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Ray_Cathode

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Everything posted by Ray_Cathode

  1. Another unimpressive play by the unimpressive Brogan Rafferty: https://twitter.com/ChrisFaber39/status/1204952414471610368?s=20
  2. Neither have I. I want to see such comments before I give the poster any credence whatsoever. And having watched him play, I would have to question the credibility of ant commentators that supposedly made such claims. There are grounds to critique Rafferty, but Komodo has touched on none of the ones I have ever heard of.
  3. Hughes doesn’t kill penalties, so I guess he has no spot on the roster...
  4. Not too much in Utica, though he did make this play when Utica was short handed, but according to the Komodo Rafferty has no offensive talent, so this must be somebody else named Brogan Rafferty: (by the way, this was short-handed)
  5. How will the NHL treat the Canucks’ conditional draft pick sent to Tampa re the JT Miller trade? https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/reviewing-every-nhl-trade-involving-2020-conditional-picks/
  6. Agreed that this also helps Tanev a lot. But I do recall many of Tanev’s injuries occurring while blocking shots.
  7. I agree, but the concrete is not yet set. The Canucks aren’t the only team that needs to make adjustments prior to the draft.
  8. Three years from now, Podkolzin will be top three and Hoglander top ten when looking back at their draft. That would take the sting out of no first nor second this year - unless Benning can spring a very low first from somebody.
  9. Not to worry, Virtanen and Podkolzin play either wing (the Pod person being a left hand shot). And MacEwen played a significant amount of centre both in junior and his last year in Utica - Jasek is also a RW converted to c, and I would not be surprised to see Lind add C to his game as he took a large proportion of the critical face offs in Utica this past year. I’m not saying everybody is moving to C, just that numerous players in our organization have been adding that to their resume - see the effectiveness of Miller at LW or C. And then there is the spectre of injury - surely a significant fact in VCR - see Baertschi, Leivo, Ferland and the considerable time missed by Sutter, Motte, and Beagle.
  10. The way it worked at the close of the season due to covid - Stetcher had again become Edler’s partner, and Tanev was getting big minutes with Hughes, that moved Myers into the bottom pairing - and it was not the league’s greatest D overall - so I have some question as to Myers ranking in the top four and a six mil cap hit.
  11. I see that you have put a lot of thought into this, and I appreciate that fact I too have lamented the Canucks’ defence... but... then I thought of this: Pettersson 21, Gaudette 23, Horvat 25 - is there a team with a younger group of centres on their top three lines? Centres are an enormous component of team defence. Now, I like our centres and see lots of upward movement coming from them - especially if a prospect such as MacEwen or Jasek, Karlsson, Costmar, or Focht can fill in the fourth centre spot - it bodes well for the future, though the inexperience May hurt us now.
  12. Too painful thinking hockey when the prospect of actually seeing some is so remote.
  13. I think you set off a four bell alarm with your initial comment. You have joined my club. You may be living with this for a while, once the chihuahuas on CDC get their front paws wrapped around your leg you will get humped for a while.
  14. If you are talking skill guys on D, we have one - Hughes. Edler was a poor man’s skill Guy on D this past year.
  15. Okay, Green can prepare them each to have one great career game - I think he has other concerns and can delegate the face off coaching to a pretty competent guy.
  16. You do have a case, but add this to the mix - when we are at home we get the matchup most of the time. It seems to me that Green attempts to get away from matches that put Stetcher and Hughes up against big, physical players that outmatch them in size and strength - he tries to get one of his big guys out there then. If you don’t have that kind of D in your mix, you can be at a disadvantage. Now, I confess that Stetcher does a lot to overcome his physical disadvantages with smarts, positioning and work ethic, and for his size, he is very strong. Defensively, he is a good model for Hughes. I was not initially in favor of the Myers trade, but when looking at our organization, we really didn’t have a capable guy of any stature for the right side - and six million is a lot of cap space for a guy who was almost out of the picture in Winnipeg. But then, we weren’t Winnipeg and really needed a right side D. If Tryamkin is available, I’d rather have him - he can play the right side (Green seemingly being reticent about D on their not natural side, notwithstanding) but now we have another cap issue with a free agent defenceman. Myers might be tradeable, but I wonder if we have to eat salary in order to move him - aargh - the desperate need of our ownership to make the playoffs strikes again - free agency is fraught with peril and we have had a couple of questionable moves by Benning trying to fill out the D with free agents - Gudbranson, Benn, and now maybe Myers come to mind. The Juolevi situation has not helped - fifth overall, Benning probably expected the kid to be playing for him in Vancouver last year and with any luck, the year before. Juolevi having a career arc one might expect from a high pick in a strong year for D would certainly have helped - I’ve seen Juolevi play his offside, and when healthy, was okay. Sadly, Benning could not depend on him playing in this plague year season, so needed free agent help - but five years at six mil for Myers? Of course, he did start with an empty cupboard, and if ownership wants to be respectable immediately, the GM is in a tough spot. If we could move Myers and not retain any cap and sign Tryamkin maybe that is a way out from the tight spot we appear to be in for the coming season. It would be great to retain a Toffoli and Boeser on the right side - if we can fit them in. A right side of Toffoli, Boeser, Virtanen and MacEwen looks pretty good to me - especially with Pearson able to play either wing without a falloff in play in case of injury and Leivo coming back - very strong, well balanced RW.
  17. Zack is in the right place to work on his face off - second in the league with Miller, Beagle, and Horvat in the top seven and Malhotra as the face off coach.
  18. I don’t think it is in Podkolzin to be a one dimensional player - ever. He plays the game the right way already. He is a very creative guy that takes his defensive play seriously - kind of like Horvat and Pettersson that way. He will be a player, but it is still a question how much offence he will bring. I do believe he will move up the lineup significantly in Russia in the coming year.
  19. if a forward hits a post or a crossbar, or the puck banks in off your skate, people impressed, “He almost scored! If you play D or goal and you slip up on coverage, or screen a goalie, or the puck banks in off you on an attempted block, you are a bum. Myers is not Doughty, but he is not a bum either. I like what he brought to our D - he brings some puck movement and offence to a D, other than Hughes or Edler - when he’s healthy, that lacks for it and he also brings some size, and for a guy who is not a goon, some stiffness.
  20. Nope, live in Abbotsford, I just subscribe to AHLTV or whatever it’s called. The video is not the best quality, but one does get the broad strokes. Nope, not sure Tryamkin will sign, but I think Benning likes him if he can fit him in the budget - Tryamkin definitely brings an element we don’t have - an element really appreciated if we are to control some of the bigger players in the West. Tanev changed his equipment a lot for the 2019/20 season and he had a much healthier year - don’t know if that is only correlation or causal - but if better protective gear is the reason, then he could expected to not only play more but play more to his top end more of the time. He is very often a very underrated player - I hope we can keep him. I also like Stetcher, a local boy that gives you everything he’s got every game, but (oh my the is a big three letter word) I think the skilled bigger guy, Rafferty, or the bigger, bruiser Tryamkin May better serve our needs. But Tryamkin also plays the left side so he could replace a left side D (Benn, Fantenburg), but then no Juolevi except for long term injury or call-up. I’ve really like Rafferty ever since his first two games with the Canucks last year. Even last year it was evident that offensively, at least, he had an NHL game. For the coming season, he will also command an NHL salary no matter where he plays - it would seem his AHL play of this season should at least gain him a long look in the coming season. One caveat though, as I recall, Rafferty has limited vision in one eye - that could make him more vulnerable to getting hit. He took a big hit last year near his own net that he did not appear to see coming - that caused him to miss a few games and cost him the scoring lead among AHL defencemen and it took him a while to get his form back. Other than that, this guy made some spectacular plays last year - there aren’t many defencemen in any pro league that can go end to end or near enough:
  21. He seemed like a different guy when he changed teams in Sweden - could have something to do with a changing role, or changing expectations from a coach, or a hot spell, a better fit, or he just suddenly ‘got it’.
  22. To make the Canucks, if we retain the current roster, he will have to displace someone. We will probably carry seven D again. If everyone re-signs it will be: 1: Hughes 2: Edler 3: Tanev 4: Myers 5: Stetcher 6: Fantenburg 7: Benn Rafferty Tryamkin Brisebois Rathbone Who on that list is he better than (if we retain them all)? Well, maybe Benn. I watched both Juolevi and Fantenburg in Utica when Fantenburg was sent there to get healthy. Fantenburg was clearly better. I’ve watched Rafferty and Juolevi playing at the same time in Utica - Rafferty is way better. Brisebois is much better defensively (+21 vs -8) in similar roles - Juolevi had more points, but then he played second unit pp, Rafferty was the first unit guy). Tryamkin is certainly better. Rathbone is an unknown factor at a higher level - but watching how Rafferty adjusted, and Rathbone was probably better in college than Rafferty, one has to think he will likely do well. The player that Juolevi was this past year in Utica won’t make the Canucks - if he comes back fitter and stronger, then that would be great. If Benn is traded, Tanev and Stetcher are not re-signed, then we have a major problem, Green likes his D to play on their natural side. We would only have Myers, barring a trade does that put Rafferty on the team? Tryamkin and Rathbone have both played both sides. Where does that leave Juolevi if Fantenburg has outplayed him in Utica? Left D is Hughes, Edler, and Tryamkin? I don’t think it would be good for Juolevi to play as the seventh D - because of hi# injuries, he needs to play - that would mean Utica with maybe the odd call up. If we keep Stetcher and/or Tanev... it becomes even tougher.
  23. Why do you think he has played well, have you watched him? I’ve watched almost all of his games for the past two seasons. In my opinion, he has been outplayed by both Rafferty and Brisebois. His defensive play was better this year than last year, but his offence fell off. I have also discussed the fact that he has not been fit now for two seasons, and off season medical treatment has affected his preparation now for three years in a row - making it difficult to decide if his level of fitness has prevented us from seeing the kid we saw in his first pro year in Finland and at the world junior, or if this is the new normal. I disagree that he has played very well in Utica, he has been adequate and adequate is not good enough for a team (the Canucks) that hopes to be a contender. If this long layoff grants him the opportunity to get healthier, stronger and more resilient - maybe we’ll have a player - I’d like to think so, but I don’t see anything exceptional so far in his defensive play and I don’t see him as an exceptional offensive player. He makes good outlet passes and sees the game fairly well. Of course, I’d love to be proven wrong (or even better, if health and fitness are the issue) that he fulfill his once bright potential. He’s still young, and lots of defensive prospects take a few years to make the NHL.
  24. I think Jasek is ahead of Focht as a fourth line centre. And if he gets signed, and if he can covert to the middle, so might Lockwood be. MacEwen has also played centre in junior and in Utica part of the time. With more experience, who knows. In addition, Lind who played wing in junior and in Utica took most of the key face offs this past year - he is very strong on the draw. While he was a scorer in junior, he has looked more like a setup man in Utica. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play some centre in the coming season. Two centres in Europe have also looked good playing in Sweden: Karlsson, and Costmar. None of them are elite prospects yet, but they do seem to be decent prospects. i also would not be surprised if Podkolzin made a transition to the middle - he is a very strong defensive player, very smart, and a very good setup man - at least if the world juniors were any measure.
  25. No argument. We did offer two million before he left, a look out on the street would inform that times have changed, and in this climate 3-3.5 is as you imply, too much - he does have to show he has improved - and I believe that Rafferty has a one way this year - not that Tryamkin and Rafferty would be direct competitors - they bring entirely different things to the party. Tryamkin could take on a role that Myers is uncomfortable with, Edler is too old for, Benn and Fantenburg are both marginal full time players (something that Tryamkin was last time he was here - once he made the lineup, he stayed in the lineup, Stetcher and Hughes are too small for, Tanev is too fragile for, and that pretty much ends the list. Do you want toughness, strength, size and decent defensive acumen or do you want skill, puck movement, tradition, and outstanding skating (something that both Rafferty and Rathbone might provide. Of course, all of Rafferty, Tryamkin, and Rathbone can play the right side (though Tryamkin and Rathbone are both left shots) - just in case we cannot re-sign Tanev, and/or Stetcher - I hate the idea of losing either of those two right side D’s for nothing - but that said, our defence as a group appeared not to be wonderful last year - I say appeared because that is hard to tell when you are so young down the middle with Pettersson, Horvat, and Gaudette and centres do play a significant part in play in your own end. But back to your point, 3 mil is probably too much for Tryamkin... if he is expected to be a five, six or seventh defender - but if we expect him to take Tanev’s job, then it would be about right.
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