travel_dude
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Everything posted by travel_dude
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Did you actually watch any of the games that Ramo won? I say that because he was a big reason they won in LA (both times). Againt Washington, he played pretty well, limiting OV and crew to 2 goals. I agree we should rid ourselves of Joey, but I think he is a placeholder until either Roy is able, or until his contract is up. There have been so many B2B games for the Heat that Joey is playing to spell off Ortio. Not great, but they want to give him the odd night off. So far, it seems to be working with his 9-1 record.
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Yes, I remember Hartley saying those things. I find it strange that he is talking about Joey again, after not a lot of talk about him being demoted. Berra is up now, and I read somewhere that his status is waiver eligible, so we are kinda stuck with him. Ramo could be sent down, I think. That doesn't make much sense though, considering he is no worse than Berra. If anyone is called up soon, it will be Joey I think. Ortio may get a call later in the season, if the Heat are well situated for the playoffs. But it probably suits him better to finish the year off in Abby, and play for the Calder Cup. He can come in next year and win the job if he is up to it. By that point, Berra or Ramo will be traded or not re-signed. Berra could also end up back in Abby, if there is any value in that. Gillies is still at least another full year away from pro hockey, IMHO. He is still just in his 2nd year, so he could play another year, get a chance for a title and possibly the Hobie (Johnny H is most likely the guy this year).
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Hartley made an odd statement on the matter: “Karri Ramo will get the start,” coach Bob Hartley said. “I’ve said it, I remember. We will probably not announce a No. 1 goalie all year. It’s going to be a battle. I’ve said it from Day 1, it’s basically a three-man battle. Joey MacDonald is part of the mix and right now, we go with Karri and Reto. They’re doing good and Kari was excellent in LA.” Kind of weird that JoeyMac is somehow back in the mix. I guess it is just Hartley saying that Ramo is far from his first choice, so we may get back to Joey getting a bunch more starts and Ramo getting demoted.
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It was known before the Cali trip that Ramo would start against the Kings. Second game of a B2B. I don't really think the Dubie situation is a good comparable. Backman was injured, and LaBarbera was just plain bad. Bryz needed time before he was going to be ready for the NHL. Ramo had similar numbers to Berra, but Berra kept getting the starts. But, it may turn out to be a meaningless discussion, as Ramo could indeed get a few in a row, especially if he wins the next game or two. I would prefer that they sit Berra for a few games, because I am not a big fan of the out-of-control saves he makes. Ramo is more conventional.
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I think it is more a case of Hart-ocracy; only certain players are capable of being sat.
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The coach's decisions have not helped the goalie situation. He should have left Berra in the AHL to develop properly, and had Ramo get the lion's share of starts in Calgary. Instead, JoeyMac gets played until he proves he is not the right choice, and Ramo has to sit during this period. Berra gets brought up and has one good game and immediately is the starter. It's a little difficult to know what we have in Ramo at this point. Berra should really be back in Abby learning how to play in his crease.
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Looks like Hartley goes with Berra against the Ducks; doesn't matter really, since we have won there in this century. Ramo gets to play against the Kings, which he had his first win against.
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Berra is a bit like Tim Thomas and Marty Brodeur combined. Unconventional at times, with him flopping around or sliding way out of position to overplay a shot and making a great stop; and the odd amazing padd stack type saves. Both of these things put him out of position, and can lead to a wide-open net, or a simple deke to stuff it in. He plays big in the net, but leaves some holes(short side post).
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The point of Brossoit being part of the package was that he was the big piece of the trade. Horak by himself wouldn't get you Smid. I doubt Brossoit ever gets more than a handfull of games for the Oilers. Maybe someday, he will show that he can play at the NHL level, but I doubt it will be with the Oilers; they will trade him for parts. He will probably end up somewhere east, and get lit up on a nightly basis, then back to the ECHL.
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Well, he is Swiss, after all.
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Hartley has said numerous time that he sees things in Berra, and has since his days in the Swiss league. He also said he will give Berra every opportunity to show he is a starter. That just doesn't sit right, as it ignores a goalie that was used sparingly so far; how do you even know Ramo's value? Hartley started JoeyMac in bunches and played Ramo more like his backup.
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Kipper was a great, athletic goalie (who smoked like a chimney). He was almost perfect on 1st shots, but got out of position on rebounds because he went down too early (see 1st shot). Against a team like Vancouver, he couldn't stop the cross-crease passes between Sedin/Sedin/Burrows, so he was sometimes lit up. Also, because he was small-ish, he had a lot of room over his blocker; most nights he could easily deflect with blocker or stick. Two years ago, he had a really good year, with adequate defense. Last year he was out of game shape, and was injured later on, so we never got the "normal" Kipper SA%. Berra (and Gillies) both are big guys, so they have the advantage of defending the top half of the net, even when they are in the butterfly. Even Ramo (6'0") to a certain extent. Right now, both Berra and Ramo are fine for a rebuilding tem. They will both get better with time and more starts, so I don't worry so much. Either (B/R) could become elite; we just don't know with less than 10 games each.
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Truth is we had a very average team during our cup run. No elite players. No true #1C. Drafting after that year was horrible. When I say he may never surpass, that means records, games played, etc. There are few in the NHL that will surpass him.
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We are truly exposed with Gio out; Butler just doesn't have it to be a top line guy. Brodie is doing well, but still makes rookie mistakes. Wideman has good night offensively and bad night defensively. Russell is amazing for his size; he play like a giant. Smith is not a bad 5/6 guy, and Smid will become a 3/4 th guy soon enough. The goalie situation is distressing. Even when Berra has an awesome game, he still lets in some squeakers. Ramo has looked good and bad in the same game, but is not getting any opportunity to show that he can improve. If we are trying to find that elusive #1 goalie, then we need to play them equally and play the best lines available. That does not include Jackman as a 4th liner or Gratts playing every game. Nobody will fight him (other than a Gazdic or Parros type), so what is he taking up space every game for? I would rather see a Knight or B.Jones playing opposite Bouma and Colborne/Backlund and have them play 10 minutes. As far as Ortio goes, he is the mid-range guy, in case Berra or Ramo can't hold the job. Don't want to see him till later in the year, though. Gillies is currently playing elite-level goaltending, the same way Johnny Hockey is playing elite-level LW. Gillies has gotten They will both have an adjustment to pro hockey. I expect Gillies to continue to excell this year, as he has already posted 8 shutouts in the early part of his second season. That is other-worldly, not the second coming. His size and technique give him an early advantage over Kipper. He may never surpass Kipper, but I think he will surprise a lot of people.
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Wow, those are some awesome stats that Joey has compared to Berra and Ramo. Any stats other than this year's mean nothing. Apples and oranges. By obvious choice, I mean obvious who we had targeted to play this year. Joey started on the Flames because he was waiver eligible, not because he was the better goalie in TC. Waiving an NHL goalie is akin to the end of the road. Like the guy, but time to move on from a 33yr old sub-standard goalie; he won't get any better than he is.
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It should have been obvious that JoeyMac was the one to go. You don't waive him hoping he makes it through waivers to play as a backup to Ortio. He is gone pending an injury to one of Berra or Ramo. Even then, we may just see Ortio come up. Joey PO'd a lot of people on his way out of town. He is one level below B.Jones at this point. His success rate and/or stats are nothing we couldn't get on the waiver wire anyway, so I think he is toast. Nothing to do with proving value to the Ramo/Berra signings; he was a signing that was at best a stopgap measure. If he had come in and provided over .900 and GA of 2.5 he would still be here. He didn't so we get to see what we have in Berra and Ramo.
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I don't really know what we have as far as goaltending goes. Berra has played 5 games? Ramo 7? Maybe if we were able to keep the number of shots below 30, we could get an accurate picture. Maybe if you did video review with the whole team, they might see why goals are coming fast and furious. BTW, the Avs lost by the exact same score tonight. JS Giggy with 5 GA. Point is it happens.
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Based on look and feel, Berra is #1, followed by Ortio (great stats in AHL, but it is the AHL), and Brossoit. I'm not writing off Ramo yet. He has shown some good skills, some ok stuff, and some really bad stuff. Depending on how the coach draws up starts, he could fare a lot better. I'm not a big fan of the "play the hot hand", because here is how it is being used: - Play a guy, if he wins he starts next game, if he loses but doesn't totally suck or you can blame the team, he starts next game - Above doesn't hold true if a back-to-back game What you end up with is a guy plays 2-3 games (more for Joey) and in the meantime, the other goalie cools off. I would prefer that goalies are matched to the team they play against. It will take a bit of effort to figue this out. Take the win/loss/good try out of it.
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JMac hasn't exactly endeared himself to the Flames. Being sent down doesn't mean you get the call to start either. Joey will need to earn the trust from Ward.
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It is possible that they want to see a few games to see how his game is progressing. More likely in the near future. Less likely if we are fighting for a playoff spot. They can call him up (assuming he is waiver exempt) and carry 3 goalies by dropping a D down to the AHL again (Smith/Butler/Billings).
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One step at a time for LB. He needs to gain confidence before coming back to the AHL. His last two games were forgetable. There is no rush with him, as we have 3 better goalies ahead of him on the depth chart, and another playing his butt off in the NCAA. In fact, it is actually better for him to stay in the ECHL for now, as JoeyMac can play a limited backup role on the Heat. For now, until proven otherwise by a significant number of starts, we have 2 quality goalies in the NHL. Ramo will get better, and Berra could stay the same, and we have 1a/1b goalies. Many probably feel Ramo has been crap, but he is still adjusting to the style of game and the lack of defensive help. He's has two very good games (LA & WASH) and a couple where he let in some softies. His first game should have been a win, but OV and the team woke up. Ortio will eventually get a call up, assuming we can send someone down without waiving them or someone is injured. That will come in time. Brossoit will get back to the AHL once they decide he is ready. Joey will probably get traded to a team in need of a backup later in the year, probably for future considerations. No real value there.
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Don't worry man, Ortio is playing hot, so he will get the starts. Ward wants to win as well, and there is no pressure from management to develop JoeyMac. He is only there as a backup, and will (might) only get a call up if one of the Flames tenders is injured or falls on him face. His parting comments probably soured the coach a bit. You might be more likely to see Ortio as a call up.
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Spooky. Another thing that sounded similar was Harley talking about 5 game sets. Dutter did a similar thing as they got closer to the playoffs, so that they wouldn't look at the standings so much. The fireman's helmet is a throwback to the green hardhat as well. The one thing missing is Marty Gelinas as the FO specialist. We have two Finnish goalies in the system; Ramo and Ortio (from the same place as Kipper). I will hold off a wee bit on the predictions, as we haven't been too successful in Cali yet. When we can beat the Ducks in Anaheim, then we may have something.
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I like that we have two goalies with different styles. Coaching just needs to figure out which styles play the best against which teams. Berra was solid, and what worked against a team like the Hawks was freezing the play a lot. Lots of face-offs hurts a team like them, because they are great on the rush. Beyond that, team defense kept a lot of shots to the perimeter. I haven't totally figured out Ramo's game yet; he does seem good on defending against break-aways. Think he may be more of a butterfly goalie, but a bit scrambly at times. Not enough games yet to get a read on him, though.
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To be fair, we only have had one starter in that bunch. He has had the reins since 2004, and started the vast majority of games. This is really the first year that we are searching for a new starter. Our backups have not fared well over the years, but none of them really had "starter" potential (IMHO). Sure we messed up with Irving, but he showed he couldn't even beat Taylor or Brust for the Heat job. This year was supposed to be Ramo and Berra competing for #1 or #1a/1b, but we were stuck with McBackup to start the year. That was just because coaching was not ready to commit to the rebuilding at the net 100%. The Ramo/Berra tandem will at least show us how much we are in need, or at least provide us with some league (or below) average goaltending we lacked last year. Combine that with the strong early showing by this team (no surrender) and we are not a bottom 5 team this year. We have been somewhat lucky with shots against not killing us, but then again we have been better lately at the PK.
