Game #1 vs SC

[patsdude114]

I must say the Pats really impressed me tonite. I was really looking at the roster this evening before the game started & a little note that the Pats top 5 D are all veterns of the league & none of them are under the age of 19 (as per league age ruleing birthday before Dec 31)

The Pats had 3 vetern forwards not dressed tonite in Weal, Jung & Moser (who i think is still nursing his injury from last year) I think with those 3 guys i would say Hunt's days are numbered on the team this year. Which would insert Weal into the lineup & having guys like Jung/Moser/Martell/Olstad in & out of the lineup as the lower key guys. One would think a trade will be made for a pick plus the Pats have an opening for a 20yr old as Mitchell will NOT be back in a Pats jersey this season.

If the Pats fill this void in the roster & some how find a pretty decent 20yr old it will add more depth to the roster. Maybe a weaker team would trade a 20yr old for a few (2) depth players like Jung/Olstad/Martell/Ouellette.

Our D looks fantastic, & yes even Bortsmayer looked pretty solid in a regular shift (maybe ill get off the Bortsmayer talk for abit) our top 5 D are all 19 or 20yrs old. Jobke fit in great tonite for having no practises with the team since the trade. I would say all nite the Broncos maybe only had 5 quality scoring chances as the shots were kept to the outside all nite long & Hewitt will make that save all nite long.

We dont have much elite skill after Weal but i think the depth that Lang has brought in will give us a solid team that will compete on a nighly basis.

For me the best goal of the nite was Klimchuk's rocket of a snap shot his 1st career goal of many that will be in his WHL career. The Rodewald goal was very nice looking too with the patience/skill of Stephenson.

For whats its worth Schiedl & Stephenson share the league leaders in points after 1 game. Yes they are tied with 2 Warriors & Wheat Kings but they have all played 2 games.

Im alot more excited for this season after tonites game as i really wasnt sure what to think of our roster at the start of training camp. A few trades during training camp/preseason by Lang has added depth & toughness throughout the line up. With the systems that Conacher is playing & the speed we have on the roster it should lead to a lot of entertaining hockey games.

So tempted to head up to SC tomorrow nite, just trying to find someone to go with who isnt attending the Rider game in the afternoon arrrgh.

[witness]

Add Rieder to your list and I would agree.

I was impressed by some of the young guys. They got stronger as the game went on. Look at Hunt. He was a little nervous his first couple of shifts, but in the second and third he was able to have a couple of good cycles and created a couple of offensive chances.

I thought Jobke did a good job. With all the 19 and 20 year olds on the backend it is going to be tough to find ice for Burroughs and Peel. And those guys need to play at least once a week. But, that is a good problem to have, depth on the backend. I don't think that Lang will have a problem finding a trading partner now or closer towards the trade deadline.

How close is Moser to coming back? I really think this guy could be a top power forward in this league.

Don't get too high on this team yet. It is only one game and against a lesser team (sorry Bronco fans). When the Pats took the lead there was zero push back from the Broncos. It will be interesting to see how this team stacks up against those teams that will be fighting for those last couple of playoff spots (PA, MH, RD, Saskatoon).

[JMoney1988]

Hey, glad to see you guys are tied with us for first ha ha nice win against swift current

[Bepoleon]

Our D looks fantastic, & yes even Bortsmayer looked pretty solid in a regular shift (maybe ill get off the Bortsmayer talk for abit) our top 5 D are all 19 or 20yrs old.

I don't know how Borstmayer looked in Swift Current but in Regina, he didn't look outta place. He made a couple good plays.

If he continues to play this way, he's not getting re-assigned, which creates a real log jam for the 6 and 7 D spots. It looks like Zimbaluk might be next to be re-assigned.

[patsdude114]

I don't know how Borstmayer looked in Swift Current but in Regina, he didn't look outta place. He made a couple good plays.

If he continues to play this way, he's not getting re-assigned, which creates a real log jam for the 6 and 7 D spots. It looks like Zimbaluk might be next to be re-assigned.



Yes this is true Bortsmayer played a solid game in Regina not sure how he looked in SC either but if he is out 6th Dman Burroughs is already on our roster reguardless of it #6 or #7 guy i still think it leaves Peel as the odd guy out. Burroughs bring more to the ice then Peel does & he is a year younger.

I dont see nothing special in Peel anyways, yes he is offensive but thats it. With the composer our D has Davidson, Jobke & Blidstrand are all more then capable of supplying the offense from the back end. I dont see the Pats reassigning Peel i think its either make this roster or he is traded, & personally i dont think making this roster is in the cards. Just too much depth & experience on our backend & Burroughs is the future of our D & is more then ready to be in the WHL.

If we hadnt gotten Jobke for Bell then Peel has a spot. Unfortunately i think Peel is caught in a numbers game that isnt going to turn out for him well on the Pats roster.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Whether you like Peel's game or not - since its clear you dont-, I think the Pats have him in their plans anyways, or he would have been moved by now.

If you ask me, it would be retarded to move him considering that next year we are at least losing the two 20s, Blidstrand, and possibly Jobke. We need all the experience we can get next year, and Peel has talent unlike Zimbaluk, Sparrow etc.

[dsquared]

Anyone know why we didn't have replays of the goals etc? - Pats or Brandt Centre's Fault?

[patsdude114]

Whether you like Peel's game or not - since its clear you dont-, I think the Pats have him in their plans anyways, or he would have been moved by now.

If you ask me, it would be retarded to move him considering that next year we are at least losing the two 20s, Blidstrand, and possibly Jobke. We need all the experience we can get next year, and Peel has talent unlike Zimbaluk, Sparrow etc.

Sparrow isnt even protected by the Pats anymore & nor should he have been.... I know Peel has talent but where do u find him ice especailly if they keep Bortsmayer around??

Do they send him to Junior A for this season (even tho he has the talent to play now) ? it wouldnt make sense at all to carry 8 Dman where ur top 5 will not be in & out of the line up.

Someone has to go between Bortsmayer/Peel/Burroughs & we all know it WONT be Burroughs. It also doesnt make sense to send Burroughs to play a year of midget as he is even more ready then Peel is.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

It wont kill Burroughs to play less than 50 games this year, and if he plays and impresses he will get more than that and knock a veteran down the depth chart a bit. Same applies to Peel, though I think he will establish himself as a regular by then.

I do feel that whatever happens, Zimbaluk gets reassigned somewhere, and also it would not be the worst thing in the world to keep the quality depth. We want a competitive team, and if it isnt broke, dont fix it.

[patsdude114]

Zimbulak will get reassigned no questions about it since we added another Dman to our roster. Just doesnt make alot of sense to carry 8 Dman is all... i guess time will tell what happens between Bortsmayer/Peel/Burroughs

Also on a side note Weal's iron man streak of 172 consecutive games was broke on Friday nite when he was a healthy scratch (from what i heard was due to him missing a team meeting) prob bites him in the ass alittle bit knowing why he was scratched if this is the truth or not.

[RWAH]

We have 9 d-men on the rooster and must get to 7 Any chance in trading one of the 19 or 20 year olds. If we keep all to the end of the season we will really be rebuilding our d next year. Or would this happen closer to the deadline. I think we need another 17 or 18 that can play in our top 5 d-men.

[patsdude114]

Well we have two 18yr olds in the mix with Bortsmayer & Zimbulak both are big bodies. Zimbulak brings some toughness which Bortsmayer so far has looked very solid from what i have seen (& that takes alot for me to say) I really like our D on paper & on the ice but im not sure if Lang planned it this way to have an older D with not much experience coming back next year.

I get that we want to be a solid team & make the playoffs as both the players & the fans all deserve this. But what does Lang do with the log jam on D now? its a great thing to have dont get me wrong. With Peel/Bortsmayer/Zimbulak i think would be the main guys you could/would move, with Peel having the most value. Or do u send Zimbulak & Peel/Bortsmayer to Junior A for some more seasoning & them both having a roster spot next season. I really dont think u will see Burroughs being sent to midget, he is here to stay til his WHL career is done.

Or do u swap euros & trade Blidstrand for a forward euro to make way for our younger Dmen to get ice time. Every team can always use help with some goal support. We already have a log jam at forward too with a few veterns on the bubble, who i think are Jung/Olstad/Ouellette/Martell (also Hunt who i believe will be sent back to midget cuz there isnt no ice for him).

If Lang moves Blidstrand for a euro forward, then out of those names listed above Lang would have to move 2 forsure (maybe 3) just to make room for another euro. Lang & Conacher have some decisions to make, also do we fill that last 20yr old spot or just go with 2. I think the sooner we make this decision the better off the team will be, dont think u want this problem of not enough ice to hang around too long or ull start to see some unhappy players.

[lordstanley]

I was just looking at a few rosters and by surprise you guys seem to be one of the oldest teams in the league with 10 19 year olds with the extra 20 you may add that may bump you up to top 5 oldest in the WHL wow, the Blades only have 3 19 year olds who's the real rebuilding team here lol.

[RWAH]

I didn't say it very well but I think we need one of our top 5 D men to be in the 17 or 18 age group. We also need to reduce the rooster by at least 1 or possible 2 D men. I agree Burroughs is here for the season. So Pat and Chad have some decisions to make. Do you think it could work out to trade one of the 19 or 20 year old D men, move Borstmeyer or Zimbaluk into the top five as they are improving and we will have less turnover in the D next year.
If we get a forward it moves the problem to the front end.
What great problems to have, its been years since the Pats have had too much talent.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

If you ask me, there is no real rush to get the youth regular ice time. Lang has been all about establishing a winning culture, and if we remain consistent, then frankly I dont see much reason to move anybody until we have to.

Regardless what happens, the pats will be doing something at the deadline so we dont look unprepared for the departures next year. Too many 19 year olds who wont be back next year and are taking ice that could be better used for the young guys.

[witness]

I agree with SAJ. The first couple of months is a learning curve with the younger guys. Being away from home, juggling school and hockey, etc.

I would assume that Hunt will stay with the team. This is the age group that they are trying to build on. I think that the Pats will wait until the overage cut down to see if Mitchell will be back or if their is someone caught in the numbers game that would help the Pats out.

I fully expect the Pats to reassign Zimulak on the weekend. It looks like they are committed to Borstmayer and will let him play himself on (or off) the team.

There are several senerios that need to work themselves out. But, I say that the Pats are positioned quite well. There are teams that will be looking for some forward depth (SC and PA), teams that are looking to upgrade their backend (PG, Calgary and Saskatoon), and teams that will be looking for a blockbuster for the playoff push (Edmonton and Portland).