https://www.eliteleague.co.uk/schedule
Chose the game at the top -> player stats then TOI is the last column.
Chose the game at the top -> player stats then TOI is the last column.
Devils Vs Flames - League - 31st Dec 23 - FO 16:00
- Thread starter James
- Start date
Have to be honest I am very old school with my retaliation tactics. If a player on the other team is being a dirt bag then you simply go and target their star players. It doesn’t take a lot to get a bench to turn on itself. That is the bonus of having Brandt and Chad is they are good trade off players also. What should have happened in the Guildford game is Riley should have been in McAdam’s face, McParland’s face, Crinella’s face just absolutely drawing the gaze of those players away from the game. Not popping off at Riley there but PR has to give him the green light. However with how effective Guildford we’re being on the PP I can also understand a coaches reluctance to open that can.
However and I can’t stress this enough the single biggest crippler Devils have had this season and the last few has been the power play and its inability to be a weapon of fear to teams. Nothing keeps team honest like a firing PP. Lordo’s Devils team had league leading special teams and despite fan frustration things went unanswered in those days also they were punished in different ways. The last few years the PP has sucked and is a deterrent to no one. This is where I listen to podcasts such as 3 on 3 and deduce they just talk in populist terms and don’t fully think things through.
Noting they picked out Riley and Chad as problem signings and fans on here going after Batchy the interesting note is non of those guys feature on the PP units. Those are inhabited by the high profile names so interesting to note a shite PP means those guys are letting the team down a lot more in reality.
There are easy pickings for forming opinions on where things are wrong. Every fan base seems to say the same which is odd. Even in Lordo’s day we were apparently bullied. I will guarantee nearly all on here the root cause of Devils problems is that shit house of a PP. They would def still be in the CC if it was working for sure and have a higher winning %.
This is why also I have my doubts the issue is coaching but more player decision making and execution. When 3 coaches are struggling to get a tune out of those special teams the focus has to start turning on the players. They have to own it and fix it.
However and I can’t stress this enough the single biggest crippler Devils have had this season and the last few has been the power play and its inability to be a weapon of fear to teams. Nothing keeps team honest like a firing PP. Lordo’s Devils team had league leading special teams and despite fan frustration things went unanswered in those days also they were punished in different ways. The last few years the PP has sucked and is a deterrent to no one. This is where I listen to podcasts such as 3 on 3 and deduce they just talk in populist terms and don’t fully think things through.
Noting they picked out Riley and Chad as problem signings and fans on here going after Batchy the interesting note is non of those guys feature on the PP units. Those are inhabited by the high profile names so interesting to note a shite PP means those guys are letting the team down a lot more in reality.
There are easy pickings for forming opinions on where things are wrong. Every fan base seems to say the same which is odd. Even in Lordo’s day we were apparently bullied. I will guarantee nearly all on here the root cause of Devils problems is that shit house of a PP. They would def still be in the CC if it was working for sure and have a higher winning %.
This is why also I have my doubts the issue is coaching but more player decision making and execution. When 3 coaches are struggling to get a tune out of those special teams the focus has to start turning on the players. They have to own it and fix it.
I think this is what people need to remember when complaining about high prices.
Anyone who has been to a pub or to buy fish & chips lately will notice Everything has gone up a lot price wise.
So prices are going up in general but for the Cardiff Devils we are also limited by the fact that the rink only holds 3100 seats max.
So when club costs go up- we cannot spread the increase over 5 thousand or 6 thousand tickets a game- which teams with bigger rinks can do. This means the price of a pint or food has to go up etc.
Its not the club being money grabbing, its the reality of maintaining a viable business.
Anyone who has been to a pub or to buy fish & chips lately will notice Everything has gone up a lot price wise.
So prices are going up in general but for the Cardiff Devils we are also limited by the fact that the rink only holds 3100 seats max.
So when club costs go up- we cannot spread the increase over 5 thousand or 6 thousand tickets a game- which teams with bigger rinks can do. This means the price of a pint or food has to go up etc.
Its not the club being money grabbing, its the reality of maintaining a viable business.
The issue, for me, isn't better players, it's the type of player and how they are being asked to play. That isn't "more money". That's the mix of talent we are recruiting. I use Wilde as one example.... no idea of cost so purely speculative but an offensive D man for me isn't what was required. A stay at home D man was. Admittedly we may have made that recruitment choice to make a change after the Conti Cup but for now it's a head scratcher.
It's a decent listen but thoroughly disagree with their assessment of Brandt and Chad. They used stats like goals and assists to come to the conclusion that they aren't good enough for the Devils but Brandt isn't there for goals and assists. In my book he is there to be an agitator. A pain in the A. When he is allowed to do this he does it well. In addition, his role is to get the puck and at best get a goalie freeze to relieve the pressure and have an offensive zone face off for our lines 1 and 2. He does this very well but for past few weeks the agitator and wrecking ball hasn't been seen. Brandt and Chad as fourth line options do a decent job for us. If they chip in with the odd goal, great but there's far more to them than that.
Pretty much agree with everything Mooney says above especially that the best deterrent to stop the shithousery is a no.1 PP unit.
The hopeless PP of the last couple of seasons and a vastly underachieving 1st line over the same time period are the 2 main reasons for our failure to mount any sort of sustained challenge for trophies.
As has been said many times before, we are in a different world since 2020 and gone are the days when we iced 2 ex NHLers on our 4th, yes 4th line let alone had Charlie Linglet tearing up the opposition aided and abetted by Joey Haddad, Matt Pope et al but the fact remains that 3 coaches have failed to get a tune out of our PP unit (apart from the Brodie Reid one timer before every other team worked it out) so maybe it’s the players not being up to the job and not the coach for being unable to get it to work.
Next season sign a proper balanced 1st line which hopefully will fix the PP (providing you don’t overplay them) and in my opinion we’ll be in a much better place!
The hopeless PP of the last couple of seasons and a vastly underachieving 1st line over the same time period are the 2 main reasons for our failure to mount any sort of sustained challenge for trophies.
As has been said many times before, we are in a different world since 2020 and gone are the days when we iced 2 ex NHLers on our 4th, yes 4th line let alone had Charlie Linglet tearing up the opposition aided and abetted by Joey Haddad, Matt Pope et al but the fact remains that 3 coaches have failed to get a tune out of our PP unit (apart from the Brodie Reid one timer before every other team worked it out) so maybe it’s the players not being up to the job and not the coach for being unable to get it to work.
Next season sign a proper balanced 1st line which hopefully will fix the PP (providing you don’t overplay them) and in my opinion we’ll be in a much better place!
I agree with your comments about Brandt and Pietroniro, but pre covid they wouldn’t have got anywhere near a Devils team but it’s new world order now though.
I am firmly in the Riley Brandt appreciation camp but when Pietroniro was announced as resigning I was disappointed, not because I don’t value his style of play or contribution but I questioned the need for both!
I am firmly in the Riley Brandt appreciation camp but when Pietroniro was announced as resigning I was disappointed, not because I don’t value his style of play or contribution but I questioned the need for both!
It’s a narrow lens to suit a narrative. It’s their opinion but I don’t agree with it either. Where do you include Waller in the Riley / Chad debate as he plays up the lines as a consequence. People will complement Waller’s performance when he plays well for GB but that will be because he has had a season on the third line and with PP and PK time included. Facilitated by imports being on the 4th line. A 4th line that as you mention nearly always produces a shot on goal per shift with very direct play. Whilst I get their opinion I think it’s a little lazy in its analysis.
When Sheffield win the league but only have one GB player in Dowd it will re ignite the import debate as concerns the EIHL. Devils to there credit will provide probably 4 or 5 players to GB.
When Sheffield win the league but only have one GB player in Dowd it will re ignite the import debate as concerns the EIHL. Devils to there credit will provide probably 4 or 5 players to GB.
