SamJamIam

CDC's scouting abilities lie somewhere between those of a rock with fungus growing on it and a wet piece of cardboard at the side of the road.

Derping so hard.

I do agree that Baer would benefit from better strength and conditioning. I would bet his training lapsed last summer due to his situation in Calgary, which is well-documented. But if you think he's to blame and not the coaching staff and management, take a look at his AHL performance over the years. 1st season: 0.82 ppg (0.5 NHL ppg in 20 games with the Flames) 2nd season: 0.71 ppg (0.42 NHL ppg in 26 games) 3rd season - Burke calls him out publicly to start the season: 0.69 ppg (0.25 NHL ppg in 15 games) Traded to the Canucks: 1.00 ppg (0.67 ppg in 3 games with the Canucks) He also suddenly went from basically an even +/- to +6 with the Comets. No conditioning changes, new system to get used to, still a massive jump. Let's not forget that the Comets are not an offensively-minded team. They play sound defense and Sven has done the same while generating more points than ever before. So yeah, give him a summer to chase a roster spot and I guarantee he'll train like hell. As for the Sedin comparison, this is a kid JB called the best junior player in his draft year. Watch some Comets games. If he had a nickel for every time his teammates whiffed on his saucer passes, he'd never need an NHL contract. He also tends to gets stuck with no one to pass to on the rush because he's so much faster than everyone else on his team. Put him with Bo and Hansen and watch them get tap-ins in bunches.

Best Province article I've seen in forever

A lot of the doubts around Baertschi seem to come from people who haven't watched him play and are relying on the fact that we got him for a second. First, just watch a utica game. He's not the biggest guy but he's smart. He knows how and when to initiate contact to protect the puck. He sees the ice so well its Sedin-like, he's got great hands, a solid shot and he's fast. That doesn't mean anyone in the NHL really knew that much about him. We benefited from having JB scout him in junior, Green having coached him and hearing about him from the fanbase next door. If you think NHL GMs are able to notice a guy like Baer and understand his value, remember how we snuck Markstrom into the A through waivers. I would bet you there are quite a few GMs already thinking they would happily have spent a slightly higher 2nd to get Baer and not one would have let Markstrom through. Also, for the record, I would bet Baer does better at the NHL level generating points. He's a skill player who sets up other skilled players and the grinder league of the AHL doesn't suit him. Put him on a line with Bonino and Vrbata and watch Vancouver fans lose their minds.

Not just any d-man but Jeff Schultz. A 6'6" 225lb NHLer with 409 games to his credit and a couple monster seasons with the Caps. Losing Schultz could seriously hurt the Monarchs. And while we were outplayed tonight, the Manchester bench was extremely short all game. If the Comets can get in on the forecheck more and finish hits, they'll grind down the Monarchs VERY quickly.

Virtanen had elite PP/60. He just got much less ice time after his injury which dragged his stats down. This is not news.

Did you know that "boo" is the Aboriginal word for "to return"? Because a regular meringue....

Now lemme see you wop wopwopwop wop...

2 Cannibals: 2 cannibals are about to eat a man One says "Let's each have half. You start at the head, I'll start at the feet" A few minutes later one says "Pretty tasty eh?" The other cannibal replies "Yeah, I'm havin' a ball!" The first says "You're eating too fast!" Psychiatrist Visit: A man meets with his psychiatrist for a regular appointment. He says "I'm still feeling very paranoid, like I'm constantly being watched. I can't relax!" The psychiatrist says "That's odd. You looked very relaxed while you were sleeping last night" It's hard to come up with them since statisticians tend to be mean and slightly deviant.

Not good enough to win them the game.

gr8 b8 m8, r8 8/8

Not sure who did the analysis but it was probably Canucks Army. Markstrom after a bad game is pretty much unstoppable. He wasn't great last game, but I fully expect him back in net to make amends.

That awkward moment when Green and Benning have both said he needs more conditioning to play pro. Physical tools aren't the same as physical fitness.

Gotta keep the Murders/60 stat padded

Agreed 100%. Not a knock against Lack but it's pretty indefensible to make him your starter when you're bringing up a new (but promising backup). I think he'll bring decent value despite the saturated goalie market, since teams know what they're getting. But he's in that twilight zone where he hasn't proven he's good enough to be the guy you rely on. He's a number 1 somewhere, but not a playoff team.

God yes. JB knows what so many GMs (and CDCers) seem to forget: most draft picks never play in the NHL. Vey is already massively overachieving the high 2nd he cost us. How quickly we seem to all forget the Jordan Schroeders of the world. Vey is doing just fine. It's just that Baertschi looks like he'll be an absolute steal. Can't wait.

PPG is dependent on minutes. No other player drafter near Virtanen is given so few minutes and such little offensive deployment. PP/60 is more accurate and Jake has been a Top 5-10 WHLer in that respect. You're ignoring the spread of scoring. If you have a league where 20 teams all have the same GPG, then a league where 10 teams score nothing and 10 teams score double the average of the other league, both leagues will have the same average. This is what happens in the W versus the Q. The WHL has far more parity among teams and much better defense. This can be shown in the ranges of PP/60 of players in each league. Max PP/60 in the WHL is a bit above 4. Max PP/60 in the Q is 8. And in the OHL it's about 6. These numbers are representative of the type of hockey you watch in each league and the parity or lack thereof. The Q in particular has some appalling teams that lose by 5-10 goals with regularity which boosts the numbers of their opposition. The guys who play the most minutes benefit the most from this, which is why you have the Manthas and Ehlers who put up huge numbers. Do not expect their Q success to translate.

I think Benning has given Green a ton of leeway to manage the Comets how he sees fit because he trusts him. But to say that Benning couldn't ring him up tomorrow and read him out a new depth chart is naive. Benning speaks for the owners of BOTH teams. But he's a good manager so he doesn't act like a dictator. As for Virtanen, I wouldn't pin much of Calgary's awful defensive system on him. I've spent the last year trying to figure out what the hell the Hitmen's systems actually are. They seem to be either so badly taught that what's on the ice doesn't even vaguely resemble what the coach wants, or they change dramatically every other week.

"Attitude problems" have become Calgary fanbase code for "we know he's good and we're pissed we don't have him". The second Feaster passed over Shinkaruk, they started playing the same tune.

That might be the single dumbest rebuttal I've ever read. If you don't like getting called out for making silly assertions about how 18 year old power forwards play in the WJCs, maybe you shouldn't write such garbage.

LOL Another armchair scout who thinks he should be Delorme's boss. Opinions are like assholes.

This is just common sense, but only just occurred to me today for some reason. Imagine Cassels and Virtanen together. A guy used to feeding Dal Colle one timers and a guy who is desperate for a playmaker who can set him up/ spring him. Drool

And now I must make the accompanying Strongbad. Man...so cool

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking as I watched that line. Sven and Vey have instant chemistry but a lot of plays broke down because they are so creative offensively that Dorsett couldn't keep up. Nothing against Dorsett, but he plays a very logical game and seems to always do what he should. The young guys do all manner of things that are unpredictable, which makes them dangerous offensively but they need to be surrounded with guys who can read off them. Vey seemed to come alive with Sven playing with him as well. Suddenly we saw why he was so good in the AHL. Little tight passes, head fakes that threw off defenders, sometimes just leaving the puck as it slid by him, knowing Sven was there to pick it up. And that's where Kass comes in. He can cycle with the Sedins and everyone complains he passes too much and gets too fancy. Put him with Vey and Baertschi and he's going to be a force.