Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

Smashian Kassian

Members
  • Posts

    29,921
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    7

Everything posted by Smashian Kassian

  1. Great job by Benning to move Gudbranson. Never thought it would happen. Pearson hasnt been very good this year but maybe he turns it around. Even if he doesnt im happy they moved Guddy. Ultimately this trade confirms the Gudbranson trade in '16 was a mistake. But im glad Benning was able to recognize it hasnt worked & finally move on.
  2. I watched Brayden Tracey today in the Sportnets CHL game. He had a goal & an assist, you can see the hockey sense. He's got impressive stats (30g, 70p in 57gp) - 3rd most points amongst WHL draft eligibles. He was last ranked 73rd in NA skaters by CS but I imagine he's going to have quite the jump next time around. I liked his hockey sense offensively. Skill wise seems pretty average, not the fastest/best skater, not the biggest guy (6'0 170), & not an exceptional shot or anything but it is decent. Seemed lackadaisical defensively/in battles frequently. Odd case of a guy producing well that I could still see teams being down on. I'd say top 3 round pick. I'd bet 2nd, but if a team likes him he could be a late 1st rounder.
  3. Jokiharju would be a great target. Wonder what they are looking for in return.
  4. Currently sitting 7th overall. The grouping there for me is - Cozens / Zegras / Boldy / Krebs / Kaliyev. Then I have Byram, Dach, Turcotte just ahead, but teams have different orders so one of those 3 could be available too. Either way the 7 hole is going to be a good spot for us again. And with the way things are trending maybe we'll even be a bit higher.
  5. Yeah it would be adding to a position of strength, but I wouldn't be disappointed taking Byram. Otherwise, its not the greatest year for D. Thankfully there are alot of good wingers slated to go in the first half of the 1st round. Getting one of those high end wingers would be a great add for us too. Edit: Only thing I'd say is, ultimately your drafting assets. If Byram is clearly the BPA we gotta take him no matter who else we have. Can always move Juolevi or Byram to get someone who better fits our needs.
  6. With our defense people wouldn't hate it. Plus Byram is good enough to be drafted that high. It wouldn't be reaching for a D like the Juolevi pick or, say, drafting Broberg @ 3 or 4.
  7. I'm on the Kakko train too. I do still like Hughes alot, but I think Kakko would be a wonderful fit for us. #2 would be ideal, get whoever the first team doesn't take, but either way I won't be upset if we end up with either. I don't think its entirely out of the question that Hughes could be a Winger too. Atleast to start anyways. I see someone brought up Podkolzin. For some reason some people seem to be down on him. Wheeler @ the Athletic had Podkolzin #14 on his most recent ranking. Most have him #3 so that seemed very odd to me. I could definitely see Podkolzin falling out of the top 3 but not all the way to #14. He'd be a very nice addition too if we cant get #1-2.
  8. The thing I get from Krebs is his smarts. I don't think he has any overwhelming tool offensively but he has the IQ to make smart plays & create offense. Definitely more of a playmaker than a shooter. Whether he's an elite NHL winger or not I don't know. But I think he's got the motor & the IQ to make him a good bet to be a top 6 fwd in the NHL. I don't think its just playing big minutes on a bad team, he's a smart offensive player.
  9. I should have thrown Zegras into that too. Would u have him over the WHL guys? I have Dach the highest atm followed closely by Turcotte, then Zegras & Cozens. But admittedly i dont know as much about the Americans. Agree about IQ comment. Thats one concern ive had with Cozens, between Dach & Turcotte i really like Dachs size when considering his potential & the fact hes a good skater. Seems like hes been using his shot a bit more this year too. What makes Turcotte better than Dach in your view?
  10. Curious who people like out of Turcotte, Dach or Cozens?? And how would u rank them?
  11. If we are picking past 15, there could be a scenario where Spencer Knight is the BPA. Im very intrigued to see what happens with him. Its rare goalies go much higher than 20 anymore & 1st rounders are still rare cases. Hes been talked about as the best G prospect (coming into the draft) since Vasilevsky. I know we have Demko & DiPietro but if hes a potential elite goalie, & the other players available are projects, do u pass on that?
  12. Yup in a draft year thats lacking in high end D hes the best one available. I second being curious of your thoughts on his game afterward.
  13. Kaliyev is just piling up the points. 45 goals & 88 points in 56 games. For draft year comparison of goal scorers; Tippett had 44 goals in 60 games, Meier had 44 in 61, Virtanen had 45 in 71. Even Zadina last year had 44 in 57.
  14. In the prospects game I thought he moved really well. Skating & speed looked like a strength. Then against Charlottetown I didn't think he moved quite as good. Not totally sure if I'd say he's a great skater but I'd say its more of a strength than a weakness.
  15. I'm not sold on Lavoie. I don't know if he's a surefire top 6 forward. I think he's more of a 10-20 prospect than top 10. He can move well once he gets going, could improve acceleration. He's got a decent shot but not comparable to Mantha. I wonder how much being so much bigger at this level plays into his success. Saw todays game vs Charlottetown. He didn't stand out quite like I thought he might judging from his recent statline.
  16. Kakko would be the dream scenario (or Hughes). Peyton Krebs I think would be an ideal target if we are a bit lower. I don't know if he'll be an elite player but he's really smart from what I've seen, and he obvs has skill. I think he'd fit nicely in our top 6 down the road.
  17. Interesting points the last few pages. I don't think pairing him with Hughes is the right idea. If Gudbranson was a rock defensively then yes but he isn't. He's not the guy you'd want to be back when Hughes is caught up ice. I like the idea of Hughes & Tanev alot more. I also don't like the idea of having to put Gudbranson with your best Dman (Edler) for him to be competent/effective. I agree Edler is who he's played best with, but still. Troy Stecher has taken a big step this year, he's played very well with Edler in the past & is a better player than Gudbranson at this point. If anyone else is to play with Edler besides Tanev I think Stech is the guy. At this point Guddy's a bottom pair guy, on a playoff team that has a good/reliable #5D to pair him with he might be in the right spot. But that team isn't us right now. And that's not what we brought him here to be. The defense isn't good enough, and that's a problem Gudbranson is currently apart of. You can only move/change so many defenseman, and it won't be Tanev, Edler, Stecher or Hughes. aGent made a great point that you have to replace Gudbranson's muscle, and I agree with someone else who said they'd prefer that out of a FWD. So that should be the move in offseason. Move Gudbranson, then bring in a FWD with some muscle & the best defenseman they can to help this Dcore.
  18. I thought he was getting around better than Schaller
  19. Im more or less on your side. Ive been holding out hope for guddy the last few years. I do appreciate he brings toughness & muscle that we absolutely need. But its not looking good. I got ripped b4 for suggesting move Guddy for draft picks but i stand by that. One again his lack of awareness came thru on the 2nd Debrincat goal. The trade hasnt worked out. Gudbransons icetime/role has been declining. We'll need to replace his toughness/muscle 100%. But its time to move on & revamp this defense.
  20. Dahlens probably not ready to play just yet. Gaudette is a center, and MacEwan id like to see too. But i dont mind Gaudette & MacEwan staying down & continuing to play well ATM. I also think Green wont have alot of trust in staying with the rookies while we are in this race. (Side note; I bet Gaudette & McEwan will both be up here b4 the season ends) We are paying Gagner. The contracts not going anywhere. He was a decent secondary scorer in his brief callup. Rather than seeing schaller & granlund with horvat. Or granlund & eriksson on the PP. Why not try to have a 2nd offensive line? Why not try to help the 2nd PP? I dont get it. Edit: i know its gotten really bad when im clamouring for Gagner....
  21. This team would be so bad without Petey. I rly hope they find another offensive W so we can have 2 lines. Teams know Petey & Boeser are our only threat yet they still produce. Also saw a stat, Pettersson's the fastest rookie to 25 goals (44 games) since Ovechkin (39) what a player we have. Edit: Beat me too it^
  22. They should bring Gagner back up. He's probably a better player than Goldobin, atleast I bet he would produce more right now. They've tried everyone else with Horvat & they just don't have anyone. Next up the janitor will get a few shifts with Bo. So why not try Gagner with Horvat?
  23. He's not the worst D in the league. He skates really well, brings a needed physical presence & he can defend man on man. The current group needs his toughness & at times he can be very effective in our own end. I just think Gudbranson's problems are 2 things; He struggles at times reading the play defensively. And his inability/inconsistency moving the puck.
  24. https://ingoalmag.com/audio/ingoal-radio-podcast-episode-3-thatcher-demko-and-chris-joswiak/ Awesome interview here with Kevin Woodley. He's got a great head on his shoulders.
  25. I love that he absolutely always wants to do great. Even in something like an All-Star game/skills, he has that desire to be great.
×
×
  • Create New...