kipwinger

I don't understand that reference.

C'mon. Kappo Kakko sounds like baby talk. Ethan Bear sounds like the opening act for Waylon Jennings in 1973. Patrik Nemeth, number 482 in defensive corsi for. Number 1 in our hearts.

According to Ken Daniels the Oilers' Ethan Bear is #1 in rookie time on ice. According to me the Oilers' Ethan Bear is #1 in coolest rookie name.

Smith will fight him later. But we're carrying the play right now so no sense in ******* it up.

Is boarding not a penalty anymore?

I don't really care about losing Regula, so in the end I don't feel strongly about this trade either way, but I really don't get it. A middle six winger who couldn't catch on with two different (bad) teams and who's been questioned for his effort and his defense traded for a big defender who can move the puck. Seems like Yzerman traded the kind of guy he likes for the kind of guy doesn't. I'm confused.

Admittedly I haven't ever paid much attention to Brendan Perlini, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I sure looks like Yzerman just traded for Adam Erne...again.

I'm cool with that. Add Byfield to our forward group and we're genuinely dangerous. Means only one of Rasmussen/Veleno needs to turn into a 3C and the other can play wing.

I don't think Lafreniere is a lock to go first overall though, nor is Ottawa a lock to be worse than we are. Anybody with the first overall pick has to choose between a highly skilled winger who is one of the older players in the draft, or a bigger, faster, younger, center who is nearly as skilled. I don't think it's as clear cut as some may think.

Witchhunt!!!!!

Alternative Fact: He does, and you're a liar and enemy of the people. https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/262611/jake-witkowski

FAKE NEWS!!!!!

Ethan Phillips (Detroit Draft Pick) was playing 3C for them. Wonder what happened.

Puke. Reminds me of this a little bit.

I love AC/DC for tons of reasons, but the biggest one is that you're never going to hear "we're gonna slow it down on this one" from AC/DC. I respect the hell out of that. AC/DC, Iggy Pop, and Motorhead all more or less do this. Love it. They're here to rock, not lament love lost or whatever the hell else the rest of these p*ssies are singing about.

So do we just not have moderators anymore or what?

Rasmussen not in the lineup tonight for the Griffs. Probably explains why Smith got the call up.

More talented doesn't equal more fun to listen to. Yngwie Malmsteen is probably a more technically proficient guitar player than Keith Richards, but who cares?

That part is definitely true, but for some reason I thought he was heavier than he was. I knew he wasn't super tall, but I genuinely thought he was like 215 or 220 pounds.

I agree, Veleno is a way better passer. You asked what, aside from their current AHL stats, might lead someone to believe that Rasmussen will be better one day. I'm simply saying that while Veleno is faster and a better passer, Rasmussen has historically been a better scorer and will have a size and strength advantage over (basically) everyone he ever plays against. Those are valid reasons to think he might be better than Veleno.

1st Bold: Rasmussen will have a size advantage at the NHL level too. There are like 3 guys in the league as big as him currently. And he's only going to get bigger. It's a little like saying Brian Boyle doesn't have a size advantage in the NHL. 2nd Bold: Rasmussen has historically been a more prolific goal scorer than Veleno. He's actually a MUCH more prolific goal scorer. Rasmussen scored 81 goals in 161 games in juniors compared to 90 goals in 230 games for Veleno. So it's not just his current stint in the AHL which could lead someone to believe he'll be the better overall player.

The fact that Steve-O signed Flip and Nemeth told everyone all they needed to know about how competitive this team was supposed to be this year. If you had other expectations, that's on you. Really fans should be looking more at micro-level changes this season. For instance, look at the turnover in our defense: Cholo and Hronek look like genuinely good players, Ericsson is gone, and more to follow at the deadline/end of the season. Or look at Darren Helm bumping up his trade value, not too shabby. Or look at (untradeable) Abby making the offseason effort and not completely phoning it in. Or Mantha and Bertuzzi taking the next step in their personal development. Or the top line being a genuine threat against the top lines of better teams. There's plenty of progress outside of the team's record. Without landing impact free agents there was simply no way for us to be better/good this year. So we've got to tank again and hope for a lottery pick, get some internal help from Rasmussen and Svech, and wait another year.

It's not really an enigma. 75% of our roster are replacement level scrubs who shouldn't even be in the league right now. Combine that with the fact that only about two of our (genuinely good) prospect pool are even close to ready. And finally, we're not a free agent destination because we're horrible. Add all that together and it basically means we've got to wait for guys like Ras, Svech, Seider, Zadina, McIsaac, Veleno, to start working their way onto the main roster before our fortunes change. We'll also likely add a really high end prospect at the draft as well. Should improve us enough internally to be respectable next year and look like a team on the come up, which means we'll start getting quality UFA's before long too.

So he's a good shutdown d-man?

Which team? Adler Mannheim?