Sportsnet: Holl: "I gotta make it happen"

[ottomaddox]

Holl in thick of Leafs roster battle: 'I gotta make it happen' - Sportsnet.ca

"A positive sign: During the Leafs’ unofficial (but fairly formalized) hour-long, pre-camp practices at MasterCard Centre — observed from the bleachers by president Brendan Shanahan, head coach Mike Babcock, and his staff — Holl is now skating with the main group, while other candidates for the fringes of the big club’s defence core (Jordan Subban, Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen) are training with the Marlies group."

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[Albus Dumbledore]

He looked good in the two games he played with the big club. No reason he shouldn't have stayed with us to close the year Imo.
I could see our d halfway through as such.

Dermott/Gardiner - Rielly
Dermott/Gardiner - Zaitsev/Holl
Hainsey- Holl/Carrick

Many factors to consider with our inexperienced d at the NHL level(dermott, Carrick, Holl, zaitsev)

 

[hector morrison]

I would 've liked to have seen more. Lou complimented him by pointing out Rafalskis path to the NHL. Holl is right though,he has to play well to get on this mediocre d squad.

 

[Mr Hockey]

My fav Marlie d'man but he needs to tighten up his defensive game if he wants to be a Leaf regular.

 

[Menzinger]

Dark horse candidate of mine to make the team at some point. Think he can be a very useful and stable bottom pairing guy

 

[A1LeafNation]

Rielly Zaitsev
Gardiner Hainsey
Dermott Carrick
_____ ______

6 dmen and only 2 spots available:
Holl Rosen Borgman Ozhiganov Liljegren Marincin

 

[IPS]

Our RHD really is god-awful. If the main plan is to run Hainsey into the ground with the most PK minutes in the league again, it's not going to work out well.

 

[Menzinger]

If some of the younger guys impress Babcock at camp, I wonder if the Leafs may opt to flip Hainsey to clear out a spot

 

[PuckMagi]

He plays at a goal per game pace in the NHL over a multi-game sample size. Pretty good for a defenseman if he can keep up that pace.

 

[Stephen]

It's all part of the developmental game and what good organizations do to try and find those competitive advantages and hidden gems. Guys like Justin Braun, Alec Martinez, Adam McQuaid, Johnny Boychuk, Jake Muzzin, Colin Miller, Kevan Miller, Dan Girardi, Mark Giordano, etc. all came out of nowhere with no hype but with time, development, luck they turned into something. Leafs are doing the same thing here with Holl, and will be trying to do with Rosen, Borgman, etc.

 

[Zybalto]

Let's see how Holl does in camp.

Scoring a couple of goals in sheltered minutes in blowout games isn't the most convincing evidence hes ready for the big show but if hes back to his high level AHL form before he took that puck to the face, it's a possibility.

Hainsey isn't going anywhere.

He showed he can still play before he tired down the stretch and a healthy Zaitsev and hopefully Dermott/Rielly will help shelter his PK minutes a bit. I admired how he finished the Bruins series strong after a rough first half of the series.

 

[IPS]

It's all part of the developmental game and what good organizations do to try and find those competitive advantages and hidden gems. Guys like Justin Braun, Alec Martinez, Adam McQuaid, Johnny Boychuk, Jake Muzzin, Colin Miller, Kevan Miller, Dan Girardi, Mark Giordano, etc. all came out of nowhere with no hype but with time, development, luck they turned into something. Leafs are doing the same thing here with Holl, and will be trying to do with Rosen, Borgman, etc.

Don't forget about Brian Dumoulin from the Penguins. Very similar situation and upbringing from Pittsburgh there. He was 25 when he finally got a full time spot with the Pens.

 

[Once]

At this point I think Babs would be stupid not to try Gardiner - Rielly pairing. Cut back on Hainsey's mileage and play him with Holl/Carrick/Oz.

 

[IPS]

At this point I think Babs would be stupid not to try Gardiner - Rielly pairing. Cut back on Hainsey's mileage and play him with Holl/Carrick/Oz.

So you want:

Gardiner-Rielly
Dermott-Zaitsev
Hainsey-Holl/Oz/Carrick

A couple problems: If Zaitsev does not properly bounce back and Dermott (who's still very young) cannot adequately play a top-4 role, we got huge problems. The second problem you run into is that you have your 2 best transition D-men on the same pairing, that will largely reduce the effectiveness of the Leafs transition.

There's just a ton of ifs about this defense no matter what way one looks at it.

 

[Trapper]

So you want:

Gardiner-Rielly
Dermott-Zaitsev
Hainsey-Holl/Oz/Carrick

A couple problems: If Zaitsev does not properly bounce back and Dermott (who's still very young) cannot adequately play a top-4 role, we got huge problems. The second problem you run into is that you have your 2 best transition D-men on the same pairing, that will largely reduce the effectiveness of the Leafs transition.

There's just a ton of ifs about this defense no matter what way one looks at it.

Agreed.
The goal right now is to have one of Rielly/Gardiner on the ice as much as possible. To cover at least 40 some minutes of the game and not 20.
We’d be strained to much at present leaving that big gap of time to fill.

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Like the attitude. It all starts with a positive mindset now just convert that into on ice performance.

 

[Brown Dog]

I like Holl. I'll be rooting for him. I like our D depth altogether, for that matter. Should be an interesting camp battle.

 

[Spirit of 67]

Dark horse candidate of mine to make the team at some point. Think he can be a very useful and stable bottom pairing guy

He's not a dark horse.
Lots of people figure he's gonna be on the team. He's good and not waiver exempt.
Personally, I think it's bad if he doesn't make the team.

 

[Buds17]

I'd imagine he's 7th/8th D to start. Time and eventual opportunity will tell if he consistently becomes more than that.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Not sure why they didn't give him more of a look last year, but whatever
I'm rooting for him
We need him

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Rielly Zaitsev
Gardiner Hainsey
Dermott Carrick
_____ ______

6 dmen and only 2 spots available:
Holl Rosen Borgman Ozhiganov Liljegren Marincin

I'll agree with your top 5....but Carrick is "iffy". He wasn't good enough (in Babcock's eyes) to play and Polak took his place.
So the competition for 6 and 7...Carrick, Borgman, Ozhiganov and Holl.
I like Borgman, if he could make the LHD, maybe Dermot can switch to the right side.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

I don't see Carrick amounting to anything. He's over rated by people here.

 

[TheScandal89]

Gardiner - Reilly (not really a choice)
Hainsey - Zaitsev
Dermott - Holl (have some chemistry)
Carrick

I could see that. Not a fan of the first pairing defensively though.

 

[Cams]

I don't see Carrick amounting to anything. He's over rated by people here.

And Holl isn't over rated? He had once in a lifetime debut, but he has been a career AHLer for a reason. I'd rather see Borgman/Rosen up. Borgman is actually a D who can and will lay the body which is sorely lacking on this team.

 

[Eb]

And Holl isn't over rated? He had once in a lifetime debut, but he has been a career AHLer for a reason. I'd rather see Borgman/Rosen up. Borgman is actually a D who can and will lay the body which is sorely lacking on this team.

We don't know what Holl is, yet. We have a better understanding of what Carrick is, and IMO it's not a whole lot. Let's give Holl a chance.

But yes, I agree I want to see Borgman or Rosen in as well. If only they were RHD...