Rumours & Offseason Nonsense 2019/20

Got mixed opinions about Mo taking the bench.

If Piggie can't fully commit to the role due to his medical career then I'm all for Mo doing it. To have someone like Mo who understands the ethos and expectations of the club he'll be a perfect fit for the role.

I just worry that the role will become a bit of a token gesture to long standing players. If Richie semi retires end of this season will he become the assistant / reserve player next year.

If all our forwards are signed then it means another 2 D men coming in with Rutkis on a 2 way. If a D man gets injured Batch drops to D and Rutkis has Batches spot. +
 
Benti - Martin - Riley
Linglet - Dixon - Masi/Pope
Haddad - McNamee - Pope/Masi
Batch - Myers - Duggan

The forwards are completed, unless we sign a spare.

2 more D men to come; one will be a more stay at home type (Brett Carson?) and one more defensive.
I think Masi will play 1st/2nd line and Benti 2nd/3rd, but pretty much agree with this. It relies a lot on Pope recovering his points form as he'll be 1st/2nd line, and if he scores like he did at the start of last season, then there are lots of goals amongst the others. If not though and that line stutters then lines will get mixed around. Haddad's recovery will be crucial too, as we'll need him to contribute like he did prior to the injury.

I agree, forwards are complete - with Mosey out until at least Christmas, we may sign Mo as a spare spare, as he can come in and do a job, and he'd then drop to the bench when Mosey returns.

2 new big D signings required and then it's a good roster, enough new blood, and retained a solid core who will hit the ground running. There is no mythical tough guy in that roster, but between Louis, Dixon, Batch, McNamee and Riley (plus new D?) I feel it has a stronger core of grit than last year (particularly once Faryna left).

The team is a tad old perhaps? Maybe some teams will be younger/faster but we should be able to out pass them. It'll be interesting to see how we deal tactically with the likes of Steelers and Giants this year. I felt last year we had the best roster in the league (at the start anyway). I'm not sure I would say that now, mainly because other teams have recruited so well, not because we've recruited badly. I think it'll be a very exciting season though!
 
I think Masi will play 1st/2nd line and Benti 2nd/3rd, but pretty much agree with this. It relies a lot on Pope recovering his points form as he'll be 1st/2nd line, and if he scores like he did at the start of last season, then there are lots of goals amongst the others. If not though and that line stutters then lines will get mixed around. Haddad's recovery will be crucial too, as we'll need him to contribute like he did prior to the injury.

I agree, forwards are complete - with Mosey out until at least Christmas, we may sign Mo as a spare spare, as he can come in and do a job, and he'd then drop to the bench when Mosey returns.

2 new big D signings required and then it's a good roster, enough new blood, and retained a solid core who will hit the ground running. There is no mythical tough guy in that roster, but between Louis, Dixon, Batch, McNamee and Riley (plus new D?) I feel it has a stronger core of grit than last year (particularly once Faryna left).

The team is a tad old perhaps? Maybe some teams will be younger/faster but we should be able to out pass them. It'll be interesting to see how we deal tactically with the likes of Steelers and Giants this year. I felt last year we had the best roster in the league (at the start anyway). I'm not sure I would say that now, mainly because other teams have recruited so well, not because we've recruited badly. I think it'll be a very exciting season though!
Agree with most of this. However I’d prefer Rutkis come in instead of Mo as cover.
 
Feel this year our signings are a tad off what I have come to expect, maybe my expectations need to be reassessed. Our final signings last year were Linglet, Hedden, Dixon and Parisi ( at least he was signed!). It got us all excited! Hope for at least 2 more to inject that same buzz.
 

tim78

Well-Known Member
It's nice having the big name signings, but at the end of the day this organisation as built up a lot of confidence in whatever is put on the ice is a team that will compete.

Still x2 Dmen to go.
 

BostonBart22

Well-Known Member
Got mixed opinions about Mo taking the bench.

If Piggie can't fully commit to the role due to his medical career then I'm all for Mo doing it. To have someone like Mo who understands the ethos and expectations of the club he'll be a perfect fit for the role.

I just worry that the role will become a bit of a token gesture to long standing players. If Richie semi retires end of this season will he become the assistant / reserve player next year.

If all our forwards are signed then it means another 2 D men coming in with Rutkis on a 2 way. If a D man gets injured Batch drops to D and Rutkis has Batches spot. +
Rutkis not in team line up on Devils website yet , so still to be signed up...
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
It's nice having the big name signings, but at the end of the day this organisation as built up a lot of confidence in whatever is put on the ice is a team that will compete.

Still x2 Dmen to go.
I don't think there's any doubt we will be more than competitive. I'm confident we will finish top 3 but I'm assessing our squad as league winners. I know that frustrates certain fans but it's the luxury we've been given since the new ownership took over. We can pretty much guarantee that we will be challenging for the title every season which is such a fortunate position to be in.

I actually like the look of our new signings. I think Riley, Marjamaki and McNamee will do well.
I'm more anxious about Benti, Pope and Haddad. I worry about Benti and Pope's goalscoring if they're both on the top 2 lines and I worry about Haddad's fitness. It could really hit us if he misses another 15/20 games
 

OJLloyd

Well-Known Member
Obviously right place for this, as it is a rumour, but I have heard from a semi reliable source that we will have 17 imports this year, with a view to the CHL where we won’t have any restrictions.

Also, for what it’s worth, Batchy is listed as a forward on the Devils website.

With this being case, I would suggest we have 4 imports to come. This would seemingly be 3 D and a forward (when you consider Mosey is signed but won’t be appearing until much later in the season most likely).

But there could be a big surprise to come, perhaps.
 

Devilsatw

Well-Known Member
Look at steelers top line or 2,

Vallerand proven scorer in the eihl I would have had him in the devils team straight away.
Legumentyov And st Pierre both stand out players who have played in a higher league,
They will be getting points for fun.
Also Michael Davies who had a few seasons in the Del putting up good points.

Then we have Pope and benti on the top 2 lines.

I know who I would rather.

I just think steelers team this year will be the team to beat.
 
Look at steelers top line or 2,

Vallerand proven scorer in the eihl I would have had him in the devils team straight away.
Legumentyov And st Pierre both stand out players who have played in a higher league,
They will be getting points for fun.
Also Michael Davies who had a few seasons in the Del putting up good points.

Then we have Pope and benti on the top 2 lines.

I know who I would rather.

I just think steelers team this year will be the team to beat.
I get your point but we also have Martin, Linglet and Riley on the top two lines, those guys could walk onto any teams top two lines so just pointing out Benti and Pope isn't a fair comparison.
 

Devilsatw

Well-Known Member
I get your point but we also have Martin, Linglet and Riley on the top two lines, those guys could walk onto any teams top two lines so just pointing out Benti and Pope isn't a fair comparison.
I’m pointing them out just because I think we could have upgraded on them.
Who knows marjamaki and McNamee might become gems
 
Terry Phillips reporting that all of the forwards have now been signed.
The rest of the article suggests that we could still sign an extra forward. Which seems to fit in with what we all think.

Devils now have a full roster of 12 forwards, although they could still sign an extra import.

Lord still has to name two defencemen and both will be new to Elite League. Devils used nine D-men last season and four of those – Mark Richardson, Mark Louis, Gleason Fournier and Bryce Reddick – have committed for next season.
 

Wannabe2

Well-Known Member
You would have rutkis on your team every day of the week too because you never see anything wrong that the devils do.

Oh and I’m still waiting my beer for giants winning th league.
So what have the Devils done wrong in the last three years, league champions twice, plus runners up, challenge cup winners, and twice play off champions, very little to pick holes in. And that beer is still on buddy.
Happy Hockey Days
League Champions season 19/20.
 
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