Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) / Maine Mariners (ECHL) 2018-19: Part IX

[nyr2k2]

Always hard to judge from just one game: even the best of players have nights where they look bad and the worst of players looks good.

So, I must admit that Saturday was the first time I have seen Hartford in person this year.

The lack of offensive talent on the team is obvious and points to the biggest need in the organization. The Pack have some pretty good AHL "lifers," Holland (that is what is career arc seems to be pointing to) and Schneider. Neither are NHL players for longer than brief stretches. There are some marginal NHLers here like Fogarty and Lettieri. Gettinger also looks like a marginal NHL guy but he is young yet and somewhat overachieving. He is an intriguing player because of his size.

As for the D, I was most interested in the D and while neither Hayek or Lindgren stood out, I thought both played solid and fairly well. Scary to think that at the end of last year O'Gara and Gilmour were 1/3 of our D. Gilmour can skate but has little else. Sorry, I don't see O'Gara has an NHL D (I wouldn't mind being proven wrong). He didn't look like one last year and didn't look like one against Charlotte. To say that he is better than Staal, Smith, Cleasson, and McQuaid is just wrong. Yeah, Smith has proven to be a mirage. He is the guy who played himself down and out of the lineup in Detroit. McQuaid is, at best a 3rd pair D, better off an an extra #7. Staal, even at his "advanced" age is far beyond O'Gara. Cleasson; I still don't have a handle on him: sometimes I'm impressed, other nights not at all.

Watching Hartford live and the Rangers on TV the last few games brought home on fact to me: for all our rebuild and the young guys up with the big club, plus Hayek and Lindgren in the AHL, plus all the guys we are waiting for in the NCAA and KHL, we still don't have enough young talent where I can see us competing with the young emerging teams in the east (Toronto, Buffalo) in a few years. We need more. More #1 round draft picks. The need to trade Hayes (who I think is a really fine player) and Zucc (hopefully he will get on a roll so he can bring back more than a #2) is evident. We need as many first round picks as we can get. The talent net is not wide enough yet. It's like that Geico commercial: more, more more.

I agree with everything Al, although remember if we keep trading everything for #1's, we will have a shit-load of guys on ELC's and second-year deals and would certainly be able to add some of the top, young free agents that hit the market. We don't have to build the whole damn thing through the draft. In fact I don't know if that has ever worked. Not to sidetrack the thread or anything.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Like you I have attended one game this year and with the same caveat that you raised of judging players based on one game my write up of that game is virtually the same as yours for Saturday's game.

If we are applying the Gordie Clark standard of requiring a player to dominate at one league before the team elevates the player to the next level, then I think AT THIS TIME there is no one ready to have a positive impact in New York. I emphasize at this time because players like Hajek, Lindgren and Meskanen should get better as the year goes on. I would be more concerned if in March we are not seeing some improvement from these players.

The bottom line is exactly as you stated, "We still don't have enough talent." So I expect to see another series of trades of some guys we have grown to love -- Zuke, Hayes, maybe Kreider -- depending on the return and a series of lessor trades including Namistnekov, Claesson and McQuaid. And like last year we'll see a mixture of picks and promising players.

Always hard to judge from just one game: even the best of players have nights where they look bad and the worst of players looks good.

So, I must admit that Saturday was the first time I have seen Hartford in person this year.

The lack of offensive talent on the team is obvious and points to the biggest need in the organization. The Pack have some pretty good AHL "lifers," Holland (that is what is career arc seems to be pointing to) and Schneider. Neither are NHL players for longer than brief stretches. There are some marginal NHLers here like Fogarty and Lettieri. Gettinger also looks like a marginal NHL guy but he is young yet and somewhat overachieving. He is an intriguing player because of his size.

As for the D, I was most interested in the D and while neither Hayek or Lindgren stood out, I thought both played solid and fairly well. Scary to think that at the end of last year O'Gara and Gilmour were 1/3 of our D. Gilmour can skate but has little else. Sorry, I don't see O'Gara has an NHL D (I wouldn't mind being proven wrong). He didn't look like one last year and didn't look like one against Charlotte. To say that he is better than Staal, Smith, Cleasson, and McQuaid is just wrong. Yeah, Smith has proven to be a mirage. He is the guy who played himself down and out of the lineup in Detroit. McQuaid is, at best a 3rd pair D, better off an an extra #7. Staal, even at his "advanced" age is far beyond O'Gara. Cleasson; I still don't have a handle on him: sometimes I'm impressed, other nights not at all.

Watching Hartford live and the Rangers on TV the last few games brought home on fact to me: for all our rebuild and the young guys up with the big club, plus Hayek and Lindgren in the AHL, plus all the guys we are waiting for in the NCAA and KHL, we still don't have enough young talent where I can see us competing with the young emerging teams in the east (Toronto, Buffalo) in a few years. We need more. More #1 round draft picks. The need to trade Hayes (who I think is a really fine player) and Zucc (hopefully he will get on a roll so he can bring back more than a #2) is evident. We need as many first round picks as we can get. The talent net is not wide enough yet. It's like that Geico commercial: more, more more.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Correct but looking at last year you saw a mix of draft picks and older prospects. I expect to see the same this trade dealine so that we avoid the concern you raise.

I agree with everything Al, although remember if we keep trading everything for #1's, we will have a ****-load of guys on ELC's and second-year deals and would certainly be able to add some of the top, young free agents that hit the market. We don't have to build the whole damn thing through the draft. In fact I don't know if that has ever worked. Not to sidetrack the thread or anything.

 

[egelband]

Thank you for the interesting and thoughtful insight @nyr2k2 @thebig0 @alkurtz @Ranger Ric
Very good reading.

 

[nyr2k2]

2-0 Pack after one.

1st
6:03	HFD	Tim Gettinger (8) ASST: Gabriel Fontaine (7), Ville Meskanen (11) (PP)
17:52	HFD	Gabriel Fontaine (3) ASST: Cole Schneider (10), Brandon Crawley (7)(SH)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Irishguy42]

 

[Irishguy42]

 

[tradenashnow]

Quinn was completely incompetent on Fontaine in camp. He almost made the team last year. He was one of the last cuts. He's a guy that I would be giving 20-22 minutes a game for the Pack and doing everything I could to develop him. I have always thought he would be our 4th line center for 8-10 years. He has everything you want for that role. He plays better in big games. Always has. I seriously hope Gorton isn't stupid and puts him in a deal.

 

[nyr2k2]

Fontaine is a solid little player. If we move on from Fogarty, Nieves, and Lettieri, then I would think Fontaine would be given a real shot to win the job next year. I said this early in the season, too. Even when he's not putting up points he's helping the team. He reminds me a good bit of Fogarty, but that's a lazy comparison.

 

[Levitate]

I think Fontaine has potential to be that good value bottom six (probably 4th line) guy but he didn't look ready yet IMO. No issue with him staying a year in Hartford

 

[eco's bones]

Gettinger had a fight with Chris Breen too. That's a really tough guy.

 

[nyr2k2]

Hartford tacked on a third, Holland from Bigras and Gilmour. 3-0 final. I think that might have been the first SO of the year for them.

 

[eco's bones]

Gettinger's fight with Breen is up on youtube. It doesn't look good. Gettinger gets in a couple good shots but it looks like Breen might have knocked him out. Breen is a really tough guy.

 

[Irishguy42]

Miliner reported that Gettinger didn't come out for the third period (so, after the fight). Since at any point he didn't tweet that Getts came back to play, I'm just going to assume he didn't come back for the third period at all.

 

[cwede]

Melanson ('Pack AHL deal) recalled from Maine
TheAHL.com
hope Gettinger is not a real problem

 

[eco's bones]

Melanson ('Pack AHL deal) recalled from Maine
TheAHL.com
hope Gettinger is not a real problem

Hope so too. I'm kind of thinking he was concussed though.

 

[eco's bones]

Pack in Rochester tonight. 0-0 towards the end of the first. No Gettinger.

 

[eco's bones]

Pack win 4-2. Gilmour, Lettieri (3 point night), Fogarty (game winner and 2 point night) and Bigras with the goals. Tokarski stops 28 out of 30. It was a bit nasty the first two periods. Pack play Rochester again tomorrow night in Rochester. They're going to need to be ready because I think the Amerks are going to really want to get this one back.

 

[ThirdEye]

I saw Lindgren got a point... how is he doing? With our D in shambles he might be a guy that could eventually help stabilize it

 

[bl02]

I saw Lindgren got a point... how is he doing? With our D in shambles he might be a guy that could eventually help stabilize it

Hope so! Nash got us Lindgren and Miller. Not bad.

 

[eco's bones]

I saw Lindgren got a point... how is he doing? With our D in shambles he might be a guy that could eventually help stabilize it

If you're asking me---Lindgren seems to be doing fine but he's more of a defensive player than a two way player. Hajek's more two way......but I don't have the AHL TV deal.....I've been following the Wolfpack more the old fashioned way.....listening to their radio play by play feeds so it's not like I'm actually watching.

Anyway last night there were a number of scrums. Dalton Smith of Rochester got tossed for a hit on Butler though Butler was back on the ice soon afterwards. Yannick Vellieux was someone Pack players were pissed at on more than one occasion and O'Donnell's fight with Randell happens after O'Donnell had run a Rochester player. Going into the third tied at 2 both teams seemed to put the animosity aside to go for the win.

 

[eco's bones]

Hope so! Nash got us Lindgren and Miller. Not bad.

Miller was a guy who some people thought should have gone later than we took him but looking at it now I think there would have been teams that would have taken him earlier. I'm not always pleased with Gordie's drafting. Lindbom last year as one case in point. Miller though was considered raw--a big guy with tools though. Had only played defense for a couple years but he can really skate. I think Miller is some respects comparable to our drafting Kreider. A physical beast who can really move. The question with Kreider then was all about his low competition level and what kind of toolbox (if any) he would have. Miller's faced much better competition than Kreider and has significantly more toolbox than Kreider on their respective draft days. So I think we did great getting him. He could potentially become a legit No. 1 NHL defenseman.

Lindgren is intriguing as well. Two straight years with the US WJC team. I expect that he'll become an NHL player for some years but I'm not sure it won't take him two/three seasons to make it.

As for the Nash deal--part of it for the Bruins was moving on from Spooner and getting rid of Beleskey's contract. They were also hoping that Nash would help their playoff run. So we ended up with the two best players + Beleskey but they walked away with some cap space and when you're a team with Cup ambitions cap space can be a big deal.

 

[Leetch3]

If you're asking me---Lindgren seems to be doing fine but he's more of a defensive player than a two way player.

Lindgren as a defensive guy might make him a perfect complaint to partner with a guy like deangelo or pionk

 

[LeetchisGod]

This is to anyone who watches the Pack regularly. Is it concerning that Hajek isn't putting up any points? I thought that he was supposed to have some offensive ability.

 

[eco's bones]

This is to anyone who watches the Pack regularly. Is it concerning that Hajek isn't putting up any points? I thought that he was supposed to have some offensive ability.

There was a story about that recently and I don't exactly where from but one thing I remember is McCambridge was happy with his play and thinks given time the offense will come. One of the things I look at is he has 44 shots on goal in 30 games which isn't bad for a defenseman. Chris Bigras who has been around for a bit longer has 45 in 30. Hajek hasn't scored but for a defensemen getting shots to the net means getting it past opponents trying to block them. So I expect his offense will pick up.