The Utica Comets Thread | Part XXXI

[NuxFan09]

Shots are 46-13 Comets. Good lord!

 

[WTG]

Utica wins!

1. UTI Shinkaruk, (1) (Vey, Fedun), 2:04 (PP)
https://streamable.com/hvfj

2. UTI Shinkaruk, (2) (Gaunce, Subban), 18:17 (PP)
https://streamable.com/tluy

3. UTI Shinkaruk, (3) (Jensen, Pedan), 6:46
https://streamable.com/ak8g

3. UTI Grenier, (1) (Ehrhardt, Hamilton), 19:58 (EN)
https://streamable.com/d7uv

 

[NuxFan09]

Grenier seals it with an empty net goal. Final: 4-2 Comets!

 

[Drop the Sopel]

Curious to hear more in-depth breakdowns on the play of Pedan. I had him ranked as our top defense prospect coming into this season and thought we would be seeing him up in Vancouver if and when injuries hit the backend. Does he look like he did over the 2nd half of last season, or has he taken a step forward?

Really encouraging start for Shinkaruk. This should give him a ton of confidence and could be the tipping point of him showing he's destined for the NHL. Really hope he can string together strong performances from here on out. If so, all of a sudden the prospect pool starts looking pretty loaded with finishers...

Does Kenins look close to pushing for an NHL roster spot? Would he be ahead of Gaunce on LW?

 

[WTG]

I'll do a short breakdown I guess.


Pedan is a 6'5" two way defenseman. Tough in front of the net and good in the corners. He loves to skate the puck up the ice, he's a good skater for his size too.

He's got a huge slapper but prefers to pass it most of the time.

Honestly, I think next training camp we are going to be talking about Sbisa vs Pedan.


As for Kenins vs Gaunce question I think that they play different styles. Gaunce will always be a save player. Guy is smart and reliable, probably should be on the 4th line right now in Vancouver.

Kenins they are trying to develop him as a power forward. And he got the message, he threw multiple big hits tonight. I could see him being first call up. on LW over Gaunce just because of the physicality he brings.

 

[sting101]

I know it's very early and I've only seen highlights of chances and goals but Shinkaruk looks a lot shiftier and faster to me this season, which will be necessary for him to succeed with his size. Nice to see.

I thought he looked like that in camp. A whole different player than the one last year with no explosion and easily knocked off the puck.
Encouraging

 

[Baby Pettersson]

Well Shinkaruk looks good!

 

[orcatown]

Utica finally get some reward for some hard work. Domination everywhere but on the score board. Should not have been this close but like last year (and with the exception in this game of Shinkaruk) tons of blown opportunities

Positives

Shinkaruk - three very good goals. Shot on second goal was outstanding. Looked dangerous all game. IMO the key for Shinkaruk is finishing and he showed that in this game as well as showing good wheels on the forecheck. Worked well with Jensen.

Ehrhardt - back to the form he showed early last year. Good puck movement and very quick making the play. When skating like this he is good player at this level. If he can keep this up will be huge for the Utica defense

Biega - again the best player. His mobility is outstanding and never seems to lose a board battle. Very good in the offensive end where he created chance after chance.

Pedan - game wasn't without some problems but overall played well. At times tried to do too much and got out of position. Needs to keep it simple and jump in and push the play when it is there. Yet he did pounce on some situations to create odd man rushes and breakup plays. Was good on the PK. Lots and lots of upside if he control the number of rash moments. Ever gets the mental part down, he has huge potential.

Zelewski - was a factor in every shift he was out. Broke up plays, carried the puck well, made some very good passes and had chances. Same story as usual, however, - couldn't get the puck in the net. Player that exemplifies the team. Does a lot of things well but can't score. Put Friesen, Bancks, Hamilton and even Kenins in the same basket.

Subban - greatly improved from first game. Had some problems handling people off the rush but did not get beat so clearly as in first game. Showed off some good talent on offense and made several excellent rushes. Also was good at the point on the PP and controlled things well from the point. Has an excellent shot and should be able to score at this level.

Negatives

Jones - very clumsy and missed good chances. Also killed plays by taking low percent long range shots on net. Team might look for a better vet than this player.

Vey - on a line with Shinkaruk but contributed very little to what Shinkaruk was doing. Got an assist but came off a play where he appeared to basically whiff on the puck and Shinkaruk picked it up and walked thru the middle of the defense. (maybe defense thrown off by Vey's whiff). In his own end, Vey was weak along the boards and again let check walk to the net. Seemed like maybe he got a little better in the third but still play was dieing on his stick on the PP.

Cassels - can't skate fast enough to stay firmly in the play. Badly lost face off on first goal against. Made some smart one touch plays but couldn't carry the puck at all. Does not look ready for this level.

Grenier - really not playing up to last year. Lots of coasting and MIA work. Had great chances to score but made pretty feeble attempts. Getting a lot of prime time opportunities by the coaches but not bearing down enough. Maybe disheartened b/c of missing chance with the Canucks

Game was mostly about Shinkaruk and hope you get when you see play like this. Problem in the past has been that he hasn't been able to string together games like this

 

[ihaveyuidonttouchme]

after 3 games (small sample size but), i wonder if back to Oshawa (like McEneny from last yr) might be a better place for him to work on his skating. he just looks too slow.....er than Gaunce

 

[docbenton]

after 3 games (small sample size but), i wonder if back to Oshawa (like McEneny from last yr) might be a better place for him to work on his skating. he just looks too slow.....er than Gaunce

Dal Colle could use him...he's really strugglebus-ing too. That said Cole is a good player, he had a big year and a tough offseason and just needs some time to get back up to speed. I think you'll see him improve significantly over the course of the year, he's got tons of work ethic and plays to win when it counts.

 

[Pip]

after 3 games (small sample size but), i wonder if back to Oshawa (like McEneny from last yr) might be a better place for him to work on his skating. he just looks too slow.....er than Gaunce

going back as an overager is not a good idea. Give him some time to adjust to the pro game. I expect him to.

 

[sting101]

Dal Colle could use him...he's really strugglebus-ing too. That said Cole is a good player, he had a big year and a tough offseason and just needs some time to get back up to speed. I think you'll see him improve significantly over the course of the year, he's got tons of work ethic and plays like a winner when it counts.

Yeah I was actually pretty shocked by how sluggish he looked at camp..obviously didn't have the kind of offseason he needed (injuries and short recovery) As good as he was during the Memorial Cup you could tell he was labouring.

First impression at 18 at camp he looked like a guy with decent wheels and could get in quickly on the forecheck. My viewings in Oshawa were of a guy that wasn't a burner but moved around adequately and efficiently. I have a hard time believing his skating has regressed and IMO just needs some time to get 100% healthy and acclimate to new everything.

I think he's likely gonna be a guy that takes a few years anyway due to the role he's gonna be asked to play with the big club. I have him pegged as a 3rd line C/RW that can play special teams.

 

[timw33]

Cassels will take a few years of seasoning and that's totally ok. It's important to have some young draft picks that are learning the pro game down on the farm—usually the farm system has almost zero young drafted talent on it.

Also, good for Shinkaruk. He really needs a year of solid offensive output to get his development back on track.

 

[GetFocht]

Dal Cole is off to a horrible start, might be missing cassels

 

[beachcomber]

I'll do a short breakdown I guess.


Pedan is a 6'5" two way defenseman. Tough in front of the net and good in the corners. He loves to skate the puck up the ice, he's a good skater for his size too.

He's got a huge slapper but prefers to pass it most of the time.

Honestly, I think next training camp we are going to be talking about Sbisa vs Pedan.


As for Kenins vs Gaunce question I think that they play different styles. Gaunce will always be a save player. Guy is smart and reliable, probably should be on the 4th line right now in Vancouver.

Kenins they are trying to develop him as a power forward. And he got the message, he threw multiple big hits tonight. I could see him being first call up. on LW over Gaunce just because of the physicality he brings.

Pedan will get his shot with the big club. He is Benning's type of dman.

 

[alternate]

Nice to see some production from the blueline. 4pts on 4 goals collectively.

 

[vanuck]

Renovations at the Aud:

http://www.uticaod.com/article/20151021/NEWS/151029894

 

[F A N]

after 3 games (small sample size but), i wonder if back to Oshawa (like McEneny from last yr) might be a better place for him to work on his skating. he just looks too slow.....er than Gaunce

No. Cassels is ready for pro hockey. McEneny was bit of a different case given the fact he missed essentially a year of development due to injuries. Cassels has pretty much done everything he could in the OHL. Besides, Gaunce was able to work on his skating in the AHL last season and Horvat in the NHL. Give him some time to adjust to the AHL pace.

 

[go comets]

No. Cassels is ready for pro hockey. McEneny was bit of a different case given the fact he missed essentially a year of development due to injuries. Cassels has pretty much done everything he could in the OHL. Besides, Gaunce was able to work on his skating in the AHL last season and Horvat in the NHL. Give him some time to adjust to the AHL pace.

I read someplace that cassels missed almost all of his off ice strength and training program do to recovering from injuries. It shows as he has neither the speed or strength. He will have an up hill battle vrs the stronger players all season till he is in shape.

 

[F A N]

I read someplace that cassels missed almost all of his off ice strength and training program do to recovering from injuries. It shows as he has neither the speed or strength. He will have an up hill battle vrs the stronger players all season till he is in shape.

That's fine. He will get into shape. My point is that Cassels has proven himself in the OHL and last year he was dominant and proved he could matchup against the best OHL players and shut them down. More games and ice time in the OHL won't likely do much for Cassels' development. McEneny on the other hand was in a different situation. He essentially had played 3 years of junior hockey and so the belief was that more ice time would have benefited him when the Canucks sent him back last season. They were right.

One of the reasons Shinkaruk wasn't sent back last season was that the fact he had proven himself against WHL competition. And he too had a slow AHL start.

 

[Reign Nateo]

With young kids there are usually one of two problems with skating stride. One, they're athletic and could cut corners all the way when it comes to skating, when their peers catch up they have to learn the basics to improve their skating and take another step, this does happen when they turn pro sometimes. This is how young prospects are able to improve as skaters and how the son of an NHLer can have issues with his stride. The cure for this is hard work and determination; see: Horvat, Bo. If they don't put in the work however their athleticism won't save them. The other option is they simply don't have the biological make-up to improve as skaters, their body works how it works and they are technical skaters already. These guys don't improve skating-wise and make it on the basis of other merits, and generally don't age well. Again I haven't seen enough of Cassels to decide, but hopefully it's case of cleaning up his stride more than simply an athletic limitation. His father was no freak athlete remember. Andrew will have to put in the work. I'm confident he will, from what I've seen he's got a professional mind-set already.

 

[ihaveyuidonttouchme]

No. Cassels is ready for pro hockey. McEneny was bit of a different case given the fact he missed essentially a year of development due to injuries. Cassels has pretty much done everything he could in the OHL. Besides, Gaunce was able to work on his skating in the AHL last season and Horvat in the NHL. Give him some time to adjust to the AHL pace.

im pretty sure it was more due to super long jam in the d system. it was much better for him eating up more minutes in the juniors than in the press box

anyway from reading after thoughts from my thoughts, i can see why his conditioning is the way it is from the injuries.

man missing an entire off season training can do wonders for our kids...first jake shoulder, jared mono, hunter leg?hip? anyway, and now cole....they always started slow from it

 

[Bad Goalie]

With young kids there are usually one of two problems with skating stride. One, they're athletic and could cut corners all the way when it comes to skating, when their peers catch up they have to learn the basics to improve their skating and take another step, this does happen when they turn pro sometimes. This is how young prospects are able to improve as skaters and how the son of an NHLer can have issues with his stride. The cure for this is hard work and determination; see: Horvat, Bo. If they don't put in the work however their athleticism won't save them. The other option is they simply don't have the biological make-up to improve as skaters, their body works how it works and they are technical skaters already. These guys don't improve skating-wise and make it on the basis of other merits, and generally don't age well. Again I haven't seen enough of Cassels to decide, but hopefully it's case of cleaning up his stride more than simply an athletic limitation. His father was no freak athlete remember. Andrew will have to put in the work. I'm confident he will, from what I've seen he's got a professional mind-set already.

"Andrew will have to put in the work. I'm confident he will, from what I've seen he's got a professional mind-set already."

I'm sure you meant Cole and got him confused with dad whom you were just talking about. Andrew would really have to "put in the work" considering his current age. LOL

Agree with your consensus. The injury and no summer time work during the recovery makes for a difficult start. I think that has as much to do with it as anything. If he could keep up with McDavid, which he did while not at 100%, I'm sure he can get it together over the course of the season.

 

[Reign Nateo]

"Andrew will have to put in the work. I'm confident he will, from what I've seen he's got a professional mind-set already."

I'm sure you meant Cole and got him confused with dad whom you were just talking about. Andrew would really have to "put in the work" considering his current age. LOL

Agree with your consensus. The injury and no summer time work during the recovery makes for a difficult start. I think that has as much to do with it as anything. If he could keep up with McDavid, which he did while not at 100%, I'm sure he can get it together over the course of the season.

Yes I meant Cole! I am getting old though, doesn't feel that long ago that Andrew was a Canuck...

I think the job he did against McDavid was a bit over-blown. It takes a team game to shut down (or at least slow down) a player like McDavid. He does deserve credit though. I am confident as well that COLE can put in the work and improve his skating this season too. I expect he'll be one of the Comets' more important players by spring.

 

[UticaHockey]

Very entertaining game last night.

The great news is we out shot the Amerks 47 - 14.

The concerning news is that even with a 47 - 14 shot advantage it took an empty net goal with 2 seconds left to secure the victory. We need Bachman back soon. Cannata has played well but for the third game in a row he was the second best goalie on the ice.