Zac Dalpe and Drayson Bowman: What's Next?
by Bob Wage on Oct 26, 2010 8:01 AM EDT
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The Carolina Hurricanes have finally completed the "mother of all road trips" and surprisingly, come back home with a winning record. There are plenty of early success stories, including the solid play of Cam Ward, the goal scoring of Eric Staal, (team high 3), the points put up by Jussi Jokinen, (tied for team high 6), the veracity and creativity of rookie Jeff Skinner, and the team leading plus/minus of Erik Cole, (+6).
But every team has it's unsung heroes as well and Carolina rookies, Zac Dalpe and Drayson Bowman have also contributed to the cause. While both players have yet to light the lamp, they each bring their own attributes to the game and have fared pretty well, considering they are rookies and they play limited minutes.
Another youngster, Jiri Tlusty is expected back in the lineup soon. Tlusty was assigned to Charlotte on October 12 for a two week conditioning stint. When he comes back to town, he most likely will bump one of those rookies from the fourth line.
So what happens next?
It's a complicated issue facing the coaching staff. First of all, team chemistry is excellent right now and it will be difficult for the coaches to change things up. But the Hurricanes traded away a first round draft pick, (Philippe Paradis), to acquire Tlusty and he is waiver eligible. They will not risk losing him by sending him back to Charlotte, so he's going nowhere.
While Dalpe and Bowman have each made positive contributions, their overall development must also be under consideration.
Dalpe is averaging a team low 7:05 of ice time per game and Bowman is next to last at 9:05. The Carolina brain trust is most likely wondering if either or both of those players might be better off in Charlotte, getting two or three times as much total ice time and also acquiring valuable experience playing in all situations, (powerplay, penalty kill, etc.). Neither player is waiver eligible and they can be sent down and brought back up as many times as the Canes want.
Keep in mind, the Hurricanes are not in the situation where they must make a roster move. After recently sending Brett Carson to the Checkers, they currently have 22 players on the active roster, (including Tlusty). They could keep all of these youngsters in town if they wanted to. But the team will need to healthy scratch two players and if Patrick O`Sullivan is one of the odd men out, who will be the other? Again if it's one of the rookies, they are not developing as efficiently as they could be if they are being healthy scratched.
Since Dalpe has the fewest minutes, my guess is that he will be reassigned soon. Although the former Ohio State Buckeye has not looked out of place on the ice against NHL talent. He also has great chemistry with the rest of the team and the coaches might not want to break that up.
What do you think will happen? What do you think should happen?
(Note: I had to be out of town for the past few days and was unable to tend to the blog. A big thank you to the Canes Country crew for keeping everything up to date in my absence.)
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My prediction is that both Dalpe and Bowman will go back to Charlotte to play the back-to-backs on the road (Binghamton) this weekend, getting top 6 minutes. The decision (announcement) will be made following the Wed night game when Mo sees how Tlusty looks. Tlusty must look great vs the Caps or he’s going to find himself on the healthy scratch list.
I’m remembering he made some awesome move vs the Caps in DC for his first game w/the Canes last season – broke out on a 2on1 for a goal, with Sutter maybe?
Then, after the Pittsburgh game Saturday night, they’ll look at the roster again and decide if more switching needs to be made when the Checkers return Monday. BTW, the Checkers have a big home game vs the Hershey Bears on Sunday Nov 7th (5pm). This, oddly enough, is simultaneous with the Canes playing in DC (vs the Bears parent team) also at 5pm on Sunday the 7th.
Twitter @HMof2
by Carolyn Christians on Oct 26, 2010 8:54 AM EDT reply actions
Dalpe and Bowman
I also think Dalpe and Bowman will be reassigned to Charlotte even though they have both shown they can play a solid game at the NHL level. They both have much more in their game than they have been able to show thus far; but given the limited minutes they had, they both did quite well. I think the Hurricanes organization is following the San Jose and Chicago model of giving young players limited minutes on their NHL teams and then sending them back to their AHL affiliate.
Oh god, I hope we don’t turn into a San Jose. Yeah they have regular season success, but they always come up short in the playoffs. I also hope we don’t follow the Chicago model too closely. I don’t want to wait until I’m 70 to win another Stanley Cup. :)
If Staal can play like he did in LA on a nightly basis, he will be the 100 point player we all expect him to be!
I really see no reason at all to keep a “spare” in Raleigh over the next stretch of schedule, with the minor team now being located nearby. It’s even located in a airport hub city. which facilitates joining the team on the road.
No way that Dalpe and Bowman are being groomed for fourth line duties. Both should, and I think will, be given some more minutes and bigger roles (special teams) in Charlotte.
If there’s a wild card move lurking, I would say it’s sending Patrick O’Sullivan through waivers and hanging onto maybe Bowman, who Mo loves.
However, the best development curve for Bowman, in my opinion, is giving him more minutes in the AHL and bringing him back when injuries or trades have reduced the ranks.
Here we are now...entertain us.
If there’s a wild card move lurking, I would say it’s sending Patrick O’Sullivan through waivers
I’m not saying this move is impossible, but it’s not something I would do if I were GM. O’Sullivan has played well (mind you I’ve had limited ability to watch him given my work schedule and the west coast games) and I think sending him down would send the wrong message. He’s got enough NHL experience that if is healthy scratched a couple of games it’s no detriment to the player. Not to mention given he’s affordable contract and his production so far he could easily be plucked off the waiver wire. The good news is that the teams that seem to be in the market for secondary scoring are in the larger markets (Toronto, Calgary) and may have some reservations picking up Patrick given his track record of playing in fish bowl markets.
Don't trust me. I have psychological issues.
It’s a high risk path, all right, although at the end of the day, what are you out of if someone claims him? A $600K LW on a roster that’s dripping LW’s right now and money to spend on an 18-yr-old rookie phenom that wasn’t in the budget numbers this summer.
Sullivan’s just an insurance policy, after all. At least some NHL experience to calm Mo’s pre-season nerves, although not the solid two-way player he loves. So, if Jeff Daniels, with a little help from Rod Brind’Amour and Ron Francis, could get that part of his game going in an environment where he could excel.
Well, then we might really have something.
Could be worth a whirl.
Here we are now...entertain us.
Sullivan’s stats aren’t something that would necessarily endear him to some hungry GM’s eye.
Five games played, with one goal, all right. But, he’s minus one, 2 PIM’s, and 27.3% on FO’s. Eleven shots on goal (9.1% shot percentage), for about a 2 per game average.
Yes, he’s got a nice affordable contract, so might be worth a fling in some GM’s eyes. But, they’d have to know him.
Here we are now...entertain us.
Come on now. You mean NHL GM’s wouldn’t be fawning over a POS on the waiver wire?
Seriously, I really have no idea whether POS would be picked up or not. He is cheap, but doesn’t really fit most teams 3rd or 4th line. So he would maybe be picked up by a team with some injury issues in their top 6, maybe Tampa (I see Gagne has missed the last 2 games).
If Staal can play like he did in LA on a nightly basis, he will be the 100 point player we all expect him to be!
Yeah, there’s a chance he’s gone if exposed, to be sure.
But only as an injury replacement on the fly, if so, as you note. He had his chance this summer around the league, and found few takers.
Couldn’t be that he chose us because he was sure to catch on here…not with our LW depth. Had to be because we were perhaps the only serious suitor.
I’m not calling this to happen. Just acknowledging that if Mo didn’t want to turn loose of Bowman or Dalpe, that there was an option that might even make some strategic sense.
Dwyer, I think everyone’s agreeing, is here for the foreseeable future.
Here we are now...entertain us.
O'Sully
I think that Dalpe and Bowman have played well but not better than O’Sully. In the Canucks game I thought he was the best cane on the ice. I thought he played well in SJ but looked out of it in LA. He needs consistancy. If the canes can get him gelling with Brandon Sutter he has potential to put up 50-60 points. Not bad for a 3rd liner. I would give him the ice time and see if he starts to find a place on this team. Otherwise send him packing. During this time the young guys get more developmental time with the checkers and make their mark next year.
I agree about O’sullivan, not sure what theyre thinking in regards to him beyond the “his healthy scratch status is not a result of his play” comment. Inserting him and letting Dalpe and/or Bowman fully develop in Charlotte seems obvious to me. This team lacks goal scorers and O’sullivan is a goal scorer moreso than Dalpe or Bowman at this point.
Well if I was behind the bench
I too would send the pair down to Charlotte. As Both O’Sullivan & Tlusty have proven they can do the job and ican’t see JR or Mo healthy scratching O’Sullivan if doesn’t have to. Now while i do agree Dalpe & Bowman do both offer alot, but more time on the ice via Charlotte would be best for them in the long haul…and i have seen Live & in person what Bowman can do ( when he was in the WHL) if and when he’s warmed up and ready to go…but even in Spokane, he was getting more mins. as hecdid with the Rats last year..he is stats went up and progress seen & appreciated..and on a side note…Zac Dalpe & I share the same birthday…just 42 years difference…hehehe…And Bob,glad to have ya back…at times them road trips do get to be a bit much huh ??
Everytime you write off the Hurricanes,
They make You Look Bad!!
other issues
The team is also going to have to address the FO issue soon. The fact of the matter is, no one on the roster right now is particularly skilled in that department, and our wins have come in spite of this problem. We need to find a cheap defensive center with FO skills, ala Mike Sillinger. Trading POS or Tlusty for such a player should be considered.
I’m actually been thinking about the same thing. The Canes need to acquire a reliable FaceOff man. What about Scott Nichol in San Jose? He’s on an expiring contract that only pays him $760K. He has also had better than 59% faceoff percentage in 3 of the past 4 years, with 54% the lowest during that time. He’s small, but pretty decent defensively and could play the 4th line.
If Staal can play like he did in LA on a nightly basis, he will be the 100 point player we all expect him to be!
If we were making a Playoff run, I think that would be an absolute necessity. I’d add a FO specialist (as you mention) and a top-4 hulking Defensive D. Maybe add a pending UFA top-6 Center/Winger from a selling team if it was looking like a serious Cup run.
We certainly have all the pieces to make these moves prior to the trading deadline, if necessary and deemed expedient.
But, I think we’re going to tough out the FO learning curve until we determine that no one’s teachable in this aspect of the game.
Too many forwards jockeying for ice time already to import a faceoff specialist…at least until it’s apparent that we’re playoff bound and no one’s capable of taking that all-important PK defensive zone draw.
The D I think we’ll fix on the fly, probably prior to the deadline.
Staal’s elusive winger we’re going to try to homegrow, it appears, although a deadline winger graft might be in order if we appear to have more of a team than we think we have right now.
Here we are now...entertain us.
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