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Preseason #4-Canada's team vs small market bottom feeders

I noticed the difference between Drouin and Gallagher last night too. Drouin went into the corner (shocker I know) and couldn't get the puck against a single defender. Next shift Gallagher barrels into the corner with 3 Senators there and comes out with the puck. Sheer tenacity.

Gallagher needs to be C.
 
I wouldn’t give him the 9 game look either. I also believe I read somewhere that Laval isn’t an option? That he has a contract to play in Finland if he’s not in the NHL? Anyone know more about this?
 
Demon Blond said:
I wouldn’t give him the 9 game look either. I also believe I read somewhere that Laval isn’t an option? That he has a contract to play in Finland if he’s not in the NHL? Anyone know more about this?
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There's always a workaround, but he's eligible to play in Laval. If his rights were owned by a CHL team and he had played last year in one of the three CHL leagues, it'd be CHL or NHL.

European teams who have young players under contract are much less lenient to letting their players go to North America if they're going to be in Junior or the AHL. Euro leagues already have a tough enough time economically as is when all of the top talent will bolt on a moment's notice for a chance at the NHL (for obvious reasons), they try to keep their young players around if they can.
 
The work around on that is an NHL two-way deal. He starts in the nhl then gets sent down before the tenth game.
 
Laval would probably be the best place for him this season. But if it’s between a fourth rate Euro. league and the NHL, and he shows in his 9 game audition that he can play as a 3rd or 4th line center now, I’d keep him around for the season. “Dominating” against a bunch of plugs will not do a thing for his development.
 
Krustchev said:
Laval would probably be the best place for him this season. But if it’s between a fourth rate Euro. league and the NHL, and he shows in his 9 game audition that he can play as a 3rd or 4th line center now, I’d keep him around for the season. “Dominating” against a bunch of plugs will not do a thing for his development.
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...Yeah, this couldn't be any less factual.
 
Getting 20 minutes a night, playing center against top lines & d-men, having to be the anchor of his line instead of a support player, having the pressure of team mates put on him, etc.

Yeah, all worthless. Won't do a thing to help him get better. It's not like the Finnish league has pro players or anything, they're just plumbers that play hockey as a hobby on weeknights. Glorified beer leaguers.

(Ignore the fact that any Finnish team would crush a CHL team if they were to play, but hey, who's kidding who?)
 
GGpX said:
...Yeah, this couldn't be any less factual.
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Says the man without a car. I have a younger son who’s athletically gifted and he’s had to play up age wise in almost every sport he plays because his development would be stunted in the same age group as his.
 
The counter argument is that excelling helps build more confidence and 18 year-olds tend to still have fragile psyches.
 
Krustchev said:
Says the man without a car. I have a younger son who’s athletically gifted and he’s had to play up age wise in almost every sport he plays because his development would be stunted in the same age group as his.
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Not quite sure what owning a car has to do with any of this, but good job countering my argument!
 
GGpX said:
Not quite sure what owning a car has to do with any of this, but good job countering my argument!
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I did your counter your argument after pointing out that your own apparent lack of success hurts your credibility in discussing what others need to do to succeed.
 
Kotkaniemi reminds me of Bobby Smith, tall gangly awkward looking on skates, if he continues to show incremental improvement in pre-season give him 9-games and send him to Finland, the way Minny did with Ericksson-Ek a couple of years back.

Apparently, his contact stipulation is NHL or Finland, AHL is not a possibility.

Something to ponder: if his Finnish team intends on using him at wing or will not provide guarantee of using him at center, is going back to Finland a better developmental move vs NHL?

My only concern is Kotkaniemi getting physically abused in the NHL this season, and needs another year to bulk up for he NHL 82-game grind.
 
Krustchev said:
I did your counter your argument after pointing out that your own apparent lack of success hurts your credibility in discussing what others need to do to succeed.
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So in other words, an ad hominem attack. Well done!

You have an anecdotal case with a teenager, I have hundreds of cases with young adults that turned into NHLers.
 
Krustchev said:
I did your counter your argument after pointing out that your own apparent lack of success hurts your credibility in discussing what others need to do to succeed.
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Wow, that’s wholly unfair and unnecessary sir.
 
Sal_Butera said:
Kotkaniemi reminds me of Bobby Smith, tall gangly awkward looking on skates, if he continues to show incremental improvement in pre-season give him 9-games and send him to Finland, the way Minny did with Ericksson-Ek a couple of years back.

Apparently, his contact stipulation is NHL or Finland, AHL is not a possibility.

Something to ponder: if his Finnish team intends on using him at wing or will not provide guarantee of using him at center, is going back to Finland a better developmental move vs NHL?

My only concern is Kotkaniemi getting physically abused in the NHL this season, and needs another year to bulk up for he NHL 82-game grind.
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That’s the salient point here. He needs to play at center to see if he can hack it.
 
GGpX said:
Getting 20 minutes a night, playing center against top lines & d-men, having to be the anchor of his line instead of a support player, having the pressure of team mates put on him, etc.

Yeah, all worthless. Won't do a thing to help him get better. It's not like the Finnish league has pro players or anything, they're just plumbers that play hockey as a hobby on weeknights. Glorified beer leaguers.

(Ignore the fact that any Finnish team would crush a CHL team if they were to play, but hey, who's kidding who?)
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Interesting point. How would a finish team stack up in a match against the Rockets?
 
I would rather see him in the AHL playing on the smaller ice surface.

I also think the AHL is most likely a better caliber of hockey than the Finnish league.
 
DonKay said:
I would rather see him in the AHL playing on the smaller ice surface.

I also think the AHL is most likely a better caliber of hockey than the Finnish league.
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.

I think its the age thing, 18 years old in a men's league away from home is a lot of adjustment. I don't see any other option than playing back in Finland.
 
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