Great observations .Agree whole heartily. My biggest surprise has to be Barakovsky ,I felt he was just coming in for a payday and could be a drag in the room .Big surprise ,really hustling out there every night so far .
Also was disappointed when Bashill was signed, did not like it . Felt all the losing in Detroit would follow . Appears he has learned from his time in Tamps bay . After a small glimpse of Rinzel last season you could see the poise and compete in his game , Off to a great start boys !! .And go Blue Jays lol

I used to say it on another blog, I’ll be happy when Murphy is the number 5 dman on the team, okay he may be number 4 but that means 3 other younger defenseman are playing better than him. I’m lovin what I’m seeing, we are headed in the right direction.

I like your assessment Coach. Knight is playing as advertised. So smooth. His glove saves seem effortless at times, looking like a catcher “framing the pitch” waiting for the ump to call strike.

And the youngsters are playing with confidence and doing their thing. Bedard and Nazar are playing with such high tempo. They might be feeding off each other in that respect.

Vets are doing what they were supposed to do last year. I think Blash and the coaching staff’s influence might have spurred that growth.

All in all, fun start to the season and thanks for your contributions to us Hawk fans.

Fun read, Frenchy. … You know KD tore this thing down to the studs, no, he replaced the studs too and dug up the foundation. Yr 1 was as bad an NHL roster as you’ll see and although Bedard, or any blue chippers, wasn’t there to be “infected” from what a culture of comedic negligence could do. ….. And up stepped as important a piece of the whole rebuild as there is, Mrazak.

Him, and him alone, was the reason Yr 1 wasn’t a laughingstock. . .. And in different, but as important, ways Knight is that guy today. Nowhere near the abuse Mrazak went thru on a daily basis this is a young goalie who has never been the #1. Kid is a cyborg and has been that way since I first saw him at The Program as a U-17. He’s the reason the club is in games, that the rebuild looks to be hummin, that coaches don’t have to devise ways to trap at times and can instead attack, that Artie can learn on the job, that all Dmen know they can jump in/up/keep pucks alive are all built on Knight being a freak behind it all.

As a young goalie starting out in 1970 every generation of goalies, and up until the advent of the white weirdo pads of the 2000’s, was told get up get up get up until you heard it in your sleep, until it became muscle memory… Growing up Knight didn’t have that cuz the equipment allows a goalie to move around without being on their skates or an anchor while down my guess is a Knight was barraged with “get to square get to square get to square” over and over and over like generations before were told over and over to get up get up.

Watch the kid, nothing else. You can see in his mind, get square get square. You can see it especially on a multi shot sequence where he makes a save and if a rebound happens he seamlessly slides/gets to square with the balance of a ballet dancer. The foundation of his game is to be/get square, like Carey Price. Robotically/maniacally they get to square without thought. .. Any goalie in any decade knows you need to be square but guys like Price and Knight are elite at it.

Still can’t believe Knight is a Hawk. Kid does much more than just stop pucks for the organIzation. His excellence allows the GM and coaches do things they would not be able to do, some of which I noted earlier. …. Yea man, Knight is a perfect fit.