The Happy Puppy thread

Gator Mike

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Feb 28, 2002
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Alberta_OReilly_Fan

Bruin fan since 1975
Nov 26, 2006
14,331
3,941
Edmonton Canada

I don't own any dogs for the past 30 years... so I wont share a pic of one here. I don't mind that you all have
jumped into this thread with the various dog picks... I like dogs. so I will share my icon I use over in HFL

rbm714.jpg


with that out of the way... I have been collecting as many bruin 'kids' and prospects as possible
in that keeper league and it encourages me to keep an eye on some of our kids.
what bruin fan isn't happy with the current state of our kids?

tsn released their core under 24 rankings today... where does boston rate in their opinion?
number 7

not too shabby

and look at the kids getting their feet wet in the nhl this year
Urho vaakanainen
Jeremy lauzon
Jacob zboril
Jacob forsbacka karlsson

this follows the huge strides made last year by
Charlie McAvoy
danton Heinen
anders Bjork
jake debrusk
matt grezlyck

and only 2 years since
brandon carlo jumped in
sean kuraly

what are the other kids doing?
trent federic
jack studnicka
Zachary senshyn
all are progressing about as well as expected... all should see nhl action within the next year

Jacub Lauzo
and
Axel Andersson
impressed greatly in their first camp

Daniel Vlader has given us reason to think the NHL is in his future

our current team of veterns is pretty outstanding led by
Bergeron/Marchand
but the Kids led by Pastrnak/McAvoy have the right stuff to keep us strong for years and years to come.​
 

Gator Mike

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looks like a dog version of a goon, a headhunter out for blood on each shift, owns the dog parks, love it
A quick scouting report...

Positives: Exceptional strength... explosive athletic ability... thick, muscular build... surprising straight-line speed and overall mobility for his size... quick to defend his teammates.

Negatives: A bit of a prima-donna... lazy... spends most of his days laying on the couch... tires easily... could stand to lose 5-10 pounds... not smart... will bark at leaves, trees, and rocks that he thinks are a threat... will bark incessantly at other dogs, but will literally run away when confronted by them... scared of wind, rain, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, random pieces of trash.

NHL Comparison: Jimmy Hayes
 

ODAAT

Registered User
Oct 17, 2006
52,169
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Victoria BC
A quick scouting report...

Positives: Exceptional strength... explosive athletic ability... thick, muscular build... surprising straight-line speed and overall mobility for his size... quick to defend his teammates.

Negatives: A bit of a prima-donna... lazy... spends most of his days laying on the couch... tires easily... could stand to lose 5-10 pounds... not smart... will bark at leaves, trees, and rocks that he thinks are a threat... will bark incessantly at other dogs, but will literally run away when confronted by them... scared of wind, rain, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, random pieces of trash.

NHL Comparison: Jimmy Hayes

possibly the funniest post in a long time here
 

ODAAT

Registered User
Oct 17, 2006
52,169
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Victoria BC
A quick scouting report...

Positives: Exceptional strength... explosive athletic ability... thick, muscular build... surprising straight-line speed and overall mobility for his size... quick to defend his teammates.

Negatives: A bit of a prima-donna... lazy... spends most of his days laying on the couch... tires easily... could stand to lose 5-10 pounds... not smart... will bark at leaves, trees, and rocks that he thinks are a threat... will bark incessantly at other dogs, but will literally run away when confronted by them... scared of wind, rain, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, random pieces of trash.

NHL Comparison: Jimmy Hayes

I`ll try my hand at this about Penny

Positives: Deceptive strength....a real digger in the corners and places you wouldn`t expect one so small to be. Exceptional speed, can stop, pivot on a dime, decent paws for one who moves as quickly

Negatives: A massive puck hog, when she gets it, neither the opponents nor teammates can ever hope to get it back again. Has been described by teammates as one that can`t be trusted in the locker room to not remove items from their lockers, new shoes, old socks, you name it, has been nicknamed Klepto

NHL Comparison: Brendan Gallagher
 

Alberta_OReilly_Fan

Bruin fan since 1975
Nov 26, 2006
14,331
3,941
Edmonton Canada
I love goalie controversies so todays happy puppy post is devoted to ours

Since oct 7... last 6 weeks of hockey

Halak 10 games save% .927 gaa 2.3
Rask 8 games save% .926 gaa 2.28

Holy crap... how can we go wrong?
 

Alberta_OReilly_Fan

Bruin fan since 1975
Nov 26, 2006
14,331
3,941
Edmonton Canada
Did people think we could only win games if bergeron line was on fire?

In 1 month since oct 25 we played 14 games and we are 8-4-2. The big line only has 13 goals in these games

Of course we were decimated by injuries... half our dmen wiped out... so what happened? Would you believe in 12 of these 14 games we allowed just 17 goals?

(Those other 2 games were ugly)

This team is allowing less than 1.5 goals per game most nights... wow... and thats with our 3 best dmen out

And who scores when the big line is quiet?

Debrusk has 8 goals in 14 games... hes obviously the guy on fire and well on pace for a 30 goal season. Find him and krecji a rw with a pulse before playoffs and we will have at least 2 legit lines
 

Alicat

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QbwNzlW7KyYGAAPbHVes-IYwxY4u3NqvvXolvC4xu4bwZB5L1wklfL22vnk1HnrrsrGnv1dX5Ewh1Ze3Zkogo_mygNmfG9ww_cqoWpc60Rs8vhCw_rXaAvZJI_xHF1FITClnzOWtOinVRWNAXkTIskvdluwV47bjo5JlKmCJgYZPEduGHmvCuH-C4fPfIj7b9pldCbTTpSgQYb4KeO0mC8cOjjbM1Z9THi0Qgop1T4c_wwbrK5W9m30OBXoR-IFqViCMrnbOJ3v77pWLN1FAlX8xCggsCSIabgikiXGUkk4-5hhhQ7zH7tCmEs_V8c1Lo8PUvs3XcQ2kcQ7eha12GmUGdRzjL8RkhecZwqFq4e-yuA3fnoHostbTv1EO8OxNymGpq7TcNUk322OXxOnKL__sZDj9-sXr0xrZHCCN5ep-nNGS4v9FGPKXntoUKwYvvvQyvQ9yaGPBA-SVm6yHkheBh_1Y3pSw43TmB6M2QPJ-DLO2hRDR6aUv40Ueafuox98euqPsKuFqnJRBFv0caXLUDezxVnBOk5Nu4tRsOWHifKd16V4crWpvxfSALMv8_TI3nJMJ0FPNxOOrDqJ1hUNeX9-iH-3MQcmJ4P2zJ9rVMoWd7vKw0D6IkXZDONafNWLLeGAHnwGT4g0KfUgppM3E=w643-h857-no


Finnegan

Strengths: Finn is quick to adapt and eager to learn new things. He's stealth and you don't know where he is until he's got you tripped up. He is a team player. He is high energy and has no problem getting into corners (or laundry baskets). His sass is contagious.

Weaknesses: He can be a chewy hog and his sass can be mistaken as defiance. He has to be reigned in a bit as his eagerness can get him into a bit of trouble.

NHL Comparable: Joe Pavelski with a little David Pastrnak mixed in
 

ODAAT

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Finnegan

Strengths: Finn is quick to adapt and eager to learn new things. He's stealth and you don't know where he is until he's got you tripped up. He is a team player. He is high energy and has no problem getting into corners (or laundry baskets). His sass is contagious.

Weaknesses: He can be a chewy hog and his sass can be mistaken as defiance. He has to be reigned in a bit as his eagerness can get him into a bit of trouble.

NHL Comparable: Joe Pavelski with a little David Pastrnak mixed in

He, along with Penny could be potential locker room problems:laugh:
 
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Alberta_OReilly_Fan

Bruin fan since 1975
Nov 26, 2006
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Edmonton Canada
Been harder to be happy with bergeron/chara out and marchand/pastrnak looking sluggish

After 30 games last year we had 35 points
After 30 games this year we have 36 points

In our last 13 games we have just 27 goals... obviously we struggle without much excitement for the fans... but we are still 6-5-2

We complain about our depth... but they are warriors. Our star players havent been carrying us to these wins. Our meat and potato guys have kept us at 500 hockey

Last couple games pastrnak/marchand appear to be coming out of funks... backes/heinen/donato have shown hints of life

Carlo/mcavoy are healthy again... with krug/moore/grez these guys give us great foundation to build on

We are 3rd best defense in nhl now despite most our defense missing games all season long

So yes... we still need more scoring depth one way or the other... but today is a happy puppy day

(Sure doesnt hurt we pounded the leaf scum last night and mcavoy avoided injury on that dirty hit)
 

Alberta_OReilly_Fan

Bruin fan since 1975
Nov 26, 2006
14,331
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Edmonton Canada
im going to edit this post a few times as I find time... its the midway point of the season. I want to keep this thread going all year and use it to post my joy we are winning the cup come june… but for tonight I will start my thoughts on...

23-14-4 for 50 points... that puts us on pace for 100 points. a lot of you have been crying we should tank and rebuild... that Sweeney and the front office has done a crap job putting the team together. so many complaints. but this team has gone out and gutted it out through mind crippling injures for 100 points. some of you are missing a damn good story and a damn good effort by our heroes. I hope in the second half you might do your jobs better and cheer these guys the support they deserve.

individually... lets start with sean kuraly… as we hit the 1/2 way mark of the season this guy is heating up. 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 9 games. to be honest, I have always liked his offense hungar. I don't like his hands of stone or his playmaking ability but ive seen kuraly with backs in a couple playoff runs now. the guy can play on my team. hes a bottom 6 guy that makes me a happy puppy.

what about our big 3?
david pastrnak 25 goals/51 points... on pace for 50 goals and 100 points... wow
Patrice Bergeron 13 goals/35 points... in just 25 games... well over 100 point pace if healthy... wow
brad marchand 15/44... almost a 90 point pace and missed a game... super impressive

on our second line that gets so much crap... jake debrusk with 13 goals in 32 games. hes certainly looking like a 30 goal scorer. that's with no off wing, and no chemistry with krejci according to many. but krejci hasn't really sucked. hes mr consistent by the time a season plays out. he might seem to have cold streaks and games he doesn't do much... but he will get his 60 points. for a second liner that's pretty damn good.

will the team make an impact trade in the second half and find a rw for krejci/debrusk? I go on record here saying yes. I do see a second line winger being added and that will make me happy puppy... bark bark.

what about other trade possibilities... not sure I see a lot happening...

ive been saying trade krug for a couple years... but we are in a situation where we can keep him and play him as a 3rd pair. with chara/moore/gryz around we can get maximum value out of krug. as krug has his best ever offensive season his trade value will only increase. if he has some success in playoffs, his trade value will only increase. its ok to keep him now and use him the way hes supposed to be used and then he can make most of us happy. 26 points in 30 games erases a lot of the pain of his defensive blunders

its too bad McAvoy has been injured so much... but with him/carlo/gryz it really looks amazingly good for our depth with young dmen… and then add in the nice play of lauzon and moore isn't that old signed as an ufa… got to hand it to Sweeney... hes built himself a mobile modern nhl defense that is one of the best in hockey

chara/miller are still useful vets from the old school. and ive already mentioned krug… I dare say we are the deepest d in the nhl 8 deep and that doesn't even include kampfer who is a decent depth dman for most teams.

in net... halaks numbers are rather ordinary the last 2 months but we saw earlier why this guy is being paid. on any given day he can get white hot. if we are forced to use him at playoff time he might just steal the show. he has that type of ability. hes our best backup since we had the tandem moog/lemelin here.

as for rask… he was a great backup for Thomas but was still learning. I think even now, hes still learning. rask has to keep his mental game together. having a backup is good for rask. weve seen his game coming together and sharpening these past couple months. rask has sort of burnt out on us the last few years. he wont be pushed so hard this year. we have the best 1-2 punch in the nets for the entire nhl… that's good

best goaltending...
arguably the deepest d...
and unarguably the best first line

why aren't we getting excited?

not too many glaring weakness.... some cap room... a lot of assets... that's a formula for a trade.

get ourselfs a second line impact guy... put kuraly/backs/Nordstrom together as a solid vet checking 3rd line for playoffs... and then let the kids provide some 4th line scoring depth in limited exposure...

yes yes yes…
bark bark bark

sing it... we are in a good situation going into the second half of the season and I see us as legit threat for a cup. cant ask for much more than that

adding an edit for future reference
at the 42 game mark we had 161 mans games lost to injury
that's almost 4 per game
 
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Alberta_OReilly_Fan

Bruin fan since 1975
Nov 26, 2006
14,331
3,941
Edmonton Canada
reaching the halfway point I want to put up a standings record so its easy to reference. its good news for us. with 50 points we are in a playoff spot but check out these point totals

after 41 games
--------------
lightning 32-7-2 = 66 points
maple leafs 27-12-2 = 56 points
capitals 25-12-4 = 54 points
penguins 23-12-6 = 52 points
bluejackets 24-14-3 = 51 points
islanders 24-13-4
bruins 23-14-4 = 50 points
sabres 22-13-6 = 50 points


jets 26-13-2 = 54 points
flames 25-12-4 = 54 points
predators 24-15-2 = 50 points
sharks 21-13-7 = 49 points
vegas 22-15-4 = 48 points
dallas 21-16-4 = 46 points
avalanche 19-14-8 = 46 points
anaheim 19-15-7 = 45 points

islanders are only team not to play 41 games so far... we are tied for last place in our conference for playoff teams. montreal is on pace for 98 points and would miss the playoffs. theres 8 teams in the east on pace for 100 points or more

meanwhile on the other side... only 3 100 point teams... and 3 teams currently in a playoff spot on pace for 92 points or less

remember a couple years ago they were complaining all the good teams were out there?

it balances out people!!! no need for realignment every freaking year that one division gets 3 good teams in it

we might have 5 100 point teams in our division this year... wow

our playoff spot is by no means guaranteed... but we are in there kicking and scrapping. go bruins go

thanks for a very gutsy first half effort... not bring on the next 41 games and a long playoff run I hope
 
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Alberta_OReilly_Fan

Bruin fan since 1975
Nov 26, 2006
14,331
3,941
Edmonton Canada
Today's happy puppy post

So many fans continue to post how we overrate our kids... they dont measure up to other teams... we cant draft or trade or find free agents... we suck

So here is a list of active players who played their first pro game for us. Im doing a cup winning 23 man lineup (cap wouldnt work)

David pastrnak/patrice bergeron/brad marchand
Phil kessel/tyler seguin/jake debrusk
Blake wheeler/david krejci/milan lucic
Vladamir sobotka/joe thornton/ryan donato
Nate thompson/danton heinen

Dougie hamilton/torey krug
Brandon carlo/kevan miller
Charlie mcavoy/matt grezlyck
Urho vaakanainen

Tuuka rask
Malcolm subban
 

Alberta_OReilly_Fan

Bruin fan since 1975
Nov 26, 2006
14,331
3,941
Edmonton Canada
First Im happy to get hockey again this week. I suppose its tough for the players dragging themselves out of bed to play a game when they are only being paid $1500 and up every single day of the year {and only have around 150 work days at most anyhow... but whatever. Lets hope that week we went without hockey helps the team get out of its blahs.

im going to take happiness from another team's misery here today. Sorry, it sort of goes against the theme of this thread but ive been posting for a couple years now what a train wreck Toronto is headed for in its cap and ive been told by a lot of 'friends' here that I worry too much about cap/and what a wonderful 'problem' Toronto has. I want a place I can reference to next September where I can show how I predicted it all coming down the train tracks and this is it.

so Toronto's cap situation for next season following the Jake Muzzin trade

$60,275,669 tied up to 13 players, 1 ltir and 1 retained salary... lets refund them the 5.3 mill of hortons contract to be fair and that takes them down to an even 55 million.

players signed are...
Hyman/Tarvares/X
Nylander/X/X

Brown/Kadri/Marleau
X/Gauthier/X
X/X

Zaitsev/Reilly
Holl/Muzzin
X/Dermott
X

and Andersen in the net
X

lets get crazy and say the cap jumps to 83 million dollars

that leaves 28 million to get signed
Matthews
Marner
Kapanen
Gardiner
Hainsey
and 5 additional players

will Matthews/Marner come in less than 22 million between them?
will those other 8 spots come in at just 6 million?


we are talking about the Leafs going with 11 guys in their lineup next year making less than a million dollars and that's assuming an 83 million dollar cap hit/and only 22 mill to get Matthews/marner done

They can trade Kapanen as long at their return makes no money... they can let gardnier and hainsey walk for nothing {or maybe hainsey is one of those vets that comes back for a million? but basically this team is as good as it will get right now today. the muzzin trade gives them a decent replacement for gardiner and I give them props for that but it cost them a first round pick. elc contracts are going to be cruicial to Toronto going forward. So far the maple leaf masses are drinking the poison cool ade and you will still here them say they can afford everyone. the trains coming down the tracks quickly now.

That defense is simply not good enough to win. One of Nylander/Marleau is going to have to be dumped to make room for the top 4 dman they need. Toronto did everything right with their drafting/rebuilding the last few years. and I think they spent money on good ufa. but this is what the cap does to a team. even before winning their first playoff round, they are already in a struggle to make the cap work.
 
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