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Yeah...different game, different league now but I think you still need the Tom Wilson's (or a facsimile thereof as he is tough to get) of the world in your lineup to win in the post season.

The Panthers are as all around as it gets team construction wise and look at them.

Soft is very disappointing and tough to watch.

There were some additives to those clubs over the years Cuz.

Rypien for instance.

Hordichuk.

But yeah...imo we have been to soft for a long time and when we attempted to fix it the effort was assbackwards.....

donlever wrote: ↑Sun Jan 04, 2026 11:34 am But yeah...imo we have been to soft for a long time and when we attempted to fix it the effort was assbackwards.....

Like picking a hometown kid in the first round who was more about puck bunnies than being a pro - all because he could hit and fight while scoring goals in the Dub. Scouts and management didn't exercise due diligence there.

Thing is, you can draft or sign all the size you want - and even get some speed or hands to go with it - but it's getting a player who doesn't mind (or actually likes) the physical game and dropping the mitts that is the challenge. That is a bit of a dying breed - the ones who get physical not because they have to (count most NHL players), but because they want to and are good at it. I chalk it up to all this 'hands-off' parenting vice letting kids sort each other out.

You can draft all the Alrikssons and Tryamkins you like; if they don't have the mindset for it you're wasting a prospect. Take a flyer in the mid-rounds on a kid with some projectable skill that has the mindset for the rough stuff and develop the shit out of him - regardless the size.

As well, Lancer, I would not mind them drafting the odd hay bailing, cattle branding Westen Leaguer on occasion.

I get the BPA at the top of the draft but a little Canadian content would be nice.

Even if we had some in Abby...a little WHL truculence and belligerence to shield the Lekks of the world from phsyco killers....

donlever wrote: ↑Sun Jan 04, 2026 12:47 pm As well, Lancer, I would not mind them drafting the odd hay bailing, cattle branding Westen Leaguer on occasion.

I get the BPA at the top of the draft but a little Canadian content would be nice.

Even if we had some in Abby...a little WHL truculence and belligerence to shield the Lekks of the world from phsyco killers....

Agreed. Don't get me wrong - there are skilled players to be found in later rounds - but teams have higher odds of grabbing useful players in the organization for that very reason even if only a couple graduate to the big club. Sometimes the greatest contribution a drafted kid can make is helping another player in the organization make it to the big club.

Lancer wrote: ↑Sun Jan 04, 2026 1:22 pm Sometimes the greatest contribution a drafted kid can make is helping another player in the organization make it to the big club.

Really nice point and one that is likely not as well regarded as it should be.

You hear these league studs talk and they always have an old teammate or 3 (who may not have made it) that they give some degree of cred to....

donlever wrote: ↑Sat Jan 03, 2026 10:36 pm 18 is what I mean.

When I was a kid I bled Canuck blue.

I dont see this out there much anymore.

With the marketing, endorsement deals, and constant availability of highlights, plus the never-ending monologues from talking heads, kids these days are often cheering for a player rather than a team.....or they are cheering for the team their friends like.

My kid made it on the jumbotron at Rogers when he was 22 months old, decked out in full colours.....he now wears red/white/yellow because his older cousin is a Flames fan and he saw an opportunity to put the screws to the old man. He barely watches, but he's a fan of Dustin Wolf, so he sticks with Calgary.....if Wolf left, he'd probably lose interest.

For the last 15 years all I have seen are Penguins and Oilers jerseys on most kids.

Lancer wrote: ↑Sun Jan 04, 2026 12:22 pm

donlever wrote: ↑Sun Jan 04, 2026 11:34 am But yeah...imo we have been to soft for a long time and when we attempted to fix it the effort was assbackwards.....

Thing is, you can draft or sign all the size you want - and even get some speed or hands to go with it - but it's getting a player who doesn't mind (or actually likes) the physical game and dropping the mitts that is the challenge. That is a bit of a dying breed - the ones who get physical not because they have to (count most NHL players), but because they want to and are good at it. I chalk it up to all this 'hands-off' parenting vice letting kids sort each other out.

I'd say that there's an element that has been lost by the hands-on helicopter parents who lobby the little leagues to kick kids out for fighting. The kids that actually like that part of the game don't last because they get tossed out. Even if they are a good player who would get minutes to show their skill, they drop the mitts once and are tossed from the game.....so coaches then play them less to avoid that.

Even in the CHL, the Q, has banned fighting. You fight, you're out of the game.

If I am a mid level player on the fence of making it or not I'm learning the fight game to give myself an edge.

I think there are some ex league heavyweights out there available for the on ice training lesson thing....

donlever wrote: ↑Sun Jan 04, 2026 2:22 pm If I am a mid level player on the fence of making it or not I'm learning the fight game to give myself an edge.

I think there are some ex league heavyweights out there available for the on ice training lesson thing....

Surprised there aren’t those kinds of skills coaches already on the market. I remember laughing when I saw the prospects camp kids doing a session or two of MMA training - as if that’s going to make a kick of difference if the kid has never dropped the mitts before.

Hell, I wonder if Ryp’s dad would give some lessons on the side in his kid’s memory. If memory serves, he taught Ryp what he knew about boxing.

What gets me is how much attention the 4-Nations tournament got BECAUSE of the fighting - all while the league is publicly trying to get it out of the game. Talking out both sides of their mouth there.

The real reason I think behind all this are the litigation-shy national associations who mandate all of that out of minor hockey to satisfy the helicopter parents. Just let the kids fight sometimes.

FYI....thoughts comments as you see fit.

I've always like Hronek from day 1 but imo he has kicked it up a notch...

https://www.instagram.com/p/DTI0OGEltKE ... diZ3dvemp5

Chytil and Bleuger on the roadie.

...are expected to play at some point during the trip.

...however...

Lekkersushi is missing games and has some lingering yet unreported issue.

Cootes traded from Seattle.

Cootes deal noted in the young guns thread.

Also this...

https://www.instagram.com/p/DTJUbw3kjd6 ... R4Y2Znaw==

Not sure what the Bruins would be thinking of if factual.

Disclaimer...social media social media take with grains of salt social media

donlever wrote: ↑Mon Jan 05, 2026 3:43 pm Not sure what the Bruins would be thinking of if factual.

Disclaimer...social media social media take with grains of salt social media


Screenshot_20260105-153949_Instagram.jpg

Middlestadt does fit the organizational profile here.