The evolution of our defense

[pb1300]

I can't believe how big of a difference a year makes. Our defense is without a doubt the most impressive part of our team. Mitchell has made a difference, but I think the biggest acquisition to our defense has been Mark Morris behind the bench. All I read and heard about him in the offseason is how he helped form the Kings' defense in LA, and helped their youth out. Well, you can see that happening here first hand.

-Kulikov, while still not being able to hit the net, has finally started to become that Dman we all thought he could be. His brain farts are WAY down from last season, and he has become a solid top 4 Dman for us. That 300 games played for Dman really is something you have to consider, because Kuli recently passed that, and you can see that transformation.

-Gudbranson has also been solid for us. He has some miscues, but he is much improved as well. I think once he gets more experience, and gets closer to that 300 games played mark, we will see even more improvement.

-What can be said about Ekblad, other than that the kid is absolutely amazing, considering he is an 18 year old rookie playing defense. I thought there were going to be growing pains, and rookie/training camp made me continue to believe that, but once the season started, he has been playing like a vet. Its scary to think how good this kid is going to be once he has a few seasons under his belt. I see no limitations in his game, and expect great things from him. It will be interesting to see how his play is entering the last 3rd of the season, since the schedule is a lot more taxing than the minors.

I know Olsen has been ok with Guds, but I would really like to see another vet Dman added by the deadline to pair with him, if we are in contention. I think we can have an even better defense if that would happen. Soupy has been good as well, and he has been the perfect partner for AK. And I don't think I need to say much about Willie, because we know how good he has been for us.

The next step of our transformation is going to be interesting, when we have our BC Eagles connection join us. I like the fact that McCoshen and Matheson are already a pairing, which should only help their transition to SA, and eventually, Florida. I think having a AK-Kuli, BC pairing, could be a very good top four for us, with Gudbranson manning the 3rd pairing. The future sure does look bright on the blue line.

Click to read more...

 

[Aksu]

Are McCoshen and Matheson seniors in college? Are they going to become pros next season?

Great post. Agree about everything. Im actually shocked that our D is as good as it is.

 

[IM Clutcm]

Are McCoshen and Matheson seniors in college? Are they going to become pros next season?

Great post. Agree about everything. Im actually shocked that our D is as good as it is.

McCoshen is a sophomore and Matheson is a junior and the captain. Matheson seems likely to turn pro and McCoshen may stay for one more year.

 

[spacemanatee]

I know Olsen has been ok with Guds, but I would really like to see another vet Dman added by the deadline to pair with him, if we are in contention. I think we can have an even better defense if that would happen.

Great post. Agree about everything.

WHAT? ok, i also agree 100% but when i recently started a thread about exactly this, i got shut down by everyone!

if more people agree about this i'm gonna get pretty pissed off acually. had to lock the thread cuz it wasn't going anywhere cuz everyone was bashing the idea and thought i was an idiot.
when pb1300 says it its legit as hell. why?

 

[IM Clutcm]

WHAT? ok, i also agree 100% but when i recently started a thread about exactly this, i got shut down by everyone!

if more people agree about this i'm gonna get pretty pissed off acually. had to lock the thread cuz it wasn't going anywhere cuz everyone was bashing the idea and thought i was an idiot.
when pb1300 says it its legit as hell. why?

To be fair, I'm still against trading for another defenseman. Olsen has been fine in my opinion lol.

 

[spacemanatee]

To be fair, I'm still against trading for another defenseman. Olsen has been fine in my opinion lol.

you know what, i'm acually glad to here that.

 

[SoupyFIN]

WHAT? ok, i also agree 100% but when i recently started a thread about exactly this, i got shut down by everyone!

if more people agree about this i'm gonna get pretty pissed off acually. had to lock the thread cuz it wasn't going anywhere cuz everyone was bashing the idea and thought i was an idiot.
when pb1300 says it its legit as hell. why?

Wild guess, Marchand made Olsen look like a pylon in the last game.

"What have you done for me lately", Olsen had a decent game other than that one costly mistake.

 

[spacemanatee]

Wild guess, Marchand made Olsen look like a pylon in the last game.

"What have you done for me lately", Olsen had a decent game other than that one costly mistake.

nah that can't be it. people are smarter than that on this board, i know they are. they can't change their minds (which was very FIRMLY made up btw) for just one play.

add; i think it has to do with the fact that people all of the sudden understand that our defense if our bread and butter and it can't be messed with and also how well our other young d-men have developed with a vet beside them.
the only thing thats different now is that it comes from a more respected poster and not from me, which of course is very frustrating.

 

[PanthersHockey1]

Its the system in place and the fantastic backchecking/positioning of our forwards as well.

Just fantastic. As I said earlier this team reminds me of the old nashville predators.

Its nice to have at least some area of our game going for us. We actually have 2-defense and goaltending.

 

[SoupyFIN]

nah that can't be it. people are smarter than that on this board, i know they are. they can't change their minds (which was very FIRMLY made up btw) for just one play.

You'd be surprised.

Notice how literally no one has ranted on about Jokinen and his overpayed salary recently? Or how the Fleischmann bashing has quieted down a bit?

Like I said already, one bad play and everyone made it sound like that's all Olsen did throughout the night in the GDT. He had a couple of nice hits and wasn't a liability otherwise. Sure Olsen has to improve his 1on1 play, but then again some blame could go on the coaching staff for having Olsen/Guds pairing on the ice with a speedy forward like Marchand.

 

[Puck Junkie]

I'm going to give Gallant a lot of credit too here. He was a key assistant for the Canadiens defensively and did well structuring a team system in Columbus as well. No coincidence the Canadiens are struggling to keep the puck out of the net even with Price healthy. They went from 2.45 GAA last year to 2.93 so far this year, and Price has been playing out of his mind too.

Gallant has created a good team system for the defenders and the forwards too. Luongo is able to see the puck now and he's stopping the vast majority of them. The team is being built from the back end out and it's going to be strong defensively for years to come because there are studs on the back end, and the centers are big and strong with good defensive acumen (Barkov, Bjugstad, Bolland, McKenzie). The wingers on this club just need to start putting the puck in the net some more and this team will be very dangerous all year.

Building the team from a defense first aspect is how you build a championship (or at least a contender) club. Really great move by Tallon to get Gallant and then supplement with teachers and leaders in free agency. Mitchell is essentially a coach on ice.

Very excited to see the club doing things the right way for once.

 

[pb1300]

Im just not a fan of Olsen. I think Gudbranson has made strides this year, but bringing in a vet to pair with him, another Mitchell to a lesser extent, could have a similar affect Mitchell has had for Kulikov. If we are unable to add a top six scoring winger by the deadline, then we would be better off going with a vet for Gudbranson, and become the Preds of the East. There is parity in the East, and we are so close to becoming a serious playoff contender, we just need Tallon to make that move to get us over the top.

 

[pb1300]

McCoshen is a sophomore and Matheson is a junior and the captain. Matheson seems likely to turn pro and McCoshen may stay for one more year.

I hope both turn pro after their season is over. It would be great to have both of them go to SA, and play professional hockey together, all the way to the Panthers.

 

[IM Clutcm]

I hope both turn pro after their season is over. It would be great to have both of them go to SA, and play professional hockey together, all the way to the Panthers.

Absolutely. Matheson was ready to turn pro this year but seemed like he wanted to go back for a championship. I'm sure McCoshen will face the same decision after the season, but maybe a championship this year will make both of their decisions easier.

 

[RogerRoger]

Like I said already, one bad play and everyone made it sound like that's all Olsen did throughout the night in the GDT. He had a couple of nice hits and wasn't a liability otherwise. Sure Olsen has to improve his 1on1 play, but then again some blame could go on the coaching staff for having Olsen/Guds pairing on the ice with a speedy forward like Marchand.

Olsen is a 6th dman so he's bound to be the worst of the group and be somewhat of a liability from time to time. I agree it was more of a coaching mistake what happened against Boston. I tink it's the second time that we lose in overtime because of the long change. It's a shame, I was really hoping to see Grimaldi in the shootout.

At the moment, I just don't see what assets we could use to get a new 6th defenseman and I really don't think that a bottom pairing guy should be our priority. Our defense is stellar, our offense is terrible, use the asstes for some offense.

 

[GrumpyKelly]

I hope both turn pro after their season is over. It would be great to have both of them go to SA, and play professional hockey together, all the way to the Panthers.

Yeah. Then they would be ready to step in just when Soupy's and Mitchell's contracts are up and the other guys (Kuli, Guds, Ek) should be ready for top pairing minutes...

 

[pb1300]

Yeah. Then they would be ready to step in just when Soupy's and Mitchell's contracts are up and the other guys (Kuli, Guds, Ek) should be ready for top pairing minutes...

Kulikov - Ekblad
Matheson - McCoshen
Gudbranson - Weegar
Petrovic

Pretty solid future defense.

 

[EnforceTheLaus]

Matheson IMO will make it next year to the big club and McCoshen should do his jr term. Let him learn from Campbell and long term he should be with Ekblad.

 

[Crossbar]

Olsen @ $700,000 has the same point total (3 assists) as Campbell @ $7,142,875. I'll give Brian credit for laying his body on the ice to prevent the cross ice pass from connecting vs Boston, but for $7,142,875 I'd rather have the superstar scoring winger everyone has been wishing for.

 

[ShootIt]

Olsen is a 6th dman so he's bound to be the worst of the group and be somewhat of a liability from time to time. I agree it was more of a coaching mistake what happened against Boston. I tink it's the second time that we lose in overtime because of the long change. It's a shame, I was really hoping to see Grimaldi in the shootout.

At the moment, I just don't see what assets we could use to get a new 6th defenseman and I really don't think that a bottom pairing guy should be our priority. Our defense is stellar, our offense is terrible, use the asstes for some offense.

Cant blame the coaches for the forward not getting the puck deep enough to perform a line change.

Tis what it is.

I agree with the OP. MM and Gallant have done a very good job with teaching our defensemen and implementing a system where they can excel and gain confidence from.

 

[Drugs Delaney]

Im just not a fan of Olsen. I think Gudbranson has made strides this year, but bringing in a vet to pair with him, another Mitchell to a lesser extent, could have a similar affect Mitchell has had for Kulikov. If we are unable to add a top six scoring winger by the deadline, then we would be better off going with a vet for Gudbranson, and become the Preds of the East. There is parity in the East, and we are so close to becoming a serious playoff contender, we just need Tallon to make that move to get us over the top.

Speaking of the Preds. How about the job Lavy's done so far? That guy is pure gold.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

I'd hate to change things up with how well the D is playing, but I wouldn't mind seeing Mitchell play with Gudbranson for a few games to help him along even more.

 

[Big Bjugs]

I can't believe how big of a difference a year makes. Our defense is without a doubt the most impressive part of our team. Mitchell has made a difference, but I think the biggest acquisition to our defense has been Mark Morris behind the bench. All I read and heard about him in the offseason is how he helped form the Kings' defense in LA, and helped their youth out. Well, you can see that happening here first hand.

-Kulikov, while still not being able to hit the net, has finally started to become that Dman we all thought he could be. His brain farts are WAY down from last season, and he has become a solid top 4 Dman for us. That 300 games played for Dman really is something you have to consider, because Kuli recently passed that, and you can see that transformation.

-Gudbranson has also been solid for us. He has some miscues, but he is much improved as well. I think once he gets more experience, and gets closer to that 300 games played mark, we will see even more improvement.

-What can be said about Ekblad, other than that the kid is absolutely amazing, considering he is an 18 year old rookie playing defense. I thought there were going to be growing pains, and rookie/training camp made me continue to believe that, but once the season started, he has been playing like a vet. Its scary to think how good this kid is going to be once he has a few seasons under his belt. I see no limitations in his game, and expect great things from him. It will be interesting to see how his play is entering the last 3rd of the season, since the schedule is a lot more taxing than the minors.

I know Olsen has been ok with Guds, but I would really like to see another vet Dman added by the deadline to pair with him, if we are in contention. I think we can have an even better defense if that would happen. Soupy has been good as well, and he has been the perfect partner for AK. And I don't think I need to say much about Willie, because we know how good he has been for us.

The next step of our transformation is going to be interesting, when we have our BC Eagles connection join us. I like the fact that McCoshen and Matheson are already a pairing, which should only help their transition to SA, and eventually, Florida. I think having a AK-Kuli, BC pairing, could be a very good top four for us, with Gudbranson manning the 3rd pairing. The future sure does look bright on the blue line.

I agree with all of it except the bolded. I think Olsen is vastly underrated right now because of one play. We're 3rd(?) in the league for goals against, that gets chalked up to Defence and Goaltending. Olsen is apart of that D. I don't feel we should be messing with something that's clicking so good right now.

The thing that impresses me about Olsen is that he shoots the puck when he can and he does use his size to knock guys off the puck.

If we can manage to score 3 goals in regulation, Olsen isn't even being talked about.

 

[I am not exposed]

You'd be surprised.

Notice how literally no one has ranted on about Jokinen and his overpayed salary recently? Or how the Fleischmann bashing has quieted down a bit?

Like I said already, one bad play and everyone made it sound like that's all Olsen did throughout the night in the GDT. He had a couple of nice hits and wasn't a liability otherwise. Sure Olsen has to improve his 1on1 play, but then again some blame could go on the coaching staff for having Olsen/Guds pairing on the ice with a speedy forward like Marchand.

Marchand made Kopitar and Quick look like fools with a play last year. And those two are both pylons!

 

[Aksu]

nah that can't be it. people are smarter than that on this board, i know they are. they can't change their minds (which was very FIRMLY made up btw) for just one play.

add; i think it has to do with the fact that people all of the sudden understand that our defense if our bread and butter and it can't be messed with and also how well our other young d-men have developed with a vet beside them.
the only thing thats different now is that it comes from a more respected poster and not from me, which of course is very frustrating.

Watch people propose Campbell trades after this game.