The Bert thing is interesting because it seemed like he was close to returning, going as far as to play in our scrimmage. Maybe he’s not ready, but I do wonder if a trade might happen.
We won’t trade him for scraps but I assume Yzerman has a return in mind that he would pull the trigger on to get rid of the headache.
Assuming Rasmussen is back next week, I would roll the following lines: Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond Fabbri - Suter - Zadina Rasmussen - Veleno - Erne Namestikov - Stephens - Ryan/Gagner I would probably bite the bullet and waive Vlad to make Smith the 13th forward since he has a bit of upside and provides some grit, but that would be the ideal lineup. 0.0001% chance of that happening though.
I think Raymond should absolutely make team at this point but what I've seen and heard along with wings history still makes me think they start him in GR
It would be criminal for him not to make team at this point, but the whole way announcers are talking make me feel like they are being fed to temper expectations of him making roster
Tentative. You can see his talent though. His offense has looked much better than I anticipated but he’s hesitant defensively.
Looked solid on PP, I like him paired with Leddy. Doesn't seem out of place, but as detox said you can tell he has another level And for those not watching broadcasts, my comments about Raymond are based on Ken and Mick two games ago hammered during broadcast that coaches say Raymond has to be head and shoulders basically better than others to make roster because others don't have options. Then even last game they were hammering yea he's impressive but they won't call him up to play on bottom 6 lines so he has to be top 6 line good and that's a high burden. It just feels like they are being told to damper expectations of him making the team. He may not give them a choice though
What I think happens: Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond Fabbri - Suter - Zadina Erne - Veleno - Ryan Namestikov - Stephens - Gagner Smith - Ras to IR Leddy - Seider DeKesyer - Hronek Staal - Stetcher Osterle - Lindstrom What I would do (I’ll cheat and say once Rasmussen is back) Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond Fabbri - Suter - Zadina Rasmussen - Veleno - Erne Namestikov - Stephens - Gagner Smith/Ryan Leddy - Seider DeKesyer - Hronek Staal - Stetcher Osterle
Based on how much time Raymond saw with Bertuzzi these last two games, I would think Raymond made the team.