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Maniwaki Canuck

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Everything posted by Maniwaki Canuck

  1. I'd like to see Schroeder between Booth and Kassian, but it sounds like he's a month or more away from returning. In the mean time, Richardson is fine centring that line. He does seem to be teaching Kassian the work-rate thing, and a bit more reinforcement of that message can't be wrong. Another possibility is to put Santorelli at C on this line when Burrows is back. Santorelli would certainly bring the same level of energy as Richardson, but a bit more offensive flair and willingness to drive to the net. That could be a really dangerous line. I wouldn't have considered it a few games back when Kesler, Higgins and Santorelli were tearing it up, but if they go cold this is an option.
  2. Is there a full moon tonight? This is nuts.
  3. You could feel that Flyer goal coming ....
  4. How about 2 slick passes to set up scoring chances in the 3rd? If the negativity on these boards was a headwind, Kassian is taking off into it.
  5. Getting Burrows back is also major, for sure. When all our forwards are healthy, we can put 4 credible lines on the ice. It would be good to get a peek at what that would look like. While I like Luongo, I hope he stays out for at least 10 days just to make sure he's recovered. Lack is on fire, so now is a good time for him to get some consecutive games in. Lu was playing too much and will be part of the equation in Sochi, so a forced rest is in order for him.
  6. Good news about Edler. Despite what the haters say, we need him for the teams we'll be facing in January. We're having our bit of adversity right now and any more would be too much of a good thing.
  7. I'd like to see Tommernes, but Anderson or Sauve are more likely. There just doesn't seem to be any place for an offensive defenseman in our bottom pairing. Everyone agrees that we could use a puck-moving defenseman but there's no slack for any of the candidates who are already in our system.
  8. Glad to hear this because his scoring seems to have tailed off since being sent down. This guy is a player. He would make our 4th line better, but has the stuff to be 3rd line in his prime.
  9. Nice post, OP. Old habits die hard. We have been so used to having terrible depth at centre that we don't realize that the problem is fixed. Even with Schroeder out of the lineup all year, we've been doing fine because Richardson is adequate at 3C, even though he makes most sense at 4C. Dalpe and Welch are almost up to a 4C role, but we're probably not going anywhere in the playoffs if we have to use them there. And with Horvat, Gaunce and Cassels in the pipeline, our centre depth is going to be crazy in years to come. We are going to be subtracting, not adding, in that position. So it's back to the well-worn need for a sniper and a puck-moving defenseman if the opportunities are there. Otherwise, we keep doing it by committee, which isn't the worst thing.
  10. Last year, this was fair comment when we were really hurting for depth at centre. This year, Santorelli has replaced everything that Hodgson would have given us and then some: Santorelli is simply the better player and comes at a fraction of the cost. Hodgson is not such a big deal and the jury is very much out on him, as it is on Kassian, who is at least showing some overall improvement in his game. While you're right to say that we haven't yet reached Baggin's scenario where the two are on equal point totals, it's trending that way, and Kassian's physicality gives us a chance against teams like Boston, LA and St. Louis that are otherwise going to eat us alive. I think we have already won that trade, and it will only become more evident with time.
  11. Agreed that this is a big part of what the team needs from Kassian. But I wouldn't oppose this to playing a strong positional game and seeing the game the right way. Hitting, like scoring, needs to come out of a certain degree of structure in how you play. If you go too far out of your way to take something that isn't there, it just hurts the team. Kassian, like all players, needs to learn this in terms of the system, his linemates, his oponents, and his own ability, which is still emerging. It's coming, and will come faster if he stays with Booth and Richardson. Besides hitting, we should want him making power moves to the net. Playing with Booth will teach him that.
  12. They killed it possession-wise last night and were our best line both in terms of Corsi and just by looking. Yet all of them are negative Corsi on the year to date. So something is happening with this line to turn around how these guys have been playing individually. Keep them together. And for all the haters: Kassian has been helping us win games recently so if you don't like it, go follow another team.
  13. Sorry, would you like me to call you a 12-year old instead? That would be really relevant.
  14. Not knowing the difference between "then" and "than" makes you look illiterate at any age.
  15. Huge goal and trending upward, despite being on for both Chicago goals. Zack is holding up well against less than charitable treatment from Torts. But it's working, so I'm okay with it. I agree that we won that trade, and it will become even clearer with time.
  16. It's fair comment given Jensen's parallel struggles in the AHL after lighting it up in the SEL. At some point, NHL-calibre players are going to have to learn to deal with the defensive system play that is emphasized at nearly all levels of the North American game, and is particularly prevalent in the A. But that approach does inhibit the development of offensive skill. That's why I'm glad Horvat is still in junior and developing his offensive game instead of playing 4th line minutes for the big club. Maybe some players do develop offensively in the A, but it seems pretty rare.
  17. Good posts, Sid. I think Kassian is in the right situation at the moment: 3rd line with Booth and Richardson seems to suit him. His passing gives the line some offensive flair, and the tempo that Booth and Richardson maintain helps Kassian keep his feet moving. He needs to be on a line that emphasizes skating and physical play, and is defensively responsible: this one fits the bill. He will become more consistent if he is consistently deployed with these guys. He can learn on the job, but not if there are too many variables every night. At this stage, he needs to develop good habits, so a bit of stability is called for.
  18. Yeah, what is it about us and 5th round picks of defensemen? Bieksa, Corrado, Hutton and now Cedarholm. Great that Hutton shoots left. In a couple of years, starting with Hamhuis, some of our left-side D's contracts will be expiring and there may be an opening around about the time he'd be ready. This guy definitely has the offensive chops.
  19. It'll be interesting to see if Bo can get those two to play his kind of two-way game. There's no way they won't be matched against other teams' top lines, so these guys better not be in cherry-picking mode. Giving him those wingers is a leadership assignment for Bo, but also a vote of confidence in his offensive ability. I like it.
  20. I have to agree with this. The rivalry with Boston doesn't explain it. Back in the day when Burnaby Joe was killing us with the Avalanche, nothing like this ever seemed to happen to him. But he was a class act who didn't go around in a drunken stupor asking people if they knew who he was. Without in any way trying to excuse the crap that was done to his church or his parents, there is still something off about how this guy behaves in public. My homer hypothesis: he knows the 2011 victory over us was bogus, and its eating him up inside!
  21. So true. Our case this year is somewhat unusual with Santorelli and maybe Booth coming back from the dead, Kesler regaining form and Kassian looking like he might just be rounding into form. Add to that a new coach and a new system. More than in previous years, it does make sense to do a long assessment of what we've got.
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