Ray_Cathode
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Horvat is scoring at a pace of .71 pts per game this year. Over 82 games, that adds up to about 56 points - that is a long way from 70-75 points. Dominant players carry a team. Right now, we are as bad with Horvat as without him. In addition, dominant players in this era tend to dominate much earlier than in the past. He is a couple of months from his 23rd birthday and has been in the league for 5 years - in Kesler's fifth season, he had 59 points and was among the very best defensive centers in the league.
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Because it illustrates his potential. His skill level. Yes, he has outplayed Domi and Tierney (at least he has since Domi got hurt). But, he is likely to never be more than a sixty point guy at best - he's been kind of stuck at the level for the past two years. He does other things, he has learned to play defence, but he is not even an elite penalty killer, and he has not even made the first unit power play. He is not a Sedin, who in his prime was a number 1 center, he is not even a Kesler in his prime. When Henrik and Kesler dropped off, the Canucks were done as a contending team. Time to move them on and rebuild.
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Would he have knocked out Henrik or Kesler in their prime? No. That was a contending team. On a contending team, he is a three. He is only a one or two here, because this version of the Canucks is pathetic. Is he a guy who puts the team on his back when nobody else is going? No. That would be a guy like Boeser. That is what elite looks like, not Horvat - who has the odd good game and the odd great play.
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No, it means that on a good team, Horvat is a three. Think Henrik and Kesler in their prime - that is a contender's one and two - Horvat would take the place of neither - but he would be a strong three. Horvat was not a big scorer in junior, he was number three among centers - even on his junior team - behind Domi and Tierney.
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Dowd is the place where plays and possession go to die.
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On a good team, Horvat is neither a number 1, nor a number 2 center - he is a pretty strong three. We see him as other than that, but consider, when Henrik and Kesler were in their prime, what would Horvat have been? He wouldn't have taken Henrik's place, and certainly not Kesler's - he would have been a three. Having that kind of depth in the middle is what contending teams are made of. We have become so used to losing here, that we don't see ourselves in relation to the kinds of lineups really strong teams have. It is a testament to how far the team had fallen off by the end of Gillis's rule here. Sadly, Canuck ownership did not buy into a rebuild right at the outset of the Sedin's decline and Kesler bailing - it would have saved three years or so.
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Like Pouliot, OJ can pivot well to either side - which means, like Tryamkin, he can play either side.
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Big Mac was a very interesting find by whoever the scout was, and an intriguing signing by Benning. He is not yet ready to come up, maybe in training camp next season he can put on a bit of a show. He is tied for fourth in Utica scoring at 6g 16a 22pts 0.58 ppg- that ties him with Holm - 26 year old defenceman, only Boucher and Goldobin are ahead of him in Utica scoring. For a first year undrafted guy he is quite the story. He is still learning the defensive game, of course, so finishing off in Utica this year would be good for him.
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When there is big money on the line going to the best workers, the money tends to end going to the workers with the highest level of consistent focus. This is true both in game play and in training - the guy who plays and trains with the greatest diligence and attention to detail tends to win out in ultra competitive environments. This attribute of human beings is called volition, and it is truly the only thing we are really responsible for. We can not control what we are born with, but we can control how we apply our intelligence and our actions in any task. Lots of guys doodle around the ice and drills shooting pucks into the net; the focussed guy makes something out of every shot, aiming every shot to hit a particular spot of his choice. Aim small, miss small. According to Aristotle (or was that Batman?) we are what we habitually do.
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I’ve been watching Utica games - both Chatfield and Brisebois are playing very well as first year AHL defencemen (I believe they have only missed one game between them) - pretty remarkable for rookies learning the pro game against men. Of the rookies, though, Holm is taking the cake in the absence of McEneny. For +/-, if you are impressed by that stat, Sautner is running away with it - he plays in most shot-down situations - which makes his team leading +/- more impressive. In prior years the Canucks have usually used a majority of vets on defence - either through lack of prospects or coach’s option, i’m not sure. Still, it speaks to building good depth in the organisation to be using so many of our own selections: McEneny (hurt), Sautner, Brisebois, Chatfield, Holm, and for a while, Cederholm. Subban yielded us Dowd. Pedan and a 2018 4th got us Pouliot - seems we are getting good value out of our defensive assets.
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I like a big defencemen with a miserable temperament.
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I heard one of the announcers at the WJC say that Pettersson was listed by the Swedes at 175. Can't prove it, just heard it. Thought he said it was in their guide. Anybody have access to one?
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I really don’t think either of them is a legit number one - at best Juolevi and Tryamkin are a 2 and a 3, most likely a 3 and a four. Get 2 D near the top of this draft - hopefully one of them is a 1.
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Tenacity is an element that both Lind and Gaudette bring along significant offence and aggressiveness. At his best, I’d hope for a Burrows element from both of them.
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Why, Tampa Bay, currently the best team in the league, does not, their biggest centre is Stamkos (6’1, 194) and they have three centres well under six feet? The biggest center on Las Vegas is 6’1 200. Horvat is 6’0 220 - I don’t see the problem. Our biggest problem is our D, which is neither good defensively, nor on attack. Getting back Tryamkin would get us back a viable player, but to expect a strong offensive element from him is too much to ask - being able to pair him with a strong, mobile D could well be the way to get the best out of both of them. But even if we picked a strong offensive D, that is not the end of what we need on D. Juolevi might help, but that is no guarantee either. The strongest teams now are deep in quality on the blue line - with the possible exception of Pittsburg - who make up for it with exceptional quality at center (though their quality at C is aging now.
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In my estimate, Holm and Brisebois are potential 7-8 guys. McEneny is a potential bottom pairing guy, or maybe Sautner (by far the best +/- on the team). The reason I say McEneny is because, when he was healthy, he was Cull's go to guy on the PP and the PK - he can skate, handle the puck, he can shoot, he can defend, and he has size.
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He is a game changer when he runs over people and gets them way the heck off their game, which happened more than a few times last year.
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Agreed, the three dominating players at the prospect game: Boeser, Gaudette, and McEwan. For a first year guy, the undrafted McEwan is doing well in Utica - he is running at about a point every two games - good for an AHL rookie. I thought Gaudette and McEwan were the most impressive. McEwan was physically dominating, and Gaudette just seemed to leap into the attack in another gear.
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What he'll also see is that Boeser got the chance to play in a position to succeed.
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He has a much better chance of playing right away in the show here than on almost any other team - if he waits a year, a couple of Swedes may also be looking for that job.
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Let me see, the better part of a million bucks for playing a game I'm already playing, or finishing a degree I can always finish later, Jeez, tough decision.
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Clearly I have been ignorant of Alf's predilections. Clearly Alf blows the limiters on the Canuck 'Homer' microphones. All good to me. My zone of unreality tends to settle on the Sedins, where I only see them as guys who can't be trusted to start a shift in their own end, plus I am very anxious to get the rebuild underway so that I can see a cup contender before I am kicking up daisies. I am trying to figure how we get a pair of 1 & 2 defencemen out of the next two drafts. So far we are looking good on the coming draft. Now if Benning can only wangle another mid to high first rounder from somewhere without giving up Horvat or Boeser... Oh well, I can dream...
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That is entirely speculative.
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There are major differences between the two players and their situations. Vesey is a winger, not a center, and more of a power forward. Gaudette is already touted as a 200 foot player, Vesey was not. Vesey was coming onto a team in the Rangers which had plenty of depth ahead of him. Gaudette is coming onto a team which may only have Horvat ahead of him as an offensive center - more opportunity, more points potentially. And I've seen Gaudette play - he is exactly the kind of center that Green is anxious to have - a guy with a high energy motor in both ends of the rink that will go to the net.