Recalled/Assigned: Stefan Elliott recalled

[Cousin Eddie]

I still think he will be the best of our D prospects. Love to see his game grow more each game. Defense awareness grows a lot easier than offensive awareness. I think the kid will be fine.

 

[henchman21]

My only gripe with Stefan is he doesnt seem to use his speed as much this year. Remember when he walked through the Sharks d last yr? I havent seen him try that once this year. He needs to move his feet a little more. Hes improving every game though which is a great sign.

Give it time. The kid needs to get the confidence to do that. Right now if he did that and turned over the puck, Sacco would bench him and I'm sure Elliott doesn't want to be benched.

I still think he will be the best of our D prospects. Love to see his game grow more each game. Defense awareness grows a lot easier than offensive awareness. I think the kid will be fine.

He is at least the most dynamic. I have said for years that his ceiling is the highest and that he has legit 50+ point potential, he is also the riskiest prospect out of Siemens, Barrie, and Elliott.

 

[R S]

My only gripe with Stefan is he doesnt seem to use his speed as much this year. Remember when he walked through the Sharks d last yr? I havent seen him try that once this year. He needs to move his feet a little more. Hes improving every game though which is a great sign.

It's all part of the process. He can't rush the puck every single game.

From my view, his offensive push has been just fine. Sure, he might not lead the rush as much this season but he tries to join the rush at least 5-6 times each game....which is an extremely high amount for a D. When he's on the ice I often find myself just watching him and following him, and he's always looking to provide offense..almost often enough to call if a fault.

 

[PeterTheGreat]

So the cubbard isnt bare???



It may sound weird now, but I think Jones is actually less of a need them an elite offensive talent like Drouin or MacKinnon.

EJ, Barrie, Siemens, Elliott and Wilson is a solid core going forward. Perhaps dealing Stastny for a top 3 D if we draft a forward this year is the way to go.

 

[henchman21]

So the cubbard isnt bare???



It may sound weird now, but I think Jones is actually less of a need them an elite offensive talent like Drouin or MacKinnon.

EJ, Barrie, Siemens, Elliott and Wilson is a solid core going forward. Perhaps dealing Stastny for a top 3 D if we draft a forward this year is the way to go.

It really isn't bare, but only EJ and Elliott have top pairing potential IMO. EJ already is a #2 and has #1 potential (has to start producing offensively). Elliott is a long shot at being a #2, but has that level of talent. Barrie should round out to a #3 and Siemens should be a middle pairing guy. Wilson can play middle paring minutes but I don't trust him with injuries to slot him there.

If EJ or Elliott could play the left side well, I think that pairing could be really, really good once Elliott gets comfortable which might still be a year away.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

So the cubbard isnt bare???



It may sound weird now, but I think Jones is actually less of a need them an elite offensive talent like Drouin or MacKinnon.

EJ, Barrie, Siemens, Elliott and Wilson is a solid core going forward. Perhaps dealing Stastny for a top 3 D if we draft a forward this year is the way to go.

None of those guys have the potential to be a true, #1, dominant defenseman.

EJ will never be more than a decent #2(more like a #3 due to absolutely zero offensive production), and then I see three kids with an injury-prone Wilson.

A week of good hockey does not establish a golden defensive core moving forward.

Jones, without second guessing, for me.

 

[cgf]

I just don't see any of our prospects being best off on the top pairing with EJ. IMO Siemens will replace Hejda as the second pairing anchor for one of our PMDs and eventually I think we will use the other to trade for a star forward to push us over the top, but until then the other will be on the third pairing eating major PP minutes. Basically

??? - EJ
Hejda/Siemens - Barrie
O'Brien/Wilson - Elliott

So if we don't get Seth we need to address that question mark some other way. I'd like a trade but am loathe to break up the possibility of rolling 3 lines legit lines, especially if we end up missing out on Seth and can add Drouin/Mac and Sgar to Dutchy, Landy, PAP, O'Reilly, Staz, Downie, Ginner and Jones when he's sober. That's why I like the idea of being aggressive about making the playoffs next year and making another varly type trade for that EJ partner.

 

[CobraAcesS]

So the cubbard isnt bare???



It may sound weird now, but I think Jones is actually less of a need them an elite offensive talent like Drouin or MacKinnon.

EJ, Barrie, Siemens, Elliott and Wilson is a solid core going forward. Perhaps dealing Stastny for a top 3 D if we draft a forward this year is the way to go.

I've thought about this before as well, especially if we can add at least one veteran like Streit or Scuderi. It's not good to be blind to the fact that we have some players with bright futures coming in, but at the same time going all in on Siemens becoming a top 3 two way defender is a little dangerous.

One of the reasons we don't have much high end forward depth in the minors is because all of our guys (Sans Hishon) have made the NHL as regulars very quickly.

It all depends on how you look at it, we can take the risk that Siemens hits his potential and select a high end forward. Which will probably result in some pain next year, but could look genius in the end. However if Siemens does not pan out, then we are stuck with no real backup plan, as Defense is expensive to trade for.

Looking at this after breaking it down, I think I'd rather ensure that our defensive core becomes dominant. Then worry about adding more scoring down the road if what we have isn't enough. I'm also a believer in the idea that our forwards offensive output is being stunted a little by the combination of pylons we have on the back end, and Sacco's lack of offensive creativity. That's my opinion though.

How many guys do we have that can hit 20+ goals? Duchene, Landeskog, McGinn, Downie, Parenteau, Stastny, Jones (Well.. usually).

Possibly Mitchell (If he continues to contribute offensively.), and I'd say O'Reilly could do it as well. Hes on pace for about 15 right now but I think he can hit 20 or damn close to it over a full season.

That's 9 possible 20 goal forwards with one or two 30 goal guys thrown in. If we found at least an upgrade on Jones somewhere either in free-agency or in Sgarbossa. We'd be fine offensively IMO...

Honestly I'm not really sure that we will have a choice though, unless we trade up to #1 over all. At least the way it looks now.

 

[R S]

So the cubbard isnt bare???



It may sound weird now, but I think Jones is actually less of a need them an elite offensive talent like Drouin or MacKinnon.

EJ, Barrie, Siemens, Elliott and Wilson is a solid core going forward. Perhaps dealing Stastny for a top 3 D if we draft a forward this year is the way to go.

Yeah, the 4 you mention are a solid core...but I agree that none of them are true #1 guys. For me, championship teams NEED horses on the blueline. Guys that can log 24-26 minutes a night for 75+ games per season. You need 3-4 of guys of that calibre to win a cup. EJ is in that grouping now, but even if one of Wilson/Siemens/Barrie/Elliott develop into that we are still short of that goal.

 

[PeterTheGreat]

None of those guys have the potential to be a true, #1, dominant defenseman.

EJ will never be more than a decent #2(more like a #3 due to absolutely zero offensive production), and then I see three kids with an injury-prone Wilson.

A week of good hockey does not establish a golden defensive core moving forward.

Jones, without second guessing, for me.

I know its just a week of good hockey (for Elliott, its been much longer for Barrie), but talent is easy to spot. Anyone whos seen them play knows just how good they can be.

I agree that if Jones is on the board when we pick, we should take him because hes the best player, but based on needs an elite scoring winger is higher IMO.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Yeah, the 4 you mention are a solid core...but I agree that none of them are true #1 guys. For me, championship teams NEED horses on the blueline. Guys that can log 24-26 minutes a night for 75+ games per season. You need 3-4 of guys of that calibre to win a cup. EJ is in that grouping now, but even if one of Wilson/Siemens/Barrie/Elliott develop into that we are still short of that goal.

I just want to see what Siemens - Jones would look like together in a couple years. That has the potential to be a brick wall defensively that can still put out quite a bit of offense.

Jones & Siemens are both very good skaters for their size, both are smart defensively, and both have very strong shots. Jones is on the offensive side of being a two-way defender and Siemens is on the defensive side.

The idea of these two side by side with the potential they have makes me drool.

 

[R S]

I know its just a week of good hockey (for Elliott, its been much longer for Barrie), but talent is easy to spot. Anyone whos seen them play knows just how good they can be.

I agree that if Jones is on the board when we pick, we should take him because hes the best player, but based on needs an elite scoring winger is higher IMO.

Really? Hmmm. Definitely disagree 100%.

 

[R S]

I just want to see what Siemens - Jones would look like together in a couple years. That has the potential to be a brick wall defensively that can still put out quite a bit of offense.

Jones & Siemens are both very good skaters for their size, both are smart defensively, and both have very strong shots. Jones is on the offensive side of being a two-way defender and Siemens is on the defensive side.

I agree that it would be amazing. For me I would love our D to look like the following in 2-3 years.

Jones-Johnson
Siemens-Elliott
Wilson-Barrie

If we keep on the same path developing Barrie/Elliott and get Jones, one of those guys will have to play the left side.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Drafting jones is ano brainer in my books but the relegation prize in the top 5 are also welcomed.

 

[Christian Litscher]

I know its just a week of good hockey (for Elliott, its been much longer for Barrie), but talent is easy to spot. Anyone whos seen them play knows just how good they can be.

I agree that if Jones is on the board when we pick, we should take him because hes the best player, but based on needs an elite scoring winger is higher IMO.

Disagreed. Prime Landeskog is good enough to be your best winger on a cup winner. Prime EJ/Elliott/Barrie/Siemens is not good enough to be your best defender on a cup run. It's not out of this world to say Jones could be on a Doughty/Keith/Letang tier, if not better.

 

[Lonewolfe2015]

I agree that it would be amazing. For me I would love our D to look like the following in 2-3 years.

Jones-Johnson
Siemens-Elliott
Wilson-Barrie

If we keep on the same path developing Barrie/Elliott and get Jones, one of those guys will have to play the left side.

Drool...

What an amazing defensive core that would have their contracts up just in time for the increase in the salary cap and we might be able to keep together long enough to win a cup with.

I'm most excited about Siemens making this team. But based on Elliott's play since he was out with Hejda I think it's safe to say that Siemens' influence on Elliott's play will be less noticeable and that what we've seen of late is the type of future Stefan will be debuting on a nightly basis.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Drool...

What an amazing defensive core that would have their contracts up just in time for the increase in the salary cap and we might be able to keep together long enough to win a cup with.

I'm most excited about Siemens making this team. But based on Elliott's play since he was out with Hejda I think it's safe to say that Siemens' influence on Elliott's play will be less noticeable and that what we've seen of late is the type of future Stefan will be debuting on a nightly basis.

I'd swap Wilson out with someone else, his injury bug is frustrating. Unless with bottom paring minutes hes able to stay in the lineup more consistently. We better have a good #6/7 if we are relying on him.

 

[Joe Sakic]

Imagine if we draft Seth Jones...

Defense of the future:

EJ - Barrie
Seth Jones - Elliott
Siemens - *anyone*

 

[PeterTheGreat]

Really? Hmmm. Definitely disagree 100%.

We have a good group of wingers, much like the dmen however, there is no elite level talent there. Landeskog is and will be a very very good player, but his offensive ceiling is likely less than a PPG. Maybe 65-70ish points. McGinn, Downie, PAP, Jones etc. again are good solid wingers but aside from PAP whos having an unreal year, there is not a pure offensive threat.

 

[R S]

We have a good group of wingers, much like the dmen however, there is no elite level talent there. Landeskog is and will be a very very good player, but his offensive ceiling is likely less than a PPG. Maybe 65-70ish points. McGinn, Downie, PAP, Jones etc. again are good solid wingers but aside from PAP whos having an unreal year, there is not a pure offensive threat.

I will take somewhat lower-tier wingers when we have "elite-tier" centers like we do.

 

[R S]

Imagine if we draft Seth Jones...

Defense of the future:

EJ - Barrie
Seth Jones - Elliott
Siemens - *anyone*

The hole we would have would be on the left side, not the right.