Tragoedia

What the hell? Cloutier was an NHL goalie for years with excellent talent. Regardless of whether he played consistently under pressure, he does know what it takes. You don't need to be the best "skill" wise to be an excellent teacher, you just have to know what you are doing. The teaching aspect is another skill in itself. If a goalie has that retort to a coach then he's a sour brat (not saying Demko would). That's a low blow response to advice, rejecting it with a retort about how the coach failed 13 years ago. The corner advice might seem obvious, but that's just the surface level of what it is. What he really is saying is you can't cheat like in college or junior as much, as guys have quicker and more accurate shots (corners). A goalie coach's job is to tell a goalie what they need to do to do better. Any goalie happy with their play is doomed to fail. Demko had an amazing season in college, but that means jack all in the AHL or NHL if a player can't transition their play between leagues. Besides, sometimes the best teachers are the ones who got close at the highest level but failed (often miserably), because they are the ones who know exactly where they went wrong. Winners sometimes are more blind to their flaws.

Based off these two games, which although is a tiny sample size, I see at least a solid third pairing defender (the kind that although is third pairing, is still a vital role player). I'm not putting a ceiling on him, and he could be more. But if we get a solid 4-6 role defender out of him, we have a solid win.

This is Bo Sang all over again.

Yeah, I agree. He seemed to have a lot of potential after we drafted him, but had some unfortunate injuries paired with an AHL club that was not working in tandem with it's NHL club. Now he's an older prospect, so he'll have to work that much harder to get an NHL gig. He is tearing up across the sea, but we have a bunch of young scoring wingers who play the role he plays in Baertschi, Shinkaruk, Vey (to an extent). We also have more physical forwards like Virtanen and Gaunce who are also capable of scoring. For him to make the Canucks, he would have to find a way to get a spot ahead of Shinkaruk and Baertschi. Meanwhile, we have needs on defense. He could be a nice supplementary piece in a trade getting a defensive prospect/ young dman back. But like you, I'm never opposed to a player making the Canucks who deserves a spot.

I think they also just enjoy trying to prove somebody wrong.

I like lemons.

Awww. After the update now this post has +98 instead of the sub -1000 that it had before. That was the thing of legends. That needs to be rectified. THAT IS DESTRUCTION OF A HERITAGE ARTIFACT!!!

But do we reeeeaaallly need him?

Both.

Even if he was benched at times and made a few "rookie" type plays he still held his own. He was contributor to the teams success and that bodes well for his confidence. Hopefully he can be a dominating player next year and translate that success into the NHL.

Shinkaruk Horvat Virtanen line in the future?

Canada vs. Finland is going to be a tighter game. The Finnish teams always play solid defensive hockey and are tenacious on the forecheck. They have one of the best coaching systems in the world, as their teams always seem to punch in above their weight (no offense to the many talented Finnish hockey players).

This is one of the most exciting games I've watched in years.

I hope he drafts me!

I'm done. This team has no hope. I still love the guys but I'm not coming back until some changes are made and we have a new season. This season is a bust and not worth following. It's like the season ended January 1st. I feel for the players but I don't know what to say.

I don't know what to say...

Listening to Oilers broadcast. So because Eakins went to a Canucks training camp he apparently is an ex Canuck. Also, Kesler wears HIS old number. I laughed.

BAH HUMBUG

I was more noting your dislike of your own team. Don't get me wrong you can bash them all you want here, you are completely welcome here brother. It was just a slightly confusing post considering you are a preds fan but you hate your team. Still, I agree that they are no fun to watch!

Bieksa and Stanton on point.

PredsFanFromLA... I'm confused...

He looks like an old timer: ugly mug, busted teeth, crazy hair, gruff facial hair, hates wearing a helmet, balding, scrappy. I like it.

What a surprise... 0-0

He is busting hard right now. He better score on his next shot or he is in hot water...

Never tell me the odds. I don't know. I really like the dark jerseys with the green that pops. I think they look really cool out on the field.