Marlies Talk 13/14

[Highlander]

Great link and thanks for that CTB.  Sounds like we have a good coach in Sprott.  Time to bring up Holland and TJ and get some scoring punch back on the team.  HOlland at 2nd Kadri on 3 and take Gleason away and buy him out.  TJ needs to be on the big team.
Oh and when RC steps down or is canned Sprott may be the man

 

[Redleaf]

Great link and thanks for that CTB.  Sounds like we have a good coach in Sprott.  Time to bring up Holland and TJ and get some scoring punch back on the team.  HOlland at 2nd Kadri on 3 and take Gleason away and buy him out.  TJ needs to be on the big team.
Oh and when RC steps down or is canned Sprott may be the man

Spott is the name. Kinda like the dog.

 

[Highlander]

I used to work with a woman named Sprott, could not stand her so glad his name is Spott and can be identified as mans best friend. 

 

[Highlander]

Conner Brown,  2nd time player of the week in the OHL
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=700482&navid=DL%7CTOR%7Chome

 

[leafplasma]

Little shout out to Steve Spott and the Marlies, 24-12-2-2 and stranglehold on 1st place in their division.  Team is young and really was not suspected to do all that well.  Granberg has been everything expected of him and then some.  Would have to believe he makes the leap to the Leafs next year as a defensive minded dman should Franson be moved.  We may even see him after the trade deadline.

 

[dappleganger]

Little shout out to Steve Spott and the Marlies, 24-12-2-2 and stranglehold on 1st place in their division.  Team is young and really was not suspected to do all that well.  Granberg has been everything expected of him and then some.  Would have to believe he makes the leap to the Leafs next year as a defensive minded dman should Franson be moved.  We may even see him after the trade deadline.

What do you think Granberg replacing Gunnarsson?

I like Gunner but he had trouble getting the puck out the the D-zone when under pressure.

 

[leafplasma]

Little shout out to Steve Spott and the Marlies, 24-12-2-2 and stranglehold on 1st place in their division.  Team is young and really was not suspected to do all that well.  Granberg has been everything expected of him and then some.  Would have to believe he makes the leap to the Leafs next year as a defensive minded dman should Franson be moved.  We may even see him after the trade deadline.

What do you think Granberg replacing Gunnarsson?

I like Gunner but he had trouble getting the puck out the the D-zone when under pressure.

I think he replaces one of the offensive dman, Franson likely but should Gards or Reilly be dealt then one of them.  I think its Franson though.  We are in trouble if its Gunnar.

 

[L K]

Little shout out to Steve Spott and the Marlies, 24-12-2-2 and stranglehold on 1st place in their division.  Team is young and really was not suspected to do all that well.  Granberg has been everything expected of him and then some.  Would have to believe he makes the leap to the Leafs next year as a defensive minded dman should Franson be moved.  We may even see him after the trade deadline.

What do you think Granberg replacing Gunnarsson?

I like Gunner but he had trouble getting the puck out the the D-zone when under pressure.

The problem with Gunnarsson is that he is probably better suited to be a #3/4 defensive player rather than being paired up with Phaneuf and getting prime minutes every night.  I think that if the Leafs found a guy who deserved to be on the top pairing with Phaneuf and they could slot Gunnarsson down a unit he would be far more valuable to the team. 

He plays well enough where he is but he also gets a bad rap because he's a defensive player who thrives off positional play rather than physicality so you really only notice him when he screws up and the rest of his game is pretty quiet. 

 

[seahawk]

Spencer Abbott has been added to the AHL All-Star Game roster as an injury replacement.

http://theahl.com/adam-abbott-added-to-all-star-roster-p190191

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Spencer Abbott has been added to the AHL All-Star Game roster as an injury replacement.

http://theahl.com/adam-abbott-added-to-all-star-roster-p190191

It's surprising he wasn't named in the 1st place.

 

[Zee]

What's the deal with T.J. Brennan?  I see he's ripping it up stats wise in the AHL this season.  40 NHL games of experience, i guess nothing noteworthy since he didn't stick with an NHL club.  Is he just a late bloomer at 25?  Any chance this guy is part of the Leafs defense in the near future?

 

[bustaheims]

What's the deal with T.J. Brennan?  I see he's ripping it up stats wise in the AHL this season.  40 NHL games of experience, i guess nothing noteworthy since he didn't stick with an NHL club.  Is he just a late bloomer at 25?  Any chance this guy is part of the Leafs defense in the near future?

He's really pretty bad on the defensive side of the puck. As much as I hate it when people propose this for players, he might very well be a guy who could benefit from a transition to forward. His offensive skills are very good.

 

[moon111]

Is there a reason a mobile defenseman can't play a forward position?  And what interests me the most, usually if it has happened, it's amazingly on the top two lines.  Why can't a defenseman be say a fourth line LW?

 

[Leaflifer]

Is there a reason a mobile defenseman can't play a forward position?  And what interests me the most, usually if it has happened, it's amazingly on the top two lines.  Why can't a defenseman be say a fourth line LW?

I can't speak for guys at the NHL level, but it takes a lot of years to gain the instincts of being a forward as opposed to being a defenceman. Maybe more difficult for a forward to become a defenceman.

Where I notice it the most is watching a forward being the lone man back on a rush, skating backwards and trying to angle a guy out. It looks so awkward.

There's a lot of little skills that are unique to each position.

Some guys have experience at both. I would guess most players don't have enough experience at it to pull it off 5 on 5, regular minutes.

Asking Chara to stand in front of the net on a PP is one thing, but asking him to chase a dump in, win a draw, crossover on the rush, etc, may not work, night in/night out on a regular basis.

 

[drummond]

Is there a reason a mobile defenseman can't play a forward position?  And what interests me the most, usually if it has happened, it's amazingly on the top two lines.  Why can't a defenseman be say a fourth line LW?

If am not mistaken Ian White played partly on wing. Also Wade Belak played both D as well as wing.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Is there a reason a mobile defenseman can't play a forward position?  And what interests me the most, usually if it has happened, it's amazingly on the top two lines.  Why can't a defenseman be say a fourth line LW?

What's Byfuglien playing in Winnipeg? Didn't they move him up to forward for a while? I can't see him having the wheels for top 2 lines.

 

[Corn Flake]

Is there a reason a mobile defenseman can't play a forward position?  And what interests me the most, usually if it has happened, it's amazingly on the top two lines.  Why can't a defenseman be say a fourth line LW?

What's Byfuglien playing in Winnipeg? Didn't they move him up to forward for a while? I can't see him having the wheels for top 2 lines.

Last check he was up at forward since Maurice took over. He was mostly a forward with Chicago.

And yes, White played a number of games on the wing.

#17 was drafted as a d-man.

 

[bustaheims]

It happens. It's just rare that it works out well.

 

[Champ Kind]

Brent Burns is another defense-to-forward success story: 14 goals, 30 points, +20.  Of course, playing with Thornton, Pavelski and Marleau helps a bit.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I think in most (or all?) of the cases the players played forward at some point earlier in their careers/lives.