Line Combos

Am I the only one worried that DJ doesn’t know how to put a line up together, since all the trades? He juggles the lines so much in the game, the guys seem to be all over the place, not knowing who is on the ice with them. I don’t seem to get why MDC has been playing on the 3rd line of late? Latour on the top line doesn’t make sense to me either.. to me 3rd or 4th line player with this line up we have now. He is an alright player put not top six! DJ needs to start getting some line going and keep them! Not this mixed bag he is doing right now

while i see your frustration , I understand what DJ is doing , he's starts the game with line combinations that have been working together to some degree , but during the game if those combinations are working together , he lets them know by moving guys around .

basically the gens didn't come to play in the first two periods of both loses , came on strong in the third , but left it too late .

yesterday if not for Perisini we would have won easy , the guy kills us .

we've lost most games if not all , by teams in our own division well behind us in the standings , mostly because of a lack of taking the game seriously by the boys , plain and simple .
Latour does a LOT of things very well , he is definitely effective and very responsible defensively and can skate with anybody .

However I don't know if Dal Colle and Mistele should be on the same line together , neither is very responsible defensively , trouble in their own end .

Dal Colle although very talented offensively , is terrible in his own end , floats around too much , getting a lot of shots but not putting it in enough for the opportunity he gets lately , he's in a funk right now !

we miss PETSHENIG as well .

People we have line one, two and three in name only. These three are equal in talent, ice time and talent. Although I have heard through grapevine that mdc is not happy with who he is playing with. I hope that's not the case as the focus should be on a championship . Latour, smith and cassels really jell. I liked McCarron with lindberg and pederson. So a third line in name only of mistele mdc and cirelli isn't too shabby . A first line on many other teams.

ya well , I suspected that , MDC , is playing like it too , you are right on , team first playing for a memorial cup , egos at the door please !

hopefully DJ will nip this in the bud !

the only line combo that DJ didn't mess with was CASSELS , LATOUR AND SMITH , they are great together !

i'd like to see how MACCARON , LINDGERG AND dal COLLE ,roll together , might be worth a try , although MDC needs to commit to a two way game .

MDC wants to shoot the puck , so does MISTELE ? DONT KNOW if its a good idea having them on the same line ?

COACH will figure it out Im sure , now is the time to experiment , not in the playoffs !

Then line shuffling does make you wonder at times if they're going to be able to get any chemistry going, but with that being said we can scout, analyze and everything in between but chemistry is something only people in the room truly no.

I'd like to the see Cassels, Smith and Latour stick together since they have great chemistry and have been great all year. I believe Cirelli centering Dal Colle and Pedersen would work better then with Mistele. You could then have Harding Centre McCarron and Mistele and have Harding's defensive game make up for Mistele's defensive lapses. Plus playing with offensive guys like Mistele and McCarron could get Harding's offensive numbers going. If they do, that's a scary thought. I like a 4th line of Turner, Wallace and Huether... Of course this is with no Lindberg in the line up.

With Lindberg things get tricky but this is what I'd hope to see,
Smith-Cassels-Latour
Dal Colle-Cirelli-Pedersen
Lindberg-McCarron-Mistele
Wallace-Harding-Turner/Huether

I believe in a series against North Bay an Sault Ste Marie a player like Turner will have more impact the Huether, as well as Huether is playing lately.

the question being considered is whether MDC is happy playing with two defensive forwards like Cirelli and Pederson ? and should we even care ? I really don't have much tolerance for Egos when a team is a fav for the memorial cup trip !

I'm personally not thrilled with MDC "s play lately , he floats around aimlessly a lot of the time compared to his line mates he's playing with at any give time .

AND i'm sorry but Harding is not ready this year to centre a prime , time line like with Mccarron and Mistele , whether its his age or something else I don't know , and I guarantee you won't see that happen at this point in the season , unless , a centre is injured or suspended even then McCarron would play centre

I agree dont mess with Cassels, smith and latour !

Cant see MDC being a diva like that. From everything we've ever seen from him, hes always been a pretty level headed kid who will do whatever he's asked of to help the team. Him and Cirelli have gelled pretty well all season, and Pederson will go to the dirty areas to fish the puck out for MDC. Seems like a good combo to me.

My thoughts exactly Tuckerfan, Michael Dal Colle has never struck me as a diva or selfish player. As far as chemistry goes, you may see wingers shuffled around but Michael Dal Colle and Anthony Cirelli have excellent chemistry. Cirelli's defensive instincts, sound two-way player and strong faceoff play allow the Dal Colle line to be sent out whenever this an offensive zone face, it offsets Dal Colle's improving but not sound defensive liabilities. Adding a rugged, big bodied player that line would make a ton of sense, as Pedersen will go to the corners and grind pucks out, and create space for the highly skilled Dal Colle and Cirelli, who's offensive game is coming around nicely. Pedersen isn't just some grinder, he can put the puck in the back of the net and has excellent offensive intangibles.

Mygens, I get it you don't like Harding.. whenever he is mentioned straight to the he's not good.. he's not developed and on an on. What you don't realize is playing Harding between a Mistele and McCarron, would benefit every player on that line. Harding has the offensive capabilities to be impactful playing with those two players. Getting some points because of Mistele and McCarron's offensive ability may be what Harding needs to get out of his slump and get his confidence back. Coaches do this all the time, they put players lacking confidence up with skilled players, let them get some points and confidence back, then move them back down the line up and that allows the team's scoring depth to increase that much more. If it doesn't work after a game or two, you move him back. His forechecking ability, his ability to win faceoffs, his high hockey IQ and strong two-way play, offset Mistele's defensive liabilities I come on here and defend Harding because I see the smaller things that don't stand out to most, I'll be the first to admit he's not developing at the rate I expected, but he has the unteachable intangibles. He may not develop into an offensive dynamo, but he's got a lot going for him.

I hope it's not true about mdc too but pretty reliable info. Also heard that Harding wouldn't waive his no trade at trade deadline but I wouldn't either if I was him. The lines will figure themselves out I feel. The defensive game has pretty much stayed the same just a hiccup to offense . Part of that was due to vande sompel being out for awhile . The goal now has to remain top seed in ohl. The playoffs can't come soon enough for these guys although their game against Barrie was very encouraging for compete level.

I too doubt the MDC comment that he doesn't like who he is playing with... in any case, DJ needs to get some lines clicking and stick with them! The team is loaded with talent, they need to start the gel. I still don't think Latour should be in the top six, but that's just me! Good player but not top 6. Let's see what this week brings with line combos

How on earth did Harding get a no trade clause ? he's simply not that good ( yet , giving him the benefit of the doubt )

regarding Latour , you guys should watch the game more closely , he is a top 4 for sure , 38 points , but more importantly plus 29 best on the team !!!!!!

Macker , you and I just don't see the same player when it comes to Harding , while you see a lot of positives I don't , he's week on the puck and in the boards , not physical enough to compete for the puck , he dishes the puck away as soon as he feels pressure ( youth , ) Does not go to the net , timid .

he had a great opportunity to shine the 10 games Cassels was out , he did not

I'll grant you he is good on the draw !

perhaps he will blossom in another year , but this year he is definitely 4 th on the depth charts of centres on this team .

I agree Harding has more offensive upside than Wallace , but WALLACE 'S work ethic and compete level are light years ahead of HARDING , and thats why Harding is number 4 .

I get a sense that Coaching staff getting a little less patient with Harding , and I don't blame them .

trust me I wish it were different !

Harding , Turner , Manchurek will rotate in and out of lineup , Harding did not dress for the Petes

Latour is not a top four player... plain and simple. He's a useful player, but he cannot create his own offensive opportunities for the life of him, there's a reason despite his offensive production he's gone threw two NHL drafts. He's a checking forward who has gelled well with Smith and Cassels. That line is not getting broken up, but he's not a top four player.

No one ever said Wallace didn't have a higher compete level or work ethic, and he should be a head of Harding as he's older. Comparing the two is really irrelevant, they're different players, at different stages of their career. Why I doubt your views on Harding are because the things you say he's bad at are what I hear NHL scouts saying his strengths are, and I tend to agree with them. Harding is now a raw raw for checker, he's intelligent, he uses it to his advantage, he's a cerebral player. With the Gens labeling lines 1,2,3 and 4 is pretty pointless because all the lines are fairly even. As far as him being scratched, it's one game, you have to send a message sometime. He responded well against Kingston, despite not recording any points.

Latour is one of the key guys on this team , just ask the coach !, he's plays a regular shift and rarely gets caught in fact the guy has a nose for the puck and creates a lot of opportunities , great defensively killing penalties as well , has great instincts , he's not a natural goal scorer tough luck around the net .

I'm sorry I could care less what the scouts say , i see what i see , he s not ready for prime time now and this is his second full year , perhaps he's a slow developer

we'll see where he gets drafted , he needs to improve his overall physical strength to reach what potential you guys think he has

Am I glad hes on our team , sure I am , he's very useful , good on the draw , and can kill penalties !

someone on this site said the gens tried to trade him , but he wouldn't waive his no trade ??????/

this is a very mature team , a lot of 95"s , tough for a 97 , to compete at the same level , although Van DeSomple and cirelli have very well , but they are exceptional for their age

this is Hardings second full season almost , its time he bring it , patience wearing thin i think !

regarding line combinations , there is certainly value in getting guys adjusted to playing with multiple line mates , injuries , suspensions , illness , penalties etc can break lines up , the guys need to be able to adapt at a moments notice , its a very very tough thing to make it to the memorial cup and win it !!!!!

On Latour, I'm not discrediting him at all, I like him as a player, but I look at players from a scouting position, he has limited upside moving forward. That's all I'm saying. Ideally he's a 3rd line winger, he contributes on the man down and when protecting a lead. He has trouble creating his own offense and lacks quick decision making in the offensive zone. He's at his best when he plays with a chip on his shoulder. He has great chemistry with Cassels and Smith and deserves to play with them an get the ice time he does. Just generally speaking his upside is limited, he's reached his potential in my eyes. Which for the Generals is fine he's an adequate OHL player. But for his career it may be limited.

I'm going to stop talking about Harding because its irrelevant at this point. If the Gens did try and trade him, It would make sense given that they are going for it and he plays a limited role, couple that with him holding more trade value then a Turner, Manchurek or Huether and it would make sense. As far as how he has a no trade clause, I believe it has something to do with receiving a gold package when signing his OHL deal. Each team gets so many Gold Packages per season or something to that tune. I'll look into it more, not something I'm up to date on

Yes , see what can find out about these packages , gold or otherwise , I'd be interested , were on the same page Macker, let's hope we can win the OHL title sure would be nice , I remmember , 83 , 87 , 90 , and 97 , although we only won one they were really exciting times , great reward for those of us that support the OHL year in and year out ,

Cheers