YYZ
Well-known member
I would guess you are right about Joshua. And in turn right about Blankenburg. Probably trying to free up a contract slot for him.
Preseason: Canadiens @ Leafs - Sept. 19th, 7:00pm - SN1
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
Bender
Well-known member
Just watched some highlights. McKenna looks like he's very smart on the puck - feels like he has high hockey IQ. Just needs time to gel with linemates and maybe be more aggressive getting to the inside. Is that fair?
L K
Well-known member
That's definitely going to be part of his development curve. I think there were a few plays where he had a great set up and his teammates weren't expecting the puck to get there. That will come with chemistry. Where he seemed to struggle a bit was when he was closed off and didn't have the space to evade the defender. That's going to take a season or two to develop
Missed most of the 1st period. I had both games on. Never tried that before. Can't say I would recommend it.
40% of the roster has changed along with the coaches. They've been together 48 hrs. So the chances of them playing well against a stronger team on paper who only added 1 player with no coaching change are probably slim.
It is going to take close to 20 games before we really know what we have.
On paper, before the game, my rough guess would be they're a bubble team with a number of factors that could swing that one way or the other.
Here are some impressions from what I saw:
Leafs NHL PP: 1 shot in 6 PPs obviously needs time and work. They looked lost. Raddysh's hard shot went in off breaking a stick & a Habs deflection. 2 for 4 in the other game - one by Marlies, one by NHLers
I had no big issues with the PK in either game
Nothing soft was given up by goalies in either game - in my opinion. Hlavaj made a great save in OT.
OEL - 2nd oldest Leafs dman - looked like OEL of last season - which is encouraging.
McCabe-Tanev seemed fine. No issues with what I saw of Raddysh.
I'm with Herman on Blankenburg v Stecher. Only 1 game but intriguing. Blankenburg played the most minutes of any Leaf in either game so the Leafs are sincerely interested. 8 blocked shots - not bad for a small, offensive puck mover. Played PK & PP.
I'm still not sure about Andrae.
Need to see more from all of them.
Matthews looked better than last season. I couldn't conclude he's Matthews of old - need to see more. Timing/rust/new lines/new system, etc was a factor, I'm sure.
McKenna demonstrated the skills folks touted when he was drafted. No question that he has top 6 skills. He seems a little green because he is. His size and strength and decision making obviously need some development/experience. I'm not sure about him on a line with Tavares & Nylander defensively.
Tavares showed some decent speed on a couple of plays - which is a relief to see at his age
Sissons was 90% on 10 faceoffs and a PP goal - saw too little of him and many others.
Cowan looked like Cowan of years past - big circles skating around in the o-zone and getting some chances
Lettieri looked like Calder Cup Lettieri - they gave him lots of ice time and PP time. He'll provide scoring depth if he clears waivers (which he's done many times)
40% of the roster has changed along with the coaches. They've been together 48 hrs. So the chances of them playing well against a stronger team on paper who only added 1 player with no coaching change are probably slim.
It is going to take close to 20 games before we really know what we have.
On paper, before the game, my rough guess would be they're a bubble team with a number of factors that could swing that one way or the other.
Here are some impressions from what I saw:
Leafs NHL PP: 1 shot in 6 PPs obviously needs time and work. They looked lost. Raddysh's hard shot went in off breaking a stick & a Habs deflection. 2 for 4 in the other game - one by Marlies, one by NHLers
I had no big issues with the PK in either game
Nothing soft was given up by goalies in either game - in my opinion. Hlavaj made a great save in OT.
OEL - 2nd oldest Leafs dman - looked like OEL of last season - which is encouraging.
McCabe-Tanev seemed fine. No issues with what I saw of Raddysh.
I'm with Herman on Blankenburg v Stecher. Only 1 game but intriguing. Blankenburg played the most minutes of any Leaf in either game so the Leafs are sincerely interested. 8 blocked shots - not bad for a small, offensive puck mover. Played PK & PP.
I'm still not sure about Andrae.
Need to see more from all of them.
Matthews looked better than last season. I couldn't conclude he's Matthews of old - need to see more. Timing/rust/new lines/new system, etc was a factor, I'm sure.
McKenna demonstrated the skills folks touted when he was drafted. No question that he has top 6 skills. He seems a little green because he is. His size and strength and decision making obviously need some development/experience. I'm not sure about him on a line with Tavares & Nylander defensively.
Tavares showed some decent speed on a couple of plays - which is a relief to see at his age
Sissons was 90% on 10 faceoffs and a PP goal - saw too little of him and many others.
Cowan looked like Cowan of years past - big circles skating around in the o-zone and getting some chances
Lettieri looked like Calder Cup Lettieri - they gave him lots of ice time and PP time. He'll provide scoring depth if he clears waivers (which he's done many times)
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