Speculation: Minor League Affiliates (Hershey Bears, SC Stingrays) - summer 2018 to summer 2019

[maacoshark]

He should be. He is a player that slipped in the draft due to injury concerns, Caps got lucky. Alexeyev has all the tools to be a good top four dmen in the NHL.

I tried to find a scouting report that best describes what I watched and how I think he plays:

He wasnt very impressive when I saw him play in junior. I should get to see him play again before the season is over.

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

I was wondering who are doing OK in our AHL team, but I couldn't find any 'non basic' statistics. So I made it myself. I looked on the even strength GF' and GA' to calculate the 5v5 GF% = GF'/(GF'+GA'). It is similar to CF% parameter. Hereunder what I found for players with more than ten games :

Player	POS	GP	5v5 GF%	Grade
Shumakov	F	10	71	A+
Ness	D	31	54	B
Hobbs	D	27	47	C
Gersich	F	25	46	C
Gustafsson	C	20	42	D
Geisser	D	18	42	D
Sgarbossa	C	35	42	D
Megna	C	31	41	D
Siegenthaler	D	14	41	D
Pinho	C	32	40	D
Whitney	F	25	40	D
Mitchell	F	11	40	D
Barber	F	29	40	D
Lewington	D	27	40	D
Kammerer	F	19	38	F
Ikonen	F	24	38	F
Malenstyn	F	33	37	F
Pilon	C	35	36	F
Walker	F	20	36	F
Williams	D	25	35	F
Jonsson-Fjallby	F	16	35	F
O'Brien	F	35	34	F
Sproul	D	24	21	F
Johansen	D	17	20	F
Pyett	D	10	14	F

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[brachyrynchos]

Shumakov went back to the KHL after playing a few games for Florida's affiliate, Springfield. He's currently 7-2-1-3 -3 with Avangard Omsk.
Fjällby is in Sweden with Djurgârdens, 13-0-3 0. He picked up an assist in 2 games in the EHT, which I guess is a mini tournament.

 

[kicksavedave]

Shumakov went back to the KHL after playing a few games for Florida's affiliate, Springfield. He's currently 7-2-1-3 -3 with Avangard Omsk.
Fjällby is in Sweden with Djurgârdens, 13-0-3 0. He picked up an assist in 2 games in the EHT, which I guess is a mini tournament.

For a brief moment, Caps fans thought they had secured two steals of the year in those two guys... Things change quickly.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Bears end up losing tonight 3-1. Samsonov was in goal and 2/3 goals definitely weren’t his fault. Milwaukee’s second goal was the result of no one covering a man who took a pass in the slot and picked a corner. The third goal was a perfectly executed screen and Samsonov had no chance of being able to track the puck as it came on net. Overall the game was pretty sloppy on both sides. Not a ton of shots for Samsonov but he battled and had a few decent saves.

In the WJC thread @Holtbyisms mentioned how the coaching staff seemed to be a mess. I paid more attention tonight to how the coaches reacted as the game went on with line changes and in game adjustments. I noticed that there was a heavy reliance on the “veteran” lines at the end of the game. The O’Brien-Scarbossa-Barber line was out there every other shift it seemed like even though they weren’t having their best game IMO. Meanwhile the line of Gersich-Pilon-Malenstyn didn’t get a lot of playing time even though they were a line that was doing well, especially the beginning of the third. The fourth line of Ikonen-Gustafsson-Pinho maybe received 3-4 shifts a period because of all the special teams play and they seemed to be benched halfway through the third period. Was surprised there weren’t any lineup changes besides the goaltender in a b2b situation. They won 6-4 Saturday night but they also blew a 4 goal lead.

I’m gonna be blatantly honest about a few of these guys. Gustafsson flat out sucks and should be in South Carolina in my opinion. He is a bad skater and very slow and for his size he doesn’t use his body at all (Jeff Schultz 2.0) yet he is playing center and Pinho is playing wing and battling for playing time. Pinho was regarded as one of the best two way centerman in the NCAA but let’s shift him to wing and let Gustafsson play. Megna is another disappointment. Probably better suited to play wing. He’s my dark horse for the player who gets moved in a change of scenery deal this year. Steve Whitney has no business playing in the top 6 over prospects when this team clearly isn’t winning anything. He’s an ECHL player and his career track record proves that. Kammerer and Mason Mitchell we’re both scratched tonight which makes zero sense. Send them to South Carolina and let them get playing time in. Kammerer has shown promise when I’ve seen him play but he rarely gets a sweater.

LuJo, Hobbs and Geisser all still out with injuries. Gersich finally back this weekend. One negative about his game is how much he gets knocked off the puck. Couldn’t help but notice how many times he was getting up off the ice. Gotta hit the weight room for sure.

 

[Holtbyisms]

I'm semi back to my normal work schedule now that the holidays are over so I'll try and start doing some notes on the games again but they're tough to watch most nights so can't promise to hit them all. Like @hb11xchamps mentioned some of the personnel decisions are mind blowing. I just don't understand what exactly they're seeing to make some of these calls. I'm absolutely baffled by Kammerer constantly being scratched. He's produced in a very limited roll and doesn't look anywhere near as out of place as some of the guys getting a jersey every night. The defense needs to get healthy and in a hurry cause the 6 they've been icing are brutal to watch.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Bears end up losing tonight 3-1. Samsonov was in goal and 2/3 goals definitely weren’t his fault. Milwaukee’s second goal was the result of no one covering a man who took a pass in the slot and picked a corner. The third goal was a perfectly executed screen and Samsonov had no chance of being able to track the puck as it came on net. Overall the game was pretty sloppy on both sides. Not a ton of shots for Samsonov but he battled and had a few decent saves.

In the WJC thread @Holtbyisms mentioned how the coaching staff seemed to be a mess. I paid more attention tonight to how the coaches reacted as the game went on with line changes and in game adjustments. I noticed that there was a heavy reliance on the “veteran” lines at the end of the game. The O’Brien-Scarbossa-Barber line was out there every other shift it seemed like even though they weren’t having their best game IMO. Meanwhile the line of Gersich-Pilon-Malenstyn didn’t get a lot of playing time even though they were a line that was doing well, especially the beginning of the third. The fourth line of Ikonen-Gustafsson-Pinho maybe received 3-4 shifts a period because of all the special teams play and they seemed to be benched halfway through the third period. Was surprised there weren’t any lineup changes besides the goaltender in a b2b situation. They won 6-4 Saturday night but they also blew a 4 goal lead.

I’m gonna be blatantly honest about a few of these guys. Gustafsson flat out sucks and should be in South Carolina in my opinion. He is a bad skater and very slow and for his size he doesn’t use his body at all (Jeff Schultz 2.0) yet he is playing center and Pinho is playing wing and battling for playing time. Pinho was regarded as one of the best two way centerman in the NCAA but let’s shift him to wing and let Gustafsson play. Megna is another disappointment. Probably better suited to play wing. He’s my dark horse for the player who gets moved in a change of scenery deal this year. Steve Whitney has no business playing in the top 6 over prospects when this team clearly isn’t winning anything. He’s an ECHL player and his career track record proves that. Kammerer and Mason Mitchell we’re both scratched tonight which makes zero sense. Send them to South Carolina and let them get playing time in. Kammerer has shown promise when I’ve seen him play but he rarely gets a sweater.

LuJo, Hobbs and Geisser all still out with injuries. Gersich finally back this weekend. One negative about his game is how much he gets knocked off the puck. Couldn’t help but notice how many times he was getting up off the ice. Gotta hit the weight room for sure.

Reading all this made me go want to check some contracts.

Megna is an UFA next season.

Caps also have the following non-roster RFA to deal with this year:

Lujo
Gustafsson
Mitchell
Pinho
Williams
Hobbs
Vanecek
Bau-Hansen
O’brien
Sgarbossa


Anyone have opinions on if they’re resigned or what?

 

[hb12xchamps]

Reading all this made me go want to check some contracts.

Megna is an UFA next season.

Caps also have the following non-roster RFA to deal with this year:

Lujo
Gustafsson
Mitchell
Pinho
Williams
Hobbs
Vanecek
Bau-Hansen
O’brien
Sgarbossa


Anyone have opinions on if they’re resigned or what?

I won’t be surprised if Megna is moved before the TDL to a team needing AHL help that has a chance to make the Calder Cup Playoffs. There’s usually one per year that just doesn’t quite work out in Hershey and they get dealt. He seems to be fitting that mold.

Out of the RFAs I could see them moving on from Sgarbossa (id have him back though if he wants to stay in Hershey) and O’Brien. The maybe category belongs to Gustafsson, Mitchell, and Williams. Williams could be approaching vet status and Gustafsson and Mitchell have shown little promise or growth to take up roster/contract slots.

 

[Cush]

Craig Button's list for mid-January: https://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-hughes-stays-ahead-of-kakko-after-world-juniors-1.1237475

Hmm, a 6'3 forward (Brett Leason) from the Dub at 21. Guess we know who Ross and co are looking at

 

[Holtbyisms]

Reading all this made me go want to check some contracts.

Megna is an UFA next season. (walk away)

Caps also have the following non-roster RFA to deal with this year:

Lujo (sign-duh)
Gustafsson (walk away)
Mitchell (walk away)
Pinho (sign-duh)
Williams (sign)
Hobbs (sign)
Vanecek (sign-duh)
Bau-Hansen (sign)
O’brien (sign if not over priced)
Sgarbossa (will be overpriced...sign if he doesn't want stupid money for vet AHL depth)


Anyone have opinions on if they’re resigned or what?

 

[hb12xchamps]

Sounds like Hobbs is close to returning. I'd assume he gets a game or two this weekend. Also kind of surprised they kept Johnson and Leach around over Watson. Watson was good enough to sign an AHL contract for the rest of the season IMO

 

[ChazzMichaelMichaels]

Interested in your guys opinion on Vanacek. Does he have a future on the Capitals or an NHL future at all? Seems like he was just chosen to play in the AHL All-star game.

 

[Cush]

Brock's mid season OHL ranknings: OHL Prospects: Midseason Top 50 for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft

 

[Langway]

CHL Top Prospects Game rosters announced. The game is in two weeks in Red Deer.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Interested in your guys opinion on Vanacek. Does he have a future on the Capitals or an NHL future at all? Seems like he was just chosen to play in the AHL All-star game.

He’s an interesting case for sure. It’s pretty up in the air on what the future holds for him in Washington. With Copley playing well, he’s essentially blocked from any call ups unless someone’s injured. Plus, he’s sharing games with the Caps hopeful future #1 goalie in Samsonov while playing in Hershey. He’s outplayed Samsonov by a wide margin but that’s to be expected since this is his 3rd or 4th season in North America. I’d say he has a NHL future, and my opinion is that he could be a borderline starter or a very good back up. He’s put up decent numbers playing behind a terrible team in Hershey this year. Sometimes it’s never bad to have too many good goaltenders in the organization.

 

[Krispy]

Is Bindulis alive?

 

[hb12xchamps]

Is Bindulis alive?

He’s injured. It’s apparently long term. But before the injury they didn’t get him into a ton of games. He’s been pretty overlooked by the organization IMO. Probably disappointed he chose Washington and their organization at this point. There’s just not enough playing time to go around for all the D prospects

 

[hb12xchamps]

Hershey wins 3-0 in Lehigh. Samsonov with his first AHL shutout. Apparently he had a few very nice saves on the penalty kill. Switched his jersey from #1 to #35 this week and gets his first AHL shutout. Coincidence

 

[Sam Spade]

 

[Silky mitts]

Samsonov 2-1 6 goals allowed last 3 starts with a relief appearance where he came in in the 2nd and gave up 2 in between

 

[Krispy]

He’s injured. It’s apparently long term. But before the injury they didn’t get him into a ton of games. He’s been pretty overlooked by the organization IMO. Probably disappointed he chose Washington and their organization at this point. There’s just not enough playing time to go around for all the D prospects

That was a mistake to leave NCAA. From what I've seen in World Championships he sure can play, at least in AHL level for sure.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Hershey goes 2/3 on the weekend and completes the home and home sweep against Lehigh Valley. Both Hobbs and Geisser played multiple games over the weekend. Last night Hobbs had the game winner from Ikonen who had a sweet saucer pass through traffic to get to him. Pinho also scored last night and is finally getting top 6 ice time after a series of healthy scratches. Still don't understand why they can't move Megna to RW and Pinho to center. I thought the prospects played well last night with the top three stand outs being Hobbs, Malenstyn and Pinho. Malenstyn has the ability to be a nice bottom six player if he continues to make progress. The coaching staff continues to increase his ice time and he's doing a great job on the PK.

Geisser didn't play a whole lot. I noticed they were giving him more situational assignments and relied more on a 5 D rotation. The biggest take away from Geisser is lack of strength. He gets pushed off the puck a ton and loses a lot of board battles (he lost a board battle to Chris Conner who is probably 5 foot 6). Needs to learn to use his big frame more or he's Jeff Schultz 2.0. Get him on the Djoos meal plan ASAP.

Vitek struggled a bit down the stretch and let in a few softies. Didn't have his best weekend after getting pulled Friday night. Seems like they have been giving Vitek 2/3 starts on a weekend recently. Probably to make the transition t0 the NA game a little easier on Samsonov. They should have done this approach from the start instead of throwing Samsonov to the wolves. Hershey fans have been pretty negative towards Sammy and it's starting to get old.

 

[Silky mitts]

Craig Button has Samsonov 27 and Alexeyev 33 in his new rankings
https://www.tsn.ca/russian-wingers-top-tsn-s-ranking-of-nhl-affiliated-prospects-1.1241872

 

[neelynugs]

at midseason, wondering how you guys see the top 10 prospects for the caps.
biggest surprise? riser? disappointment?

 

[Melkor]

Craig Button has Samsonov 27 and Alexeyev 33 in his new rankings
https://www.tsn.ca/russian-wingers-top-tsn-s-ranking-of-nhl-affiliated-prospects-1.1241872

Surprised he didn't include Priskie. The guy is tearing NCAA to shreds.