SISMIM

Just noticed that Petey is on pace to finish the season with 100+ hits! That’d be amazing, if he can keep it up. I usually use the 100 hits/82 games as one of the standards for a really noteworthy “physical player.” Which also makes his 0 PIM even more impressive (and also his 4 penalties drawn). Not many players can manage that level of contact while also keeping themselves out of the penalty box. Not sure if being on pace for 100 hits is gonna help his Lady Byng chances, but it certainly speaks to how much Petey has matured and grown into a complete player who knows how to play a heavy game and physical edge, despite his slight build. Now he just needs to become a faceoff ace and he’ll basically be good at everything.

Is the ice just really bad? I only just tuned into the game but it looks pretty terrible. Rink looks almost blurry.

Yup. And quietly on pace for 89 points and +82. 25th in scoring (all skaters) 3rd in Dmen scoring 4th in assists (all skaters) 2nd in Dmen assists (behind only Hughes) 3rd in +/- (all skaters and Dmen) 23:57 TOI/G (leads all Canucks and 25th highest in NHL); used in all situations (including 44th highest PKTOI in the league); zone starts at all strengths: 49 offensive, 50 neutral, 49 defensive; on pace for around 30 GAR and 5 WAR over 82 games. Hronek is a #1D. He’s just playing behind (and beside) an absolute phenom in Quinn Hughes (who’s arguably been the best and most impactful player in the entire NHL so far this season). It’s been such an amazing run so far. I still can’t quite believe it’s entirely sustainable, but then again, that’s what I said back when Hronek had 8 points in 9 games, and then he went out and added another 5 points in his next 3 games.

Thanks, I knew I’d heard about it somewhere, just couldn’t remember exactly where and when. It’s a nice insight into how Tocchet works and fits with other tidbits I’ve heard about how he communicates. That type of rapport and mutual respect between a coach and his players is so key to success in today’s game. Lots of coaches will claim their “door is always open,” but it really does seem like Tocchet means it and he truly wants to hear from his players and welcomes those one-on-one conversations. It’s not just about paying lip service to having open lines of communication or using various contemporary management buzzwords.

I haven’t been able to track down a source, so I’m not sure where I heard it, but apparently at some point during the Florida leg of the road trip, Myers texted Tocchet to apologize for his poor play. And Tocchet invited Myers to go on a walk, just the two of them, and they talked it out. Since then, Myers has been playing much better. Now, again, I can’t recall where I heard this, so maybe it was from a conversation or maybe I dreamed it. I’m getting old and my memory is getting spotty. But I’m pretty sure it happened. Makes me respect and appreciate both Myers and Tocchet, if that’s how it went down. Myers for taking ownership and responsibly for his play, and being humble enough to directly apologize for it. And Tocchet for using it as an opportunity to connect one-on-one with a player, build trust and rapport, and spin a negative into a positive.

Rights expired this past June (and he wasn’t signed), so no, he’s no longer Canucks property. He’d now be a free agent as a rights expired, unsigned draft pick, who has aged out of future NHL drafts.

Seems to be flying a bit under the radar, at least for me (especially with Hughes having such a monster start to his season), but amazing to see Hronek sitting tied for 11th in NHL defenceman scoring (8 points), same total as McAvoy, and just a point behind Dahlin and Makar. Hronek currently on pace to obliterate his previous points totals, more than double his best season for assists, and finish with 73 points in 82 games. And, looking at some of his analytics, he’s pacing for an eye-popping 5 WAR/30 GAR by the end of the season. I think he’s bound to slow down a bit. Those numbers would be just insane, if maintained over a full season. But if Hughes keeps playing like the 2024 Norris favourite, and Hronek stays paired with him, it’s hard to say how much of a drop-off there will actually be. Which is all so very exciting. Right now, we have two #1 Ds, at least based on their on-paper numbers and advanced stats. Both playing nearly 25 minutes per game, Hronek pacing for over 70 points, Quinn on pace for 100, both on pace for around 5 WAR (maybe even more for Hughes). By the fancy stats, it would be impossible to overpay either of these guys. At the current rate of play this season, they each provide more on-ice value than the league maximum salary. Which makes it so amazing to have Hughes locked up at $7.85M until 2027. But also makes Hronek’s next contract even more scary to think about. If he manages to maintain this pace, or anything close to it, he’s in line for a massive payday. I only hope that they’ll be able to use Quinn’s current AAV as a sort of internal cap on Dman salaries. Although that might be overly optimistic, if Hronek actually ends up with 60-70 points this season, combined with the quality of his overall play and underlying numbers.

Yeah, I think he was generally seen as a 2nd round talent, with maybe a couple services putting him in the late first round. Not sure why he fell, but glad the Canucks took advantage of the opportunity. Seemed like a “steal” at the time, and now only more so. I think you’re right about the scouts not seeing any standout talent or elite abilities in his overall skillset. Lots of above average, but nothing really “special.” He’s adequate sized but not “big.” Good skater but not super “fast.” His shot isn’t particularly dangerous. And his defence was sorta mid. Playmaking and transition were definitely seen as high end, however by most scouts. Projected as 2nd or 3rd pair defender. His untraditional route (USNTDP to OHL) probably didn’t do him many favours either, when it comes to some rankings. Just in the sense of the eyeballs that were actually watching him. Being in two very different scouting regions for his D-1 (USNTDP) and D (OHL) years meant that he’d sorta get caught between two different groups of scouts, and possibly end up sliding a bit down the lists for both, as a consequence.

Probably puts the Kent Nilsson record (28 goals) out of reach (unless Lekkerimaki heats up even more), but even if he misses 10 SHL games this season, he’s still on pace (with 8 G in 14 GP) to match Pettersson’s 24 goals. Pettersson played in the WJC in his 2017-18 season, and still finished with 44 SHL GP (regular season). At his current pace, Lekkerimaki would need just 42 SHL games to score 24 goals (SHL regular season is 52 games). EDIT: not that it really matters. The main thing is that Lekkerimaki is currently scoring goals (as a U20 in the SHL) at a rate that puts him among some of the best Swedish players in hockey history at the same age (Pettersson, Nilsson, Forsberg, Naslund, Sedin, etc). If he keeps up anything close to this pace for a full season, it bodes extremely well for his NHL future.

Kid’s on pace to best Elias Pettersson’s U20 SHL goalscoring mark (24 goals in 2017-18) and, if he keeps this up, could possibly even challenge Kent Nilsson’s all-time U20 SHL goalscoring record (28 goals).

Right now, just want to hear he’s gonna be fine, but yeah, Podz was really having a strong start to this season. First, I just hope he recovers completely from this and has no lingering effects. Not really thinking about hockey too much right now. Just want the kid to be okay. But assuming we get some good news and there’s a positive prognosis, then hopefully he heals up, comes back fairly quickly (but obviously only when he’s 100% cleared and ready to return) and picks up right where he left off. Was really looking like he was settling in a solid groove with his development in Abby and was tracking really well. Hopefully this injury doesn’t set him back.

Looks like newcomers Friedman and Lafferty have history

And here’s a recent article on Ty Glover, where he’s named the “most improved player” on Wilkes-Barre, at this past summer development camp: https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2023/07/10/wbs-penguins-development-camp-ty-glover-video-scouting-report-skating-tlh excerpt: Glover, listed at 6 foot 3 and 201 pounds, is a power forward-type. His strengths are his skating, attention to detail in both ends of the ice, ability to win puck battles and play hard on the forecheck. The part of his game that he calls his "bread and butter" is his ability to be a net-front presence. He spent two years in that role on Western Michigan's power play, and picked up a fair amount of his goals from rebounds or tips in that position. Both Forrest and director of player development Tom Kostopoulos pointed to Glover's energy and personality as some of the first things they liked about his game in his rookie year. "He's got a ton of energy," Forrest said. "He creates some real chaos out there, he works really hard, goes to the net. He's really well-liked by his teammates." Kostopoulos liked that energy in the Penguins' three-on-three tournament to close development camp, too. "He was flying out there," Kostopoulos said of Glover. "Man, his speed was so noticeable, I'm sure you all saw it. In straight lines, he can fly. I think his energy and his attitude is contagious. It just spreads and the guys love him." (Full article worth reading. Gives a pretty good overall scouting profile of Glover.)

Haven’t read through the whole thread, so apologies if reposting info already here, but here are a couple good quotes from former teammates about Friedman: “So he’s a wild man. He works extremely hard, gets under the other team’s skin, brings that kind of swagger, that attitude,” Rust said. “And he’s not afraid to go against the biggest guy and give a cross-check or get in a battle. You saw that with Carrier in the second period. I think that kind of attitude and all that’s–it’s really fun to have that guy in the locker room.” -Bryan Rust “I think that’s probably a good word to use (spark). His personality is just kind of go, go, go. And I think you see that on the ice. He always seems to be involved in something. He’s aggressive. He’s not shying away from anybody. He’ll go with anybody,” Carter said. “You know, he makes smart, easy plays, and he reads the game well, and he knows when to jump in and when not to. I think his goal was a prime example of using his speed to get up the ice and heckuva shot. So I think he brings an element of that feistiness and, you know, that grit to our back end in which is good.” -Jeff Carter

Well, that’s weird. I wrote a whole post here and it disappeared. Anyway, here’s the goal where Perkins picked up his first collegiate point (a second assist):