Post-Game Talk: Preseason Game #2 - Toronto at Ottawa, Sept 18th -- 19:30 TSN

[Nylander88]

Yeah, seemed quiet in the d-zone and I'd be more comfortable with him right now, over Sandin. Yes, I know everyone loves Sandin, and he was really smart in the O-Zone, but Liljegren just looked to be playing a simpler game?

The Leafs need to be cleaner in their own zone, they have enough fire power.

I agree with this. Sandin certainly impressed me. And I believe we have a good one there. But while Lily didn't pop off the screen quite as much imo, he played a quiter game. He has a solid frame on him now too. He's a guy I look for to get more comfortable as pre-season goes on

 

[Cotton]

Only the first game of the pre-season for that group, regardless...

Harpur isn't terrible, I'm not hating his game at all. He's #6-7 crease clearer who can bring a nasty component we otherwise don't have. And for his size he's mobile, he just needs to keep his game really simple. And he's young enough and has enough tools that he could still improve.

Sandin looked like an NHL'er frankly, like one of the regulars getting some work in rather than competing for a spot. His IQ is on display all over the ice.

Mikhayev just needs to get familiar and comfortable with his teammates.

Looked like Ceci will work well with Mo.

 

[dangomon]

Only the first game of the pre-season for that group, regardless...

Harpur isn't terrible, I'm not hating his game at all. He's #6-7 crease clearer who can bring a nasty component we otherwise don't have. And for his size he's mobile, he just needs to keep his game really simple. And he's young enough and has enough tools that he could still improve.

Sandin looked like an NHL'er frankly, like one of the regulars getting some work in rather than competing for a spot. His IQ is on display all over the ice.

Mikhayev just needs to get familiar and comfortable with his teammates.

Looked like Ceci will work well with Mo.

Agreed on Ceci-Mo, they looked pretty comfortable and Ceci made some noticeable plays. They weren't spectacular but effective for their first time together. I'm cautiously optimistic for Mikheyev after last night, he showed some glimpses of being a pretty darn good player if he can adjust quickly.

 

[deletethis]

Thought Harpur was pretty bad defensively. Mobility, not speed, was an issue last night. Nice to see him step up when Johnsson took a suspect, late, high hit.

Harpur is a bit like Wade Belak as a defenseman. Probably looks great in practice drills, handles the puck fairly well and has pretty decent open ice foot speed but the NHL level mobility and agility aren't there and will never be there.

 

[ToMaLe]

Dave Poulin summed up the Leafs play (TSN Radio) by saying that those that are trying to make the few remaining spots didn't stand out at all.

I'm not declaring that the sky is falling, but it drives me crazy when our hopefuls don't realize this urgency until it's too late.

Kivi says hi, thought he played a great game. He also stood out, as he should, in the rookie tourney.

 

[Guy Boucher]

Dave Poulin summed up the Leafs play (TSN Radio) by saying that those that are trying to make the few remaining spots didn't stand out at all.

I'm not declaring that the sky is falling, but it drives me crazy when our hopefuls don't realize this urgency until it's too late.

(mod) They've only played one game, which isn't enough time to cement any opinions.

 

[biotk]

My assessment:

Much better game than game 1. Still a preseason, but at least resembled NHL hockey at times.
Mikheyev looked good. I don't remember noticing him in the first period, but he picked up as the game went on.
I honestly have no opinion on Kerfoot yet.

For the D:

I thought that Ceci played well. It is still the preseason but I remain a strong believer that outside of his specific situation in Ottawa, he returns to being a good all-around D who was drafted 15th overall.

Harpur - I know that people don't like him, but when I look at him at ask a couple things - what will Babcock think of him and can he bring something that no one else can? I think that the answers to both of those are yes, but I don't know if that will be enough to overcome his obvious deficiencies.

Sandin, Kivi and Liljegren - I thought all played well. I continue to consider Sandin to be well ahead of Liljegren (both offensively and defensively) and think he will be a top-4 well ahead of Liljegren and probably ahead of Dermott. However, when watching the pre-season games I am looking at how they play in terms of making the team. So that includes role, etc. When I look at young D trying to make the lineup I generally look at how many minutes they play (Dermott was normally around 19 minutes when he was pushing for a spot - and played big PK minutes - with Hainsey - 2 years ago) and the kinds of situations the coach plays them in. If the coach is sheltering a player in a preseason game (which was the case for Sandin and Liljegren last year) then they are playing in more of an AHL situation and the coach is signalling that he doesn't have a lot of trust in that player for the NHL level. At the same time if the coach is playing the D with strong forward lines, it is an indication that he feels the player is good enough to play with them.

For the game last night I think that the ice time for the other D suffered a bit because both Rielly and Ceci were around 27 minutes. I don't think that reflective of the other D, but rather the staff wanted to see how those played together and how Ceci would handle big minutes - which were the most important questions. But when it came to the others Sandin was just under 19 minutes and played 2 of 3 PPs and both PKs. He was also playing on his offside and seemed to play the position naturally right off the bat. Kivi and Liljegren were both under 15 minutes with Liljegren playing some PK time when Harpur was in the box. Kivi played no special teams. Sandin played with Rielly for a couple shifts at the end of the game.

When it comes to who they played against, it didn't feel that they coach was sheltering anyone and I would consider it about even. I would consider Tkachuk the first line (they played against Sandin a little more than Liljegren/Kivi) and Bobby Ryan the second line (they played against Liljegren/Kivi a little more than Sandin). Sandin played a bit more with the Matthews' line. Liljegren/Kivi played more with Kerfoot. Again, I consider it about even.

Backup - I have seen no reason to change my position that Sparks is going to have a better year than whoever the Leafs' backup(s) is this year.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Another sloppy game in preseason. Looks like Leafs are struggling with new breakout and transition. But that is to be expected in preseason. In the end we will be much better off once guys start to buy into it and get rust off. I much prefer this more traditional approach. Only saw a stretch last night and went for icing.

Hutch OMG I still can't believe we keep rolling out that sieve into games. He was a 1 year surprise as a rookie and then everyone figured him out and he has sucked since. We can't be giving up the house league goals every game. We need to pick up a waiver wire guy at 700K per.

Ceci and Harpur are much better then most said and it is only because they played for worst team in NHL last year. Solid guys in our end who don't get pushed off puck like butter. They know how to eat pucks. They clear the net and can handle the boards. This is exactly what we need. Curious how they do against a cycling team like Boston. Montreal and Buffalo and Wings don't play that game but we will see how they deal with faster teams. My guess is they may struggle a little in those type of games. But we will outskill and outscore those type of teams anyways so it really does not matter much. These guys will help out more against Bruins and Caps and Columbus and Carolina playoff type teams where we need them.

I had heard beforehand that Sens would deploy a hard nosed pressure game on Rielly and try to put him off his game. What worries me is other coaches will deploy this strategy like DJ used all over the ice. Use brute force to overwhelm skill. Well it worked 2 games in a row. But good news last night is Harpur knew what was going on to. Good to see him step up and try to stop the nonsense. Too bad the linesman grabbed his arm so he was a 1 handed wonder. In the old days that linesman would have disciplined for that. But it really did not matter as everyone got the message if you f*ck with Rielly we will bust you up. It gets around the league quick.

Kerfoot can skate. Hope he is a player but he can skate.

The Russian was a good pickup. Battles and has size to get pucks.

Sandin looked good but I caution everyone who did not watch the 3rd round of Marlie playoffs last year. The hole is still there. He needs another year to work on his straight line speed. His lateral agility and speed are NHL ready.

Lily needs a couple more games to get his mind around NHL hockey. He started out not ready but poised himself and I think he could play a sheltered 3rd pairing simple game role. Like to see him with Harpur for a game. But think Smaltz was a little better last night so he probably has the edge so far.

And Matty well he is a beast. He is by far the best guy on the ice. Damn he was good last night. I think we have best top 2 lines in NHL this year. We will be a force. I think it is only a matter of time before AJ drops down to 3rd line. He does not have good balance on his skates. Easily knocked over. I think the Russian or Hyman goes there as we need a guy who can win puck battles.

 

[Ciao]

Perhaps they played to the top of their abilities.

There aren't really many openings on the team anyway, and most are just getting up to speed for their Marlies debut.

We know the top 4: Rielly, Barrie, Muzzin, Ceci
We know the top 9: Matthews, Tavares, marner, Nylander, Kapanen, Johnsson, Kerfoot, Mikheyev, Moore

Yes, I'm putting Mikheyev in there ... Hyman is out for a while, I think Mikheyev is going to take a spot until proven one way or the other.

There are about 8 players auditioning for defense, and around 12 for the 4th. line.

I'm guessing several think they're in because they've been NHLers as recently as last year.

Going to be an interesting training camp for those last 7 spots.

If it were up to me to pick the roster and I had to do it this morning I might fill it out with Agostino, Aberg, Spezza, Gauthier and Petan up front with Sandin, Liljegren and Marincin on defence.

If I had until this afternoon I would likely pick a different group. Agostino would still be there, though.

 

[MyBudJT]

Yeah first season I was, I hold my hands up to that. Harpur is 24 and still not a regular Nhler despite playing in 4 different seasons already. it’s totally different

How old was Hyman in his first season?

Again... proving my point!

 

[Cotton]

Babs approves of Harpur.

 

[Walshy7]

How old was Hyman in his first season?

Again... proving my point!

no it doesn't. After that first season he proved himself. Harpur still hasn't in 4 seasons

 

[MyBudJT]

no it doesn't. After that first season he proved himself. Harpur still hasn't in 4 seasons

1) Harpur is the same age now as Hyman was when Hyman played his first full NHL season...
2) 6'6" D-man are notoriously slower developers when compared to 6'1" wingers.

Defensmen like Harpur don't usually hit their prime until they're about 27 (so another couple of years for Harpur).

 

[thewave]

1) Harpur is the same age now as Hyman was when Hyman played his first full NHL season...
2) 6'6" D-man are notoriously slower developers when compared to 6'1" wingers.

Defensmen like Harpur doesn't usually hit their prime until their about 27 (so another couple of years for Harpur).

Think there may be something to that guy. Lilj looks good as well. Its pretty though, I mean we are talking pure motivated players wanting a shot vs Shoe ins

 

[Mess]

1) Harpur is the same age now as Hyman was when Hyman played his first full NHL season...
2) 6'6" D-man are notoriously slower developers when compared to 6'1" wingers.

Defensmen like Harpur don't usually hit their prime until they're about 27 (so another couple of years for Harpur).

Babcock loves Dmen who's height starts with a 6 and also end with a 6.

 

[Walshy7]

1) Harpur is the same age now as Hyman was when Hyman played his first full NHL season...
2) 6'6" D-man are notoriously slower developers when compared to 6'1" wingers.

Defensmen like Harpur don't usually hit their prime until they're about 27 (so another couple of years for Harpur).

haha a couple of years of this shitty dman and he might become good? no thanks, we don't have the time to wait for this below average dman to become average

 

[MyBudJT]

haha a couple of years of this ****ty dman and he might become good? no thanks, we don't have the time to wait for this below average dman to become average

He isn't a shitty defensman, though.

 

[supermann_98]

And you are?

Also first time I remember seeing an A on his jersey

 

[Mess]

This game was unfair because Connor Brown and Tyler Ennis had lots of practice shooting the puck into the Leafs net guarded by Michael Hutchinson.

You knew from the start that ex-Leafs would factor on the scoresheet before the game was even played.

 

[ACC1224]

haha a couple of years of this ****ty dman and he might become good? no thanks, we don't have the time to wait for this below average dman to become average

as long as I've been a Leaf fan the 6th d man has always been considered ****ty.
People may have an unreal expectation of what that player brings.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Mikheyev looks like a legit top 9 forward. Ceci was also fairly solid in his pre-season debut.

 

[Clark4Ever]

You knew from the start that ex-Leafs would factor on the scoresheet before the game was even played.

Yup. Just like death and taxes, lol.

 

[SprDaVE]

as long as I've been a Leaf fan the 6th d man has always been considered ****ty.
People may have an unreal expectation of what that player brings.

That's because the Leafs would rather play inferior options than play younger options that are clearly better.

 

[Advanced stats]

He isn't a ****ty defensman, though.

Harpur?

100% has always been a shitty defenseman.

 

[ACC1224]

That's because the Leafs would rather play inferior options than play younger options that are clearly better.

That's probably it.