Player Discussion Peter Cehlarik - II

[BruinDust]

Glad Sweeney finally woke up from his coma and called up skills from Providence with Cehlarik.

In one game, he has 1 more goal than Acciari has all year. 40% of Kuraly, Wagner or Nordstrom.

Too many no hands grinders on this team. Calling up Cehlarik is a start and Acciari is sitting tonight. Team improved with this callup.

Ice time it took Cehlarik to score his last 2 NHL goals = 18 mins.

Ice time it took Acciari to score his last 2 NHL goals = 561 mins.

This is why I get mad when I see teams hell bent on icing a "traditional" or "energy" 4th line. You end up demoting better players at the expense of these grinders.

People can talk about hits, and energy, and momentum, and whatever. Bottom line, the game is about putting more pucks past the opponent's netminder and preventing the opposing team from putting pucks past yours.

So unless that 4th line grinder is preventing massive amount of goals from being scored on their own net, are they really helping win that many hockey games if they aren't generating some level of offensive production?

I don't mind having a grinder or two on the 4th line. I'm not advocating to go 100% speed and skill and youth on the 4th line.

I just don't get why it HAS to be three of them, ALL the time, and there is very little flexibility there. We've seen coaches fiddle with their scoring lines just to keep a particular 4th line together. If I'm a coach, the last line I'm worried about keeping as a permanent unit would be the line I use the least. Seems logical but that's not what happens.

 

[Sheppy]

Peter Cehlarik is one of only 5 Bruins players to have a multi goal game this year, i believe.

Pastrnak
Marchand
Bergeron
DeBrusk
Cehlarik

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Peter Cehlarik is one of only 5 Bruins players to have a multi goal game this year, i believe.

Pastrnak
Marchand
Bergeron
DeBrusk
Cehlarik

Brayden Schenn has a two goal game...

 

[22Brad Park]

Obviously he got the call up cause he seemed to earn it.

But it's still a lingering thought that he could also be getting showcased simply because of the Bruins surplus of young left handed wingers all around the same age (Heinen, Bjork, Donato, Cehlarik)

Well Cehlarik nearly did more in 1 nite then them 3 did all year .Maybe it will lead Bruins to part with a couple of them now.Could work the other way too.

 

[rocketdan9]

Peter Cehlarik is one of only 5 Bruins players to have a multi goal game this year, i believe.

Pastrnak
Marchand
Bergeron
DeBrusk
Cehlarik

Didnt Kuraly have a multiple goal game?

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Didnt Kuraly have a multiple goal game?

I think so

 

[Sheppy]

I think so

Yes, I forgot that. Hahaha

 

[Estlin]

I don't mind having a grinder or two on the 4th line. I'm not advocating to go 100% speed and skill and youth on the 4th line.

I am I think that the NHL is gradually moving away from grinders and role players and moving towards having more skilled players in the lineup. There's no reason not to have such players on the fourth line. I've mentioned elsewhere that anyone can learn to kill penalties, for example (it's not a difficult skill), and having speedy and skilled players on the fourth line can include those who can handle PK duties. It provides the coach with a lot more flexibility in terms of his lineup, plus we don't have to hear people say, "But we need Acciari and Wagner because they kills penalties!"

As for Cehlarik, given his strong camp, he really ought to have been in Boston from the get-go, and on the fourth line at the very least.

 

[PlayMakers]

when you were telling people to pump the brakes last night I actually re-read the last few pages of that thread & only found one instance of someone getting carried away with saying he was the solution. virtually everyone was:
1. excited that a guy they rooted for got a chance and did well
2. saying management was dumb for taking so long to give him that chance

so pretty much nobody was being unreasonable or overly optimistic.

I agree Russell. I think that, short of 1 or 2 people, most have been cautiously optimistic about his performance, and happy to see him finally get a chance. (Fwiw, I think if it had gone the other way, people would have gotten hammered mercilessly, so I actually thought the reaction to him doing well was pretty tempered.)

I also agree that it was dumb it took so long. Heck, even Cassidy can't figure that one out. I don't care that he didn't have a great October, he had a great camp and got screwed. He was obviously playing through some disappointment/rejection. Besides JFK didn't have a great October and he still got the call over Colby Cave who was playing great. JFK had a decent camp and that was enough. It should have been enough for Cehlarik too (when they needed a wing). Instead he had to watch Donato and Bjork get every opportunity, he had to watch Kuraly and Wagner and Nordstrom and Backes all get time with Krejci. He had to feel like, it doesn't matter what I do, they don't want me.

At any rate, glad he's finally here and I hope he's able to stick.

 

[PlayMakers]

OT: Anybody think that quote by Cassidy was a shot at Sweeney? It had this vibe like he wanted him all along and didn't understand why he wasn't here sooner.

 

[LouJersey]

he was also a Chia guy and these guys get lost in new regimes sometimes, like Fitzgerald,,,Blidh... and they never seem to be in the plans...hopefully he has broken through.

 

[Estlin]

he was also a Chia guy and these guys get lost in new regimes sometimes, like Fitzgerald,,,Blidh... and they never seem to be in the plans...hopefully he has broken through.

So are Bjork, Donato and Heinen, for example.

 

[PlayMakers]

he was also a Chia guy and these guys get lost in new regimes sometimes, like Fitzgerald,,,Blidh... and they never seem to be in the plans...hopefully he has broken through.

Yeah, fair points. Blidh is a close second to Cehlarik for me in terms of not understanding why they don't give him a chance. They sign guys like Nordstrom and Wagner (who I like) for 4th line roles and constantly pass over Blidh.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

So are Bjork, Donato and Heinen, for example.

I think Sweeney was more involved by the time of the 2014 draft (Cehlarik was 2013) and Sweeney was the one who signed all the college guys even if he wasn't the GM when they were drafted. I definitely think the 2014 guys are basically "Sweeney guys"

 

[LouJersey]

So are Bjork, Donato and Heinen, for example.

From what I understand and have read 14 was the first year Sweeney was involved in the process to a major degree, so I am assuming if that's the case he considers them "his" guys to a degree as well.

 

[PlayMakers]

So are Bjork, Donato and Heinen, for example.

Sweeney signed Bjork out of college and convinced him not to become a UFA so he has a stake in that player.

Donato is practically Sweeney's nephew.

But you could make the case that Sweeney didn't love Heinen either. Heinen outplayed Bjork and DeBrusk in camp in 2017 but still got sent to Providence. He had to dominate Providence and then play his way up from the 4th line before he was considered a regular. He earned his spot on this roster last year and I really hope they don't make the mistake of thinking Cehlarik makes Heinen expendable. The team needs both (and a proven RW!).

 

[LSCII]

Yeah, fair points. Blidh is a close second to Cehlarik for me in terms of not understanding why they don't give him a chance. They sign guys like Nordstrom and Wagner (who I like) for 4th line roles and constantly pass over Blidh.

Can't really explain why Nords was given a shot over Blidh because both are very much the hockey equivalent of water, but I'd take Wagner over both every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

As for Cehlarik, I'm glad he had a good game. Even better that he lit the lamp twice. The first goal saved his ass from a HF beating for taking that bad penalty early in the first period, and the second goal gives me hope that he'll at least be a better option than the rolling cycle of hot garbage they've put up in that spot all year long.

Even with the 2 goals though, this is a team that only netted 3 and lost the game. They're simply missing something, even if Cehlarik sticks around for a bit.

 

[Saxon Eric]

OT: Anybody think that quote by Cassidy was a shot at Sweeney? It had this vibe like he wanted him all along and didn't understand why he wasn't here sooner.

No,I think it was an attempt at making fun of himself

 

[GloryDaze4877]

OT: Anybody think that quote by Cassidy was a shot at Sweeney? It had this vibe like he wanted him all along and didn't understand why he wasn't here sooner.

I’m not buying this.

Cassidy was the one that came out with the “pace” comment about Cehlarik. I find it hard to believe that Sweeney put him up to that, and that he “secretly” liked him.

 

[PB37]

Ice time it took Cehlarik to score his last 2 NHL goals = 18 mins.

Ice time it took Acciari to score his last 2 NHL goals = 561 mins.

This is why I get mad when I see teams hell bent on icing a "traditional" or "energy" 4th line. You end up demoting better players at the expense of these grinders.

People can talk about hits, and energy, and momentum, and whatever. Bottom line, the game is about putting more pucks past the opponent's netminder and preventing the opposing team from putting pucks past yours.

So unless that 4th line grinder is preventing massive amount of goals from being scored on their own net, are they really helping win that many hockey games if they aren't generating some level of offensive production?

I don't mind having a grinder or two on the 4th line. I'm not advocating to go 100% speed and skill and youth on the 4th line.

I just don't get why it HAS to be three of them, ALL the time, and there is very little flexibility there. We've seen coaches fiddle with their scoring lines just to keep a particular 4th line together. If I'm a coach, the last line I'm worried about keeping as a permanent unit would be the line I use the least. Seems logical but that's not what happens.

It's because better players usually don't play on the 4th line or stay there for very long. A guy that can pop in goals is going to get moved up and play with players with skill. More minutes, more chances, better players.

 

[PB37]

I’m not buying this.

Cassidy was the one that came out with the “pace” comment about Cehlarik. I find it hard to believe that Sweeney put him up to that, and that he “secretly” liked him.

Exactly. I think he was just being candid, humorous even.

 

[PlayMakers]

No,I think it was an attempt at making fun of himself

I’m not buying this.

Cassidy was the one that came out with the “pace” comment about Cehlarik. I find it hard to believe that Sweeney put him up to that, and that he “secretly” liked him.

Exactly. I think he was just being candid, humorous even.

You're probably right.

 

[chizzler]

Probably being showcased.

 

[BruinDust]

It's because better players usually don't play on the 4th line or stay there for very long. A guy that can pop in goals is going to get moved up and play with players with skill. More minutes, more chances, better players.

So then take an underperforming guy from the one of the higher lines, move him down in exchange for the player on the 4th line whose producing, and vice-versa.

Coming out of camp would of been a perfect opportunity. They had Donato and Bjork on the Top 3 lines. They could of put Cehlarik on the 4th line and if he performed well, move him up and one of the under-performing young guys down. Internal competition, which should be a good thing, not a bad thing.

We saw it in 2010-11. Marchand started on the 4th, Jordan Caron was actually on the Bergeron-Recchi line for a time early that season. Marchand performed, Caron didn't, eventually they made the switch and away they go.

A carved-in-stone 4th line to me hand-cuffs coaches, why can't it just be 12 forwards competing for ice-time and opportunities. Make in-game adjustments. If you feel you need some momentum, toss your 3 most physical forwards together for a few shifts. No problem.

I just think that in today's game, you need much more flexibility in your line-up. Absolute permanent 4th lines hinder that flexibility, and in the long run hurt your team. It's an antiquated way of putting together a line-up IMO. I don't care about lines having "identity" or "roles". I just want 4 lines that I can GENERALLY roll through 5 on 5 that are all simply trying to play the best hockey they possibly can at both ends of the ice.

 

[ODAAT]

he was also a Chia guy and these guys get lost in new regimes sometimes, like Fitzgerald,,,Blidh... and they never seem to be in the plans...hopefully he has broken through.

but with Sweeney working in the organization, not sure it`s the same as he`d be familiar with the picks and while he may not have agreed with them all, have to think that any GM, regardless if a kid is his pick or not, wants the best team iced. I have to think he and PC worked very closely