Speculation: Hershey Bears/South Carolina Stingrays 2019-2020 Vol. 1

[francaisvolantsparis]

Hershey has a good team this year. The big problem will be average goaltending. Two back-up AHL goalies at best are far behind the other teams G. May end up with less points compared to last season.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Hershey has a good team this year. The big problem will be average goaltending. Two back-up AHL goalies at best are far behind the other teams G. May end up with less points compared to last season.

The tandem of Vanecek/Copley will be one of, if not the best tandem in the entire AHL

 

[hb12xchamps]

Hershey ended up losing 4-3. The team will be very solid once everyone gels. You could tell there were some chemistry issues, which isn’t to be unexpected with the roster turnover and late reassignments.

The best line was definitely Pilon’s line. Pilon is a very solid hockey player and should be in the NHL at some point. He has made significant strides since the start of last year and has improved his game. He earned all the ice time he got tonight. Leason had a decent debut. A few scoring chances and a good amount of PP time. Definitely needs to add some weight to his frame. He’s very skinny for how tall he is. I was really disappointed that Malenstyn and AJF didn’t get more ice time. They were on the 4th line with McCarthy and were only deployed versus WBS first line for most of the night. Both guys worked their asses off.

You could tell the D pairs barely had any playing time together. Not having a quality RD needs to be addressed. Burgdoerfer is a decent AHL player, but his foot speed isn’t great. Really loved AA’s debut. Kid will be a gamer for years to come. He has legit 1st pairing potential. Between him and Fehervary, I’d maybe look at using LuJo as trade bait. Both their ceilings are higher than LuJo’s and I think he still has some value. Maybe some kind of LuJo for Honka deal?

 

[Silky mitts]

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Hershey ended up losing 4-3. The team will be very solid once everyone gels. You could tell there were some chemistry issues, which isn’t to be unexpected with the roster turnover and late reassignments.

The best line was definitely Pilon’s line. Pilon is a very solid hockey player and should be in the NHL at some point. He has made significant strides since the start of last year and has improved his game. He earned all the ice time he got tonight. Leason had a decent debut. A few scoring chances and a good amount of PP time. Definitely needs to add some weight to his frame. He’s very skinny for how tall he is. I was really disappointed that Malenstyn and AJF didn’t get more ice time. They were on the 4th line with McCarthy and were only deployed versus WBS first line for most of the night. Both guys worked their asses off.

You could tell the D pairs barely had any playing time together. Not having a quality RD needs to be addressed. Burgdoerfer is a decent AHL player, but his foot speed isn’t great. Really loved AA’s debut. Kid will be a gamer for years to come. He has legit 1st pairing potential. Between him and Fehervary, I’d maybe look at using LuJo as trade bait. Both their ceilings are higher than LuJo’s and I think he still has some value. Maybe some kind of LuJo for Honka deal?

Thanks for the updates. They really are appreciated. I’m legitimately excited about Hershey, this year.

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

From all the players on Bear's team only AA and maybe Leason and Malenstyn have a good chance to play more than 100 NHL games in the future. Of course, we will have some good/bad surprises. But I will roll my eyes at anyone trying to convince me that this AHL team have at least 500 players with bright NHL future.

 

[Ridley Simon]

From all the players on Bear's team only AA and maybe Leason and Malenstyn have a good chance to play more than 100 NHL games in the future. Of course, we will have some good/bad surprises. But I will roll my eyes at anyone trying to convince me that this AHL team have at least 500 players with bright NHL future.

I was going to reply and refute this post — but then I saw the eye roll statement. Yikes. That’s a pretty cruel thing to do, and even over the internet, I may break down and cry.

So no chance — zero — that I’d mention that AJF, Pilon, Pinho, and Gersich for forwards, Djoos (ahem) and LuJo on defense, and both G’s could easily see 100 NHL games. Not all of them, but for sure any of them.

I simply won’t mention it. (Shudders and wipes brow from sweat at the notion I barely missed an eye roll....thank god for my kids sakes!!!)

and woe to those that get one (what’s next — a snort of derision???......scary shit man, some scary shit)

 

[Holtbyisms]

Thought the Bears looked good despite losing 4-3. I'll echo @hb11xchamps that chemistry seemed to be a big issue. Think as these guys start to gel and get a feel for one another they're going to be a force. Below are some thoughts on the lines and d pairings and I've attached some videos of the Bears goals.

Pre-Game Carbery: Lot of work the last month with Nashville rookie camp, Caps camp and Bears camp. Nice to have a year of experience now, things are more familiar. Players, the arena, where you live, the staff. Easier to focus on coaching now because you're not learning on the fly. On Matt Moulson, what he's accomplished and brings speaks for itself. Going to provide a ton to the group on and off the ice. Is a quality person, an all around good guy. Has a great ability to share knowledge with young guys. (Carbery didn't say this but I feel like he's a potential future coach the way he talked about what he does for the younger guys). Critical for guys to individually get off to good starts this year. Players and team have lofty goals this season. Trying to coach the guys to remind them their individual goals they want to accomplish can help the ultimate team goal. If all 18 guys achieve their individual goals the team will achieve their goal.


O'Brien Intermission: One of the 4 assistant captains. Busy summer for Liam traveling. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague. O'Brien and Barber were good friends, why did you stay when your friend left? Liked the familiarity, like the staff, the team, like the way the coaches ask them to play. What made the second half so much better last year? The hunger of the young guys to learn, coaching coached them up as the season went on. Put them in the right positions. Every game after Xmas was a playoff game for them. How has the first week been so far in Hershey this year? Biggest impression is how much better a lot of the young guys have gotten. They went home, dialed it in and worked hard. Shows in Washington as well because a lot of guys had great camps. Two guys on my line who had great camps in Washington. Liam O'Brien vs. Sgarbossa for the bobblehead vote. Liam says he deserves it cause he's been there the longest, says it should be St. Patty's day themed.


Not Dressing: Kris Bindulis, Steve Whitney(shocked), Matt Weis, Kale Kessey, Riley Sutter, Tobias Geisser, Kody Clark, Bobby Nardella

O'Brien with the loudest cheers during introductions, Vanacek second and Malenstyn and Hobbs probably close 3rds.

Sgarbossa, Pilon, Moulson, Alexeyev and Djoos are the 1st PP unit: Looks like one of the set moves is for Alexeyev to play the opposite Ovi spot and hammer one-timers. He attempted quite a few. Bears PP looked bad through the first 2-3 but then started to find something. Think this could be a terrific unit as they continue to gel. Also depends on what the Caps do with Djoos.

Maillet, Snively, Pinho, Leason and Johansen are PP2. Did some good things, Snively plays the Ovi spot. Seems to get a fair amount of time.

Vanacek: Didn't look awful but didn't look in mid-season form by any means. Saw a lot of pucks coming off him. The first and third goals were from poor rebound control. He's going to have to clean that up as he rounds into form.

Snively-Sgarbossa-Moulson

• Snively almost head a breakaway in the 1st but was out of gas and got chased down. He's playing the Ovi spot on PP2. Curious if he was on PP1 before the Djoos move went down. Thought he looked really fast.
• Sgarbossa had a crazy individual effort where he skated around the entire Pens team end to end and almost scored. Was his usual self, he'll probably have a great year playing with Moulson. Picked up an assist on the Moulson goal.
• Moulson wasn't super noticeable at even strength but did score on the PP late in the game. He was doing a lot of chirping and talking to the refs. His experience and leadership was obvious out there. Gonna be huge for this team. If Carbery decides to actually give out a C this year it should probably be Moulson.

O'Brien-Pilon-Pinho

• Pilon always works really hard on hustle plays. Always impressed watching him skate to try and beat out icing calls. Robbed on the PP in the 3rd. Picked up an assist on the Alexeyev goal and on the Moulson goal.
• O'Brien had two really great scoring chances that DeSmith made great saves on in one shift in the middle of the 2nd. Was dangerous a number of times but just couldn't finish today. His personal goal is to be a 20 goal scorer this year.
• Pinho didn't really do anything noteworthy but he did cycle well and crashed the net looking for rebounds. I thought this line looked very comfortable with each other. Likely due to spending time together last year.

Gersich-Maillet-Leason

• Leason shoots from everywhere. No question what kind of player he is, the guys gonna score some goals. Leason also showed nice speed driving down the wing and got a pretty pass across to Gersich driving the net. Thought Leason looked like an AHL pro not a rookie. Had a ton of shots at the net tonight. He's big and very strong. Absolutely destroyed someone in front of DeSmith on a PP fighting for a loose puck.
• Gersich had a nice move from the corner in the first took it himself and dangled himself into a great chance. Shane made a great defensively play to poke check a Pens defender and keep the puck in the O-zone. After that he worked hard to gain possession in front of the net and made a great pass to Djoos who went post and in. Gersich picked up the primary on that goal.
• Maillet looked like a very talented player with the puck on his stick. I thought overall this was the most dangerous line. Picked up the secondary on the Djoos goal. Very good mixture of speed/power/skill on this line, they're going to be wicked good once they mesh.

Malenstyn-McCarthy-AJF

• Malenstyn lost his man on the Pens first goal. He was free to tap in a rebound that was sitting in the crease. Beck had a nice shift towards the end of the second period where he threw a couple nice hits. He's going to be big on the PK again this season.
• AJF used his speed well on a rush with Snively and put the puck right on Snively stick for a great scoring chance. He definitely looks more comfortable than the start of last season. He actually looks smoother than towards the end of his AHL stint last season where he looked to finally be getting it together before heading home.

Djoos-Williams

• Williams made an awesome slide to block a shot. Also took two minor penalties.
• Djoos with a really nicely placed shot on his goal. He also looked a level above a lot of the people he was playing against. Djoos belongs in the NHL somewhere if not D.C.

Burgdoerfer-Alexeyev

• Alexeyev with the snipe for his first pro goal. Saw him do some nice crease clearing and tying up his man right before the Pens first goal. He's the primary shooter on PP1 and he was on the first PK group as well working With Lujo there. Broke up a 2-1 in the 3rd period. Looks really comfortable for his first game. He's a tank out there too, guy just looks huge.
• Burgdoerfer: Picked up an assist on the Alexeyev goal. Was steady and a nice partner for a young guy who likes to jump into the play.

Johansen-Hobbs

• Hobbs had a tremendous chance cruising down the slot wide open but couldn't get it to go. Was mentioned that he's going to be looking to add his WHL offense back into his game this year so look for his point totals to increase some. Threw a huge hit in the 3rd period and drew a penalty because of it.
• Lujo looked smooth and steady, as he should for someone with a couple years in the AHL. He's paired with Alexeyev on PK1. Lujo did a nice job of getting himself in the play and getting some shots towards the net. Unfortunately at the end of a PP he got beat by a man out of the box who scored. Not a good look for him slamming his stick on the ice in disgust after a terrible play. Big year for him, could be a make or break season.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Gonna be a very crowded blueline in Hershey. Have to think they look to send someone down to SC just to get games in until everything’s worked out.

Boyd also placed on waivers. If he clears he adds another vet into the fold which means a vet scratch every game. Hershey’s C depth would be unreal though if he does clear.

Boyd
Sgarbossa
Pilon
Maillet

That’s the best C depth they have had since the back to back CC years.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Gonna be a very crowded blueline in Hershey. Have to think they look to send someone down to SC just to get games in until everything’s worked out.

Boyd also placed on waivers. If he clears he adds another vet into the fold which means a vet scratch every game. Hershey’s C depth would be unreal though if he does clear.

Boyd
Sgarbossa
Pilon
Maillet

That’s the best C depth they have had since the back to back CC years.

Man that's crazy....Boyd stays in Hershey all season it makes them legit contenders. He's a absolute stud in the AHL. Obviously he'll take McCarthy's spot in the lineup. As for the D...man is it crowded. You gotta think Fehervary plays. Geisser and Nardella already odd men out who are AHL level talent. Not enough ice time for all this talent! (Good problem to have)

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Boyd will not have the veteran status. He will be an 'exempt veteran' due to his 278 < 320 pro games. So no need to scratch anyone.

What is the AHL’s development rule?
In the AHL, player development is a top priority. The American Hockey League and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association have the following development rule in place:
Of the 18 skaters (not counting two goaltenders) that teams may dress for a game, at least 13 must be qualified as “development players.” Of those 13, 12 must have played in 260 or fewer professional games (including AHL, NHL and European elite leagues), and one must have played in 320 or fewer professional games. All calculations for development status are based on regular-season totals as of the start of the season.

 

[hb12xchamps]

He’s over 260 games played. He’s exempt veteran status. Can only play 5 veterans so yes the Bears will still have to scratch one veteran a game unless a roster move is made before their games next weekend

Edit: I explained the veteran rule in my post just a page back. The AHL website explanation is a lot more difficult than it has to be

Veterans are guys that have 320+ AHL/NHL/European League games played and Exempt Veterans are guys with 260-319 AHL/NHL/European League games played. I believe the rule is four Veterans and one Exempt Veteran per game. Goalies don't count and exempt veterans count as veterans if you don't have enough guys that have the 320+ games played threshold. So basically each team can play 5 players with 260+ games of experience.

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Correct me if I am wrong, but we can dress five veterans and one exempt veteran. Six in total and not five.

We have five veterans and Boyd is the only exempt veteran. So no need to scratch one.

FAQ

It is 5+1 not 4+1

 

[Raikkonen]

Stop. Guys, did Alexeev play RD or LD?

 

[hb12xchamps]

Correct me if I am wrong, but we can dress five veterans and one exempt veteran. Six in total and not five.

We have five veterans and Boyd is the only exempt veteran. So no need to scratch one.

FAQ

Yeah you’re correct. 5 veterans and one exempt. Better explanation below. I don’t know why the AHL page explanation is worded the way it is.

In the eyes of the AHL, a “development player” is any player that has played less than 260 professional hockey games (including NHL, AHL and European Elite leagues). Additionally, one of the 13 players may be “exempt” and can have played between 260 and 320 professional hockey games. Therefore, each AHL team is only allowed to dress five players with 321 or more professional games played and only one player with between 260 and 320 games played.

This rule prevents teams from filling their lineups with veteran players with more professional experience, and allows the playing field to be leveled; allowing all of the AHL’s member clubs to focus on development first.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Stop. Guys, did Alexeev play RD or LD?

LD last night. Will be interesting to see tonight’s game though with the Fever reassignment and possible rotation of players

 

[Sam Spade]

Game is free tonight at AHL.com. Started at 5pm EST.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Same lineup as last night minus Geisser in for LuJo. Warranted after his mishap on the WBS game winner. Would have liked to see Nardella get in for Hobbs or Williams but oh well. I’d suspect we see some kind of move (trade or reassignment) this week to try and sort out this mess. Can’t have this many bodies on the AHL roster and expect growth

 

[hb12xchamps]

Malenstyn and AJF again with minimal playing time in the first period. Gersich buzzing around and being a menace on the forecheck. Top line looks settled in as well. Hershey outshooting Providence 12-4

 

[Sam Spade]

I am really curious as to why Sgarbossa doesn't at least get a cup of coffee with the Caps. He has certainly earned it.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Malenstyn and AJF again with minimal playing time in the first period. Gersich buzzing around and being a menace on the forecheck. Top line looks settled in as well. Hershey outshooting Providence 12-4

Score is 1-1 about halfway through the game. Bears were down 1-0 after 1 but just scored on the PP. Sgarbossa from Moulson and Gersich. Big turnover down low and Moulson and Sgarbossa with a nice give and go goal in the paint.




Worth mentioning that Pilon just had his first career fight after being jumped by Lauzon for throwing a hard hit. He definitely lost but held his own.

Hobbs with a really late and nasty open ice hit. He got called for it and sent the Bears back to the PK. This is a PK filled game with both teams getting a pretty extended 5-3 in the second period.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Pilon semi held his own. He tried as hard as he could to just hang on. Got a few shots in but he had no business fighting Lauzon

 

[Holtbyisms]

Halfway through the third, Bears look like the Caps did in the third yesterday. Not a lot of energy, Bruins controlling the play. Copley with an unreal save to keep it 1-1. Post to post full splits on a 2 on 1.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Copley has been outstanding. Djoos looks like he's playing at 75% and he's still a tier or two above everyone else -- he should be in the NHL.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Heartbreaker. Need to get some serious practice time to get the PP up to speed. They went like 1/7 or 1/8 tonight including tons of PP time in OT