A-Devs Impressions

by David Fine on Nov 13, 2011 9:05 AM EST

Last night, I was up in Syracuse to see the Albany Devils battle the Syracuse Crunch.

The Devils won 1-0, outshooting the Crunch about 40-20.

Here are some quick impressions.

1) Brandon Burlon and Eric Gelinas are both good puckmovers and are solid in their own end.

2) Matt Taormina still likes to play offense more than he does defend in his own end.

3) Alex Urbom is still an AHL player - he needs to learn to use his size better --- he has time, because he is so young.

4) Steve Bernier (our tryout signing) deserves to be in the AHL. It is almost as if he doesn't know how to skate.

5) Jeff Frazee plays the angles well, but still gives up rebounds - he did post a shutout!

6) The Devils prospect Joe Whitney, who is also the A-Dev's leading scorer, is as short as Tedenby, but not nearly as quick or as talented stick-handling. However, he is a smart kid with a good shot.

All FanPosts and FanShots are the respective work of the author and not representative of the writers or other users of In Lou We Trust.

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Good observations.

As a note, I don’t think Whitney’s on a NHL contract so I don’t think NJ could call him up unless they sign him to one. If he keeps producing like he is, he could end up getting one in the future. It’s good that he’s doing so well at this level after four successful years in college.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog

by John Fischer on Nov 13, 2011 9:33 AM EST reply actions

The other thing

I noticed that the team concept is very consistent between the A-Devs and the NJ Devs. That is, a similar system is in place between the two teams.

I am not making any judgments about how this may have affected a guy like Henrique (being that he has been pretty effective, save for that one turnover last night), but do you think having the same system in place helps?

I think it helps in some ways and hurts in some others
1) Obviously, the consistency is there = positive
2) However, only learning to play the game at a professional level with heavy forechecking does not help players learn some other aspects of the game and may hurt their “two-way” ability.

by David Fine on Nov 13, 2011 12:19 PM EST up reply actions

Additional Observations

I have been playing pretty close attention too. I have been up in Albany for work for a couple of weeks.

1) Keith Kinkaid has quickly caught up to Frazee on the depth chart, if not passed him. I would say at this point it is more likely that Kinkaid is the future NHL goalie than Frazee

2) Matt Corrente is playing pretty good hockey and is the A-devs all around best defenseman. Plus he will drop the gloves.

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall. - Vince Lombardi

by Devilssection21fan on Nov 13, 2011 10:30 AM EST reply actions

Yeah I’ve been following the Crunch closely because I go to school up here and I unfortunately did not get to see Corrente last night (injury I believe)

Kinkaid looked ok in warmups, but they are just warmups.

by David Fine on Nov 13, 2011 12:20 PM EST up reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

The_official_web_site___new_jersey_devils_small

FOR THE LOVE OF THE DEVILS...PLEASE DON'T SELL YOUR TICKETS TO RANGERS FANS

by andy6637 10 days ago

18 comments | 6 recs

Recent FanPosts

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Network Bar

In Lou We Trust -

A New Jersey Devils blog: World Class Hockey by Jersey's Team, the NJHC