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Blömqvist

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Everything posted by Blömqvist

  1. Nailed it. Sort of.. haha! That trio of Granlund, Sutter, and Hansen looked really good tonight. Lots of speed and and generated several high quality scoring chances. IMO I think most of us, including myself, have mislabelled Granlund as a 4th line checking centre and nothing more after Benning praised Granlund for his two-way game and after Desjardins used him in that 4C spot. It's like most of us forgot about his scoring stats from the different levels of competition he played in: he captained the gold medal winning Finnish U18 team and scored 10 points in 6 tournament games; 34 points in 47 games as an 18 year old in the Finnish men's league; 7 points in 7 games in his first WJC as an 18 year old; this was followed by 12 points in 6 games at the WJC the following year as a 19 year old; then in his first year in the AHL as a 20 year old he scores 46 points in 52 games, with a total of 72 points in 85 career AHL games. By comparison, Shinkaruk has 83 points in 137 career AHL games. Markus Granlund just needed to get quicker and stronger to adjust to the NHL level physicality and pace. It looks like with his offseason training he did just that, now he has to put it together consistently. He has the skillset, the smarts, and the two-way ability to be a really good middle 6 if not top 6 player.
  2. I love Stecher's game but IMO it was the right decision to send him down. Did he outplay Larsen and Biega? Yes, but the kid is still refining his game and adjusting to the speed, skill, and attrition of professional opponents and the professional season. His game right now is really good but we should let Coach Green refine his game for a year, that way when he's a full-time NHLer next season he will be amazing. I'm sure he'll get the call-up sometime during the season, but extra work with Coach Green would do wonders for him.
  3. I'm hoping Granlund can stick on a line with Sutter and Hansen. One knock on Granlund the past few years is that he hasn't been able to play consistently at a good enough level. If his offensve game wasn't going then his 200 ft game wouldn't be going either. With Sutter and Hansen, even if they aren't scoring they are consistenly playing a hard 200 ft game. Playing alongside Sutter and Hansen could help keep Granlund playing hard consistenly in all three zones while also giving him enough talent to generate offense with.
  4. Granlund had a good game last night against the Flames. Definitely looked better than Shinkaruk. He's been stronger, quicker, and consistent with his 200 ft game this preseason. His vision has been very good, and him and Baertschi formed quite the duo last night setting up Virtanen's goal and nearly connecting on another. If he could only win faceoffs though hahaha! C'mon Manny!!
  5. For what it's worth, Craig Button was on TSN 1040 a couple of hours ago and said that he would take Stecher over Larsen in a heartbeat. Starts talking about Troy Stecher and Phil Larsen at the 13 minute mark. http://www.tsn.ca/radio/vancouver-1040-i-1410/bmac-donnie-the-moj-oct-4-hour-5-1.579727
  6. Just playing Devil's Advocate, even though I really want to see Stecher up here in the show because he brings a dynamic skillset that our team just doesn't have at the moment (Larsen might have it but hasn't shown it yet), what would Stecher's game evolve into in the AHL. Looking at the transformation of Gaunce, how would Stecher look like with a year under coach Travis Green. He would for sure get the green light in Utica to provide offense from the backend, but would he round his game further and become a more complete consistent player? Hutton came in from the NCAA and for the first few months looked real good, but around December and early January he slowed down, before picking it up again in February and then slowing down in the last 15 games of the season. Would Stecher develop better if he's in the AHL, where he can play top minutes in all situations and refine his craft, than up here in the NHL, where he may be given sheltered minutes and only in opportunities where he can succeed (for example, heavy offensive zone starts, playing against lower quality NHLers, and usage on the power play)?
  7. Granlund skating alongside Sutter and Rodin on the top line tonight. I'm hoping he can showcase his offensive ability by setting up Rodin who has the hot hand so far this preseason. Heck, looking ahead if he plays well with Sutter could have 3 really good lines: Daniel - Henrik - Eriksson Baertschi - Horvat - Rodin/Hansen Granlund - Sutter - Hansen/Rodin Labate/Virtanen/PTO - Gaunce - Dorsett Burrows
  8. Granlund and Gaunce have both got seemingy faster and stronger. I would put Burrows on that line as RW and that trio could cause a lot of turnovers on the forecheck and produce some quality chances
  9. Those were definitely the things Granlund needed to work on over the summer: getting stronger and a bit faster. He isn't a speedster, but he is quick and smart. He already has the offensive skill and good hockey IQ to play a defensive role, but if he can continue to get a bit bigger and stronger and improve his faceoff skill, then he'll be a real good two-way middle 6 centre or winger. Hopefully Manny can get him stronger on the dot.
  10. WOW 207 lbs and still skating like that! Knowing that, he could probably comfortably play at 210-215 lbs and not lose a step.
  11. What is Hutton up to now? Training camp and Elite Prospects numbers have him at 6'2" and 183 lbs. Is he at 190/195 lbs now?
  12. I thought he had a little bit of trouble adjusting to the speed of the game too. Nothing terrible, but just a little thing that we notice. He looked to be generate more offense later on in the game, but for his first preseason NHL action on home ice he did ok. Nothing impressive, but did ok.
  13. Hutton and Gudbranson did really well keeping McDavid and Lucic off the scoresheet tonight. They definitely had the top defensive duties and played very well defensively. Hutton looked great everywhere tonight. He definitely has a lot of confidence in his skills right now and I can't wait to see all the other tricks he has up his sleeves!
  14. I loved Stecher's game tonight. He did everything right and made some high-end plays the offensive zone. In defense of Larsen, however, Stecher was paired with Edler and played behind Hutton and Gudbranson all game. Whereas Larsen was paired with Tryamkin I think and played top defensive duties against the Sharks (albeit, a much less talented squad). I can't wait to see the next few games as Larsen gets back in and Stecher looks to remain consistent. Really good competition for that last RD spot, and so far, based on what management wanted from that last spot, Stecher has shown that he can produce points on even strength and on the powerpla and drive the transition and offense from the backend.
  15. A Granlund - Gaunce - Etem line would look nice in the near future. Gaunce would play pivot and and if he could use his size and play in front of the net more combined with Etem's size and speed they could really open up room for Granlund. Hopefully by then, all three would have taken strides defensively so we could ice two "third lines" with the other being Sven, Bo, and Jake.
  16. I'm in the same boat as you too. I played a ton but stopped cuz of work. Did things get better?
  17. This year, if Tanev develops an offensive game (30+ points with elite shutdown ability) I would keep him, but if he doesn't and we see progression from Gudbranson and Tryamkin then I would definitely trade Tanev for the right price.
  18. Holy cow Matt Bartkowski had 6 goals last year??!? Wowwwwwwww I'm hoping the D-Core as a whole generates more offense and better transition game with the addition of Gudbranson, considering he gives us another solid defense pair and, as Tanev says, moves well and is a smart player.
  19. We're full of bottom 6 depth currently, but hopefully all 3 of Gaunce, Etem, and Virtanen get regular spots on the team like Horvat. Daniel - Henrik - Eriksson Baertschi - Sutter - Hansen Burrows - Horvat - Virtanen Etem - Gaunce - Dorsett Granlund? Rodin? Maybe Virtanen is sent to the AHL, and Granlund jumps up to 4LW or even 3LW with Burrows on 3RW? And even then there's the issue of SHL MVP Rodin and where he will play.
  20. In my opinion, I think Lindenning (are we actually combining them now? lol) are banking heavily into different aspects of rebuilding a team. We don't have the star power that comes at the top of the draft, but compared to the teams that do (think Edmonton, Bufallo, and Toronto's upcoming team), we might be in a better position to find consistent success. I dunno, to me it seems like Edmonton, Bufallo, and Toronto are building a team of stars, especially if you look at Edmonton. Maybe their philosophy was to gain talent and let your star dominate the game, but unless that star is a Crosby or Ovechkin that philosophy might not work out, hence the 2nd rebuild of Edmonton. Looking at the Canucks, Lindenning seem to be investing heavily into player drafting, player development, and player transitioning. Benning and co have found gems late and in the later rounds of drafts. They've let them develop in their respective leagues, but even then the Canucks will hire consultants to help develop players even more (think Melanson and Cloutier, and most recently Malhotra). The Canucks have also kept a leadership group and gotten other key players that can grow with the new core and provide mentorship but also give immediate help so as to not throw the young players into lions den (think Sutter and Gudbranson). Team cohesiveness and transitioning players into specific roles seems like what Lindenning are going after. I'm sure eventually we'll get a legit stud (if we don't have one on our hands already), but I really like what Lindenning are doing. I mean, even if we did go the traditional "tank" route it doesn't necessarily guarantee the 1st overall pick and even then the player that you get could bust or the team you get afterwards would still just suck despite the star power (cough Edmonton cough).
  21. Ohhhhhhh interesting interesting.... especially Theodore's and Boeser's rankings.
  22. I feel slow for bringing this up cuz it was last week's news, but any idea where Sergachev is ranked on this list? Just for giggles lol
  23. IIRC Olli Juolevi and a few other London Knights did not participate in some Draft Combine festivities. (SOURCE: http://thehockeywriters.com/2016-combine-heights-weights) I think the numbers that we have are definitely prior to the combine and are likely at start of the season or from mid-season. Those numbers range but depending on the site it is relatively safe to say that at that time he is between 6'2" to 6'3" in height and weighs somewhere between 179 lbs to 182 lbs. (SOURCE: ISS Hockey, The Hockey Writers, The Hockey News, Elite Prospects, Hockey's Future) I read or heard somewhere that Juolevi, during the season, did weight training and gained as much as 10 lbs. I can't remember where I saw it, BUT an article on Sportsnet from the Draft Combine has Juolevi stating his weight: So I think it's safe to assume that, with this summer of offseason training coming to a close, he's likely ~6'3" and ~190 lbs. Keep in mind he just turned 18 in May, and still has room too grow. By comparison, in his draft+1 year Brisebois grew 1 inch and gained 10-15 lbs. Whatever the case, we'll have a big and very mobile defenseman with excellent puck movement and offensive instincts, and any extra growth is just a bonus... I think anyways haha
  24. Hmmm the article and Linden's comments from July are saying a few good things about him. According to Linden he's now 6'3" and the most recent article states that he weighs 190 lbs. Not bad at all! He's already bigger and heavier than Tanev and Hutton, and still has a few more years to grow more, fill out, and get stronger. It sounds like he has a good 200 ft game and plays it simple. If he could end up being a bigger and stronger left-handed version of Tanev with a better shot then that would be huge for us.
  25. I wonder if Pronman took heavily into consideration WJC, CHL playoffs, and the Memorial Cup performances, and the fact that Juolevi shined in all and at a younger age.
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