Ryan Graves

[AvsFan29]

I hate that he cant clear a puck which is critical if hes gonna be a PK player.

He’s constantly clearing pucks.

 

[henchman21]

Graves doesn't have the same offensive instincts as Holden but he's better defensively, which is more of a black mark on Holden than a compliment to Graves.

Anyway, he's clicking relatively well with Makar. I get that he's not a long-term solution in the top-four but for now just keep those two together if you're absolutely dead-set against reuniting Turn and Burn.

I really wish NHL coaches would get over the idea that it can't work. Girard and Makar have been killer together whenever paired.... Girard and Barrie will killer together whenever paired. Yeah they may get you in a bind from time to time, but overall they are going to give you far more chances than they give up.

 

[The Kingslayer]

He’s constantly clearing pucks.

No. He struggles at clearing the puck. You dont have to look further than last game as an example.

 

[Foppa2118]

The one thing I would say is that Graves is a perfect example of not looking too much into AHL numbers. Graves wasn’t exactly good in his Eagles time last year, but seems to do better in the more structured system of the NHL. He wouldn’t be the first player to do that either.

I think a lot of that might be that Bednar and Pratt seem like really good motivators. They seem really good at getting the most out of certain guys.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

We got him for Bigras, Sakic keeps on winning trades at a pretty high rate

 

[AvsFan29]

No. He struggles at clearing the puck. You dont have to look further than last game as an example.

Sometimes, but more often then not he’s good. He’s had some big blocks/clears

 

[AvsFan29]

O’Connor called up.

Connauton aswell

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I really wish NHL coaches would get over the idea that it can't work. Girard and Makar have been killer together whenever paired.... Girard and Barrie will killer together whenever paired. Yeah they may get you in a bind from time to time, but overall they are going to give you far more chances than they give up.

I think you’d see another offensive gear from both Giard and Makar if they were paired together

 

[henchman21]

O’Connor called up.

Connauton aswell

LOC:

Connauton:

 

[The Kingslayer]

Sometimes, but more often then not he’s good. He’s had some big blocks/clears

He needs to get excellent at it especially on the PK if thats the kind of role he wants to etch out in the NHL.

 

[Foppa2118]

Z shoots too much with his weak shot from the point. I can't stand when Z touches the puck in the O zone.

It is almost like that wasn't his useless slapper from the point but a weird fluke goal...

Zadorov has a great shot from the point. He doesn't use it enough IMO. It's not always accurate but it's a bomb.

He had 5 goals from slap shots last year.







Zadorov's blast from the point

Zadorov ties it with long shot

 

[AvsFan29]

He needs to get excellent at it especially on the PK if thats the kind of role he wants to etch out in the NHL.

I agree. I have him on a long leash because I didn’t expect much from him. He’s played well above my expectations. He’s definitely a serviceable NHL player, and has been producing lately.

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

Zadorov has a great shot from the point. He doesn't use it enough IMO. It's not always accurate but it's a bomb.

He had 5 goals from slap shots last year.

<snip>

How DARE you post video evidence of Z being more than a scrub! Last year he had 100 shots on goal, and 7 goals which gave him a higher shot-percentage than any other defenseman on the team (with more than 27 shots), including our savior Barrie.

 

[Pokecheque]

It's a good shot. Not spectacular, and he's obviously not phenomenal about getting it through traffic, but when he's allotted enough room to really fire it, he can do some damage. He's really at his best when he's confident with the puck and skating around. Any sort of hesitancy creeps into his game, it all kinda falls apart.

 

[cgf]

I really wish NHL coaches would get over the idea that it can't work. Girard and Makar have been killer together whenever paired.... Girard and Barrie will killer together whenever paired. Yeah they may get you in a bind from time to time, but overall they are going to give you far more chances than they give up.

The best argument against it is the lack of puck-moving our other two pairings would have if both smurfs were on the top pairing...but that seems easier to solve...

 

[The Kingslayer]

I agree. I have him on a long leash because I didn’t expect much from him. He’s played well above my expectations. He’s definitely a serviceable NHL player, and has been producing lately.

We won the trade thats for sure haha

 

[henchman21]

The best argument against it is the lack of puck-moving our other two pairings would have if both smurfs were on the top pairing...but that seems easier to solve...

Especially when there are two in Loveland and one that could maybe join at the end of the season.

 

[Pokecheque]

The best argument against it is the lack of puck-moving our other two pairings would have if both smurfs were on the top pairing...but that seems easier to solve...

I've argued for years that putting a puckmover with EJ holds EJ back (virtually everyone else argues otherwise). Put him with a more stay-at-home guy and he's more apt to jump into the play, which is where he does the most good.

 

[McMetal]

I think these last two games are a natural outcome of playing a guy like this in the top 4. With as much ice as Makar needs to get, Graves is getting dragged into matchups he isn't qualified to take on, and the result is him taking penalties to try to make up for getting caught behind the play.

I'm not sure the benching he got against Vancouver tonight was entirely warranted, but a permanent demotion to the bottom pair most certainly is.

 

[forsbergavs32]

FFS, call Timmins up and have Graves enjoy some nachos

 

[MarkT]

I love Graves, but he's clearly in over his head playing these minutes this early in his career. The issue is Z-Makar didn't work very well. I don't know what the pairs should be.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I love Graves, but he's clearly in over his head playing these minutes this early in his career. The issue is Z-Makar didn't work very well. I don't know what the pairs should be.

Yep, there is a huge difference between Graves as a #6 versus #3 or 4.

At this point, I think I would force the D to get used to each other. They need to practice heavy and make this work...

Girard-Makar
Zadorov-Johnson
Graves-Cole

Graves-Cole are going to get a lot of PK minutes but not as much at 5v5. They are not playing at a #4 level so they need reduces minutes....but they have both shown the ability to play the PK. I think the problem we've always have had is that we've asked them to play too many minutes.

g/m...just go for the throat, all out offense..push the play.
z/j...squash in zone play, smother the puck, chip it out. They have got to get better at this. Both of them are capable of carrying the puck out of the d-zone. They should be forcing the play into the O-zone and if not creating much, at least force a face-off there.

 

[MarkT]

Yep, there is a huge difference between Graves as a #6 versus #3 or 4.

At this point, I think I would force the D to get used to each other. They need to practice heavy and make this work...

Girard-Makar
Zadorov-Johnson
Graves-Cole

Graves-Cole are going to get a lot of PK minutes but not as much at 5v5. They are not playing at a #4 level so they need reduces minutes....but they have both shown the ability to play the PK. I think the problem we've always have had is that we've asked them to play too many minutes.

g/m...just go for the throat, all out offense..push the play.
z/j...squash in zone play, smother the puck, chip it out. They have got to get better at this. Both of them are capable of carrying the puck out of the d-zone. They should be forcing the play into the O-zone and if not creating much, at least force a face-off there.

Yeah I think it may be time to go full chaos (Girard-Makar). Bednar can do his usual blender with the pairs as needed, but with Girard struggling a bit with his puck decisions, it might be nice for him to have Makar as the main guy to get the puck out of the zone. I've noticed EJ almost always gives the puck to Girard rather than getting it out himself, and that's gotten G in trouble a few times. Z-EJ can be the true shut-down pair, and Graves-Cole can both play decently in the offensive and defensive zones, especially when playing a 3rd pairing role.

 

[Hasbro]

At the very least Graves is capable of being Joe Piscopo to Makar’s Eddie Murphy.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]