He got easier minutes than either Bozak or Kadri, so his usage was 3rd toughest among their 4 centers, and their ES ice time was functionally identical - less than a minute per game difference between the three. This usage was both easier in terms of zone starts, where he was vastly sheltered relative to most NHL players, at over 60% offensive slant, and in quality of competition, in which Kadri's minutes were grueling and Bozak's less so but still tougher than Auston's. Auston faced 52 seconds of PK time the entire season, so his overall minute difference came largely via the power play.
If you look at the list of his most common opponents played (fun fact - despite being in a different division, the forward Eichel saw the most this season was Crosby, because we love setting up our players to succeed by sending them out against Crosby with Pominville stapled to his side) you find a bunch of second and third liners and 2nd pairing D at the top of the list, and of course, the Eichel line for Buffalo, which absolutely hemorrhaged goals against in 16-17. But completely absent from the top are the names Bergeron, Crosby, Barkov etc.
He was given a role far different than anything we did to Jack, who again, has been allowed to face lines he's not ready for, even if he's had varying degrees of zone start percentage (I don't know what they are off the top of my head), and just like Auston was served well via competent usage, Dahlin could very well be too.
Risto has been training like crazy this off season. Bogo has been on the lake all off season. Risto will have a break out year, Bogo will be injured within the first 20 games. Get him off this team.
Just because Bogosian doesn't post a bunch of pictures of him working out doesn't mean he isn't working out (he pretty much said this to a fan on twitter)Risto has been training like crazy this off season. Bogo has been on the lake all off season. Risto will have a break out year, Bogo will be injured within the first 20 games. Get him off this team.
This. I go to the gym every day, but my instagram has zero videos of me working out. Doesn't mean you aren't working. But it also doesn't mean Bogosian isn't just made of glass, though.Just because Bogosian doesn't post a bunch of pictures of him working out doesn't mean he isn't working out (he pretty much said this to a fan on twitter)
Fake news. I’m at a hockey camp where one of the coaches grew up in Messina with Bogosian and is still in contact with him. Bogosian is training hard. His body just may not be able to take the stress at the NHL level. It happens.
Risto has been training like crazy this off season. Bogo has been on the lake all off season. Risto will have a break out year, Bogo will be injured within the first 20 games. Get him off this team.
I'm not saying Dahin can't handle playing top 4 minutes, I'm just saying it would be irresponsible for the Sabres to give him #3/4 minutes right off the bat. The perfect role for this kid to start off is 3rd pair ES minutes with PP1 time. To the people that say " oh he's a generational defenseman, he can handle it"...I don't care how good he is right now, you just do not start an 18 year old defenseman off on the 2nd pairing playing 18-20 minutes a night. It's just plain stupid.
Also it was very inexcusable for Eichel to start off playing #2 center minutes right off the bat, but since at the time he was one of the best players on the team, they had nowhere else to put him. We (sort of) have the luxury with Dahlin where we can put competent enough (ehh) players on the second pair and push him down to the 3rd pair for the first half of the season or so.
I have no doubts that he's going to be an elite #1 defenseman very soon, but why rush him there instead of letting him grow his game against lesser competition?
Feeding him sheltered time versus lower level matchups won’t expedite his growth. You could probably argue the other way, where it would allow more bad habits to creep in and/or see him rely on natural abilities to make plays simply because he’s that much more gifted.I'm not saying Dahin can't handle playing top 4 minutes, I'm just saying it would be irresponsible for the Sabres to give him #3/4 minutes right off the bat. The perfect role for this kid to start off is 3rd pair ES minutes with PP1 time. To the people that say " oh he's a generational defenseman, he can handle it"...I don't care how good he is right now, you just do not start an 18 year old defenseman off on the 2nd pairing playing 18-20 minutes a night. It's just plain stupid.
Also it was very inexcusable for Eichel to start off playing #2 center minutes right off the bat, but since at the time he was one of the best players on the team, they had nowhere else to put him. We (sort of) have the luxury with Dahlin where we can put competent enough (ehh) players on the second pair and push him down to the 3rd pair for the first half of the season or so.
I have no doubts that he's going to be an elite #1 defenseman very soon, but why rush him there instead of letting him grow his game against lesser competition?
I said this months ago...
It wouldn’t be terrible if Dahlin played the entire preseason on the 3rd pairing. And even the first 6-10 games of the season. Get acclimated for a month or so, then throw him on the 2nd pairing and see how he does. In that timeframe, throw him on PP1, PP2, PK1, PK2 and see how he does. Of course if he rips it up and dominates, you throw him up even sooner.
Can someone with a logical well, thought out, non-dramatic argument tell me why that would be so ZOMG terrible?
Didn't Doughty pretty much play top pair right away? He turned out ok. No reason to say with such certainty that Dahlin shouldn't do the same.I'm not saying Dahin can't handle playing top 4 minutes, I'm just saying it would be irresponsible for the Sabres to give him #3/4 minutes right off the bat. The perfect role for this kid to start off is 3rd pair ES minutes with PP1 time. To the people that say " oh he's a generational defenseman, he can handle it"...I don't care how good he is right now, you just do not start an 18 year old defenseman off on the 2nd pairing playing 18-20 minutes a night. It's just plain stupid.
Also it was very inexcusable for Eichel to start off playing #2 center minutes right off the bat, but since at the time he was one of the best players on the team, they had nowhere else to put him. We (sort of) have the luxury with Dahlin where we can put competent enough (ehh) players on the second pair and push him down to the 3rd pair for the first half of the season or so.
I have no doubts that he's going to be an elite #1 defenseman very soon, but why rush him there instead of letting him grow his game against lesser competition?
He also made the Olympic team the following season and was excellent on that stage as well.Didn't Doughty pretty much play top pair right away? He turned out ok. No reason to say with such certainty that Dahlin shouldn't do the same.
I would be inclined to agree with you if we had more depth in talent on the back end. We have a lot of bodies, but not a high talent level for the most part. I think Dahlin comes in and shows he is good enough to at least start on the second pairing, with some PP minutes. Maybe he has a bad camp and is relegated to the third pairing, but i just don't see it.I said this months ago...
It wouldn’t be terrible if Dahlin played the entire preseason on the 3rd pairing. And even the first 6-10 games of the season. Get acclimated for a month or so, then throw him on the 2nd pairing and see how he does. In that timeframe, throw him on PP1, PP2, PK1, PK2 and see how he does. Of course if he rips it up and dominates, you throw him up even sooner.
Can someone with a logical well, thought out, non-dramatic argument tell me why that would be so ZOMG terrible?
We certainly were not forced into doing exactly what we did, and it's not as if we would have been far worse over the last three years by easing Eichel in a little slower.All of which was possible due to the talent the Leafs had at forward. Do we have the equivalent talent on our blueline to do something similar with Dahlin?
This is a poor take since you seem to be implying we had usage options like the Leafs did. Or that teams didn't have a much tougher tactical/matchup task in front of them to stop the Leafs vs trying to stop our offense or our top offensive line. In 16-17 the Leafs were able to roll out two equally effective scoring lines, Hyman/Mathews/Nylander and JVR/Bozak/Marner, as well as a very good counterpunching match up line anchored by Kadri/Komerov you obviously have far more to work with to dictate matchups. They could also roll the liones more evenly due to the talent they had.
Mathews had a FAR more favorable situation to Eichel due to the overall talent in the Leaf's forward group. Do we have a similar situation with our defense to allow Dahlin to start in a sheltered 3rd pairing role?
I get your premise that you can shelter a high end talent. But for the Leafs example with Mathews to make sense/be relevant to Dahlin we need the equivalent level of talent on our defense. I also don't see a similarity with Jack either since he had less help. I think Dahlin will get more help or talent around him than Jack did and I think his situation falls somewhere between them (Mathews/Eichel). Dahlin can be used in the top 4 without having the kitchen sink thrown at him like Risto has.
Definitely. See guys when you stalk players online you get the good info. I mean Bogo has a reputation for being a lazy fattie, so I’m not surprised by this investigation bearing this news.
I think your sarcasm meter is broken. Bogosian has lots of flaws as a player, but literally the only thing that got him paid and drafted is that he is a workout warrior.He’s averaged just 50 games a year over his 11 year career on average. Some players are simply more committed then others. I can’t blame him though. He has a family he wants to spend time with and is set for life financially.