Just because Gostisbehere outplayed the lousy guys on hand doesn't mean he's NHL ready. He's an impressive kid, and he's got a bright future. Playing 30-40 AHL games won't change that
- Jsaquella

U won't know his nhl readiness until he's in the nhl.

not really, how do they make this group look?
- mydoglicks

Competent

Can you imagine if the Flyers went into the season with Holmgren still as the GM?

I'm starting to think that hiring Hextall this past offseason was as much of a pre-emptive strike against Holmgren rather than a proactive move to retain Hextall.

/adjusts tin foil hat
- johndewar

i think they wanted hexy so he wouldn't make any knee jerk trades to save his ass. hexy will probably get a lot of leeway given the team's state

Honestly, would possible good would playing Laughton as the 4th center do? If there is any hope of him being more than a 3rd line shutdown guy, you have to develop his offense now.

I really think part of the issue with Couturier is that neither HE nor Berube has much confidence in Couturier's offensive skills. These guys often get pidgeon-holed into a role. I think it would be a mistake to do that with Laughton right now.
- TheGreat28

Doesn't have anything to do with trusting Couturier's offensive skills. It's that Berube doesn't trust any other line to take D zone draws. Except on some occasions Giroux because of his faceoff ability.
last year, Couturier's ES offensive numbers were in line with NHL second line centers. Which is pretty solid with how he is used.

I wouldn't glorify this clown by calling him a "terrorist":


- Tomahawk

Don't you know we need to anhilate all Muslims in the Middle East, topple every non-democratic government in the world who interferes in our industrial military complex's goal of eternal wealth?! Get with the program!

...and also dont criticize the player for doing the job he is put in....

- MBFlyerfan

It really goes bother me that Berube kept saying "We need to see more offense from Coots this year" and then he continuously inhibits that idea by giving him an overwhelming number of defensive zone starts.

We all know Coots can handle the defensive responsibility. But don't harp on a player for not scoring enough when you're the one controlling his placement on the ice. That's my biggest issue with Berube.

No, I would say its accurate.
- MBFlyerfan

I see that douche in a beard and head scarf and all I can think about is those white upper-middle class suburban kids growing out dreads and organizing Free Mumia rallies.

U won't know his nhl readiness until he's in the nhl.
- JoeRussomanno

No, you won't fully know until he gets here. That's why you err on the side of caution.

I think if you look at Murray's stops, he had some young defensemen who he helped out with.

You can disagree, but that is the dude's reputation.
- johndewar

But he developed them in the NHL not the minors so defensemen can be developed in the NHL is what you're saying?

Luke schenn struggles cause he's slow, immobile and has poor decision making/hockey sense. A guy like ghost needs to learn to better away from the puck. I think he can learn that in the NHl as well as he could the AHL. He has a lot of mobility and shown some real ability with the puck on his stick, unlike several forwards and dmen on this team.
- JoeRussomanno

Schenn's hockey sense would be better developed if he went to the AHL and not been thrown in the deep end of the pool. He was stuck on a bad team, with a history of doing a poor job of developing kids.

I see that douche in a beard and head scarf and all I can think about is those white upper-middle class suburban kids growing out dreads and organizing Free Mumia rallies.
- Tomahawk

I see a kid who converted to Islam, and those in control told him to go out and kill people in the name of his religion.

Luke schenn struggles cause he's slow, immobile and has poor decision making/hockey sense. A guy like ghost needs to learn to better away from the puck. I think he can learn that in the NHl as well as he could the AHL. He has a lot of mobility and shown some real ability with the puck on his stick, unlike several forwards and dmen on this team.
- JoeRussomanno

I think the team wants to call Ghost and Laughton up once in their careers. They want to make sure they're ready to stick. I don't think they're interested in yo-yoing them

Yes, probably. Based on what we have seen from Berube and his use of the personnel he has at his disposal, I really doubt he would give Ghost the same amount of playing time he is getting in the AHL.

Should Berube be fired? Maybe. Who do you replace him with? Torts?
- mcefalu

Might as well wait and see if we can get our hands on babcock

But he developed them in the NHL not the minors so defensemen can be developed in the NHL is what you're saying?
- mayorofangrytown

Of course they can be. But with the specific case of Ghost, he's probably better off playing big minutes and PP time in the AHl, while working on his defensive game. In the NHL, he'd be getting less playing time, less PP time, and would have to be one step bigger on his defensive responsibilities which would stifle his offensive abilities.

I see a kid who converted to Islam, and those in control told him to go out and kill people in the name of his religion.
- MBFlyerfan

You might not have noticed, but real martyrs don't hit and run.

Wrong. Sbisa made the Flyers in his draft year, stayed up for over half the season and spent a lot of time as a healthy scratch & left wing.
- Jsaquella

Les than half the season with the flyers and almost twenty games plus playoffs in the WHL...

so you're wrong.

No, you won't fully know until he gets here. That's why you err on the side of caution.
- Jsaquella

I just don't see the downside of bringing him up now, either from a developmental standpoint or a competitive one. This is a franchise who rode the youngest team in the league to a cup finals once and made another appearance 2 years later.

But he developed them in the NHL not the minors so defensemen can be developed in the NHL is what you're saying?
- mayorofangrytown

Every young player is constantly developing. You want Gostisbehere to get benched when he tries to do something that worked great against Harvard, but turns into a goal against when facing the Rangers?

Or do you want him to get guidance and the opportunity to play through the mistakes and learn from them? Right now, he's not going to get the second option on the Flyers

I think the team wants to call Ghost and Laughton up once in their careers. They want to make sure they're ready to stick. I don't think they're interested in yo-yoing them
- PhillySportsGuy

This

Then it stands to reason that trading Coots for help on defense and obtaining a defensive center who can handle the same defensive responsibilities but has 0 offensive potential would benefit this team. This was already stated previously but you, of course, shot that down right away.

If you're going to only utilize Couturier as a defensive zone shut down center and never put him in a position to score, then it would make sense to use him in a trade to bolster the defensive core and find someone else to fill that defense only role at center. There are options out there.
- mcefalu

Couturier is 21 years old. I don't envision it always being that way. I'm not going to look to trade Couturier, due to a knee jerk reaction to how the current season is going. How Couturier is currently being used, would not factor into deciding whether to trade Couturier or not.

Schenn's hockey sense would be better developed if he went to the AHL and not been thrown in the deep end of the pool. He was stuck on a bad team, with a history of doing a poor job of developing kids.
- Jsaquella

I'm sorry I don't buy that either, u learn more from mistakes, at least ppl should. I think he just is what he is.

I just don't see the downside of bringing him up now, either from a developmental standpoint or a competitive one. This is a franchise who rode the youngest team in the league to a cup finals once and made another appearance 2 years later.
- JoeRussomanno

Here's the thing, in a nutshell:

Ghost has exquisite offensive skills, but some big questions on his defensive game.
In the AHL, he can play big minutes and contribute on the offense while working on his defensive game against AHL players.

In the NHL, the players are a whole different level better, and Ghost would be playing fewer minutes with less PP time, and he would have to sacrifice more of his offense to compensate for the higher level of competition he'd have to defend.

That is why he is better served in the AHL for now.

Schenn's hockey sense would be better developed if he went to the AHL and not been thrown in the deep end of the pool. He was stuck on a bad team, with a history of doing a poor job of developing kids.
- Jsaquella

What do they do to work on hockey sense in the minors? Was he going to get faster? Man these minor leagues are amazing. Alexander Daigle would have been Sidney Crosby before Sidney Crosby.

But he developed them in the NHL not the minors so defensemen can be developed in the NHL is what you're saying?
- mayorofangrytown

Well, everyone's a rookie at some point, right? You don't come in the door of any job and know everything.

But you should come in and be able to have the raw materials to handle what gets thrown your way.

You might not have noticed, but real martyrs don't hit and run.
- Tomahawk

Show me where I said he was a martyr. Ill wait.