General Discussion (Team/Player/Trade Rumors/Speculation/News), Part II

[NJDevs26]

He's not a nothing prospect. He's a big guy who can skate and move the puck and is decent defensively. For a defensemen that's a terrific combination of skills. Is he ever going to be more than a complementary defenseman? Probably not. But he's still got second pairing upside.

You don't lose defensemen with that kind of skillset for nothing. Granted, in trade we probably couldn't have gotten too much, but I'll bet you he solidifies himself in the lineup and demonstrates that he can do Salvador's job as least as well as Salvador can by the time this season is over.

I'm not saying I think Urbom will be great (and if I had to guess I'd say he doesn't amount to much in the end, but that's just a guess colored by his brief stints here and underwhelming numbers in Albany), but I think he has a much better chance of being a solid NHL player than Tedenby, who HF Boards has been screaming about for years.

 

[Cowbell232]

A better player doesn't make them a better fit.

Harrold is more versatile, and much faster. Urbom is a big body without a whole lot else going on. And I used to be a huge fan of his.

 

[ThePSEGPowerPoster]

I never once was screaming that he'd never be claimed. I thought he wouldn't, sure.

sure, I was wrong. he got claimed. big deal, doesnt change the fact that he is a nothing prospect.

So you feel, 100%, that you have all the information you need to say he's a nothing prospect?

No, I was saying how many teams really in fact 'gambled he would fall to them by refusing to trade with Lou' if the majority of the league didn't even take him for free themselves?

But your premise here makes no sense either. Not all of the non-contenders are teeming with prospects of their own and Urbom would actually start for a few of them. Many teams don't have roster/cap room at this point of the season so that factors in as well to teams passing on him.

Well like I said I think it had a lot to do with other teams having similar roster situations. I'm sure Lou "liked" some guys placed on waivers but had no room to grab them, for example.

I'm not sure what part of my premise makes no sense considering I agree 100% the paragraph that follows that sentence.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

So you feel, 100%, that you have all the information you need to say he's a nothing prospect?



Well like I said I think it had a lot to do with other teams having similar roster situations. I'm sure Lou "liked" some guys placed on waivers but had no room to grab them, for example.

I'm not sure what part of my premise makes no sense considering I agree 100% the paragraph that follows that sentence.

I'll guarantee you that he never becomes more than a bottom pairing type DMan.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

A better player doesn't make them a better fit.

Harrold is more versatile, and much faster. Urbom is a big body without a whole lot else going on. And I used to be a huge fan of his.

Harrold is as one dimensional as you can get. He sucks on D, isn't physical at all has some offence to his game and that's about it.

I understand that Urbom isn't the most skilled player around but we can't say that Harrold is all that versatile either. One guy is mostly offensive and the other is mostly defensive.

The bottom line is that one is a career #7 and the other is a unproven 22 year old with some room to improve.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

A better player doesn't make them a better fit.

Harrold is more versatile, and much faster. Urbom is a big body without a whole lot else going on. And I used to be a huge fan of his.

So Kurtis Foster without the booming shot? Meh.

I feel the loss is minimal at best given the other prospects we have.

*Urbom Squad disbands*

 

[SashaSemin28]

Caps fan coming in peace, what can you guys tell me about Urbom? Does he have any NHL potential? What can we expect from him going forward? Potential for T4 (considering our 2nd pairing LD is John Erskine) or bottom pairing? Anything would be helpful. Thanks

 

[Oneiro]

Maybe it's the instant gratification of the times, but the worst part about this situation is that we'll never get an explanation for the rationale behind it.

Loyalty to Volchenkov, Gionta and/or Harrold? They've paid their dues, etc.?

EDIT: Lou's response to TG is that they wanted the experienced D while the new forwards were taking time to gel. And they didn't necessarily feel that any of the kids were better than the vets. Weak.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Just to clarify further: that exemption expires after 30 days, or if he plays 10 NHL games.

That sucks. We'll never see him again..

 

[TrufleShufle]

I don't know if you guys knew this or not, what, with all the intense waiver talk, but tonight is the first night of Devils hockey in WAY too long.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

Caps fan coming in peace, what can you guys tell me about Urbom? Does he have any NHL potential? What can we expect from him going forward? Potential for T4 (considering our 2nd pairing LD is John Erskine) or bottom pairing? Anything would be helpful. Thanks

Urbom is a 22 year old defensive d-man who can skate pretty well. He's better suited to learn in the minors for another year or two but I think he has the upside of becoming a solid #5.

 

[Classic Devil]

Caps fan coming in peace, what can you guys tell me about Urbom? Does he have any NHL potential? What can we expect from him going forward? Potential for T4 (considering our 2nd pairing LD is John Erskine) or bottom pairing? Anything would be helpful. Thanks

Just read the threads, you'll get the picture.

 

[Cowbell232]

Harrold is as one dimensional as you can get. He sucks on D, isn't physical at all has some offence to his game and that's about it.

I understand that Urbom isn't the most skilled player around but we can't say that Harrold is all that versatile either. One guy is mostly offensive and the other is mostly defensive.

The bottom line is that one is a career #7 and the other is a unproven 22 year old with some room to improve.

Harrold has a much higher value to this team, near term and long term, then Urbom.

Harrold is a passable d-man, who's shown abilities to play a power play if required and can move the puck decently. Urbom is a complete unknown in game situations who much not have shown the organization anything in repeated camps to be waived.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Caps fan coming in peace, what can you guys tell me about Urbom? Does he have any NHL potential? What can we expect from him going forward? Potential for T4 (considering our 2nd pairing LD is John Erskine) or bottom pairing? Anything would be helpful. Thanks

You can read the flame fest.

There's lots of debate in that he's only 22.

Some of the folks here think that is long enough to see what a prospect has to offer, and say he's a dime-a-dozen bottom pairing defensemen.


To everyone else, the jury is still out but losing a 6'5" mobile Dman who was #3 on our prospect list really sucks.

He's got good size, skates well, and has decent instincts and uses his body (although maybe not enough).

If we didn't have what appears to be an abundance of riches when it comes to D prospects - this would have been a terrible loss, but most feel that 3 or 4 prospects have passed him by.

I hope he has a long, good career with the Caps. But not too good, please.



Edit: You can also go to youtube and find his one goal, which was a beauty, and proves he isn't a complete plumber out there with the puck.

 

[ThePSEGPowerPoster]

I'll guarantee you that he never becomes more than a bottom pairing type DMan.

I respect your confidence in your opinion. I just don't feel the same way.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

Harrold has a much higher value to this team, near term and long term, then Urbom.

Harrold is a passable d-man, who's shown abilities to play a power play if required and can move the puck decently. Urbom is a complete unknown in game situations who much not have shown the organization anything in repeated camps to be waived.

Harrold is a #7 who can play the PP on a 2nd unit. He's basically a weaker version of M-A Bergeron while Urbom, like you said, is a unknown but at 22 years of age and having groomed him for the past several years, it's a shame we lost a asset for nothing.

We should've waive Harrold and worst case scenario, someone would've claimed him, leaving Fayne with a roster spot while Urbom could've replaced Harrold as our #7.

To me, that would've been the smartest move to make.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I respect your confidence in your opinion. I just don't feel the same way.

I don't see anything that Brayden Coburn has, that Urbom couldn't bring, eventually.

So - it all depends upon the depth of the team.

 

[theking72]

This could be a Mark Fraser situation. The guy has become a solid part of the Leafs D but around here he could never get consistent playing time. Was it a mistake to let him go? I still don't think so.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I don't think Urbom is a nothing prospect. He'll be an nhl player and could quite easily end up being better than some of our current dman. Not the end of the world he's gone, but I'm certainly not happy we didnt trade him and get something.

 

[Wingman77]

Sucks to loose Bobby Orr

 

[Uli Hiemer]

I'm not going to lose sleep over this but it pisses me off that we have no-talent dusters like Harrold and Volchenkov in the lineup while Mark Fayne is sitting in the press box and Alex Urbom is on waivers.

You spend years cultivating a prospect, and when he's finally ready you lose him for free so that Peter Harrold can lose us more games with his atrocious defensive play and non-existent decision making skills. ****ing stupid.

it's beyond insane.

****ing deboer. i won't even get into the giointa vs josefson/olesz

 

[Wingman77]

Lou:

There’s no question he’s a bright prospect. We had four of them—one in junior and two in the minors that we feel we can call up at any time.

We also felt right at this point that the young guy just wasn’t better at that time and with the schedule the way it is right now and the changes up front with reference to the people we have, it would better to go a little bit with the experience at defense and having the new forwards getting together. But (the young defensemen) will be in there before it’s over.”

 

[CKPLAYA]

it's beyond insane.

****ing deboer. i won't even get into the giointa vs josefson/olesz

Has nothing to do with Deboer. This decision comes from the top. Which is not very reassuring. I get what's going on though. Harrold can help this team this year (maybe) and that's the goal. The goal is to avoid the embarrasment of not having a top 5 pick you lost for a player not even on your roster.

 

[DevilChuk*]

Has nothing to do with Deboer. This decision comes from the top. Which is not very reassuring. I get what's going on though. Harrold can help this team this year (maybe) and that's the goal. The goal is to avoid the embarrasment of not having a top 5 pick you lost for a player not even on your roster.

Really?

So the Devils couldn't care less about the Stanley Cup this year? Just about not getting a top 5 pick taken away?

yea..

 

[CKPLAYA]

Really?

So the Devils couldn't care less about the Stanley Cup this year? Just about not getting a top 5 pick taken away?

yea..

Stanley Cup?