So does that mean Morin is still Chara?
- Glak18

Morin isn't owed 3 x 4.5 still

Bill just got done saying Ghost doesn't make excuses for his play, why do fans do it for him? Injuries, not deployed correctly, blah blah blah.

Doesn't matter how he wants to play or if he will get more padded stats, play the role that is given and they will stay in the lineup. If a coach wants to play Ghost on the PK then eat it and play well. If the player can't then the fact is they are not good enough to help the team win.

The bottom line is when the positives outweigh the negatives the coach has no choice but to play them.
- Glak18

I understand what you're trying to say but this is not entirely correct. If you ask a player to play in or put him in a role he is not capable of playing well in, is that because he is not good enough to help you win? For example, let's make Haag our #1 top pairing shut down defenseman. When he falters, I guess he's just not good enough to help the team win.

I understand what you're trying to say but this is not entirely correct. If you ask a player to play in or put him in a role he is not capable of playing well in, is that because he is not good enough to help you win? For example, let's make Haag our #1 top pairing shut down defenseman. When he falters, I guess he's just not good enough to help the team win.
- MJL

Was Ghost really put in such a horrible situation though?

I understand what you're trying to say but this is not entirely correct. If you ask a player to play in or put him in a role he is not capable of playing well in, is that because he is not good enough to help you win? For example, let's make Haag our #1 top pairing shut down defenseman. When he falters, I guess he's just not good enough to help the team win.
- MJL

Sticking with the Hagg situation...

If injuries occur and they need a player to step in on the top pair to play 20+ minutes, which Hagg has done in the past, the coach then instills that role onto another player. If the player falters then the team finds another player that can fill that role, so essentially that player is not good enough to help the team win in that role.

Now when it comes to Ghost we are talking about the opposite direction. The team is not trying to force him into a role that is above him. The fact he can not secure a 3rd pairing role across multiple coaches is telling. I doubt he is getting scratched because he isn't scoring every night, it's mostly due to him not focusing on his end first, which his position is defense no matter what his skill set is. The team wants Ghost to become more of an every down kind of back, not just 3rd and goal.

Once you put that Flyers jersey on at the draft you’re basically Bobby Orr for the length of your career in a few guy’s eyes here. Heaven forbid we ever try to trade one.
- hereticpride

What makes you think those guys liked Orr?

Sticking with the Hagg situation...

If injuries occur and they need a player to step in on the top pair to play 20+ minutes, which Hagg has done in the past, the coach then instills that role onto another player. If the player falters then the team finds another player that can fill that role, so essentially that player is not good enough to help the team win in that role.

Now when it comes to Ghost we are talking about the opposite direction. The team is not trying to force him into a role that is above him. The fact he can not secure a 3rd pairing role across multiple coaches is telling. I doubt he is getting scratched because he isn't scoring every night, it's mostly due to him not focusing on his end first, which his position is defense no matter what his skill set is. The team wants Ghost to become more of an every down kind of back, not just 3rd and goal.
- Glak18

If this guy needs a specific situation we have to create for him in order to be successful, he isn’t that good.

If this guy needs a specific situation we have to create for him in order to be successful, he isn’t that good.
- ClaudeFather

I feel the same way. I also feel the same way when a player needs specific linemates to play with or they just can't succeed. Far as I'm concerned then they need to get better then.

Sticking with the Hagg situation...

If injuries occur and they need a player to step in on the top pair to play 20+ minutes, which Hagg has done in the past, the coach then instills that role onto another player. If the player falters then the team finds another player that can fill that role, so essentially that player is not good enough to help the team win in that role.

Now when it comes to Ghost we are talking about the opposite direction. The team is not trying to force him into a role that is above him. The fact he can not secure a 3rd pairing role across multiple coaches is telling. I doubt he is getting scratched because he isn't scoring every night, it's mostly due to him not focusing on his end first, which his position is defense no matter what his skill set is. The team wants Ghost to become more of an every down kind of back, not just 3rd and goal.
- Glak18

You simply can't discount the injuries as a factor. Even if he was never injured and was always fully healthy, if you don't use a player like Gostisbehere on the PP and in offensive zone starts with top offensive players, then you'll never get the full value of a player like him if he plays well. Yea, if he doesn't play well then he's not going to get that. Again, can't discount the injuries. Also can't discount usage and deployment as a factor and where a player fits into your team. If they're not going to use Gostisbehere as he should be, then they should look to move him.

Excerpts from the Philadelphia Inquirer today for those out of town:

I selected two interesting tidbits in bold re: his strength and his skating improvement.

Foerster, 18, had one of the hardest shots of any of the 217 players selected in the recent NHL draft.

But, make no mistake, Foerster’s blistering shot, which has been compared to (gulp) Alex Ovechkin’s, is his calling card.

Thousands of hours on the ice have perfected it. Countless hours in the weight room have helped, along with sweaty summers working on his grandparents' sheep farm, located about 10 minutes from his parents' home in Alliston, Ontario.


He stacks the hay, works the fields with his tractor, shovels manure, takes care of the animals, and cleans out the stalls, along with other jobs.

Stacking 500 to 1,000 bales of hay a day helped him build up strength, which helps give him a more powerful shot. The bales weigh about 50 pounds each. “It’s not the easiest job, but I think it’s worth it,” the affable Foerster said. “I like helping my grandparents out and I’m also getting a bit of a workout.”

Foerster’s skating was rated as just average, which is why he fell to No. 23, scouts said. But his once-choppy skating has improved greatly since the Ontario Hockey League season ended, according to Paul Matheson.

Matheson is the skating coach for Foerster’s OHL team, the Barrie Colts, and also his personal instructor. He has been working with Foerster once a week since June, and he said the big forward’s work ethic is off the charts.

Foerster used to skate awkwardly, but not anymore.

If you last saw him in the OHL last season and looked at him now, he’s a “different skater,” Matheson said.

This past summer, Foerster "made noticeable progress,” Matheson said. “Unfortunately, not many people have gotten to see that” because the pandemic has delayed the start of the 2020-21 OHL season.“Before, he was working hard, but the work wasn’t really well-directed toward being a good skater. It was just hard work for the sake of hard work. His efficiency is much better; he’s in much more powerful positions. Everything has improved dramatically.”

Matheson paused.

“There’s still work to do, but from where he was, there’s going to be a lot of people who are going to be very surprised at how much of a different skater he is from the middle of March, when everything shut down. After everything we’ve done, he hasn’t had a chance to try it out yet in a game situation and see how it holds up. He’s on the ice with other pro players that are bigger and stronger than him and he holds his own, skating-wise, quite easily now— and that’s very positive.”

Great news on the Foerster skating front

Just link it for cripessake
https://www.inquirer.com/...-sheep-farm-20201021.html

Great news on the Foerster skating front
- Dave21Brown

Isn't it? Number of things stand out to me about that kid:

1. His dramatic improvement from last season to this one.
2. He played on a mediocre Barrie team and was a 1.25 ppg player and the next closest guy on the team was 33 points away.
3. While many players may struggle to adapt to the pros, the cannon of a shot should transport pretty well.
4. His work ethic.
5. The skating improvement which may have held his stock down and which is apparently vastly improved.

I wonder if we could have picked a diamond in the rough. He seems to have a lot of upside potential that may have gone unnoticed partly because of factors related to Covid.

(I don't know anything about juniors. Just liking what I am reading).

Just link it for cripessake
https://www.inquirer.com/...-sheep-farm-20201021.html
- Bendecko

It has a paywall.

It has a paywall.
- PT21

It didn't for me. Browse better.

Picked up the new NHL21 and created a team for Expansion.

Came away with (From ED): Brent Burns, Parayko, Phil Myers, Dougie Hamilton.

Free agency: Ovechkin (lol), RNH, Big Buff

Offersheeted: Sergachev

Best defense ever.

Excerpts from the Philadelphia Inquirer today for those out of town:

I selected two interesting tidbits in bold re: his strength and his skating improvement.

Foerster, 18, had one of the hardest shots of any of the 217 players selected in the recent NHL draft.

But, make no mistake, Foerster’s blistering shot, which has been compared to (gulp) Alex Ovechkin’s, is his calling card.

Thousands of hours on the ice have perfected it. Countless hours in the weight room have helped, along with sweaty summers working on his grandparents' sheep farm, located about 10 minutes from his parents' home in Alliston, Ontario.


He stacks the hay, works the fields with his tractor, shovels manure, takes care of the animals, and cleans out the stalls, along with other jobs.

Stacking 500 to 1,000 bales of hay a day helped him build up strength, which helps give him a more powerful shot. The bales weigh about 50 pounds each. “It’s not the easiest job, but I think it’s worth it,” the affable Foerster said. “I like helping my grandparents out and I’m also getting a bit of a workout.”

Foerster’s skating was rated as just average, which is why he fell to No. 23, scouts said. But his once-choppy skating has improved greatly since the Ontario Hockey League season ended, according to Paul Matheson.

Matheson is the skating coach for Foerster’s OHL team, the Barrie Colts, and also his personal instructor. He has been working with Foerster once a week since June, and he said the big forward’s work ethic is off the charts.

Foerster used to skate awkwardly, but not anymore.

If you last saw him in the OHL last season and looked at him now, he’s a “different skater,” Matheson said.

This past summer, Foerster "made noticeable progress,” Matheson said. “Unfortunately, not many people have gotten to see that” because the pandemic has delayed the start of the 2020-21 OHL season.“Before, he was working hard, but the work wasn’t really well-directed toward being a good skater. It was just hard work for the sake of hard work. His efficiency is much better; he’s in much more powerful positions. Everything has improved dramatically.”

Matheson paused.

“There’s still work to do, but from where he was, there’s going to be a lot of people who are going to be very surprised at how much of a different skater he is from the middle of March, when everything shut down. After everything we’ve done, he hasn’t had a chance to try it out yet in a game situation and see how it holds up. He’s on the ice with other pro players that are bigger and stronger than him and he holds his own, skating-wise, quite easily now— and that’s very positive.”
- PT21

I’ve heard enough. Send Sanhiem to this farm ASAP

Isn't it? Number of things stand out to me about that kid:

1. His dramatic improvement from last season to this one.
2. He played on a mediocre Barrie team and was a 1.25 ppg player and the next closest guy on the team was 33 points away.
3. While many players may struggle to adapt to the pros, the cannon of a shot should transport pretty well.
4. His work ethic.
5. The skating improvement which may have held his stock down and which is apparently vastly improved.

I wonder if we could have picked a diamond in the rough. He seems to have a lot of upside potential that may have gone unnoticed partly because of factors related to Covid.

(I don't know anything about juniors. Just liking what I am reading).
- PT21

I am also loving what you shared. If these skating issues are overcome it really seems we got a gem for where we drafted him.

I’ve heard enough. Send Sanhiem to this farm ASAP
- hereticpride

Strome could probably use 2 years on that farm.

Strome could probably use 2 years on that farm.
- Letterkenney

Screw it. Send em all. Vets too lol

It didn't for me. Browse better.
- Bendecko

It might be because you have not yet exhausted your free articles for the month. Or because you are a subscriber. Or because you are using incognito mode.

Why does Philly fan continue to cling to the thought Ghost is a legit NHL D MAN.
Its time to face facts he was a flash in the pan and he is now a grossly overpaid 3rd pair D man at best.
MOVE FRANKING ON!
- Balboa

is this about Risto or Ghost?

I’ve heard enough. Send Sanhiem to this farm ASAP
- hereticpride

50 lbs is not a lot. But its not a grocery bag either.

But 500-1000 times a fricking day?!?!

50 lbs is not a lot. But its not a grocery bag either.

But 500-1000 times a fricking day?!?!
- PT21

It’s the itching and the heat that gets ya...lol....best summer jobs I ever had!!

It might be because you have not yet exhausted your free articles for the month. Or because you are a subscriber. Or because you are using incognito mode.


- PT21

use and ad blocker or private mode nub sauce

Just link it for cripessake
https://www.inquirer.com/...-sheep-farm-20201021.html
- Bendecko

Not all of us feel like paying for a crappy website every month just to read one article.