Wiz...please give a similar breakdown on the Flick/Sauve trade as you see it
- philco28
I think you are just talking about Bruins -Hawks like with the Versteeg deal or more?
You know I actaully touched on that yesterday, and I may have to go back and cut and paste parts to save time but....
by mid-march the GMs meet with their entire staffs and go through the organization's AHL pros and juniors. Each guys contract and developmental report card is reviewed, similar to if you worked as say a manager at J C Penny.
They know where they think each guy fits and how much or little they value them.
They know if the minor player is happy in the roles he is asked to play, and they know if that prospect wants a raise or wants out, or is homesick.
The idea is to cut down the surprises....
You know how today I posted that Wild made the trade of youngster Johan Larsson had something to do with the fact they had a similar player in Granlund?
Sometime in minor pro you don't want too many of the same either.
Sometimes you sign guys to play in Rockford not because you think of them as Hawk futures as much as you see how they are good minor pros to help alongside with the development of your prospect you think could be pros...it doesn't help young wingers if the farm has no quick good passers to play alongside them, right?
I loved Flick as a junior player with Mississauga but I always thought he had skating problems, stops and starts, and when at centre, he just seemed to get in trouble with the puck, and was best stationary on the right circle offhanded. He picked up the point totals and looked to be improving as a junior beside the ability to brawl:
http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/92543
And we all know of the Rockford melee' with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate Wolves.
Did the kid think he was not getting played enough in different situations?
Was he feeling further disrespected after being sent to the Toledo Walleyes the year before "to get better positionally?"
We will never know.
and we don't know if Maxime sauve wanted a change either, but he did originally sign a three year deal with Bruins as a rookie who was paid 65,000 in the AHL, and the rookie Cap hit of 875,000 if would have made the Bruins roster.
Teams like the Hawks always seem to look to find earlier drafted guys (Sauve was a 2nd rounder in 2008 Kyle Beach draft) who have had difficulties and see it they can kick the tires again and get them back on track.
He actually got chosed 47 overall and ahead of guys I had ranked higher, like Travis Harmonic, Derek Stepan, Jared Staal.
He has always been a bit lean and stood about six foot last time I looked but (looking now) he is listed as a 6 foot one and almost 195.
So has spendt almost two and a half seasons in the Providence AHL farm. He's had several injuries in his time in the AHLincluding ,a hip injury this last season, and a fairly severe concussion from a blindside hit last year 2011-12.
He played one game in the NHL last year for Boston.
He was a really strong junior player in the Q with great vision, hands and in that smaller sized league was able to "control" play handle the wall and cycle, and play really strong on the puck.
When he got to providence the transition to the faster all around play saw him struggle a bit at both ends, but there clearly some skill and toolbox.
He is deceptively quick in shorts spaces and sort of like sahrp has that feel to the open spot and can bury it, and is good in tarffic and when bearing doen on the attack one a defender one on one.
So it look to me his deal was up, and the concussion made the Bruins wary, or maybe the kid got tentative.
The Bruins did include him on their Black Aces (but...hey...Beach was one our call-ups!)
so they must have liked something in him, but one of the sides turned the page.
The best thing a staff can do is find guys like this to help make the farmteam better and maybe along the way, good things happen and Versteeg appears, right?
Will this do for an answer?
out there especially playing the Blues tonight.
