Ray_Cathode
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Can’t argue too much - it’s very close. One thing I considered is that with the age of Edler and Tanev there will openings in the top four D that Rafferty or Rathbone might get the opportunity to slot into. With Pettersson, Horvat, and even Miller taking the top two centre spots and Gaudette improving so much, Madden’s only opening might be the fourth line if he is to be a centre - and in the top four he will be challenged by Podkolzin and Hoglander as a winger. Can he effectively play a bottom six role?
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I've watched almost all of them. Yeah, Button does not include Juolevi, and at this point, I wouldn't rank him in the top five either - but I want to see what a healthy, full off season of training can do for Juolevi - I definitely don't write him off. His play in the world juniors and in the Finnish top league was very promising. Missing from the top five is Rathbone - he would be my only quibble and maybe should be there ahead of Lind. That might seem like a tough call in that Lind is doing well at the AHL, but Rafferty's performance argues that at least that college D can excel in the AHL and I definitely rank Rafferty ahead of Lind at this point. Rafferty is a game changer, but Lind is not yet. Rathbone can potentially be that kind of defender. Also missing is Dipietro - but you can't include everybody and must cut off somewhere. So I'd say: 1: Podkolzin 2: Hoglander 3: Rafferty 4: Rathbone 5: Madden I know you didn't ask, but for Canuck properties most able to help the Canucks right now: 1: Tryamklin 2: Rafferty 3: MacEwen 4: Bailey 5: Glaovac (if he was healthy)
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At this point, only Bailey and Mac are ready for the NHL - maybe Jasek in the fall. Glaocav - if he was healthy. Baertschi is skilled enough, but doesn't bring any grit. Goldobin - no grit and defence is a work in progress. Bailey is a big, talented, powerful skating guy, but he is not noted for sandpaper.
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Continuing to impress is Jasek. Scored against Syracuse today to reach 14g 10a. He has the second best +/- in Utica after Brisebois at +17 while playing against opponents best lines. A converted winger, he has 2 shorties, 4 pp goals, but more impressively, 6 game winners as a centre. The fact that he can play in all situations, and as either a centre or winger, greatly improves his prospects of making the NHL as a third or forth liner. Many prospects are limited by their skating or an inability to process the game at the high rate required to play in the NHL; that does not appear to be the case with Jasek. When your development system can provide a string of young, inexpensive players to fill third and fourth line slots, it has one more of the ingredients that will enable the parent team to remain consistently in contention. The fact that Utica is producing talent that can potentially replace the Schallers, Beagles, Erikssons, Benns, Leivos, etc., at a fraction of the cap hit, will enable the Canucks to have the cap space to retain the young stars they are going to have to reward handsomely in the near future.
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Yep, scored 16 goals and 8 assists in his last 16 games - about half of them off the rush, because he is ‘out of control’ losing pucks in the neutral zone. Give me a break. The thing remarkable about Bailey is how well he controls the puck at speed. The only guy in Utica with better puck control than Bailey at speed is Rafferty. The negative on Bailey, at this point, is that he gets tunnel vision when he is moving with the puck - reminds of Jake in prior years in that respect. Whether Bailey can do this in the NHL, where D is bigger and stronger, better skilled and sounder positionally, is another question. Unlike MacEwen, who can be useful down the lineup, it is harder to see Bailey being effective there unless it is to bring a scoring threat to an otherwise defensive line. He is a plus player, but more, I think, because of his scoring prowess, not his defensive acumen.
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The only thing he lacks in being a number one pairing for Hughes is a nasty disposition.
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I don’t think anyone claimed that Tanev is a number one defenceman. He is a great partner for a true offensive defenceman like Hughes. He has been injured a lot playing mostly in the toughest situations. Myers and Stetcher being able to carry a fair share of the load is a blessing for Tanev’s health. And he is a very good skater, which he demonstrates every time he pulls away from opposing forwards while lugging the puck out of our zone.
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Jeez, I thought Edler was injured... he’s been hobbling around like he has two broken legs.
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[GDT] Canucks @ Wild, February 6 2020 - 5:00 PM PST
Ray_Cathode replied to therodigy's topic in Canucks Talk
We need Bailey in there too in place of Eriksson. Let’s insert some guys in place of guys who are disinterested. -
[GDT] Canucks @ Wild, February 6 2020 - 5:00 PM PST
Ray_Cathode replied to therodigy's topic in Canucks Talk
Peter and Hughes should not be having to do that. If you want players able to do that, you’ll have to trade some of the players you enjoy watching the most. In the absence of unbiased officiating and league justice, if we want to have healthy talented players, we better resurrect Probert and Semenko. -
[GDT] Canucks @ Wild, February 6 2020 - 5:00 PM PST
Ray_Cathode replied to therodigy's topic in Canucks Talk
We are working on a triple drop to Markstrom. -
[GDT] Canucks @ Wild, February 6 2020 - 5:00 PM PST
Ray_Cathode replied to therodigy's topic in Canucks Talk
It’s Bettman’s NHL. -
[GDT] Canucks @ Wild, February 6 2020 - 5:00 PM PST
Ray_Cathode replied to therodigy's topic in Canucks Talk
Especially when we have a decently tough guy in MacEwen. -
I agree with this, even though I still question Juolevi’s skating - which is AHL average. He can bring the offence, he is great at the pass, and thinks fast and has good vision of the PP, he even has a decent, but not great, shot. But that is without a full off-season of training for the past two years, so for me at least, the book on a Juolevi is still unfinished. We can see what Rafferty and Tryamkin bring, but we need to imagine how their games fit with the modern NHL for defencemen. We can see how Rafferty skates compared to Baertschi and Goldobin - he is a better skater than either of them and it was not their skating that kept those ex NHLers out of the show. Juolevi’s skating is not at that level at present - I’d love to see him finish the season healthy, have a healthy off season to train and develop his skating and his core strength.
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Interesting stat. I see Madden is third. Considering the kind of game Green likes to play, do you think that implies some kind of coordination with coaching in our scouting. I find the completeness of our drafted players to be fascinating - think Boeser, Pettersson, Hughes, Podkolzin, Hoglander, but also of lower picks such as Gaudette, Woo, Rathbone, Madden, Focht, and now McDonough. They all seem to display very rounded games.
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Getting back to Rafferty, quoting the Utica play by play guy, he just put on a master class in stickhandling, going end to end, entering the Laval zone one on four, dekes his way to the net but fails to score. Rafferty is therefore an undistinguished AHL mediocrity that will never make the NHL. We should send him back to college to get his Masters so that he can find employment more suitable to his unimpressive talent - he is, afterall, 24 and incapable of raising his game to the heightened level of competition. He will have some games with the Canucks next season but apparently his play will not exceed that of his closest comparable - Pouliot. Strangely, I find him enjoyable to watch.
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[GDT] Nucks @ Bruins - Feb 04 2020 - 4pm Pacific - SNET
Ray_Cathode replied to xereau's topic in Canucks Talk
The one from a previous good zone entry, cuz this one is obvious corruption. -
He had just returned from injury or illness a couple of games ago. Other times I watched him, hi skating was elite - not Quinn Hughes elite, but very, very good. Apparently we drafted him at about 5'10 170 - now he is 5'11 190. He has a very hard shot and great vision, he can make the long pass.
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I think finishing this year in Utica is best for Lind’s development... he seems to be getting more confident as the year goes on... and confidence is huge for making the NHL
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sorry, Islanders at 10am.
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This morning at 10 am.