2SKATES1STICK Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 jvr-johansen-voracek get it done mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moustachio Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I think we've got some fast players coming through the system. I also don't think it's a cliche that when this current team executes their game plan, plays smart and stays focused for a full game... they're capable of winning. Last nights game was truly excruciating to watch, so I get why there is so much anxiety in the aftermath. That being said though, I don't at all understand all these dramatic conclusions being drawn from it. Eddie (as backups tend to do) let in a stinker - it's not unfair to call it a lucky goal for Dallas. If that lucky goal doesn't go in, the game goes to OT and ends up as a well fought contest that went to the wire. What about all our breakaways and excellent scoring chances? Often created by smart play and bursts of speed. The talking heads say we only exploited mistakes by Dallas defense, but isn't that exactly what the Rangers were lauded for doing to us? Some of those opportunities were denied by a goalie having a great night, but others were just poorly executed because right now we're a team playing with absolutely no offensive confidence. If we'd potted even one of those, the whole game might have been different... and if the entire game was identical, but we'd scored on 2 or 3 of those chances (which has happened many times this year)... would so many people still be complaining about how slow we look? It's such a fine line. I'm not trying to say that everything is going great, but the margin between winning and losing last night was extremely narrow, and it's clear we weren't at our best. The team isn't finding a way to get 2 points, so nobody should be happy... but it's not like we were destroyed by Dallas' speed last night - the game was extremely close, and Eddie was only a fluke goal away from a shutout too. The guys just need to get some confidence back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchoball Cannons Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Maybe for a few shifts this was true, but for an entire period Dallas controlled the play and we were lucky to be only down by one after period 2. This lengthly vanishing act on what should have been an offensive rebound game vs. a weak defense is what Desjardins and Benning has to be concerned about. While we definitely miss Hamhuis, Dallas hasn't had any defensemen close to his calibre all season long. However, they have a lot of speed up front. We noticed that when they trounced us 7-1 in our first meeting this season. Anyway, we have some speedy prospects and the rebuild will continue for a few years. It was actually 6-3 in the game your referring to. which brings me back to my last point, do you actually watch the games or just chime in with your 2 bits after reading the province? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 We need to get rid of these older guys. The Sedins are old and two of the slowest players in the league now, Vbrata can skate but is average compared to the league. Higgins has some hustle but not as much as he used to, and the same goes for Burrows. Even Bonino is only average, about the same speed as Vbrata. That's our top-6, all average speed or much slower than it. Matthias has some speed and I'd say he's above the league-wide average. Richardson is pretty quick too, and Hansen is obviously the fastest on the team, and Vey is slightly above average. Basically our 3rd line is where all our speed is, and they see 15 minutes a night compared to what our hulking top-6 veterans play which is about 3/4 of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesB Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Faster and Bigger My thoughts exactly. I would add "younger" as well. The Canucks have too many players who are experiencing age-related decline and not enough who are young enough to still be improving. Right now the only forward on the NHL team clearly in that category is Horvat. Vey and Kassian might be but, at their age, they should not be far from their peak performance. Forwards peak about 27 but are generally pretty close to peak performance at 23 or 24. (I know there is variation across individuals but this is a strong general tendancy.) The D also needs to be bigger and faster. And Bieksa is defininetly past his peak. And frankly I am not as enthusiastic about the prospects as many people. Virtanen looks the like real deal. Cassels and McCann might be good, but it is too early to say much. But Gaunce, Shinkaruk, Jensen and Corrado have not developed as quickly as many people expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bissurnette Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Yeah, I think age has a lot to due with us slowing down...And it doesn't help that we lost guys who were fast for us previously too. I went to watch a game before Kassian got injured, so I've been wondering if it is just me who finds him to be slow or is he really slow? I didn't expect a young guy like him to be as slow as the Sedins. :| Kass is much bigger fella so you can't expect him to be fast. Guys like Matthias are hard to find so that's why we need to keep him. If a big guy is fast then that's a double whamy but if he's not then you have to look at the other intangibles that he brings. Kass is a tough big forward that can set up some plays here and there. Those are his strengths and explosiveness isn't one of them. Although I'd like to point out that his top speed is actually pretty good, it just takes him a while to get going so he needs to work on his acceleration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drakrami Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Sedins are obviously slower. Vrbata Dorsett seems pretty fast to me. Horvat seems slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 It was actually 6-3 in the game your referring to. which brings me back to my last point, do you actually watch the games or just chime in with your 2 bits after reading the province?Good catch. I lost track of our blowout losses. Hopefully that was your last point, whoever you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewmaster12 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Anyone thinks Jensen, Shink should make it next year to the NHL, and trading Burr and Highins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sestito Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Shinkaruk doesn't have dynamic speed. He's quick & shifty - see Linden Vey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William_Clarkson Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Anyone thinks Jensen, Shink should make it next year to the NHL, and trading Burr and Highins The 2nd line would be lit up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewmaster12 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 The 2nd line would be lit up. feels so risky when the haven't earned it yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesman60 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 We need some prolific scorers more than anything. Chances mean squat if you can't put the puck in the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat10000 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Didn't understand why the Canucks sat on their hands while Chase De Leo was still available in the 3rd round. Yeah, he's smallish, but has tons of speed and is above a point a game past two seasons in junior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewmaster12 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Thats right we need a pure goal scorer with tons of speed. That way we can be really dangerous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.DirtyDangles Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 It is both and has always been both. Size, speed, skill are all needed equally. We need more size and way more speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgyfan Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Didn't understand why the Canucks sat on their hands while Chase De Leo was still available in the 3rd round. Yeah, he's smallish, but has tons of speed and is above a point a game past two seasons in junior. And he may transition his game to the NHL. But how often have we heard the story of the smallish, speedy kid that 'tears it up' in the Jrs? I'm glad they picked Cole Cassels in the 3rd. He seems more likely to make the NHL. He's not a whole lot bigger, but he sure plays a bigger game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goblix Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 what we need is more Brendan Gallagher Speed and Size will always fall second to the willpower to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanTSN Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Bigger is Better. No, you don't need a team full of behemoths, but you have to consider that in the playoffs it gets a lot harder to get into the prime scoring areas. Bigger players are more able to do so. For those who want to make a point like Patrick Kane does it, then the response is two-fold: Dustin Byfuglien and Byron Bickell. Those really big players were not used all that much by the Hawks in their recent cup seasons until deeper into the playoffs when Kane and Toews found it harder to get to the net. The big guy simply creates more space. We've seen this during the Bertuzzi/Naslund heydey. Big Bert's presense in front of the net allowed Naslund to snipe from afar relatively uncontested. Zetterberg and Datsyuk in the same scenario played with Holmstrom, and recently Abdelkader. It's a proven way to score. And in a cap world it's important to have these guys, but NOT overpay them. Chicago traded Byfuglien when he was due to be overpaid and now Bickell is overpaid. So a plan to win with smaller top-6 forwards should include a big guy on a entry-level or at least an RFA contract. By small I mean less than 200lbs. Weight, not height, is what's important in the NHL and it should be imperative in this era to have most everyone on the team be at least 200lbs and be able to play decent minutes against all competition levels. If you manage that, then you have a clear advantage over teams who don't. But if you have smaller players, then they should have the skill, speed and gumption to make up for it. Guys who are too slight to go to the hard areas may tend to stay on the perimeter during critical moments. It's these moments that truly expose what type of player the guy is. If he's 50-100ft away from the net at all times, then the odds of him scoring are quite low. If, however, the smaller player has little fear, great strength for his size and tremendous skill to get the puck through heavy traffic, then he'll make up for his lack of size. If he does this in critical moments, then he is a very valuable small player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sestito Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 lol, "small guys like toews" top sixty scorers in the nhl average to about 183 pounds. get real tsn, you're in a fantasy land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.