Drew a Penalty

I don’t think this fanbase can take a rebuild at all. We got through two years of one and people were climbing up walls.

I’m of the mind that I don’t really care why Ramsay was dismissed. I don’t know that he was even really that special and worth the hype he got. I’m sure he’s good enough at the job, but he may have had an approach that didn’t align with the current org’s direction.

2 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Except they do suck at drafting. Look at the list in the OP again. It spans a stretch of 30+ years — well beyond the Gorton years. Gorton's selections are some of the worst, no doubt, but this has been an organizational problem for as long as I've been a fan.

We discussed this offline but it’s largely because this has been a Sather run organization for the last 25 years. There’s an organizational mindset based in the comfort of doing things as been done. Very much an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” type approach. I think the changes Drury has made over the last few years signify a moving away from how Sather and his disciples would have done things, but Drury is still a disciple himself.

Like I said offline, until proven otherwise, Drury may have the keys to the car but he doesn’t own it.

I’m optimistic about Kakko. He normally puts in good work during his offseasons and he’s going to get opportunities under Laviolette.

That photo of Lafreniere playing softball from a few weeks ago where he looks like a high schooler has me thinking we’re in for more of the same from him. Just the same soft body during the most important offseason of his career.

1 hour ago, Pete said:

I wouldn't make any assumptions. He's a winger, so what you're describing here in bold is normal, on a structured team. Maybe we're just used to watching the Rangers be completely disorganized in their own zone. 

 

Let's wait and see. 

Yeah, I’m probably just worn down from no one doing it. I also think like a center, and not a wing so that also makes sense.

18 minutes ago, Pete said:

And the issue with Dubinsky was never with the player, it was Dubinsky the first liner (bad team) versus Dubinsky the third liner (on a good team) which is why we're thinking Othmann will wind up top tier 3rd liner, maybe and average or below 2nd liner. His shot is what separates him, as you said, so that will determine how effective he is as an offensive player. 

Right. He’s somewhere in between complementary player and a secondary play driver on a line. There’s enough smarts and skill there to work off other good players, but I would never expect him to fully carry a line. A Ryan Strome if you will. You need players to make up for his shortcomings of which there are quite a few.
 

I’m curious as to how he approaches defense at the pro level. At the OHL level he was pretty disengaged and not really one to help out down low. He did most of his work above the dots and to one side of the ice. He doesn’t have the acceleration or edges to make quick adjustments or even really give chase if the puck or puck carrier get away from him. He’s more likely to get into a lane or put himself in a position to get away with legal interference. His play could sometimes come across as appearing lazy. I think it’s him recognizing that he’d be expending energy for what would be a lost cause – better for him to be ready for the next play. It also plays into his needing to hang in order to get any breakout going.

5 minutes ago, siddious said:

I’d take a Dubinsky on this team 

Absolutely. How many Dubinskys are left in the league?
 

The Rangers missed Dubinsky the second they traded him.

42 minutes ago, The Dude said:

Thanks for your input. I'll pay more attention to this stuff in camp and in his future. 

As the guy who’s probably watched Othmann the most on this board, I want to make sure expectations are tempered when it comes to him. He’s a likable player and brings a unique skill set but there are evaluations out there that’ll have you thinking he’s more than what he is. 
 

If I had to give him a player comparable on the safe side, it’d be Dubinsky. It’s not an exact comparison, I think Dubinsky was naturally more aggressive and bombastic. Othmann is more of a rat and definitely has a shot that Dubinsky never had. Both of them have ugly strides, though, and mostly an average skill set. I think Othmann has more potential than Dubinsky because I do think he’s smarter and the shot is a big difference, but I’d keep Dubinsky as a starting point.

Hope y’all are prepping for some smoke. 
 

Especially you, @Kreiders Rider.

Are you two done flirting? Let’s get back to Lafreniere.

If you think Othmann plays like a buzzsaw then you’ve never spent any meaningful time watching him. Chase Stillman, a Devils prospect and Othmann’s linemate throughout the Memorial Cup, is a buzzsaw. Adam Sykora is a buzzsaw.

Other things:

Othmann does not kill penalties. 
 

I would not say he’s always moving his feet. He might be in some form of motion, like gliding, but he’s not running around the ice. He doesn’t have the speed, agility or conditioning for that. In the OHL he was cheating in some fashion to compensate for his speed, whether that was hanging to get ahead of the play, or sticking back to act as the trailer. I struggle to see him as being very effective on the rush in the NHL where there are players who will close gaps much faster.

What do I consider high-energy?

Someone who is always playing close to maximum energy. Someone who is always on top of play and ready to reload to attack again. A high energy player pushes the pace of play. 
 

That’s not Othmann. He can make plays that create energy, but he doesn’t have it in him to be a constant source of it. I will say this repeatedly, Othmann takes a far more measured approach to his game. 

5 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

There's not enough Tim Horton locations in NY.  It's the obvious reason Donut Hole wants out.

I think that’s actually a positive. Timmy’s sucks pretty hard now.

He’s absolutely a Krispy Kreme convert.

Weird and inconsistent? Sure. A reason for him to want out? Absolutely not.
 

It’s just something to fit the narrative that he “doesn’t want to be here” when there’s literally nothing to support that narrative.

Might as well come up with fake grievances. Lafreniere doesn’t like NYC tap water! Lafreniere is afraid of the costumed foreigners in Times Square! Lafreniere is confused that they don’t speak French at Au Bon Pain!

Othmann is not a high-energy player. He’s engaged, but he’s not at all high-energy. He’s intelligent and often looking for whatever way he can make himself useful in any given scenario. He’s not throwing himself around and attacking with speed. He’ll finish a check if it’s there. 
 

He should absolutely see AHL time. Othmann needs to figure out how he can play into the physicality of pro hockey, as well as just functioning at pro speed. He got away with a lot of hanging in the OHL that won’t fly in NHL play. Transition is my biggest concern with his game, his skating is missing that extra gear.

3 minutes ago, Br4d said:

Chinstrap says no.

Um…okay?

@Pete

19 hours ago, Phil said:

 

It's also Vancouver. You can probably get him for like Laugh, Trocheck, and a 2nd-round pick.

Phil: Gets rid of the Hot Chicks Thread.

Also Phil: Posts what might as well be the most explicitly pornographic scenario I’ve seen on this board.

Yeah, sorry, it’s not just Pete. It’s absurd to me to insinuate that Lafreniere would be a flight risk because he doesn’t get to answer questions in French for locker room interviews.

You’re telling me that outweighs all of the positives that being in the Rangers organization provide him? Does he seem at all like a depressive? 
 

You’re looking for controversy where there is none. I guarantee that fans want Lafreniere moved elsewhere more than he personally does. He’s comfortable. Too comfortable.

26 minutes ago, H-Dreamer said:

Oh yeah, should take that into account.

 

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Already found Arabella's parents being dead, not sure that would be different. Guess it is going to the towers next then and Raphael's damn demon buddy can wait.

Lamest villain so far anyway. Raphael that is, too cliche even for DnD.

 

I had that happen with the Duergar at first as well, but since I screwed something else up I reloaded and killed him myself, unfortunately I then went and failed the roll to free the slaves, so same outcome probably.

 

I also didn't quite get that you're supposed to kill the guardian of the forge by using the hammer lol, so I took like an hour to finally grind him down, with half the party dead.

 

15 minutes ago, H-Dreamer said:

She went from the starting "eh let's not talk to each other" to liking me within one or two long rests, I think it had something to do with me rushing ahead in the story a bit too quickly and made for some awkward pacing.

Nope. They’re all thirsty AF lol. I got to celebration at the camp, which is typically where the romancing options are supposed to initiate unless your approval is high enough, and I had every single character slinging at me. Even Karlach who I had just saved right beforehand was offering.

“Shadowheart disliked that.”

F8

5 minutes ago, H-Dreamer said:

I think it might have been an initiative issue for my first try, basically the enemy acting before anyone else in the house, so none were entangled in a fight and just rushed the story-triggering NPC ignoring me entirely.

 

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Getting pushed of a ledge sure tiggered some reloads for me lol

The damn shadow-mobs sure are annoying I always fail the awareness rolls somehow, so I gave Shadowheart some extra on her last level up.

 

For now I am clearing side-quests in the ruins before I head to the Cult-Tower, because I definitly went to the Goblin Camp too early in act 1, I think I missed out on some stuff in Act 1 and was too high-level for most of what I did find, so it was too easy.

I even had Lazarus before actually exploring his grave.

 

So be careful on that tower. If you long rest too many times before taking a certain action, it will have some pretty big consequences depending on how you want your run to go.

More clarity below in spoilers if you don’t mind:

For those playing BG3, who are you running as your companions?

Almost always in my party:

Shadowheart – Bae + Healing

Main rotation:

Lae’zel – The amount of attacks she can make in a single turn is ridiculous. I built her pretty tanky and gave her an item to up her dexterity to add some range. She’s my go-to melee companion.

Karlach – Kind of the same as Lae’zel but less range. I err towards Lae’zel because I built her better with HP, range, and number of moves in a turn. 
 

Wyll - Hungers of Hadar go brrrrr. Otherwise he’s too niche for how I built him. But HoH is just a must.

Gale - My biggest issue is that he’s squishy. I also accidentally started a romance path with him and he just keeps persisting despite me never returning interest. So that’s awkward.

Have touched once in Act 2:

Halsin – I probably just have no idea how to build a Druid because he’s useless AF to me.

I literally just use him as storage for books, letters, and scrolls: 

Astarion – I’ve only brought him in during Act 2 once and it was because of a specific character interaction I didn’t want to miss. Otherwise, he’s redundant given that I’m also a rogue. He’s only of use if I need to cheese hiding and sniping.

10 minutes ago, H-Dreamer said:

I am no way close to playing perfect lol, but I enjoy it and I progress anyway, unlike Pathfinder my last cRPG where it was at some point impossible to win fights if you didn't minmax your characters right, so I switched to storymode to get my moneys worth.

 

Fights can be enjoyably random, especially with all the fluids that remain on the ground and nothing like the whole room explosing because you missed the barrel of alcohol next to the enemy and your fireball now started a chain-reaction.

 

The results are so different sometimes too.

Like in Act 2 with the Harpers:

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When the Birdman comes to kidnap the Cleric, I have him at 2 HP quickly, 3 of his minions suddenly storm in during Round 2 and knock her out, triggering a cutscene of him taking her away, the barrier breaks and every Harper not named Jaheira suddenly turns Zombie and we have to fight our way out.

I ended up re-loading, because Jaheira decided on being stupid, ran into a crowd and got herself killed, plus the smith who has to repair Karlach's heart also died, so yh I was not taking that result. lol

2nd try I even prevent the minion-rush and save the cleric.

 

That fight was a breeze for me, I think I just had my entire party accidentally placed well in the room, but others have been wackier or near impossible without a different approach.
 

Trivigno is a guy I see as a dark horse. His numbers were unspectacular in Hartford but he’s better than the numbers imply. Speed, jam, skill. He’s not really someone whose development you have to worry about. He’ll be one of the last cuts.
 

I’d throw Henriksson into the mix here too. He’s a worse skater and less skilled, but he was one of Knoblauch’s soldiers all year long. I think a defensive center stands more of a chance to make an impression than an offensive type at the moment.

I’d move anyone not named Fox for him. He’s that good.