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Rob_Zepp

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Everything posted by Rob_Zepp

  1. who are you listening to? all of the key knowledgeable people I know who were following the WJC very closely could not have spoken more highly about him and how he is NHL ready but seemed to be mismatched on his own team. your description seems very much at odds with what actually happened on the ice so perhaps you had the wrong number for him (?)
  2. "my first". Can guarantee you coaches and management LOVE it when a kid has that approach.
  3. I either assume you were joking or don't understand rookie contracts. If the former, good one! If the latter, look at every single prospect contract across the NHL and come back when you find out that all of them have the same term.....3 years.
  4. It is with interest and some amusement I read the opinions across CDC on this prospect. I think when all the dust settles and this kid is in your lineup in a few years, he will be viewed as one of the best picks made by the regime not named EP40 or QH. I have had opportunity to see this kid play live and it is isn't just what he does near the puck but his play up and down the ice has NHL already written all over it. He is much bigger than many people probably realize and can down right fly. Give him some North American routine, coaching and NHL calibre line-mates and this is a top six mainstay in the NHL for a long, long time. I personally think if Horvat was a winger and was a few inches taller and stronger, he would be similar to what VP will become. In watching him at WJCC, he tried to do too much at times for a team that had some bigger holes than they usually do. He was also saddled with one incredibly lazy linemate - a kid the Leaf fans will soon learn isn't going to cut it with NHL expectations unless his attitude changes.
  5. This team has the most solid D it has had since their 2010 era and perhaps best in entire Division (certainly top 5 in league now....at least on paper). The upgrade with TH and Schmidty, they could to a top pairing duo by themselves for about 1/2 the teams in the league, when you still have Edler, Hughes, Meyers and actual competition for the other two or three rotational spots is a luxury this team hasn't had in about 10 years. I personally hate projections in such odd times but everything I can come up with has the improvement on the back-end more than making up for any losses in net (if there is actually any). My largest concern going into the season for your Canucks is the lack of one more true top six winger. Fingers crossed Virtanen steps up or NH is as potentially could be but one more top winger would be needed, in my mind, for this team to be a lock to play past the regular season. Right now I think it could go either way and a lot will depend on the first 10 games (momentum never more important than this year).
  6. "This 69 looks almost as good as a few memorable university weekends".
  7. Just dipping my toes back in the water here and this is exactly how people outside of your market see things. This team scares every other team in the Canadian Division as the Canucks may well have the best D corps now top to bottom, perhaps second best 1C 2C and the wild cards of JT Miller, Boeser etc. The goaltending is an intriguing situation but even if Holtby plays to his career averages (with Ian Clark, most goalies improve over such) then all should be close to equal to last year. I feel as a fan of the Canucks, optimism versus the opposite should reign.
  8. SAME WITH ANY CORONA VIRUS....see above stats on average year deaths in US alone. Pick your battles all you like but this isn't as harmful as many influenzas of the past. Far more cases than have been reported - likely 100's of times more (most will never even know they were infected). It is serious for sure, but no more serious than any other similar event. Where is your outrage on those events?
  9. Who hates those people? If you want to take every precaution, why pick a relatively middle of the pack corona strain over all the others that have occurred? Why didn't the league shut during SARS or H1N1 or even every season during flu season? EVERY YEAR in the US this is what happens - EVERY year. Why pick this particular event? Do you only not hate people during a media driven event?
  10. There is a higher risk from this year's flu and the remaining remnants of H1N1 but, hey, if you want zero risk I get it. NHL didn't shut during SARS in 2003 or in 2009 with H1N1 when healthy young people were dying.
  11. ? 4th youngest forward group and 13th youngest D group in NHL. Canucks are one of the NHL's younger teams and if LE was not on roster, they are 3rd overall youngest.
  12. Massive societal overreaction in general as young/ healthy people are not being impacted BUT it is only a game and professional sports is far less important than societal decisions about health so it was inevitable that season would be cancelled. Prediction - no SC this year just as Spanish Flu did once upon a time to NHL. SARS and H1N1 were far more dangerous to younger healthy people but the age we find ourselves prides decisions that are hysterical in proportion to risk so it is what it is (Bertuzzi invoked). Good year for growth for Vancouver. They will hit the ground running nicely for 2020-21.
  13. Just like you are an anchor of a poster.
  14. It wasn't too long ago that this was a common sentiment even though Marky by that point had shown great strides in his game. A later bloomer for sure but over the past two seasons, few goalies in the league have been as solid 5 on 5.
  15. So whatever team you follow doesn't have a key player or two? Of all the things people say, this is one of the silliest in hockey. The goalie IS PART OF THE TEAM. This isn't singles tennis. This is hockey. Hockey is a team game. It takes a team to win and on any team, some players stand out. Your analogy is "those 80s Oilers would not have been so good if it wasn't for Gretzky, Messier and Coffey" (three players that would add up to 60 minutes, like a goalie does). Every team has strengths and weaknesses. A strength in one area typically means a weakness in another.
  16. His minutes and defensive game will be important in playoff hockey. His value in that department is severely underappreciated. His offensive production is not as expected at his AAV but forgetting AAV, his contribution as a responsible forward who can move up and down the lineup and eat minutes when you need to control a game are unmatched across the current Canuck lineup save perhaps three others. No sarcasm whatsoever. Hate on as I know this guy gets mostly that.
  17. The Canucks also are near the top of the NHL in takeaways and goals scored off of such which comes directly from that more aggressive approach. I see a coaching style that is all about risk reward. I find it funny that a fanbase who cried for more entertaining hockey now has a coach who is providing that but with that comes a lot more shot opportunities the other way. While Marky/Demko have been forced to make some spectacular saves this season, the Canucks also have one of the best statistical trends in having clear shots (non-obstructed) which always have a very high %percentage and having one of the lowest "high chance" shot differentials in the NHL (e.g. the Canucks even when outshot are often ahead in the "high risk" shot differential). I would personally like to see the Canucks tighten up a bit but that is largely the job of having better skating Dmen and a bit more mobility up and down the lineup to play the style Green wants. What I don't mind is how well the Canucks defend when "hemmed in" so to speak as they keep teams to the outside and give up few high % chances which can really frustrate another team. Canucks, like I have been saying all year Alf, are a work in progress. I see them drafting and signing players who can first and foremost skate like the wind as that seems to be what the organization wants and they have a coach who embraces that. It can backfire for sure but for now, it is nicely entertaining and currently at least has them on pace to make the playoffs.
  18. Benn and MacKinnon would be best combo or even Gudbranson and MaKinnon Point is, put Hughes with MacKinnon and Hughes would have probably 15 plus more points. MacKinnon is underrated IMHO. I personally think he is hands down the best player in the currently including any Oiler, Leaf or Bruin that people want to talk about.
  19. If the Canucks have playoff aspirations, Eriksson will be very important.
  20. Just watched game (had to sleep after the very nice ceremony). The game went pretty much as I expected. Canucks were zapped for energy and never really caught up. Playing on emotion is tough. Very impressed they gutted the game out. Marky was brilliant and positionally solid. Players who seemed "out of sorts" and likely were overly impacted by the pregrame were EP40, Virtanen, Edler and Stecher.....perhaps interesting that two local kids and two Swedish players though Marky seemingly showed up so who knows. Wouldn't put any barometer on this game whatsoever.
  21. Severson's development appears a bit stalled but he remains a quality player for certain. Would not give up Virtanen for this player straight up so not sure why adding even more to make it happen let alone a 2nd round pick.
  22. Last time I looked, a goalie was part of the team and it is a team game. Your premise seems similar to one if you had a player leading the league in scoring and "we only won because of xxxx". Teams are made up of individuals. Some teams have better scorers. Some have better goalies. All teams are flawed with strengths and weaknesses. Not sure Canucks are winning without strong goaltending - but as they have strong goaltending it is helping them win. That shouldn't be seen as a flaw but as simply a fact. If you could choose between outshot and outscored I am assuming you would prefer the former. This team remains a work in progress but so does every other team in the league. Canucks are dominating most of the league in faceoffs, or example, but that hasn't yet translated to a similar position in standings. Some would argue faceoffs are nearly as important as shot generation as quality of shots is more key and quality of shots and faceoffs are directly related. Stats are what they are.
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