rumun ndur

[niceasey]

I strongly suspect our D will be better than resonable, Shaggy

Word is Simonton and Nasreddine will relegate Neal Martin to the Number 3 slot this year.

[messier1851]

Martin on the second pair... That's some serious depth, in front of Koenig as well. I'm expecting big things out of the Blaze this season, on paper at least they look very strong.

[123]

shaggy said:

Belfast. How the hell anyone can say that is beyond me. They've signed half a team so far, and not even got a #1 netminder yet. Some serious firepower up front, but the D could be slightly suspect, and there are serious concerns about a lack of depth.

Coventry. A strong Brit contingent and some high-profile import forwards... but depth could again be an issue. D looks reasonable, but nothing spectacular - how that will affect Koenig is anyone's guess.

Belfast only half a team? I thought they only have 1 D, ! forward and a goalie to sign? (I'm assuming Morrison, Walton and another local will be added if not already). Not sure about their D being suspect, if the last import D is as good as he should be, they'll be strong. I do agree about the lack of depth though, and an injury to Jamieson or Levers and they could be struggling for a while.

As for Coventry, the Brit contingent will be weaker probably than the last few years with the loss of Cowley. However, if Ndur can play steady D the defence looks VERY strong IMO:
Neal Martin, previous Elite MVP, seasons in the DEL and a top ISL D-man; Simonton has played Swedish Elite league, Finnish top league, 3 years DEL and a very good ISL season. Nasreddine looks solid, good seasons in ECHL, AHL, Italy and last year in UHL. Then we have ex-NHL / AHL enforcer Ndur, who has at least indicated he can play a bit too with a decent season in Austria. Add a reliable Brit Dman in James Pease, put last seasons all-star netminder behind them and they look pretty good.
I know the game isn't played on paper, but this lot should match up to any group of 5 (plus NM) in the league.

Out of interest, which defence do you think will look stronger?
I'm also surprised you think Blaze are lacking depth. In which area? In terms of bodies there are 10 forwards, 5 D and a couple of 2-way signings to be added. Including the 2 netminders that gives a 19 man squad, and I honestly can't see any teams having more than 19/20, with most having fewer.

I'm not arguing, just seeing things differently and interested to get your take on things.


PS - I reckon if the final Steelers import D is another like Ricci (rather than Sebastian..) they'll have a very solid D too, with a proven 'big match' goalie behind them.