Crabcakes Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 7 hours ago, chilliwiggins said: I'm thinking Benning really didnt want to have Zman on the list of vancouver contracts but was forced to. I can see him as part of a package at the deadline. Last year, Zalewski went 3-9-12 and -4 in 55 games in the regular season and 1-2-3 in 22 playoff games. At that point, they decided not to re-sign him with the Canucks but agreed to and AHL contract with the Comets since he's from close by and he didn't have a better offer. This year, he's 8-9-17 and +5 in 36 games so far. It's a marked improvement and in order to be called up, he needed an NHL contract. Nobody was forcing Benning to sign him. He was the best option for call up at this time and they wanted to see what they had. It's a good story; not the only undrafted player in the system (Sautner). I wish him luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobart16 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Mike is the Comets MVP so far this year. He earned his contract and he has obvious, significant upside. His frame will accommodate another 5-10 pounds, his speed is NHL level, and his offense in Utica has been better this year. He came into the league as a creative player but quickly realized he would have to grind his way to minutes first. I thought his Canucks TV interview was telling when he said it wasn't hard to accept the AHL only deal because he wanted to be in Utica with the staff there, and because he has worked his way up throughout his career at every level he has played. Loved that answer. Unlike some guys (hello Drouin!), he has no expectation of being gifted anything. It's possible he could be packaged, his contract at NHL minimum is no barrier, and he has definite value to anyone paying attention. I'd personally hate to see that (unless he goes to the Sabres in a deal where the Canucks somehow end up with Ristolainen!) but that's life in the big city. In addition to Mike being a real swiss army knife, he has been durable. Shinkaruk, Gaunce have been out and dinged up, Grenier and Kenins are out now. The vet Blair Jones has been injured too, and the loss of Biega, Clendening and Corrado from last year at the back has hurt D depth. Throw in the the loss of Vey and Jensen, and Bachman being sub par for him, and you have a recipe for trouble. But all that seems like it is going to be in the rear view mirror. We will get Mike back when Sutter comes in, and maybe Cracker too when Henrik comes back. Hamhius will bounce Weber down, who will hopefully clear waivers. Grenier and Kenins come back, and we are in business. Bachman will turn it up for the playoffs and the Comets can go on a playoff run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N4ZZY Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 14 hours ago, Gooseberries said: Most noticeable is virtanen for sure. I was a first to criticize him after every play (not fair i know but he was terrible). Hes like a different player. Hes usung his speed hitting again. Many thought that the criticism was due to lack of offensive production. Really it was his play all around. We wasn't doing anything well and i stand by that to this day. But now (still not producing) you can easily see thebplaywr we drafted. And hes consistently played like this since coming home from the wjc. Either he or management found the problem and has corrected it. My hat is tipped. I have been critical of Jake as well. but he's been good as so many on here have observed since the WJC. either something clicked mentally and in his understanding of the pro game. or he's just progressed naturally since the beginning of the year. he hasn't been scoring. but in all the other areas of his game. he seems to have grown. I'm impressed. if this is a glimpse of the type of player he can become plus the offensive skill set. this fanbase is in for a treat in a couple of years. it's obvious who the new core is going to be once Hank and Danny retire. Bo, Sven, Virtanen, McCann, Hutton, Shink, etc and whoever we draft in the next two drafts and onwards. it's exciting to be a Canuck fan. the future is looking brighter and brighter. if we can add another top pick moving forward. this team is going to be very good moving forward. I'm excited. hope the members on this board and the fans in general in this city are equally if not more excited. as for Willie. I've been critical of some of his strategies and his decisions when it comes to line ups and what not. but I will admit that he's doing a good work especially with our young players. it's not easy having as many youth in the line up of an NHL team and expected to make the playoffs as well. he's done a good job at bringing the younger players around and a decent job at winning given his roster and the skill and talent he has to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 On 1/25/2016 at 0:21 AM, Derp... said: Zalewski allows us to move a vet whether that's prust or Cracknell, doesn't really matter. The key is that he ca serviceably fill in when needed. Proud of Z-lew for working harder than most guys. Like a bigger faster Friesen in my opinion. Maybe that is the main reason Zalewski was called up. To see what he could do in the NHL. I mean they didn't have to call him up. They could have just signed him and that would have been enough recognition for the improvement in his game. They didn't have to bring him up as well. Unlike some people on CDC, I don't think Benning is going to trade veterans (UFA such as Vrbata and Hamhuis, Prust etc.) at the deadline. Instead, I think Benning is going to move vets if there is a younger player ready to take his position. A la Bieksa and Lack. I feel there is going to be a lot of changes to the Canucks between now and the start of next season. That is what transition is all about. It looks like Benning is "auditioning" a lot of our Utica prospects this season. He needs to evaluate these prospects/projects in an NHL setting and gauge their development. You have to know what you've got in young players/prospects before making any trades that will impact them. Like you said, with Zalewski's fine showing during his call up, the clock is ticking for guys like Craknell and/or Prust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowardrobertford Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Maybe they brought him up to see if the fans would like him, I thought he could be a burrows Hansen type, like most of the guys in Utica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobart16 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 That Pittsburgh loss was so painful. I'm just recovering now. These things happen but imagine where we would be had we walked out of there with a 3-2 win after controlling the game start to finish, following up a solid outing against the Bruins, in their barns, instead of what we got. Road trip would have been a huge success, instead of a solid trip. Canucks would be on a giant roll with a long break to recover from injuries and rest for vets who seem to need it. The locker room would have to be pretty excited about things with a back half schedule with 60% home games, Sutter and Sedin coming back, and good young players having bridged the gap to a second half run. The only guys who would be upset probably are Cracknell and Prust. That Pittsburgh game was more than the lost 2 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobart16 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Yes, the road trip was solid as I said, not just because of the results but who did it. Virtanen, Taylor Fedun, Linden Vey, Mike Zalewski. Wow. A lot of young players out there and the D getting a lot of pressure every outing. Getting that Pitt win would have been a huge game and we would be riding in to the Nashville game ready to blow them out of the building 5-1. Now it is another pressure packed game where we need that win and sticks will be gripped tightly. We win in Pitt and Boston and this game they come in confident and get what I believe would be the first 3 game streak all season? Then you take that 3 game streak, rest up, get your best player back, your best face-off man back, lots of home games and things look so much different. A loss tonight would be devastating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 2 hours ago, hobart16 said: Yes, the road trip was solid as I said, not just because of the results but who did it. Virtanen, Taylor Fedun, Linden Vey, Mike Zalewski. Wow. A lot of young players out there and the D getting a lot of pressure every outing. Getting that Pitt win would have been a huge game and we would be riding in to the Nashville game ready to blow them out of the building 5-1. Now it is another pressure packed game where we need that win and sticks will be gripped tightly. We win in Pitt and Boston and this game they come in confident and get what I believe would be the first 3 game streak all season? Then you take that 3 game streak, rest up, get your best player back, your best face-off man back, lots of home games and things look so much different. A loss tonight would be devastating. Meh. Putting too much weight in one game IMO. It was a loss, it sucked. Move on to the next one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canorth Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 2 goals in his first game back with the Comets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Like with Hansen, his hands seem to have caught up with his feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 This kid's turning into found $. Be nice if they could ship off Prust & Vey, amongst a couple others. Z's size, grit & speed make Vey redundant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I can feel a trade coming. Coming real soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gstank29 Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 2 minutes ago, Alexandre said: I can feel a trade coming. Coming real soon. Insider info Well I'm 100% sure there will be a trade in the next 4 weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Just now, Gstank29 said: Insider info Well I'm 100% sure there will be a trade in the next 4 weeks Haha.. you got me there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobart16 Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 2 hours ago, Canorth said: 2 goals in his first game back with the Comets. Guys come back from the call ups with extra swagger in their step. Just what we needed tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowardrobertford Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 He just need to get it consistently and hope he does as I've heard he has like 10 points in his last 14 games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 2 hours ago, Alexandre said: I can feel a trade coming. Coming real soon. A real good trade; real good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesB Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 5 hours ago, Canorth said: 2 goals in his first game back with the Comets. Nice to see. Z. looks potentially valuable. The guys in Utica have been saying good things about his improvement since last year. He has size, speed, is willing to contribute to the physical game, is solid defensively, has pretty good offensive skills and seems to have a great attitude. He is 23 so he does not have a lot of likely improvement coming, but with a bit more development it looks like he could play on the Canucks next year, maybe 4C. He looked good in his brief stint with the Canucks this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Maybe we see Z called back up after the trade deadline when some slots hopefully open up. I think he can be a solid NHL regular as a 4th liner. I'd gladly swap Prust out for Zalewski right now. Of course, Z doesn't have the same fighting experience but given a chance, I'm sure he could replace Prust's hugging and tweeting contributions. And based on what we've seen lately, he might also provide something of an upgrade over Prust in areas that are actually related to playing the game of hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 2 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said: Maybe we see Z called back up after the trade deadline when some slots hopefully open up. I think he can be a solid NHL regular as a 4th liner. I'd gladly swap Prust out for Zalewski right now. Of course, Z doesn't have the same fighting experience but given a chance, I'm sure he could replace Prust's hugging and tweeting contributions. And based on what we've seen lately, he might also provide something of an upgrade over Prust in areas that are actually related to playing the game of hockey. I don't believe Z has ever dropped the gloves so don't expect that from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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