2019-20 Utica Comets Thread

[Whorvat]

12 minutes ago, gameburn said:

I'm curious: in retrospect, do you think we really needed to get BOTH Benn and Myers, could we have done well by sticking by the guys we already have, waiting a bit longer?  Rafferty and Juolevi in particular look capable of contributing significantly by March... and there is not a lot of room for them.

We needed to upgrade the defense this year, so 100% yes. If we need to trade someone to make room for someone who deserves it, I have faith in Benning making the right decisions.

[Fred65]

23 minutes ago, gameburn said:

I'm curious: in retrospect, do you think we really needed to get BOTH Benn and Myers, could we have done well by sticking by the guys we already have, waiting a bit longer?  Rafferty and Juolevi in particular look capable of contributing significantly by March... and there is not a lot of room for them.

I tend to think as much as I like Stecher his job by mid term maybe on the line, assuming Rafferty continues on the road he is on. His job may depend on Tanev health

Edited October 28, 2019 by Fred65

[gameburn]

1 hour ago, Fred65 said:

I tend to think as much as I like Stecher his job by mid term maybe on the line, assuming Rafferty continues on the road he is on. His job may depend on Tanev health

Stech was so good last year -- and his mobility and work with the puck is better than average -- I'd hate to lose him.  But, we thought the same of Baertschi, so maybe it's just a function of having better and better players.  And Biega too, miss him, but same thing.

To my surprise Edler and Myers make a good pairing, goes to show that Defense is a subtle position.  (Myers and Edler both make mental errors, and Edler is slow, but for some reason the combination is better for both, makes them better than when they are paired with other people.  And it leaves Tanev free to play along side Hughes, which is really the power pairing.)   Juolevi and Rafferty are in the mix for the 3rd pairing... which kind of makes Stecher redundant if we keep Benn... I see your point.

[zimmy]

No such thing as redundancy in regards depth on an NHL blue line ( as long as affordibillity isnt an issue.) Of course you would, ideally, want to draw from a variety of skill sets to fill out your pairs but what is most important is that they can play. Simply can't have enough d-men who can play at the requisite level.

Edited October 29, 2019 by zimmy

[Coconuts]

6 hours ago, gameburn said:

I'm curious: in retrospect, do you think we really needed to get BOTH Benn and Myers, could we have done well by sticking by the guys we already have, waiting a bit longer?  Rafferty and Juolevi in particular look capable of contributing significantly by March... and there is not a lot of room for them.

Most likely. Year after year it seems this club seems to be ravaged by injuries, having quality depth is and will be huge. Back in July it was also likely hard to say where Rafferty and Juolevi would be come almost November. 

 

Improved depth also means we hopefully won't have to poach from Utica so much. If we continue to draft well that depth will keep rolling in as prospects graduate to different levels, we'll probably see some of that later this season. 

[gameburn]

2 hours ago, Coconuts said:

Most likely. Year after year it seems this club seems to be ravaged by injuries, having quality depth is and will be huge. Back in July it was also likely hard to say where Rafferty and Juolevi would be come almost November. 

 

Improved depth also means we hopefully won't have to poach from Utica so much. If we continue to draft well that depth will keep rolling in as prospects graduate to different levels, we'll probably see some of that later this season. 

And if we ever have "too many" nhl-ready prospects we can always move them to other teams in trades, maybe for picks a couple of years away.  I have never seen such a strong Utica team. Goaltending is best since Demko, D is best I can remember, and with Lind starting to play better, there are quite a few players who can score.

[Coconuts]

2 minutes ago, gameburn said:

And if we ever have "too many" nhl-ready prospects we can always move them to other teams in trades, maybe for picks a couple of years away.  I have never seen such a strong Utica team. Goaltending is best since Demko, D is best I can remember, and with Lind starting to play better, there are quite a few players who can score.

Utica's finally starting to benefit from some of the savvy picks management's made 

 

It's nice to see, as much as I want the Canucks to do well I want the Comets to do well too 

[gameburn]

1 minute ago, Coconuts said:

Utica's finally starting to benefit from some of the savvy picks management's made 

 

It's nice to see, as much as I want the Canucks to do well I want the Comets to do well too 

Yes, I was always envious of Toronto and their system: good picks all over and the Marlies seemed to be strong every year.

What's amazing about this Utica team is that you have players who were expected to be in the NHL, or really feel like they should get a chance somewhere to play at that level, and yet the morale looks to be good from the outside.  You see how classy Baertschi is about his situation: just amazing. 

[Coconuts]

Just now, gameburn said:

Yes, I was always envious of Toronto and their system: good picks all over and the Marlies seemed to be strong every year.

What's amazing about this Utica team is that you have players who were expected to be in the NHL, or really feel like they should get a chance somewhere to play at that level, and yet the morale looks to be good from the outside.  You see how classy Baertschi is about his situation: just amazing. 

Baer's handled it all really well, reminds me of Higgins being in Utica 

 

It's gotta be kinda surreal for the guys down in Utica to be sharing a room with two guys who legit could be in the NHL in Goldy and Baer 

 

Goldy's not quite in Boucher territory, that skill set is tantalizing 

[gameburn]

5 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

Baer's handled it all really well, reminds me of Higgins being in Utica 

 

It's gotta be kinda surreal for the guys down in Utica to be sharing a room with two guys who legit could be in the NHL in Goldy and Baer 

 

Goldy's not quite in Boucher territory, that skill set is tantalizing 

Even Boucher... I wonder if all he needs is Horvat's skating coach.  Bo wasn't NHL quality in the skating area first couple of years... I guess Boucher has tried all that stuff though.

Re: Baertschi: I think if it weren't for the concussion stuff last year, he'd still be in the lineup.  He's certainly better to have around that Eriksson.

The surprises for me are 2: that Schaller is achieving what everyone wanted for him; and that Motte has managed to stick around.  I guess that's why JB and Green are in the NHL and all fans are not: they have a feel for what wins. Schaller with Beagle is a handful.  It's looking more and more like Virtanen is something of the same with Horvat who is kind of north south guy, like Virtanen is.  

[Junkyard Dog]

9 hours ago, gameburn said:

I'm curious: in retrospect, do you think we really needed to get BOTH Benn and Myers, could we have done well by sticking by the guys we already have, waiting a bit longer?  Rafferty and Juolevi in particular look capable of contributing significantly by March... and there is not a lot of room for them.

Having legitimate depth is really nice.

 

Benn and Edler are only locked for two more years and on the opposite side of 30. At this point they're stop gaps for whoever is ready to step up.

 

If we didn't go out and get Myers and Benn we wouldn't be looking to compete for a playoff spot. We needed them to take that next step.

 

As good as Rafferty and Juolevi have been, it's better for them to develop down there where they can be good players.

[Coconuts]

33 minutes ago, gameburn said:

Even Boucher... I wonder if all he needs is Horvat's skating coach.  Bo wasn't NHL quality in the skating area first couple of years... I guess Boucher has tried all that stuff though.

Re: Baertschi: I think if it weren't for the concussion stuff last year, he'd still be in the lineup.  He's certainly better to have around that Eriksson.

The surprises for me are 2: that Schaller is achieving what everyone wanted for him; and that Motte has managed to stick around.  I guess that's why JB and Green are in the NHL and all fans are not: they have a feel for what wins. Schaller with Beagle is a handful.  It's looking more and more like Virtanen is something of the same with Horvat who is kind of north south guy, like Virtanen is.  

Boucher's an odd one, he's clearly got the shot but he's never been able to keep speed with the bigs. He'll do enough to get a call up and then fizzle. It's unfortunate. 

 

Baer could easily be here, but with the way both teams are rolling he likely won't get a sniff unless we get ice cold or run into injuries. I'm not sure how Eriksson would be in Utica tbh, I think he might report and surprise people with solid play. He's had injury trouble and at least one concussion. He's clearly not the NHL player he was, but who knows.

 

Schaller and Beagle look good, it's nice having a quality bottom six for the first time in what feels like ages. Forgotten in all the winning is the fact we'll get Roussel back at some point too. Motte's cheap, easy to fit in the cap work and works his butt off every game. He's an easy player for a fan or coach to appreciate. 

 

Jake's still young enough to be anything, but at this point he's a bit of a top 9 tweener. That's not bad either, you need those guys, it's just we hope he turns into more. 

[gameburn]

1 hour ago, Coconuts said:

Boucher's an odd one, he's clearly got the shot but he's never been able to keep speed with the bigs. He'll do enough to get a call up and then fizzle. It's unfortunate. 

 

Baer could easily be here, but with the way both teams are rolling he likely won't get a sniff unless we get ice cold or run into injuries. I'm not sure how Eriksson would be in Utica tbh, I think he might report and surprise people with solid play. He's had injury trouble and at least one concussion. He's clearly not the NHL player he was, but who knows.

 

Schaller and Beagle look good, it's nice having a quality bottom six for the first time in what feels like ages. Forgotten in all the winning is the fact we'll get Roussel back at some point too. Motte's cheap, easy to fit in the cap work and works his butt off every game. He's an easy player for a fan or coach to appreciate. 

 

Jake's still young enough to be anything, but at this point he's a bit of a top 9 tweener. That's not bad either, you need those guys, it's just we hope he turns into more. 

I keep seeing Bertuzzi potential in Jake. Not the same game by any means but, like Bert, slow to mature and inconsistent.  And temperamental lol. Took a trade from the Isle to make Bert the great player he was.  Hope that's not what Jake needs.

 

You see the difference now more and more between Calgary and Edmonton on the one hand, and teams like ours (and Boston?) on the other.   We get scoring from all lines, but especially the top 3 lines.   Tonight's first 3 goals were not Pettersson and Boeser,s, or even Horvat's.  If this team can keep this up?  Very hard team to beat.  And the goaltending is pretty reliable right now -- as good as the Luongo/Schneider combo in many ways -- and what great personalities for goalies our guys.  Calm, never make faces at their D, efficient games in net.   Another really interesting problem there re: who to keep, and on what terms. 

 

[gameburn]

1 hour ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Having legitimate depth is really nice.

 

Benn and Edler are only locked for two more years and on the opposite side of 30. At this point they're stop gaps for whoever is ready to step up.

 

If we didn't go out and get Myers and Benn we wouldn't be looking to compete for a playoff spot. We needed them to take that next step.

 

As good as Rafferty and Juolevi have been, it's better for them to develop down there where they can be good players.

One of the things that hit me when I was reading your comments was how the fan base has adapted to the new team and the new expectations.  Guys like me having been so accustomed to Team Tank that is really taking quite a long time to see that players like Benn and even Edler are transition players: you can't put all your great young prospects out there at once and expect great things to happen as if the NHL were a hothouse.  

[Coconuts]

7 hours ago, gameburn said:

I keep seeing Bertuzzi potential in Jake. Not the same game by any means but, like Bert, slow to mature and inconsistent.  And temperamental lol. Took a trade from the Isle to make Bert the great player he was.  Hope that's not what Jake needs.

 

You see the difference now more and more between Calgary and Edmonton on the one hand, and teams like ours (and Boston?) on the other.   We get scoring from all lines, but especially the top 3 lines.   Tonight's first 3 goals were not Pettersson and Boeser,s, or even Horvat's.  If this team can keep this up?  Very hard team to beat.  And the goaltending is pretty reliable right now -- as good as the Luongo/Schneider combo in many ways -- and what great personalities for goalies our guys.  Calm, never make faces at their D, efficient games in net.   Another really interesting problem there re: who to keep, and on what terms. 

 

That's the hope haha, we'll see? He's coming along, I feel like he could have hit 20 last season. I think he's got a good shot at doing so this season. Even if he could be a 20 goal/40 point kind of that that'd be great. I don't see him being the force Bert was, there have been very, very few power forwards like that since. Most players don't have that mean streak anymore. 

 

We def look balanced now, hopefully management can maintain that going forward. Calgary's cap is a bit more spread out, but Edmonton is extremely top heavy and I don't want that. Goaltending is a weird one, goalies are a bit weird themselves, I'm gonna take it while we have it. Marky's looked to have turned the corner though and Demko looks like he could be a potential #1 down the road. 

[Phat Fingers]

19 hours ago, gameburn said:

I'm curious: in retrospect, do you think we really needed to get BOTH Benn and Myers, could we have done well by sticking by the guys we already have, waiting a bit longer?  Rafferty and Juolevi in particular look capable of contributing significantly by March... and there is not a lot of room for them.

Tanev will gone, Stecher is possible trade material.  

 

We will lose someone to the expansion draft.  

 

Benn is on a 2 year deal, Eddie is on a 2 year deal.  

 

Really only Myers and Hughes are the only roster players that are essentially long term atm.  

[Phat Fingers]

What is a revelation compared to last year is the depth at every position.  

 

We have 2 players in the top 20 scorers in the league.  

 

This team has taken 4 years to become an overnight success.  

[TomatoPieFan]

 

 

[aGENT]

23 hours ago, Fred65 said:

I tend to think as much as I like Stecher his job by mid term maybe on the line, assuming Rafferty continues on the road he is on. His job may depend on Tanev health

 

22 hours ago, gameburn said:

Stech was so good last year -- and his mobility and work with the puck is better than average -- I'd hate to lose him.  But, we thought the same of Baertschi, so maybe it's just a function of having better and better players.  And Biega too, miss him, but same thing.

To my surprise Edler and Myers make a good pairing, goes to show that Defense is a subtle position.  (Myers and Edler both make mental errors, and Edler is slow, but for some reason the combination is better for both, makes them better than when they are paired with other people.  And it leaves Tanev free to play along side Hughes, which is really the power pairing.)   Juolevi and Rafferty are in the mix for the 3rd pairing... which kind of makes Stecher redundant if we keep Benn... I see your point.

You gentlemen may find the discussion on Stecher, starting at the link below, interesting:

 

 

[Fred65]

4 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

You gentlemen may find the discussion on Stecher, starting at the link below, interesting:

 

 

The discussion we were having was actually started regarding Rafferty and Juolevi and just drifted to Stecher