The Hockey PDOcast - The Young Players Stepping Up in Bigger Roles to Start the Year

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

Dimitri Filipovic is joined by Shayna Goldman to talk about Igor Shesterkin's start to the season and value to the Rangers, and the young players stepping up in bigger roles on their respective teams that have caught our eye in the first month of the season. If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Regressing to the mean since 2015, it's the Hockey P.D.O.cast with your host, Dmitri Filippovich. Welcome to the Hockey PEOCast. My name is Dimitri Filippovich. And joining me is my good buddy, Shana Goldman. Shana, what's going on? Hey, thanks for having me. This is going to be a fun one. It's your first appearance of the season first of many, I hope. And we've got a jam-packed list of topics we're going to get through. I want to devote a big chunk of today's show to talking and kind of highlighting some early-season performances we've seen from young players who have really stepped up in bigger roles and taken their game to a new level so far this season.

But before we get to that, and we're going to segue neatly as you'll see in a couple minutes here, I want to start talking about the Rangers. And in particular, what we're seeing from Igor Shasturkin so far, because I was watching over the weekend, it was a Friday night game against the senators where I thought he made at least probably I could count up to 10, just ridiculous, highlight real saves that led them to victory there. then against the Islanders in their next game, similar story, this Rangers team keeps winning games, right? They're up to A, 2, and 1 as their record early on.

And I think it's shaping up, like, it's too early to start thinking about this. But I think looking ahead to what the down-to-stretch storyline is going to be, I think for me in the Metro, similar to last year, it's going to be the Rangers and the Hurricanes, somewhere in the 110-ish point range, battling for the first seed there and home ice advantage in an inevitable matchup between the two.

So that's one thing. But the other thing is just what we're seeing from this Rangers team now, in particular defensively recently where I think they've slipped up a little bit. And it hasn't really mattered. They've managed to keep banking these wins because the Igor Shus Turkun is just, I think, far and away, in my opinion, the best goal in the world right now. Yeah, he absolutely is. And it's encouraging for the Rangers because you compare it to last year where you started

the season kind of average and, you know, he didn't look like his usual self. And the whole time you're going like, okay, he's an elite goal. He will remember that soon enough. It's fine. And then he went through January. had the worst season of any goalie, a worst month of any goal in the league, and then All-Star Break on,

gets back to his usual. Excellent is that in the postseason. So to pick up where he left off last year is huge for the Rangers. And I think it throws his name right into the Ves and trophy race in the early games of the season. But, yeah, they're able to win games and get by because of him because he has, you know, nine starts so far.

I think eight of nine are quality starts. The only one that wasn't was the game against Utah. And you're seeing as the defense works their ways through some issues, especially in the more recent goings as they're trying to find the right pairings, he's picking up the slack because I think we've seen things get a little more chaotic since Ryan Lindgren returned

and the decisions of like Mancini versus Jones and figuring out who should play on the left and right on that third pair, it's creating a lot more chaos in front of him. So he's managed it with ease, which is really encouraging. Do you want that the entire year? Probably not,

but I think they know they have a capable backup behind him in Jonathan Quick that they can rely on when they need to rest him. But to see him at his best, it's going to be huge. And like you mentioned, that storyline, the Hurricanes versus the Rangers is going to be so interesting because at the moment, you have two polar opposite teams, right? You have the elite defensive team that is a Carolina Hurricanes with OK, goaltending behind them. Like, who's going to be the starter when it matters most? What's going to happen with Frederick Anderson, all those question marks versus the Rangers can they figure out their defense,

but at least they have goaltending? So it definitely makes for an interesting storyline. And it's, a good start for them to build that early lead and, you know, make their case that they're going to be one of those top three metro teams, especially when you have surprise teams like, you know, the capitals pushing back into the playoff picture more than we expected, you know, you want to be able to keep pace or outpace those teams. Yeah, we noticed, I mentioned kind of how they've slipped a defensive venue head on that as well. They surrendered 46 shots to the Capitals, 41 to the Senators, 37 to Islanders over the weekend in their three most recent games. Sport Logic has them down at 21st, unexpected goals against 30. in slot shots against and 27th in time spent in the defensive zone. And while obviously that's not ideal

in terms of like projecting ahead and you want them to tighten that up, I think all for me it's done right now in this short sample is just further highlight how good just reckon is and also how uniquely valuable he is to their sort of entrenched standing as one of those top teams in the league

that you mentioned in his nine games on the year. The public metrics have him at 933, say, percentage. Spore Logic has him up at 9.38. I think there's a few extra shots that they've counted there and they're tracking. This is a fun one, though. He has an 893 say percentage on slot shots alone, and that's in a time where league average,

save percentage is nearly around there. I think it's up to 898 at the time we're talking. You mentioned that Utah game. He gave up six goals in that wild game early in the season. He's given up 14 total goals in the other eight and has him up to a plus 13 goal save above expected. So, yeah, you put all that together in that performance I referenced against the senators

where there was this one sequence. I think it was a third period while they were hanging on to the lead. Credit to the senators, what Thomas and I mentioned on a recent show have really been game lately, and their offense in particular has been quite threatening. You watch that game and they're kind of trying to get back in that third period. There's this sequence on the power play where Shishtrickon is essentially sitting on his butt, and he just stops like three or four shots in close succession.

His glove work so far, like anything in tight where you can't really elevate it against him. I know this is the story for Basilevsky and Bobrovsky and all these sort of like big athletic goalies that are dominating today's game, it's like, you got to elevate the puck. It's obviously a much tougher to do that within close, and that's been a bit of a babbu for that Hurricanes team in past postseason's Inches Tirkin, and you watch them in these recent games,

and anything in close, he just absorbs it right away. It's like just vacuums it up, and so he's almost impossible to beat there. And the reason why I think this is an interesting storyline beyond him kind of playing back at this level that he was at a couple years ago in the regular season is what a baller move, I think it is, and from his perspective,

where he comes into the season right there was that Kevin Weeks report about the mega offer the Rangers through his way and he essentially said either whether he doesn't want the term or he wasn't satisfied with the actual dollar figure we can get into that a little bit here but he essentially called his shot saying I'm not only the most valuable goalie in the league but I'm one of if not the most valuable players in general in this league and I want to be compensated as such along with the matthews and mcinnons and macdavids of the world not just my own peers on my position and it's a precarious position for the Rangers because I think everyone who listens to this show by now and follows

the league knows that goalies are much more volatile, they play fewer games, there's much more kind of inherent risk involved with the position, yet based on this performance and what we've seen from them and how it looks and the numbers I just cited, it's kind of tough to argue with it. Right. So like him calling his shot in that manner and then following it up with this performance, even though it's still a short number of games, is something that I just think is like incredibly impressive and cool on his part. Yeah. I love that you mentioned like the shots coming in up high and you're seeing that glove work. And it's funny too because sometimes you'll see comments in there like, well, that look like an easy save. Like, no, it's because his positioning was that good on it. Sometimes the most dramatic saves are the ones that are going to be the most eye catching when a goalie's flying across the net. Sometimes it is, you know, the goalie just moving with the passers, right? If there's a lateral passable, a goalie's going to shift and it's going to make this highlight real save. But sometimes those are because a goalie isn't in the proper position in the first place. So sometimes I see things like, oh, that glove save looked easy. Like, no, he made it. look easy. There's a difference between that. So that's a really good point there with how

impressive he's been. And then you look at the one goal he gave up against Ottawa. And it's the puck moving from Brady Kachuk. It's a great pass to move him laterally for Goddette to score. And you're seeing the defense, just let that one go. So it's kind of like the big story of the season there. But yeah, it's interesting for him with it being a contract year because in most situations, I would agree, you don't want to pay a goal like $10 million a year. You don't want to pay a goalie $10 million a you don't want to give them that massive contract because they generally don't age well. But there's always exceptions to the world, right? Like aging curves for goalies, we haven't seen as much work done in the public sphere as we have for skaters.

Because, again, volatility, we don't know as much and everything and more. It's a, you know, convoluted position to put it nicely. So it's always tough to project out like how might a contract like that age because, generally speaking, they don't age well. But we know the elite, the generational talents tend to be better in those, later years, which is similar to skaters, right? They age better. So their average still might be above average, which is why you can take that leap on the longer term deal and you can pay up. But it's a reminder of only the select few should be getting those deals, not the Sergei Babrovskis of the world.

And I know it's easy to say that now he's a Stanley Cup, not even the carry prices of the world, because that one didn't look like it was going to age well. It's the Henrik Lundquist of the world. It's the Roberto Luongos of the world. And I know his contract wasn't perfect, but you need that generational tier to be the one that gets that kind of payday. And then everyone else, else you figure it out after. So if I'm the Rangers, I, yes, worry that it's a goaltender, but he's showing you he's everything and more, especially when their team strategy for literally what the last 20, 30 years has been rely on elite goaltending and figure out the rest. That's how they're built. So to change that now, to fundamentally change the team is impossible to do. You have to

find a way to make it work with him because he is there everything and more. He's not just the most, you know, valuable goal. He's legitimately one of the most valuable players in the league. And it's, It's always funny how we don't account for that enough in the heart trophy race. Like someone like Connor Hallibuck should have been a top three finalist last year, as tight as the race was. And Shastirkin could have a heart trophy by now as well. Yeah, it's also interesting within the grand scheme of the league. I've talked about this a little bit where obviously everyone has sort of come to terms with the idea

that you don't want to commit too much to your goalies, although you've seen the goalie market, as you wrote about recently in the athletic change a little bit. We saw Sorokin last summer and then this most recent one, Swayman, Ottinger, Allmark, all kind of fall in that 8.25 million A.AV range. So that's bumping it up a little bit. Yet I think we're an interesting sort of impasse or dynamic in the league right now because everyone is so committed to offense, right,

in terms of optimizing and increasing the efficiency there. So teams are funneling the puck to the slot more, getting it in tight. We're sort of seeing teams go away from perimeter-based point-shot offense, trying to get it to their forwards in that home-played area. And that's why I kind of cited that slot-save percentage by Shastrick and your note about how like when he makes those routine glove saves remain tight you're left wondering just as a commenter watching at home being like oh I wish the

shooter didn't just shoot it into his glove when in reality from his perspective it's probably because of what Chastrickon did to take away the net and not give them any options so for this Rangers team that has I think under Peter L. Vellette recently tried to open it up a bit more right kind of get more modernized in terms of attacking off the rush especially with our top six and now this third line that we'll talk about and sort of pushing for all offense, that's going to make it even more important to have a dominant goalie, even when you compare it to the Henrik-Lunquist years, where the team and organization clearly relied on him to a massive extent.

I'd argue it's even more so now because we're seeing say, percent, a drop around the league. We're seeing teams sort of leave their goalies out to dry a little bit. And for him to be doing this and playing at this level is not only huge from his perspective, but for what it does as a trickle-down effect on the team, allowing them to embrace that playing style a little bit more and feel confident that, all right, we can attack off the rush knowing we might give up a bit more than we used to because we have Igor Sturkin and the other team, like, let's say the Hurricanes

who you play in the playoffs, doesn't. And it's just like not an even playing field in that regard. Yeah, absolutely. Like, offense is getting better. There's better goal scores around the league. And you can really look at it two ways, right? You could say, well, you can get by without elite goaltending if your defense is elite.

And that is one approach to take, right? The Vegas Golden Knights, they have one of the deepest blue lines in the league when they won the Stanley Cup. They had three great pairs. They also had a great defensive core up front. that they were able to get by without elite goaltending. And some of the takeaways from that was you don't need amazing goaltending to get by.

And it was a similar takeaway the year before with Colorado, right? Because Darcy Kemper was great all season, got into the playoffs, got the eye injury. And he wasn't amazing. But they were so super powered in front. But not everybody can win that way. And even this year of Florida, it's a little bit tough because playoff Bob was not to the levels of last year. It was the team in front of him that was so good. That was the difference.

So you could look at it and say, well, they won with the 10. million dollar goalie, but you could look at an insight, but he wasn't, you know, cons my caliber like the year before. And I feel like everyone tries to find the lessons. And the whole key of it is you have to find the lessons and figure out how it applies to you and your roster. If you're the Rangers, you look at it and you go, well, we still need goaltending. We don't have that elite defense.

So if we're going to stop the elite offense that we're seeing from all of these past winners, that Colorado had, that Florida had, you need something. It's one or the other, if not both. If you can't have all three elements, you need to have, I would say, two of the three. and ideally one is focusing on offense in today's game and one on the back end. So for them, it's elite goaltending. That is their difference. That's their game breaker.

So yeah, it's definitely more important than ever, especially as the scores around them are getting better and better and better. And we're seeing issues with the Rangers when they get into the postseason. The story tends to be pretty similar in the last few years. They're missing goal scoring. They're not getting enough at even strength, which means they need a goaltender to keep scoring as low as possible so they can stay in these games. Yeah, it's the ultimate differentiator, right?

as I think kind of everyone, obviously we see that like the top teams just have more firepower and more personnel options to score than regardless of what you do tactically if you're a less talented lower end team. But everyone is getting so good now that I would just argue that like having a goalie like this and if you feel confident you're going to get it and it's risky at the goalie position, but I think just Thirkin's track record, especially in the postseason, kind of illustrates that he might be in a bit of a tear in his own in that regard in terms of us feeling confident that he's going to perform up to his capabilities.

it's a bit of a differentiator for them against pretty much anyone they play with in a postseason setting. And so I think the appeal is pretty obvious there. Okay, while we're on the topic of the Rangers, and I think this will segue nicely into our next conversation about young players that have elevated their game early on, I want to talk about Philippaido,

right, because he's not necessarily a rookie or a second year player. He's been around for a while now, but after the season he had last year and how everything he went through with the head injuries and the uncertainty, playing only 10 games, not knowing really kind of putting hockey the back burner because you're like, all right, I just hope for this guy's quality of life and

he's so young and has so much life ahead of him that I want to prioritize that. I'm not necessarily been worried about what he's going to look like in the NHL. For him to come back, be healthy, and look the way he has in particular, I think is so encouraging for the Rangers. He has four goals, eight points in 11 games. And that line with him, Kako and Kuli, I know they got split up a little recently, but they've played about 100 minutes so far together. There, I think, I believe one of, if not the last sort of regular forward lines in the league that hasn't been scored on at five on five. They're controlling play 60% shot share, 63% expected goal share.

And not only are they giving the Rangers a legitimately different look with that third line you can rely upon to help tilt the ice a little bit, but him in particular, in that most recent game against the Islanders, I know he didn't score on it, but he has this net drive where he essentially just like out muscles, Kyle McLean takes the puck to the net, rings it off the bar past Sorokin and seeing stuff like that is so encouraging for me because he's being so assertive and playing such a dominant game like that. And if you're going to tell me that that's going to continue and knock on what it does, all of a sudden, beyond just Turk, and I do think that gives the Rangers just a different look

that they didn't really have in the past. I know the Wendberg was very useful for them when they acquired him last year, but the goals and the offensive ability wasn't really there or at least wasn't translating. And I think the way he is playing right now to go along with those two other guys, I do think gives them that that they just haven't had in the past. Yeah, absolutely. He's been a huge difference maker for the team. And like you saw the potential.

It was two playoff runs ago when it was the kid line put back together. And you're seeing Lefner and Heidel and Kako crush it together. And yes, they're getting softer minutes. But they're the source of offense, the Rangers needed. And you compare it now to last year's look of that line once Heidel was out of the Fold and Brinbrook and Wembrook. And Kooley, Kako and Wembroke were really good together, right? they could have taken on heavier matchups

than I think that they were given. They were doing a lot of the right things to create shots in their minutes and tilt the ice and they were playing really good defense in their own zone, which I think was their greatest asset was how they played defense in the offensive zone to keep play there and just keep cycling the puck,

even if they didn't generate enough quality offense, the next line could come over the boards and join in in the offensive zone, which is what you want to see. But the scoring wasn't there. You didn't have enough of a shoot first talent there. You know, Wemberg is a great playmaker. He's, he's a past first player, and Kako and Kooley are not some, like, high-end offensive threats in their own rights. So someone like he'll

he adds an element of jump and just pop to that line. Every time I think of his game, I think of the word pop, because it's exciting. It's fast. He brings a lot of pace. He's great off the rush. You can go right to the net front area and create his own chances. And sometimes, yes, this is how he gets himself into trouble because he's just skating right through the chaos. But, you know, he's a really good playmaker as well. And he can create his own shots. and you look at it and how it kind of lifts up the players around him and just gives the team this threat. There's a reason this line was getting more minutes in recent games

before they switched everything up against the Islanders. Against the Ducks, they were outplaying the Zabandajat line because they're bringing a little bit more to the table. And you look at his season as a whole now, Heidel. You know, Rangers have, what, 64% of the expected goals share. They're outscoring opponents, I think 10 to 1 in his minutes of 5 on 5. It's really impressive that he could become less of just, I guess, a third line threat, but a middle six threat.

I want to think of him as. It could be the depth scoring they need to go against that Panarin line and bring those waves of offense. Because when you look at past champs, you look at the Panthers. You could think of three lines because you could think of the Lundell line and Lusoran and generating stuff in their minutes. And you can think of Vegas with their almost like forward pairings that went one, two, three down the lineup.

If you have that in New York, it's huge. And even if they end up switching up their lines, again, like they did last game, him being in the lineup, I think adds a whole other element because you're not worrying, oh, if you put him with someone like Panarin or Zabanajad or Carter, is it going to press offense? Like, no, he can do a little bit of everything. So it's the weapon that they've needed for so long that if they can maintain it and he can stay healthy,

it's huge for them. Yeah, just for their lineup construction, it gives them so much optionality, right? You think of kind of what's done them in the past years and last year in particular. It was great that Lafranier stepped up the way he did and him and Panera and carrying the offense at 5-on-5. But when they weren't on special teams,

essentially they weren't getting much from that Zabinajad line. And then at that point, it's like, all right, well, it's great that this third line is kind of creating offense by mostly defending in the offensive zone and controlling possession, but where are the goal is going to come from to kind of put us over the top here. And so at least giving them another look, they can throw at teams. They can legitimately score goals. I think it's just such a big difference maker, especially not just for the regular season, but if you think ahead to the playoffs and they play in the second, third round against some of these top teams,

those are things that the Panthers and the hurricanes can do and throw at you, right? And this Rangers team hasn't really been able to do that in the past. So I think that's exciting. Let's keep going. Let's keep rattling through some of these names. I know you've highlighted some of them in your fantasy article in terms of, like, players. You can pick up for free in your leagues that are exciting and doing cool things and maybe the rest of your leaguemates haven't sort of caught onto yet.

One of them is Dawson Mercer for me. And I think this is just because it's kind of fresh on mine because there were two games on last night. One of them was the Amazon game here in Canada. I know the frustrations for American fans that it's kind of stuck and hidden on the NHL network. But if you got to watch it, it was the Devils against the Oilers. And Mercer continued what he's been doing all season playing with that Hissier Meyer line. And in particular, I tweeted out the link, if you haven't seen it yet or the clip of it,

he makes this amazing play where in true Dawson Mercer fashion he wins a battle in his own zone, right? And then he shows off not only the effort level on the motor, but in combination with the high-end skill that makes him such an intriguing player for me, where he kicks it to himself that essentially throws an Alley, you blob pass in mid-air to Timelmeyer who gloves it down and why, winds up finishing it off. And he's been awesome on that line. In particular, Sheldon Keith, since he came over, has been really relying on him.

I think he's third amongst Devils forwards in 515 usage. He leads them in penalty kill usage. And this is a player you and I have talked about in the past. I think last year towards the end of the season in particular, we were discussing them as a trade candidate because the Devils were linked in all these rumors, right? And he was sort of an appeale young piece that wasn't necessarily one of their core young guys, but was kind of stuck in the middle as a tweener there. and I thought he had a disappointing year last year for a variety of reasons,

especially what he showed the year previously. In my opinion so far, he's bounced back to that form that made us fall in love with him. And I've really loved what I've seen from him. He's showing why he's such a valuable asset to this Devils team in particular, right? Because he's got this skill to keep up with this line he's playing on, but he's got the work ethic and motor and compete level to actually also kind of contribute in different unique ways for them.

And so I think that's a really exciting development for not only him, fans of his game, but also the devils in general. Yeah, that's the key of it. He can keep up with them, but he can compliment them because he brings something different to the lineup. And while all of those rumors were swirling, it felt like moving him would have been that one big mistake because it's you're selling low and you're losing someone who brings a lot to the lineup because he has that forward versatility.

If you can trust him at 3C and I know they didn't last here and they were putting him on the wing when he was on the third line or you can have them as a top six center, top six winger. Or if someone gets injured, you know he can. step up to. And I think that's a great threat to have, but just what he brings to the lineup individually is exactly what this team is missing. And I know right now it's, you know, he shares the finisher, which is a little uncharacteristic for him because he's such a great playmaker. You don't see him, you know, taking as many shots and converting on him like he is. But the fact that Mercer can

help elevate him to be that is huge. There's still elements I want to see more from him. I know on the season I was a whole at five on five. He's not shooting the puck as much as he did two years ago and the shot quality isn't there. I think the slow start to the season is part of the reason why it's weighing down everything as a as a whole. And I think that he's going to keep building there. But if he can just be a dual threat and and bring the finish that we know he has because at his core, he sure is an unreal playmaker and just do all the dirty work to make that line click. It's a thing for the Devils to have because, you know, we all think of Jack Hughes as the generational star in New Jersey and he's the one everything runs through and it does. But the Nico Heeshire line could

be a first line on some other teams too. So if you have that one A1B option, it's a great threat to have, especially in New Jersey where I don't want to say that the depth is fine. It's good. But you want it that they have what it takes to go head to head with some of the best in the league, especially when they have some shortcoming still back in net. And it's getting better. But, you know, it's always that constant worry and fear, I'm sure in Jersey that you'd never

know when the goaltending is going to fail you. So you want to have a lot of goal scoring. And it feels like this is a line that can really help bring it. Yep. All right. Next player on my list, Marco Rossi. Similar to what I just said about his year in terms of the uncertainty. And the only reason I say that is because in preparation for this, I remember this at the time, but I was just looking it up. And there's an article on the athletic from your colleague, Joe Smith, who does great work covering the team and has been on the show previously from June 27th.

So kind of in that silly season period, right, between the end of the season and then kind of around the draft free agency when we see a lot of moves happen. And the article was titled, why would the Wild consider trading Marco Rossi? It's complicated. And I think the gist of it was essentially in the logic from the wild. And I'm not sure how much of this is conjecture and how much of it was really happening behind the scenes. But it seemed reasonable that they viewed that, you know, they want to be competitive right now during this Carol Caprizov superstar window. And they just had kind of limited options that weren't core pieces for them that they could trade that had value in league circles that could get them to this position that they coveted, which was being.

faster and bigger, right? And he was a player that conceivably filled that. Now, I think it's deeply ironic considering this organization's seeming never-ended pursuit of this exact type of player that he's been so far this season, which is a top flight center who has offensive skill and can legitimately lock down the middle with Caprizov and Zuccarella, right? We've seen them try to relative success in the past. The guy like Ryan Hartman, for example, we saw last year, they tried all sorts of combinations. They played Joel Erick there and that line was incredibly productive, but then it depleted their depth. We've seen them try Matt Boldie there and play them down the middle just to give them different look and kind of load up that top line. And that's great. Those guys are

going to succeed, but then it makes you very beatable down the lineup. And so I think Ross's emergence this year legitimately locking down that role. I think he clearly, and I know there's been a lot written about how much work he's put into his game, particularly is skating to become more powerful skater and quicker and being able to keep up with these guys, it all shows when you watch them right now. He's not only a passenger playing with those guys. And I think it's a difficult role because as we know, Zuccarello and Caprizov have so much built-in chemistry that sometimes it's difficult to think along the lines with them, right? Like they know where they're going to be and what they're going to do. But if you're on the outside of that, then you're kind of

just like in no mansland. He's fit in seamlessly. He's playing well well off of them. He's also contributing as well. And so I think him having 10 points in 11 games and looking like a really reasonable and valid answer to that pursuit that I mentioned of that top line center, I think is very exciting for the wild. And I know for people who have loved Marklerasi as a prospect and a young player and him taking kind of a long winding path to finally getting here, I think it's very sort of satisfying and vindicating. And so I wanted to shout him out because I think all the attention is going to be on Caprizov and deservedly so. I think he's been the MVP of the league through this first month. But Rossi is a legitimate player in that. And I think he's a,

he's opening a lot of doors for the Minnesota wild. Yeah. And when you think of young talent in Minnesota, like, I feel like your mind definitely goes to like the Matt Boldie's of the world first. And Boldie came in and made an impact so quickly. And I think that raises the bar for everybody else, right? I think we have such sky high expectations for players, especially ones who get hyped up the way that Boldie and Rossi both did.

And you look at how some top picks have come to the league and been instant impact players that it like recalibrates what you think a prospect should be able to do off the bat. And sometimes it doesn't happen that way. And with Rossi, it really hasn't. And some of it was. his path and the hurdles in his way. And some of it was his usage over the time. So the fact that he's between the two best players, I think, is the best thing for him.

And it's the best thing for the wild because you don't want it that you have to put Eric's inack there. And you're such a top heavy team. You want it that you can keep them separated and have two lines that can be used different ways. And for Matt Boldy to have someone capable on his line too. And it's not just him and dragging around other guys. Ryan Hartman is a good contributor in Minnesota, but you don't want him as your one C or your top. up 60. So I think all of those set the wild up really well. But with Rossi, you know, he has a good shot and he's been decisive with it. And he's a good passer. He's a solid two-way player. And he doesn't

have to be the driver of his line. So it takes off some pressure in some ways. Like you said, it's not going to be easy when you're at the center thinking you have to do all of this. And then you have Capri Soff who's like, well, actually, I'm running things here, run running things here. Just follow my way. But I think it's kind of he's been eased in. And now he's in the best position possible. The line isn't perfect at five on five. They're outscoring expectations by a pretty wide margin. But it's the wild like we know. It's just exciting for Minnesota to have an electric line like this that's doing it pretty consistently now through the start of the season. And it's so big that he's a part of it. It just, you look at it and you go, okay, maybe they

finally have figured things out. So they're shutting things down defensively and they're getting reliable goaltending. All they need is that offense. They have two capable lines right now at the very least that you're like, this is a whole new outlook. And a lot of it's because they have Rossi, who finally is getting the opportunity and he's running within showing. I cannot just stay here, but I can really click here between the two best contributors so you don't have to be too top heavy. Yeah, I know he scored the 21 goals last year and was kind of on the periphery of that

Calder conversation, but I just think obviously based on the role and how much the the wilder relying on him and then how he's accepted it and flourished in it. I think he's taking his game to a whole new level. And that's awesome to see. I think it's important to note as well, right? This is someone who was the ninth overall pick in 2020 that essentially got sick and missed the entirety functionally of a key developmental year for himself.

So it makes sense that it's taking him a bit of time to get here. But he's still only 23 and still playing on the final year of his ELC. And so he's such a valuable player to this wild team. You know, while we're on the note on that of the wild, in the most recent game I was watching of them, and they played two exciting ones over the weekend, right? They had a really fun back and forth high scoring game with the lightning and seemingly the lightning for all their flaws.

And we'll talk about them more in a little bit here. they just drag the most fun version of every team they play against because they're going to create themselves, certainly with the top two lines, but then they give up everything else with the depth of their lineup. And so they played a really fun one against Minnesota, and then Minnesota played out what I thought was a really fun game, even though it was kind of low scoring against the Leafs.

And on the Leafs note there, I know that you had this observation as well. We got to see the much talked about, but very little actually deployed five-forward power play, right? and it makes sense of the Leafs were willing to experiment with it because inexplicably, in my opinion, they're 31st in the league in power play efficiency. I believe they've scored only four power play goals in 70 minutes so far this season. But they rolled out that five forward group with Marner, Matthews, Neelander, Tavares,

and Matthew Nyes, instead of a defenseman, immediately manufactured a goal. Now, I know Matthews is out right now for the time being with an upper body injury. And so I guess that'll kind of put a pin in this. But that's something I want to revisit. I'm not sure it's like a long-term thing because we see teams very, reluctant to fully go that route. I think the last time we really saw someone embrace it for an extended period of time was that Panthers team a couple years ago under Andrew Burnett when they brought in

Claudeau. But it's something that I think they have in their back pocket. And I want to see more of that, especially for a group that's been struggling the way the Leafs PowerPlay has. Yeah. I mean, like the big conversation, it's been, should it be Morgan Riley as a PowerPlay quarterback or should it be Oliver Ekman-Larsen? It's like, why not neither?

Why not try something different when you have Marner, who's been trusted, literally to be that fourth forward at even strength, something even more untraditional. And, you know, for all of his flaws, he's a really good defensive player that I feel like you can feel comfortable. You have two players with this feeling of being Selky caliber forwards in Marner and Matthews, which should give you a little bit more confidence on, you know, rolling out five forwards and making those defensive plays to keep possession in the offensive zone. And obviously, you know, if everyone has the wheels to keep reloading, if it does get cleared

back, like you don't have to worry so much about holding that blue line. if you can put the work in everywhere else. But I like it because at the very least, get them going, get them some confidence and then see maybe then the answer is switching back. It's just breaking through because they have been generating more than the score she chose to start the year. But I still don't think it's been the perfect. We know this is what this power play can do, right?

There's too many skilled players to not be scoring. So if something can get the ball rolling like this did, that might be a step in the right direction. and now to kind of have to figure it out again without Matthews might not be the worst thing because sometimes a player like Matthews can be a crutch. You know he can score goals in every single way. So why not see how everybody else can get into formation without him? And then you add him back in and bring it up and notch. Like there's a way to use this to their advantage.

But you really never know how it's going to go because it's, you know, the Leafs and the Chaos and everything. Yes. Okay. Let's take our break here. And then when we come back, we'll jump right back in it. I've got a few other names that I want to write out through here. And then we're going to take a listener, a mailback question at the end. to close out. So we'll do that when we come back from the break. You're listening to the Hockey P.D.

cast streaming on the Sports Night Radio Network. Hey, it's Bick Nizar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets. Weekdays, 3 to 4 on SportsNet 650 or wherever you get to podcasts. We're back here in the Hockeypedio cast by Shannon Goldman today. Shana, before we went to break, we were talking about young players who have caught our eye and have our attention so far this season. I also mentioned the Tampa Bay Lightning who are playing a lot of really exciting games so far this season. I want to shout out Connor Geeky, a PDO cast Discord favorite who seemingly every time the lightning are playing, everyone's talking about his game. I know he's only got the three points so far,

so not necessarily, you know, taking the world by storm offensively, but based on the way he's playing, and if you watch in particular his habits, I do think it's coming for him. And I think it's impressive that he stepped in as a 20-year-old with essentially zero games of pro experience. I know he made a few a HL playoff appearances last year for the coyote's organization, but it essentially comes in, immediately almost earns this role playing with Sorrelli and Hageo and Alice. And we saw Paul, Nick Paul succeed there previously.

I think U or I could probably step in with those two and considering how competitive they are and their motors and just what dogs they are, we'd probably find a way to at least hold, or like at least be competitive, right? Like I don't think they'd completely submarine them because they could just play with anyone. And it's a great spot to be in.

But I love what I'm seeing from geeky in particular because he's still just a 20-year-old. And he can flat out play. Like he's first to puck. He's so aggressive, taking the puck to the net and using his size productively. He's so strong on it. I love those net drives that he has. And he's just around it. It's seemingly, whenever that lines out there, they're causing some sort of havoc and creating something.

And so I do think the offense is coming there. And I think that's also very encouraging for the lightning because this is a player who I'm not sure how much they expected from right away heading into the season. but they clearly coveted in that circuit ship trade they made this past off season. And despite the question marks to still remain with this roster, I think you look at the early returns of it and what they got from that trade. And you can't help but feel like, all right, this is a step in the right direction in terms of extending this competitive window we have and actually having a chance to bounce back to whatever form we were previously,

as opposed to just being kind of like a playoff team who ultimately just gets blown out of the water by a team like the Panthers in round one because they're just better than we are at this point. And so I really like what I'm seeing from Geeky's game, and I wanted to shout him out here because I think he completely fits the bill of young player who's capturing my attention. Yeah, absolutely. I love that line because, I mean, Hagle and Sarelli on their own are so much fun to watch because they work their asses off every ship.

They are so good together. And it's nice to see Hagle doing it outside of the point in Kutrov combination, because he gets overshadowed in it. He was an important player. I feel like he does the little things already so good in transition. But to see this line do it, now do it against top competition. That's even more impressive, right? Because you're not just throwing them into any old minutes. Yes, you're coming in to be a complimentary player, but you're

going up against some of the opponent's best offensive players. And you're expected not just to shut them down, but to drive play. That second line right wing, I think was the biggest question mark that the lightning had because we know they have their elite core. And you know, you're wondering, can Gensel replace Stamco's? But like, I think everyone kind of knew like the elite players were going to be the elite players. It's everybody else. And it's that complimentary cast of players, the Hagle, Sorrelli's, McDonough, Mozer, Chernak that are really picking it up. But you needed that second line to be capable. You needed to see that you were going to get, not just good defense from Sorrelli, but good

offense. So I think the fact that Kiki's come in and played so well there is huge because with Paul there, it was just too top-heavy a lineup. That third line I felt like it was left with really nothing to work with. So yes, there's still some big depth question marks at the bottom of their lineup and they're going to have to figure them out on the budget. But here is a budget pick, a very young player thriving, which is pretty much exactly what Tampa Bay needs, right? That's why the Hagle trade was so good, because they brought

in not just a right now player, but a right now and in the future player when they've been so right now focused and spent so many draft picks to make that happen. Really positive start. And I think they've been one of the, I don't want to say they're the bigger storyline, because I don't think that's Vader Kuturoff and Gensel and endpoint and everything that they're doing, but I think they've been, you know, the most eye-catching storyline into M-Bay so far. Yeah, they play such a fun style at 5-1-5. And I'm with you. Like, if you look at just the distribution on the team's underlying numbers when their top players are out there,

that top six and the top pair, they're doing really well. I think part of it is usage base because they're just using that fourth line with Gergensons and Glendending as those two players historically have to just eat up defensive zone minutes and they're going to lose in those minutes

in terms of like shots and chances, but if they can just keep in low event and keep no goals coming either way, I think the lightning will be happy with it. I think there's still a forward short. Now, having a guy like Geeky on an ELC for the next three years, Not to mention the cap flexibility they got in that trade that they got them in. And then the second rounder they acquired from Utah,

like those give them some resources to acquire that forward, I think, this season that they probably need. And there's a few names that would certainly be interesting for them. And I'm curious to see how long it takes for them to address that. But that's clearly on their to-do list. But I think geeky and his contributions are a big step in the right direction. All right, I got two more players here that I want to discuss with you. And they're both on the Los Angeles Kings.

The first is Alex LaFerrier, the other one, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, not the, the, not the, the number of the same name. And, like, I think he's already up to eight goals in 13 games, uh, after just 12 in 81 games as a rookie, as a rookie, with very low expectations. But as I was noting last year, they were using him a lot with that peer luke du ball line at five one five. And I think a lot of our perception, beyond. And I think a lot of our perception beyond. And, I think a lot of our perception, beyond. the effort from PLD in terms of how poorly things went from last year had to do with the fact that he was setting up a lot of chances for a guy like Laferrier and even Calia when he was playing with him and they just weren't really converting right and that sort of lack of finishing that has plagued the Kings generally over the years real was really on the forefront now all of a sudden this year I'm not sure he's going to be a 25% shooter or whatever he's been but he's converting a lot more he's getting into the high danger areas and getting a lot of those chances through that

and it's very encouraging for the Kings because this is exactly the type of contributor, I think they needed, like a guy who can turn some of these shots into goals. And so the fact that they've already gotten eight of them and seven of them at five-on-five from him is massive for this team that's looking for desperately wherever they can get it. Yeah, I think the big thing is he adds speed to a lineup. And when you think of the Kings, you think of slow defense, that trap system, and they don't have that same roster to pull that to pull that off. Dowdy's not in the lineup. You lost Matt Roy. So you have to think about things differently. And they had a mission to become more offensive. So

this is really big for them. And, you know, Quentin Byfield shifting to center and having to drive his own line, I think it helps that he has capable line mates. You have Warren Fogel who's quietly effective and it's just an overall good five-on-five player. He's reliable on both ends of the ice. But here you're bringing in someone who brings in a lot of speed and he's really good at getting back, making a defensive play and helping the team shift back to offense.

He plays like a strong, heavy game while still having a lot of speed. And I feel like it kind of is like a new wave version of like the kings of the they're like better years, their cup years, right? They were a strong team to match up against. But I think if you can have that assertive style that he has while still having the speed, it helps keep up in today's game. So I'm impressed with him so far. I'm impressed with that line overall.

He looks really good. He's getting opportunity on the power play too now and he's earned it for sure. So it just makes the Kings look different from last year. And I think that's the most important thing because last year's team might have made us to the playoffs, but they didn't get very far for a good reason. They had their flaws. and it seems like they're really working out the kink. So, you know, finishing their chances is a huge part of it.

But they're doing the work before that. That makes them look more intimidating. Well, and another differentiator there from years past, and I think reason for optimism moving forward is Brand Clark, who's the other guy that I want to talk about here. He's playing top four minutes for them, obviously. I think we kind of expected that with the dowdy absence to start the season, although actually seeing a coach trust a young defenseman in this role,

I think is encouraging his quarterbacking the power play one for them. He's tied forth in the league, amongst defensemen in scoring with Alex Petrangelo and Victor Edmund, two guys with pretty good track records that I think we've certainly heard of. And he only Kail McCar has more primary assist than him in particular. At 5 on 5, he's mostly playing with Joel Edmondson, yet they still have 56% of the shots, 55% of the expected goals. And so, listen, he's still 21, I think early on, especially.

It's been a lot better recently. You can still see some of the sort of frustrating, like decision-making and him trying to do stuff that probably worked in juniors at lower level. and kind of falls apart at the NHL, and he puts him in positions of trouble. But I think the net positive has been very clear. I think he's played remarkably well lately, and he's genuinely driving offense for them

and creating as well in various ways. I mentioned Petrangelo in particular. He embarrassed him one-on-one in that play on a TNT game last week where he kind of spun around him and then fired a cross-ice pass for a tap-in for the Kings. And so he's moving the puck really well. He's creating a lot for them. I think he's continuing to take strides.

And so when they do eventually get Doughty back, that's huge, but I think he's already showing us enough now, despite that we know that the NHL kind of defers to veterans and you don't lose your role because of injury and all that. Like, it's going to be tough to move them from these sort of high leverage scoring minutes because he's already proving that he's up to the task. And I think that's really exciting because this is a player. We've been waiting to do this for a while now based on their prospect pedigree.

And he's finally delivering in a moment where the Kings, I think, really needed from him. Yeah, the Dowdy injury opened the door for him to take a top four opportunity. and show like he has what it takes to play at this level and play at this level well. The difference is you're getting totally different minutes than you would if Dowdy were in the lineup because you would imagine he would probably be pretty sheltered and wouldn't be nearly as exposed as he is.

But it helps that someone like Gavikov's been able to step up in his absence and they have this really, really, really heavy, hard top pair to take on those matchup minutes between him and Mikey Anderson that you don't have to expose Clark to it as much. His workload's not easy per se, but it's like that middle of the road that I'm, think is even better because, you know, you learn the rights and wrongs on the fly a little bit more. It's not totally trial by fire, but it's not also like playing in Fairland with more sheltered

minutes. I think it's been like a nice mix for him because, you know, a player like this, I feel like offensive players in this league, sometimes we forget just how special it is to do what they can do offensively. And, you know, the mind immediately goes to defense and where they lack defensively instead of what they can do to drive play, which in today's game is important. Yes, offense is at an all-time high and you have to find a lot of. way to contain it, but you also want to find a way to create it yourself and push back in a more proactive way, which someone like him has a skill set to do. So I think it's exciting. We're seeing him be deployed and have the freedom to be a rover while still figuring out the kinks and working them

out as he goes. I think he looks a lot more confident lately too. And I think that's been paying off. It could just be, you know, when you produce on the power play, it's going to trickle into your even strength game. But I think these openings in the lineup and the role that he has is allowing him to do it a lot quicker than maybe he would have if they were if his path was getting blocked by the Daughties of the world and the Matt Roy's of the world. So it's going to be tough figuring out where I run slots when Dowdy's healthy and back. But it's a good, it's a good problem to have because it means that you have a more capable blue line. And I think he's adding a lot of dimension from their back end, which they need because yes, they're offensive players up front, but it's not

as star powered as it could be necessarily. So I think if you're going to have more playdrivers from the back end, it's just going to overall work out for the kings who are trying to embrace a new style of play. Yeah, and listen, like, I think one of our frustrations with this Kings team, despite the fact there's individual stars and players who can do really cool things offensively, just their general philosophy and structure and playing style is sort of limited them. And I think the players themselves have expressed that frustration along the way. I think they need a player like this guy really badly to drag them out of their comfort zone a little bit. And even when it doesn't work and results in a turnover, whatever, just his

willingness to try stuff and kind of push the envelope offensively and put himself in these different positions on the ice and try some of these cross-seam passes in the offensive zone other than instead of just the alternative of hammering it into the goalie and essentially killing a possession, I think that's huge for them. And so I think it's a massive net positive regardless. And I really like just his mentality and sort of the way he's playing despite the fact that he's, you know, being tasked with this larger role than he was probably expecting a couple months ago. Let's end with this final listener question here from the PDOCs Discord from Backhand Sauce. I think it's an interesting one. We probably can't get fully into it because we've only got

a handful of minutes here, but I think just as a bit of a parting shot for us, the question goes, imagine the GM positions of San Jose, Chicago, Columbus, Anaheim, Philadelphia, and Montreal are all open. Which job are you taking and which ones are you avoiding? Now we got to account for all the factors here, right? Personnel they have, draft picks, prospects, situation there in as an organization, all that. These are teams that have been kind of on the bottom rung of the league over the past couple seasons here. So I think there's a lot of opportunity with all of them, certainly. But what stands out to you with that list of teams and kind of which one would intrigue you the most, just purely as like you're able to come in and probably do the most productive stuff right

away. Yeah. I think this question is so interesting. I think I would be really torn between Chicago and Anaheim. Those are two teams that, to me, have a ton of intrigue. I guess if you really want to go in from the bottom, bottom, bottom floor, Chicago is it because they're going to be bad longer, I think. But the up-and-coming talent is so exciting.

You have that generational talent. in Bard, you know, can you transform it into something more? And they have a lot of good supporting talent around them. But I think I'd be swayed by Anaheim. Like, I really like that team. And there's so much young talent that they're at the NHL level. And they just need a little bit of tweaking. And they're in a good position cap-wise.

And I think you could already look at it and go, there are moves you could see that would make sense. And what you can do. And there's the Ziegres question, the Gibson question. You have Dos Gala thriving that you're like, okay. Like, I think that there's, despite the team already being, somewhat in place and their next wave, their next core being somewhat in place. I still think that there's a lot of work that you could do around it to like put your stamp

on this team and push them to the next level. So I think that's who I would go with. Yeah. It's a tough point because I think you almost can't like there's very intriguing selling points. I think for all of them for me, I think Anaheim certainly as we've, as we've discussed many times where the past couple of players in the show have obviously accumulated a lot of the young talent along the way that you're craving. And I think you could do some very fun stuff with it.

the coaching still this season has been a big limiting factor in frustration for me. Like it seems like they're just trying to fast track this too much. Not in terms of the personnel they're bringing in, although they brought in some veterans like a lot of these teams do. But in terms of their playing style where they're almost focusing too much on the defensive side of things, in my opinion and kind of like making sure they play the right way there. And then a lot of those young players that were excited about, like you look at Mason McTavish, who I believe scored his first goal recently,

kind of as the clock was expiring, meaninglessly in garbage time, he's really struggled this year. I don't think guys like that have been put in a position to succeed. So I think, unfortunately, because I was pretty excited about the Greg Cronin hire, because he'd had success and was saying all the right things in the avalanche organization when he got hired. Unfortunately, I haven't really loved what I've seen. So I think addressing that and bringing in a coach that I think can put these guys in a position to exceed would be one of my first moves with them. I think Columbus would be right up there for me, right?

And we were certainly going to give Don Waddell plenty of time here because he got brought in this offsees. in obviously very tragic circumstances to start the year with with Johnny Goodrose passing. But you just look at the situation they're in and the prospect pool they've accumulated similar to what we just said about Anaheim. I think the contractual flexibility as well where they signed Monaghan this offseason.

They invested in Werencki Serling in the past. They had that offseason where they brought in Damon Severson in a big deal. But for the most part, they have so much wiggle room in terms of money available, lack of long-term deals that they have a player assigned to. And so for me, if you came in and you had kind of carte blanche, do whatever you want,

I feel like Columbus could go in so many different routes and you wouldn't have your hands tied at all that I think that would be a really intriguing one for me. Yeah, for sure. And then for the ones we wouldn't want, right? It's tough because if you asked me a couple months ago, I probably would have said San Jose, right? When Mike Greer was giving the keys in San Jose, it's like, I would not want that. They're in such a tough position.

And they still are. But I actually think I would say Montreal. all is the team I wouldn't want. They have long-term contracts out there on the books already, right? Like they have their next wave of the course kind of figured out. And yes, there's a lot of exciting up-and-coming talent. And you have someone like Montemboat Net who you can grow with and you have Colcalfield, Nick Suzuki.

Oh, that's great and wonderful too. And I like the coaching situation there. But I don't think you can put as much of your stamp on it. And I don't think that there's as much flexibility if you came into that team right now. Because the plan's in place, it's already moving. And I think it's a tough time to make a change then. You know, I like their commitment to reclamation projects, but I just don't think there's enough there to really lead the way if you take over at this point.

Yeah, the one encouraging thing for them is I think they have nine picks in the first four rounds this upcoming draft. And Demidov, who they drafted with their first this past year, looks like an absolute smash pick based on what he's doing overseas. And I'm excited to see him come over. So I do think there's stuff to build with there. And it's kind of you ultimately have to knit. pick here because I think all of them have their own intrigue. But yeah, I think I would probably agree with that as well. Unfortunately, I mean, neither of us speak French. So we'd probably be out of the

right of the right away. So I think that's an important contextual factor here. All right, Chena, this was fun. I'm going to let you go here as we wrap up anything you want to plug because I know you're obviously very hard at work at the athletic and always cranking out a bunch of different stuff. What do you got in the works right now and where can people check you up? Yeah, I'm working on things about, I have a cracking story coming up, I'm working on something about the capitals, some new coaches, it's fun, just looking at things and going, why are they good or they bad, simple things and trying to figure it out. So working on stuff like that, and then there's too many men.

You can always listen to that. And just keep your eye out for some cute, upcycled merch, because we are here trying to do something good and take something old and make it get new again. Awesome. Well, keep up the great work, Shana. I'm looking forward to having you back already. That's going to be all for today. We'll be back soon with plenty more here.

So in the meantime, thank you for listening to the HockeyPedio cast streaming on the SportsDadry radio network.