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BobbyClarkeFan16

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BobbyClarkeFan16 last won the day on July 17

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About BobbyClarkeFan16

  • Birthday 02/07/1974

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    London
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    Flyers
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  1. I'm going into this season with no expectations. The goaltending hasn't improved, the defense remains a work in progress (unless one or both of York and Drysdale step up) and the forwards are going to be an experimentation on finding the right fits. The only thing I want to see is progress. Are the young players progressing in a positive manner? Are the veterans helping lead the way for the younger players? Is the coaching staff prepared and do they have a viable game plan for the players they have or are we going to see the continuation of "square pegs being forced into round holes" that has plagued this franchise now for what seems an eternity? I have no expectations of wins and losses because this club is a giant question mark. has also I'm more intrigued by what's going to happen in Lehigh Valley. That club is getting filled with top prospects and a coaching staff that seems to have no history with regards to player development. What type of game are they going to play? Are they going to allow the young players to develop or are they going to continue with the "veterans get the lead roles and the young guys need to earn their stripes" bs that has also been a problem with this franchise. I've always been hopeful that they'll embrace player development and really change that aspect of culture. However, I'm also a realist in that just when you think they're about to embrace a new way of thinking, the old school mentality kicks in and they destroy everything they want to accomplish.
  2. We're a year out from the draft. There will be risers and droppers. Nobody last year saw Matthew Schaefer emerge as the top pick. There will be defensemen and centers that will certainly climb.
  3. The AHL is a great development league. Plenty of first round picks have spent their time there. Jett would definitely benefit from being there. The only thing that I think teams should do is is they send a prized prospect there, leave them there for the year. Don't interrupt their development by calling them up, then sending them down and so on.
  4. @TropicalFruitGirl26 I live really close to London and have been to hundreds of games over the last few years. Sam O'Reilly is a really good hockey player. Fundamentally sound in all aspects of the game. He can adapt to any role he's assigned to and he plays hard in everything he does. Howard is a bit more offensively talented, but O'Reilly is the guy you have out on the ice when you need a big defensive stop or a critical play in the offensive zone. He's the heir apparent to Cirelli.
  5. Most defensemen seen to break out in year five. I think York is in a situation where now he has to go out and prove that last season was a fluke season. He also has this prove that he was right with regards to the battles that went on with him and Tortorella last year. He's got a lot riding on his plate this year. And honestly, if he pulls down 35 to 40 points this year and is playing 23 to 24 minutes a night, that's a win. And I don't think 35 to 40 is a stretch either. And at $5.15 million per season, it's not a team breaking contract. It also signals that this year is the year they move Ristolainen. York slides into his cap hit with no problem. The money's good and it's a fair price to pay for a 30 point defenseman, which York is. And to think that York's offensive game can't grow any further because of one bad season is ludicrous. But now he's got to earn it.
  6. They aren't getting Byram. It feels more and more like St Louis is going to get him. Tippett also seems to have management and coaching support that they aren't going to move him. I'm wondering if he gets the assignment on the left wing with Zegras and Michkov.
  7. He's simply too light for his frame. He's big, gangly and awkward and he's compensating for a high center of gravity. It makes him easy to knock off the puck and it's partly why he's got a wider stance in order to keep his balance. A couple of things though. He's going to grow into that frame. When he's a 6'4, 220 pound man, he's going to be menace. On top of that, his skating coach is one of the best in the businesses in Kathy McLlwain. She did wonders with Liam Greentree, who night have been an even worse skater than Nesbitt's prior to his draft year, and she's Corey Perry's personal skating coach. So there's hope for big Jack. As for the Adam Lowry comparisons, I don't see it. I do see a bit of Gabe Vilardi in the way he handles the puck though. And at the same age, Nesbitt's skating is very similar to what Vilardi and Tage Thompson liked like. They were also heavier than Nesbitt was at the same age. I think Jack's going to be ok.
  8. Jack Nesbitt has the luxury of working with Kathy McLlwain, one of the best skating coaches in the game. She's done an incredible job with improving the skating of a number of NHL players and prospects. I'm not worried about Nesbitt at all. You can see from the video that there is next to no power in his start and stride. That's a correctable issue.
  9. I like Bump, don't get me wrong, but he's not being put in a position to succeed on this club. I really don't believe Tocchet will give him big ice time that he needs and will feed him table scraps until he gets sent back to Lehigh Valley. Part of me wishes that Bump, Barkey, Bonk, Grebenkin, and Bjarnasson all get a full and uninterrupted season in Lehigh Valley where they get a chance to really build comeradery amongst each other. I want those young players next season to be hungry and beating down the door and wanting to be difference makers for the big club. I didn't want them near this mess. But the Flyers need to get serious about making hard decisions because we need to move bodies to help balance out the lines. Too many players are playing out of position and they're acting like it's no big deal.
  10. Yep, but having to play out of position because they have no interest in trying to fix and balance out the lines.
  11. I fully expect the goaltending to kill them again. I understand that Bjarnasson and Zavragin are in the pipeline and that Bjarnasson will probably be the number one guy in Lehigh Valley and Zavragin has been really good in Russia, but they need time and Briere didn't exactly do anything to buy them time. I'm also concerned about the left wing depth, especially with Foerster and his elbow surgery to clear and drain an infection. They're down to one left wing in Tippett and if the expectation is that Grebenkin and Bump are getting the spots, they're going to be in deep trouble. If they have to move Zegras to the wing, it gets even worse now that there isn't a center. This off-season feels very disjointed. It doesn't feel like there was an actual plan in place. It was basically sign depth pieces and hope that some of the prospects step up in a big way. They're throwing crap at a wall to see what sticks.
  12. Oh I'm hoping they crash hard. I realize that there's still enough talent that they won't bottom out completely, but there's no way I see the playoffs or competitiveness with the goaltending they have in place. I think what's even scarier is that the left side is so weak now. I mean you've got Tippett, whose an adventure on his own right, and Foerster, who will miss time with an elbow infection (which sounds a lot like staph or MRSA). Then it's basically two spots up for grabs. Will Bump and Grebenkin get the spots? The Foerster situation really pisses me off though because that's something that should have been caught and addressed at least a month ago and they wait until now to get the infection operated on and drained. As a franchise, I'll never understand why they're so nonchalant in their treatment if their players. These are multi-million dollar investments and they treat them like ****.
  13. And Shabanov signed with the Islanders. Well, they're officially short at the left wing position. Part of me thinks that Cates will go to the left side so Dvorak can fit in at the three C spot.
  14. I'm perfectly fine with the Flyers being terrible again this upcoming season. I'm not sure Michkov will be happy, but playing alongside Zegras and whoever the left wing is more important and imperative to the future of the franchise. What I also want to see is a loaded with young talent Lehigh Valley Phantoms. More important, if Bonk, Barkey, Bump, Grebenkin, Bjarnasson, etc.....are there, I want them to remain there for the year. No interruptions. Let them play and play lots. It makes zero sense for them to come to the big club is still under construction. No need to rush anyone. I'm not sure if that will happen, but I'd love to see the club take that direction. Development is the priority now and winning becomes a distant second.
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