Warhippy Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Not sure why everyone on here is defending Gaunce... typical Canucks love affair with their prospects. Every Canucks prospect is the second coming of Alex Delvecchio as far as CDC is concerned. I've watched Gaunce play on a number of occasions and the OP is correct, the guy is slow as molasses and is a total pylon. As for Hunter, I also have to agree with the OP. The guy is pure talent, he doesn't bring much else to the table besides goals and assists. His point totals are where you want to see him excel. I'm a bit disappointed with his season with Utica so far. But I guess the expectations were high....... I've been a Gaunce defender from day 1. He is not a pylon, you couldn't be anymore wrong. If anything he's actually gottenf aster since his draft year, he was drafted 2nd over all in the OHL select, he has some solid offensive skills and if you REALLY think he's a pylon I suggest you watch vids from Getzlaf and Jumbo Joe Thorton's draft years. Decent skaters but slow as hell and terrible laterally. If that is what you think is a pylon than you're going to be pleasently surprised. Gaunce might never translate into mroe than a 3rd line center or bottom 6 winger in the NHL but he's big, he's tough and he's a rock on the puck and a beast in the corners. Pylons are guys who get turned around all the time and lose position on skaters. if you've watched Gaunce you'd know that rarely happens as his IQ is incredible. Again I may be biased because I've been a huge Gaunce fan from day one. but to seriously call him a pylon is more than laughable. To critique Shinkaruk for not being a PPG player or some such nonsense after everything he's gone through over the last 2 years is beyond nuts. It is NOT a love affair and it is far from over hyping them. it is being realistic. What is troubling is how people look at stats sheets and somehow come to the conclusion that prospect A is good int he CHL and will be an all star at 19 in the league. Or that player Y is not a PPG + player in the AHL and as such is a pylon or bust. Again Gaunce is almost a .5 ppg player in his first year in the AHL playing on the 4th line. Shinkaruk is almost a .5 ppg player at barely 20 years old after having missed 18 months recovering from major hip surgery and coming back against grown men not kids as an over ager in his last year in the CHL Be patient. Anything else is just foolish as anything else is NOT development in any sense of the word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter.S-Kerouac Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Have you actually watched him play or are you just basing this on his stats. He's the most tenacious player on the team. He isn't having a set back he is right on track with learning the pro game. He is learning the tools right now that will make him stick in the NHL when he gets there. Instead of just being spoon fed O zone stars and PP time he is having to fight for it in the trenches. Look out for him to make the jump when he is 22 23 he is going to be an impact player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogbyte Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 So many people are so out to lunch. Hunter said his goal would be to be super good and be one of the best players around, and of course a bunch of people believed an 18 years olds vision of the future. Even if it were possible it's mildly head shaking that some people expect that right now. The facts are he is was a 26th overall pick, close to being a second rounder with little statistical chance at making the NHL. Hunter can score goals, and loves to play the game, but he was never going to walk in and score 40 goals in his first year like some think. Those people don't know much about how hockey works. He's actually on a proper development curve. He started slow, and then now getting half way through the season he's learning a bit more about what he needs to do to succeed. Pro hockey is hard folks, and can pay you really good money. It will take most any player some time to adapt and learn how to do the pro version of the sport. What is important is it really sounds like Green is being very honest, and fair with him while still giving great encouragement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hunter last hockey game before this season was back in November, 2014. He miss a close to a whole year recovering from surgery. Do you think he can be back playing at full strength after hip surgery plus playing against grown men in the AHL league. Let them develop in the AHL at least for 2-3 years like the Detroit prospects. Nailed it right there. It's really tough for a players development when they have a serious injury at that age. It sets them back and this is expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocksterh8 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. Julius Caesar The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. Arnold H. Glasow Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come. Robert H. Schuller Patience is a virtue, and I'm learning patience. It's a tough lesson. Elon Musk Take from some the most prestigious people that have lived this fine earth....be patient. Shinkaruk is learning: how to be a pro player for 70+ games, how to play both ends just as good than the other end, maintaining the same intensity every shift etc. Above all he is learning it from one of the best in Travis Green who has had the ability to churn out some great talents in Ryan Johansen, Derrick Pouliot, Nino Niedereiter, Luca Sbisa, Seth Jones and many more. Not only that but Green is a consumate professional and knows how to be successful in the bigs and is teaching Shinkaruk how to be a successful on every angle in the game. Too many fans expected Hunter to shoot right out of the gate yet are so myopic to the fact that he just came off a major surgery where he literally miss half a year because of it. Thus his training, game and development lags a bit because of it. Give him time, no need to rush the kid, he is only 20, and has years ahead of him before he will be a profound NHL star. Let him grow and develop his game and most importantly be patient. BTW stats doesn't really a whole lot at the lower levels. Everything matters once you start in the NHL...for now lets just worry about getting Shinkaruk to the NHL ready status before all else. What if you prefer eggs on toast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrible.dee Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Honestly, The knock on Hunter was his attitude, I really think he saw himself making the NHL this year, and when he didn't, it let some of air out of his tires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollarAndADream Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Shinkaruk has been one of Utica's most exciting players this season. It hasn't really reflected too well on the scoresheet, but he's looked great the past little while as well. There's nothing wrong with his development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Don't know why, but every time I hear the word pylon I think of Dana Murzyn in that Canucks playoff game where the enduring image is Stevie Y skating around him and has his arms raised after scoring. Meanwhile, Murzyn is still half way through completing his turn and and is basically sideways when Yzerman scored. Now Murzyn was a pylon. Gaunce not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanTSN Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hip injury to smaller guy who needs his legs going at all times is a big blow. We should not be surprised at how things are going at this point, but the good news is that he's showing improvement. Can't ask for more than this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaBamba Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hip injury to smaller guy who needs his legs going at all times is a big blow. We should not be surprised at how things are going at this point, but the good news is that he's showing improvement. Can't ask for more than this. I would say he is an average sized NHL forward. Don't know why people call him small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I just thought by now he would be leading the comets in goals by a country mile... not so much the case... where's all that flash gone ? Seems like he is learning the hard way for sure... At the time he was drafted and all through both training camps I thought it was evident that we finally had a new true sniper on our hands... these stats are disappointing is all... how many goals would have Hansen scored in 37 AHL games? Just really hoping that Shinkaruk isn't a Josh Holden 2.0. Turn it up a level already. When I look at the stats I was kind of shocked too but then read a couple of articles and realized he was coming off an injury, played terrible, then got scratched. Then when he came back he had some jump in his step. And as another poster said Travis Green rewards players for creating chances. If Hunter learns to create chances first in the AHL then he will eventually learn to score goals in the AHL. When he is doing that a consistent pace he will get his chance in the big leagues. Keep in mind this is his first year too. I think when judging our prospects its really important to listen to the posters who actually watch them play like the third post in this thread http://forum.canucks.com/topic/366527-whats-up-with-hunter-shinkaruk/#entry12546237 says he is creating multiple chances, so he is doing the first step that we need him to do. Also something not written much about is the fact that he must have extra jump in his step seeing Virtanen make the WJC and win a gold medal, extra jump from having injury while Horvat made the team and extra jump from playing in the AHL while Horvat is in the NHL. There is nothing wrong with that, cause it means when he makes the NHL he will be extra grateful for making it and will know what it truly takes to make the big leagues. Adversity is never a bad thing, it always teaches you something. EDIT:Grammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herberts Vasiljevs Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hip injury to smaller guy who needs his legs going at all times is a big blow. We should not be surprised at how things are going at this point, but the good news is that he's showing improvement. Can't ask for more than this. Perfectly said! What's he doing, people ask? Developing. That's what he's doing. From those who watch him play regularly in Utica, I've been hearing nothing but great things about Hunter from them - things like him being the most tenacious player on the ice throughout the whole game, him working hard in his own end, and generating chances as often as he can. I could care less about what his numbers look like right now, frankly. We didn't draft him to become a star in Utica. We drafted him to become a guy that you could depend on and trust every shift in the NHL; and more importantly, to produce. First, however, he has to learn how to do that against grown men. That's why he's in Utica right now. It's the very best scenario for him at the moment, especially on a Utica team that's doing as well as they are. It's very exciting when you put it all into perspective, actually. People are acting as if Utica is already the big show for him, though really, it's not. He's learning to play against pros, and he's been progressing very well thus far. Sometimes, great things just take a little time. Need not worry people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asian player Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Literally everything OP said is wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moustachio Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hasn't hunter been playing fairly limited (perhaps limited is the wrong word) 3rd line minutes? I'm by no means a Comets expert, but I have watched a bunch of games this year on hockeystreams and the coaching staff down there definitely lean on their vets. I'm not having a go, just making the point that despite armchair canucks GM's seeing Shinkaruk as a sniper, it's not like he's just walked into the top line winger role with a whole heap of o-zone starts and premo scoring opportunities. As a number of other people have said, the coaching staff down there are forcing him to earn his ice time by improving his 2-way game and ensuring he's not a liability... something that's going to be pretty important if he's going to make the step up to the NHL. I think because the CHL is such a stats game (prospects pretty much need to tally good numbers there to have a chance) people think they can glance at the Comets stats table every month and that gives them a genuine understanding of where our AHL prospects are at. It just doesn't work that way a lot of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyM Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Disappointing? Yes. Time to press the panic button? No. ^ This is the thread right here. Not much else left to say. A lot of us were hoping Shink was gonna evolve into a mid-season call-up. Just looks like we need to be a little more patient is all. No need for concern yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absent Canuck Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 What is wrong with Shink? He missed a full year of junior and isnt very good right now. Lets give it a year or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray_Cathode Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 The guys stats in Utica are really disappointing so far... 9 Hunter Shinkaruk LW 37 5 9 14 2 16 1 0 78 6.4 Even the pylon called Brendan Gaunce has more points than him with the same amount of games played.... So much for our future Canadian sniper superstar ? Is it the coach ? What is the problem? What's up ? There is no way he is getting a call up anytime soon with stats like these. Lonny Bohonos was putting up 40 goal seasons in the AHL before he even got a big league cup of coffee and he then couldn't translate that to the NHL. Is Shinkaruk becoming the next Josh Holden now? Are we fostering a future Spengler Cup leading scorer? Will he turn it around ?? Is the future so bright we still have to wear shades ??Alex Burrows, first year in the AHL AT AGE 242004-2005 Manitoba Moose-AHL GP 72 G 9 A 17 PTS 26Ryan Kesler, first year in the AHL AT AGE 212003-2004 Manitoba Moose-AHL GP 33 G 3 A 8 PTS 11Hunter Shinkaruk, first HALF season in the AHL - AGE 202014-2015 Utica Comets-AHL GP 37 G 5 A 9 PTS 14Brenden Gaunce, first HALF season in the AHL - AGE 202014-2015 Utica Comets-AHL GP 37 G 4 A 12 PTS 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I must admit that it's a bit of a shocker to see HS stats so low this season in Utica..I thought he would eat up the AHL...Having said that,wasn't he one of the last cuts at Canucks training camp two years ago..?...Shinkakruk has bundles of determination,so I'm sure he'll turn it around eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter.S-Kerouac Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcan29 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 It's early yet to make any predictions but for comparisons sake. Shinkaruk picked 24th overall in 2013 has 5 goals and 9 assists in 37 games. Poirier picked 23th overall in 2013 has 12 goals and 13 assists in 32 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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