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Marlies Talk

It's been a fun few weeks at Ricoh Coliseum, I've covered all but one of the home playoff games so far. Most of all, it's fun to see fans finally start to take notice of the team. In 2008 they also went to the final four, but attendance was dreadful - an average of just 2,909 in 10 home games.

So far in 2012, they have more than doubled that total, averaging 6,513 in just five home dates. Today's crowd of 7,327 was just shy of a sellout. Having big name prospects like Gardiner, Frattin and Colborne makes all the difference.  Four years ago, arguably the most recognizable prospect was Pogge, who didn't even play as he was relegated to backup status to Clemmensen.
 
RobDM said:
TML fan said:
Who's the Marlies' backup goalie? Looked like he had red hair.

Jussi Rynnas.

I don't know too many Finns with red hair. I'm going to say it was Chris Noonan (from looking at their roster). Either that or I need to wear my glasses more often.

Edit: Nope. Looked at the game sheet. Says Rynnas was dressed. Definitely need my glasses. :)
 
the longer this playoff run goes on the more i like frattin ..

they almost let this game go a couple of times today..but they never completely fell apart..hopefully that's a good sign..i know losing this game would have definitely given this series a different feel all together.
 
RobDM said:
It's been a fun few weeks at Ricoh Coliseum, I've covered all but one of the home playoff games so far. Most of all, it's fun to see fans finally start to take notice of the team. In 2008 they also went to the final four, but attendance was dreadful - an average of just 2,909 in 10 home games.

So far in 2012, they have more than doubled that total, averaging 6,513 in just five home dates. Today's crowd of 7,327 was just shy of a sellout. Having big name prospects like Gardiner, Frattin and Colborne makes all the difference.  Four years ago, arguably the most recognizable prospect was Pogge, who didn't even play as he was relegated to backup status to Clemmensen.

Today was my first Marlies game (and my kids first hockey game). I thought it was very well run. Marlies alley before the game consisted of air hockey tables, hardest shot game, foosball tables (also the hockey version of that whatever it's called) and a bouncy castle. Was also nice to see the players come out to the ice right by the fans. My son got to high five Gardiner, Colborne and Scrivens. It was kinda lost on him that they were the more special players, but I'll be able to tell him the story one day if they ever become something.

It was a great atmosphere and I highly recommend it to anyone on the fence. Burke was walking right in front us on our way out as he was headed to the dressing room. All in all a pretty cool experience.

Notes on the game:

- Kadri was pretty invisible in the 1st and seemed to not play 
  the rest of the game. Must've gotten injured.

- None of the D stood out especially. Holzer/Mikus didn't look         
  like much. Gardiner contributed very well on 2 of the goals,
  although had a bunch of giveaways. Seemed to want to hold
  onto the puck to long. Lashoff looked the most NHL ready to
  me from where I was sitting, although admittedly the kids
  were distracting me a fair bit.

- Colborne and Frattin played pretty low key games. Credit
  where it's due for the 2 goals, but outside of that Frattin's
  game wasn't very impressive. Dupuis was all over the place (
  in a good way). Looked like a completely different player 
  than in his time with the Leafs. Deschamps was also
  impressive. Rosehill took dumb penalties.

- I thought D'amigo was the best player on the ice for either
  team. Based on what I saw today, he looks like he'd be a
  fantastic 3rd liner. The effort is always there, he's fast, and
  has some pretty good skill

- Scrivens looked good, making some good saves on 2-1's and
  even a 3-1. 1 of the goals I thought he should've had.

- Finally Eakins seemed (today at least) to play
  Hamilton/Scott/Dupuis/Deschamps/Abbott a lot. Don't
  necessarily have a problem with that, but I was expecting to
  see more of Kadri/Frattin/Colborne. For example, on the PP
  Kadri/Colborne/Frattin were never the first ones out there.

Kudos to Eakins though, this team is very good two ways. Looking forward to heading to the game on Friday.
 
Chev-boyar-sky said:
- Kadri was pretty invisible in the 1st and seemed to not play 
  the rest of the game. Must've gotten injured.

He left the game early in the 1st with an upper body injury.
 
bustaheims said:
Chev-boyar-sky said:
- Kadri was pretty invisible in the 1st and seemed to not play 
  the rest of the game. Must've gotten injured.

He left the game early in the 1st with an upper body injury.

Any word on him?


Also, in his first 90 pro games (obviously split between the Leafs/Marlies) Frattin now has 30 goals.
 
Erndog said:
bustaheims said:
Chev-boyar-sky said:
- Kadri was pretty invisible in the 1st and seemed to not play 
  the rest of the game. Must've gotten injured.

He left the game early in the 1st with an upper body injury.

Any word on him?


Also, in his first 90 pro games (obviously split between the Leafs/Marlies) Frattin now has 30 goals.

Which is especially crazy given how many gimmies he whiffed on while with the Leafs. Hopefully he resolves that issue next year.
 
Bonsixx said:
Erndog said:
bustaheims said:
Chev-boyar-sky said:
- Kadri was pretty invisible in the 1st and seemed to not play 
  the rest of the game. Must've gotten injured.

He left the game early in the 1st with an upper body injury.

Any word on him?


Also, in his first 90 pro games (obviously split between the Leafs/Marlies) Frattin now has 30 goals.

Which is especially crazy given how many gimmies he whiffed on while with the Leafs. Hopefully he resolves that issue next year.

It also took him 16 games to score his first goal.  AHL scoring doesn't equate to NHL production but he's scored really well since December.
 
L K said:
Bonsixx said:
Erndog said:
bustaheims said:
Chev-boyar-sky said:
- Kadri was pretty invisible in the 1st and seemed to not play 
  the rest of the game. Must've gotten injured.

He left the game early in the 1st with an upper body injury.

Any word on him?


Also, in his first 90 pro games (obviously split between the Leafs/Marlies) Frattin now has 30 goals.

Which is especially crazy given how many gimmies he whiffed on while with the Leafs. Hopefully he resolves that issue next year.

It also took him 16 games to score his first goal.  AHL scoring doesn't equate to NHL production but he's scored really well since December.

The first 16 games makes sense to me.  The leap from college scoring stud to NHL scorer is massive.  Given ice time, opportunity (i.e pp time?), linemates, opposing defence and goalies it doesn't surprise me at all the kid was shell shocked when he first came up.

I'm not sure what to expect of him next season.  He's no spring chicken, but he's not "old" either.  He's at that strange age where you don't quite know how much more developing he has to do. 

Are there any comparables?  A 24 year old college scorer who makes the leap to the NHL after a full college career and has success at the NHL level?
 
Erndog said:
L K said:
Bonsixx said:
Erndog said:
bustaheims said:
Chev-boyar-sky said:
- Kadri was pretty invisible in the 1st and seemed to not play 
  the rest of the game. Must've gotten injured.

He left the game early in the 1st with an upper body injury.

Any word on him?


Also, in his first 90 pro games (obviously split between the Leafs/Marlies) Frattin now has 30 goals.

Which is especially crazy given how many gimmies he whiffed on while with the Leafs. Hopefully he resolves that issue next year.

It also took him 16 games to score his first goal.  AHL scoring doesn't equate to NHL production but he's scored really well since December.

The first 16 games makes sense to me.  The leap from college scoring stud to NHL scorer is massive.  Given ice time, opportunity (i.e pp time?), linemates, opposing defence and goalies it doesn't surprise me at all the kid was shell shocked when he first came up.

I'm not sure what to expect of him next season.  He's no spring chicken, but he's not "old" either.  He's at that strange age where you don't quite know how much more developing he has to do. 

Are there any comparables?  A 24 year old college scorer who makes the leap to the NHL after a full college career and has success at the NHL level?

Martin St.Louis comes to mind. Spent 4 years at Vermont and was 25 when he played his first full season in the NHL. Had his breakout year when he was 27 with 70 points.

Marty's definitely an anomaly but at least it's not unprecedented.
 
Matt Read on Philly.

From Wikipedia:
Read signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 24, 2011, after playing four seasons of collegiate hockey with Bemidji State University.[1] On October 5, 2011, the Flyers announced that Read had made the final roster.

Scored 24 goals and 23 assists in 79 games this year as a 25-year-old rookie.
 
Last year, Kessel was the second youngest forward on the Leafs who saw regular playing time.  Frattin was the youngest.  No "spring chicken", but lots of room to grow.

Although Lanny MacDonald came through the junior ranks, his first professional games were somewhat similar to Frattin's.  He was just a fraction slow in reacting to plays and did not know how to take full advantage of his skating and strength.  Once he figured it out, he became an all star.  That is a lot to expect from Frattin, but Leafs fans are extremely adept at dreaming.

 
Norfolk just swept St. John's in the East Finals. They were the top team in the AHL by a fairly wide margin. They finished the regular season on a 28-game winning streak, and are currently on a 6-game winning streak in the playoffs. So uh yeah, they're kinda good.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Norfolk just swept St. John's in the East Finals. They were the top team in the AHL by a fairly wide margin. They finished the regular season on a 28-game winning streak, and are currently on a 6-game winning streak in the playoffs. So uh yeah, they're kinda good.

I just came in here to mention this as well. Norfolk is exceptionally strong and play a really good team game. Tokarski isn't too shabby either. Only 3 losses in their last 40 or 41 games, dating back to February 5th. They led the play in 3 of the 4 games with St. John's and only allowed 2 goals in the 4 games. They are going to be a tough team to beat if the Marlies make the finals.
 
28 game winning streak is insane ... i hope the marlies get a chance to see how they stack up against them.  Still the Barons don't seem like push overs and this next game will be harder without Kadri if he is in fact out. 
 
Well, that sucks if Kadri is out tonight.  We're going to the game and was looking forward to seeing him play.  Hopefully, the rest of the team can pull out the win.
 

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