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Ray_Cathode

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Everything posted by Ray_Cathode

  1. Oops, I missed a Malhotra signing elsewhere. Thanks for the update. Hate that the Leafs have him; their forwards might learn to play defence and win face offs.
  2. Canuck assistant coach and face off specialist who was once a premier defensive centerman: https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=25931
  3. Gainey was a left winger, and under Scotty Bowman, the Canadiens played the left wing lock. But yes, Gainey was a premier defensive forward of his era, many of the best players of his era commented on how little time they had and how pressured they felt from his forecheck. If our guy, Podkolzin, brings that to the arena, we will be blessed indeed. A player with his attributes can help any line with forecheck, physical play, pressure, taking up passing lanes, forcing errors, and with an under appreciated passing game, and ability to carry through multiple zones and collapse the defence as he drives the net. i don’t know if he will ever be an elite scorer, but whatever line he is on will generate lot of chances, and only surrender a few.
  4. Apparently, Gaudette had some health issues that affected him staying at game weight, which has been tested and looked after. Look to him to be stronger this year, all he needs is a brain download from Malhotra, and he’ll be fine. Staying after practice to work with Malhotra would be advisable for him, MacEwen, Lockwood, Jasek, Bailey, and Michaelis. Need guys equipped to take third/fourth line roles and PK/checking specialists, but who can transition like Motte (and like how the young Burrows and Kesler used to do.
  5. Podkolzin better never go into politics: too honest, too responsible and too humble.
  6. I did too, till I noticed the updated numbers by his team. On ice, he seemed taller than 6’1”, but hard to tell for sure. At least he plays big. Maybe you could sneak through the bubble when he finally gets here, pull out a tape, and size him up, I am not that brave!
  7. He is the kind of guy you'd love to see filling out a scoring line - willing to do the hard work - forecheck, backcheck, take the body, get the puck, feed his teammates and he will never hurt the team wherever he is played. Hoglander, Horvat, and Podkolzin would make a very interesting second line one day.
  8. Yeah, we have a couple of these center prospects including Karlsson (6'00" 179 21yrs), (Focht 6'1" 176 20yrs) - but Zlodeyev (5'11" 185 18yrs) is similar in stature to Costmar (5'11" 179 19yrs), and in work-rate, but who also brings considerable skill. The scouting staff seem to have been looking for a type when they identified these players - they may not share Motte's willingness to hit everything that moves, but they are both - Costmar and Zlodeyev - fiends for close checking and forcing turnovers and bad plays as well as maintaining good coverage. These two are not unlike Jasek (6"1' 184 23yrs). If they are looking for future bottom six centers - they may well have found some in the bargain basement. If they end up more skillful than expected, surely that is a good thing. They seem to be looking for something else in late round picks (free agent in the case of MacEwen) for the wings: MacEwen (6'3" 205 24yrs, Podkolzin (6'4" 205 19yrs of course, a first pick), Bailey (6'4" 214 25yrs), McDonough (6"3" 190 21yrs), Keppen (6'2" 210 19yrs), and Kunz (6'3" 215 18yrs). Hoglander, Lockwood and Plasek break this mold - but Hoglander is ferocious for his size, highly skilled, always busy and could easily have been a first round pick.
  9. Apparently the BC government has more right to the money earned than the guy who earned it. It's okay though, you are only a slave 53.5% of the time.
  10. Since the AHL starts it’s season late, is it possible some European prospects could join mid-season? Thinking Costmar, Karlsson, Utunen, and so on.
  11. The great thing about 200 foot players is that coaches never fear to play them. He will get ample chances to play because playing him never hurts the team.
  12. Struggling 5 on 5 is not part of his history, why would it become so? Weber was a smallish D with a big shot, Rafferty is a bigger guy, with a not so great shot, but is an adept puck mover and carrier. There is nothing in Rafferty’s history to suggest that he struggles 5v5, that is just a made up fantasy passed on by people keen to believe it. It has no basis in reality. You don’t get to be a big + player by playing crap D. That was certainly not his rep in College, and his play did not acquire it for him in Utica - some people wanted to find something wrong with him, so they made it up.
  13. They just finished playing in the same league: Pouliot was -21, Rafferty was +17. One pundit commented that he didn’t see Rafferty make a bad defensive play all season. I saw a lot of Rafferty last year, but I don’t claim that he never made a mistake, but he was the best all round defender in Utica.
  14. “Petey’s being less than elite in his tourney” Petey had 7 points in 7 games, 5 of them goals and tied for team lead. The Swedes lost to Team Canada in the finals. Not sure what “less than elite” means in that context.
  15. I’m not so sure that their expectations are too, just the wrong expectations for the kind of payer he is. There is no law that says that every player on a top six line has to be a big scorer. One player on a line can have a different role - be the defensive conscience of the line. This was the job of Podkolzin’s junior world’s coach - Kruton and Makarov were the scorers on his line - he was the defensive conscience and set up man. Lemaire had this role with Shutt and Lefleur - Morrison with Nasund and Bertuzzi, and so on. In the days of Soviet powerhouse teams - the players were built from breaking down film of Bobby Orr, but after Orr had retired, and the Canadian teams featured Lafleur, Perrault, Clark Esposito, and the like - he called a Bob Gainey the greatest player of his day. Left winger, Gainey, effectively throttled the best Russian players. Tiny Larionov throttled the huge, enormously talented, Eric Lindros in the Stanley Cup final and Detroit took the trophy. If Podkolzin can bring something of the like to the arguably defensively challenged Canucks, surely that could be welcomed, and surely that could make a top line more effective - as many noted scouts have stated - he could be the player that good players want to play with. Time, coaching and development will tell. But here, of course, everyone will speculate, and that is just fine, it is part of why this venue exists. I just hope our prospects ignore it, because if they take it seriously they will see themselves as something they are not entirely, and that would be a shame. Unrealistic expectations may have destroyed many a promising player, I’d hate that to happen to any of ours.
  16. Larionov has the Russians playing their old style from his era. The Czechs played the way they used to beat the Russians of that era
  17. I just looked back at our last full season: Elias Pettersson 66 Bo Horvat 61 Brock Boeser 56 These were our top scorers for 2018-19 By that standard and for this team, 50-60 pts is pretty close to elite. If Podz does that, I will be a happy camper - particularly if he also brings great defence and grit.
  18. I believe the poster was referring to his KHL team.
  19. Just guessing, but fifty years without a cup must be damn near a record - surpassed only by Toronto and matched by Buffalo. Of course, when Buffalo and Vancouver joined the league there was no great gift of talent like Vegas received. When the Canucks joined the league, only Old Age Security qualifiers were made available in the opening draft. But I loved Roger Neilson, Pat Quinn, and like how this version is shaping up.
  20. You jinxed him, because now we have seen him.
  21. You too dpn1. I recall Bailey getting better as the season wore on. 4g 6a 10pts in his first twenty games, 24g 13a 37pt in his last 33.
  22. Great skill for a guy whose likely path to the NHL is as a fourth liner. He is a very busy player, not running into you like Motte, but always on you when defending, and because he’s pretty fast for an AHL skater, with decent hands - with a bit of luck and a chance to play in the show - he is a maybe. Very sound defensively, and decent size at 6’1 185 (maybe a bit heavier now).
  23. I think maybe I better invest in a big 4K to compensate for my aging eyes.
  24. I think maybe Janisahockeynut read Bure instead of Burr (for Burrows).
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