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Thread: Defense and Goaltenders 14-15 - Halfway there

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    Red Deer, AB
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    Default Defense and Goaltenders 14-15 - Halfway there

    The Defense;

    Colton Bobyk (??) - Was impressed with him the few times I saw him as a member of the other team, but has just come back from a lengthy injury, so hopefully he will be able to pick up where he left off.

    Brett Cote (A+) - He is having a fantastic season so far, having held the team lead in points for big parts of the season. Great offensive instincts, and does alright in his own end as well. Will be interesting to see if the team hangs on to him this season, or moves him for assets next season, given all the additions to the blueline of late.

    Kolton Dixon (C-) - He is physical, and actually gets a lot of shots on net, however the shots never seem to go in. He isn't the smoothest skater, and has problems at times in his own end. Being 19 years old on this time isn't helping him either.

    Kayle Doetzel (A) - Still continues to play a solid defensive game, clearing the front of the net, playing tough on the boards, and playing big in front of the net. Decent skater for a bigger defenseman, and has a decent first pass, but struggled the few times he was put on on a power play unit.

    Haydn Fleury (C+) - After a tough start, he has improved his defensive game a bit, however he is struggling with the offensive part of his game. About 90% of his shots he takes this season are right into the defender's shin guards, and most of the rest aren't on goal. Currently he has one less point than rookie Austin Strand, and 22 less points than undrafted Brett Cote, and the same number of points as defensive defenseman Kayle Doetzel. This is a completely unacceptable point total for a player that as highly-touted as him.

    Mario Grman (C-) - Was seeing more action before the addition of Nogier, but I see him being in and out of the lineup now along with Dixon and Mahura, as the Rebels are still carrying ten defensemen. He does throw an exceptional number of big hits, and really gets under the opposition's skin, but makes a lot of mistakes and terrifying passes in his own end of the ice. When I saw that he was on CSB's 'Players to watch' list, I was really hoping for more out of him than he has shown so far.

    Josh Mahura (C+) - I think that the defensive side of his game is getting better, however he hasn't been able to cash in on the handful of glorious scoring chances that he has after sneaking in from the point. Will be interesting to see if they keep him on the roster with the addition of Nogier and Bobyk.

    Nelson Nogier (B+) - Been impressed with the few games I have seen, and he must have blocked 15 shots in the last game vs. the Oil Kings. Should be a big part of the Memorial Cup team next season.

    Austin Schmoorkoff (??) - Has played 1 game apparently in the two months he has been up with the team. Not exactly sure what their plan is for him, but he sure must be getting rusty sitting out all those games.

    Austin Strand (B-) - Has been getting in more and more different situations, including some time on the powerplay. Has a deceptively good shot, and has managed to put up 4 goals and 9 assists in the first half. Not too shabby for a 17 year old rookie that sees time against the other team's top lines from time to time.

    Goaltenders;

    Taz Burman (D-) - Has been in nine games so far, and looked ok in two of them, and like he had never played goal before in the other seven. I can't help but think that his development was ruined by bringing him in as a 16 year old behind Bartosak. A .862 save percentage is not good, and far behind what yet another of CSB's 'Players to watch' should be putting up numbers wise. He struggles to track the puck and has looked really rattled in those seven games. Not really sure what the Rebels can do now. If they reassign him, he probably doesn't return to Red Deer, and if they trade him, I can't help but think that they won't get very much for him now.

    Rylan Toth (B+) - When the season started, I forsaw Burman struggling as a relatively inexperienced netminder, and Toth struggling equally as much behind him as a backup. Here we are a few months later, and Toth has started most of the games, and actually not looked bad so far. He is poised, and positionally sound, and makes some big saves. However, like a lot of rookie goaltenders, he struggles with rebound control and has a tough time covering pucks that are bouncing around in his crease.

  2. #2

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    Not much to add. Given the addition of Sheen, I have a hard time believing Sutter is going to blow a hole in the team in the interim by trading Cote, unless he gets an offer he simply cannot refuse. I think Sutter's thinking about a deep playoff run this year; the moves he's made definitely don't lead me to believe he's taking this year lightly because they have the automatic bid next year. I could be wrong, but I'll be shocked if Cote is moved.

  3. #3

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    Strand benefitted a lot from playing With Cote, when he's not paired with Cote, he just doesn't have the same performance. Correct that trading Cote will blow a massive hole in this team the way it looks now, it will have to be a completely irresistable deal to justify moving him. Fleury seems to be chasing points , so we see him rushing the puck way more than making smart plays and distributing it to his forwards. He obviously feels the pressure to perform as I'm sure he is reminded of it more often than not. Shmoorkoff must be more baffled than anybody else about his role , or lack of it? Seems to be unfair to keep a player on the stands for that long. The same can be said about Burman, last season was a disaster for him and he should've been developing as a starter in jr A or Midget.He seems to be a very mature kid , handling the situation very well and might still surprise everybody. Last season the goalie sometimes expressed his disapproval of the way some of the young guys played in front of him by yelling pretty unpleasant things to them , at least this year with Toth and Burman there is none of that. That'll help with the atmosphere in the dressing room for sure!

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