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timberz21

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Everything posted by timberz21

  1. Actually, I'm not saying bring him with the Canucks or send him to Sweden. I'm saying let the kid show what he can do in training camp and take it from there. Part of his evaluation will be his strenght. If his strenght is not good in pre-season, it will show and will affect his play and it will be taken into consideration when the Canucks do their final decision. You don't send him to Sweden based on his strenght only. It's only part of the equation and ultimately will affect his play if truly not ready. People are arguing like it's a lock on way or the another. The truth is we don't know. 4-5 months until the season start is a lot of time, things will change. WHen I think back of the frail Mathew Barzal I saw in junior and at WHJC, I never would have thought he would held his own in the NHL this year. Pretty sure, NYI didn't expect that either, but they had no choice but to leave him there and give him more responsability.
  2. Nico Hischier and his 175lbs frame didn't prevent him to play 82 games, playing 16min per night. Marner is still listed at 175lb too. Why do you assume Pettersson will get hurt? Dahlin is listed at 181 and every hockey experts have him playing in the NHL next year. You don't bring him over here, hand him 1st line duty, 1st PP time and ask him to play 22 minutes per night. What's wrong with getting him over here, playing 15 minutes a night, sometimes in the top 9, sometimes in top 6. You can't ask the kid to stay in Sweden, ask him to put 20lbs and bring him in next years. At least in Vancouver or Utica, the Canucks will be able to monitor his training program much closely. I'm not giving him a free pass, he needs to earn his spot, but if he proves he can play, I'm not sending him in Sweden because i'm afraid he'll get hurt, that's not logical.
  3. IMO, I wouldn't say Burrows was above average in hockey IQ coming in, but he had ton of heart, a no quit mentality and would do anything to earn a spot in the NHL. With time he learned his role, executed the coach's game plan and eventually outsmarted his opponent which prolonged his career as an NHL regular. IMO it was more Burrows' heart, rather than his head, that made him the player that he was. If Virtanen can channel the same discipline as Burrows, I think he could be the same type of player, with even better offensive abilities.
  4. Hence, why I said "I also disagree with hitting the post not being recorded as a shot on goal" I know it's not...but in my opinion it should be. Also why I said many won't agree with me too...
  5. What happens if someone shoots the puck and deflects off a leg of a teammate that isn't even looking at the net? He will get credited with the goal, but is that a shot on goal? Shouldn't it be recorded the same way as a tipped shot? I also disagree with hitting the post not being recorded as a shot on goal. If you take it literally...it is a shot on goal, you actually hit a part of the goal...and should be recorded as a save too for the goalie as you could argue that the goalie was in perfect position and if the shot had been an inch inside he would have made the save. Anyways, I don't think many will agree with me on this one.
  6. Seriously, I never heard of Kent Nilsson until Pettersson started threatening his record. Then I thought, bah, Nilsson is just a former Swedish star that had success oversees but not in the NHL. Now I realize he was a pretty darn good NHL player, being above PPG in every single NHL season (except one, 60 in 61) holding the Swedish record for points in a season and many other accomplishment. My question only is, how does this guy, who was always a PPG went from the NHL to Italy in one off-season. He played for 5 different teams (in 5 different country) in a span of 4 years : Minnesota, Edmonton, Bolzano, Djugarden, Kloten. Surprising, wonder if it was a personal/family choice or he was blacklisted from the NHL?
  7. On the other hand, winning the lottery and getting Dahlin suddenly takes care of that. I know thats still a big IF. But still, there is often surprises in D drafted later becoming top pairing guys. A lot of good 2nd rounder have become elite defenseman : Subban, Weber, Keith, Josi. There is also the option of pulling a Jones/Johansen trade if we have too many forwards. Building a solid defense is harder than building a forward group...however if you make good decisions you can build it faster than forwards because there is only 6 spots. Once you have that big #1 or a solid core of 2/3 guys like Nashville, its easy to build around, compared to having a McDavid and building a forward core around him. Man, getting Dahlin would be awesome in itself, but I think he would do wonders for Juolevi too. Olli could piggy back on a guy like him and instead of being the go-to guy, he would be in the shadow, doing his thing, which I think would suit him better.
  8. The problem is we have a logjam on the left side, but on the third pairing only. We still have a huge shortage in our top 4. Edler is the only LHD that can play in the top 4 regularly and he misses at least 15 games every year. Everybody else is basically a bottom pairing. Also with the injury our D sustain every year, the Canucks should always setup their roster 13/8, rather than 14/7. Therefore, if Juolevi shows he can handle the NHL early on, then Edler is our regular 1st LHD, Juolevi is also a regular playing sheltered minutes to start, and then MDZ, Pouliot and Hutton can rotate in and out of the line-up filling up for injury. Edler, Tanev/Gud (24 min) Juolevi, Tanev/Gud (+/-18 min) Any combo (MDZ, Pouliot, Hutton, Stetcher) (+/-18 min) We could also trade Hutton and sign another Weircoch
  9. At the same time, the Sedins survived the era of Scott Stevens, Chris Pronger, etc. While the NHL is more physical, the league is still softer than it was 15 years ago.
  10. Seriously, I haven't watched Gaunce play much this year (barely watched the Canucks at all), but his whole demeanor reminds me a lot of Malhotra. On the ice, I also thinks he could have the same impact as Manny, too. Once all the other kids upfront blossomed, I think Gaunce will emerge as the leader of the bottom six and important core of our team.
  11. We all wanted Pettersson to be the top forward of the tournament, but in the end that doesn't mean that player will be the best NHL player of the tournament. We all remember Cody Hodgson leading the tournament in scoring in 2009. Whether or not Pettersson was better or worst than some players doesn't really mean anything. I think Pettersson playing with men in Sweden is a different game than the junior, even is the junior is suppose to be easier, it's an adjustment. Mete was really good, but didn't dominate the tournament despite playing in the NHL, the same can be said about Lazar, Huberdeau, and Virtanen, etc.
  12. I wasn't too disappointed Lind got cut at first, because I thought he could be back next year, but like many mentionned above, he will turn 20 on Octobre 16, 2018. My question is, what is the cutoff date for a 20 years old to play in the AHL??? Is Kole eligible for Utica next year, or he just missed the cut as well? EDIT: From what I read, since he will be 20 before December 31, 2018, he's AHL eligible next year. That's good news if true.
  13. So you're telling me that the SweHL that recently had among the leading goals scorer Chad Kolarik, Broc Little, Nick Johnson, and among the points leaders Jeff Taffe, Derek Ryan and Ryan Lasch are tougher than they were? If there is higher end talent out there, why are there North American rejects dominating their leagues??
  14. Except for Nylander, I don't think the calibre of the SHL was the same back then. With the KHL and more players coming to North American, I think Finnish and Swedish league's level has decreased over the years. Marginal NHL players and AHL leftovers found some success in these league recently, which tells me the level of competition is not as high as it was.
  15. LOL very funny comparison, they do have a similar path...but I don't think the NCAA was the same caliber as it is today, so for that reason, their NHL similarities should end there.
  16. I'd like to see a line of Eriksson-Horvat-Boeser. Although he's played RW most of his career Eriksson is a left shot. That line would be a good mix, with a veteran with lots to prove, a rising star and a potential Calder candidate. That line also has a good balance of skills, IQ, shooting, defensive awareness. If Horvat can get Eriksson going, it will benefit the team a lot.
  17. I think making the playoffs with this core would be a really good things, unlike when did made the playoffs in WD's first year. That years, we made the playoffs with a veteran team, Sedins, Vrbata, Bonino (still young, but lot of experience), Burrows, Higgins, Hansen, Matthias, Dorsett, Richardson, Tanev, Edler, Bieksa, Hamhuis. If we make the playoffs now, with Horvat, Grandlund, Baerstchi, Stetcher, Guddy and a few of Virtanen, Dahlen, Goldobin, Boeser, Juolevi, etc.....well it means that our young core is progressing well....which is a good things and that the rebuild is ahead of time. No way, will the Sedins alone will bring us back to the playoffs, even if they go back to 60 pts. My expectations for this year is that the kids are productive and are progressing. I hope they can all break out offensively and that we play an exciting style of play. Even if we give up a lot of goals (which I believe will be our undoing this year and miss the playoffs), I hope we score a lot of goals too, because we can always shore up the defense at a later stage, much easier than teaching how to score goals.
  18. I'll be happy if he can get to 20-25 goals again, and I truly believe he can. Last year was an anomaly I think. Plus, his contract won't really be an albatross, since by the time we are competitive again, he will have 1-2 years left and with a potential 85-90M$ cap, I don't think will cause much cap crunching headaches. Plus don't forget in 2019-20 season, we could be in lockout again...eliminating 1 year of that contract. Also the contract is a little front loaded, which could potentially attract internal cap teams in the latter years of his contract. Also, if the Sedins leaves after this year, Eriksson could still be a good mentor to Dahlen and Pettersson who probably won't be able to benefit from the Sedin's presence if they leave. This signing is a failures so far, but I don't think it's too late yet that it is irreversible. Even if it doesn't get better, I don't think the this contract will hamper us in the future
  19. The prospects he traded in late 2015 are still in the minors or barely cracking the MLB line-ups right now, it's normal that they aren't superstar yet. We won't know if they are or aren't probably for another 2 years. Especially, since most of them were pitchers, it will take more time than a position player. One of our biggest weakness the past few years was our bullpen, it can be explained by the lack of pitchers in the minors. Not every prospect will become a superstar. Instead of always signing/trading journeyman like Upton, Saunders, Pearce, Grilli, Benoit, Chavez, Storen, Bolzinger, Latos, etc. we could have filled these positions within our organization (without being superstars) with young and cheap players. Leaving more money to spent in key position, like a setup man, DH, Starters, etc. It's not always about superstars, it's about depth. I think the Royals and Cubs proved that in the past two years. I'm not bashing on AA for what he did. He brought us in the playoff and brought back meaningful baseball in Toronto. The point I was trying to make was, you can't blame the current administration or Gibbons for that matter, for the current lackluster season. This is oldest team in the AL, with our best prospect at least 2-3 years away from the majors. I'm not saying trade all of our core and build through the draft, as this can take a decade (with the best example being the Astros and Cubs). But some guys should be shipped out for young players or prospect close to MLB ready. There has to be a transition, so that the team can stay competitive, without necessarily being a contender or bottom feeder.
  20. Or maybe, Gibbons did exactly what you suggested...which explains why their batting average is miserable. Hockey coaches constantly ask their players to take more shots...doesn't means they score 50 goals in a season. I agree with the previous poster that Gibbons isn't really to blame, even though I don't necessarily like him. Neither is the actual Management team. This team was handcuffed by the previous administration. Yes Anthopolous build the back to back playoff teams and brought in Donaldson for peanuts, but he also mortgage the future for aging and pending UFA players. Leaving the current administration with a declining core and an empty cupboard. Their option were either continue to ride the current streak and going all in and fall hard after that, or keep the status quo, by refilling the cupboard and hoping that the aging core work one or two more years of magic, until the next core can take over. Making it for an easier transition and less time in the basement. Looks like option #2 was chosen without the expected results. Personnally, I'd keep Donaldson for another year, as he's still under Blue Jays control next year and should still bring in a big return if he's traded next summer. I'd also trade Tulo now since he might still have enough value in him to get something good in return. Too bad Alford got injured, as we need to start bringing youth and speed in the line-up.
  21. As for the Pettersson selection, I'm excited, the kids seems to have potential and I fully trust Benning's judgement on picking him over other available center. My only worry is I'm hoping his selection is not Benning trying to correct a past mistake with another mistake. In 2014, when he selected Virtanen he went with the red hot scoring winger, local boy, with speed and grit, over the more talented, smaller euros (Nylander, Ehlers), which at the time I supported too, as I thought even though Virtanen might not get as many points as these guy, he would still score a lot of goals and would have a bigger impact on the team, especially in the playoffs. Still time for virtanen to turn it around, but doesn't look good. Now this year, we went in the opposite direction, we selected the more skilled player, even though he's taller than Nylander or Ehlers but really thin frame, passing on the local boy Glass and big gritty scoring center Vilardi. Like I said I fully trust Benning, I'm excited with the pick, and hopefully he will reach his potential.
  22. Are we really already arguing who we should pick next year??? Yes Dahlin is the consensus #1 right now....but so was Nolan Patrick last year, while Hischier started the year outside the top 15. Liljegren was labelled as 2nd pick who could challenge Patrick and ended up being picked 17th. Before we argue who should we pick, can we wait and see if Dahlin is still number? can we wait if another elite player emerges? can we wait to see where we finish?, can we wait to see if we win the lottery? A little early for...we should do that...or we should do this....what we should do is wait and see. People arguing we are stacked up front and must focus on D, what if Boeser has a crappy year, are we still deep up front? What if another players emerges from nowhere at forward or at D, this will change everything. Just think it's a little early to be planning out next year's draft strategy.
  23. I think so too, with Montreal at 25, recently traded Sergachev and often have a size complex, I don't think Hague makes it past the 25th spot, if not before that.
  24. But a defenseman cannot dominate at the junior level like a forward can. A defenseman cannot defend alone or create scoring if his forward suck. On the other hand, a forward on a bad team, without good D or Goalie can produce 100 points. If London's team is not better next year, Juolevi won't look much better than he did this year. Erie was the best team, and even if you would replace Juolevi with Aaron Ekblad or Seth Jones, London would probably still have lost that series. I'm not saying give Juolevi a roster spot rightaway or put him on the top pairing. But if he proves in training camp he can play in the NHL, we should keep him up and let him acclimate and grow with our core.
  25. Wow a little disappointed we won't see Bo there, as I doubt he will get a contract signed in the next two weeks. IMO he'll be signed this summer only.
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