Puuuhleeeeeeeeease, a NUMBER ONE NHL goalie?? Soderblom???? Agreed, you never know until you try a goalie in the AHL/Bigs but there are hundreds of Soderbloms out there........ Guy was undrafted, never played in his country's top league!!!.But maybe he's a possible NHL #1????????????????

IMO his ceiling was ALWAYS a 3rd/4th best goalie in a system, not counting goalies drafted still in jrs or NCAA.... A guy who can take 15 AHL starts and come up when both NHL goalies are injured. Basically cannon fodder but these kinds are useful to an organIzation...... That's what Soderblom is auditioning for, to be the cannon fodder goalie of a pipeline.

That said, zero problem trying him with the NHL squad with the club in this stage of a rebuild THIS yr. Simply cuz, you just never know but if you go with him as your NHL #2 next yr you are hurting the rebuild.

Reader let me ask, have you ever seen Soderblom balanced, not scrambly, not down and out 5 ft from his crease, not cough rebound after rebound after rebound, not give up at least 1 softie a game, not have chaos in front of him Every. Single. Game? Ever?

Shame on Powers. Even if a Hawk employee fed him this "possible future #1" crap he should know better to print it. Shameful. If you have no material for an article don't print one! Future #1??????????

And, if a Hawk employee who matters thinks Soderblom could even be an NHL #2, coupled with taking Gajan over Hrabal I will officially be worried, no alarmed, about this organIzation's ability to evaluate the position.

Future #ONE. Cmon, man.
- Mr Ricochet

Rico, did you hear in the Duck's broadcast Hayward talking about Soderblom. he said goalies need to go meet the puck, and Soderblom reaches for it. He gave the 2 blocker side goals as perfect examples of that, and the reason he has no rebound control. Vitrano's goal was just a bullet.

That's why i say it should be something they consider, but not the top thing they consider.
- BetweenTheDots

When evaluating a decision I was taught to group into two categories, must have and nice to have and for something really complex you can sub categorize the nice to haves into classes. So the must haves are skating, pucks skill, shooting, competitiveness, hockey sense. The nice to haves are size, position, maybe fighting ability and a sub category is hair colour, place of birth and culinary skills. So if all the must haves are met you can look for a tall, red headed right winger who can smoke a brisket or pork ribs who hails from Scranton P.A.

What you said makes no sense. Of course they have talent. Hall, and appears Nazer and Moore also have hockey sense, If you watch an AHL, major college, and jr. leagues they are for the most part all great skaters, or they wouldn't have made it that far.

And I guess I didn't know speed was the only component of being a great skater.
- LAHawk

You got me LA.

Go ahead obsess about the lack of size we have. But i still feel we are lacking in team speed with talent.

When evaluating a decision I was taught to group into two categories, must have and nice to have and for something really complex you can sub categorize the nice to haves into classes. So the must haves are skating, pucks skill, shooting, competitiveness, hockey sense. The nice to haves are size, position, maybe fighting ability and a sub category is hair colour, place of birth and culinary skills. So if all the must haves are met you can look for a tall, red headed right winger who can smoke a brisket or pork ribs who hails from Scranton P.A.
- paulr

He'd become a team favorite, hahaha

You got me LA.

Go ahead obsess about the lack of size we have. But i still feel we are lacking in team speed with talent.
- BetweenTheDots

Reichel has speed and talent. Too bad he played this year like he is afraid of his own shadow.

Future #ONE. Cmon, man.
- Mr Ricochet

The same way a racer car driver needs a race car, a shortstop needs a glove, a tennis player a racket to stop pucks a goalie needs skating=balance=square. The only goalie in the history of goalies who defied these physics is Hasek...... Soderblom is far from demonstrating these skills.

Everyone knows evaluating goalies is hard. Yes, seeing an NHL #1 goalie 4 yrs out, or in jrs, is really really tough but seeing a tweener AHL/NHL goalie, or an AHL goalie is NOT hard.

Yes, evaluating who is an NHL goalie is hard but the next NHL game you see that has a true #1 watch to see if he has skating=balance=square that allows him to stop pucks and CONTROL the game. Every. Single. One. Does....... Then next time you see Soderblom you'll get your compare and contrast answer on any sequence.

Of course there's more to the position than skating=balance=square but it is the foundation to stopping pucks from Mites to the Bigs and Soderblom has never displayed that.

Soderblom is 24 years old. At what age is one supposed to "know?"

Mrazek's save percentage this year is .904. Soderblom's is .876. What's his ceiling? How teachable is he on stuff like rebound control? It's not like the Hawks don't have good goalie coaching.

And we talk about finding a better backup, but if they are looking for prospects instead of veterans, how easy is that?

Rico, did you hear in the Duck's broadcast Hayward talking about Soderblom. he said goalies need to go meet the puck, and Soderblom reaches for it. He gave the 2 blocker side goals as perfect examples of that, and the reason he has no rebound control. Vitrano's goal was just a bullet.
- LAHawk

I did, and honestly I thought to myself I NEVER heard that. Thinking it out as the game went on I thought he means "not be on your heels". When your weight is not on your toes, thereby on your heels, you are NOT in balance (skating=balanced=square) and you reach/stab. And if you do make the save unbalanced you are not square to the rebound and have to go 5 alarm to get into position and everything goes chaotic.

Remind you of anyone????

Soderblom is 24 years old. At what age is one supposed to "know?"

Mrazek's save percentage this year is .904. Soderblom's is .876. What's his ceiling? How teachable is he on stuff like rebound control? It's not like the Hawks don't have good goalie coaching.

And we talk about finding a better backup, but if they are looking for prospects instead of veterans, how easy is that?
- 333inthe3rd

Know what? If a goalie is an NHL #1, #2, AHL/NHL tweener, an AHL goalie, an ECHL goalie? ........ I'd imagine the pointy heads and their computers have age "windows" on such things but to an amateur like me if I don't see a foundation at 24-25 he's not an NHL caliber goalie.

I did, and honestly I thought to myself I NEVER heard that. Thinking it out as the game went on I thought he means "not be on your heels". When your weight is not on your toes, thereby on your heels, you are NOT in balance (skating=balanced=square) and you reach/stab. And if you do make the save unbalanced you are not square to the rebound and have to go 5 alarm to get into position and everything goes chaotic.

Remind you of anyone????
- Mr Ricochet

And watch when Bedard beats a goalie. Many times that goalie reached/stabbed at the puck cuz that freak's shot gets off so quickly you have no time to redistribute your weight, are on your heels and are therefore off balance and therefore reach/stab.

Watching CHI v EDM I have no doubt Bedard's hands are faster than McD's. Truly a goalie's nightmare cuz at any millisecond, from anywhere, a laser beam is unleashed and you're probably gonna be off balance and that's when a goalie is vulnerable.

You got me LA.

Go ahead obsess about the lack of size we have. But i still feel we are lacking in team speed with talent.
- BetweenTheDots

Kings slapped the hawks around like rented mules

How many 50/50 pucks are in open ice compared to 50/50 pucks along the boards? Even along the boards if you get there sooner, you can still be outmuscled How many greasy goals are scored as opposed to the tic-tac-toe's?

The top 4 defensive teams in the league are Winnipeg, Florida, Los Angeles, and Carolina. all considered big and heavy teams. They must figure out a way to win the puck against faster teams.
- LAHawk

IMO a good skater is a balanced one. Speed and edges make a fine skater but the foundation is balance.... A reason I guess I'm the only Hawk fan on the planet that likes Tinordi on this roster, brain cramps and all.

Let me ask is Stone a fast skater? Was Pavelski ever? But do they get to pucks, spots and score? ...... A balanced, fast, has explosive feet, can ride his edges AND has Stone/Pavelski IQ is a great elite skater. IMO. Not many of them.

The real world did not allow me to see the 1st period or read up any pregames so I may have missed something, or am wrong.

To my eye moving Johnson to 1RW and AA inserted into L2 this club showed more speed, pressure and ability to take away time and space than all other games this yr. It got Bedard 5 pts in the win vs the Ducks a week ago, they played the best game I've seen them play vs LA as they stifled that vet playoff caliber team flying, taking away time and space while STAYING structured.

LA did not get a shot off the first 12 minutes of the game. They murdelized em in the fancies. A big, skilled, structured playoff caliber LA squad.

All that said why was Johnson pulled off of L1 last night?

"Tough minded" players. Not guys whose specialty is fighting but will take a hit every time to make a play, take an elbow to the choppers every time to play hockey in both slots, hair on fire to loose pucks along the walls and have enough size to do so so he's not on the IR 5 times a yr playing that way, "tough minded".

A guy like My Guy Tom Wilson is Gold. A couple Hathaway types who have good size can skate a shift and is "tough minded"..........

This is why 1,000 GM's have missed on Lindstrom types (and why he'll go top 5 this yr) and 1,000 more will to the same. Why 1,000 GM's will grab a Panik thinking he just might click with our group. Why Jamie Benns are Gold.

And if it were that easy to roster these kinds every squad would have a few. ... GMing ain't easy, man.
- Mr Ricochet

Except Tom Wilson is a piece of poop human. There is a difference between playing hard and being a piece of poop and he's crossed that line repeatedly.

The real world did not allow me to see the 1st period or read up any pregames so I may have missed something, or am wrong.

To my eye moving Johnson to 1RW and AA inserted into L2 this club showed more speed, pressure and ability to take away time and space than all other games this yr. It got Bedard 5 pts in the win vs the Ducks a week ago, they played the best game I've seen them play vs LA as they stifled that vet playoff caliber team flying, taking away time and space while STAYING structured.

LA did not get a shot off the first 12 minutes of the game. They murdelized em in the fancies. A big, skilled, structured playoff caliber LA squad.

All that said why was Johnson pulled off of L1 last night?
- Mr Ricochet

I'm inferring here, but it sounds like LR was concerned that ANA would play nastier considering how the last game ended, so he wanted some protection. Likely also why he put Foligno back on Bedard's line so he'd have someone to back him up (otherwise, he'd be dependent on Kurashev and Johnson). Hindsight is 20/20, but yeah, 11/7 was not a good idea.

The real world did not allow me to see the 1st period or read up any pregames so I may have missed something, or am wrong.

To my eye moving Johnson to 1RW and AA inserted into L2 this club showed more speed, pressure and ability to take away time and space than all other games this yr. It got Bedard 5 pts in the win vs the Ducks a week ago, they played the best game I've seen them play vs LA as they stifled that vet playoff caliber team flying, taking away time and space while STAYING structured.

LA did not get a shot off the first 12 minutes of the game. They murdelized em in the fancies. A big, skilled, structured playoff caliber LA squad.

All that said why was Johnson pulled off of L1 last night?
- Mr Ricochet

I guess because Blackwell was hurt he reconfigured all the lines?

IMO a good skater is a balanced one. Speed and edges make a fine skater but the foundation is balance.... A reason I guess I'm the only Hawk fan on the planet that likes Tinordi on this roster, brain cramps and all.

Let me ask is Stone a fast skater? Was Pavelski ever? But do they get to pucks, spots and score? ...... A balanced, fast, has explosive feet, can ride his edges AND has Stone/Pavelski IQ is a great elite skater. IMO. Not many of them.
- Mr Ricochet

Where has Tinordi ever demonstrated that he is a good skater as you describe (or am I missing your point)? He's on his knees or his ass as much as anyone.

Where has Tinordi ever demonstrated that he is a good skater as you describe (or am I missing your point)? He's on his knees or his ass as much as anyone.
- Chunk

Just zero in on 1 Tinordi shift...Nothing else, just him. The man is a nicely balanced skater, who can turn/shift his weight in a balanced way, who with his size and reach is solid as a 6th-7th Dman on a bottom 15 club. His balance fighting in the slot. ....It's his brain cramps/decisions that are the problem.

But you know what, as I'd shake my head at a Keith decision a hundred times the group that sat behind me said, "you do know you're watching a hall of famer"!! ... Indeed.

Yea, I got a spot for a Tinordi until I'm a top 10 club.

Just zero in on 1 Tinordi shift...Nothing else, just him. The man is a nicely balanced skater, who can turn/shift his weight in a balanced way, who with his size and reach is solid as a 6th-7th Dman on a bottom 15 club. His balance fighting in the slot. ....It's his brain cramps/decisions that are the problem.

But you know what, as I'd shake my head at a Keith decision a hundred times the group that sat behind me said, "you do know you're watching a hall of famer"!! ... Indeed.

Yea, I got a spot for a Tinordi until I'm a top 10 club.
- Mr Ricochet

We'll see how many more games he actually gets into, but I'll do my best to not gouge my eyes out next time.

I'm inferring here, but it sounds like LR was concerned that ANA would play nastier considering how the last game ended, so he wanted some protection. Likely also why he put Foligno back on Bedard's line so he'd have someone to back him up (otherwise, he'd be dependent on Kurashev and Johnson). Hindsight is 20/20, but yeah, 11/7 was not a good idea.
- Chunk

This is what I thought, Foligno to L1, to protect the kid but did not hear any pregame stuff. Not that Panger or the Hair Guy (who's improving IMO) would add that kinda value to a game.

Ok coach, but IMO the best game they played, and the fancies say so, was vs LA and about the worst game with Bedard dressed vs ANA.

Thank you for the response. Haven't read any recaps but I get more here on that account than around the internets.

Except Tom Wilson is a piece of poop human. There is a difference between playing hard and being a piece of poop and he's crossed that line repeatedly.
- Chunk

Yea, but he's my poop bastard and if you think about getting funny with Bedard you'll see him before games end and if not your 1C will!!

To which one?
- Chunk

The All Star one…

Reichel has speed and talent. Too bad he played this year like he is afraid of his own shadow.
- LAHawk

Yea to bad he doesn't have the compete gene.

Soderblom is 24 years old. At what age is one supposed to "know?"
- 333inthe3rd

Well, in the days of the original six, rookie goalies were 26-27 after a long seasoning in the farm systems.

The position now has better prep and schooling for prospects, but the idea is to get to the bigs and eventually figure out the league shooters, team's attacks, and improve in the situations the young goalie needs to improve the most.

I just don't see any reason Kyle needs to wine and dine another outside back-up.
There is no need to win yet.
There is simply a need that Bedard gets better options to help his magic work. He already is acting like a QB out there signaling the linemates on where to move into / out of, because he is so much more highly evolved in his ideas on the attack.

Crucial is to ADD forward who instills hope and improves the team outlook on the attack.

Solderholm can only improve;
They can those losses on the chin and get another really good player (maybe two with the Maple Leafs 2nd first.)
If after next year (That means the rearguard kids ARE more experienced.) he is still missing that glove save, then you have a bit more evidence.
It's not as if he is going to needed as an emergency replacement in the Cup Final.

Kings slapped the hawks around like rented mules
- LFS

LA had a distinct advantage in talent AND size. Not a good combo for the Hawks.