Holloway

[seattleblue]

One major difference in an NHL team is when the same player one year is a difference making impact PPG player and the next year he is a ghost who is terrible to watch. Him tackling the guy last night. He looks so scrambly and behind the play. We have to give him some time to recover from injury but this is a major factor that's going on. Consider the counterfactual, if he had come out of the gate like last year, this is not a 3-6-1 team. IMO there are at least two more wins even with the goaltending nightmare we currently have.

[TheJackBurton]

One major difference in an NHL team is when the same player one year is a difference making impact PPG player and the next year he is a ghost who is terrible to watch. Him tackling the guy last night. He looks so scrambly and behind the play. We have to give him some time to recover from injury but this is a major factor that's going on. Consider the counterfactual, if he had come out of the gate like last year, this is not a 3-6-1 team. IMO there are at least two more wins even with the goaltending nightmare we currently have.

Yep, him being behind the play and not playing a structured game to this point has disrupted what was a fantastic line last year, and that has set off all the lines.

That made the matchups that much harder. I always figured it would take 15-20 games for him to get back to the player he was towards the end of the season, but I imagined he would be at least serviceable until then. Right now he is not looking even serviceable.

[John Cocktoastin]

The weird part is his mobility, speed and strength (as mentioned) seem to be there. Just a weird start of the season with the effort, attacking or positioning.

Does not look to be playing for a contract...

[dhsux]

One major difference in an NHL team is when the same player one year is a difference making impact PPG player and the next year he is a ghost who is terrible to watch. Him tackling the guy last night. He looks so scrambly and behind the play. We have to give him some time to recover from injury but this is a major factor that's going on. Consider the counterfactual, if he had come out of the gate like last year, this is not a 3-6-1 team. IMO there are at least two more wins even with the goaltending nightmare we currently have.

Was going to start a thread on the importance of this too but glad you brought it up and I agree.

His issue appears to be more than a sophomore slump and so very night and day from last year to this year but he is a critical omission for the team and their play right now. I am tending to write this particular player and his situation off to A) being a bit rusty and more so B) trying to dang hard for his own good to live up to that great 2nd half last year, of which he bloomed late too.

I certainly cannot see an injury hampered player but that's visually tricky to cipher.

[Harry S Deals]

One major difference in an NHL team is when the same player one year is a difference making impact PPG player and the next year he is a ghost who is terrible to watch. Him tackling the guy last night. He looks so scrambly and behind the play. We have to give him some time to recover from injury but this is a major factor that's going on. Consider the counterfactual, if he had come out of the gate like last year, this is not a 3-6-1 team. IMO there are at least two more wins even with the goaltending nightmare we currently have.

Great points you make here. Ive been wrestling with this watching the Blues, Holloway is a factor in this struggle. Every line they put him on he becomes a black hole. He is 180 deg. not the player he was last year so far.
For me hes choking on the thought of a major extension, hes playing tight, hes overthinking everything. He needs to relax and play on instinct, make sure and finishes checks, skate back keep this really simple.

[Harry York 37]

One major difference in an NHL team is when the same player one year is a difference making impact PPG player and the next year he is a ghost who is terrible to watch. Him tackling the guy last night. He looks so scrambly and behind the play. We have to give him some time to recover from injury but this is a major factor that's going on. Consider the counterfactual, if he had come out of the gate like last year, this is not a 3-6-1 team. IMO there are at least two more wins even with the goaltending nightmare we currently have.

Holloway has always been a "Heart on his sleeve" player. Even with the Oil he was red hot or cold.

Coming back from a brutal injury and starting the season on a line with an older and more mediocre 3C (Schenner could be an awesome 3rd line Winger, though) and a hare-brained spoiled savant with the compete level of a gerbil... did him no favors.

[Old_Goat]

I do not believe it is the injury related at all. He and the rest of them don't know what to do next, because they don't know what any of the rest of them are going to do next! So, they scramble and the self-doubt and frustration creeps in. They are human...it can spiral quickly.
It's a fine line between being a world-class athletes (which they all are) versus all-world athletes (which very few teams have very many of). This is where the mental toughness shows -- in any walk of professional life. They did not get to this league by being mentally weak. Hopefully they all break through that mental wall quickly and nearly at the same time.

[dhsux]

I do not believe it is the injury related at all. He and the rest of them don't know what to do next, because they don't know what any of the rest of them are going to do next! So, they scramble and the self-doubt and frustration creeps in. They are human...it can spiral quickly.
It's a fine line between being a world-class athletes (which they all are) versus all-world athletes (which very few teams have very many of). This is where the mental toughness shows -- in any walk of professional life. They did not get to this league by being mentally weak. Hopefully they all break through that mental wall quickly and nearly at the same time.

I remain of this camp myself. It's too messed up and too distant from what we know to be permanent.

Holloway and team.

[callitwhatyouwant]

I do not believe it is the injury related at all. He and the rest of them don't know what to do next, because they don't know what any of the rest of them are going to do next! So, they scramble and the self-doubt and frustration creeps in. They are human...it can spiral quickly.
It's a fine line between being a world-class athletes (which they all are) versus all-world athletes (which very few teams have very many of). This is where the mental toughness shows -- in any walk of professional life. They did not get to this league by being mentally weak. Hopefully they all break through that mental wall quickly and nearly at the same time.

I remain of this camp myself. It's too messed up and too distant from what we know to be permanent.

Holloway and team.

There's no doubt it has to do with his contract too. He's a 6m player who was almost playing his way into a 9m contract. There's almost 0 chance of the 9m now and his deal is definitely looking like it's going to be 5-6m with how it's going as a bridge deal to see what he really has.

I feel for the guy tho, he has created more chances than people are giving him credit for, and he's just not capitalizing but part of it is on him for not shooting the puck. Has had multiple chances and choosing not to.

[Frank Underwood]

I agree with all of this…..but he is one guy I’m confident will come around. I sure don’t see any signs of it, but he’ll find his game.

[Old_Goat]

I agree with all of this…..but he is one guy I’m confident will come around. I sure don’t see any signs of it, but he’ll find his game.

Yes. He will be fine and his future will work out very well for him, and hopefully for us too. Plenty of time to sort out a fair contract for both sides.

[callitwhatyouwant]

I agree with all of this…..but he is one guy I’m confident will come around. I sure don’t see any signs of it, but he’ll find his game.

he's too hard of a worker not to. The thing you don't have to worry about with Hollywood is that he isn't going to shy away from forcing the issue. It's open information he is a rink rat. As well as he isn't a guy that just disappears when he is out there because he's not scoring. He still is checking and mucking it up. He just hasn't found his groove.

I'll give 1 big criticism of Monty this season. He has sacrificed some players who had good continuity to try and benefit others and it has backfired badly. Broberg and Faulk were the best pairing to start the year and last year they were good together. When they tried to cover for Mailloux they sacrificed sure footing with Parayko/fowler and Faulk/Broberg. And somehow we have settled on broberg Parayko the last game. And then on top of that the didn't even give the Hollywood/Schenn/Kyrou line a chance to get going. They broke them up with Suter and broke them up with the top line etc.. and they were our best line for like 35 games last year. I think there's a bit of philosphy issues there.

But 've heard Monty before, there's a group of coaches that don't necessarily believe in lines that stick together. They prescribe to feeling of who has juice and how the game is supposed to be played. So I guess that's the ride we have to embrace being a fan of this team while he is at the helm.

[a smell of green grass]

The Blues aren't saying much about the injury recovery expectation. I hope that his current troubles are completely unrelated to the injury. However, I would wager that his issue is injury-related. He seemed to have plenty of hockey smarts and confidence before. You don't get a nickname like Hollywood without confidence and smarts.

[Mr.Snuggleupagus]

Holloway has always been a "Heart on his sleeve" player. Even with the Oil he was red hot or cold.

When was Holloway ever "red hot" as an Oiler? He only had 9 career goals with them. lol

[ChooseBlues]

Despite the current dumpster fire, there are four Blues you can count on going forward: Thomas, Holloway, Broberg, and Parayko.

The Blues don’t have much choice. They’re unlikely to draft a true franchise player unless they get lucky, because ownership doesn’t seem willing to endure the pain that comes with a full rebuild. They’re not prepared to take the hits necessary to land a top-tier draft pick. They say the fans wont support them through it.

Honestly, I can't imagine how desperate this team would look without Broberg and Holloway. Credit to Army—he capitalized. Kudos. But let’s be clear: this wasn’t some master plan. It was a rare opportunity that he seized, not something he could have counted on working out.

Talk of a “Re-whatever” being over is wishful thinking.

He swung. He missed. This team should be operating like a rebuild/retool squad. They’re going to struggle until the next wave of young talent is not only in the NHL but actively developing their skillsets at the NHL level.

And no matter how rough things get, I’ll always be grateful to Army for delivering the first Stanley Cup Championship to St. Louis.

Blues fans have come and gone without ever seeing the boys raise the Cup. At the end of the day, all of this becomes easier to endure when you realize that a championship was never guaranteed in your lifetime—but we were fortunate enough to witness it

[a smell of green grass]

Despite the current dumpster fire, there are four Blues you can count on going forward: Thomas, Holloway, Broberg, and Parayko.

The Blues don’t have much choice. They’re unlikely to draft a true franchise player unless they get lucky, because ownership doesn’t seem willing to endure the pain that comes with a full rebuild. They’re not prepared to take the hits necessary to land a top-tier draft pick. They say the fans wont support them through it.

Honestly, I can't imagine how desperate this team would look without Broberg and Holloway. Credit to Army—he capitalized. Kudos. But let’s be clear: this wasn’t some master plan. It was a rare opportunity that he seized, not something he could have counted on working out.

Talk of a “Re-whatever” being over is wishful thinking.

He swung. He missed. This team should be operating like a rebuild/retool squad. They’re going to struggle until the next wave of young talent is not only in the NHL but actively developing their skillsets at the NHL level.

And no matter how rough things get, I’ll always be grateful to Army for delivering the first Stanley Cup Championship to St. Louis.

Blues fans have come and gone without ever seeing the boys raise the Cup. At the end of the day, all of this becomes easier to endure when you realize that a championship was never guaranteed in your lifetime—but we were fortunate enough to witness it

I don't count on another Cup in my lifetime. However, if they get back to very good teams with great players (Hull, Pronger, Stevens), I would be very happy. We need a TOP5 pick as Step 1.