Romano update

Trotsky · October 05, 2007, 06:41:53 PM

[quote evilnaturedrobot]It seems to me that Dilligaf does know his hockey and he does have some sort of inside contact to the program, he's been right enough that I have to conclude this. It just seems that he has something personal with Mike and he lets this color his views, sometimes to the point of ridiculousness.[/quote]

It's not like he's the first poster who had a low signal to noise ratio. Even RichS makes the occasional good point. Just take it FWIW.

ninian '72 · October 09, 2007, 12:02:34 PM

Ditto on the Hunters. Dale was an aggressive defenseman for the Capitals for a number of years and played with a lot of heart. He clearly understands that part of the game. I can't imagine he'd put up with a selfish, one-dimensional game from Romano.

Josh '99 · October 09, 2007, 12:40:36 PM

[quote ninian '72]Ditto on the Hunters. Dale was an aggressive defenseman for the Capitals for a number of years and played with a lot of heart. He clearly understands that part of the game. I can't imagine he'd put up with a selfish, one-dimensional game from Romano.[/quote]Dale Hunter was a dirty player who was once suspended for 21 games for injuring Pierre Turgeon (one of the classiest players in the league for a number of years, even if he was an Islander) on a hit from behind while Turgeon was celebrating scoring a goal.

This doesn't change the fact that he'll probably influence Romano to play a more well-rounded game, of course, but the term "aggressive defenseman" doesn't adequately describe what a thug he was.

evilnaturedrobot · October 09, 2007, 04:09:39 PM

He never taught Shremp how to play defense, and Tony certainly didn't go there because he thought Dale would be tutoring him in his own zone. The simple fact is that Tony left Cornell because he thought that he was being held to too many defensive responsibilities, he said as much. If a player doesn't want to learn the he doesn't want to learn. Hunter's best bet is to just sit him until he breaks, but with the losses of his entire top line (Gagner, Kane, and Kostitsyn) to the pros, I don't see how he'll have the luxury. Hunter's going to need bodies on his top two lines, and Tony's probably one of the more skilled players that he has.

calgARI '07 · October 09, 2007, 09:22:34 PM

London is a high-flying run-and-gun team that puts very little emphasis on defensive detail. That is what theoretically makes it a good place for Romano. He must be kicking himself now. He only has one year to prove himself there whereas he would have had up to three more at Cornell to build on a decent freshman season. Smart kid.

amerks127 · October 10, 2007, 12:43:52 AM

Schremp did score the OT winner for the Springfield Falcons as they beat Manchester on Sunday night.

I don't know a lot about the guy except that he's from Syracuse, but a first rounder putting up 53 points in 70 games and getting schooled by players like 5th round draft choice Brett Sterling in AHL sounds more like a Patrik Štefan-esque player than anything.

ninian '72 · October 11, 2007, 03:42:57 PM

For what it's worth, Hunter later admitted that he'd gone way too far in his hit on Turgeon and was a decent guy off the ice. He was once described as a player who would and did do just about anything to win, reflected by his 4300 career penalty minutes.

DILLIGAF · October 12, 2007, 02:25:39 PM

You are correct in that he has but one year to "make it". He has nothing left to fall back on. Without a great season in the OHL, he will have a tough time coming back as an overager. The next stop will be the ihl league

Right now in 6 games he has only one point - an assist. He clearly was brought in to put up points and right now he isn't. They won't wait long for him in London. They have already made some trades to improve the team. I think it is safe to say he is struggling with the transition. Is it the shoulder? Is it his inability to play without the puck and his inability to involve his linemates to his benefit. I.E., you give up the puck to a teammate to get it back in a better position. I vote for at least b and maybe c, all of the above.

Tony will likely never be a defensive forward. He will have to become less of a liability in the defensive zone to move up but his biggest problem is his inability to make the right play at the right time and not just try to beat somebody to beat them. Beat them to make a play, not just to make the crowd go ooo!

Josh '99 · October 12, 2007, 03:36:49 PM

[quote DILLIGAF]You are correct in that he has but one year to "make it". He has nothing left to fall back on. Without a great season in the OHL, he will have a tough time coming back as an overager. The next stop will be the ihl league [/quote]Too bad there is no IHL anymore.

Jim Hyla · October 12, 2007, 04:42:42 PM

[quote Josh '99][quote DILLIGAF]You are correct in that he has but one year to "make it". He has nothing left to fall back on. Without a great season in the OHL, he will have a tough time coming back as an overager. The next stop will be the ihl league [/quote]Too bad there is no IHL anymore.[/quote]

Actually there is a new IHL, nothing related to the one that dissolved in early 2000's. It's a reincarnation of old UHL, I believe. If that's his end point, I feel sorry for him. Seeing what's happened to McKee and others, only reinforces my view that unless you're a near sure thing, staying in school is usually the correct option.

calgARI '07 · October 12, 2007, 07:57:29 PM

[quote DILLIGAF]You are correct in that he has but one year to "make it". He has nothing left to fall back on. Without a great season in the OHL, he will have a tough time coming back as an overager. The next stop will be the ihl league

Right now in 6 games he has only one point - an assist. He clearly was brought in to put up points and right now he isn't. They won't wait long for him in London. They have already made some trades to improve the team. I think it is safe to say he is struggling with the transition. Is it the shoulder? Is it his inability to play without the puck and his inability to involve his linemates to his benefit. I.E., you give up the puck to a teammate to get it back in a better position. I vote for at least b and maybe c, all of the above.

Tony will likely never be a defensive forward. He will have to become less of a liability in the defensive zone to move up but his biggest problem is his inability to make the right play at the right time and not just try to beat somebody to beat them. Beat them to make a play, not just to make the crowd go ooo![/quote]

I personally think he just doesn't think the game well at all. His natural ability is outstanding but he really lacks hockey sense - it became a huge liability on Cornell last year and not just because that was a "defensive team" and he is an offensive player. He just doesn't think the game well and it got worse and worse as the games got tougher and more competitive. What you get from college over the CHL is a better ability to think the game. You can have all the skills in the world, but if you lack the hockey sense, you will not cut it in the CHL. At the college level, whether it was at Cornell or anywhere else, he would have really developed in this area. Too late now.

DILLIGAF · October 12, 2007, 10:10:34 PM

[quote Jim Hyla
Actually there is a new IHL, nothing related to the one that dissolved in early 2000's. It's a reincarnation of old UHL, I believe. If that's his end point, I feel sorry for him. Seeing what's happened to McKee and others, only reinforces my view that unless you're a near sure thing, staying in school is usually the correct option.[/quote]

You are correct. It is the old Uhaul league.

DILLIGAF · October 12, 2007, 10:15:10 PM

That is what I was longwindedly getting at. He is a great skater, has hands that you can never teach, but he refuses to play without the puck, which any player is overwhelmingly without the puck for most of the game, he refuses to play a team game and utilize his teammates to his benefit. He is ultimately a very selfish player. His coach Nikoforov and every one before and after (even Mike and we all know I am not a Mike fan) has done him a grave diservice by not making him play the team game. Ultimately though, it does fall on Tony and he is his own worst enemy in that regard.

ugarte · October 12, 2007, 11:19:52 PM

[quote Jim Hyla]Seeing what's happened to McKee and others, only reinforces my view that unless you're a near sure thing, staying in school is usually the correct option.[/quote]
If I'm McKee I have no regrets about taking the money and leaving. Who knows what another year in college would have meant for him financially. Personally, I think he was able to strike while the iron was hot. A year behind a diminished blueline might have severely hampered his pro chances. With what the Ducks gave him as a signing bonus he can pay to finish college - and from the sounds of some of his post signing interviews, he probably isn't interested in paying Cornell for the privilege.

Trotsky · October 13, 2007, 02:29:50 PM

[quote ugarte]If I'm McKee I have no regrets about taking the money and leaving. Who knows what another year in college would have meant for him financially. Personally, I think he was able to strike while the iron was hot. A year behind a diminished blueline might have severely hampered his pro chances. With what the Ducks gave him as a signing bonus he can pay to finish college - and from the sounds of some of his post signing interviews, he probably isn't interested in paying Cornell for the privilege.[/quote]Um. Money is not among Dave McKee's worries in life.