Rumours & Offseason Nonsense 2019/20

terry hunt

Well-Known Member
I am curious why we have not heard from Ulmer.I believe many of us assumed he would retire.
Last season Lordo used him carefully with not too many minutes.Could it be possible he will resign and be used when needed.
Although he has age against him it didnt seem to affect his sniping ability.Goalscorers are priceless in all sports
 
We always speak off maintaining our core group, certainly is an advantage. However, we need young blood coming in who will form the next core group. Felt we lacked a little speed last year , would love to have some speedy younger players to compliment what we already have.
 

Devil94

Well-Known Member
I'm starting to think possibly that the lines might be a bit different to what I first thought.

What about

Import - Martin - Riley
Linglet - Dixon - Import (benti?)
Haddad - McNamee - Pope
Masi - Myers - Duggan

Masi looks a bit low there on the 4th line, but he might take over Batch's role, with Josh back to D.

And then one other stay at home d-man, probably to partner Reddick.
In my mind, the signing of Benti furthers my thoughts on this. Batchy on D, and a first line winger to come. We might not know who the last player is until a month from now, with Lord being patient on those waiting for a North American contract.
 

Temme

Well-Known Member
In my mind, the signing of Benti furthers my thoughts on this. Batchy on D, and a first line winger to come. We might not know who the last player is until a month from now, with Lord being patient on those waiting for a North American contract.
Benti plays left wing, and not right, he wouldn't play RW on the second line.

Masi played RW as a junior, so i'm assuming he's been signed to play on the right.

Benti - Martin - Riley
Linglet - Dixon - Masi/Pope
Haddad - McNamee - Pope/Masi
Batch - Myers - Duggan

The forwards are completed, unless we sign a spare.

Nothing against Batch but if we are to get "better every year" then dropping him back to D does not improve our D core from last year (Fournier, Louis, Blood/Scheistel, Mosey, Richie, Reddick)

2 more D men to come; one will be a more stay at home type (Brett Carson?) and one more defensive.

We may even wait until the end of August to secure the last guy and wait for some training camp fallout from other leagues (Parisi style)
 

osh

Well-Known Member
Having so far only signed 3 new players, which means that Livingston, Ulmer and Morissette will not be playing for us next season ( unless Lord retains one of them as a ‘spare’ and rotates certain players as and when required. I would hope that if we sign a spare forward, it will be a new younger player, and that’s not taking anything away from those who have served us well in the past.
As for the 2 D spots to fill, we really need to make a statement in this area and ensure that we sign 2 very good stay at home experienced players who will compliment the offensive prowess of Fournier and Reddick. Needless to say, we will need a full roster when the season kicks off in a couple of weeks time.
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
Benti plays left wing, and not right, he wouldn't play RW on the second line.

Masi played RW as a junior, so i'm assuming he's been signed to play on the right.

Benti - Martin - Riley
Linglet - Dixon - Masi/Pope
Haddad - McNamee - Pope/Masi
Batch - Myers - Duggan

The forwards are completed, unless we sign a spare.

Nothing against Batch but if we are to get "better every year" then dropping him back to D does not improve our D core from last year (Fournier, Louis, Blood/Scheistel, Mosey, Richie, Reddick)

2 more D men to come; one will be a more stay at home type (Brett Carson?) and one more defensive.

We may even wait until the end of August to secure the last guy and wait for some training camp fallout from other leagues (Parisi style)
I'm not really concerned about our D. I fully expect us to announce 2 new defenceman in the next week and I think they will be good signings. You would think that one in particular will be a top signing.

Slight concern for me at the moment is our scoring depth up front. I just think we're going to need more goals from Benti and Pope this season if it turns out that they are going to be on the top 2 lines. Benti scored 16 last year and Pope scored 14. I just don't think that's going to cut it this season if we want to regain the title.

When you look at Belfast last season they had Murphy on 39 goals and Riley on 33. So let's say Martin and Riley are likely to be our top goalscorers this season. Behind Murphy and Riley last year Belfast had Baun on 28 goals, Dwyer 25, Johner 23, Rutherford 18. When I look at our forwards at the moment I'm not sure if we've got that scoring power. And to be honest when I look at Sheffield's roster I think they probably have.

I also think it puts a lot of pressure on Fournier if our forwards do have dry spells. His 71 points last season was above and beyond. He's got the ability to do that again but its a tough ask.
 
I think Mo will be the extra forward/bench assistant for Lordo. He's club captain and you only need to listen to the way that Lordo and Franny talk about him, particularly how he improves those around him, to know how much he is valued.

He is also phenomenal on the PK and a massive influence in the dressing room. His point production was down last year, but it largely depends which line he plays on and how he is utilised on the PP. We also have no idea what we pay Mo and if he is without question the best player we can get for that money in the budget.

I think people have been far too quick to write him off and I'd welcome his return.
 
Last edited:
I like our recruitment this off season, I would've ideally liked to see a sniper signed for the second line however I feel we've addressed our main issue which was a lack of physicality in the forward lines and a realtively slow and unproductive 3rd line unit. It's easy to look at who other teams are signed and be envious, especially when they come straight from KHL, however prioritising known quality league MVPs is the way to go in my eyes. Also out of the box thinking; but would it be viable to have Duggan play up the lines as the season progresses? His skating is certainly good enough, granted his end producted needs improvement but the ability seems to be there. Would he flourish playing alongside 2 imports!? I guess only the Lord knows!
 
When you look at Belfast last season they had Murphy on 39 goals and Riley on 33. So let's say Martin and Riley are likely to be our top goalscorers this season. Behind Murphy and Riley last year Belfast had Baun on 28 goals, Dwyer 25, Johner 23, Rutherford 18. When I look at our forwards at the moment I'm not sure if we've got that scoring power. And to be honest when I look at Sheffield's roster I think they probably have.

I also think it puts a lot of pressure on Fournier if our forwards do have dry spells. His 71 points last season was above and beyond. He's got the ability to do that again but its a tough ask.
Perhaps, but we only scored 3 fewer goals than they did all season. The Devil's key to success has not been to rely too heavily on first and second line scoring and to rely on goals in depth.

We had 9 players with 14 goals or more and 5 players with 20 goals or more.

Belfast could only boast 6 players with 14 goals or better. Their scoring dropped off dramatically after the top 6, whereas we have depth across the top 3 lines and supplement that with our fourth line and D scoring.
 
Last edited:

Wannabe2

Well-Known Member
Giants as you say scored 3 goals more, and conceeded 1 more, that’s a difference of 2 goals, there was nothing in it, also we lost the league as opposed to Giants winning it. Losing Murphy and Riley is huge.
 

Slartibartfast

Well-Known Member
Benti plays left wing, and not right, he wouldn't play RW on the second line.

Masi played RW as a junior, so i'm assuming he's been signed to play on the right.

Benti - Martin - Riley
Linglet - Dixon - Masi/Pope
Haddad - McNamee - Pope/Masi
Batch - Myers - Duggan

The forwards are completed, unless we sign a spare.

Nothing against Batch but if we are to get "better every year" then dropping him back to D does not improve our D core from last year (Fournier, Louis, Blood/Scheistel, Mosey, Richie, Reddick)

2 more D men to come; one will be a more stay at home type (Brett Carson?) and one more defensive..

We may even wait until the end of August to secure the last guy and wait for some training camp fallout from other leagues (Parisi style)
I would agree with those lines. I think Masi will be on Linglets line as they both play a similar european style of hockey. Looking at his video Masi looks like a very strong and fast skater. I think he is just want Linglet needed. Linglet had a great season but it took a while for his linemates to catch up with his speed and creativity. I don't think Masi will have that problem.
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
Perhaps, but we only scored 3 fewer goals than they did all season. The Devil's key to success has not been to rely too heavily on first and second line scoring and to rely on goals in depth.

We had 9 players with 14 goals or more and 5 players with 20 goals or more.

Belfast could only boast 6 players with 14 goals or better. There scoring dropped off dramatically after the top 6, whereas we have depth across the top 3 lines and supplement that with our fourth line and D scoring.
The only thing I’d say about this is it would be interesting to see the stats post Christmas. I might be wrong but Giants seemed to really push on where as we struggled for goals at times in my opinion. Particularly in the last few weeks.
I’ll go back to what I said about Fournier as well. I think his 71 points last season probably got us closer to the title than we should have been. I don’t think it’s fair to rely on him scoring 70+ points every season
 
A big ask to expect and rely on Fournier to produce as he did last season. While we can compare us to Belfast last season, I'm turning my attention to the teams we'll face this upcoming one. Regardless of CVs , everyone needs to prove themselves but you cannot deny the potential fire power of some of the signings that have been made., we will definitely need to find more goals further down the lines. If as suggested our forwards are complete, really want 2 rock solid D men to come in.
 
The only thing I’d say about this is it would be interesting to see the stats post Christmas. I might be wrong but Giants seemed to really push on where as we struggled for goals at times in my opinion. Particularly in the last few weeks.
I’ll go back to what I said about Fournier as well. I think his 71 points last season probably got us closer to the title than we should have been. I don’t think it’s fair to rely on him scoring 70+ points every season
I don't disagree with that at all, though I think he will again score heavily. I don't think we will be overly reliant on Gleason, but I suspect we will see him step up again more often than not.

If Mo returns and puts up say 32 pts vs 22 last year (very possible), that goes a long way to address the balance. Equally, a motivated Matt Pope may put up more than his 44 from last year too. I'd also wager that Blair Riley will put up more than Mike Hedden did, but it is all hypothetical.

We of course have to be wary about the fire power that has been brought in at other teams and some signings in Sheffield and Braehead, in particular, have been extremely impressive.
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
After Christmas last season.

Belfast 27 league games - 126 goals
Cardiff 29 league games -111 goals

So we played two games more and scored 15 less goals. Nothing drastic but Belfast were more prolific than us when it really mattered
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
I don't disagree with that at all, though I think he will again score heavily. I don't think we will be overly reliant on Gleason, but I suspect we will see him step up again more often than not.

If Mo returns and puts up say 32 pts vs 22 last year (very possible), that goes a long way to address the balance. Equally, a motivated Matt Pope may put up more than his 44 from last year too. I'd also wager that Blair Riley will put up more than Mike Hedden did, but it is all hypothetical.

We of course have to be wary about the fire power that has been brought in at other teams and some signings in Sheffield and Braehead, in particular, have been extremely impressive.
You’re right, it’s very hypothetical at this time of year. It’s impossible to know how much of an impact players like Marjamaki and Mcnamee will have. Our scoring depth is just a slight concern of mine at the moment. Hopefully I’m proved to be completely wrong
 

zoesdevil

Well-Known Member
I don't disagree with that at all, though I think he will again score heavily. I don't think we will be overly reliant on Gleason, but I suspect we will see him step up again more often than not.

If Mo returns and puts up say 32 pts vs 22 last year (very possible), that goes a long way to address the balance. Equally, a motivated Matt Pope may put up more than his 44 from last year too. I'd also wager that Blair Riley will put up more than Mike Hedden did, but it is all hypothetical.

We of course have to be wary about the fire power that has been brought in at other teams and some signings in Sheffield and Braehead, in particular, have been extremely impressive.
Agreed, after last seasons ending the players are going to want to go that extra 10-15% intensity to prove it was a one off.
 
Top