Recalled/Assigned: Wolanin down, Englund up

Slack

everything's fine?
Apr 27, 2012
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A depth LD who hits & fights, with high character and leadership abilities. If I'm Boro I'm shaking in my boots right now.
 

Alf Silfversson

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Jun 8, 2011
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Didn't catch the whole game last night but I thought Englund looked OK out there.

Couldn't really be worse than Boro, could he?
 

aragorn

Do The Right Thing
Aug 8, 2004
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Small sample size but in the two games Englund has played with Ottawa he looked as advertised, good size, decent skater, makes few mistakes, plays a simple defensive game, can separate players from the puck, decent passer out of his own zone, can drop them & is offensively challenged. Seems like a pro-typical defensive defenceman, if he was a right shot he would probably be perfect to play with Chabot, reminds me of Methot-lite.
 

Clayonator

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Aug 11, 2018
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Would much rather have Englund kicking around as our 6/7 D next year than Harpur. Could see him turning into an Adam McQuaid type.
 

Cosmix

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Funny, Mann the very respected Belleville coach says he is the most improved player on his roster this yr but we won't believe that because Englund is a stay at home defensive defenceman & people hate those kinds of players on here. We only believe him when he says something good about the "skilled" players that are so admired on here. Somebody has to clear the front of the net, somebody has to separate opposing forwards from the puck, someone has to play defensively against the other team's big tough skilled forwards in the NHL, you can't have all your D be small soft skilled defencemen. Look at Toronto's defence & how soft they are, you need some bigger guys to handle the physical play or they are just so easy to play against.

I agree with most of what you say, but I am doubtful that Englund will be the type of player we want to add. I hope Englund and Harpur become that type of player which we desperately need on D. We need some big mean physical players at F too. This team is too soft right now and needs some players who make things tough on other teams’ fancy forwards.
 
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bert

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Nov 11, 2002
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Dump Boro first,let Harpur and Englund fight it out for the 3rd pair LHD slot
None of them should be playing in the NHL The fact that all three are on this team has a direct correlation to the sens allowing 300 + goals.

When was the last time a team allowed 300 plus goals does anyone know? Id imagine it would have to be in the mid 2000's after the lockout.
 

aragorn

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Aug 8, 2004
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I agree with most of what you say, but I am doubtful that Englund will be the type of player we want to add. I hope Englund and Harpur become that type of player which we desperately need on D. We need some big mean physical players at F too. This team is too soft right now and needs some players who make things tough on other teams’ fancy forwards.

You're right, it's not an arguement for Englund per say but more of an argument to have a tougher team that is much harder to play against.

None of them should be playing in the NHL The fact that all three are on this team has a direct correlation to the sens allowing 300 + goals.

When was the last time a team allowed 300 plus goals does anyone know? Id imagine it would have to be in the mid 2000's after the lockout.

Englund has played three games in the NHL to associate him with those stats is plain wrong & another example of what people are willing to say on here because they don't like those kind of players. Ben Harpur has played 51 games this yr & Boro has played in 53 games this yr, why people constantly blame 3rd pairing defencemen for all that is wrong with this team is just plain wrong. Every org likes a good soldier, talented players who don't tow the company line or don't play the right way coaches expect or are not good in the room eventually get moved out regardless of their skill set & we have seen that a few times. The players that people loved on this team were not making it happen, this team was still terrible with EK, Stone, Duchene & Dzingel. These are the guys that are expected to win games & get this team in the playoffs & they were unable to do it, nobody depends on Boro to get the team in the playoffs.

Something had to be done, that is the business side of sports that if your team sucks you have to make changes & it was decided to rebuild. If those defensive defencemen were the reason this team is in the basement they could easily have replaced them & most would not have noticed or cared. They did not do that, instead they traded away their best players to return the most assets possible in order to add to their stock of prospects & rebuild towards the future, rightly or wrongly. Boro, Harpur or even Englund are not going to stop them from being a contender, they probably won't even be here in a few yrs. But they will need some mentally & physically tough players seeing as how fighting isn't quite out of hockey just yet. And of course, they will need more skilled players & they are adding them.

White, Tkachuk & Chabot are three good skilled young players on the team, next yr I expect Brown, Batherson & Formenton could be on the team. Beyond them they have JBD, Norris & Brannstrom all good young skilled players. People are always crying about the top elite players is what we need, but how do you get a guy like that other than by winning the lottery? You can be in the lottery, Buffalo has been a couple of times & still not get the best player. IMO you cannot depend on winning a lottery & need to rebuild the team by any means necessary & not necessarily at the very top of the draft unless you are a terrible team the yr before & lucky enough to win the lottery which is rare. Col may not win the lottery. Only one team wins the lottery each yr, you cannot depend on it, you have to develop players yourself & IMO that is what they are trying to do. You can do everything right & still some players just simply do not turn out or don't have their heart in it or simply don't want it enough or will coast on their skill set. It's so much harder to build a team than people realize when dealing with so many different kind of players & people.
 
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Slack

everything's fine?
Apr 27, 2012
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I agree with most of what you say, but I am doubtful that Englund will be the type of player we want to add. I hope Englund and Harpur become that type of player which we desperately need on D. We need some big mean physical players at F too. This team is too soft right now and needs some players who make things tough on other teams’ fancy forwards.
Well Englund does hit & fight so the 'meanness' is there, but the real question mark with him is whether he's good enough to be a third-pairing NHL defenseman. The jury is still out on that one.
 
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topshelf15

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May 5, 2009
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None of them should be playing in the NHL The fact that all three are on this team has a direct correlation to the sens allowing 300 + goals.

When was the last time a team allowed 300 plus goals does anyone know? Id imagine it would have to be in the mid 2000's after the lockout.
Everytime I see Harpur I see a young unbalanced and very raw big defender...But I also see some skill there,so Iam ok to keep him around another season to see if he can put it all together
 
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aragorn

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When I see Harpur I see a big tough defender who is hard to play against, but young & inexperienced who needs to learn to make better & quicker decisions, just like a lot of the other young guys on this team. He once upon a time led the rookie tournament in scoring, not just his team, but the entire tournament. When he played with Guelph, his junior team, he also put up pts for them.

When we have seen him fight, he has done rather well & is a pretty formidable battler for Ott & they could use his toughness in the lineup. He is also adept at clearing the front of the net & as a deterrent against crashing our goalies. He's NOT Karlsson or Chabot & never will be, but he could be a very good & affordable 3rd pairing defencemen who can play either side & as a 3rd pairing D he would most likely receive the least amount of ice time. Ott will need someone to protect all the good young prospects they have coming from players like Tom Wilson.
 
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OD99

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Oct 13, 2012
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Trouble with Harpur is that he is NOT hard to play against in a sandpaper way. Sure his big reach would be annoying to play against but he doesn't hit very often and when he does they aren't hard.

It is frustrating to watch a guy his size be so consistently soft on attackers and he compounds it by generally giving the puck right back to the opposition by firing it off the glass.

Not a fan at this point.
 

aragorn

Do The Right Thing
Aug 8, 2004
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Trouble with Harpur is that he is NOT hard to play against in a sandpaper way. Sure his big reach would be annoying to play against but he doesn't hit very often and when he does they aren't hard.

It is frustrating to watch a guy his size be so consistently soft on attackers and he compounds it by generally giving the puck right back to the opposition by firing it off the glass.

Not a fan at this point.

At a development camp a few yrs ago Harpur had Jaros behind the net & was driving him into the net in a cross check way until Jaros got up & started to defend himself & the two had to be broken up. Harpur is far from soft & this team's only real heavyweight. Boro will fight anyone but he is often undersized against some of the bigger tough guys & we have yet to see Englund in a NHL fight. And let's not forget that it was this org that told Harpur to not fight so much in the AHL & in today's NHL they have to be careful how hard the defence can be against the forwards before a penalty is called. Boro gets called a lot for being to hard on players sometimes, the NHL has gotten so soft.

When you look at the other defencemen in this org like Chabot, Wolanin, Lajoie, Brannstrom, Ceci, DeMello & others are all soft players who are easy to play against. Ott has Harpur, Boro, Jaros & maybe Englund as hard to play against defencemen but it's rare that they all play at the same time one or two are usually hurt or scratched. Harpur is only 24 yrs old & still learning the position & the game at this level & has enough skill to be a good 3rd pairing D. His weakness is having the puck in his feet, making better decisions & playing with a little more edge without getting penalties, we saw how quickly refs are to calling these guys whenever they come close to crossing a line. IMO Hapur does a good job at staying within the rules, but does need to be much more aggressive & intimidating.
 
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