Checkers v Wolfpack

by The Gottfather on Oct 9, 2010 10:31 PM EDT

Was at the Checkers game tonight in Hartford, CT. Can't say I was too impressed with a good deal of the players. Rodney couldn't hit a stick with his passes and cost the team a few solid opportunities with some slow footwork. Boychuck tried to get too cute way too much and may have attempted one check the whole evening. Jerome Samson looked like a classic AHL scorer - stickhandling too much and trying to shoot at inadvisable times.Nick Dodge did nothing for me. He shied away from hitting and made some very poor passes.

On the positive side, I liked the way Jordan played. He made a couple of questionable plays, but tried to throw his body around and was no afraid to jump up in the play. Riley Nash seemed solid. He won his fair share of faceoffs and seemed to be pretty well positioned most of the night. I was a pretty big fan of Osala. He was the one forward on the team who really played big and used his body. He worked well along the boards and in the corner, whil trying to set up his linemates. Also, on Matsumoto's goal, it was Osala tying up two Wolfpack players in front to create the lane down the middle. Outside of the third goal, Murphy played a good game. He made a few acrobatic saves and seemed very well positioned.

Anyway, that was just some of what I took from the game. The team seemed to come out firing, but as the line pairings changed a little, you could see this was a team that will need some time to gel.

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good to hear about osala, some early returns on him this year were that he was invisible

surprised that rodney is the captain, i don’t think the organization has many plans for him anymore – but he is an older guy they expect leadership from him at this point and its a far leap since his immature junior days

boychuk needs a to have a good year and impress with charlotte or he’ll be losing lots of the spotlight to skinner

murphy seems to be fun goalie with some serious skills who should have an NHL job, at least as a backup at some point

anyways, its one game – but there is lots to be excited about with the checkers and the big club so far

by Lrccolt4 on Oct 10, 2010 1:04 AM EDT reply actions

Watching the Checkers Game

I watched the Checkers game on AHLLive, but it’s far preferable to be there in person. With respect to Riley Nash, I also thought he had an excellent game. I think Nash is going to be a very good player for the Hurricanes. Osala is one of my favorite young players, so I thought it might have just been my eyes making me believe he played well last night. I was glad to read you, too thought he played a good game. I spoke with some hockey commentators who were not with the Hurricanes while in Helsinki and their take is that Osala will be fine for the Hurricanes; but that he has to develop his physical side while honing his scoring skills. From what I can tell, Osala is focusing on his offensive game; and probably could use a little more personal attention to forechecking with a purpose. On the other hand, Osala has much improved in terms of taking on a crowd in front of the crease and is immovable in front of the goalie. The Hurricanes desperately need more net presence and more physicality.

With respect to Boychuk, I continue to hear that Boychuk has been the best forward on the team. The announcers were complimenting Boychuk on his play last night during the entire game. I do think Boychuk has to learn how to finish checks as part of his learning curve. LaRose has become a much, much more physical player over time, so I realize some small players can hit. I also think Boychuk will need to demonstrate on the ice that he can both control the puck and put the puck into the net before he is coming back to Raleigh.

I thought the Boychuk/Nash/Osala line was the best forward line for the Checkers. I continue to believe in Boychuk long-terms, just as I believe in Nash and Osala. J. Staal also seemed to have a solid game; and I think J. Staal will be playing with the Hurricanes in two years or so.

by abramsdoug on Oct 10, 2010 8:52 AM EDT reply actions

Raleigh-Charlotte shuttle beginning now.

Sanguinetti, Carson and Pogge are on the ice for warm-ups in Springfield for the 3pm game today. And it came out at practice (from Mo or JR) that Tlusty would have a 2 week conditioning stint with the Checkers while the team makes their west coast tour. Look like Samsonov may go for the trip, and so the Checkers will have Tlusty, and one more for a couple weeks. Bowman or O’Sullivan would be my guess on who gets to stay in Charlotte if Samsonov returns.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Oct 10, 2010 2:45 PM EDT reply actions

O’Sullivan would have to pass through waivers, whereas Bowman and Dalpe are exempt.

Dwyer looks like he’s sticking, to me, at least until Tlusty is full-speed.

Close call on Bowman/Dalpe as to who has earned it, so may come down to Samsonov for Bowman on the roster due to the fact that they are both currently slotted as left wingers.

Here we are now...entertain us.

by Elsker on Oct 10, 2010 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Y’think O’Sullivan would be picked up on the wire? I don’t, but that’s only my opinion. I do see Sammi and O`Sully as almost identical players. Bowman is more a Tlusty type. Or Dalpe too – maybe they’d move Dwyer back to 4th line center and send Dalpe back to join Matsu and Nash in Charlotte up the middle.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Oct 10, 2010 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Y’think O’Sullivan would be picked up on the wire?

I don’t know…a $600K RFA forward with his track record might look pretty good to some GM who is starting to feel disappointed in his own prospects.

Yes, no one picked him before (except JR), but JR’s may be beginning to be a bit like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If he’s interested in one of your players, you’d better reassess your own feelings about that player.

Plus, O’Sullivan’s under contract now, and not an unknown contractual entity. Contract negotiations alone may have doomed his chances with many impatient orgs with other options.

As for Dwyer, he’s been looking very good on Sutter’s right wing. I’m not sure we should mess with that apparent chemistry right now.

The way it’s looking, Dwyer’s going to turn into the org’s next Jeff Daniels (at least as a player)…a safe and dependable utility player that can be plugged into any forward position over a range of two, or maybe even three, lines.

Apply as needed.

Here we are now...entertain us.

by Elsker on Oct 10, 2010 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions

If POS is sent down, he would have to go through waivers; I got that. What if we wanted to bring him back up? Would he have to go through re-entry? If so, I could definitely see someone picking up a player of his skill for only $300K.

Either way, I still believe Mo needs to do a better job with his lines. Dalpe and POS need more ice time to show their skills. At least give them occasional time in the top 9 here and there. Let Cole, LaRose, Dwyer, Bowman, and/or Samsonov (when he returns) miss a shift or 2 and insert one or both of these skilled players. For as often as Mo played musical lines last season, he has been hell bent against it so far. I actually think it would be good right now, see how these young players play with certain people. We could see if Dalpe or Skinner could play with Staal or Skinner. I know it goes against everything that Mo is about, but we need to understand what we have.

Please Mo, take those POS's off Staal's line and put the more skilled POS with Staal!

by PackPride17 on Oct 10, 2010 7:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

By my read of the CBA, O’Sullivan would NOT have to go through re-entry waivers to bring him back up, so no danger of a half-price sale.

Here we are now...entertain us.

by Elsker on Oct 10, 2010 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions

As for the line experiments, we’re only two games in and on the road. Sure Mo’s going to move some pieces around, but if something’s working right now they’ll probably leave it alone until we get back home.

Here we are now...entertain us.

by Elsker on Oct 10, 2010 7:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Samsonov, Bowman, O'Sullivan

HMof2, I also think that O’Sullivan may be the one who is sent down to Charlotte if Samsonov returns. On the other hand, Maurice hinted that he may keep the team as is because they are winning. Hopefully, he remembers how Laviolette’s decision to bring back the injured veterans crushed the team’s chemistry at the end of 2007-2008; and contributed to Laviolette losing his job (not that Maurice is in any risk of losing his job at this point).

I adhere to the concept of “you win, you play.” I don’t understand inserting non-essential, non-star players if their replacements are helping the team win. I am cautiously optimistic that Maurice/Francis will keep all the kids in the lineup unless and until the team loses (and frankly it would take two losses if I were in charge before Samsonov would replace any current player). I expect Tlusty to get some time on ice after his conditioning stint. It is clear to me from hearing what the coaches are saying that Tlusty impresses them. He did look as if he had muscled up in the off-season. I saw him working out with Rowe after regular practice in Helsinki and he looked to be playing at 215 lbs of solid muscle. It’s easy for me to forget that Tlusty is a young player.

by abramsdoug on Oct 10, 2010 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions

I also saw they might bring 7 D on the west coast trip. Maybe they’ll bring 13 forwards too?

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Oct 10, 2010 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

That sure would seem to make sense, and is the more usual practice (especially when reinforcements had to come from Lowell and catch up wherever the team was at the moment). Carry your spare tires with you.

However, maybe from a hub like Charlotte, that becomes an easier task to accomplish.

Here we are now...entertain us.

by Elsker on Oct 10, 2010 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Why would O'Sullivan

have to on "waivers’ as he did sign a 2 Way Contract… IF he is the one to be sent down there shouldn’t be any “real” problem …right ??

Everytime you write off the Hurricanes,
They make You Look Bad!!

by CaniacSteve on Oct 11, 2010 6:22 AM EDT reply actions

The nature of the contract has little to do with waiver eligibility.

Instead, it’s a function of age when the first pro contract was signed and number of seasons played. Time is up for O’Sullivan for his exemption in this regard.

It’s really to protect players from getting buried in deep rosters without being given a chance at another team’s NHL roster.

Here we are now...entertain us.

by Elsker on Oct 11, 2010 8:43 AM EDT up reply actions