Ever since we traded for Cole a common opinion around here has been that Penner is going to play on the 3rd line. Cole fits the top line better because of his speed and we don't want to break up the kid line.
That does make sense, but I think people forget just how well the Penner Horcoff Hemsky line was playing.
As you can see in Replacement's thread, the line was on fire for a pretty long stretch. The thread was made right around the all-star break so Horcoff got hurt soon after and the line never really got to finish what they started.
I feel pretty comfortable saying that the best hockey those 3 players played last year was as a unit.
I don't think I am in the majority here but I think on opening day Penner should be on our top line. It also allows Cole and Hemsky to both play RW where they seem to be most comfortable.
I agree but the problem most people then have is cole is more than a third liner so that breaks up the kid line, and noone seems to be willing to do that. I think that this would be a deadly line up.
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Cole-Gagner-Cogliano
Nilson-(Insert center here)-Pisani
Moreau-Brodziak-Stortini
I agree but the problem most people then have is cole is more than a third liner so that breaks up the kid line, and noone seems to be willing to do that. I think that this would be a deadly line up.
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Cole-Gagner-Cogliano
Nilson-(Insert center here)-Pisani
Moreau-Brodziak-Stortini
I agree. I think Gagner is a better natural passer than Horcoff so he would be better at sending Cole down the wing. Hesmky is a great passer as well, but it is hard for a winger to pass the puck to the opposite wing in the neutral zone.
My 2nd line would be different than yours as I would go with
I agree but the problem most people then have is cole is more than a third liner so that breaks up the kid line, and noone seems to be willing to do that. I think that this would be a deadly line up.
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Cole-Gagner-Cogliano
Nilson-(Insert center here)-Pisani
Moreau-Brodziak-Stortini
I agree with breaking up the kidline - adding Cole to it would give it another dimension. I would rather have the lines as:
I agree but the problem most people then have is cole is more than a third liner so that breaks up the kid line, and noone seems to be willing to do that. I think that this would be a deadly line up.
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Cole-Gagner-Cogliano
Nilson-(Insert center here)-Pisani Moreau-Brodziak-Stortini
I agree but the problem most people then have is cole is more than a third liner so that breaks up the kid line, and noone seems to be willing to do that. I think that this would be a deadly line up.
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Cole-Gagner-Cogliano
Nilson-(Insert center here)-Pisani
Moreau-Brodziak-Stortini
Schremp would look good on that third line spot. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the name Pouliot yet.
Obviously, the "third" line would go out against tough opposition, but honestly, every other line has good offensive potential. The "top" line would be impossible to play against for all but the biggest and strongest defenders, the "second" line would dazzle with skill and softer minutes, and the "fourth" line would be pretty darn good offensively (especially for such a depth line) without being terrible defensively. Basically, there is one super big, physical, defensively sound line for every soft line, meaning that teams would likely play their softer players against one of our two soft lines (thus saving their players and ours). This lineup also allows Gagner and Hemsky to really start to mesh together.
Hmmm. Not bad. Not bad at all. If Brodziak can handle the third center role, that squad is deep.
I actually would say the Horcoff line plays the hardest minutes. They have the size, experience, and are sound in either an offensive or defensive role. I would throw that line out against the Iginla line for instance every time.
Alright I'm lost here. How does a fat guy, a medium guy, and a skinny guy make a line called Nintendo line?
"It's like Nintendo's Ice Hockey. They had the skinny guy, the medium guy and the big fat guy. That line usually worked the best. So you have Hemmer, Horc and me -- but you have to get the new edition. That was the old Penner. I'm not the big fat guy anymore."
Hmmm. Not bad. Not bad at all. If Brodziak can handle the third center role, that squad is deep.
I actually would say the Horcoff line plays the hardest minutes. They have the size, experience, and are sound in either an offensive or defensive role. I would throw that line out against the Iginla line for instance every time.
I've liked the idea of that top line for quite some time, if we went that route...
That 4th line would absolutely MURDER other teams 4th lines.
The top line would be impossible to contain and get the puck from.
The 2nd line would have 3 guys that can carry the puck, but it would finally have Schremp looking to be a shooter. Hemsky and Gagner also LOVE to lug the puck up ice so he could simply concentrate on being a scorer first and a psser/puck carrier 2nd.
The 3rd line is your typical 3rd line that can also put the puck in the net.
The 4th line is young, but speedy, keeps Nilsson and Cogs together, and you have a shooter on the right side in Pouliot or Brule.
Because Ice Hockey on the original Nintendo (8-bit) system had 3-on-3 play, one "big" guy, one medium sized guy, and one skinny finesse player.
that and Shinobi for the sega ......wonder how far we are from a vitual reality hockey game where you put a helmet on and the mask is the screen that would be awesome ....
This would allow to have a physical presence on each line. If you leave the kids together they may get hit a lot.
I am diggin these lines, man. I'm sure macT will try a bunch of different combos, but if the kid line is firing in camp, they will probably stay together.
I agree with the OP. I can't figure out why some of you want to put Penner on the 3rd line, and some of those people are my favourite posters on this site (BBO comes to mind, or at least at one time he had Penner on the 3rd line). Penner stays with Horc and Hemsky cause the chemistry they developed before Horc's injury was awesome.
I know why so many people don't want to break the kids up, but the fact is that putting Cole with 2 of them will make it a better 2nd line. IMO Cogliano will be the one who gets played on the 3rd line likely with Pisani and Moreau. Cogliano will still see PP time, and he's playing with guys who aren't offensivly challenged (Moreau was actually putting up really good numbers that month he played).
The other thing we could do is go with 3 scoring lines and one grind line. Moreau, Stortini and Brodziak centering on the 4th line, and Cole, Schremp, and Pisani on the 3rd scoring line. That keeps the kids together, keeps the ICE HOCKEY line together, and everyone stays happy. But now I'm just typing what I'm thinking.
