Training Camp - thoughts and questions

[Raiderfan8]

Was nice to get out to the rink last night! The crowd wasnt to bad for a preseason game but they never did announce the actual attendance. Here are my thoughts on some of the players:

Mackenze Stewart - Didn't make many mistakes and used his big body in the corners. His skating really needs some work to keep up with the speed but I think he is making his point to stay.

Sawyer Lange - Was actually really solid on the back end and played with an offensive mindset , jumping up on the odd rush.

Matt Waseylenko - Very solid on the back end. Stay at home defenceman that played well.

Zach Hodder - Size is an issue on the back. I think he is more of a power play kinda guy as he is good with the puck. I think he will be the odd d man out.

Joey Santucci - Really played well to start the game. Banged, crashed and made things happen. Didn't see him to much in the third period. I don't think he stays when you have 3 solid 16 year olds who can do the same job.

Luke Mahura - Made a point he is here to stay. Very good on the penalty kill and provided some offence.

Chance Braid - Kept up his play from main camp! Going to be fun to watch. ( Does anyone know if this is his draft year? I notice a late birthday on him)

Reid Gardiner, Spencer Meyer and Tim Vanstone - All three were very good. Crashing and banging on providing offence everytime they hit the ice. Would love to see a 4th line of 16 year olds this year. Will have to wait and see.

Jesse Knowler - Didn't really notice him out there. Any one else ?????

Carson Perreaux - Played a good game. Would like to see him be more physical.

Matteo Gennaro- Had a great game for a 15 year old. Will be a pleasure to watch in the future. Would battle for a spot this year if he could stay.

Jonas Knutsen - Agree's with everyone else. No point in keeping a roster spot for a 19 year old euro that doesn't do a whole bunch. Seems he put on weight over summer .

Leon Draisaitl - Going to be the real deal this year. Very exciting to watch. One of those players that has the puck follow him around the ice!

Brendan Guhle - Solid. Will be a good 16 year old next year. Same as Gennaro, he did not look out of place.

Luke Siemens- Very good, has patience.

Rylan Parenteau - I'm sure he would like the last one back but played very well.

[Wapitikev]

...knutsen is a pure lazy dog of a hockey player and he would never ever play if it was my team!! He is BRUTAL!! never finishes a check and is useless, cut him loose!!

I cannot agree more strongly.

-Wapitikev

[Wapitikev]

Joey Santucci - Really played well to start the game. Banged, crashed and made things happen. Didn't see him to much in the third period. I don't think he stays when you have 3 solid 16 year olds who can do the same job.

Got hurt in the 2nd and was not 100% after that. Wouldn't be surprised if he sits tonight.

Too bad because he was playing really well before that.

-Wapitikev

[BillyBean]

I didn't really like the crowd turnout last night, particularly given the number of veterans in the line-up and the 1st game of Leon Draisaitl (German Gretzky). Hopefully that is not representative of whats to come this year.

The Raiders will keep 7 or 8 D-men this year. My question is who is/are the odd men out?

They have 10 D-men on their roster with Guhle automatically going home in the next week. That leaves 9.

The 20 yo Corbin is here to stay and he will be a leader and wear a letter on this team regardless of his level/quality of play.

The 3 19 yo (Ruopp, Wasylenko, and Hodder) create and overage problem for next year. Wasylenko played better than Hodder last night but Hodder has more WHL experience. One of these 2 has to go now in the pre-seasson, I think Hodder. It creates less hassle next year with overagers but please see thoughts below.

The 3 18 yo (Lange, Guenther, and Gwinner) create no problems for next year. Lange is here to stay - local kid, good player. Guenther and Gwinner both have WHL experience but PA traded for Gwinner. I believe that leaves Guenther as the odd man out.

The 2 17 yo (Morrisey, Stewart) create no problems for next year other than Morrisey most likely won't be back. Talent comparison b/w the 2 isn't even close.

Does the experience/level of play of either Hodder, Guenther, or Wasylenko mean better things for the Raiders throughout the year that they should stay instead of Stewart? Stewart play OK last night but I just get the sense that he would develop a lot more in Junior A or Midget AAA/AAAA. I've said it before - if he was 6' 185 lbs. we would not be even having this debate because he would be back in Alberta already.

Will any of the 97 or 96 list players have a steeper/faster development curve than Stewart this year? What happens if 3 or 4 of the 96,97's are better players in camp than Stewart next year. It's always easier to send him back to develop this year (they've already signed him so he's not going anywhere) and slowly bring him along than to keep him this year and have to cut him next camp which would really screw the kids hockey career.

I've seen too many kids rushed along way to soon - and at the end of the day it is the kid not the team that gets hurt.

I think either Hodder, Guenther, or Wasylenko (even though their play is sometime questionable) with their experience in the WHL or level of play are far more valuable to a team that is DESPARATE to make the playoffs this year than trying to experiment with a kid who has great potential but does not need to be brought on too soon. If Stewart, with no WHL or elite hockey experience, is just OK this year he will be there for sure next year after a year of development at the proper level where there will be no pressure to make the playoffs and coaches will have a ton of time to work with him.

Let's face it - no playoffs, no fans, no money = NO TEAM

What do people think?

[Wapitikev]

Jonas Knutsen - Agree's with everyone else. No point in keeping a roster spot for a 19 year old euro that doesn't do a whole bunch. Seems he put on weight over summer.

If he put on weight it was NOT the good kind. Unforgivable when he was handed the chance to be the second Euro and was told repeatedly (as all players were) to to be in shape when he reported to camp.

Cut his but and get Hlinka back...he can finish his checks and he even fights (just make sure the jersey is tied down this time Mike).

-Wapitikev

[Sttop]

I dont see any reason to bring in anyone even if Knutsen was released. If anything I would like to see Oscveski brought in for 4th line duty . Hes a kid with nothing but hustle.

[Wapitikev]

I didn't really like the crowd turnout last night, particularly given the number of veterans in the line-up and the 1st game of Leon Draisaitl (German Gretzky). Hopefully that is not representative of whats to come this year.

Nice to see another poster here who is just as long winded as I am.

Heh.

Attendance isn't much different than last year during the pre-season...and the team had the best attendance in over a decade during the regular season. When the season starts and Draisaitl is still scoring at over 1/game pace and the average score is 5-3 for the Raiders, people will fill the stands.

The Raiders will keep 7 or 8 D-men this year.

I'd be very surprised if they keep more than 7.

My question is who is/are the odd men out?

They have 10 D-men on their roster with Guhle automatically going home in the next week. That leaves 9.

The 20 yo Corbin is here to stay and he will be a leader and wear a letter on this team regardless of his level/quality of play.

True, unfortunately.

The 3 19 yo (Ruopp, Wasylenko, and Hodder) create and overage problem for next year. Wasylenko played better than Hodder last night but Hodder has more WHL experience. One of these 2 has to go now in the pre-seasson, I think Hodder. It creates less hassle next year with overagers but please see thoughts below.

Give me those kind of hassles, compared to the three do-nothings we had this year! You can trade GOOD 20yos.

Waseylenko benefited from not having to cover for Lange's gaffs...Hodder was stuck with Ghule who had a below average game in the third.

If Parenteau is the backup this year (which I'm hoping for), he will either be the starter next fall or will be traded for an 18 or 19yo starter that can be solid until McBride can steal the starter's role. Either way, we won't need to waste a 20yo spot on a goaltender. In addition, Knutsen and McNeill are the only 20s next fall...except Knutsen sucks and will likely not even be here (although Hlinka, his obvious replacement, is a '93 as well) and McNeill has a good chance of being in the AHL. It would be weird for us to have 3 20yo d-men but it could be an outside possibility. 2 would be more likely.

The 3 18 yo (Lange, Guenther, and Gwinner) create no problems for next year. Lange is here to stay - local kid, good player. Guenther and Gwinner both have WHL experience but PA traded for Gwinner. I believe that leaves Guenther as the odd man out.

Guenther is definitely on the bubble right now...he HAS to have a good pre-season to stay after a sub-standard camp. If not he will be demoted or traded.

The 2 17 yo (Morrisey, Stewart) create no problems for next year other than Morrisey most likely won't be back. Talent comparison b/w the 2 isn't even close.

Morrissey could easily be back, depending on who he is picked by. At this point Stewart is projecting to be a solid stay-at home d-man, if he's not demoted, which is still a definite possibility.

Does the experience/level of play of either Hodder, Guenther, or Wasylenko mean better things for the Raiders throughout the year that they should stay instead of Stewart? Stewart play OK last night but I just get the sense that he would develop a lot more in Junior A or Midget AAA/AAAA. I've said it before - if he was 6' 185 lbs. we would not be even having this debate because he would be back in Alberta already.

From an experience standpoint Hodder or Waseylenko (who is a stay-at-home defenseman with a lot of JHL experience) would be better to keep than Stewart this year...he is not the most experienced option (as you have pointed out).

In a year that is must -win for the coaches and the GM, experience will likely be the deciding factor, which is unfortunate because I believe it is the most talented kids that should make the team and then the coaches should do their job and coach them. Keeping the kids that will make the coach's jobs easiest at the beginning of the season but will result in a less talented team at playoff time (because the ones you kept have less overall talent than the younger ones you cut) is not the way to run a hockey club over the long term.

Will any of the 97 or 96 list players have a steeper/faster development curve than Stewart this year? What happens if 3 or 4 of the 96,97's are better players in camp than Stewart next year. It's always easier to send him back to develop this year (they've already signed him so he's not going anywhere) and slowly bring him along than to keep him this year and have to cut him next camp which would really screw the kids hockey career.

Before he got injured at camp, Burr looked better than Stewart and at least as good as Guhle. Hobbs is supposed to be good as well but was injured and could not attend camp. Boulton, who did not look good at camp will have another year to improve, hopefully playing alongside Guhle (they were teammates last year). Of the '96s Verall looks to be the best (he needs to get more muscle on that big frame though) Finnson needs to improve if he is going to make the jump next fall...Laquette has an even longer way to go (learning how to skate backwards would be a good start).

I've seen too many kids rushed along way to soon - and at the end of the day it is the kid not the team that gets hurt.

I think either Hodder, Guenther, or Wasylenko (even though their play is sometime questionable) with their experience in the WHL or level of play are far more valuable to a team that is DESPARATE to make the playoffs this year than trying to experiment with a kid who has great potential but does not need to be brought on too soon. If Stewart, with no WHL or elite hockey experience, is just OK this year he will be there for sure next year after a year of development at the proper level where there will be no pressure to make the playoffs and coaches will have a ton of time to work with him.

Let's face it - no playoffs, no fans, no money = NO TEAM

What do people think?

I think it is waaaay to early to be desperate about anything.

Making smart decisions will get us to the playoffs, not panic and melodrama.

Last year, it did not take playoffs to get fans...the team had the best attendance in over a decade, despite our awful record.

No franchise can make the playoffs every year and you cannot keep a franchise in any city if you need to make the playoffs every year to do so. You DO need to be able to break even by making the playoffs every second or third year.

At this point, with everybody projecting 4th-6th in the East, it is unlikely that the fate of 1 D-man will change that projection too much. Making the playoffs does not seem like a desperate problem.

After you add Corbin (who will make the team despite little defensive talent), Morrissey, Ruopp, Lange and Gwinner are talented enough to make the team.

That only leaves 2 of 7 spots.

Right now, Waseylenko and Hodder are showing as much talent as Stewart. Guenther is not looking good enough (he better wow us in the pre-season).

Since Hodder and Waseylenko have more experience than Stewart, the two spots are (currently) theirs to lose.

Lets see how the preseason plays out.

The game is starting on the radio, going to go and listen.

-Wapitikev

[Wapitikev]

I dont see any reason to bring in anyone even if Knutsen was released. If anything I would like to see Oscveski brought in for 4th line duty . Hes a kid with nothing but hustle.

I cannot agree more strongly.

-Wapitikev

[Wapitikev]

2-0 PA in just over 2 minutes...and the 2 worst vets at camp, Danyluk and McVeigh score the goals.

Hmmn.

-Wapitikev

[lordstanley]

waved off goal for the Blades and raiders 2 goals on there first 2 shots shaky goaltending for the Blades again