So what do we think of O. Lauridsen?

[ctid]

I am very very pleased...but then again, I'm biased since I'm a Dane and so thrilled that a Dane, 6'6 d-man no less, is playing for the Flyers.

I know he's not going to become the second coming of Pronger or anything like that. But I'm very pleased. Could easily see him bcome a very solid 3rd pairing D-man in the NHL. But then again, he could just fizzle out like so many before him.

What are you huys' impression so far? 4 games played for Lauridsen, 4 wins

[flyercanuck]

@ctid

It's amazing how well players come along when they're brought along slowly. He's looked good...for a handful of games. You gotta like that size.

[mojo1917]

So far he's no Richard Kraijec so there's that.

the sample size i've seen of him has been small, he has not stood out to me which is odd for a man that's 6'6" and i think that is a good thing, he's strong along the boards, and has played under control has played with some physicality. what i haven't seen from him is panic when the play is on his side or the puck is on his stick vs the forecheck, so far i'm pleased.

[flyerrod]

He needs to adjust his angles a little as that has been his biggest draw back. He seemed to get caught playing behind sometimes leading to hooking calls like his first game but he seems to be adjusting pretty well. He could use a little more nasty too but overall I think he is adjusting and playing pretty well.

[pensuck]

I like him so far. He hasn't had any of those brutal game killing turnovers so far. Coburn should take notes.

If kimmo is out do we bring up Manning now?

[Bakanekimiwa]

he's showing promise. I've been pleasantly surprised. His reach is a great asset that's been helping him cover mistakes. Like someone else said, I'd like him to show more nasty and use his size more. I'm sure the Flyer's brass do as well. Maybe Prongs could get on the ice and teach him a few things.

[BearOnIce]

I am very very pleased...but then again, I'm biased since I'm a Dane and so thrilled that a Dane, 6'6 d-man no less, is playing for the Flyers.

I know he's not going to become the second coming of Pronger or anything like that. But I'm very pleased. Could easily see him bcome a very solid 3rd pairing D-man in the NHL. But then again, he could just fizzle out like so many before him.

What are you huys' impression so far? 4 games played for Lauridsen, 4 wins

His skating is good. His reach is like a condor. He plays responsibly in the corners. Nothing glaringly wrong. Good mechanics. But, Oli needs to get some of those CP20 mean streak large jagged square pills stuck up his ass before every game and then we will have a D speciment on our hands. He's a keeper and a good 3-4 at this point. Be interestin' to see who the Flyers replace Colburn with this summer. Free up that cap space boys.

[AndyS]

I am very very pleased...but then again, I'm biased since I'm a Dane and so thrilled that a Dane, 6'6 d-man no less, is playing for the Flyers.

I know he's not going to become the second coming of Pronger or anything like that. But I'm very pleased. Could easily see him bcome a very solid 3rd pairing D-man in the NHL. But then again, he could just fizzle out like so many before him.

What are you huys' impression so far? 4 games played for Lauridsen, 4 wins

Lauridsen >>> Gervais

Lauridsen >>> Foster

[jammer2]

I'm liking what I'm seeing from him. Caught him watching the play instead of reacting a few times, totally normal for a guy in his first few games in the bigs. Colour me cautiiously optimistic. Love that giant wing span and skating is surpisingly efficient for a such a big man.....me likely.

[doom88]

I like what I've seen so far. That reach is really helpful while he learns the NHL speed too.

[RonJeremy]

@BearOnIce On Ice, Ollie looks good, for a big guy he can skate, he has been pretty sound. He could blossom into a good defensive player and hopefully lay out some big hits, if we bring him along slow and dont ruin him with overuse,when hes not ready for it. Unfortunately for us, he is excatly the same as most of our other defenseman....completely lacking in , puck rushing and shooting skills. We have plenty 0f 4,5 and 6 guys but no 1 and 2 guys. Other than Timmo, Coburn is our only other skating defenseman, and if he is used the right way, hes real good, he shouldnt be getting all the ice time and situational play, but since we have no legit 1-2 guys, Coburn is cracking from the pressure. Timmo is no longer 1-2 GUY and should not be playing the amount he does.

I dont see how you can replace Coburn, we should start losing games and forget this playoff pipe dream, so we can draft a stud defenseman, then on top of that, a young forward and something else will buy us another defenseman, but it has to be a young cornerstone defenseman, not another washed up 35 year old Pronger. We need a legit 1 and 2 defenseman, we can only trade for one, the other must be drafted, if we fall out of the top 5 in the draft, the chances get slimmer.

P.S. have you ever seen a team take more season ending injuries to their defense than the Flyers over the years? Rathje, Hatcher,Pronger, Mez, etc..... we have been trading for defense for 30 years... Dailey, Howe, Desjardins, Haller, Svoboda, Gauthier, , Pronger, Timmo, Mez, Coburn, Timmo,, so many more, its a joke that all our best defenseman have been traded for.... the only good dmen we ever drafted were Bladon, Watson and Behn Wilson. Its high time we drafted a cornerstone defenseman, especially after we blew it by passing up Doug Hamilton. We also do not want to draft any soft goofy euro puss, like Pitkanen, we want a tough Canadien or American kid, that can adjust quickly

[Jmdodgesrt4]

Well all non playoff teams go into the lottery and a chance to move up big. I really think we can still land a solid stud on the blue line at 12-14. There are six I would love but there are just so many really really good forward prospects in this draft.

[OccamsRazor]

I am very very pleased...

I agree!

I know he's not going to become the second coming of Pronger or anything like that.

YET!

It's still way to early to tell...but he skates better than Pronger did and faster(his Flyer days)...now it will take him some time to adjust to the speed difference but he has been ok so far, some expected mistakes and will be more to come...for sure.

Time will tell....cautiously optimistic is a good word to use.

But he has already got more shots on net that i've seen from Coburn all season....i am less concern with him than i am about Gervais...he IS THE WEAKEST LINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited April 6, 2013 by OccamsRazor

[mojo1917]

@OccamsRazor

Gervais was pretty good last night.

Manage his minutes right and he has value, I thought he made some good pinches and had a good stick most of the time I saw him.

Edited April 6, 2013 by mojo1917

[Howie58]

@RonJeremy

Wow! That post was almost as long as your penis.

Well, I guess RJ wants to hang on to what he's got. LOL.....

[OccamsRazor]

What are you huys' impression so far?

Well lets say last night was his worst game in the orange and black so far....yet he was not alone...every thing seem to fall apart for him when his D partner took a puck to the face....the whole team struggled when he got hurt...now that could have been prevented had Bryz not played like crap like he always does when they need him most but that is another story.

He is struggling to think with and without the puck...and it's to be expected with so little experience in the BIGS.

But he skates well and still needs more work and he needs to use his size more seperated puckhandler from the puck(which will come in time)...if he learns to play with more confidence his chances of staying improve.

Yet i see alot of hesitation from him...so like everything in life basically you can not hesitate....when you do it causes more problmes of which we see.

Yet maybe this coaching staff can coach him up....and as long as Gervais is skating on the blueline he won't be the BIGGEST concern to me that will be Bruno...the weakest link on this team...remove Bryz and Bruno some how and i like their chances of making the playoffs...don't and they will continue to LOSE!!!!!

But he is worth resigning and buliding upon his foundation...i think he has a decent upside...he'll get better with more reps....

Edited April 7, 2013 by OccamsRazor

[ctid]

@OccamsRazor

Yeah, last night was not his best game. I believe he was a -3. I hope they give him more time and not yoyo him back and forth between the AHL and NHL for the whole of next season. He needs stability.

[OccamsRazor]

I hope they give him more time

Like i said the FIRST GUY i sit is Bruno....he is garbage!!!! Can't do **** right and i'm tired of seeing him out there destroying all hope of a win...Ollie needs to take his lumps and i am ok with him for now...he brings effort which is more that can be said for Bruno...he is the enemie's best weapon!!!

[BearOnIce]

@BearOnIce On Ice, Ollie looks good, for a big guy he can skate, he has been pretty sound. He could blossom into a good defensive player and hopefully lay out some big hits, if we bring him along slow and dont ruin him with overuse,when hes not ready for it. Unfortunately for us, he is excatly the same as most of our other defenseman....completely lacking in , puck rushing and shooting skills. We have plenty 0f 4,5 and 6 guys but no 1 and 2 guys. Other than Timmo, Coburn is our only other skating defenseman, and if he is used the right way, hes real good, he shouldnt be getting all the ice time and situational play, but since we have no legit 1-2 guys, Coburn is cracking from the pressure. Timmo is no longer 1-2 GUY and should not be playing the amount he does.

I dont see how you can replace Coburn, we should start losing games and forget this playoff pipe dream, so we can draft a stud defenseman, then on top of that, a young forward and something else will buy us another defenseman, but it has to be a young cornerstone defenseman, not another washed up 35 year old Pronger. We need a legit 1 and 2 defenseman, we can only trade for one, the other must be drafted, if we fall out of the top 5 in the draft, the chances get slimmer.

P.S. have you ever seen a team take more season ending injuries to their defense than the Flyers over the years? Rathje, Hatcher,Pronger, Mez, etc..... we have been trading for defense for 30 years... Dailey, Howe, Desjardins, Haller, Svoboda, Gauthier, , Pronger, Timmo, Mez, Coburn, Timmo,, so many more, its a joke that all our best defenseman have been traded for.... the only good dmen we ever drafted were Bladon, Watson and Behn Wilson. Its high time we drafted a cornerstone defenseman, especially after we blew it by passing up Doug Hamilton. We also do not want to draft any soft goofy euro puss, like Pitkanen, we want a tough Canadien or American kid, that can adjust quickly

@BearOnIce On Ice, Ollie looks good, for a big guy he can skate, he has been pretty sound. He could blossom into a good defensive player and hopefully lay out some big hits, if we bring him along slow and dont ruin him with overuse,when hes not ready for it. Unfortunately for us, he is excatly the same as most of our other defenseman....completely lacking in , puck rushing and shooting skills. We have plenty 0f 4,5 and 6 guys but no 1 and 2 guys. Other than Timmo, Coburn is our only other skating defenseman, and if he is used the right way, hes real good, he shouldnt be getting all the ice time and situational play, but since we have no legit 1-2 guys, Coburn is cracking from the pressure. Timmo is no longer 1-2 GUY and should not be playing the amount he does.

I dont see how you can replace Coburn, we should start losing games and forget this playoff pipe dream, so we can draft a stud defenseman, then on top of that, a young forward and something else will buy us another defenseman, but it has to be a young cornerstone defenseman, not another washed up 35 year old Pronger. We need a legit 1 and 2 defenseman, we can only trade for one, the other must be drafted, if we fall out of the top 5 in the draft, the chances get slimmer.

P.S. have you ever seen a team take more season ending injuries to their defense than the Flyers over the years? Rathje, Hatcher,Pronger, Mez, etc..... we have been trading for defense for 30 years... Dailey, Howe, Desjardins, Haller, Svoboda, Gauthier, , Pronger, Timmo, Mez, Coburn, Timmo,, so many more, its a joke that all our best defenseman have been traded for.... the only good dmen we ever drafted were Bladon, Watson and Behn Wilson. Its high time we drafted a cornerstone defenseman, especially after we blew it by passing up Doug Hamilton. We also do not want to draft any soft goofy euro puss, like Pitkanen, we want a tough Canadien or American kid, that can adjust quickly

Great post RJ. Good perspective. Obviously you get more injuries when you play your best defensemen 20+ minutes a game every game because you have to because you have such a talent drop-off after them year after year. You don't internally develop defensemen you get this. I'm not high on Colburn. Underachiever, inconsistent, seldom steps up as 1-2 should when the chips are down. Bad under pressure. I am in the minority but not expecting trade movement you suggest in offseason. Flyers organization is delusional right now thinking defense will straighten itself out when defense is healthy again next season and Bryz will be better. They believe Schenn and Gervais are puck-moving defensemen solution. Oli L. is classic stay-at-home 5-6 or 7 pairing. Flyers counting on Pronger getting involved with defensemen next summer, carry-through.

[AndyS]

Like i said the FIRST GUY i sit is Bruno....he is garbage!!!! Can't do **** right and i'm tired of seeing him out there destroying all hope of a win...Ollie needs to take his lumps and i am ok with him for now...he brings effort which is more that can be said for Bruno...he is the enemie's best weapon!!!

Gervais is the new Jaroslav Modry.

Bad things happen every single time he's on the ice.

[Mad Dog]

Gervais is the new Jaroslav Modry.

Bad things happen every single time he's on the ice.

Actually Modry had some decent moments. Gervais had none. Gervais and Forster just make me want to turn the TV off every time I hear their names mentioned by the announcers.

What an insult to the fanbase that was bringing these two absolute total, utter, complete stiffs to this team... And add Lilja to that list as well.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Mad Dog

[hf101]

I think he's earned himself a roster spot next year. He stands out on every shift.

His GWG against the Islanders was a beaut!

[radoran]

I'm certainly glad that a cascade of injuries has forced the team to look at the guys (Lauridsen, Gustaffson, etc.) who are outperforming the guys (Foster, Gervais, Lilja...) who were signed for "depth" when they could have possibly spent some time actually evaluating and developing a player at the NHL level.

Of course, if they'd done that, they wouldn't have been able to compete this year and would probably have missed the playoffs.

Can't have that.

[ctid]

Eventhough, we are moving further away from a high draft pick with every win, I couldn't stop smiling after Oli's goal and performance against the NYI. Him and Gus are looking real good.

[brelic]

I'm certainly glad that a cascade of injuries has forced the team to look at the guys (Lauridsen, Gustaffson, etc.) who are outperforming the guys (Foster, Gervais, Lilja...) who were signed for "depth" when they could have possibly spent some time actually evaluating and developing a player at the NHL level.

Of course, if they'd done that, they wouldn't have been able to compete this year and would probably have missed the playoffs.

Can't have that.

To me, this is the biggest organizational problem. When they go out and sign "depth" guys, the message they send is "we don't trust our young guys."