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Blömqvist

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Everything posted by Blömqvist

  1. What are your thoughts on Hischier? Do you think he has similar upside of becoming a potential elite player?
  2. Wowww!!! Apparently he's on quite a hot streak too. A poster on HFBoards said at the end of 24 games in his last 11 games played he's had 4 goals and 14 assists. Add in last night's hat trick performance against the Giants, and in his last 12 games he's had 7 goals and 14 assists for 21 points!
  3. Just looking at raw statistics, Juuso Valimaki looks really good. Left hand shot defenseman, 6'2" and 200 lbs, has 26 points in 24 games in the WHL including 6 goals. He captained the gold-medal winning Finnish U18 team this past summer, the same team that had Puljujarvi as a later addition. Current rankings have him in the early to mid 20s. Could be a good pick up, but obvs we need forwards.
  4. Ya I've heard some people say loosely that he is the "Swiss Crosby." Good skater, good stick skills, and good playmaker. If we don't land Patrick, and considering our need for a #1C, Hischier and Middelstadt look like good elite-offense options. Any other centres in the top 10 or top 5?
  5. Halifax centre Nico Hischier looks like a really good pick. His ranking is a bit all over the place (#7 on HockeyProspect, #21 on ISS, #1 on McKeen's Hockey -- all November rankings) but is he good enough for a top 5 draft pick? He's definitely a kid to watch. Button had this to say on him last month: Looking at scouting reports and fan assessments about Hischier, everyone says he just oozes hockey IQ. He's apparently a very very smart player and highly competitive as well. Elite Prospects has him as "on loan" to the Halifax Mooseheads. Does that mean he can play in the AHL next year? In 2015.16 he played 15 games against men in the Swiss NLA as a 16 year old.
  6. I wonder if they're more inclined to move Edler, a top pairing shutdown defenseman still in his prime, can move the puck and put up 30 points, and is signed at a very good $5M cap hit. Should get a good package back that includes a 1st or good prospect... or even a young forward. I agree that Tryamkin has really big upside. He can potentially be a physically dominant shutdown defenseman and if he gains more confidence he should be able to move the puck more effectively. Tryamkin and Tanev would be a hell of a shutdown pairing.
  7. And Hutton? I dunno unless we trade a defenseman for a really good forward this team really needs offense. The Sedins aren't getting any younger and so far this year they're drifting off into 1st/2nd line territory. Horvat is a pretty good secondary producer right now and Boeser will turn professional, but we're still a few years off from having them be good producers of offense at the NHL level. We're already experiencing very low goal totals right now and we can't delay much further.
  8. Tryamkin looks pretty good out there too.
  9. As per that McKeen's Hockey article, "He can beat you in so many ways," says Halifax Mooseheads head coach Andre Tourigny. 'He can beat you with faceoffs. he can beat you with defensive play. He's really, really proud of his defence, he can beat you with his work ethic, his intensity, his skill, he can beat you on the rush. He can beat you on the power play, he can beat you on the PK. He's a really complete player. I compare him a lot to Henrik Zetterberg when he was in his prime. When you were playing against him he was always efficient in every area of the game.' "As is often the case with young European players it took Hischier a few games to adapt to the North American game. After starting the season goalless in his first five games, Hischier has been lethal. In his last 11 games, Hischier has scored 14 goals and 12 assists, vaulting him to third overall in QMJHL scoring." Those rankings though... they are really... well... confusing? Gabe Vilardi at 16 and Michael Rasmussen at 3? Rasmussen needs some love and is probably a top-15 pick because of his size and his production.
  10. I just wish Stecher had a harder shot! But ya the bright side is he is getting them through and if we have more people crashing the net or setting screens he'll get more points. I really like Edler and Stecher together. Hutton and Gudbransonare are a given and it looks like they'll be our future two-way shutdown pairing. Sbisa and Tryamkin have been good together and I like their physical play. Juolevi will soon replace Sbisa hopefully so Tryamkin will get an elite puck-moving defenseman to play with, leading to more offensive zone starts. And the sky is the limit with Tryamkin anyways... he's shown consistency in his defensive game and consistency in his physicality as well.. hopefully in time he can develop his offensive game. But ya haha all that does make Tanev a tradeable asset, especially so because our future pairings may very well end up as Juolevi - Tryamkin Hutton - Gudbranson Edler - Stecher (Sbisa) (Brisebois) (Pedan)
  11. IMO I think Jake should focus on his skating. He has good top speed and powerfu strides but needs some agility, like how Horvat can skate one direction and then adjust his speed, change his direction, and thn explode out of his turn all in one motion. That'll help him on the forecheck, where he'll be quicker to get in a position where he can take the body, and offensively, where he can use that speed, agility, and strength to power his way to the net. He's a big strong guy so it'll be hard containing him down low and if he can get to the net and be patient and stay there he'll pot in a lot of goals. Oh and it'd be nice if he could be used on the powerplay in the Ovechkin/Stamkos spot and just get him to rip one timers.
  12. Hopefully Tryamkin can pull a "Hutton" for us and play a sound defensive game eating up 20 minutes a night in a #4/5 role. I love his physicality and how he can control he front of the net and the immediate area he defends. And then come summer time we'll have options to fill the need for top-6 scoring because we'll likely have a logjam of quality defensemen. Edler - Stecher Hutton - Gudbranson Sbisa? Tanev? Juolevi? Tryamkin? Pedan? Subban?
  13. Ya I agree. Jake -- like most players, needs time in the AHL. Nick Ritchie, another big powerforward taken just 4 spots later in the draft benefitted well from a season in the AHL. Some have even said that Puljujarvi needs time in the AHL. Willie Nylander had time in the AHL to develop too. This fanbase nees to calm down and be patient. Jake needs time there, and it should already be expected that powerforward type players generally take a bit longer to find their game when they turn pro.
  14. Well, at least the Canucks won tonight right??? Right???? 

    1. Mr.DirtyDangles

      Mr.DirtyDangles

      Hell yeah ! great effort :D

  15. All the more reason Virtanen and Stecher should be in Utica this year. Virtanen moreso, because he isn't using any of his physical tools or unique skillset to make himself noticeable out on the ice. Travis Green would work wonders for Virtanen, his confidence, and his consistency. But Stecher as well, so he can refine his offensive and defensive games under coach Green.
  16. With the Sedins aging and this team needing top-end scoring very very soon, we prolly should've drafted W. Nylander and Tkachuk... 

     

    Tkachuk - Nylander - Boeser

    Baertschi - Horvat - _______

     

    Hutton - Gudbranson

    Tryamkin - Stecher

     

    Demko 

     

    (disregard my comments in the 2014 Draft 6th Overall Poll lolllll)

  17. Virtanen's development reminds me of Nino Niederreiter's development. After being drafted both spend another year in the WHL, then in their Draft+2 year they were up in the NHL. Like Jake, Neiderreiter was a big goal scorer in junior, and was expected to produce a fair amount in his first season in the NHL -- nothing too crazy. But in his first year in the NHL in his draft+2 year Niederreiter scored just 1 goal (his only point) in 55 games and was a minus 29. He spent the next year (Draft+3) entirely in the minors and put up 50 points in 74 games. He made it back to the NHL in his draft+4 season and since then has been averaging 20 goals and 40 points. In my opinion, Jake Virtanen needs to be in the AHL and follow a path similar to Nino Niederreiter. Under Utica Coach Travis Green, I'm confident that Virtanen can develop his game and figure out what he needs to do in order to play a consistent powerforward game in the professional leagues. Then next year, his Draft+4 year, have him in the NHL. Jake's potential has always been a top-6 winger capable of scoring 40-60 points, and when he isn't scoring, he should be dominating the game with either his speed and power moves, his physicality, or his strength along the boards and in front of the net. All three of which, and the scoring, I do not see. He needs the AHL.
  18. IMO it'll be harder and harder for Tryamkin to get in as long as Sbisa is playing well. Maybe in back-to-back games he could replace Sbisa to give him a bit of a rest, but even then you don't put Tryamkin in with Larsen. That pairing just ate up shots in every preseason game they played together. If Tryamkin gets in then they'll likely shuffle up the defense lines. Larsen has been good with Edler and have formed an offensive minded, possession driving duo. We see this pair later on in games when we're down and needing to look for a goal. This results in Sbisa being paired with Tanev, creating more of a defensive minded pair. If Tryamkin gets in, I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen: Edler - Larsen Hutton - Gudbranson Tryamkin - Tanev In which we roll all 3 pairs equally, but with Edler and Larsen getting more O-Zone opportunities.
  19. How would you say Gaudette's game is like? Is he more of a shoot first center or pass first, or more equally good at both creating plays and finishing them?
  20. That's awesome dude!! Glad you're enjoying the game! Gaudette with a point on that PP goal?
  21. What did you guys think of Gudbranson's physicality and feistiness out there tonight? He had that big hit against the Buffalo player along the boards to separate the player and the puck, and then went after Larsson after the slewfoot attempt.
  22. Ya, if anything we could look for him to develop more his offensive game. We all know offense will never be his bread and butter, but he could facilitate the offense and produce more by just doing the simple play. Hold the line and pass it down to his forwards, or swing the puck to the other defenseman. Like in basketball you want your skill guys handling the ball and making plays, so Gudbranson should make a simple pass over to his skill guys. That said, where he does excel at is his mobility and his slap shot. It's very one dimensional to just hand off the puck to a skilled teammate and not do anything, but it's a whole other dynamic altogether to keep his feet moving and getting into open areas or cutting into the high slot looking for a pass and shot opportunity. And wen he gets that shot opportunity to get some power behind and and to get it through traffic. Gudbranson has shown some of this in the Calgary game, where he jumped into open ice and had a good shot opportunity in the high slot, and most recently last night where he moved into a shooting lane at the blueline to receive a pass and shot a slapper, getting it through the first STL forward and on net, causing the rebound for Horvat's goal. It isn't pretty offense, but it's simple passing and movement and getting the puck on net that will help generate scoring chances.
  23. Gudbranson has exceeded my expectations! I knew we were getting a good top-4 defensive defenseman who plays physical, but I thought he would have a bit of trouble keeping up with some skaters as well as having some trouble with moving the puck up ice and moving the puck in the offensive zone. He's been really good so far. The defense is there but his skating has surprised me, same with his simple passes out of the defensive zone and how he can jump into an open area in the offensive to get a shot in. It is still early on, but his CorsiFor% is 57.8% and he already has 6 shots in 2 games. IMO I think he needs to take more slappers though. He's taken a few wristers trying to snipe them in like how Tanev tries to, but the man is big and strong he should hammer the puck if he finds an opening in the high slot.
  24. I think it's fair to keep him on this program until he's game-shape. All the other guys busted their [*behind*] to get them into competitive shape so Tryamkin should too. At least he'll be able to view things from up top and gain further understanding of how the North American game works. That said, hopefully he'll be able to get in a game sometime soon like in a few weeks or so. With his size, physicality, skating ability, and above average puck handling skills he just oozes so much potential.
  25. Hopefully the Granlund / Sutter / Hansen trio can keep up the consistency. Sutter and Hansen are notable streaky scorers but if they and Granlund can keep their 200 ft-game consistent then at least they'll provide that matchup line that WD wants and get a few high quality scoring chances each game too.
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