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Rob_Zepp

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Everything posted by Rob_Zepp

  1. Ya, I was typing the line he was on when my other monitor showed a dominant Frolunda shift result in Grundstrom getting a nice goal.
  2. EP is playing wing on a second line - coaches seem to want him to ignite a couple of guys who have been slow getting points lately. Yikes, Frolunda followed up a great shift with another goal. Bit of a hole for the Lakers at 2-0. Come'on EP, your teams needs a goal!
  3. I have a Europe hockey package...using my Germany address/account. Not sure what options are in Canada but as far as an update, Frolunda scored first against run of play - Lakers down early 1-0.
  4. I am not sure he will be league MVP (Bertuzzi should have won it once if not twice) or will score 40 plus goals in any season (like Bertuzzi did once) but I do agree Jake will be more responsible defensively and he is miles faster.
  5. I am very glad you said this. Sure both Canuck goalies have had rough patches this year but SV% is as much a team stat as a goalie stat. The number of Grade A chances the Canucks give the opposition, particularly in the first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes of games, is off the charts. I think Markstrom (in particular) and Nilsson are both decent options for the team as this stage of their redevelopment process but I also think they are unfairly blamed as the "problem" as having Brodeur or Roy back there in their respective primes doesn't help if you are giving the other team a dozen plus high quality chances each game.
  6. I am one of the few who has been JV supporter from the second he was drafted and all through the "dark times" - the reason? I see top six potential and a playoff leader written all over him so, no, I won't be satisfied until I see this unique set of skills he has been gifted come to the rink each and every game and dominate the way he can (and now has shown he can) at the highest level. He is so bloody fast, can hit harder than most, can shoot a heavy shot (the accuracy....it needs work!), and has a push back attitude but not in a slew-foot manner. I can see him getting under the skin of a, for examples, McDavid/Johnny H and then being challenged by Lucic or Hamilton and laying the challenger flat and then coming out of the box in the third to score the winning goal. That is the Jake that will satisfy me - that is the Jake I KNOW is in there ready to come out.
  7. I have been one of the most consistent and vocal supports of Jake Virtanen - I say that only as a preface to this: "He has NOT arrived". I don't think he is there yet only insomuch as he needs to demonstrate that level of play over more than a handful of games without disappearing into the background and playing a pedestrian 13-15 minutes. It is great the points are starting to come, it is great that he is leading the team forwards in hits, it is great that he is getting ice time in more critical situations but he needs to continue to do those things that he did last night EVERY shift and EVERY night. Once he does that (and I think he will), he will be not only a legitimate top 6 NHL forward for a long, long time - he will be one of the hardest players to play against in the entire league. That level of development may seem beyond him for many of you but IF he commits to what his coaches have been telling him and IF he plays game in/out like he did last night, he will be a dominant player in the league and someone no one in another uniform without a whale on it will want to face on any shift.
  8. THIS ^^^ This kid has NHL star potential just based on skills alone but his head cannot take vacations between games or even shifts. Last night on his goal, he passed three Islanders to make it a two on one - passed them like there were in mud and he had a tailwind. Only a handful of guys have that extra gear and if he can realize that gives him more time on the ice to "slow things down" and make better plays AND he can strives to be a difference shift in and shift out, maybe he "arrives" even sooner than my projected 23-24 for him. Proof will be in how he shows up next few games. Now that Boeser is likely out for the remainder of the season, there is a first line RW opportunity sitting there waiting for him to claim it for a month.
  9. Amazing how much better Jake looks with a real center who is also a fast skater.
  10. Funny you say this as I have totally the opposite impression. I believe a number of the young guys have noted his guidance specifically. As none of us are in their room, hard to really know but interesting how you have opposite impression on this key element for a veteran guy,
  11. So he can fight the new Toews in 8 years?
  12. Yes but that was after 4 years in college and Jake’s equivalent four years will be in the NHL and are not done yet. Jake will never put up Wheeler numbers but he will be a force that every team would want on their team and I (most don’t I am sure) see as a 2nd unit fixture on PP and a lock down winger to drive other team’s top line nuts in playoffs. Jake is one player Canuck fans will wonder how they ever doubted his ability to be a core piece - and as early as next year.
  13. Not uncommon at all. If he had gone to college, he may not even be in NHL yet. Blake Wheeler's first game in NHL was at 22 and now he is an elite dominant player roughly 10 years later.
  14. Thanks for that. It did seem up there close to 20 for sure. If you have been watching too, have you noticed how often his passes get onto sticks that then do diddly widdly with the puck? I think he needs to be playing with players who have a clue what to do next - perhaps that is why he did so much better in CHL and at WJC the years he had a lot of offensive talent around him. I just drool for the concept of him feeding Boeser and EP.
  15. Sorry to hear that. I find it frustrating when at a professional level, however, to see guys within 30 feet of the net and set up with a saucer pass and they don't simply snipe the puck. They look around for someone and/or push the puck like it is a curling rock into the pads of the goalie in a manner that made it clear they were afraid to have that responsibility for more than a nanosecond. I like that players can hit, skate and defend but it feels to me like more and more as time goes on some are forgetting how to learn to shoot the puck!
  16. He could have been more aware on one of the goals. Not his guy but he needs to know when to peel off. The other two against were nothing at all to do with him. He created numerous offensive chances but he seems to be putting the puck on sticks of guys with hands trained by Brendan Gaunce or similar. He could have had four or five primary assists if that team had a Boeser or similar to pull the trigger. Good news for me watching him was that he was engaged, even got physical a couple of times, and seemed to make the "right" play on the breakout even when those around him were in panic mode. He may not have a normal pulse. I didn't check the ice time but he seemed to be out there a lot and in all critical situations so the coaches must like what they are seeing.
  17. This says more about the kid than most anything else. If a later round pick from the Canucks makes it over the next few years, this kid seems to have as good a shot anyone to be that diamond in the rough.
  18. Did you watch? He looked very poised today IMHO. Nice and crisp outlet passes and seemed to be pinching more than past few weeks and don’t recall one blown decision.
  19. He shares the record - that is he is now part of the record.
  20. Congrats to Alex on his record setting point tonight!
  21. I don’t disagree with the talent comparison. That wasn’t my point. The obtuse one will know full well the point made - and will predictable not concur. Cheers
  22. Sometimes the only way to respond to obtuse is being moreso. Cheers!
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