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themcityblues

What did the preseason show us?

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Well, it's over, and regular season is ready to begin. What did you learn from the preseason?

I learned:

1. Weiss can skate a lot better but he still looks invisible and is a real "meh" player to me

2. Cleary does not look any better -- in fact, a bit slower than last year

3. Mrazek is awesome, which we already knew

4. Kindl is terrible, which we already knew

5. Jensen is awesome, which we didn't already know

Overall, the team doesn't feel that different from last year. Based on the preseason, I'm not really sure we've improved as a team. There may be age-related deficits from P+Z, Franzine and Kronwall. It looks like Nyquil and Tots will have to struggle to find a scoring rhythm this year. Losing Alfy will hurt our goal production, even if he doesn't skate. Again, Jimmy can't be banked upon. None of the regulars from last year excited me in the preseason. I am afraid this might be a difficult year for the group. Perhaps the streak will end? I do not feel as optimistic as I did during the summer after watching the boys. I figured Weiss and Ericsson were big losses last year but this preseason suggests that maybe they weren't.

Anyway, post your thoughts about the preseason and how (if it does) shape your expectation of this season.

Edited by themcityblues

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We learned that we still cant play a game without facing an injury.

Actually though, Its nice to see that some of our prospects have a future in the NHL. This is just my opinion, but I think our top players will be what bring us down this year, the defence might surprise us.

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I don't think we can predict how the teams will perform based on the preseason games. They don't play the lines they play in regular season, the top players don't bring their A-game, etc. . We will have to wait for the regular season and even into that it will take between 10 and 20 games to say for sure what this team is capable of. Therefore I don't have many expectations from the preseason.

One of the few things that looked significantly better than last season was our PP. It was much more dynamic in my opinion. And D-Prospects were very good, I'm excited to see how Jensen will perform on regular NHL-Level. But as said above, I take everything with a big grain of salt.

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The pre season is mostly used to see where upcoming talents are and if they are ready for the big club. That being said, I think the last two games should show some consistency and improvement. Obviously my prediction isn't based on the pre season and more on the off season (or lack there of) activities.

It's basically the exact same roster as last year, the defense just isn't good enough and expecting Goose to repeat his unreal season is unfair... Unless some miracle happens this is the year where the steak ends.

As for Jensen, Mrazek too small of a sample size

Edited by frankgrimes

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It showed me much of what I already formed an opinion on....we would be just fine and probably even better without Franzen, Ericsson, Kindl, Quincey, Cleary, Gustavsson, Helm or Andersson. A trade package of a couple of those players would get us a great RH top 4 defenseman...

It also showed me that the tie goes to the veteran still, despite what Babcock says....hence the reason Cleary is still here and Callahan is on waivers, same goes with Sproul and Marchenko while Kindl and Quincey are still here. Thank goodness Nesty and X-Man are still up, but when Datsyuk gets back and when Alfie decides he wants to leech some money off of the Wings, the tie will go to the Swede. Goodbye Jurco and Nestrasil...

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It showed me much of what I already formed an opinion on....we would be just fine and probably even better without Franzen, Ericsson, Kindl, Quincey, Cleary, Gustavsson, Helm or Andersson. A trade package of a couple of those players would get us a great RH top 4 defenseman...

It also showed me that the tie goes to the veteran still, despite what Babcock says....hence the reason Cleary is still here and Callahan is on waivers, same goes with Sproul and Marchenko while Kindl and Quincey are still here. Thank goodness Nesty and X-Man are still up, but when Datsyuk gets back and when Alfie decides he wants to leech some money off of the Wings, the tie will go to the Swede. Goodbye Jurco and Nestrasil...

We need Ericsson. I also forgot that Callahan was the next great one. To be honest Callahan didn't really impress me, so I doubt care that much, but kindl, Quincey and Cleary being gone would be lovely.

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The pre season is mostly used to see where upcoming talents are and if they are ready for the big club. That being said, I think the last two games should show some consistency and improvement. Obviously my prediction isn't based on the pre season and more on the off season (or lack there of) activities.

It's basically the exact same roster as last year, the defense just isn't good enough and expecting Goose to repeat his unreal season is unfair... Unless some miracle happens this is the year where the steak ends.

As for Jensen, Mrazek too small of a sample size

Agreed on Jensen. But Mrazek's sample size extends into solid performances last year (2 shutouts) and, of course, his AHL record which includes the Calder Cup.

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Agreed on Jensen. But Mrazek's sample size extends into solid performances last year (2 shutouts) and, of course, his AHL record which includes the Calder Cup.

Agreed on Mrazek. He had better numbers than Jimmy and Monster last year, and although I haven't looked at the stats for the preseason, but he looked the most impressive to me from the three of them. His unsustainable one shutout for every three games played he had last season continued through the preseason as well. But numbers aside, Mrazek is aggressive as hell in net, and he's real comfortable handling the puck. Not to mention every account of the kid says he's as confident and competitive as anyone you'll meet. The kid is the real deal.

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Euro, I can agree with you about what you said. Not that Callahan is the next great one, I am probably still just irked over the retention of Cleary. To me, Ericsson is just too injury prone, but of the 3 defenders I mentioned, he would definitely be the last to go, but then again, he would fetch us a far better return than Q and K, plus as I mentioned, we really wouldn't miss him that much, especially if we got a RH top guy in return. But in all honesty, if we dumped Q and K and just promoted a couple more kids, I think we would be in great shape.

Kronner - Smith

Dekeyser - Ouellet

Ericsson - Jensen (or Marchenko)

Lashoff

I could roll with that for sure. Just like I said, we couldn't be any worse and probably much better than last season's D.

I agree, the very least we need to dump Q and K....ASAP.

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what is the purpose of a preseason? Get guys into shape-did that, let the youth show what they can do-did that and we are happy, and stay healthy-didn't do this. Nothing is season ending, which is good. most all the injured will be back by the first of the year.

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It showed me that I can continue to be optimistic and excited for this upcoming season. I don't know if the roster has been released yet, so I don't know 100% of everyone that will be on the roster, but I'm hoping that Jensen is on it. Our young prospects looked really good and to me especially the ones I've heard little about.

I'm excited, I can't wait for Thursday! I should buy some tickets now.

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I think if we have learned one thing from the preseason (and the offseason), it's that Holland needs to trust the developmental system more. For years and years, he has filled or overfilled the roster, not leaving room for any prospects or training camp surprises. The past two seasons and this training camp/preseason have shown that many more prospects are NHL-ready before Holland expects it, and those players deserve a chance to show their abilities in the NHL. Holland preaches patience, "mans league", etc, but never gives those players a chance until he absolutely has to or injuries force him to promote from Grand Rapids. That needs to change this season.

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Agreed on Mrazek. He had better numbers than Jimmy and Monster last year, and although I haven't looked at the stats for the preseason, but he looked the most impressive to me from the three of them. His unsustainable one shutout for every three games played he had last season continued through the preseason as well. But numbers aside, Mrazek is aggressive as hell in net, and he's real comfortable handling the puck. Not to mention every account of the kid says he's as confident and competitive as anyone you'll meet. The kid is the real deal.

If he's as good as we hope, I expect Jimmy will be traded in the next 1-2 years. I can't see them keeping both guys around, and if Mrazek is going to win the starters job quick, which he could do, $5 million+ is too much for a backup goalie. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Jimmy needs a strong year right from the get-go after last year, or he could well lose the spot to Mrazek this year. I'm pulling for him, and I think he's fully capable, but I'm at least a tad bit worried based on what I've heard of the pre-season, though I recognize that the pre-season only tells you so much.

I think if we have learned one thing from the preseason (and the offseason), it's that Holland needs to trust the developmental system more. For years and years, he has filled or overfilled the roster, not leaving room for any prospects or training camp surprises. The past two seasons and this training camp/preseason have shown that many more prospects are NHL-ready before Holland expects it, and those players deserve a chance to show their abilities in the NHL. Holland preaches patience, "mans league", etc, but never gives those players a chance until he absolutely has to or injuries force him to promote from Grand Rapids. That needs to change this season.

Absolutely agree. It's definitely time to start bringing prospects up to the NHL a year or two sooner than we typically have in the past.

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