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UNH Wildcats-The Back Nine and Beyond!

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DeSmith finishes with 12 saves on 15 shots, with a few real nice saves and a couple of world-class goals against by Wheeler (in alone) and Scheifele (4x3 PP, one-timer). The third goal against was a real tough tip from the high slot. Well done, Casey. Nothing remotely soft amid tough circumstances (an entirely lackluster team performance) for a debut.

The Penguins have two days off and then play three games in four days at EDM, CGY and VAN. One of those games will likely be DeSmith's first NHL start!
 
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HockeyRef said:
I couldn't watch as we don't get NHL Network (GRRR) up in these parts. Irks me as I pay for NHL Tv and get blacked out on those games...ugh. Anyway, what was up with his equipment not being ready? Hopefully can catch him in one of the games you mentioned.
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I don't know - I hadn't heard anything about his equipment. I followed the game online and via the teams twitter accounts. You can see highlights of all the goals against on the Jets feed. Three goals not many goalies are stopping.

The Penguins are now, apparently, 0-4-0 and being outscored 29-4 on the second night of back-to-backs. So, you have to feel for Casey being thrown into that type of situation and hope something changes since he's most likely to start the second night of a back-to-back at Calgary on 11/2...
 
Dan said:
I don't know - I hadn't heard anything about his equipment. I followed the game online and via the teams twitter accounts. You can see highlights of all the goals against on the Jets feed. Three goals not many goalies are stopping.

The Penguins are now, apparently, 0-4-0 and being outscored 29-4 on the second night of back-to-backs. So, you have to feel for Casey being thrown into that type of situation and hope something changes since he's most likely to start the second night of a back-to-back at Calgary on 11/2...
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Yeah surely wasn't the best circumstances!! Imagine he will get another shot at it this week. On an interview I saw he took it all in stride. Wishing him well as he goes forward.

On another note UNH moves up one in the polls! MUST make a statement at UMass this weekend. Can't afford to look past them as UML has to be desperately seeking to avenge those two losses. Come on 'Cats show 'em what you're made of!
 
DeSmith sent down. PIT can do whatever they wish, but this is an unjust result. They bring him up and throw him into 4-0 onslaught of a game behind a team that didn't show up and send him down immediately after. They should have simply brought Jarry up in the first place if it was what they wanted to do the entire time...

There are articles all over the place about DeSmith's rough start/giving up a goal 11 seconds in. Watch the goal and tell me WHO makes that save! That goal is on Kris Letang and his laziness. And it apparently got Casey sent back down...
 
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deltabravo62 said:
It looks like the shoulder is still bothering him on the ice. He is not digging in and getting to the net like he was last year. His offensive positioning in the first two games has been at or around the circles looking for a good shooting position where last year he was fighting it out in front of the net.

The second part of this is he has not been on the first PP unit yet, Vela is still holding that spot and it really serves two purposes. Vela is the first man to take the faceoff as McNicholas is not nearly as successful as he is at winning them. Also, going back to the first point, Grasso last year was the screen guy in front taking a beating for rebounds. I think they are definitely trying to keep him out of those type of situations for the time being.

He has had a few great chances that have just missed being goals, so I am hopeful that he can get things going. Between just trying to get back into things and the points I mentioned above, I am not surprised that he is slow to get on the sheet.
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I am just glad that Grasso is back, as I feared that he was in need of shoulder surgery and done for the season. I believe that half or nearly half of his goals last season were on the PP, thanks in large part to TyK.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats-The Back Nine and Beyond!

Dan said:
DeSmith sent down. PIT can do whatever they wish, but this is an unjust result. They bring him up and throw him into 4-0 onslaught of a game behind a team that didn't show up and send him down immediately after. They should have simply brought Jarry up in the first place if it was what they wanted to do the entire time...

There are articles all over the place about DeSmith's rough start/giving up a goal 11 seconds in. Watch the goal and tell me WHO makes that save! That goal is on Kris Letang and his laziness. And it apparently got Casey sent back down...
Click to expand...

Articles mean nothing. I'm sure that just like there was a reason CDS was called up, there are reasons he was sent down. And I doubt it was because he let in a goal 11 seconds in. Back-up goalies in the NHL in general are expendable and exchangeable. It's clear who the #1 guy is on most teams (like NFL QB's), and back-up goalies need a good measure of good fortune - right place, right time, etc. - and then to come up with a strong performance when the opportunity does arise, to cement a position with almost any team in the league. Look at how the B's have handled their back-up goalies after Tim Thomas left ... ditto Chicago and LA. Maybe Pittsburgh wanted to see how he would handle a call-up, and are doing the same with the next guy now? Maybe it's part of a process where they need to figure out whether they need to trade for an established veteran back-up, or if one of the young guys in the organization now would suffice.

CDS has been through bigger challenges. I'm not a huge fan, but I'll give him credit for picking himself up, dusting himself off, applying himself to learning (on and off the ice), and getting to a level most D-1 players don't reach. I'm sure if he keeps playing well in the AHL, he'll get another chance. If not Pittsburgh, somewhere else (see Subban, Malcolm.

HockeyRef said:
Hey, how's this weeks edition of the Q coming along?
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I'm a little busy with my full time job this week, and the coaching stuff started up again this past weekend. But I'm hoping to get the next installment of the ______ up in the next couple of days.

In the meantime ... Happy Halloween everyone, have fun ... make sure to appropriate someone else's culture!! :D :p
 
Chuck Murray said:
Articles mean nothing. I'm sure that just like there was a reason CDS was called up, there are reasons he was sent down. And I doubt it was because he let in a goal 11 seconds in. Back-up goalies in the NHL in general are expendable and exchangeable. It's clear who the #1 guy is on most teams (like NFL QB's), and back-up goalies need a good measure of good fortune - right place, right time, etc. - and then to come up with a strong performance when the opportunity does arise, to cement a position with almost any team in the league. Look at how the B's have handled their back-up goalies after Tim Thomas left ... ditto Chicago and LA. Maybe Pittsburgh wanted to see how he would handle a call-up, and are doing the same with the next guy now? Maybe it's part of a process where they need to figure out whether they need to trade for an established veteran back-up, or if one of the young guys in the organization now would suffice.

CDS has been through bigger challenges. I'm not a huge fan, but I'll give him credit for picking himself up, dusting himself off, applying himself to learning (on and off the ice), and getting to a level most D-1 players don't reach. I'm sure if he keeps playing well in the AHL, he'll get another chance. If not Pittsburgh, somewhere else (see Subban, Malcolm.



I'm a little busy with my full time job this week, and the coaching stuff started up again this past weekend. But I'm hoping to get the next installment of the ______ up in the next couple of days.

In the meantime ... Happy Halloween everyone, have fun ... make sure to appropriate someone else's culture!! :D :p
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At any rate he will most likely get another shot at it like you say. Plus he gives hope to loads of others in countless lower leagues looking to one day skate in the big show. Reading a ton of twitter posts he's loved in Wilkes -Barre and a good enough goalie to serve many other teams if PIT doesn't pan out. Not the end of the road certainly...
 
Re: UNH Wildcats-The Back Nine and Beyond!

Max Gildon on nhl.com: https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/panthers-d-prospect-max-gildon-lighting-up-ncaa/c-292472266

When looking at schools, Gildon said the fact that UNH had produced several NHL-caliber defensemen, including Trevor van Riemsdyk (2011-14) and Brett Pesce (2012-15), both of whom are playing for the Carolina Hurricanes, helped make his decision to enroll that much easier.

"New Hampshire does have a long history of defenseman and stuff," Gildon said. "It's been awesome. All the coaching staff has really helped me out and helped me be more defensive and stuff like that. It's been awesome to learn from them."
 
Re: UNH Wildcats-The Back Nine and Beyond!

Of course, I would credit Torterella (sp?) with TVR and Pesce’s development. But that’s just me.
 
Aerman said:
Of course, I would credit Torterella (sp?) with TVR and Pesce’s development. But that’s just me.
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Aerman you always credited UNh's strong D to Coach Tortorella and I always agreed FWIW dept.

Jim Torts is an excellent DMan coach. Those two were just getting going when I started to follow them. Sat behind the bench on a few occasions and watched him work with the defense. Hope he has a great season with St. Anselm. Both Pesce and TvR are finding success in the NHL it's wild they are teammates once again.

Speaking of defensive coaches the next Asst Coach has to have that (along with recruiting chutzpah) as his major calling card. Don't really care what sport it is O wins games but D wins Championships!
 
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C-H-C said:
Max Gildon on nhl.com: https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/panthers-d-prospect-max-gildon-lighting-up-ncaa/c-292472266

When looking at schools, Gildon said the fact that UNH had produced several NHL-caliber defensemen, including Trevor van Riemsdyk (2011-14) and Brett Pesce (2012-15), both of whom are playing for the Carolina Hurricanes, helped make his decision to enroll that much easier.

"New Hampshire does have a long history of defenseman and stuff," Gildon said. "It's been awesome. All the coaching staff has really helped me out and helped me be more defensive and stuff like that. It's been awesome to learn from them."
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Did he mention Rod Langway?
 
Re: UNH Wildcats-The Back Nine and Beyond!

Dan said:
DeSmith sent down. PIT can do whatever they wish, but this is an unjust result. They bring him up and throw him into 4-0 onslaught of a game behind a team that didn't show up and send him down immediately after. They should have simply brought Jarry up in the first place if it was what they wanted to do the entire time...

There are articles all over the place about DeSmith's rough start/giving up a goal 11 seconds in. Watch the goal and tell me WHO makes that save! That goal is on Kris Letang and his laziness. And it apparently got Casey sent back down...
Click to expand...

DeSmith got screwed. Coming in off the bench in your first NHL game when the wheels are coming off the team in that game and then that initial shot on a 2 on 1/semi breakaway backhand shot. Good luck with making that save. On the brightside - he may have the record for fastest goal allowed for an NHL debut - 11 seconds.
 
Re: UNH Wildcats-The Back Nine and Beyond!

I'm having a hard time seeing things eye-to-eye with the CDS boo-hoo brigade. To wit:

* This is the NHL - not Hockey East, or the ECHL, or the Junior Monarchs. He is a professional now;
* He was signed originally as a free agent IIRC. It's not like he is a highly-prized organizational asset;
* He is playing for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. The bar is set pretty high, no?
* He only got his chance because the Pens were playing crappy already, and switched up to get a spark;
* Being in the right place at the right time to make a good impression, CDS failed to provide that spark;
* Clearly, the powers that be decided to continue to examine back-up goalie options, with MAF gone.

Is it "unjust"? Did CDS really get "screwed"?? I say no ... he had a chance he's been working his whole life to get, and not everyone gets, and he didn't perform. Whether others were primarily to blame or not ... why is that relevant? If CDS is good enough to separate himself from the legions of pro goalies angling to make a career in the NHL, he will learn from the experience, work harder, and if/when the next chance comes - and no, it's not guaranteed - he will be better prepared.

Once upon a time, a prominent D-1 goalie who was a 9th round draft pick graduated from a northern New England program, never played a single game for the team that drafted him, wandered the planet for six years before getting a first (brief) shot in the NHL, and would be 32 yrs. old (and 10 years out of college) before he was a full-time NHL starter.

Tim Thomas turned out to have a pretty good NHL career. He probably got unjustly screwed a few times, too.
 
Chuck Murray said:
I'm having a hard time seeing things eye-to-eye with the CDS boo-hoo brigade. To wit:

* This is the NHL - not Hockey East, or the ECHL, or the Junior Monarchs. He is a professional now;
* He was signed originally as a free agent IIRC. It's not like he is a highly-prized organizational asset;
* He is playing for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. The bar is set pretty high, no?
* He only got his chance because the Pens were playing crappy already, and switched up to get a spark;
* Being in the right place at the right time to make a good impression, CDS failed to provide that spark;
* Clearly, the powers that be decided to continue to examine back-up goalie options, with MAF gone.

Is it "unjust"? Did CDS really get "screwed"?? I say no ... he had a chance he's been working his whole life to get, and not everyone gets, and he didn't perform. Whether others were primarily to blame or not ... why is that relevant? If CDS is good enough to separate himself from the legions of pro goalies angling to make a career in the NHL, he will learn from the experience, work harder, and if/when the next chance comes - and no, it's not guaranteed - he will be better prepared.

Once upon a time, a prominent D-1 goalie who was a 9th round draft pick graduated from a northern New England program, never played a single game for the team that drafted him, wandered the planet for six years before getting a first (brief) shot in the NHL, and would be 32 yrs. old (and 10 years out of college) before he was a full-time NHL starter.

Tim Thomas turned out to have a pretty good NHL career. He probably got unjustly screwed a few times, too.
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Ha, ha, ha! I just knew what the punch line of this post would be before I began reading it. :-)

BUT, TT and that Bruins SC seem like ancient history to me now.
 
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