Weekly Update: Oct 25 - Can We Keep Him?

Troy Terry (19) skates in action against the Bakersfield Condors. Credit San Diego Gulls.

Troy Terry has arrived in San Diego and completely turned the season around

After a well fought but ultimately disappointing slow start to the season due to missing some key pieces – the Gulls got things back on the right track thanks to an instant star-power injection in the form of Troy Terry.

Just as Fan Fest was set to begin, speculation was rife when it was discovered that Terry and his gear were absent. It was also reported that Max Jones had been assigned to the Gulls – meaning that he must have been cleared to play after recovering from his arm injury.

Swapping places with Terry was Pontus Aberg, called up on the back of his strong play in the previous two games.

News and Observations:

The Cavalry

As mentioned; Troy Terry was assigned as a confidence booster and Max Jones made his season debut after recovering from an arm injury suffered in prospect camp.

Terry has made an immediate impact and it’s noticeable that whenever he has the puck he is head and shoulders above his peers. It’s like watching a smaller, skinnier, younger, less folliclely challenged Ryan Getzlaf with the way he is able to slow the play down or dictate the pace. He is already 15th in scoring among rookies with 5 points in 2 games and is first in points per game – not just among rookies but league wide.

Max Jones – although yet to score a goal – is keeping pace, with 2 points in 2 games. Just from watching him play I do worry that he is either not entirely 100% or not quite in game-shape yet, or the accumulation of injuries has caused him to tone his game down a little. He is not the same player we saw speeding around with reckless abandon at the end of the 2016-2017 season. Hopefully he can return to that after a few more games.

Terry – despite my request in the title of this piece – won’t be long for San Diego but have heart. When he does eventually go up, someone must come down. With Ondrej Kase returning to the line up any day now and given Carter Rowney cannot be too far away – the Gulls should be receiving two or three more forwards back soon.

M.I.A

Jake Dotchin is still yet to be seen as is Tyler Soy. Dotchin can be explained by acclimatizing and learning the new system, while also getting into game-shape. But Soy has been with the team since the start. I was afraid he might get Ortega’d (Ortega’d: to become a consistent healthy scratch due to your size) but thought he might at least get a chance to prove himself early. It could also be an injury, so I don’t want to speculate too much.

Standings Update

Thanks to a three game win streak the Gulls are fourth overall in the Pacific with 6 points and a 3-2-0 record. Tucson and new-entrants Colorado are tied for 2nd with 9 points and San Jose leads with 11. Stockton and Ontario sit just behind with 5 points and Bakersfield are now last. San Diego is also now 8th overall in the conference and 19th in the league.

Blueline Watch

Eakins has shown that he is not shy about going with 7 defenseman when pressed, but once Dotchin is deemed game ready it is going to be very interesting.

Right now he seems to be rolling Welinski with Mahura, Megna & Oleksy (though they had a terrible game against Bakersfield so that might change) and the very good pairing of Larsson and Benoit. If I had to guess I would say Oleksy draws out and Thompson goes back in for the next game – and if Dotchin is ready, he probably goes with 7 again.

Bonus: Welinski leads the team in blueline scoring with 5 points in 4 games, Mahura – in his pro debut – is 2nd with 3 points in 5, Benoit sits 3rd with 2 points in 5. Welinski is 14th overall in the league for defencemen.