Gerbera

He doesn't need waivers.... and he wasn't even signed yet...

Wow that's a very clear and precise explanation. Thanks.

Wow nice moves! Against Boston University too not some weaker opponent. Love how he celebrates his goals (or his teammates XD)

Wow that SH goal was sick. Thanks for posting!

Showed both Gaunce's goals. Great individual effort on both the tying and OT goals. Loved his tying goal especially.. nice feed from Shinkaruk as well.

Just being in the same conversation as those 2 for the Calder is already a great accomplishment for any rookie. Especially a 5th round pick Dman.

You want another Clendenning?

I am not 100% sure but I think McCann's situation was similar to Cassels. In his draft year, he was more relied on centering a defensive 3rd line for SSM. Due to that deployment and lack of offensive numbers, his ranking dropped a bit and was eventually picked up by us at no.24.

Until Zhukenov posted similar numbers to Vey in the AHL and CHL, no way is Zhukenov better than Vey. Vey posted some amazing numbers in the CHL and respectable numbers in the AHL. Until he reached numbers close to the ones posted by Vey, no way can you statistically compare the two and say Zhukenov is a better player than Vey. What is your connection with Zhukenov? You seem to have a man-crush of some sort on him. Do you know him in person or have you seen him play a lot? Just curious to know what you seem to see in him.

Problem is we have these same Swedes with us for quite a while. If he intended to stay or if our Swedes can persuade him to stay, it will be done at that time and not now. The boat for Rodin has sailed. Wish him luck in Sweden. I know Shinkaruk and Vey and Baerschi haven't been cracked our NHL team, but realistically, they have more chance than Rodin to ever stick with Canucks in the NHL level. Rodin has played worst compared to the 3 previous players (albit in AHL in Chicago), I really don't see any initiative for him to come back and play in Utica.

Being able to state your opinion doesn't mean whatever you say that is defying logic or completely without base is gonna be right.... I mean Dmitry Zhukenov might become a NHL player.. but stating he is a sure fire elite NHL player is waaaaay overboard.

Thanks for posting the article. Love Gaunce. I think he will be a great middle 6 forward for the Canucks in the future and score some clutch goals for us in the playoffs when Canucks can make the playoffs as a... maybe not contender.. but at least a team that can cause some noise in the playoffs.

Agree. Barkov is going to be a great 2nd line C or a more defensive minded 1C. Still remember last season watching a game where Canucks played Panthers. Was absolutely amazed at how Barkov can control the puck and keep possession in our zone. They also have Bjugstad who looks like a really good 2 way center as well. Florida's top 6 C depth looks pretty good right now and in the near future.

Don't think Grenier has ever played C before so I doubt he will be a C. I don't see how Cassels will be 4C next year unless he has an outstanding camp. I think we will keep Vey has an extra forward that can slot in during injuries. I think we will re-sign Richardson to a 1-2 year contract to be our regular 4C.

I agree. Lack wasn't playing well near the end of last season (although he was severely overworked) and Markstrom was coming off an average season in the AHL and his few games in the NHL. Goaltending was a very big risk for us going forward. Bringing Miller in stabilized our goaltending situation and allow us to send Markstrom down to get more playing time in the AHL. Look at Markstrom, he is playing very well in the AHL regular season and playoffs and will become at least a decent trading chip for us this upcoming draft. Although I agree signing Miller to such a long and high cap hit contract might not be the most ideal plan, people should give credit to Benning who managed to slip Markstrom (throught waivers) into the AHL and allowed him to develop back into a good goalie prospect at the minimum. People also need to remember that as average as Miller's number looked, there are a few games (esp. early parts of the season) where Miller absolutely bailed us out. At the minimum, signing Miller gave us an extra trading chip to fill some of the other bigger holes in the club. We need value other than in the form of draft picks in order to be able to get value from other teams. Sure giving up Lack (or Markstrom) might sting, but at least we can get some decent value for positions where we have a little extra depth (which is not something this organization can say about its defense and forward.)

Here's a highlight from Mar 20th game (I believe the last game before the playoffs for the Oil Kings where they lost 6-2) ^ Follow that guy on youtube, he occasionally uploads video of Canucks junior prospect games. From my views, I gather the following: - Plays primarily on the left side with Aaron Irving (Nashville 6th round pick in 2014) on the right - Plays powerplay and I believe some PK Pros: - Loves to rush the puck up the ice, with Irving staying behind to cover for him most of the time. - Can stick handle pretty well, on a PP he was skating on the offensive blue line and stick handling to create space for the other players. - Have good patience with the puck and tried to hold onto and make passes on the PP - Good stick defensively, knock the puck off attacking players on a few occasion. - Threw 1 memorable hit on the other team's forward - Maintain good distance when defending 1 on 1 (he did get burned on 1 of them, which resulted in a goal against) - 2A in this game. 1st was a player tipping his shot (on a PP I believe?). 2nd was a 2nd assist finished by his teammates. Cons: - 2-3 bad-brutal turnovers... first one was a pass up to the opposite team player's stick in the slot that was stopped by a great save by Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh 2nd rounder 44th overall in 2013). *Jarry looks really good in this game too. - 2nd one was not able to cleanly receive a pass at the point and the other team had a breakaway and scored. I am no expert, but from this 1 highlight video, he seems like a LHD more offensively oriented defenseman. Good offensive skills, but definitely need some work in his defensive side of game.

His eyes remind me of Cory Schneider... but I am not sure is it him.

I don't think you can do that. As soon as you send him down to CHL, you can't recall him back to the NHL for the remainder of the season. I also don't see the point of sending him back and forth between London and Vancouver. Just seems like an unnecessary wear and tear.

still better than Honzik.

Thanks for the update. Kind of weird timing if you ask me. Is KHL training camp starting soon? I am surprised he can't stay for that extra day or 2 to at least participate in the 4 vs 4 or at least for the whole training camp... Visa issues?

Is different though. All of Carey Price, Martin Brodeur, John Gibson, Roberto Luongo, and Jake Allen all played in the CHL instead of the NCAA. They usually have a shorter time to climb into the NHL because they finish their junior career at 20. However, Demko is in Boston College, so unless he opts out he should take his time to finish his 4 years in college before going to either the AHL or NHL team.

Right sorry, I forgot that if you are drafted from Euro leagues, you can play in the AHL under 20 because those euro draftees (or UFA) are not under the CHL-AHL agreement. But since Horvat is under the CHL-AHL agreement, and his importance to London, I doubt they will let him go.

even if London released him, I think he doesn't meet the age requirement to play in the AHL. Only special circumstances such as RNH during the lockout year can play in the AHL under 20 years old.

Linden mentioned during his introductory conference as President of Hockey Ops he liked the way Gulutzan handles and communicates with the young players. Just curious, where do you hear about the Kassian stuff? I find it interesting Kassian like the coaching staff last year considering the circumstances he was put in. Well there's still one more assistant coach position that is free for Desjardin to hire so it should be ok. I just have a question though, how many coaches are a team limited to hiring? I know Stevens was promoted to associate coach by LA. I am wondering is it possible for Linden or Benning to promote Gulutzan to associate coach and let Willie hire 2 assistants to help? Thanks in advance.

Well... what about Patrick White? I mean.. there's bound to be busts in one team's draft no matter the position. Hopefully Schroeder is not.