iceman64

Read things here that astound me.. In the games we saw him play last season he did not look out of place.. I can hardly wait until the usual adjustments the younger player need to make once their in the big show but seems like canucks fans expect every player to be a superstar or benning screwed up or the player has a label but boeser had that coming in too. I'm not saying Adam is a Brock Boeser but obviously he has a lot upside and could easily fit a number 2 center description with some work but people forget it's actually fun to finally get to talk about prospects like this. Some of our old core came through development but never this amount. Usually we traded our picks for a win now situation instead of loading up with both and slowly after getting rid of a boatload of ntc's and nmc's contracts sure helped. benning made a cpl of mistakes trying to put something competitive on the ice but what gm hasn't but he's makes more good moves than bad but we're getting there. No we don't have to be all rose colour glasses about the new guys but at least it's a step or two in the right direction for a change. hopefully louie E can get back to his 20-30 goal seasons again but he's the only bad contract we have left if it doesn't change. Gaudette lowest is a good 2 way 3rd line center and a season or two away from being able for 2nd line center duty when injuries hit as usual so nothing wrong with benning's pick on this kid...

`Here too... media folks are vastly underestimating Zack because they simply can't clue into something about him that i experienced myself at his age. I'm almost as tall as he is and it WAS NOT easy to get used to. They also said he was 2 years behind in his development and big surprise that it took me a cpl of years to adjust to my height as well but once i got used to it and trained hard it got so much easier and it was even another year or so before it all came together (speed, skill, and thinking) all balanced the same will make loads of difference to him as well. Under achiever as they call him? I doubt it highly but it's even better he hired a skills coach and skating coach for the summer to work on his game... yes i'm praying he works out too because besides Guddy and Archie, nucks are a pretty soft team.

Macewen (6'4) is the dark horse i'm hoping for to make the team, t i hope we go after Dobson (6'3) in the draft and/or Tkachuk (6'3) Dobson/Tkachuk bring good size and SPEED plus scoring touch that makes a whole package like a young Messier brought to the oilers that helped with scoring but also a deterrent from anyone going after Gretzky. Do we need the same thing? Certainly! I think after that we could be a force to be reckoned with BUT our new stars like Bo, Brock, and Elias need to be protected... That can't end up like how the Sedins got ran so badly!!!! If that happens we can totally throw away any notions of deep cup runs anywhere in the near future... Oh and IF we trade Vanek for a lower tier draft pick, i'll be pissed. Vanek has no problem with going to the net to score and i hope we sign him for 2-3 more seasons to model that to the new guys, if he can help guys find that skill and tenacity "consistently" then we're a foot up in development! I said that from the first time i saw we signed him, if Brock can make his slap shot like Vaneks (accuracy) coming in from his side like his wrist shots then whoa! i'd almost feel sorry for the opposing goalies but Bo is also having the benefit of having Vanek around BUT i like the way he gets dirty goals too when needed in front of the net and willing to take a bit of punishment OR give it to get the puck and score. Vanek is a rugged pure goal scorer to say the least and i was stoked when i saw he was now on the team, a great teacher for Brock and Bo! short sighted people want him traded while his stake is high to get the most return but his stakes are higher here for a cpl more years as a teacher and a guy who can put pucks in the net too but teaching our young core is where we win the most return in the long run, not just the next 2-3 seasons if we re-sign him.

Team toughness on the canucks? ahahahaaa we're one of the easiest teams to play against physically... as long as this is the case don't count on seeing a cup EVER!

Horvat is the closest, but his numbers (52 pts) and his general style of play at the level of a very good 2C, not a first liner. No he's a first line player and there is enough support for that statement around the league, HOWEVER with him playing with guys who don't have complimentary skills then no he isn't but he obviously has first line talent Sedins, yes again first line but without a BIG skilled line-mate to compliment their style they don't have a chance to have the open ice for their magic. Add a Dustin Buff or a Lucic to that line and we have winners. (is management capable of doing that?) well not since Anson Carter and i doubt we will ever see it, worst waste of players i have ever seen in my life. Eriksson, Yes again but he isn't built for a 1st assignment with the Sedins like Carter was. Does he have first line skill? obviously so but with needs the right players on his line. Boeser, yes of course but he will have to make the adjustment to the NHL but he will do this next season. Baer, again yes but he needs to improve on over-all strength to get there. 10-15 pounds on his frame and a month or 2 training plus maintaining would get him there but that's up to coaches and management to help. We certainly DO have enough skill on the team to do some serious damage BUT until it's properly managed and deployed and a couple of changes, it won't right away. Finally the Sedins need to go after the seasons end next yr, have been loyal to them as a fan for years but that's over. As a franchise, the canucks have paid them MILLIONS since they arrived and started to put points up so are they owed something? Absolutely NOT! have they put up with a lot of $&!#e here? yes but not enough to pay them to stay unless it's for peanuts and even they don't deserve that so time for them to move on (with all the money that a person could ever want)

Not nearly enough skill? Sedins, Horvat, Eriksson, Sutter, Baer, Boeser, all have no skill?

Well Virtanen is young and needs to be "tempered" upstairs as in maturing as in any power forward does but i'm not dis-agreeing with you, without Gud, Sbisa and Dors... This team would be softer than a cream puff and it's not that far off now, and you screen name reminds me of how much this team misses rick ryp

Well Virtanen is your stereo typical big power forward which is a stark contrast to smaller speedy forwards that are a dime a dozen that we've had lots of over the years. At least Virt is over 6' tall... opposed to Mason Raymond etc etc let's say...

Thant's the new balance most GM's are looking for, Toughness/skill players mixed with pure skill as in Grets,Messier, and Kurri. That was the best model in hockey history (arguably) of course, Trots, Bossy, and Gillies was potent as _ _ _ _ too...

True but then again we lose miller's cap and what would have been a healthy raise for Tram but it will be interesting to see how much we shell out for Bo and see what cap we have leftover

and it's never ever been addressed by the team.. until Benning acquired Virtanen to get things (hopefully) started but we need a older version of his size and skill until he matures and can stay in the line-up fulltime

That's why i'd love to see Rasmussen get picked up, but he needs development like Virt did but down the road it will pay off. Never fast enough for most fickle canucks fans but that's never changed and probably never will...

Knuckle draggers who can only fight, are and have been phased out and replaced mostly with bigger guys who can score some and throw punches (when necessary) and we need 2-3 of them on forward NOT defence so much but we don't even have 1 which is pretty soft and easy prey, especially in the playoffs, let alone to get there. This is a every year thing.... maybe on of these days it will change, like it or not, Mr. Benning is the one to do it when his handcuffs (ntc's and nmc's) are gone.

Yes it's ok to draft it, i.e. Rasmussen but everyone thinks "superstar" like matthews but 1 star will far from help this team that much. Some of us long time fans are happy we even have players developing in the system for a change, that lack of depth has cost us 2 stanley cups already and we do not need it to be 3 but since the farm is slowly starting to work i think those days are gone and we will have the depth when we finally make a run at it but without toughness? we're F'd! It's already been proven enough times...

Believe it or not i hope this years development is a slow progression for him so we can sign him for 2 more yrs at a reasonable cost... but the other side of me hopes for a faster progression and long term signing but i doubt that will happen this year.

Any word on Rodin's injury progression?

liking his progression....

Sexercise??? Nothing like stamina building!