LegionOfDoom91
Registered User
Teams could have had Akeson for free earlier in the year & they all elected not to. I don't see what's going to change there, he's still a flawed player at the end of the day.
Teams could have had Akeson for free earlier in the year & they all elected not to. I don't see what's going to change there, he's still a flawed player at the end of the day.
That's not as simple of a conclusion in-season. Roster limits and salary cap space and usage are all factors. Derek Roy, Bryan Allen, and Rene Bourque both were all traded directly after clearing waivers, two of them having been traded for each other.
He cost pratically nothing in salary. No one bit because he's not very good.
Devan Dubnyk cleared waivers last year. Think anyone might want that back?
It's just not that simple.
After moving to multiple teams & playing terribly but at the end of the day he still got chances because he was good in the NHL leading up to that year.
Akeson has zero track record & for players of his ilk (undersized with multiple flaws) you have to go above & beyond to prove yourself worthy of an NHL spot which he did not do.
So was his play with Couturier and Read in the playoffs a figment of our imaginations? Because he played much better this those guys than he did with the likes of Rinaldo this season. He's been great in the AHL, doing his best to do just that, it's not his fault his assclown coach undermined him. The off-season is a different game with roster movement than during the season.
Small sample size, it's not unusual to see a player play well during his first call up after the pixy dust wiped away he didn't look like anything noteworthy. He looked like dog **** & didn't deserve to move up the lineup this year. Bellemare managed to look decent in that time so I don't buy that excuse.
Brandon Manning also puts points up at the AHL level & I don't see anybody writing about how he's got much of an NHL future.
Edit: Danny Briere was also a former first round pick.
Akeson-PEB-Rinaldo was actually a good line at the start of the season.
Small sample size. He looked like dog **** & didn't deserve to move up the lineup this year. Bellemare managed to look decent in that time so I don't buy that excuse.
Edit: Danny Briere was also a former first round pick & started out in era that was tougher for a player of his stature to stick than compared to today.
Akeson played 9 NHL games before this year and 12 this season, and he played more in the first 9 than he did in the other 12. Sample size works both ways. Trust in Terry Murray developing him and turning him into something, even if it's for another team.
Bellemare and Vandevelde have looked decent for months, and its only taken until now for them to move up the lineup, and for Bellemare it's taken the entire season. Michael Raffl has 20 goals and can't get on the power play. Michael Del Zotto was scratched in December for no reason whatsoever. I think everybody would rather see Manning play over Grossmann. How do I know Akeson doesn't fall under the same umbrella until he plays more games?
That cleared waivers.
Because I look at his skill set & don't see anything really there. He doesn't really standout in any way. I know you're one of those guys who live & die by numbers but there's more to it than just that.
As for the last part read the rest of my edit.
If you think Berube holds some kind of grudge against Akeson, he isn't the only one. We're talking about a guy that was sent down to the ECHL after leading the Phantoms in scoring.
Keith Aucoin 2.0
He led the team in scoring FFS. That wasn't exactly a stacked team to begin with. They could have made room for him if they wanted.That was during the lockout though, it was a little different circumstances, he wasn't going to get the playing time. He still worked his way into getting an NHL call-up.
He led the team in scoring FFS. That wasn't exactly a stacked team to begin with. They could have made room for him if they wanted.
I think Lauridsen is, too.
What happened with Lauridsen? I don't follow the Phantoms nearly as much as I should, but I thought he played pretty well when he had been called up with the Flyers back...well, I guess it's going on two years now. Did the org just sour on him or did my eyes deceive me?
Akeson is at best a scrub/fringe NHLer on a bad team. On a good team he doesn't even rise to that level. Not even sure he will get a QO from the Flyers. My guess is he is being called up as a "last chance" to be brought back next year. Same thing with Lauridsen, though I think because of his size he has a better chance to be brought back just to be a body in the AHL and an emergency NHL call-up if the entire defense gets the flu or something. Alt I think they are genuinely interested in seeing what he can do. Give him a head start to make an impression in training camp next year.
Well they were all sent down imediately following the game so it seems they were nothing more than just bodies to get them through the game. I believe Akeson was even sent packing once they found out Giroux was able to go (he was playing with the flu).
I seriously doubt either of Akeson or Lauridsen are back in the organization next year.