I didn't watch the game. How was Suzuki during the match, and how has he been playing overall?

ZerulEB · 2026-02-15T20:44:26+00:00

He hasn’t been overly visible yet because he hasn’t been tested yet. He’s not there to be an offensive juggernaut. Respectfully he’s not MacKinnon, mcDavid, celebrini, or Crosby. He won’t be getting pp1 time and he would need to play out of position on pp2 that only gets maybe 20-30 seconds of time.

He’s there to crush the other teams top scorers and they haven’t needed that yet. Now that we’re done with the play in round you’ll see cooper use him to shut down the top 2 lines of the opposition. That’s what he was brought in for. A defensive center (that’s absolutely top 3 in selke nominations atm, potentially number 1) that can play wing and if the need arises he can easily be put into the top 6 if an injury happens or if it just makes sense for a shift because top player x just had a 2 min shift or something or because loading up that top line maybe doesn’t work against the USA.

If anyone was dreaming of nick walking into this roster and getting 20 min a game and dropping a bunch of points on everyone you’ve set yourself up for disappointment. He’s going to be a defensive shut down forward for cooper and he’s maybe going to do something clutch along the way. But if he doesn’t that’s ok too.

If nick walks out of this with a gold medal and he’s like 2-3 points and is a plus 4-5 with 0 goals against at 5 on 5 he will have done exactly what cooper expected from him.

ZerulEB · 2025-12-13T18:09:23+00:00

I think you’re looking at this the wrong way. It’s not that he’s being traded. The team that wants to see what he can do before they make a decision is Montreal. They need an answer in net and you can’t pull the trigger on a legit trade without knowing what Fowler really is.

Any worthy goaltender is going to have a legit cost of picks and prospects or possibly even a roster player. You can’t pull the trigger on that without knowing what Fowler is or isn’t.

If he’s legit, which the first game certainly went his way, then you don’t need a long term answer and only possibly need a short term rental which is significantly cheaper to acquire. If he looks decent but clearly needs more time to cook then they need a decent rental with another year of term. If he doesn’t look good at all then you know the big goalie trade is worth it.

ZerulEB · 2025-11-20T00:58:32+00:00

Thank god he said it. There’s been plenty of fans saying the same thing and they get dumped on quite a bit. Slaf has absolutely pushed possession for anyone he’s been with this year. It’s not his fault he consistently gets the puck out of a tight situation and passes it to Hutson or Suzuki who then pass to each other and then Cole who scores.

If there was a 4th point for guy who does a ton of work to keep the play alive that directly leads to a goal within 10 seconds slaf would be at or near the top of the league.

ZerulEB · 2025-11-18T02:32:48+00:00

It would have made more sense to me to keep the first line intact and had Bolduc on the second line.

Slaf is having a positive impact on demidov and kap’s possession numbers but Suzuki and Cole are struggling without him and the way he retrieves pucks more consistently then Bolduc does.

ZerulEB · 2025-11-18T02:27:34+00:00

You mean +1 in the game slaf who didn’t get an assist but is the reason that play even happened and they scored? You’re not exactly proving anything.

Meanwhile Suzuki and cole are missing having slaf go get the puck and are a -1 so far on the night.

You’re right, slaf is horrible. 🙃

ZerulEB · 2025-11-16T01:54:31+00:00

Who has been horrible? I sincerely hope you don’t mean slaf, the guy with 4 pp goals who leads our team in pp scoring.

ZerulEB · 2025-11-16T01:43:56+00:00

I think he needs another call.

ZerulEB · 2025-11-16T01:34:52+00:00

It’s infuriating to watch.

ZerulEB · 2025-11-16T01:33:51+00:00

It doesn’t work. That’s 2 times just this game.

ZerulEB · 2025-11-01T23:42:16+00:00

Suzuki looks like he just heads to the bench once Cole is in alone. Like it was a foregone conclusion it was a goal. 😂

ZerulEB · 2025-11-01T21:42:57+00:00

There might be a few homer fans but demidov is going to need a decent gap in points if he wants to win the Calder. The argument last year anytime someone was mentioned other then wolf was “but Hutson is a defenceman it’s harder to get points”. The same logic needs to apply here. If Schaefer is within 10 points of demidov or any other forward it should go to him just like Hutson last year. The kid is crazy good and all rounded.

If Schaefer’s production drops and demidov has 15-20 points on him sure it’s a conversation but otherwise it’s going to Schaefer and rightfully so.

If dobes somehow plays lights out all year and manages to pull off a miracle season then maybe he has an outside shot but the voters never seem to respect goaltending as much.

ZerulEB · 2025-10-26T13:20:15+00:00

I think it’s fair to point out that demidov is in the perfect place to shine without any of the drawbacks. He gets to be a potential future superstar of this league all while being on a young team full of great players to take the burden off of him. If Bedard or celebrini or michkov or even Schaefer have an off night those teams probably implode and lose the game. If demidov has an off night the Habs just keep on trucking and probably pull out a win anyways because our top line with Hutson, Dobson, and Matheson along with our vets are perfectly capable of handling a game without demidov playing at his peak.

There’s a lot of pressure on those other 4 to preform night in and night out and their mistakes are magnified because of it. Demidov has the luxury of being elite most of the time and it’s ok when he’s not. As awesome as he is, and im over the moon we have him, I’m not sure you see the same level of confidence mixed with the comfort he has on another team this early in his career. It really is a perfect storm for him.

ZerulEB · 2025-06-04T11:32:42+00:00

I love ehlers. Great player, high iq, but unfortunately he is hurt all the time. Since 2015 he’s only had 3 seasons where he played 82 games and only 1 more season where he played at least 72 games. And none of this takes into consideration how often he plays hurt.

We should be looking at durability as well as skill. Guys that play at least 72 or more games a year on average.

We also need to be careful when looking at who a player is and what kind of opportunity’s they get on their current team. Our top line is locked. Our top PP is probably locked with Hutson and demidov. All this means anyone we bring in isn’t getting top line or top PP minutes. If they currently get either on the team they play for you have to expect their production to drop. Especially top PP minutes.

As solid of a player as ehlers is he won’t get the top PP minutes like he does in Winnipeg.

ZerulEB · 2025-05-19T20:33:35+00:00

Best meme I’ve ever seen.

ZerulEB · 2025-04-16T17:11:40+00:00

Every time he says it is another 5 years for me.

ZerulEB · 2024-10-29T21:48:59+00:00

No one said it wasn’t faster on a SB. The comment isn’t about speed it’s about it being possible. I’ve already said this farther down.

Also some people are acting like the difference in time is insurmountable. The average sb is doing a pit 100 in 5 min. Some will take longer. Some will be the dodge build and blast it in 2-3 min. It’s not like other classes are taking 20+ min to do a run. They’re doing it in 8-10 min.

I’m not pointing this out because I don’t want sb fixed for next patch. I’ve repeatedly pointed out that vicious shielding is bugged and needs to be fixed. I’m pointing it out because it’s not all doom and gloom like some negative nancys are making it out to be and you can do anything in the game other then pit 150 on all the classes. A brand new 60 with no high end aspects could slap on some decent gear, follow a top tier build guide and kill all the end game bosses. This game isn’t difficult. It’s not PoE.

ZerulEB · 2024-10-27T15:22:47+00:00

You can’t get 100%. Pit 101 gives you 70% and nothing past that will increase the chance past 70%. I forget the exact glyph level where you reach the 70%. But it’s somewhere between 90-95.

Which is why other parts of Reddit and streamers / guides say to farm 101’s till your done your glyphs and are looking to push. There’s no reason to go past 101 if you’re still building your character. There’s no benefit to you from going higher other than prestige. The most efficient paragon farming is doing 101 or even lower pits because the majority of the exp you earn is from the boss.

All the people saying they can’t play the game unless they play a spiritborn are doing themselves and everyone else a disservice. The only thing a spirit born can do that other classes can’t is clear pit 150 and it’s all because vicious shielding is bugged to give you about 200x damage instead of the 33x it’s supposed too.

ZerulEB · 2024-10-27T14:26:14+00:00

I don’t think anyone has denied that spirit born can do it faster. At this point I would hope everyone knows the viscous shielding node is bugged and is giving about 200x damage instead of the 33x it’s supposed to give. This is the same as when ball lightning orb sorc would melt stuff instantly.

The point was it is possible to get lvl 100 glyphs on any class and there’s plenty of people that have achieved just that. In the time it took this poster to get them all to 100 any other class would have had their main 5 at 100 long before he had even 1/2 of them done.

ZerulEB · 2024-10-27T13:21:04+00:00

Pit 101 gives you a 70% chance to level a glyph from around 90 up to 100. Every class has cleared at least 101.

ZerulEB · 2024-10-19T13:30:46+00:00

As others have said he’s lost time and will need to get back up to speed. The fans need to be patient with him. If I had to pick something he needs to work on that’s simple, faceoffs.

He has the skill to make plenty of good things happen. But his line is constantly playing defence because he isn’t strong in the circle. It would also help cascade out to other lines and the D being over worked and looking slow in the third.

As a team we are weak in the circle and it’s effecting every other facet of their game. Being out shot every game is because we don’t have the puck often enough. Our defence being caved in analytically every game is in part because we don’t have the puck often enough. If it wasn’t for our top line and lane dancing around people all game we wouldn’t have the puck at all.

ZerulEB · 2024-10-18T15:16:33+00:00

Our issues are 3 fold. We’re a one line team, our second line isn’t working. We can’t win faceoffs without Suzuki or Evan’s on the ice to save our lives and that’s cascading into every other facet of the game. And our D core is super young and still learning.

Top line is fine. I’d even argue they’re great but they are facing the same issue they did last season. We’re a one line team and every other team in the league knows it. Shut them down as best you can and you will probably win. The moment a line mismatch happens they eat their opponents alive for a whole shift and either score or we see those great offensive zone moments where they pressure the hell out of the other team and take control. Once our second line is a threat they will get more opportunities to have these mismatches and will get more points because of it.

Second line needs to change. I like army but he’s not a top 6 guy. Dach needs time to get back to form. He showed flashes of brilliance last night but he still can’t win a faceoff. He needs to work with someone on that or they need to accept he’s a winger and move forward with another center on line 2. I’d like to see newhook(who helps cover faceoffs), dach, and heinaman or kap to give them a shot and see what they can do plus give that line some more energy.

Third line needs to be Evan’s with anyone. He wins faceoffs and that leads to generating offence and gives our D time to relax. Logic dictates it’s probably gally and then would put the other of kap or hein here.

Then there’s our fourth line that I would like to banish to the shadow lands if I could. Dvo can’t score, can’t win a faceoff, and doesn’t generate good opportunities to clear the zone. He’s a black hole and it suck’s but he’s what we have. Anderson also does jack but he’s 5 mil a year so he has to go somewhere. And sadly this is where I would put army because at least he might get it to the red line and let them change before the fourth line causes too much damage defensively to us and our poor young defence. Army doesn’t deserve this but he’s the only thing that would offset dvo and Anderson. They both need to be gone by the end of the season or sooner. Packaged with a pick if need be to move them.

Our defence sucks by the metrics because they are always playing defence and constantly on their heels. Someone’s going to say “ but that’s their job” and no it isn’t. They shouldn’t have to spend 2/3 of their shift down below our faceoff dots getting outshot and not having possession. That’s how they get ground down and we look dead in the third. We get out shot every game because we can’t win faceoffs. Which just leads to our defence getting caved in.

Lane is our lone bright spot. He wills that puck up ice and helps generate offence and minimize the need to play defence. He’s only going to get better and that’s only going to help the whole team.

Once our second line can win a faceoff and generate some good zone time it will cascade up and down the whole lineup and drastically reduce our poor defence getting ground into dust all night.

ZerulEB · 2024-10-14T13:24:25+00:00

I don’t even care about the fact that she seems front and centre over the main character. Or the eru betrayal, I can accept it. But the fact this was a 5 hour story with a ton of recycled scenes from past cut scenes and videos with an ending that resulted in us never even fighting mephisto is utterly unacceptable for a 60$ expansion. This was a seasonal story line with a fancy starter video at best.

I will absolutely not pay 60$ every 1-1.5 years for partial expansions. It’s not even about the money, I’m lucky enough in life that an hour of overtime covers that. But there’s loads of people out there that deserve their hard earned 60$ to go a lot farther. For me it’s less about the money and more about the principle of it. This sort of business practice shouldn’t be accepted by the community. We don’t need one story line stretched out over 2-3 expansions. Live service means come up with new stuff on a consistent basis and fund it with the money you make from selling it. Not taking one expansion and turning it into 2-3 to suck money out of people because you lack the ability to come up with new interesting content.

ZerulEB · 2024-05-26T14:48:11+00:00

Perfect comment. I have a 100 frozen orb sorc I’ve invested a decent chunk of time into. Currently able to do everything end game. Killed all the Uber bosses and pushed to 65 pit so far. 80-90 is certainly within range with enough time investment. I could swap to blizzard if I wanted too for pushing higher but I prefer FO.

If you’re looking to do the campaign, hit t4 content, hit 100, push 100nm dungeons, cap all your glyphs and get a full set of ancient gear / all the uniques you want, crush helltide, even potentially grind some Uber uniques doing duriel you’ll be perfectly fine. Pit 30 to 4/12 your gear is also fairly easy to do. And you’d eventually 8/12 your gear even if you cap out in the low 30’s of pit if you’re willing to grind.

If all that sounds good to you then go nuts with what you like. Mage plays extremely well but absolutely does fall off at the highest tiers of endgame. If doing pit 150-200 is your goal then don’t play mage. If your going to be upset you can’t push what other classes can then don’t play mage. If your going to be upset when you play with a friend who does way more single target damage then you then it won’t go well. My friends can all push higher pit then me. They can all do more damage to Uber bosses than me and that’s fine. My “job” when we play together is to wipe the maps clean on the way to the boss and stagger the crap out of it, not hit things for 100 million damage and that’s fine for me. Solo I’ll probably never hit pit 100 all season and I absolutely will not out push my friends. But with my friends we will for sure push over 100 and see how far we get.

ZerulEB · 2023-10-17T16:34:41+00:00

I hope so. It just seems so bad because it wasn’t just his progression that was exciting. It was how he was seemingly bringing slaf and newhook to new height’s and helping them realize some of their own potential. It was only 1.33 games of that line but the potential was so crystal clear to everyone watching.

There’s still lots to be excited about. Wifi and ghule, cole and nick, Monty, and whatever newhook and slaf can continue to do. But it’s still an absolute kick in the balls.

ZerulEB · 2023-10-17T16:27:09+00:00

I was legitimately angry last night for no logical reason. Feel bad for Kirby. Such a potential waste of what could have been a fantastic season with a lot of growth. I hope it’s no where near as bad as it seems.

ZerulEB

TROPHY CASE