First impressions: Your team’s newest acquisitions/rookies.

Bedards Dad

I was in the pool!!
Nov 3, 2011
13,716
8,271
Toronto
Nah that would be news to me.

I mean you can discuss but when some of the most important new aquisitions haven't even played that there's going to be major holes in that discussion.

FOr example have no idea how Nichuskin and Khudobin look since they haven't played yet and they're supposed to be major factors for Dallas this year.

When they play add them to the discussion?
 

Lunatik

Normal is an illusion.
Oct 12, 2012
56,176
8,337
Padded Room
:flames

Elias Lindholm - I love him. He appears to have instant chemistry with Gaudreau and Monahan.
Noah Hanifin - The kid has been extremely solid thus far. He is looking much better than advertised thus far.
James Neal - He hasn't scored yet, but he seemed to be shooting more last game, still trying to find him the right linemates.
Derek Ryan - Solid #3C, good one timer, excellent on draws.
Austin Czarnik - the kid is extremely skilled, waiting to see if it translates
 

Neuf

Leaving HFBoards for now
Dec 17, 2016
6,217
9,290
:jets
Feels weird not having a bunch of rookies and a few UFA guys in the line. Good weird.

Vesalainen is fine, but needs more development, I don't think he sticks.
 

God King Fudge

Championship Swag
Oct 13, 2017
6,308
6,793
Tampa fans aren't really sure. This scheduling is stupid and we won't play game 2 until several teams have played 4 and 5 games.

Joseph looked good in his game 1 though. Whole team looked a little sloppy.
 

Riddum

Registered User
Nov 5, 2008
5,951
2,003
Montreal
The Leafs are exactly wha we thought they would b offensively maybe even better.

The Tavares and Matthews Cmbo is making this league look silly early.
Defense and goaltending making the leafs look silly as well. Another offensive powerhouse who sucks in the back end. 13 GF and 13 GA in 3 games.
 

seafoam

Soft Shock
Sponsor
May 17, 2011
60,249
9,546
Filppula looks solid as the 3C somehow.

Komarov is solid; Kuhnhackl is what he is, a depth forward. Sbisa is as advertised, which is bad. Martin has been great on and off the ice.

Lehner stood tall in his one game.
 
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VoluntaryDom

Formerly DominicBoltsFan / Ⓐ / ✞
Oct 31, 2016
23,285
5,532
Tampa FL
Well, I really like Jokiharju. So much so that I made a thread about him on the main boards. And while I don't know if he'll ever be good enough to actually be a Norris level defensemen (me saying as much was merely mocking a different thread), he has been arguably our best defensemen and looks like he'll pull a McAvoy this year.

Kahun is a wild card. Don't think he's much more than a third liner, but he has made some pretty plays (had the primary assist on a beauty of a play finished off by DeBrincat). Hard to say for certain, but his speed might be giving a bit more room for Toews and DeBrincat in the offensive zone, so I'm all for keeping him at 1RW for as long as that line produces (and a bit longer than that to see if they can get themselves going again).

Luke Johnson is a rookie playing the role of a shutdown 4th liner. There's some good and bad to go with that. It's a role that usually requires playing time to ever get better at, and he needs to get better. Hardly notice the guy.

Kunitz is too old and playing a 3rd line role because Q's an *******. His wheels are fine, but nothing special. His playmaking ability is almost non-existant. His shot is nothing. He should be 4th line or bench. Nothing more.

Manning scored a goal last game but he also left Matthews all alone in front of Cam Ward in the dying minutes of a game we just tied. There's been a lot more of the latter than the former so far. Needs to take a seat when Murphy and Forsling return from injury.

Ward has given up an average of 4.62 goals a game so far. Please save us Crow!
Kunitz can get a lot of deflection goals
 

LetsGoBLUES91

Registered User
Jan 8, 2013
9,158
3,095
Blues have only played 2 but here it goes:

ROR has been unbelievable. Best player on the team through 2 games
Bozak has been okay. Actually he's been very good but his linemates Steen and Perron have been awful. I'll give it a few more games for them to gel. 2 games is too early.
Perron-See above
Maroon-He's been great. Great for the power play and has been great on a line with ROR and Tarasenko

The rookies look good but they are getting very little playing time. Thomas simply HAS to play more minutes. I'd flip him with Steen or Perron but I'm not sure any coaching staff has the guts to do that to veterans.
 

DaveG

Noted Jerk
Apr 7, 2003
51,016
47,853
Winston-Salem NC
:canes

The Acquisitions:
Ferland
- Adds a physical element that was badly needed on this team and is capable of keeping up with Aho and Turbo. He may not be an ideal first liner but he's a great glue guy for those two who does have some pretty underrated offensive chops. Grade: A
Hamilton - Still trying to find his game here but he's been solid, though not spectacular. Likely to start getting more PP time coming up here as the PP really hasn't been clicking yet this season and he hasn't been given a lot of ice time on it yet. Grade: B
de Haan - Stepped in and from day one was one of our 3 best dmen defensively. Came as advertised and has taken what was already a decent 2nd pairing and made it on par with some top pairings around the league. Grade: A
Martinook - This guy is everything you could ask for in a 4th liner. In fact he may be better than a 4th liner all things considered with his speed and his shot. Grade: A
Mrazek - Not enough of a sample size. He looked good but not outstanding against the Isles and was hung out to dry against the Rangers, and still made some key saves to keep the team in the game, even if he'd like that 5th goal back. Grade: C
McBackup - Stepped in and did exactly what we needed in providing a reliable stop-gap until Darling is back. In fact the team may have a hard decision on which goalie to keep or whether to outright carry 3. Grade: A

The Rookies:
Svechnikov
- Dude comes as advertised. Point per game, playing from the 4th line and 2nd PP unit. He'll rise up the roster throughout the season and will likely eventually pair with Necas as the new second line, but for now they're easing his way in to the lineup. Grade: A
Necas - The kid has all the speed in the world and definitely has the skills for the game, but is still a work in progress. May take a little while before he's up to speed. He's a pass-first player and currently teams are keying on that (see the Columbus game), may take a bit to get the confidence to take the shot in these situations but he'll be far more dangerous once he does. Grade: B
Zykov - Hasn't been as productive paired with Necas and McGinn and hasn't gotten the kind of PP time yet to take advantage of his skillset there yet. Work in progress but I see his production increasing as the year goes along. Grade: C
Wallmark - Solid in the dot (51.7%) and is just overall solid as a #4 center. Has enough offensive chops to contribute with Svechnikov on his line. Grade: B
Foegele - You want a Calder dark horse? McLovin's your guy. Speed, tenacity, offensive instincts, the kid has it all and it's likely that the PK pairing of Foegele-Martinook is going to pot a few shorties this year. Foegele-Staal-Williams is already establishing itself as one of the best two-way lines in the league. Grade: A+
 

easton117

Registered User
Nov 11, 2017
5,070
5,635
Tampa fans aren't really sure. This scheduling is stupid and we won't play game 2 until several teams have played 4 and 5 games.

Joseph looked good in his game 1 though. Whole team looked a little sloppy.
The schedule makes zero sense.

Boston starts the year on a back to back. Had a weekend off entirely. Plays a Monday afternoon for the 12 people in the country that have that day off. Then play again on a Thursday.

Not even looking I know their March/April stretch will be ridiculous again this year.

Anyhoo. Bjork is kinda new. He looks much more confident/strong.

Halak good.

Wagner actually has been good and as advertised.

Donato might need some time in the minors. Hard to say with his centre looking like he naps in between shifts.
 

LEAFANFORLIFE23

Registered User
Jun 17, 2010
45,387
14,255
Yeah I figured. But what about all the marlies surely there are better guys to go in. By game ten if not sooner it will change unless nylander as said.

We do have good winger prospects Jermy, Bracco, Carl Grunstrom and Pierre Envail are 3 specifically that look like they have NHL futures.

But the key there is futures they aren't ready now, it takes time and those guys aren't ready yet.
 
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Skinnyjimmy08

WorldTraveler
Mar 30, 2012
22,483
11,942
:jets
Feels weird not having a bunch of rookies and a few UFA guys in the line. Good weird.

Vesalainen is fine, but needs more development, I don't think he sticks.

Ya im actually surprised he is still with the team. I heard Maurice loves the guy because he does exactly what is asked of him and works hard but still, hes gotta play in Europe or AHL and play tons of mins
 

Albus Dumbledore

Master of Death
Mar 28, 2015
9,007
2,670
Blues have only played 2 but here it goes:

ROR has been unbelievable. Best player on the team through 2 games
Bozak has been okay. Actually he's been very good but his linemates Steen and Perron have been awful. I'll give it a few more games for them to gel. 2 games is too early.
Perron-See above
Maroon-He's been great. Great for the power play and has been great on a line with ROR and Tarasenko

The rookies look good but they are getting very little playing time. Thomas simply HAS to play more minutes. I'd flip him with Steen or Perron but I'm not sure any coaching staff has the guts to do that to veterans.
Bozak defs has the speed and passing ability to play and make things happen. Still early in sure they will figure it out.
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
Leafs:
  • JT: stud, a truly elite centre, as expected
  • Lindholm: seems like a good 4C, really solid 2-way game. Nice pickup
  • Oz: not convinced he’s an NHLer, looks real sketchy. Wish we’d kept Carrick over him
  • Sparks: I’ll give him more time, but I think dropping McBackup to keep him could easily be a mistake
  • Ennis: has some good moments, but probably out of the lineup once Nylander is re-signed
And if you count these guys:
  • Dermott: so good defensively, pretty decent offensively, love the kid. Has “good 3D” written all over him, maybe even better than that
  • Kapanen: crazy fast, very good defensively, decently physical, and quite skilled. Can play well on any line, and in any situation (ES/PK/PP). Definitely has top 6 upside
  • Johnsson: smart, hard working, reasonably skilled. Should be a good middle 6 winger in his prime
  • Leivo: serviceable but unspectacular 3rd liner. Think he’ll have a decently long NHL career, but probably not much longer on the Leafs
 

Levitate

Registered User
Jul 29, 2004
30,947
7,652
Adding on to this post:

Rookies-
Chytil-as expected. Amazing vision/hands/creativity/speed but has to add strength to his lanky size even though he’s apparently 200+ lbs. He back checks and has really good puck stripping abilities but has little defensive awareness. Shot needs to improve as well. Has 2 points in 3 games so far and his end to end rushes are fun

For a big guy he has a great burst to his skating so when he goes he's just suddenly up the ice and making something happen. Very nice hands and he's making a lot of real nice passes that have caught the other team off guard. His vision for that stuff is great. Works hard for the backcheck but yeah needs to work on his positioning defensively. I don't think he needs to get strong exactly but rather just learn how to leverage his size better. He tries to go 1 on 1 or 1 on 2 a lot when there's no other play which is a mixed bag...might as well try it as he has the skill to do it but it's always going to be a low percentage play.

Hasn't gotten a lot of shots on net, doing more passing off etc. I can't say this shot needs to improve so much as he needs to shoot more.

But for a barely 19 year old he looks good and can create a scoring play out of almost nothing.

Howden-absolute beast. I was surprised at how developed his defensive game is, every game it feels like he has 2-3 really good defensive plays. Good around the net as well. Also has 2 points in 3 games. Can’t see him being much more than a really good middle 6 C but should be great behind Chytil and Lias as the 3C in the future. Very mature and poised game, Quinn seems to really like him so far.

Nice size and speed and just plays a good north south game but has shown a real knack for getting passes to teammates through opposing players sticks, etc. Maybe it's luck, maybe it's intentional, but he has gotten a lot of passes through that space between an opposing players stick and their skates, where they can't easily block it, and it has resulted in goals and chances. It's early but it's tough to not see this guy as real good 3rd line center at least. I think his faceoffs have been good as well.

Lettieri-he really upped his game this year. Most people don’t really know about him but he can end up a really solid bottom 6er. Brings energy and is a shoot first player, but what surprised me this year vs last was a new grittier/pesty game. He needs to work on his defensive game though to be a bottom 6 staple. I think he can end up a poor mans Gallagher/Cally

I'm always back and forth on Lettieri. Skates a lot and as you say is playing more in your face this year, but still feel he needs to add something else to his game to really be a quality bottom six player (not just defensively, I mean offensively).

Pionk-good offense and great stickchecking. Needs to improve defensive IQ and strength though. Could end up as a poor mans Ryan Ellis that can put up 25-30 points and be a solid 4D.

I think he's trying to do too much and kind of getting burned for it. Without the puck he kind of gets out of position, eh. I dunno, I like him but I think the Rangers are kind of selling him as someone who has more skill than he does, or at least someone who can handle more than he can right now. Scale it back a bit and play simple and then go from there.

Deangelo-honestly after last year I’d lost some hope for him but under Quinn he’s been a completely different dman. Deangelo was our best dman in preseason and it looks like he’s added a pesty game as well. Defense is improved too. Very, very happy with him so far. The Deangelo-Skjei pairing is amazing, Skjei is playing like Brian Leetch 2.0 this season which is very exciting to see.

Does stuff with the puck that no one else on the team does...he's a 40+ point defenseman waiting to break out if he can just convince coaches to keep him in the lineup and bear with some of the riskier plays he sometimes makes. His shot isn't good but he's great at selling a shot until an opposing player commits to a block and then moving around them to open up a shooting lane. Gets a lot of shots through because of that and can create chances off rebounds because of it. Great stretch passes too (but you'll always have the downside of sometimes those passes get picked off).

Georgiev-had a great season last year, really sucked in his game against the Canes and let up a wrist shot from the blue line with a clear line of sight. Some Rangers fans really liked him and thought he could be a starter but I never really saw it with him. Could be a good backup though

Yeah not a great game he had but he's actually younger than Shestyorkin and has the ability to put up some good games as well. I think he's a solid backup this season but he's always probably going to get shuffled to the back in terms of future goaltender unless he turns it on later this year and somehow takes the starter position from Lundqvist.

New Acquisitions-
McQuaid-been very steady and pretty much as expected. Nothing really to report here but I do like him

Eh. Some problems trying to hold the blueline but that's system wide so far, players still getting used to that idea. About what you'd expect from McQuaid.

Namestnikov (does he count as new?)-pretty trash so far. More of a negative than a positive when he’s out on the ice and was scratched in favor of McLeod. Also rolled his eyes and threw up his hands when Quinn told him to go serve the TMM penalty which stirred up some controversy. He looked better against the Canes though. What I will say is that he looks nothing like he did in Tampa (even before last season.) feels/looks like he thinks he’s good now so he tries some stupid moves and f’s it up. His defensive game (which was once pretty good) isn’t there anymore. Hope we trade him this TDL.

I think he was pretty poor against Nashville, and pretty good against Carolina. He needs to find his niche with the Rangers as he seems unsure of how he wants to play.

Spooner (see Namestnikov)-invisible when he plays. Can’t even notice him on the ice but somehow ends up with 1-2 assists. Point-wise he’s been good for us but he certainly fails the eye test

Seems about right. Always gonna be that guy who doesn't stand out a ton but facilitates some points. Works best with some time and space like on the PP
 
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jetsforever

Registered User
Dec 14, 2013
27,201
23,056
Vesalainen is alright but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get some AHL time.
 

Rhaegar Targaryen

Registered User
Jun 25, 2016
6,375
4,203
Demelo has been a steady guy defensively and already has a goal and an assist

Tierney I’m pretty sure has everyone in Ottawa falling in love with him

Tkachuk only played one game and didn’t stand out. Really good in the pre season though

Formenton wheels wheels wheels but not sure he’ll ever be a top six guy

Lajoie is a pleasant surprise
 

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