GDT: Game #33 - 12.23.14 - vs Toronto - 6:00 PM - FS Southwest - 1310 AM - 96.7 FM
- Thread starter Stars99Lobo37
- Start date
Elysian
Emo Stars Fan
KC was never given the opportunity to grow his game like Oleksiak and Jordie and Jokipakka. If you think the random starts he got is any kind of a chance then I really don't know what to say. He's proving in Columbus he's better than Ruff thought, and their broadcast crew seems to love him, he's getting interviewed during intermission quite often. I think he's going to be a solid #3/4 for Columbus.
Stars99Lobo37
Registered User
KC's biggest asset imo was his shot.
He wasn't given an opportunity to utilize that one bit imo. Still think he's a better D man than Jordie. Fact is Nill and Ruff neither liked him and it was made clear. He rarely played consecutive games, and rarely played more than the bare minimum.
Stars99Lobo37
Registered User
Troy McClure
Suter will never be scratched
Connauton did nothing with every opportunity he was given, so his scraps were earned.
Really? We're upset over the loss of Kevin Connauton?
The coaching staff that sees these guys practice every single day deemed him less valuable than spares like Oleksiak, Jokipakka, and Jordie. That's pretty bad.
The coaching staff that sees these guys practice every single day deemed him less valuable than spares like Oleksiak, Jokipakka, and Jordie. That's pretty bad.
Elysian
Emo Stars Fan
He's doing quite well in an expanded roll in Columbus. I think that says more about the coaching staff than KC.
Yeah, I think the coaching staff is making the players look worse than they really are. KC is an example and if I'm not mistaken, I keep hearing Dillon is looking better lately as well. Our best d players we either traded for or have come from overseas where they were actually taught how defense is supposed to look.
On a side note, the Nhl network kept saying how we outplayed Toronto and should have won but we beat by Bernier. Then, I think it was Tampa bay's coach said he follows dallas a little bit and thinks they are playing good hockey and will finish the season much higher in the standings than they are now. Also mentioned goaltending being the great equalizer.
Coaching and goaltending have killed us as much as anything this year.
TrillMike
Registered User
Caseman
Registered User
Or maybe it's because he isn't surrounded by the likes of Oleksiak, Jokipakka, and Jordie. Players perform better with better players. See Niskanen's rookie year with Zubov.
Agree to disagree. I don't believe in hand-holding in the NHL. So if he can't earn his way into more minutes, then he doesn't belong on the ice. Jordie, despite being a sack of garbage most nights, has earned something with his average season last year. He should be the next one to go, however, if I had a say.
Ehhh I don't know if I'd say he's doing quite well. He has miserable possession stats at even strength, despite getting fed what we in the industry (I'm not really in the industry) call "the soft minutes".
If a team gives you 50% offensive zone starts against weak competition at even strength, you can reasonably be expected to have a shot attempt ratio of around 50% and be about even on the goals scored as well - that is if you are a NHL quality defenceman.
Connauton has a 43% ratio of shot attempts while he's on the ice, and has been outscored 10 to 6 at even strength in Columbus as a result. I'll be missing him more when his numbers actually depict a player who has a clue 5 on 5.
He was/is a nice 6 or 7 guy, that would have allowed Joki or Oleksiak to get playing time in the Ahl rather than sitting in the press box.
Dillon looks great in San Jose. Absolutely night and day compared to his time in Dallas this season. He's looking like a real second pairing defenseman now that he's on his natural side and he's doing well paired with Burns as a defensive-offensive pairing. I'm a bit miffed that he couldn't do that well in Dallas but I don't think he was put in a position to succeed either. He has actual skilled defenseman to play with now, forwards that aren't useless in the defensive zone and great coaches as well. By comparison the Dallas defense is a black hole of suck where everyone contributes to everyone else looking bad
I will say, I wasn't happy about the trade (as anyone who will read that thread can confirm) because I knew Dillon would break out in San Jose - it was the classic sell low trade.
While I'm taking credit for calling that, I will admit that Demers has been a much better defenceman than I had anticipated, arguably our best defenceman from the time he came over. He's had a bit of a career revitalization too in my opinion, and the trade right now looks like it has helped out both teams on the back end.
Still wish we had done it without trading away one of my favorites
I will say, I wasn't happy about the trade (as anyone who will read that thread can confirm) because I knew Dillon would break out in San Jose - it was the classic sell low trade.
While I'm taking credit for calling that, I will admit that Demers has been a much better defenceman than I had anticipated, arguably our best defenceman from the time he came over. He's had a bit of a career revitalization too in my opinion, and the trade right now looks like it has helped out both teams on the back end.
Still wish we had done it without trading away one of my favorites
I think we're also benefiting from the San Jose system through Demers as long as it doesn't get coached out of him. In San Jose he was stuck on the 3rd pairing after Burns switched back to defense so he was also in a tough spot without a lot of opportunity to improve since he was never going to displace Braun or Burns. He's doing a lot better here since he used to be paired with the San Jose equivalent of Jordie/Jokipakka on a rotating basis while only playing 3rd pairing minutes. I think both players are doing much better since the trade and we got a 3rd rounder too.
San Jose is also just a better team in general so even though Dillon is still making some of the same mistakes the other players are covering for them instead of them ending up in the back of the net like they did in Dallas.
glovesave_35
Name
KC's shot is his best asset but he didn't use it well enough here to warrant an increase in PP time. Shots into shins and most of the rest a mile wide of the goal aren't going to earn you extra PP time unless your name is Goligoski and you're making 4.6M a year.
Is anyone really surprised Dillon looks better now that he's playing with one of the best defensemen in the league, in a much better D-corps, on a much better team with better team defense? Maybe his play here is on the coaching staff, however making a blanket statement like KC and Dillon are doing well so our coaches ruined them is short sighted considering that Demers has been playing very poorly in SJ and has been very good for us.
Is anyone really surprised Dillon looks better now that he's playing with one of the best defensemen in the league, in a much better D-corps, on a much better team with better team defense? Maybe his play here is on the coaching staff, however making a blanket statement like KC and Dillon are doing well so our coaches ruined them is short sighted considering that Demers has been playing very poorly in SJ and has been very good for us.
Fair comeback but why are Goligoski, Daley, and Jordie playing so much worse defensively than in the past?
Bad goaltending. Goligoski is playing as bad as he always has. Him and Daley is giving up as many quality chances as he always have, but they're not getting saves to bail them out anymore.
Couple that with a reduced number of two-way forwards on this team (Peverley, Nichuskin playing passable defense) and you have you answer. But it's mostly goaltending. The team was never good defensively.
Couple that with a reduced number of two-way forwards on this team (Peverley, Nichuskin playing passable defense) and you have you answer. But it's mostly goaltending. The team was never good defensively.
txomisc
Registered User
Jordie didnt start out so hot. He was certainly given more of an opportunity to earn an opportunity than Kevin Connauton was.
I won't argue with that, GOALTENDING. We were okay once Pevs went out last season and Nuke wasn't great defensively but there's no denying we aren't getting the goaltending we need to help then out.
You know who really wasn't given an opportunity to succeed here? Sergei Gonchar.
Elysian
Emo Stars Fan
I would actually agree. He still wasn't good at all, but he shouldn't have been counted on to be the guy on defense.
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