Having not seen a live game since December I'm having to rely on IceTimeTV and highlights but my thoughts are:
Keep:
Bowns
Crawford
Richardson
Batch
Cox
Martin
Sanford
Coughler
Waller
Davies
Duggan
Undecided:
Jardine
Louis
Kozun
Brandt
Pietroniro
Release:
Thompson
Reid
Crandall
Brittain
Penny
I don't get the Bowns hate. Yes he has clangers but every netminder in the league does. But more times than not you stick him in a big game and he delivers. I didn't see either of this weekend's games but the reviews from people who were was that he was excellent.
Kozun - I think I must be his bad luck charm as I missed pretty much every great game he played. His stats were great but I wonder how much of that was helped by playing more of the top sides and less of the top.
As a backup - fine. Especially as we are getting an extra import allowed next year. But if we want to really go with two strong netminders then I think we need a change. Because based purely on what I have seen Bowns would get the nod in every big game.
Defence.
I've struggled to work out whether this is the weakest defence we have had in a long time or whether the forwards just put them under too much pressure. But something wasn't right.
As an experienced Dman I was disappointed in Thompson. In the games I saw he would regularly make basic mistakes and not learn from them. As a 4th-6th Dmen he would do fine but as someone who ended up on our 1st line he wasn't good enough.
Whereas as Crawford joined us as a 25 year old and exceeded my expectations. Yes he makes mistakes but I remember Fournier making lots too until he got used to the league. Stick him with a more reliable defensive partner and with more experience of the league he could do even better.
Richardson is Richardson and even though time is going to start catching up on him soon I don't think it will be next year. My biggest surprise was that we never tried him alongside Crawford - but maybe we wanted to keep the right and left partnerships?
Jardine. Like the first time he was with us - he showed sign of huge potential but then..... never really kicked on. I was hoping after a further year with Lordo and a year in Europe he would come back to us the finished article.... but I'm not sure he was. And if he has reached his peak it's not as a top 2 D.
Batch. I think he suffered from having such a great previous year. Did people expect him to get better again and when he didn't were disappointed? In the games I saw he was no worse than he had been in the seasons pre-Covid. Even under Lord he struggled to play alongside Louis - yet Skalde managed to get the two of them to click. I'd definitely re-sign Batch (even just for flexibility as he can play D or wing) but his place as 6th D could/should come under pressure from Reece Kelly.
Louis. Still probably the toughest guy in the league but are injuries and age starting to catch up with him? I'm not sure.
Forwards:
Martin. Might have lost a bit of pace with age but the brain and desire is still there. No question that we re-sign him.
Cox. Had a great first season and an even better second. Would love to see him back again next year.
Sanford. I think I admitted last summer that up until the last month or so of the season I'd been undecided over Sanford. He tended to score in bursts but wasn't as consistent as I hoped, but his form over the last couple of weeks convinced me we should re-sign him. And for once I was right. Great goal-scoring season and at times it felt like the Cox-Martin-Sanford line was carrying us.
Coughler. I don't think we can under-estimate how big a loss he was when he got injured. I'd love to see him back though and with the right line mates could be one of the best centres in the league.
Reid. A lot of people argued that we shouldn't re-sign him last summer as when you take his goals away he doesn't contribute much else. I argued that when you're that good a goal-scorer it doesn't really matter. Sadly they were right and I was wrong. Whether it was injury or confidence he only briefly showed signs of the goalscoring form from last season.
Crandall. Arguably a bigger disappointment for me than Reid. Last year I thought he was one of the most intelligent players we have had in a long time and was amazed we managed to re-sign him. Yet again, I don't know whether there were injuries or something else - but he rarely showed signs of the player we had the previous year. Did his poor form affect Reid? Did Reid losing his goalscoring touch put more pressure on Crandall? Or was Dixon the glue that made those two work and you simply can't replace a Dixon?
I would guess that the Reid-Coughler-Crandall line was the most expensive wage wise and should have been our 1st line. Yet was barely supplying a goal a fortnight let alone a goal a game.
Brittain. Another disappointment. Said he was going to be physical? Meh. Maybe he was injured but I don't remember more than a couple of shifts where he was anything close to being a power-forward.
Penny. Did ok I guess but I get the feeling that within a couple of years I'll have forgotten he ever played for us. Shame though his season ended prematurely due to a horror hit in Belfast and fingers crossed he makes a recovery for next season (wherever that may be).
Waller. Brilliant. This guy needs to be signed up on a multi-year contract. Perhaps he need to work on his defensive responsibilities a bit but he has great speed and knows where the net is. Should be playing top 2 lines for us in the next season or so.
Duggan and Davies. They're not going to be the highest scorers in the team but their role is vital and helped us have the best 4th line in the league (IMHO). And when they do score they tend to be big goals.
Brandt. In terms of a (presumably) low-wage, hard working forward I don't think you could ask anymore. But I was hoping he would find the net a bit more this season. I guess the question is whether we want a more productive 4th line this year?
Pietrenero. Never saw him in person but from what I saw on IceTimeTV he looked pretty solid on D and on the wing? Maybe a good versatility option going forward?
With regards the coaches - I've not seen enough to make a decision either way. Our Challenge Cup campaign was disappointing but for a rookie coach a 4th place finish and a Playoff Final is arguably a decent return. More league points than last year and indeed more than Lord in either of his first two seasons.
Again, I seemed to miss the majority of 'dull' games that many on here have complained about (although there was on shocker I watched online) and the games I did watch were mostly entertaining.
The PP was a worrying sign though. The initial drop-pass move we attempted at the start of the season was a disaster and although we did change it we never found a PP that worked. How much of that was down to poor coaching and how much was down to lack of player options? We definitely missed a net presence, S Fournier briefly took that position and improved it, but when he left we never replaced it. You'd have thought Brittain would have been ideal but apparently not.
I'm certainly not in the angry, torch-burning "Get out of my club" brigade that some are on here and social media. But I'm yet to be convinced either.
Keep:
Bowns
Crawford
Richardson
Batch
Cox
Martin
Sanford
Coughler
Waller
Davies
Duggan
Undecided:
Jardine
Louis
Kozun
Brandt
Pietroniro
Release:
Thompson
Reid
Crandall
Brittain
Penny
I don't get the Bowns hate. Yes he has clangers but every netminder in the league does. But more times than not you stick him in a big game and he delivers. I didn't see either of this weekend's games but the reviews from people who were was that he was excellent.
Kozun - I think I must be his bad luck charm as I missed pretty much every great game he played. His stats were great but I wonder how much of that was helped by playing more of the top sides and less of the top.
As a backup - fine. Especially as we are getting an extra import allowed next year. But if we want to really go with two strong netminders then I think we need a change. Because based purely on what I have seen Bowns would get the nod in every big game.
Defence.
I've struggled to work out whether this is the weakest defence we have had in a long time or whether the forwards just put them under too much pressure. But something wasn't right.
As an experienced Dman I was disappointed in Thompson. In the games I saw he would regularly make basic mistakes and not learn from them. As a 4th-6th Dmen he would do fine but as someone who ended up on our 1st line he wasn't good enough.
Whereas as Crawford joined us as a 25 year old and exceeded my expectations. Yes he makes mistakes but I remember Fournier making lots too until he got used to the league. Stick him with a more reliable defensive partner and with more experience of the league he could do even better.
Richardson is Richardson and even though time is going to start catching up on him soon I don't think it will be next year. My biggest surprise was that we never tried him alongside Crawford - but maybe we wanted to keep the right and left partnerships?
Jardine. Like the first time he was with us - he showed sign of huge potential but then..... never really kicked on. I was hoping after a further year with Lordo and a year in Europe he would come back to us the finished article.... but I'm not sure he was. And if he has reached his peak it's not as a top 2 D.
Batch. I think he suffered from having such a great previous year. Did people expect him to get better again and when he didn't were disappointed? In the games I saw he was no worse than he had been in the seasons pre-Covid. Even under Lord he struggled to play alongside Louis - yet Skalde managed to get the two of them to click. I'd definitely re-sign Batch (even just for flexibility as he can play D or wing) but his place as 6th D could/should come under pressure from Reece Kelly.
Louis. Still probably the toughest guy in the league but are injuries and age starting to catch up with him? I'm not sure.
Forwards:
Martin. Might have lost a bit of pace with age but the brain and desire is still there. No question that we re-sign him.
Cox. Had a great first season and an even better second. Would love to see him back again next year.
Sanford. I think I admitted last summer that up until the last month or so of the season I'd been undecided over Sanford. He tended to score in bursts but wasn't as consistent as I hoped, but his form over the last couple of weeks convinced me we should re-sign him. And for once I was right. Great goal-scoring season and at times it felt like the Cox-Martin-Sanford line was carrying us.
Coughler. I don't think we can under-estimate how big a loss he was when he got injured. I'd love to see him back though and with the right line mates could be one of the best centres in the league.
Reid. A lot of people argued that we shouldn't re-sign him last summer as when you take his goals away he doesn't contribute much else. I argued that when you're that good a goal-scorer it doesn't really matter. Sadly they were right and I was wrong. Whether it was injury or confidence he only briefly showed signs of the goalscoring form from last season.
Crandall. Arguably a bigger disappointment for me than Reid. Last year I thought he was one of the most intelligent players we have had in a long time and was amazed we managed to re-sign him. Yet again, I don't know whether there were injuries or something else - but he rarely showed signs of the player we had the previous year. Did his poor form affect Reid? Did Reid losing his goalscoring touch put more pressure on Crandall? Or was Dixon the glue that made those two work and you simply can't replace a Dixon?
I would guess that the Reid-Coughler-Crandall line was the most expensive wage wise and should have been our 1st line. Yet was barely supplying a goal a fortnight let alone a goal a game.
Brittain. Another disappointment. Said he was going to be physical? Meh. Maybe he was injured but I don't remember more than a couple of shifts where he was anything close to being a power-forward.
Penny. Did ok I guess but I get the feeling that within a couple of years I'll have forgotten he ever played for us. Shame though his season ended prematurely due to a horror hit in Belfast and fingers crossed he makes a recovery for next season (wherever that may be).
Waller. Brilliant. This guy needs to be signed up on a multi-year contract. Perhaps he need to work on his defensive responsibilities a bit but he has great speed and knows where the net is. Should be playing top 2 lines for us in the next season or so.
Duggan and Davies. They're not going to be the highest scorers in the team but their role is vital and helped us have the best 4th line in the league (IMHO). And when they do score they tend to be big goals.
Brandt. In terms of a (presumably) low-wage, hard working forward I don't think you could ask anymore. But I was hoping he would find the net a bit more this season. I guess the question is whether we want a more productive 4th line this year?
Pietrenero. Never saw him in person but from what I saw on IceTimeTV he looked pretty solid on D and on the wing? Maybe a good versatility option going forward?
With regards the coaches - I've not seen enough to make a decision either way. Our Challenge Cup campaign was disappointing but for a rookie coach a 4th place finish and a Playoff Final is arguably a decent return. More league points than last year and indeed more than Lord in either of his first two seasons.
Again, I seemed to miss the majority of 'dull' games that many on here have complained about (although there was on shocker I watched online) and the games I did watch were mostly entertaining.
The PP was a worrying sign though. The initial drop-pass move we attempted at the start of the season was a disaster and although we did change it we never found a PP that worked. How much of that was down to poor coaching and how much was down to lack of player options? We definitely missed a net presence, S Fournier briefly took that position and improved it, but when he left we never replaced it. You'd have thought Brittain would have been ideal but apparently not.
I'm certainly not in the angry, torch-burning "Get out of my club" brigade that some are on here and social media. But I'm yet to be convinced either.
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