ThinIce
Well-known member
Agreed. You could call much of what Kochetkov does a reptilian brain reaction - it's an autonomic response that is wired for instinctive action and survival.
GDT: Canes v. Islanders 12/17 7:30
- Thread starter andyt
- Start date
And like I keep reminding my wife ... he's not a kid anymore. He's 25 with around 90 NHL games under his belt and whatever game he's got now is the game he's going to have, give or take. You can tinker around the margins, but he is who he is at this stage.
I don’t remember if it was discussed here or somewhere else, but the whole thing about losing the stick is taught in Russia. Sorokin lost his quite a few times, including on Aho’s goal where he dropped his stick and tried to make the save with his blocker glove. Not the blocker, his hand.
Speaking of Aho’s goal, did anyone have Eric Robinson with 8 goals, 10 assists in his first 31 games?
Fayettenamcanesfan
Well-known member
They also kept harping on all the isles injuries and said the canes have had no significant injuries all year. Really. None you say
CanadaCanes
Well-known member
At least we didn’t get Eddy Olzcyk telling us all night how Ronnie Francis got us to 20 wins already this year…
Yeah, the Russian keepers are taught to use the blocker the same way they do the glove. Most keepers use the blocker to deflect the puck wide, while the Russian guys are trying to use it to knock it down and you can do that better with an open hand. Not all of them are as dramatic about it as Kooch, but I've seen a lot of the Russian guys dropping the stick to cover loose pucks and you don't see that much from the traditional crowd. Frankly, Spencer Martin could take some notes. He mostly seems to use the blocker to swat aimlessly at nothing.
On Robinson ... one of the stats nerds posted an impact sheet for Robinson last night. I think he's got an offense rating in the 90s, which is ... unexpected. He's basically playing the role of golden retriever on that line kind of like Noesen did the last couple of years. He parks near the net and fetches the loose change that Aho and Jarvis poke loose along the wall, but he's also the low man on the forecheck and WAY better than Noesen in transition. He's been an upgrade, for sure. Just a guy who fits the system and keeps to his role.
As did Carolina's freaking 2nd line center.
It's one of those tell me you don't actually watch the Canes play (when you aren't working the games) without telling me you don't watch the Canes play kind of deals.
ThinIce
Well-known member
Robinson has been an incredible pickup for us - I love how he compliments this team. He would be easy to resign and wouldn't cost a ton.
CanadaCanes
Well-known member
Can we sneak Nachos in on an extension too while we’re at it…
cmaleski2
Well-known member
No, but do I get partial credit for suggesting he is not a 4th line journeyman plug before the season started?
Robinson, like Noesen before him, gets more expensive every game. No WAY Carolina gets him on another cut rate deal. He'll want to go back to his basic contract progression before Columbus cut him loose, at a minimum. That would have run him up to around $1.75 mil for this season, so he's going to be starting at $2 million ... maybe more. And yes, they should get on that before it gets worse. For context, Noesen makes $2.75 mil for the Devs on his current deal.
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CanadaCanes
Well-known member
Full props CMal because you did say that when I had him labeled as fourth line, healthy scratch fodder after watching what I saw in Columbus and Buffalo. I stand corrected.
Well since our guys are pretty much dreck it doesn’t have much impact when one of them gets hurt. Like the good teams. They have great players and when they get hurt it’s a big deal I guess.