fecklund

He looked EXTREMELY nervous in that interview right before deadline day. It actually made me uncomfortable watching it.... by his play since you can tell he probably had a black cloud weighing 500,000 tonnes over his head going into Monday

Right. And as long as Benning keeps stocking the cupboards, it keeps the poop canon fed, and he can continue shooting at the wall to see what sticks. I suppose in the big picture we shouldn't be too concerned about a couple of kids walking..... unless there is in fact some truth to the rumors re: the situation in Utica. As always time will tell.

One thing you noticed watching Dahlen and Peety play at Young Stars was their stretch passes to each other. Dahlen even went so far as to say that was a play that they used quite a bit when playing together. Thing is, it got exposed a couple times in Penticton and that's one thing that shines a light on the difference in ice surface size. Those huge long-bomb passes are a lot riskier on NHL ice because things are much tighter. If you blow it, you better have the wheels to compensate or you're gonna get burned. I have a feeling that Dahlen's foot speed contributed to his subpar defensive play in Utica and that was something the organization was aware of. That, combined with an alleged demand to leave the organization due to not being called up, was likely his ticket to ride.

Gaunce and Jasek are the only guys with +/- of note being +5 and +6 respectively. All other forwards are either hovering around even or in cases like Dahlen - in the basement.

Dahlen was 4th in winger scoring in Utica. Boucher : 44 games, 50 pts, -2 Kero (C) : 53 games, 48 pts, -2 MacEwan : 49 games, 42 pts, -6 Gaunce : 40 games, 33 pts, +5 Dahlen : 50 games, 29 pts, -13

Palmu is on record saying nobody ever talked to him. Kind of difficult to develop a player when you don't even bother to open your mouth. Now Dahlen. Let's not forget what these two players did before coming to North America. Palmu was rookie of the year in the Finish Elite League and Dahlen was named MVP of of Allsvenskan almost single-handedly dragging his team back into the SHL. Those are not insignificant accomplishments for two young guys playing against men in pro leagues. Palmu AHL: 12 games, 1 A , -3 Palmu Liiga: 21 games, 16 points (since returning), +1 Dahlen AHL: 50 games, 29 points.... but also -13 which is the worst +/- among forwards. (no games yet played for San Diego) I'm not saying there's something wrong down in Utica, but I'm not ruling it out either. Palmu leaving sucked. He only played a handful of games, and goes on record saying nobody even bothered to speak to him? wtf is that about? Dahlen I think this was more of a case where a kid did a LOT for his team last year and that possibly inflated his sense of worth. Seems to me that his skating wasn't up to snuff at that level and that was contributing to his defensive issues. Time will tell. In any case, the AHL is a development league. If your roster is too crammed up to find spots for your young players then they should be loaned out to other teams where there's room so they can have the opportunity to learn and you know... develop and/or get sent down to the ECHL if they truly aren't ready at that level yet. Because the only thing you're gonna develop sitting in a press box are warts on your arse.

that's embarrassing....it's like the kid in elementary school who just won't let you forget he's got a brand new pair of shoes.... bunch of clowns lol

Burrows for Linus Karlsson

He plays in tier 2, not the SHL

How is it awesome, when the league is trying to "sell parity" ie: competitiveness in a salary cap era..... then turns around and changes the expansion draft rules so teams can basically buy a Stanley Cup Contender? this is straight up BULL____ Fans like us in Vancouver have been waiting 50 YEARS for a Cup and some team comes out of nowhere last year and goes all the way to the Final? I was shocked more people weren't irate. Expansion is cool and all, and Seattle is a great idea - but those draft rules need to get flushed.... Seattle were already chirping people because they know they're gonna get gifted... that is WRONG.

That's a great list. Only 3 out of those 18 never played a game in the NHL. Some of them obviously ended up being better players than others, but that equates to 83% (using this is a sample) Those are pretty surefire odds of getting an NHL player should you be fortunate enough to sign one. Helluva lot better odds than getting a 1st overall pick in the NHL draft, which doesn't guarantee anything either I might add.

This kid really earned his spot so i'm glad Benning didn't crap the bed on this one. People forget, Motte (105 pts in 107 games NCAA) was a Hobey Baker finalist in 2016 (along with Demko) Also somewhat unrelated, Tanner Kero was also a Hobey Baker finalist, in 2015 Team is stocking up on winners.