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2018-19 Canes Prospect and Calder Cup Winning Charlotte Checkers Thread

Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

andyt said:
The Canes have released Martin Necas to play for the Czech Republic in the World Juniors. I still think it’s a mistake, he’s on a roll in Charlotte playing against pros. He’ll miss at least 5 Cherkers games and as many as 8, depending on how far they get. The preliminary round ends on 12/31, quarterfinals are 1/2, semifinals 1/4 and final on 1/5.


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I could see the advantage of letting him play for the Czech Republic as a center and taste success at that position.

His recovery from NHL-shock in Charlotte has been on the wing with Vellucci talking about moving him to center (Charlotte's depth at that position unknown to me, but assumed sound).

And it's center where the Canes need him to be. Not much advantage, in my opinion, of bringing him back up too hastily, especially if it is to play wing here (badly as we might need the help).

So a return to familiar grounds playing center (and hopefully well) might lead to letting him do the same in Charlotte later this season. And who knows whether this season in Raleigh (depending on how long it takes them to publicly discuss this ain't going to be our year...again). But hopefully soon, for next season, and beyond.

We need him as a C.


Alternate theory: We're showcasing him as trade bait for Tarasenko.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Need a cheap 20 goal scorer? I can give you Martinook.

Need a 30g 60p top line forward? How about Tuevo?

Want a goalie who will give you .915 consistently? Here's Darling.

Ok, I stretched that last one a bit.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

To me if we are willing to send Necas to World Juniors then you can forget about him playing for the Canes again this season because management has elected to take advantage of the entry level contract slide already.

I think this move clearly tips the Canes' hand. I don't have a problem sliding his entry level deal, he was way too green from what we saw.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Yeah ... I don't have any issue sliding his entry deal either. He's nowhere near NHL ready, so it makes sense any way you look at it. And honestly, while I think it's a waste of time, apparently Necas wants to play in the World Juniors, so ... sure, kid. Go be great for a couple of weeks. My only sticking point is Vellucci using him at wing since he was sent down to Charlotte. No. Nope. Nyet. This team needs that kid to play center. We've done this BS with WAY too many young pivots and it has cost us BIG. And I don't really give a crap if you'd rather play Saarela or McKegg (or Chubby, for that matter) at center. Necas' development means a hell of a lot more in the big picture than whether or not your 2nd line is any good.

Just worth mentioning here ... while the Canes have starved for a real center prospect, we've moved Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm* to wing and we gave Teravainen (who is a natural center) a one game audition at center. I think it is still fairly obvious that if they could get away with it, Aho would be back on the wing also. You CANNOT have it both ways. You can't keep converting all of the centers you draft to wing AND not trade for or sign other centers. I mean, yeah ... they kept Brandon Sutter at center but them traded him for Jordan Staal who plays the same role only slightly better. I mean, thanks for that I guess, but .... CENTERS ARE IMPORTANT. More important than winning AHL games.

*Lindy bounced around so much that I'm not sure he even knew what position he was supposed to be playing by the time he left. But make no mistake ... he left here an NHL winger.
 
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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

I remember one concern in previous seasons being faceoffs... as in "so and so is OK at center, but he can't win a faceoff worth a darn."

Has it been faceoffs or scoring that's been driving the change, because I haven't understood the whole Aho experiment from the beginning...

The coaches of this team have shuffled a ton of guys either into or out of the center role for as long as I can remember. Primeau, O'Neill, Kron, Vasicek, Tlusty... It was a big deal in the first Greensboro season because of the Cassels/Roberts trade that set Sanderson sulking (and later packing himself).

So what is it about the center position that makes it worth playing Aho there out of his comfort zone as opposed to the rookie (Necas, Bishop, etc) who is a more natural fit but is lacking the je ne sais quoi?
 
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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Clark Bishop was recalled again, ahead of the roster freeze. I guess that means Staal isn’t ready yet?


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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Bishop was -3 in the Checkers 4-3 OT loss last night. As a result, the Checkers wanted him shipped back out of there ASAP. That is the real reason he is back with the Canes. :lol
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

As long as we get back the Clark Bishop who played well against the Coyotes for tonight's game.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Punzil said:
I remember one concern in previous seasons being faceoffs... as in "so and so is OK at center, but he can't win a faceoff worth a darn."

Has it been faceoffs or scoring that's been driving the change, because I haven't understood the whole Aho experiment from the beginning...

The coaches of this team have shuffled a ton of guys either into or out of the center role for as long as I can remember. Primeau, O'Neill, Kron, Vasicek, Tlusty... It was a big deal in the first Greensboro season because of the Cassels/Roberts trade that set Sanderson sulking (and later packing himself).

So what is it about the center position that makes it worth playing Aho there out of his comfort zone as opposed to the rookie (Necas, Bishop, etc) who is a more natural fit but is lacking the je ne sais quoi?
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I think you've got it all backwards with Aho. He grew up playing nothing but center and never spent significant time at wing until he got to the NHL and the Canes decided he was better off breaking in on the wing. His comfort zone is exactly the position he's playing now and I get the very strong impression that our personnel people and our coach would rather he move back to wing. Fine, but you have to replace his offensive threat at center, and we've been loudly failing on that front for 5 years or more.

And I think the Canes have over-emphasized face-offs for several years now, at least publicly. Especially with the linesmen routinely throwing guys out of the circle, we end up with a ton of incompetent looking wingers taking draws either way. I know possession is capital letters important, but that's only a part of what a center does. I think it's a bite-sized excuse that they throw out to fans because it's kind of a low bar trump card. Fans know centers take draws but how many of them know much else about the various positions? Not many, based on 20 years in the PNC stands. Tripp Tracey is a useful idiot in this endeavor, as he COULD explain something else about what centers do during broadcasts, but largely does not. Yet he obsessively talks about draws. He's a goalie. That's where his head is at ... possession and nothing else.

And defense, even on the primary scoring line, is huge problem for us at center, as is puck distribution. The guy in the middle of the ice HAS to be positionally solid in his own end. Has to keep his body on the right side of his mark. Necas, for example, was an absolute joke in this regard, running around out there like he'd never played the position before. Of course, that's just a factor of throwing him right into the deep end straight from Europe and asking him to deal with veteran guys, some of whom are beasts. You have to learn to survive, but you have to give a kid half a chance to survive and with Necas, we didn't. Secondly, the center controls the flow of the puck once you gain position. That's been our second big problem. Rask is a good example. He's halfway decent in the defensive zone, but with the puck on his stick he just doesn't make good decisions. Wingers have less responsibility, because their territorial duties are more limited. When you have an A to B thinker like Rask (Eric Staal was one as well) pulling the strings, your offense ends up being very direct and very blunt. When you have a guy like Aho in there who thinks about seams and how to make the D move their feet to create those seams, all of a sudden you start to produce more scoring opportunities. THAT's been the biggest problem with this team on offense for a LONG time.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Center is also usually the defensive chaser down deep as the opposition D attempts to break out of their own end. Fast, agile, and a bit of a pest are all good qualities, along with a quick stick and the ability to actually finish if they pick off the puck for a quick one-on-none turnover.

That's Aho.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

With Staal back, Bishop was sent back to Charlotte.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

andyt said:
With Staal back, Bishop was sent back to Charlotte.
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In retrospect, I wish Brindy has listened to CMal and played Bishop instead of Rask. Victor was once again terrible and got benched for a stretch until Brindy realized he was actually double shifting a guy who just came back from a concussion. I suspect that, at least.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

I was very surprised that Brindy didn't jump at the chance to play Bishop again considering how well he had been playing. I didn't make any sense to me at all to hold him out of the lineup last night while playing Rask and PDG.

There was all this offseason bluster about earning your spot. Clark Bishop is not going to be any sort of memorable NHL player. If he is lucky he forges a career as an NHL 4th line grinder/PK, general pain in the ass. But he has EARNED his playing time for the Canes this season, at least given our current roster, until he hasn't. Given his last game was a pretty darn solid effort against Arizona, to have him called back up and then have him sit behind Rask, who has earned absolutely nothing this season (or the last 2 seasons before that), is exact the type of crap that Brind'Amour claimed would be cleaned up this season.

Nothing has changed folks, despite what Brindy preached all offseason and in camp. At least Bishop is getting an NHL paycheck while he watches from the press box as Rask continues to steal money from this organization.

Considering last night's crap effort, if Brindy doesn't put Bishop in for Rask tomorrow night then I think he deserves to be called out on it. Heck he should have been asked about that last night to be honest.
 
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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

cmaleski2 said:
I was very surprised that Brindy didn't jump at the chance to play Bishop again considering how well he had been playing. I didn't make any sense to me at all to hold him out of the lineup last night while playing Rask and PDG.

There was all this offseason bluster about earning your spot. Clark Bishop is not going to be any sort of memorable NHL player. If he is lucky he forges a career as an NHL 4th line grinder/PK, general pain in the ass. But he has EARNED his playing time for the Canes this season, at least given our current roster, until he hasn't. Given his last game was a pretty darn solid effort against Arizona, to have him called back up and then have him sit behind Rask, who has earned absolutely nothing this season (or the last 2 seasons before that), is exact the type of crap that Brind'Amour claimed would be cleaned up this season.

Nothing has changed folks, despite what Brindy preached all offseason and in camp. At least Bishop is getting an NHL paycheck while he watches from the press box as Rask continues to steal money from this organization.

Considering last night's crap effort, if Brindy doesn't put Bishop in for Rask tomorrow night then I think he deserves to be called out on it. Heck he should have been asked about that last night to be honest.
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+1
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Wasn't Bishop sent back to Charlotte today?

Yep, I knew I wasn't hallucinating...yet. @9:40am.

Waddell has about 3 months to do something drastic. Otherwise, he and Brind'amour should both be on the chopping block in May.
 
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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Well then, let the continued lack of results/effort without consequences continue. I'm sure Rask will be a difference maker out there against the Pens and Bruins.

They could in theory call Bishop back up before Saturday night's game with Bishop playing for the Checkers tonight. The Holiday Roster freeze doesn't prevent you calling up players. It also doesn't prevent you from sending down a player who was called up after Dec 11th (sorry Clark).
 
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