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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 8, 2022 11:29:14 GMT -5
Guhle has really stepped up his game in the playoffs (and truly since joining the Oil Kings from PA). If you watched the game on TSN last night you would have heard the commentators remarking how he not just hits people, he hits with a purpose. He hits to separate guys from the puck. To kill plays. To send a serious message. Just ask the Tbirds top line centre who is still out after a thunderous hit in game one of the series (see a previous post with short clip of the hit). In 42 regular season games he scored 7 goals. He has matched that total in 16 playoff matches. Clutch.
I have watched a ton of Guhle live this season, including him going head to head against some of the best junior aged players in the game. And this is no exaggeration. Just look at these dudes he has had to handle in games I have been lucky to watch this season: Michkov (WJC pre tourney), Bedard, Matt Savoie (regular season vs Winnipeg), Geekie/Benson (playoffs with Savoie injured, projected top ten for 22 and 23 drafts), Bains/King (Red Deer top two points in WHL), and the top lines of Seattle and other top teams.
He plays a ton. He and Prokop are the regular top pairing guys, and complement each other well. Guhle also gets top unit time on PP and PK, so he plays a ton. What he has improved the most is his engagement in the play in the offensive zone. The Oil Kings are a fast transition team and activate their big mobile D on the rush. He often has a green light to go way deeper than he ever went with PA or with Team Canada. He also is better at walking the line and moving laterally to open up a better shooting lane. On the top PP unit he is the only D in the umbrella, so he gets lots of touches and gets shots through. He will never be mistaken for a PP QB at higher levels, but he definitely is getting much better and puck handling in the offensive zone. On defense, he is good on his gap control and board work, often killing plays on the boards. His open ice hits are some of the best I have seen in ages!
My biggest area of improvement that I still see in his game is in developing more core strength. Seems funny to say when you think of a big, physical player, but he can definitely get stronger and even more effective. He plays a hard in your face style on defense and battles in front and on the wall, but does end up on the ice too much for my liking. That will go away with more core strength work as he matures into his body. The hockey IQ, work ethic and leadership attributes are there already in spades. He has been working on making quicker decisions with the puck when he gets it, and that is always an area a defender can improve upon as he moves up in levels against better competition and stronger and faster opponents.
I will miss not seeing so much of him live next season, so let’s hope the Habs pick a few kids from the Dub next month!
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 8, 2022 22:49:39 GMT -5
Just because…
And Schaefer is a big boy and I hope the Habs can draft him (along with a ton of guys this draft lol).
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 9, 2022 7:15:35 GMT -5
Charlottetown lost a real heart breaker last night, 5-4 in OT to find themselves in a massive 3-0 hole in their series. They played well, Simoneau had one assist, but they just could not put Shawinigan away. They lost it early in OT on an own goal that one of their D fired into his own net. Yikes. Poor kid. Game four goes tonight and this could be their season. The first non-host Memorial Cup participant could be determined tonight.
Game time SHA-CHA is 7:00pm ET on TSN5
In the Dub, Seattle bounced back with their best game of the finals. Teams rarely outshoot the Oil Kings, but the Tbirds did last night. The game started off with an early scary moment. Oil King forward Kuny was levelled to the ice after he got rid of the puck and lay motionless for ages. The medical team were out, he was stretchered off and all precautions taken. Hope the kid is okay. The Oil Kings looked pretty impacted by this and slept walked through the major penalty PP. It was a close affair and looked definitely headed to OT. This innocent play happened after the Oil Kings killed off a very late tripping penalty to Sourdif with 2:40 or so to play in a tie game. A huge kill as Seattle had scored both its goals on the PP. Heartbreaking for Seattle with just 4.7 left on the clock. Back to YEG with the Oil Kings up 3-1 and on the verge. Game five is Saturday night. Guhle was physical all night and the Tbirds used their big forwards to forecheck him relentlessly to try to knock him off his game. He and Schaefer had a heckuva battle all night.
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Post by Skilly on Jun 9, 2022 8:44:43 GMT -5
I don't agree (naturally). The part about leaving his feet is patently wrong. Xhekaj is braced properly, but the other guys is turning and starts to go down. Xhekaj's left skate runs into the other players skates and Xhekaj loses balance and starts to fall, whereby his rear skate comes up and off the ice. Boarding?....ok, because he was a bit too close (not much) to the boards, but a 2 minute minor not a major. Reputation came into this. The leaving your feet part really bugs me. Normally a guy explodes up like a rocket ship. Xhekaj is just cruising into his player like you do in a normal check. 100% suspension worthy You can’t cross check someone in the back. You can really hurt a player that way even if in open ice. The NHL has too many caveats in their rules which is why every game seems controversial or turns on a referee decision. Like the NFL, every hit into the numbers should carry the most egregious of penalties |
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Post by seventeen on Jun 9, 2022 18:19:37 GMT -5
I don't agree (naturally). The part about leaving his feet is patently wrong. Xhekaj is braced properly, but the other guys is turning and starts to go down. Xhekaj's left skate runs into the other players skates and Xhekaj loses balance and starts to fall, whereby his rear skate comes up and off the ice. Boarding?....ok, because he was a bit too close (not much) to the boards, but a 2 minute minor not a major. Reputation came into this. The leaving your feet part really bugs me. Normally a guy explodes up like a rocket ship. Xhekaj is just cruising into his player like you do in a normal check. 100% suspension worthy You can’t cross check someone in the back. You can really hurt a player that way even if in open ice. The NHL has too many caveats in their rules which is why every game seems controversial or turns on a referee decision. Like the NFL, every hit into the numbers should carry the most egregious of penalties We don't agree? Shocking.  At least on that play alone. Overall, yeah, you hit someone from behind into the boards....suspension. But not every play is black and white. The NHL decisions are absurd because the guys entrusted with making those decisions wouldn't beat an amoeba at Jeopardy. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 9, 2022 19:32:33 GMT -5
Charlottetown doing their best to stay alive after losing the last few games where they outshot Shawinigan 2-1. Trudeau opens the scoring. 2-0 now.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 9, 2022 19:54:11 GMT -5
Trudeau with two goals. Simoneau with two assists. All Islanders tonight with 5-0 after two. Guess they are not rolling over yet. Thank goodness, but a long road ahead still.
Edit. Simoneau with 3 apples. 6-0 in the third.
Edit 2.0 Simoneau with four helpers. 7-0 final. Back to PEI with some momentum finally.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 10, 2022 15:19:16 GMT -5
The Hamilton Bulldogs (Myšák and Xhekaj) are on the road in Windsor looking to tie their series at two apiece. Give them a watch and see if they can regain home ice advantage in the series.
Hamilton @ Windsor 7:00pm ET TSN3
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 11, 2022 6:11:44 GMT -5
The Bulldogs pulled off a huge OT win with massive implications. The series is now headed back to Hamilton tied 2-2 and they get home ice advantage back for the “best of three”. A huge difference from being behind the eight ball and down 3-1 with their zero room for error left in the series.
Myšák and Xhekaj both assisted on the first goal and the OT winner may or may not have tipped off Myšák on the way in. Not really important as all that matters is they get the critical win on the road.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 11, 2022 6:37:22 GMT -5
Two CHL teams can win their league trophies today and punch their tickets to the Memorial Cup. Shawinigan are up 3-1, but Charlottetown had a huge 7-0 statement game last time and hope to keep the series alive at home. Habs prospects Simoneau and Trudeau were a big part of that win and the team faces elimination for the second straight game. Back in Edmonton, the Oil Kings and Guhle can get it done with a win tonight over Seattle. Edmonton also is up 3-1 in their series.
Shawinigan at Charlottetown (Simoneau, Trudeau) 4:00pm ET TSN4
Seattle at Edmonton (Guhle) 9:00pm ET TSN4
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Post by halihab on Jun 11, 2022 10:08:35 GMT -5
Wow that was a good game by Hamilton. Controlled the play pretty much the entire game. First time I have really had a chance to look at Xhekaj. He definitely has all the tools to be a great NHL defenseman. He is big, can skate , great first pass and an excellent shot. I like our defense prospects. They have size , toughness and skill. Man McTavish was snake bit last night. I can see Hamilton taking the series now. Don't be surprised if Charlottetown comes back to take the series. They could very well be up 3-1, instead of down 3-1. I think they are the better team.
Nice CHL hockey to watch.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 11, 2022 19:41:27 GMT -5
Shawinigan battle back from being down 3-1 to eventually win 4-3 in OT and win the series and the Presidents Cup. Off to the Memorial Cup they go.
Trudeau scored his 7th in a losing effort. Good playoffs for him and Simoneau, but they end up just falling short of their hopes to win the Cup. Last junior game for Simoneau. I expect the Habs will sign him to an AHL deal this fall similar to the path they took with RHP as an overager.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 12, 2022 13:27:40 GMT -5
Game 5 of Hamilton Windsor on TSN4 right now.
Rubber match as series knotted at two apiece.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 13, 2022 10:27:15 GMT -5
If all goes well, three Habs prospects could punch their tickets to the Memorial Cup tonight.
Hamilton vs Windsor 7:00pm ET TSN1/4
Edmonton vs Seattle 9:30pm ET TSN1/4
Hamilton comes off a tight, hard fought 3-2 win yesterday afternoon behind a two goal performance from Mason MacTavish. Edmonton had a chance to win the WHL two night ago, but Seattle did not cooperate and won another tough fought game 3-2. Seattle is a very heavy team and they make you work for every inch of ice. Can the free wheeling transition Oil Kings regain the upper hand in play again tonight?
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 13, 2022 22:33:57 GMT -5
Guhle impacting the game in different ways. Oil Kings 20 minutes away. Keep it going boys.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 13, 2022 23:50:41 GMT -5
Guhle is headed back to the Memorial Cup in style. WHL playoff MVP.
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Post by drkcloud on Jun 14, 2022 18:09:45 GMT -5
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Post by seventeen on Jun 15, 2022 0:06:57 GMT -5
We must have watched a different game. The one I saw him in he was ok. Seventeen points in 33 games for Laval in 2020/21 and then 15 in 35 games in the KHL (where it is tough to get points, especially for d-men) and then 8 in 10 games in the weaker Finnish league suggests he's not a bad scorer. He's generally a plus player too. He's not Larry Robinson, but as a call up for depth, he might be all right.
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Post by folatre on Jun 15, 2022 10:05:15 GMT -5
I imagine Leskinen is depth, nothing more. Even with being okay having a poor record in 2022-23, I would be shocked if he plays regularly for the Habs unless injuries wipe out the d-corps.
It is reassuring to see Guhle showing offensive instincts and productivity because that is what I have doubted about him from the day Bergevin-Timmins drafted him.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 15, 2022 18:10:30 GMT -5
Hamilton Windsor up next on TSN
Winner goes to the Memorial Cup
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 15, 2022 18:50:54 GMT -5
Two prospects saying hello, see you at development camp.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 15, 2022 19:56:45 GMT -5
Xhekaj with an apple. Bulldogs up 2-0.
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Post by seventeen on Jun 15, 2022 20:06:34 GMT -5
Then, with 2-3 seconds left in the 2nd Xhekaj’s partner sends the puck behind the net to him. Obvious play is to hold the puck, freeze it along the boards if necessary, and kill the clock. Instead he slaps it around the boards hoping to clear it. D-man intercepts and takes a last second shot that the goalie, thankfully, stops. Unnecessary risk. His play in his own end needs work.
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Post by Willie Dog on Jun 15, 2022 21:08:18 GMT -5
Bulldogs win... going to the mem cup
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 15, 2022 21:31:22 GMT -5
Myšák and Xhekaj combined on the fourth goal. Final score was 6-1. It took seven games, but the Bulldogs are OHL champions and off to Saint John too.
Three prospects will take part: Guhle, Myšák and Xhekaj.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 16, 2022 14:24:56 GMT -5
Roy and Kidney get invites to the WJC summer development camp. Roy was a late cut on the 2022 team so he could have a chance in getting a spot in both the August and December tournaments. Kidney will be hoping for a spot in December if all goes well.
There will be players that were on last December’s rosters that likely won’t be released to play by their NHL teams so that should open up some spots on the August rescheduled event.
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Post by seventeen on Jun 16, 2022 15:08:51 GMT -5
NWT, do you know the rules for the August U20 tournament? If someone has turned 20 after Jan 1, are they now not eligible? This is going to be weird, having it in August, even if I'm looking forward to it.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 16, 2022 16:15:54 GMT -5
NWT, do you know the rules for the August U20 tournament? If someone has turned 20 after Jan 1, are they now not eligible? This is going to be weird, having it in August, even if I'm looking forward to it. As long as they were under 20 by last December 31, they can play in August. There will be a number of 20 years olds playing as a result. Same age criteria as if the event went as planned last December/January. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 17, 2022 13:57:19 GMT -5
Mailloux is coming to Montreal to help with the rehab on his shoulder that was operated on. Sounds like the team will be spending time with him and he should be at development camp by the sounds of Hughes comments yesterday after the Weber trade.
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Post by Willie Dog on Jun 17, 2022 15:48:24 GMT -5
Mailloux is coming to Montreal to help with the rehab on his shoulder that was operated on. Sounds like the team will be spending time with him and he should be at development camp by the sounds of Hughes comments yesterday after the Weber trade. I am thrilled about this, the new mgmt needs to get to know the kid... I really like what Chantal Machabee had to say in the article because you know the media vultures will be out at his 1st press conference... |
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