reyezone

Kotkaniemi injured EP40 in his rookie season. He has a knack for getting in the grill of star players and sometimes hurting them. I’ve got no issue with Stars “sharpening their elbows” to protect themselves from players like this.

His speed sets him apart from most of the Canucks spare parts at the moment, and a number of their roster players too!.

And the refs seem to really have it out for him. It’s too bad, he’s a great interview and seems to be q great character guy but we can’t have a marked man out there.

It comes down to getting out of his own way. JV is ineffective when he over thinks his game. His decision making becomes slow and he appears confused by what he is meant to do. When he is in the moment and flowing (bjj terms) his skill comes forward... and luck has an easier time finding him too.

Michaelis was OK but in my opinion Hawryluk was the reason the 4th line was so effective. He appears to be a very smart player with good speed and puck management/decision making. I thought he was outstanding last night.

Hog was all over the puck and highlight reel last night. So much fun to watch this guy play, he processes the game at such a high level. Congrats to him on his first multi point game in the NHL.

Mic drop

sounds like a lot of as* kissing being done by Podz and his agent. Truth is we just don't know what kind of pressure and fear is used to manipulate players and info in Russia. I feel sorry for the kid but, if he makes it through in one piece, he will be stronger for it.

We will see what is and isn’t part of OJ’s game shortly, but I never see him hitting like Ohlund. I remember one hit big #2 leveled on Ryan Smith the then Oilers Captain. He hit him so hard coming down the boards that both of Smith’s gloves came off.

I remember a preseason game were a line of Bo Virt and Sven combined for 12 points

I think the pressure weighs on the kid. He will thrive in NA without the national pressure from mother Russia methinks.

I keep hearing mentioned that Ferland’s contract is not insured. I am not exactly sure what that means. Maybe he wouldn’t collect the rest of his contract on LTIR?

At least it democratizes knowledge in the mean time and provides opportunities for independents to fill the void. I think the corporate model and it’s hang ups still require driving eyes and ears toward conventional media.

Definitely an improved media liaison who can produce podcasts and videos. It’s shocking how little effort there is by the Canucks organization in this area.

Myers is reputed to be a real fitness buff also.

It’s so nice to have legitimate depth in the defence prospect pool. My take- Raffy may well pan out but is the longest shot. OJ the safest bet as his hockey IQ is high end. Bones has all the tools but likely needs a bit of polish in the Pros with Utica to put it all together. Here is hoping that Van becomes the Defence factory of the West!

Amazing there hasn’t been more UFAs signed. There are a lot of quality players that won’t have a chair when the music stops.

In this case I could see opportunity for a competing league. 3 v 3 with no hitting, an allout dangle fest with lots of goals and highlight reel saves?

Fingers crossed they both pan out.

John Marston on VI would be a dream for Logo design.

Podz is going to be a beauty.

Imagine if the Sedinz had the compete of Forsbergz. Lol

I agree with JR being our number 3 (Mikey Dipietro deserves honourable mention). I am also optimistic about his game translating real well and real quick to pro hockey. Such a wealth of young players poised to jump into roster spots over the next 2 years.

I like Jurmo's game from the few clips I've seen. I like how since Benning has taken over we have a constant stream of quality prospects. Guys like Aiden Mcdonough and Jurmo are a real boost to an already brimming pool of prospects - Rafferty, Rathbone, Lind. the Hog, Pods, Dipietro,... It is more fun to be a fan when our clubs draft picks perform well and excel. I don't know if it's recency bias or the coverage these days with the internet, but I don't recall ever having a prospect pool anywhere near as good. “Jurmo is now my top European defenceman and the more I watch him, the more I’m convinced he is a first-round talent. I believe he has top-pairing potential based on his skating ability and his offensive instincts. There is refining and developing to be done, but the raw upside warrants this ranking. Jurmo reminds me a lot of fellow Finn Rasmus Ristolainen, who went eighth overall in 2013, but Jurmo hasn’t gotten as much exposure to date. He is still very underrated and could be labelled a sleeper based on other rankings and mock drafts. Jurmo is often labelled a project — thus the conservative rankings — but I’m ready to call him the real deal.” – Larry Fisher, The Hockey Writers

The writer seems pretty familiar with the player to be so confident in their assessment. We will see if his offensive creativity and opportunistic forays on the rush make up for how prone he may be for giveaways. We don't need any more pizza-men making deliveries up the middle.