Alex Symonds
- Thread starter osh
- Start date
He got benched after he gave the puck away in Sheffield and they scored from it.He did not ice at all next night against Belfast and only 1 maybe 2 when Sawyer had the long penalty against Steelers.Don't think he got on the ice on Sunday against Belfast either.
I would hope with the run of games we have coming up we will get him out there more.Never going to learn unless he's trusted to do a regular shift.I can see why G would hold him back in games against the likes of Giants as 1 mistake if he's short on confidance could cost us the game.You would think against a so called 'lesser' team we would have enough going forward not to have to worry so much about the D.
Not saying I agree with that logic but could see why any coach would use caution especially one that was struggling to get results up to that point.
I would hope with the run of games we have coming up we will get him out there more.Never going to learn unless he's trusted to do a regular shift.I can see why G would hold him back in games against the likes of Giants as 1 mistake if he's short on confidance could cost us the game.You would think against a so called 'lesser' team we would have enough going forward not to have to worry so much about the D.
Not saying I agree with that logic but could see why any coach would use caution especially one that was struggling to get results up to that point.
My guess is that now we are starting to play 'easier' teams Alex will start to get more shifts and we will start to rotate a full 3 lines of D.
A couple of times last season in big games Adams seemed to leave Symonds on the bench e.g. the playoffs - and whilst he is improving he is still young and does make mistakes. We don't want his confidence to suffer and so it might be the right thing to leave him out of these early games against Sheffield and Belfast when one mistake can be the difference between a win and a loss.
A couple of times last season in big games Adams seemed to leave Symonds on the bench e.g. the playoffs - and whilst he is improving he is still young and does make mistakes. We don't want his confidence to suffer and so it might be the right thing to leave him out of these early games against Sheffield and Belfast when one mistake can be the difference between a win and a loss.
But we're not benching the imports when they make mistakes, and they certainly have made some mistakes so far this season...
I don't understand how benching him can do his confidence any good whatsoever, if we want him to get better, he needs to be playing, not sitting on the bench because he made a mistake against one team?
Chris.
I don't understand how benching him can do his confidence any good whatsoever, if we want him to get better, he needs to be playing, not sitting on the bench because he made a mistake against one team?
Chris.
Actually Adams benched himself in one game after a silly mistake. He mentioned it in the programme.
Of course, he is yet to bench an import for a whole game. But all our imports along with Mark Richardson have already proven themselves to be good enough for this level. Nobody goes through a whole season without making mistakes.
IMO Alex is yet to prove himself at this level in the toughest games. IMO he needs a little more composure at times especially with his passing out of the zone. We could throw him into the deep end as such, he will make mistakes and we will lose games. By the end of the season though we will have a better idea of whether he is up to this level.
Unfortunately a lot of our fans don't want us to have another building year and want us to challenge for the titles. In which case I think we should be leaving Symonds out of the big games until he has a bit more experience and confidence.
Of course, he is yet to bench an import for a whole game. But all our imports along with Mark Richardson have already proven themselves to be good enough for this level. Nobody goes through a whole season without making mistakes.
IMO Alex is yet to prove himself at this level in the toughest games. IMO he needs a little more composure at times especially with his passing out of the zone. We could throw him into the deep end as such, he will make mistakes and we will lose games. By the end of the season though we will have a better idea of whether he is up to this level.
Unfortunately a lot of our fans don't want us to have another building year and want us to challenge for the titles. In which case I think we should be leaving Symonds out of the big games until he has a bit more experience and confidence.
I think Alex proved himself last season very well. After a bit of a crapper of a start for him, being shoved around and then let go, I can imagine his confidence was low. Yes, I watched him make SILLY mistakes but I also watched his confidence grow and by the end of the season he was playing very well, with confidence and certainty in his actions. Ok so he was on the bench in the play offs, but I do think that was a wise choice in the end. Jarvis and Hartwick really brought it out the bag.
I havent been to any games this season apart from the friendly so can't really comment on the abilites of the new D's but I have been wondering why Symonds hasnt been icing. It does seem odd considering he has played with the the team previously, and that (as Chris said) the other D have been making mistakes but not getting benched.
Perhaps will the changes to the fixtures resulting in the Devils facing the better of the 10 teams in the league, Adams wanted to make sure they went out with best team possible and is hoping that by throwing the "newbies" out together they will be forced to gel very quickly and under pressurised situations, therefore (in logic) making them stronger, quicker?
I hope he gets more opportunities to ice... he proved himself last season in my eyes, and whilst he perhaps needs to ease up on the alcohol consumption and regularity (!) it has never seemed to directly affect him playing his game when it mattered.
I havent been to any games this season apart from the friendly so can't really comment on the abilites of the new D's but I have been wondering why Symonds hasnt been icing. It does seem odd considering he has played with the the team previously, and that (as Chris said) the other D have been making mistakes but not getting benched.
Perhaps will the changes to the fixtures resulting in the Devils facing the better of the 10 teams in the league, Adams wanted to make sure they went out with best team possible and is hoping that by throwing the "newbies" out together they will be forced to gel very quickly and under pressurised situations, therefore (in logic) making them stronger, quicker?
I hope he gets more opportunities to ice... he proved himself last season in my eyes, and whilst he perhaps needs to ease up on the alcohol consumption and regularity (!) it has never seemed to directly affect him playing his game when it mattered.
It's a catch 22 - on the one hand, we can see how Ben and Sam have completely raised their games by fate forcing all this ice time in their direction. And they are playing very well. 
Alex makes a couple of mistakes and is benched. It is easy to see G's thinking to bench a player if it is thought that the mistake will effect the players' concentration/mind set. Perhaps it is felt that Alex needs to fine tune his mental approach as well? Hopefully, he will return to the ice in upcoming games, build on confidence and show what he is really capable of. :?
Alex makes a couple of mistakes and is benched. It is easy to see G's thinking to bench a player if it is thought that the mistake will effect the players' concentration/mind set. Perhaps it is felt that Alex needs to fine tune his mental approach as well? Hopefully, he will return to the ice in upcoming games, build on confidence and show what he is really capable of. :?
I can see why it is easier to trust less experienced forwards than less experienced D. If the forward makes a silly play, bad passes, lacks vision then there is always the D behind him to pick up the pieces. With a D, they are the last line of defence (pun fully intended).
I would love to see Alex get more and more ice time, if he proves he can take it. Last season he was making big steps forward, but still making the silly mistakes from time to time. That is experience and confidence. I hope that G is benching Alex until he gets a chance to play without a huge amount of pressure - and would love to see him get some shifts this weekend.
If Alex can bring those good moves we have all seen from him, and become that solid guy at the back we all want him to be, he could be the guy to build our defence around for a good few seasons -along, hopefully, with Richardson.
Just a thought - has Alex asked to be "rested" until we get to the 'lesser' teams? Perhaps it may be a move to not blow his confidence before he has a chance to build it?
Another thought - we iced him when we less a Sawyer. Perhaps it would have been better to ice him before Sawyer sat for 21 minutes and we had the 4 goal lead?
I would love to see Alex get more and more ice time, if he proves he can take it. Last season he was making big steps forward, but still making the silly mistakes from time to time. That is experience and confidence. I hope that G is benching Alex until he gets a chance to play without a huge amount of pressure - and would love to see him get some shifts this weekend.
If Alex can bring those good moves we have all seen from him, and become that solid guy at the back we all want him to be, he could be the guy to build our defence around for a good few seasons -along, hopefully, with Richardson.
Just a thought - has Alex asked to be "rested" until we get to the 'lesser' teams? Perhaps it may be a move to not blow his confidence before he has a chance to build it?
Another thought - we iced him when we less a Sawyer. Perhaps it would have been better to ice him before Sawyer sat for 21 minutes and we had the 4 goal lead?