Spooner & Khokhlachev

[BMC]

still laugh when I hear "binkies".

He`s doing what so many other coaches would do if in his place, they have a vet who knows the system, plays the system and in general, is good within that system. Not many would supplant that vet with a kid who is still very much a work in progress.

Exactly!

Why are we amongst the few who can see this?????

 

[Alicat]

Exactly!

Why are we amongst the few who can see this?????

I'm with you guys. I wish I had an answer to this.

 

[BergyWho37]

Hamilton doesn`t see big minutes?

Saad plays very mature defensively as does Tiffoli, both teams coaches recognize the importance of playing 3 zone hockey, both play some time SH as well as their coaches have a trust in them

I don`t believe Claude requires his skilled players to be pure grinders, but I will suggest he expects them to be, at the very least, willing to receive or give a hit to make a play for the better of the team and to commit to their defensive responsibility when in their own zone, hardly a massive expectation

I agree with others points you've made but let's not throw defence into this, Claude has no problem giving them ice time and letting them learn from there mistakes.

Bart is the only guy off the top of my head that you could call dog house treatment yet still gets the minutes when he plays.

 

[ODAAT]

Exactly!

Why are we amongst the few who can see this?????

I`ve been wrong a million times and I`m sure there`s many more I`ll be wrong about (my assessment of Marchand is still legendary around here as I proclaimed him to be a massive bustaroo) and while I think it`s way too soon to declare Spooner that as I`m a big believer that about the 5 year mark is when forwards usually have shown all their spots (yep, there`s always later bloomers) but I`m not so sure Spoons will do jack at the NHL level elsewhere.

Maybe if he is traded to an already solid team and he`s used as a 3rd line centerman where he`s insulated a bit from opponent`s top 4 but is there a true contender out there who feel he`d be a guy to have as a 3rd?? I`m not so sure that against heavier and deeper teams his game isn`t exposed

 

[Roll 4 Lines]

I want a binkie.

 

[PlayMakers]

Hamilton doesn`t see big minutes?

Saad plays very mature defensively as does Tiffoli, both teams coaches recognize the importance of playing 3 zone hockey, both play some time SH as well as their coaches have a trust in them

I don`t believe Claude requires his skilled players to be pure grinders, but I will suggest he expects them to be, at the very least, willing to receive or give a hit to make a play for the better of the team and to commit to their defensive responsibility when in their own zone, hardly a massive expectation

Well said.

Julien has nothing against skill or youth, but he does have an issue with players who don't/won't (or aren't ready to) compete and play with character. That isn't just a defensive trait; winning a battle for a 50/50 puck can be the difference between winning possession and scoring on the power play just as much as it can help you get out of the Dzone or kill a penalty. And it isn't just something that older players have, skill guys like Wheeler, Krejci and Marchand all showed they were willing to protect pucks and take hits in order to generate offense. Griffith has shown it this year, and I'm betting Pastrnak will too.

 

[ODAAT]

I agree with others points you've made but let's not throw defence into this, Claude has no problem giving them ice time and letting them learn from there mistakes.

Bart is the only guy off the top of my head that you could call dog house treatment yet still gets the minutes when he plays.

Dougie was brought along slowly, watching almost all of his first playoff, seen plenty of D-men being brought through methodically, not going to get into his "won`t play the kids BS"

The absolute key to the defensive system is the forwards in this system are very active, most specifically the center man, their roles are crucial and more active than many other one`s out there

 

[ODAAT]

Well said.

Julien has nothing against skill or youth, but he does have an issue with players who don't/won't (or aren't ready to) compete and play with character. That isn't just a defensive trait; winning a battle for a 50/50 puck can be the difference between winning possession and scoring on the power play just as much as it can help you get out of the Dzone or kill a penalty. And it isn't just something that older players have, skill guys like Wheeler, Krejci and Marchand all showed they were willing to protect pucks and take hits in order to generate offense. Griffith has shown it this year, and I'm betting Pastrnak will too.

Fingers crossed with Pastrnak, what I have liked about his game is he`ll back check hard and at the very least, show he`s willing to get a bit dirty if necessary to try and win a battle which I think is all CJ really wants. It`s not reasonable to think anyone wins every battle, all he wants are his troops to be willing

Griffith has been brought along very methodically, I have little issues with Griff and I`ll bet CJ has liked his compete, in a game such as last night with the Pens speed, Griff wasn`t keeping up which I observed from the comfort of my couch so it wasn`t a shock he didn`t see the ice as much.

CJ is a very good coach, around here?.....seems to be not so much

Love to hear his peers and what they have to say about CJ, I`ll wager he`s highly regarded

 

[BergyWho37]

Dougie was brought along slowly, watching almost all of his first playoff, seen plenty of D-men being brought through methodically, not going to get into his "won`t play the kids BS"

The absolute key to the defensive system is the forwards in this system are very active, most specifically the center man, their roles are crucial and more active than many other one`s out there

I don't want go to deep on this cause I'm not disagreeing in most part but some need to watch Soderberg more closely if you play this card.

Will say Defence has to be accountable too and this year our transfer game is rough ..passes out of reach or slap happy off the boards .. D to D is getting read not forward problem there.

 

[DNE3]

And if a player can't or won't do these things Claude won't play him for long or at all. Nor should he. It isn't that Claude "doesn't like" young players or skill players. He doesn't like young players or skill players who won't do these things. In his system everyone has to be on the same page in terms of execution or it won't work. There is no room for free lancers.

Claude Julien's time is running short, or it should be. Leaving no room for free-lancers Kessel, Seguin, Spooner, and, in the near future, Khokhlachev, Pastrnak - who is a free-lancer extraordinaire - would normally be the kind of short-sightedness which would get an old coach fired. But this is Boston where the coach believes fourth-line energy blips are a winning strategy. It's no secret that Boston gets outskated and outskilled every game, and this coach's dull defensive hockey system is mired in mediocrity while lagging behind the modern NHL. The plug should be pulled on Julien well before the next three years are up. Or, who knows, Pete might prefer to jettison all their prospects and retain the old coach.

 

[Estlin]

I find it hard to believe that Campbell has been a better option than Spooner as fourth line center this season. Ryan had a strong camp and the Bruins should have run with him from the get-go.

 

[Strange Universe]

Fingers crossed with Pastrnak, what I have liked about his game is he`ll back check hard and at the very least, show he`s willing to get a bit dirty if necessary to try and win a battle which I think is all CJ really wants. It`s not reasonable to think anyone wins every battle, all he wants are his troops to be willing

Griffith has been brought along very methodically, I have little issues with Griff and I`ll bet CJ has liked his compete, in a game such as last night with the Pens speed, Griff wasn`t keeping up which I observed from the comfort of my couch so it wasn`t a shock he didn`t see the ice as much.

CJ is a very good coach, around here?.....seems to be not so much

Love to hear his peers and what they have to say about CJ, I`ll wager he`s highly regarded

I do not doubt for one second that the peers respect and think highly of CJ.
The only issue I have for the present moment it seems as if the players have decided to tune him out for whatever reason or reasons ( does not have to be all the players but a good majority of them) or is it the players telling management above CJ that they need something to happen to help the few holes that have not been filled by Chia and until you do this is what we will give you in return.

It is not the CJ is a bad coach it could simply be that his time has come to move on somewhere else and start fresh where his system will be acknowledged and his vision as well by upper management.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

The idea that players have tuned out the coach is just nononsense and reaching for another excuse to expect Julien to move on.

One year removed of being #1 and all of our recent success? ********. It's just that our team isn't good enough and they know it. That's on Chiarelli, knowingly and willingly making us worse.

 

[ashnathan]

I am very surprised Spooner hasn't been back into the lineup since the start of the season. The way I see it, they obviously prefer Koko as C over Spooner, so once Carl is gone Koko naturally would slot in....but then there's the Vermette theory...so maybe not.

They want Spooner on wing, now, if I can, I'd like to say I am surprised they have persisted with Griff, he had a strong start and went on a goal streak, but he has been next to useless aside from that PP goal against Detroit, I thought they would have slot Spooner in and seen how his inner 'winger' was progressing?

Edit: I too think that Claude benching CC and Griff last night was him making a statement to Chia/Brass, I need better players and im not gonna ice kids that aren't ready and cost us anymore games. Good on him.

 

[ashnathan]

I find it hard to believe that Campbell has been a better option than Spooner as fourth line center this season. Ryan had a strong camp and the Bruins should have run with him from the get-go.

I don't like Spooner down on the 4th, he'd get pummelled

 

[DKH]

"It was nice to see him score that goal, but if you watch the game, he’s still a liability defensively. A guy gets a quality shot in the slot so he needs to keep working on that part of his game. It’s OK to see a guy’s game offensively and we love his game offensively, but at the same time, you can score one goal but if you give up two, you’re not helping your team."

That was after the preseason game in Montreal he scored 1 goal and was named third star

The game he notched 3 points including an assist was in Bridgeport vs Islanders and Claude ragged on competition

 

[DominicT]

Not many here are a bigger fan of Spooner than me, and it goes way back to his first year in the OHL.

Biased or unbiased? I'll say this:

I love how Ryan Spooner is going to come back and burn the Bruins.

I mean we are talking Ryan Spooner here, not Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos or Tyler Seguin for that matter.

Spooner will be a good NHL player. He won't be "very good" "excellent" or a "super star" and if that comes back to burn the Bruins I'll retire from all things hockey.

A time must come in every fans "life" to set aside personal affection of a player and accept the reality of the situation.

Making a player be more than the sum of his parts.

 

[jdz]

Did you even watch the game? If so, I'd figure that you would know Loui took a very horrific slash in the 2nd period and missed most of the rest of the game. Him sitting had nothing to do with poor performance.

Negative nancy box score watchers are all over this board at the moment.

 

[jdz]

Spooner is a whippet who can carry the puck. Doesn't really have an extraordinary shot though and stylistically isn't a fourth liner, but also isn't good enough to be on any other line. He's definitely not as good as Carl or our other two centers.

 

[What The Puck]

I would like to see more of both of these players.

 

[BergyWho37]

Not many here are a bigger fan of Spooner than me, and it goes way back to his first year in the OHL.

Biased or unbiased? I'll say this:

I love how Ryan Spooner is going to come back and burn the Bruins.

I mean we are talking Ryan Spooner here, not Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos or Tyler Seguin for that matter.

Spooner will be a good NHL player. He won't be "very good" "excellent" or a "super star" and if that comes back to burn the Bruins I'll retire from all things hockey.

A time must come in every fans "life" to set aside personal affection of a player and accept the reality of the situation.

Making a player be more than the sum of his parts.

I wouldn't reach at those names either.

IMO on the Burn part.. Bruins trading these type of youth players when there stock is low, witch then turns my attention to the opportunity of playing both these kids when Krejci was out but didn't.

Raise the stock or they give away their assets.

 

[jdz]

I wouldn't reach at those names either.

IMO on the Burn part.. Bruins trading these type of youth players when there stock is low, witch then turns my attention to the opportunity of playing both these kids when Krejci was out but didn't.

Raise the stock or they give away their assets.

How does playing prospects when they're not ready/not good enough to play at that level raise their stock?

 

[BergyWho37]

How does playing prospects when they're not ready/not good enough to play at that level raise their stock?

Both those kids are ready for a shot bro. I would have thought Koko need more time at start of season but now he's banging on the door.

When or IF there traded they won't be in the minors ... I'd be shocked

 

[BigGoalBrad]

These two have shown less than Griffith and Cunningham.


The timing is now/soon though when they get there next crack. We are in January its a long 82 game season and even though both have disappointed their competition and our forward depth sucks its time to bring both up one last time possibly before the trade deadline.


We should give Pasternak a chance later on in the year closer to the playoffs. Spooner and Koko should be on deck as of right now.

 

[Pia8988]

Both have the misfortune of being in an organization with 3 better centers already in the NHL. Short of trading Soderberg just to be able to get them into the line up they won't get a chance this year. Spooner would not be a very good 4th line center either.