TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
The Checkers lost a lot of key players this summer.
2019-20 Canes Miscellaneous News Thread
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Staal was off for a maintenance day, so I expect he’ll play. So do they put Luostarinen at 3C or 4C?
cmaleski2
Well-known member
4C and shelter the heck out of him with McGinn and Gibbons on the wings. If we happen to get out to a huge lead (or deficit) then maybe stick him out there for a shift or 2 with Dzingle and Necas.
I see 4 minutes in his NHL debut unless things get out of hand early one way or the other.
I see 4 minutes in his NHL debut unless things get out of hand early one way or the other.
I'd like to see them go ahead and throw him out in a regular rotation early and see how he handles it. He's coming off of a strong camp and has been solid in the A playing in the middle of the rotation ... driving play against veteran grunts and grinders for the most part. That's not that different than the job description for a 4th line center. I see his game being fairly similar to Wallmark's so there shouldn't be a huge adjustment for his line mates. Throw him out there, see how it goes and then maybe ratchet things back if he struggles.
Following up on this, I though Luostarinen played a pretty strong first game last night. The 4th line got their usual 9 or so minutes and it didn't look like Brindy shied away from using them ... running them out for a few shifts late in the 3rd, even. He's obviously got stuff to learn ... like taking an angle at a guy on the forecheck every so often ... but the kid largely held his own.
He’s a pretty big guy who isn’t afraid to throw his body around. He didn’t look out of his element at all.
Luostarinen was sent back to Charlotte. They could recall someone before they leave for Buffalo tomorrow or Haula or Martinook might be good to go. No word on whether Haula practiced but Martinook was in a yellow jersey. RBA said they were still day to day on a couple of guys.
Last night was Gibbons’ 10th game so he’ll have to clear waivers when/if he gets sent down.
Last night was Gibbons’ 10th game so he’ll have to clear waivers when/if he gets sent down.
CanadaCanes
Well-known member
I like Luostarinen moving forward over Gibbons, Gibbons is a plug for the fourth line but the Finn is big, certainly knows his way in defensive zone coverage and certainly did not look out of place at all with the big club. I've never been a fan of going with career grunt guys like Gibbons over the solid prospects like Gauthier and Luostarinen, play the kids and let them get NHL experience.
It probably is. I expect him to play in Buffalo and Minnesota. He has more offensive upside than Bishop and, since he’s a penalty killer in Charlotte, probably more defensively responsible than Geekie.
Pucking Lamplighter
Well-known member
His growth in confidence was noticeable by the end of last night's game. Luostarinen definitely looked and played like a fit in my view. Still like to see him earn more minutes during softer portions of the schedule, like what's coming up. His size doesn't hurt anything either.
Jim
Jim
Geekie is an all situations guy, but I think the club would prefer him to spend the entire year In Charlotte kind of like what they did with Necas last season ... and for the same reason. Geekie has bounced around between the wing and center and the club has planted him at center and given him the keys to the first line in Charlotte. They want him to grow into a role and that takes time, so don't look for him to be called up unless they change course or maybe Wallmark gets hurt.
Probably. If any of the other centers go down with Haula out, Geekie might get the call, otherwise, I think Luostarinen has jumped Bishop as the bottom 6 center call up.
I would think they'd want to test out Huala to see if he can practice without discomfort before making a call. The Checkers have an extended road run starting on Friday with visits to Hershey, Lehigh Valley and Scranton/W-B between then and the 23rd. If they need to take a guy off that roster, better to make that call before the team leaves for Buffalo.
