Flint Firebirds 2021-22 Season Thread

[N Da No]

What the heck was that? 0 for 9 on the PP and the only goal was a "own goal?"


Hey Mikey ...... He LIKES it!

 

[TcNorth]

To early to make any real broad statements, but right now, we are not very good. Perhaps playing more games without a week off will shake off some of the rust.

 

[E27914]

Something to ponder the 03 vets only have half a OHL season under their belts. Basically there are 3 years, not 2 years worth of rookies on every team.

 

[FirebirdsFan21]

Notes Last night game:
1. Turnovers- Lead to both first two goals. Every pass seemed to find a Saginaw stick.
2. Step behind - Saginaw knew where we were going before we even moved. We were chasing the puck all night.
3. Passing - There were no quick passes. Trying to get the rookie goalie to move from side to side didn't really happen.
4. Compete - They did compete and try all the way to the end. They did not give up.
5. Power Play - Horrible. Generated shots but very few on net. Flint hasn't had a really good power play in a number of years.
6. Bertuzzi - Doesn't look like he is engaged at all. I would expect a OA power forward to create havoc. I haven't seen it yet in any of the games. Only 1 assist. 9 SOG... I guess I would expect more.

Overall - Rookies are trying to win 1 on 1's to enter the zone or going to the net. Saginaw's defense was just dropping down to help their goalie. The last goal was a nice play by Saginaw but came when Flint sent two guys to get the puck out of the corner and got out of position and the last guy couldn't cover the forward in front of the net.

Doesn't look the team has really meshed yet.

Once the road trip is finished this weekend hopefully with a sweep of Erie we will know more about where this team really is.
Also, once they start playing the other teams as well and not just Saginaw and Erie.

 

[Savard18]

Notes Last night game:
1. Turnovers- Lead to both first two goals. Every pass seemed to find a Saginaw stick.
2. Step behind - Saginaw knew where we were going before we even moved. We were chasing the puck all night.
3. Passing - There were no quick passes. Trying to get the rookie goalie to move from side to side didn't really happen.
4. Compete - They did compete and try all the way to the end. They did not give up.
5. Power Play - Horrible. Generated shots but very few on net. Flint hasn't had a really good power play in a number of years.
6. Bertuzzi - Doesn't look like he is engaged at all. I would expect a OA power forward to create havoc. I haven't seen it yet in any of the games. Only 1 assist. 9 SOG... I guess I would expect more.

Overall - Rookies are trying to win 1 on 1's to enter the zone or going to the net. Saginaw's defense was just dropping down to help their goalie. The last goal was a nice play by Saginaw but came when Flint sent two guys to get the puck out of the corner and got out of position and the last guy couldn't cover the forward in front of the net.

Doesn't look the team has really meshed yet.

Once the road trip is finished this weekend hopefully with a sweep of Erie we will know more about where this team really is.
Also, once they start playing the other teams as well and not just Saginaw and Erie.

Uhmmm. Yup. To pretty much all of that. I don’t think they’ve been particularly outplayed by much over the last couple, it’s just a couple egregious turnovers and mostly an inability to finish. Yeah, there’s been some solid Saginaw goaltending and strong saves but there’s been a ton of flat out blown opportunities too. They’re generating chances but it seems NOBODY can finish. Cavallin hasn’t played his best either. I’m waiting for Othmann to start looking like a 1st Round NHL pick. Yeah, the hits, fights and attitude are nice but he has to generate offense for this team to have success. It’s not been horrible and his play away from the puck has been ok. The same can be said to a lesser degree over the first 4 for Kressler, Panwar, Piercey, Hayes annnnnd Bertuzzi. Tag has been the “Almost” guy every game. He’s had the puck a ton and frequently controls the play but nothing ever seems to come from it. He almost scored there. That was almost a slick feed. He almost generated a turnover. That was almost a breakaway. I’m hoping and expecting that to improve with a few more games under their belt but the schedule is about to get tougher and if they don’t start turning it on soon, it could be a long season. There’s more than a few kids on this roster that give me hope for the near and distant future though.

 

[TcNorth]

Flint wins in Erie tonight 2-1. Goal by Terry to tie it in the 3rd and a goal by Othmann with 31 seconds left to win it. U-18 rookie goalie Ian Michelone played outstanding for Flint.

 

[E27914]

I see the boys won 2-1. I didn't get the chance to watch, but guessing by the score there must have been some improvements from last game. Thoughts on game?

 

[Savard18]

I see the boys won 2-1. I didn't get the chance to watch, but guessing by the score there must have been some improvements from last game. Thoughts on game?

No sound or graphics for the first two periods on the stream so I barely paid attention to the game after the first 10 minutes or so. Watched most of the third once the sound came on. They’re still generating lots of chances but not converting on a lot them. Michelone looked good as did Day in relief last game. It’ll be nice if they can be mostly consistent at or near that level and the ‘Birds have a solid 18yo and 17yo goalie going into next year. Didn’t really watch the whole game but Othmann looked like an NHL first rounder firing a laser past Lalonde with 30 seconds left tonight. It won’t really show up on the stat sheet but that play started at the other end of the ice with Deline sacrificing himself to block a shot which allowed them to gain possession and skate the puck up ice.

 

[Savard18]

I can’t rewind on live games? but that was another big play in the defensive zone that lead to a big-time Othmann goal. Really interested to see who that was later on the replay.

 

[Savard18]

Did anyone happen to notice that right now Hakon Nilsen is playing in the Czech Elite league? As a teammate to Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Plekanec? There is a good chance Dennis Busby, Sam Duchesne, Owen Lalonde etc never score a point in professional hockey but a scoresheet somewhere will read Jagr from Nilsen.

 

[E27914]

Did anyone happen to notice that right now Hakon Nilsen is playing in the Czech Elite league? As a teammate to Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Plekanec? There is a good chance Dennis Busby, Sam Duchesne, Owen Lalonde etc never score a point in professional hockey but a scoresheet somewhere will read Jagr from Nilsen.

Maybe it is just me but I think it is time to move on from the past. Hakon is no longer playing for Flint. Who really cares what Hakon is doing now?

 

[Savard18]

Maybe it is just me but I think it is time to move on from the past. Hakon is no longer playing for Flint. Who really cares what Hakon is doing now?

Well, I occasionally check in to see what a lot of the Firebirds graduates are doing. He’s still a former player and I harbor no ill-will towards him personally. If Ty Dellandrea wins a Stanley Cup it’s probably gonna get mentioned here. There’s more than a few ex-Firebirds who I’m surprised to see are done playing in any relevant league and quite a few who are doing alright. Whether it’s Ty or Ned in the NHL or Everett Clark carving out a nice little career in the ECHL. Look, I hated Jagr for the first 20 years of his career but at some point I just had to give it up to the guy and if at any point you can say your name is next to Jagr’s on a scoresheet, that’s something to brag about. I also noticed that Keppen has only suited up for one game in the AHL. I know for certain he doesn’t want to return to the OHL but at this point he’s getting no developmental time in the A.

 

[E27914]

Well, I occasionally check in to see what a lot of the Firebirds graduates are doing. He’s still a former player and I harbor no ill-will towards him personally. If Ty Dellandrea wins a Stanley Cup it’s probably gonna get mentioned here. There’s more than a few ex-Firebirds who I’m surprised to see are done playing in any relevant league and quite a few who are doing alright. Whether it’s Ty or Ned in the NHL or Everett Clark carving out a nice little career in the ECHL. Look, I hated Jagr for the first 20 years of his career but at some point I just had to give it up to the guy and if at any point you can say your name is next to Jagr’s on a scoresheet, that’s something to brag about. I also noticed that Keppen has only suited up for one game in the AHL. I know for certain he doesn’t want to return to the OHL but at this point he’s getting no developmental time in the A.

Fair enough, I just think many can't move on from Rolf and Hakon days. To be sucessful everyone needs to move forward from FB's tainted past. Not only to build a successful team but also to recruit top talent.
Hopefully there is enough new talent this year people will start seeing FB's in a new light.

 

[Toldyaso]

Fair enough, I just think many can't move on from Rolf and Hakon days. To be sucessful everyone needs to move forward from FB's tainted past. Not only to build a successful team but also to recruit top talent.
Hopefully there is enough new talent this year people will start seeing FB's in a new light.

Agreed. It's been 5 1/2 years. It's time to move on. I think we can all agree things have changed quite a bit in most of our lives in the past 5 years. Chewing on a 5+ year old event as if it were yesterday is simply unhealthy and frankly unfair.

 

[Firebrd828]

Lots of Powerplay time, no Powerplay chances last night. Terrible game for the 'Birds.

 

[E27914]

Agreed PP was unproductive, time to change it up. What they are doing is not working. It is the same results from the Saginaw game on Oct 20 and 27. The PPs during the Oct 29 and 30th games, they kept the puck in and they were able to score during those games plus they won those games.

 

[Savard18]

They’re still generating scoring chances but lacking finish. Pucks shot wide, into the goalie, half fanned on shots. Too often I noticed a lack of a net front presence on the PP and little east-west puck movement. If you don’t break down the PK’s box and get them moving, you ain’t gonna score on the PP in 2021. It’s been 5-7 games for guys like Bertuzzi, Panwar, Hayes to start producing and finding the back of the net. Those 3 have a combined 0 goals/4 assists.

 

[FireBird71]

Nice comeback and Hatty for Othmann

 

[Savard18]

Big win against a pretty good team playing their starting goaltender. Not perfect, but that was their best performance of the season so far. If you had told me Thursday they were gonna go .500 this weekend I would have been happy. Othmann has been looking more like a mid 1st round NHL pick lately and Kuzmin has been making some big-time plays too. A little more as a defender than on the offensive side, but that’s been solid too. Was glad to see Bertucci and Hay get their 1st OHL goals. They’ve both been good as 16yo’s. So far Coulson Pitre has been a steal and had another big night. There’s still some issues, but I’ll save that for after the weekend. Biggest test of the year so far tonight. Can they end London’s undefeated streak on home ice? Oh and congratulations to Bertucci and Day being named to the U17 Capital Challenge rosters. Only 3 OHL goalies selected so that’s good news.

 

[TcNorth]

A Jekyll and Hyde team. However, a good win in a tough environment.

 

[MJ5]

That's a great W tonight for such a young squad. Confidence builder for sure.

Nice 4 points after a rough game vs Windsor.

 

[Otto]

Strong effort tonight, congratulations on the win,your boys earned it.

 

[TcNorth]

London’s 1st loss after a 9-0 start.

 

[Firebrd828]

That's a great W tonight for such a young squad. Confidence builder for sure...

That was a victory for the entire OHL.

 

[Savard18]

Yeah. Couple big wins this weekend. The London win was about as big a W as you can have 10 games into the season. As of right now, Flint has the 2nd best win % in the league and they just beat the only team that’s ahead of them. There’s been a few players that have been up and down but Flint has actually played pretty consistent in all 3 zones. I gotta admit I’ve been a bit surprised and fairly impressed with Ted Dent and the staff. The PP needs a little work, but after a year and a half off almost all the teams’ powerplays are a bit off. There’s been a few games where Flint was flat in the 1st or was struggling and they came out in the 2nd, made adjustments and looked much better. That’s coaches. Right now Terry Christensen landing 17yo Coulson Pitre for a 6th and a 15th looks like highway robbery. They got all their top picks to report (unlike Branch who loved to waste his 2nd rounder on guys who never showed) and you can see how good Tristan Bertucci is gonna be. He’s impressive now as a 16yo. He’s had a few mistakes and turnovers but none that have been glaring bonehead plays which often come with putting a 16yo in all the situations he plays. I’m already a big fan of Ethan Hay too. Kid is always laying the body and starting stuff. Had a pretty legit scrap in Kitchener with a big Matthew Andonovski. Cavallin has been a little less consistent than I was expecting but that may be coming around and it’s gotta be harder for goalies to get back up to speed after the layoff. Othmann has quickly come around and I’m not sure we’ll see him next year but if we do he’s gonna be the best Firebird yet. I’m beginning to wonder if we lose him THIS year for WJC. I think Kressler has more in his offensive game and we haven’t seen the best of him yet. Piercey was a beast this weekend too. As far as negatives go, we’re still waiting on Gavin Hayes to find his game. He’s not looked bad and he’s only 7 games into his OHL career but when Brock Otten has a kid I’ve never seen play ranked as the second highest OHL forward for this year’s NHL draft I was expecting more at this point. The other two kids that have GOT to find their game and start producing in order for this team to have success are Bertuzzi and Panwar. I was expecting Flint to slide into the 6-8 range in the standings and be mild sellers at the deadline but now I’m not so sure what they’ll do or what I want them to do at this point. I think it would be unwise to actually try and go for it, but it’s an odd season where nobody is truly flat out loaded with picks or talent and nobody completely blows or has a totally bare pick cupboard.