Not sure he is better defensively than Mitchell. If he is, its not by much.
- Elbows15

Wiz told me a few weeks ago that Mitchell needs to be better defensively to step into nhl. Very good understanding and performance defensively is part of Beaudin report card. They both project as being more strong than weak defensively once they hit nhl

True, but they do have back one of their best PK guys...Crawford can make some big saves at times. Maybe it will help.
- breadbag

There is a lot of talk here about him looking "questionable" or "not fully healed," as shots are getting past him that he might usually stop.

If the pk goes up, then the pp will go down. The Hawks can never be good at both at the same time. One has to suffer.....

They are at 73.5M for next year with 16 players. Should be an interesting summer for Leaf fans.
- Elbows15

Toronto fans will say they will trade Kadri ($4.5), Hyman ($2.25M) and Brown ($2.1M) and get back a net ~$6M in cap space after replacing those 3 players with minimum wage forwards. So let's assume they can do that without taking back any salary on their Cap - that puts the running total at $67.5M which leaves $15M in cap space (assuming the Cap ceiling will meet the $82.5M projection).

So, $15M to use to re-sign RFA's Marner, Kapanen, and Johnsson, and replace key UFA d-men Gardiner and Hainsey.

Yeah ... good luck with that.

Toronto fans will say they will trade Kadri ($4.5), Hyman ($2.25M) and Brown ($2.1M) and get back a net ~$6M in cap space after replacing those 3 players with minimum wage forwards. So let's assume they can do that without taking back any salary on their Cap - that puts the running total at $67.5M which leaves $15M in cap space (assuming the Cap ceiling will meet the $82.5M projection).

So, $15M to use to re-sign RFA's Marner, Kapanen, and Johnsson, and replace key UFA d-men Gardiner and Hainsey.

Yeah ... good luck with that.
- EbonyRaptor

They'll do it, of course, but will those replacement players be any good? Their defense corps may resemble the 2018 Hawks.

They'll do it, of course, but will those replacement players be any good? Their defense corps may resemble the 2018 Hawks.
- mohel

Exactly. They have a couple pretty good d-prospects that may be able to make up for losing Gardiner and Hainsey but that would be another $2M against their cap which would leave only $13M to resign Marner, Kapanen and Johnsson and the math simply doesn't work even if all three sign short term cheaper than market value deals.

But let's say the hockey gods sprinkle some pixie dust on the Leafs and somehow someway they get the big-3 RFA forwards re-signed - they would still have lost 5 key pieces off this seasons team - Kadri, Hyman, Brown, Gardiner and Hainsey.

If the leafs don't do well in this year's playoffs Babcock will be feeling some serious heat. And if Matthews is as ineffective as he was against Boston last season he too will feel the wrath of the fickle Leaf fans.
- paulr

There is only the Bruins, Lightning and Caps standing in their path to greatness. Leaf fans have no concerns. Babcock is great. Much smarter than Q.

Wiz told mr a few weeks sgo that Mitchell needs to be betterwe defensively to step i to nhl. Very good understanding and performance defensively is part of Beaudin report card. They are both project as being more strong than weak defensively once they hit nhl
- jhawk59

Wiz is just a fan like all of us. He is right on some and wrong on others. Just like all of us.

I didn't say Mitchell was NHL ready. Its a huge jump from NCAA to the NHL. He will need some A time.

Wiz is just a fan like all of us. He is right on some and wrong on others. Just like all of us.

I didn't say Mitchell was NHL ready. Its a huge jump from NCAA to the NHL. He will need some A time.
- Elbows15

Dude, Wiz has a website.

Toronto fans will say they will trade Kadri ($4.5), Hyman ($2.25M) and Brown ($2.1M) and get back a net ~$6M in cap space after replacing those 3 players with minimum wage forwards. So let's assume they can do that without taking back any salary on their Cap - that puts the running total at $67.5M which leaves $15M in cap space (assuming the Cap ceiling will meet the $82.5M projection).

So, $15M to use to re-sign RFA's Marner, Kapanen, and Johnsson, and replace key UFA d-men Gardiner and Hainsey.

Yeah ... good luck with that.
- EbonyRaptor

So, they don't think they are taking any salary back? Good luck with that.

Dude, Wiz has a website.
- mohel

Does he have spellcheck?

There is only the Bruins, Lightning and Caps standing in their path to greatness. Leaf fans have no concerns. Babcock is great. Much smarter than Q.
- RickJ

Aren't some Leaf fans beginning to turn on him?

Aren't some Leaf fans beginning to turn on him?
- Elbows15

No. There are no Oddduffman types among Leaf fans. Totally loyal until late April when they will turn on Babcpck, Dubas, Shanahan and the mayor of the city.

Does he have spellcheck?
- Elbows15

Don't believe he does.

No. There are no Oddduffman types among Leaf fans. Totally loyal until late April when they will turn on Babcpck, Dubas, Shanahan and the mayor of the city.
- RickJ

Not that I would advise lurking in there, but the Leaf thread on here has a few who complain about him.

Don't believe he does.
- mohel

M'OUT

Wiz is just a fan like all of us. He is right on some and wrong on others. Just like all of us.

I didn't say Mitchell was NHL ready. Its a huge jump from NCAA to the NHL. He will need some time.
- Elbows15

I did not mean to imply that
you said Mitchell is NHL ready. And you are right: it is a huge jump. Wiz did mention that Mitchell was nothing special in WJC. He added that in some ways Mitchelll could step in and be fine. Wiz explained on one poiint: Good active stick. Probably can handle offensive side of game.

Also: it is an easier transition moving from AHL to NHL than moving straight from junior and even college to NHL. Especially for dmen and goaltenders.

Look forward to any AHL input you bring.

AEL_FOX can sleak more toward authority on this since he watches many Rockford games

Hillman i do not truly think has regressed. Maybe not advanced a lot in his development but it is more a question of how good can he become. AEL_FOX said Gilbert has progressed ahead of him. And actually Hillman was rated way down the list and not spoken as a sure fire prospect by one of those scouting services....which is a bunch of bullpoop

The Blackhawks have seen plenty of him in rookies camp and Traverse City. Skates well for his size, willing to be mean, a defensive dman but has enough ability to rush the puck up ice which he did as a collegiate. He is a smart player. Hillman played a smart conservative game and had a goal in his brief Blackhawk trial last season.

Right now i suspect that Carlsson will earn a job and either Hillman or Gilbert could gain a foothold as a tough third pair. What side defense is needed and how far the team goes before eithet Koekkoeck and or Forsling make it in nhl.....that comes first. I am going with Koekkoeck makes it, Forsling needs a year AHL and Dahlstrom is depth. If Dahlstrom would use his body effectively and regularly as a big size dman then he could get a long look. So therefore Dahlstrom might block both Gilbert and Hillman. Not going to keep Carlssin back though
- jhawk59

Thanks for the info.!

Dude, Wiz has a website.
- mohel

Well on junior and non professional players development wiz studies tape and breaks it down. He assembles preliminary draft list even before the Hlinka Tournament. He has notes on the 2020 class already. Wiz has been doing this since the '80's. His projection for first round to what team and in what order is the most accurate barometer you can find. McKenzie and others take lists, talk to scouts then make their lists. They do not do the grunt work of coming up with original list.

But AEL_Fox is right in that wiz is just a fan like all of us and can be wrong sometimes. Myself i respect both wiz on junior and AEL_Fox on AHL review. Wiz also has a ton of people he knows and talks to. His talking to nhl people on draft day is a beautiful thing ....do you recall his posts last draft. Wiz came up with the term bubble butt describing abiliy to succeed in board battles. I don't know if the term has been used elsewhere/perhaps NFL.

Wiz has told me stories when as a young man how he used to ask Makita or others questions why they do this or do that. So wiz has been learning for a long time.

Once a very long time ago long before i knew wiz, i helped someone compile the 1979 draft review. We sent out form letters - imagine that! A while later i used to call nhl teams and try to talk to people. Man what an ignorant wanna be knowledgable fan i was as a young man.

So once i asked Harry Howell, what would he say is the difference between how good Joey Mullen could be as compared to Bobby Crawford. Both came up as Blues farmhands. Howell said "Mullen could score 50 goals season but the other guy might never crack 25"

AEL_FOX can sleak more toward authority on this since he watches many Rockford games

Hillman i do not truly think has regressed. Maybe not advanced a lot in his development but it is more a question of how good can he become. AEL_FOX said Gilbert has progressed ahead of him. And actually Hillman was rated way down the list and not spoken as a sure fire prospect by one of those scouting services....which is a bunch of bullpoop

The Blackhawks have seen plenty of him in rookies camp and Traverse City. Skates well for his size, willing to be mean, a defensive dman but has enough ability to rush the puck up ice which he did as a collegiate. He is a smart player. Hillman played a smart conservative game and had a goal in his brief Blackhawk trial last season.

Right now i suspect that Carlsson will earn a job and either Hillman or Gilbert could gain a foothold as a tough third pair. What side defense is needed and how far the team goes before eithet Koekkoeck and or Forsling make it in nhl.....that comes first. I am going with Koekkoeck makes it, Forsling needs a year AHL and Dahlstrom is depth. If Dahlstrom would use his body effectively and regularly as a big size dman then he could get a long look. So therefore Dahlstrom might block both Gilbert and Hillman. Not going to keep Carlssin back though
- jhawk59

jhawk59, thank you for the shout out. I'm just a fan with perspectives and opinions like everyone else. Anyone who reads my posts can do whatever they like with my Ice Hog information. I know enough about the game to make an educated analysis on prospects or even NHL players but also have an untrained eye compared to those who are in the business of player personnel.

That said, I do think Carlsson is the best Hogs defender: skates well, doesn't give up on plays, can play physical if needed, focuses on defense but has some offensive talent. Quite similar to Hjalmarsson.

IMHO, Gilbert has surpassed Hillman but that isn't to say Hillman is trash now. Gilbert is a physical force on the backend who is noticeable because of his size and capacity to mix things up. He has also learned to stick within his role by staying back rather than being Gustafsson like in wanting to join the forwards every rush up ice.

Hillman is a defensive defenseman, too, just not that noticeable. He doesn't make blunder after blunder but he doesn't push the pace either. Putting in a quiet defensive performance is not a bad thing, though, so he still has potential.

There is a lot of talk here about him looking "questionable" or "not fully healed," as shots are getting past him that he might usually stop.

If the pk goes up, then the pp will go down. The Hawks can never be good at both at the same time. One has to suffer.....
- I Am The Breadman

IMO, seeing some of the saves he made, I think he is fine. The team in front needs to do better. CC is still the best goaltender they have.

Wiz is just a fan like all of us. He is right on some and wrong on others. Just like all of us.

I didn't say Mitchell was NHL ready. Its a huge jump from NCAA to the NHL. He will need some A time.
- Elbows15

Wiz has proven time and again he knows what the heck he is talking about... more often than not.

https://thehockeynews.com...gents-and-record-breakers

Someone asked earlier if there are any NCAA free agents to watch for. The Hockey News had an article today about NCAA free agents and college draftees to keep an eye on.

Nico Sturm at Clarkson is considered the top NCAA free agent. Not sure if he's related to Marco Sturm. Currently a junior who could stay one more year. THN: "Sturm is a responsible center with great size, so he can play NHL games right away next season if he wanted to."

https://www.eliteprospect...m/player/54457/nico-sturm

Chad Krys is one of the college draftees featured in the article and THN estimate an ETA of 2021-22 to reach the NHL. His excellent skating, solid puck moving, and continual improvement on defense could help him towards that goal. Ceiling is likely 3rd pair if he does make it.

No. There are no Oddduffman types among Leaf fans. Totally loyal until late April when they will turn on Babcpck, Dubas, Shanahan and the mayor of the city.
- RickJ

Hey Hey I resemble that remark, other then the Odd part . Maybe you should have another J Rick . .Ya leaf fans are lemmings following blindly over the Cliff .They need a Odd man to say the "emperor has no clothes ."

I did not mean to imply that
you said Mitchell is NHL ready. And you are right: it is a huge jump. Wiz did mention that Mitchell was nothing special in WJC. He added that in some ways Mitchelll could step in and be fine. Wiz explained on one poiint: Good active stick. Probably can handle offensive side of game.

Also: it is an easier transition moving from AHL to NHL than moving straight from junior and even college to NHL. Especially for dmen and goaltenders.

Look forward to any AHL input you bring.
- jhawk59

Mitchell wasn't really put in a role to do anything special at the WJC. Dobson and Bouchard were on the team. Mitchell was given more of a defensive role and did pretty well. IIRC, he also played some on his off-side. He still had 3 points in 5 games in his limited role. The goal he scored was a pretty clutch one at the time he scored.

He has good defensive instincts. Like most young players, he needs to refine his skills on the defensive side but as I mentioned, he has played the PK at Denver.

https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/prospect-need-to-know-free-agents-and-record-breakers

Someone asked earlier if there are any NCAA free agents to watch for. The Hockey News had an article today about NCAA free agents and college draftees to keep an eye on.

Nico Sturm at Clarkson is considered the top NCAA free agent. Not sure if he's related to Marco Sturm. Currently a junior who could stay one more year. THN: "Sturm is a responsible center with great size, so he can play NHL games right away next season if he wanted to."

https://www.eliteprospect...m/player/54457/nico-sturm

Chad Krys is one of the college draftees featured in the article and THN estimate an ETA of 2021-22 to reach the NHL. His excellent skating, solid puck moving, and continual improvement on defense could help him towards that goal. Ceiling is likely 3rd pair if he does make it.
- AEL_Fox

Krys had a 5 point game last night for BU.