BananaMash

Not a big deal imho. It's a semi-crapshoot from 4-12 in this draft, with everybody being pretty comparable talent wise. The top three would've been awesome, but the outcome is fine.

I'll think you'll see it become more of a thing again as the league continues to get faster. Things happen so fast I truly believe the athleticism of smaller guys will have value again in net. Big athletic goalies will always have favor, but I don't think pure technical ability will work as well going forward. The ability to make a desperation save will be a must.

Edler is such a peasant having 30 points in 51 games. Totally washed up and awful.

Baertschi is also a significantly better passer. Goldobin has way higher creativity in the passes he attempts, but they don't tend to be very smart. It's like the Pettersson flair with very little idea how to execute on it tape to tape. Occasionally one goes through and it makes him look better than he's actually playing, though. I really wish Sven didn't have all these concussion issues derail him. He's like a 45-50 point guy, but nobody else works as well with Horvat. He's also extremely stable in his role. Missed by the team big time, imo.

His flashy degree of skill distracts many from his lack of production. I've been pulling for him to get it together, but for every great play or effort he throws out, nothing happens. Either his pass goes to the other team, he misses the net, or he gets burned defensively. Sort of reminds me of Burmistrov.

I want to know what exactly is so shocking about this ins-and-outs list? Looking at the outs, almost all of the players traded are absolutely useless at the NHL level. Either that, or they were well past their prime when traded. Burrows, Hansen, Bieksa, and Garrison had short NHL careers after leaving here (or flat out played poorly, like Vanek). Then there are guys like Gagner and MDZ who provided absolutely nothing, and were therefor traded for very little. Is the shocking part supposed to be the prospects portion? Because the team definitely isn't hurting due to having moved on from Jensen, Shinkaruk, Lain, or Fox. The best player's on the out list are Kesler, Nilsson, and Kassian... The first of which handcuffed our team (and then Anaheim with a gross contract). The other two are fringe NHL level talent at best. What's shocking? What is this proving? All it shows is he brought in three really nice pieces, and unloaded a mountain of crap in the process. The picks suck to lose, but he's seemingly stopped the trend of trading them. I really don't understand how this supports any degree of "fire Benning," and I'm not even the biggest Benning fan to begin with. Weak argument, in my opinion.

Nichushkin was a very tempting prospect at the time, he's who I wanted. His size, speed, and strength together seemed like all the pieces of a future NHL all-star. Fortunately I'm not the GM, because Bo hit the turbo button and developed into everything I thought Nich was going to be (along with the benefit of being a centre). Funny how it worked out, though. Horvat definitely isn't the same slower two-way forward I watched play for the Knights.

In addition to the classic second year mistake of bulking up too much, which hurt his skating a lot in the first half of the season (along with the injury).

I don't even know if I'd consider it a bounce back, just natural development. He's having an awfully good season statistically for somebody who is clearly experiencing a sophomore slump. He's also drastically improved his playmaking. People might be a bit down on him sometimes, but I think it's more exciting.

I really hope so. Watching him start to phone it in even on the defensive side of the puck is painful. He looks like he'd rather be doing anything else.

As somebody who has dealt with mental illness and suicidal ideation since I was 13 (now 25) to varying degrees of extremity, I just wanted to come in and offer a few very small pieces of advice that might help you as you try to help your friends. First and foremost, please remember to practice self care for yourself in addition to trying to provide a support network for your friends. Dealing with anybody going through a bout of mental issues is no fun. Do not feel guilty if they stress you out, or leave you feeling useless due to inability to make them better. You are support, not the solution. Take time for yourself, journal if you have to, whatever you need to do to keep okay. It's important not only for you, but for them as well. You will be able to provide better support if you're stable. Secondly, keep in mind that empathy is a much greater tool than sympathy. Try to understand what they're speaking about, and vocalize that you understand. Don't offer up pity or "feel bad for them." It can be patronizing to have someone being overly sympathetic, but empathetic support can truly mean the world when you're feeling down, misunderstood, and ready to give up. Trust me on that one. Third, do your best to remember that it's not your job (or even possible) for you to fix people. The most valuable thing you can do is make sure they know you are around to support them and listen when they need to talk. Any sort of deeper change will have to come from within themselves, but support will help deliver them to a place of wanting to get truly better. It might not feel like you're truly doing anything since there's no way to tangibly fix the issue. But trust me, you will be doing a lot. If you need to speak about any of this in private, please feel free to message me. I've been in horrible spots mentally, I've been suicidal, and I've also gone to school for fields related to mental health. If you need anything I'll do my best to provide some insight from all perspectives. Good luck.

I don't think it's anything nefarious on the Sharks end. They got the further along prospect, who they probably feel has the higher potential even though he's more of a risk. We got a younger prospect with more of an NHL transferable style of game. It looks like a hockey trade to me. Dahlen and his agent asked for a move. I think they damage controlled the move as well as possible.

Love Linus Karlsson, and really wanted us to draft him. I think he could be an excellent sleeper prospect.

There's been quotes from both Benning and JP Berry (Dahlen's agent) today talking about it. It seems as if Dahlen and his camp felt he was NHL ready, and the Canucks disagreed. It lead to tension, and a trade request.

Important announcement: just because you don't know who a player is doesn't make them an unknown useless prospect.

The league he was playing in prior to coming over here is notorious for being hard on rookies and making them fight for every millisecond of ice time due to rules around mandatory youth players on the roster. He went through a stretch of just putting his head down and playing single digit minutes per game. Dude knows how to just work hard and do his best.

When a player really wants out, it's usually better for the locker room if they're moved sooner rather than later imo. Don't let it turn into a distraction for the AHL team.

He's less flashy, but more willing to go to the dirty areas and seems a little stronger on the puck. In the limited Utica action I've seen, he's always stood out more to me. Dahlen was a bit of a floater who stuck way on the outside. That's not to say that Dahlen wont be good or anything, but I can understand why the team felt he wasn't NHL ready. Skill in bounds, not brave enough to do a ton with it.

Probably one of the better reclamation projects Benning has picked up, in my opinion. He's had a rough year, but I think he's also been played in pretty inconsistent roles due to the Penguins depth. He'll have a good chance to get himself back on track here, with how few wingers we really have. For Gudbranson with no retained salary, I think he's a nice return.

I might be one of the only people who believe this but I think Jasek is more likely to turn into a top six player than Dahlen. I could very well be wrong, but I like his build as a player way better. Especially for the NHL game.

He didn't deserve anything. He flat out wasn't playing that well in Utica. Very on and off in the consistency department. Jasek passed him on the depth chart, I think.

Most scouting reports have him as thinking the game really well in the offensive end, but needing work defensively still. He knows how to get open.

Guys, for reference, the highest scoring player on Karlskrona HK is a 33 year old veteran and only has 38 points. They're not an overly talented hockey club.

Oh, definitely. I would compare Karlsson's game sort of to Horvat from a few years ago when he was strong in the offensive end but struggled at times in his own zone. He has the tools to be something really good though.

I have so much faith in Gradin as a scout, that I can't help but be excited when we pick up a prospect still playing in Sweden.