Still can’t see Brandt going anywhere, when you play with the passion he has you do it to win trophies, and although Flames are good to watch winning silverware is possibly a bridge to far. He loves Cardiff and having picked up trophies he will be hungry for more, I reckon he will re-sign myself, but should I be wrong we just move on.
All depends what motivates the player.....higher salary, more icetime/responsibility, the chance playing for a competitive team usually into final stages of competition, established friends and community at a club.
It's a short window in sport, maybe Riley is at that crossroads now after such a good year. All the best to him....whatever decision he makes, he is still loved at this Club.
It's a short window in sport, maybe Riley is at that crossroads now after such a good year. All the best to him....whatever decision he makes, he is still loved at this Club.
its not going to be easy to win trophy any more . we are entering unknown territory. 4 big arena teams ( it will come down to who they recruit and how they jell ) then you got Glasgow who the owners will be disappointed with last season standings after the investment put in . it will be a very competitive season i think.
I agree with this - I cannot see him going anywhere else in this league, regardless of the incentives placed in front of him. I’d like to believe this club means too much for him at this stage that a few extra quid in the back pocket ain’t gonna be life changing. But as you say, if he does, we move on forward as we always do. He has been an amazing servant to this badge, just hope it continues.
Other thing to consider is where Brandt finds himself on the roster.
Looking at recruitment so far we can expect Duggan and Sacratini to be 4th liners. Harewood, maybe 3rd?
Barrow and Olischefski can play anywhere but where they end up will be the indicator of whether the next roster is an upgrade. Both can play Top 6 no doubt, but if one or both are getting serious 6 top minutes then I think that will be an indicator that our recruitment has either failed to identify and sign some top, top forwards, or those top forwards having been signed haven't played to their expectations.
For me Barrow and Olischefski form a great 3rd line, a base from which we could build a title winning side. Brandt could/should be a part of that line, as once again if we are upgrading our forwards then Brandt shouldn't be in the Top 6 - but he's come on too much to be a 4th liner.
3rd Line: Barrow - Olischefski - Brandt(?)
4th Line from: Duggan - Caponi - Davies - Sacratini
Looking at recruitment so far we can expect Duggan and Sacratini to be 4th liners. Harewood, maybe 3rd?
Barrow and Olischefski can play anywhere but where they end up will be the indicator of whether the next roster is an upgrade. Both can play Top 6 no doubt, but if one or both are getting serious 6 top minutes then I think that will be an indicator that our recruitment has either failed to identify and sign some top, top forwards, or those top forwards having been signed haven't played to their expectations.
For me Barrow and Olischefski form a great 3rd line, a base from which we could build a title winning side. Brandt could/should be a part of that line, as once again if we are upgrading our forwards then Brandt shouldn't be in the Top 6 - but he's come on too much to be a 4th liner.
3rd Line: Barrow - Olischefski - Brandt(?)
4th Line from: Duggan - Caponi - Davies - Sacratini
I think we can get a bit too fixated on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th lines when speculating new/returning players pre-season. One thing we can absolutely no for sure is that with Thompson if you play well, you go up the lines and increase your ice time. If you’re not up to speed, your place is not so certain the following week.
Speculating Brandt on a particular line, as a fixed place which may hinder chances on coming back is not accurate, the way I see it. If Brandt is on fire again, he’ll be top line - and I think he’ll know that now after the great form he showed last season and how he was rewarded by Thompson for that run of form.
BTW, I’m fully aware lines are a big consideration particularly when mapping out team balance and configuring left/right handed players etc. Just that players continually fluctuate up and down the lines for a variety of positive and negative reasons.
Speculating Brandt on a particular line, as a fixed place which may hinder chances on coming back is not accurate, the way I see it. If Brandt is on fire again, he’ll be top line - and I think he’ll know that now after the great form he showed last season and how he was rewarded by Thompson for that run of form.
BTW, I’m fully aware lines are a big consideration particularly when mapping out team balance and configuring left/right handed players etc. Just that players continually fluctuate up and down the lines for a variety of positive and negative reasons.
The eternal optimists on here always put a full first line of studs on their shopping list for Calgary Stampede announcements. It never happens!
Bearing in mind a good core of last years' players have already been re-signed, it's clear that only small 'tweaks'/ improvements will be made to the roster that finished so strong last season. Translates into the arrival of very small handful of new faces at best. (this also includes addressing the 'aging' British players issue and the development of young players)
Bearing in mind a good core of last years' players have already been re-signed, it's clear that only small 'tweaks'/ improvements will be made to the roster that finished so strong last season. Translates into the arrival of very small handful of new faces at best. (this also includes addressing the 'aging' British players issue and the development of young players)
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Just as a point, if we are to upgrade our roster then we need to either get rid of people and bring in better on a like-for-like basis (e.g. Sanford leaves and so we bring in another top 6 winger who scores shed loads); or ideally we let players go from further down the roster and bring in replacements who are much better....
So let Lacroix go for example, and bring in a Top 6 winger. That's not controversial I don't think - optimistic, sure (but I'm hoping that with more of my money going into the organisation maybe they could afford to be optimistic). And it won't work for everyone as you do need a certain type of player who can hustle on the third line, but we have a couple of them confirmed (Barrow and Oli).
If we need a refresh and an upgrade, you can't do that by putting the same players in the same roles.
If we went into the new season with a Top 6 of
Sanford - Martin - MacDonald
Barrow - Yaremko - Olischefski
I'd think that we didn't want to progress and I'd be very sure that we wouldn't win a thing, and I'd be regretting renewing.
But if on the flip side, we don't want to upgrade the roster or compete, then crack on.
So let Lacroix go for example, and bring in a Top 6 winger. That's not controversial I don't think - optimistic, sure (but I'm hoping that with more of my money going into the organisation maybe they could afford to be optimistic). And it won't work for everyone as you do need a certain type of player who can hustle on the third line, but we have a couple of them confirmed (Barrow and Oli).
If we need a refresh and an upgrade, you can't do that by putting the same players in the same roles.
If we went into the new season with a Top 6 of
Sanford - Martin - MacDonald
Barrow - Yaremko - Olischefski
I'd think that we didn't want to progress and I'd be very sure that we wouldn't win a thing, and I'd be regretting renewing.
But if on the flip side, we don't want to upgrade the roster or compete, then crack on.
I don't think for a second we'll keep all the same forwards as last year, but lets just assume we do for a moment... If we can keep them all fit and put together the lines that really started to click towards the latter part of the season then there is no reason that team couldn't win something! We had a fab defence last year and the way things stand it looks like we're going to replace MacLean with Welsh! Another seasons unity goes a long way in performance levels, if we can pick up a couple of Top Line forwards to replace a couple of our players then I think there's real potential for something similar to:
Stoever/Bowns
Estes/Oligny
Fournier/Welsh
Helgesen/Richardson or Mosey
New/New/One of Sanford or MacDonald
Olifchefski/Martin/Barrow
Harewood/Yaremko/One of Brandt or Kontos
Caponi/Davies/Duggan or Sacratini
Stoever/Bowns
Estes/Oligny
Fournier/Welsh
Helgesen/Richardson or Mosey
New/New/One of Sanford or MacDonald
Olifchefski/Martin/Barrow
Harewood/Yaremko/One of Brandt or Kontos
Caponi/Davies/Duggan or Sacratini