Line Combos: Kessel-Bozak-Van Riemsdyk

[zeke]

See, you say this as if I hate the guy. I don't. I just don't think he's a preferable option in the 1 slot. He works his ass off and I would love him as a top end #3 who could be put in the #2 slot if need be.

Still don't, either. This is the first time since 09/10 he's shown significant "chemistry" with Kessel and shooting at 25% isn't something you can expect to last. I'd be more than happy if he proved me wrong, though

Career: ~50pt pace
Last 2yrs: ~60pt pace
This year: ~70pt pace

best to worst paces:

13/14: 72
09/10: 60
11/12: 53
12/13: 50
10/11: 32

you really gotta stop referring to him as a 3rd line centre, in any sense.

 

[PuckMagi]

I'd rather have Kulemin with Kadri than even Lupul. He is extremely productive on that line, and to move him off is going to weaken our depth scoring line tremendously. Hell, put Lupul on Bolland's line and have Holland play with Kadri as a winger. You'd have a dominant top line, two two-way lines, and a defensive-specialised energy line.

PS: Raymond with McClement, of course.

ya... it's hard to know where to fit raymond. he gets goals and points... but he doesn't seem to fit with the team. ideally we trade him and franson for a better winger at the trade deadline.

but ya... with a healthy line-up... do we just put raymond on the 4th line? not the worst idea... but i think he's too good for the 4th line... and i know that kulemin, mcclment and d'amigo worked really well as a 3rd line at one point... so having that as a 4th line means we can actually use that line as a checking line... with raymond on there, it's less effective as a checking/forechecking line.

so even though raymond isn't ideal with kadri and lupul... and i agree that kulemin looks better there.... i think raymond is more suited to a scoring role and kulemin is better in a checking role.

 

[TenYearsGone93]

Clarkson-Bozak-JVR
Kessel-Kadri-Lupul

In a first rd playoff match up?

Would force an opposing coach to put the shutdown pairing on the Kadri line.

I like my chances of Bozak, JVR and Clarkson going against 2nd pairing D men.

That first line has zero players that can create for themselves or others. They would get exposed big time. Kessel and Kadri are the only legit playmakers on this team. And should be split up to ensure balanced scoring.

 

[TenYearsGone93]

Career: ~50pt pace
Last 2yrs: ~60pt pace
This year: ~70pt pace

best to worst paces:

13/14: 72
09/10: 60
11/12: 53
12/13: 50
10/11: 32

you really gotta stop referring to him as a 3rd line centre, in any sense.

Explain to me how barely 60 point pace playing 20+ minutes a game with one of the elite playmakers in the game and number one pp time force fed to you is acceptable for a first line center?

I'm gonna love saying I told you so when Bozak comes crashing down to earth.

 

[BayStBullies]

How many first lines actually have 3 first-line players on it?

Every single one of them. I doubt any team would play short a player.

Yeah, I know what you were trying to mean with your post; but it's still incredibly pointless to attempt to determine what is and isn't a worthy first line player. Every coach in the league already did that for us.

 

[zeke]

Explain to me how barely 60 point pace playing 20+ minutes a game with one of the elite playmakers in the game and number one pp time force fed to you is acceptable for a first line center?

nobody is saying he's a great #1 centre, just that calling him a #3 centre is wrong.

and anyways, 60pts gets you in the top-30 scoring centres every year, and no, bozak's not the only player to play with an elite player on his line.

I'm gonna love saying I told you so when Bozak comes crashing down to earth.

sounds like a fun life.

 

[Jeffler]

Oh come on, ever since he blocked you on twitter it's obvious you have some vendetta against him. I mean for ****s sake you run a fake Bozak account that constantly rags on him then you retweet that account with your "Journalist" account just to really make sure everyone knows how you really feel. It's fine you don't like the guy but the fact you can't take your bias out of how you report on him is why it's impossible to take you seriously.

(Also I just want to say hi to your followers since you seem have a habit of screenshotting and tweeting my or any posts that are critical of you. You're cool Chemmy. )

Hahahahaha

- He blocked me three years ago, I didn't really start to get skeptical on him until about a year ago
- Brozie isn't about hating him. I wanted to see how parody accounts worked/grew/etc on Twitter and all the big name players were already done. The content on it is pretty tame all things considered

My only "character" knock on him is maybe the Halloween costume thing but I don't see how that's relevant to him as a player

 

[The Blue Devil]

ya... it's hard to know where to fit raymond. he gets goals and points... but he doesn't seem to fit with the team. ideally we trade him and franson for a better winger at the trade deadline.

but ya... with a healthy line-up... do we just put raymond on the 4th line? not the worst idea... but i think he's too good for the 4th line... and i know that kulemin, mcclment and d'amigo worked really well as a 3rd line at one point... so having that as a 4th line means we can actually use that line as a checking line... with raymond on there, it's less effective as a checking/forechecking line.

so even though raymond isn't ideal with kadri and lupul... and i agree that kulemin looks better there.... i think raymond is more suited to a scoring role and kulemin is better in a checking role.

The beauty about Raymond being paid 1mil is that you can shove him anywhere without care, including the 4th line. Why would you destroy a good thing to make Raymond happy? He was terrible on that line. He also hasn't produced since his hot October start so I wish people would stop bringing that up.

Your last point is foolish, since Kule was put on the 2nd line it has gotten much better and everyone has been producing. Raymond was also pretty effective in the shut-down role with Bolland before he went down.

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

I am very pleased with Bozak and how he manage to make two good players even better and in return they make him better. What more can you ask for? When creating a line you dont need 3 players of equal quality, you need 3 players who can keep up with and understand each other.
Bozak is not a first liner based on his individual skills, he is a first liner because he fulfills our first line.

 

[Duke Silver]

Hahahahaha

- He blocked me three years ago, I didn't really start to get skeptical on him until about a year ago
- Brozie isn't about hating him. I wanted to see how parody accounts worked/grew/etc on Twitter and all the big name players were already done. The content on it is pretty tame all things considered

My only "character" knock on him is maybe the Halloween costume thing but I don't see how that's relevant to him as a player

You're still part of a site where one of your "Voices of the Nation" frequently taunts Bozak on Twitter, to the point where he got enough and shot back at her. What kind of website, that supposedly takes themselves seriously, associates themselves with someone who does that, and then defends her and mock RTs when it's brought up?

What a joke you guys are compared to MLHS.

 

[Jeffler]

You're still part of a site where one of your "Voices of the Nation" frequently taunts Bozak on Twitter, to the point where he got enough and shot back at her. What kind of website, that supposedly takes themselves seriously, associates themselves with someone who does that, and then defends her and mock RTs when it's brought up?

What a joke you guys are compared to MLHS.

Trust me, I thought that was pretty stupid too and stayed out of it. I also don't feel this really reflects on us much; she's written two articles in nine months, one of them being a recap because everybody else was busy.

 

[Joey Hoser]

You're still part of a site where one of your "Voices of the Nation" frequently taunts Bozak on Twitter, to the point where he got enough and shot back at her. What kind of website, that supposedly takes themselves seriously, associates themselves with someone who does that, and then defends her and mock RTs when it's brought up?

What a joke you guys are compared to MLHS.

I can't resist the urge to mention the website made to run McCabe out of town as well.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Hahahahaha

- He blocked me three years ago, I didn't really start to get skeptical on him until about a year ago
- Brozie isn't about hating him. I wanted to see how parody accounts worked/grew/etc on Twitter and all the big name players were already done. The content on it is pretty tame all things considered

My only "character" knock on him is maybe the Halloween costume thing but I don't see how that's relevant to him as a player

Lighten up, he was dressed in blackface because he was a fan of Micheal Jackson. As he explained in his tweet afterward. In the world of political correctness, maybe it wasn't the wisest thing to do, but normal likeminded people would have saw no harm in this. Funny how your mind skewed it.

I have read enough blogs online to know the Bozak gets unwarranted hate through social media, you would have more credibility if you were more mature in your efforts to try to get into media. But I guess you enjoy your twitter fame, perhaps this is your end game.

Just don't try to fool some of us that are smart enough to catch on.

By the way, the topic is Bozak, and Bozak has done all his talking on the ice this year. Not on twitter. Proving those blogs and graphs wrong.

I suggest Pension Puppets, you, and Charron watch the video of the Breakdown on this page: http://www.tsn.ca/shows/thatshockey2nite/

You guys might learn something.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

You're still part of a site where one of your "Voices of the Nation" frequently taunts Bozak on Twitter, to the point where he got enough and shot back at her. What kind of website, that supposedly takes themselves seriously, associates themselves with someone who does that, and then defends her and mock RTs when it's brought up?

What a joke you guys are compared to MLHS.

Well said. Couldn't agree more.

 

[Ace88*]

Bozak is like the Batman of this hockey team. He's not the centre that JVR and Kessel deserve, but he's the centre they need.

Is Bozak a #1 centre? No. But he does all the little things that Kessel and JVR don't or can't, which makes him a perfect fit for them. All three of them make the other two better, how much more do you want from them? Who's to say that sticking Ryan Getzlaf between them doesn't make all three worse players? You can't predict chemistry. By all measures Kadri should be perfect for that line, but he isn't.

Just shut up and be happy that we have not only a legitimate 1st line, but one of the best 1st lines in all of hockey. For all you know Bozak scores the cup winning goal sometime in the future.

 

[Pi]

Well said. Couldn't agree more.

The last thing in that video was the best.

If we had a healthy Tyler Bozak in Game 7, there is no way the Leafs lose.

Very smart player, always aware of the situation and plays according to the score.

Two coaches who combined to win over a 1000 games aren't stupid to give him the minutes he plays right now.

He deserves every one of those minutes.

I can't believe he only cost the Leafs 4.2M. One of the better signings by the Leafs in a long time.

 

[Bluelines]

Didn't I just read on here a few weeks back Kessel is a bum because he wont play D and bozak is not a 1st line center.. I'm sure confused... is Kessel and Bozak good or are they scrubs?

 

[theIceWookie]

The simple fact is that Bozak does so much more for this team than just put up points.

He's a huge piece in the locker room, he's one of our best PK'ers, our best faceoff man and I feel completely comfortable when he's on the ice in all situations. Is he that sexy name that many fans want? No...but he does all of the little things that it takes to win in this league.

The fact that these guys are locked up LONG term (4 more years after this) makes me believe that this team is really headed in the right direction.

Is Bozak a #1 Center in terms of offensive numbers? Not at this point, but is it possible that he can break out at 27 years old and produce at a #1 Center rate? Absolutely.

Is he a #1 Center in all other departments? I truly believe so, and the fact that he's making what he is along with JVR, really helps this teams cap situation moving forward.

This team doesn't need to worry about having a true #1 line, because they've got it locked up for the long term.

Very good post. I've been a big critic of Bozak, but he's doing everything to show how valuable he is. He's not the typical first line center, but then again not many teams have those.

I think the bolded point is something that needs to be expanded. What are first line offensive numbers? I think many people sort of expect this center who can put up 70-80 points consistently and provide some high end offense.

But in truth from year to year only about 40 centers get more than 50 points, and only about 20-25 centers get more than 60 points. I think the first few post 2005 lockout seasons really skewed people's ideas about what first line centers are.

The simply reality is that since 2008-2009, there has only been maximum 60 players a season who score more than 60 points. It's a fairly difficult task to do.

So I think if Bozak can score consistently above 60 points, he'll be producing at a first line center rate. Now it would be nice if he could play at an offensive level that could be considered top 10 center production, but I think we have to take what we can get. Like you said he brings much more than simply points, and that makes him a valuable top line center to us.

 

[zeke]

Bozak is like the Batman of this hockey team. He's not the centre that JVR and Kessel deserve, but he's the centre they need.

Hah. Nice.

 

[zeke]

Lighten up, he was dressed in blackface because he was a fan of Micheal Jackson. As he explained in his tweet afterward. In the world of political correctness, maybe it wasn't the wisest thing to do, but normal likeminded people would have saw no harm in this. Funny how your mind skewed it.

I have read enough blogs online to know the Bozak gets unwarranted hate through social media, you would have more credibility if you were more mature in your efforts to try to get into media. But I guess you enjoy your twitter fame, perhaps this is your end game.

Just don't try to fool some of us that are smart enough to catch on.

By the way, the topic is Bozak, and Bozak has done all his talking on the ice this year. Not on twitter. Proving those blogs and graphs wrong.

I suggest Pension Puppets, you, and Charron watch the video of the Breakdown on this page: http://www.tsn.ca/shows/thatshockey2nite/

You guys might learn something.

Even though they deserve it, don't be too hard on them...its been a rough year for themso far.

Most discredited websites of 2013/14:

3. Robfordclean&sober.org
2. Healthcare.gov
1. Pensionplanpuppets.com

 

[ACC1224]

The simple fact is that Bozak does so much more for this team than just put up points.

He's a huge piece in the locker room, he's one of our best PK'ers, our best faceoff man and I feel completely comfortable when he's on the ice in all situations. Is he that sexy name that many fans want? No...but he does all of the little things that it takes to win in this league.

The fact that these guys are locked up LONG term (4 more years after this) makes me believe that this team is really headed in the right direction.

Is Bozak a #1 Center in terms of offensive numbers? Not at this point, but is it possible that he can break out at 27 years old and produce at a #1 Center rate? Absolutely.

Is he a #1 Center in all other departments? I truly believe so, and the fact that he's making what he is along with JVR, really helps this teams cap situation moving forward.

This team doesn't need to worry about having a true #1 line, because they've got it locked up for the long term.

This sums it all up.

 

[ACC1224]

Lighten up, he was dressed in blackface because he was a fan of Micheal Jackson. As he explained in his tweet afterward. In the world of political correctness, maybe it wasn't the wisest thing to do, but normal likeminded people would have saw no harm in this. Funny how your mind skewed it.

I have read enough blogs online to know the Bozak gets unwarranted hate through social media, you would have more credibility if you were more mature in your efforts to try to get into media. But I guess you enjoy your twitter fame, perhaps this is your end game.

Just don't try to fool some of us that are smart enough to catch on.

By the way, the topic is Bozak, and Bozak has done all his talking on the ice this year. Not on twitter. Proving those blogs and graphs wrong.

I suggest Pension Puppets, you, and Charron watch the video of the Breakdown on this page: http://www.tsn.ca/shows/thatshockey2nite/

You guys might learn something.

There are many that can string together sentences about Hockey. Understanding the game isn't a prerequisite for that.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

There are many that can string together sentences about Hockey. Understanding the game isn't a prerequisite for that.

There really is so much bad writing on some of these sites, it bothers me, true fans that have followed hockey since Sittler, Keon, Salming.

I hate numbers crunchers that distort stats.

 

[CellarDweller0]

ya... it's hard to know where to fit raymond. he gets goals and points... but he doesn't seem to fit with the team. ideally we trade him and franson for a better winger at the trade deadline.

but ya... with a healthy line-up... do we just put raymond on the 4th line? not the worst idea... but i think he's too good for the 4th line... and i know that kulemin, mcclment and d'amigo worked really well as a 3rd line at one point... so having that as a 4th line means we can actually use that line as a checking line... with raymond on there, it's less effective as a checking/forechecking line.

so even though raymond isn't ideal with kadri and lupul... and i agree that kulemin looks better there.... i think raymond is more suited to a scoring role and kulemin is better in a checking role.

I agree packaging MayRay and Franson together is a good idea, I just think it should be to upgrade the D with another Solid defender with some offensive upside. Just my opinion though

 

[draeko17]

I can't resist the urge to mention the website made to run McCabe out of town as well.

I thought of that but figured my post would be removed.