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

Some Happy Thoughts


TheFastOne21

Recommended Posts

Ill warn you now this is kind of long as im going to drop a line or two (or 4) on all the main roster players for the Canucks.

That said there is an overwhelming negativity as there is every year when the Canucks fall. Trade Kes, Trade Sedins, Trade Lu, Trade AV....blah blah blah... So to change up that monotony I am going to put a sentence or two for every player that is happy and hopefully useful. I know for every happy thought there can be coinciding negative thoughts on each player. Lets just focus on the good for the sake of argument.

Here we go from the bottom up in GP (sord of).

Volpatti - Played with heart while in the lineup. Never going to be a star or the big physical presence but useful nonetheless in limited roles. 23GP, 1G, -2

Weise - Showed flashes of a dependable/potential 3rd line player at times. Can play 2-ways and has a good motor. 68GP, 4G, 4A, -1.

Tanev - Small D-man but has solid speed and smarts to make it at this level as he has shown. I see a lot of Hamhuis in him. 25GP, 2A +10

Kassian - The potential is there but the drive/motor needs to keep up at times. Could be a future staple on this team. Needs to trust his style of play more. 17GP, 1G, 2A, -1

Gragnani - At 25 his potential may be reduced but he makes smart passes and plays offensively. Defensively he showed at times he could play well but needs to work to develop this part of his game. 14Gp, 1G, 2A, -4

Bitz - Proved that the Sedin's can work magic for anyone. Has solid hands for a big guy. Will drop gloves and check anyone. Plays without fear. 10GP, 1G, 3A, +2

Ebbett - Filled in better than expected in a top 6 role. Pressure situations dont seem to bother him. 18GP, 5G, 1A, +2

Pahlsson - Solid 3rd line center. Can be relied on defensively. Good in faceoff circle. 19GP, 2G, 4A, +4

Rome - Checks with authority. Generally sound defensively. Scored goals when he first came back sparking a wave of awesome on the forums. 43GP, 4G, 6A, -10

Alberts - Big and mean. Uses his size well. Solid 6-7 D-man. Will drop the gloves. 44GP, 2G, 1A, +4

Ballard - Small and mean. Uses his small stature in a big man way. Has lots of speed. Will jump into the offensive play when needed. Was much better this season, will improve more next if still with team. 47GP, 1G, 6A, +0

Raymond - Has some great speed. Backchecks well using his speed. Can play both sides of puck. Came back from a lifelong injury (I have the same injury). Needs to have a good off season of training if he comes back. 55GP, 10G, 10A, +4

Booth - Big body with a lot of speed. Isnt afraid to use body to get where he wants at times. Showed good hands at times. 56GP, 16G, 13A, +1

Salo - The ageless one for VAN. Played well despite 37 years old. Plays the game smart. Played in most games since lockout. Will be missed if he retires or moves on. 69GP, 9G, 16A, +7

Higgins - Has speed, some size, hands, and drive. Played well this year being bounced around lines. Showed he can play multiple roles. 71GP, 18G, 25A, +11

D. Sedin - Is one of the best players at seeing the whole ice in the NHL. Plays very smart possession hockey. Has a lot more grit than credited for. 72GP, 30G, 37A, +14

Kesler - A top 2-way forward in the NHL. Knows what is needed/expected to improve from a down year. Has speed, size, grit and determination. Can score and is a solid passer. 77GP, 22G, 27A, +11

Bieksa - Plays physical all over the ice. Will jump into the offence to keep plays alive. Plays well defensively for the most part. Seems to have found his place and stride. 78GP, 8G, 36A, +12

Malhotra - Came back from a devastating eye injury. Is a monster in the faceoff circle. Showed some definite heart and determination during the season. A large majority of shifts started in D zone. Needs a good off season to improve play with injury. 78GP, 7G, 11A, -11

Burrows - Another excellent 2-way forward. Excels playing with Sedin's. Has an obvious determination to get better since getting a chance to play. One of the "heart" players of this franchise. Stats may be inflated from Sedin's but he is useful no matter where he plays. 80GP, 28G, 24A, +24

Hansen - Showed improved offensive flashes this year. Plays excellent defensively. Always moves feet and gives 100% when on ice. 82GP, 16G, 23A, +18

Edler - Went from a 3rd-5th D-man to a top D-man. Made all-star team. Has a hard shot. Has to put more trust in himself at both ends of the ice. A good off season to get even better and fix mistakes during season and playoffs that are easily correctable. 82GP, 11G, 38A, +0

Lapierre - Showed unexpected top 6 flashes. Has a lot of drive in his game. Plays well at both ends. Checks hard for size. Reliable in faceoff circle. 82GP, 9G, 10A, -3

Hamhuis - Possibly the most under rated defensive d-men in the NHL. Always mops up mistakes by others. Chips in offensively at times. Can be trusted to shut down opposing top 6 lines. 82GP, 4G, 33A, +29

H. Sedin - The captain showed that he is neither soft or is lacking a will to win. He carried the team at times and showed a lot more grit than expected. Was limited in playoffs by linemates and still played as well as he could. Does need to shoot more. Proved naysayers wrong about wearing a C on his chest. Has a remarkable iron man streak and is resilient to play. 82GP, 14G, 67A, +23

Schneider - Not much more you could ask for from a backup. Posted spectacular numbers all season and playoffs and has cemented himself as a number 1 at age 26 whether it is here or elsewhere. Has a true motor to do what is needed to win. 33GP, 1.96GAA, .937SAVE%

Luongo - The most wins in the franchises 41 year history. Jennings award winner, Vezina finalist. at 32 there is only 1 thing left for Luongo and he has struggled to get it. Nonetheless he should be praised for his work ethic and flat out ability to play the goaltender position. Without Luongo this franchise would have little to no success recently. He played well again this season and shows no signs of slowing down. 55GP, 2.41GAA, .919SAVE%

Those are my positive observations on every player to have played any significant amount of games over the season. I still feel the tools are there to win a cup. The chemistry is not there yet. The identity is not there. I have plenty of frustration and angst over no cup win yet for my home. I have plenty of thoughts on what players need to do in the off season to improve on shortcomings this past year. I am not quitting on who we are as a city and a team and I never will. I believe we will be better as a unit next year barring another line shaking trade.

Sorry for the length. I tried to keep the points on players short and concise to avoid boredom, though it probably did set in for some.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, aren't you a ray of Sunshine!!! Nice to see someone have a positive view of our roster instead of all the doom & gloom on these forums.

I for one believe we are a contender and have many of the necessary pieces to win the Holy Grail. I have confidence in the management and coaching that their eyes are clearly on the prize. I'm also elated that despite hoping to win they are unwilling to compromise the future of the organization. Look at the prospects thrown away in the past to get rentals like Rucinsky, Sanderson, Weinrich, Carney and Norinen and be no closer to winning a series nevermind the flipping chalice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, aren't you a ray of Sunshine!!! Nice to see someone have a positive view of our roster instead of all the doom & gloom on these forums.

I for one believe we are a contender and have many of the necessary pieces to win the Holy Grail. I have confidence in the management and coaching that their eyes are clearly on the prize. I'm also elated that despite hoping to win they are unwilling to compromise the future of the organization. Look at the prospects thrown away in the past to get rentals like Rucinsky, Sanderson, Weinrich, Carney and Norinen and be no closer to winning a series nevermind the flipping chalice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally some positively positive postings on these boards. For the most part I agree. Now that AV is back ,for sure, we are on our way the Cup. Hope the positives that are in here stay the closer we get to the seasons start. You know how some folks get all strapped with a negative 'tude come training camp. Good post

NUFF SAID :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...