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Powers mentioned that Lev looked more comfortable in period 2.
Is that true? Was he less “Golden Retriever Puppy” than usual?
I don’t know it’s so much that Artie did anything special in the 2nd as much as he wasn’t noticeable. But that changed at the 13:00 mark of the 3rd if you’re watching. Bad play comes back for a partial breakaway.
After the 1st I was about to post this was the most enjoyable and encouraged I’ve been watching Bedard as a pro. After 2 periods I can say it. That inside out move he pants Jones on showed how lightning quick his hands are. Reminded me of his rookie yr in EDM when both he and McDavid executed the exact same inside out move and to my eye on a couple replays Bedard’s hands were quicker than McD’s. …. Not claiming he has better hands than McD but IMO they’re quicker.
Very nice feed at pace to Dach. Him coming with speed backed the Dman off which allowed for a seam that Bedard anticipated and threaded. ….. Kid really has the look.
Gotta love whatever Blashill did between periods. Outshot 17-3, two young Dmen getting exposed and they come out and hol to FLA to 5-6 SOG….One shot and 14 great saves by Knight away from the group stunning the champs. How nice would that be to start the Blashill era with a win at FLA??
Just got messaged and agreed to an early evening trail run.
I’ll be back for the 3rd period lol.
Trail run??? Who you goin jogging with, Farrah Fawcett? ….
What a phantom call on Levshunov. Wow.
You ain’t lying. Tough enough assignment to go play the champs on the road in the season opener as a really young club make calls like this hurt. Hey, it happens but it ain’t like Artie is not gonna give the refs 5-6 chances a game to call him on a reach foul. Then the poor kid is schooled by The Rat as he skates into Lev’s stick and draws a trip. …….. Rough period for Rinzel and The Cossack. Florida is the worst matchup for these two kids. They exploit and expose every damn thing.
Nice play by Nazar’s line to score but Bedard’s line was by far their best in the period. Like the look of the kid. ….. Outshot 17-3 in the period but for 10 minutes it was competitive. …. Still can not believe Knight is a Hawk!!
I always remember Knight playing low going back to The Program but he seems to have been influenced by watching Bob for 3 yrs. Kid plays lower than he did and as we watch today you can see similarities in the two…. Not only is Knight a blue chipper he’s had the great fortune to be Bob’s #2 for a few yrs.
He’ll be tested and I hope he shows well vs the organIzation that took him 14th-ish overall. I’d think a big first game of the season as an NHL #1 would give the kid a boost. Hopefully the structure holds up enough vs a team that’ll slaughter an undisciplined club.
Speaking of going into the offseason and working on improving their first step explosion, last yr Dach came back with the most improved explosion in his feet of any Hawk I can even remember. Kid still disappeared for long stretches, even in the AHL, but he looks a bit different. He hasn’t disappeared so far this yr……. Maybe a switch has gone off and if it did this kid has some quick feet, is a big dude and he’s willing…. Expect he’ll be busy today vs a nasty Florida club.
Not sure I ever saw him even this far developed.
Thought Game 1 Foligno may have hit a wall. He was nowhere to be seen and when you saw him he was far back of the play. His next 2 games he looked like he always did. Looks like he was just getting his reps in like he’s done for 15 or so preseasons.
Bedard’s new found speed: It’s all over everywhere you read, Bedard is so much faster this yr. Power’s has a piece I can’t read behind the paywall. 5-6 Hawks talkin it up. ….. Liked hearing Foligno say Bedard seems stronger deeper into his shift. A good sign whether or not it’s fitness, becoming more efficient or both.
I watched him for instant first impression looking at his skating, notably his first step explosion. QUICKNESS, not top end speed. Top end speed is nice to push pace in transition, and backcheck, but quickness allows you to create much more often than top end speed. We saw this 1,000 times with Bedard as a Hawk. He doesn’t have the explosion in his small area game in the HD zones (say 20 ft in) to get shots off. He has an extraordinarily amount of shots blocked cuz of this.
My first impression was the kid is thicker, he’s stronger on his skates, I might wanna say stronger on his stick, a more determined with purpose stride and a nice knee bend. He seems lower to the ice (leverage) and combined with being stronger on his skates he has a nice look to him.
I didn’t notice the speed/quickness in Game 1. I did see increased speed in Game 2 but as of yet I don’t see any difference in short area quickness. …..
What lights my fire most is his fancies v MN, I think. A 53CF% vs a between the dots type club MN is a tough cookie, even their AHLers. Anything near break even on CF for Bedard at yrs end is huge. …….. And, I like that Blashill (new eyes) will have some thoughts……….. I don’t think most Hawk’s fans understand yet how skilled a player Burakovsky is. This guy has top 6 hands and, unless I missed it since I’ve been following him for 5 yrs for fantasy hockey, this guy has some real speed. Noticeable speed and I guess I never realized how big he is. Never know about chemistry but along with TT this guy is the most skill/top type Bedard has played with as a pro. Has the IQ to make plays… We’ll see about his 2 way game especially on a line with Bedard.
Yo Dots, been thinking about me asking you if you were coaching against the Hawks today who do you send your shutdown people out against, Nazar or Bedard. Love the thought exercise and am gonna watch that closely this yr starting with Maurice, who knows a thing or two….
I stand the same, today I shut down Nazar. 2-3-4 yrs from now, in January, don’t know, but today Nazar is the more dangerous player cuz he’ll create more HDC and 10 times more in alones or partial in alones. And, if Nazar starts finishing breakaways with consistency there is no doubt who you should fear and scheme against.
Fellas, if Frenchy ain’t gonna have a dedicated GDT it’s up to you two to come to a consensus. You guys have done the heavy lifting here at HH. …….. If I had a vote I kinda like a dedicated GDT. As MH says it keeps it (thoughts) cleaner and it provides a time stamp. Something to go back and check on, even if it’s simply the lineups, to see what you were thinking/posting 3-4 months earlier.
Interesting to see 2025 draft choices Scheaffer, Misa and Brady Martin cracked the opening night lineups. ….. Ducks and Sharks are gonna be fun clubs to watch this yr.
Right on, Frenchy. The list of things that are good the last 2 games is pretty long but big picture was the young D core numbering 6-7 held their own, didn’t cave, held their structure well enough against some NHLers and ads you said, showed their ready to compete. ….. It’ll get ugly often enough this season with so many young Dmen, blue chippers or not, but it seems they might be close enough in their development to find enough consistency to play some solid NHL hockey while not being close to finished products or near their ceiling.
This team will go as Bedard does. He gets the most important minutes so he’s the focus especially when he’s still so young and flawed. The kid had a 52% CF, 9-3 SOG advantage and a 4-3 HDCF%. The fancies for Bedard are horrific as an NHLer. Those fancies he put up last game show a responsible NHL player. …….. I understand that info ain’t click bait but man, it should be screamed from the mountain tops.
Bedard’s overwhelming weaknesses, deal breakers to win a cup for some, are now being seen by new eyes. Water will find its level with Bedard eventually, like all players, but if they/Blashill can find a way for the kid to be close to respectable on the other side of the puck you can win with the uber talented kid.
Those fancies supported the eye test and the kid looked good. Going by his stride and compete he looked comfortable in the system, playing not thinking, and that’s franchise changing. ……….
I’d also add these last two solid games come after looking really bad vs Detroit. You can read a lot into that and most of that is good. … Can’t wait to see more.
How did Gryz look yesterday?
……………..
He looked like he always did and what I hoped he’d look like. Gryz showed mobility, the poise of a vet you’d hope for with this young defensive group…… …. He was what you’d hope Megna or Martinez would have looked.
The fancies ain’t too too bad but I liked the D tonight. Artie played well and had his 45% corsi lead the defense. KK had poor fancies but my eye saw a kid maturing physically. ….. No doubt though, IMO Gryz will skate 20 minutes a night for the club.
Really liked the jump Bedard had, a lot. He was hungry and engaged and as the game went on I thought the kid is quiet in a good way. He, and all the top 6, had nice fancies. 54 corsi, 57 fenwick, 9-3 SOG advantage, 4-3 HDCF. Nice night for the kid, very nice. ……. 2 games in a row I like what I saw. How long until MN got a SOG, 10 minutes? The structure was good again and I do realize MN sat at least 4 of their top 6 from what I counted off the top of my head. Regardless, this is 2 games in a row where they showed some danger, didn’t get hemmed in, were connected, acceptable structure and a group that seems like it’s getting the coaching.
For those unsure of Burakovsky you can see the skill and speed this player has. If he’s healthy and has some chemistry with Bedard he’ll be a legit skilled add. Nothing outa Spellacy and Foligno was bad. I hope this ain’t the cliff older players face as they hang on too long.
Hey Rico. I tried quoting you, but it got lost in the ether. Regarding del Mastro.
I must be seeing something different. I really like del Mastro, but I’ve seen a very tentative and unsure player in the games he’s played. He’s made some good plays for sure, but he’s been slow on passes and decisions. He worked so hard in Rockford to make quick decisions and drive the puck the other way, it’s been kind of disappointing to see him tentative. Looks like he’s getting this game off along with Murphy.
Pretty much the expected starting lineup playing tonight aside from the Dickinson/Lafferty/Mikheyev line. Lardis, Spellacy, and Savoie playing tonight (not sure on what lines).
……………….
Chunk, what are your expectations for Del Mastro? Mine aren’t high relatively speaking and pts are at the very bottom of the list…… I see a guy who is a balanced enough skater to turn and with his length/weight keep a guy to the outside enough. Balanced enough skater to change an angle. A guy who understands his role and is bought into a smaller role in that his priority is to take care of business inside the dots, the slot and the endwall. And use his size in doing so……. Yes, a nice head up first pass and quick decisions are nice but IMO his simple role doesn’t hinge on that. …..
Really for me, I think a defense needs guys like this and Del Mastro has knocked down every wall along the way. You remember his Canadian WJC story of not getting an invite to replacing an injured guy to taking the big hard minutes on a Gold winning squad…… His simplicity is the beauty of his game for me.
Can anyone tell me what Happened to the Lardis 1 timer on the PP late in the period? .. Was it on goal, did it go wide behind the net?…… You can see that kid is good at finding quiet ice and lurks on the weakside. Combined with the best 1 timer in the organIzation when his time comes he’s gonna score some PP goals for the club.
Hayes is making some plays. Always liked what he brings. Misiak is in on a lotta stuff, especially below the dots in the Ozone. … My guy Crevier had a couple shifts he’d like back in the 1st. Allan has had some nice reads/pinches. KK too on his reads. No doubting the skill in his hands and feet.. Dach with a couple decent shifts. ……. I like Gryz, a lot for this roster. He’s a savvy vet who can settle things down… A whole yr of Knight is gonna be a treat. His technical game, and demeanor too, is tremendous.
I don’t know, Chunk. I like what I see tonight, much more than Game 1 v DET. More flow, more connected passes, more structure. Couple solid 1-2 pass outs. .. Guessing the fancies will be much better.
Lardis’ stick broke on the one-timer.
After an iffy first period, and first five minutes of the second everyone seemed to come around. The kids need to make sure they are playing faster. A lot of them still are trying to figure out where to go with the puck before they move and it slows them down.
As long as he stays healthy, Hayes should have a much better year in RFD. I think Misiak is going to be a good two-way forward.
………….
Hey Chunk, before I forget one of the best things I read this offseason was that you have a FloSports subscription and they’re showing the SHL. I know you’ll watch Frondell and look forward to your posts on what you see. Especially his usage……..
Watched a bunch of Lardis games last yr and this kid is outright deadly on the weakside 1 timer. His reads are so damn good if he detects a goalie is coming hells bells outa control on his push to stop the one timer he knows the goalie is gonna over slide and he shoots the puck BACK to the far side as the goalie slides outa the crease. How often you see a player go far side, on purpose, on a 1 timer. Very rare but Lardis does it a lot….. And the kid many more times than not he gets great wood on the puck and is really adept at doing so when the damn thing is bouncing on him and it doesn’t have to be in his wheelhouse either. But anyone can see how quick he gets it off and how accurate the thing is….. His reads are good, he finds soft ice even at 5 on 5 to unleash that 1 timer.
Keep an eye on that Hayes kid. In a couple yrs I see him helping and if he continues developing I could see him having a lotta trust of his coaches and see middle 6 minutes. High IQ player and really poised. Watch him in the Dzone. He’s good at reading, getting in lanes and deflecting pucks. He just makes plays in all 3 zones and has always showed poise to my eye. ……… I know folks are saying he must grind to be a big leaguer but that isn’t his game. Not that he can’t evolve into that kinda role but he’s a cerebral type, good reads, poised, some skill in his hands, smooth and finds soft ice well. Much like he read the play in the conrner and high tailed thru the slot to be there for the beauty feed he scored on. … That play encapsulates the kid.
And, I forgot to mention Del Mastro. Kid was back to his game with good reads, angles and gaps. Using his size … Really good game for the kid.
