I almost wonder if his weight gain has contributed to his lack of offense. I'm a big fan of having big defensemen, but I wonder if Hutton really needs to be 207 lbs for the role he wants to play. He might be better served to knock off a few pounds and regain some of his speed again.
Demko had a strong game against Syracuse on Wednesday, stopping 31 of 32 shots. His numbers are better than Bachman's in all areas (though admittedly still not very good).
I see your point. 0 PIM almost implies 0 involvement, which isn't a good thing. I'd be curious to see his hit totals to see if they'd tell a different story or not.
I haven't looked closely at the rules, but I don't think LV is restricted to that degree. I believe there is a limit to how many players one team can lose, but I don't think every team needs to lose a player.
I'm starting to think that management is banking on other teams having more appealing players. As one of the worst teams, we're technically at some of the best odds of keeping our entire roster.
Virtanen had a nice assist on Valk's goal. Good to see him looking to make plays instead of being the solo hero. Check 0:24 of the video for his assist.
Looks like Bachman was injured in that last game meaning Demko may be getting a much heavier workload soon. It'll be interesting to see how he handles it. I'm not expecting much (he's still young), but maybe we'll be surprised.
What about Horvat? In both of his first two years, he was really weak to start. Last year by this point, Bo had 2 goals, 5 assists and 7 points in 21 games, hardly any worse than Baer this year (1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 19 games).
I wonder how much having Stecher on his point has to do with it... Forwards have to respect the kids shot and as a result the box is being expanded giving the twins more space.
I think throwing Gaunce on a line with the twins or Horvat seems counter to his role. Gaunce excels in playing a bottom six role and I think we have many other players better suited to the top six role than Gaunce. Leave him on the bottom six and let him slowly but surely grow.
I'm also really liking the gentle giant, yet strong defender of his crease and zone feel that Tryamkin gives. I'm getting more and more excited for this kid as time goes on.
I think this is a really big part of Tryamkin's game. He's really fortunate that he's been blessed with his big size as it really helps cover up his mistakes when he makes them. As he continues to develop his game and make less mistakes, it will turn him into an even better defensive d-man.
I feel like Gaunce is one of those guys who will slowly but surely develop into a bottom six gem. We won't really notice it until he's in his late 20s maybe, but all of a sudden, we'll realize what a great player we have.
Is it just me or are people unfairly blaming Baertschi? From what I've seen, he's working hard and getting chances, but just seems really snake-bitten. Maybe I'm missing something, but Baerstchi seems to be putting the work in, just to no avail.
A valid point which I agree with completely. He definitely has maturing to do and indeed, he did seem to be pretty selfish in the highlight reel. Hopefully he become a more team-oriented player instead of trying to single-handedly win games.
Admittedly, Tryamkin has impressed me. I expected him to be slow and brutal with his positioning. He definitely has some bad defensive moments, but he really knows how to use his size to his advantage both in hitting and in defensive coverage.
Regarding his hit pace of 293, it's worth noting that that assumes that he plays all 82 games and he's already missed a bunch. That aside 293 hits would've been 4th in the League last year. I'm liking what this guy brings to this team.