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How the Canucks have Developed Tanev So Nicely


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Chris Tanev without a doubt is an amazing player for his young age, and he is one of the most reliable players on defense on our team. The way he controls the puck and directs traffic is something you rarely see in players his age, and he is just calm, cool, and collective. He makes plays as if he's been in th league for 10+ years, ones that only veterans can make.

His play is very comparable to that of Sami Salo's in that he just makes the right decisions. Sure he may not have that feared shot or is able to lay out bone crunching hits, but his ability to analyze the situation and then take actions is what makes him stand out from the rest; he just does what he does so smoothly. He will make a mistake once in a blue moon but other than that, he is money all the time.

Now, how he has developed so nicely. The Canucks have done an excellent job in bringing up Tanev and improving him as a player and he is arguably one of the best prospect projects we got, but what has made him so good? I personally think that he is the player he is today because the Canucks organization have spread out where he plays during the course of a year - it is a very simple yet very effective plan.

In the past years during the beginning of the hockey year (start of the season), the Canucks have started off Tanev in the minors. There, he has improved in all aspects in his game because he was a top pairing dman and got plenty of ice time to learn. Huge credit also goes to Bauhmgartner (sp?) for dedicating his services playing in the minors and developing prospects; you can clearly see it has helped out a lot with Tanev. Later on during the season around the midway part, our annual injuries occur and Tanev gets called up. He plays 10-25 games, and it allows him to develop more quickly as he applies what he has learned in the minors to the NHL with his limited ice time. He feeds off rare mistakes and corrects his play, and not to mention, he gets tippers from the Canuck players who are stars. Even more, he was paired with Salo and Ballard most the time and they are veterans who know how to help out youngsters. After the injured players heal, Tanev is usually sent back down to the minors to get more playing time and come post-season, he is a sure call up for the Canucks and is fully prepared.

Now, a little recap: starts off the year in the minors where he gets top minutes as learns from Nolan and trainers. Gets called up half way during the season due to injuries and applies what he has learned with limited overtime with the Canucks. There he perfects his play with the help of NHL trainers and a star full Canucks team and gains even more knowledge/tippers. He then gets sent back down after 10-25 games and applies what he has learned with the NHL team in the minors with his top minutes for the rest of the season. Moving on, he is then fully prepared to play again and gets called up during the playoffs. He is given the opportunity as a #6/7 dman to play in a good amount of games and he gets playoff experience ontop of it. This is the strategy used that has developed Tanev so greatly.

Some players develop best in the minors, others develop best going straight to the big league, but with Tanev and what the Canucks have done, he has certainly gotten the best of both worlds and it has obviously worked best for him. With the departure of Salo now, look for Tanev to almost be a regular on the team and he will play around 2/3's of the games or at least be around with the team for that portion of the season. He will now make the transition to becoming more of a NHL'er and will mature faster now. He will have limited ice time which means he will have less time to apply what he learns, but the knowledge Chris will absorb and gain in the NHL is something he wouldn't get in the minors. With the 'threat' of Tanev not getting enough ice time, I know it won't hurt him because he's had more than enough time with the farm team and he is ready to make the big step now and is smart enough to do so.

This is what has developed Tanev to such a potential full player and it is a plan that should be used for other prospects too.

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Chris Tanev without a doubt is an amazing player for his young age, and he is one of the most reliable players on defense on our team. The way he controls the puck and directs traffic is something you rarely see in players his age, and he is just calm, cool, and collective. He makes plays as if he's been in th league for 10+ years, ones that only veterans can make.

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Tanev wont get anymore then 3rd pair minutes this season. Seems to be Salo like player but with no offense.. Perha ps the offense will come later, but for now im quite happy with a stay at home d man who just always makes the right play. Needs to bulk up a bit tho cause he got CRUSHED in the playoffs.. CBC showed a stat saying he had taken more hits after the first round then anyone in the league

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