Recalled/Assigned: Maple Leafs Recall Nikita Soshnikov from Marlies

[Barilko14]

Whether that line accomplishes its job or not isn't the point. Limiting Soshnikov to 10min a game with Martin/Goat isn't the best environment to develop his talent. Its the same reason why Leipsic and Kapenen are playing 15-20 with the marlies instead of that spot.

Then Sosh has to start burying some pucks on the PP.

Not sure how much higher in the lineup we should be holding out hope for this guy. With Marner/Brown/Kapenen and possibly Nylander all destined to play RW, Sosh has probably found his home on the 4th line, with the ability to play higher in the lineup when injuries occur. Should be a good luxury to have.

If he wants ice-time, he's got to work on PK skills, and take advantage when he's out there on PP.

Also, Sosh has been given some opportunities higher in the lineup this year without results. Brown was able to wrestle a job from Nylander on Matthews line, Sosh hasn't been able to stick with the Kadri line. Can't spoon feed that type of player a top 9 role, plenty of guys like him have started their careers on a 4th line.

 

[deletethis]

Then Sosh has to start burying some pucks on the PP.

Not sure how much higher in the lineup we should be holding out hope for this guy. With Marner/Brown/Kapenen and possibly Nylander all destined to play RW, Sosh has probably found his home on the 4th line, with the ability to play higher in the lineup when injuries occur. Should be a good luxury to have.

If he wants ice-time, he's got to work on PK skills, and take advantage when he's out there on PP.

Also, Sosh has been given some opportunities higher in the lineup this year without results. Brown was able to wrestle a job from Nylander on Matthews line, Sosh hasn't been able to stick with the Kadri line. Can't spoon feed that type of player a top 9 role, plenty of guys like him have started their careers on a 4th line.

I think this pretty much states reality. Soshnikov has had more PP time than Brown and Hyman combined. The same who moan about having scrubs on the 4th line are probably the ones who moan about having a better skilled competitive type like Soshnikov on the 4th line.

 

[supermann_98]

Every time this guy shoots he misses the net or it hits a Dman's skates/legs or its deflected.

The kid doesn't have a line mate who can get him the puck in a scoring position, but he wasn't doing much on Kadri's line either so some of that is his own fault

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Then Sosh has to start burying some pucks on the PP.

Not sure how much higher in the lineup we should be holding out hope for this guy. With Marner/Brown/Kapenen and possibly Nylander all destined to play RW, Sosh has probably found his home on the 4th line, with the ability to play higher in the lineup when injuries occur. Should be a good luxury to have.

If he wants ice-time, he's got to work on PK skills, and take advantage when he's out there on PP.

Also, Sosh has been given some opportunities higher in the lineup this year without results. Brown was able to wrestle a job from Nylander on Matthews line, Sosh hasn't been able to stick with the Kadri line. Can't spoon feed that type of player a top 9 role, plenty of guys like him have started their careers on a 4th line.

Soshnikov is 23 and quickly approaching that what you see is what you get with him.

He's a useful 4th line type but I don't but don't ever see him becoming more then he is right now which is fine.

He doesn't have the offensive upside to play to slot into a top 9 role like Brown. Then he also isn't big enough or able to cycle well enough to fill the type of role a guy like Hyman does.

He's just a 4th line energy type.

 

[sxvnert]

Then Sosh has to start burying some pucks on the PP.

Not sure how much higher in the lineup we should be holding out hope for this guy. With Marner/Brown/Kapenen and possibly Nylander all destined to play RW, Sosh has probably found his home on the 4th line, with the ability to play higher in the lineup when injuries occur. Should be a good luxury to have.

If he wants ice-time, he's got to work on PK skills, and take advantage when he's out there on PP.

Also, Sosh has been given some opportunities higher in the lineup this year without results. Brown was able to wrestle a job from Nylander on Matthews line, Sosh hasn't been able to stick with the Kadri line. Can't spoon feed that type of player a top 9 role, plenty of guys like him have started their careers on a 4th line.

A 5-10 game stint with a real centerman/line would help.

 

[Stringer Bell]

I would consider sending Soshnikov back down, just for two weeks or so to get some more ice time and score some goals, and slot in Leivo in his spot to give him a few games. Then I'd call Soshnikov right back up. Or at the very least rotate him and Leivo in a bit more.

 

[Barilko14]

A 5-10 game stint with a real centerman/line would help.

In place of Nylander/Marner?

Matthews line is on fire, so should be left alone.

 

[Barilko14]

I would consider sending Soshnikov back down, just for two weeks or so to get some more ice time and score some goals, and slot in Leivo in his spot to give him a few games. Then I'd call Soshnikov right back up. Or at the very least rotate him and Leivo in a bit more.

This seems like a decent plan.

I think he should be developed as a PKer though, will help him long term.

 

[burpsalot]

Then Sosh has to start burying some pucks on the PP.

Not sure how much higher in the lineup we should be holding out hope for this guy. With Marner/Brown/Kapenen and possibly Nylander all destined to play RW, Sosh has probably found his home on the 4th line, with the ability to play higher in the lineup when injuries occur. Should be a good luxury to have.

If he wants ice-time, he's got to work on PK skills, and take advantage when he's out there on PP.

Also, Sosh has been given some opportunities higher in the lineup this year without results. Brown was able to wrestle a job from Nylander on Matthews line, Sosh hasn't been able to stick with the Kadri line. Can't spoon feed that type of player a top 9 role, plenty of guys like him have started their careers on a 4th line.

I don't know why people get stuck on this whole LW vrs RW thing. Players should be interchangeable at this. It's not like 30 years ago where you stick to one side of the ice at all times. With cycling, rotations & coverage you can be all over the ice, there are also some huge benefits to RH shooters playing on the left side & visa versa. BTW, Kapanen played mostly LW last year & Soshnikov played mostly LW with the Marlies this year.

Sosh's time above the 4th line has been extremely limited. He's a similar player to Komarov, so Babcock probably doesn't want too much of that on the Kadri line. The only player that has worked well with Kadri & Komarov has been Brown, but he works out well with whomever he plays with.

Babcock himself has said that he has to get Soshnikov more icetime. That is where his PK & PP time has come in to play in the last month or so.

This seems like a decent plan.

I think he should be developed as a PKer though, will help him long term.

He played on the PK with the Marlies last year, had a couple of SH goals as well.

 

[sxvnert]

In place of Nylander/Marner?

Matthews line is on fire, so should be left alone.

Komarov

Soshnikov - Kadri - Nylander
Martin - Gauthier - Komarov

 

[bansheebeat]

Komarov

Soshnikov - Kadri - Nylander
Martin - Gauthier - Komarov

This is tough though because Komarov's offence has finally started to come back in the last month or so.

 

[burpsalot]

I think this pretty much states reality. Soshnikov has had more PP time than Brown and Hyman combined. The same who moan about having scrubs on the 4th line are probably the ones who moan about having a better skilled competitive type like Soshnikov on the 4th line.

A 5-10 game stint with a real centerman/line would help.

Getting 30 secs of PP time after sitting at the end of the bench for 10 mins straight is not going to be too beneficial to anyone other than the other teams PK.

I wouldn't mind seeing a 4th line of, Martin, Nylander & Soshnikov, but put them in a regular rotation rolling all 4 lines not 3:00/period.

I would consider sending Soshnikov back down, just for two weeks or so to get some more ice time and score some goals, and slot in Leivo in his spot to give him a few games. Then I'd call Soshnikov right back up. Or at the very least rotate him and Leivo in a bit more.

I'd rather see Gauthier sent down & move Nylander to centre to allow Leivo on the wing. If Babcock is unwilling to do this then yea, send a waiver exempt Soshnikov down so we can get Leivo in & see what we have.

Putting Leivo on the 4th line for 8 mins a game though would be a waste of time as well & would not serve as a proper evaluation of his goal scoring ability.

 

[Barilko14]

I don't know why people get stuck on this whole LW vrs RW thing. Players should be interchangeable at this. It's not like 30 years ago where you stick to one side of the ice at all times. With cycling, rotations & coverage you can be all over the ice, there are also some huge benefits to RH shooters playing on the left side & visa versa. BTW, Kapanen played mostly LW last year & Soshnikov played mostly LW with the Marlies this year.

Sosh's time above the 4th line has been extremely limited. He's a similar player to Komarov, so Babcock probably doesn't want too much of that on the Kadri line. The only player that has worked well with Kadri & Komarov has been Brown, but he works out well with whomever he plays with.

Babcock himself has said that he has to get Soshnikov more icetime. That is where his PK & PP time has come in to play in the last month or so.



He played on the PK with the Marlies last year, had a couple of SH goals as well.

Seems like the Marlies use guys LW/RW quite regularly, probably due to the fact they have a boatload of LWs down there. Babcock seems a little more hesitant to have guys flip flopping. This is why I've got Sosh pegged as a RW for now.

I see his future as a 4th liner, getting better at PK would only help his career IMO.

 

[Barilko14]

Komarov

Soshnikov - Kadri - Nylander
Martin - Gauthier - Komarov

I think Sosh in that spot makes Kadri's job of shutting down other teams top line much tougher. Komarov is still more effective then Sosh in a shutdown role.

That line likely has the ability to put a few more points on the board though, I'll give you that.

 

[Barilko14]

Getting 30 secs of PP time after sitting at the end of the bench for 10 mins straight is not going to be too beneficial to anyone other than the other teams PK.

I wouldn't mind seeing a 4th line of, Martin, Nylander & Soshnikov, but put them in a regular rotation rolling all 4 lines not 3:00/period.


I'd rather see Gauthier sent down & move Nylander to centre to allow Leivo on the wing. If Babcock is unwilling to do this then yea, send a waiver exempt Soshnikov down so we can get Leivo in & see what we have.

Putting Leivo on the 4th line for 8 mins a game though would be a waste of time as well & would not serve as a proper evaluation of his goal scoring ability.

A 4th line getting 10 min/night is pretty close to a regular rotation. With absolutely no penalties and rotating every line perfectly, each line would play 15 min. So once penalties are factored in, and TV timeouts allowing Babs to get some matchups he wants, 10 min is pretty reasonable. Sosh is avg. 10:37/night, lets not pretend he's rotting away at the end of the bench.

If it turns into 7/8 per night, then you may have a case.

Plenty of players like Sosh have started their careers on the 4th line.

I'm not a real big fan of cutting into Matthews/marner ice-time so Martin and Sosh get a few extra minutes per night.

 

[Menzinger]

Soshnikov is 23 and quickly approaching that what you see is what you get with him.

He's a useful 4th line type but I don't but don't ever see him becoming more then he is right now which is fine.

He doesn't have the offensive upside to play to slot into a top 9 role like Brown. Then he also isn't big enough or able to cycle well enough to fill the type of role a guy like Hyman does.

He's just a 4th line energy type.

Yep: I doubt he has much more developing to do. Most forwards have their best season in that 22-26 age range.

He's a decent 4th/3rd line guy.

 

[burpsalot]

A 4th line getting 10 min/night is pretty close to a regular rotation. With absolutely no penalties and rotating every line perfectly, each line would play 15 min. So once penalties are factored in, and TV timeouts allowing Babs to get some matchups he wants, 10 min is pretty reasonable. Sosh is avg. 10:37/night, lets not pretend he's rotting away at the end of the bench.

If it turns into 7/8 per night, then you may have a case.

Plenty of players like Sosh have started their careers on the 4th line.

I'm not a real big fan of cutting into Matthews/marner ice-time so Martin and Sosh get a few extra minutes per night.

Sosh prior to getting the extra PP & PK minutes in the last month was seeing games in the 8 min range, his even strength minutes is 08:45. It's not only the mins played, but the rotation of it, are you sitting on the bench for 14 mins straight & then getting in 2 or 3 mins of the final 6 or seeing 2 mins of the last 3 mins of a game already won or lost. That's not going to be very beneficial.

The best way to develop a player into a 4th line player is to keep him on the 4th line. A month ago people on here were saying that Brown was in over his head & that he should be sent down to the Marlies. Give him 7 days playing with Matthews & 19 + mins of ice & he has 8 points in those 7 games.

Leafs have a lot of skill in the pipeline, maybe we're going to be the first young team with low cost & ELC contracts that we will be able to afford 4 skilled lines. 4 skilled 200' player lines rotating at 30-40 second shifts would be a coaches dream. Kind of like coaching team Canada.

 

[Barilko14]

Sosh prior to getting the extra PP & PK minutes in the last month was seeing games in the 8 min range, his even strength minutes is 08:45. It's not only the mins played, but the rotation of it, are you sitting on the bench for 14 mins straight & then getting in 2 or 3 mins of the final 6 or seeing 2 mins of the last 3 mins of a game already won or lost. That's not going to be very beneficial.

The best way to develop a player into a 4th line player is to keep him on the 4th line. A month ago people on here were saying that Brown was in over his head & that he should be sent down to the Marlies. Give him 7 days playing with Matthews & 19 + mins of ice & he has 8 points in those 7 games.

Leafs have a lot of skill in the pipeline, maybe we're going to be the first young team with low cost & ELC contracts that we will be able to afford 4 skilled lines. 4 skilled 200' player lines rotating at 30-40 second shifts would be a coaches dream. Kind of like coaching team Canada.

Alright, we will agree to disagree. Sosh ranks 10th in players I would like to get minutes, so I'm fine with him on the 4th line. IMO, he should be working hard on his PK skills in order to get more minutes.

 

[Walshy7]

I agree with this statement. I think if he had nylander as his center he would have potted a few more. Kadri isn't a playmaker he's a shoot first kind of guy

I don't want to cut Nylanders mins to get sosh going though. Really we have a logjam of offensive forwards, Nylander needs a more offensive role to really play to his strengths otherwise what's the point in keeping him, he was tabbed as a kane like winger ( I think he is a C though) and the best pure skill player in his draft, using that on the shutdown line is a waste really, one of bozak or JVR needs to go. Then Nylander takes the empty role on that line and sosh can get extra mins and a few extra offensive chances on Kadri's line

 

[hockeyes]

Outside of his first few games up where he looked really good, he hasn't done anything to stand out. I do like his willingness to engage everywhere on the ice but 4th line seems to be the ideal spot for him currently.

 

[burpsalot]

I don't want to cut Nylanders mins to get sosh going though. Really we have a logjam of offensive forwards, Nylander needs a more offensive role to really play to his strengths otherwise what's the point in keeping him, he was tabbed as a kane like winger ( I think he is a C though) and the best pure skill player in his draft, using that on the shutdown line is a waste really, one of bozak or JVR needs to go. Then Nylander takes the empty role on that line and sosh can get extra mins and a few extra offensive chances on Kadri's line

Let's get rid of a shut down line then, get rid of a 4th line checking line. Get 4 lines of 200' skilled two way players.

If we can't find a "proper" spot for Nylander, what the hell are we going to do when we have guys like Kapanen, Leipsic, Timashov, Jonsson, Grundstrom, Korshkov, Rychel, Dzierkals, Leivo (??), Bracco & Brooks (who is fantastic). Even if only half of those make it to the NHL, that's 5 extra skilled or physical (descent skill) bodies.

I'll tell you one thing, if I was coaching this team, I would be very excited about the skill coming my way. Just find me a couple of Corey Perry or Jerome Iginla clones & I'm in heaven.

 

[Battle Lin]

sosh skates good and plays a physical and solid defensive game...but man hes gotta chip in a bit more on offense...even on a 4th line 4 points in 29 is unacceptable

 

[sxvnert]

sosh skates good and plays a physical and solid defensive game...but man hes gotta chip in a bit more on offense...even on a 4th line 4 points in 29 is unacceptable

When you have less goals than Martin, you know you're underperforming.

 

[sxvnert]

Let's get rid of a shut down line then, get rid of a 4th line checking line. Get 4 lines of 200' skilled two way players.

If we can't find a "proper" spot for Nylander, what the hell are we going to do when we have guys like Kapanen, Leipsic, Timashov, Jonsson, Grundstrom, Korshkov, Rychel, Dzierkals, Leivo (??), Bracco & Brooks (who is fantastic). Even if only half of those make it to the NHL, that's 5 extra skilled or physical (descent skill) bodies.

I'll tell you one thing, if I was coaching this team, I would be very excited about the skill coming my way. Just find me a couple of Corey Perry or Jerome Iginla clones & I'm in heaven.

Exactly.

Can't tell me a line of Leipsic-Goat-Kap isn't a huge improvement over whats there now.

 

[Primary Assist]

He got absolutely crushed tonight but I was glad to see him get back in the game. His skillset and attitude reminds me of Grabovski, except Sosh can never actually use his shot or get open. Grabovski would fire the puck from everywhere. I hope he's just in a long slump, but we know that management sees a lot in him.