Prospect Info: Phantoms (AHL), Reading Royals (ECHL), NCAA, Jrs., Int'l, etc. [Post draft 2020]

[TB87]

Ginning with some grrreeeeat work on the Hv71 goal...

Twas a masterclass in what not to do when you're supposed to be covering the backdoor.

More and more, that pick seems to be a case of Hextall thinking the Flyers need a big left-handed defenseman. When you think about it, the idea is fine. The choice of the player really, really wasn't. Doesn't seem to me that he's a defenseman Grundberg would target.

 

[TB87]

lol. Nice bear hugging penalty Ginning!

 

[FLYguy3911]

Ginning making a big impact on the 4th pair. Andrae better step up.

 

[TB87]

An Andrae sighting! On the PP!

 

[Appleyard]

Great shift there from Andrae.

Cycled well and then showed his strength in holding off a far bigger man on the boards.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

It’s not like Hextall didn’t take other obvious low upside players during his tenure. It’s just the standard league wide changed between of what’s considered a low upside player between his & Homer’s tenure. In the latter’s face punchers were it.

Fletcher who’s been in power for both time periods was selecting face punchers even with his higher picks as well during the same time as Homer but in the last five years or so has obviously stopped.

 

[deadhead]

Twas a masterclass in what not to do when you're supposed to be covering the backdoor.

More and more, that pick seems to be a case of Hextall thinking the Flyers need a big left-handed defenseman. When you think about it, the idea is fine. The choice of the player really, really wasn't. Doesn't seem to me that he's a defenseman Grundberg would target.

We do need another big D-man or two to go with Myers, Ginning was a mistake, St Ivany is probably marginal, Attard a work in progress, not much else in the system.

Which may explain why they resigned Braun and Hagg after Niskanen retired. Unless Morin suddenly discovers his inner potential, that's about it for full sized D-men.

York, Andrae, Zamula, Hogberg, Wylie, Millman may be talented, but do you really want them trying to move Mike Martin from in front of the net in the last minutes of a 2-1 game?

With a surfeit of puck moving, mobile defensemen, the Flyers can use a big, mobile stay at home type, like Hagg if he had a brain and skated a bit better, or Braun or Niskanen five years younger. Doesn't have to be a Norris contender, just a reliable guy you can pair with Provorov or York or Andrae or Zamula.

 

[Appleyard]

We do need another big D-man or two to go with Myers, Ginning was a mistake, St Ivany is probably marginal, Attard a work in progress, not much else in the system.

Which may explain why they resigned Braun and Hagg after Niskanen retired. Unless Morin suddenly discovers his inner potential, that's about it for full sized D-men.

York, Andrae, Zamula, Hogberg, Wylie, Millman may be talented, but do you really want them trying to move Mike Martin from in front of the net in the last minutes of a 2-1 game?

With a surfeit of puck moving, mobile defensemen, the Flyers can use a big, mobile stay at home type, like Hagg if he had a brain and skated a bit better, or Braun or Niskanen five years younger. Doesn't have to be a Norris contender, just a reliable guy you can pair with Provorov or York or Andrae or Zamula.

Zamula is a nasty POS tbh around the net.

He'll probably rupture someones kidney at some point haha. I guess he gets up to ~200lbs and has no issues. Vs his own age group he bosses physically.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I just hope they don’t sign Ginning at this point. Not their pick of course but scouts still in place & it’s not like they haven’t valued these type of players at the pro level either. So who knows.

 

[deadhead]

Zamula is a nasty POS tbh around the net.

He'll probably rupture someones kidney at some point haha. I guess he gets up to ~200lbs and has no issues. Vs his own age group he bosses physically.

That'll work in the playoffs, but he'll get in trouble in the regular season for those kind of antics.

 

[TB87]

If any defenseman, no matter his size, is able to maintain proper body and stick positioning in a netfront battle...they’re going to win that battle more often than not.

 

[deadhead]

If any defenseman, no matter his size, is able to maintain proper body and stick positioning in a netfront battle...they’re going to win that battle more often than not.

Then why does TB have a defensive core that averages more like 210-220 lbs?
Simple physics, more mass, harder to move, more force, the more mass you can move.

Now being big with a high center of gravity and the lack of flexibility and technique to get leverage isn't enough.
And some smaller defensemen excel at using a low center of gravity to generate leverage.

But just watch Myers engulf forwards and you see the value of a big mobile defenseman on defense.
Or watch Sanheim get beat along the boards to maintain the cycle and you see the problem with D-men who can't win puck battles in their own D-zone. When was the last time Ghost won a battle in front of the net?
Or watch how often teams sent big forwards to the front of the net to garner parking tickets.

 

[Stizzle]

 

[TB87]

Then why does TB have a defensive core that averages more like 210-220 lbs?
Simple physics, more mass, harder to move, more force, the more mass you can move.

Now being big with a high center of gravity and the lack of flexibility and technique to get leverage isn't enough.
And some smaller defensemen excel at using a low center of gravity to generate leverage.

But just watch Myers engulf forwards and you see the value of a big mobile defenseman on defense.
Or watch Sanheim get beat along the boards to maintain the cycle and you see the problem with D-men who can't win puck battles in their own D-zone. When was the last time Ghost won a battle in front of the net?
Or watch how often teams sent big forwards to the front of the net to garner parking tickets.

The absolutes here are striking. Some big (& small) defenseman excel in 50/50 battles all over the ice. Many do not. The point of view that big almost always=better for defenseman rings hollow to me. Hockey, like life, has areas of gray. Can the player find a way to excel using leverage in 50/50 situations? That's key.

 

[Appleyard]

Wait... Hv71 are 2-1 down in the last period and the coach has decided that Kinvall and Andrae will be the guys rotating in for each other.

WHAT. Kinnvall is their best defenseman and one of the biggest offensive threats in the SHL. He is basically playing as #5-6 today.

But nah, going to roll out Bertov, Stromberg, Johansson and Arell consistently. Cant interrupt with their flow. And their ~45% or less Corsi on the year each.

 

[TB87]

Wait... Hv71 are 2-1 down in the last period and the coach has decided that Kinvall and Andrae will be the guys rotating in for each other.

WHAT. Kinnvall is their best defenseman and one of the biggest offensive threats in the SHL. He is basically playing as #5-6 today.

But nah, going to roll out Bertov, Stromberg, Johansson and Arell consistently. Cant interrupt with their flow.

This coach is

 

[Appleyard]

This coach is

They had a good coach the last few years... he retired. This guy was the old assistant in charge of the D...

He has never had a Head Coach roll before and started his coaching life as a conditioning coach in the gym...

 

[TB87]

That was the best play I have ever seen from Adam Ginning. Good for Lurch!

 

[Stizzle]

Was that Ginning or Sanheim???

 

[FLYguy3911]

Stud.

 

[Appleyard]

That was unexpected!

Ginning with a great play there doing his best powerforward impression.

 

[Appleyard]

That was the best play I have ever seen from Adam Ginning. Good for Lurch!

He is a better skater than people think and has decent puck skills. A better physical tool-kit than Hagg for example.

His hockey IQ though...

 

[Appleyard]

Lmao at Rahm going right back to his Allsvenskan level defensive defensemen... when 3-1 down.

Martinsson is the only one of his actual good Dmen he seems to like.

 

[Appleyard]

I believe Andrae has now played a shift with 5 different partners today...

Martinsson, Stromberg, Bertov, Johansson and Arell.

 

[Stizzle]

Ginning with an obvious boarding penalty. No call.