11 Nov 2020 21:40:03
Leafs trade Abramov, Dermott, Engvall, 3rd
Ottawa trades Sokolov, Bernard-Docker

Probably going to take heat for this one, I know, but that's ok. I’m just using this as an excuse to air a gripe.

I really wish Leafs drafted Sokolov when they had the chance. I really don’t know anything about Hirvonen. But his numbers in Liiga aren’t all that impressive. And yes, I’m aware he is a teenager. But from a lot of the NHL conversion papers I’ve read, Liiga is a lower compete league than the CHL.

Abramov and Sokolov are both QMJHL players with similar stats. But I obviously got to go with the bigger guy. In my mind he has the potential to make the nhl sooner than Abramov and have a bigger impact. Even if he doesn’t make it as a top six forward, he has the size to take a role like Ritchie or Bennett on the bottom six and carve out a career for himself that way. Abramov doesn’t have the same opportunity.

11 Nov 2020 23:54:19
Slack?

stealing from shi davidi word combo of the day

Hells-no

I agree with you 100% and am all for this trade. I think Ottawa would say that same word combo. But no harm asking right? At least Justin Brazeau is in the leafs system if you’re looking for the goal scoring giant as him and Sokolov are very very very very alike except no one took chance on Justin except the leafs so dubas did something right now didn't he. lol.

12 Nov 2020 13:03:14
I wonder why Dubas even signed Brazeau. Seems like the opposite of everything Dubas wants in player. Such an out of character player for I’m to pursue. He’ll never make the team. We all know that. He’ll be like Gagne and eventuallly be pushed out the system.

12 Nov 2020 22:05:18
I hope brazeau plays for the Marlies and is given a look he was nearly a point per game guy and still is young reminds me of a tuch or mantha type player big power forward.

13 Nov 2020 11:51:16
Size does matter. Dubas thinks he has found some sort of market inefficiency where he is drafting all these lightweight skilled guys that can dipsy-doodle with the puck in later rounds because they are undervalued by the rest of the league. There’s a reason they are undervalued. All these guys he is drafting are gambles. They either make the NHL and are stars, or they are complete busts. There is no middle ground. He’s not taking any “safe” picks - guys that are likely to have long nhl careers in some sort but might not have the upside that some of the smaller skilled guys might have. It’s a hit or miss strategy, and he will strike out a lot more than most as a result.

13 Nov 2020 13:07:22
Brazeau is a free project. Cost Dubas nothing to sign him, not even a pick. He appeases the masses and if it doesn't work, does he really care that much? He can say he has tried bigger guys and they don't fit todays game. If it does work and Brazeau actually plays even 4th line duties at some point, he can claim the idea of him only wanting small skilled players is obviously false. Win Win for Dubas.

13 Nov 2020 14:18:56
Without undersized dipsy-doodles we don't have Robertson.

13 Nov 2020 15:09:33
LL. We all like double D's :)
I think to many, it is more about balance of what you draft or trade for and not all one or the other.

13 Nov 2020 20:02:38
We don’t even know what we got in Robertson. There’s no guarantee his OHL scoring will turn into NHL success. We’ve seen thousands of prospects that year it up on the lower leagues that don’t turn into NHL players.

I’m cautiously optimistic on Robertson. He looks good, but there is no such thing as a sure bet. After seeing all three of last years top picks underperform, I’m not going to get my hopes up for any of our prospects until they actually start to show they are capable of playing nhl hockey at a high compete level.