2013/14 General Heat Discussion Thread

[FlameZilla]

Hey PMM, how does Jooris look in the AHL? I think that guy has a lot of potential!

[tremorchrist]

Does anybody get the season pass to watch
The Heat online? Was wondering about price
And stream quality etc. Also is there play-by-play?
Would like to buy it and watch them all season,
But just want to make sure it's worth the money.
Thx.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by FlameZilla

Hey PMM, how does Jooris look in the AHL? I think that guy has a lot of potential!

He's looking decent. It seems like he "gets it" for a lack of a better term because he's always giving the other players instruction during drills and after drills he'll discuss positioning and strategy with them. Other than that, I haven't been paying too too close attention to him.

Originally Posted by tremorchrist

Does anybody get the season pass to watch
The Heat online? Was wondering about price
And stream quality etc. Also is there play-by-play?
Would like to buy it and watch them all season,
But just want to make sure it's worth the money.
Thx.

It varies. Some arenas simply give you the big screen feed. Others will be much much better quality. You'll always get play-by-play though.

For $150, I'd get it if I were an out-of-towner.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

Nemisz will not be a 13th or 14th forward, not even close, top 9 for sure, probably top 6. That top 6 will also be eaten alive! 4 rookies in the top 6 is just ridiculous. Adding 3 more to your top 4 defensemen is just asking to lose.

I dunno, the AHL experiences far more turnover than the NHL.

Nemisz could easily be a 3rd or 4th liner on that Heat team, the depth looks considerably better than in the past.

As for these "rookies" they are a pretty accomplished bunch. Wotherspoon coming off a Memorial Cup and WJC for Canada. Hanowski is pretty old for a rookie after a full college career, not much worry about adapting there. Granlund coming off playing pro already and WJC for Finland. Sieloff coming off the WJC for USA. Ferland played some pro last year and is in much better shape this year. Ramage coming off a full college career and played for the USA at the WJC in the past.

All AHL rookies are not the same. Our AHL rookies are either older due to coming out of college or very highly regarded (2nd round defenders who played in the WJC's, 2nd round forward who was already playing pro.) I'd expect their adaptation to not take very long and I'd expect most if not all of them to be impact players in the AHL fairly quickly. These aren't a bunch of mid-round pick 20 year old CHLers who you think might struggle in pro to start.

The team looks to have a lot more talent than in previous years IMO and a lot more players with NHL futures.

[tremorchrist]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

It varies. Some arenas simply give you the big screen feed. Others will be much much better quality. You'll always get play-by-play though.

For $150, I'd get it if I were an out-of-towner.

What about the home games? Is the feed good or
Is it a big screen feed? Thx a lot for the info.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by tremorchrist

What about the home games? Is the feed good or
Is it a big screen feed? Thx a lot for the info.

It's the scoreboard feed, but it's not scoreboard quality. What I mean by that is that you'll see the Kiss Cam, prizes being handed out, the 50/50 pot, that kind of thing, but the quality at the AESC from what I understand is very good.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Some minor updates from this morning.

- They spent the whole practice on special teams. The two PP squads were:

Reinhart-Jooris-Byron
Horak-Billins

Ferland-Blair-Nemisz
MacKenzie-Knight

- Ramage and Wotherspoon were paired together this morning. They looked decent.

- Sieloff and MacKenzie were a good combo. One's a puck moving, mobile d-man and the Sieloff is the bruising, shutdown guy.

- Ferland is awesome. I can't believe I'm watching the same shy, quiet player that I saw last training camp. He's having fun out there. He's joking around with his teammates. He jokes around when he's off the ice. His conditioning is great and his shot is fantastic. I think he's got a great year ahead of him.

- McKelvie, Begin, Granlund, Eddy aren't taking the trip this weekend. They're all hurt.

- Arsene was back practicing today. So, he's doesn't have a concussion which is great. He's a great veteran and a good person.

[flamesrule14]

Any idea to the extent of the injury for Granlund PMM? One guy I really was looking forward to seeing develop down in Abby. Hopefully he is not out for long.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by flamesrule14

Any idea to the extent of the injury for Granlund PMM? One guy I really was looking forward to seeing develop down in Abby. Hopefully he is not out for long.

"Day to day." No idea what the injury is. He hasn't practiced with the Heat yet.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

"Day to day." No idea what the injury is. He hasn't practiced with the Heat yet.

I think I remember reading it was a groin injury, but not 100% at this moment.

[Freeway]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Some minor updates from this morning.

- They spent the whole practice on special teams. The two PP squads were:

Reinhart-Jooris-Byron
Horak-Billins

Ferland-Blair-Nemisz
MacKenzie-Knight

- Ramage and Wotherspoon were paired together this morning. They looked decent.

- Sieloff and MacKenzie were a good combo. One's a puck moving, mobile d-man and the Sieloff is the bruising, shutdown guy.

- Ferland is awesome. I can't believe I'm watching the same shy, quiet player that I saw last training camp. He's having fun out there. He's joking around with his teammates. He jokes around when he's off the ice. His conditioning is great and his shot is fantastic. I think he's got a great year ahead of him.

- McKelvie, Begin, Granlund, Eddy aren't taking the trip this weekend. They're all hurt.

- Arsene was back practicing today. So, he's doesn't have a concussion which is great. He's a great veteran and a good person.

So the traveling group would be:
-G: Berra, Ortio
-D: Lamb, Billins, Arsene, MacKenzie, Ramage, Cundari, Sieloff, Wotherspoon
-F: Hanowski, Jones, Lyon, Olson, Bancks, Knight, Nemisz, Jooris, Reinhart, Ferland, Byron, Horak, Elson

Based on the Heat site's roster, Brossoit has been assigned to Alaska.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by Freeway

Based on the Heat site's roster, Brossoit has been assigned to Alaska.

He has. As did Sivak and Lafranchise.

This looks very close to what the starting roster will be.

EDIT - Also, scratch Lyon from that list. I don't believe he's with the team anymore. I haven't seen him out there the last couple of practices.

[bubbsy]

Hope Brossoit rips it up and doesn't take it as a knock on his play.

[Dienasty]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

Nemisz will not be a 13th or 14th forward, not even close, top 9 for sure, probably top 6. That top 6 will also be eaten alive! 4 rookies in the top 6 is just ridiculous. Adding 3 more to your top 4 defensemen is just asking to lose.

I don't think that rookie issue is a big deal.

-Hanowski played 4 years in the NCAA, and has already played 5+games in the NHL
-Knight also played 4 years in the NCAA, so these 2 are coming in at 22-23 not 19/20 years old
-Ferland already had his cup of coffee last season so at least he has some experience in the AHL
- Granlund has already played 2 seasons in Finland against men

I would be be fine if Nemisz was buried on the 3rd/4th line.

[EYE_Overstand]

So besides Seiloff and ferland who are the bruisers ? Banks will throw down but who else? Is the A a bruising league or more focused on skill?

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by EYE_Overstand

So besides Seiloff and ferland who are the bruisers ? Banks will throw down but who else? Is the A a bruising league or more focused on skill?

McKelvie is the biggest fighter on the team by far.

Secondarily, Sieloff, Ferland, Bancks, Arsene, Elson will fight. Ward doesn't typically like "goon" teams, so he doesn't often dress, or even have, a goon on the team.

There's slightly more fighting in the AHL than the NHL, which is to be expected with a bunch of players looking to impress management.

With that said, I still miss PL3 on the Heat haha.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Hope Brossoit rips it up and doesn't take it as a knock on his play.

I think the best part about a goalie developing in the ECHL is that it's not uncommon for them to face 30 or 40 shots per game. Unlike in the AHL (especially Ward coached teams where teams are continually forced to the perimeter) where a goalie could go weeks only facing shots in the mid-20s per game.

[J epworth]

So you think Bancks gets the C this year? I wonder who is in the running for the 'A's, would be cool if Ramage earns one as a rookie, but I doubt they would give it to someone just starting pro hockey.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by J epworth kendal

So you think Bancks gets the C this year? I wonder who is in the running for the 'A's, would be cool if Ramage earns one as a rookie, but I doubt they would give it to someone just starting pro hockey.

I would bank on Bancks getting the C. He certainly deserves it. However, the players may want Begin simply because of his experience and his warrior mentality.

Arsene could definitely get an A. That wouldn't surprise me. One of Nemisz or Byron as well.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Sounds like Brett Lyon is the Heat's tough guy for the time being.

I guess three fights in one game is a pretty good audition.