2017-18 Utica Comets Thread

[Beary Sweet]

46 minutes ago, stonecoldstevebernier said:

The Sifers signing is a solid one, speaks volumes about the Utica organization that he was willing to sign a two year deal as well.

Also more than offsets the departure of David Shields. I thought Shields was steady for the most part during his time with the Comets, but his footspeed was always somewhat lacking and he wound up being a regular scratch towards the end of last year.
 

 

I like it too. he has some championship experience to go along with leadership abilities and solid defensive play. Can't wait to see him hit the ice and see how he performs!

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Canucks Army with a pretty critical take on the Sifers signing: https://canucksarmy.com/2017/07/13/how-uticas-signing-of-defenceman-jaime-sifers-affects-the-comets/

 

Can't say I really buy into their argument. They seem to believe that Biega (assuming he makes it down to Utica) provides enough veteran presence on his own. And that having Pedan and Holm, and possibly a vet like Wiercioch, should provide more than enough experience on the Comets D. They also seem concerned that this signing puts Utica too tight against the AHL veteran limits. 

 

And Comets fans will love this: Canucks Army suggests that, rather than stock up on depth, Utica should just use PTOs to address any depth issues that might arrive during the season.

 

Here's the thing. This organization regularly gets decimated by injuries, particularly on D. And time and again, we've been caught with our pants down when the injury bug strikes. So I just don't get the argument that we're signing too many Ds.

 

As for veteran limits, when I look at the overall depth chart, I see Utica having to, at most, sit one or two vets out per game.

 

And that's assuming everyone stays healthy.

 

It's pretty much guaranteed that they won't.

 

And even if they stay healthy, it's been common practice in Utica to rest Ds and rotate the order, so that everyone stays as fresh as possible. Green regularly scratched guys for "maintenance" or rest. And this is a very smart way to avoid overtaxing your players (which incidentally makes them more susceptible to injury). I'd expect Cull will take a similar approach to how he uses healthy scratches to manage the roster numbers.

 

Finally, it's all well and good to say that Biega, and some of the other returning guys, already provide enough experience and stability to the Comets D order. But then the injuries come. And the Canucks start calling guys up. And pretty soon, the most experienced Ds are all sitting in Vancouver's press box while the Comets try to ice a competitive lineup. This is when having a guy like Sifers becomes really important.

 

And what Sifers brings can't be easily replaced by some PTO signing from the ECHL ranks. No matter what Canucks Army thinks.  

[aGENT]

13 minutes ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

And what Sifers brings can't be easily replaced by some PTO signing from the ECHL ranks. No matter what Canucks Army thinks.  

Especially considering none of the veteran guys they're writing about are guaranteed to clear waivers. I have serious doubts either Wiercioch or McEneny  would make it through personally.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

18 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Especially considering none of the veteran guys they're writing about are guaranteed to clear waivers. I have serious doubts either Wiercioch or McEneny  would make it through personally.

Yeah, it's pretty much a critique that's predicated on the assumption that (a) all our eligibles clear waivers and (b) everyone stays healthy.

 

Seems rather unlikely.

 

But if we somehow manage to clear both hurdle (a) and (b), I don't imagine we'll be sweating the ramifications when it comes to AHL veteran limits.

 

EDIT: Not that I have any issue with the article pointing out the veteran roster issue. Jeremy Davis (the Canucks Army writer) does a great job breaking these kinds of things down. I just think it shouldn't be the central thesis of Canucks Army's report on the Sifers signing. Would have rather seen an article with a more detailed player profile, and then maybe tack on the veteran limits stuff as a secondary point. Or maybe write a separate article on the Comets roster issues, and keep player signing reports focused on providing useful information about the player that was added.

[UticaHockey]

50 minutes ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Yeah, it's pretty much a critique that's predicated on the assumption that (a) all our eligibles clear waivers and (b) everyone stays healthy.

 

Seems rather unlikely.

 

But if we somehow manage to clear both hurdle (a) and (b), I don't imagine we'll be sweating the ramifications when it comes to AHL veteran limits.

 

EDIT: Not that I have any issue with the article pointing out the veteran roster issue. Jeremy Davis (the Canucks Army writer) does a great job breaking these kinds of things down. I just think it shouldn't be the central thesis of Canucks Army's report on the Sifers signing. Would have rather seen an article with a more detailed player profile, and then maybe tack on the veteran limits stuff as a secondary point. Or maybe write a separate article on the Comets roster issues, and keep player signing reports focused on providing useful information about the player that was added.

Seems like the Canucks Army writers all have a statistical and analytics background.  But the importance of veteran mentorship for the young prospects isn't something that you can easily measure in Excel.  

[Rob_Zepp]

what's a canuck army?

[Gaudette Celly]

14 hours ago, UticaHockey said:

Finally some AHL depth on defense.

Been telling ya, no worries.  Another vet or two up front maybe and you'll be fine.  Should be a younger, more exciting team this year.

[elvis15]

On 7/12/2017 at 9:09 PM, DeNiro said:

Kesler was a highly touted pick in one of the deepest drafts ever.

 

People need to stop focusing on him being a 6th overall. History shows the majority of top 10 picks don't become stars. The sooner you get the idea that a top 10 pick guarantees us anything, the better off you'll be. I'm confident he can still be an important role player for this team going forward though.

 

Him playing in the NHL last season doesn't mean anything either. He wasn't ready for the NHL full time and it clearly hurt his confidence going into the AHL.

 

Next season is a fresh start. I think we'll see the real Virtanen start to shine.

Sure, but even less of the players drafted mid-20's do. Kesler wasn't highly touted for his offence at the time either where Jake isn't just projected to be a speedy, physical winger who can score. He can also be a grinder even if he's not scoring just like Kesler showed he can also dominate games offensively. At the same point in their careers though, we know Jake can be the lesser of the things he was drafted for where Kesler already was the main thing. Kesler's improvement ended up being a pleasant surprise, where Virtanen's was the thing that put him ahead of players like Nylander and Ehlers.

 

I'm all for fresh starts, but it's way too simplistic to try and trot out how many points Kesler had his first pro season compared to Virtanen last season. My point stands that Utica fans don't have to be excited about him. If he does something worth getting excited about, then they'll start to pay more attention.

[elvis15]

On 7/13/2017 at 11:06 AM, stonecoldstevebernier said:

The Sifers signing is a solid one, speaks volumes about the Utica organization that he was willing to sign a two year deal as well.

Also more than offsets the departure of David Shields. I thought Shields was steady for the most part during his time with the Comets, but his footspeed was always somewhat lacking and he wound up being a regular scratch towards the end of last year.

Yup, the Comets were best to move on from Shields with the choices they'll have next year.

[bigbadcanucks]

On 2017-07-13 at 1:55 PM, UticaHockey said:

Seems like the Canucks Army writers all have a statistical and analytics background.  But the importance of veteran mentorship for the young prospects isn't something that you can easily measure in Excel.  

@UticaHockey: can you comment on the value of Kent Huskins during the Comets' first season?  Though Sifers is not Huskins, it seems to me that he would be called upon to bring some of the tangibles and intangibles that Huskins brought to the Comets.  From what I remember, Huskins was an important and valued member of the Comets.  The signing of Sifers also reminds me of the role Nolan Baumgartner played for the Manitoba Moose.

 

On a completely unrelated matter, as I look through the number of players on one-way contracts with the Canucks, and some with premium pay to play in the minors, it seems to me that the Comets will have a pretty high payroll relative to years gone by and to the payrolls of other AHL franchises.  Nice to see the Aquilini's not being afraid to spend extra money to pay players under standard NHL contracts a premium in the event they are assigned to the AHL.

[UticaHockey]

9 hours ago, bigbadcanucks said:

@UticaHockey: can you comment on the value of Kent Huskins during the Comets' first season?  Though Sifers is not Huskins, it seems to me that he would be called upon to bring some of the tangibles and intangibles that Huskins brought to the Comets.  From what I remember, Huskins was an important and valued member of the Comets.  The signing of Sifers also reminds me of the role Nolan Baumgartner played for the Manitoba Moose.

 

On a completely unrelated matter, as I look through the number of players on one-way contracts with the Canucks, and some with premium pay to play in the minors, it seems to me that the Comets will have a pretty high payroll relative to years gone by and to the payrolls of other AHL franchises.  Nice to see the Aquilini's not being afraid to spend extra money to pay players under standard NHL contracts a premium in the event they are assigned to the AHL.

Kent Huskins was like having another assistant coach out on the ice.  He was constantly talking to the other Comets dmen both on the ice and on the bench.  Sifers doesn't have the same pedigree as Huskins but I hope he takes on a similar role.  Everything thing I've read about him has been positive.

[stonecoldstevebernier]

Got posted in the Trades forum already, but the hometown kid is going overseas. Not much of a surprise that he wasn't re-signed; after a great 2015-16 season, injuries really diminished his effectiveness and consistency last year. He still showed flashes of that all-around game at times, but with his NHL hopes pretty much extinguished now, it makes sense to give Europe a shot. Best of luck to him.
 

 

[wildcam]

On July 5, 2017 at 10:43 AM, JamesB said:

If the projected Comet line-up is correct, that implies that Boeser and Burmistrov will be on the Canucks. If so, I think Boeser plays with Horvat and Baertschi and Eriksson plays on a line centered by either Gagner or Sutter. Over his career Gagner has been a much better offensive player than Sutter, so I project Gagner at 3C between Eriksson and Rodin and Sutter at 4C between Burmistrov and Dorsett. That makes Gaunce 13th man.  Of course, on any given night there is usually at least one injured forward (including most opening nights), so someone listed on the Utica line-up will be with the Canucks. 

 

On D, in addition to the 6 listed with Canucks, Wiercioch (7th man) and Biega (swing man) will likely be with the team also.

 

So, considering the Utica lineup, it is at least 50-50 that Dahlen goes back to Sweden and, due to injury, it is quite likely that one of the listed forwards is with the Canucks at any given time, maybe Goldobin..

 

That would leave Utica with a line-up that is decent but far from "stacked". In particular, it would be short on established AHL-level scoring ability. I think Utica needs to add at least one good scoring career AHL'er. They could also use more toughness. Archibald would help on both dimensions.  Benning has emphasized the importance of prospects developing in a winning environment but he does not seem to have worried much about that at the AHL level. But I do expect him to add some scoring punch to the Comets line-up before the season starts, especially if Dahlen goes back to Sweden.

 

If Canuck fans did not know that Virtanen was a #6 overall pick, but simply looked at his play over the last couple of years, he would not get much attention. And we would not be still be talking about him becoming an NHL power forward. A guy with his track record over the past two years needs to show that he can be a good AHL player on a consistent basis before we even think about the NHL.

Pedan will be lost on waivers this year if sent down, Boucher will also be claimed off waivers....Hope Pedan makes team and send Biega down to farm.. Pedan adds grit and toughness we don't have..I think Pedan will make big club #7 guy, we know he can skate just needs to make his game simple.. 

Pedan and Virtanen make opening night roster..Both guys have worked close with Green in Utica and have lots of confidence with Green.

[JamesB]

13 minutes ago, wildcam said:

Pedan will be lost on waivers this year if sent down, Boucher will also be claimed off waivers....Hope Pedan makes team and send Biega down to farm.. Pedan adds grit and toughness we don't have..I think Pedan will make big club #7 guy, we know he can skate just needs to make his game simple.. 

Pedan and Virtanen make opening night roster..Both guys have worked close with Green in Utica and have lots of confidence with Green.

I also want Pedan to make the big team. The Canucks could certainly use his size and toughness. And he is a very good skater. But with the competition for spots it will not be easy for him to make the team. I hope the team carries 8 D's and that he is one of them. I would also be happy to see him get some shifts on the wing, as he has in the past. He might need some quality practice time on the wing first to have a chance to succeed,

 

As for Jake, we are all hoping for him to take the next step. The team could use his speed and his contribution to the physical game. And if he can provide some complementary scoring, great. But he will need to show more consistency than he has in the past. There are quite a few guys contending for the last couple of forward spots, so Jake needs to come to camp in good shape and really focused if he wants to make the team.

 

I still think both guys are less than 50-50 to make the team to start the season, but if either of them earns a spot I would be happy about it.

 

 

[bigbadcanucks]

6 hours ago, JamesB said:

I also want Pedan to make the big team. The Canucks could certainly use his size and toughness. And he is a very good skater. But with the competition for spots it will not be easy for him to make the team. I hope the team carries 8 D's and that he is one of them. I would also be happy to see him get some shifts on the wing, as he has in the past. He might need some quality practice time on the wing first to have a chance to succeed,

 

As for Jake, we are all hoping for him to take the next step. The team could use his speed and his contribution to the physical game. And if he can provide some complementary scoring, great. But he will need to show more consistency than he has in the past. There are quite a few guys contending for the last couple of forward spots, so Jake needs to come to camp in good shape and really focused if he wants to make the team.

 

I still think both guys are less than 50-50 to make the team to start the season, but if either of them earns a spot I would be happy about it.

 

 

Whatever came of the MacKenze Stewart experiment at LW?

[UticaHockey]

5 hours ago, bigbadcanucks said:

Whatever came of the MacKenze Stewart experiment at LW?

It didn't work.  He played the 2015-16 season as a wing and started the year in Utica for 4 games without a point.  Then went to Kalamazoo for 6 games without a point and then they decided to bring this experiment back to juniors as an overager and played 36 games in the WHL with 11 points.  Last year he went back to defense and played the entire season in Alaska.  Maybe if the new coach in Utica wants to employ a face puncher he will get a crack with the Comets.  If not he will play out the final year of his ELC in K-Zoo. 

[Sean Monahan]

3 hours ago, UticaHockey said:

final year of his ELC

God bless.

[Rob_Zepp]

16 hours ago, wildcam said:

Pedan will be lost on waivers this year if sent down, Boucher will also be claimed off waivers....Hope Pedan makes team and send Biega down to farm.. Pedan adds grit and toughness we don't have..I think Pedan will make big club #7 guy, we know he can skate just needs to make his game simple.. 

Pedan and Virtanen make opening night roster..Both guys have worked close with Green in Utica and have lots of confidence with Green.

Why is everyone convinced that players from a 29th place team will be snapped up instantly?   All NHL teams have roster maximums and to claim a player, you need to have an open spot and/or waive one of your own.   Players that are not good enough for a 29th place team are usually not good enough for the NHL in general - right?

 

I think that it is always a risk to waive players but nearly the same risk for a team near the bottom of their cycle and in development mode than a team near the top of their cycle.   Instead of worrying about who the Canucks may lose during moving of players between NHL and Utica, view it more as an opportunity with teams at the top or  near the top of their own cycles waive players to see what can be found.

[Stierlitz]

 

[Gaudette Celly]

On 7/18/2017 at 4:00 PM, wildcam said:

Pedan will be lost on waivers this year if sent down, Boucher will also be claimed off waivers....Hope Pedan makes team and send Biega down to farm.. Pedan adds grit and toughness we don't have..I think Pedan will make big club #7 guy, we know he can skate just needs to make his game simple.. 

Pedan and Virtanen make opening night roster..Both guys have worked close with Green in Utica and have lots of confidence with Green.

Ahead of McEneny?  Both require waivers.