Boudrias

I keep looking for that 'mean' streak in Kassian. Not seen it yet. Neal has it the same way Lucic does. That said I would take Neal over Lucic. Neal goes 100% every time out, Lucic does not. No doubt that Kassian is still feeling his way and is definitely listening to his coaches. Hockey success is so much about consistency shift after shift. Kassian has pretty soft hands which makes me hope that his offensive upside is superior to both Neal and Lucic. Beertuzzi put up points but he was no leader and his ability to play both ends of the ice was limited.

Good point. Kassian can pass the puck but I want him to go to the net more. In the same vein if Kassian is crashing the net then Schroeder has to shoot.

Meanwhile at Gary Robert's secret training camp word has leaked out that Chris Tanev's slapper is now being clocked at 96 mph and accelerating! I hope where ever Schultz goes that things work out for him. I thought Van was a good fit for him. If the problem was ice time then I can agree with the Canucks not BSing by saying what he wanted to hear. Signing Schultz as the 2nd right side dman would have been a gamble for a serious CUP contender. If he had signed I still thought a Bryan Allen made sense. What will really hurt is if this kid's projections are accurate and he becomes a Norris quality dman. I guess they can pitch him again in 2 years.

You are being pretty selective about you're approach and conclusion. De Niro hit it right. The NHL talks one story during the regular season when it doesn't mean much but come playoffs and the rules change. Size, speed and physicality counts for a lot. Playoffs are all about atrition.

Kassian has played more than 45 games in the NHL. Doesn't that make him eligble for waivers? I do agree that unless he is getting at least 10 minutes he should be in the AHL. I don't think the ice strategy which relys on puck possession can be the only approach next year. While physical play seems to bring the most out of the Canucks they were not consistant enough in that approach come playoffs. Emotionalism seemed to takeover and they lost focus. Kassian could be a big piece in changing how the 2nd or 3rd line play.

I admit that I don't see the Sabres a lot but they looked like a up and down the ice team. Hodgson benefited from Van's puck possession game which he won't see as much of with the Sabres. His increased ice time is probably more important to him. Up and down the ice won't benefit his slower foot speed. I highly doubt MG acquired Kassian to leave him on the 4th line. I'm hoping he finds time on the 3rd line next year. He has good speed and can work the boards well already so moving up and down the lines is possible.

I haven't seen enough of Wheeler to comment. TSN said the other day that Wheeler had issues about how much it took to be an impact player physically. What I noticed or assume with Kassian is that he is thinking the game well already. Anything he has said or has been reported as saying has been very positive. Exposure to players like Higgins, Lapierre and Burrows should be excellent for his development.

<p> Burrows and Higgins aren't that shabby in that role either.

There are so many variables to consider comparing one player from another, let alone aone season from another. Your comment abut shooting accuracy is a better indicator IMHO. I was glad to hear that he was working out with Parise last summer. Great role model.

Bigger challenge for a Swede to come over to AHL play than a North American player. Rodin is getting his feet wet this year. Watch out next season.

Coming off his draft year Grabner had some question marks in Spokane. IMO he demonstrated in Manitoba that he could become a pro. I think most fans could see in his short time with the Canucks that the potential was there for him to be a top 6 player. I think the decision that MG had to make was whether waiting for Grabner to break out or acquire a top 4 dman that the club could use immediately. Did MG know whether Bieksa would come back as strong as he did? I can agree that the casual fan can bail on developing players far to early. Your example of Hodgson is bang on. The other reality is that the Canucks probably have a 3 year window to win a CUP and I can see MG sacrificing some of his prospects to get the pieces that might make that happen in that time frame.

I can agree that Archibald will get a look but the Canucks have tended towards experience. He has upside potential and they might not do him any favors by keeping him on the 4th line. CoHo will be on the opening roster. Rodin is interesting but I'm not penciling him. IMHO the real question mark will be Sweatt. He had a pretty decent rookie AHL year. Pretty consistent offensively. THe Canucks will need some speed and his shot gets your attention. If the d-core can get him the puck on the go it will be interesting.

Let's hope so. I have concerns about the new AHL affiliation in Chicago. We all might look back at the Moose era as a real bonus for the org. I'm sure MG did a good deal but I'm still worried about the opportunity for the Canuck youth. Also concerned that there has been no annoucement about the Salmon Kings.

You're bumping a lot of established players out to add these rookies.

My mistake, sorry about that mislead. Having watched both Shiro and CoHo in Van I am now curious about Sweatt. His production doesn't seem to have dried up while the other two were out on injury or playing in Van.

Before their injuries Schroeder was playing on line with Hodgson and Sweatt. Top producing line.

Desbiens didn't play in Calgary. Schroeder's biggest challenge will be finding open ice. Who he plays with and their style will make all the difference. His effectiveness shone thru on the PP. He is a playmaker, has his head up looking for the play. We will see in later games with other linemates whether his game can be more effective. Players like him seem to adapt quickly. My impression was he will be with the Moose. It becomes a numbers game very quickly as open spots are limited to maybe 4 forward positions. I really liked Bliznik. He is better with the puck than Perrault.

He seems to have some smarts on positioning. But is he ever small! Even Kane looks bigger than him. Quite honestly I didn't see what got him to where he is. He did some nice passing in the Swiss game. I watched lower drafts on the Canada/USA teams that I thought played better than Schroeder and Rodin.