Speculation: How has Ryan Graves looked?

SAS

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Sep 29, 2017
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Rangers fan here. I wanted to see how Ryan Graves has looked so far for you guys. I saw that he scored 2 goals in his limited stint. I always liked Graves when he was with the Rangers. Thoughts?
 

Foppa2118

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Oct 3, 2003
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Solid physical defense, keeps it simple, good mobility, heavy shot from the point, brings energy to the team with his play, good attitude. Basically all you expect from a #6/7 so far.

What's surprised me is he has decent instincts offensively. Nothing crazy, but I was expecting next to nothing, and he's shown an instinct of when to jump into the play, and when to take shots from the point. Anything more than nothing is a bonus for his role.

Overall, miles better than a similar player brought in to play a similar role in Mark Alt. Question is, can he maintain this level of play or is he playing over his head?
 
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Pierce Hawthorne

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I think he could force a trade from Sakic honestly. Hes playing better than both Barberio and Nemeth and if he keeps it up should force one of them out. My guess/hope is Nemeth at the deadline for a 4th rounder.
 

McMetal

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As others have said, he has played a limited role, but looks good there, and IMO better than either of our other bottom pair D. He makes the right defensive play most of the time, and manages to jump into the play at the right time a surprising amount. Worth keeping in the NHL at this point for the rest of the year, if we have to waive one of our other D it's hardly a huge loss considering both of them were waiver pickups.
 
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Mac2Rants

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Sep 25, 2017
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How are his puck moving skills, I've not seen many games of late due to work, and shit play. does he have similar ability to Z in that regard?
 

Pokecheque

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How are his puck moving skills, I've not seen many games of late due to work, and **** play. does he have similar ability to Z in that regard?

Yeah, I'd say he's around that level, Z is a little better at maneuvering through traffic in the NZ but Graves is not that far behind.

I've liked the guy quite a bit thus far. Brings a physical, aggressive game and though he takes a lot of chances, I think his defensive instincts are far better than we have any right to expect. I'm also impressed with his ability to kill penalties.
 

Foppa2118

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Oct 3, 2003
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How are his puck moving skills, I've not seen many games of late due to work, and **** play. does he have similar ability to Z in that regard?

Z is a little better but Graves hasn't tried to do much with the puck in his limited role either. Especially on the breakout. Z skates with the puck a little more and makes more breakout passes. Which have resulted in turnovers recently, but that's more due to mental mistakes.
 
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usekakkorightquinn

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Oct 18, 2019
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I was trying to educate a ton of fools in our fan base that our previous coach AV was an imbecile and didn't value stay at home defenseman like Graves. He never gave him a chance. All he wanted was soft, puck moving defenseman. Seems he is really doing well for the Av's.
 
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Ivan13

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He's been an adventure. I wouldn't really say he is a stay at home defenseman. A stay at home defenseman is someone like Ryan O'Byrne, a low-event defenseman who can clear the crease and is somewhat decent reading the play. Graves certainly isn't a low event player in any sense. His valley and peaks are also either extremely low or extremely high. IMHO Graves is a defenseman who is not particularly good at anything apart from having a great shot in terms of power. He's also pretty damn lucky to play with #8.
 
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usekakkorightquinn

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Well maybe the fact you are putting him with Makar if that is true says a lot about his skill. I don't think you would be putting a guy who is an adventure with one of your franchise players.
 

Pokecheque

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Personally I think they've "overcoached" him a little. When he was playing his aggressive, albeit somewhat reckless, style, he was making a bigger difference. And as AJ noted, he was also damned lucky on a few instances that he wasn't burned badly when he took some of those chances. Nonetheless, there's a hesitancy to his game now that wasn't there a season ago, and I'm not sure, in this case, is that's what you do with a guy like this.
 
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henchman21

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Graves is a fine filler piece. Use him until he becomes too expense, and then let him walk. As long as the Avs don't go above 1.25-1.5m per I don't really have an issue with him sticking around. Though I'd prefer him to be buriable around $1m ideally. Considering how tenative Bigras became after his concussions, Avs did real well finding a usable piece.
 

klozge

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Personally I think they've "overcoached" him a little. When he was playing his aggressive, albeit somewhat reckless, style, he was making a bigger difference. And as AJ noted, he was also damned lucky on a few instances that he wasn't burned badly when he took some of those chances. Nonetheless, there's a hesitancy to his game now that wasn't there a season ago, and I'm not sure, in this case, is that's what you do with a guy like this.
Might turn out to be a good thing in the long run, though. I hope that's the case.
 
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GirardSpinorama

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Aug 20, 2004
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I like him. Big and good skater, not afraid to use his shot lately. He has his brain farts but still young enough to fix that.
 
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McMetal

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He's been very up and down, IMO, and I think he's overplayed and overmatched on the second pair with Makar. As a bottom pairing D, he's definitely a useful player, but he needs to be kept in that sheltered role to be most effective.
 
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wayninja

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Maybe it's just me, but he hasn't looked particularly good. He looks like he's barely clinging to a spot. I have no idea if he's regressed, been "over coached" or what, but his play has been largely dumb and ineffective.

I'd be ok to see someone else get some time in his place. Timmons possibly. Hell, I'd be happier to just see Barbiero get time over him.
 
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henchman21

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Maybe it's just me, but he hasn't looked particularly good. He looks like he's barely clinging to a spot. I have no idea if he's regressed, been "over coached" or what, but his play has been largely dumb and ineffective.

I'd be ok to see someone else get some time in his place. Timmons possibly. Hell, I'd be happier to just see Barbiero get time over him.
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Pokecheque

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He's been very up and down, IMO, and I think he's overplayed and overmatched on the second pair with Makar. As a bottom pairing D, he's definitely a useful player, but he needs to be kept in that sheltered role to be most effective.

Problem is they've tried other guys up there alongside Makar and they were far worse. Warts and all, Graves is, for now, the best LHD the Avs have beyond Girard. Cole is still struggling to get back into game shape after surgery and Z just...isn't good enough for that role. I'd argue at least from a skating perspective, Graves is far better than EJ as well.

Long term, the Avs obviously would like Timmins and Byram to slide into the top four and bump EJ and Graves/Cole to the bottom pairing. Short term...I don't know. Right now, Graves is the best option. If by chance Rosen is a viable option, great!
 

henchman21

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Problem is they've tried other guys up there alongside Makar and they were far worse. Warts and all, Graves is, for now, the best LHD the Avs have beyond Girard. Cole is still struggling to get back into game shape after surgery and Z just...isn't good enough for that role. I'd argue at least from a skating perspective, Graves is far better than EJ as well.
fc5afcc9647ea2787c5bdcafca43b728.jpg
 
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expatriatedtexan

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Yeah, he's only playing in the top 4 right now because the others had problems developing chemistry with Makar. Like others, I think he's been up and down but the downs seem to be much more frequent due to the higher number of minutes. Not saying he can't be a #4 in the future but right now he'd probably look a lot better getting bottom pairing minutes.
 

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