Post-Game Talk: Post Pre-Season Talk

Preseason is over! We get to the real stuff. Here is my quick take from all of camp/preseason:

++ Riikola/Brassard: Two biggest standouts in camp/preseason, IMO. We've discussed Riikola to death but he deserves it. Some people will say "Oh but it's just camp.. let's see what he can do against the big boys." But that's the thing, Maatta/Ruh/Oleksiak were all playing the same guys and didn't look as good as him. He deserves all the praise in the world.

Brassard looks the best and this is the player I saw glimpses of last year. I knew a healthy camp and preseason with time to get acclimated to Sully would bring this player out. I think these two guys looked the best. Also major props to Rust. I think Rust looked better than I expected, and I was actually expecting

-- Maatta/ZAR: Camp isn't the end all be all of things. Just both guys really looked bad. Maatta's footspeed was brutal and he looked like our worst dman. Not far off were Ruh/Oleksiak. ZAR barely looks like an AHL 3rd liner, but let's give him time to figure his game out in the AHL again. Time will tell with these guys. **** happens.

== Left me hanging and wanting a lot more are Simon/Sprong. These two guys were basically fighting for a top spot and neither guy took it. Simon gets all the praise in the world from his mates/coach and Sprong has all the tools. Neither guy lit the world on fire. Neither guy even looked to have a sense of urgency like they were in a dog fight.


++ Best fight of camp - Jarry vs. DeSmith. Thought both guys were really solid.

++ Underrated name of camp: Trotman. Liked his game. Liked how he developed. I think he's not too far away from the NHL and I think he could take Ruh's spot immediately.

++ Upcoming players: DiPauli and Haggerty have to get a cup of coffee if needed this year. They both lit my eyes up this preseason. I hope they dominate the AHL.

 

Pre season is over, see ya in October.

 

Great sense of urgency out of the Pens at the end of the game. Tip of the cap to that. They didn't have to. Worthless game and they really brought pressure. Kudos.

 

I insanely disagree with this. Was I watching different games? ZAR and Maatta both had 1 absolutely fantastic game, which pretty much invalidates this entire section. They couldn't have been bad enough in the other games to get this kind of ire.

In the games I saw, Maatta was meh before the Sabres game and fantastic in the Sabres game. With ZAR, he was fantastic in the Red Wings game (I think it was the Red Wings game for the ZAR-Cullen-Hornqvist line) and was unnoticeable in the other games.

 

Johnson?

Cole, I think he's right there with those guys.

 

So.... Riikola in, Ruh out, right?

Jake - Sid - Horny
Hags - Geno - Phil
Simon - Brassard - Rust
Cullen - Sheahan - Sprong

Dumo - Letang
Riikola - Schultz
Maatta - JJ

Murray
DeSmith

LOADED!

 

I will say I don't see what Grant brings to the table. He's got decent size and skating, but besides that he's pretty meh. Blueger imo is a way better player.

 

I really want a WBS subscription just to watch him and Haggerty....

 

To say Blueger is way better is ridiculous, but I do agree with your first part. He's Eric Fehr 2.o.

They won't waive anyone, although Ruhwedel would have played himself off the roster tonight for a harsher organization. They'll send ZAR down and run with 8 D at this point I think, ZAR hasn't done enough to force his way onto the team.

 

Phil with Geno is the wrong play. It's going to happen, but it's a bad fit for two reasons. One, Geno plays away from his strengths and to his weaknesses. Two, it's not a combination designed to promote Geno's long term health. I get why Sully did it . . . gotta keep Phil happy and stuff. But. it's the wrong play.

 

I think he was just a cheapish knee-jerk signing to threaten our 3/4th liners with 'an NHL ready player'....but....our forwards are looking like they wont need much pressure to perform and kinda makes Grant pointless.

I think.

 

The problem is that Brassard-Kessel isn't any better of a fit. Brassard and Rust is about as perfect of a combination as you can come up with.

 

Cough Drop, I assume, will start the season in WBS.

That said, I'd take him over Oleksiak or Maatta.

 

Sending him down would be pretty dumb, non?

 

Remember the beginning of last season

 

Fair enough. We all have different opinions. I don't think it matters because it's preseason. I'll agree to disagree for now.

Great call out. JJ looked REALLY good. I cannot wait to see him.

 

I'll just say "eeesh" if Dumo ends up being out to start.

Pretty much said what needed to be said in the last thread.
The 6 D to dress is obvious. Just make it happen. Don't care how you need to do it.

The on-going thing with this team this season will be cleaning up it's own end+NZ with the D+F's working together and the goaltending.
If they can figure that out, they can be really good.

My opening lineup if everyone was healthy:

Jake-Sid-Horny
Hags-G-Phil
Simon-BrassGod-Rust
Cullen-Sheahan-Sprong
Grant

Dumo-Tang
Maatta-JJ
Riikola-Schultz
Rig
And Ruh's either here or waived(don't care either way.)
Rest are in Wilkes.

Backup G...doesn't matter and if he stinks switch him out for the other one.

 

The better play may have been Hags-Geno-Horny AND Rust-Brass-Phil AND then let Simon/Sprong compete to play on the RW with Sid-Jake.

I suspect we'll end up there relatively soon because Sid will hit a dry patch and want a change from Horny and because the Geno-Phil pairing will run into the obvious issues (Geno not shooting, trying to do everything, and getting killed in the physical stuff).

 

He's also with two guys for speed Hagelin and Rust.

 

Just going to touch on these two.

Whomever you keep (still likely goes to Ruh first I think), you keep one of them until you see Riikola in actual NHL games - likely multiple games. I love (and am blown away with) what he's done, but you need to see it in RS games and not PS games. It would really suck to waive both, lose both and then have Riikola struggle in RS games and need a little more time.

This would be such a different debate if both players could play both sides, or were just RWs. But while neither have been outstanding, I do think Simon has played better than Sprong, and more importantly he's a LW vs a RW.

Sprong almost certainly has more potential, but that doesn't change the fact that Simon is playing the better game right now. And then to boot he's a young guy himself who's not without potential and a LW vs a RW. Sprong's gotta do a lot more than what he's done to get more playing time.

 

If you keep 7 he can easily switch in and out on a regular basis giving rests to both as well for injuries.

 

Every time I watch ZAR I keep hearing “This Is What It Sounds Like When Doves Cry” over and over again in my head.

 

I'm also wary of G's line but theres pieces to move around if one so wished/needed to do so.

 

I'm not sure THAT is best for him. I suspect they send him to WBS and he goes into the top 6 when someone gets hurt.

My gut tells me that he very well may make someone in that top six expendable once he gets that chance.

 

Are we still going on about Sprong deserving a spot in the top-9 despite his play not at all warranting a spot in the top-9 to start? The only reason he's even in the NHL to start this year is because he can't be sent down, he would be in WBS if he was still waiver exempt.

I think Riikola starts the year in Pittsburgh because JR was underwhelmed with ZAR in training camp, which likely means that he's going to WBS. ZAR would be your 14th forward, so him going down opens up a spot to carry 8D. There's Riikola's spot. This is especially the case if Dumoulin is injured.