(You've already have made up your mind about) Zack Bogosian

[ottomaddox]

I noticed during and after the game many leaf fans were ripping Bogosian. What gives? I sort of felt like a lot leafs had bad moments last night. Bogosian didn't do anything to warrant hatred from Leafs Nation. Is it because he took a couple of penalties? I felt like he had to at times. Our defensive structure and game planning didn't quite show up. That's not on Bogosian. That's on the coaching. A lot of what I saw was rust and unfamiliar players playing together. That doesn't make Bogosian the lead scapegoat sorry. He deserves better than the judgements and blind criticism. In fact I only thought Brodie was the only player on the blue line who was steady. Every other defenseman did not have a strong game last night.

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[janesy12]

He's not alone, but he was not great. Both penalties were avoidable and not high danger chances.
Rielly was brutal defensively, and Muzzin was slower than he's ever looked.
FWIW, I thought it was a very sloppy game from both teams. Players definitely aren't in game shape and it's going to take a while for the play to come to a level we're accustomed to.

 

[Welsh Maple Leaf]

One game - classic over reaction from an irrational fan base.

 

[The Magic Man]

The whole team was sloppy. I expect sloppy hockey for a week or so. That’ll benefit us though. Fast and skilled get away with that until teams start to tighten up and play smart.
As for Bogo, I wanna see some nasty shit from him like Polak did for us. But it won’t come every night and might take a bit with pond hockey being played for now.

 

[Cor]

He had a really poor first half of the game, including two penalties, one of which, led to a goal. He had a better second half of the game, as did most of the team.

There are people who were shitting on Bogo before the game too. He’s just that type of player. A lot of people were doing the same with Vesey.

So yeah, Bogosian deserved criticism in the first half last night. Settled down in the second half, but overall we just still need better than him. That said, it’s one game, with a new team, which no sort of exhibition schedule this year for new players to settle in a bit more

 

[ottomaddox]

How many breakaways/odd man rushes did MTL get last night? I can't even recall Bogosian being on the ice for any of them.

 

[justashadowof]

It was a preseason game that counts in the standings. There's bound to be all sorts of rusty performances. Re-visit this stuff in a couple of weeks.

 

[kevsh]

Zach apparently didn't do his homework on how Maple Leafs fans (generally) treat their defencemen. Especially ones they drafted, traded for or signed.

Either that or he just doesn't care what they say.

 

[NHL WAR]

How many breakaways/odd man rushes did MTL get last night? I can't even recall Bogosian being on the ice for any of them.

I'm not one of those ready to cut him from the team, but it was his pinch that forced Tavares to cover right d, which meant little resistance for Anderson on his 2nd goal.

 

[Brobust]

Awful game, deserved to get ripped.

I don't know what he thinks of himself, but leave the puck moving to the actual decent player on the pair.

 

[smitty10]

He didn't play well in game 1, but it's one game. No exhibition, guys are still getting up to speed and getting used to their new surroundings.

I expect him to gain half a step in the next week or so as the pace climbs.

 

[hotpaws]

He didn't play well in game 1, but it's one game. No exhibition, guys are still getting up to speed and getting used to their new surroundings.

I expect him to gain half a step in the next week or so as the pace climbs.

the problem is everybody else will gain a step

if he's going to be at all useful on the bottom pair he's going to have to play a very safe simple game

 

[smitty10]

the problem is everybody else will gain a step

if he's going to be at all useful on the bottom pair he's going to have to play a very safe simple game

That's what he was able to do in Tampa.

This year's Leafs are built for the playoffs. We'll see guys like Bogosian and Thornton in and out of the lineup throughout the regular season. We have a very deep team and some intriguing guys on the taxi squad who can likely shuffle in and make a positive impact.

 

[hotpaws]

That's what he was able to do in Tampa.

This year's Leafs are built for the playoffs. We'll see guys like Bogosian and Thornton in and out of the lineup throughout the regular season. We have a very deep team and some intriguing guys on the taxi squad who can likely shuffle in and make a positive impact.

he also was carried by Hedman

the thing is we don't have a deep team , what we have is 4 elite forwards and a whole lot of meh

and i have no idea where any scoring is going to come from after our top 2 lines

 

[Randy Randerson]

I honestly thought most of the team was bad last night, Nylander is the only one who had an above average game compared to his norm and I think basically everyone else was worse than their average by varying degrees.

Bogosian wasn't good but I think the hallmarks of him being better were there, he was a little late on his reads so had to cheat to get caught up or got beat. Not that he's going to be a solid top 4 guy, but I think he'll be a better Polak who can move the puck. He should be a very serviceable bottom pairing guy that is very useful when you need sandpaper and can kill penalties.

 

[smitty10]

he also was carried by Hedman

the thing is we don't have a deep team , what we have is 4 elite forwards and a whole lot of meh

and i have no idea where any scoring is going to come from after our top 2 lines

I disagree. I think we have a deep team. Once things get rolling, Bogosian is our 7th-8th best Dman. Robertson, Boyd and Engvall can all slot into the lineup relatively seamlessly.

Our third liners have the ability to put up ~40 points in a full season. Not to mention Simmonds and Spezza can rack up a few points themselves. I personally don't think scoring depth is an issue.

 

[zeke]

He was bad.

But slow guys usually look the worst in preseason and early season as they rely so much on timing. Its probably part of the reason bogo and muzzin had such a tough time.

That being said, Lehtonen is banging on that door.

 

[Macallan18]

Well, historically he simply is not a very good player. Maybe a notch better than Polak.
The first game was exactly what people feared.
He didn't get much icetime, and almost sank us with two penalties.
Taxi squad time. We have much better alternatives.

 

[Blue Nate]

Brodie was our only D-man who played well I thought, so Bogo was not alone.

Wtf is up with Dermott making the game so difficult for himself.

 

[Isaac Nootin]

He's not alone, but he was not great. Both penalties were avoidable and not high danger chances.
Rielly was brutal defensively, and Muzzin was slower than he's ever looked.
FWIW, I thought it was a very sloppy game from both teams. Players definitely aren't in game shape and it's going to take a while for the play to come to a level we're accustomed to.

In regards to Muzzin, I think he'll be fine, but it's worth noting that I believe he came into camp 14lbs heavier than last year.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

not surprising, this fanbase is full of insane weirdo's that think they are the "normal" or "smart" ones.

 

[Buds17]

No preseason games and a lineup that was 1/3 new. Bogosian figures to be one of two or three defenders that slot in and out of the lineup depending upon scheduling and the like.

 

[LFCTML]

I noticed during and after the game many leaf fans were ripping Bogosian. What gives? I sort of felt like a lot leafs had bad moments last night. Bogosian didn't do anything to warrant hatred from Leafs Nation. Is it because he took a couple of penalties? I felt like he had to at times. Our defensive structure and game planning didn't quite show up. That's not on Bogosian. That's on the coaching. A lot of what I saw was rust and unfamiliar players playing together. That doesn't make Bogosian the lead scapegoat sorry. He deserves better than the judgements and blind criticism. In fact I only thought Brodie was the only player on the blue line who was steady. Every other defenseman did not have a strong game last night.

He was clearly the worst player on the ice last night. I don't think that's people "making up their mind about him". But if you play that poorly, people will comment on it. He looked really, really slow. He stood out because of it. And honestly, I think most of the comments (mine at least), came from a place of optimism because we're expecting more from him. The context of my comments were purely about a single game. I'm glad he's on our team - I'm glad to have him going forward, in a limited role.
As I said in the thread last night, I think he can be better, and I have a feeling we'll see more from him down the line. It's a long season. But it doesn't take a pro scout to realize he was a step behind last night.

 

[inthe6ix]

He will lead our team in minor penalties this year

I like his toughness, and he skates fairly well for a big man, but don't want Sheldon overplaying him

 

[wingman75]

Regardless of the eye test for Bogo, he is what we need. Physical defenseman who can stop the cycle, clear the net and chop the puck into bits.

You cannot win without that type of player, with him and Muzz we should be set. Is he better than Sandin, not in skill, but he makes the team more complete.