Giants Defense

[stinkman]

According to Steve Ewan on twitter the Giants have signed 19 Dman Carter Cochrane to a 3 game tryout. Obviously not happy with the current group. But why bring in another average 19 yr old that no other team wanted? Is management going to continue to bring in older average players to try and squeak into the playoffs just to hang onto their jobs? This team is not a playoff team so why not develop the younger players to their full potential instead of bringing in other teams castoffs? This team appears to have the Owner the coaching staff the scouting staff and the GM all pulling the rope in different directions. Each with their own interests put ahead of the greater good of the team. This is a recipe for disaster. Changes have to happen.

[dondo]

agreed -- another poor move - we have a very young D and D takes more time to develop -- the problem is that we should have been playing young D years ago, not after years of denial. Add that into the fact that not having one of their OA spots being a strong veteran D-man who can teach the kids right and you have a disaster in the making and we are seeing it.

Ty Ronning just tweeted that there are a lot of games left to play -- yeah.... riiiight... past the quarter pole and we keep making dumb moves to try to win, instead of getting rid of the behind the scenes chaff (somebody PLEASE tell me what the f*ck Ripplinger does? - what does he have on Toigo? 'Cause if you even loosely interpret his job title - he has been an unmitigated failure across the board - players leaving, players not developing, scouting is a disaster and in the room and player management behind the scenes is laughable, Pile on the obviously badly broken relationships with agents and he sucks at every single thing his title suggests) .... time for a real rebuild and not just waving a hanky at one. I for one am happy that Wapple is very average, maybe, just maybe it will wake up management and/or ownership that there are major problems not on the ice.

The joke of a season continues and what I said needed to happen at the end of last season - oh hey! - NEEDED TO HAPPEN and still needs to happen.

[Lucic]

With McKinstry out long term the team does need another defenseman. So it isn't really that surprising. Worst case scenario he doesn't stick around and he's gone after three games. No harm in that. I'd rather Bonner do that and give up another asset for a player that probably won't have enough of an impact to turn the team around. They lose nothing in this situation.

[MeszarosFan]

They lose nothing in this situation.

Except fans maybe? Obviously they don't count at all though.

[johnnyradiant]

Except fans maybe? Obviously they don't count at all though.

The fans have been of upmost importance to the team for several seasons now. So important that almost every game those that actually show up get counted twice and some even three times.

[vzone]

The fans have been of upmost importance to the team for several seasons now. So important that almost every game those that actually show up get counted twice and some even three times.

lol. nice one

[Lucic]

Except fans maybe? Obviously they don't count at all though.

Bringing in Cochrane is going to make the team lose fans? Come on. Obviously there are many issues with this team. Bringing in a 19 year old defenseman with some league experience to add some depth due to injuries isn't one of them. Would you rather Bonner give up more assets for another veteran defenseman with experience via trade and still see the team struggle and lose games? They really lose nothing in this particular scenario.

[dondo]

I didn't realize McKinstry was out for an extended period, but yeah it fills holes without a big impact. It feels like that's what we've been doing for years though - patching holes (poorly) instead of fixing the root issues.

[stinkman]

Original point was why fill spot with a 19 yr old that no other team wants when you can give that ice time to a younger player who has a chance to develop and be here for the next couple of years . Last game they filled that spot with Jones a 17 yr old who did fine and has a chance to develop for next yr if they keep him. A better option in my opinion than a recycled 19 yr old. Not a playoff team so it's time to get the younger players some experience

[Lucic]

Original point was why fill spot with a 19 yr old that no other team wants when you can give that ice time to a younger player who has a chance to develop and be here for the next couple of years . Last game they filled that spot with Jones a 17 yr old who did fine and has a chance to develop for next yr if they keep him. A better option in my opinion than a recycled 19 yr old. Not a playoff team so it's time to get the younger players some experience

It's a catch 22. The Giants don't have a good defense all around. So giving extra minutes to a young defenseman without much support and veteran leadership can be very deflating and crush confidence. Jones did look a little more comfortable against Spokane than he did at any other point this season. I thought he looked lost at the start of the year which is why he was sent down. I don't see the harm in bringing in a 19 year old to help out for the time being. Like I said worst case scenario he is gone after 3 games. The Giants don't lose anything. I'd rather do that than trade for another veteran with playoff experience and lose more picks or younger players in return. It's not worth it for a team going nowhere.