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Everything posted by UticaHockey
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With Carcone you have to take the good with the bad. The good is he has terrific speed and a decent shot. The bad is his hockey IQ is lacking and is a puck hog. Case in point....The game against Hartford a little over a week ago with the Comets trailing by a goal with about 3 minutes left Carcone never looks at a teammate as he rushes the puck end to end until he loses the puck after crossing the blue line trying to stick handle through two defenders and a forward collapsing on him. Rinse and repeat he does the exact same thing seconds later after Hartford dumped the puck back into the Comets zone and he rushes it back up the ice. When he returned to the bench Cull chewed his ass out like I have never seen him do before and stapled him to the bench the rest of regulation. Now the Comets ended up tying the game which eventually went to a SO with Carcone getting the game winner. The bad and then the good.... He does score his share of highlight type goals on the rush by using his speed to go around the defender but he lacks the puck handling skills to go through defenders. And he has a reputation for being a puck hog. I do have to say however in the games since he got a public ass chewing he has made some nice passes and has been seeing the ice better. Maybe that is what he needed to wake up. Time will tell.
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To answer your question yes it is 100% possible for EP to play in the AHL after the NHL season is over since he is waiver exempt this year. He would have to be on the AHL roster at 3:00 pm on trade deadline day to be eligible. That would be a paper transition where Vancouver sends him down before 3:00 pm and then calls him back up after 3:00 pm without ever leaving Vancouver. While it is 100% possible there is a 0% chance of it happening. No way will they risk EP to injury by playing in the AHL after the season ends. Actually the same applies to Boeser since he is also waiver exempt this season.
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2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Gaunce is solid at this level. Plays well in all three zones and has a underrated shot that he has the extra time and space in the AHL to utilize. I would like to see him show more energy and emotion out there but that just doesn't seem to be part of his personality. Maybe Green is looking for the same? -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
I was stating an opinion not a statement of facts. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
I will always give an honest opinion of how the team and individual players performed. If you only want a rainbows and unicorns report then I suggest that you find another poster that watches Comets games. Demko played well but as a team the Comets have not produced enough shots or scoring chances in each of the three wins to lead me to believe that it is sustainable. As I said Archie will help and I hope they will build off the win streak with even improved play. Time will tell. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Demko faced more quality shots in this game than he saw in the game on Wednesday so it was a good test. The team still has a long way to go however after generating 21 shots against a bad Sens team. Three wins in a row does feel good. Assuming Archibald clears waivers tomorrow he will help by providing both a scorer and a leader that we need. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
If you notice most Comets fans don't complain when a player is called up. We realize that is part of being a farm team. I hate losing Boucher and his laser of a shot but he has earned another look and I hope that he is used in a position to succeed in the top six and not in a bottom six position which is not his strength. What Utica fans complain about is the way that the roster was constructed before the season started and the lack of doing anything about the holes after the injures and call ups start to pile up. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Actually gas prices are going down and I will have a second helping of apple pie and skip the Romain Lettuce and salad. The Comets stole a win list night but I will take it. Out shot 47 - 23 is not sustainable winning hockey but the Amerks back up goaltender didn't have a good game and the ugliest of defensive turnovers were from the Amerks and not the Comets for a change. Should have a decent chance of making it three in a row with Demko tonight at home against a crappy Senators team. But they need to stop being out shot so badly to beat even the weakest of teams in the division. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
If the Canucks ever get healthy again which is a big if I don't see Archie staying in Vancouver and I don't see him as a waiver risk. Archie is a heart and soul guy at the AHL level but there are much better NHL players that clear waivers all the time. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
What I read about Sutter is he isn't expected back before Christmas. This doesn't look good for Baertschi any time soon and they just swapped out Boucher for Gaunce. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
No question that losing Demko was the biggest of all the players lost to injuries and call ups. But even though last night was a good start it was only one game. It was great that we finally had a goalie give up less than 3 goals but Thatcher didn't face many tough chances. The Comets were absolutely awful the first half of the game with only 4 shots on goal. Likewise Laval was just as bad after they took a 2 - 1 lead and only had 4 shots themselves over the final 25 minutes. It was a game of who wants it the least. Laval with 21 total shots and maybe 4 good scoring chances. Utica with 17 total shots and again may be 4 good scoring chances including the best chance which was Carcone's breakaway goal. The real test for Demko and the Comets will be Friday night when they travel to a very good Rochester team. -
Actually if you read the tweet he was referring to the Comets and not the Canucks. Just joking but not really. What Demko's dad was tweeting about was the Comets Purple Heart night where they honored veterans. The Comets wore special purple and camo jerseys that were auctioned after the game with the proceeds going to support veteran programs in the Utica area. A few of the jerseys went for over $2000 a piece. Both Demko and Bachman had special masks painted for the game but unfortunately neither were dressed for the game due to injury and call up. This was a Robert Esche inspired event and that is what Demko's dad was referring to.
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2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
What Vancouver did in 08-13 is not relevant to the Comets now. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
I don't agree with this in the slightest. Just look at the list of players that have moved from Syracuse to Tampa Bay in the past three years. Forwards: Yanni Gourde, Anthony Cirelli, Adam Erne Defense: Erik Cernak, Slater Koekkoek And then if you go back three years before that there is another impressive list that will include Nikita Kucherov, Tylor Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette and Andrej Vasilevsky. I didn't even include Brayden Point because he only played in 9 games for the Crunch as a late season addition. Who has Vancouver developed in the AHL over that same time period? Tampa Bay continues to develop young talent in Syracuse while always emphasizing a winning environment. One more example for you.....a couple of weeks ago Tampa Bay placed Cory Conacher on waivers to send him to the Crunch. CoCo is a tremendous AHL player and locker room guy. The same day that they placed him on waivers they signed him a one way $700K contract extension for next season. A poison pill so to speak to discourage another team from claiming him off waivers because they would be on the hook for the one way contract next year as well. This is how much the Lightning values veteran leadership and winning in the AHL. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
What is your definition of affordable and would you buy season tickets at that price? -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
The rookies are just that....rookies. If the expectations were that they were going to drive this team on their own then the expectations were too high. The problem is the lack of quality depth players around them to create a winning environment so that they don't skate off the ice each game hanging their heads to a near empty building because most people left when the 50/50 number was announced with about three minutes left in the game. Yes there have been a lot of injuries this year just like the year before and the year before that. But I won't stop saying it until they finally do something about it....they had no center depth from day one. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
It shouldn't have been an issue of not wanting to use one of 50 NHL contracts on a player like TJ Hensick because he ended up signing an AHL contract late that summer with the LA Kings team in Ontario, CA. More and more veterans are going that route because NHL teams want to keep extra NHL contract slots open for March/April signings for NCAA free agents and undrafted junior players. Hell even Alex Grenier signed an AHL contract with the Habs farm team this season. It allows the player to stay in North America if they are not interested in moving to Europe to continue their career and the NHL team gets a quality depth player to work with the kids in the AHL. Plus if there is a need that player can then be signed to a NHL contract at any point during the season like they did with Darren Archibald last year. As far as the vet rules in the AHL a team can dress 5 guys each game that started the season with more than 260 games at the AHL or higher level and a 6th if one of them has over 260 games but under 320. I don't remember where the Comets were at the start of the 2016-17 season but the vet rule can always be managed. And again it comes down to management with regards to the players that they chose to sign. I have been and will continue to be a critic of using two of five veteran slots on plumbers like Carter Bancks and Wacey Hamilton. These guys are solid fourth line checkers and really earn their paychecks on the penalty kill. But because of the constant holes in the line up are always being asked to take on roles that they are not skilled enough to take. Both were just signed by Johnson to two year AHL extensions. A better use of the veteran signing would be to sign a more skilled player in a position of need such as center and fill the fourth line checker and PK specialist with a younger non veteran. Cole Cassels could fill that role and may have been willing to sign an AHL contract rather than head to Germany to continue his career. If not Cole then someone similar. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
You may get your wish as early as next year and if not certainly in a couple of years if Seattle comes into the NHL and places an AHL team in the Pacific Northwest. I'm sure they will be popular at first with the excitement of having the farm team in Vancouver or Abbotsford. But how many people will continue to pay for tickets in the long run if the product on the ice is unskilled, lacks energy and loses 7 of 9 home games? Will you personally support this team through thick and thin by purchasing season tickets every year or will you be part of the "I may go to a few games to check them out" crowd? The Comets have 3,500 season tickets in a building that seats 3,914. Yes the building is small but that season ticket total is still higher than 75% of the league including cities 10X the population of Utica and buildings large enough to support a NHL team. I've been a season ticket holder for all six years and will continue to be as long as the Comets are in Utica. I suspect that the other Utica posters in here are multi year season ticket holders as well. We continue to support this team year in and year out but that doesn't mean we will be all unicorns and rainbows in regards to the way that Benning/Johnson manage the farm team. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Hensick wanted to come back to Utica but it fell upon deaf ears. https://twitter.com/TJHensick/status/726383272436109312?s=20 -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
And he played very well during that stretch. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Where ever you can find them at this point. It could be Euro with a North American player that finds himself wishing that he was closer to home like they did with Cal O'Reilly in 2013. It could be a free agent that hasn't signed yet and would be willing to sign an AHL contract at this point like Kent Huskins in 2013. Freddie Hamilton is a name that was mentioned on HF Boards. It could be a proven AHL playmaker center like TJ Hensick that didn't get a contract offer this year and is in the ECHL. It doesn't have to be any of those specific players but Ryan Johnson should be looking for a creative way of helping fix an obvious roster issue on the team that he is the GM of. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Cull is taking some hits on this thread and by a small minority of fans in Utca. But don't forget that he coached a team last season filled with ECHL plugs on PTOs to a 16 game streak with no regulation losses. They took 29 of a possible 32 points during that streak which pretty much secured a playoff spot. But unfortunately the roster that he has to work with this year is even weaker. -
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
UticaHockey replied to stonecoldstevebernier's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Yes a poorly managed farm team. Are there specific points that I made that you dispute or just don't like negative comments about the Canucks management? -
The touch slow has been a recurring theme this season.
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Not a pivot but some nice foot work by Olli in the Comets most recent 4 - 0 loss at home.... https://streamable.com/36i8p