Captain Canuck #12 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 MacEwen is excelling now because this is the time of year when players like him do excel. It's also the time of year when "soft skill" players, like Baertschi and Goldobin, fade to the background. I'm very happy they've been replaced by MacEwen If we have a future need for a call-up, I'd also hope they'd give Bailey another shot (and actually play him), mainly to find out if may be a late-blooming power forward who we should be be resigning this Summer. Like MacEwen, Bailey's basically accomplished all that he can in the AHL and needs to be given a fair chance to take that next step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vannuck59 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 What annoys me the most is Guys like MacEwen dont get enough chances to shine and other players Vets to speak of do but they just coast out there. Green needs to wake up and sit the vets and play guys like Mac. Virtanen needs to play like MacEwen , and he used to but Green has him playing like he is walking on glass afraid to make a mistake .Let the boys be boys . Turn them loose, too much structure kills the creative playing spirit. Horvat and Virtanen both could play with a little more passion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklehead44 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 What a great find by our scouting staff. I remember all the griping about wasting a contract spot on him because he looked destined to be in the AHL now he is a very intriguing prospect. He obviously has size and toughness but the skill level is there as well. Plus he can lineup at wing & centre. At worst I see him as a 13th forward who slots in where needed but I think he has second line potential in the mould of a Kassian or Ferland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vannuck59 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Mac will be a difference maker for the Nucks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray_Cathode Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, BlastPast said: Waste of a contract . Realistically, yeah, a person has to say that the deal with Louie did not work out as expected. Dealing on older players with already marginal skating whose value has been significantly enhanced by who he was playing with, is a risky proposition. But at the time of his signing, latching onto a 30 goal 60 point guy to, supposedly, play with the Sedins seemed like a great idea to most of the fans in Vancouver. In retrospect, adding a slow, soft player to the Sedins line was probably not a great idea. The Sedins were two of the slowest, smartest players in the league and the players they tended to make look good were in the Burrows, King, Klatt, Carter, Samuelson, type - wingers that were more robust and aggressive. Definitely not Louie at six mil per. I guess coming off a thirty goal season looked like a good idea at the time. But the Sedins needed a guy that could get them the puck so that they could perform their miracles, be defensively responsible so that they could really push the play, and create a bit of havoc - definitely not Louie. But now to MacEwen: he is a testament to amateur scouting and minor pro development. Here was a late bloomer, not playing in the best environment, but he was big, smart and determined. His determination, intelligence and good development has made us a hockey player to whom Green should give more and more ice as MacEwen proves that he is a three zone player. Lots of guys come up and get a couple of Adrenalin goals, show their defensive flaws and incompleteness, and sadly, their careers falter and they fade out of the league. They are often characterized by some early productivity accompanied by some significant gaffs that get reflected in the stat to which too many people dismiss as of no importance - their +/- - the stat that ultimately reflects their even strength value to the team - when you consider the context in which they earned it. Guys matched against other teams best players even strength can suffer in +/- in that situation. Some are so good at it that they earn high plus against the best the league can offer - in 2010/11 Ryan Kesler was that guy, Datsyuk had a large part of his career as that guy. I’m not saying MacEwen is that guy, I’m just noting that during a period when this team has not been it’s best, he has been. Over this rough stretch, while we have been losing, he has not only produced offensively, he has been a plus player. He has not suffered brain cramps in his own end, he has been a strong forechecker, he has responded physically when appropriate, and has really shown good puck possession and recovery. It’s just a brief tryout, but it is reflective of his progress in Utica and speaks well of scouting and player development. Of high picks one has expectations, of lower picks, hopes - but of the guys that are undrafted and mostly unrecognized by other organizations one is really showing one’s ability to find gold in unexpected places. Still, it is one thing for scouts to identify unappreciated talent, but it is up to the athlete to grow his fitness and his game. Keep it up Zack! Edited March 7, 2020 by Ray_Cathode Spelling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 3 hours ago, vannuck59 said: What annoys me the most is Guys like MacEwen dont get enough chances to shine and other players Vets to speak of do but they just coast out there. Green needs to wake up and sit the vets and play guys like Mac. Virtanen needs to play like MacEwen , and he used to but Green has him playing like he is walking on glass afraid to make a mistake .Let the boys be boys . Turn them loose, too much structure kills the creative playing spirit. Horvat and Virtanen both could play with a little more passion. Listen to Green's post-game -- he loves him. MacEwen is going to get all the ice and opportunity he can handle, but like Virtanen he's going to brought about and developed the right way. Remember, he's only had two years of major junior and two years of AHL hockey. His progress has been remarkable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theo5789 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 8 hours ago, Gaudette Celly said: Let's hear from the scouting expertz... The way JD Burke posts reminds me of a few CDCers. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, theo5789 said: The way JD Burke posts reminds me of a few CDCers. he's on here somewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theo5789 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 22 minutes ago, Jimmy McGill said: he's on here somewhere. He must have many accounts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeneedLumme Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 21 minutes ago, Jimmy McGill said: he's on here somewhere. Makes for an interesting thread idea: match up the media trolls with their CDC alter egos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 13 minutes ago, WeneedLumme said: Makes for an interesting thread idea: match up the media trolls with their CDC alter egos. for sure some of the peripheral blogs steal ideas from CDC, I've seen thread ideas literally ripped from here to become blog features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobayashi Maru Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 To start off I’m a Beagle fan but curious what a low cost fourth line of Bailey MacEwen Motte could do. The speed of that line could drive opponents nuts. Would also give us more cap to sign Toffoli. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlastPast Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Ray_Cathode said: Realistically, yeah, a person has to say that the deal with Louie did not work out as expected. Dealing on older players with already marginal skating whose value has been significantly enhanced by who he was playing with, is a risky proposition. But at the time of his signing, latching onto a 30 goal 60 point guy to, supposedly, play with the Sedins seemed like a great idea to most of the fans in Vancouver. In retrospect, adding a slow, soft player to the Sedins line was probably not a great idea. The Sedins were two of the slowest, smartest players in the league and the players they tended to make look good were in the Burrows, King, Klatt, Carter, Samuelson, type - wingers that were more robust and aggressive. Definitely not Louie at six mil per. I guess coming off a thirty goal season looked like a good idea at the time. But the Sedins needed a guy that could get them the puck so that they could perform their miracles, be defensively responsible so that they could really push the play, and create a bit of havoc - definitely not Louie. But now to MacEwen: he is a testament to amateur scouting and minor pro development. Here was a late bloomer, not playing in the best environment, but he was big, smart and determined. His determination, intelligence and good development has made us a hockey player to whom Green should give more and more ice as MacEwen proves that he is a three zone player. Lots of guys come up and get a couple of Adrenalin goals, show their defensive flaws and incompleteness, and sadly, their careers falter and they fade out of the league. They are often characterized by some early productivity accompanied by some significant gaffs that get reflected in the stat to which too many people dismiss as of no importance - their +/- - the stat that ultimately reflects their even strength value to the team - when you consider the context in which they earned it. Guys matched against other teams best players even strength can suffer in +/- in that situation. Some are so good at it that they earn high plus against the best the league can offer - in 2010/11 Ryan Kesler was that guy, Datsyuk had a large part of his career as that guy. I’m not saying MacEwen is that guy, I’m just noting that during a period when this team has not been it’s best, he has been. Over this rough stretch, while we have been losing, he has not only produced offensively, he has been a plus player. He has not suffered brain cramps in his own end, he has been a strong forechecker, he has responded physically when appropriate, and has really shown good puck possession and recovery. It’s just a brief tryout, but it is reflective of his progress in Utica and speaks well of scouting and player development. Of high picks one has expectations, of lower picks, hopes - but of the guys that are undrafted and mostly unrecognized by other organizations one is really showing one’s ability to find gold in unexpected places. Still, it is one thing for scouts to identify unappreciated talent, but it is up to the athlete to grow his fitness and his game. Keep it up Zack! My comment was in reference to this masterpiece of an article : https://canucksarmy.com/2017/03/04/canucks-throw-away-contract-on-chl-free-agent-zack-macewen/ Take note kids, have an opinion by all means, but also maybe mix in a little "I could be wrong here but...". Edited March 7, 2020 by BlastPast 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 I understand all the gushing over MacEwan and don't get me wrong, I agree he had a strong game against Colorado, but Green isn't an idiot and knows who to play when. Zack has made some bad defensive mistakes in the past, has been on the wrong side and generated nothing at times. Against Colorado, he was an absolute beast, but let's not forget Gaudette had a hell of a game and Roussel had arguably his best game as a Canuck too. They were out there against some weak opposing 3rd lines as well. This is where someone like Zack can shine and where matchups favour us, because we are a deep team with solid 3rd and 4th liners. But let's not go out playing him 15 minutes because he's going to get caught out. Green's done a nice job of putting players in positions to succeed, and he did the same with MacEwan tonight, but if we push it we'll start to see the mistakes sift through his games. Of course I think he can handle a bit more, maybe 9-10 minutes a night, but we've got to be careful with him because if he and that 3rd line get caught defensively they'll give up big chances and goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noble 6 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 MacEwan is definitely on the path to proving me wrong as I thought he'd be a career AHLer (our Grenier replacement). He brings speed, physicality and most importantly that fire to the lineup. As Benning said, he should be a regular by next year. I really hope that he can be groomed as our Beagle replacement. He needs to work on his defensive awareness and face offs to get to that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 6 minutes ago, Horvat is a Boss said: MacEwan is definitely on the path to proving me wrong as I thought he'd be a career AHLer (our Grenier replacement). He brings speed, physicality and most importantly that fire to the lineup. As Benning said, he should be a regular by next year. I really hope that he can be groomed as our Beagle replacement. He needs to work on his defensive awareness and face offs to get to that point. IMO we need Big Mac playing in our top nine. We need his presence with our offensive players. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGT68 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 20 minutes ago, Alflives said: IMO we need Big Mac playing in our top nine. We need his presence with our offensive players. He defintely looked good last night. Looked like what we hoped Ferland and Jake would bring. Hope he can keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckleHorse Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 (edited) He reminds of Captain Canuck with more toughness in the fisticuffs department maybe a bit less defensive awareness a cross between Todd and Trev. Edited March 7, 2020 by CanuckleHorse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 13 hours ago, Junkyard Dog said: Amazingly he is still 23 years old. Could turn into a Kassian-type player but less meaner. I think he's got some meanness in him, but not the nearly the level of crazy. When you have a guy like kass or Ferly on your team, it keeps the other team a little more honest because you have no idea how he's going to react to something. You whack McD and you might just get a facewash, or he might lop your head off like he did with gagne. Its a nice element to have in the lineup. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Been waiting for this. Someone started a darkhorse thread, last summer I think? Asked which unexpected skater would figure prominently. I remember saying Big Mac. Love this kid he's a beaut. We need a few guys like this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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