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Maniwaki Canuck

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Everything posted by Maniwaki Canuck

  1. This. I'm impressed that he rates Juolevi over Provorov, who's had an extra year of development that went well by any standard.
  2. Maybe he's Spetznaz himself. Looked pretty cool under fire in that Anaheim game.
  3. Florida management has confirmed that they moved him for impending cap reasons. Sure, there could have been some analytics dogmatism in the mix but they certainly are going to have cap issues there with all those young stars coming off their ELCs. And it totally explains why they wanted McCann and picks as opposed to a more established player from Edmonton. They needed to punt some salary down the road. Good for Benning to leverage our cap room and take advantage of another team's cap troubles. That part of this deal isn't getting its due here.
  4. Goals are great and 20+ does seem right but let's not overlook his playmaking, which could bring out the best in Sutter and Ericksson as well as Bo. I get that JB would like to shelter him on the 3rd line but beyond the Sedins he's the best passer we've got and the only one who can skate with guys like Sutter and Bo.
  5. I'd like to see Sutter split shutdown assignments with Bo at a 60/40 rate. It would be interesting if the two switched wingers situationally, starting with guys like Burrows, Dorsett and even Hansen in D zone starts, and moving to guys like Sven, Rodin and Ericksson for O zone starts. That's way too AV for Willie, I know, but it would be one way to determine what these guys are capable of offensively when given more offensive wingers. Sutter was lethal with the twins on the pp but there's probably not much chance of that happening again with Ericksson on board. Much as I want to see Bo and Sven play together, Sutter could clearly benefit from his playmaking too. Sharing these opportunities situationally would be a pretty fair way to give each of them a chance.
  6. http://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/bo-horvat-qa-young-canuck-on-pushing-his-pace-virtanens-consistency-quest-willies-systems-challenge-mounting-that-tv Mostly fluff but it's good hear hear him say " I obviously want to be a No. 1 centre some day". What matters is that he still sees himself as this kind of player, whatever Willie may think. Clearly he'll learn what he can from Willie and play the role he's given but just force the issue with his play. This guy has already shown an ability to identify what he needs to work on and make dramatic improvements: " I want to keep improving my speed and quickness and working on my shot is going to be huge, too". He's thinking offense here and can plausibly aim to become a Bergeron or Kopitar type of 1C and certainly has the determination to get there.
  7. Will be interesting to see which Jake shows up at camp: the one who was lost at the beginning and end of the year or the one who more than belonged after New Year's. There will be more growing pains but they could be in Utica if he doesn't hit the ground running. We have a waiver crunch at forward and the fact that he is waiver exempt won't work in his favour. The good version of Jake from last year makes the team handily, though.
  8. Okay, sorry, stand corrected, or grovel, whatever.
  9. Read the first line of your post, man, that's exactly what is says. Maybe it wasn't what you meant, but that's what it says.
  10. Great, glad you're seeing reason, but in the post of yours I quoted, you had Baer Granlund Eriksson. What I'm going on about is overrating Granlund.
  11. Yes to Eriksson on the 2nd line but sorry JR, even in Weisbrod's eyes Granlund is no 2C. How about: Sedin Sedin Hansen Baertschi Sutter Eriksson. That's a legit second line. Too many variables to get specific in the bottom 6. After all, when Zalewski wins the 4C job from Granlund, who knows how the rest of it will shake out.
  12. Let's not forget that for Juolevi to "get his 9 games" we'd have to expose (and quite possibly lose) someone else to waivers. JB won't take that risk lightly, and would have to think Juolevi has a legitimate chance of sticking before he does. Chances are he gets a good look in the pre-season but goes back to junior unless he totally lights it up. No freebes in the real world of the NHL.
  13. Glad that the spotlight has shifted to other players for now. Let's just let this guy settle in with some privacy. Long-term, he could still be the biggest acquisition of Benning's tenure, both literally and metaphorically.
  14. Agreed: It's a given that he'll have his share of defensive zone starts and shutdown assignments. The real question is who his wingers will be. If he gets some time with Baertschi and/or Eriksson, then they're giving him a chance at 2C. If its Etem, Virtanen, and/or Rodin, then he's the 3C. If it's Dorsett or Burrows, they're giving Granlund equal billing, which would totally suck.
  15. I'd be a lot more inclined to accept that argument about style of play if it were actually spelled out. What I recall seeing a lot of was Horvat and Baertschi coming in hard on the rush, often in counter-attack situations, and making some skilled passes to create scoring chances. If there was floating or positional cheating in the D zone, I didn't notice it, so I'd like to know exactly what Willie was talking about. In any event, it's not about Sven per se, but putting Bo with wingers that will allow him to generate offense. Virtanen could certainly be one but someone with some puck skills would also be helpful.
  16. Sure, there is always going to be a counter-punch dimension to Horvat's offense, but his quality of linemates still matters. The fact is he did pair very well with Baertschi but the results they produced didn't seem to fit with Willie's view of how he should play. So the concern is that management underestimates his offensive potential and may not give him the kind of linemates he needs (and has earned) to realize it. Granlund has proven nothing at the NHL level yet, so type-casting him as a better offensive player definitely would be "special treatment". I'm hoping Bo hits the ground running instead of repeating the slow starts he's had in the last two years, and really forces the issue because Granlund isn't half the player he is.
  17. Yeah, those comments are a cause for concern imho. Horvat has already proven himself as a two-way force and a 40 pt. player, but Granlund, a totally unproven replacement-level player is the apple of management's eye. I'm trying not to be negative about him but have to admit that I am, and the all-too-probable scenario you raise is a big part of the reason why.
  18. Totally agree but you never know. After last year, I do take management at their word that they'll make a place for kids who legitimately win jobs, and Stecher is a pretty determined guy by the look of it. We'll see him on the big club a lot sooner than Juolevi if only because he's used to playing against men. But it would be best if he starts the year in Utica, for sure.
  19. Yeah, I'm thinking Baertschi (as the more obvious playmaker) with Sutter and Rodin with Horvat. Something like: Baertschi Sutter Hansen/Eriksson Rodin Horvat Etem/Virtanen Serious speed on both of those lines and I like our forward depth.
  20. That's what I remember too, and it makes sense for Benning to say that. Stecher is going to have to leapfrog several people ahead of him on the depth chart to make the team. No way they're keeping him around at 7 or 8 either, when he needs to be logging pro minutes. Linden was the one who spoke well of Stecher after the prospects camp, but I wouldn't take that as a sign that they're making a spot for him just yet. He'll have to go toe to toe with Larsen in camp and clearly beat him.
  21. Excellent news. Rodin gets compared to Baertschi frequently as JB does in this article. It makes sense in terms of position, size and mobility, but Rodin does seem to be a bit more of a sniper, whereas Baertschi has a bit of that but is at least as much a playmaker.
  22. Not a very precise description but it doesn't sound good. Torn ACLs (if that's what it is) usually take close to a year so unless Rodin is another Marcus Stroman, he may not quite be ready for training camp, or just barely if he is. He certainly won't have had the benefit of a full summer of training.
  23. Agreed: his knees are vital to the kind of game he plays. But if he is recovered, having a strong offensive player or two on the 3rd line would do a lot for our scoring woes. Even if Rodin doesn't displace Baertschi as 2LW, he can still play an offensive role, especially if he gets easier matchups on the third line.
  24. For sure: he doesn't look like some "soft perimeter player" on that first one. For players who can skate decently like Baertschi and Rodin, backchecking shouldn't come at the expense of offense, since they can generate out of the transition. So much of offense is anticipating where the play is going, where passing lanes are going to open up, etc. You can call it mental but really it happens so fast that its gone if you're thinking about it, more of a feel for the game really. I don't know how they coach that at a professional level but would be interested to know. Most really good offensive players strike me as pretty smart though, with the twins as an extreme case of getting by primarily on wits.
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