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Everything posted by kloubek
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Honestly, with all the red tape in a Western country, it wouldn't be surprising to see an overseas nation be the first to come up with an effective vaccine. I would have thought China (oh, the irony) but Russia makes sense. They'd love to be the world's heros. Mind you, any power would. From what I understand (take it with a grain of salt given media bias) they are not exactly following proper protocol when it comes to testing the vaccine, and so far have released no data to back their claims as to how close they really are. What a collective sigh of relief there will be heard as soon as an effective and safe vaccine starts being distributed. I am not young, and this has been the biggest cluster-f I have witnessed in my lifetime.
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Line combinations for the Canucks in the play-ins and beyond
kloubek replied to Patel Bure's topic in Canucks Talk
Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Pearson-Horvat-Boeser Roussel-Gaudette-Ferland Motte-Beagle-Sutter Edler-Myers Hughes-Tanev Fantenberg-Stecher I do feel Gaudette starts. It helps give the 3rd line scoring ability, transitioning to more a 3offensive-1defensive setup. I think this lends itself well to playing against a highly defensive Wild team. First callup (if one wishes to call.it that) is Zach for the bottom 2 lines, Jake for the top 2. I feel Green will be fluid with his lineups right after game 1 if we don't win... ranging from massaging the lines to switching to a callup. I particularly believe we will see tinkering on the bottom 2 lines early in the series unless we manage to really take it to the Wild as originally designed. Not sure who the callup would be on D, given Benn is gone, but also expect Green to tinker here too. He chose a couple young blueliners to take to the bubble and I expect at least one of them to be played - possibly in favour of Fanta. -
...did you mention what you'd do with Virtanen aGent? May have missed an earlier post... As much as Jake does pain me, we would be selling very, very low and I would like to keep him in the fold if possible. It isn't like being scratched for reopening night is increasing his value...
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Please. How many chances has he had? Heck, Green even had him on the top line. He has also had multiple training camps too where he has failed to meet (not unreasonable) expectations. Don't talk to me about chances. Jake has had plenty.
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I do not for a second believe "stress is stress". The bad injury and rehabbing it (don't think he came back 100%) combined with his father's situation are two exceptionally difficult situations to deal with, making expectations to focus his mind entirely on hockey and give his 110% difficult. What's Jake's big distraction? Seeing a chick he met at the bar in the stands? I also agree with the "put him back out there and let him make mistakes" for many players. You would do that with a mature player like Petey, Quinn, or Brock, because you know they will learn from their mistakes. You put Jake out there and he will make the same mistake next shift. Green has taken the tough love approach because he feels it helps fire Jake up. Your thought is to just let him float around out there, giving up goals and learning little from it? It doesn't work that way when you are trying to reach the playoffs and certainly not in a playoff environment. Jake will get his chance at some point. And when that comes, he better make the most of it.
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Yes, but that is MY point. Boeser has reasons which can excuse his numbers. Virtanen does not. There will be better to come. Bank on it. I think we are going to see a very motivated team in a few days, and that includes Boeser.
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Have you not been reading why? Injuries. Mental difficulties. The best Brock is to come. You may see him these playoffs.
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For your first part, indeed. To have true NHL players available as callups is a nice liberty to have. (And don't anyone bitch about LE not being an NHL player. He is fine as a 4th liner - paycheque aside) For the second part, I agree that having unseasoned guys as callups isn't ideal. However, if they get playing time, you never know. If they can battle through the nerves, it may even be a blessing in disguise if we are lucky.
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Claimed to he the result of a defector from South Korea? Right. I'm just people all over are just waiting for the opportunity to get into that utopia we call N. Korea. At least they are finally admitting cases exist. To this point they have claimed zero cases which seemed unlikely. (Though not 100% impossible, given the extent that their nation is so sealed up)
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That I agree, but he doesn't do much of either when he takes games off. I truly love what Jake can bring. Despite defensive gaffs I do still view his skillset as a strong one overall. He is infuriatingly close to being a real force. He just needs to learn how to commit himself to the game. I can't help but feel he will eventually grow up. Unfortunately, I feel the revelation will come wearing a different jersey.
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Not really sure I agree. He isn't that far removed from his symptoms. I am no doctor, but I would imagine there is at least a chance his symptoms return which doesn't really mean his career is over. Could just mean his brain needs more time. Now, if he suffers -another- concussion during the playoffs, then that would be a major problem. I too wish him well both as a person and a player. The sad thing with Ferland is that if we wants to continue a strong career, he MUST crash and bang. That is his game. Lose that, and it is all over. Must be a difficult position to be in, given his history.
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I heard him talking about what he went through. He has learned a lot about concussions and is legitimately seeming to be ready to play. I am sure he doesn't want to mess up his future life and neither do the Canucks. He is cleared to play by the medical staff as well as whatever specialist(s) he was seeing. According to him, he just had to wait for the symptoms to subside at high speed. Now, I am not saying you are wrong (and I totally see your point) but a lot of professionals and Ferland himself would believe otherwise. Given their familiarity with the details of the situation plus their professional position, I am led to believe they might be in a better position to assess the risks of his return than you or I.
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Ferland said today that hitting and contact was not the problem with his condition. It was more of a vertigo-type feeling with everyone flying around, along with difficulty tracking. He says no such symptoms exist. He would be wise to play a careful with his head positioning, but according to him he is ready to start throwing himself around. Good news for us if we could get a fully healthy and playoff engaged Ferland.
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I like Stecher too. I believe coach and management do too. The problem is primarily in cap room but also because I think his camp may view him as being more valuable than I think he really is. To us. I view him as a real good bottom pairing guy who does almost everything reasonably well, but has limited upside as well as lack of sting behind those hits. He brings it every game and man I admire the passion but he just isn't going to be more than bottom pairing for us moving forward anyway. I don't at all think he would complain to be played in that position, but it also means bottom pair dollars from management - if we could even afford that now. I know he loves Vancouver and I would love to see him stay. Benning needs to find a way to clear up cap space. Primarily moving LE's albatross. It would make all the difference across the other pending contracts as well. Everyone (including me) are expecting us to lose something we want to keep given the pending contracts, but it doesn't have to be that way if we could just find the cap. Guess that is far easier said than done in a cap-flat world.
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Sometimes, that is correct. And when Virtanen isn't scoring, he is visible for the mistakes he makes which lead to goals against. Any more Bess bashing you wish to try out against reality?
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Lol... what? Firstly Bess was drafted 23rd overall. Not 6th. Their situations are not the same right off the bat. Secondly, Boeser has battled through serious injury, as well as serious personal issues. Wrong and wrong again. Next, Boeser has had his ups and downs but he has always listened and acted immediately to the coaches on what he needs to improve. It has been a perpetual struggle getting through to Jake. So, wrong again. Finally, Boeser has made big strides in his two-way game. So even if he isn't scoring much out there, he isn't as much a detriment to the team when he is playing poorly as Jake is. So no. It is *nothing* like giving Boeser a free pass.
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Many expected big things given his draft position, but I think lots of people are otherwise simply fed up. He has all the physical tools but despite special attention from the coaches still has a problem with consistency. He will make a real difference one game then completely disappear. It is infuriating. Jake is the kind of guy who must play to his ability game after game. At his best, he is very effective and is the kind of player that can make a real difference in the playoffs. But as a team transitioning into a contender, we cannot afford to have players who take games off and aren't striving to improve. Especially considering our cap situation.
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I do hope he gets to the point of being considered for a top 6 center role. He still has lots of learning to do but as you say - he has excelled at virtually every challenge thrown at him. I am not sure we would want to throw Bo's talent down on the 3rd line, but as you say, Bo already has a good 2 way game and the 3rd os typically a more defensive line. If we did manage to have 3 top six centers, that's one hell of a good problem to have...
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I agree, but that is easier said than done - particularly given our cap status. Despite having the amazing Mr. Hughes, I feel we need more scoring from the back end still. Either individually or as a group. Add that in, then all that is left is for the coaches to come up with the right systems. Preferably one that includes the ability to find a way to play 5 on 5. I find it odd that with most good players, you get a feel pretty quickly how good they will or might be. With Gauds, I still have no idea.
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[GDT] Wild @ Canucks, Sunday August 2 @ 7:30 pm
kloubek replied to Dumb Nuck's topic in Canucks Talk
I think everything you've said in your post is dead on. Not sure if the position races part was your own commentary or his, but I agree with all that too. That's a lot of info to be in 100% agreement with so it is worth a call out because it is a rarity. Green wants guys who push themselves and claw for the win. A top-form Jake could be a HUGE asset during these playoffs. But if he doesn't have the drive or ability, it would be horrible, but I would accept sitting him out. ...but for LE? Sorry, but while being defensively responsible I see little upside to his game, and he is the bloody poster boy for not getting his hands dirty. You can't rip on Jake for not giving it his all and insert Loui who demonstrates a similar lack of desire. Unless of course, he decided he actually wants to play hockey. If so, a motivated Loui could not be that bad. I guess he has done well in camp, but that's camp. This series (and the playoffs if we make it) will hinge on guys stepping up and leaving it all on the ice. If any player is not on the same page, I don't want them out there. -
Ah. The other poster clarified what I meant. It was primarily players who aren't our typical go-to guys where it is critical. They need to know where they place in the lineup.and the coaches need to gauge how committed they are and if they should be in the lineup Having guys like Zach helps in that if you aren't gonna give it your all, there is a guy who will.
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Not really sure what the correlation is? We have a good young core that know what expectations are, and we have vets who not long ago played some pretty decent hockey. Megna fell into neither classification.
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Love the competition. I disagree that Jake just "has crappy training camps". Training camps are vitally important and even moreso since the pause. If you aren't in game shape or don't give it your all, both speak loudly as to the kind of player you are likely to be without snapping out if it. In Jake's case, I feel he hasn't snapped out of being a kid yet. They haven't got through to him yet. He has the tools to be borderline excellent but not the maturity. So how long do you hold out that he will smarten up? You would have figured a contract year would have done it. Nope. If we had all our players at the best they -could- be, this team would be dominant. Jake could absolutely play a game similar to what Ferland did to us with Calgary. Ferland himself -could- still play like his former self. Good lord - if Loui could figure out how to play hockey again? Our team on paper has massive scoring potential from the top six and veteran names in the bottom six who by all rights SHOULD be able to play better than we have come to expect. Sutter, Ferland, Loui, Beagle, Rouse - and Jake if he chooses to play his heart out. If even a couple of those guys return to form, we are gonna look good.
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Vezina Trophy finalists unveiled
kloubek replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in General Hockey Discussion
Marky did a lot for us. He played extremely well in a tough situation since we can't seem to keep the puck out of our own end 5 on 5. But his surface numbers themselves were not spectacular. There is no way they are going to score on the curve so strongly that they exclude guys with far better stats. Think on the bright side. In negotiations, his agent can't stand up and say "Come on... we have a vezina finalist here and you want to give him THAT paltry salary?"