InSoM- Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Is anybody else drooling at the puck-moving potential of these two on the same pairing? Both seem very capable of skating up the ice with the puck and making something happen. It could be interesting to see some 5-man rushes. :D Both seem like rovers, both have great skating ability. This could either be one of our most effective offensive pairings; or one of our biggest liabilities. They could help our transition game ALOT! I'm hoping to see Ballard to mentor Gragani defensively, teaching him to hipcheck and to use his speed. The skating ability of these two blows me away though; I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing the two of them on a pair together at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaunio Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 playing 5 forwards sounds great! who's playing defence though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keslerian one Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Ballard can't play the right side. Gragnani said he would try, but wasn't comfortable. So far, AV has only used him on the right side once, when Salo took a day off. As far as the D pairings go, unless any of them are injured, Gragnani will likely not be paired up with Ballard. Ballard's style fits Tanev a lot better. Gragnani's style fits Tanev better. Gragnani makes great plays to join the rush and is a really good skater. So far, his defensive game seems better than Ballard's actually. So if AV likes what he sees, (and AV likes him from coaching him in the juniors), I could see Grags get the call over Ballard, since Ballard will likely be rusty a bit. We've seen over the years, AV's dog house is not a easy place to get out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastcoastphan Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Ballard teack MAG defence would be great so long as we have Hamhuis teach Ballard first. Serioulsy though, I love Ballard but he's not the guy who should be mentoring MAG. MAG needs a defensive defenceman to show him that side of the game. Not another d-man like Ballard who is shaky in his own end but good on the forecheck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire_Spiky Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Both still have some defensive holes in their ghame that need to be worked on but the offensive potential in both is an exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BZRK Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Their defensive plays leave a lot to be desired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieCrumbs Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 This could be the sketchiest pairing to ever grace the NHL. Turnovers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sampy Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 MAG and Tanev seem like good line mates for next year. Tanev is more responsible defensively and MAG has a better offensive touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erkayloomeh Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I agree with the op but would like to add that we should bring in Jyrki Lumme to be there defensive coach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak72 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 AV would never pair those two together. He's shown over the years that he likes pairing opposing style defensemen together for the balance. MAG would be better suited with a Tanev or even Ham down the road IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InSoM- Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 AV would never pair those two together. He's shown over the years that he likes pairing opposing style defensemen together for the balance. MAG would be better suited with a Tanev or even Ham down the road IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khay Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 playing 5 forwards sounds great! who's playing defence though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak72 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I'm not sure about this. I've been thinking alot about our bottom pairing lately and AV & MG seem to be trying to turn the bottom pair into a "Utility pairing" capable of doing whatever is needed. Ballard + Any of the below Alberts - Rome Gragani - Tanev Alberts is our big body; clear the net type of defensemen. Rome is capable of fighting, throwing the occasional big hit, and even seems to have found a little bit of a scoring touch in Van( ) I think Grags was brought in to act as an upgrade over Tanev for this season & help us push for the cup, Grags seems to have a similar skillset but is a bit further along in his development; long term Tanev has better upside though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I agree with the bottom pairing being a utility pairing. I think MAG was brought in to replace Salo for next year though. Someone that has a semblance of a shot that can play the powerplay. Don't think Salo will be back next year, but you never know. Tanev has great upside in a Hamius sorta way. If AV DID pair those two, I'd be alternating from cringing whenever the puck was in our zone, to jumping from my seat when they were on the rush lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak72 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Since Salo plays the right side I canot see how MAG will replace him. Tanev could replace Salo if he retires. Suggesting Tanev and MAG as a pairing is a scary thought. Neither are capable of moving anyone in front of the net. MAG was turning the puck inside his zone mulitple times last night. As soon as he gets his 10 games in then he will be on the sidelines pending a injury. Ballard will come back in and play with Tanev on the 3rd pairing. I have been a little worried about Salo as his play as become a little indecisive. Unlike him. Hope there isn't a physical problem. The injury issue is always there during playoffs. Can Salo stand up to 20 to 28 playoff games? Opposing teams know that Van's weakness is in the d-core. Throw it into the corners and work Van defenders physically and they can be beaten. Van counters this by moving the puck quickly which can catch deep forecheckers. It does require Van forewards to backcheck well which they have been doing quite nicely for the past 4 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kesler_is_clutch Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 AV wont go there!! Ballard-tanev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamacanuck18 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Team is deep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeanBeef Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I wouldn't do this, its like putting David Booth and Cody Hodgson on the penalty kill. But Ballard and Alberts has been pretty solid. There was a stretch where they were both plus players and Ballard received 6 of his 7 pts in 10(give or take) games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwnstar Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Actually it's 6 forwards when Schnieder is in net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Money Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I was as excited as anyone about getting Gragnani in the Hodgson deal. However, so far he has been more of a liability than pretty much any other defenseman we've played this year. I still think he has a lot of raw potential, but I doubt we see him much during the playoffs, unless/until we get a few injuries, anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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