conundrumed Posted January 25, 2022 Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 28 minutes ago, The_People1 said: Sometimes I can't tell the difference between Rucizka and Monahan. That's both a compliment and an insult. For the money, I'd take Ruzicka over Monahan all day every day. The joy is that you don't have to. It would appear Mony's game is coming around. Sometimes you just need faith and patience in the coaching staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted January 25, 2022 Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 13 minutes ago, travel_dude said: I think he has been consistent in the AHL this year, but a little up and down in the NHL games he played. Some of it comes down to lines and minutes, but as I said, he needs to try to be his best every shift. Last night the compete was there. If he does the same level of effort in a game where he's held off the scoresheet, then I suspect that is what Sutter would want to see. I'm not going to get too high on this game, as every line dominated. It won't happen every night. He got PP time because he deserved it. He worked the puck to start the play that resulted in his goal. But I saw similar effort on other plays. He made a nice one in the D zone. It's difficult to stay in the roster. You need to prove you belong there. Doesn't just mean scoring a goal. Means that you are doing the things when you are not scoring. A good forecheck. A hit that disrupts a play. A simple play to chip the puck out of harm, where you get time to regroup. Details. Some people may suggest that bringing up Phillips or Gawdin might generate more offense with him, but I think that is risky. Get him to the level he needs to be first. Can't spend time working on a line in-game because you have multiple rookies all at different levels. If illness/injury makes that necessary, then you work with what you have. He plays the hardest position. Hopefully Lindholm can help him. Lindy's one of the best. It's up to the wings to forecheck, not the C, but there is a line in how you support the puck. If you're a C caught to deep and there's a turnover, it's 3-on-2 going the other way. When the Sting were heavily favoured against the Spits, they barely squeaked out a 7 gamer. They were favoured vs the Rangers and had their butts handed to them. One consistency was Ruzicka played like a dman. He just couldn't get into the o-zone, like he was frozen in fear of his D responsibilities. Now I'd say that's coaching. But also, Lindy is one of the best at finding the balance. Hopefully Rozie gets a lot of support and advice from him. Gotta stay fluid at both ends. It could be mental, worrying about the opponents threat on the ice, rather than being confident that you are the threat. He's a hard one to figure out. He has a great coach now, so it's up to him. But he's infinitely a better option than Gawdin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted January 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 17 minutes ago, conundrumed said: The joy is that you don't have to. It would appear Mony's game is coming around. Sometimes you just need faith and patience in the coaching staff. Monahan seems to be getting his game back on track. (maybe just wishful thinking on my part) The shooting is better there now; accurate again, not blistering shots. The skating seems to be almost there; he never was super fast but he is not looking slow now. The defensive side is good; he really worked on it when he was struggling to score. If Monahan gets back close to pre-COVID level play with better defensive smarts, then you don't need to trade him. Cap management is a different conversation. Improving other areas of the roster is too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted January 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 Just now, conundrumed said: He plays the hardest position. Hopefully Lindholm can help him. Lindy's one of the best. It's up to the wings to forecheck, not the C, but there is a line in how you support the puck. If you're a C caught to deep and there's a turnover, it's 3-on-2 going the other way. When the Sting were heavily favoured against the Spits, they barely squeaked out a 7 gamer. They were favoured vs the Rangers and had their butts handed to them. One consistency was Ruzicka played like a dman. He just couldn't get into the o-zone, like he was frozen in fear of his D responsibilities. Now I'd say that's coaching. But also, Lindy is one of the best at finding the balance. Hopefully Rozie gets a lot of support and advice from him. Gotta stay fluid at both ends. It could be mental, worrying about the opponents threat on the ice, rather than being confident that you are the threat. He's a hard one to figure out. He has a great coach now, so it's up to him. But he's infinitely a better option than Gawdin. Was calling it forecheck, but really it's on the cycle in the O-zone. Knowing when to go deep or cover the D-man. Knowing who your man is. With Hanifin out there, you have to really watch it. His goal was the result of his defensive play at the line and then transitioning to offense. It reminded me of the type of goals Lindholm can get. We will see if a tougher game brings this out in him more or he goes into defensive shell only. Have hopes, as he would be a win for this team's drafting. Building blocks for the team down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob74 Posted January 25, 2022 Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 47 minutes ago, conundrumed said: He plays the hardest position. Hopefully Lindholm can help him. Lindy's one of the best. It's up to the wings to forecheck, not the C, but there is a line in how you support the puck. If you're a C caught to deep and there's a turnover, it's 3-on-2 going the other way. When the Sting were heavily favoured against the Spits, they barely squeaked out a 7 gamer. They were favoured vs the Rangers and had their butts handed to them. One consistency was Ruzicka played like a dman. He just couldn't get into the o-zone, like he was frozen in fear of his D responsibilities. Now I'd say that's coaching. But also, Lindy is one of the best at finding the balance. Hopefully Rozie gets a lot of support and advice from him. Gotta stay fluid at both ends. It could be mental, worrying about the opponents threat on the ice, rather than being confident that you are the threat. He's a hard one to figure out. He has a great coach now, so it's up to him. But he's infinitely a better option than Gawdin. Why not convert him into a D if he's Defensively responsible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted January 25, 2022 Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 38 minutes ago, robrob74 said: Why not convert him into a D if he's Defensively responsible? He's never been anything but C his entire life. Not even wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted January 25, 2022 Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 I agree Monahan has played better lately. He seems to be getting his feet back and I think his 2 way game has been better. Done a fairly good job in the d zone as well. Only problem for me is he still isn't really impacting the game offensively enough to justify the cap hit but maybe that comes around. I also think Dube is pulling him up a bit, as well as the fact he's leading the team in o zone starts. Looking better but for me he still looks miscast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob74 Posted January 25, 2022 Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 19 minutes ago, conundrumed said: He's never been anything but C his entire life. Not even wing. Not that he would end up like Byfuglien, but when Byguglien turned D, he loved it, as it was an easier game on him. Not the same kind of skating done as a forechecker, not that Ruzicka is a forechecker, but if he already plays a D game, it might not be that much of a transition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted January 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 15 minutes ago, robrob74 said: Not that he would end up like Byfuglien, but when Byguglien turned D, he loved it, as it was an easier game on him. Not the same kind of skating done as a forechecker, not that Ruzicka is a forechecker, but if he already plays a D game, it might not be that much of a transition. I don't think we need to convert forwards to D. We are not lacking LD prospects, but we are lacking C prospects. Zary is coming at his own pace. Doesn't play the same heavy games as Ruzicka. The rest are wingers in the AHL. Junior is too far out to include. I don't know Ruzie's skillset to know if he is capable of skating backwards at speed. He seems to be good North and South in Drive. Don't know about reverse. Right now, we need capable C's in the bottom 6, and if possible, able to step up in dire cases. Mackey and Valimaki are fine for depth right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted January 25, 2022 Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 2 hours ago, robrob74 said: Not that he would end up like Byfuglien, but when Byguglien turned D, he loved it, as it was an easier game on him. Not the same kind of skating done as a forechecker, not that Ruzicka is a forechecker, but if he already plays a D game, it might not be that much of a transition. Byfuglien was a dman in Junior and drafted as a Dman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted January 26, 2022 Report Share Posted January 26, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now