Rumours & Offseason Nonsense 2019/20

Wagstaff

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.
I don’t think you lost the league last year, Giants won it and that’s stretching the word won as it was too close to call up to the final hooter, as you say Giants have lost a lot of players and if you can hit the ground running, with players who have already gelled and play as a team from the start, you have to have the upper hand.
 
Hi Guys...

Just a quick thought on Sean Bentivoglio. Not sure quite why he is suddenly considered a 3rd line guy (appreciate that other teams have upgraded).

This guy has a superb hockey IQ. He sees the game better than most. He's excellent at receiving a pass in the neutral zone and continuing productive transition. Our powerplay (probably the best in the league for 3-5 years) has him as a large component due to his quick hands and ability to distribute the puck either way in tight situations down low.

More than anything, he is a gamer. In the play off quarter final first leg against Sheffield when we went 5-1 down, he was an impact guy who put the team on his back. Obviously, that's just the latest example - he's been a pretty serial winner.

Not a criticism of other views - which have been put forward with valid reasons - but for me this guy very much remains a top 6 forward and a pivotal player for the Devils. Quite literally, sometimes it is 'better the Devil you know'.

Cheers,

John
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
I don’t think you lost the league last year, Giants won it and that’s stretching the word won as it was too close to call up to the final hooter, as you say Giants have lost a lot of players and if you can hit the ground running, with players who have already gelled and play as a team from the start, you have to have the upper hand.
Not sure about that Wagstaff. I agree that the Giants were brilliant for the past 2 months but we threw it away. 11 points clear in January (granted Giants had 2 games in hand) and then 3 points needed in the last games 3 games vs Dundee, MK and Blaze.
 

mjh

Well-Known Member
I'm torn this time round. On one hand I'm keen to see big signings flying in and the excitement that brings. This is especially the case as the other big teams have made some significant changes and look stronger than before (perhaps with exception of Belfast). On the other hand, we have a better returning core with Linglet, Dixon etc. I'm excited to see how quickly out of the blocks Linglet goes this year as he's adjusted to the league and hopefully healthy. I still think Pope could have a similar season to his first and contribute big time. Benti is one of my favourite players to watch and I don't think he always gets the recognition for his role. We'll see... Either way, I'm massively looking forward to hockey being back every week!
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
Just listened to the Dave Simms periscope. Like him or loathe him his periscopes are always interesting. He’s heard the Brett Carson and Jared Aulin to Devils rumours so it will be interesting to see if anything happens with those two. I’d love to see Carson partnered with Reddick. He also said that Belfast and Sheffield were keen on Marjamaki which is good to hear.
 

BostonBart22

Well-Known Member
Just listened to the Dave Simms periscope. Like him or loathe him his periscopes are always interesting. He’s heard the Brett Carson and Jared Aulin to Devils rumours so it will be interesting to see if anything happens with those two. I’d love to see Carson partnered with Reddick. He also said that Belfast and Sheffield were keen on Marjamaki which is good to hear.
Yes good listen with simmsey, he also mentioned Martinelli is a free agent...??
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
Yes good listen with simmsey, he also mentioned Martinelli is a free agent...??
Yeah he did. He mentioned that martinelli was talking to Belfast earlier this summer but he hasn’t heard anything since. To be honest I’d love it if martinelli goes back to Belfast. I rated him during his first season in the UK but he’s gradually got worse. Really struggled at Sheffield last year
 

Wagstaff

Well-Known Member
Not sure about that Wagstaff. I agree that the Giants were brilliant for the past 2 months but we threw it away. 11 points clear in January (granted Giants had 2 games in hand) and then 3 points needed in the last games 3 games vs Dundee, MK and Blaze.
Sorry yes you are quite right, what I mean is probably that the Giants will take longer to get going this year with the wholesale changes so having a stable squad should be to your advantage
 

Ocko

Well-Known Member
Not sure about that Wagstaff. I agree that the Giants were brilliant for the past 2 months but we threw it away. 11 points clear in January (granted Giants had 2 games in hand) and then 3 points needed in the last games 3 games vs Dundee, MK and Blaze.
What we forget though is that Belfast play almost the entire first half of the season on the road every year, they will always come back strong when they have a run of home games. Our form wasn’t that bad, their’s was just that good. We lost to a better team IMO.

I think we are very similar to last year. We look an efficient team but lack that xfactor that Belfast had last season and Sheffield look to have this year. Belfast keep there best signings to last so the best are yet to come from them. Everyone says they’ve lost all their best players as some form of comfort blanket to how we will fair against them however that happened last year too and they did very well in all competitions.

We look a little light on goals in the forwards for me and reliant on just a few forwards and Fournier for the magic.
 

Wannabe2

Well-Known Member
Hi Guys...

Just a quick thought on Sean Bentivoglio. Not sure quite why he is suddenly considered a 3rd line guy (appreciate that other teams have upgraded).

This guy has a superb hockey IQ. He sees the game better than most. He's excellent at receiving a pass in the neutral zone and continuing productive transition. Our powerplay (probably the best in the league for 3-5 years) has him as a large component due to his quick hands and ability to distribute the puck either way in tight situations down low.

More than anything, he is a gamer. In the play off quarter final first leg against Sheffield when we went 5-1 down, he was an impact guy who put the team on his back. Obviously, that's just the latest example - he's been a pretty serial winner.

Not a criticism of other views - which have been put forward with valid reasons - but for me this guy very much remains a top 6 forward and a pivotal player for the Devils. Quite literally, sometimes it is 'better the Devil you know'.

Cheers,

John
Absolutely, you can’t argue with this guys stats at Cardiff
161 league games = 153 points
31 Challenge cup = 30 points
12 Play off games = 11 points
204 games = 194 points
That’s a neat return by any standards, welcome home Benny.
 

Slartibartfast

Well-Known Member
Last season we had an awesome start. Having the core team back was a massive advantage and we were blowing the opposition away. Things want wrong a couple of months later probably due to problems in the changing room, people leaving, not arriving etc
With the politics sorted (and assuming no other arise) there is no reason why the Devils should not get a great start again.
Having big name signings is great but having a core group who all get along and want to play for a club that brings them back each year and treats them well goes a long way to winning a league.
I can't believe the hockey gods can throw as much crap at us as last year so Im feeling positive about the season. I have a feeling though that there is still one more big signing to come.

On another point, I agree Benti should be in the top six. He was the fourth highest scoring forward last year. He is not flash like Linglet or Martin but he gets the job done.
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
Last season we had an awesome start. Having the core team back was a massive advantage and we were blowing the opposition away. Things want wrong a couple of months later probably due to problems in the changing room, people leaving, not arriving etc
With the politics sorted (and assuming no other arise) there is no reason why the Devils should not get a great start again.
Having big name signings is great but having a core group who all get along and want to play for a club that brings them back each year and treats them well goes a long way to winning a league.
I can't believe the hockey gods can throw as much crap at us as last year so Im feeling positive about the season. I have a feeling though that there is still one more big signing to come.

On another point, I agree Benti should be in the top six. He was the fourth highest scoring forward last year. He is not flash like Linglet or Martin but he gets the job done.
Flash... a word that should ever associated with Charlie or Joey. ... don't you mean classy and highly skilled.
 
Hi Guys...

Just a quick thought on Sean Bentivoglio. Not sure quite why he is suddenly considered a 3rd line guy (appreciate that other teams have upgraded).

This guy has a superb hockey IQ. He sees the game better than most. He's excellent at receiving a pass in the neutral zone and continuing productive transition. Our powerplay (probably the best in the league for 3-5 years) has him as a large component due to his quick hands and ability to distribute the puck either way in tight situations down low.

More than anything, he is a gamer. In the play off quarter final first leg against Sheffield when we went 5-1 down, he was an impact guy who put the team on his back. Obviously, that's just the latest example - he's been a pretty serial winner.

Not a criticism of other views - which have been put forward with valid reasons - but for me this guy very much remains a top 6 forward and a pivotal player for the Devils. Quite literally, sometimes it is 'better the Devil you know'.

Cheers,

John
100% agree, though I think the suggestion that he would be a 3rd liner is a minority one. Benti is a point a game guy and a real spark plug for this team, I'm thrilled to see him back.
 
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