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Size and Intensity


JamesB

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Well I get what you're alluding to, but Rick Rypien wasn't tall, Kenins isn't tall and neither was Stan "Steamer" Smyl but they all had intensity, and the played big. Matthius is tall but I've never seen much heavy play from him, he's 6'5" but plays like he's 5'6". We do need some players like Brown with an attitude. For instance I never understood why Archibald wasn't brought up in the play-offs just to throw a different look at Calgary. Here's the other thing both AV and now it seems like WD don't like that style. WD would never ever have played Ferland in our line up, Hartley did and it worked to their advantage. If you want a heavier game you have to have a coach that will bring that style

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Well I get what you're alluding to, but Rick Rypien wasn't tall, Kenins isn't tall and neither was Stan "Steamer" Smyl but they all had intensity, and the played big. Matthius is tall but I've never seen much heavy play from him, he's 6'5" but plays like he's 5'6". We do need some players like Brown with an attitude. For instance I never understood why Archibald wasn't brought up in the play-offs just to throw a different look at Calgary. Here's the other thing both AV and now it seems like WD don't like that style. WD would never ever have played Ferland in our line up, Hartley did and it worked to their advantage. If you want a heavier game you have to have a coach that will bring that style

Say what now? Did someone hack your computer, Fred?

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Sedin-Sedin-Burrows: Only Burrows is physical, and this aspect to his game is waning.

Higgins-Bonino-Vrbata: Nobody stands out as being a physical force, but Vrbata is fairly skilled and Bonino does what he's told.

Kenins-Horvat-Hansen: Decently physical line, but Horvat and Kenins are rooks and Hansen will always be Hansen.

Matthias-Vey-Dorsett: Only Dorsett is physical here, and he's been targeted.

Kassian: Pretty physical, but also not trusted.

Richardson: Not really.

Virtanen: Definitely physical, but I wouldn't overwhelm him as a saviour right out the gate.

Gaunce: So-so physicality and skating. Definitely decent size.

Baertschi: Nothing doing.

McCann: So-so physicality, but a bit smallish at the moment.

Cassels: A bit grittier than his father for sure, but also needs to gain some weight.

Shinkaruk: Nothing doing.

Grenier: tbd

Jensen: Nothing doing. Rare glimpses.

Archibald: Long-shot NHLer.

Edler-Tanev: Edler is a beast when activated. Tanev is constantly being destroyed.

Hamhuis-Weber: Hamhuis has taken a step back in this regard. Weber will never be known as a physical force.

Sbisa-Bieksa: Both are physical, and both can be defensive wildcards.

Stanton: Hasn't really taken a step forward as a Canuck so far.

Corrado: Probably will turn out a lot like Tanev.

Clendenning: Probably not physical.

Pedan: Pretty much a goon.

Hutton: Won't be known for it.

Tryramkin: tbd

There are a few brightspots going forward:

-I think Virtanen and Horvat will be able to raise their intensity levels for big games.

-McCann may as well and Cassels.

-Kenins was a nice surprise, but he may peak as another Hansen-type.

-If Gaunce pans out as a consistent top-9 guy, that's a bonus.

-Kassian is a wildcard. Who knows what his future is here. Seems to be put on a leash here.

-Shinkaruk won't be physical, but he may be an intense player.

-Grenier may turn into a gamer, fingers-crossed.

But some concerns:

-The current top-6 is buttery-soft and shows a complete lack of intensity in big games.

-Linden Vey doesn't appear to have the trust of his biggest fan anymore.

-Matthias seems to be saving it for another opportunity or something. If we have to clear cap room for him, hmmm.

-Hamhuis and Bieksa, who have something left to offer to perhaps a better team, are probably going to leave.

The concerns at the moment out-weigh the bright spots, so here we are like we already know, in a rebuilding phase.

It's obvious why Benning re-signed Dorsett and Sbisa. Because not doing so would leave a non-physical and disinterested remaining core combined with kids to be utterly exposed to some big bruises during these upcoming regular seasons, forget the playoffs.

Mother of God Benning has a LOT of work to do, and this is not solved by quick fixes, even if they present themselves. But why would key UFA's sign here during a rebuild phase? Instead we'll be able to pick up guys looking for paydays and early vacations I suppose. Yay? And trades? You'll find that teams generally aren't giving any of their key players away. You may find a deal for an overpaid problem star or some minor tweaks here and there, but I think everyone knows that we're really in for a haul here.

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Sedin-Sedin-Burrows: Only Burrows is physical, and this aspect to his game is waning.

Higgins-Bonino-Vrbata: Nobody stands out as being a physical force, but Vrbata is fairly skilled and Bonino does what he's told.

Kenins-Horvat-Hansen: Decently physical line, but Horvat and Kenins are rooks and Hansen will always be Hansen.

Matthias-Vey-Dorsett: Only Dorsett is physical here, and he's been targeted.

Kassian: Pretty physical, but also not trusted.

Richardson: Not really.

Virtanen: Definitely physical, but I wouldn't overwhelm him as a saviour right out the gate.

Gaunce: So-so physicality and skating. Definitely decent size.

Baertschi: Nothing doing.

McCann: So-so physicality, but a bit smallish at the moment.

Cassels: A bit grittier than his father for sure, but also needs to gain some weight.

Shinkaruk: Nothing doing.

Grenier: tbd

Jensen: Nothing doing. Rare glimpses.

Archibald: Long-shot NHLer.

Edler-Tanev: Edler is a beast when activated. Tanev is constantly being destroyed.

Hamhuis-Weber: Hamhuis has taken a step back in this regard. Weber will never be known as a physical force.

Sbisa-Bieksa: Both are physical, and both can be defensive wildcards.

Stanton: Hasn't really taken a step forward as a Canuck so far.

Corrado: Probably will turn out a lot like Tanev.

Clendenning: Probably not physical.

Pedan: Pretty much a goon.

Hutton: Won't be known for it.

Tryramkin: tbd

...

It's obvious why Benning re-signed Dorsett and Sbisa. Because not doing so would leave a non-physical and disinterested remaining core combined with kids to be utterly exposed to some big bruises during these upcoming regular seasons, forget the playoffs.

...

I think everyone knows that we're really in for a haul here.

Good analysis. It makes the contracts for Sbisa and Dorsett more understandable. Still bad contracts, but understandable.

If we really are in for a long rebuilding phase it is too bad we did not trade Matthias for possibly a first round pick and maybe make one or two other trades for picks at the deadline as well. That would at least have given us a head start at rebuilding.

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It would be nice to have some defense who are able to clear most forwards from the front of the net.

It takes 2 things to accomplish this imo: size and inclination.

The two defense on the Canucks who have the inclination Bieksa (198) and Sbisa (198) lack the body mass to move people.

Incidentally, SB Nation says the average size of NHLers is:

Forward 6'1" 202

Defense 6'2" 209

Goal 6'2" 198

Overall 6'1" 204

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Don't think height is such a big issue, but the team could put on some more weight. Intensity is the biggest necessity for the team though. In a manner of speaking, it's pretty impressive to give up a 3 goal lead to a team that's lighter and has way less playoff experience then us :picard:

Defense probably needs the most work out of anything. Consistency, puck moving, staying in position, transitioning to offense, etc.

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It would be nice to have some defense who are able to clear most forwards from the front of the net.

It takes 2 things to accomplish this imo: size and inclination.

The two defense on the Canucks who have the inclination Bieksa (198) and Sbisa (198) lack the body mass to move people.

Incidentally, SB Nation says the average size of NHLers is:

Forward 6'1" 202

Defense 6'2" 209

Goal 6'2" 198

Overall 6'1" 204

I took the median size from NHL,com. The median weight is the weight of the guy who is in the middle when players are ranked by weight, etc. The median is probably a better measure of central tendency than the average because the average is boosted up by a few very big heavy players. The average will tend to be bigger than the median for this reason.

(LIke the joke about the the guy who said -- the average income in this neighborhood is a million a year -- nine guys who make nothing and one guy who makes 10 million.)

Also, EliteProspects, which I believe is more up to date, has Sbisa at 205 lbs. It does have Bieksa at 198, however, as his playing weight has probably been stable for a long time.

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Depending on position...you need both size, intensity; in addition:strength, speed and mental toughness.

In the playoffs the Canucks did not play the right way. There were a lot of turn aways when they should have finished their checks. This one thing brings a different dimension to the game.

A team, as a whole, has to do this consistently to be affective. However, a player needs to be in shape and has to have energy to play this way (i.e., younger, faster, bigger and tougher).

I'm not saying to go out of your way to finish a check by getting out of position.

What I'm saying is finishing the check rather than standing beside the guy and playing stick hockey or hitting the guy when the guy just released the puck or has control of the puck.

A big part in doing this is mental toughness, strength, fitness, and speed.

A player needs speed to catch, angle and take a man; without speed, they are always chasing.

A player needs to be strong to be physically effective.

Matthais is strong, but he doesn't play the right way given his size, speed and talent. In fact, a lot of Canucks play the game without any physical contact.

Further more, the way they handled Ferland shows this team doesn't have the mental toughness.

Past experience, Canuck's are the experienced team, show that the referees call the game differently in the playoffs. Sedin getting punched in the head six times by Marchand and the referres not calling roughing should have been in-sight on how to handle Ferland.

A good elbow in the head every time he charges a player should fix that problem; todays elbow pads are like weapons.

Players are making careers out of playing hockey and getting injured shortens careers

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This is how I calculated the size of the Canucks, by median, not average:

forwards: median height - 6'2"; median weight - 205

defense: median height - 6'1"; median weight - 200

Vey is listed at 189, not 179. Horvat is not the heaviest forward, Matthias has that honour!

Overall, the forwards look like they are just above "average" (though I don't think there is data available on the median sizes). The big problem in size is obviously the defense. And, of course, that subjective measurement called "intensity" is very important!

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By the way, here are the figures for Chicago:

forwards: median height - 6' 1.5"; median weight - 200

defense: median height - 6' 1/2 "; median weight - 200

They do not seem to be too worried about size! Nor does their relative lack of size affect their success! I think the lesson here is that size is not everything! Throughout the line-up, skill, speed and "intensity" are perhaps more important. We'll see how Benning juggles these factors soon!

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