hershey’s best game of the year.
Calicaps
NFA
Love the haymakers! And great to hear to Bears are rounding into form.
They're kind of in it though they'll need to continue this run they're on and they have little-to-no margin for error moving forward. In the AHL the top four teams from each division qualify for the playoffs. The Bears are currently 7th out of 8th in their division and sit eight points out of a spot with two or three games in hand, depending on who they're chasing. They have played 45 games out of the 76-game regular season so they have time to make up the gap but they're definitely behind the 8-ball.
@hb11xchamps will definitely have more insight on this than I do, though.
hb12xchamps
Registered User
Pretty much this. Providence is ahead of them in the standings and is currently on a similar win streak which doesn’t help Hershey’s cause. The Bears pretty much control their own destiny at this point. Some help along the way would be nice. Seems like most of the teams ahead of them are still getting points on a regular basis.
francaisvolantsparis
Registered User
We need 40 points in next 30 games to make playoffs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Utica Comets are competitors for the conference 6-8 places. We have to win 15 (every second game) and lose only 5 in regular time. It is feasible.
hb12xchamps
Registered User
The AHL is different. 4 teams from each conference make the playoffs so in reality they are chasing Bridgeport, LV, Springfield, Providence and WBS. They are only 6 points out of fourth place and a playoff spot which is currently held by LV. However, LV seems like they've hit a bit of a cold streak and the Bears would pass both Springfield and WBS if they won their games in hand.
They definitely aren't out of the hunt just yet but it will be a tough task
Samsanov saves 35 of 37 for the win.
Johansen returns and gets an assist.
Johansen returns and gets an assist.
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4pts out of playoffs. 9-0-1 streak. Points in 10 straight. Arent in bad shape in ROW either if they make up the ground.
Hmmmmmm
The more that I watch Chase Priskie, the more and more that I like him. I think he’s one of the Caps’ most ready prospects, not only on the back-end, but, in terms of all of their prospects. Caps must do everything that they can to sign him after his college season. He certainly has an NHL future and will have a ton of suitors this summer if he decides to forgo signing an ELC with Washington and hitting UFA in August.
Holtbyisms
Matt Irwin is a legit talent
Doing this all on my cell so expect some weird autocorrect errors, sorry!
Bears win again against the leauges best team today in a shootout. Walker ripped a wrister home in a 5 round shootout. Vitek stopped all 5 shooters. They looked disjointed for the first half of the game as they struggled with zone entry. Besides a couple Sgarbossa chances and a nice Walker chance they generated nothing high risk until Siegenthaler tied the game at 1 halfway through the second. Their power play also continued to be rough. Fortunately their PK was really really good. Star of the game was easily Vanacek, he was outstanding today and stole the game for them as they continue to climb out of the basement and into the playoffs. Color me shocked, didn't think I'd ever see them with an 11 game point streak this season.
Bears team speed is what broke the game open and swung the momentum their way. I still stand by the fact we've made a conscious decision in DC to draft speed and try to develop other parts of players games. Hershey is a tremendously fast team and when their in sync, making smart passes and clicking they're really fun to watch. The way they battled back and tied it with the goalie pulled shows that maybe being young isn't all bad, they're not smart enough to quit. Hah.
Barber continues to look like he wants a shot in the NHL. I'm still not sure if he's just going to be one of those guys who excels at the AHL but never translates or not. Would love to see him get some games at some point but if we're in a really tight race in the metro I'm not sure there's going to be a chance. Scored a 6-5 on sharp angle goal to tie it up at 2 and send it to OT. Just flung it at the net and hit a defenders stick. Ugly goal but he's a 20 goal scorer again.
Gersich continues to do all the right things. I almost feel bad for him his production is down so low, he's played a lot better than his numbers indicate. His boardwork in the corner won him a battle and got him a primary assist on Siegenthalers goal. He also made a fantastic pass on a 2-1 that Megna couldn't finish. He ripped off a Checker behind the net and skated out front alone but dished instead of shooting. He really forechecks well for someone I initially thought was one dimensional in college(shows how much I know).
Both Pihno and Pilon are really growing on me, they're starting to figure out what you need to do to be a center in pro hockey. Although Pihno has been playing some winger recently.
Ikonen is pretty tough for a little guy, he's surprisingly gritty. Got a shift on the first line tonight and didn't look out of place after special teams shook up the lines. Perhaps an experiment that could work when they need some offense late in games.
LuJo looked pretty good again, especially for his second game after that long off. Him and Hobbs definitely have chemistry. Made a solid defensive play against a 2 on 1 where the puck was in his feet and he managed to battle off both players and swat the puck away. One turnover I didn't like from him in the third. Tried to take the puck to his backhand in his own zone to skate through someone instead of staying on his forehand and moving the puck to another teammate. Made up for it with a hell of a play in OT chasing down a guy on a breakaway from behind, getting position and sweeping the puck away from him. Man he can skate and it looks effortless.
In contrast, Hobbs footspeed concerns me. Watched someone just completely blow by him, both skating straight ahead. He then got crossed up and put his partner in a bad position and it lead to a backchecker(Whitney) taking a smart penalty to save a wide open goal. It ended up costing the Bears a goal anyways on the PK. If he's going to make it to the NHL he's going to have to be a lot smarter positionally to cover for his lack of straight line speed.
Siegenthaler looked better than he has all season(in the AHL). Positionally sound, smart passes instead of the bone headed turnovers we saw before his callup. He scored the Bears first goal by walking the point and changing the angle of his shot. Beat the goalie just under the bar with a wrister. Heck of a shot off the nice board battle win by Gersich. Did take a dumb penalty in the third, he hammered someone in the numbers.
Malenstyn continues to hit everything in sight and hit violently. Him and Walker together makes that a fun line to watch. They're like heat seaking missiles just hammering everybody on the forecheck. Beck also had a nice speed rush where he beat the defender wide and cut to the net alone for a nice chance. He's a great PKer, and does well anticipating shots so he blocks a lot of them.
Bears win again against the leauges best team today in a shootout. Walker ripped a wrister home in a 5 round shootout. Vitek stopped all 5 shooters. They looked disjointed for the first half of the game as they struggled with zone entry. Besides a couple Sgarbossa chances and a nice Walker chance they generated nothing high risk until Siegenthaler tied the game at 1 halfway through the second. Their power play also continued to be rough. Fortunately their PK was really really good. Star of the game was easily Vanacek, he was outstanding today and stole the game for them as they continue to climb out of the basement and into the playoffs. Color me shocked, didn't think I'd ever see them with an 11 game point streak this season.
Bears team speed is what broke the game open and swung the momentum their way. I still stand by the fact we've made a conscious decision in DC to draft speed and try to develop other parts of players games. Hershey is a tremendously fast team and when their in sync, making smart passes and clicking they're really fun to watch. The way they battled back and tied it with the goalie pulled shows that maybe being young isn't all bad, they're not smart enough to quit. Hah.
Barber continues to look like he wants a shot in the NHL. I'm still not sure if he's just going to be one of those guys who excels at the AHL but never translates or not. Would love to see him get some games at some point but if we're in a really tight race in the metro I'm not sure there's going to be a chance. Scored a 6-5 on sharp angle goal to tie it up at 2 and send it to OT. Just flung it at the net and hit a defenders stick. Ugly goal but he's a 20 goal scorer again.
Gersich continues to do all the right things. I almost feel bad for him his production is down so low, he's played a lot better than his numbers indicate. His boardwork in the corner won him a battle and got him a primary assist on Siegenthalers goal. He also made a fantastic pass on a 2-1 that Megna couldn't finish. He ripped off a Checker behind the net and skated out front alone but dished instead of shooting. He really forechecks well for someone I initially thought was one dimensional in college(shows how much I know).
Both Pihno and Pilon are really growing on me, they're starting to figure out what you need to do to be a center in pro hockey. Although Pihno has been playing some winger recently.
Ikonen is pretty tough for a little guy, he's surprisingly gritty. Got a shift on the first line tonight and didn't look out of place after special teams shook up the lines. Perhaps an experiment that could work when they need some offense late in games.
LuJo looked pretty good again, especially for his second game after that long off. Him and Hobbs definitely have chemistry. Made a solid defensive play against a 2 on 1 where the puck was in his feet and he managed to battle off both players and swat the puck away. One turnover I didn't like from him in the third. Tried to take the puck to his backhand in his own zone to skate through someone instead of staying on his forehand and moving the puck to another teammate. Made up for it with a hell of a play in OT chasing down a guy on a breakaway from behind, getting position and sweeping the puck away from him. Man he can skate and it looks effortless.
In contrast, Hobbs footspeed concerns me. Watched someone just completely blow by him, both skating straight ahead. He then got crossed up and put his partner in a bad position and it lead to a backchecker(Whitney) taking a smart penalty to save a wide open goal. It ended up costing the Bears a goal anyways on the PK. If he's going to make it to the NHL he's going to have to be a lot smarter positionally to cover for his lack of straight line speed.
Siegenthaler looked better than he has all season(in the AHL). Positionally sound, smart passes instead of the bone headed turnovers we saw before his callup. He scored the Bears first goal by walking the point and changing the angle of his shot. Beat the goalie just under the bar with a wrister. Heck of a shot off the nice board battle win by Gersich. Did take a dumb penalty in the third, he hammered someone in the numbers.
Malenstyn continues to hit everything in sight and hit violently. Him and Walker together makes that a fun line to watch. They're like heat seaking missiles just hammering everybody on the forecheck. Beck also had a nice speed rush where he beat the defender wide and cut to the net alone for a nice chance. He's a great PKer, and does well anticipating shots so he blocks a lot of them.
hb12xchamps
Registered User
11 straight games with a point. Now sitting at 5th place in arguably the toughest division in the AHL and they are only 2 points back of 4th place. Plus, they have a game in hand on LV who is in 4th
Personally I'd just argue that they keep their picks and begin to sell off for the rebuild when it's clear we can't contend for squat. If that's '19-'20 so be it, if it's not then, I would imagine it will be '20-'21. We aren't going to be able to fix a farm system this barren without an NHL Veteran sell off at a trade deadline or during the offseason in '20 or '21 at the latest. They aren't going to sell for obvious reasons this year, but they probably should next season or definitely the season after next ('20-'21).
Langway
In den Wolken
- Jul 7, 2006
- 32,390
- 9,102
I don't tend to think it'll happen. Not unless or until they turn into the Ducks or something and it's abundantly obvious they can't contend as-is. Otherwise they're likely to ride out 8/19 until it's no longer at all viable with tweaks to the supporting cast. More second wave types to join 92/43/13 are certainly needed and the next two drafts may be key in that. They should just keep their picks at the deadline, hang on to Burakovsky for now and then maybe at the draft deal Burakovsky and one of Djoos/Bowey for more picks or useful cheaper ELC forwards.
While they maybe can't build an elite farm system without a sell-off, they should be able to reach the middle range at some point if they continue to draft well and take it slow with some of Hershey's current talents and Priskie. They really need to hit this year and next, though, and to eventually manage to sell off some of the redundant defenseman for strong value.
Hershey just won again. I think that's a 12 game point streak which includes 11 wins in 12 games.
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