OPINIONS: What do the Devils do?
- Thread starter Devils86
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Busch for me is high on my retain list. A proper 3rd line center, good at both ends of the ice and can be physical too.
Cox and Sanford are difficult ones for me. They can put in some match winning performances and their stats at the end of the year have always been very good. But they're 2 of our top guys and we have not been the best in the league while they have been here, which is what we should aim for.
Cox and Sanford are difficult ones for me. They can put in some match winning performances and their stats at the end of the year have always been very good. But they're 2 of our top guys and we have not been the best in the league while they have been here, which is what we should aim for.
Binning Cox and Sanford would be a major gamble as although we haven’t won much with them here that’s been largely because of lack of line cohesion/regular production on other lines & heavy scoring burden. You would need to at least replace them with equivalent players which cannot be guaranteed and you’d be hard pushed to get (realistically) better players into Elite league within fairly tight pay rules. If you did find a diamond in the rough they would probably jump at chance to move to bigger/more prestigious league if chance came along. We want to be aiming to ensure we are getting consistent points throughout the roster. I don’t think Sanford and Cox are the problem. I do agree that Martin may benefit from moving down to a lower line due to age and the physical demands of playing top line centre. I think him on 3rd line with a couple of younger wingers would be great as he could help to elevate their game. I’d be inclined to get a bigger body centre into our first line. The CMS line is a little light and they are all game but physically can get a bit bossed.
Lack of recent success means within the league players are likely to prefer Giants or Steelers if want medals, but we still have a draw from being there or there abouts. Ransacking Dundee didn’t work so well for Clan this season but Naas, Valentini and Elmer have all impressed this season. Elmer plays physical Devils style of hockey has a lot of traits that would probably work on a second or third line for us, he also seems to have the ability to find some magic against the run of play with some flair goals.
Lack of recent success means within the league players are likely to prefer Giants or Steelers if want medals, but we still have a draw from being there or there abouts. Ransacking Dundee didn’t work so well for Clan this season but Naas, Valentini and Elmer have all impressed this season. Elmer plays physical Devils style of hockey has a lot of traits that would probably work on a second or third line for us, he also seems to have the ability to find some magic against the run of play with some flair goals.
My keep list:
Sanford: Yes
Martin: Yes
Cox: No - Unless he drops to a much lower line
Ully: Maybe
Arniel: Maybe
Barrow: Maybe
Alderson: Maybe
Busch: Maybe
Crandall: Yes
Waller: Yes
Brandt: Yes
Davies: Yes
Duggan: Maybe
Pietrinero: No
Donaghey: Yes
Rymsha: No
Crawford: Maybe
Wilde: Maybe
Mosey: Maybe. If he does I’d like him as forward who can cover D.
Richardson: Yes
Batch: Yes
Bowns: Yes
Wall: No.
So lots of Maybe’s, but I’d hope we change around half of them as we do need improvements across the squad.
Sanford: Yes
Martin: Yes
Cox: No - Unless he drops to a much lower line
Ully: Maybe
Arniel: Maybe
Barrow: Maybe
Alderson: Maybe
Busch: Maybe
Crandall: Yes
Waller: Yes
Brandt: Yes
Davies: Yes
Duggan: Maybe
Pietrinero: No
Donaghey: Yes
Rymsha: No
Crawford: Maybe
Wilde: Maybe
Mosey: Maybe. If he does I’d like him as forward who can cover D.
Richardson: Yes
Batch: Yes
Bowns: Yes
Wall: No.
So lots of Maybe’s, but I’d hope we change around half of them as we do need improvements across the squad.
Some major surgery needed on this team for me. Tinkering won’t do anything.
Sanford: Yes
Martin: Yes
Cox: No -
Ully: No
Arniel: No
Barrow: No
Alderson: No
Busch: Yes
Crandall: Yes
Waller: Yes
Brandt: Yes
Davies: Yes
Duggan: No
Pietrinero: No
Donaghey: Yes
Rymsha: No
Crawford: Maybe
Wilde: No
Mosey: No
Richardson: No
Batch: No
Bowns: Yes
Wall: No.
Sanford: Yes
Martin: Yes
Cox: No -
Ully: No
Arniel: No
Barrow: No
Alderson: No
Busch: Yes
Crandall: Yes
Waller: Yes
Brandt: Yes
Davies: Yes
Duggan: No
Pietrinero: No
Donaghey: Yes
Rymsha: No
Crawford: Maybe
Wilde: No
Mosey: No
Richardson: No
Batch: No
Bowns: Yes
Wall: No.
The thing that stood out particularly in the playoffs is how mediocre our D is. (exception of Crawford the assist machine and Wilde defensively). So for D I would keep
Crawford, Wilde, Richardson. Batch (much better this season). Need 2 new ones. One offensive like Fournier and one solid defensively like Tansey
As for forwards.
Sanford has to stay. Cox was less than he was last season but was still over a point per game so keep unless we can get Naas to play with Sanford.
Martin keep but move to a lower line
Arniel was great.
I don't think we saw the best of Ully but he was still a point per game. I would like to give him another season
Brandt - everything you want in a player and only going to get better
Waller - needs guidance from Pete on his defensive game but definitely keep
Davies - good 4 the line work horse
Bowns - had a solid season. Keep
Gone:-
Busch.
Crandall
Barrow
Wall.
Rymsha.
Pietroniro..
Duggan.
Alderson
Mosey,
Donaghey - He is decent but we need stronger
,
Crawford, Wilde, Richardson. Batch (much better this season). Need 2 new ones. One offensive like Fournier and one solid defensively like Tansey
As for forwards.
Sanford has to stay. Cox was less than he was last season but was still over a point per game so keep unless we can get Naas to play with Sanford.
Martin keep but move to a lower line
Arniel was great.
I don't think we saw the best of Ully but he was still a point per game. I would like to give him another season
Brandt - everything you want in a player and only going to get better
Waller - needs guidance from Pete on his defensive game but definitely keep
Davies - good 4 the line work horse
Bowns - had a solid season. Keep
Gone:-
Busch.
Crandall
Barrow
Wall.
Rymsha.
Pietroniro..
Duggan.
Alderson
Mosey,
Donaghey - He is decent but we need stronger
,
For me we have to keep Busch. When he was injured we were rubbish, he comes back and we pick up again. I also thought we were moving away from enforcers in this league, but that is not the case, most sides, apart from us, had that type of player, which meant we probably had the most fights of any team. (no deterrent)
It would be a shame if Arniel does retire, I've enjoyed watching him
I would also give Ully another season.
If as some suggest we let two or more Brits go, who do we replace them with? Harewood maybe, who else?
Too early for me to consider the other players.
It would be a shame if Arniel does retire, I've enjoyed watching him
I would also give Ully another season.
If as some suggest we let two or more Brits go, who do we replace them with? Harewood maybe, who else?
Too early for me to consider the other players.
As a minimum, I would like to see 4 new forwards with size on their side and who won’t be knocked of the puck so easily as happened to our current smaller players this season. 2 new Defencemen who will stand up for their team mates and not hide when the going gets tough ( similar to Mark Louis ) I really don’t see us having the funds for the luxury of 2 spare / interchangeable players. As for who those players who will go is anyone’s guess. I haven’t named individuals simply down to the fact I only saw around 7 games live this season. If we don’t make these sort of changes, we will face the same problems next season. I am not forgetting we ended the season as league runners up, but I repeat that is more down to the overall drop in standard of the EIHL league ( compared to the time we had the Hothams, Fournier etc ) when the whole league was a much higher standard in my opinion.
I'm not sure having spares is a luxury any more than having a decent backup goalie, or a non playing coach. I don't know the numbers, but it has seemed to be that more often than not this season we had scratches due to injury.
It would be fascinating to have some data on games lost through injury across the league. Sheffield seemed to be very lucky on that front this year.
It would be fascinating to have some data on games lost through injury across the league. Sheffield seemed to be very lucky on that front this year.
For me.... I'd like to see some big changes. We finished 2 points 'better off' than last season when we finished 4th. That isn't progress for me. When I look at who I would keep or swap, I always start from a point of.... "would they get into Sheffields Team or would Sheffield want them?"
Arniel is a loss for me if he does retire. He seems to fit that 2nd line role perfectly, high energy, 200ft game, physical, creates and can score. Likewise Busch. I find those roles harder to replace than a Crawford, Sanford or Alderson. I'm interested to see how the Sanford and Cox issue plays out. If they want to play together and stay together then for me, they both go. Not having a killer first line really hasn't helped us this year.
Keep:
Davies, Batch (although I believe he's being replaced by another Brit D), Busch, Mosey, Brandt, Bowns, Cody, Waller, Martin, Crandall.
The only one I'm uncertain of is Barrow. I like him and I like his effort but I'd need to see the make up of the team before inviting him back.
Please get me a powerforward. I don't care if he's 6ft 1 or 6ft 5. I just want someone who knows they are a big body, knows how to use it and is willing to use it. Look at Printz this weekend. Big body, held the puck well, allowed for line changes on the fly, created screen after screen of the PP and generally in the offensive zone. Our big body, sits out wide waiting for a one timer that rarely comes his way and occasionally gets angry and makes a hit.
Arniel is a loss for me if he does retire. He seems to fit that 2nd line role perfectly, high energy, 200ft game, physical, creates and can score. Likewise Busch. I find those roles harder to replace than a Crawford, Sanford or Alderson. I'm interested to see how the Sanford and Cox issue plays out. If they want to play together and stay together then for me, they both go. Not having a killer first line really hasn't helped us this year.
Keep:
Davies, Batch (although I believe he's being replaced by another Brit D), Busch, Mosey, Brandt, Bowns, Cody, Waller, Martin, Crandall.
The only one I'm uncertain of is Barrow. I like him and I like his effort but I'd need to see the make up of the team before inviting him back.
Please get me a powerforward. I don't care if he's 6ft 1 or 6ft 5. I just want someone who knows they are a big body, knows how to use it and is willing to use it. Look at Printz this weekend. Big body, held the puck well, allowed for line changes on the fly, created screen after screen of the PP and generally in the offensive zone. Our big body, sits out wide waiting for a one timer that rarely comes his way and occasionally gets angry and makes a hit.
Sanford: Yes
Martin: Yes
Cox: No
Ully: No
Arniel: Yes(but it looked like he retiring at the playoffs)
Barrow: Yes
Alderson: No
Busch: No
Crandall: No
Waller: Yes
Brandt: Yes
Davies: Yes
Duggan: No
Pietrinero: No
Donaghey: No
Rymsha: No
Crawford: Yes
Wilde: Yes
Mosey: Yes
Richardson: No
Batch: No
Bowns: Yes - But 2nd choice, we need better now
Wall: No.
Martin: Yes
Cox: No
Ully: No
Arniel: Yes(but it looked like he retiring at the playoffs)
Barrow: Yes
Alderson: No
Busch: No
Crandall: No
Waller: Yes
Brandt: Yes
Davies: Yes
Duggan: No
Pietrinero: No
Donaghey: No
Rymsha: No
Crawford: Yes
Wilde: Yes
Mosey: Yes
Richardson: No
Batch: No
Bowns: Yes - But 2nd choice, we need better now
Wall: No.