Section315 wrote: ↑02 Aug 2025 14:00 pm
We get hung up in line numbers and pairing numbers way too much.
I completely agree.
Coaches figure out who complements whom the best and stick with it. It will become obvious whom are getting more time. And if a line goes cold, then they'll figure it out and get going again a lot sooner if they are playing with the same mates and instinctively know what and how they will do. All of the mixing and changing lines from game-to-game and during the game is counterproductive as well.
It is not rocket science.
DawgDad wrote: ↑02 Aug 2025 11:59 am
Snuggerud is too inexperienced at the NHL level to expect he won't make some mistakes. That said, if he makes too many then going back to college was a mistake. I'm not even sure his famous former linemates are first line guys but they are likely capable.
He has some traits working in his favor. He's poised, he's not timid, he's aggressive and somewhat creative offensively, and he can flat out shoot the puck at a 1RW level. Did see some mishaps in the playoffs but he seemed to stay poised and not let them drag his game down.
The young man is going to take an absolute pounding, hope he's up for it. Haven't really seen him shy from contact but it didn't seem like physical aggression was a part of his game, either.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, I caught most of the playoffs at work, on the radio, but it sure didn't sound like he had issues playing first line minutes, in a 7 game series against the President's Trophy winners. From what I saw, it was Winnipeg who was shying away from contact by the end. I think 1RW is his spot to lose. A 7 game playoff series is a hell of an audition. IMHO anyway.
As the series progressed he fell more back to the second line with Schenn, with Kyrou playing more with Thomas. Checked leftwinglock.com to be sure. I don't sense we have a big disagreement here, he played big minutes under big pressure. He did have some miscues, one notable one fumbling away a puck at the blueline. As I said though, he came back out and maintained his poise. Overall he played well, especially given his lack of NHL and playoff experience.
DawgDad wrote: ↑02 Aug 2025 11:59 am
Snuggerud is too inexperienced at the NHL level to expect he won't make some mistakes. That said, if he makes too many then going back to college was a mistake. I'm not even sure his famous former linemates are first line guys but they are likely capable.
He has some traits working in his favor. He's poised, he's not timid, he's aggressive and somewhat creative offensively, and he can flat out shoot the puck at a 1RW level. Did see some mishaps in the playoffs but he seemed to stay poised and not let them drag his game down.
The young man is going to take an absolute pounding, hope he's up for it. Haven't really seen him shy from contact but it didn't seem like physical aggression was a part of his game, either.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, I caught most of the playoffs at work, on the radio, but it sure didn't sound like he had issues playing first line minutes, in a 7 game series against the President's Trophy winners. From what I saw, it was Winnipeg who was shying away from contact by the end. I think 1RW is his spot to lose. A 7 game playoff series is a hell of an audition. IMHO anyway.
As the series progressed he fell more back to the second line with Schenn, with Kyrou playing more with Thomas. Checked leftwinglock.com to be sure. I don't sense we have a big disagreement here, he played big minutes under big pressure. He did have some miscues, one notable one fumbling away a puck at the blueline. As I said though, he came back out and maintained his poise. Overall he played well, especially given his lack of NHL and playoff experience.
Cool. I appreciate the info. It's kinda hard to follow people's evals of these guys when I get to see so few games live. I can't wait for the season to start.
seattleblue wrote: ↑02 Aug 2025 11:07 am
It does seem a little contradictory that Mailloux is assumed 3d pair but Snuggerud is assumed "1st line" on the surface of it, but Snuggy with Thomas is just the natural instinct to pair an elite applemaker with an elite shooter, and having seen it look good, and the balance of not pairing Kyrou with Thomas. If Snuggy is on the "1st line" it mostly means he's on a scoring line and it balances better this way. He'll get PP time too.
The contradiction is if he only has 14 games why install him there and not install 8 game Mailloux with major defensive issues in a top 4? But that one is much easier to understand due to how defensemen develop. I completely agree with Mailloux on 3d pair with Tucker and Tucker moving over into the left side where Suter played last year. I do expect Mailloux to get PP time to take advantage of his upside.
I really like the idea of Tucker and LM…in 2 or 3 seasons. Love the upside and Tucker seems like a keeper but man alive, that’s a young and inexperienced pairing. Talk about sheltered minutes.
Is Tucker going to play or is he going to sit? He's going to play. What amount of minutes is he going to get. Bottom pairing minutes or nothing.
Is Mailloux going to play or is he going to sit? He's going to play. What amount of minutes is he going to get. Bottom pairing minutes, the kid has 8 games. But he's also not going to sit.
Thus they will get bottom pairing minutes now. Likely together since they play opposite sides naturally.
seattleblue wrote: ↑02 Aug 2025 11:07 am
It does seem a little contradictory that Mailloux is assumed 3d pair but Snuggerud is assumed "1st line" on the surface of it, but Snuggy with Thomas is just the natural instinct to pair an elite applemaker with an elite shooter, and having seen it look good, and the balance of not pairing Kyrou with Thomas. If Snuggy is on the "1st line" it mostly means he's on a scoring line and it balances better this way. He'll get PP time too.
The contradiction is if he only has 14 games why install him there and not install 8 game Mailloux with major defensive issues in a top 4? But that one is much easier to understand due to how defensemen develop. I completely agree with Mailloux on 3d pair with Tucker and Tucker moving over into the left side where Suter played last year. I do expect Mailloux to get PP time to take advantage of his upside.
I really like the idea of Tucker and LM…in 2 or 3 seasons. Love the upside and Tucker seems like a keeper but man alive, that’s a young and inexperienced pairing. Talk about sheltered minutes.
Is Tucker going to play or is he going to sit? He's going to play. What amount of minutes is he going to get. Bottom pairing minutes or nothing.
Is Mailloux going to play or is he going to sit? He's going to play. What amount of minutes is he going to get. Bottom pairing minutes, the kid has 8 games. But he's also not going to sit.
Thus they will get bottom pairing minutes now. Likely together since they play opposite sides naturally.
Your idea is wait 2-3 years to play them?
Your reading comprehension is lacking today man. Did I anywhere in my post say to wait two or three years to play them? The answer of course is no. What I said was in two or three years they’ll be a heck of a pairing. Playing them together now is going to be rough. No way around it.
Is English your second language? Third maybe? It’s clear that hockey isn’t a sport you know much about - adding in a language barrier…and I think we understand your struggles fella.
I always try to let what we see the Blues doing to direct my opinions on who is going to play and where. The Blues immediately put Snuggerud on the 1st line. We have a precedent. Sure, that could change. But I'm not predicting it.
Mailloux has played 8 games and DA's statement is always that the organization does not want to fail it's young players. So, to me that means Mailloux will be sheltered until his confidence grows. I would guess 3rd pairing matchups. Rivers has no idea if Mailloux will be ready for top 4 by christmas. We all hope so, but it's by no means a sure thing or even a probability. LM will have less than 50 NHL games by then. I am prepared to be patient with LM in my expectations.
Is that it? Your retort consists of those four words? Is that you’re way of conceding or are you buying time while you frantically search for stats that may miraculously back up whatever it is your argument was supposed to be?
b-a-a-a-rclay wrote: ↑03 Aug 2025 12:52 pm
I always try to let what we see the Blues doing to direct my opinions on who is going to play and where. The Blues immediately put Snuggerud on the 1st line. We have a precedent. Sure, that could change. But I'm not predicting it.
Mailloux has played 8 games and DA's statement is always that the organization does not want to fail it's young players. So, to me that means Mailloux will be sheltered until his confidence grows. I would guess 3rd pairing matchups. Rivers has no idea if Mailloux will be ready for top 4 by christmas. We all hope so, but it's by no means a sure thing or even a probability. LM will have less than 50 NHL games by then. I am prepared to be patient with LM in my expectations.
I am going to agree with you about sheltering but I do expect JM to be paired with others beyond Tucker.
Also, I agree on patience and I'm not a huge fan of Rivers but I'm sure he has team sources and it is possible the Blues are actually thinking Mailloux has the potential to be ready for second pairing time in 40 games.
I go back to Bolduc for Mailloux and the sense of it. Somebody important in the blues organization better believe in this kid.
b-a-a-a-rclay wrote: ↑03 Aug 2025 12:52 pm
I always try to let what we see the Blues doing to direct my opinions on who is going to play and where. The Blues immediately put Snuggerud on the 1st line. We have a precedent. Sure, that could change. But I'm not predicting it.
Mailloux has played 8 games and DA's statement is always that the organization does not want to fail it's young players. So, to me that means Mailloux will be sheltered until his confidence grows. I would guess 3rd pairing matchups. Rivers has no idea if Mailloux will be ready for top 4 by christmas. We all hope so, but it's by no means a sure thing or even a probability. LM will have less than 50 NHL games by then. I am prepared to be patient with LM in my expectations.
I am going to agree with you about sheltering but I do expect JM to be paired with others beyond Tucker.
Also, I agree on patience and I'm not a huge fan of Rivers but I'm sure he has team sources and it is possible the Blues are actually thinking Mailloux has the potential to be ready for second pairing time in 40 games.
I go back to Bolduc for Mailloux and the sense of it. Somebody important in the blues organization better believe in this kid.
Yes, we are on the same page. LM will get paired with other players, but until he gains confidence I think they'll try to keep him away from the opponents' top 2 lines as much as possible. I've heard Rivers mention the christmas projection for LM before, but no one "knows" although we are all "hopeful". Even if Monty would say such a thing (which I don't think he would) Monty doesn't know how many games it will take LM to move to a top 4 role. If Faulk is playing well and LM is having adjustment issues, ... and let's say the Blues are in the thick of a tight race. Monty won't say, "Yeah, let's change things up. Time to throw LM in the deep end even though he's struggling a bit."
The concern for Mailloux is his hockey IQ and his risk taking. The examples the Habs fan put on the HF boards the night of the trade was he would leave the front office the net unguarded to be the third person on the puck against the boards, or leaving the blue line unprotected when he tries to take the puck to the net and gives up a breakaway, etc… I think they put him on the 3rd pairing until he proves he is smart enough to handle the NHL.
rezero wrote: ↑03 Aug 2025 20:02 pm
The concern for Mailloux is his hockey IQ and his risk taking. The examples the Habs fan put on the HF boards the night of the trade was he would leave the front office the net unguarded to be the third person on the puck against the boards, or leaving the blue line unprotected when he tries to take the puck to the net and gives up a breakaway, etc… I think they put him on the 3rd pairing until he proves he is smart enough to handle the NHL.
rezero wrote: ↑03 Aug 2025 20:02 pm
The concern for Mailloux is his hockey IQ and his risk taking. The examples the Habs fan put on the HF boards the night of the trade was he would leave the front office the net unguarded to be the third person on the puck against the boards, or leaving the blue line unprotected when he tries to take the puck to the net and gives up a breakaway, etc… I think they put him on the 3rd pairing until he proves he is smart enough to handle the NHL.
dhsux wrote: ↑02 Aug 2025 10:31 am
There's a thread on the HF Board asking posters about lines for the upcoming season. Some questions for opinions from ya'll on what we should expect in the coming 1st half of the season on a few players.
Mailloux - About 99% have Mailloux on the third pairing with Tucker. I was surprised to see this huge majority, thinking Mailoux could/would get time on second pairing if for nothing else protection. Is Tucker - Mailoux the right combo ...is it truly the only combo.....and how many minutes can they handle defensively? Will Mailloux get a shot on the PP?
Snugger - Again, a ton almost all have him on the first line. I know Monty really likes him but I don't see him starting off on that line. I guess they can try it and see but it's asking an awful lot of him and I don't see Monty putting him there to start off the year. Some of this question might be determined by his off season conditioning so there's that.
DD - I've thought all along DD would likely start at wing. If he makes the team and with the off season moves in mind, do you think this is highly likely?
A buddy of mine ran into Jamie Rivers last night and talked to him for a while. Rivers said Mailloux will be the second pairing RHD by Christmas. Now some of you probably think Rivers is a clown while others think he’s great. I’m just passing along his comment. Sounds like netboy65 might have a pretty good idea with the pairings.
I predicted a while ago that Mailloux jerseys could be a top seller by Christmas. Good to see Rivers is on my side.
Well, as we all know, wins are irrelevant, it's all about how many jerseys we sell.
Snuggerud has already shown he can play on Thomas's line so thats a no brainer on the surface.
Mailloux is a work in progress to some degree, he has limited NHL games has a ton of AHL success so we know hes ready for the NHL the next step is lets see him do it on the ice. I totally see a 3rd pairing of LM and TT, Tucker has taken some significant steps in this overall game and while LM will certainly need coaching and developing, i dont think he will be as bad as some posters would like to believe. Hes probably already in STL working out with the team, getting coached up, then comes camp and pre season games. By Oct i think LM can hold the 3rd pair, whether he gets promoted to an NHL top 4 spot on a good NHL team remains to be seen. That would be a major development for the Blues if Mailloux is a legit 2nd RHD by Christmas. Wow look out
Harry S Deals wrote: ↑04 Aug 2025 09:42 am
Snuggerud has already shown he can play on Thomas's line so thats a no brainer on the surface.
Mailloux is a work in progress to some degree, he has limited NHL games has a ton of AHL success so we know hes ready for the NHL the next step is lets see him do it on the ice. I totally see a 3rd pairing of LM and TT, Tucker has taken some significant steps in this overall game and while LM will certainly need coaching and developing, i dont think he will be as bad as some posters would like to believe. Hes probably already in STL working out with the team, getting coached up, then comes camp and pre season games. By Oct i think LM can hold the 3rd pair, whether he gets promoted to an NHL top 4 spot on a good NHL team remains to be seen. That would be a major development for the Blues if Mailloux is a legit 2nd RHD by Christmas. Wow look out
From the pre-trade for Dobson I got the feeling Mailloux was getting set up in Montreal to be in their NHL top 4 this year. It was interesting how quickly their fans shifted from hopeful debate on Mailloux to calling him a risk with bad hockey IQ. To me that was a lot of sour grapes. My money is on Mailloux being NHL top 4 before Christmas.
Either way with Mailloux, I am more excited to this this group defense play than I have been in some time.
