eichel is injured

day-to-day. They've said it's precautionary.

I see what you’re trying to do with spreading the scoring onto 3 lines... and i generally agree
But i just have no faith in Tage in the top6
He’s barely looked good in the AHL, & he just can’t skate well enough to play with Eichel & Hall

Also....
what’s the thinking in having all those young guys on the taxi squad???
They need to be playing so they can develop, NOT sitting in the press box nightly
Idk why ppl keep doing that here? Makes no sense

I actually like Tage on the top line... IF he can play in the corners. Girgensons would be another good choice for the top line, but in theory Tage would be better because he’s faster and more skilled. All you really want him to do is fight for pucks in the corners and get them to Eichel or Hall in the slot. Keep those guys in scoring/playmaking positions, not in the corners. Kunitz served in this role for Crosby and was great at it.

Tage hasn’t shown the ability to do that
And he’s not a good skater
They’ve tried him with Eichel before & he looked even more lost than usual
I hope he’s improved,
but let’s not put him in a spot where he’ll be overwhelmed
Start him on line3 (if he even makes the team!) and let him work his way up

Tage is actually a very good skater and has very good speed for someone his size.

And if anything, I’d say working in the corners is actually the strong suit of his game.

Also, he played well in Rochester. He tallied 12 points in 16 games last year for the Amerks. He’s ready to be a full time NHLer and has been around long enough that he shouldn’t need breaking in. For him, I think it’s a question of whether he’s strong enough yet and if he can be consistent in his game

The young guys on the taxi squad are because they need to be playing. The OHL isn't having a season so Quinn needs to at least be having competitive practices. The AHL also isn't starting until at least February so same thing. The young guys need to be getting the practice time and an occasional game rather than being left to their own devices with no competition.

My thought in putting Tage on the top line is we can get him 20 goals with Eichel and Hall and trick Seattle into taking him lol

Saying “for his size” is just a nice way of saying he’s not that good at it
He is absolutely below average as a skater in the league

Interesting idea with Tage, but I’m not sold

As for the kids....
we need to figure out somewhere for them to be playing
Practice isn’t enough

The time for that has passed. European clubs have filled their loan eligibility and the NHL and KHL don't have midseason loans. The CHL is likely done for the year and who knows if the AHL will start anytime soon. Unfortunately the pandemic leaves the taxi-squad as the most competitive place they can go.

Sorry, I have to disagree that he’s below average. He’s not Kyle Okposo

Just bc he’s not Okposo, doesn’t mean he’s a good skater
He is closer to Okposo than a good skater
*based off the last time i saw him skate (w the Sabres),
of course
He may have gotten better. If so, I’ll admit it. But I’m skeptical until i actually see it

Remains to be seen
Other leagues will surely open their doors to quality talent
“Quality” being the key word
Example:
Do i expect someone to take Cj Smith?
No, probably not
But will Quinn, Ruotsalainen, Cozens, etc etc get scooped up somewhere?
I’d say yeah, absolutely

What leagues are you referring to?

Any league still playing

Fair enough

That's what I said. There aren't leagues that they can go to. There's no other options.

It's been reported, I forget by who, that European teams are reserving spots with the expectation that there will be a lot of teams looking to loan out quality players for the season. Let me try to find a source for that.

I don’t think things are locked in stone with the other leagues
They’ll open spots for talented young players imo

And is it FOR SURE that there won’t be Canadian Juniors or AHL?
What about NCAA?

I highly doubt talented prospects won’t have a place to play this season- the nhl will figure something out

NCAA doesn't let anyone who has signed a pro contract play. OHL has all but said they for sure aren't playing because the Ontario government is saying non-contact only and the QMJHL is likely done for the year as Quebec has the worst numbers for covid in the country. WHL won't risk it if those two don't go. As for the Euro leagues if they are holding spots open that would be nice but I haven't heard if they are/can. Usually they have super strict "import limits" to grow the game in their own countries.

If u think exceptions to previous rules will not be made,
then idk what to tell ya?
However, i did hear today that Juniors players could be allowed to play in the AHL

If u think the NHL is gonna have their prospects at sit a year out, then i think you’re nuts

I’m sure something will be figured out

I hope they do but opening that door to millions of dollars in lost revenues is something I'd never expect the greedy, self-entitled monster that is the CHL to do. And I'm not american but the NCAA doesn't seem to value logic over their rules very often lol

Well I’ll just let you go on assuming the worst then
Just seems pretty dumb to me

Look at that. Tage on the top line in the scrimmage 😉 He looked good, but it’s just a scrimmage. Hope it translates to the real thing.