Ray_Cathode

His skating has much improved over last year - which enables him to get in some big hits, but I think he has a ways to go to be an NHL skater. That said, he is like a lot of big guys that take a while to adjust to having a man’s rather than a boy’s physique - he just looks way more co-ordinated this year. Who knows where he will be at by season end? He is deadly from 20 feet in.

He is not deployed on the PK that I have seen - so most of his play would appear to be PP or even strength. Because he is paired mostly with Brisebois, they probably don’t shield him against the other team’s top lines. I’m unsure of the proportion of O zone versus D zone starts. But he is very good at escaping the D zone and transitioning the puck - haven’t seen him make the long range passes that Juolevi has on occasion, but in the O zone he is a master puck distributor, and the better the players you put him out with, the better he looks.

Rafferty with another assist tonight and is first among defenders, as a rookie, in the AHL at 3G 19A 22 Pts in 27 games, also, he leads Utica in +/- at +12. He only has 7 PP points, which means 15 are at even strength. He is third amongst rookies in total points, the only two ahead of him are forwards.

Rafferty has improved with almost every game I’ve seen him in with 8 points in his first 15 games, 12 points in his last 10, Unlike guys like Clendenning, Rafferty is a strong skater and he is extremely quick mentally - he thinks an NHL game. But he does take chances, and often has to make spectacular recoveries - which makes coaches nervous - but his team leading +/- testifies to his ability to recover. So, I do agree that the jury is out, but at this point he is a stronger prospect than a Juolevi - Juolevi was -2 tonight in a game his team won 6-3.

It’s just something he Hesse to do.

Gadjovich is on a strong pace, but in this game he also some good hits and made things tough on the end boards and in front of the opposition net. Last year he looked like a big, slow kid, he is getting his man’s body now, and he is much stronger and more co-ordinated. He is a handful now ans able to rough house and gain position against defenders that are big and strong like him. Just part of a big boy growing into a man - he will be good this year, but better yet next year.

Brisebois was mostly paired with Rafferty - which probably helped Brisebois’ offence (and Rafferty’s defence). Brisebois is a bog, strong guy, a good skater, and reads the game well. He doesn’t walked, but then he also doesn’t make the great passes that Rafferty and Juolevi do.

I think you should avoid hockey and go back to playing limited contact tiddlywinks... and get that concussion you got in your last tournament against kindergarten kids looked after.

Especially since we will be losing an asset, perhaps a defenceman in the expansion.

There is a reason Edler leads the league in minor penalties, he has become less and less mobile as the season has gone on - he has spent large portions of his last few games hooking, tripping and holding on because he can’t skate. That might only be because of nagging injury... but it might also be the end result of the wear and tear of the years in the NHL. We’ll see. The league has sped up and his pace has regressed, and in the last few games before this last injury, he had slowed sharply and obviously.

I don’t disagree with what you say, my main point (which may not have been made clearly) is with regard to too many people assuming a Juolevi is a lock for next year - there are a lot of other potential candidates for any available spots now in the Canuck system. I would agree that only Hughes and Myers would be locks at this point. If Tanev can have a healthy season, and if he is still committed to Vancouver, I think the Canucks would be reluctant to move him or expose him to expansion.

Thanks for the update, am corrected about his minutes.

He plays the most minutes of he D on his team.

Olli had a good first game back, he moved as easily as he did a couple of years ago. He also had a post tonight and had a couple of his patented long range passes. Which is a good thing for him and the Canucks. However, the Canucks have another LD who can make those passes, is strong defensively, and has a cannon for a shot... and who might be competing for that same spot next year. On the left D, Hughes appears to be a lock, Edler makes six mil, Benn has done nothing that shows he deserves to lose his job, Tryamkin is a physical beast that can skate, and Rathbone already looks good enough to run the PP in Utica - who knows where he will be at by next year... and both Rathbone (always) and Tryamkin (the past couple of years) have shown great commitment to their training. I hope Juolevi knows that it will be a dogfight earning a spot on the Canucks next year and trains accordingly.

Always encouraging to see more candidates for the Darwin awards, truly surplus population - genetic errors that are self-correcting.

Justin Bailey is a big, strong guy (6’4” 215) that is an amazing skater - he is like a bigger version of Virtanen. He had a slow start (tons of chances, just not finishing). He scored a beauty tonight, powering around the outside of a D - he is up to 7g 7a 14pts in 23 games and 3G 2a in his last 5 games. He looks like a project, much like MacEwen, except that Bailey is definitely a superior skater.

I’d heard it was soreness in his hip. Juolevi is looking just fine tonight.

It is not an assessment, it is just a comment that they have been talking with the Canucks - not something worth lying about.

Welcome back Juolevi, PP assist on Gadjovich’s fourth goal in his last six games (five so far this season).

A guy that plays like Podkolzin can play with anyone and make that line better.

Interesting viewpoint, Burrows and Kesler were both initially deployed in the NHL on a checking line and PK pairing. That definitely was a pathway to greater things.

A view, apparently, not shared by his agent. See above.

I really like the way both Lind and Gadjovich have progressed this year. They have both advanced so much that it is now actually more difficult to judge where their top end is - and that is a good thing.

Conditioning and training are not the same thing. A person can be in fine condition but not trained appropriately to a specific task or purpose.

I'm not usually a guy that is over optimistic about Juolevi, but in fairness to him, that was not why he was put on the second pairing. His story is like Rathbone's in that regard. Juolevi's junior team had a young player with strong offense but weak defensively, so they used the young guy on the first pairing, and put Juolevi on the second pairing to look after defensive responsibilities - and at the junior level, Juolevi excelled at that role. He pretty much maintained his offensive output, but also took on the enhanced defensive responsibilities. The next season, he went back to Finland, and after a tough season start went on to have a fine season that included leading the Finish team in the world junior series. The next season he came to Utica and began the season putting up strong offensive numbers, but struggled defensively. About a dozen games in he tweaked something, but continued for a few more games until they diagnozed his knee problem. This year he came back more focused on his defensive game, he was given much more defensive responsibility, like PK and defending against the other team's top unit. His offensive production dropped off, but then he had less opportunity considering his role - but the team thrived. The last game he played, as I recall, ended early after he had blocked a shot. In my opinion, staying healthy at sports is a learned skill that is prefaced with sound training. Looking at Juolevi's injury record, I have to question his training - or perhaps his has the misfortune to be unlucky or to be fragile. Houston, he has a problem, pick a cause or identify something that hasn't been considered.