Anybody besides me noticing the Subban usage or fading non usage? He went from a fixture for the first 4 games to healthy scratch in 3 of the last 6.
His defensive game has not improved and he has figured directly in a few GA.
His 1st unit PP position has been passed on to Holm who picks up assists but shows little in the way of a scoring touch, but doesn't surrender the glaring short handed chances over a series of games that have regularly occurred with Jordan.
The PP time he has received has been in a pairing with McEneny assuming so Evan can cover for him if he turns it over.
I've voiced an opinion against it several times, but it just may be time to slide this guy up onto the RW and see if he can't add some punch to the offense. Get Cassels out of the lineup and move MacEwen into the middle and keep LaBate on that line on the left side. That's 2 big protective type forwards who can go get the puck with a skilled puck handling play making winger who can score, carry the puck, pass, everything offensive. He represents a big threat to break out of the zone on the rush from the wing. He also won't kill the team on the back end if he turns it over deep.
What have they got to lose? They are hardly getting any scoring out of this team below the top 5 or 6 anyways, Goldobin 12, and Boucher 10 lead the pack with Bancks 6, mostly piggy backing off giving the puck to Boucher and Goldobin as their center. Archibald has 5 of which 3 were in one game and 2 were in another, but his game is considerably improved of late. Chaput has chipped in 5, but needs to become a fixture between 2 wings and stay there. Let the chemistry develop. He's being assigned different wingers in an attempt to find more offense and to also deal with the vet issue as they are rotated in and out. Rodin is coming to life and I believe we will see his numbers rise. That's it.
This amazing offensive machine the Comets were supposed to become according to preseason posters has magically not materialized. The veteran quagmire I envisioned has come to fruition. The new kids are just that, kids without top prospect skill packages and they are literally trying to survive shift to shift without playing themselves out of the lineup. Incidentally, for those of you who need to give your memories a jolt, there are only 3 of them, MacEwen, D'Aoust, and Molino. For the most part, they have held up and D'Aoust managed to pick up 4 pts with 2 goals. The catch in D'Aoust's points is that 3 of them are connected to Boucher and Goldobin on PPs. The exception is Molino and not in a positive way. He is invisible when he's in the lineup and that's been 6 of the 10 games, but scratched in 4 of the last 5. I'd guess for that exact reason and last night was more of the same. Unless you pick up the #13 in passing you would never know he got onto the ice.
Regardless they are all quite a ways from making any kind of serious splash.
The returning players who should be making major contributions at this point in their careers are not doing such.
-LaBate still can't handle the puck. He has difficulty receiving passes with any mustard on them. Gaunce hit him in stride flashing across the blue line with a bullet tape to tape beauty and Joe deflected it over the glass! He has a very dangerous hard wrist shot, but can never get himself in a position to actually take it. His best chances are created mucking in the crease for the garbage type goal, tips on the PP from in front, and rebounds off the edge because he's hard to muscle out of the way. He's not doing that and has only 2 goals to prove it.
-Cassels is just a lost cause and should eventually be replaced in the line up by someone like MacEwen. Woods and Darcy are actually better centers than Cole and it's been proven in my eye test by his efforts in the lineup. When his line is on the ice the effort needed just to get out of their own end is nearly Herculean. He loses the draw and then can never get possession of the puck even when it's passed to him . He either fails to handle it and eventually loses it to a checker, loses it in a board battle, or if he does get control of the puck his passes are weak, off target, or miscued. He is pressing so hard that he is actually losing his feet in attempts to do more. He fell 3 times on his own zone on one shift Wednesday without being hit by an opponent. Last night he had the puck off to the side of the post with no goalie in the net. All he had to do was push it across the goal line. He shot it across the gaping net mouth into the other corner. It's actually very sad to see a kid who came in here with such hope to just slide farther and farther into oblivion. Pretty harsh, huh? Yeah, it is, but sometimes you just have to come to grips with reality and, barring some miracle, this kid is on the way out. I can't even begin to list the things he has to do to come back from where he is. It's a one step at a time process that a pro team just hasn't got the time for nor most coaches the patience.
EDIT - The above has only addressed the forwards. The Comets have been playing with basically 7 D for some time and one is a vet. Holm has played all 10 games as has Sautner. Chatfield and McEneny have played 9. Brisebois 8 and Subban 7. Sifers who has been a veteran victim has played 5 and Wiercioch 2 while he was here ,but was scratched 3 times. So it can be plainly seen the kids are playing and mostly because there is little choice. The ? surrounds the recent 3 of 6 scratches to Subban while Holm, Sautner, McEneny and rookie Chatfield just keep sailing along. Even Brisebois, although protected by Holm,, has more GP. Wiercioch and Sifers as vets have more reason to be missing from the lineup, however as Sifers get more games and shows why he was signed in the first place he becomes more valuable in the lineup.
Oh, did I miss someone. Nope, that's all that has returned in the way of Vancouver prospects. 5 years now and who has managed to march through the AHL and into a firm position in Vancouver? The closest to it is Gaunce and according to half the posters in Vancouver, he should come back here.
Biega was never considered a kid prospect. In fact he was never considered a Vancouver prospect in the first place. He was acquired for their first season to be a steady force on the Comets D. He then kept improving and finally shocked the NHL management when forced to play him, and make no mistake about it only when forced, did he prove his value. he forced them into a contract and finally forced his way onto the roster.
Baertschi was a recovery project from another franchise that Green was able to reclaim.
Virtanen was a train wreck sent down from Vancouver that Green reconstructed.
Markstrom was another franchise's discard that ended up prospering under Green.
There are 2 other kids that have returned and are not exactly making any kind of headway.
- Laplante appears to have impressed Cull and Co. as much as he did Green and C0. He's been a healthy scratch in 7 of 10 games thus far. He did have an assist. I said at the beginning of camp, if the Comets were not overloaded in vets, he would be in Kalamazoo. As it is with the vets who are not eligible to play when scratched because the lineup has it's 6 vets, Laplante becomes like the 13th/14th forward waiting for an injury or call-up to create a space for him.
-Carcone is the other one and I don't quite have a handle on this one. I don't know if Cull has seen what so many Comets fans have or if there is something else going on. A large portion of the fan base sees him as a 13th/14th guy or a Kalamazoo export. He played 5 games, was scratched for a couple with a minor injury, and has yet to return to the lineup. He was pointless in those 5 games.
So after reading this I wonder how many guys who were so high on Cull and his dedication to development approve of his Subban treatment. They crucified Green for not letting him go on his own and become the PP giant that would propel him into the NHL. Don't worry about his defensive woes 5 on 5. Just let him run as long as his offensive output exceeded his defensive lapses. You know, puts up more points than those he gives up.
Green gave the kid free reign to go whenever he could, but held him responsible in his own end. He ran the first PP unit. Green also healthy made him a healthy scratch a couple times in both of the last seasons for horrendous defensive play in his previous game. Out came the torches and rope as the lynch mob called for his head.
Cull has scratched him, as previously mentioned. in 3 of the last 6 games. He has also replaced him on the first PP unit with a new guy who doesn't possess a ounce of jordan's offensive prowess, but is dependable in moving the puck to offensive forwards and doesn't turn it over at the blue line. Thus, he is #3 in scoring with 8 pts off 7 assists. Jordan has always been right around #3 or 4 in scoring so little has been lost points wise. Jordan has been alive and well on the second unit when he he on the game roster and has been running up the ice at 5 on 5, but has mustered a meager 1 point in 7 games. Is Cull ruining this kid? Has he received orders from on high to see if he can get the new guys to play solid on d and prepare them for the future and therefore let Jordan fade away?
If the latter is the case, they better be shopping day and night to find a center who is either too small or physically not as strong as this NHL team would prefer, but does just fine at the AHL level in exchange for a PP QB who is also a puck rushing D-man with weak defensive skills that need work. Thus a project for both sides, but both receive a piece their AHL team really needs. If they can be developed with a change of scenery, all the better.
What about Carcone? Not making him a top 6 wing and milking his offensive skill set? Molino a skating speed nightmare for opposing D-men? How about the kids getting primary attention in all the big parts of the game? PP and PK, defensive zone starts, late game shifts when trying to hold on. Carcone and Molino are being used sparingly. The other 2 kids are shortened in ice time when goals are needed late or the team is trying to hold on.
The PK has roughly been handled by Bancks/Hamilton (NO! Not those awful scrubs)/Chaput/Archibald/Megna/Boucher/Gaunce/LaBate/Cassels (because they need a center to take a draw)/ and late in the kill Goldobin so that he's fresh when the kill ends and can jump start the offense against a tired PP unit. Occasionally a random new guy pops up due to line shifts at the time of the penalty call, # of guys in the box, little time left on the kill with an offensive zone face off, etc.
The PP? 1-3-1. Goldobin (Left wall and Left point when it arises), Chaput/Bancks/ center on the draw and middle of the 3 across, Boucher/Rodin (Right boards), Archibald/Labate (posted in the crease), Holm in the central point position on top.
The second unit is composed of the guys from the first unit pairs who didn't start on the first unit e.g.either Chaput or Bancks now at center, Archi or LaBate on the LW, Boucher or Rodin at RW and two D-men on the points (McEneny, Subban/Chatfield). At the end of a kill he often just sends out the next line change due up to finish it off and continue on 5 on 5. This is not all that unusual for any team so as not to get caught with the wrong personnel when it goes even, eg. 4 forwards and 1 D-maan.
See any kids on these units? See anybody actually being developed here? Nope. It was no different under Green since there were never an abundance of kids here anyways. Those who were and would probably be getting those roles at the next level did get those assignments. Gaunce got duty on both units when he was here. Shink was on the PP both seasons. Jensen killed penalties and got PP time. Grenier lived on the PP unit. Not even your mother would put Grenier on the PK. What other shiny prospects were screwed from playing on these units?
Cull is no different in his deployment than any other coach. Because you see a deployment in a certain game that you think counters what you didn't like from green doesn't mean if you watch every shift every game that you are going to see some kind of amazing different pattern.
Lastly, this veteran thing has to get fixed. It's ruining the ability of the team to form a cohesive unit. No chemistry forms between players when they keep playing with different mates from game to game. No forward has been with the same line mates every game. It's also in the way of bringing in centers to create some serious offensive ability for the talent out on the wings. Trade some of the surplus for needs. If it's 2 for 1 so be it as it reduces the vet #s while fortifying the middle. Chaput, Boucher, Rodin, and Archi stay. Bancks, Hamilton, and Megna can go. Add Subban, LaBate, Cassels, Carcone, and Laplante in any combinations with the vets to get a couple centers in here. if you can get guys not yet vets that's all the better and should be the first aim if possible. They need to reduce the roster in vets, strengthen the middle, and maintain the integrity of the roster. It may mean a D'Aoust or MacEwen becomes a regular somewhere in the lineup, but that's what everyone wants, right? The kids get to develop., but you cut the chaff from the lineup.
Goldobin/?/Boucher
Archibald/Chaput/Rodin
LaBate/?/D'Aoust
?/MacEwen/Carcone
Obviously not all of those guys listed as trade bait would be gone so they fill the 4th line LW. Subban is probably the best trade option, but I 'd like to see him in D'Aoust's slot with Gaunce as their center and Daoust now on the 4th line with the ? as their center.
So we'd see
Goldobin/?/Boucher
Archibald/Chaput/Rodin
Dahlen/Gaunce/Subban - Get Dahlen's ass over here with that out in his contract I keep reading about. Vancouver picks up a waiver 4th line type player that can do what Gaunce does and he plays here for one more season.
LaBate/MacEwen/D'Aoust
Note this situation only calls for the acquisition of one good center and there's only 4 vets left up front. Ideally Megna is the guy that brings in that center and add as many of Carcone, Cassels, LaPlante and a Vancouver late pick especially if the new center is a kid that someone has given up on that the Canucks can reclaim with a solid season in the NHL under that keen developer, Cull. Benning loves these kind of trades.
This is all speculative BS, but I see the desperate lack of talent in the middle here partnered with the overload of vets that in the long run will take this team down. Something has to happen if there is one ounce of brain matter between Cull, Johnson, Conacher, and Benning. I know Conacher has it, but he won't be listened to. Johnson is the key here. either he's an actual GM with some power or he's just a cardboard placard with a label on it.
Rochester and Binghamton made a big deal 2 seasons ago in which several players changed ships. Utica traded Kellan Lain for Will Acton and easily won that deal. Utica traded Blair Jones and Dane Fox for T.J Hensick. Utica got every end of that deal. Baertschi for a second was a good move. Get down to business and get something done boys. Sooner than later.!!!!!!