GDT: opps we need a gdt

[the halleJOKEL]

guys stop doxxing the poor guy even if it is really funny

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Actually, I'd like to hear from Don / Ron more about Austin since he would have a lot more insight (even if it may be biased). As a 3rd round pick, even if it was a bit of a stretch, the general consensus was that Levi had a lot of tools, was still a bit raw, but had potential to make an impact (IIRC). Since turning pro, he has obviously struggled and hasn't met even minimal expectations and has barely been able to crack the AHL (thus the comments that have been made).

What has held him back to date? Will he over come that and develop? What are the realistic expectations and why? Would be good to hear.

I haven't seen enough of him for long stretches to know otherwise.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Actually, I'd like to hear from Don / Ron more about Austin since he would have a lot more insight (even if it may be biased). As a 3rd round pick, even if it was a bit of a stretch, the general consensus was that Levi had a lot of tools, was still a bit raw, but had potential to make an impact (IIRC). Since turning pro, he has obviously struggled and hasn't met even minimal expectations and has barely been able to crack the AHL (thus the comments that have been made).

What has held him back to date? Will he over come that and develop? What are the realistic expectations and why? Would be good to hear.

I haven't seen enough of him for long stretches to know otherwise.

on behalf of don ron i would simply like to say that steve quixote is coming along exactly as scheduled, worked his butt off (his BUTT) to do everything the coaching staff has asked of him, and it entirely the front offices fault for him not being an nhler yet.

 

[Quixote]

wow

like half of your posts are about austin levi

what is your relation to him

That one was about Biega. What's your relation to Carrick? Point is anybody can get on here and trash any player without provding anything factual. You're entitled to your opion, I just disagree. Biega was called up, not Carrick. And Levi has been consistently reliable in the shut down role - not "bad" as you said. If you have stats or facts to the contrary, maybe I'm wrong, but I watched a lot of Whalers games and have been following all the defensemen who played during the Bellemore, Jordan years including Schmitz, Levi and the guys they played against. I think Levi get's a bad rap because he's never been used in an offensive role. Some people think all defensemen should be puck-movers and scorers. I think that's great if they can do both, but if they're getting pushed around and scored on more than they are contributing offensively what's the use? I stick up for guys I like, and I try not to dump on guys that are grinding it out, that's all.

 

[RodTheBawd]

If you get called out for being a very obvious shill, you might as well sack up and give full disclosure, because you are going to (justifiably) get ripped apart for it.

 

[tarheelhockey]

TI stick up for guys I like, and I try not to dump on guys that are grinding it out, that's all.

Does "guys I like" tend to correlate with "immediate family members" by any chance?

 

[TheOllieC]

I'm not 100% sure, but think it's a continuation / spoof on that whole "Should have kept Steve Harntell" thing by that Flyers' fan.

should of kept

 

[the halleJOKEL]

Does "guys I like" tend to correlate with "immediate family members" by any chance?

it is okay if the answer is yes

in fact it would be v cool if the answer is yes b/c we could send him care packages through u like a hcanes 28 jersey with a c on the front

 

[Anton Babchuk]

if austin "steve" levi ever makes the NHL i think he should be named captain

 

[Quixote]

Actually, I'd like to hear from Don / Ron more about Austin since he would have a lot more insight (even if it may be biased). As a 3rd round pick, even if it was a bit of a stretch, the general consensus was that Levi had a lot of tools, was still a bit raw, but had potential to make an impact (IIRC). Since turning pro, he has obviously struggled and hasn't met even minimal expectations and has barely been able to crack the AHL (thus the comments that have been made).

What has held him back to date? Will he over come that and develop? What are the realistic expectations and why? Would be good to hear.

I haven't seen enough of him for long stretches to know otherwise.

Held back? I know what you mean, but I wouldn't use those words. He's probably right where he's supposed to be on the timeline he needs to be on. I think a lot of it is time, place, and circumstance. If you're fortunate enough to be drafted and sign a contract, what do you have to complain about? If you go to a team that is deep at your position, you have to earn your way through the gauntlet. If you go to a team that has a shallow pool, all it takes is a couple of situations, and you're in the Show. It all depends on where and when you find yourself. A couple of years ago, Levi had more experience shutting down Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Cam Fowler and and the rest of the OHL forwards than almost anyone in the NHL. Since then, those guys have enjoyed the superior level of competition and preparation of the NHL, some have been gaining AHL experience, and the ones in the ECHL and elsewhere get a lot of credit if they can find a way to hang in there and rise through the ranks. It's a crazy two way street where you see guys moving in both directions. Labelling a player as bad or good is short sighted and indicative of an incomplete understanding of the business as well as the game. There are so many permutations of the whole thing, I just don't think its always 100% about talent (but that's a huge part of course). It's work ethic, it's health, attitudes, salary caps, chemistry and opportunities.... too many variables for a regular guy to figure out with any level of confidence. I think all you can do is work hard every day, take one day and one shift at a time, and wherever you wind up, be able to say you gave it your best shot. I think he's better defensively than a lot of players who have more experience than he does in the AHL. I think good defense can be as much an art and thing of beauty as any shootout goal or breakway. All that was objective - as for the biased part, I think he will get there sooner or later.

 

[RodTheBawd]

When did you first give that speech to your son/nephew/cousin/brother?

 

[Sens1Canes2]

As long as Levi is getting better, there's nothing to complain about. Career trajectories are so varied that it's pointless to try and "project" a guy's path. He is where he is for a reason, both "good" (he's a pro for a reason) and "bad" (not yet in the NHL). If we have anyone here who can honestly say they watch Levi game in, game out, that's the person I'd like to hear from, and not someone who says "he sucks lol" because at a young age he hasn't cracked an NHL roster.

 

[DaveG]

As long as Levi is getting better, there's nothing to complain about. Career trajectories are so varied that it's pointless to try and "project" a guy's path. He is where he is for a reason, both "good" (he's a pro for a reason) and "bad" (not yet in the NHL). If we have anyone here who can honestly say they watch Levi game in, game out, that's the person I'd like to hear from, and not someone who says "he sucks lol" because at a young age he hasn't cracked an NHL roster.

Yep, more information is rarely a bad thing.

Can't say I've seen him play for a second outside some pre-season stuff since he's turned pro, and I doubt most of us have.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

When did you first give that speech to your son/nephew/cousin/brother?

Hey, get your own material. That's my line to bleedgreen whenever he rushes to Boychuk's defense.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Held back? I know what you mean, but I wouldn't use those words. He's probably right where he's supposed to be on the timeline he needs to be on. I think a lot of it is time, place, and circumstance. If you're fortunate enough to be drafted and sign a contract, what do you have to complain about? If you go to a team that is deep at your position, you have to earn your way through the gauntlet. If you go to a team that has a shallow pool, all it takes is a couple of situations, and you're in the Show. It all depends on where and when you find yourself. A couple of years ago, Levi had more experience shutting down Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Cam Fowler and and the rest of the OHL forwards than almost anyone in the NHL. Since then, those guys have enjoyed the superior level of competition and preparation of the NHL, some have been gaining AHL experience, and the ones in the ECHL and elsewhere get a lot of credit if they can find a way to hang in there and rise through the ranks. It's a crazy two way street where you see guys moving in both directions. Labelling a player as bad or good is short sighted and indicative of an incomplete understanding of the business as well as the game. There are so many permutations of the whole thing, I just don't think its always 100% about talent (but that's a huge part of course). It's work ethic, it's health, attitudes, salary caps, chemistry and opportunities.... too many variables for a regular guy to figure out with any level of confidence. I think all you can do is work hard every day, take one day and one shift at a time, and wherever you wind up, be able to say you gave it your best shot. I think he's better defensively than a lot of players who have more experience than he does in the AHL. I think good defense can be as much an art and thing of beauty as any shootout goal or breakway. All that was objective - as for the biased part, I think he will get there sooner or later.

Levi wears his helmet like a crown
He calls his coach Jesus
Because he likes the name

 

[the halleJOKEL]

quixote to austin:

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

<snip a long post>.

I do appreciate your response, but you didn't give any real answers that I was hoping to hear. Right place, right time, depth at the position, salary, chemistry, work hard, take one shift at a time, etc....are more about the environment but really doesn't give much insight into the player himself.

What I was specifically looking for, from someone like you who has seen him more than anyone, is the on-ice stuff. What are/were his weaknesses and strengths. For the weaknesses that relegated him to the ECHL, what has he done to improve those and continue to develop? What type of defender will he be? What specifically have you seen him improve on in his development and how much further do you feel he has to go? What type of timeline would you expect? etc.. That's the stuff I was hoping to glean from someone close to him.

BTW, I don't dislike Levi. I hope he does develop into an NHL defensemen, because God knows, the Canes need NHL caliber defensemen. If he is continuing to improve, that's great.

 

[Quixote]

I do appreciate your response, but you didn't give any real answers that I was hoping to hear. Right place, right time, depth at the position, salary, chemistry, work hard, take one shift at a time, etc....are more about the environment but really doesn't give much insight into the player himself.

What I was specifically looking for, from someone like you who has seen him more than anyone, is the on-ice stuff. What are/were his weaknesses and strengths. For the weaknesses that relegated him to the ECHL, what has he done to improve those and continue to develop? What type of defender will he be? What specifically have you seen him improve on in his development and how much further do you feel he has to go? What type of timeline would you expect? etc.. That's the stuff I was hoping to glean from someone close to him.

BTW, I don't dislike Levi. I hope he does develop into an NHL defensemen, because God knows, the Canes need NHL caliber defensemen. If he is continuing to improve, that's great.

I think your assumption that players go to the ECHL because of weaknesses in their game is flawed. Every player does have strengths and weaknesses, and he's no exception but the point I was making is that there a lot of other factors that figure into that equation. I'm guessing all players do the same things to improve their games. They watch tapes, workout, practice hard, and put the team first. There might be a correlation between ice time and effectiveness for him. Coming off the bench cold for a short shift once or twice a period isn't the best situation, but you have to be able to do that effectively to build confidence of coaches. When he gets regular shifts, seems like like he's very effective imho. I don't think this is unique to him, though. I watched with it lots of players over the years. The more ice time they get, the more confidence they play with, the better their stats become. Working hard in practice gets you a chance, putting it together when the opportunity arises gets you more chances, etc. It's a snowball kind of thing. Timeline? Who knows? I think if he had gone to a team that needed a shut down defenseman, he would have already played a full season or two in the AHL. Instead he went to a team that placed a higher value on offensive defensemen and a team which had a very deep bench of defensive prospects. I think he's clearly showing that he can play in that system at the AHL level. The question is consistency and ice time. What kind of coach would you be? When you're up by one, are you trying to score or protect your lead? It depends on lots of things, I know. But all other things being equal, if you're trying to score, maybe you put out another player. If you're trying to protect your lead or stay even, I would put this kid out. I don't think that team has a better penalty killer on the d-squad.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I heard that Levi was a coach-killer.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Ron/Don, once again you posted a long worded post without really saying anything. Yes, every player has strengths and weaknesses and I was hoping you'd expand and give us some concrete examples of what Austin's Strengths are, what his weaknesses are, what he has improved on in the past couple of years, where he needs to continue to improve, etc.. But alas, I'm guessing that since you are so close to him, you are unable to do that in an unbiased manner. That's fine.