Monday, September 6, 2010
Camp Suggestions
The signing of Lee Stempniak is a huge step in solidifying the forward core for the upcoming season. The Coyotes have a great luxury with the youth coming into camp in all positions. There is no doubt the young players will have a battle on their hands for the final roster spots. One way of making training camp more interesting would be to invite a few veteran free agents for tryouts. This year more than any other free agency year, the amount of veteran free agents left is large. The veterans would benefit from having other teams get a solid look at them in camp to earn an NHL contract. It will give the Coyotes a chance to push the young guns to really earn there stripes. In a worst case scenario the camp invites will play well enough to earn a depth spot on the NHL roster. This could buy the youngsters some time to develop more in the AHL. Three specific invites that make sense would be Bill Guerin, Shane Hnidy, and Garnet Exelby. Guerin may have what it takes to make a club, especially one that could use a veteran presence. He would be an excellent player to put with Kyle Turris, and let Doan play on the top line as planned. Guerin may be signed before camps open, but if he is not then its certainly worth a try. A veteran like Guerin wants to play with a winner, and with the Coyotes he would have that chance. The defense could be the best shot for a veteran try out to make the big club. The defense was very solid last year, but unfortunately lost a big part in Michalek. Jovanovski, Aucoin, and Morris all are a year older as well. Lepisto played well in the opportunities given to him. It is difficult to just hand over the 5th defenseman spot to him especially when a rookie will be taking the 6th spot as it stands now. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is NHL ready, but could use a veteran insurance in a 7th defenseman. The 7th defenseman would even have a shot to take Lepisto’s spot. At this point the power play will be handed over to the top 4 in Yandle, Aucoin, Morris, and Jovanovski. This means that the veteran defenseman tryout would need to provide steady, limited defensive minded minutes. Hnidy and Exelby both can provide the physical play needed in their own end. These would be low risk, high reward moves that championship contenders make. It would be a good way to let the league know that up and down the organization, the Coyotes are here to stay.
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Good post.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see them get a guy like Guerin; I guess it would depend on whether or not he'd want to play on the fourth unit and what his role would be. If you figure the first line is Doan-Wolski-Whitney, the second is Upshall-Hanzal-Vrbata (Uppy has more upside than Prucha at this point), and the third unit is Pyatt-Fiddler-Stempniak, that leaves Lauri Korpikoski, Andrew Ebbett, Petr Prucha, Paul Bissonnette, Viktor Tikhonov, Kyle Turris, and Mikkel Boedker as forward who are already competing for jobs. Considering where he'd be on the depth chart, the team might do better to get a guy who's more of a two-way player than scorer like Guerin.
In terms of defense, I would go with Exelby. No doubt that the Top 4 are Jovo, Morris, Yandle, and Aucoin. Further, Lepisto's show he can handle third-unit minutes effectively while David Schelmko's done well in his call-ups to warrant a promotion. While Ekman-Larsson and Goncharov are highly touted by the organizaton, neither have played on North American ice (and Ekman-Larsson has yet to play for an elite-level team) and would do better to get started at the AHL level and get called up as the season progresses (I'm sure Schlemko has waiver options still to make that possible.) While Hnidy has plenty of experience, Exelby is both younger and more proficient at dropping the gloves; something the team's gonna want further down the defensive depth chart. I kinda hope they make that move now you mention it...
Hnidy got invited to camp. Good on ya for the prediction.
ReplyDeleteYou make some excellent points on the defense situation. I do think Lepisto has the skill to be a main stay on the blue line. I'd just love to have a veteran that can sit in the press box most of the time and fill in when things arent going so well. I was sad to see Exelby go to the Rangers camp, but Hnidy could contribute. I love the Belanger signing, I thought he was a great fit from day 1 of free agency. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI think the Coyotes have the chance to take the division and go deep in the playoffs thanks to their current moves. Whitney replaces Lombo, Belanger replaces Lang, and if there are injuries, there's a plethora of young, hungry talent waiting in the wings. All and all, I think it's damn nifty.
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