Pre-Season: Leafs @ sens - Sept. 19, 7:30pm - TSN, TSN 1050

[Redleaf]

I think Mason Raymond has outplayed them both for a spot on the team.

That being said, I imagine one of them still makes it as the 13th forward...

I heard somewhere that they were planning on only going with 12 forwards though.

 

[Redleaf]

If not for Colborne's one way contract, I'm sure it would have been a pretty easy decision to sign Raymond and send Joe back to the Marlies.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Maybe I'm not watching closely enough, but neither Ashton nor Colborne look to be making much of an impact.

For a couple of guys on the bubble, they're not playing like it.

I'm just not seeing what there is to like about Colborne.  Three years in a row of similar 40 point production in the AHL.  He's decent defensively but not amazing at it.  He has great size, but doesn't use it near enough.  I feel like if he was 5'11" that we wouldn't even be talking about him, let alone discussing a roster spot.

Well if Chara wasn't 6'9" he wouldn't be a great defenseman.

 

[Champ Kind]

Couple of thoughts / observations from last night:

- Morgan Rielly is special, though I don't think there's any reason to rush him.  Great vision, passing ability off the charts, and has the ability to accelerate at an elite level.
- Mason Raymond should be signed and will make a great addition as a versatile, speedy option anywhere in the Top 9.
- Jamie Devane's skating and on-ice vision are superior to the other fighters on the Toronto squad, but he doesn't seem like he's a very good fighter.  Which is neither here nor there, but I do think he'll make a good 4'th liner.
- Stuart Percy looked very ordinary and, in fact, overmatched at this level.
- Joe Colborne was unspectacular and in fact had a few terrible giveaways.  But his skating and overall mobility look much improved.  I still hope he gets a shot.
- Loving what Dave Bolland brings to the ice.  Gritty, pesty, and I get the sense he's got a real good hockey IQ

Finally, Drew McIntyre has looked great thus far and he's a wonderful aset to have on the Marlies, as a call-up option, and maybe as the eventual back-up after this year (I'm assuming one of Bernier or Reimer 'wins' the job and the other is traded).

 

[L K]

Maybe I'm not watching closely enough, but neither Ashton nor Colborne look to be making much of an impact.

For a couple of guys on the bubble, they're not playing like it.

I'm just not seeing what there is to like about Colborne.  Three years in a row of similar 40 point production in the AHL.  He's decent defensively but not amazing at it.  He has great size, but doesn't use it near enough.  I feel like if he was 5'11" that we wouldn't even be talking about him, let alone discussing a roster spot.

Well if Chara wasn't 6'9" he wouldn't be a great defenseman.

Very true, but he is actually a great defenseman.  Chara uses his size to be the defenseman that he is.  Fast guys will always cause him problems (especially as he slows with age) but he's a rock because he covers so much ground.

Colborne on the other hand has size to his advantage but rarely uses it.  He doesn't dominate the scoreboard offensively and he's just ok defensively.  Even with his size, Colborne is a debatable addition to the lineup.  That is where my concern lies.  His roster spot will come entirely on the basis of waiver liability and the potential that a big 6'5" center up the middle could become.  It has very little to do with his actual on ice performance, which to me, has been very mediocre in the opening stages of the preseason.  Given that he would be playing in a 4th line role, I'm just not sure that he's going to be this great addition to the roster.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Maybe I'm not watching closely enough, but neither Ashton nor Colborne look to be making much of an impact.

For a couple of guys on the bubble, they're not playing like it.

I'm just not seeing what there is to like about Colborne.  Three years in a row of similar 40 point production in the AHL.  He's decent defensively but not amazing at it.  He has great size, but doesn't use it near enough.  I feel like if he was 5'11" that we wouldn't even be talking about him, let alone discussing a roster spot.

Well if Chara wasn't 6'9" he wouldn't be a great defenseman.

Very true, but he is actually a great defenseman.  Chara uses his size to be the defenseman that he is.  Fast guys will always cause him problems (especially as he slows with age) but he's a rock because he covers so much ground.

Colborne on the other hand has size to his advantage but rarely uses it.  He doesn't dominate the scoreboard offensively and he's just ok defensively.  Even with his size, Colborne is a debatable addition to the lineup.  That is where my concern lies.  His roster spot will come entirely on the basis of waiver liability and the potential that a big 6'5" center up the middle could become.  It has very little to do with his actual on ice performance, which to me, has been very mediocre in the opening stages of the preseason.  Given that he would be playing in a 4th line role, I'm just not sure that he's going to be this great addition to the roster.

Other than an opportunity to take a shot at Chara, I was just pointing out the way that size does influence how a player is viewed.  Even Chara didn't really start to be viewed (or didn't develop) as more than a solid defensive defenseman until he was 24-25 years old.  Obviously Colborne likely won't become elite - but he has been a late bloomer his whole career, and it's not like he's been given a lot of NHL opportunity.  I don't put a ton of stock in pre-season results, and I haven't had a chance to watch him this pre-season anyways.  Once his wrist problems were behind him he seemed to produce at a pretty solid clip in the minors.

I see it almost like the way the Leafs handled Jiri Tlusty - a lot of people said they saw nothing in him, but I don't think he ever really was put in a position to succeed by the team after putting up PPG numbers in the AHL.  He played ~60 games for the Leafs in 07-08 but averaged 10:55 of ice time and many fans said he was a wasted pick.  He went to Carolina and was put in a better offensive role and has produced, last season at close to a 40-goal pace (not that I think he'd reach that in a full season).

At some point I think they need to put him in a position where he can play to his strengths.  I thought he looked good during last season's playoffs when he got a chance to play.

 

[Jalili]

I'm not sure that I'd call a guy drafted at 16th overall a late bloomer. I think this will likely be the year he either solidifies his spot with the team or moves on to a different organization.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I'm not sure that I'd call a guy drafted at 16th overall a late bloomer. I think this will likely be the year he either solidifies his spot with the team or moves on to a different organization.

When you're never drafted into junior hockey and you end up a 1st round pick, I'd call that being a late bloomer.

 

[Bonsixx]

Not sure if it'll be a deciding factor or not, but Bernier is a zillion times better than Reimer at handling the puck.

 

[Jalili]

I'm not sure that I'd call a guy drafted at 16th overall a late bloomer. I think this will likely be the year he either solidifies his spot with the team or moves on to a different organization.

When you're never drafted into junior hockey and you end up a 1st round pick, I'd call that being a late bloomer.

Maybe it's because I usually associate late bloomers as guys who went undrafted or were late picks. A guy like Bozak as an example.

 

[slapshot]

Maybe I'm not watching closely enough, but neither Ashton nor Colborne look to be making much of an impact.

For a couple of guys on the bubble, they're not playing like it.

I'm just not seeing what there is to like about Colborne.  Three years in a row of similar 40 point production in the AHL.  He's decent defensively but not amazing at it.  He has great size, but doesn't use it near enough.  I feel like if he was 5'11" that we wouldn't even be talking about him, let alone discussing a roster spot.

Unfortunately, unless his play turns around dramatically, I expect he'll be moved for another prospect, one that can be sent to the Marlies for seasoning. With only 4 exhibition games left, he's running out (or has already run out) of chances. Ashton has clearly outplayed him and would deserve sticking more the Joe.

 

[Redleaf]

Maybe I'm not watching closely enough, but neither Ashton nor Colborne look to be making much of an impact.

For a couple of guys on the bubble, they're not playing like it.

I'm just not seeing what there is to like about Colborne.  Three years in a row of similar 40 point production in the AHL.  He's decent defensively but not amazing at it.  He has great size, but doesn't use it near enough.  I feel like if he was 5'11" that we wouldn't even be talking about him, let alone discussing a roster spot.

Unfortunately, unless his play turns around dramatically, I expect he'll be moved for another prospect, one that can be sent to the Marlies for seasoning. With only 4 exhibition games left, he's running out (or has already run out) of chances. Ashton has clearly outplayed him and would deserve sticking more the Joe.

I agree. Sort of. Maybe he's just another case of a bigger kid that needs more time, but your right, he's not showing much right now, and probably gets delt.