|
Post by lirette on Nov 24, 2023 9:01:12 GMT -4
I'd like to see the league change this, remove a few divisional games and play 3 games against the Quebec teams, rotating each year where you play 2 on the road/home. It would be nice to increase the chance of seeing Quebec teams post trade period. Just give us an extra home and away with the East division. Incredibly silly in particular that Bathurst and Rimouski finished their season matchup this year on... October 13th!! Given the that they seem keen on doing the playoffs with conference standings, this would make the most sense. It would remove some of the issues in years where you have lopsided divisions, plus help some of the built in "rivalries" flourish with HAL/BC, MON/BC, MON/RIM, HAL/QUE, MON/QUE.
|
|
|
Post by fanatic902 on Nov 24, 2023 9:24:37 GMT -4
While the sample size is small, Larmand didn't excel in winning draws, yet he demonstrated a willingness to assert himself physically. His sound decision-making with the puck suggests he could potentially create more opportunities on the ice, particularly for players like Levesque upon his return. If I had to choose between him and Fournier as potential mainstays in their 20s for the season, Fournier may have a slight edge in scoring touch, but having a reliable center with a more well-rounded game is crucial going forward.
I'm curious about Gill's ice time last night; it must have been at least 30 minutes. Although he played decently, he seemed unlucky in finishing plays.
BC effectively implemented their strategy to screen Rouseau and firing shots from the point. The questionable call against Shultz near the end of the game was weak and too common in this league. Officials were attempting to even the playing field, tit for tat.
On the whole, with the addition of one more player (or two) and a full lineup, Halifax stacks up well compared to BC should we see them in the post season.
|
|
|
Post by trueblue on Nov 24, 2023 9:34:09 GMT -4
While the sample size is small, Larmand didn't excel in winning draws, yet he demonstrated a willingness to assert himself physically. His sound decision-making with the puck suggests he could potentially create more opportunities on the ice, particularly for players like Levesque upon his return. If I had to choose between him and Fournier as potential mainstays in their 20s for the season, Fournier may have a slight edge in scoring touch, but having a reliable center with a more well-rounded game is crucial going forward. Maybe he's not used to the Q linesman who pump fake 15 times before dropping the puck. He made reference to needing to make adjustments in his postgame interview on the team's social media - I'm sure he'll figure it out in no time.
|
|
|
Post by Reesor on Nov 24, 2023 9:55:33 GMT -4
Baie-Comeau have a couple power forwards that, to me, highlighted what Halifax is missing from their lineup. Doucet and L'Heureux provided Halifax with that type of forward last year. I hope whoever they go out and get is that type of player.
No more Baie-Comeau this year until most likely the finals, unless Moncton completely surprises. Halifax plays Rouyn-Noranda next weekend and then won't see them again either. They also play Drummondville in two weeks and they've already played Victoriaville once. They won't have that many games against contending Quebec-based teams in the 2nd half of the season. Last year they had a bunch which made things a bit more interesting.
8079 fans on a Thursday night has to be close to a record weeknight crowd for the first half of the regular season. That was an impressive crowd and they were treated to a pretty good game. Wish the result was different but you can't win em all. The Drakkar have a pretty solid lineup.
|
|
|
Post by Citris on Nov 24, 2023 11:43:50 GMT -4
Last night's game was definitely exciting, disappointing ending, but after sleeping on it it's a lot easier to break down the positives and negatives.
The Mooseheads dominated the Drakkar in the 1st period, and up until the 2 quick Baie-Commeau goals, were in control of the game. The Mooseheads were able to shut down the top end of the Drakkar line-up, for the most part, Dufort got one but they kept the top line off the board which is pretty impressive.
The negative is that the Drakkar were able to get secondary scoring while all the Mooseheads offense came from Dumais and Vidicek.
Plourde and Paillé aren't regular scorers for them, and Choinard had a rare big offensive night. So as expected, the Drakkar's depth bit us a bit.
The other thing that was frustrating was the Mooseheads play in OT. Multiple times the Mooseheads had posession and sent 2 deep while the last man back tried to stickhandle at the blue line and got caught. That's an absolute failure in game-plan and I'm sure something the coaching staff will be going over in the video room.
Ethan Larmand was definitely put in a tough situation for his first game, jumping into the lineup against the Q's top team after arriving in Halifax at 10pm wednesday night. He couldn't manage to do much with the puck but his strength and skating were obvious at first glance. (side note, my partner and I have started skating and playing hockey this year so, it's really changed my perspective on players skating ability, haha.)
Anyway, I want more of a sample size before I really judge his game, give him a week to get some practices in and maybe next weekend we'll see a more true version of what he can do.
Missing Levesque and Crosby was actually quite a big deal in this one, as I said any secondary scoring would have made a big difference.
As for the Drakkar -
Even tho it was offside, holy shit, Justin Poirier looked like he was going to rip a hole in the net with that release. I can see how he has 23 goals in 27 games.
|
|
|
Post by lirette on Nov 24, 2023 12:08:59 GMT -4
Last night's game was definitely exciting, disappointing ending, but after sleeping on it it's a lot easier to break down the positives and negatives. The Mooseheads dominated the Drakkar in the 1st period, and up until the 2 quick Baie-Commeau goals, were in control of the game. The Mooseheads were able to shut down the top end of the Drakkar line-up, for the most part, Dufort got one but they kept the top line off the board which is pretty impressive. The negative is that the Drakkar were able to get secondary scoring while all the Mooseheads offense came from Dumais and Vidicek. Plourde and Paillé aren't regular scorers for them, and Choinard had a rare big offensive night. So as expected, the Drakkar's depth bit us a bit. The other thing that was frustrating was the Mooseheads play in OT. Multiple times the Mooseheads had posession and sent 2 deep while the last man back tried to stickhandle at the blue line and got caught. That's an absolute failure in game-plan and I'm sure something the coaching staff will be going over in the video room. Ethan Larmand was definitely put in a tough situation for his first game, jumping into the lineup against the Q's top team after arriving in Halifax at 10pm wednesday night. He couldn't manage to do much with the puck but his strength and skating were obvious at first glance. (side note, my partner and I have started skating and playing hockey this year so, it's really changed my perspective on players skating ability, haha.) Anyway, I want more of a sample size before I really judge his game, give him a week to get some practices in and maybe next weekend we'll see a more true version of what he can do. Missing Levesque and Crosby was actually quite a big deal in this one, as I said any secondary scoring would have made a big difference. As for the Drakkar - Even tho it was offside, holy shit, Justin Poirier looked like he was going to rip a hole in the net with that release. I can see how he has 23 goals in 27 games. I see a lot of similarities between Poirier & Cole Caulfield that makes me think Poirier will have an impact at the NHL level, they're both 5'8 but Poirier actually has 15 pounds right now on Caulfield and he's 5 years younger.
|
|
|
Post by mooseman89 on Nov 24, 2023 12:09:09 GMT -4
With Levesque & Crosby out I was interested to see how the scratched players for each team compared:
Baie-Comeau Kirill Evstigneev (healthy scratch) - 10 GP - 1 G - 0 A - 1 PTS - +2 Julien Lanthier (sick) - 17 GP - 2 G - 2 A - 4 PTS - +6 Alexis Mathueu (healthy scratch) - 12 GP - 0 G - 0 A - 0 PTS - +2
Halifax Lou Levesque (out indefinitely) - 21 GP - 9 G - 10 A - 19 PTS - +8 Dominic MacKenzie (healthy scratch) - 16 GP - 0 G - 2 A - 2 PTS - +4 Logan Crosby (day to day) - 10 GP - 4 G - 5 A - 9 PTS - +10
|
|
|
Post by hockeydad on Nov 24, 2023 12:41:50 GMT -4
Halifax has to figure out better line combos in the overtime Dumais Vidacek and Furlong are great with the puck but once they lose the puck its a disaster as none of them has foot speed to get back its a 3 on one last year they had Lawrence or Doucet to counter Levesque speed was a bonus earlier on but he is out indefinitely . I like to see them give MacKinnon some more opportunity he is a drafted player playing 3rd pairing on defence and he needs more time in key situations to develop he might be are fastest skating d man.
|
|
|
Post by Reesor on Nov 24, 2023 13:36:52 GMT -4
Halifax has to figure out better line combos in the overtime Dumais Vidacek and Furlong are great with the puck but once they lose the puck its a disaster as none of them has foot speed to get back its a 3 on one last year they had Lawrence or Doucet to counter Levesque speed was a bonus earlier on but he is out indefinitely . I like to see them give MacKinnon some more opportunity he is a drafted player playing 3rd pairing on defence and he needs more time in key situations to develop he might be are fastest skating d man. It's pretty difficult with Crosby and Levesque out to split that line up. You pretty much have to keep Dumais and Vidicek together, as they're about as good a 1-2 punch as you're going to get. An option would be to put Fournier on the top line and put Cataford as #2 center, but then who would Cataford play with? Cataford is a very good goal scorer but I don't picture him as the type to lift up players like MacPhee and Todd. Cataford does best with other elite players. I don't think splitting up the top line will have the desired effect down the lineup as would be intended... not until more help arrives or Crosby/Levesque return. You made a point about overtime. I mentioned at the game that Baie-Comeau had the edge in overtime due to their depth. They could throw out 3 very good combos of forwards, whereas Halifax could really only throw out one. Nothing against Kilfoil and MacPhee as they have been very solid in their role. But for 3 on 3 overtime against another contender, it highlighted Halifax's current weakness. Halifax can win most games with their lineup the way it is shaped currently. They will be in tough between now and Christmas against any team with forward depth, and will really be in tough if Dumais makes the world junior team. Take out Dumais and put Fournier on the top line, and the rest of the lines look a bit scary. That problem should be taken care of after Christmas.
|
|
|
Post by fabi1309 on Nov 24, 2023 14:08:41 GMT -4
This feels too much like Quebec and Halifax last year. IMO, there are really only two options: full throttle (blow all our assets on some big trades) or sell. If we end up doing anything in between it'll be heart-breaking loss like last year.
|
|
|
Post by howitzer on Nov 24, 2023 14:27:51 GMT -4
This feels too much like Quebec and Halifax last year. IMO, there are really only two options: full throttle (blow all our assets on some big trades) or sell. If we end up doing anything in between it'll be heart-breaking loss like last year. Over the years teams are willing to roll the dice on playoffs. Over all sports, it's just, get in, and see what happens. Look no further than last year with Gatineau and Sherbrooke. They "won the deadline" last year, and didn't even make the finals. Saint John made half a dozen trades at the deadline in their Mem Cup year and got the boot in round 2. Teams don't feel it's worth the long term pain of going all out and selling their future when it guarantees you nothing.
|
|
|
Post by itstime on Nov 24, 2023 15:27:09 GMT -4
This feels too much like Quebec and Halifax last year. IMO, there are really only two options: full throttle (blow all our assets on some big trades) or sell. If we end up doing anything in between it'll be heart-breaking loss like last year. Over the years teams are willing to roll the dice on playoffs. Over all sports, it's just, get in, and see what happens. Look no further than last year with Gatineau and Sherbrooke. They "won the deadline" last year, and didn't even make the finals. Saint John made half a dozen trades at the deadline in their Mem Cup year and got the boot in round 2. Teams don't feel it's worth the long term pain of going all out and selling their future when it guarantees you nothing. To be honest its the way it should be. I know its the way that the Junior has always oporated but think about how the leauge would change if you had to train and develop your own players. Im not saying that you cant trade players but what SJ did the year of the mem cup is not right for the fans or the league for that matter.
|
|
|
Post by statsman18 on Nov 24, 2023 18:03:49 GMT -4
Over the years teams are willing to roll the dice on playoffs. Over all sports, it's just, get in, and see what happens. Look no further than last year with Gatineau and Sherbrooke. They "won the deadline" last year, and didn't even make the finals. Saint John made half a dozen trades at the deadline in their Mem Cup year and got the boot in round 2. Teams don't feel it's worth the long term pain of going all out and selling their future when it guarantees you nothing. To be honest its the way it should be. I know its the way that the Junior has always oporated but think about how the leauge would change if you had to train and develop your own players. Im not saying that you cant trade players but what SJ did the year of the mem cup is not right for the fans or the league for that matter. But they did what they set out to do and won the Mem Cup. Back door or not that was the goal so to say it’s not right for the fans isn’t true. They won the fans are happy with the win. People here (One who you was the person your responded to) still bring up Halifax not doing enough to win in 2019. We lost then and Still ate Sh1+ the next season. Here’s the thing about Jr hockey. The max a player can play in the league is 5 years but the average is only 3 seasons. The train and develop your own players doesn’t really work. The turn around is just to quick.
|
|
|
Post by Citris on Nov 24, 2023 18:17:25 GMT -4
To be honest its the way it should be. I know its the way that the Junior has always oporated but think about how the leauge would change if you had to train and develop your own players. Im not saying that you cant trade players but what SJ did the year of the mem cup is not right for the fans or the league for that matter. But they did what they set out to do and won the Mem Cup. Back door or not that was the goal so to say it’s not right for the fans isn’t true. They won the fans are happy with the win. People here (One who you was the person your responded to) still bring up Halifax not doing enough to win in 2019. We lost then and Still ate Sh1+ the next season. Here’s the thing about Jr hockey. The max a player can play in the league is 5 years but the average is only 3 seasons. The train and develop your own players doesn’t really work. The turn around is just to quick. Except the most successful franchises still do follow that model, drafting and developing their own players. Sure there's always going to be big pieces added here and there but the core needs to come internally. It also helps to be a big market team that can find players.
|
|
|
Post by statsman18 on Nov 24, 2023 18:28:07 GMT -4
This feels too much like Quebec and Halifax last year. IMO, there are really only two options: full throttle (blow all our assets on some big trades) or sell. If we end up doing anything in between it'll be heart-breaking loss like last year. I don’t really agree with your two opinions. I think the 2 options are all in or tinker. They aren’t selling at this point. I have no opinion on either because who are the players were looking to buy? Most year you can say this player is a definitely available or not. This year other than the 20yo that have been named are obvious. Luneau is an obvious player that if back is one that I agree go all in on. I think they will make one big move and another that everyone will be this seems like a good buy low and hope it pans out.
|
|