saucypass

Woah, future #1 C? Stamkos with poor foot-speed, is that you?

Sad. Was the player I was looking most forward to all year.

AHL contracts are not bound to NHL teams.

He'd have to be one heck of a late bloomer if he's going to play in the NHL. Great success story that would be too.

I feel like this is my final conclusion on the Virtanen development dilemma. The way I see Jake is that he's like putty. He's got all the tools in the world, and quite honestly, I don't think he's ever necessarily "put it together", which is why he's displayed "poor hockey IQ," or a "lack of on ice vision." I think Virtanen is one of those players who's development completely relies on good coaching, and structure to tell him how to put his tools together so he can take his game to the next level. That is the difference between players like him and Horvat, who "gets it" and works tirelessly at it. While for players like Jake, it essentially comes down to either work ethic, a lack of direction, or both. With the way Jake was thrown into the NHL lineup, and Willie's philosophy of "not coaching players because this is the NHL," it really set him back. Which is why he needed to be down in the AHL with Green to essentially "mold" him into the player he CAN be. The very same reason why scouts have touted him to be anywhere from a bottom top 10 pick to outside the top 10. Personally, I think with the proper development, coaching, and special attention, Jake might actually be able to put it together. However, like others have said, it's going to take quite a long time. In the end, whether he fails or succeeds, it's really up to him and how the Canucks handle his development. Now we wait for the putty to form and dry.

I think people need to calm down a little with the Tkachuk vs Juolevi talk. Like some other people have mentioned, it's a defenseman versus a winger. It's great if Tkachuk turns out for the Flames, but we've got a star in the making with Juolevi, and he'll make our backend much better in the long run. We also have to keep in mind that Juolevi has been improving tremendously and unfortunately not all of his improvement can be seen on a scoresheet. Not to mention, his hockey IQ is probably better displayed through a faster paced game and perhaps with a bit more structure unlike junior hockey. I forget who it was whether it was Bobby Mac, a scout, or some other analyst, but sometimes Juolevi's hockey IQ is sometimes so high that he's thinking too many steps ahead of the game. We'll most likely get to appreciate the finer qualities of his game when he's playing in the pros. Honestly, Juolevi's offensive game is actually pretty good considering he has to clean up after his D partner's offensive liberties all the time.

Needs to be 2 PPG in juniors and 3 PPG in the AHL in order to not be a bust. Then when he makes it to the NHL he'll need to score 50 goals not per season, but per game. We also need him to be a team player, so that should translate to about 100 assists per game as well. Need to get that goals to assist ratio right. Then we need him to get a shutout every single game, not as a goalie, but as a defenseman. We can't shelter this kid, so he's got to play all 60 minutes per game and 65 including OT. No pressure kid.

Wow, that's really great to hear. From a defenseman no less. Would be interesting to see how he does next year in the OHL as well.

I'm talking about the last three seasons with the Bruins. Sure he's aging, but he's only 31. He's got a few good seasons left. I don't think this contract has ever been about the last few years of his contract either. That's why the NTC conditionals are different in each year of his contract.

I think in a couple sesaons, we will see Eriksson improve to about 50-60 points. When Eriksson just moved to the Bruins, he didn't fare as well as his last season with them.

I did too! Put my on the edge of my seat for sure.

No need to be sorry, just wondering if you wanted me to pull it up! Thanks!

We really need more character guys like Horvat and Boeser in our core group going forward. A couple of genuine, humble, guys who any player would leave everything on the field for going into the playoffs. We often talk about building a team suited for the playoffs. A lot of the time, I feel like what gets overlooked in the equation in the search for playoff performers, would have to be character. The strong mentality, willingness to do whatever it takes, and having that humble likeability goes a long way into getting the absolute most out of your teammates. In the playoffs, a team that plays well together the best always beats the team that is the best individually. I really believe Bo and Boeser has that, and if we find one or two more like them... well I hope we all live long enough for when they lift the cup.

The Kyle Beach we never had. Jokes, I'm really hoping he becomes the Joel Ward we never had. Late bloomer PWF.

Just a guess but were you referring to my post where I gathered stastical data on the first 3 years of every PWF or PWF-like players' progress and their eventual point production value?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is exactly it. Billy Sweatt would be potting 30gs per season too. Unlike forwards, defenseman can't become elite through a specialty. Look at all the #1 defenseman in the NHL today, all of them carry a complete game. (Unless you're Karlsson who scores so much to the point where your point totals are double of some top pairing defenseman. But even then you wonder whether his defensive deficiencies are worth it.) It's also unfair to compare all three of those defenseman's strengths to McAvoy. Who has better vision/reading of the game, Chychrun/Sergachev or McAvoy? Who is better in their own zone, Chychrun/Sergachev or McAvoy? Who has a better physical game, Juolevi or McAvoy? It doesn't matter who is better at which specific one thing, it's got to be their game as a whole. Even when comparing strengths, Juolevi's IQ and vision isn't so much better than McAvoy's that it completely separates him from McAvoy, especially factoring other aspects of Juolevi's game that is inferior to McAvoy's. Chychrun I don't even know why he's even in this conversation as he's shown that all he's got so far are his physical and athletic gifts. Zach Bogosian was also highly revered because of his physical gifts, look at where it got him. Sergachev is a great prospect no doubt, but right now he lacks explosive speed which should be a problem because not if, but when he turns the puck over, he's going to have trouble recovering and getting back into position. As good as his offensive game is, unfortunately his defense is worse. He'll sacrifice anything for a little more offense and if he doesn't fix that, it's going to keep him from becoming elite. And when you think about it, McAvoy's size albeit shorter, is up there in weight. Sergachev 215lbs. Chychrun 200 lbs. and McAvoy 211lbs. Juolevi's IQ is undoubtedly projected to be at an elite level. McAvoy during his draft year has always been touted to also possess elite vision and IQ, since then he's even improved in that department. Right now, you look at him play and he's really not far off from Juolevi's IQ and vision or at all. Regardless of whether it's better, worse, or the same, it's still projected to be at an elite level. At the end of the day, whether you think McAvoy's physical or athletic attributes are better or worse than Chychrun's or Sergachev, or whether he sees the ice as well as Juolevi, he has no less of a chance than anyone else in the draft at becoming a top pairing defenseman. If you think he's a safer pick than any of the three, then it tells you where he should've been drafted.

@Warhippy he's messing with you and you're taking the bait. Make some coffee, relax, and laugh a little my friend.

Current fan of the trade, but still too early to decide!

Current fan of the trade, but still too early to decide!

Boeser really seems like a character guy, and I think with him trying to get Stecher to sign here solidifies my confidence in him signing with us even if he plays a third year. Also I believe it's after the senior year of eligibility.

LOL.

Going to be a beaut for us for years to come! Thanks Calgary!

Let's take a moment and appreciate that second goal today though...

I don't know if it's just me, but has anyone else noticed how Baertschi's shiftiness, explosive speed, and skills grew exponentially spontaneously? Before you'd see Baertschi deke around and maybe sometimes it'd kind of work, but a lot of the times he's spinning around and he'd get muscled off the puck. Now he's "Slick Rick" with the puck. Very happy to see how he's progressed into looking like a legitimate top 6 player after being "thrown away" by Calgary.