GDT: Official 2015-16 Training Camp Thread! | Up First.... Rookie Tourny in London!

[Daisy Jane]

the world must be ending because i totally forgot about this game. (i was in Jays LALA land). did we win? or if we didn't, do we look good.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Verhaeghe is/was probably the most overrated prospect in the Leafs system because of his Perlini inflated point totals. I got flamed on PPPs Top 25 a year ago for ripping THEM for hyping him. Why? His skating is sub par, he shows offensive creativity in playmaking but personally for me it wasn't good enough that it could turn into a niche for him. He's a guy destined for the bottom six with zero playing style or skills suited to playing in the bottom six.

He's the type of player that relies on good wingers, and if he's got them, he does well and makes them look good too. If he doesn't, he's far less effective than say Kadri is when he has less to work with. I do think he has an NHL career, but like Greg McKegg, it's probably not going to be here. In a year or two, he's probably a trade chip along with Matt Finn and Co.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

the world must be ending because i totally forgot about this game. (i was in Jays LALA land). did we win? or if we didn't, do we look good.

No again and somewhat. Offensively we were good, defensively not so much. Applies to both games. Really, these games don't mean much as long as you don't look bad, and few, if any players, looked bad. A few tryout forwards disappeared and look like nothing more than fillers and our goalies haven't had their best games, but otherwise everyone has done at least half decent. However being half decent on defense hasn't been enough, especially since both goalies let some pretty bad goals.

 

[Daisy Jane]

No again and somewhat. Offensively we were good, defensively not so much. Applies to both games. Really, these games don't mean much as long as you don't look bad, and few, if any players, looked bad. A few tryout forwards disappeared and look like nothing more than fillers and our goalies haven't had their best games, but otherwise everyone has done at least half decent. However being half decent on defense hasn't been enough, especially since both goalies let some pretty bad goals.

thanks.

 

[RyanOhReally]

I see Verhaeghe being phased out eventually. Kind of like Mckegg and co. who were sent out the door the last year. Management might go for more high end talent and he is also from the old regime when it comes down to it. He'll be in Orlando this year and we'll see where he goes from there. He could easily be a throw in piece in a deal at the TDL.

 

[ChrisCall]

Broulliard looks too good a player to pass on.
If he earns the 50th contract, i am more than happy with that.

 

[fahad203]

I see Verhaeghe being phased out eventually. Kind of like Mckegg and co. who were sent out the door the last year. Management might go for more high end talent and he is also from the old regime when it comes down to it. He'll be in Orlando this year and we'll see where he goes from there. He could easily be a throw in piece in a deal at the TDL.

He hasn't done anything to show his value. He's not really tough, he's not really skilled. So the called hockey IQ is overrated if you can't skate or fight along the boards

Especially now considering the types of players we have. He was too safe of a pick

 

[ChrisCall]

I'd like to see more of Verhaeghe because there IS some real ability there, but ... is he really a better player than Josh Leivo? I like Leivo, but i don't see him being an NHL player, and never did, or at least not an impact one. ... Although he may play 200 games, i still am not sold even then. Verhaeghe is not yet better than Leivo, but i think it would be a bit soon to cast him off without giving a good long look for a couple years.

With Finn, i really like a lot of things about his game, and out of preference, would rather the play style over that of Valiev, but it is kind of like the Connor Brown vs Leipsic comparison. Brown is simply a better player. So where does Leipsic ultimately fit in?

Matter of fact is that Dermott is already looking like he is a full level above all of them, and he was only just drafted. I noticed a Morgan R. comparison on the other page and was thinking the same thing. He's just TOO GOOD for this to be a fleeting flash moment. He's a high level player. Straight up.

So where does that put Finn? Do they both make the Leafs? I would rather have Victor Loov in a heartbeat frankly. Ok, so there's two, and Morgan is already a part of the team, and maybe Dion will be traded, but with all due respect, i hope he is not traded, and Finn is not going to be as good as Dion. I would love to be wrong, but...

I love Nilsson, and Percy as well, but further to the point, Finn is lodged into a cluster of heavy competition in the depth charts. He's below a couple guys, and there's only 6 NHL roster spots for D. So what is his real future value? I'm looking forward to keeping a close watch on him this year though.

Competition is good, and i love that i can have players i like who might not be high enough on the depth chart.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

Marner IS playing tmrw !

 

[Mats13]

Not sure if these have been posted yet, but here's Mark Hunter from last night:



And here's Kapanen:



Nylander:



Dermott:



Marner:

 

[XxJammingxX]

That Dermott video, the kids going to be a beauty when he plays for the Leafs full time.

 

[deletethis]

Brouillard will look good in a tournament like this because he's an offensive defenseman. Also he's 1-2 years older and considerably more experienced than several other defensemen like Dermott, Desrochers, Nielsen, Lizotte. AHL contract? He may still be holding out hope for an entry level deal.

 

[SprDaVE]

Brouillard will look good in a tournament like this because he's an offensive defenseman. Also he's 1-2 years older and considerably more experienced than several other defensemen like Dermott, Desrochers, Nielsen, Lizotte. AHL contract? He may still be holding out hope for an entry level deal.

He won't be a great offensive defender at the pro level, I don't disagree there.

What I like about his game is that he's fearless, even with his size. He plays a rough game, he skates very well, moves the puck very well and of course, he does have SOME offense in his game.

I mentioned this during the game but he plays somewhat like a younger Francis Bouillon.

I still don't know how he went undrafted to be honest. I hope the Leafs can give him an AHL contract at the very least. He may not amount to much but I think it's worth exploring at least.

 

[Duke16]

What do people think of Justin Nichols?

 

[NikoPopp]

I want to see him on an NA rink before making that declaration. He could be a steal, but we will need to have some size to compliment him. I have nothing against smaller skilled players, but I don't think having a plethora of them is also a good thing. Need to see how he plays in NA.

I don't think you see the whole picture. This is how management sees it:

NHL value:
1. Skilled player with size
2. Skilled player with limited size
3. Player with size but limited skill

The idea is to collect as much skill as possible because a smaller player with skill is considered more valuable than a player with size but limited skill. So, if you have plenty of skilled prospects and in need to add size to your team you can easily trade one to fit your needs. If you have a bunch of players with size but limited skill you would have a harder time trading them for the skill you need.

Basically, I'm hoarding water over food after the apocalypse because a thirsty person will happily trade more of his food for less of my water.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Goaltending was average at best. Some of our defenseman struggled. Our forwards were pretty good.

I looked at our roster at the beginning of the tournament and knew we had the weakest goaltending.

 

[CalgaryLeaf*]

Leafs fans should get really excited about Dermott's potential...He sure looks like a future #1 pairing defenseman to me. He may end up 6' and 210 or so which is not small.

 

[Bullseye]

Brouillard looks adept defensively and similar to Dermott appears to know how and when to recover the puck with speed and agility and physical play.

There's not many d-men of his stature that excel professionally but his game looks well-honed at this level. He was simply brilliant last night.

It is the only time I've ever seen him play so no idea if this was unusual or this is his normal self - whatever it was - I like it. Mark Hunter and Lou Lam have a history of letting skilled guys play so we'll see if he did enough last night.

 

[crump]

Leafs fans should get really excited about Dermott's potential...He sure looks like a future #1 pairing defenseman to me. He may end up 6' and 210 or so which is not small.

Guy impresses every time out. Legit top end prospect. Hopefully, if all goes well, he and Rielly will make a good tandem in the top 4 for years. Awesome pick. It will be interesting to see how he plays without Strome or Mcdavid this season. I suspect he will be asked to drive more offense from the back end and we will see just how underrated this guy was last season.

 

[Bullseye]

What do people think of Justin Nichols?

Looked like a smaller goalie who is really good at reb control and moving to stay square to the puck in all types of situations. I really liked his technical skill level last night.

The goals against were a result of awful defensive decision making. All of the goals last night were off defensive breakdowns and scrambles plays. Not a single player skated in over the blue line and beat him cleanly like the Friday night goalie - Peressini.

 

[Bullseye]

What about Justin Nichols and Peressini last game? People were saying Nichols was good and Peressini was bad but I saw the opposite. I thought Nichols did awful and Peressini, while not his best game, didn't do too bad. Neither deserve contracts based on their performances thus far, but I saw Peressini>Nichols.

I completely disagree with this. It so much the other way round. Nichols is heads and shoulders the better technical goalie with a really good glove. No shooter came in beat him with a shot like they did Peressini.

Nichols got beaten on a breakaway deke - that's it. The rest were all junk goals on the backs of a hapless Leaf defence turned inside out all night by a very good Hudon. IMHO of course.

 

[Bardown warrior]

Anyone know if the big 3 are back in tonight against the pens?

 

[Duke16]

Anyone know if the big 3 are back in tonight against the pens?

Marner

 

[Duke16]

Would anyone offer Nichols a contract?

 

[SprDaVE]

Would anyone offer Nichols a contract?

Maybe as a 5th stringer from some team. I doubt he'll get anything from the Leafs.