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Everything posted by Blömqvist
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Just tuned into the game. About 7 minutes into the 2nd period London leading Windsor 1-0. Shots 20-9 London. Game is very scrappy right now holy! EDIT: Juolvei just scored on the PP. Uncovered in the slot, wrist shot snipe top cheddar glove side.
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I think his skating is pretty good. He's a pretty mobile skater out there but he could use some more explosiveness to get him into prime scoring areas quickly. I don't think he needs to be a speed demon out there, especially if long-term his linemates are Baertschi and Horvat because they can use their speed to create space for him. In terms of playmaking ability, he had a few nice passes yesterday afternoon. One nice play was that little drop pass just inside the Wild's blueline where he left the puck for Horvat to pick up at pretty much full steam so he could get by the defender on a power move to the net that led to a penalty. Very simple but very aware of where his teammates are around the ice. I hope this trio of Baertschi, Horvat, and Boeser stick together for the remainder of the season to see if they can create some chemistry together.
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Yea, it will take time for Virtanen to get back into the NHL but we need to trust the process. It sucks watching guys like Nylander and Ehlers or to a lesser extent Tkachuk make these big contributions to their NHL clubs so early in their career yet Jake is still finding his game in the AHL. As fans it sure can be frustrating to watch but IMO Jake can still be a top-6 powerforward and take over games with his physicality, speed, and net presence. @Borvat is right in that Virtanen basically lost two to three years of development prior to this stint in Utica. That said, being a powerforward like him he would probably have just as much difficulty developing his game if he was on any other WHL or even CHL team not named the London Knights. Powerforwards are a special breed and take time to develop. Since being drafted, the AHL has probably been the best place for him to develop his craft. The rink in the AHL is NHL-sized and the competition is physically tougher than the CHL or Euro leagues. Similar to what @N4ZZY said, I'm thinking that this year will be Jake's "adjustment period" to the physicality, pace, and professionalism of the AHL. That is, this year is his year to learn the physicality of the game when compared to junior, play at a faster pace than what is played in junior, and play consistently -- bringing it every single game instead of every 5 or 10 games. Hopefully Jake can adjust to these things and next year, when Dahlen and Boeser are on Utica, he can regain his confidence and develop his offensive game with them. Virtanen / Dahlen / Boeser would be a lethal line for Utica in 2017.18, and hopefully all three could make the big club in 2018.19
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I have no idea what those advanced stats mean but if Virtanen is winning in that department and making strides in the "eye test" department down in Utica then that sounds like great news! Hopefully he can regain his confidence next season playing alongside Dahlen and Boeser there.
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2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
He could, or we could have a Minnesota tandem of Mittelstadt and Boeser on the team. Heck, if all three pan out we could have an "All-American" line: Mittelstadt - Gaudette - Boeser -
2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Who is Martin Necas and why is he #3 over guys like Vilardi and Mittelstadt?? Also, interesting to see that Timothy Liljegren is on loan to Timra of the Allsvenskan, the same team as Canuck prospect Dahlen and another 2017 top prospect Pettersson. Is their season still going or are they pretty much done for the year? -
2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Say if we finish in the 5th or 6th spot next year's draft. Would our 1st plus Tanev be a good idea to move up and select Dahlin, Svechnikov, or Wise? -
Some *objective* Granlund stats: Since the Canucks faced the Flames in the beginning of a home-and-home series on January 6 of this year, Granlund has scored 18 points in 28 games, good for 0.64 points per game. Of those 18 points, 12 of them were goals (good for 0.43 goals per game). If Granlund were to maintain this scoring rate (0.64ppg) over 82 games he would have 35 goals and 52 points. Something to note: within this 28-game stretch Granlund has been sidelined once with the mumps on February 25 and once with food poisoning on March 11. Since being sidelined with the mumps and including the food poisoning incident Granlund has maintained his scoring and has 6 points in 8 games. Also, from the start of the season to that January 6 game against the Flames Granlund played in 40 games and recorded just 14 points, producing at a rate of 0.35 points per game. Breaking it down, he got off to a hot start with 3 points in his first 5 games of this season. He then had 1 point in his next 10 games. He then had 10 points in his next 25 games after that, leading right up into the January 6 game against the Flames. Since Granlund played his first game in the NHL he's struggled with consistency. When we traded for him Flames fans were saying he would be lights out for a 5 game stretch and then disappear for the next 20 (I'm paraphrasing here but you get the point). That said, Granlund has produced at every level he's played in. From his Finnish U20 team, the Liiga, the World Junior Championships, and in the AHL Granlund has shown that he can be a high level scorer. I remember thinking last year that if Granlund could learn the pro game and play with consistency he could be a really good top-6 scorer. So far, in my opinion of course, in this 28 game stretch Granlund has consistently been one of our better forwards. Definitely right up there with Horvat and Baertschi. If he can finish off the remaining 12 games maintaining a 0.64 points per game scoring rate then it would be a huge accomplishment for him and his confidence. Give him belief that he can not only produce at this level but produce consistently.. game in and game out.
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He looked good out there today especially on that goal. He forced the turnover at the offensive blueline to keep the puck AND kept his feet moving to get into open ice with his stick down to receive a pass. Very good play by the big man. Also, he almost split the defense after taking a pass near the opposing blueline while in transition. He looked like a forward out there those times... there's definitely some untapped offensive potential there.
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2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
I can imagine that... draft one Foote now, the other Foote later, and then in a few years we'll have... Feet. -
2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Yah I saw that game too! Well, specifically that part and the next 5 minutes of game action hehehe. Vilardi is very good along the boards and uses his body well to protect the puck. On top of that, at the same time he can use his vision and passing to create plays off the wall or in the cycle. If we draft him abd he could get his skating to Bo's level then we'd have two legitimate 1A power centres, plus Gaudette and Sutter either playing 3C or a Top 6 W position. As an aside, that power move Sergachev made on his goal was amazing. -
2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Considering that Vilardi plays on the Windsor Spitfires and Benning just signed one of his teammates, management must have tons of scouting reports on him. Should we be in a position to draft him, I think he would be a good pick. Vilardi will have his chance to shine in the Memorial Cup and World U-18s. Apart from that, Vilardi should have a good developmental season next year as well considering the Windsor Spitfires have Mikhail Sergachev, Logan Brown, Logan Stanley, Sean Day and most of them could potentially be back again next year for their final Junior season. -
2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
NHL.com recently came out with this article on top prospect Gabriel Vilardi. I tell ya, after reading it I'm starting to come around on the kid. I've heard scouting opinions saying that he isn't the greatest skater, but after reading this article I think he can definitely overcome that aspect of his game. He's a driven individual and will do what it takes to become a pro. And he's Italian to boot!! Something the Aquilinis will love lol -
I was just thinking that. Management must have heavy scouting reports on both Villardi and Pettersson considering they are in that range where the Canucks might be picking.
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Stecher feeding Boeser one-timers on the powerplay all day baby!!!
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To be honest, I was choked when we chose Juolevi over Tkachuk. Like legit choked because at the time I was eating a Costco hotdog and listening to TSN 1040's draft coverage and like had to cough a bit and drink some Pepsi so I woudn't die when I heard we chose Juolevi over Tkachuk. Everyone says that we gotta pick BPA and Tkachuk was surely BPA at #5 and then after that was a tier that included Juolevi, Nylander, Keller, and Sergachev -- in my opinion. But that was just it. That BPA that I had in my mind was my opinion. And to each GM and their respective scouting teams depending on what they look for and value their lists are different. And I agree with you it's just what you said "it's not like Juolevi was ranked 20th and went 5th." He was right there in that range. Ya it sucks to see Tkachuk find success so early but at the same time where is Dubois and Puljujarvi? The draft is very recent and it's way too early to call x prospect a bust. Besides, it's not even like Juolevi is having a bad year. Anyways, after more research on Juolevi I can see why Benning made that pick. The kid is smart, skates well, plays with poise, can move the puck up ice real quickly, and can make plays in the offensive zone using his vision and passing skills. Juolevi is highly efficient in puck distribution. He is definitely a systems kind of defenseman. That is, with a system that focuses on quick transitions, puck possession, and efficient puck distribution he will be a very very very good defenseman.
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Wish I could upvote you 5 times so it becomes one of them heart posts.
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OMG THIS IS AWESOME!!! DONE A FEW THINGS RIGHT BEFORE WATCHING AND DUDE THE EFFECT IS LIKE TIMES 1,000 BETTER
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I hope so. I really want to see this forward group in Utica for their playoffs: Goldobin - Gaunce - Virtanen Aston-Reese - Gaudette - Boeser (one can dream...)
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I gotta say, the kid has got some style. He's got that clean undercut and rocking them Yeezys.
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Alternatively, in a dream world the Utica Comets could ice this forward group for the playoffs: Goldobin - Gaunce - Virtanen Aston-Reese - Gaudette - Boeser
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2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
It's a big slide for the team that finishes 3rd worst. In the worst possible outcome, that is, if three teams outside the bottom 3 and Vegas win the lottery then the 3rd worst team slides all the way to 7th. #1 slides to #4, #2 to #5, Vegas is guaranteed no lower than the #6th pick, and the #3 goes all the way to #7. Big slide in talent level... 1. Patrick 2. Hischier 3. Liljegren 4. Mittelstadt 5. Villardi 6. Tippett 7. Pettersson? Tolvanen? Rasmussen? Makar? Foote? Glass? -
2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017
Blömqvist replied to hyper00's topic in Prospects / Farm Team
Patrick, Hischier, Liljegren, and Mittelstadt would be my top 4, as they all look like relatively safe bets to be 1st line or top pairing players. Definitely not generational talents, but top players nonetheless. Then maybe Villardi, Pettersson, and Tippett as the next bunch. I've heard Villardi has skating issues; Pettersson size issues and that he hasn't played in NA yet; Tippett hockey IQ issues, but all three could be really high upside guys if they can overcome their respective issues. -
Canucks should explore trading Edler to the Penguins for Maatta+pick. Retain salary so it's Edler@3M to get a higher pick or additional picks.
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Straight up filthy....