Update on Pothier
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 8:59 AM EDT
31 comments
I just had to satisfy my curiosity last night, so I ran up to Hershey after work and caught the game against the Falcons. (Hershey's only an hour and 15 or so from me.) Not something I'd do under normal circumstances, but I wanted a look at Brian Pothier and a couple of others and weekend schedules weren't playing nice, so Wednesday it is.
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Overall, Hershey looked pretty sloppy. Not a lot of energy in either the team or the building, and it was pretty obvious that they weren't really into it. They didn't deserve to take more than one point out of that, but then the Falcons were pretty horrid and sure didn't deserve two. (The more I see of the shootout, the less I like it as a game-decider.)
Obligatory Stat Line: After 3 games in Hershey, he has 2 PIM's, no G, no A, and an even +/-. He was +1 last night.
Pothier, though ... well, WOW. He stuck out like a sore thumb to me, because he and Kronwall were easily the best Dmen on that ice for either team. It's pretty obvious that he's NHL-caliber playing in the minors. Positionally sound, smart, patient, and composed, he seemed to slow things down when he had the puck, and he'd wait for the right clear instead of taking the first clear available.
He skated quite a bit of ice time, at even strength, on the PP, and on the PK. Woods put him in in all situations, including the final five of regulation and again in OT. While he didn't initiate a lot of hits, he didn't shy away from them, either, and took a couple of solid hits with no apparent trouble. He did take a coincidental roughing minor in a scrum at the Falcons' crease, though I think that was more them falling over than real roughing. Probably the best moment, though, was late in the third behind the Hershey goal line, when a Falcon forward lined Pothier up and came at him full-speed. "Best defense no be there" - Pothier disappeared with the puck and, unable to stop, the Falcon slammed full force into the boards and went down. (He got right back up.)
As good as he looked, though, I think he could benefit from a couple more games in Hershey. A lot of his looking good is that it's plainly obvious that his defensive game is NHL-caliber in the AHL. His timing with his teammates was a tad off, somewhere between NHL and AHL and not really either. I don't think you'll fix that at the AHL level, but what he could fix is puck battles along the boards. He lost a lot of them - he seemed almost tentative to me, though I'm not sure whether that was caution or physical strength. Maybe as he gets a comfort level, he'll be more aggressive. He also got beat a couple of times, although a quick backcheck (once sprawling) saved him and managed to stymie his man anyway. A better team would have made him pay for that one, I think.
Could he benefit the Caps when he's ready? Holy moly yes. Is he ready now? Not quite. Will he be ready for the playoffs? I wouldn't bet against it. I liked what I saw from him, a lot, and when he's back up to speed, I look forward to seeing him in red.
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Great, great stuff. Thanks for this.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Mar 12, 2009 9:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You’re welcome :)
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It’s like you were reading my mind. I was just wondering to myself “self, I wonder— how is Pothier doing?”. And here we have an update. Pothier possibly ready by playoffs? Not exactly an embarassment of riches, but a really nice option.
"I tried to capture the spirit of the thing"
by tuvanhillbilly on Mar 12, 2009 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Someone else said that if Pothier is ready for the playoffs, standing pat could well be the best trade deadline decision we could have made. Addition by non-subtraction. I think they’re right.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Vogs had the “addition by non-subtraction” line, I believe, and while I’m not entirely sure it was the best “move” they could have hoped to have made, it would at least be nice to get some benefit from the possibility that prevented the Caps from doing anything.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Mar 12, 2009 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well, given a choice between staying with Pothier and giving up Alzner, Carlson, and Varlamov for Pronger …. yeah.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Can one of you aspiring capologists explain to me how/if Pothier returning will affect the Caps cap?
by Yoshietree on Mar 12, 2009 9:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sombrero Guy is probably a better person to answer this than me, but I think that Chris Clark being on LTIR for the rest of the season gives us JUST enough room to squeeze him in. Basically, Clark and Pothier changed places from the beginning of the season.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Caps can bring Pothier back but could not then bring Alzner back – it’s one or the other at this point, and it’s pretty obviously Potsy.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Mar 12, 2009 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oh hells yes.
Based on what I saw last night – Potsy over Alzner hands down. Alzner was guilty of a couple of those too-hasty clears I was talking about. Alzner was okay last night, and held his own, but Potsy’s head and shoulders above him right now.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
yeah J.P. nailed it. I am an Alzner fan, but the Hershey game I went to a couple weeks ago I was underwhelmed. He looked frustrated, i think he feels like he belongs in the NHL and its affecting (negatively) his play down there.
by Sombrero Guy on Mar 12, 2009 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe he’s trying to prove himself and pressing as a result?
by David M. Getz on Mar 12, 2009 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That’s interesting. I hadn’t thought of it in that way. Gripping the stick a little too tightly? Maybe.
Well, next season or maybe the playoffs.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have to go with DMG. Nothing in Alzner’s past suggests he would have an attitude problem that would impact his play. The guy seems mature beyond his years, very professional and a team first guy. I just have a hard time believing that all of a sudden he let his hype get to his head and has developed an attitude in Hershey. He’s a young guy playing against grown men for the first time. I’ll chalk it up to that before attitude until I see some concrete evidence to the contrary.
by Fehr and Balanced on Mar 12, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
good call on the Hershey trip. was wondering how Pots was doing. who would he replace in the lineup as of now? its going to be tough.
and damn you for giving me hope for Pothier again…this complicates everything :P
by ns on Mar 12, 2009 9:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
At least our lives as Caps fans are never dull.
As for who? Pick your favorite whipping boy on the D. :D Pothier looked a little like an experienced Schultz in style, but without the size. Much more settled and composed, though. I’d drop Schultz to a second pairing and sit either Erskine or ShaMo depending on your needs on that night. Maybe Jurcina if he can’t start putting that howitzer of a shot he’s got on net and get it through traffic. So maybe …
2 – 52
3 – 55
4/26 – 23
26/4
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 10:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i guess it does come down to 4/26/2 for the odd man out.
i like the eventual idea of 2+52, but wonder if playing with Green right off the bat, given his tenancy to jump up on plays, will be too much for Pots. At least Pots has the skating ability to recover and catch skaters, unlike Schultz.
i would love to see Juice start gunning from the point more often. why hasn’t Bruce pushed this??
by ns on Mar 12, 2009 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think it’ll be:
52-26
3-55
4/23 – 2
At least at the start.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Mar 12, 2009 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can see that to start, but I think he’ll move up pretty fast given the way he’s been going in practice, yes? Potsy seems to have a cool enough head and enough smarts to handle an odd-man rush.
Alternatively, leave him on the third line for now to limit his TOI, but supplement with special teams? I’m thinking his smarts would be a real asset on the PK. We’ve got enough PP right now, yes?
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Um...
I should have read Pepper’s post first. Apparently Potsy was not much of a PKer when he was last skating as a Cap.
by Scott in Shaw on Mar 12, 2009 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
They had him doing both in Hershey last night. I don’t see a reason to have him on the PP, but I wouldn’t consider it out of the question for him to log some time on the PK in the new order of things. The Caps’ world has turned upside down since he last skated with the Caps, so who knows what Bruce will do? I guarantee you he’s thought about it.
It seems reasonable for him to pick up a lot of the ES load, too. Whichever way, he’ll make managing the D’s time a lot easier.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Same lineup for the playoffs?
I’d like to see Alzner in the mix but that would mean 2-27, which begs the question of why Potsy is being paired with Kronwall and not Alzner.
If it ain't broke, don't break it.
by ChrisAm on Mar 12, 2009 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The D-pairings from last night looked like this:
4-28 (Pothier and Kronwall)
7-37 (Alzner and Lepisto)
5-20 (Sloan and Helmer)
Minimal disruption to the lines, I’m guessing. Sloan/Helmer and Alzner/Lepisto are established pairings. Isn’t Kronwall a right-handed shot? Could that have anything to do with it?
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Btw, I read some pretty negative things on Sloan’s play as well.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Mar 12, 2009 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, I wasn’t wild about his play last night either (and I like Sloan).
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Mar 12, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe to have some size out there to protect Pothier? That suggests maybe a 2-4 pairing in DC.
by Gould Old Days on Mar 12, 2009 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I doubt that it would go 2-52 and 3-55, because that puts two righties together and two lefties together. I think BB will need to experiment a little with Potsy to see which lefties he fits in with. In some ways, the pairings that make the most sense are 3-2 and 55-52, with 3-2 going against the other teams top line. But he may want to mix up the experience.
by Kirg on Mar 16, 2009 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
on-site reporting! nothing to add beyond a sincere thank you! rec’d.
by Natty Bumppo on Mar 12, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Only because no one else has done it to this thread yet:
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Mar 12, 2009 11:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Alzner....
people need to chill with all the Alzner talk. he’s not ready. the promise that is King Karl is great, but lets not rush him and screw him up just because we are anxious.
it seems the up and downs of the call ups has affected his play already.
by ns on Mar 12, 2009 1:52 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington
|
22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 30 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
|
Atlanta
|
18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 22 |
|
Florida
|
20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 20 |
|
Carolina
|
21 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 13 |
(updated 11.21.2009 at 8:36 AM EST)
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