GDT: Pre Season 9/16/18 1:00 PM Flyers @ Islanders NC

[PK Cronin]

Here's my breakdown for who played tonight:


Barzal line - Looked the same as last year, sometimes they were obviously just going through the motions. No worries, other than Beauvillier's new number.
Cizikas line - Looked the same as when we last saw them. Lots of energy and some offensive chances. Kind of annoyed they were the second PP unit. Wanted to see more of the other guys there.
Bellows - Limited time with the puck on his stick, but made smart plays when he did. Wasn't afraid to dig in the corners. It's true that he's not the fastest skater but he's already been involved in more plays this pre-season than Dal Colle in all of the years he's been around. Great shot, isn't afraid to go to the front of the net, and he seemed to create some space to receive passes pretty well.
Kovar - Seemed hesitant or reluctant early in the game, but he got better as it progressed. No glaring issues, but he's not a blazing fast skater and didn't look like he was going to dangle anyone. Could be a low end #2 center or a good #3 center potentially.
Bernier - We know what he is. Emergency call up at best.
Turcotte - Guy has a motor but just seems to run around aimlessly, hitting everyone. Took a penalty and just didn't seem to have the brains/skill for much else. Good speed in a straight line.
Gionta - He worked hard, but he's also an emergency call up at best. We knew this.
Koivula - Complete non-factor. Barely noticed him and when I did, it wasn't in a good way. Very soft and seems to have struggled with the spacing/time in the North American game. At the end of the game he tried to stick handle through a few players and eventually turned the puck over. He needs a few more years and to adjust his game if he'll ever stick.

Leddy - Didn't really like Leddy with Dobson, but Leddy did a nice job easing Dobson into the game. Same old Leddy.
Dobson - Looked mediocre at the start of the game but got better as it progressed. I'm not gushing over him like some other are. This was a bad Flyers squad and he wasn't great.
Helgeson - Worst defenseman of the night. Gross.
Pulock - Had a very solid game. Didn't show off too much offensively, but he did let a few shots go and made some really smooth defensive plays.
Aho - Another who started a bit slow, but by the end of the game he was doing a great job. He got physical and was making smart reads.
Sbisa - Was the surprise of the game, keeping things simple and effective. I think he's better than Seidenberg and would be fine as an extra at this point. Need to see more though.

Lehner - Calm, collected, and decisive in his decision making and movement. Not a lot of action for him though.
Gibson - Kept the puck out of the net, but the game became a lot more dicey with him in net. I don't know if he'll ever be a quality backup at the NHL level.

 

[Finster8]

Dobson is only getting better and gaining NHL experience as he develops. How much separation is their between him and Wilde? It seems Dobson has the more consistent 200 ft game. Nice problem to have two top 00's on D. So young,size, skill both good skaters for big guys. Being a Saginaw Fan it's good to see that he a force in this talent pool. Can't wait to see the him play? Jenkins came out of the gate slow last year and still posted 20 goals l see him with 30+ this year? On a much improved team that could be top 3 in the Western Conference?Wilde is going to be a beast for the Spirit.

 

[MattMartin]

I'm trademarking this......

The Belt Parkway Bullies™

 

[doublechili]

I'm trademarking this......

The Belt Parkway Bullies™

Cross Island Crushers?

 

[xECK29x]

 

[SI90]

Shuttlbuck is a pain in the ass!!! “ I hate that guy” is a huge compliment

 

[Sparksrus3]

Cross Island Crushers?

Meadowbrook Maulers ( these are great ladies roller derby names )

 

[PK Cronin]

Is Shuttlebuck Cal's alter ego when Martin is around?

 

[Macch]

One of those preseason games where you don’t learn anything. No real surprises IMO.

Couple things for me:

Aho continues to be underrated. He’s NHL ready.

Bellows has a sick shot. Not flashy but made the right (NHL) plays in most situations. That’s what you want to see.

 

[BarzyClub]

Couple of plays that stood out :

2nd PP unit had Pulock on the right point with the forwards all overloaded to the right while Dobson was all alone at the left face off circle waiting for a pass to unleash the one timer. The pass was broken up by the pk and cleared but they were setting Dobson up there for a onetimer just like they set Bellows up earlier for a goal on the PP. I love to see the coaching staff do that as it gives these young guys some confidence that they can score.

On the flip side,Dobson gave the puck away as he was skating backwards with it and the Flyer nearly scored. One can blame the 3rd period ice or nerves but I was pretty shocked to see a giveaway like that. The Flyer was coming in with speed and Dobson may have misjudged it. He’ll definitely learn from it.

Overall, though he looked very comfortable out there with Leddy. I thought he was mostly a step ahead of the play in his reads and showed really good speed especially laterally. Leddy of course carried the puck up most of the time so Dobson stayed back mostly. I’d love to see how this pairing (ie Dobson) does against NHL competition sooner than later.

 

[BrockLobster]

So what was the final?

 

[seafoam]

So what was the final?

3-0 good guys.

 

[MJF]

Here's my breakdown for who played tonight:


Barzal line - Looked the same as last year, sometimes they were obviously just going through the motions. No worries, other than Beauvillier's new number.
Cizikas line - Looked the same as when we last saw them. Lots of energy and some offensive chances. Kind of annoyed they were the second PP unit. Wanted to see more of the other guys there.
Bellows - Limited time with the puck on his stick, but made smart plays when he did. Wasn't afraid to dig in the corners. It's true that he's not the fastest skater but he's already been involved in more plays this pre-season than Dal Colle in all of the years he's been around. Great shot, isn't afraid to go to the front of the net, and he seemed to create some space to receive passes pretty well.
Kovar - Seemed hesitant or reluctant early in the game, but he got better as it progressed. No glaring issues, but he's not a blazing fast skater and didn't look like he was going to dangle anyone. Could be a low end #2 center or a good #3 center potentially.
Bernier - We know what he is. Emergency call up at best.
Turcotte - Guy has a motor but just seems to run around aimlessly, hitting everyone. Took a penalty and just didn't seem to have the brains/skill for much else. Good speed in a straight line.
Gionta - He worked hard, but he's also an emergency call up at best. We knew this.
Koivula - Complete non-factor. Barely noticed him and when I did, it wasn't in a good way. Very soft and seems to have struggled with the spacing/time in the North American game. At the end of the game he tried to stick handle through a few players and eventually turned the puck over. He needs a few more years and to adjust his game if he'll ever stick.

Leddy - Didn't really like Leddy with Dobson, but Leddy did a nice job easing Dobson into the game. Same old Leddy.
Dobson - Looked mediocre at the start of the game but got better as it progressed. I'm not gushing over him like some other are. This was a bad Flyers squad and he wasn't great.
Helgeson - Worst defenseman of the night. Gross.
Pulock - Had a very solid game. Didn't show off too much offensively, but he did let a few shots go and made some really smooth defensive plays.
Aho - Another who started a bit slow, but by the end of the game he was doing a great job. He got physical and was making smart reads.
Sbisa - Was the surprise of the game, keeping things simple and effective. I think he's better than Seidenberg and would be fine as an extra at this point. Need to see more though.

Lehner - Calm, collected, and decisive in his decision making and movement. Not a lot of action for him though.
Gibson - Kept the puck out of the net, but the game became a lot more dicey with him in net. I don't know if he'll ever be a quality backup at the NHL level.

I think you mixed up Helgeson with Sbisa. Helgeson was fine. No gaffes, no big scoring chances against whil he was out there. Sbisa had trouble keeping the puck from going out over the blue line and he’s terribly slow.

 

[PelleLindbergh]

I think you mixed up Helgeson with Sbisa. Helgeson was fine. No gaffes, no big scoring chances against whil he was out there. Sbisa had trouble keeping the puck from going out over the blue line and he’s terribly slow.

Will Helgeson ever see any action with the big club? lol probably not but he would keep the opposition honest

 

[seafoam]

Will Helgeson ever see any action with the big club? lol probably not but he would keep the opposition honest

I don't think he will see any action with NYI.

 

[DarkHorse2]

Finally getting to put down my thoughts from attending the game. First game/preseason/weak Flyers lineup caveats apply:

• Barzal line hasn't lost a step from last season. Barzal had actually improved his defensive play, forcing turnovers several times.
• Dobson had a very uneven game. Under pressure he flubbed or overhandled the puck on several occasions. Didn't feel comfortable with him.
• MC-squared line was excellent at what they do, especially defensively and on the forecheck. Cizikas was fantastic on the PK
• Speaking of PK, Kovar showed solid positioning when he was on the ice. He has no speed, but he reads and fills lanes very well.
• Glad Lehner had a solid, error-free first sober start. Got off on the right foot.
• Puck possession is obviously the mission this year. Forecheck was consistent, pressure was high. Team was really aggressive in all zons.
• Loved Bellows' shot and willingness to be in the middle of the action.
• Koivula has a lot of work ahead of him
• Aho continues to impress, with only his physical game being a shortcoming.
• Was disappointed to not see the PP feature Pulock in the Ovechkin spot.
• Whoever was running the music was suffering from ADHD. Songs were cut off at random and replaced suddenly. Very awkward

 

[MJF]

Will Helgeson ever see any action with the big club? lol probably not but he would keep the opposition honest

Not this year. He’ll be in Bridgeport this season.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Is Shuttlebuck Cal's alter ego when Martin is around?

Not to be confused with Cal's gossipy cousin Scuttlebutt.

 

[LamorielloAndSon]

Leddy-Dobson
Hickey-Pulock
Toews-Boychuk

You know you want it!

I want pelech playing, kid is still really young has great tools and trotz could work wonders with him

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Will Helgeson ever see any action with the big club? lol probably not but he would keep the opposition honest

He's generally a very poor skater. It's simply not at NHL level.

Snarl and readiness to battle are there. I hear that he concentrates on his positioning and defensive assignments, and is coachable.

But the skating has held him back almost entirely.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I want pelech playing, kid is still really young has great tools and trotz could work wonders with him

No worries, he'll be one of the team's top 5 Dmen.

Until or unless bodies are moved, I'll continue to say that Dobson and Bellows are just getting good, long looks at this juncture. That's a good thing.

I'm pretty certain that, with all the bodies signed already and with all the PTO guys who could then just be added to sit around in the pressbox until injury, our top prospects will be somewhere where they can take a regular shift in the positions of their strength, developing properly as should be.

We have literally no reason to chance rushing anybody at this point. The team is overflowing with options while heading into a season of evaluation.

 

[scott99]

Great thoughts by everyone. I know some were down on Dobson. I did see some puck handling flubs, not sure if it was nerves or the speed of the game. But I did notice some things that he did that he did in juniors that made him so successful.

I noticed that he is great with his stick defensively, just makes subtle little defensive moves with his stick that break up chances, and he takes away the puck easily. Also noticed he was joining on the rush quite a bit, saw him below the opponents goal line several times, and then sped back to get in defensive position. I really liked what I saw. He’s gonna be a good one.

Now as far as other things, really loved what I saw from Pulock. I think he’s a much better skater now than 2 years ago. I saw him on a couple of rushes where he skated by forecheckers. Also, was flawless defensively. Was very happy with Pulock.

Bernier is an excellent AHL player, but a horrible NHL player. Even against weaker NHL competition. I don’t want him or Gionta anywhere near the NHL this year. We have enough low producing forwards.

Bellows, the kid’s just a sniper. Plain and simple, has had an NHL shot since he was 16. He will be a 30+ goal scorer in the NHL, I have no doubts about that. Maybe not this season, but to follow up what Anders Lee did, one year at Bridgeport will be probably all he needs. Though if he duplicates this every exhibition game, he’s not going to Bridgeport.

Kovar, I thought he was an annoying pest, really was involved in the forecheck. Also was surprisingly chippy. He will never produce like in the KHL, unless he’s put on one of the first 2 lines. May create an annoying 3rd line with Filppula and Komarov. Tough to play against.

Overall very impressed considering it’s only game 1. Only 1 paractice, and already playing exhibition games. I noticed some differences defensively already, I think Philly had 17 shots all game. Lehner looked very calm and cool in net, he’s just a huge goalie who takes up a lot of net. Didn’t face many big chances, but that’s a good thing, means good defensive structure.

 

[DarkHorse2]

Bernier is an excellent AHL player, but a horrible NHL player. Even against weaker NHL competition. I don’t want him or Gionta anywhere near the NHL this year. We have enough low producing forwards.

I kept thinking, man, the speed and defensive responsibility on these two. Then they'd randomly throw a puck into open ice. The lack of vision keeps them as tweeners.

 

[DarkHorse2]

Great thoughts by everyone. I know some were down on Dobson. I did see some puck handling flubs, not sure if it was nerves or the speed of the game. But I did notice some things that he did that he did in juniors that made him so successful.

I'm not down on Dobson myself, but he did not seem ready for the NHL. One play. he was handling the puck in the D zone, to the side behind the net, and came under pressure, and he didn't seem to know what to do with the puck. He ended up throwing it into the slot. I just kept saying No No No No. He also screwed up a few shots in the O zone, so I'm going to chalk this game up to nerves until I can see him play again.

 

[mm11]

I'd like to throw my 2 cents in:

Bellows: If that was not a NHL goal then I don't know what is? Just found the soft spot and did not hesitate to bury it. The celebration was even better. Been there done that and I'm not surprised celebration. Love it! Think the kid believes he has a chance to make the nhl this year. Hopefully he makes that a tough call for trotts.

Dobson: ahhh, the kid is what 15 years old or something? Saw some glimpses but back to the Q he goes.

Clutterbuck's muzzle may be off this year with Matt Martin lurking around. Hopefully they stay healthy

Barzal: will it kill you kid to dish the puck off alittle (lol) Don't worry you will get it back. Seemed to play to get into game shape. Had a gear he never used..

the rest didn't really notice

lets go isles