Carson Focht | C

[Kanukfanatic]

10 hours ago, kenhodgejr said:

My statement is based on me watching all his fight footage since we got him as a prospect. Look on hockey fights. He has been fighting since jr. Im basing the comparison off of average fight won. Kassian doesn't always win his fights. He lost a lot more when he was younger. MacEwan wins probably 40% of the time but the thing is he doesn't hesitate to fight way out of his weight class. He fought Tom Sestitio in the AHL. Lost the fight but probably learned a thing or two. Same with the fight against Mark Borowieki. He handled himself well against Marcus Foligno and Barclay Gurdrow. Both legit tough men. He is the toughest guy on our team and he is only 23 years old. Kassian is 29. Kassian does a lot of stupid stuff on the ice and it costs his team. MacEwan has a better head on his shoulders. Coaches prefer a guy who doest take bad penalties but will fight when needed. I have also seen MacEwan get hit by some big punches and stay on his feet. There is no shame in loosing a fight to a tougher guy as long as you know you gave it a good go. But I believe it won't take long before MacEwan decidedly beats some of the leagues tougher guys and then other teams might think twice about running our players like Pettersson if they know big Mac is going go after them! He didn't even cost us a draft pick. Solid find for Benning. 

Thanks for the info. Honestly I have only seen MacEwen when he plays with the Canucks and a handful of Utica games.

 

I will go check out his fights on hockey fights then.

 

edit:  ...and now back to focht!!

Edited February 14, 2020 by Kanukfanatic

[GoodCanadianKideh]

Carson Focht with two goals tonight in a 6-5 overtime win.  Woo had the primary assists - Focht Woo

[GoldenAlien]

 

[Rollieo Del Fuego]

That was Fochting incredible...!

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

I wonder if the Canucks decide to sign Focht this summer.  He is already 20 years old and has already played four seasons in the WHL, nothing really left to prove there.

 

I've been impressed since we have drafted him.  Especially during the summer Canada WJC camp tryouts, he showed he can bring a different element to his game.  He got scrappy, got into a tussle with a few players in the preliminary games in July.  Even Ryan Johnson stated that Carson Focht really opened eyes during the rookie camp and training camp.

 

Stylistically his overall skating, movement, and puck handling skills look like Jared McCann.  Has a slippery element to his game but provides a little fire under the belly.  He is one prospect I could see ascending quickly mainly because his compete level and overall toolbox resembles a pro like game.

 

Even kinda looks like Jacob Stukel a former teammate, however, has a wider range to his game in which I think he is more likely to be successful.

 

[AK_19]

Is this guy good enough to make the cut for the AHL team next year?

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

8 hours ago, AK_19 said:

Is this guy good enough to make the cut for the AHL team next year?

I believe so.  I don't think there is much more for him to achieve in the WHL, as he will be playing as a 21 year old as he has already spent 5 seasons in the WHL. Than again the jump from junior or college to the pros is one of the hardest jump as we saw with a few players in Kole Lind and Jonah Gadjovich.  One thing aiding Focht is that he already has components in his game that would allow him to be successful in the AHL, despite his numbers, his projection is likely a bottom six forward but since being drafted what was noted by Ryan Johnson was that he is able to play a very versatile game.

 

He has ability to generate offense, but more impressive is that he plays with speed, plays the game with an edge, and one thing that really is underrated about his skillset is that he is very tenacious.  This tenaciousness in his DNA allows him to be used in all areas of the game.  The Hitmen really relied on him as a Penalty killer and was often out with Mark Kastelic (Captain of the Hitmen) to protect leads and shutdown big lines which could also explain his lack of progress in offensive numbers. 

 

I could see him struggling a bit because he does need to get stronger and despite being playing with speed, he could stand to add an extra step to create more separation from the opposition.  But his versatility, willingness to battle in all zones, and good skating will afford him more opportunities even as a 3rd/4th liner in Utica.

 

This all depends though whether they saw enough progression to offer him an ELC, I highly doubt he would risk playing in Utica without a pro contract.

[Fred65]

This virus put an end to juniors/NCAA prospects playing or training with Utica, that's a big loss. It gave management a chnace to see how they stacked up with the Pros

[theo5789]

1 hour ago, CRAZY_4_NAZZY said:

I believe so.  I don't think there is much more for him to achieve in the WHL, as he will be playing as a 21 year old as he has already spent 5 seasons in the WHL. Than again the jump from junior or college to the pros is one of the hardest jump as we saw with a few players in Kole Lind and Jonah Gadjovich.  One thing aiding Focht is that he already has components in his game that would allow him to be successful in the AHL, despite his numbers, his projection is likely a bottom six forward but since being drafted what was noted by Ryan Johnson was that he is able to play a very versatile game.

 

He has ability to generate offense, but more impressive is that he plays with speed, plays the game with an edge, and one thing that really is underrated about his skillset is that he is very tenacious.  This tenaciousness in his DNA allows him to be used in all areas of the game.  The Hitmen really relied on him as a Penalty killer and was often out with Mark Kastelic (Captain of the Hitmen) to protect leads and shutdown big lines which could also explain his lack of progress in offensive numbers. 

 

I could see him struggling a bit because he does need to get stronger and despite being playing with speed, he could stand to add an extra step to create more separation from the opposition.  But his versatility, willingness to battle in all zones, and good skating will afford him more opportunities even as a 3rd/4th liner in Utica.

 

This all depends though whether they saw enough progression to offer him an ELC, I highly doubt he would risk playing in Utica without a pro contract.

I believe his progress made us feel a little more comfortable moving Madden.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[Nuxfanabroad]

Lordee, that's a nice goal(end-to-end) several posts^ up page! If this kid can go beyond whatever Madden eventually becomes, we leave the 2020 TDL relatively unscathed.

 

So we've amassed a tidy pool of prospects..here comes the kicker. The team will need the wisdom to know which ones to barter/flip, & which ones to bank on

 

As our main team becomes stronger/deeper, it increases the likelihood that each ascending ELC-youth will be given a nice opportunity to excel. Currently the Avs & Ning seem to be in that sort of scenario.

[elvis15]

It would be nice to see him make some strides in the AHL, even if he spends a little time in the ECHL to get more minutes then comes back up. Could well stick if he has a good camp though, we'll see how this affects everyone.

[KKnight]

It would be nice if this kid can be our 4th line center of the future. We need more youth to push out some of the older vets on the 4th line, in the next coming years. 

 

Players like Focht, Lockwood, Michaelis, Jasek, Gadjovich. 

 

I am sure MacEwen is here to stay, so that's one that graduated. 

[RetroCanuck]

4 hours ago, KKnight said:

It would be nice if this kid can be our 4th line center of the future. We need more youth to push out some of the older vets on the 4th line, in the next coming years. 

 

Players like Focht, Lockwood, Michaelis, Jasek, Gadjovich. 

 

I am sure MacEwen is here to stay, so that's one that graduated. 

True, but you also want the chance for guys to earn a spot in the bottom six before working their way up the roster. Lind, Podz and Hogz for example could play bottom 6 before moving up to partner with Pettersson or Bo in the future.

[Fred65]

11 hours ago, KKnight said:

It would be nice if this kid can be our 4th line center of the future. We need more youth to push out some of the older vets on the 4th line, in the next coming years. 

 

Players like Focht, Lockwood, Michaelis, Jasek, Gadjovich. 

 

I am sure MacEwen is here to stay, so that's one that graduated. 

The time line for Vcr is not next season. To make noise in the SC, it's likely 2 maybe 3 years away. So some of this youth needs to have their game polished so they're at their prime when Vcr is  serious. Surely this year should be a time for the franchise to bring in some youth, knock the corners off their game and make them ready for the real run

[Ray_Cathode]

15 hours ago, KKnight said:

It would be nice if this kid can be our 4th line center of the future. We need more youth to push out some of the older vets on the 4th line, in the next coming years. 

 

Players like Focht, Lockwood, Michaelis, Jasek, Gadjovich. 

 

I am sure MacEwen is here to stay, so that's one that graduated. 

I think Jasek is ahead of Focht as a fourth line centre. And if he gets signed, and if he can covert to the middle, so might Lockwood be. MacEwen has also played centre in junior and in Utica part of the time. With more experience, who knows. In addition, Lind who played wing in junior and in Utica took most of the key face offs this past year - he is very strong on the draw. While he was a scorer in junior, he has looked more like a setup man in Utica. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play some centre in the coming season. Two centres in Europe have also looked good playing in Sweden: Karlsson, and Costmar.  None of them are elite prospects yet, but they do seem to be decent prospects.

 

i also would not be surprised if Podkolzin made a transition to the middle - he is a very strong defensive player, very smart, and a very good setup man - at least if the world juniors were any measure.

[NexusRift]

On 5/1/2020 at 1:58 AM, KKnight said:

It would be nice if this kid can be our 4th line center of the future. We need more youth to push out some of the older vets on the 4th line, in the next coming years. 

 

Players like Focht, Lockwood, Michaelis, Jasek, Gadjovich. 

 

I am sure MacEwen is here to stay, so that's one that graduated. 

I like this Focht kid. haven't seen any Hitmen games, but I really liked what I saw in the WJC last year. 

I'd be surprised if he ended up as a useable 4th liner. I feel like he could be a gem and surpass any expectations! 

[Fred65]

20 hours ago, Ray_Cathode said:

I think Jasek is ahead of Focht as a fourth line centre. And if he gets signed, and if he can covert to the middle, so might Lockwood be. MacEwen has also played centre in junior and in Utica part of the time. With more experience, who knows. In addition, Lind who played wing in junior and in Utica took most of the key face offs this past year - he is very strong on the draw. While he was a scorer in junior, he has looked more like a setup man in Utica. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play some centre in the coming season. Two centres in Europe have also looked good playing in Sweden: Karlsson, and Costmar.  None of them are elite prospects yet, but they do seem to be decent prospects.

 

i also would not be surprised if Podkolzin made a transition to the middle - he is a very strong defensive player, very smart, and a very good setup man - at least if the world juniors were any measure.

Don't you find it staggering how Karlson turned his game around after he changed teams, similar for Costmar, he's undoubtly upped his game this season

[Ray_Cathode]

4 hours ago, Fred65 said:

Don't you find it staggering how Karlson turned his game around after he changed teams, similar for Costmar, he's undoubtly upped his game this season

He seemed like a different guy when he changed teams in Sweden - could have something to do with a changing role, or changing expectations from a coach, or a hot spell, a better fit, or he just suddenly ‘got it’.

[cuporbust]

Some interesting things on this kid. Seems optimistic, but who knows. Just sorta smells like Cole Cassels to me . 

http://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/ben-kuzma-is-hotshot-carson-focht-another-canucks-fifth-round-find