Traverse City Tournament: Sept. 12 - Sept. 16

[Stoner]

@PA - Oh there are times when players just aren't playing hard enough or playing lazy. See Exhibit A - Ovechkin, Alexander

 

 

I give in. There is no coming back from this.

[Hoss]

I think the tournament highlights my main concern with our farm system. The lack of a true sniper like Mantha, Zykov, or Dal Colle. That being said I like Baptiste and Possler (didn't play) quite a bit. On top of that I also know this is the first event of the season and sometimes you just start crappy. Lots of good notes from Traverse but a few concerns.

 

Jack Eichel 2015

 

I have my answer for this, but I'm interested: would you trade Zadorov for Mantha straight up, right now?

 

Would anybody else?

[Stoner]

I have my answer for this, but I'm interested: would you trade Zadorov for Mantha straight up, right now?

 

Would anybody else?

 

Moe way.

[LGR4GM]

I have my answer for this, but I'm interested: would you trade Zadorov for Mantha straight up, right now?

 

Would anybody else?

I would think long and hard about it but I might.

[TrueBlueGED]

I have my answer for this, but I'm interested: would you trade Zadorov for Mantha straight up, right now?

 

Would anybody else?

 

Instantly.

[SabresBillsFan]

I have my answer for this, but I'm interested: would you trade Zadorov for Mantha straight up, right now?

 

Would anybody else?

 

I know I would

[nfreeman]

I think the tournament highlights my main concern with our farm system. The lack of a true sniper like Mantha, Zykov, or Dal Colle. That being said I like Baptiste and Possler (didn't play) quite a bit. On top of that I also know this is the first event of the season and sometimes you just start crappy. Lots of good notes from Traverse but a few concerns.

 

Jack Eichel 2015

 

But they got totally shelled in 2 out of 3 games -- it seemed like D was more the problem, innit?

[LGR4GM]

But they got totally shelled in 2 out of 3 games -- it seemed like D was more the problem, innit?

yes and no. I would have to look at the possession stats (which probably I can't) to really see what was going on underneath everything. One thing to remember is don't let the scores fool you. Our GT during the Tourney was terrible. Now that is not to say our defense was blameless. I agree that 15 goals against and only 5 for in 3 games is something our defense needs to address and our PK was atrocious. I think our Defensive talent though was undermined by PP scoring and terrible GT. On offense we outshot 2 of the 3 teams we played but only recorded 5 goals. That says that our forwards were having some type of problem. The trouble scoring was the basis for my original comment. Our defense can only do X if the offense is only doing Y. 5 Goals in 3 games was low. 0.05 goals per shot if I did the math right, where as other teams scored on us at a rate of 0.17 (again if I did math right). To me that makes me question the offense more than the defense but I honestly understand exactly why you asked or are looking at it from the opposite side.

 

Buffalo outshot Carolina 35-20

Buffalo outshot NYR 37-35

Dallas outshot BUF 29-24

Edited September 16, 2014 by LGR4GM

[Hoss]

I would move Zadorov for Mantha. You don't pass up a deal for the kid who is probably about to break every prospect rule Detroit has had for years.

[spndnchz]

Blues up 2-0 early 2nd period

[LGR4GM]

Anthony Mantha

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=730054

The Red Wings' first-round pick (No. 20) in the 2013 NHL Draft, he led the QMJHL with 50 goals in his draft year; in fact the Val-d'Or Foreurs forward was the only draft-eligible player in Canadian junior hockey to score 50 in 2012-13. He was even better last season; in 57 games he led the league in goals (57) and points (120) and won the Michel Briere Trophy as league MVP. He also led Canada with five goals and 11 points at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship. He also is No. 10 on NHL.com's Top 60 prospect rankings.

[LGR4GM]

Justin Bailey scored... finally. 2-1 St. Louis

[Hoss]

@SabresProspects: Sabres outshooting the Blues 27-13 after 40 mins.

 

 

These games are basically like my games on NHL 15. I'll outshoot around 35-19 everytime and still lose by 68.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Tankalicious

[LGR4GM]

We just lost.

[G-Daddy]

We just lost.

Somewhere in Arizona Darcy is chuckling.

[Hoss]

 

Somewhere in Arizona Darcy is chuckling.

 

"Hehehe one of the very few things people thought I was good at I was actually terrible at."

[Bisonbreath123]

So much for the benching of Zadorev. He showed up on the stat sheet vs. St Louis on the Amerks site.

http://www.pointstre...?gameid=2494651

I wonder if Cassidy was overruled by TM on benching Z ?

Edited September 16, 2014 by Bisonbreath123

[LGR4GM]

So much for the benching of Zadorev. He showed up on the stat sheet vs. St Louis on the Amerks site.

http://www.pointstre...?gameid=2494651

I wonder if Cassidy was overruled by TM on benching Z ?

Well he was benched for the 3rd period of the previous game so I am not surprised he returned this game. Usually you bench someone one game and then see how they react the next. If Zadorov was slacking TM would be the first to want him benched or even scratched, he doesn't put up with a lot of crap it seems.

 

Speaking of Zadorov one of the things mentioned on the radio I believe was his recent weight gain to 240lbs (13-20lbs more than his draft weight depending on source). It was suggested that one of the reasons his effort level was questioned was because he was having trouble adjusting to his larger size and that it was making him sluggish. He is a guy to watch and I hope we never have his effort questioned again but it is a cause for, not concern, but vigilance.

[inkman]

So much for the benching of Zadorev. He showed up on the stat sheet vs. St Louis on the Amerks site.

http://www.pointstre...?gameid=2494651

I wonder if Cassidy was overruled by TM on benching Z ?

Or not...

[Marvelo]

sounds like the young team is just like the old team. can't score.

[LGR4GM]

Had to do a ton of reading to catch up on this thing. So, it seems that the real reason we failed at Traverse was our special teams. My original idea that our forwards couldn't score still holds but from what it sounds like, it could have just been bad luck. We generated a lot of chances but scored at a statistically low outlier. As for defense they were kind of up and down depending on the game. They got outplayed against Dallas no doubt but yesterday they played very well against ST Louis and just got questionable GT and no goal support.

 

Back to special teams. Our PK was terrible. We allowed (correct me if I have the #'s wrong) 9ppg going into the game yesterday of the 18 goals scored against us. You can't allow teams to generate 50% of their scoring on the PP, we simply were not good enough. Some of that is chemistry and not knowing the system. I will wait patiently (but it's getting old) for the kids to grow and learn our system. The good news is by all accounts, Rasmus Ristolainen was the best defender we had.

[Marvelo]

I wonder how much of the problem is Cassidy.

[dudacek]

I'm a Cassidy skeptic, but nothing in that tourney is about strategy or coaching to win.

It's about letting the young guys play and learning what they can and cannot do.

[dudacek]

I didn't see any of it, but if reports are to be believed, I think they learned Risto looks ready, McCabe and Zads do not, Armia seems improved, Reinhart still has questions, Lemieux has to get smarter, Cornel and Karabacek were worth picking where they took them, and none of the other guys did anything special to elevate themselves, like Baptiste did last year.

 

Training camp will reinforce or change those opinions, then development will take over. This all about evaluation.

Edited September 17, 2014 by dudacek

[LGR4GM]

Hockey Writers write up on the Sabres: http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/scouting-reports-from-traverse-city-part-one/

Despite boasting some of the biggest names in the tournament, the Sabres ended up dead-last, losing to the Blues in their final match to go winless overall. Coach Chadd Cassidy believes bad starts doomed the squad and the fairly young group just couldn’t get over the pressure once they got down.

But how did the individuals fare at the tourney? Here are my thoughts on players from the first four teams. Since games were staggered between two rinks, I saw more of some squads than others and the amount of reports reflects that.