AriGold Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Whos fault is this mess of a player we have in front of us ? Die hard canucks fan here but this is like a story of a kid who had everything going for him, then turned to drugs and lost everything.. Maybe that was a terrible analogy but you get the picture. He has been on a terrible downswing since joining the organization and I can't seem to figure out why, so thought I would ask the lovely people of CDC.. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=61770 So, What happened ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pears Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 A lot of it has to do with AV scratching him for the likes of Rome and Alberts, hence him losing his confidence and not performing at a top 4 D man level. Although I feel Ballard's performance in the playoffs is a sign of good things to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigmund.Palffy Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 AV loved Rome . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotshirt Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Ballard can't play the right side worth a damn, but AV keeps sticking him over there in hopes that he's going to miraculously be able to excel there. Should give him the old Cody treatment and shelter him for half a year (we're going to make the playoffs anyways) so he can actually look half decent and ship him off before the playoffs. That option wasn't in the poll though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James van Riemsdyk Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Maybe if we played him with top 4 minutes occasionally he would get at least 20 points, he might get progressively better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Carrotshirt already said the key point; Ballard is not comfortable on the right side. When we acquired him, we expected him to be a top 4 left side guy who could rush the puck and contribute to our offense. But then a couple of days later we scored a bigger left side fish in Dan Hamhuis. No problem; play on the right side sir Kieth? Even when we got Ballard, we had Erhoff and Bieksa on the right side. But both were pending FA's the next year, so Kieth could be depth? Once Erhoff left, he's had that chance and not been able to fill it. Maybe now he's still depth in case (hope not) Edler leaves next year as one of our top left side guys? But the second as yet un said reason is the partners Ballard has had. On the 3rd pair, he simply has not had guys like Bowmeister (as he had in Florida) to partner with. He's not had that big stud who could anchor the defense, so Ballard could use his speed to roam. Maybe Garrison can be that guy??? Look, I fully expect Garrison's booming shot to play with Edler anchoring the top PP. But I believe the popular approach, pairing him with Edler full time, would be a mistake. Tanev proved that he is a great passer and plays positionally very well, but was not big enough to suitably pair with Hamhuis as a top shut down line. We tried that last year so we could try Bieksa (who has decent offensive skills) with Edler. But Tanev was not up to it. I say play Tanev with Edler, and the Twins / Burrows in offensive situations where his size is not a problem, but his passing is an asset. Then leave Garrison to let Ballard roam as both our 2knd shut down pair (behind Hamhuis / Bieksa) and 2knd O' pair (behind Tanev / Edler). Then we can truly ice three pairs deep! (and Garrison still plays the PP with Edler). Thats what we should do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Threads like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:D Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Hey, I was just talking to him out in the garden and he says that a sudden fear of horses has contributed to his poor play as of late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrath_jason Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 No more players from Florida please. PLEASE. I think we have around half of their roster now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Undergoing a secret operation to make the world's first bionic hockey player. Better than he was before. Better. Stronger. Faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opmac Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Ballard can't play the right side worth a damn, but AV keeps sticking him over there in hopes that he's going to miraculously be able to excel there. Should give him the old Cody treatment and shelter him for half a year (we're going to make the playoffs anyways) so he can actually look half decent and ship him off before the playoffs. That option wasn't in the poll though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Bunnies Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Agreed with Canuck Surfer, I've always wanted to see Tanev play with Edler. I believe at some point they played together for very little. I really think letting Edler and Tanev play with the Sedins would be beneficial, utilize Tanev's great passing abilities with the twins. Ballard is a very good puck-carrier and I agree that he could be paired with Garrison, and that way Ballard can use his speed to gain entry to the offensive end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieCrumbs Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Have some faith in Keith, he'll be back to form. It's been said before, but he did look like our most confident D man during that Kings series, which I keep trying to forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkSniper Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 1:11 *watch at your own risk* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzy Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Always somebody to rag on about on this forum. Last few months of the season he actually played pretty well. You should try watching some games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzy Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 This article ( which I find brilliant ) was written after series 1 of the SCF playoff season. It's a good read. Says alot about Keith Ballard. Playoff performances have been pretty good. http://vansunsportsblogs.com/2011/04/27/why-does-keith-ballard-smell-like-press-box-popcorn/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesler's Nose Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Who cares??! As long as we sign Arnott!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggins Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Whos fault is this mess of a player we have in front of us ? Die hard canucks fan here but this is like a story of a kid who had everything going for him, then turned to drugs and lost everything.. Maybe that was a terrible analogy but you get the picture. He has been on a terrible downswing since joining the organization and I can't seem to figure out why, so thought I would ask the lovely people of CDC.. http://www.hockeydb....y.php?pid=61770 So, What happened ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keslerian one Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 - dude can't play right side, so he's stuck on the third pairing. - he could thrive in a role where they give him sheltered minutes and pp time, but that's not why we brought him here. - he makes good plays and then all of a sudden a dumb mistake, which means AV won't play him. - although he's physical, he's small and can't really clear the crease. - he played better with Tanev who's always in position, but ballard gets caught doing too many things at the wrong time. his blatant mistakes overshadow his good attributes. that about sums it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesman60 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Most of it had to do with him getting injured. By his own admission, he was not playing as well as others that were put in his place. You can't blame the coach for playing the better player at the time. Ballard has had time to heal now and should be ready if we have a season this year. The guy is a good player but needs to be healthy to make a major contribution. CDC has a short memory when players are recovering (see Kevin Beiksa, Ryan Kesler etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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