Marlies Talk 14/15 | aka What's Nylander up to?
- Thread starter BlueWhiteBlood
- Start date
L K
Active member
Highlander said:
It was 11 games. He had 11 points in 11 games to start the lockout shortened season. So playing against rusty players he scored points in essentially preseason calibre games. When we are talking about him scoring 24 points in his remaining 124 games it isn't a matter of him "getting back to that level". It's that it was an absolutely fluke generated by circumstance and is not somnething that he is capable of doing consistently. He's a borderline NHLer with decent speed and a nice shot that works in the AHL where you have a little more time and space to get shots off. When defenders are better at closing in on Fratting he doesn't have the luxury of priming his shot in the same way.
Highlander
Active member
Man there is no love for Matty. I guess time will tell, they have nothing to lose by playing him next season anyhow, you can't ice a full rookie squad in any case
Kin
New member
Highlander said:
They won't. Kessel is likely gone and Lupul might be but that still leaves JVR and Komarov under contract on the wing and Panik as a RFA who's likely to come back. Ideally what they'll do with the remaining spots is either promote rookies or sign low cost UFA's who could, by virtue of them being proven NHL commodities, turn into assets at the deadline.
I caught a bit of the last period and a half of game 2.
First time really seeing Nylander, Leipsig, Brown etc. Quite positive initial viewing of those players. Was surprised to see Brown out their killing penalties, and Nylander playing the point on the power play. Great skills shown by both throughout what I saw. They really carried the play. Brown and Nylander aren't as small as I thought.
Carrick with a huge 5 on 3 Penalty kill when Brown took a defensive Delay of game penalty. Some potential potential there?
For a Detroit Red Wing club, there wasn't anything of interest in that lineup from what I saw. Pulkinnen, Mantha...not impressive.
Edit: I know...sample size...
First time really seeing Nylander, Leipsig, Brown etc. Quite positive initial viewing of those players. Was surprised to see Brown out their killing penalties, and Nylander playing the point on the power play. Great skills shown by both throughout what I saw. They really carried the play. Brown and Nylander aren't as small as I thought.
Carrick with a huge 5 on 3 Penalty kill when Brown took a defensive Delay of game penalty. Some potential potential there?
For a Detroit Red Wing club, there wasn't anything of interest in that lineup from what I saw. Pulkinnen, Mantha...not impressive.
Edit: I know...sample size...
herman
Well-known member
Nik the Trik said:
Some of those core trades will likely also yield salary dump players to offset the picks and prospects and those will be played to trade for assets as well. It sounds like a reasonable plan to flood the NHL team with project players with something to prove (salary dumps, cheap short-term UFAs) and have the developing core grow and succeed together in the AHL before coming up to the NHL together.
Kin
New member
herman said:
Good point on the trades returning other NHL calibre players but I still think it's important for the Leafs to let there be legitimate competition for some of the Marlies to make the leap next year. Not en masse, sure, but I really don't attach much to AHL success on a team basis or the idea that it's a better developmental league than the NHL.
bustaheims
Active member
Nik the Trik said:
Exactly. And, Frattin could very well be a part of the team next season, but it won't be because he's "found his mojo" or anything like that. It will be entirely because he's a cheap depth guy playing on a team that has no expectations of success. He's not going to be handed a top 6 role on Kadri's wing. He'll be a 3rd or 4th line guy. At this point, he is what he is - a great AHL goal scorer who doesn't have enough to his game to succeed at the NHL level in any kind of significant role for any significant length of time.
Right now, the team's focus needs to be stockpiling assets and clearing out the deadwood, and, unfortunately for him, Frattin falls firmly in the latter category.
Bullfrog
Active member
Highlander said:
Time has told.
He's 27 and very likely has no NHL career ahead of him except for as a call up or bottom-feeding team fill-in.
There's lots of love for him. I'm a fan, you're a fan, cw's a fan. I want him to succeed and I'm happy he's turned his life around. But he's just not good enough.
Highlander
Active member
I take all your points and admit a fondness for Frattin, wasn't he a Hobey Baker finalist?
As I said time will tell, would like this to be a Cinderella Story as this past year has been so brutal, worst I have seen in my long tenure.
Won't say any more on the subject, just let time play its games
As I said time will tell, would like this to be a Cinderella Story as this past year has been so brutal, worst I have seen in my long tenure.
Won't say any more on the subject, just let time play its games
herman
Well-known member
Nik the Trik said:
I don't think the AHL is the hands-down better development league, but until the toxicity in Toronto clears up, I'd like to shelter those up and coming players a bit more while we can afford to. Having them strive to play together in the top league would be icing on the cake.
I wouldn't be opposed to promoting one or two really deserving players to spur the others to drive harder for an NHL gig, but it'd have to be because that player took a job away from someone else, not just to conveniently plug a hole.
Speaking of Frattin: Can you imagine what a far sorrier state this franchise would be in if Frattin capitalized on that breakaway on Rask and clinched game 7? We'd be so boned by that one undeserved taste of 'success'.
Crucialness Key
New member
herman said:
I disagree, if we'd won that series then the offseason stat-booster subroutine would have used higher parameters, and today Frattin would be a perennial 30-goal NHLer with blazing speed
Kin
New member
herman said:
Sure, hence "legitimate competition".
And I've said this before but I think next year will be pretty unique in that we'll see less pressure on the Leafs than ever before. Accordingly, it'd be nice to see the Leafs use that opportunity to get the players who are ready for the NHL into the league because, as I said, I think that's the best place for elite young players to develop. If you're concerned about the "toxicity" or whatever, fine, but I don't think you can legitimately couch that in the idea that winning minor league games builds an all important espirit de corps or something.
herman said:
Assuming everything else happens the same? I don't think it would be much different.
bustaheims
Active member
herman said:
I'm not sure it would have been a huge difference, but there's a very real possibility that, if the Leafs beat the Bruins in that series, they feel less pressure to add the type of attributes they hoped Clarkson would bring.
Bullfrog said:
I'm real close to you there. As a college player, I do try to give them some extra slack in terms of time to develop because in Frattin's case, for example, he didn't attempt to make the league until he was 23. 27 is pretty darn late though - not many forwards make it at that late age.
If they gave him 15 mins per game with some PP ice time next season for a 20-30 game stretch with the likes of Kadri, for lack of anyone else who excited, I wouldn't complain nor would I be be shocked if he emerged and did ok in that role.
Maybe I'm a sucker who isn't quite ready to completely give up when I see him lighting the lamp like he has in the AHL.
Highlander
Active member
I didnt see to many Leafs this season stand in front of the goalie and be willing to take the slapshot the way he did in yesterdays game, two of the three goals were directly attributed to be willing to go where many do not go.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
Loov gets a 2 game suspension.