Inferno
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Yeah on a okay that was giftwrapped for him in a game he didn't play particularly well in.He scored the GWG the other day.
Yeah on a okay that was giftwrapped for him in a game he didn't play particularly well in.He scored the GWG the other day.
I mean he’s done it practically his whole career...
He’s one of the few LHD who have been able to handle the right side. I’d keep him on the left side 5v5 and throw him out there on the right side on the PK.
Exactly. Even if McQuaid is healthy and is moved, NYR essentially just moved up in the draft!!
He got the second most 4v5 TOI of the Rangers' defencemen against the Flyers and did very well according to the metrics. In his 3:04 the Rangers only conceded 4 shot attempts, of which 2 were scoring chances and 0 were high-danger scoring chances. Compare to Skjei's 4:15; 11 shot attempts, 7 scoring chances, 4 high-danger scoring chances. They each had one goal scored on them.I'd go with let the chips fall where they may, put ADA or Pionk out there against whoever, it's not like putting McQuaid or Shattenkirk out there against the best the other team has is going to yield all that much better results in a defensive situation.
It's going to be a bumpy season for the whole team but as long as the youth is looking better in whatever roles they fall into as the season goes on that is development.
I actually think they should eventually start practicing and playing ADA on the PK. If he can add that to his game it helps both him and the Rangers. Probably not right away, he has enough going on for now but eventually no matter what they do in these defensive or PK situations they are not likely to be very good at it, so they may as well try some different players there.
We need to develop players, protect assets and dress as good as team as possible within a salary cap. Pretty sure GMJG knows this and will act accordingly... if not, Houston...
the coaching staff seems to be looking for ADA to play his way into a top 6 spot. it appears its his to lose. shelter his defensive starts somewhat but feed him plenty of offensive chances and pp time.
quinn likes his skill and has shown confidence in him so far, i would say hes in a good spot to have a regular role on this team. i do not agree that hes weak defensively, i would say hes a better offensive player than defensive but his overall engagement defensively has always been good. hes willing and he will play with an edge.
metrics wise, i think his numbers will show as possession player who generate offense and is willing to shoot it plenty. he does get himself into good spots to take shots and seems to know where to go both with the pill and without.
i would pair him with brady and let that be our 2nd pair.
I agree. I think it's just with the assumption that McQuaid will play regularly, there is only one spot on the right with Shattenkirk here. So then naturally it comes down to those two for one spot. I'm not good at math so I'm not sure how many games they could each get if you rotated the three over two spots, but if it was like 50 games each I'd totally be okay with that. It's not ideal, but I think it's more ideal than sending a player who I personally believe should be in the NHL (Pionk) to the AHL, just due to his waiver status.we does it have to be pionk or ada...if they both earn spots they should both be on the team
I understand Pionk can go down and ADA can't, but it seems like a questionable way to develop Pionk if they do send him to Hartford. 25 minutes a night in Hartford is fine, and Pionk certainly has some things he could work on, but he was playing 23+ per night with regularity in the NHL last year, and then also got to play in the WC for 10 games. It just seems like a step back that he doesn't need to be taking. Particularly given this is a transitional year for the team, where we're supposed to give development opportunities to the younger players. I'd rather Pionk work on his deficiencies in the NHL than the AHL.
These are all good points. Particularly the last--it's totally possible with the glut of defenseman, we wouldn't only be having Pionk play at a lower level than he should, but could potentially force another young player out of the AHL lineup or even to Maine.Don't know why this seems to be forgotten.
And no it doesn't mean that he'll have a spot over ADA but rather that Pionk, ADA and McQuaid are likely to be rotating in 2 RD spots depending on individual performances, opponents etc.
This is on top of the fact that the organization already has excess of bodies on defense to play in Hartford.
I understand Pionk can go down and ADA can't, but it seems like a questionable way to develop Pionk if they do send him to Hartford. 25 minutes a night in Hartford is fine, and Pionk certainly has some things he could work on, but he was playing 23+ per night with regularity in the NHL last year, and then also got to play in the WC for 10 games. It just seems like a step back that he doesn't need to be taking. Particularly given this is a transitional year for the team, where we're supposed to give development opportunities to the younger players. I'd rather Pionk work on his deficiencies in the NHL than the AHL.
I agree. I think it's just with the assumption that McQuaid will play regularly, there is only one spot on the right with Shattenkirk here. So then naturally it comes down to those two for one spot. I'm not good at math so I'm not sure how many games they could each get if you rotated the three over two spots, but if it was like 50 games each I'd totally be okay with that. It's not ideal, but I think it's more ideal than sending a player who I personally believe should be in the NHL (Pionk) to the AHL, just due to his waiver status.
I agree, just because Pionk is waiver exempt does not mean he should be demoted, which is why I questioned the McQuaid acquisition in the first place, it made it a situation where most of NHL development time was going to either ADA or Poink, but likely not both.
Without McQuaid it sure seems like both ADA and Poink would be working on their deficiencies in the NHL.
I get that the Rangers want to be tougher, and McQuaid can bring that at least individually, I get they also have undersized RD, but there is a trade off in NHL developmental time that comes along with that trade.
It kind of looks like Boston traded McQuaid to open up NHL ice time for some developing players, which sets up some strange optics.
I understand Pionk can go down and ADA can't, but it seems like a questionable way to develop Pionk if they do send him to Hartford. 25 minutes a night in Hartford is fine, and Pionk certainly has some things he could work on, but he was playing 23+ per night with regularity in the NHL last year, and then also got to play in the WC for 10 games. It just seems like a step back that he doesn't need to be taking. Particularly given this is a transitional year for the team, where we're supposed to give development opportunities to the younger players. I'd rather Pionk work on his deficiencies in the NHL than the AHL.
My point isn't that Pionk is some fantastic defenseman who handled his tough assignment in an able and impressive fashion, it's that he has things he needs to work on, and that whatever development he needs to do should be done at the NHL level in this, a rebuilding season. Sending out Adam McQuaid (who will be gone next year if not this year) does nothing to help the team's long term prospects; any positive development of Pionk is something that can help the team long term. That's what we should be focusing on this year: what helps the young players most this season and the team most in the long run.To be fair, when Pionk was playing 23 min/night the other options at RD were Sproul, Kampfer or playing Gilmour on his off-side - he was thrust into the role by default.
And I would vehemently disagree with the notion that he handled those minutes well. He did put up a handful of points and the team wasn't killed on the scoresheet with him on the ice, unfortunately everything points towards that the outcomes were circumstantial and won't be repeated.
While Pionk was able to a good job reducing the average level of quality of the oppositions shot attempts, he did so at the expense of everything else. The team got nothing going offensively and were utterly barraged in their own end with him on the ice. And it wasn't just that he didn't gel with Staal, his possession numbers were terrible with Skjei and Gilmour as well.
What did happen was that the Rangers' had a 3.24 points higher Sv% with him on the ice, a hugely unsustainable number. For reference, over the past five seasons only nine defencemen (playing at least 4000+ minutes) have been able to sustain a relative Sv% above +1.0 and only 32 above +0.6. The relative 5v5 Sh% was also high (+0.96) but not egregiously so, but the PP had a suspiciously high Sh% (about 6 points higher than with top-5 PPQ Shattenkirk manning the point) in the 30 minutes he got to play on it and he picked up a staggering 5 points in that time (on 6 goals, with 4 points being secondary assists).
I totally understand that just watching Pionk without focusing on him (because I've seen many reports from critics on his inability to get the puck out of the zone) you might come away very impressed. He got a lot of TOI so you saw him a lot. The puck was mostly in the Rangers' zone so you got to see him defend a lot, and he did manage to mitigate the scoring chances (though they were numerous). The few times the Rangers did manage to get on offence the puck usually wound up in the net and with Pionk's name among the assists. The issue is that every single sign points to this being a fluke and not sustainable. The issue is that the data points to Pionk being a primary factor in the Rangers mostly playing defence with him on the ice.
His sole preseason game indicated that we're going to get more of the same (-17 Rel.CF%) and if that's how he is going to play I would prefer McQuaid being in the lineup over him, and I'm NOT a big fan of that acquisition.
Honestly, there's not gonna be a show, here. Not from me. As I said to Blue Blooded, I understand the underlying numbers of Pionk's performance. At this point I can probably recite half the numbers from memory because they've been brought up so frequently.[MOD]
I will say this, if the team rolls out a line-up with Beleseky as a 4th line winger, Smith as a LD and McQuaid as a RD, they will be a little firmer in their physical push back when needed. I'm not just talking about fighting but a mindset that is more 'pack-like' then we have seen from AV where it was just turn the other cheek. I think that is something Quinn and Gorton are really prioritizing for this season and want their young players to grow within. Setting the example of this being the norm means phasing out guys like McLeod.
This is part of the reason I was more than okay with the addition of McQuaid. Let him play his 60 games with this team and help solidify this mentality. Beleskey on the 4th line brings a similar mentality and with only 2 years left on his deal he's a fine player for a 4th line. Smith brought a similar mentality with him when he was acquired from Detroit and tried to assert himself at times last year.
I think McLeod is meant for the AHL to help instill this similar pack mentality down there. Again, it's not about fighting, it's about instilling the willingness and desire to push back and be the aggressor that this organization has seemingly been missing for more than a few years.