Giants Training Camp and Pre-Season Discussion

[Andrej_The_Giant]

May as well get back into this, we're two games into the pre-season thus far and the GMen are 1-0-1 after back-to-back games this weekend. Defeating Kelowna 4-2 on Saturday night and losing in OT to Kamloops on Sunday night.

Our next game is Saturday against Kelowna.

The Giants are currently carrying 29 players on their pre-season roster.

FORWARDS
Ty Ronning
Alec Baer
Dalton Sward
Scott Cooke
Cain Franson
Tristan Sieben
Marek Tvrdon
Thomas Foster
Tyler Benson
Luca Leone
Andreas Eder
Jesse Roach
Travis McEvoy
Jake McClelland
Jackson Houck
Brendan Holterus
Joel Hamilton
Carter Popoff

DEFENCEMEN
Shaun Dosanjh
Blake Orban
Tyler Morrison
Arvin Atwal
Reid Zalitach
Kole Bryks
Jake Kohlhauser
Mason Geertsen
Dalton Thrower

GOALTENDERS
Payton Lee
Ryan Kubic

[Priceisright]

Mmmm so how many are we allowed to carry? 23?

And do we have any players outside this list that may be back?

Thanks for the list.

[Andrej_The_Giant]

Mmmm so how many are we allowed to carry? 23?

And do we have any players outside this list that may be back?

Thanks for the list.

I'd assume we'd carry 22 (13 forwards, 7 D and 2 goaltenders) or 23 with 14 forwards depending on performance during the pre-season. I don't think that Ryan Kubic will stick as a 15 year old back-up and I haven't seen any information regarding Jared Rathjen's or Tyler Fuhr's status so we may acquire a goaltender at some point.

Jakob Stukel would no doubt be on the opening night roster had he not been injured so expect to see him back later in the year.

Dalton Thrower is probably headed to the Bulldogs which would suck, I'd love to see him stick around. We don't have enough size and toughness on our blueline for my liking, I'm keeping my fingers crossed on him.

Tyler Benson might stick around long enough to play in the home opener before returning the midget - hoping he gets into that game at the very least as a way to generate a bit more excitement for the season.

Pleasantly surprised to have Marek Tvrdon back as well. We could use the offence.

[Priceisright]

I thought Tvrdon was going to be playing in Det AHL team?

[Lucic]

Dalton Thrower is probably headed to the Bulldogs which would suck, I'd love to see him stick around. We don't have enough size and toughness on our blueline for my liking, I'm keeping my fingers crossed on him.

I'm not convinced he will. In fact I fully expect him to return to junior for his overage season. I mentioned that when the Giants first acquired him. Montreal is deep on defense and the Habs don't have to sign him until next spring so there is no rush to get him under contract. Furthermore he had a bit of an off season last year so it wouldn't be a stretch to suggest he could benefit from one more year in junior. I suppose anything is possible and he could really impress the Habs and earn a contract but I don't think that will happen.

I thought Tvrdon was going to be playing in Det AHL team?

Tvrdon is a harder situation to figure out. I don't think he's ready for pro as there are far too many holes in his all around game. Offensively he is easily ready for the AHL. But as we all know he is more or less useless without the puck to put it bluntly. Until he can figure out how to play in all three zones I'm not sure he will have success at the professional level (in North America anyway). That said he is under contract and if he can impress enough I'm sure he can contribute in Grand Rapids. Whether or not that is the best thing for his overall development is debatable. Obviously Detroit will have to make that call. As good as Tvrdon is, I wouldn't cry if he doesn't return. In fact I'll flat out say it, I'd rather keep the two younger euros we drafted this summer.

[Priceisright]

Tvrdon did seem quite lazy alot of nights. But where will we get offense it was bad enough last year with him, when in the line up.

Should be interesting to see if this yrs team can entertain. I didnt think they did that last year.

[Lucic]

Tvrdon did seem quite lazy alot of nights. But where will we get offense it was bad enough last year with him, when in the line up.

Keep in mind Tvrdon missed a large majority of the season. In fact he's missed more games due to injury than he's played in his junior career. That has to be a little concerning for Detroit (which is why I can see him being returned).

Having him around would absolutely help offensively but I think a majority of the offense will come from Franson, Houck, Hamilton and youngsters like Baer and Stukel (once he returns from injury). Who knows maybe Sward will finally start producing (although I'm not holding my breath) and maybe Foster shows signs of becoming a more dangerous player? Of course the two Europeans are wildcards at this point but I assume there is some offensive potential in both Eder and Osipov. Thrower will get plenty of points on the back end (assuming he returns). Speaking of Osipov hopefully he isn't injured for too long. I have yet to see him play. I was looking forward to watching him.

I guess it all depends on you expectations. I don't expect this team to be great. They will struggle but I don't think it'll be anything close to like it was last season.

[Priceisright]

Oh lots of injuries already? LoL , yikes.

[Lucic]

Stukel was injured a few weeks ago. His knee I believe. I think he will miss the first few months of the season. I just found out about Osipov on Saturday night. I believe it was his shoulder? Doesn't sound like he will out long. Hopefully he's ready to go in time for the regular season.

[Hockeyak]

What would be the team's options if Tverdon comes back and we then have 3 Euros around???