The Second 2019-20 Utica Comets Thread

[Zombotron]

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2019-20 Utica Comets

Utica Comets Extend Win Streak - Overtime Heroics
The Comets are now 7-0 and the only unbeaten team in the AHL this season.

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[Zombotron]

while I like Mikey; his height is a question and we need to see how teams adapt to
Him once they get an playbook on him.

he’s talented so he should adjust but we need time here

And we need to see how Dipietro adapts to the smarter players. He has a tonne of room to grow and I think he has a good chance of adapting his own game, despite being smallish (6 ft is small by today's standards but it isn't tiny.

DiPietro is an example of a legit Canuck prospect who needs time in the AHL to grow his game and get better...but his potential is exciting.

I'm excited about next year - want to see Madden, Woo, Lockwood, Toni Utenen, and yes...Silovs develop in Utica...it's going to put pressure on current prospects to keep getting better, and it's going to push the marginal guys who were 'fillers' out....

Really happy that McIntyre was brought in with Bachman still there. When you are a young goalie like DiPietro building your game and confidence, having a veteran or two gives you a bit of insulation. The great thing about Vancouver is that with Markstrom and Demko in Vancouver, DiPietro should get the same treatment as Demko got - time in the AHL for a few seasons and not getting rushed.

and Hoglander. Straight to VCR, Tryamkin and Podkolzin (after the 20 -21 season ends.)

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

 

[NuxFan09]

For f***'s sake.

 

[VanJack]

Is Graovac nearing a return? Too bad Gaudette got recalled....with Gaudette, Graovac, Camper and Jasek.Hamilton down the middle even the most pessimistic Comets fan would have to concede that it would probably represent the best center depth in team history.

And although some on these boards are still pining for a veteran d-man, particularly since Biega left, you'd have to say that so far the blueline has held together pretty well. Sautner and Blujus are becoming seasoned AHL d-men; and Brogan Raffery and Josh Teves are older prospects who've come in and performed admirably from the look of things. And Oli Juolvi looks to be improving every time out.

And the goaltending is in good hands with McIntryre and DiPietro; and Bachman around as insurance. This 7-0 record is no mirage.

 

[Hoghandler]

There is absolutely zero need for a veteran dman added to Utica. The backend has a great mix as it's currently constructed. The only change you look at there is to get Blujus back into the lineup.

 

[Tables of Stats]

For ****'s sake.

I'm not sure why you're mad about him being recalled. It's looking like they sent him down to play a couple of games and see the ice and are calling him back up because they think he deserves to be a Canuck. It's fairly smart strategy to get him ice-time in Utica and practice in Vancouver.

It gets bad if they don't get Gaudette into one of the next couple of Canucks games but in isolation this move may have solid logic behind it.

 

[F A N]

I'm not sure why you're mad about him being recalled. It's looking like they sent him down to play a couple of games and see the ice and are calling him back up because they think he deserves to be a Canuck. It's fairly smart strategy to get him ice-time in Utica and practice in Vancouver.

It gets bad if they don't get Gaudette into one of the next couple of Canucks games but in isolation this move may have solid logic behind it.

Also if Utica's success is to be taken into consideration, calling up Gaudette would be the least disruptive.

 

[chaputonyou]

I get where NuxFan09 is coming from....I'm looking at Adam Gaudette long term.

The guy needs to play. Not 10 mins a game with Vancouver, 20 mins a game in Utica to keep developing. I get Motte is injured, but sheesh....play Eriksson out of the press box and give Gaudette at least 10 games playing in all situations...PP even PK...centre their top line and play with Goldobin and Baertschi too so he can play with NHL calibre players.

This is what the AHL is all about. I am sure Gaudette is happy - he gets to fly in the chartered plane and get all the NHL extras including an NHL salary, but the guy has potential and potential won't get better playing limited minutes.

The only other solution is to play him more in Vancouver. I thought he looked good in pre-season. Give him a chance to play 15 mins and pair him with Sutter to provide defensive insurance on that line.

Also if Utica's success is to be taken into consideration, calling up Gaudette would be the least disruptive.

 

[Bad Goalie]

There is absolutely zero need for a veteran dman added to Utica. The backend has a great mix as it's currently constructed. The only change you look at there is to get Blujus back into the lineup.

Friday and Saturday's ****fests in their own end with countless turnovers, flubs, mishandles, and completely out of position play was evidence of the need for a vet to settle this group down when the **** hits the fan as it will many more times this season.

The ONLY reason these guys were in these games was over the top goaltending and a 4th line who was willing to pass the puck to each other and thus score 3 goals in Friday's game or that one was 1-1 going to OT just like Saturday's.

Saturday the D gave Hershey enough chances to win that one multiple times and the forwards were just as bad. Mikey D was the sole reason for that win and there can be no argument on that fact.

Both nights were examples of what happens to young D-corps when a team knows how to pressure them from the get-go and the team is loaded with forwards who have a history of inconsistent or poor defensive play. Most of the forwards on this team fit that description. Methinks Cull has let their success cloud his judgement in how much he needs to stay on their asses about the other half of the game and how team work was responsible for the success they enjoyed early on. The recent drop off comes from 2 distinct issues. 1 is the regression to individualism. 2 is that teams are no longer going to be caught by surprise and will be prepared to defend against their game. #2 makes #1 a losing cause.

The least Cull can do is to get Blujus back into the lineup. He's as close to a vet as they have. Chatfield is becoming the old Chatty. Running around in his own end, overplaying the puck/his man, getting caught up ice, and bad passes. Teves is consistently trying to make one on one plays with the puck in his own end and messing up. His other half of his pattern is raciing the puck up the ice until he runs out of space instead of carrying it, looking for the open man, and head manning it before he has nowhere to go meaning it's too late to make that pass and everything he had going breaks down right there. Blujus could step in for either one them and the improvement would be instantly noticeable.

Brisebois/Rafferty/Sautner/Juolevi/Blujus, all in. This doesn't mean they haven't been screwing up either, but some **** happens to everyone. Limiting the individual screw-ups makes for success and thees guys have the best ability to do that since their flubs are far less often.

#6 comes from the rest in the form of a rotation and earn the spot by being better than the rest. LeBlanc belongs in that rotation as well. He proved last season to be more than adequate when acquired in trade with Toronto. He stood out as one of the few positives on the ice with Blujus and Saucerman (Don't **** on the Sauceman. His numbers were excellent among all of the Comets D-men for the season.) amid a total defensive mess due to the number of PTOs and other garbage on the backend.

 

[UticaHockey]

I can't be too critical of the defense or any aspect of the Comets right now considering they are 7 - 0 and have a 36 - 13 goal differential. Saturday was an aberration because the team played with tired legs. Even the Hershey coach mentions that you have to take into consideration the fatigue level of the Comets after a 5 1/2 bus ride in the middle of the night after playing in Utica on Friday night. (Video below if it opens correctly).

I do think Cull needs to mix in a few fresh legs in a situation like this. If Blujus was healthy (he left the previous game in the third period after blocking a shot) it would have been a good game to insert him. But again I won't be too critical with the way they are playing.

 

[krutovsdonut]

have the goalies been full value for their stats or is the team helping? a gaa under 2 is surprising to me based on the goalies i saw in the canucks camp. i was really unimpressed with mcintyre and felt mdp would have a steep learning curve to avoid being victimized, especially up high.

related questions are whether the ahl guys are trying to beat mdp high, and whether he is coming way out of his net to cover.

 

[go comets]

I believe the comets have been out shot every game this year. Teams will adjust quickly and limit the comets offensive chances. Cull will need to make some adjustments. Bingo on Wednesday, then two strong teams with Providence and Rochester visit this weekend. Both those teams will be ready.......the comets definitely need to tighten things up in their end......

 

[ChilliBilly]

I'm not sure why you're mad about him being recalled. It's looking like they sent him down to play a couple of games and see the ice and are calling him back up because they think he deserves to be a Canuck. It's fairly smart strategy to get him ice-time in Utica and practice in Vancouver.

It gets bad if they don't get Gaudette into one of the next couple of Canucks games but in isolation this move may have solid logic behind it.

And for these young guys, who are getting an NHL paycheck for the first time makes a big difference to them. Basically get $15,000 per game vs $1000.

 

[UticaHockey]

I believe the comets have been out shot every game this year. Teams will adjust quickly and limit the comets offensive chances. Cull will need to make some adjustments. Bingo on Wednesday, then two strong teams with Providence and Rochester visit this weekend. Both those teams will be ready.......the comets definitely need to tighten things up in their end......

The Comets have out shot the opposition in 3 out of 7 games which is basically 50% of their games if you throw out Saturday in Hershey because of the fatigue factor. But shots on goal is a deceiving stat and not always a good indicator of which team played better. In the game against the Amerks, Rochester out shot the Comets 46 - 31 but Utica won that game 7 - 1. Even though he faced 46 shots McIntyre had a much easier night than Hammond at the other end of the ice. The Amerks were just shooting the puck from anywhere on the ice as soon as they had a stick on the puck. They wore out the Comets logo on McIntyre's jersey that game. All night long the Comets made the extra pass before shooting and had The Hamburglar moving on most shots.

With guys like Goldobin, Baertschi, Jasek the Comets don't take many low percentage shots.

 

[UticaHockey]

have the goalies been full value for their stats or is the team helping? a gaa under 2 is surprising to me based on the goalies i saw in the canucks camp. i was really unimpressed with mcintyre and felt mdp would have a steep learning curve to avoid being victimized, especially up high.

related questions are whether the ahl guys are trying to beat mdp high, and whether he is coming way out of his net to cover.

Both goalies have been excellent so far. I've been surprised that Mikey D hasn't had a learning curve to go through because he flops so much and he still may. But he is super quick and has a very high compete level.

McIntyre is the complete opposite as he is calm and composed but still makes the athletic save when he has to. I liked the McIntyre signing when it was announced last summer. He was one of the best goalies in the AHL a couple of seasons ago but was coming off a down year. He is still young for a goalie at 27 and a change cold be just what he needed.

 

[chaputonyou]

McIntyre won the Mike Richter award in 2015 as the top NCAA D1 goalie and was a top 3 Hobey Baker finalist. He has had some good seasons in Providence, but my observation is that he lacks consistency. I watched him in pre-game in Vancouver and he was a mixed bag. Hopefully he can find some consistency and maybe more time with Ian Clark would help. I think his addition, along with Mike DiPietro has helped provide some stability in Utica...particularly with a number of young players up front who can be error-prone as they learn the game despite a 6-0 start.

Both goalies have been excellent so far. I've been surprised that Mikey D hasn't had a learning curve to go through because he flops so much and he still may. But he is super quick and has a very high compete level.

McIntyre is the complete opposite as he is calm and composed but still makes the athletic save when he has to. I liked the McIntyre signing when it was announced last summer. He was one of the best goalies in the AHL a couple of seasons ago but was coming off a down year. He is still young for a goalie at 27 and a change cold be just what he needed.

 

[beachcomber]

Christ, the way fans talk about this team it is as if they are 0-7 .

 

[krutovsdonut]

Both goalies have been excellent so far. I've been surprised that Mikey D hasn't had a learning curve to go through because he flops so much and he still may. But he is super quick and has a very high compete level.

McIntyre is the complete opposite as he is calm and composed but still makes the athletic save when he has to. I liked the McIntyre signing when it was announced last summer. He was one of the best goalies in the AHL a couple of seasons ago but was coming off a down year. He is still young for a goalie at 27 and a change cold be just what he needed.

thanks. i would like to place an order on game reports on whether mdp gets beat high or comes too far out of his net. if he does not have these issues i will be very stoked for his future.

 

[chaputonyou]

I know what you mean beachcomber. I will say this (again): it's the AHL. A team can go 6-0, but is going to have some young players who make mistakes and are still learning the game. It's the nature of the beast. Having said that, I think Jim Benning did a good job in the off-sesason adding Mcintyre, Bailey, Perron, Graovac, as well as rookie DiPietro. Baertschi and Goldbobin are a bonus, but it's the other guys added I am happy about as well as the development of some of the younger players who are going to take time - the Juloevis, the Linds, etc.

Chaput

Christ, the way fans talk about this team it is as if they are 0-7 .

 

[VanJack]

Christ, the way fans talk about this team it is as if they are 0-7 .

I agree....it isn't enough to 'win 8-2' if you give up too many shots on goal or your young d-corps turns the puck over a few times, the team sucks. Yikes people! They get Binghamton at home on Wednesday with a chance to go 8-0.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Christ, the way fans talk about this team it is as if they are 0-7 .

The Utica Comets are 7-0.
The forwards are the most perfect group of prospects ever assembled.
The d are Likewise.
The Goalies are beyond belief.
There will be at least 18 NHL stars out of this group.

Sheesh! Is this what you want to read?

The team was slow getting on track with 2 4-3 wins on the road, one in OT. Either game could have gone the other way. There were good things and not so good. Both were reported.

The next 3 games they were lights out and stunned 3 very good hockey teams with outstanding team efforts. The reports told you that.

The 6th game the team did not play well and yet put up a 5-1 win on the back of a keeper's huge effort and 3 goals from the 4th line of Arseneau(2G)/Perron(3A)/Bancks(1G). Boucher scored on a PP and Lind scored late into an empty net. Their were a lot of passengers in this one.

Game 7 was a ****fest with enough errors to go around on a team full of tired guys after a Friday night game and a 5 and 1/2 hour bus ride starting at midnight before playing on Saturday night. Yes, they were tired. Cull didn't help by failing to play a couple well rested guys in Blujus and LeBlanc on the backend, both of whom he is going to need as the season progresses. However, this is how the AHL schedule works. Back to backs and 3 in 3 nights and 3 in 4 nights is par for the course every single week and won't float as excuses as the season tightens up. DiPietro WAS well rested and stood on his head giving his mates a spectacular performance. Gaudette was the only goal scorer and Boucher won it in the shootout with Mikey being key once again stopping all 3 Hershey attempts.

We have always in the past and will always in the future tell you what we see. All post game report thus far have heaped praise where deserved and criticism likewise. Critical errors and some of the shortcomings we can see in some of the players will be laid out. This is what you do when you watch a game and make reports to those who didn't. Only relating the good things will give people reason for false expectations. Then the gripes will come criticizing the homers who didn't tell you the whole story. If all you want is the good stuff, ignore those who tell it like it is and zero in on the reports from the eternal optimists who somehow can't or don't want to see the other stuff. One word of advice. Quit reading stats to tell yourself how well guys must be doing. It is often a false narrative, especially when considering how a particular player's game will translate to the NHL from the AHL. For most of them this is the end of the line. Especially how Benning adds a new prospect or 2 to his roster every year and then fills in what he's missing with long term contracts.

Getting to Vancouver if you don't get there right out of the gate will be a very tough task. Getting to the show is a tough task in any organization, but it's been even harder for Canucks prospects outside of the 1st round. You can argue that's the case everywhere and you'd have a point, but we keep seeing players in this league play against the Comets for a season or longer and then move onto the NHL rosters. Demko is basically it when talking about draft picks within in the organization starting out in the AHL and moving onto Vancouver. Benning's 7th draft is coming up. Yup, his blue chip, can't miss selections have made it. There has been one of them every year (and some would argue he's 50% there). The rest of the NHL has the same thing happen. It's the other 6 every draft I'm talking about. This team should be burgeoning with Vancouver draft selections chomping at the bit to make the move. It's just not so and that's why JIM keeps handing out multi-year contracts to free agents. He doesn't expect these kids to make it and is surprised to see some who might, but he won't give them a shot over any of his free agent signings. Why is Gaudette riding the pressbox pony? He's a perfect example. They just won't take the time and invest some trust in any kid who doesn't blow their sox off.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Christ, the way fans talk about this team it is as if they are 0-7 .

Agreed. It’s been an amazing start. A lot to be excited about on the Comets this year! I think it may take a while for some to just realize it’s a good team.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Green's spell has been broken. Eriksson gets the game and Gaudette still sits in the pressbox.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

Green's spell has been broken. Eriksson gets the game and Gaudette still sits in the pressbox.

Gaudette arrived late yesterday, we’ll see about next game