Boudrias
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Everything posted by Boudrias
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Sooner, when the cheques start bouncing!
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NHL teams adjust to specific players. We will see how well Stecher deals with that in his 2nd season just as Hutton had to do. Hutton came back bigger and stronger. He can handle the down low play better now than he could in year 1. Clearly the book on Stecher will be to play him physically and the question is how well he will stand up to that. IMHO the book is still out on that question. Hutton closed his Year 2 out strongly. I do expect a much better season from him. His skating is better than average and he has a hard point shot. Both these players should be fun to watch.
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I am curious as well what the protocols are. Whatever the program you would think they would be segmented and reviewed on a regular schedule. Adjusted if needed. Hard to think that if that was being done that any player could go off script. Back in the '80's my cousin got a summer diet schedule and no detailed training regime from the Devils. A lot has changed since then.
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What is that supposed to mean? Euro size and experience? Still skeptical. CHL has a wide scope of size, skill and speed as do the Euros. The only advantage I can see is experience. I suggest the Hunter experience translated into Joulevi is worth it.
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We are hearing that Salo will be coaching. What does that mean? Is Salo as good a coach as he was a player? Is the team environment he would be in as good? To many questions in my mind. Am I off base having confidence in Hunter. The history of what he does to teach players makes me pretty confident. Suggestions that OJ will be bored with OHL play and needs experience playing Euro men is a bit of a put down. The CHL is the world's #1 organization for putting players into the NHL. Euro experience can have a lot of pitfalls IMHO. Joulevi only has 2 years of NA experience, not enough IMO. His future with the Canucks will be in the NHL not a Euro league.
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Summer hockey camps going full boar. My young great nephew being picked for an elite East-West Kootenay squad. Cannot wait for hockey.
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I am not excited about OJ making the Canucks unless he can get 17 - 20 TOI a game. Even then he will likely be sheltered. If he goes back to London he gets Hunter as a coach and gets lots of TOI playing all facets of the game. A NHL top quality coach at the junior level finishing our Finnish player makes a lot of sense to me. The idea of him going to Europe is not appealing at all. If it was the Hitman, circa the Virtanen era, then I would rethink that. I simply do not see Jake Virtanen graduating from the London Knights without being a complete hockey player. A lot of what has happened to JV started in Calgary.
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Opposing teams will have a better book on Stecher in year 2 just as they did with Hutton. The big deal with Hutton is his weight gain and how he evolves his game to take advantage. I have high hopes for Hutton this year. At the end of the season he still had his speed and a nice point shot. I expect his d-side play to improve. Fans all love Stecher's drive. He can come into this season and build on his year 1 experience. His workout video was impressive to say the least. Bottom line is he has to move forward and I believe he will.
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Pretty much agree. My only caveat would be the time line. Canucks are not contenders which should allow more patience by management. It is all about delopment which could be situational. Take Joulevi as an example. He plays well enough to maybe play 3rd pairing. Does that benefit him more than playing top TOI in London? He will be the 1D in London this year. Does #6 or #7 in Vancouver have more value? I don't see it. What is best for Boeser? Playing on a stronger AHL team or a Canuck team with poor prospects and a vet core that does not really cut it in the NHL. Does he gain more by playing half a season in Utica where he can get his feet wet and better understand the pro game? As usual most of these concerns are player specific but I do believe environment plays a big role. Since the Canucks will be rebuilding for at least another 3 years being cautious and taking time to develop prospects is the smart move.
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London is a machine and Hunter is the coach. Europe is a 2nd best option with to many unknowns. Hunter is high end NHL coaching at the Junior level. There is a reason why Joulevi is as good as he is right now. Hunter had him on the #1 PK and #1 PP in the MemCup. What does that say about the confidence he has in OJ.
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If Hunter was not the coach in London I might think twice about Europe. We don't know what kind of coach Salo will be. I suspect a good one but there is no doubt that Hunter and his group in London pump out NHLer's regularly. What I like about London is that Joulevi had a solid offensive role in his first year and then Hunter played him as his primary d-zone defender last year. When the push came at the MemCup OJ was playing both roles with serious TOI. I expect this year that Joulevi will play the full gamet. I simply don't know what he will get in Europe. The idea of 'playing against men' or 'he is bored in London' is kinda laughable IMO. Hutton might be trade bait come the TDL if he is not measuring up to expectations. I expect he will as he plays his 3rd season of pro. A d-man who can skate like Hutton can at 210 pounds gets a long look. More likely is that Tanev or Edler are moved at the TDL. They are worth more than Hutton at this point.
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Unless he is a standout in camp there is no reason to bring a 19 year onto the Canuck d-core. A 3rd year in London with WJC and MemCup is a solid windup to his CHL career. No way Hutton is moved until coaching can see how he is progressing. I expect Hutton to have a much stronger year. EVen if it was decided to move him I cannot see that happening before the TDL.
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London IMHO. NHL calibre coaching and closer supervision.
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Several of the Utica regulars on here said that Virtanen showed no sign of pulling his hits on the back half of the season. Virtanen's speed and physicality are major reasons why he can play NHL without putting up big ppg.
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We can only hope that Baer-Bo-Boeser become the defacto #1 line on the Canucks this year. If the Twins do not recover their ppg's then that is how it plays out. The challenge then becomes how well this line will do against the #1 checking lines of competitors. A whole new learning curve of intensity. It will be a great reminder to fans that this is a rebuilding team and years away from strong contention.
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Cannot go to the Prospects tourny this year! Bummed out.
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Don't get me wrong I am a Dorsett fan as well. My concern is the total number of vets on the roster. If this is a rebuilding team at some point TOI has to be available for prospects to develop. It might mean poorer results on the score sheet but to an extent that is the nature of the beast. IMHO Dorsett really helped Horvat in his rookie season. He plays the game at both ends well. We will see how he does this fall but I do see him as a possible TDL piece. Since the Twins are likely done at the end of this season the issue over vet TOI likely resolves itself.
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Rodin is almost a classic example of how a NHL talented player can have his career ruined. He comes to NA and has a good first season in Chicago and comes back for season two and gets injured. The situation in Chicago was a disaster IMHO. The Canucks pretty much write the guy off and he rebuilds his career in Sweden. Gets injured again as he hits new heights.
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Your scenario is well within the realm. Totally agree that the backend has not produced the points and that hurts players like the Twins and even Ericksson who are usually strong puck possession players. They cycle out of the corners either to the slot or back to the point. We all get excited during the off season as we put the best twist on the new players. On sober second thought this coming season is all about development and assessment. Quite honestly the older vets do not come into play with me much. This is a rebuilding team and that is my main interest.
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Not seeing him play for a whole year tends to fade what the guy brings. Of your list the only possible 4th liners he has to contend with is maybe Virtanen. The others are higher up the food chain. Even Virtanen would probably benefit more from AHL time. Gaunce and Chaput are 4th line candidates. My issue with Dorsett is more general in the sense that there are to many vets still on this roster.
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Who were the coaches and where did most of the players come from during the 5 straight wins? I see a game plan in the USA team not so much in Canada.
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LOL. I am confident that Horvat scores 60 points. The rest are a crap shoot. Not the 2nd lowest ppg for no reason.
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Not getting overly excited but I did think Gadjovich had a strong tourny. Bolded: I saw Gadjovich getting TOI in offensive zone play and was seeing the ice much more towards the end of the USA game. I don't have access but the numbers on his TOI/offensive zone stats would be pretty interesting. I thought his increased TOI towards the end of the game was a reflection of coaching confidence in his puck possession game.
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Maybe this is the year the Canucks luck out on the lottery. Sweden's Dahlen #8 looks tremendous. Team USA's Adam Fox had a outstanding tourny. I do believe Canucks will be drafting in the top 6 again this year.
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My only reason for sending the waiver eligibles down to begin the season is for assessment purposes by Green. I agree with you that odds are not in favor of these players being stars. I believe that what Benning had to do was create a transition pool of players to fill a huge hole in the Canuck system. It will allow younger prospects to be brought in at hopefully a better environment.