(DISCUSSION) Bold Predictions...or Wishful Thinking for 2018-2019

[kingofsurrey]

1 hour ago, IBatch said:

Arguably the most dominating AHL team ever top three players  went on to play in TB,  they don't usually do it all on their own... but I get where your coming from, and for many of the vets this is the is the best they can hope.    

Being good enough to win the cup in the AHL and have a solid AHL career is just an amazing accomplishment.

So few great Jr. Players even get a sniff of the AHL

 

AHL vets are total pros and VERY VERY gifted athletes....  It takes years of AHL experience before most AHL players can dominate in that league.

 

Total respects for any AHL pro's out there especially the guys that can stick in the AHL for long solid careers...

[IBatch]

9 hours ago, kingofsurrey said:

Being good enough to win the cup in the AHL and have a solid AHL career is just an amazing accomplishment.

So few great Jr. Players even get a sniff of the AHL

 

AHL vets are total pros and VERY VERY gifted athletes....  It takes years of AHL experience before most AHL players can dominate in that league.

 

Total respects for any AHL pro's out there especially the guys that can stick in the AHL for long solid careers...

You bet!  Its great hockey too, and a lot cheaper to watch.  I hope to do a parade around NY sometime this year starting in Belleville against UTICA and then follow the bus around for a week or so.  That team will be stacked with rookie prospects this year and it should be exciting to watch them develop together and find out who can make the cut (both at the AHL and NHL level).  

[JamesB]

19 hours ago, IBatch said:

Before the draft Pettersson was picked with Casey M. as two guys at the head of the pack for the Calder, call it a tie so 1-2, and the draft changed nothing, Dahlin will play but he wasn't considered a candidate by at least one source, THN.  I just hope he gets some decent guys to play with.  

Thanks for the information. I have no real idea about the actual quality of the players but, given all the hype, I was assuming that Dahlin would be the frontrunner -- even though D's are not usually strong contenders. I would think Pettersson and Casey M. would be in the mix, I also think Svechnikov is a contender. That is my top 4 right now. And there is always a good chance that a dark horse comes through.

[LowerMainLander18]

Boeser - 40 goals/ 70 points

Bo - 25 goals/ 65 points

EP - 20 goals / 50 points

Virtanen - 15 goals/ 35 points

Sutter - 20 goals/ 40 points

Eriksson - injured early in the season and misses rest of the season

 

Baer - gets rotated up and down the lineup 

Goldy/ Archi/ Gaunce/ Leipsic - all see some NHL action but in and out of the lineup

Tanev & Edler & Gaunce - traded to different teams

Hughes - decides to play 1 more year in Michigan

Gudbranson - misses some games due to injury

Hutton - has a rebound year and shows improvement (not enough to guarantee himself a Top 4 role tho)

Stetcher - Injury will cost him few games but otherwise, another solid season

Juolevi - plays first few games with the Nux then spends rest of the season in Utica where he plays on the Top pair

Woo - Back to Juniors

Briesbois - another season but dominant one in Utica as a second pairing dman

Demko - dominates AHL

Lind + Gadjovich + Dhalen do not get called up this year and spends entire season in Utica

 

We see glimpse of brilliance from EP here and there but 82 games wear and tear him down so his production diminishes as season progresses. (He finishes as a Calder finalist)

Boeser has another solid year and Bo plays all 82 games and improves his overall game with increased icetime

Virtanen has another season under "Jake Virtanen development curve"

Baer has another injury-bugged season so comes in and out of the lineup.

 

Canucks finishes with the 2nd worst record in the NHL in their first season without the Sedins. 

Green does NOT get fired. Benning does NOT get fired. 

 

[IBatch]

2 hours ago, JamesB said:

Thanks for the information. I have no real idea about the actual quality of the players but, given all the hype, I was assuming that Dahlin would be the frontrunner -- even though D's are not usually strong contenders. I would think Pettersson and Casey M. would be in the mix, I also think Svechnikov is a contender. That is my top 4 right now. And there is always a good chance that a dark horse comes through.

You bet, probably a few high picks from previous year will come in too and have great seasons.  What Barzal did last year was extremely rare and quite the achievement, aside from McDavid's partial year I'm not sure the last time a rookie was over a PPG, might be as far back as Crosby and Ovechkin.  Fifty-sixty  points can win the Calder these days, will be interesting to see what shakes out.

[Gator]

Pettersson and Hughes both in Calder race

 

Boeser pots 30G

 

Eriksson pots 20G

 

We start out hot winning 7 of our first 10 games, but injuries hit, we finish 3rd last, and win Jack Hughes

 

Season successful

[komodo0921]

1. The line of Baertschi, Horvat, and Boeser stays intact and scores 175+, combined, points.

2. Both Hughes and Pettersson end the season as Calder contenders.

3. Jake breaks out with a 40 point season.

[bigbadcanucks]

On 7/6/2018 at 11:04 PM, bigbadcanucks said:

While my wife is out for her monthly girl's night out and I wait for the call to come and pick her and her drunken BFFs up from wherever they are (yah...this is what my life has become), I'm left contemplating what might be for this coming season for the Canucks.

 

Just curious what everyone's bold predictions (or wishful thinking) for the upcoming season are? 

 

Here are some of mine (caveat: lines are heavily blurred between what's real and what's fantasy):

 

1) Pettersson does what Matt Barzal did this past season and breaks 80 point barrier, Gretzky did in '79-'80 en route to Calder Cup season (as a centerman);

2) If Boeser stays healthy and plays a full complement of games, he scores 40 goals and quells concerns about his back and the myth of the sophomore jinx;

3) Gaunce makes the team out of camp and has a break out season game and becomes Canucks permanent third line centerman, forcing Sutter to RW, where he re-discovers his 21-goal self of 2009-2010 and 2014-2015 (that's a two-for-one);

4) Hughes signs ELC and becomes the re-incarnation of Phil Housley/Brian Leetch returns to Michigan and plays 26 minutes a game;

5) Demko makes the team out of camp and becomes the undisputed number 1 goalie by gets hurt in training camp and is out until Christmas;

6) Roussel -- Beagle -- Schaller form the best (and most expensive) fourth line in the NHL except Beagle gets breaks his arm blocking a shot;

7) Pettersson, Dahlen and Eriksson with anyone forms one of the most formidable lines in the NHL the Swedish Connection, resulting in Eriksson have a renaissance season;

8) Virtanen finally puts everything together and turns into the second coming of Cam Neely, Rick Vaive, Curt Fraser, Dirk Graham and all the other power forwards that the Canucks gave up too early on;

9) Juolevi makes the club, and plays with such poise that he makes Del Zotto and Hutton is deemed redundant, because he's just bad at hockey and removes any sort of urgency to re-sign Edler, forcing him to waive his no-trade clause at TDL to go play in Tampa Bay with his buddies Hedman and Karlsson;

10) Del Zotto, Gagner, Granlund and Hutton and Pouliot are moved out for a mittful of draft picks giving the Canucks a gazillion picks in the fourth and fifth rounds next draft in Vancouver where we know Benning, Weisbrod, Brackett rule the universe;

11) Canucks make the playoffs, lose in the first round in seven games, and gain invaluable experience.  Everyone touts "losing this one in seven hurts, but it didn't kill us, so it will make us stronger".

 

Would love to hear what everyone's predictions/hopes for the coming season are...

Thought I would bump this post that I started on July 6th...

 

Obviously, I'm not much for prognostication.  I hope CDC allows me a bunch of mulligans.  Some of the predictions made by other CDCers back in the middle of summer were obviously way more accurate (and insightful).

 

Now that we've had a little more than 20% of the season play out, I am curious to hear what has surprised CDCers to date.

 

For me, the surprises are as follows:

 

1-Just how insanely great and competitive Pettersson has been...both offensively and defensively (especially defensively).  I thought he would be very good, but I didn't think he had the makings of being lumped together with the likes of Matthews, Laine, McKinnon, Gaudreau, Ovechkin, Backstrom etc. (i.e., anyone not named McDavid/Crosby).

2-The emergence of Virtanen and Hutton.

3-The play of Gudbranson to date.

4-Timely saves by both Markstrom and Nillson.

5-The subtleties to Gaudette's play that makes me believe he's a bonafide NHLer.

6-Just how well the Canucks have weathered the early season injury bug.

7-Just how competitive the Canucks have been in every game they have played this season (kudos to Travis Green and his staff).

 

I'm sure everyone would agree that these are exciting times for us Canucks fans.

 

I stand by part of my last bold prediction: no. 11 on the list above - the Canucks make the playoffs.  I have no idea what will happen after they get into the playoff tournament.

 

What's surprised you, CDC?  Also, please feel free to pump your own tires or amend your bold predictions you made in July.

 

[oldnews]

On 7/7/2018 at 9:10 AM, kingofsurrey said:

No expectations

 

just enjoying finally starting a real rebuild

when was that?

[EdgarM]

On ‎2018‎-‎07‎-‎09 at 4:38 PM, EdgarM said:

I really believe the new acquisitions and the retirement of the Twins will push some of our middle of the roaders such as Baertchi, Granlund and Sutter to produce more offensively.

This will finally be a rebound year for Ericksson!

Demko and the new coaching staff will push the goalies to be better along with a healthier D core.

Jake will show why he was drafted so high and will surprise the naysayers and have a break out year.

I think the prospects will make intermittent appearances in the line up to facilitate injuries but will stay in Utica except for Demko. He plays his way on to the team. Pettersen maybe sticks if he can handle the rougher play of the NHL. 

Unfortunately Gagner, Stecher and Hutton prove they have reached a stalemate and get moved at the trade deadline.

The team is in contention for the playoffs and sneaks in as long as there are no significant injuries. 

 

The biggest surprise for me has to be the play of Hutton. He was one of those guys who I dubbed as one of those players who did not play with a high level of consistent intensity. I am glad he has found a way to improve this. Injuries to other D have given him the opportunity to "up" his game.

Sutter has started out with limited offense although I see he is still just as important defensively as he was before Beagle came. He provides more defense so Bo can be utilized more offensively(when the team is healthy).

I really thought the D would at least be a little more healthier then past years. Unfortunately this is not the case.

I still think that Demko can make his way onto the team if he can get healthy again. 

The "character" of the team has improved the over all effort "night in and night out" and this seems to be on track.

If we can be more healthy and play a little more of an aggressive game, we may be "a force to be reckoned with" for the rest of the season.