Rossi (yet another little guy) is looking pretty good.
I didn't see the point in Reaves, Deslauriers, Maroon etc. Hartman can be cheap at times. Foligno is a very aggressive fore checker, he doesn't seem to be much of an enforcer anymore, Middleton seems to be a guy who usually tries to play hockey, but can mix it up on occasion.
Matt Cooke was on our team when he targeted McKinnon's knee and that hit was shameful.
To me, the problem starts when goons target the great players. These guys should get one big suspension and after that just be banned from the NHL.
I hope we can keep Kaprizov, we have a couple of Russian players on the horizon that he might be looking forward to playing with. I'm just hoping he doesn't get permanently injured, he's a joy to watch.
The Wild are screwed until after next year with no money to spend. If a couple of their prospects become stars and we can pick up a great center through free agency, I think the Wild can make a big jump and become elite.
What is your opinion on Judd Brackett? He seems to know talent pretty well. Time will tell with the guys we've drafted, but I am optimistic.
GO WILD!
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
To me, the problem starts when goons target the great players. These guys should get one big suspension and after that just be banned from the NHL.
can't just protect the stars. It's not the NFL, stars hack with sticks and whatnot too.
What is your opinion on Judd Brackett? He seems to know talent pretty well. Time will tell with the guys we've drafted, but I am optimistic.
Those are always tough to really tell unless you truly know the inner workings. He's been Director of Scouting for what, 4 years now? And 5 years prior in Vancouver. But who in the org has the final say on picks? Usually the GM or the senior advisors, there's usually an inner circle of at least a few, so unless you know how much input the Scouting Director actually has, it's just an assumption. Certain GMs do a lot more actual scouting, and in person scouting, than others. Ultimately the GM, or even the owner in some cases, will have veto power.
As an example, when Stan Bowman was GM of the Hawks run (roster wise, a lot of that thanks to Dale Tallon) his old man Scotty was senior advisor, Al MacIsaac, who is still there, and current Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff were the top 2 lieutenants. They had one of the larger scouting depts in the NHL at that time and there were long rumors, and I heard this from someone who worked for the Hawks, that both Stan and Scotty completely ignored a decent portion of the scouting dept. They would use the hard data, but never leaned on them for actual selections. Now maybe it was the right call, they did have a lot of success in the 2nd rounds (DeBrincat, Saad etc), and in Europe, Panarin, Raanta, Niemi etc)
Too soon to tell on his Wild tenure. So far it doesn't look great, but there also were no top 10 picks (Rossi was the previous regime, I believe) and there's still guys who haven't even played in North America yet. Jesper Wallstedt...who knows, still too soon to tell, and goalies tend to take longer to produce than every other position. Carson Lambos,. back to back 40 point seasons (as a d-man) but still in junior. Liam Öhgren, still playing in Sweden. These are his first rounders thus far. Can't really tell anything there yet.
In Vancouver, completely whiffed on the first draft (Olli Juolevi, 5th overall) and now on his 3rd organization and nesting in the AHL. But the next two drafts - Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. Now these are 5th and 6th overall picks, but still. Then bookended with Vasily Podkolzin at 10th overall, and he's been demoted to the AHL, so two hits, two complete whiffs inside the top 10. No real success in the 2nd rounds either. But again, who knows how much his input was ultimately accounted for in these earlier picks. When you start getting down in the later rounds that's when the GMs really start relying on the regional and/or international scouts. If a scout has really spent a lot of time with someone and they're still on the board in the 5th or 6th rounds, chances are that scout gets his guy.
I see my buddy Brenden Dillon is at it again.
Suspend him for at LEAST the rest of the year.
I just can't understand why hockey allows players like this to repeatedly, intentionally injure other players.
GET RID OF THEM!
I worked with a guy by the name of Frank Sanders. He played for the Minnesota Gophers and was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic hockey team, later playing professionally for the St. Paul Fighting Saints.
While in the WHA, one of his jobs was to "shadow" Bobby Hull. Frank was a big, tough man, but he never tried to cheap shot Hull out of the league (I assume the WHA made sure the players were told not to hurt the top players who had come from the NHL, pretty smart).
Frank told me that Hull approached him at the end of the year and told him he was the best of the guys who had defended him that year. I'm sure that there was some hard hitting that went on, but nothing cheap.
I saw the pride in Frank's face that day, that man had class, but he could also give out a whipping!
LET'S PLAY HOCKEY!
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
Comments
Rossi (yet another little guy) is looking pretty good.
I didn't see the point in Reaves, Deslauriers, Maroon etc. Hartman can be cheap at times. Foligno is a very aggressive fore checker, he doesn't seem to be much of an enforcer anymore, Middleton seems to be a guy who usually tries to play hockey, but can mix it up on occasion.
Matt Cooke was on our team when he targeted McKinnon's knee and that hit was shameful.
To me, the problem starts when goons target the great players. These guys should get one big suspension and after that just be banned from the NHL.
I hope we can keep Kaprizov, we have a couple of Russian players on the horizon that he might be looking forward to playing with. I'm just hoping he doesn't get permanently injured, he's a joy to watch.
The Wild are screwed until after next year with no money to spend. If a couple of their prospects become stars and we can pick up a great center through free agency, I think the Wild can make a big jump and become elite.
What is your opinion on Judd Brackett? He seems to know talent pretty well. Time will tell with the guys we've drafted, but I am optimistic.
GO WILD!
can't just protect the stars. It's not the NFL, stars hack with sticks and whatnot too.
Those are always tough to really tell unless you truly know the inner workings. He's been Director of Scouting for what, 4 years now? And 5 years prior in Vancouver. But who in the org has the final say on picks? Usually the GM or the senior advisors, there's usually an inner circle of at least a few, so unless you know how much input the Scouting Director actually has, it's just an assumption. Certain GMs do a lot more actual scouting, and in person scouting, than others. Ultimately the GM, or even the owner in some cases, will have veto power.
As an example, when Stan Bowman was GM of the Hawks run (roster wise, a lot of that thanks to Dale Tallon) his old man Scotty was senior advisor, Al MacIsaac, who is still there, and current Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff were the top 2 lieutenants. They had one of the larger scouting depts in the NHL at that time and there were long rumors, and I heard this from someone who worked for the Hawks, that both Stan and Scotty completely ignored a decent portion of the scouting dept. They would use the hard data, but never leaned on them for actual selections. Now maybe it was the right call, they did have a lot of success in the 2nd rounds (DeBrincat, Saad etc), and in Europe, Panarin, Raanta, Niemi etc)
Too soon to tell on his Wild tenure. So far it doesn't look great, but there also were no top 10 picks (Rossi was the previous regime, I believe) and there's still guys who haven't even played in North America yet. Jesper Wallstedt...who knows, still too soon to tell, and goalies tend to take longer to produce than every other position. Carson Lambos,. back to back 40 point seasons (as a d-man) but still in junior. Liam Öhgren, still playing in Sweden. These are his first rounders thus far. Can't really tell anything there yet.
In Vancouver, completely whiffed on the first draft (Olli Juolevi, 5th overall) and now on his 3rd organization and nesting in the AHL. But the next two drafts - Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. Now these are 5th and 6th overall picks, but still. Then bookended with Vasily Podkolzin at 10th overall, and he's been demoted to the AHL, so two hits, two complete whiffs inside the top 10. No real success in the 2nd rounds either. But again, who knows how much his input was ultimately accounted for in these earlier picks. When you start getting down in the later rounds that's when the GMs really start relying on the regional and/or international scouts. If a scout has really spent a lot of time with someone and they're still on the board in the 5th or 6th rounds, chances are that scout gets his guy.
I see my buddy Brenden Dillon is at it again.
Suspend him for at LEAST the rest of the year.
I just can't understand why hockey allows players like this to repeatedly, intentionally injure other players.
GET RID OF THEM!
I worked with a guy by the name of Frank Sanders. He played for the Minnesota Gophers and was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic hockey team, later playing professionally for the St. Paul Fighting Saints.
While in the WHA, one of his jobs was to "shadow" Bobby Hull. Frank was a big, tough man, but he never tried to cheap shot Hull out of the league (I assume the WHA made sure the players were told not to hurt the top players who had come from the NHL, pretty smart).
Frank told me that Hull approached him at the end of the year and told him he was the best of the guys who had defended him that year. I'm sure that there was some hard hitting that went on, but nothing cheap.
I saw the pride in Frank's face that day, that man had class, but he could also give out a whipping!
LET'S PLAY HOCKEY!
Bedard is back this evening vs Pittsburgh will be listening to that game for sure.