disisdayear Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 This thread titled "Captain Canuck" has got me thinking about the natural evolution of the leadership core of the Canucks. It's general consensus that the leadership group is made up of Henrik (32), Daniel (32), Kesler (28), Malhotra (32), Bieksa (30), Hamhuis (30) and Luongo (33). In brackets are their ages at the end of the 2012 calendar year. This has been the leadership group for the past four seasons since they took over from remaining parts of the West Coast Express at the start of the 2008-2009 season. There's a lot of talk about how the current leadership group is a self governing group, with minimal coaching/management intervention, that demands accountability of each other. As a group, they have accomplished as much, if not more than other leadership groups in the history of the Canucks. Looking at our current leadership group, a couple of questions arise... (1) How many years does this collective group have left? And does this group have what it takes to win the cup? My opinion is that the Sedins have 2-3 years left; Kesler has 5-6 years; Bieksa and Hamhuis have 4-5 years; Malhotra and Luongo are on borrowed time. I'm not entirely certain this group can get us to the promised land...they're very good, but for whatever reason they haven't been able to close the deal. (2) Luongo appears to be on the way out, so has the natural evolution of the leadership group begun? My opinion is that the movement have begun -- lucky for us, Schneider seems to have all of the on and off ice qualities to step in and replace Luongo on all fronts. As well, without trying to read too much into MG's comments, his statement of wanting to get younger and bigger seems to allude to an openness within the management group (AV, whether he wants to or not, included) to giving opportunities for younger players in the system to step up on the leadership front. (3) Are there any prospects currently in the system that possess the qualities to lead the next leadership group? Maybe Gaunce? McNally? Jensen? (4) Related to question 3, will we have to look outside the organization to source out our next leadership group? Personally, I'm not certain about this question because I know very little about our prospects am curious what others think about our future leadership group. (5) How is the team positioned compared to when Henrik, Daniel, Kesler, et. al. took over four years ago? Are we better/same/worse? My opinion is that we're not as strong as we were with the next wave of leaders, but I suppose that's because this hasn't been a organizational issue. Anyways, I'd be interested in what members of the Board thinks about this issue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Holy crap, Kesler is 28 already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danthecanucksfan Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 we traded hodgson................... so when hank retires in 7 years, Jensen will be captin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I've always found Leadership to be the most overrated aspect of sports. You want to be a leader? Take control of the team. How do you take control of the team? Hard work and be respected. Being the best player on the team helps. It's not about talking or taking control, it's about having your teammates listen to you when you say something. It all comes with the naturally. The more you are emotionally involved in something, the more you have a voice. You have a voice or an opinion, then you can be a leader. It has everything to do with experience and maturity. PS - Apparently Gaunce has a bit of Jonathan Toews personality in him. Maybe he'll take control in the future, if he's good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
our time is now Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I personally think gaunce has leadership enough to lead this team to the cup he is way underrated around the prospects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uber_pwnzor Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 This thing is that I don't really see a new wave/generation of leaders of players emerging as this group of players born around 1980 retire. When the Näslund, Morrison, Öhlund and Jovo started to decline and moved we had the Sedins, but now we don't have anything... I guess that's what you get for being consistently good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VANFAN101 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I personally think gaunce has leadership enough to lead this team to the cup he is way underrated around the prospects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButterBean Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Sedins have only 2-3 years left? I beg to differ. Their game doesn't revolve on an attribute that lots of players lose once they get old. Mainly their hockey sense and vision on the ice is what makes them really good players, as long as that stays intact I can see them staying for 5 more years even if they get demoted to the 2nd line in a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I feel that Kesler and the Sedins will probably retire around the same time. Despite the age difference, Kesler's injuries are slowing him down and the twins are conditioned better than anyone in the league. Once they retire the Canucks are in trouble. This is where Hodgson would have been a perfect fit with Gaunce and Schroeder behind him, but now we have a big hole at that #1 center position that MG will hopefully fill in half a decades time. On defence I feel Edler will carry an "A", Schneider will be a part of the leadership group, Hansen will take up some leadership as well as will Kassian if we keep him long enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disisdayear Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 I feel that Kesler and the Sedins will probably retire around the same time. Despite the age difference, Kesler's injuries are slowing him down and the twins are conditioned better than anyone in the league. Once they retire the Canucks are in trouble. This is where Hodgson would have been a perfect fit with Gaunce and Schroeder behind him, but now we have a big hole at that #1 center position that MG will hopefully fill in half a decades time. On defence I feel Edler will carry an "A", Schneider will be a part of the leadership group, Hansen will take up some leadership as well as will Kassian if we keep him long enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tragoedia Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 In 2006 would you have pictured Henrik Sedin as captain of the Canucks? I sure didn't. Things have a way of happening in ways that we can never fully predict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keslerian one Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 LaBate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagorim Jarg Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 (1) How many years does this collective group have left? And does this group have what it takes to win the cup? My opinion is that the Sedins have 2-3 years left; Kesler has 5-6 years; Bieksa and Hamhuis have 4-5 years; Malhotra and Luongo are on borrowed time. I'm not entirely certain this group can get us to the promised land...they're very good, but for whatever reason they haven't been able to close the deal. The reason is, there are plenty of other good teams out there. There's nothing wrong with this group when on it's game, compared to other groups it may have more or less of certain things than other teams but winning the cup can't be something anyone should ever expect from any group. That being said, I do think this group can win it, but it's much more a case of luck and timing, who faces who in what rounds, who gets injured etc. I do think the young guys need to have a shot this year just to 'break the ice'. The rookie(s) on LA made a big splash and though they have size on their side, it's about time the Canucks showed some more youth in the lineup regardless of size. Have to use what team has. Would love to see Kassian develop into a leader someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderine Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 we traded hodgson................... so when hank retires in 7 years, Jensen will be captin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheels22 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I wish we still had old man Sami Salo to carry our defense and show them how to play the game right He was a great leader on the ice, that's for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tru_Knyte Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 As they say, leader's aren't born, they're made. Consequently, it's hard to say which of the current youth on our team will become the future leaders of the team. The players who might not seem like candidates now may mature over the next few years to become a part of that core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Optimist Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 For me, when you think about the qualities besides skill and points and height and age and weight, et cetera, you get down to leadership, mental toughness, team oriented work ethic, et cetera. I have thought for a while now that the 'core' of the team really does boil down to a thick sauce of just Kesler and Bieksa. These are the archtype players that I wish our entire team was personified by. These are guys, who may not be the best in the league at their positions, but they are good at them, and they amplify those on ice skillsets with team work, dedication to the model the team is built on, and a certain mental quality that is rare enough in the NHL, let alone on the Canucks Roster. I am glad that we have a core, albeit just two guys, who are split into an offense and a defensive role. These characters, and they are characters, can and will shape the team on and off the ice, and they will do it for years to come. Lapierre is benefiting from this already, but I am getting ahead of myself..Kes is going to be 28 for the duration of the 12-13 season, and Bieksa will be 31 for its entirety. Kes has not yet peaked in his on ice skillsets either, which is a great thing for the future. It is no accident that these two guys are wearing A's on their jerseys. As I mentioned above, Lapierre is blossoming under the same style of, for lack of a better term, character, and it is showing in a greatly improved on ice contribution to the club. I expect that Mike Gillis and his executive squad brought in Kassian to grow under the same influence, and add these same character traits to his already impressive hockey skills set. At some point in the last three years I mentioned somewhere in the forums that our entire team should be built on the Kesler/Bieksa character traits model, not just a 'big' 'tough' model, but one where, to borrow a term from Gillis himself, where the team is hard to play against. Hard. That is the word I want to use to describe Kes and Bieksa, and to a degree Lapierre. We can clearly see the Sedin Brothers are stellar hockey players, the best on average, for several years now, honestly, they are superpro's. Can we call them "HARD". I don't mean to disrespect them when I say that comparative to Kes/Bieker no they are not hard. Burrows has a bit of the edge of Hardness, if not the size to carry out its promise, and Hansen/Raymond simply don't. They are al good hockey players, and I am happy to have them on the team I love, but if I was looking to improve the basics of the team, I would ice 6 Bieksa's and 12 Keslers and call it fixed. Going forward, the scouting team has to identify that mental skillset in guys who also have high skill levels, and then mentor the team as it transitions into Hard. I think the window is firmly wide open, as every team is constantly in flux, and with Kes being only 28, he has another decade of hockey to go, and by then, we may not have any single guy left here on the team from say 2006, or even 2010. Teams evolve..the thing of it is to evolve towards a destination, and not regress as a team. I think we have the foundation to do that as a club, and I think management is years ahead of me in pointing it out and acquiring guys who can be mentored into Hard hockey players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John.Tallhouse Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I was hoping Hodgson would take over as captain down the road.. ah well at least we got this guy, I'm sure he can fill a captain roll..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Perhaps I am in the minority here, but I don't see Kes as being as much of a positive leader as I used to...........in many respects I see him as a bit of a distraction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamHerO Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Kesler has an ego problem, I don't see him as a captain at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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