Hedman
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Posts posted by Hedman
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Watching Radulov play in that playoff series, was a good enough reason for Trotz to bench him. Same with the Kostitchen (sp) brother, who appeared to not want to be there.
Production-wise, he was their best player in the playoffs though.
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Sounds like a player who isn't fit for NHL hockey ^
He might be spoiled, but he was probably their best offensive player. He sat out 2 games in the playoffs 2012 against Phoenix, so that's probably the reason why he left in the off-season.
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No he's not.
Radulov was an entitled Russian and horrible teammate that refused to buy into the system.
Radulov went to Russia because of Radulov.
Radulov went back to Russia because Trotz benched him.
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Because in his 15 years his highest scoring threats were Erat and Legwand and possibly Mike Fisher. That speaks volumes.
He develops rough prospects into polished players like Hamhuis Suter Weber and more. He also doesn't mess around with anyones crap, see the Kostitsyn bros.
The guy can coach, he has class. He's a perfect fit for this stable of once high scoring players and solid prospects
He's also the reason why they lost Radulov to Russia.
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their top 6 offensive depth has been worse than any other team in the league arguably besides Calgary
Their offense was decent. They have had a strong defensive core though, and solid goaltending.
The top 6 he had to work with, and the internal cap limitations and he still got them to the 2nd round. That's impressive.
Imagine what he could do here?
When it comes to playoffs: Defensive hockey is more exciting than no hockey.
I agree Nashville never really had a true franchise player as far a offense goes. I'm also aware they don't spend to the cap, which is a reason why they lost Suter probably.
But Nashville had a pretty good team a couple of years ago. They were one of the best teams in the West, and they did have Paul Kariya on that team for an example. And Nashville have always been very solid defensively, and they've had some really good goaltending.
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Why do people want Trotz so much? Sure he's experienced and respected around the league, but Nashville only made the 2nd round twice under the course of 15 years.
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This is exactly what I'm talking about. I note a few criticisms that I've noticed watching a few games and people like you get their panties in a bunch and cry foul. "Horvat is out best prospect" wah wah. How dare I say that he looked kinda slow and not that impressive in the games I watched. Its ok to state some possible negatives that a prospect has or needs to work on the be better. I'm not saying Horvat is a terrible prospect but like many others that watch him I think fans need to temper expectations because expectations are high considering how he was drafted and an elite talent in Nichushkin was passed over for him. Maybe he will be the next ROR or Bergeron but it's ok to critique a prospect,doesn't mean you don't want him to be great.
It's one thing to give criticism. But stating he's a mediocre prospect is just pure stupidity, something that you said. I never said he's the best prospect out there. But he's a great prospect for sure, so you can't deny that. There's a reason why he was drafted high.
I agree with the post. It seems Horvat was drafted so high as being on the up and up after his monster playoffs in his draft year.This year has been a relative dissapointment, seeing his play in a few regular season games and with his peers at the WJC he really seems like a mediocre prospect not deserving of going ahead of Nichuskin. He looks too slow to be a really be effective as a defensive specialist and not talented enough offensively to be a top line centerman. Maybe he can adapt and will excel in the NHL but I have my doubts.
Like this. Pretty one-sided criticism if you ask me. If i say Crosby is the worst center in the NHL it doesn't mean I'm right.
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Meh. I watched the game last night and many others this year. Just my opinion. Watching the game you see flashes of what certain prospects bring to the table even when playing bad. Domi made some great offensive plays and created a goal. Zadorov had many great rushed. Anderson was invisible as was Horvat except one good play.
Just worry about Horvat being able to keep up in the bigs. If he looks slowish in juniors and floats a lot then I'm worried about how he can keep up in the NHL. Yes I know its blasphemy to express any doubt or concern about any Canuck prospect, especially one of our best and the blind homers will cry and scream but it's reality
Please define "many others". You will find plenty of plays from this year that defines Horvats skill. He's one of the best defensive forwards in the Juniors, and the guy is not just defense. He's also the best face-offer in the CHL.Facepalm @ the slow comment.. And he's not one of our best prospects, he is our best prospect. It's not homerism to think that Horvat is a great prospect. As i said, he's highly ranked across the league. Though you're certainly one of the typical bandwagon Canucks fans. In other words, you will be the 1st guy who will bash a prospect if he's struggling. Ofc you want Nichuskin over Horvat, since Nichuskin is playing in the NHL. But you know what? Nikolai Zherdev made the league pretty much right away. Where is he now? I'm sure you would take him over guys like Richards and Kesler. But yeah, I'll definitely listen to Mr Einstein himself on CDC, over scouts that can actually see skill. There's no reality in your post. -
I agree with the post. It seems Horvat was drafted so high as being on the up and up after his monster playoffs in his draft year.
This year has been a relative dissapointment, seeing his play in a few regular season games and with his peers at the WJC he really seems like a mediocre prospect not deserving of going ahead of Nichuskin. He looks too slow to be a really be effective as a defensive specialist and not talented enough offensively to be a top line centerman. Maybe he can adapt and will excel in the NHL but I have my doubts.
LOL GTFO. Horvat is a top-rated prospect. This is not just what Canucks-fans think. There's no bias there. THN had him as the 12th best prospect outside the NHL. He had plenty of great players beneath him, such as Lazar, Vasilevsky, Pouliot and Nurse. Above him you will find guys like Kuznetsov, Strome and Drouin. Just because he's struggling in the memorial cup doesn't mean he's not a great prospect. Sam Bennett's team choked hard against a much lower ranked team, a team that they should've eliminated easily. The whole London team is struggling right now, not just Horvat.
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Is this an actual excuse someone gave for Virts playoff performance?
I believe BanTSN posted this excuse earlier in this thread
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Here's a pro scouting checklist on some players around our selection range.
(ratings 0-10, 10 being excellent):
Ehlers - Virtanen - Ritchie - Nylander
Skating:
Acceleration - 9 - 9 - 6 - 8
Speed - 9 - 9 - 6 - 8
Balance - 4 - 8 - 8 - 7
Mobility - 7 - 7 - 6 - 7
Backward skating - 6 - 9 - 5 - 6
Puck skills:
Shot accuracy - 8 - 8 - 7 - 7
Shot strength - 7 - 9 - 7 - 7
Shot release - 7 - 7 - 5 - 6
Possess multiple shot types - 6 - 7 - 5 - 7
Stickhandling ability - 8 - 7 - 6 - 8
Puck protection (ability to adjust body position & balance to keep or acquire puck) - 5 - 9 - 8 - 5
Faceoffs - 0 - 4 - 4 - 5
Giving a pass - 8 - 6 - 7 - 9
Receiving a pass - 8 - 7 - 6 - 9
Scoring touch (can he score several ways, smart around the net, has a nose for the net)- 7 - 9 - 6 - 7
Competitiveness:
Scoring drive (willing to battle, go to the net, pay the price to score) - 3 - 8 - 5 - 4
Work Ethic (overall effort, works and completes every shift regardless of score or venue) - 5 - 7 - 7 - 7
Attitude (level of maturity: well developed or 'a ways to go') - 7 - 5 - 4 - 4
Consistency - 7 - 5 - 4 - 7
Forechecking (puck pursuit, fights through checks) - 3 - 9 - 6 - 4
Physical play:
Board & Corner play (battles for loose pucks, willing to pay the price) - 3 - 8 - 6 - 3
Physical presence (size and strength used as an asset, tough to play against, punishes opponents) - 2 - 9 - 8 - 2
Conditioning - 7 - 6 - 3 - 7
Hitting (takes the body, effectively separates the opponent from the puck, willing to take a hit) - 3 - 9 - 8 - 2
Fighting (willing to fight and is capable) - 2 - 7 - 7 - 1
Hockey sense:
Playmaking (vision, offensive imagination, sets up teammates for scoring chances) - 7 - 6 - 6 - 8
Anticipation - 8 - 6 - 5 - 9
Discipline (avoids bad penalties, accepts a bad call, not drawn into retaliation) - 7 - 5 - 3 - 6
Decision making (ability to sort out options and make the right choices) - 6 - 6 - 5 - 6
Play under pressure (ability to make right decisions above while forechecked or in key situation) - 4 - 6 - 6 - 4
Versatility (able to play different positions, roles, special teams) - 4 - 6 - 5 - 4
Defensive play:
Defensive anticipation (reads play, gap control) - 4 - 7 - 6 - 5
Positioning (angles opponents, active away from puck) - 3 - 7 - 5 - 5
Backchecking (picks up the man, returns hard to defensive zone) - 3 - 8 - 5 - 5
Defensive reliability (used in critical situations) - 4 - 5 - 6 - 6
Psychological factors:
Leadership - 5 - 5 - 6 - 7
Communication (witnessed in-game examples of constructive discussions with teammates and coaches) - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5
Confidence - 7 - 9 - 6 - 7
Conclusions:
Ehlers is a skilled forward.
He is very fast, scores and distributes the puck well.
He needs to work on his strength, competitiveness, physical play and defensive play.
Virtanen is a power forward.
He is very fast, very strong, very competitive, supremely confident and has a very good shot.
He needs to work on his conditioning, consistency and perhaps maturity level. Perhaps 'too confident.'
Ritchie is a power forward.
He is very strong, distributes the puck well and has a good shot.
He needs to work on his discipline, competitiveness, conditioning and consistency. Previous injuries are a concern.
Nylander is a skilled forward.
He is fast, has a good shot and distributes the puck well.
He needs to work on his strength, competitiveness, physical play and maturity level.
Overall:
While Ehlers and Nylander are very fast and skilled, their competitiveness is a concern, as well as their lack of physical play. Paying attention to defense can be coached, yes, but can battle level? Will they pay the price? Even if they do grow? Not so sure. This is what's keeping them out of my top rankings.
Ritchie and Virtanen are big, skilled physical specimens that the Canucks may need more of. Virtanen's a bit faster and more skilled while Ritchie is definitely bigger. What concerns me of Ritchie is his injury history as well as his discipline. He also appears to be out of shape. The concern I have about Virtanen is that he's a bit arrogant, but I think I'm willing to roll the dice on the kid based on the tools at his disposal. He'll mature and if he's just this cocky SOB like Corey Perry, then so be it. I think the Canucks could definitely use that kinda swagger.
Looking at all the factors above, there is no doubt who the best overall player at around 6th is. It's Jake The Snake Virtanen.
Is it ok if i just respond to you with a facepalm emoticon?
The bias towards Virtanen is strong in this one for sure... Ritchie's discipline is bad, but Virtanen's discipline isn't bad? Ritchie had a shoulder injury 2 years ago and he missed about 20 games, so now he's injury prone and a major concern? Alright..
EDIT: I also loved your previous post regarding Virtanen's weak playoff run. "THEY DIDN'T PLAY HIM ENOUGH BECAUSE HE'S NOT FROM ALBERTA!!! POLITICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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Demko took Boston College to the frozen 4 and an NCAA division title. he did this at 18 while many college seniors are as old as 24. Reminiscent of Schneider.
The Isles have done it in the past, taking dipietro well higher than he should have gone. Same with Luongo arguably, so there's a precident for NYI to go off the board and take a goalie.
There have been a few cases regarding goaltenders, yes. But you can also see that many of those haven't reached their "full potential", and i'm obviously referring to DiPietro now. I don't think it makes sense for any team in the top5 to pick a goaltender, you obviously draft the best player available, but i believe it's a little different when it comes to goaltenders, especially in the 1st round. It's a tough position to draft. There are only 30 starting jobs in the NHL. And you will be able to pick 1 out of 5 great players in the top5, players that could make a difference to a weak team right away and for years going forward. And as i said, i also don't think that Demko is top10 worthy. He's been great, sure. But i wouldn't count on him going top10.
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that's what many said about Fluery & Price, they went 1st & 5th overall respectively.
I really doubt that Demko is top5 material. I guess you could question Pittsburgh for selecting Fleury 1st overall. But Price had a stellar season in his draft year, and both Fleury and Price played way more games than Demko. I also think that there are a few quality goaltenders in this draft. You got Demko, but also guys like Nedeljkovic, Husso and even Jonas Johansson. Demko might be the best goalie of them all, but it would be stupid to "waste" a top5 pick on a goaltender, when you will find a good goalie in the 2nd/3rd round. And even though Demko has been good, he's definitely not top5 worthy, or top10.
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Just consider this. If Virtanen was born in Europe and Ehlers was from Vancouver, how many people do you think would want Ehlers? I'll tell you; the amount of people would greatly increase.
Virtanen gets so much talk here just because he's from the Vancouver area.
I'm fine with Virtanen as the 10th pick, I believe there are better players at the 6th spot (Ritchie and Ehlers).
Pretty much this. Is it even documented that Virtanen is a Canuck fan? Does that matter to people here? Or is it just because he's from BC? Imagine if he said, prior to the draft, that he's a die-hard Flame fan. I would laugh so hard.
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And there it is Hedman,
My apologies.
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Listen sunshine.
he posted facts, stats scouts numbers and based opinions. He posted where scouts had players ranked. he stated that in the first few lines of his post.
Don't bring your smarmy attitude up in here without at least having the wit or intelligence to refute that simple truth.
Because you can't.
But that "brilliant post" is gonna be lost on you won't it?
Warhippy, i've no idea what you're talking about. Did you even read what i wrote? You know, it's only 1 page back...Refute the simple truth? He said that Ehlers and Nylander shouldn't even be in the conversation here since THIS IS WHAT THE SCOUTS SAYS THEREFORE THIS IS HOW IT WILL END UP,AND THESE ARE THE BEST PLAYERS. I simply replied that Bo Horvat wasn't a projected top10 pick by many "pro scouts" last year, especially not by those he brought up. He still went 9th overall. Button had him at 19th overall for an example. So basically, why shouldn't Ehlers or Nylander be in the conversation here? Ehlers and Nylander are both great players/prospects in their own ways.We're talking about Craig Button, someone i would hardly call a credible guy. I'm not bashing Ossi's post entirely. But i think his "facts" (as you would like to call them) are slightly biased, and not accurate as to where players will go in the draft. It doesn't really say anything. You can find plenty of mock drafts online, both ameteur mock drafts and "professional mock drafts". Why did Ossi only include those 4 rankings and not a couple of other rankings? Is Craig Button a mock draft genius? Why did he even bring up CSS if they rank NA/Europe players seperately? It doesn't make sense.-
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Ossi posted a BRILLIANT post full of facts and stats and scouts opinions and it was shot down out of...well no reason at all
Explain to me how that are facts? The "fact" included Craig Button who had a guy jumping 30 spots in 1 month. He also included CSS, which shouldn't even be included at all since they don't even combine NA skaters with european skaters. But i guess you didn't read my point regarding Horvat either? Which proves that scouting reports doesn't mean everything. Brilliant post. Yeah.... Like yours.
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Haters are going to hate regardless of the facts presented to them. Anyone with any knowledge would know that Van will not waste the 6 pick on any of these soft euro skill players when its 100% clear at least to me and all the other posters with any common sense is that its either going to be Ritchie or Virtanen if no1 drops down out of the top 5.
What facts?
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6th in NA.
Jeez I'm just looking at that list & its horrible. Ehlers at 14? Yikes.
Well again, they didn't even have Schiefele in there top 15 NA skaters in 2011 (final rankings).
Last year they had Zykov (7th) & Gauthier (8th) ahead of Mantha (10th), Horvat (15th), Zadorov (22nd), Morrisey (27th). Aswell as guys like Nastasiuk (13th), Lodge (21st) in there ahead of some of the prominent guys listed above.
no reason to over analyze some of these lists and use them as absolutes.
I know. But some people think that the European rankings doesn't even matter, NA players are "far more superior", small players or not. Therefore, Virtanen is the obvious 6th overall choice.
I'm also laughing at BanTSN for making the Hodgson comparison... omg does that look narrow-minded or what..
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Why does this even matter? You cherry pick some meh sources to prove a point that really means nothing? Pre-draft rankings mean nothing.
None of those sources had Mark Schiefele in the top 10 in 2011. Bob Mackenzie (the best source you brought up) was the only one who had him his top 15. And CSS didn't even have him in there top 15 NA skaters.
And there are plenty of other examples of the rankings being horrible.
I also don't understand how you can use CSS as a source, they seperate Euro/NA.
Everyone has an opinion, but there is no concenus at this point in time, 10 years from now we may have a concenus on who the 6th best player in this draft is, but who knows right now.
That's because he would love to "prove" to everyone that Virtanen is the best guy available, since they had him at 6th overall
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button had virtanen in the second round like a month ago. what a nob.
lol yeah it's ridiculous
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Why are Nylander and Ehlers even in this conversation still? Nylander isn't even the top Euro on McKenzie, Button, or the CSS list. Ehlers isn't even ranked in the top 10 on either of the CSS or ISS lists. Yet someone CDC gets a boner for a guy who plays with Drouin and weighs all of 165 lbs.
Kapanen is ranked higher across the board than Nylander and by most scouting services Ehlers too.
Ritchie and Virtanen however, are consensus top 10 picks (on ISS, CSS, Button,and McKenzie's list). So many of you make the argument that taking Nylander or Ehlers is taking the better player, but clearly they are not the best pick available, and don't even have the size to compensate.
The only way to truly determine a consensus pick at 6 is to assign values to each ranking. As such, from 6-10 will be assigned points from 5 points for 6th to 1 point for 10th. I am of course ignoring the consensus top 5, believing that whoever drops will be taken at 6th. The list with numerical values is as follows:
From left to right (ISS, McKenzie, Button, CSS)
Nylander – 5 0 0 0 = 5 points
Ehlers - 0 4 1 0 = 5 points
Ritchie – 2 5 3 4 = 14 points
Kapanen – 0 2 4 2 = 8 points
Virtanen – 1 3 5 5 = 14 points
Tuch – 3 0 0 0 = 3 points
Perlini – 2 0 2 3 = 7 points
Fleury - 0 1 0 2 = 3 points
By ranking BPA:
Virtanen - 14 points (6th overall twice)
Ritchie - 14 points (6th overall once)
Kapanen - 8 points *
Perlini - 7 points
Nylander - 5 Points (5th overall in ISS)
Ehlers - 5 points
Fleury - 3 points
* Kapanen was given 2 points for the 1st ranking in CSS Euro. regardless of the value assigned to this ranking the gap between 2nd and 3rd is too great to make a difference.
So, as a consensus from the scouting services and TSN analysts, Virtanen and Ritchie are the best picks available.
ISS had Horvat at 10th. Bob had Horvat at 13th. Bonehead Button (not even credible) had Horvat at 19th. CSS had Horvat at 15th for NA skaters. Don't look into rankings too much, especially not non credible ones.
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you just proved my point. What round were those guys drafted in?
How the fuck does that prove your point? That's irrelevant.
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Wonder how you guys think Ehlers or Nylander would look in the King vs Shark series.
Enough already with the fast shifty perimeter players. Just go and sign Raymond or Cammalleri.
At 6 it better be Ritchie or Virtanen or a top 5 dropper.
If you look at our youth we need some size that can win puck battles, drive the net and blast rockets.
Horvat Shinkaruk Kassian
Cassels Jensen Schroeder
Gaunce Fox Grenier
Pavelski is doing pretty good. So is Nieto. And Dan Boyle. And...........
[Confirmed] Jim Benning signs as new Canucks GM
in Canucks Talk
Posted
Sorry for insulting your favorite coach-option. Just speaking out the truth regarding Radulov and Trotz.