I was really pulling for Pulock.
- hereticpride

12 goals and 5 assists in Bridgeport this year. He's like the OV of defense.

There were a lot of guys available there. Morin has certainly improved, but he's basically going to end up as a somewhat one dimensional player. He's going to be big and nasty, a good defender, capable of skating decently and making a first pass.

Doubtful he's going to produce much offense, ever. Anyone expecting Pronger clone, or something similar is going to be disappointed.
- Jsaquella

Never know. Folks said similar things about Chara when he was first breaking in. Huge guys like Morin often take the longest to develop. He has an enormous ceiling, I don't think he will reach his prime until his mid to late 20s, I just hope that the organ-eye-zation is willing to be patient with him.

Lol, Morin had better be a good one, because there's no shortage of guys who went after him that are looking like all kinds of special (Domi, Morrissey, Mantha).
- Tomahawk

TBH, I'm not worried about the kids in the system, from the reports I see and when I've seen them the few times I have. Some might make it, some might not, but the best ones have true ability.

It's the NHL roster that truly troubles me. Someone noted it earlier, but R.J. Umberger has more goals than Matt Read. That sentence should make anyone shudder with fear.

Are Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds too streaky to depend upon for a championship-caliber team, even though their hot streaks are glorious?

Outside of two elite players and one young center, possibly two, who on this team thinks the game at a level where we know that they will improve?

Are they fundamentally skilled enough to improve in passing and receiving and positional defending, which is what separates poor to average to good to elite teams?

I like certain members of this team more than others. I'm ambivalent about the coach, but don't necessarily think he is the problem, especially when you realize they quit on Laviolette barely more than a year ago.

I fear this roster might need more surgery than I wanted to ever believe. And that sucks.

- hereticpride

Hey I mean everyone knows no one under age 21 drinks. No one. Ever.

I agree. I'm not anti-Morin. He's getting better and looks like he'll at least be a solid guy. But, sort of like the Goulbourne pick, there were a lot of guys with higher potential ceilings available.
- Jsaquella

Potential is in the eye of the beholder. Now the Morin pick has been declared sort of the like the Goulbourne pick. I wish the Flyers executives could sort out the result of draft picks and who was selected with those picks, before they have even played a single regular NHL season, with the same foresight.

Never know. Folks said similar things about Chara when he was first breaking in. Huge guys like Morin often take the longest to develop. He has an enormous ceiling, I don't think he will reach his prime until his mid to late 20s, I just hope that the organ-eye-zation is willing to be patient with him.
- BiggE

Chara was far more highly rated than Morin, though.

They will need to be patient for sure. I'm not trashing Morin, but he's got a lot of work to do in terms of offense.

None of us know if playing Read with Giroux and Voracek would get Read going, until it is tried. It's better then the alternative. Read and Coburn are immune to that because they have been strong players for this team, for a number of seasons, and they are proven veterans. Coburn is being asked to be the lead defenseman on this team, when he is not a lead defenseman. I think it has affected him mentally, and same with Read, who is in a deep funk offensively. Sitting them serves zero purpose. Trying things to get them playing better is a far better approach them punishing them.
Read wasn't rewarded or promoted to the top line for good play. He was moved there in an effort to see if it can help get his offensive game going. If that did happen, that would obviously serve the team. As Berube has said, scratches are on an individual player basis. Scratching just to scratch does not serve a purpose. There are no players to replace Coburn and Read on the roster.
- MJL

Tough to replace Coburn...which is sad in itself...but Read? Hardly....he has simply been bad this year.....perhaps your thinking they would miss his wonderful PK contributions!!!

Chara was far more highly rated than Morin, though.

They will need to be patient for sure. I'm not trashing Morin, but he's got a lot of work to do in terms of offense.
- Jsaquella

Chara was drafted in the 3rd round. Morin was drafted in the first round with the 11th overall pick.

hopefully kimmo comes back in January and plays so the Flyers can trade him for picks

Tough to replace Coburn...which is sad in itself...but Read? Hardly....he has simply been bad this year.....perhaps your thinking they would miss his wonderful PK contributions!!!
- landros 2

He certainly has not had a good season to this point, but there is not a better player in the system or on the roster to replace him. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his past as a Flyer.

TBH, I'm not worried about the kids in the system, from the reports I see and when I've seen them the few times I have. Some might make it, some might not, but the best ones have true ability. Agreed

It's the NHL roster that truly troubles me. Someone noted it earlier, but R.J. Umberger has more goals than Matt Read. That sentence should make anyone shudder with fear. Agreed

Are Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds too streaky to depend upon for a championship-caliber team, even though their hot streaks are glorious?
I don't think either is necessarily too streaky. However neither player is going to be the driving force on his line and they both need to play with an elite playmaker to reach their max potential.

Outside of two elite players and one young center, possibly two, who on this team thinks the game at a level where we know that they will improve? No one on the current roster fits that description. Hopefully guys like Ghost, Sanheim and maybe NAK can fit that description.

Are they fundamentally skilled enough to improve in passing and receiving and positional defending, which is what separates poor to average to good to elite teams? No, not with the current players on the roster.

I like certain members of this team more than others. I'm ambivalent about the coach, but don't necessarily think he is the problem, especially when you realize they quit on Laviolette barely more than a year ago. The coach is not the SOLE problem, but he is a problem. He plays favorites and is too slow to react to players performances on the ice. He is not a coach that you build a championship team with.

I fear this roster might need more surgery than I wanted to ever believe. And that sucks.
- AllInForFlyers

Agreed.

Chara was far more highly rated than Morin, though.

They will need to be patient for sure. I'm not trashing Morin, but he's got a lot of work to do in terms of offense.
- Jsaquella

It may take an extra year or so for Morin, but I really like the kids game....I also think his offensive game will mature with age....he reads the play well and jumps when he's supposed too...he also looks pretty adept to hitting that first breakout pass.....

Chara was far more highly rated than Morin, though.

They will need to be patient for sure. I'm not trashing Morin, but he's got a lot of work to do in terms of offense.
- Jsaquella

Without a doubt.

Chara was far more highly rated than Morin, though.

They will need to be patient for sure. I'm not trashing Morin, but he's got a lot of work to do in terms of offense.
- Jsaquella

Chara's definitely an outlier. Weber was chronically under-scouted (NSH only noticed him while viewing Tomas Slovak in Kelowna, he was getting very little icetime). That kind of stuff just doesn't happen that often.

I'm just hoping that Morin turns out better than McIlrath or Forbort or Teubert or Wishart. If he's a legit top-4 upgrade over Grossmann, I'm happy.

He certainly has not had a good season to this point, but there is not a better player in the system or on the roster to replace him. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his past as a Flyer.
- MJL

The only reason he hasn't been replaced is his past contributions....but even that must be wearing thin with the coaching staff.....

Yep. Wrong on Chara.

Still, most serious analysts, including guys who made a living as NHL GMs, scouts and scouting directors, don;t see a ton of offensive upside in Morin. There's a lot of people with a background in scouting that felt there were better options available when the Flyers selected Morin.

In that regard, bypassing guys who were widely regarded as better prospects, it is similar to the Goulbourne pick. Morin is certainly more talented than Goulbourne, but again, it's a comparison of the other prospects available when each was selected.

If people want to mischaracterize that to get their jollies, well, more power to them.

My personal outlook on this team is that for whatever reason, this team has been in a mental funk all season. I think that the majority of it's problems with the current roster has been mental in nature. I think talent wise they are a far better team then they have shown. That being said, it doesn't change the fact that regardless of how well this team plays, they are not a serious Cup challenger. All I ever thought is that this team can be a playoff team. I 100% stand by that. They probably have dug themselves too big of a hole to get out of at this point, but it is still a remote possibility.
To be clear, this is a different conversation then looking at what this team needs to add going forward. It clearly needs a top #1 defenseman, if not 2 of them. They clearly need to add a playmaking forward to the mix. And the young player need to continue to develop going forward.
In conclusion, I think the pessimistic outlook of this team and some of it's players by many has been blown way out of proportion. I understand and share the frustration. I'm confident that Hextall feels the same way and is not going to overreact.

Are Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds too streaky to depend upon for a championship-caliber team, even though their hot streaks are glorious?
- AllInForFlyers

Simmer's so unique, he's gotta be seen as a central building block moving forward... I can live w/ his streakiness.

As much as I love Baby Schenn, if they can deal him for a comparably young F that maybe brings a bit more speed and scoring presence from the left side, I'd be all for that.

TBH, I'm not worried about the kids in the system, from the reports I see and when I've seen them the few times I have. Some might make it, some might not, but the best ones have true ability.

It's the NHL roster that truly troubles me. Someone noted it earlier, but R.J. Umberger has more goals than Matt Read. That sentence should make anyone shudder with fear.

Are Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds too streaky to depend upon for a championship-caliber team, even though their hot streaks are glorious?

Outside of two elite players and one young center, possibly two, who on this team thinks the game at a level where we know that they will improve?

Are they fundamentally skilled enough to improve in passing and receiving and positional defending, which is what separates poor to average to good to elite teams?

I like certain members of this team more than others. I'm ambivalent about the coach, but don't necessarily think he is the problem, especially when you realize they quit on Laviolette barely more than a year ago.

I fear this roster might need more surgery than I wanted to ever believe. And that sucks.
- AllInForFlyers

It's bad but I think not as bad as the picture you paint. BSchenn and Simmonds are guys that could be very good role players on a contending team. Simmonds ideally is a 3rd line RW and a top PP guy. B Schenn is growing into a decent top 6 LW (I hope). Between Laughton and Couts you have 2 very good 2 way centers (I think Couts is going to be a legit #2 center at some point).

They are missing some really vital key pieces. A number one D. A right handed top four D who can move the puck and has a blue line shot that forces other teams to defend him. One more playmaker, preferably on the LW to compliment their nice bunch of centers they have.

The D right now are a bunch of guys who have trouble carrying their pair. Complimentary but currently forced into roles destined to fail.

The only reason he hasn't been replaced is his past contributions....but even that must be wearing thin with the coaching staff.....
- landros 2

I think the only reason he hasn't been replaced is because the coaching staffs knows he's a pretty good player who has just been in a deep funk. Replacing him does not serve a purpose at this point.

Chara's definitely an outlier. Weber was chronically under-scouted (NSH only noticed him while viewing Tomas Slovak in Kelowna, he was getting very little icetime). That kind of stuff just doesn't happen that often.

I'm just hoping that Morin turns out better than McIlrath or Forbort or Teubert or Wishart. If he's a legit top-4 upgrade over Grossmann, I'm happy.
- Tomahawk

He is. I forgot where he was drafted. He was also a product of Europe and in 1996 the scouting and knowledge of Euros was different. Chara wasn't well known when drafted.

It's bad but I think not as bad as the picture you paint. BSchenn and Simmonds are guys that could be very good role players on a contending team. Simmonds ideally is a 3rd line RW and a top PP guy. B Schenn is growing into a decent top 6 LW (I hope). Between Laughton and Couts you have 2 very good 2 way centers (I think Couts is going to be a legit #2 center at some point).

They are missing some really vital key pieces. A number one D. A right handed top four D who can move the puck and has a blue line shot that forces other teams to defend him. One more playmaker, preferably on the LW to compliment their nice bunch of centers they have.

The D right now are a bunch of guys who have trouble carrying their pair. Complimentary but currently forced into roles destined to fail.
- Marc D

Good post Marc!

Yep. Wrong on Chara.

Still, most serious analysts, including guys who made a living as NHL GMs, scouts and scouting directors, don;t see a ton of offensive upside in Morin. There's a lot of people with a background in scouting that felt there were better options available when the Flyers selected Morin.

In that regard, bypassing guys who were widely regarded as better prospects, it is similar to the Goulbourne pick. Morin is certainly more talented than Goulbourne, but again, it's a comparison of the other prospects available when each was selected.

If people want to mischaracterize that to get their jollies, well, more power to them.
- Jsaquella

There is a ton of raw talent there...hopefully the offensive part of his game comes....he does have a cannon of a shot.

Yep. Wrong on Chara.

Still, most serious analysts, including guys who made a living as NHL GMs, scouts and scouting directors, don;t see a ton of offensive upside in Morin. There's a lot of people with a background in scouting that felt there were better options available when the Flyers selected Morin.

In that regard, bypassing guys who were widely regarded as better prospects, it is similar to the Goulbourne pick. Morin is certainly more talented than Goulbourne, but again, it's a comparison of the other prospects available when each was selected.

If people want to mischaracterize that to get their jollies, well, more power to them.
- Jsaquella

refresh my memory...

was duclair available when they took Goulburn?

He is. I forgot where he was drafted. He was also a product of Europe and in 1996 the scouting and knowledge of Euros was different. Chara wasn't well known when drafted.
- Jsaquella

Yeah, I guess it's just natural for people to hang their hopes on outliers.

Like I'm sure fans from every team that has drafted a small, finesse player out of the Q recently is hoping their guy is the one who turns into the next Claude Giroux.

If it wasn't so rare, there would be more Charas and Girouxs in the league, right?