alfstonker
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Posts posted by alfstonker
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I agree with the post above.
I won't see a captain on this team until we draft or trade for someone like Iginla. So let me be plain, Bo is not captain material imo.
For a while I actually saw Tryamkin as captain material - but then he went all "self entitled martyr" on us.
Just for once I want to hear a Canucks captain say. "The liberty they took with xxxx was not going to go unanswered, so as captain I felt it was my job to send their guy to the A&E. The days of turning the other cheek will not be acceptable on this team now"
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5 hours ago, BananaMash said:
My only issue with Hughes is that he seems to be too focused on creating highlight reel plays, and sometimes it costs him. I'm pretty certain that's something he'll grow out of as he matures though. He's fun to watch. I haven't seen many players move that smoothly on their skates.
That is why I say that Jack Rathbone may yet be the best D we have in the future. He always looks composed and in control. Hughes at present plays a game that throws his team mates into confusion because he parts with the puck at the last second almost in panic. Time will tell I suppose.
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Brilliant but forgotten. Does it get any better than this?
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4 minutes ago, SingleThorn said:
Are you talking about the same TMLs who lost 2 goalies to waivers ?
Yes I don't think we have anything to learn from the Leafs.
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2 minutes ago, UticaHockey said:
They need someone on an expiring contract to get them through this season because Bachman will be back next season and DiPietro will be AHL eligible. If they want an upgrade over Bachman for next year as the primary depth goalie then someone not on an expiring contract could be an option.
And it's not specific to Benning it is the management team that is in place has to do a better job of risk management.
Yes we fired a guy who was far too anal retentive (Gillis) and now we have Jim who lets it all hang out. I like JB though because he has that oblivious pragmatic, "I will sign/trade for 3 duds but I will net an absolute gem with the 4th guy kind of approach."
He keeps things interesting and ticking over. The Canucks and Utica will be alright in the end, JB has an Angel on his shoulder.
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On 12/29/2018 at 2:49 AM, stawns said:
well, first of all, I don't think he's not a good skater, it's just that only the elite get to the NHL and I don't see that in his skating atm. To me, he's too upright and that puts his centre of gravity further from the ice and kind of makes him "top heavy" when he skates, and therefore easier to knock off balance, and off the puck. I also think his strides are too short and he's not get the most out of his movement. I think that ties in with having a "top heavy" stance. Finally, I don't think he has the leg strength, right now, to generate the takeoff speed that he needs to be successful as a pro player. Luckily, those are all things he can work on.
I must say while not in as much descriptive diagnosis that is how I saw him at camp. Maybe a fortnight with Bo's skating coach. I was impressed with her.
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3 minutes ago, UticaHockey said:
I will get crucified by the Benning lovers in this forum again but so be it. This is another example of a poorly managed organization.
Here is an example of a well run organization the Toronto Maple Leafs. They needed to make room for Nylander on the 23 man roster and worked out a trade for Leivo to the Canucks. But they were not willing to take a player back that would require waivers so they had Benning place Leipsic on waivers and if he cleared they would have traded Leipsic for him. When Leipsic was claimed they traded for Carcone instead. The Canucks assumed the risk of losing an asset to waivers and the Leafs were guaranteed not to lose an asset that they could send to their AHL team.
In contrast Vancouver wanted to clear up a roster spot for Demko by moving Nilsson. With Bachman out for the season they had to receive a goalie in return. But instead of finding a trading partner that had a NHL contracted goalie that is in the AHL and had already cleared waivers they took the route with more risk. A goalie that needed to clear waivers before he could be sent down. The chances of McKenna being claimed may have appeared slim but obviously were not zero.
But this is not just a Utica problem it is a Vancouver problem too that will require an immediate solution. With Bachman out for the season the Canucks only have two NHL pro goalies under contract. DiPietro can be an emergency recall but that is not a long term solution if Markstrom or Demko gets hurt and lets not forget Demko already missed two months this season with an injury. There is no choice now but to trade for a depth goalie that has already cleared waivers and playing in the AHL. And to do so they have to trade away another asset or draft pick that they should never of had to do.
Most of that makes sense. However the key phrase here is "an NHL contracted goalie"
I think we need a goalie with way more than McKenna had so if we do indeed trade an asset for him at least we know we are likely to get someone NOT on the threshold of retirement and who has had more than a round of coffees in the show.
I do agree that JB does not seem to be tuned into these kind of situations but he has two or three people around him who surely have input into these deals.
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Can we stick to the topic instead of all this Empire cr-p. I came on here for updates on Jack not this guff.
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44 minutes ago, TheCammer said:
I don't like the trade at all.
Yes, Demko is ready. I don't think that means we need to throwaway a serviceable back-up and depth toughness player for another team's garbage, I don't see any time in the future where Pyatt or McKenna will be anything but Utica Comets. The additional 6th rounder isn't enough.
I'm Team Benning but this trade is garbage IMO.
I tend to agree. If the Sens needed a goalie just ask for a higher pick, say a 3rd or a 4th round.
I blasted Nilsson on here but then I also crucified Marky (all that shows, is I know FA about goalies) so maybe Nilsson with more starts could have turned his game round, unlike the sack of garbage we got back whose boat had sailed 8-9 years ago.
Man these two would not even have been claimed off waivers. Do they call this a NEW YEAR's hangover deal.
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As a long time advocate for Gaunce I really think he now needs to decide if he really wants to play in the NHL.
I just feel he is too "gentle" for the show. He has a big body, doesn't seem to lack fitness or stamina, is fairly quick as we have seen but the BUZZ seems to be dissipated after two or three games in the NHL.
Soon there will be others who may in fact lack his level of hockey IQ but have the desperation to succeed and will show him how it's done, alas for him it will then be likely too late.
Victor Oreskovich comes to mind.
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6 hours ago, canuckledraggin said:
I was aware.
If you were, and I don't doubt you, it made little sense to criticise the boy's life choices.
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7 hours ago, canuckledraggin said:
That's false. For every pick they have traded away, they have acquired one to offset it. Some of his trades could be argued are mistakes like trading away a 2nd for Vey, but it was a worthwhile gamble at the time considering the numbers he was putting up in the AHL. It just so happens that he was playing with Pearson and Toffoli on his wings and he had a tougher time making the jump to the NHL. I'd still do the Baertschi for a 2nd deal and Comets fans got to witness what he can do with his skill and it could be argued that without Baertschi and Conacher they wouldn't have made it to the Calder finals. I'd still do a 3rd for Dorsett, who was an absolute warrior for us. The biggest controversy is McCann and a 2nd for Gudbranson, but he fills a void in the defense as fas as physicality goes, created when he traded away Bieksa for a 2nd.
Have a look. It's a talking point that can keeps getting repeated, that just isn't true.
https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/jim-benning-era-transaction-summary.2225825/
McCann has been a surprise to me. He has not developed with Florida as well as I imagined he would. I really thought he was progressing better in Vancouver and it was his lack of size that was inhibiting him - however he is now 6'-1" and 198 lbs ( he doesn't look it though) and his progress imo has stalled.
I was not happy with the move at the time, because I really liked McCann's fire as well as his skill and speed however in hindsight I think JB made a good trade for us. That said I really do think McCann would have been lighting it up for us by now if he had stayed.
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9 hours ago, Drop Em said:
I disagree, it was never a good deal. The Canucks (just like many other teams over the years) over paid, both on term and money because it was July 1st. He was coming off a career year at 31 and about to turn 32 when the team should have been trying to get younger. He was signed for 6 years which would have put him well past his prime even IF he had been performing as expected. He was never a great skater and the league is only getting faster and harder for him to keep up.....and although scoring on his own net would have been upsetting for him, if it put him off so much as to screw up his season and the ones following it, then his mental toughness should have been taken into consideration when he signed his contract. Signing LE and then starting a complete rebuild less than a year later makes no sense.
I have to agree the LE deal was not a good one. Examination of his record did not suggest a consistently high production player to me.
That said the reason I was not pleased was more to do with his lack of pushback and that is the point I made at the time.
You have to wonder if JB had "a thing" for Loui and maybe was involved in a big part of bringing him to Boston.
All I can say is he is not awful. He works hard and seems to be good with the "details" coaches so love to talk about.
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27 minutes ago, nzan said:
Haha, fair point.
It occurs to me that some of the metamorphosis of Goldy’s game can be attributed to correct thinking from Larionov.
Of course that’s just a personal assumption, but if he could do the same for Tryamkin I’d happily have him on our cup teams.
I think you're right. However it is hard to turn a player against the wishes of his wife and that seems to be the end of the Tryamkin "fairy tale"
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11 hours ago, canuckledraggin said:
Jack didn't do himself any favors by staying in highschool for an extra year. It cost him a couple rounds in the draft an opportunities to play for the USDP, but that's just the way it works. I agree he would look great on that team, but he didn't earn it the way the other players did. Their loss is the Canucks gain.
Jack doesn't give a f---k because he was more interested in helping his family and in particular his younger brother. That is why he will drive himself on to be one of the best Canuck D's ever IMO no mater what schedule he follows.
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10 minutes ago, nzan said:
I heard him say Goldy has to overcome the same problems.
At least Goldy always has Larionov over-talking him and making him sound like he understands what he needs to do to succeed here (work hard, back check, forecheck, pay attention)
“I’m in touch with Nikolay Goldobin, he calls me, we keep in touch. He proved he can play well, I’m happy for him. Somehow he’s still being smothered, still influenced by the Russian factor, this cannot be avoided.”
I want tryamkin back as much as anybody, but that belief/attitude will ruin his ability to succeed here, Larionov could probably grind it out of him.
Who gives a f---k!
We are on our way, Goldy is rebuilding his game as he needs to do and doing well and Tryamkin is a distant memory of someone who is on the verge of being forgotten. He will be telling his kids he played for the mighty Canucks for a couple of seasons and they will ask "Was that when they won the cups?" And he will say, "get to bed, I don't want to talk about it"
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11 hours ago, canuckledraggin said:
Revelation. You obviously haven't been a fan of the Canucks organization for very long. The previous management went all in to win during their prime years as they should have. They did it at the expense of draft picks, which in hindsight probably didn't matter much since they were not good at drafting anyways.
From day 1 Benning has stated that he was going to build this team through the draft and he has done a good job. As I stated in response to Fred65's post that was praising the Lightning franchise, they are at least 4 or 5 years ahead of our rebuild. It's not fair to compare franchises at different stages of development, because every franchise rebuilds. The Lightning haven't been a consistent powerhouse. They stole the cup in 2004 and have made a conference final a couple of times, with lots of stretches of missing the playoffs. Now they're on the upside again. They won't be there forever..
While I agree with the statement, the fact is they had picks and as we have seen, there are great picks to be had in most of the rounds PROVIDING you can spot them and develop them. That is where the Canucks management were found wanting. The Moose years showed us how but then we lost sight of the process - by a long f-----g way.
Happy New Year to all our Utica friends and their families.
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48 minutes ago, Dungass said:
I'm going to hold my expectations of Quinn in this tournament in check. I remember last year watching Petey like a hawk, and being less than impressed. He scored the bulk of his points agains belorussia and switzerland. He whiffed on so many one timers I lost count. As well, all except one of his 7 points was on the PP. On the other hand I was really impressed with Olli's game. Oh yeah, Mittlestadt dominated the tourney, last time I checked he has Gaudette like numbers in Buffalo this year.
Point I'm trying to make is, can't read too much into this tournament. Look at the skill set and the fundamentals more than the flashy point totals. I think we can get a better read on Quinn from watching him regularly at Michigan.
When will people realise the good/great players are about more than points. If you watched last year you would have seen a playmaker supreme in the games. If we know one thing about Petey it is that he is not greedy.
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2 hours ago, Horvat is a Boss said:
I do.
So do I, he's just being a p---k
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7 hours ago, UticaHockey said:
Tonight they played a team that is probably the best team in the conference. Tampa Bay has stacked Syracuse with a great team.
But putting that aside the injuries on defense has caught up to them. There are only two healthy defensemen that are on NHL contracts and McEneny is still not at the same level that he was playing at before knee surgery last year. Jesse Graham is a train wreck and should never be playing in this league. Sifers is old and slow and Dirk is a work in progress.
Against some of the weaker teams the Comets were able to put some good efforts together with this defense and pull off a few wins. But eventually they were bound to regress to what they really are and they could not skate on the same ice as a team like the Crunch.
Never mind it is always darkest before the dawn.
I really hope we can get things turned around when we get some of our injured players back but when that will be who knows. I doubt we could even send Biega down because the way he is playing WD's LA or some other astute GM would snap him up.
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12 hours ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:
Goal from today:
Plus, this hit:
Kudos to the guy who just got straight back up after what looked like a pretty "day spoiling" hit.
2018-19 Utica Comets Thread
in Prospects / Farm Team
Posted
Yet again Alf you demonstrate how lucky the world of Hockey has been knowing that you chose an alternate career path.