AbelMorpheus Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Not much of a poster, but wanted to make an observation.Giroux is a star, Simmonds is a stud, and Voracek is something special.Overlooked I think, is the development of Medvedev. He's come a long way.Overlooked also is Gudas. This guy is a beast. Tough minutes and good plus minus.Not to mention his desire to hit,hit,hit!Last, but clearly not least is Gostisbehere. This kid is a bonfire in a zombie filled tunnel.The aforementioned cast made the season watchable, his addition makes it fun...real fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icehole Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I thought medvedev was good from day 1. I know he made mistakes in his own zone, but they needed a puck mover and every time he has the puck, he either skates it out of the zone or he puts a pass on the tape. His shot is pretty good too. I think that might be the best off season aquisition.I was excited when they got Gudas. People were saying that he might be a 7th or 8th defensman. He brought intensity and grit immediately but he wasnt great defensively early. He's become much more responsible but he is still a scare dude to play against. Scott Stevens said he's the best hitter in the league.Ghost (not trying to be cool...just cant spell his last name) is what the flyers have been missing forever. He's so creative and he makes simple plays that other players cant make for some reason. Has anyone ever clocked his shot speed. With his wind up, it looks like he could be a 100mph+ slapshot guy. Coming from that small body with that skating ability is something special.I have to give it up to luke schenn and maybe even brandon manning also. They were both terrible early but they settled in nicely. I think schultz would be my odd man out but they probably wont bring manning back up to replace him. I almost dont want streit back in the lineup but I guess he's better than some of these guys. Hopefully he's worth something to another team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 @AbelMorpheus@icehole I would inlcude Hakstol in this converation. It took some time for the players to buy into him, and the fact that he is new to the NHL, but I truly believe he is winning over this team and is showing the Philly faithful that Hexstall made a great choice in selecting him to lead this rag tag group. I'm excited to see what he potentially could do witht he likes of a Konecy and Provorov , among a few others, who appear to have way more skill and speed then certain players who shall remain nameless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmatus Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I think Hakstol deserves the most credit. Let's be honest, with the exception of Ghost, this team is essentially the same roster as last year. Though a point could and should be made for Ghost, I think Hakstol's previous coaching record shouldn't be ignored. He's a proven winner. I don't think you have as much success as he has had because of good players. At some point, you get stuck with a middling team, and you find a way to give them a competitive spark. For my money, I'd say that's exactly what he's doing so far for PHI. I think Medvedev is a nice temporary addition. He's too old to be around for very long, but he's a nice solid addition for the time being. Gudas is Gudas. Pretty much exactly as advertised. Mind you, the knock on him prior to this year was mostly in his tendency to take awful penalties (and way too often). He's been much better since slipping on the O&B, which is great. Before the season started, I was worried we had gotten rid of useless Rinaldo just to pick up an equally-stupid-penalty-prone ogre on the back end. I'm happy to be wrong about that so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I think Hextall deserves the most credit. He brought in Hakstoll. He's also brought in a "building a champion, not a screw the future let's go for it mentality". Earn your spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 @flyercanuck Absolutely agree! It will take time for Hextell's vision to be built, but I like the direction. We as a fan base are going to need to be patient, something that is not in the typical Flyer fan's vocabulary, and to ride out the speed bumps as they occur. This team could have very easily mailed it in when they were down 3-0 to the Blues, but the fact that they came back to win shows me that there is team character slowly being built. Hakstol and Hexstall deserve the accolades they recieve. Just remember we can't crucify them when they make a mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poulin20 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 So can we infer from all of this that Craig Berube was NOT one of the greatest minds in hockey???? I just want to be sure before I start spreading the word! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter puck Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Not so fast. A bump in the road and the torches and pitchforks will be back out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Not so fast. A bump in the road and the torches and pitchforks will be back out. yup...just like true Flyer fans! (you know this is gonna happen at least a couple of more times this season) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samifan Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 So can we infer from all of this that Craig Berube was NOT one of the greatest minds in hockey???? Only in the mind of Paul Holmgren. Just goes to show that maybe Homer took too many punches to the head during his playing days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmatus Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Only in the mind of Paul Holmgren. Just goes to show that maybe Homer took too many punches to the head during his playing days That's the President you're talking about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertmega Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Not so fast. A bump in the road and the torches and pitchforks will be back out.Don't worry I have my pitchfork ready and my torches oiled up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakanekimiwa Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Haxtol's subtle effect seems to be taking hold finally. The criticism of him thus far, has always been short-sighted. He's learning the game in this league and it seems he's adjusting fairly fast. He seems to have gotten the players on the same page... a rag-tag group at that. This is what I had hoped for the season, but if they keep playing like this they will have outdone my expectations and have a real chance to make the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJgoal Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 My expectations for this year were for the team to start getting into the new system around the halfway point, and for Hextall to make evaluations based on those results and start making moves to set the team up for the future. They're a bit ahead of where I'd hoped on the first, so maybe we'll start seeing some trades come late January or so. I'm pleasantly surprised, because the team isn't just winning - they had a stretch of 7 wins in 10 games last year around this time as well - but they look like a cohesive group doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I think Hakstol deserves the most credit. Let's be honest, with the exception of Ghost, this team is essentially the same roster as last year. Hak has done an amazing job he took the players time to learn the new system and now it seems like they aren't thinking as much just playing. And Medvedev has been huge since he has come back into the lineup and he needs to be resigned real soon. Since Medvedev returned to the lineup on Nov. 27, the Flyers are 8-2-2. Interestingly, in the 11 games he missed, the Flyers went 3-5-3 and were outscored 29-16.In his first 11 games, Medvedev totaled just one assist for a minus-2 rating. In the 12 games following his six consecutive healthy scratches, Medvedev has two goals and three assists for five points and a plus-5 rating. Now he can just play and not think so much this is huge MDV, Ghost and MDZ give the Flyers their puck movers Hak system need badly to get the puck out of their zone and up to the forward so they can get it in the offensive zone. Then those Dmen are doing a better job of knowing when to pinch and help their forward hold the zone....and i think it will only get better as the season progresses sure they will still have their bumps in the road but with the right moves from Hexy this is a playoff club i think...especially with two damn good goalies playoffs or bust. MDV has been a nice find by the Flyers scouts and i'd love to see them offer him at least a 2 year deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Knut Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Not much of a poster, but wanted to make an observation.Giroux is a star, Simmonds is a stud, and Voracek is something special.Overlooked I think, is the development of Medvedev. He's come a long way.Overlooked also is Gudas. This guy is a beast. Tough minutes and good plus minus.Not to mention his desire to hit,hit,hit!Last, but clearly not least is Gostisbehere. This kid is a bonfire in a zombie filled tunnel.The aforementioned cast made the season watchable, his addition makes it fun...real fun! Ghost really seems to have been a spark plug. He seems to have filled the rest of the team with Confidence. His play seems to have been the ultimate motivator. Gudas and Medv have really had an awakening in the past few weeks too. I agree on Hakstol. Int he frist few weeks, I really liked what I saw of the way he was having the team play. Then everything fell apart and I'm still not sure why... regression, other teams getting up to speed the difference between theory and putting theory into action I guess... I don't know... but now they really seem to be on the same page and getting things to work. The St. Louis game showed me a lot personally. They recovered from a falter in a very big way. Let's face it, the Flyers have been the kings of just getting to OT the past couple years. Usually they blow it once there. But with Ghost, they started to win it (still can't handle a shoot out, but they do well 3 on 3). the St. Louis game was one of the best examples of this group managing to do more than just get into OT. they turned the whole game around and just decided to WIN it. You get the feeling that if it hadn't have been Medv, someone else would have put it in in the next 3 minutes. It just had that feel. Jake, Simmer and Coots on the same line is pretty perfect. Weird it took this long to get it together. Now what can be done to get Giroux back into the scorer's sheet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icehole Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Now what can be done to get Giroux back into the scorer's sheet?I still think sam gagne would fit on giroux's line. If not, maybe bellemare. Raffle is OK but he doesnt fit...he doesnt have the skill to play on that line.We wouldnt have to move cap money to get Gagne back in the lineup would we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 @icehole, totally agree about Gagne on G's wing. i know it was tried for a couple of shifts here and there, i like that Gagne has a scorer's mentality too, he finds space and likes to shoot. I wonder if Raffl is on that line to help hide B Schenn's middling two way play. GG and Schenn would be a line that would be good unitl they didn't posess the puck, then I can see that group getting pinned in the wrong end of the ice, especially against teams with large skill players. I think Columbus would cycle the **** out of that line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStraw Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 We wouldnt have to move cap money to get Gagne back in the lineup would we? totally agree about Gagne on G's wing. i know it was tried for a couple of shifts here and there, i like that Gagne has a scorer's mentality too This is sacrilege. Blasphemy. Just plain wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ8812 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Anyone but Raffl on Giroux's wing. I like Rafll, but the guy doesn't belong on a scoring line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertmega Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 I still think sam gagne would fit on giroux's line. If not, maybe bellemare. Raffle is OK but he doesnt fit...he doesnt have the skill to play on that line.We wouldnt have to move cap money to get Gagne back in the lineup would we?Bellemare plays his role on the checking line quite well and I like that aspect of his game, but he cannot finish to save his life. It's like his hands have been carved out of granite. I would keep him far away from the top six. It's just not his role and there is nothing wrong with that. What he does, he does well. I do agree with the whole Raffle thing though. Gagner would be far better suited in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie58 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 This is a good thread. The Flyers' performance of late is "refreshing." Hakstol and Hexy deserve credit from the top-down vantage. Some key parts are playing better from the bottoms-up. I am not holding my breath. We may be seeing a team playing better than its potential when it was doing less-than-expected the first two months. I still believe many people here may be gone in the next 6-12 months. Then we'll younger players learning a system and getingt used to the vets. So I will enjoy the improved performance but realize this is a transition team. When I witnessed the 7-1 loss in Sunrise early on, my thinking was the team was a 2006-07 repeat. Now I see hope. But we are still a few scorers away from top-10 status. Our only way to win appears to be in very close games with stand-on-head goaltending and neutral zone control. I have no problem with that, but our 5 on 5 scoring is seriously lacking. Best,Howie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 but he cannot finish to save his life. I disagree i think that can be said for every player on this team at times. Give him a chance then you'll know other than that i don't won't to hear any speculating after watching Jake and guys like Brayden fail to score...and then turn around and never let the guy skate on a skilled line and say he can't score. I saw him finish on a shorty G that is all i need to see. Give him a chance he deserves it he has the speed now let's see if he can be a scorer on G's line they let everyone on the team even the equipment guy skate on that line...why not him? And don't come back because he is so useful on the 4th line crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 This team has always had the ability to be better than they were playing. That's been one of the most frustrating things sbout them the past two years.I agree with those saying that they are finally getting comfortable with Hackstol and I don't think that the influence of Ghost can be understated. He has made it more fun out there and I think been a breath of fresh air that the team needed on the ice and the locker room.Consistency is the next part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJgoal Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Agreed on the consistency. Last year they had a few stretches with similar win/point totals, but they fell apart after a good 8-12 games for a month at a time. Sort of like what happened this year around the time of that first win in NY. The big key is keeping those stretches of good play going, even if they don't result in Ws on the scoreboard. Losses I can accept. Losses where they look like utter drek, when I have seen them capable of playing strong games? That's what I really want to see eliminated this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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