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Exhibition GDT - Toronto vs Buffalo Part I and II

Really.

I think Carrick has looked really good. I like what I see from all 3 D so far, but Carrick has looked the best offensively to me.
 
Unless there's a trade involving one of these guys (or Polak gets sent to the Marlies), I think we'll see 8 dman to start the season.

Hunwick may be a Babs favourite, but he's not a dumb man. Unless Marincin stumbles, I can't see Hunwick in the top four (i.e., paired with one of Gardiner or Rielly) again this season. Zaitsev pushes him to the bottom pair, if not depth position.
 
number17 said:
Really.

I think Carrick has looked really good. I like what I see from all 3 D so far, but Carrick has looked the best offensively to me.
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For sure, the thing is that's all he has imo. He doesn't have much strength along the wall(guys move fairly easily), he isn't that great at skating and positional play is fairly poor too(saw that watching Marlies last season quite a bit). With the Leafs also there were a few games where he was absolute mess with giveaways and poor positioning. When you have that many flaws, not sure how you can make it to top 6...but i do agree on his offensive game(decent shot and jumps up forward often). A guy like Corrado doesn't have the offensive game of Carrick but i think he's more balanced both ways which is why i think he has a better shot at making it.
 
MindzEye said:
He's mobile and agile, but his footspeed is averagish...which for a little guy, isn't ideal. He reminds me a bit of Ian White.
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Yes he does.

And as long as Carrick doesn't get into substance addiction problems, that isn't necessary a bad thing
 
number17 said:
Yes he does.

And as long as Carrick doesn't get into substance addiction problems, that isn't necessary a bad thing
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Yeah, if Ian White could have stayed out of the bar (and the bar bathroom....) he would have been a good 2nd pairing defender for a long time. The few times he was able to keep his shit together, he was pretty ****ing good.
 
Carrick is a way better skater than White. white could barely move.

I also think his positioning and Gap control is at an NHL level. He just plays over aggressively and it can burn him. But that obviously gets better with experience.

There is little question in my mind that he can be a regular NHL dman.
 
leafman101 said:
Carrick is a way better skater than White. white could barely move.

I also think his positioning and Gap control is at an NHL level. He just plays over aggressively and it can burn him. But that obviously gets better with experience.

There is little question in my mind that he can be a regular NHL dman.
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Nope. I'd be shocked if he makes it to be honest and i'm certain even if he does(because of stats he put up in the AHL..he won't last long). Most times you don't get much in return for 3rd/4th line players like we gave up. It's same case here really. Caps saw that he didn't have many tools(just like we had somewhat decent prospects over the years that didn't pan out... and let them go). You overrate some of the players constantly based on numbers they put up.
 
Notice the "he can be a regular NHL dman"...why the safety? :D...You must think that he isn't ready now either, no? That's what we're talking about. Heck anything can happen down the road..He's 21 or 22. Players can improve. We're talking now though and to me he doesn't look ready. Skating, strength, positioning..he isn't good at any of those.
 
PKForce81 said:
Nope. I'd be shocked if he makes it to be honest and i'm certain even if he does(because of stats he put up in the AHL..he won't last long). Most times you don't get much in return for 3rd/4th line players like we gave up. It's same case here really. Caps saw that he didn't have many tools(just like we had somewhat decent prospects over the years that didn't pan out... and let them go). You overrate some of the players constantly based on numbers they put up.
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They didn't get him in return for Winnik. They got him in return for taking Laich's contract. Same way they got Franson. Who is a solid NHL defenseman. So that line of thinking is kind of thrown out the door.

I don't see how calling him a regular NHL defenseman is overrating him based on the numbers he put up. Based on the numbers he has put up I could be saying much better things about him.
 
PKForce81 said:
Notice the "he can be a regular NHL dman"...why the safety? :D...You must think that he isn't ready now either, no? That's what we're talking about. Heck anything can happen down the road..He's 21 or 22. Players can improve. We're talking now though and to me he doesn't look ready. Skating, strength, positioning..he isn't good at any of those.
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So am I overrating him or underrating him then?

I am just disagreeing with your assessment of him. He's a fine skater, and his positioning and hockey IQ are actually pretty good. There really isn't any reason to think he's not a legit NHL prospect.
 
If you want a good example of why you can't necessarily rely on Washington's willingness to give him up to determine whether or not Carrick can be an NHL player, look no farther than the Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat trade. Carrick's obviously not the same level of prospect, but NHL GM's are human, and they do make mistakes.

As for Carrick, I don't have much question that he can be a decent NHL defender. The question is whether he can play top-4 ice-time effectively, and how much of that offense at the AHL level translates over to the NHL.
 
leafman101 said:
They didn't get him in return for Winnik. They got him in return for taking Laich's contract. Same way they got Franson. Who is a solid NHL defenseman. So that line of thinking is kind of thrown out the door.

I don't see how calling him a regular NHL defenseman is overrating him based on the numbers he put up. Based on the numbers he has put up I could be saying much better things about him.
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Franson is a big dude who at least has strength along the wall(along with offensive ability)... Carrick doesn't have that going for him...Franson wasn't really liked by many until he started putting up good numbers(if that didn't happen we basically had a giveaway machine with poor skating and that's barely good for top 6) ...but you're right.. skating, strength and positioning as weakness = NHL DMAN.
 
LeafGm said:
If you want a good example of why you can't necessarily rely on Washington's willingness to give him up to determine whether or not Carrick can be an NHL player, look no farther than the Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat trade. Carrick's obviously not the same level of prospect, but NHL GM's are human, and they do make mistakes.

As for Carrick, I don't have much question that he can be a decent NHL defender. The question is whether he can play top-4 ice-time effectively, and how much of that offense at the AHL level translates over to the NHL.
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Of course managers make mistakes, i'm saying that most times they don't and most times GM's know fairly well what they have in a player. This isn't a Gardiner situation where we gave up little and acquired something with quite a bit potential.

Carrick tries and all but he's basically a midget that doesn't skate too well, jumps up way too often and has a really hard time when cycle gets going(not sure if it's mental, physical or both but keep paying attention and you'll see how much he struggles not just keeping up but also gets confused as to who he should get). I'm not sure you can improve THAT MUCH on those areas..but we'll see.
 
skating, strength and positioning as weakness
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I wouldn't call his skating a weakness. He just has averageish speed. He's pretty agile, just not fast. As for positioning being a weakness, I'm not sure what you're seeing. He's a pretty clever defender out there with his positioning. He gets knocked off the puck easily, that's a fair complaint, but the rest is a reach imo.
 
PKForce81 said:
Franson is a big dude who at least has strength along the wall(along with offensive ability)... Carrick doesn't have that going for him...Franson wasn't really liked by many until he started putting up good numbers(if that didn't happen we basically had a giveaway machine with poor skating and that's barely good for top 6) ...but you're right.. skating, strength and positioning as weakness = NHL DMAN.
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That wasn't the point. I wasn't comparing Franson to Carrick as players, just the method of acquisition. Saying Carrick isn't an NHL defenseman because of how they acquired him isn't a valid argument IMO.
 
MindzEye said:
I wouldn't call his skating a weakness. He just has averageish speed. He's pretty agile, just not fast. As for positioning being a weakness, I'm not sure what you're seeing. He's a pretty clever defender out there with his positioning. He gets knocked off the puck easily, that's a fair complaint, but the rest is a reach imo.
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ya don't get this positioning argument.

like leafman said he can be a bit aggressive at the offensive blueline at time, but that's not a positoining issue.

in fact, i'd say his positioning is a big strength and exactly why he's in the mix despite not being particularly big or fast.
 
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The Leafs second practice today is basically their NHL lineup...including Carrick.

JVR-Kadri-Komarov
Michalek-Bozak-Marner
Marin-Matthews-Nylander
Hyman-Laich-Brown
(Gauthier-Moore)

Reilly-Zaitsev
Gardiner-Hunwick
Marincin-Carrick
(Valiev-Polak)
 
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