[Roster]Opening day forward line up

[The Beagle had landed]

Hi guys!  First time poster, long time creeper.  I figured I'd get started on CDC with a line up proposal of our current forward crop with some personal analysis as to why I have the lines set the way I do.  It's a bit of a long read so I hope you hang in there and provide some constructive feedback for discussion.

 

Baertschi Horvat Boeser
This line is a no brainer. Baertschi has proven that he can play with Bo and Brock as the main offensive unit.  One poster in his signing thread mentioned Sven looking depressed at the year end presser, but what I took away from the interview was a player that was devasted that he suffered a season ending injury after just recovering from a broken jaw.  Baertschi will start the year with something to prove and it will only make the line more dangerous.

I've noticed a lot of members wanting to trade Baertschi or include him in a package with Tanev for picks and or prospects as it seems like he's one of the only "expendable" forwards with reasonable value, but I feel management views him as a core member of the team.  We traded a 2nd rounder on project player in Baertschi who was viewed by his previous clubs management as a one dimensional underachiever who wasn't commited to other aspects of his game, and he used that as motivation to turn his career around.  I remember hearing his first interview after the trade and thinking to myself: 'this kid is determined and he's gonna be a beauty'.  The jury is still out on that, but I feel he has another level to his game, and if he can stay healthy we'll see that this season.

Eriksson Sutter Pettersson
Jim Benning has mentioned in recent interviews that he wants Sutter to have more of an offensive role rather than the ridiculous amount of defensive zone starts he was getting last year.  When he played with the Sedins he showed that he could be productive in an offensive role with offensive minded players.

Having Eriksson on his wing will help insulate our next stud prospect Elias Pettersson who can ease into the center position when matchups are favourable and provide an elite skill element to the second line.  If Eriksson cant produce in this situation then all hope is lost on him finding his offensive game again.  I believe Eriksson will have a bounce back year though, and maybe gain some value as the trade deadline approaches... Maybe.

I know most people would like to see Pettersson with younger more skilled forwards, and that will come on the PP, but I think his first stint with the club 5 on 5 should be with defensively responsible veterans that can shelter him during the beggining of the season before he takes the next step in his progression as an elite centerman.

Goldobin Beagle Gaudette
I'm a huge fan of Jay Beagle and what he brings on and off the ice and feel that he deserves the contract that he got.  I have no problem with the 4 year term, as all reports I've read and interviews I've listened to on him suggests he's in the best shape of his career and takes excellent care of his body with proper nutrition and workouts, just like the Sedins.  The 4 years buys a lot of time for our center prospects to devlop and slowly slot into the middle without being rushed, especially if Sutter gets hurt or traded down the road.

Beagle will make a great mentor to all our prospects, especially his linemates Goldobin and Gaudette, the latter starting on the wing in a role similar to Pettersson before officially taking that 3C spot within a few years.  Some people think Gaudettes development would be better suited as a center in Utica, which would allow regular players like Granlund or Gagner to stick with the main roster, but I liked what I saw from Gaudette at the end of the year and think he makes the team as an understudy to Beagle.

 

The same can be said for Goldobin who looked promising towards the end of the year.  It's make it or break it for him, and with reports of him training to become faster and stronger, I hope he impresses at camp and earns a roster spot, easing Bennings mind about possibly losing him through waivers.  If Goldobin can improve his defensive game and capitalize on the space Beagle and Gaudette can create with his skill and speed, we would have a solid 3rd line that can do a little bit of everything.  If it all comes together for Goldobin, I can see him moving up the depth chart as our future 2nd line left winger.  We all know the potential is there.  Its up to him to realize it.

Roussel Schaller Virtanen
Speed, size, physicality, and the ability to chip in some goals.  How can you not like this line?  I know some of you would like to see Jake on a more traditional scoring line in the top 6 as the power forward element, but I still think he'll have success with the north south, chip and chase and smash and grind game this line would employ and play into Virtanens strengths.  Roussel and Schaller have some similar skill sets as Jake that can help him develop into the beast of a power forward we all expect him to become.

Just like the Beagle contract, I have no problem with the 4 years Roussel got.  It will allow prospects like Lind, Gadjovich and Palmu to develop further in a winning Utica environment.  Roussel is all hard work and determination and hopefully that will rub off on Jake and other prospects in need of some motivation.

Schaller takes the 4C spot for me over Granlund and Gagner, as I see him as a better fit, not just on this line but as a solid PK option.  Benning signed him because we needed size, grit and defensive responsibility in the bottom six and he'll get a chance to showcase that to start the season.

Granlund Gagner
I like Granlund as the 13th forward because of his versatility and ability to slot in throughout the line up.  He also has some trade value which could free up the spot for Gagner who seems to be at a crossroad with the team.  Both of them could start the year on the main roster if Gaudette starts in Utica, but we'll have to wait and see.  Would Benning be willing to pay Gagners contract as a mentor to our prospects in the AHL?

Leipsic Motte Gaunce Archibald
These players will have a lot of competition to overcome.  Leipsic and Motte might beat out Goldobin for that 3rd line spot, and I liked what I saw from Leipsic with Gaudette and Virtanen towards the end of last season, but I think Goldobin earns the spot over the two smaller forwards.

Gaunce and Archibald bring elements eachother lacks but arent solid enough on their own to hold down the extra forward spot.  I've always been a fan of Gaunce ever since we drafted him.  He's well spoken and has some good hockey smarts, but lacks a few well documented elements that would make him a regular NHLer.  I can see him carving out a solid AHL career and maybe become someone of value in a trade down the road, but as of now he plays for Utica.

 

So there it is, my opening day forward roster:

Baertschi Horvat Boeser 

Eriksson Sutter Pettersson 

Goldobin Beagle Gaudette

Roussel Schaller Virtanen 

Granlund/Gagner

 

Thanks for reading.

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

 

 

 

[Roberts]

looks good. what about defense?

[mpt]

I don’t think JB is finished yet

[The Beagle had landed]

Hehe, I find the defensive pairings to be a bit harder to predict with the uncertainty of Hughes and Juolevi and all the Tanev trade rumours.  I also think Benning signs a couple more depth defencemen for competition purposes or adds in a minor trade.

[Nucker 67]

Thanks for your thoughtful, well presented thread. I agree with most of it. For opening day I think they might ease Pettersson into it, and will take their time with Gaudette.

 

Baertschi - Horvat - Boeser

Goldobin - Sutter - Gagner

Eriksson - Beagle - Pettersson

Roussel - Schaller - Virtanen

Granlund

 

 

[6string]

Nicely done though I would of liked to see your defensive pairings too, I see two rookies in our back end this year.

 

We could very well be seeing up to four rookies in our lineup for parts of the season, this is gonna be a fun year to follow the Blue N Green.

[The Beagle had landed]

9 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

Thanks for your thoughtful, well presented thread. I agree with most of it. For opening day I think they might ease Pettersson into it, and will take their time with Gaudette.

 

Baertschi - Horvat - Boeser

Goldobin - Sutter - Gagner

Eriksson - Beagle - Pettersson

Roussel - Schaller - Virtanen

Granlund

 

 

It makes sense to start Gaudette in Utica, with the number of NHL contracts we have.  I'm hoping that Gaudette has a great camp and forces Benning to have to make room for him, but these are the 13 players I expect on opening night.

[Fateless]

I really think you guys are underrating Leipsic. The guy put up 9 points in 14 games with us last season. At the very least, he's a decent third liner and I believe he should be on the opening night roster.

[singing chef]

No mention of Dahlen ?

[The Beagle had landed]

3 minutes ago, 6string said:

Nicely done though I would of liked to see your defensive pairings too, I see two rookies in our back end this year.

 

We could very well be seeing up to four rookies in our lineup for parts of the season, this is gonna be a fun year to follow the Blue N Green.

Thanks!  I think Benning still has a couple of defensive acquisitions up his sleeve, so I'll hold off on posting the pairings until we see what he does in the upcoming weeks.  There's just so many question marks as to what to expect from Hughes and Juolevi as well as any possible Tanev trade as well.

 

For sure we'll see Edler, Tanev, Gudbranson and Del Zotto, leaving 4 spots available for Stecher, Pouliot, Hutton, Biega, Hughes and Juolevi as probable candidates, with Sautner, McEneny and Brisbois over in Utica.

 

Losing Tanev in a trade would be quite the burden on our D corps.

 

[6string]

8 minutes ago, The Beagle had landed said:

Thanks!  I think Benning still has a couple of defensive acquisitions up his sleeve, so I'll hold off on posting the pairings until we see what he does in the upcoming weeks.  There's just so many question marks as to what to expect from Hughes and Juolevi as well as any possible Tanev trade as well.

 

For sure we'll see Edler, Tanev, Gudbranson and Del Zotto, leaving 4 spots available for Stecher, Pouliot, Hutton, Biega, Hughes and Juolevi as probable candidates, with Sautner, McEneny and Brisbois over in Utica.

 

Losing Tanev in a trade would be quite the burden on our D corps.

 

I'm one of the few that recommends keeping Tanev even before Hughes was selected and now it seems even more important to have him around.

 

Chatfield continues to float through my mind after last seasons preseason performance, he's my sleeper in the lineup over the next few years. 

 

.Looking forward to your defense starting lineup down the road.

[laddie]

Baertschi - Horvat - Boeser

Dahlen - Sutter - Pettersson

Leipsic - Beagle - Eriksson

Roussel - Schaller - Virtanen

Goldobin

 

I think Granlund and Gagner are moved before training camp this year as they have become redundant.

[The Beagle had landed]

10 minutes ago, Fateless said:

I really think you guys are underrating Leipsic. The guy put up 9 points in 14 games with us last season. At the very least, he's a decent third liner and I believe he should be on the opening night roster.

I was a huge fan of what Leipsic did after we acquired him.  Leipsic, Gaudette, Virtanen was a fun, speedy, skilled line to watch.  In no way was I underrating him, there's just only so many offensive positions to go around.  For me it came down to Goldobin or Leipsic in that 3LW spot and I went with Goldobin as I feel his potential is greater.  Maybe Pettersson/Gaudette starts in Utica allowing both Goldobin and Leipsic to start the season with the big club.

 

Baertschi Horvat Boeser 

Goldobin Sutter Eriksson

Leipsic Beagle Virtanen

Roussel Schaller Granlund

Gagner

[6string]

24 minutes ago, Fateless said:

I really think you guys are underrating Leipsic. The guy put up 9 points in 14 games with us last season. At the very least, he's a decent third liner and I believe he should be on the opening night roster.

Only joking here but with coach Green heck Boeser had better numbers than Leipsic and finished first in preseason scoring and did not make the roster for the first two games of the season....

[6string]

5 minutes ago, The Beagle had landed said:

I was a huge fan of what Leipsic did after we acquired him.  Leipsic, Gaudette, Virtanen was a fun, speedy, skilled line to watch.  In no way was I underrating him, there's just only so many offensive positions to go around.  For me it came down to Goldobin or Leipsic in that 3LW spot and I went with Goldobin as I feel his potential is greater.  Maybe Pettersson/Gaudette starts in Utica allowing both Goldobin and Leipsic to start the season with the big club.

 

Baertschi Horvat Boeser 

Goldobin Sutter Eriksson

Leipsic Beagle Virtanen

Roussel Schaller Granlund

Gagner

I can't imagine Pettersson starting in the minors, we have something very special there it doesn't fit his script to success going through Utica.

[Jaku]

Pettersson - Horvat - Boeser. 

[mll]

46 minutes ago, Fateless said:

I really think you guys are underrating Leipsic. The guy put up 9 points in 14 games with us last season. At the very least, he's a decent third liner and I believe he should be on the opening night roster.

Fwiw last year Benning warned against overestimating those end of season games.  He actually called those games after the TDL meaningless and explained that it's very different from producing at the start of the season.   It's not the same level of competition - several teams did like the Canucks and played their youth while some teams in the playoffs were resting for the post-season.   

 

Etem had 4 goals and 7pts in the last 8 games of the season and did not make it out of training camp.  Even Baer had 9pts on a 7 game point streak in Calgary while playing with Max Reinhart who never made the league.

 

[Rob_Zepp]

1 hour ago, The Beagle had landed said:

Hi guys!  First time poster, long time creeper.  I figured I'd get started on CDC with a line up proposal of our current forward crop with some personal analysis as to why I have the lines set the way I do.  It's a bit of a long read so I hope you hang in there and provide some constructive feedback for discussion.

 

Baertschi Horvat Boeser
This line is a no brainer. Baertschi has proven that he can play with Bo and Brock as the main offensive unit.  One poster in his signing thread mentioned Sven looking depressed at the year end presser, but what I took away from the interview was a player that was devasted that he suffered a season ending injury after just recovering from a broken jaw.  Baertschi will start the year with something to prove and it will only make the line more dangerous.

I've noticed a lot of members wanting to trade Baertschi or include him in a package with Tanev for picks and or prospects as it seems like he's one of the only "expendable" forwards with reasonable value, but I feel management views him as a core member of the team.  We traded a 2nd rounder on project player in Baertschi who was viewed by his previous clubs management as a one dimensional underachiever who wasn't commited to other aspects of his game, and he used that as motivation to turn his career around.  I remember hearing his first interview after the trade and thinking to myself: 'this kid is determined and he's gonna be a beauty'.  The jury is still out on that, but I feel he has another level to his game, and if he can stay healthy we'll see that this season.

Eriksson Sutter Pettersson
Jim Benning has mentioned in recent interviews that he wants Sutter to have more of an offensive role rather than the ridiculous amount of defensive zone starts he was getting last year.  When he played with the Sedins he showed that he could be productive in an offensive role with offensive minded players.

Having Eriksson on his wing will help insulate our next stud prospect Elias Pettersson who can ease into the center position when matchups are favourable and provide an elite skill element to the second line.  If Eriksson cant produce in this situation then all hope is lost on him finding his offensive game again.  I believe Eriksson will have a bounce back year though, and maybe gain some value as the trade deadline approaches... Maybe.

I know most people would like to see Pettersson with younger more skilled forwards, and that will come on the PP, but I think his first stint with the club 5 on 5 should be with defensively responsible veterans that can shelter him during the beggining of the season before he takes the next step in his progression as an elite centerman.

Goldobin Beagle Gaudette
I'm a huge fan of Jay Beagle and what he brings on and off the ice and feel that he deserves the contract that he got.  I have no problem with the 4 year term, as all reports I've read and interviews I've listened to on him suggests he's in the best shape of his career and takes excellent care of his body with proper nutrition and workouts, just like the Sedins.  The 4 years buys a lot of time for our center prospects to devlop and slowly slot into the middle without being rushed, especially if Sutter gets hurt or traded down the road.

Beagle will make a great mentor to all our prospects, especially his linemates Goldobin and Gaudette, the latter starting on the wing in a role similar to Pettersson before officially taking that 3C spot within a few years.  Some people think Gaudettes development would be better suited as a center in Utica, which would allow regular players like Granlund or Gagner to stick with the main roster, but I liked what I saw from Gaudette at the end of the year and think he makes the team as an understudy to Beagle.

 

The same can be said for Goldobin who looked promising towards the end of the year.  It's make it or break it for him, and with reports of him training to become faster and stronger, I hope he impresses at camp and earns a roster spot, easing Bennings mind about possibly losing him through waivers.  If Goldobin can improve his defensive game and capitalize on the space Beagle and Gaudette can create with his skill and speed, we would have a solid 3rd line that can do a little bit of everything.  If it all comes together for Goldobin, I can see him moving up the depth chart as our future 2nd line left winger.  We all know the potential is there.  Its up to him to realize it.

Roussel Schaller Virtanen
Speed, size, physicality, and the ability to chip in some goals.  How can you not like this line?  I know some of you would like to see Jake on a more traditional scoring line in the top 6 as the power forward element, but I still think he'll have success with the north south, chip and chase and smash and grind game this line would employ and play into Virtanens strengths.  Roussel and Schaller have some similar skill sets as Jake that can help him develop into the beast of a power forward we all expect him to become.

Just like the Beagle contract, I have no problem with the 4 years Roussel got.  It will allow prospects like Lind, Gadjovich and Palmu to develop further in a winning Utica environment.  Roussel is all hard work and determination and hopefully that will rub off on Jake and other prospects in need of some motivation.

Schaller takes the 4C spot for me over Granlund and Gagner, as I see him as a better fit, not just on this line but as a solid PK option.  Benning signed him because we needed size, grit and defensive responsibility in the bottom six and he'll get a chance to showcase that to start the season.

Granlund Gagner
I like Granlund as the 13th forward because of his versatility and ability to slot in throughout the line up.  He also has some trade value which could free up the spot for Gagner who seems to be at a crossroad with the team.  Both of them could start the year on the main roster if Gaudette starts in Utica, but we'll have to wait and see.  Would Benning be willing to pay Gagners contract as a mentor to our prospects in the AHL?

Leipsic Motte Gaunce Archibald
These players will have a lot of competition to overcome.  Leipsic and Motte might beat out Goldobin for that 3rd line spot, and I liked what I saw from Leipsic with Gaudette and Virtanen towards the end of last season, but I think Goldobin earns the spot over the two smaller forwards.

Gaunce and Archibald bring elements eachother lacks but arent solid enough on their own to hold down the extra forward spot.  I've always been a fan of Gaunce ever since we drafted him.  He's well spoken and has some good hockey smarts, but lacks a few well documented elements that would make him a regular NHLer.  I can see him carving out a solid AHL career and maybe become someone of value in a trade down the road, but as of now he plays for Utica.

 

So there it is, my opening day forward roster:

Baertschi Horvat Boeser 

Eriksson Sutter Pettersson 

Goldobin Beagle Gaudette

Roussel Schaller Virtanen 

Granlund/Gagner

 

Thanks for reading.

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

 

 

 

Only reason I am posting is to say I love your name.    Great handle and it deserves recognition.   

 

Oh, that and I actually think Loui may get the first line wing, Goldy moves up to second, Baer to work with Beagle (I don't know why but I think they will work well together) and I see Gaudette starting in AHL.   I think Dahlen does too but is up by Christmas.   I see no room right now for Gagner unless he come and blows the doors off in preseason.   Will be nice not to have that China trip distraction this year which I don't think helped things much.

[420Fish]

I like your reasoning, OP. Here are the lines I would like to see.

 

Baertschi Horvat Boeser 

Leipsic Sutter Pettersson

Goldobin Beagle Eriksson 

Granlund Schaller Virtanen 

[The Beagle had landed]

37 minutes ago, 6string said:

I can't imagine Pettersson starting in the minors, we have something very special there it doesn't fit his script to success going through Utica.

I agree.  Pettersson will play his way onto the opening day roster.  I'm not sure about the first line that Jaku and many others, including myself would like to see in Pettersson, Horvat, Boeser.  Not yet anyways.  Too many eggs in one basket leaving our offense pretty thin after that.  Number one PP for sure though with Hughes and Edler.  That will be fun and exciting to watch.