This is the thing about fancies. Look at Kaiser's numbers in the Bigs and they ain't great. BUT,

His most common partners (TOI) are Phillips, Tinordi and Zaitsev!!!! Dig some more, what was their Ozone start percentage together? Kaiser with Phillips 35%, with Tinordi 30%, with Zaitsev 53%!!! For comparison KK's has spent his 2d most TOI with Jones and their Ozone start percentage is 68%!!!........ This is the very definition of taking the heaviest worst minutes instead of being sheltered paired with another rookie, on your offside, with two vets who make few NHL rosters and you're starting the vast majority of shifts in your own end on the 2nd worst NHL squad!!! .

So, Kaiser's most TOI is with another rookie with one playing their offside, a 30ish yr old Dman who wouldn't make 80% of NHL rosters who he was forced to play his offside with and another vet Dman who passed thru waivers!!!!

And to get a more clear picture we'd need to know the QoC he went up against.

You gotta have context to get even close to a clear picture on the fancies of a player. ..... So, with some context how do Kaiser's corsi, SF%, Fenwick, xGF or xAny damn stat look??? ...... Subjective I guess but IMO Makar's fancies would suck with Kaiser's D partners, zone starts and forced to play his offside. If I had the energy to debate I might say Kaiser's fancies in context are damn near herculean.

Drill down on Phillip's fancies, in context, and they ain't much more advantageous than Kaiser's........ I'd add Vlasic's very good fancies are even better when taken in context.
- Mr Ricochet

Thanks Rico, your thorough explanation puts in context my comment about looking at Kaiser’s stats vs. Phillips. They both have basically played with the same partners, basically have most of their shifts start in the D zone, and I would imagine play mostly with the 3rd and 4th line that would skew any D man’s numbers.

Eye test , when Vlasic was hurt, and Phillips played top 4 shutdown pair a few games, he looked pretty damn good.

EDIT: del Mastro is Rockford’s rep for the AHL all star game.

Thanks Rico, your thorough explanation puts in context my comment about looking at Kaiser’s stats vs. Phillips. They both have basically played with the same partners, basically have most of their shifts start in the D zone, and I would imagine play mostly with the 3rd and 4th line that would skew any D man’s numbers.

Eye test , when Vlasic was hurt, and Phillips played top 4 shutdown pair a few games, he looked pretty damn good.

EDIT: del Mastro is Rockford’s rep for the AHL all star game.
- LAHawk

I'm an old guy but IMO you can not fully understand the modern NHL without fancies. And, NHL organIzations that do that better than their peers have a real advantage. .... I for one think this site losing LBR and her grasp of fancies is as big a loss as losing Sage. She had a very diplomatic way of telling me how dumb I am while teaching the fancies and their nuances.

I appreciate Fatty bringing up the fancies and IMO he has a solid grasp of them and that's very helpful.

It is just so hard to evaluate any Hawk players on their fancies. The roster is so bad, and the defense is strewn with so many rookies, they can't be properly sheltered or slotted. That was my concern to start the season with a rookie Dman on every pairing. How can you properly shelter them? Answer is you can't. Kaiser's and Phillips', rookies who should be sheltered, lack of Ozone starts shows that and any stats accumulated have to be given a whole lotta context.

But, you can't not look at fancies no matter the circumstance, even this Hawk roster. You just can't put the same weight on them as say you would with COL, NYR or any other good club.

And another layer is internal stats. Different systems value stats differently. A dump and chase club like CAR values stats differently than a high flying rush squad like COL. ...... So, a fan has that to contend with too in trying to evaluate from stats.

Right now, I'm leaning very heavily on the eye test with this club at this time and just as much the foundation of each player more so than the stats. And even that too has nuance to a degree. Vlasic's solid fancies have to be understood in context. He's accumulated good stats in less than ideal circumstances and therefore IMO they his stats are even better than what they show on paper......... That aside, my eye says this kid is a player.

So DelMastro is Rockford’s all star representative.
Interesting to say the least. Evokes idea who might be ready soonest among the prospects?

I'm an old guy but IMO you can not fully understand the modern NHL without fancies. And, NHL organIzations that do that better than their peers have a real advantage. .... I for one think this site losing LBR and her grasp of fancies is as big a loss as losing Sage. She had a very diplomatic way of telling me how dumb I am while teaching the fancies and their nuances.

I appreciate Fatty bringing up the fancies and IMO he has a solid grasp of them and that's very helpful.

It is just so hard to evaluate any Hawk players on their fancies. The roster is so bad, and the defense is strewn with so many rookies, they can't be properly sheltered or slotted. That was my concern to start the season with a rookie Dman on every pairing. How can you properly shelter them? Answer is you can't. Kaiser's and Phillips', rookies who should be sheltered, lack of Ozone starts shows that and any stats accumulated have to be given a whole lotta context.

But, you can't not look at fancies no matter the circumstance, even this Hawk roster. You just can't put the same weight on them as say you would with COL, NYR or any other good club.

And another layer is internal stats. Different systems value stats differently. A dump and chase club like CAR values stats differently than a high flying rush squad like COL. ...... So, a fan has that to contend with too in trying to evaluate from stats.

Right now, I'm leaning very heavily on the eye test with this club at this time and just as much the foundation of each player more so than the stats. And even that too has nuance to a degree. Vlasic's solid fancies have to be understood in context. He's accumulated good stats in less than ideal circumstances and therefore IMO they his stats are even better than what they show on paper......... That aside, my eye says this kid is a player.
- Mr Ricochet

Isn't the idea of the fancies is to give the coach/player an idea of what the player is good at, and what he needs to develop, rather than a young player being sat because you have a 31 year old player that at best would play 20 games a year with another club because of that team having multiple defensive industries?

I thought this year was to develop the kids, and wins and losses don't matter? And I refuse to believe that playing Tinordi before the trade deadline is going to get the Hawks a better return.

So DelMastro is Rockford’s all star representative.
Interesting to say the least. Evokes idea who might be ready soonest among the prospects?
- jhawk59

Or maybe because he has spent the entire year in Rockford and Kaiser has only played in 10 games?

Isn't the idea of the fancies is to give the coach/player an idea of what the player is good at, and what he needs to develop, rather than a young player being sat because you have a 31 year old player that at best would play 20 games a year with another club because of that team having multiple defensive industries?

I thought this year was to develop the kids, and wins and losses don't matter? And I refuse to believe that playing Tinordi before the trade deadline is going to get the Hawks a better return.
- LAHawk

I'm with you on this one LA I don't understand Phillips not getting minutes, he must be doing something that drives LR crazy.

Isn't the idea of the fancies is to give the coach/player an idea of what the player is good at, and what he needs to develop, rather than a young player being sat because you have a 31 year old player that at best would play 20 games a year with another club because of that team having multiple defensive industries?

I thought this year was to develop the kids, and wins and losses don't matter? And I refuse to believe that playing Tinordi before the trade deadline is going to get the Hawks a better return.
- LAHawk

Who says they aren't? They kept Kaiser up to start the year over Phillips. When Phillips got his opportunities, the coaches said that he is still making the mistakes they can't look past. Not to mention, they also brought up Crevier before him, and signed Megna so that they could keep the younger guys in the minors.

They want to get him more ice time, so they send him to the AHL. It could just be that he's not showing on the ice that he is progressing to the point where they think he can hone these parts of his game in the NHL.

You are right, Tinordi is a slug, but they obviously don't think the NHL is where Phillips or Kaiser can develop their games.

I'm with you on this one LA I don't understand Phillips not getting minutes, he must be doing something that drives LR crazy.
- BetweenTheDots

Will be interesting to see after the trade deadline. Murphy is having a good season, maybe one of these defensively deficient (or lack of depth) playoff teams would make a good enough offer to trade him. Maybe a redo of last year, Richardson/Murphy for a
first, a second, and 2 AHL bodies.

This would also open up a spot for Crevier to get minutes in addition to Phillips.

Isn't the idea of the fancies is to give the coach/player an idea of what the player is good at, and what he needs to develop, rather than a young player being sat because you have a 31 year old player that at best would play 20 games a year with another club because of that team having multiple defensive industries?

I thought this year was to develop the kids, and wins and losses don't matter? And I refuse to believe that playing Tinordi before the trade deadline is going to get the Hawks a better return.
- LAHawk

Couldn’t it be something as simple as the coaching staff is asking him to play a certain style of game and he isn’t bringing it? There isn’t a really physical younger defender who have had stints in the NHL, by all accounts Allan and Del Mastro are pretty physical. Vlasic has shown some physicality but he has too many other upsides to his game that are more important. Korchinski isn’t physical at all but considering his age and weight that may come, Crevier hasn’t shown he’s that way inclined and Kaiser, despite his willingness just doesn’t have the bulk to play that game. Maybe the coaches are looking for more a physical game, some meanness along the boards and in front of the net? Without an aspect to his game that separates him, Phillips is just a guy amongst the other young Hawk defenders. I’d bet if he can show more toughness, a more in your face physical game, be mean in front of the net that he’d be able to nail down a spot.

Who says they aren't? They kept Kaiser up to start the year over Phillips. When Phillips got his opportunities, the coaches said that he is still making the mistakes they can't look past. Not to mention, they also brought up Crevier before him, and signed Megna so that they could keep the younger guys in the minors.

They want to get him more ice time, so they send him to the AHL. It could just be that he's not showing on the ice that he is progressing to the point where they think he can hone these parts of his game in the NHL.

You are right, Tinordi is a slug, but they obviously don't think the NHL is where Phillips or Kaiser can develop their games.
- Chunk

But the press box is? Phillips has not been sent down (Crevier has) at the moment.

But the press box is? Phillips has not been sent down (Crevier has) at the moment.
- LAHawk

Apparently it is. The last game he played was the one with 7D. He got about 4 minutes of ice time. Pretty much shows that LR doesn't have any confidence that he can hack it in the NHL at the moment, or that he is making the same mistakes.

Look at the numbers for his last three games. He's been getting absolutely buried. He was on the ice for 5 goals against in the second Dallas game. 2 for the Dallas game they got to OT, and one in the 4 minutes he got against Calgary. All the rest of his metrics mimic those results.

He's not getting it right now, so he doesn't get to be on the ice. It has much less to do with Tinordi being on the ice than Phillips being able to earn his way on it (in addition to the fact that they can send him down without any risk).

Apparently it is. The last game he played was the one with 7D. He got about 4 minutes of ice time. Pretty much shows that LR doesn't have any confidence that he can hack it in the NHL at the moment, or that he is making the same mistakes.

Look at the numbers for his last three games. He's been getting absolutely buried. He was on the ice for 5 goals against in the second Dallas game. 2 for the Dallas game they got to OT, and one in the 4 minutes he got against Calgary. All the rest of his metrics mimic those results.

He's not getting it right now, so he doesn't get to be on the ice. It has much less to do with Tinordi being on the ice than Phillips being able to earn his way on it (in addition to the fact that they can send him down without any risk).
- Chunk

To me it is more about hearing it is a development year and patience, than about a specific player (Phillips, Crevier, Kaiser). They brought in 31 y.o Megna when Tinordi, Jones et. al. were injured, and now he is seeing 15 minutes a night, after not playing a second in Seattle this year. Is he the future?

Will be interesting to see after the trade deadline. Murphy is having a good season, maybe one of these defensively deficient (or lack of depth) playoff teams would make a good enough offer to trade him. Maybe a redo of last year, Richardson/Murphy for a
first, a second, and 2 AHL bodies.

This would also open up a spot for Crevier to get minutes in addition to Phillips.
- LAHawk

If you want to get the best return for Murphy, then don’t play him with Tinordi. I know many here don’t like Murphy, but to my eyes he has been decent this year. His plus/minus is not in a good place since he’s been paired with #25. I’d rather have Kaiser or Phillips playing with Murph. One of the issues that I have seen with Phillips is that he has a bad habit of throwing bombs at his partners, kind of like Keith did at times to Seabrook, the problem is that there’s no Seabrook on this team to corral those passes.

To me it is more about hearing it is a development year and patience, than about a specific player (Phillips, Crevier, Kaiser). They brought in 31 y.o Megna when Tinordi, Jones et. al. were injured, and now he is seeing 15 minutes a night, after not playing a second in Seattle this year. Is he the future?
- LAHawk

I don't think anyone (me included) is arguing the point that it is not a development year. The point I'm making is that the coaches don't feel right now that Phillips (and Crevier and Kaiser) can develop his game in the NHL, thus they signed Megna (when at the time they had seven forwards out of the lineup).

As soon as Jones comes back, Phillips will be sent back down. That's simply to cover the roster numbers at this point.

Strength of Schedule

https://x.com/domluszczys...&t=W3Ib5L_7pJcqiNee-qBaEA

Will be interesting to see after the trade deadline. Murphy is having a good season, maybe one of these defensively deficient (or lack of depth) playoff teams would make a good enough offer to trade him. Maybe a redo of last year, Richardson/Murphy for a
first, a second, and 2 AHL bodies.

This would also open up a spot for Crevier to get minutes in addition to Phillips.
- LAHawk

For what it's worth. Murphy still has a M-NTC. 10 team no trade list.

To me it is more about hearing it is a development year and patience, than about a specific player (Phillips, Crevier, Kaiser). They brought in 31 y.o Megna when Tinordi, Jones et. al. were injured, and now he is seeing 15 minutes a night, after not playing a second in Seattle this year. Is he the future?
- LAHawk

Somebody in the press that follows the Blackhawks should be asking the GM and Coach for an explanation as to what their roster strategy actally is, especially for the D.

Murphy (31). Megna (31), Tinordi (32), Zaitsev (33) are now dressng every night. Jones is 29. And 4 younger D are RFA's at season end - Phillips, Roos, Crevier, Vlasic.

The naked eye could conclude that there isn't all that much development stuff going on at all, rather they are just trying to ice a team that doesn't get embarassed on the scoreboard every night.

I don't think anyone (me included) is arguing the point that it is not a development year. The point I'm making is that the coaches don't feel right now that Phillips (and Crevier and Kaiser) can develop his game in the NHL, thus they signed Megna (when at the time they had seven forwards out of the lineup).

As soon as Jones comes back, Phillips will be sent back down. That's simply to cover the roster numbers at this point.
- Chunk

I think it's pretty simple that developing more players isn't a straight path and doesn't mean just playing all rookies at the NHL level. Some of these guys need time with the NHL coaching staff and getting some reps, but they also need to play AHL minutes sometimes to get different opportunities, with maybe a bit less pressure.

I think we can all understand that some of it is carrot and stick motivation too. If a guy isn't responding to coaching or guy in the AHL is deserving of a shot, NHL time needs that to be something they earn. Don't just give away roles on the team because a guy has potential. Make them earn the spot over a guy like Megna or whomever it is that is on the roster.

Wow Button calls Celebrini Toews multiple times in this video clip:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/cr...-2024-nhl-draft-1.2061018

Also says the defensemen in the top 12 (7) are top pairing defensemen.

Somebody in the press that follows the Blackhawks should be asking the GM and Coach for an explanation as to what their roster strategy actally is, especially for the D.

Murphy (31). Megna (31), Tinordi (32), Zaitsev (33) are now dressng every night. Jones is 29. And 4 younger D are RFA's at season end - Phillips, Roos, Crevier, Vlasic.

The naked eye could conclude that there isn't all that much development stuff going on at all, rather they are just trying to ice a team that doesn't get embarassed on the scoreboard every night.
- RickJ

Everyone and their mother had an opinion on whether KK should stay up with the club because they weren't sure that he was ready for the NHL. Just because other guys are older/bigger/whatever, doesn't mean they are ready for the NHL. Maybe the coaches wanted to put the top rookies (KK and Vlasic) in better position to develop with more vets in the lineup.

Don't look now, but Zaitsev is actually playing himself into being a positive player. Megna has been steady since being picked up. Yes, Tinordi is a disaster, but my take on the situation is that the Hawks want the prospects developing at the optimal level and for some of these guys the NHL ain't it. Kaiser looked great in his debut last year. This year not so much. Could that be due to partner? Maybe, but I'm willing to defer to the coaching staff on that decision instead of me.

Maybe not getting embarrassed with less prospects on the ice is better for development than getting slaughtered with twice the amount.

Somebody in the press that follows the Blackhawks should be asking the GM and Coach for an explanation as to what their roster strategy actally is, especially for the D.
- RickJ

I am gonna be posting once addressing lot's of things brought up.

Any questions a press person asked and then brings up again that they organization feels is undermining the answers about their plan will go to the ned of the question line, sometimes, unable to have their questions answered. (if you this is Mae up, ask Al Cimaglia at his Gmail, he will answer you honestly.

The idea of trading Murphy now seems mature because there are so many immature defenseman here already.
I have to think they see Murphy as a solifdying player on the backline, and unless they actually go out and sign a better seasoned vet in the summer, they NEED these vets!

I bet Megna is pretty much a temporary band-aid like the other two pick ups, unless Pitlick becomes the PP specialist Camile the Eel Henry was..

I imagining if you asked each and every defenseman that played in Rockford this season and with the parent club about the opportunity they ate thrilled by it.
It is suppose top inspire more dedication, improvement and understanding as to what it takes.

No matter who sits, they get feelings get hurt.

But I doubt they are angry with the team being in a position TO play now.

Wow Button calls Celebrini Toews multiple times in this video clip:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/cr...-2024-nhl-draft-1.2061018

Also says the defensemen in the top 12 (7) are top pairing defensemen.
- Popsghostly

He's got Catton all the way down to 13. Was impressed with Catton the one game I watched him closely. If he fell all the way through to the Tampa Bay pick, I think that would be a steal. Is 5-11 170 smurf size now?

I’d like to point out how impressed I was with Kurashev in the last two minutes against Edmonton on Tuesday. He laid it all out there, and I’d love to see him get more time with this level of play. A great example for the other young forwards to follow.

I’d like to point out how impressed I was with Kurashev in the last two minutes against Edmonton on Tuesday. He laid it all out there, and I’d love to see him get more time with this level of play. A great example for the other young forwards to follow.
- ObeseOprah

He had a helluva game, not just the last 2 minutes.

He's got Catton all the way down to 13. Was impressed with Catton the one game I watched him closely. If he fell all the way through to the Tampa Bay pick, I think that would be a steal. Is 5-11 170 smurf size now?
- totem

He is so smart and gifted, and I have never dropped him, and maybe he can linger to slot eight, but he is going to be selected pretty quick.