A.J. Thelen is back!

[Five Hole]

A.J. Thelen is back according to Raider's site.
now we got 4 20's ... who goes?
Also need to lose a Dman?
After yesterday, I'm having a tough time saying let Deckert go... but if not him, who??? Simpson? Not likely they're gonna send the captain, Hellyer, packing.
We really need to keep some young D like Vann and Tendler to develop for next year, too.
Should be interesting to see what the next moves are.

[Five Hole]

Just saw that there's already an A.J. thread ahead of this one...sorry, about that!

[Drop em' eh]

Well Five Hole, let's use your thread for further discussion

well that is good news to shore up the defense, but then it also creates another situation with 20 year olds, and developing young defencmen for the future. I agree with you that we need to keep vann and tendler to develop for next year, should probably keep malone too, but......

as for 20 year olds, who do you choose, probably simpson or deckert, tuff choice, I think we need deckert more than we need simpson and i don't think they would let our captain go.

thoughts anyone........

[Five Hole]

It is good to have the experienced D... but if they keep the 2 20's (Thelen and Simpson) and you also have Gauthier , May, and Palazzo... those 5 are going to get the lion's share of ice time in close games and special teams if we dress 7 D, and if they only go with 6 D every game, then Vann or Tendler's going to be in the stands a lot of nights... and what good is that for next year, when good chance either Gauthier or May (or both) may not be back as 20's.... decisions, decisions.... could be a trade in the wind or maybe Simpson is the odd man out as a 20? Be a shame, cause I think he looks good out there..

[Wildeyes]

trade A.J. we could get alot more for him then anyone else, AJ didnt really impress me last yr anyways, keep the young D we have right now cause next yr may and gautie are 20 yr olds.

[westbeach55]

trade A.J. we could get alot more for him then anyone else, AJ didnt really impress me last yr anyways, keep the young D we have right now cause next yr may and gautie are 20 yr olds.


have to agree with wildeyes trade AJ only one player we might get a good return on, keep decks till deadline and you can see what team is struggling for goalie and trade him too at this time, get rid of dowhay if we need to get down on numbers.

I guess the only other way is simpson gone and thelan in ???

where has canadian eh been?

[westbeach55]

i think thelan is abit over rated I want to see how does this year, he a year under is belt now

[Dwight Schrute]

i say trade him to everett
they need a puck moving d-man
they have room for an overage spot
they have good young players too.
id also keep him too though
but if he can net a good return for the team maybe its best for the club's future

[westbeach55]

it all depends what we can get for thelan if were going to trade him, we don't need to get a bag of pucks in return if we keep thelan let simpson go. I like our chances of making the playoffs with decks in net and if we keep thelan if were going that route but if were not we need to trade for future

[FELIX17]

Having Thelen on this team will not only help this year but in the future. PA is lacking a natural point man on the pp. I understand he will be taking minutes from the rest of the d-core but in the end he will help this team in the future. With the new rules, a teams power play will be huge this year. A guy like Tendler can learn a great deal with having Thelen around for the year. I still think one of O'Briens biggest steals of a draft is Blaine Tendler. I've been extremely impressed with his play so far and having Thelen in the lineup will only make Tendler a better player down the road. At the start of last year, I wondered what Minnesota saw in Thelen in drafting him 12th overall, but as the season progressed, I became a huge favourite of Thelen's play. PA has lucked out in receiving one of the premier defenceman in the league this year. IMO, trading him would be a big mistake, unless of course a team is willing to give up what he is worth. But as we all know, 20 year olds don't seem to fetch a return for what they are worth, especially an elite 20 year old like Thelen. Cole Simpson has played well in the games he has played. Great pickup from MJ. IMO, Hellyer has been awesome. He looks like a different player out there. He's shooting the puck a lot more. Deckert against M.H. was unbelievable. Deckert needs to stay, no question. It will be an extremely hard decision for Clark/Anholt in figuring out the three 20 year olds on this team. I'm very excited about Thelen coming back to PA and I am excited about the future of this franchise with the effort that has been shown from the young guys. I'm looking forward to Wednesday's game against Brandon.

[westbeach55]

I would keep decks, thelan and hellyer as our 20's. I have to admit i wasn't a huge hellyer fan but he has proved me wrong so far. I thought simpson was awfull against red deer but then most of the team was. I'm thinking we could get rid of simpson as much as I like him (tough choice to let anyone go) If we have to get down in numbers I wouldn't be afraid to let go dowhay and malone. Palazzo better step it up he has been brutal but he is still young. I've been most impressed with Cody Vann (Hits all the time and can drop the mitts when needed) and bryce lamb as been amazing. Riel thomson has also plays steady back on D. I can't wait to see the game wednesday.

[Sabes]

I would keep decks, thelan and hellyer as our 20's. I have to admit i wasn't a huge hellyer fan but he has proved me wrong so far. I thought simpson was awfull against red deer but then most of the team was. I'm thinking we could get rid of simpson as much as I like him (tough choice to let anyone go) If we have to get down in numbers I wouldn't be afraid to let go dowhay and malone. Palazzo better step it up he has been brutal but he is still young. I've been most impressed with Cody Vann (Hits all the time and can drop the mitts when needed) and bryce lamb as been amazing. Riel thomson has also plays steady back on D. I can't wait to see the game wednesday.

I agree with Malone and Simpson being let go but Dowhay? When he was in the lineup he plays tons on the penalty kill, also he has been the only forward that hasn't been afraid to throw a hit.

[westbeach55]

jarred has been alright, great on the penalty kill and in the neutral zone .but either anholt isnt using him right or he hasent had any nose for the net and as the only 19 year old foreward we expect him to be one of the leading scorers.

don't get me wrong but I like dowhay but if we need to reduce players and let the younger players play i would cut him over a younger player

[Raiderfan8]

Give Thelen to Vancouver and try bring back James Knight our way!

[Dwight Schrute]

jarred has been alright, great on the penalty kill and in the neutral zone .but either anholt isnt using him right or he hasent had any nose for the net and as the only 19 year old foreward we expect him to be one of the leading scorers.
i think dowhay is great on the power play and can hit good for a guy his size. he also forechecks really well. i wish i could see him get some powerplay time. he is almost a perfect description of being under used. he piled up points in midget. i think if he got a chance he could suprise many.

[westbeach55]

ok now lets not get carried away no i don't think he is a chris phillips but i mean the guy was drafted in the first round 12th overall i think he could have had a better year last year he got off to a slow start but picked it up at the end. I still think we trade Aj or drop simpson thelan now that he has a year in dub im interested to see how he does this year

[Tidball]

Yeah with AJ Thelan back you guys will have a much better chance at playoffs. IMO he will be the Raiders MVP this season.

[Doogie_T-BirdsFan]

i think dowhay is great on the power play and can hit good for a guy his size. he also forechecks really well. i wish i could see him get some powerplay time. he is almost a perfect description of being under used. he piled up points in midget. i think if he got a chance he could suprise many.

Only reason he piled up points with mintos is cause he was out there every other shift and played every powerplay. even a tom thumb can put points up if you leave him on the ice on enough.

[Sabes]

Thelen isn't dressed today against Regina. Maybe a trade?

[Raiderfan8]

Well i sure hope something is going on because I think he way better for the club then Simpson in the line up! Wait and see I guess. They might just be putting some presure on Deckert to play good by keeping Simpson in the line up because its going to be one of them going I would think.

[Dwight Schrute]

Thelen isn't dressed today against Regina. Maybe a trade?
well its good to see palazo and dowhay get back in the line up. tradeing thelen could net a good return that would help the club in the future

[Zookeeper]

Post game show, they said Thelen hurt his knee in the last game. Not sure how bad it is or when he will return.

[Dwight Schrute]

Post game show, they said Thelen hurt his knee in the last game. Not sure how bad it is or when he will return.
hopefully its not too bad and he can get back into the lineup soon

[Zookeeper]

hopefully its not too bad and he can get back into the lineup soon

Bad news, on the Raider's web site (October 10 game notes), it states Thelen is out 4 to 6 weeks with a knee injury.

[Five Hole]

If A.J. is out 4 - 6 weeks, how does that play into the decision as to which 20 year old to move. Is anybody going to take A.J. knowing he's injured when the deadline for 20 year olds is only a few days away? What would Clark get for him right now? And, if he's injured for a month, they're not likely to make Simpson the odd man out. (Mind you, that would give the younger D some playing time.) And, Simpson got 2 goals in the first period tonight.So, could be Deckert? He's playing well, but so have Aime and Esau. What do you figure? I say move Simpson, but I think it's going to be Deckert. Still, a tough decision...

[westbeach55]

good win by raiders tonight. two out of three games on road not to bad at all. I just watched the raider highlights on global saskatoon ( I guess what you expect watching pa highlight on a saskatoon station) they showed one raider goal and the rest of the clips were moose jaws goals and missed oppurtunities and then the guy comes on and the raiders goals were all on the power play and they won 5-3

[hockey24_7]

Only reason he piled up points with mintos is cause he was out there every other shift and played every powerplay. even a tom thumb can put points up if you leave him on the ice on enough.
you don't think that's how Robertson or any other AAA player got their points. I don't think any player can get points by sitting on the bench or in the stands.

[Raiderfan_19A]

Everyone still glad to see Deckert go now that we lost Thelen to injury?

I am...but would like a 20 year old replacement...if possible.

[Five Hole]

The decision to let Deckert go was made about 10 days after Thelen got injured. I'm not exactly sure what his return date is... I think I heard he might be back for this weekend's games.
Anyone know more?