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Thread: The Rebuild Begins...

  1. #41

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    There is a lot of promise on the Blades roster. I know it's hard to be patient with the process, but the Blades are rebuilding, so results like last night are expected. Amundrud, Higson, Reid, Hebig, Sloboshan, and Soshnin are all great pieces to build around. I know Nik wasn't great last night, but he's stolen a few games and it just wasn't his night. Martin was great coming in relief and it was nice to see some scrapiness from the Blades. A decent crowd despite the weather. Ukrainian night, regardless of it's success, was something different as well and may have drawn in some.

    For the Silvertips who are known to be great defensively, they sure have an awful penalty kill, but boy do they move the puck well on the PP. Staying on the Tips' side of things, Leslie will be a gem for them. Nice poise for the call-up.

    Just stay patient Blades fans. The process will be long, but it will be worth the ups and downs.

  2. #42

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    Regarding the Forsberg and Henry trades today, I like them both...a lot. I think Woods was able to get more than anyone expected for both players. I think credit needs to be given where due. Although I think the direction they go with their trades is sometimes wrong (I'm thinking about Ottenbreit and Martin here), the trade itself is always quite favorable for the Blades. I don't think anyone can say with any of Woods trades that the Blades got the short end of the stick in terms of the actual traded assets from his deals.

    I especially like the Forsberg deal. To me it signals that they understand next year is going to be a long season as well. I don't mind that, as long as the team is moving towards improvement. With what Brodsky and Molleken left the new management to work with, it may be a case of one step back to take two steps forward. I give them credit in the same way the Pats fans approve of their team's recent moves (sort of...lol), even though it was a much easier decision for the Blades in light of their record.

    And I look forward to seeing Sloboshan chew into Forsberg's ice time, in much the same way Soshnin benefited from Millete's departure. I've also got my fingers crossed for Higson and Reid to get some special teams experience now that Henry is out of the picture. Woods needs to stop bemoaning the Blades PK (watch the Martin trade video) and put Higson and Dixon out and watch the sparks fly. After all, if Dixon can't do what Schacher was expected to on the PK, he won't be around long.

  3. #43

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    I just watched all Dixon's fights from the past two seasons while having my nightly hot toddy. While he's 110% game, dear lord is he terrible. He lost every one, including a couple where he was wailing on the guy for the first ten seconds or so. He lost to Uhrich and Graham this season as well. Well, I'll give him a couple of points for effort I guess. Between those videos and what I've seen from his actual game play, he's going to be in tough to play here next year.

    I feel like such a negative person being a Blades fan...

  4. #44

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    Quote Originally Posted by EastDivFan View Post
    Regarding the Forsberg and Henry trades today, I like them both...a lot. I think Woods was able to get more than anyone expected for both players. I think credit needs to be given where due. Although I think the direction they go with their trades is sometimes wrong (I'm thinking about Ottenbreit and Martin here), the trade itself is always quite favorable for the Blades. I don't think anyone can say with any of Woods trades that the Blades got the short end of the stick in terms of the actual traded assets from his deals.

    I especially like the Forsberg deal. To me it signals that they understand next year is going to be a long season as well. I don't mind that, as long as the team is moving towards improvement. With what Brodsky and Molleken left the new management to work with, it may be a case of one step back to take two steps forward. I give them credit in the same way the Pats fans approve of their team's recent moves (sort of...lol), even though it was a much easier decision for the Blades in light of their record.

    And I look forward to seeing Sloboshan chew into Forsberg's ice time, in much the same way Soshnin benefited from Millete's departure. I've also got my fingers crossed for Higson and Reid to get some special teams experience now that Henry is out of the picture. Woods needs to stop bemoaning the Blades PK (watch the Martin trade video) and put Higson and Dixon out and watch the sparks fly. After all, if Dixon can't do what Schacher was expected to on the PK, he won't be around long.
    Was Dixon a pk guy in Red Deer? I know his fights don't look like much but at least he seems to have heart, guts, and a little mean streak. A lot of speculation for a player I don't remember watching play! Like you, I just watched a couple youtube scraps.

  5. #45

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    Well a lot has happened since the last post on this thread. When I saw the post on the other forum last Thursday that Coghlan and Welykolowa quit and Uhrich's brother was called up, I thought it was a lame attempt at goading Blades fans...wrong. It's getting hard to tell whether there is incompetence in management, or these are the necessary evils of a tough rebuild. My father-in-law thirty years ago informed me in no uncertain terms that you don't get to quit on your home team when the going gets tough. So I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Especially since I figured this year and next were write offs long before the Blades tried to set the record for trades in a season this year. Nonetheless, here are my thoughts on the most recent deals.

    1) '96 Brycen Martin & 2017 5th rounder (conditional) for '96 Jordan Thomson and 2016 1st rounder. Before I give my 2 cents, it's worth pointing out that there was speculation that something was up with Thomson. I'm not sure Martin should be worth a first rounder alone, never mind with Thomson thrown in. But the Blades are in dire straights next season, especially with the departure of Coghlan (who would have been my pick out of himself, Schacher, and Dixon for next season as a 20). On the bright side in this deal, it does plug a gaping hole in the roster and the organization has already acknowledged that they will use Martin to recoup the pick at the trade deadline next season if (I say "when") they aren't doing well. For Martin, it provides an opportunity to prove that he can play in his own end. This was the concern that caused him to drop to the third round of the NHL draft. He'll play first line everything to a fault in the next year with the Blades. So it's sink or swim time for his NHL future.

    2) '96 Mitch Skapski & 2015 5th rounder for 2016 5th rounder. Just the fact that they are bumping a draft pick up a season makes this deal a winner. The Blades need to get talent back into this organization as soon as they can. While I'd rather have seen his brother Marshall coming our way, if Mitch's effort stays consistent with what was seen on the weekend he could be the icing on the cake in this deal.

    3) '97 Brayden Uhrich listed. I don't know what to say about this. That the Blades can add a midget house player to their forward ranks and not have him stick out like a sore thumb pretty much says enough. I would have been disappointed had the coaches gone the other way with their game time decision between Brayden and Gingras in Kootenay.

    4) Departure of '95 Coghlan and '96 Welykholowa. It's odd to hear that Coghlan would ask to be traded when he was playing on the top line with Henry, especially given his tenuous position as a major junior player to begin with. Maybe they were playing him more to try to get him to stay. At any rate, they can both be replaced without terrible difficulty. I'm more concerned personally with what it may say about the organization. The Blades could be turning into the next Lethbridge, which would make a timely rebuild very difficult. There's little point having all these first and second round draft picks if none of them will come here. We're already struggling to get our 99's (Paterson and Capstick) to sign.

    Well, that's about it. I hate being negative, so I think I may just sit back and see what the team can do the rest of the season now that the roster is finalized.

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