Gorbachav55
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Posts posted by Gorbachav55
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6 minutes ago, dtsdlaw said:
Cronin explained why he thought last night's game was kind of a trap game during his postgame comments. I'm not at all worried based on last night. Even with the defending champs up next, I expect the team to come out flying on Sunday after three days of rest and home cooking.
Vegas plays on Saturday against Colorado too, so its set up nicely for the Ducks to really give Vegas a hard time. Hopefully Killorn is back and the guys don't get Strome's cooties between now and then.
If it were just last night, I'd be with you. However, they've been trending downward since they went on the road trip, so it's just one more data point that has me worried the first five games were a "new coach bump" and these last five represent more the way their talent and systems will allow them to play going forward. I'm not convinced of that; it was a long road trip and included some tough places to play, so that could be part of it as well.
I do think Cronin is saying the right things, so I'm optimistic that he's going to work to correct the issues.
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We do need to see a return to the team that was quick on the breakouts and was great in the neutral zone in the first five games of the season. I know that they went 1-4 in those games, but they deserved a lot better fate based on their play. The last five games, even though they've been winning, have been struggles to some degree (not to an Eakins level, but not good either). Last night Arizona carried the play for most of the game. The Ducks defense, due to its significant improvement, kept them on the outside, so they weren't always dangerous. But the Ducks had very little sustained pressure compared to Arizona, which is something that can't last if they want to maintain their winning ways.
I do think the team misses Drysdale - he played two of the best games of his career those first two and he's good at starting breakouts. I think LaCombe has worn down a bit and is making rookie mistakes, which is understandable since he's a rookie. He's still been good, but just not as solid as he was. I'm interested to see what Killorn brings to the table; he certainly isn't going to make the team any faster or quicker, but hopefully his savvy will help them get the puck into the offensive zone and sustain some pressure.
Clearly they're ahead of where I thought they'd be. They aren't going to sustain the record without improving their puck possession and offense generation, but this is a team that could sniff a wild card spot for a decent chunk of the season. That will make the decisions on whether to trade Henrique or Lyubushkin very difficult come February.
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43 minutes ago, perry_mvp said:
I don't see them moving anyone. They have $12M in cap space next season, most of their star players locked up long term. Pinto is in the doghouse. Greig is one of the top rookies and the front runner for the Calder as of now. I don't think there is a hidden gem somewhere in there prospect pool. Kinda looks like they have all been promoted to the NHL except Thomson. It would be like another GM trying to poach Minty because we have an abundance of LHD's in the system.
It's Chiarelli. Anything is possible. That's the joke.
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34 minutes ago, perry_mvp said:
I'm pretty sure Chiarelli is the next GM, just have to wait for the official announcement. Which assets?
Drake Batherson, Ridly Greig, Shane Pinto, Lassi Thomson (just kidding). They have a stable of young forwards it would be nice to poach.
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So Pierre Dorion got fired. There are some rumors that Chiarelli might be a candidate there, and, if so, I hope Verbeek puts him on speed dial. They have a lot of assets I wouldn't mind Chiarelli trading to us at 50 cents on the dollar.
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16 minutes ago, dtsdlaw said:
Boy, it would be nice if Anaheim received that compensation, given we were supposed to get Dadonov AND a 2nd round pick in that trade. But I suppose that's out of the question. The NHL couldn't possibly be bothered to compensate the Ducks for an injustice.
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16 minutes ago, dtsdlaw said:
I still give 99% of the credit to Madden and his scouting team for that first draft (2022) after Verbeek took over as GM. Verbeek will get the kudos for Carlsson and the 2023 group though if/when they pan out.
Regardless, it was a genius pick. Mintyukov is turning into a game changer for the Ducks rebuild. He's so much further along than anyone of us expected him to be. I think he and LaCombe are actually changing the timeline for when we should expect this team to be a real contender again.
I think Verbeek said as much - that he wasn't incredibly involved in that first draft. Which means we can give Madden credit for Mintyukov and hope that we don't have to deduct points for the Gaucher pick.
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2 minutes ago, dtsdlaw said:
I'm not convinced either, but IMO adding Killorn to that line could go a long way towards finding out.
Let's just hope the second line continues being the best line in hockey until they figure it out.
To be honest, I think that top line gets so much attention that it's made the second line's life easier. I think Killorn could help with that. And getting Carlsson better matchups on the third line might help as well, although I wish we had at least one more skilled winger to put with him.
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Are we sure that Zegras and Terry work together? I'm willing to give it more time, but I'm not convinced. Neither guy looks comfortable out there.
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37 minutes ago, perry_mvp said:
No but like you said, they were sloppy. I was referring to the top line looking flat and tired. They used up the gas tank for Boston. As far as 7 goals, well Frankie V had three of them, Strome had one so the 2nd line players were scoring. The top line was -1 despite the 7 goals. Another interesting thing is that no forward played over 18 minutes. Even Fowler was at 21 minutes. So it looks like Cro realized he needed to even the toi because the boys were tired.
They definitely looked tired and sloppy yesterday. Philly was doing their best to give the puck away and the Ducks were trying to give it right back. And their neutral zone play was a turnover-fest. The Ducks were fortunate that Philly's goalie was a sieve.
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1 hour ago, dirtyredduck said:
When I posted this the game was still 30 min. away and I didn’t know who would be in goal, but based on history believed it would be Gibson. Even so, today’s game proved my point. Dostal did get scored on but the team played with a ton of confidence. 4 goals against Gibson is almost always a loss. The key is having a goal tender the team believes in. When they believe they defend well and they score well because they can take chances.
Wait...are you saying that if Gibson gives up 4 goals and loses, and Dostal gives up 4 goals and wins, there's something about Gibson that made the team play worse offense?
4 goals scored on ANY goalie is almost always a loss. Dostal was fortunate that the team played some offense in front of him (or that the other goalie was far, far worse).
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I don't think Carlsson would have identified these workouts as "summer workouts" if they weren't different from what guys are normally doing midseason. It's clear that they're doing something different to help him build additional strength that he wouldn't have been able to do as effectively with the same schedule as the rest of the team.
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https://www.nhl.com/news/leo-carlssons-agent-on-board-with-plan-to-have-rookie-not-play
This is the best breakdown of the situation that I've seen, with quotes from Carlsson, Carlsson's agent, Terry, and Cronin. Everyone is on board and thinks it's going to be great, even while they acknowledge there are some drawbacks. Terry is the most equivocating in his comments - clearly he'd like to play with Carlsson all the time. But he notes that he understands the plan and is excited for its results.
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1 minute ago, dtsdlaw said:
Did he say that about the rookie camp in September or the prospect camp at the beginning of July? I thought it was the July camp Do you have a quote?
I think it was the July camp he was referring to. Sorry, I'm going to be that guy and beg off finding a quote, but I've read it recently from a tweet someone posted here or elsewhere.
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Also, with the strength thing - I have no idea what they're doing with Carlsson on off days. I'm not in the room. But you can't do much pure strength training on game days, otherwise you're worn out or sore for the game. This is why players often lose weight over the season - it's difficult to sustain muscle when you're doing so much cardio and unable to do significant weight training on many days during the season.
For the older guys, it's probably easier, though. They already have the muscle and just need to maintain it, which isn't as difficult. Carlsson probably doesn't even have it yet; and to build it, they need to do more intense workouts on additional days, some of which are probably game days.
Why aren't they doing this plan with other guys? One, all the other guys have been in the organization for more than four months. Hopefully the team gave them an offseason workout plan that already built the muscle they want them to have. McTavish, for example, has been talked about as a workout beast. He probably already has the muscle the organization wants from him. Alternatively, he DIDN'T have it last year, the Ducks realized that, and are now trying to course correct with their future rookies.
Two, Verbeek has talked about wanting Carlsson to be a "horse." Sure, Zegras should get stronger as well, but Zegras is not ever going to be a power forward. Zegras is going to get work done by being shifty and agile and elusive. Carlsson can do those things but also has the frame to be Getzlaf 2.0. If we want him to be that, he needs to build that muscle mass, which will only come with more intense weight training that will leave him tired for games.
Is this what they're doing? I have no idea. But it strikes me as the most likely scenario based on what they've said and what I know about strength training (I'm not an expert, but I do coach high school athletics).
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1 hour ago, dtsdlaw said:
I still don’t understand the bolded. Most of those games occurred before April 11th when Orebro was eliminated from the SHL playoffs. He then played a handful of international games for Sweden as warmups for the World Championships, and then his WCs ended on May 25th. So he had all of June, July, and August and most of September where he only played a handful of rookie games before training camp. Why wouldn’t those almost four months after the WCs be enough time to recuperate?
Also, Carson was very good at the WCs. If he’d been hot garbage, I think you could make a strong argument that he was overworked from a 102 game season. But the fact that he was so good in that tournament (against a lot of NHLers) after playing so many games during the prior 9 months tells me that the kid has a bit more endurance than he’s being given credit for. Seriously, the night before an NHL season starts, who are you more worried about hitting a wall - the kid who played 102 games last season (mostly against grown men) and played great in the WCs, or the kid who played 71 games in juniors and against U20s?
Verbeek has said as much directly. Carlsson's previous workload left him in less than optimal shape for the rookie camp. They saw that and wanted to make sure they acknowledged it and designed a program to ensure it doesn't happen this season.
You can say you don't understand, but this is coming from the Ducks organization who have talked to him, watched him closely, done physical examinations and tests, etc. Organizations make bad decisions all the time, but this one seems to be based on some careful and informed analysis of the individual. I'm going to trust them on this.
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6 hours ago, BombaysTripleDeke said:
this gonna make someone on the boards mad lol
You're the worst.
I hope that fire emoji means he was immediately dragged down into the pits of hell where he belongs. Or fired into the sun. I'm ok with either.
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2 minutes ago, g20topdogg said:
So why aren't we doing this with the other rookies? Why didn't Verbeek do it with McT? Because he's his #2 OA? McT played a ton before, was 3rd OA and didn't get this "hit the wall" treatment. Seems to me Verbeek is just being extra cautious with Carlsson. That's fine whatever. There's nothing wrong with being cautious. But it seems rather weird to do this with one rookie when others aren't if the main reason is they get burned out.
I think Carlsson's previous workload dictates some of this. But this is also (at the time of draft) the possible best player the Ducks have ever drafted. I know, Kariya, Getzlaf, Perry, but those guys were all HoFers in retrospect. Carlsson was the 2nd overall pick in a draft that's projected to be one of the best ever. You're going to be careful with that guy, and rightly so.
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12 minutes ago, perry_mvp said:
I don't know if Derek Lee is employed by the Ducks but what is annoying is getting information from social media personalities not affiliated in any capacity with the Ducks. I'm not going to believe anything Seravelli says after he claimed Gibson would never play another game in Anaheim.
Lee is essentially the beat writer for the team - he's Eric Stephens but with only one team to write about instead of three. He writes for the Sporting Tribune and has been attending every practice.
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I saw something else, I think from Derek Lee, that quoted a "strength and development program." Seravelli also puts those two words in quotes in a tweet. That indicates to me that it's more than just load management. But I don't know where that original quote came from that used the words "strength and development."
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18 minutes ago, perry_mvp said:
Would it have been extremely difficult for him to explain to the fanbase something like this:
Leo Carlsson played 102 games in 2022-2023 between the SHL and other tournaments, by far more than any other top prospect in the draft. Since being our first selection in this years draft, Leo has participated various Ducks camps including the rookie camp and rookie tournament. With all the playing time from last season as well as all practice and games he's played with the Ducks we have determined that he needs a recovery plan for the 2023-2024 season. We sat down with Leo and his agent and formulated a plan to limit his playing time during the first two months of the season so he can recuperate and still compete at the NHL level. By going with this plan, we believe Leo will avoid any long term injuries or physical problems moving forward. (attached is a list of games we will be planning on Leo playing in barring any injuries)
I agree with you that communication needs to be better. I admit, I don't care as much about my GM being well-spoken in interviews as others do. I watch pro sports for the sports. I don't really care what the players or coaches or manager have to say, unless they're doing a sit-down interview where they can put some thought into their answers. BUT, as a GM, you need to be able to communicate important things to the fanbase. We're the paying customers, and especially after the last five years of futility, there is finally some hope rekindled. So instead of letting it smolder, throw some fuel on that fire to give us a little bit more reason to trust that this is moving in the right direction.
It's clear Verbeek does not care what anyone else (outside the organization) thinks of his plans. That's a good thing...to an extent. I don't want him making moves to placate us keyboard warriors. But he also needs to know that cultivating an enthusiastic fanbase is pretty important in the Orange County market. So hire a communications director and have them be the mouthpiece. Be the Moses to that guy's Aaron and then we'll all know what's happening.
All that said, I don't think we should expect THAT much detail. There's no way they'll publish the list of games Carlsson is missing. He wants teams to have to game plan and do video study with Carlsson in mind. So I'm down with your statement until the parenthetical at the end.
The problem, of course, is that without the list, he's setting up fans for disappointment when they buy tickets to see him play. That's where he needs to convince the Samuelis to use some budget and give any non-season seat holders a discount for 50% off upper deck tickets if they attend a game where Carlsson is held out. I'm not sure if that's exactly the right way to go, but if they're not going to publish the list (and they're not), they need to do something for the fans who came to see Leo.
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3 minutes ago, perry_mvp said:
So the WJC players get off scot-free but damn you Shane Pinto for gambling. What a ridiculous league.
I'm guessing there's a disparity in available evidence that we're not privy to.
While I understand gambling is an issue for a sports league, they also have made it very clear they're all about getting that gambling advertising money. It's pretty hypocritical.
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1 hour ago, BombaysTripleDeke said:
Yeah, and his suspension doesn’t start until he signs a contract which is huge leverage for Ottawa. Pretty crazy. Dorion probably dropped the dime on him lol
I wonder if he just goes and plays somewhere else this season. His suspension will carry over, but what does that do to his signing rights? How long does Ottawa retain those?
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1 hour ago, perry_mvp said:
He's better so far defensively but offensively he doesn't look comfortable. The biggest reason for me watching Ducks games the past couple of seasons was waiting to see what Zegras would do. I'm not getting the same vibe this season.
Yes, but that was also the ONLY reason to watch Ducks games the past couple of seasons because otherwise the team was rotting oatmeal on ice. I'm glad that I'm not sitting there and waiting for Zegras to do something awesome this season. The hockey is competitive and compelling. If Zegras does something awesome, it's a bonus.
And I do think we're being overly harsh here - Zegras has been dominant in a couple of games and just not had the puck go in. He looks better as a hockey player to me, outside of last game where it seemed he got petulant and decided to do his own thing for a while. If the scoring drought continues a lot longer, maybe there needs to be an adjustment, but give it more time. Six games is not very long. In 21-22, Zegras in his first six games had one assist. He had a six game stretch with only one assist last season as well, and another stretch with two assists (both in the same game).
If after game 12 Zegras is sitting on 2 or 3 points, then it's time for Cronin to switch things up with how Zegras is being managed.
23-24 Season - Roster Predictions
in Rumors, Wishes and Speculations
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If only Silf could still skate.