-
Posts
3,633 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Gallery
Everything posted by canuckledraggin
-
1 Of course you don't only build a team from only players like Virtanen, but I think Benning has said speed and physicality enough times to know what he saw in Jake. And yes you do need those type of players to win a cup. The argument then always becomes well you can pick up that kind of player in the later rounds. But the fastest skater forwards and backwards at the combine, with a laser shot, that loves to run people through the boards, wouldn't fall out of the top 10 in any draft. 2 Or you could actually watch the players that you're talking about, instead of using some hypothetical model that says only a small number of prospects will reach their potential. The only unknown on that list is Boeser because he hasn't played a game in the NHL yet. All of the others are showing well in their 1st year of NHL experience and I would say that all of them pushed their ceilings higher than what it was at the beginning of the year. I wouldn't hate it if McCann was on the Comets next year and I think it will be up to Virtanen whether he's on the team next year. As with this year that spot is his to win or lose. 3 I actually have seen quite a few AHL games, because I'm a Comets fan as well. I can say from having seen enough of the other team's top prospects, that we have a good development system and I think our talent pool is pretty healthy. If you look at other teams in the AHL there are a few top prospects that could step into the NHL and hold their own. Some teams have a handful, like Toronto and Vancouver. Players like Biega are steady and would never even get a shot if it wasn't for injuries, so this season has been a blessing in disguise. We get to see our prospects in NHL action and we're going to get a cornerstone piece through this draft. If I'm looking at our prospects through rose coloured glasses then you're looking at them through welding goggles.
-
This post is so full of fail that it will take some time to explain its level of contradictory statements and erroneous assumptions. You're saying coulda woulda shoulda to 2 separate posters that have claimed that we made the right choice in selecting Jake and in doing so you are implying that we shoulda taken the more skilled, albeit softer player based on their skill level and our need to replace the Sedins. First off you need to check a calendar. The Sedins were drafted in 1999 in the non salary cap era when teams were basically able to buy their way into the playoffs. If you look at the teams at the top during the 90's and early 2000's, it's original 6 teams, Canadian and other large markets, and a few outliers. Secondly the Sedins are proven players in the league and one of them had an ironman streak of 679 games and combined they have over 1900 points. Are you suggesting Nylander, Ehlers and Larkin will do that? <---I said and... The Canucks could afford to buy the Sedins when they did, but with the recent expansion to Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus and Minnesota, as well as the others since the 1991 Sharks, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Hockey_League the entire talent pool of the league was watered down. The skill in the west, specifically in the Pacific division, but including teams from the Central, like St. Louis and Winnipeg, are born from the philosophy that bigger is better. The building blocks of those teams comes from big skilled players in the mold of Getzlaf and Perry, the Stanley cup champs 2007 and the L.A. Kings achieved greater success more recently. These teams are all in our division Building a team like Chicago takes an extreme amount of luck, as well as an extreme amount of suck and some exceptional managerial decision making. There is little hope of this model working for the Canucks unless they become a complete pushover. Canucks are taking tough as nails, North American kids, with homerun potential. Are they going to whiff on a few? It's possible. But For all of the crap that Benning takes, Virtanen McCann Baertschi Boeser and building a Russian connection with Tryamkin and Pedan he's showing me the way this team is being assembled. With a top 5 pick this year in the works. There is going to be some very talented young players that are all growing up together and becoming a team. IMO there is no plan B. You're going to get a winner or a dud and I like what I see, including Virtanen, enough to believe that this team is going to grow into a beauty.
-
And that's why there's a disconnect between the management and hyper-critical fans like the ones that exist on this board. It 100% does not matter what a 19 year old is doing in your lineup. It is an indicator that your team is in a full on rebuild and the fact that he is in your lineup at all tells you that he's also a serviceable NHL player. Not every top 6 pick or 1st round pick or pick within the entire 7 rounds is going to be an NHL player. That is the plain and simple truth and you can try to dissect which spot that player comes from, but if you're being honest, every player that you draft into your lineup is a win. Get over the draft hype numbers game. A lottery ticket is a lottery ticket regardless of the odds and that's all any draft pick is.
-
I hope page 700 is better than page 699. Congrats Virtanen on being a 19 year old NHL rookie. Few people can achieve this and the time was right for you to make that switch. The core of this team is in good hands. Even if you only added a 3rd liner with this pick, it was a beauty. There are picks in the later rounds that end up surprising a la Ben Hutton. If you found an NHL player in the draft, you won so 6th overall means nothing. There is definitely going to be a 1st line RW UFA and that makes everyone's job more important
-
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=123119 Sounds about right. I'm impressed enough now that he has passed the eye test on the small ice as a pro. I'm gonna stand by my real deal prediction and it's going to be great watching him take each stride.
-
Actually I see a lot of people excited to see what this kid is and rightly so. But all I really see or read is this...also rightly so.
-
So the panic button has already been pushed? Cool. He's always going to be the worst conditioned skater on the team. There's just too much muscle mass to supply oxygen to. Let's get the muscletards back here for another 10 pages of how people with bigger muscles will require more oxygen and will be sucking wind more than people with less muscle mass. I'm gonna guess the game will be a different story and there will be enough rest period in between shifts for him to recover. If he's showing signs of fatigue during the game it could turn into an embarrassing situation, but it's good to have him in these games so that he figures out the pace and the conditioning level required. Imagine if he wasn't working hard enough and came to camp next year out of shape. That would be much worse than finding out now and being able to do something about it straight away.
-
This is the biggest question mark surrounding Tramking. He has all the tools that a player needs to be an NHL defenseman with mobility, a good shot, great reach and physical play. It's all going to boil down to how quickly he can make those split-second decisions and know when to hold the puck to let the play develop. Coaching is the other element that will make the difference in his transition, so hopefully he is getting good direction and understands where he needs to be on the ice. As with all defenseman the key will be to limit his mistakes, because there is no such thing as a perfect game. Anyone expecting perfection is going to be disappointed, but if he can limit his game to only a few mistakes and show some ability to make a pass and clear the crease, I will consider his debut a success.
-
All I hear when I listen to those interviews from Henrik on the 10th and 11th, is him taking shots at the media. It's one thing when us fans get amped up about seeing a new prospect and use social media to throw around our predictions and expectations. It's another thing entirely for the mainstream media to be acting like fans and pushing the narrative from that perspective. Good for Hank who knows he has to be the voice of reason when he is surrounded by a pack of vultures. The msm is primed and ready to pick the bones clean from a guy who hasn't even played a game yet.
-
I meant development camp. I'm pretty sure Benning and co. will want him there in a leadership role the same way they pushed Jake this year. It's definitely a long shot, because JB has said they want him to stay in school for another year, but stranger things have happened. He would definitely have to separate himself by a quite a bit to get that contract this summer.
-
If you were 20 or 21, would you really leave a couple million dollars on the table to finish a degree that you could get at any point in your life? With 3 more years to go before he could potentially walk away from the Canucks, he would really have to hate the organization to wait it out. Whether or not he impresses enough at camp to earn a contract this year remains to be seen, but with the direction the team is heading, a good summer could potentially fast track him into the NHL.
-
With 16 games left and still needing to get a look at Grenier, Zalewski and Pedan, the obvious move for me is send Gaunce back and bring up Pedan. That way you have an on ice translator for Tryamkin during his transition period and Gaunce can still come back if they want to take another look at him.
-
This isn't the 1st time that we're seeing this guy. From 1:25-1:40 is Gaunce pushing the behemoth up the Grouse grind and willing him to the top. It was cool to hear that they stayed in touch since development camp.
-
You can't teach 6' 8" It looks like they need to build him a new helmet Get off the tracks. Here comes "The Tram"
-
I don't know how anyone could take those comments literally. He is near laughter when he is making his comments, or as close as you will ever see Henrik to laughing. The next tongue-in-cheek comment by the reporter is "but not by Saturday?" (meaning he's not going to turn into Pronger by then) And Hank says We'll see he could have a good practice tomorrow so... Those are jokes people.
-
I have been able to catch a few KHL games this year and he does play all over the ice. The questions will be how does he adapt to the smaller ice and which role will the Canucks want him to play. I'm assuming that the Canucks are going to ask him to play a simple stay at home game, but I really hope at some point they take the leash off and allow him to carry the puck the way we see Hutton doing now. He is very intimidating when he gets a head of steam going.
-
With all the comparisons flying around I'm going to put one out there that will probably be controversial. I'm going to say he has the potential to be a Jovo cop. He's going to be able to stand players up, but when he decides to carry the puck up the ice, people are just going to get out of his way. He is going to open up a lot of ice out there. You all can temper your expectations, I'm going full Apollo on this one. This guy is going to be the real deal.
-
Exactly. why are you still shilling for Ehlers in this thread it's beyond stupid. The Canucks didn't want another soft European at the draft. It's really a simple concept that you don't seem to grasp. The Jets had a huge team 2 years ago and Ehlers was the right pick for them in the same way that Jake was the right pick for us. Team building is clearly what Benning was brought here to do and with his 1st rounders he's taking North Americans that don't shy away from physical play and he's taking homerun swings in the later rounds with projects like Tryamkin Zhukenov and Jasek. There is a bit too much of the word elite being thrown around. To my mind that word can't really be used for prospects not named McDavid. There are really only a couple dozen players that you could say are in that bracket and they are usually the guys selected as all-stars. The potential is there for these young guys like Ehlers Nylander and Virtanen that have displayed flashes playing NHL hockey in their draft +2 years, but there is still a long ways to go.
-
You feel the need to comment on what exactly? Is Jake supposed to play goalie and keep those 5 pucks out of the net too? Ehlers is a fine young player, but we didn't draft him and I'm not a Jets fan.
-
Hockey IQ is just another way to pigeon hole players and try to define them. There is more to a hockey player in today's NHL than there has ever been. Equipment coaching and training are at an all-time high and the league is going to get younger and expand by 2 teams within the next 2 years. There is too much talent for the league to handle without expansion and the league is only going to get more saturated and demand competition. Who's going to take eye injury Ehlers now? Willie Ny scored in his 2nd game so he is the better player right?
-
Which line do I get in?
-
Yes. lol Full marks for being the one negative critic that has actually had something positive to say about his game. Fanboy refers to Star Wars not hockey players that are on a team that you're a fan of. And to your 2nd point. We didn't draft Jake to be an elite playmaker. That has been clear since he was drafted, it simply isn't his skill set. The thread has been quiet because the critics have taken a holiday and there is no need to come to the kids defense. Where are Guntrix and DownUnda? ******* I thought that I had sent this message, but it deserves to be sent. You definitely called it...
-
Really the best scenario for the Canucks to be in at this time as far as taking a look at this guy. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this guy will be an impact for the Canucks next year. The fact that he can keep up in the KHL on the big sheet should be a huge check in his favor. This guy will be able to dominate the smaller ice and is the type of player that the Canucks have been missing since Jovo. I can't wait to see skaters diving out of the way to avoid being clobbered by the puck carrier. The sooner the better and I really hope that the injury was minor. Any talk of a visa is silly, people making the type of money that we're talking about, are always fast-tracked.
-
The target is definitely going to get smaller as he progresses into the pro leagues, but I really can't remember seeing a guy that could basically pick that top corner at will the way this guy does. I'd be curious to know what his shooting percentage is, considering I only get to see the ones that go in from the highlights.
-
Now it's Benning's turn to make up for a sad deadline day and sign this guy. Pack your bags young man you're comin to Disneyland.