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snizzle_

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Everything posted by snizzle_

  1. I don't think anyone would have guessed at the beginning of the season that Gaunce would be our most productive prospect out of Utica. That might be partly attributed to how poorly Jensen and Shinkaruk have been point wise but producing at around 0.5ppg for a guy who barely scored over 1ppg in junior is very encouraging for a 1st year pro. His game translate so well.
  2. Looks like he was taken off the 1st unit powerplay as well. His goal total for the year has been a little disappointing, considering the pace he scored at last year. Even if he stays at his 1.2PPG, I'd hope for him to start putting the puck in the net on a more regular basis. Being a playmaker and using your teammates is good, but we drafted him to go hard and score goals. He has a rocket of a shot, he should have a shoot first mentality and pass second. Everyone is screaming for him to round out his game, but that doesn't mean you get away from your strengths. He has passing ability, but from the highlights (these opinions are only based on those), he's passing off more times than not.
  3. His production has shown improvement week to week. At this rate, I think he could even get to 30 points in 68; if he plays the remaining 30 games. At his currently PPG rate, he is on pace for 21 points for 9 goals. I think he gets 25-30 pts with 10-13 goals . He's shown great improvement over the last 10 games. I think we see him put in one of those bo-drags that have been just missing.
  4. Who was he playing with last night? I saw Kassian assisting on his goal, was he on his line regularly last night?
  5. At this point does it matter? We have a new regime here and a new direction. This shouldn't even be in the Horvat thread because if we got Calgary's pick, we probably wouldn't even have drafted Horvat.
  6. This. The stats are arrange so that a goalie only has to play 33% of the team's minutes, so basically a backup can be in top goalie in the nation. 2.08 GAA and 0.928 SV% are phenomenal numbers. I think he will, by season's end, have a GAA close to 2 (hopefully under 2) and a SV% to be above 0.930 for sure.
  7. Nice. Use derogatory remarks to make your point, good one. I'm not saying he deserved more attention, or anything like that. I was just merely pointing out he was pushed back in the prospect fold/rank as you suggested, but should not be "forgotten".
  8. It's an expression that you guys are taking way too seriously. Over the course of the last year, year and a half, would you guys not agree that we (CDC) have discussed more about our most recent picks? I'm saying his been maybe lost in the shuffle when people are evaluating the future of the Canucks. I see very often circulating on other prospects page, predicted lineups where Gaunce may not even been mentioned. People like to talk about Virtanen, McCann, Shinkaruk, Cassels, etc.
  9. Lol at Christian Dvorak at no.7 overall.. I don't think I've ever taken Button seriously but now I think he's down right insane. Nylander looks softer than I thought and I liked Virtanen way more than Ehlers at the draft. I just hope this kid can get healthy enough to play a lengthy period of time, put up points and regain some prowess where he dominated the WHL.
  10. He was actually on the bench for the last minute of play when the Hitmen were pressing for the equalizer. And before that he missed a couple shift for the shoulder injury. He din't finish the game healthy.
  11. With the addition of 4 shiny new 1st round picks since, he's become somewhat of a novelty pick. People like newer shinier things and Gaunce doesn't hold the same caché as a Dynamic Shinkaruk, a Bergeron like Horvat, an offensive McCann and a historical pick like Virtanen. People still follow him, its just so much has happen since his draft that he's been somewhat forgotten, ergo the monicker.
  12. Now if he can do that for the rest of the season.. I'd be ecstatic. I routing for this guy; the forgotten one. I like that monicker
  13. Well, Kesler played in the AHL 1 year younger. Kesler (1984) - 11 pts 33 games in 03-04 Gaunce (1994) - 15 points 35 games in 14-15
  14. I hate this. Why do our prospects always get injured!
  15. Sure, but they were also later round selection. All i'm saying is that given his rather average point production, we'll see how he looks at training camps going forward before saying he's a lock for the middle/top/bottom 6, because in the 3 NHL training camps he's been to, he's been underwhelming in all of them.
  16. Alright, let's calm down a bit. The guy is doing fine but it's not like he's lighting the A on fire. There are many first year pro's who are doing way better than him, Charles Hudon, Chris Tierny, so are they going to be 1st liners in 3 years? Let's not forget he's a 1st round pick, so he was expected to have some offensive upside and scoring <0.5ppg in the AHL isn't that great, even for a first year pro. I like the way he's playing (heavy, strong and tenacious) and think he's 2 years from being a regular in the bottom 6.
  17. I think he's jumped ahead of Shinkaruk in the pipeline, especially since he can now play the same wing. I watched the highlights for tonights can and see that he skates so much more powerful and efficient which makes up for his footspeed. He's using his body and size well too. Shows on his assists.
  18. Now that's just naive. Just like shooting, passing, skating and puck skills are all attributes of players, not one by itself is an indeterminate result to points produced. So saying just because you have Hockey IQ, doesn't mean you're going to have lots of points. Sam Reinhart might be the smartest player I've seen go through the draft in the last decade but do I think he's going to be an excellent point producer in the NHL? Not necessarily, his skating is below average and his shot isn't the hardest. We all know how "smart" Cody Hodgson was and he has 6 pts in 41 games; on pace for 12 points...
  19. Imagine on the PP: Forsling and Virtanen passing it back and worth on the umbrella! No one knows who's going to shoot the 1 timer but whoever it is... watch out
  20. I didn't watch all of the game, I caught about the last 30 minutes and from what I saw I half agree. Horvat, for the 3 shifts he played, looked alot more poised with the puck. He is still very tentative, stationary and gliding but his instincts are starting to get to that NHL level. That move on Campbell was something he was able to do on every defencemen in the OHL and now he's doing it on a Stanley cup winning defencemen. Kassian had his ups but mostly i thought he was off tonight. I can recall 3 instances where he tried to go atleast 1 on 2/3 and tried to 1 hand the puck to the net... If you're going to draw 2 or 3 guys to do, do something with it. He also dived pretty bad (not as bad as against detroit) and again looks disengaged in the offensive/difensive zone.
  21. I couldn't disagree more. He isn't really patient at all; he wants to run people over and drive with the puck. His boardplay is actually something of a weakness of his that needs work. He's not good with body position because he too busy thinking about hitting a guy back when someone hits him. Pre-WJC, i thought the Carter comparison was great. After, though, I'm kind of straying away from it. He still has the major characteristics of Carter's game but Carter is such a smart player as well. I'm pretty sure Corey Perry has always been a smart player.. His knock in Junior and in his early prospect years was that he was not the fastest skater or agile. But his ability to find open ice and hockey IQ has made him into an elite player.
  22. Lot's of people were saying that Ritchie had a better tournament than Virtanen and I couldn't disagree more. Just on points alone, Ritchie had 1 goal in 7 games and played 3 games with McDavid. If any plays died, it was on Gauthier and Ritchie's stick. I don't like the argument that he's the "3rd youngest player on the team and therefor should get a write off" is valid because he's played just as much hockey as the next guy in his birth year. Aside from player born from October-December, I feel like age is but a number at that point, really doesn't hold much.
  23. I think he'll be back at the tournament next year, unless he dazzles at camp, and he will dominate that tournament. I think his hockey IQ is ok for junior hockey but at this tournament, the first time really watching him for a stretch of time, showed me why it is a little frustrating watching him play. He does drift a lot! In the offensive zone and defensive zone. I didn't see many other wingers in the Canadian lineup switch and drift as much in the defensive zone as Virtanen did. He would play left wing, center and right wing and it definitely threw off his teammates. Coachable though. He could have prevented the 3rd russian goal if he had tracked Goldobin on the 2 on 1. I was a little disappointed in his decision making/passing off the rush and his cycle/slow game. Some of that can be taught but at the same time, instinct is so key in the pros, which separates grinders from the scorers. He's going to dominate next year's WJC on sheer speed, size and power, but whether that translate to the pros after is still up for debate.
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