2020- Pats New Year Thoughts

[sandman]

Ive said getting a top quality 02 player was the priority instead of more vague futures. And i like this return. This is Josh brook’s brother. Dman from mj who went pro. I wouldn’t be surprised if they play somewhat similar, which means good things to come since he will be given every chance here.

Also, people need to realize the markets are down this year; a few seasons ago Josh Anderson goes for two firsts and now cole fonstad doesnt even get one first. Unfortunately we arent going to get even value back with hebig type trades coming back. Thats mostly on the fluctuation of trade markets, and with a frugal memorial cup host team gm in the spotlight, we likely will have to make due. Relative to value, this trade is in step with most other deals.

I bet more vets are moved to make room for brook in the top 6/middle 6, and open up ice time on the wing. I expect holmes to move next, pending interest. Maybe even denomie if the right offer is there

I think the Pats fans will be happy with Brook, I know I'm not happy we moved him. For some reason Habby really limited his ice time while giving lesser players more. He has really good speed, plays 100% effort.

[Reider]

Trading Tyson Feist for a 4th in 2020 is a nice return, but I was hoping for another pick in a later year as well, as he's still a 2.5 year player. As of right now, I will say that it was a decent to good trade, although I reserve the right to change my mind later. The Pats needed more 2020 draft picks and I"m glad it was Feist that was moved instead of someone like Ryker Evans. If the Pats would have flipped Evans for a 4th, I would have been livid as I think Ryker potentially has a much higher ceiling than to let him go for something like that.

Trading Max Paddock for Jakob Brook, a 2nd in 2020 and a cond. 3rd in 2022 is a fairly solid return as well. I won't call it a grand slam as the Pats didn't get a 1st round pick in return for him, which I was hoping for, but with the 2020 picks being coveted around the league as it's supposed to be a deep draft year, the 2nd round pick in return is solid. The Pats should be able to get a good player with that pick. Jakob Brook is in his 17 year old season, he's a 2nd round bantam draft pick with good size and speed, hopefully he develops into a highly productive player on the Pats. He's a 2.5-3.5 year player, so hopefully the Pats can get a lot of good mileage out of him. The cond. 3rd in 2022 is icing on the cake and the Pats should be able to get a good player with that pick as well. Once again, I wouldn't call this trade a grand slam, but perhaps a 2 or 3 run home run.

I wasn't fond of the Pats trading Dean McNabb for a 7th round pick in 2021 before the season started and I"m not fond of that trade now as McNabb is a capable goaltender and I think he'd be more valuable to the Pats than a 7th round draft pick. Everyone knew that the Pats trading Max Paddock at the deadline was a very good possibility. It might be a tough 18 months if the Pats do not have a capable goaltender. Speaking of Dean McNabb, does anyone know where he is? He isn't on Winnipeg's roster and he's not on the weekly injury report either.

[dsquared]

Pats7 asked the question:

does that mean we have 2-3 more years of watching that.

I have said before that the rebuild following the 2001 Memorial Cup took 5-6 years. I see it taking just as long after the 2018 Memorial Cup - especially with us taking what I consider as high risk US prospects.

Also nobody has mentioned it yet - but according Greg Harder at the LP: "Brook, who was selected by P.A. in the second round (40th overall) of the 2017 bantam draft, is currently out with a knee injury but he’s expected to be back before the end of the regular season."

So I See the Pats reclaiming the last spot in the league by the end of the season.

[chopper]

I wonder what everyone thinks of the trades. I'm guessing some are unhappy with the trades/returns/etc, while some are perhaps quite happy. I seem to find myself somewhere in the middle. I thought that we should have got a bit more foe Feist who is potentially a 2.5 year player. Not the most skilled but brings grit and reliability. We got a 4th in the 2020 draft from Kelowna, but then turned around and handed them a 6 and 8th in the 2020 Draft for a prospect (playing in Tier 2). It's like WOW! JP must think he's going to be a heck of a player! Que Sera Sera!!

Based on JP's presser it sounded like there may have been some 1st round picks on the table for Max, but he was quite adamant that he wanted a good player right now in the 02 age group. He got Brook and seemed happy with the rest of the return. After listening to what he said it appeared to make sense overall. It's a bit amusing that two key pieces we got back are both out with injuries. They say Brook may be back before the end of the season. Carrier should be back sooner than that I surmise.

The key to the Kolle deal is obviously Souza and his likelihood of reporting. I know he plays with Easton Armstrong in LA but based on the Sedov/Gushin connection, a person has to wonder how much weight that really carries. Is Armstrong even good enough to make the team??. I think the best way for me to describe the trades/returns is acceptable.

I have the away package and watched most of last nights game. Overall we were pretty bad. For two periods we wouldn't skate, forecheck, backcheck, take the body..nothing. They had a 4-0 lead after two periods. In the 2nd they even took a 5 minute major and later on that play also took a minor. We even had a long 5on3 but did nothing. When we came out in the 3rd we seemed to be on fire. We got it to 5-4 in the end. The one goal we gave them in the 3rd which was the winner was a shorty. The slow starts and bad play was reminiscent of our October play. We should be on a different trajectory. They know they can't win playing a 20 minute game. Struch has to do a better job IMO of getting them ready to go each and every game. I though for the most part Buskey was pretty solid (maybe one goal he'd like back). Real good in the 1st. He's clearly not Max but pretty solid I thought. They will need to bare down and be patient/responsible if they hope to have a chance against Everett tonight.

[Reider]

The Pats needed to be sellers so that they could accumulate / replenish 2020 draft picks. The Pats did that and a little bit more, so from a big picture point of view, we need to give the Pats (John Paddock) credit for at least getting that right. As for the return, I thought the Pats could have gotten more on a few of the trades, but then again I thought if there was any player in the league that may be worth two first round draft picks it would be Brayden Tracey and Moose Jaw did not get two first round draft picks for him. I wanted to see the Pats get a first round draft pick for Max Paddock, but if JP was adamant about getting a good 17 year old player in return for him, then perhaps he took the deal with the 17 year old player instead of the one with the first round draft pick. If that's the case, then I can understand that line of thinking.

If we look at the 2020 bantam draft, the Pats will have an early first round pick, two 2nd round picks and three 4th round picks for a total of 6 picks in the first 4 rounds of an apparent deep draft. The Pats put themselves in position to be successful. Then there's the import draft, where the Pats will once again have another high pick.

In addition to the draft picks, the Pats acquired two (hopefully good) 17 year old forwards (Jakob Brook and Cole Carrier) and the rights to Ean Somoza. I like the fact that the Pats were able to acquire a couple of younger forwards and a prospect in addition to the draft picks.

I just hope that the Pats use their first 6 picks of the 2020 draft for good players who will sign and report instead of gambling on American's who will never sign with the Pats. And of course, I hope the Pats are able to draft and recruit a high end import with their import pick. That's 7 potential good players right there, before we even get to the 5th round of the bantam draft (yes, I"m aware that the import draft is a completely different draft, on a completely different day... just saying..). I think the Pats put themselves in a good position to significantly improve their roster this summer, now they just need to execute at the drafts. Hopefully they save their risky American picks for the later rounds of the draft. They can't afford to keep wasting high / mid round picks on players who will never sign and report. It's a recipe for disaster, not success.

[tommy_boy]

I just hope that the Pats use their first 6 picks of the 2020 draft for good players who will sign and report instead of gambling on American's who will never sign with the Pats. And of course, I hope the Pats are able to draft and recruit a high end import with their import pick. That's 7 potential good players right there, before we even get to the 5th round of the bantam draft (yes, I"m aware that the import draft is a completely different draft, on a completely different day... just saying..). I think the Pats put themselves in a good position to significantly improve their roster this summer, now they just need to execute at the drafts. Hopefully they save their risky American picks for the later rounds of the draft. They can't afford to keep wasting high / mid round picks on players who will never sign and report. It's a recipe for disaster, not success.

Will they still be drafting American players in the normal draft now that they have the 2 round American draft?

[Pats7]

As I stated on here, I wasn’t in favour of trading Max. My reasoning was mainly due to the fact that there was no suitable backup. I felt any deal would slow development and prevent developing a winning culture. Maybe John has a plan to bring in a goaltender that I know nothing about, but the current state of affairs has me worried. Buskey is logging minutes but he isn’t good, and won’t be part of the future with the team. I watched every game of the American road trip, Buskey is out of position so frequently. Phil Andrews mentioned a few times that Buskey was keeping them in it, I disagree. Players can’t possibly have faith in a goalie that has a .847 save percentage the last time I looked. Think about it, that is 3 goals for every 20 shots. His GAA is mid 4, which I realize is indicative of the team around him. Belluk is now healthy, he may as well get the majority of minutes although I don’t have much faith in him either. At least he may be part of the roster next year. As well as Kieper showed in the preseason, I really hope they are not putting everything on his shoulders next year. I liked the idea of having Max play the majority of the minutes with Kieper backing up and getting his shot the following year. Obviously management didn’t agree, let’s hope they can figure something out in net.

[tommy_boy]

As I stated on here, I wasn’t in favour of trading Max. My reasoning was mainly due to the fact that there was no suitable backup. I felt any deal would slow development and prevent developing a winning culture. Maybe John has a plan to bring in a goaltender that I know nothing about, but the current state of affairs has me worried. Buskey is logging minutes but he isn’t good, and won’t be part of the future with the team. I watched every game of the American road trip, Buskey is out of position so frequently. Phil Andrews mentioned a few times that Buskey was keeping them in it, I disagree. Players can’t possibly have faith in a goalie that has a .847 save percentage the last time I looked. Think about it, that is 3 goals for every 20 shots. His GAA is mid 4, which I realize is indicative of the team around him. Belluk is now healthy, he may as well get the majority of minutes although I don’t have much faith in him either. At least he may be part of the roster next year. As well as Kieper showed in the preseason, I really hope they are not putting everything on his shoulders next year. I liked the idea of having Max play the majority of the minutes with Kieper backing up and getting his shot the following year. Obviously management didn’t agree, let’s hope they can figure something out in net.

Maybe they will try and go import at goalie to give Kieper time to develop.

[dsquared]

Maybe they will try and go import at goalie to give Kieper time to develop.

They will need help at all positions. When it comes to the import draft. The Pats need to do their homework and KNOW with certainty that a player will come to Regina. They should pick the best available player meeting that criteria.

[chopper]

Hey fellow posters. I hope all is well. It's been pretty quiet on here but that's to be expected all things considered.

I'm sure some of us will post our views (post mortem) of this season once it ends. I'll be interested to read how the comments pan out.

There are a number of hi-lites/low-lites so far this season but I want to mention a few players who I think have taken great strides, considering the team their on. I will mention a few hi-lites IMO.

Drew Englot is turning into a horse. He started slow but seems to have really found his game/role on the team. He has a nose for the net and is scoring with regularity. He would have had more goals if not for the appendectomy he went through. He still has great shot at 15 goals and again if not for illness maybe it would have been more. IMO he's the best forward/rookie find we have had this season.

Zack Smith has also been very good especially when you consider he joined the team 20 or so games after the season began. I thinks he would be near 20 goals had he played for the entire season.

Ryker Evans is steadily becoming an exceptional D-man. I watched him at Notre Dame and seen he had the skills. It was just his size but now he has grown a lot, and looks to be hitting his stride. He should be a fabulous 19 year old next season. Good to see he has a bit of a mean streak in him.

A few guys had some growth but not to the extent of these three guys. There were a number of players who made little to no progression. Those comments can be tabled until season's end.

I simply don't think you can have two seasons like we've had and not look at the operations top to bottom. Status Quo doesn't seem appropriate. The organizations may require alterations/modifications in order to move forward and reach the levels we should be at. I guess time will tell.