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kloubek

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Everything posted by kloubek

  1. So, I was looking at stats on Lind and took a gander at the WHL player stats, thinking that Lind must be at the top of the WHL. Almost. In fact, the top player is Tyler Steenbergen, who has 35 point in only 13 games. Impressive. But then I noticed he got 90 points last season in 72 games which is right around the same pace that Lind was scoring last season. So far, it looks like Steenbergen has exceeded Lind's progression. But here's the kicker. If I remember correctly, Benning was surprised Lind was still available at 33rd OA. Yet, Steenbergen was drafted in the FIFTH round by the Coyotes - 128th OA. Almost seems like we missed an obvious opportunity here. Even if Steenbergen was to be on pace with Lind, it looks like he would have been a steal in even the third round. Then there is Matthew Phillips, who was probably deemed too small but also had excellent stats and is now in 2nd place WHL scoring. He went in the 6th round. Food for thought anyway.
  2. I have been impressed by Hutton's game over the last couple of outings actually - especially when in comparison to the first few when he was almost invisible. While his shots have been a little on the weak side, I feel he has boosted up his hitting and been doing well to take shots.... even if most of them don't find their target. I realize his point totals leave something to be desired and that's obviously a concern, but I do think his play overall has been quite good recently.
  3. kloubek

    Sam Gagner | C/W

    Fair point, but you have to consider that if the contract is bad then the player is likely badly underperforming. Take on a few of those bad contracts and you have a good portion of your team that is likely to be underperforming. That goes against ownership's desire to remain competitive, and certainly does nothing to help instill a work-hard and winning culture with the younger guys. At least with Gagner it was going to be hit-and miss as to how he would do and with a 3 year contract it allows us to still have him for secondary scoring when the rest of the time blossoms into a contender. Honestly, I would have made the same move as JB in this case. I'm sure he was aware of the risks. With all this said, it's still early in the season so it's FAR too early to be writing off Gagner just yet. Besides that, 4 points in 11 games is still 30 points on the season - which isn't Eriksson brutal at least, and comes at half the price tag.
  4. kloubek

    Sam Gagner | C/W

    I could see the risk we were taking when we signed Gagner, but I think it was a reasonable risk. He had a great season last year, we needed more skilled players, and the price was reasonable. I've been disappointed in what I've seen so far as well, but I'm hoping he is just going to take time to adjust to new players and a new system.
  5. That was a fantastic read - thank you Kungfudru. Hope he's right! Personally, I also see elite skill level in Pettersson. He wasn't even on my radar for our draft position so I was quite taken back when I heard we had selected him, but after I did a little digging I could see why. That, combined with my growing trust in Benning's ability to seek out talent and I'm pretty excited to see him play for us.
  6. Green said during the post-game interview it was nothing and he's fine.
  7. You're right. Silly. Because now he's upped it to over a projected 65!! Given this increase in scoring rate, I figure he should end the season with approximately a point a game. Give or take. Seriously though - he is playing so damn well, and it isn't just because he's scoring. If he was scoring at his "regular" pace (which is to say, not really) he'd still be playing well. But now, he's simply a man possessed. I'm SO glad Green didn't make him the odd man out; it would have been easy to do so. This is why I'm not a coach.
  8. I'm actually not concerned at all. Obviously he needs to gain muscle, but at almost 6'2 he certainly has the frame that will support extra weight. Between training, diet, and the guidance of Canuck personnel he should be able to get around 200 no problem. In fact, being one of the lightest players in his draft class (compared to height) means that he has even more room to improve over and above the other players who already had 10 or 20 pounds of muscle on him at the time. So while he is already a decent skater, I imagine we'll see him become much more explosive as his develops. I truly believe Benning hit a home run on this draft selection - even though at the time I was quite stunned.
  9. Not unrealistic given his start. If it was the very beginning of the season I'd say it was possible but unlikely, but he's truly been on fire.
  10. At 30, I doubt he all of a sudden "found his game". I respect what he is accomplishing, but there is next to zero chance it lasts. The 62 points he is on pace for simply can't and won't happen; I did say that as more of a joke. Now, I did always wonder how he didn't manage to score more considering he actually has really good speed. Perhaps he was underachieving a bit before but he is quite obviously overachieving now. I'll take it. We need that scoring.
  11. I was one of them. I always liked what he brought to the team, but let's face it - this is a different Dorsett than we've seen in the past. At this point, he is obviously performing well beyond his contract. 62 points by end of year baby.
  12. Dorsett is on pace for, what... 47 goals? Even besides his goals he is playing well. I had some real questions about him after his injury but he's played well beyond his role this season.
  13. 1- Bullcrap. We TRIED to be competitive, but failed. I believe with the injection of youth that we truly will be competitive going forward. (Please do not misinterpret competitive as "cup contenders".) 2- Of course there are no guarantees. Nobody claimed there was and in fact that's exactly one of the primary reasons we need Pettersson to be successful. 3- What's your deal? Never said there was any mystery. Just telling you why your contention that our potential position to draft a #1 center isn't something we should be relying on. 4- This whole reply I think you are losing sight of why I originally said we needed Pettersson to reach his ceiling. All you're doing is echoing the exact reasons why we require it as opposed to waiting for a drafted player to be that guy. 5- Yeah, I added one.
  14. Three things on that comment: 1) It is clear ownership wants us to be competitive throughout instead of tanking for the best potential picks. I maintain we will be good enough this season to be at least close to a playoff spot, and I expect the same going forward. 2) Even if we did get a high pick, there is no guarantees he would be come a first line center 3) Even if he DID become a first line center, usually we need to wait a year or two for development in Utica first 4) Do you really want to wait 5 years for us to be competitive again?
  15. Because as great as Horvat is, it still remains to be seen as to whether he is going to be a true #1 center or not. And if he isn't, then we have to rely on Pettersson to be that guy - given players currently in our system. I suppose Dahlen COULD play center if he hits his ceiling, but then I was kind of hoping he would be the #1 left winger since we don't have other elite ceiling players in that position either.
  16. I was one of the ones to rag on JV, but I was also one of the ones to believe that he WOULD be an NHL player... though not at the level we were all hoping when he was drafted. I haven't exactly changed my tune, except to say that I'm happy to see him start to play with confidence and a seemingly newfound sight while on the ice. Quite honestly - he didn't strike me as having much of either. Yes, I did see him improve in Utica but looking at the stats I didn't feel that was enough without adding even more to his game. So far, it looks like he worked hard to make strides during the offseason and so far it is paying off. It is still a VERY small sample size and one that is perhaps skewed with less-than-nhl-quality opposition. I'll be watching him closely for the next couple dozen games for sure. If he is able to compete and contribute properly on the third or even the 4th line, I will consider that tremendous progress. As I said, I'm not changing my tune though. At least not yet. I pegged him before as an elite third liner and that's still the ceiling I see for him at this time. I hope over the course of the season he will prove me wrong.
  17. I think it is possible as long as he gets the ice time on the PP. (And really, why wouldn't he?). I honestly don't know that much about Green's style, but has also has to give the green light for the defensemen to be creative and pinch in otherwise I think 40 would be really hard for him to get. By all rights though, I think it is entirely possible... he's so damn smart out there. With that said, I fear that he is going to get crushed out there at some point and might get hurt pretty bad. Defense is tough at the best of times, but guys with his stature have that to battle against as well. Luckily, so far he has proven to be very skilled at avoiding checks - and in a way that's actually far better than being able to absorb them.
  18. +1. I didn't mind the risk on Baertschi, but I thought giving up Shinkaruk for Granlund was a really bad idea. I am happy to admit how wrong I was. To me, it looked like Baertschi was told to round out his game better. And as you say, he ended up looking stronger on his skates and more physical. More defensively aware as well. Now I think he needs to take the next step offensively. If he continues playing with Horvat, I expect both of them to grow in that regard over last year.
  19. I'm with you. I've been as hard on Jake as anyone, with serious concerns about his inability to put together the kind of game I knew he was capable of. This preseason I feel this is a JV we haven't seen before. Every aspect of his game seems better with the exception of hitting - but he is still strong enough to drive himself in there and gets the opponents off the puck. The part that I've seen so far which has been actually quite surprising is his reading the play. His forecheck has improved and is providing scoring opportunities. He seems more defensively responsible. I'm really happy to see him starting to put it all together. I also agree he has outplayed Rodin overall - though I feel Rodin has improved from what we've seen previously and DO think he would be picked up if placed on waivers.
  20. I will admit I may have not had exposure to seeing Lind play as some of you. All I've seen are highlights and nothing really stood out to me except for his being in the right place all the time. But again, I must point out that my concern isn't so much whether he can play in the NHL.... I think he can. But more that everyone is getting all excited when I see a middle 6 ceiling for him. Mind you, I'm the guy who felt Horvat was a high end 2nd liner when hes likely to be a low to mid end first liner, and also saw huge upside in Boeser but wasn't sure if he could translate his success against NHL class opponents. I didn't think Stecher would break out like he did, thought Eriksson would be a strong contributor with the Sedins and I saw little upside in Granlund. So really, nobody should be listening to what I have to say anyway.
  21. Possibly not, no. But he does appear to have upside and is still improving so I'm hoping once he puts it all together he will be. He really has a reasonable chance of being a good second liner. Anything past that.... Not so convinced.
  22. Actually I hadn't but if you need to search back that many decades for a guy who was similar but went on to have a good career, that is kind of the point. Its hard to be a high end player based on a limited skillset. It isn't impossible, but hard. Lind also obviously has time to improve. I am sure he and the coaching staff are smart enough to work on areas where he isn't as strong. I'm not claiming he won't be a good player. He may be a fantastic player since smarts is absolutely part of the equation. In fact, if he can't hone elite skills elsewhere it may be what keeps him in the NHL. I'm just of the mindset that he may have difficulty being a highly successful player unless he expands his toolbox. But its also possible that his positioning is so good that it will actually be good enough against NHL defenders too. Regardless, I'm keeping a close eye on him for sure and hope he doesn't face the struggles I am anticipating he may.
  23. I believe they are expecting Pettersson to be center, and I don't think Baertschi is going to be elite.
  24. ....and there we go. Sent down. But I really like what I saw from Chatfield in the preseason. He really came out of left... field.
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