A must read here from Crunch blogger Lindsay Kramer. Here are assistant GM's Chris MacFarland's thoughts on the matter:
"It wasn't an easy decision. It was talked about at length over the last few days. The staff as a believes this experience will do wonders for him. There was certainly no desire to hurt Syracuse. We know it's a tough decision. That's what a development team is all about.
"I can tell you this. The experience he's going to get here is not going to hurt him. The experience he's going to get here is crucial. He will benefit from this. Is it a blow to the Syracuse lineup? Absolutely.
"You're saying there are extra bodies here (at forward). You are missing it here. The organization felt it was important for him to go up here and experience this. He's got a skill set that none of our extra players have, and even that some of our players playing don't have.
"It was strictly the organization looking for what is best for the development of Nikita Filatov. It is the National Hockey League. It's a league above the (AHL).
"Minor league teams are used to this. Players get called up. Players get traded. Everyone acknowledges his skill set will be missed (in Syracuse). The Crunch has been, if it's been anything this year, it's been resilient. We've got a good team down there.''
I can see both sides of this.
Still if I had to pick one I tend to think that I'd rather he be playing significant minutes for the Crunch who are in a big playoff battle of their own than being around an NHL playoff atmosphere and practicing.
Then again Howson has rarely missed a step in his Jackets reboot so in him I'll trust.
A co-worker pointed out this dated but good article over on CNNSI.com that I hadn't seen before. I like this line:
To get Vermette the Blue Collars unloaded goalie Pascal Leclaire....
"Blue Collars"..... damn, wish I would thought of that one!!
Check the rest of it out here.
-LTL
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
MacFarland comments on Filatov call up
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8 comments:
speaking of vermette - anyone else realize that if he hadn't become a jacket his bid for a playoff berth this year would've ended at the hands of the panthers last night? if i'm not mistaken he's never missed one & i'm glad this year doensn't look like it's going to be his first!
cheers Mr. Howson!
I'm gonna try to WOW you again, LTL. I'm on a streak today, let's see if I can make it a three-peat!
I don't like the call up. I've been keeping an eye on the Crunch this year, and it seems that after Filatov's killer illness, he's just hitting his stride now with the team. There's no question he's a great player. Why relegate him to only practice? There's some decent veteran leadership in Syracuse with Dan Smith, Mike York, and even Craig MacDonald and Steve Kelley.
Personally, I don't see how watching a team play in the playoffs will make a player better. If that were the case, I'd be pretty damn good myself. Brassard and Methot (among many others) have benefitted from playoff time in the 'Cuse. Why wouldn't Nikita?
I think Hitchcock would be out of his mind to play Filatov in the playoffs. The kid is listed at 175. He lost a lot after his illness. He's too small just yet. Heck, He's smaller than Russel was last season, and I thought he was too small, as well. Filatov would get crushed. That's if he plays.
Look, I get it. Filatov is Columbus property. This call up makes sense if Nikita would be playing. But to sit in the press box? Nah.
Max.. WOWx3.
All good points -- especially the one about watching a team compete in the playoffs.. heck we'd be a pair Hitch certainly couldn't break up if that was all it took :)
The more and more I think about this the more I think there has to be more too it... kind of like when we were told that Legein was sent home to "work out" last year as Syracuse was preparing for the playoffs.
Of course we later learned Legein was a distraction and that is why he was sent home.
-LTL
If there is more to this call up, there's no way it's a negative thing. Perhaps Barry Brennan is foaming at the mouth to get Nikita into his hands. I know that makes him sound like a pervert, but Barry put some serious weight on Russel this summer. I can see him wanting to get more on Filatov. On the Coach's show today, Hitch says that he thinks Filatov can get up to 190-195...
my interpretation of what Hitch said on his radio show was that the call up could be brief & that he wanted Nikita to not so much get game minutes, but practice minutes in a 'pressure cooker' environment. to see what is BEING expected of each & every jacket to obtain their goal. i have no direct experience, but i'd bet an AHL playoff push isn't quite on par - could be wrong though.
i trust Hitch & Howson - have no reason to not. makes good banter though & i enjoy it.
After reading the Crunch blog, you can definately feel the hate coming from their fans towards us. The feelings are somewhat understandable. I'm not sure about this call-up yet. If he rides the pine, is it really beneficial?
I think it is more of a threat then anything else. THe 4th line hadn't been cooking til sunday night, so Hitch made a threat. Keep Filatov up here and that line will wokr their asses off, as they want to stay
http://blogcritics.org/archives/features/abcs_of_columbus_sports.php
They are losing their minds over on the Crunch blog. Its flipping crazy.
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