thanks guys, mucho appreciado. having a little girl terrifies me. she will be 16 one day and i will be a mess. a guy i skate w/ told me that when his daughter was picked up for her prom he very nicely and quietly took the boy aside and said, 'have a great time but remember this: whatever you do to my daughter Im gonna do to you." i'm still scared to death, her mother is a knockout so theres a 50% chance she'll be the same.
With a little more hair on the back of the head and a little flo, I think Marchand could deliver the message better than Tuuka. He starts getting his bucks this year too. I can't imagine he'll be as loved or appreciated by Bruins fans for 4.5 and only 5 goals in his last 29 playoff games.
Youre right bob, he's going to be expected to produce. He's not alone there though. Everyone of the forwards goes through long droughts, Bergeron included. With these deals there needs to be production out of all top 6 Fs. Including the Bigfat. He gets so many bids and quality ice time.
Was watching an old Stars game from last season this weekend. Surprised at how big Eriksson is every time I see him play. Reilly Smith was on the pp in the game, not sure that is what will be expected out of him from here on out. Anyone have any Reilly Smith thoughts or insights?
I have both. How valuable they are, I'll leave that to you. I still really struggle projecting NCAA kids up a level or two into a role. Smith looks like a small guy that might stay small. Awesome NCAA player and easy to like (watching). Good offensive talent if he gets strong enough, still needs to bulk up alot from what little I saw. I'm thinking he's going to be a project that needs more AHL time to figure out how to adjust to bigger players. If his frame was filling out faster, I don't think he would have been moved, too much skill. That's my guess, I have little confidence in it. I knew more about him 2 years ago than last year, only saw him play 2 or 3 times and didn't pay specific attention to any changes in his game. Nieuwendyk was such a hack of a gm, it's tough to know what they really thought of him long term.
makes 2 of us bob. i was certain that Marty Reasoner would be an NHL all star and Chris Drury would struggle to stay out of the AHL. that was the last time that i was certain about an NCAA kid. well thats not true, Cory Schneider has been destined since he was 16. thanks for the Smith opinion bob.
here's a documentary following the Bruins that will run all season. hopefully not too intrusive, i don't like the idea of any kind of distraction ala Oli Change. haven't actually watched this yet but heard some excerpts on the radio this morning. some tough opinions on Seguin before the deal went down. Seguin haters will like. Neely and Benning (i think) have less than great opinions of the kid. also found it interesting when they found out Horton was leaving for Columbus, seems very real and nothing done for the cameras from what Ive heard so far. [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxvP3X5LgRY[/video]
Will be interesting to see what Julien does w/ the goalie situation. Svedberg looks good, not sure if Johnson is on a 2-way deal or not though. Spooner is the fastest player on the Bruins, not so sure he sticks around though. He's looked really good in the preseason but he doesn't fill out the 3rd line wing spot well. I think those Ws will be Soderberg and Smith. Dougie Hamilton struggling more than expected. A full season in Providence will do him well. Bartkowski is a capable replacement for Ference, a step up even.
I didn't know Bartkowski had so many AHL games. Thought he stayed in college longer. What's the timeline with Spooner? What's the knock? Haven't read if he's bigger or not. Is he going into his 2nd or 3rd year in Providence. Hawks missed on their 2nd that year. Speaking of which, how's KHayes looking for this season?
ya Bartkowski has been a pro for a while now, he's more than ready for the jump. pretty good article here- http://www.uscho.com/2013/09/18/checking-in-former-ohio-state-player-matt-bartkowski/ Spooner is small and plays small. Very gifted offensively though. Last year was his first as a pro and he was somewhere around a point per game. Probably more of the same this year barring injury to a top 6 F in Boston. Kevin Hayes should be dominant this year as long as he doesn't keep acting like an ass off the ice. Also very excited about Chris Calnan over at BC. He's been a man child for a while now and they could use his size up front. Very nice kid from what Ive been told.
I'll be watching for Calnan. Is Spooner just depth at this point? Couple more years in the AHL to round out his game/size or is he just going to be a career scoring line guy limited to an offensive role?
thats the question bob. if he's good enough they'll have to find room for him sooner or later. his game is Krejci-esque, probably a little faster than Krejci but not the all around game/vision of him. he looked very comfortable last night in Winnipeg. Speaking of Winnipeg. Buff is so fat and lazy.
Lazy is the key word. He can move quicker when he's interested. As soon as he's in game shape, he's going to be injured again imo. Probably one of the best role players in the game, and maybe even worth the money in that sense, but using him as a core player or as a defenseman is a terrible mistake. I guess that helps explain why WPG can't dig out of the hole they've been in for a few years.
One of the reasons I'm so happy about the cup win last year is that I don't have to hear about Buff anymore and the player that never was...or Tallon. Now Hawks fans can overrate Bickell instead. Since he's a much better all-around player, I can stomach that much better.
hey Tuukka, David Krejci might be out of the lineup...any thoughts? and Soderberg is definitely out, whatdya think?
