Things to look for at camp

[lalalaprise]

habh8er said:

lalalaprise said:

Naw i didn't mean it like that

I just meant, stats are only part of the argument...there are a lot of variables that go into them, especially when comparing players on different teams...

When it comes to goaltenders save percentage seems to be the best place to start though ,that is the one we always hear about. Even from the Pro scouts, but your right, put each on the other team and we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

Yeah but one goalie could face more dangerous chances, thus making the saves tougher.

If both goalies face 20 shots, but 1 of them faces 3 breakaways versus the other not facing any...and they both allow 1 goal on those 20 shots...sure the stats say they have the same save percentage...but one of the goalies faced much tougher chances.

[canucklehead]

lalalaprise said:

habh8er said:

When it comes to goaltenders save percentage seems to be the best place to start though ,that is the one we always hear about. Even from the Pro scouts, but your right, put each on the other team and we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

Yeah but one goalie could face more dangerous chances, thus making the saves tougher.

If both goalies face 20 shots, but 1 of them faces 3 breakaways versus the other not facing any...and they both allow 1 goal on those 20 shots...sure the stats say they have the same save percentage...but one of the goalies faced much tougher chances.

Gonna go with Lala on this one stats are only 1 way to judge a player especially when it comes to goaltending just as an example and I don't have all the save percentage not sure why I got this from Hockeydb but i'm sure with a GAA like this Patrick's save percentage wouldn't blow anyone away. None of the 3 seasons he played there was his winning percentage above .500 either just making a point.

Patrick Roy - Granby Bisons
82-83 / GAA 6.26
83-84 / GAA 4.44
84-85 / GAA 5.55

[J4M13]

dogbert said:

Looking forward to some impressions of practice today, of players and coaches. It's time to focus on reality.

I enjoyed the d-men practice...

Pisano is huge, but slow...

Rioux and Amyot did a lot of the drills together, as did Grant/Stich/MacNeil, and Despres would have probably been alongside Sauve, if Yann was ready after the Hlinka tourney...Does this give insight into the coaches' initial leanings, or am I just looking for something where there's nothing?

Toward the end of the D practice, they played a little mini-game, and at one point, I thought Amyot was actually gonna take the body against one of the blue guys (LeBlanc, I think). It made me smile a little.

Forward practice was okay too...I had to leave before it was done, but the most interesting things I noticed:

Liske looked like he might still have the same type of shot that got him 8 goals in 15 games last year (accepting a pass on the wing, waiting for the goalie to move, and firing a quick, accurate shot while still skating at a pretty decent speed). Of course, it was just a prcatice, and everything was at about half or 3/4 speed, but I was still encouraged...

I would have thought Sparling was going to get a look between the two Charlands, but the brothers are on the white squad, and Sparling is on blue. Does this mean Leduc might get a shot to play with them, or is there another reason?

I missed the goalie practice on purpose, but got to see all 6 guys in different drills...it's only an initial impression, but I'm not sure the team really needs to use a 20 spot on a backup goalie. Of the 4 others, I'm sure at least one is capable of stepping up...If they can't trade Fullerton, is it probable, or even possible that they release him?

[berner]

quimper said:

I missed the goalie practice on purpose, but got to see all 6 guys in different drills...it's only an initial impression, but I'm not sure the team really needs to use a 20 spot on a backup goalie. Of the 4 others, I'm sure at least one is capable of stepping up...If they can't trade Fullerton, is it probable, or even possible that they release him?

That's been discussed at length on this board, the prevailing opinion (which I agree with as well) is that it's VERY risky to go into the season with the rookie Euro and another rookie behind him in net. Unless one of the other guys blew Travis out of the water in camp I can't see it.

[Dogs 08-09]

berner said:

quimper said:

I missed the goalie practice on purpose, but got to see all 6 guys in different drills...it's only an initial impression, but I'm not sure the team really needs to use a 20 spot on a backup goalie. Of the 4 others, I'm sure at least one is capable of stepping up...If they can't trade Fullerton, is it probable, or even possible that they release him?

That's been discussed at length on this board, the prevailing opinion (which I agree with as well) is that it's VERY risky to go into the season with the rookie Euro and another rookie behind him in net. Unless one of the other guys blew Travis out of the water in camp I can't see it.

I think the most likely scenario, provided Travis is not traded, is Mayer and Fullerton until Christmas with Mayer and Dupod finishing out the year.

[elementz]

I thought Dunnet looked good in net today as a future backup.

Rioux looks very much improved this year, must be the haircut. His shot is great.
Lisker had a hot stick today.

Really though, you can't put to much emphasis on the first practice of the year. Scrimmages should be interesting.

[Murph]

berner said:

murph said:

Moncton and Bathurst are close, but IMO, Yetman is better than Riopel (as shown is last years playoffs) and I would take him over Tardif, though with Tardif's age and potential, he could be better than Yetman this year. IMO, Yetman gets at least 3 of those teams.

Yetman over Riopel and Tardif? You gotta be joking Murph... are you Yetman's dad, or his girlfriend?!

What exactly make Tardif and Riopel so great? Tardif spent most last year backing up Brant Miller. He showed pretty good improvement down the stretch, but I feel yetman outplayed him, especially in the playoffs. I conceed that Tardif, being only 17, has much more growth potential than Yetman, and Tardif could be a very good goaltender in the second half of this season, once he gets some games under his belt.

Riopel, is over rated IMO. He was uber-hyped as a 16 year old not even in the league. He came in at 17 with a lot of hype, and played okay early on. However Moncton was a very defensive minded team, and once Moncton came back to the pack as the season wore on, Riopel struggled. He was outplayed by miles in the playoffs by Yetman.

What people forget to realise about Yetman, is that he is very unexperienced. He was up and down some last year, however when you look at his bad games, they came towards the end of stretches where Halifax played a bunch of games. Kennedy got hurt almost immediately after Duchesne was dealt, and Yetman was thrust into playing a lot of games, which he wasn't used to, and he seemed fatigued at certain points of the year.

Out of towners don't know about him. They see Mooseheads fans wanting him upgraded, but the reason for that has little to do with Yetmans ability or potential, and more to do with the fact that Halifax needs to be sure in goal. People are going to be surprised by Yetman this season, if he gets a chance to play.

[Murph]

dogs0809 said:

berner said:

That's been discussed at length on this board, the prevailing opinion (which I agree with as well) is that it's VERY risky to go into the season with the rookie Euro and another rookie behind him in net. Unless one of the other guys blew Travis out of the water in camp I can't see it.

I think the most likely scenario, provided Travis is not traded, is Mayer and Fullerton until Christmas with Mayer and Dupod finishing out the year.

Fullerton probably isn't going to be traded. Davenport and possibly Mior could be on the market, and if a team needs an overage goalie, Fullerton won't be their first choice. I would think Fullerton will be released if he doesn't make the team.

[bjindaho]

Are you saying Yetman over Marek Benda?

[berner]

Not saying Tardif and Riopel are 'so great' - they don't have to be 'so great' to be better than Yetman. It's comical that you defend Yetman based on his inexperience, yet Tardif and Riopel could easily be defended the same way.

It's you against the world on this one murph, so I think we've all wasted enough keystrokes on the topic. When one is in the overwhelming minority, it sometimes signals a need to re-evaluate one's position, but that appears doubtful here. And you never did answer my question - Yetman's Dad or his girlfriend? Or are you Yetman himself?

[killer]

bjindaho said:

Are you saying Yetman over Marek Benda?

Who would really know with Benda having zero experience.............Yetman still has to prove he can be a number one goalie in this league and so far he has not done that IMO. At 19 his time is running out

[dogbert]

elementz said:

Really though, you can't put to much emphasis on the first practice of the year. Scrimmages should be interesting.

Agree, but ... my first impressions of forwards:

Good looking:
- Liske
- Sparling
- Knox
- Pard
- Anthony
- F. Charland

Cuts:
- Mugford
- Richer
- Shecapio
- Spinney
- Dickie

The rest didn't impress either way.

[berner]

Thanks for the analyses all... I especially like dogbert the names on your 'looked good' list. Those guys are keys to success this season imo. If they play as well as expected or beyond that'll be great!

[dogbert]

berner said:

Thanks for the analyses all... I especially like dogbert the names on your 'looked good' list. Those guys are keys to success this season imo. If they play as well as expected or beyond that'll be great!

Liske gave me an initial scare -- one of the first players in the first drill and he goes down. Then he waddles in on net like he's given up. All I can think is his head is still wonky. Fortunately he picked it up. He approached the net every time after that I looked with an intense goal scorer's posture.

Pard had an extra jump out there.

Knox looked really poised.

Anthony has the tools. We'll see if he can perform in a game.

Charland has great hands, but he looks fragile. Hopefully he can undure the whole season.

Sparling looked fast and confident. He seemed a bit taller too.

Mugford had energy and actually showed a good shot, but his skating ... looks like he's skating in a phone booth, the Jim Furyck of hockey I don't see him keeping up.

Richer just doesn't look ready.

[killer]

Well first off it was very pleasant to experience the smell of an arena again after several months......................

Goaltending

Robert Mayer looked very solid in nets as expected, reminding me of watching Pavelec with those long big white pads. Looks to be very well positioned and stays square to the shooter,very flexible. Also liked how he stayed out after practice to face more shots,shows a strong work ethic.............seems to fit in well and is already bonding with the team.

Fullerton looked solid, seemed to control his rebounds well compared to last season.

Dunnett looked decent out there I was a bit surprised I hope he continues to develop.

Passingham seemed decent as well nothing flashy

Both Dupod and St Laurent looked terrible out there they really need to pick up their game.

Despres is going to be a dandy, he got better as the practice went on and should a solid year of development with the Dogs

Grant looks to have gotten taller but still looks extremely skinny, I think this will be a big year for Grant, Look for him to wear the "C"

Amyot looked a bit rusty out there............might have gotten a bit bigger.

Rioux, Stich and McNeil looked really strong for the first day of practice

Pisano looks smaller the 6'6" 230

The rest of the rookies looked to be a few steps behind, with our defense set there will be no surprises

Forwards

The vets all looked steady as expected

Anthony looked real smooth out there, it seemed it was flying out there with no effort and has a real nice shot. This kid is amazing

Knox looked good to me and will be a solid addition, nice speed and good hands

Kirkpatrick showed signs of being able to put the puck in the net, had decent speed as well.

Thought Brandon MacDonald had a good practice as well as Langan

K. Charland looks to have bulked up and looked to have a nice heavy shot

F Charland looked like he has been in the league for 4 years

Gallant looks to have gotten thicker which will only help in the fighting department. Gallant will also take on a leadership role IMO

Sparling looks to have found the net after 2 season I hope this continues for the entire season

Great to see Liske back on the ice and healthy, he has a great shot and made St Laurent and Dupod look silly on many drills, picking the corners at will.

Dido looks to be about the same size but faster I think he will put up good numbers again

Leduc and Gauthier looked fine to me but didn't stand out

Stoddard was invisible and Thomas has grown and should be one of the hardest body checkers in the league this season

The pace should pick up tomorrow with the first inter-squad game