Kootenay Gold Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 7 minutes ago, UticaHockey said: The Achilles Heel could be depth on defense. It's only two periods of preseason hockey but Dirk, Graham and Betker do not look like AHL defensemen and Sifiers looks slower than last year. When injuries happen the Comets could be in trouble if this group has to play any significant roles. When I looked over their roster a few days ago I also thought that the D was their weakest position because of a lack of quality depth. I hope McEneny heals up quickly and is able to play most of the season as that would be a huge help on the backend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonecoldstevebernier Posted September 29, 2018 Author Share Posted September 29, 2018 Ben Birnell's picks for standouts in the first preseason game. Thoughts, @UticaHockey? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 13 minutes ago, stonecoldstevebernier said: Ben Birnell's picks for standouts in the first preseason game. Thoughts, @UticaHockey? Graham skates real well and he played better as the game went on. He had a very rough first period in the defensive zone. It's preseason and there was little to no chemistry with a team that consisted of AHL/ECHL depth and a handful of prospects. I didn't think anyone really stood out on offense. Jasek, Palmu, Dahlen and MacMaster all had a few moments where they made nice plays but not enough of those moments. Lind and Gadjovich were mostly invisible. But the offensive was pulled down by a group on D that could not move the puck in transition. As a group they have a lot of work to do before next weekend when the games start to count. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 The Comets are gonna be really fun to follow this season, a good number of our quality prospects are gonna be cutting their teeth in Utica. I'd venture as far to say they'll be just as interesting to follow as the Canucks. I'm not expecting first year pro's to set the world on fire or proclaiming a championship but there's a lot to be optimistic about. I'm really excited to see how they do and how our guys develop. I'm expecting another year in the gutter for the Canucks but I'm expecting the Comets to have a competitive season if the guys gel sooner than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 I'm pretty sure Utica gets more attendance in their pre-season games than the Panthers do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo Kramer Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 8 hours ago, DS4quality said: This is the first time these guys have played together as a unit, so I will expect it to be a tough start for Utica as well. A lot of these farm teams have been playing together for a lot longer than the Comets, so it may be a while before they begin to gel. They might be good this year, but I don't think they'll win it all until next year. Solid point. Love the idea of them growing together as a team down there, that will end up moving up together. Like Kes and burr, bieksa, rypien, edler, Schneider. Right now though, is basically the first time they will play together, and in the AHL for the first time for many. Juolevi - Finally joins the team, feels like he is older than he is. Coming from the finish league will be an adjustment, despite playing in NA before. Dahlen - Coming from the lower tier SEL league and tearing it up. New to north america. Gaudette - Fresh off winning the Hobey Baker, and a cup of coffee in the NHL. First season in the AHL. Lind, Gajdovich, Palmu, and I'm probably missing people, all first year. Interesting to see how they handle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SingleThorn Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Once again, no mention of Y-P Laplante ! Injured most of last season and nowhere to be seen this year. Is he out of the game ? You'd think there would be a snippet of info. He's probably #46 of our 46 used roster spots, but the total silence is annoying ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 13 minutes ago, SingleThorn said: Once again, no mention of Y-P Laplante ! Injured most of last season and nowhere to be seen this year. Is he out of the game ? You'd think there would be a snippet of info. He's probably #46 of our 46 used roster spots, but the total silence is annoying ! Still injured. They never disclosed his injury but I heard he had shoulder surgery. Total waste of a 3 year contract the minute he was offered one. ECHL at best talent that can occasionally drop the gloves. Stop wasting NHL contracts on guys like this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SingleThorn Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 8 minutes ago, UticaHockey said: Still injured. They never disclosed his injury but I heard he had shoulder surgery. Total waste of a 3 year contract the minute he was offered one. ECHL at best talent that can occasionally drop the gloves. Stop wasting NHL contracts on guys like this. Thanks. Never had any 'official' word on his injury. He actually looked pretty good in a couple of training camps, but no success at the AHL level. I think JB was a little overwhelmed, in his early days, by all the holes that needed filling. Mackenze Stewart might have been his first signing. I think he's changed (....MacMaster on AHL contract for instance ) Canucks are dismal on the injury updates. McEneny has hardly been mentioned. Annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 12 minutes ago, SingleThorn said: Thanks. Never had any 'official' word on his injury. He actually looked pretty good in a couple of training camps, but no success at the AHL level. I think JB was a little overwhelmed, in his early days, by all the holes that needed filling. Mackenze Stewart might have been his first signing. I think he's changed (....MacMaster on AHL contract for instance ) Canucks are dismal on the injury updates. McEneny has hardly been mentioned. Annoying. That same prospects tournament lead to the signing of Laplante, Carcone and D'Aust. At least they were smart enough to only sign D'Aust to an AHL contract and they cut bait after one season. Laplante and Carcone were handed three year NHL ELCs. Laplante was never going to stick in the AHL and don't be surprised if Carcone finds his way to K-Zoo in the final year of his ELC with all of the new prospects competing for playing time this season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kootenay Gold Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 1 hour ago, UticaHockey said: Laplante was never going to stick in the AHL and don't be surprised if Carcone finds his way to K-Zoo in the final year of his ELC with all of the new prospects competing for playing time this season. When I looked over the forwards that the Comets have to choose from; Carcone and Laplante both looked likely to get bumped to the ECHL. Even at that, the Comets are going to be carrying a lot of extra forwards that may have to rotate in and out of the lineup till the injury bug takes its toll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroCanuck Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 16 hours ago, UticaHockey said: The Achilles Heel could be depth on defense. It's only two periods of preseason hockey but Dirk, Graham and Betker do not look like AHL defensemen and Sifiers looks slower than last year. When injuries happen the Comets could be in trouble if this group has to play any significant roles. Hmm interesting, Utica still might get another D from Vancouver considering Biega or Pouliot would probably clear waivers and we might be better off going with 7D 14F. So might get some depth for the start of the season in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroCanuck Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 4 hours ago, UticaHockey said: Still injured. They never disclosed his injury but I heard he had shoulder surgery. Total waste of a 3 year contract the minute he was offered one. ECHL at best talent that can occasionally drop the gloves. Stop wasting NHL contracts on guys like this. Sounds like what Davis said about MacEwen lol https://canucksarmy.com/2017/03/04/canucks-throw-away-contract-on-chl-free-agent-zack-macewen/ I agree though that we should see quite a few ELC'c run out next year. Laplante, Gaunce, Boucher, Dorsett, Kero and Carcone will be gone (for sure in my mind) and we should see some Vets traded out of Del Zotto, Edler, Tanev, Gagner, Sutter, Schaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kootenay Gold Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 1 hour ago, RetroCanuck said: Hmm interesting, Utica still might get another D from Vancouver considering Biega or Pouliot would probably clear waivers and we might be better off going with 7D 14F. So might get some depth for the start of the season in that regard. Beiga would be an excellent addition to Utica; that is if he clears waivers. I do think he would though given his contract and age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroCanuck Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 3 minutes ago, Kootenay Gold said: Beiga would be an excellent addition to Utica; that is if he clears waivers. I do think he would though given his contract and age. If he's not good enough to make our defences top6 then there aren't many top 6 Ds he would fit in. Same goes for Pouliot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kootenay Gold Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Just now, RetroCanuck said: If he's not good enough to make our defences top6 then there aren't many top 6 Ds he would fit in. Same goes for Pouliot Not sure about Pouliot but Beiga should clear. Beiga would be the one I would send down but not because of poor play. This guy would set a very good example for the other D-men hoping to make it to the NHL given his work ethic and positive attitude. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guile Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 From Carcone and Darcy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush17 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 LOL Check the time of these posts LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 8 minutes ago, Rush17 said: LOL Check the time of these posts LOL Well that didn't go as planned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 The one thing I think of with the new talent going to Utica, apart from them needing time to gel, is how long they'll stay intact before injures to Vancouver. Most of the squad should still get to play together, but if we move people at the trade deadline and give some players a chance with the big squad in a more regular role, it could disrupt their chances even if they're trending upwards in the second half of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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