Thoughts on the Current Roster?

[Geddy Lee]

How do you feel about the roster now that several moves have been made? It seems to me that the last few games, since the exit of several soft 19 year old players, have been much more like 'Giants' hockey. By that I mean the intensity level has been high, and the effort level has been high. It's been much more like the aggresive forechecking we used to see a few years back. Still a lack of size up front though... and all our fights can't come from the back end. Very glad we're going with a younger team this year... it's about time.

[dondo]

I am much happier with the group right now. I would much rather see the young guys play now and be better prepared for future games/seasons. And to be honest, since shedding ourselves of ineffectual 19's the team have lifted their effort, game and commitment so far -- tomorrow night is the test though. the G's need some road wins.

Hay has to get over his goalie bias though and play Whistle more. I expect he'll get a start in PG, but I would like to see him getting 25+ starts so he's ready to take the reins if necessary next season.

[Giantsfan]

There's no way Jackson Whistle is going to get anywhere close to 25+ starts. Once Hay is happy with a goalie, he sticks with him. Sexsmith rarely sat & I think since Morrison is 20, he's gonna play almost every night. Hay has confidence in him & he's playing, I think, much better than anyone expected. In 07-08, Barnstable played only 14 games & in 06-07 Hay went mainly with Sexsmith while Slade & Neufeld played backup. In 05-06 Hay went mainly with Slade, while Sexsmith & Tartaglione split the backup time.

I'm not saying that Whistle doesn't deserve to play, but going on past history, Hay is going with the veteran. Back in 08-09, Jamie Tucker played the most of any backup since Hay arrived back in the fall of 2004, but still, Sexsmith played most of the games. Over the last couple seasons, Hay hasn't been happy with anyone of their goalies, & none have stepped up & taken the reins & ran. They've had spurts of good games, & spurts of bad. Finally, Hay & the fans, see a goalie they have confidence in, who can & has single handedly won them games.

As for the team now, well, I was one who was pretty vocal about moving out the dead weight, guys like Lamoureux, Teal Burns, Michael Burns & Connor Redmond. So I am very pleased with that but I still think the team is way too soft, up front especially, but the Giants seem to be playing more for each other & it's refreshing to see the younger players earn their icetime & get rewarded with some points. I have never been a Cain Franson fan, & I don't believe I ever will because I like guys who are gritty & aren't afraid to go into the corners & battle for pucks. He isn't one of them, but he has played some good shifts, & set up a few players with some nice stickhandling. Still, perimeter players like him, are a dime a dozen & I would like to see him moved sooner rather than later. I don't think it's going to happen but the Giants need, in a big way, some size with some weight on the forecheck. I wanna see some defensemen crushed, when the Giants attack, but Scott Bonner hasn't been able to acquire someone of that style in quite some time.

As for the defense, Kulak has been a nice surprise. He's the best on the team with a +12, & is about the only guy besides Manning, who can move the puck up ice quickly. I'm glad Hart is gone, because he was another guy who was just too soft, & the Giants have enough of those types already. McNaughton looks like he's playing with more confidence & I like the physical play he can & has brought to the team. I would like to see him play more physical, but I'm happy with where he's at so far. As for Wes, I'm not sure what's happened to his physical game? Most nights, he hasn't looked interested in playing aggressive, & hopefully he'll get back to what got him on the team to start with. I've always liked Fenske, hopefully, he's able to stay healthy this season. He's a solid defensive dman, nothing flashy, but reliable. Musil has been somewhat of a disappointment, not so much for his play, but he's not the dominant force I thought he would have been. Still, any team would be happy with him on the backend. Maybe my hopes for him were too high? He's the best all around defenseman they have, & I like that he's played more physical of late. He can be a punishing hitter if he decides to be.

That's a few of my thoughts of the current roster. Hopefully, the games against Victoria will be much more rough than they've been so far. I know Bonner's looking to get bigger up front & I expect another trade or two by Christmas. It looks more promising now than it did 3 weeks ago.