Evan McEneny | D

[missioncanucksfan]

Because we're at the 23-man roster limit?

sorry for feeling out of the loop but besides McEneny. ...who are the other 2 recently added?

[stonecoldstevebernier]

McEneny is making his AHL debut tonight in the Comets' last game of the season.

[UticaHockey]

McEneny made his debut last night and he impressed me as had Blain who played in the final 4 or 5 games. Blain and McEneny in fact I thought they both play with similar styles. Each did a nice job of keeping the forward to the outside in 1 on 1 rushes. Both are not timid about pinching and jumping into the play when the situation warranted. They are both better than average skaters. I look forward to see how they would do as full time Comets next season.

[Horvat]

Good i think McEneny could surprise us, if his development goes well, hopefully we can see him get a call up in a few seasons

[Gerbera]

McEneny made his debut last night and he impressed me as had Blain who played in the final 4 or 5 games. Blain and McEneny in fact I thought they both play with similar styles. Each did a nice job of keeping the forward to the outside in 1 on 1 rushes. Both are not timid about pinching and jumping into the play when the situation warranted. They are both better than average skaters. I look forward to see how they would do as full time Comets next season.

Just curious on your thoughts about the Utica Dman.

I know Huskins was good and Corrado should be our no.1 D prospect right now.

From what I read on your post, looks like McEneny and Blain are solid too.

So with those 4 set,

Huskins - Corrado

McEneny - Blain (sorry don't know which side they play, so it might need to be switched up)

Who else do you think Canucks/Comets will retain?

Sauve seems too unreliable that I doubt Canucks will hold onto him.

Tommernes is injured a lot this year... how did he perform?

Andersson is decent and starting to be relied on after getting scratched during the early parts of the season...

Biega... I believe was good but got hurt in the 2nd to last game (saw the picture on twitter... get well soon Biega) Also the best dman of the year voted by fans right?

So anyone else I missed or my assessment was wrong?

[UticaHockey]

Just curious on your thoughts about the Utica Dman.I know Huskins was good and Corrado should be our no.1 D prospect right now.From what I read on your post, looks like McEneny and Blain are solid too.So with those 4 set,Huskins - CorradoMcEneny - Blain (sorry don't know which side they play, so it might need to be switched up)Who else do you think Canucks/Comets will retain?Sauve seems too unreliable that I doubt Canucks will hold onto him.Tommernes is injured a lot this year... how did he perform?Andersson is decent and starting to be relied on after getting scratched during the early parts of the season...Biega... I believe was good but got hurt in the 2nd to last game (saw the picture on twitter... get well soon Biega) Also the best dman of the year voted by fans right?So anyone else I missed or my assessment was wrong?

With the exception of Sauve and Negrin I would like to see everyone else back. I believe Blain and McEneny would be nice upgrades.

Unless the top 6 in Vancouver change I expect Corrado to be back in Utica and be the first call up again.

Huskins is on an AHL only contract but I hope they bring him back for the leadership he provides. He is like having an extra coach on the ice.

Biega had been solid and deserves to be back.

Tommernes has been hurt three times so I wouldn't be surprised to see him get knee surgery and be ready for October.

Andersson is not flashy but deserves another look.

[Tom Sestito]

I actually really liked Biega in the games I watched. Hope we retain him as well.

[elvis15]

...

Tommernes has been hurt three times so I wouldn't be surprised to see him get knee surgery and be ready for October.

...

Was it the same knee (or both knees) for every injury?

sorry for feeling out of the loop but besides McEneny. ...who are the other 2 recently added?

Didn't see this until now, but I'm not sure what you mean? Can't remember exactly what the situation was at the time, but iirc we did end up with Daniel, Tanev, Santo and Alberts on IR to free up their roster spots through the end of the season. We still had 23 uninjured players though with Jensen/Corrado/Zalewski all up with the Canucks as well.

Edited April 21, 2014 by elvis15

[CANUCKS FTW!]

With the exception of Sauve and Negrin I would like to see everyone else back. I believe Blain and McEneny would be nice upgrades.

Unless the top 6 in Vancouver change I expect Corrado to be back in Utica and be the first call up again.

Huskins is on an AHL only contract but I hope they bring him back for the leadership he provides. He is like having an extra coach on the ice.

Biega had been solid and deserves to be back.

Tommernes has been hurt three times so I wouldn't be surprised to see him get knee surgery and be ready for October.

Andersson is not flashy but deserves another look.

Was Sauve really that bad? I really hope he can turn it around, he had so much potential. I thought he was pretty close in his first call-up few years ago. I didn't see any of the games he played for Vancouver this year though.

[elvis15]

Was Sauve really that bad? I really hope he can turn it around, he had so much potential. I thought he was pretty close in his first call-up few years ago. I didn't see any of the games he played for Vancouver this year though.

He wasn't that great certainly. I didn't expect a lot of him though when he got called up other than to not be a train wreck so he met my expectations there. He looked ok in Chicago last year with the Wolves so not too sure what happened for him this year where he was on the wrong end of more minus plays. Maybe usage or playing against tougher competition than last year, or maybe just regression?

Edited April 21, 2014 by elvis15

[wshdrvvn]

I'd like Utica's group to look like: corrado, huskins, blain, mceneny, biega, tommernes, andersson. maybe even bring back lepine or bushee for depth. depends on what happens in Van mostly though.

[UticaHockey]

Was it the same knee (or both knees) for every injury?

.

I should qualify that three knee injuries is speculation on my part as they were officially listed as lower body injuries. Only the first injury was at home and he hit the boards hard knee first on a marginally dirty hit. He left the ice not being able to put any weight on it and missed about a month.

The second injury was on the road and I watched a stream of the game. Very similar hit and injury. That last injury I didn't see but from the radio call it sounded similar again.

[UticaHockey]

Was Sauve really that bad? I really hope he can turn it around, he had so much potential. I thought he was pretty close in his first call-up few years ago. I didn't see any of the games he played for Vancouver this year though.

Sauve has the physical skills to be a good player but bad decisions make him a turnover machine. You would think that eventually he would learn how to clean up his game and stop making the same mistakes but it hasn't happened. All year long his turnovers ended up in the back of our net.

[Smashian Kassian]

I'm really excited for next season not just at the NHL level but at the AHL level aswell.

I was excited coming into the season that our younger players would get more opportunity, and it was nice for sure to see some of these guys but there were only so many that played significant roles.

But this upcoming season it gets taken up a notch. With McEneny, Gaunce, Shinkaruk, Fox all jumping into the mix, no doubt those forwards will help out the team in many ways, and McEneny might have a chance to be a steady top 6 guy next year.

You see organizations like Tampa Bay, Detriot, Toronto, Anaheim, exc. Have there young drafted players (and UFA prospect signings) play big roles and those teams have success, and I've always kind of been jealous of those teams. Now we seem to be getting closer to that, and its great to see.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Smashian Kassian

[elvis15]

I should qualify that three knee injuries is speculation on my part as they were officially listed as lower body injuries. Only the first injury was at home and he hit the boards hard knee first on a marginally dirty hit. He left the ice not being able to put any weight on it and missed about a month.

The second injury was on the road and I watched a stream of the game. Very similar hit and injury. That last injury I didn't see but from the radio call it sounded similar again.

Fair enough.

McEneny can bring a little bit of offence and defence to the Comets next year though, he'll just need guys that specialize a bit more to pair with depending on the situation. That's how I see him being used to have success.

[Derp...]

Evan McEneny is next on the list this year

http://canucksarmy.com/2014/8/13/prospect-profile-18-evan-mceneny

[elvis15]

And from that article:

PROSPECT PROFILE: #18 EVAN MCENENY

...

Now listed at 6'2'', 205 pounds McEneny was something of a scouts' darling heading into the 2011-12 season with the Kitchener Rangers, his age-17 season.

All of that pre-season hype was quickly wiped away though, after McEneny blew out his knee, ending his season just 2 games in. That was enough to scare all 30 NHL teams away, leaving him undrafted and available as a low-risk, high-upside asset that was ripe for the taking.

At the time, Brock Otten of OHLProspects remained quite high on McEneny despite the setback:

...

Fast forward to this past season, which saw McEneny get traded from a Kitchener team entering a full rebuild to Doug Gilmour's scrappy Kingston Frontenacs squad, led by Sam Bennett and Spencer Watson. McEneny jumped straight into Kingston's top four on the blueline immediately, and really flourished in the more conducive environment, continuing on the steady upward progression we've seen from him since debuting in the OHL at 16.

...

The most encouraging trend of all that stemmed from the 2013-14 season for McEneny was the noticeable improvement on the offensive end of the game. In 61 games between Kitchener and Kingston, he scored 7 goals and 35 points. The 0.76 points-per-game he registered after being traded to Kingston was a marked increase from the ~0.5 ppg he had managed during his time in Kitchener previously. As a result, McEneny wound up looking quite respectable in the NHL Equivalency Numbers, finishing behind only Ben Hutton amongst Canucks prospect defensemen.

There's nothing overly flashy about Evan McEneny, but by all accounts he not only seems to do a lot of things well, he also appears to be readily improving after having overcome that disastrous draft-season. Whether he'll be able to continue progressing to the point where he makes it to the NHL, sticks, and possibly even eventually becomes a Chris Tanev-type diamond in the rough, however, remains to be seen. It'll probably be some time before we get the answer to that question, which was baked into his suppressed ranking on this list.

[Derp...]

Could he be our new Left handed Frank Corrado?

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Could he be our new Left handed Frank Corrado?

It's not a bad comparison. Although they're fairly different types of players. Corrado's offensive abilities are of a higher level and he's a superior puckmover and a PPQB option. McEneny is bigger and more physical but he's not nearly as "dynamic" a player as Corrado. McEneny is a capable puckmover and skates well enough to join the rush but I don't think he's quite slick enough to be considered a PMD or PPQB option at the pro level. They both have strong shots from the point and they both have good two-way ability.

They actually balance and compliment each other pretty well (and they have had some success playing together--at least in limited action--with Kitchener in 2012-13).

As far as their projected upside, I actually see them reaching similar levels in the NHL (but playing different roles).

And I definitely feel like McEneny has exceeded (most people's) expectations to a similar degree to Corrado. And I believe he's not anywhere near done (exceeding expectations).

I always liked this signing and give Gillis a lot of credit for it.

But I also feel--as you see echoed in the CA article--that McEneny really should have been drafted (based on his performance as a 16-year-old rookie), regardless of the injury that wiped out his draft eligible year (and perceived risks that resulted). Like the article says, he was at least worth a 7th round pick, yet 30 teams passed on him (and chose instead to draft some hugely inferior prospects IMO).

So I was pretty happy when we snagged him via free agency. "Free prospect!"

Of course, he still has more to prove before he's going to be considered a prospect that's quite at Corrado's level. But I do believe that, in terms of future NHL potential and upside, they are actually pretty close. And that's not meant to diminish Corrado in any way, but rather that I have some very high hopes for McEneny.

While the "data" (stats, reports, etc) suggests something more like a depth/bottom-pairing type of ceiling for McEneny, I predict he'll prove to be a much more significant player than that. However, this is just my hunch/gut feeling.

I've felt for quite a while now that McEneny's going to be a legitimate NHL player. This is solely based on the "eye test" factor and what I see when I watch him play. To me at least, McEneny's a guy who has the "look" of an NHL defenseman, just in the way he moves and the choices he makes when he's on the ice. I see some very good instincts in him that could translate well at the highest level. And he certainly has all the necessary physical tools.

This is all very subjective and impossible to really justify or quantify but I just see a player that my eyes tell me could eventually develop into a good middle pairing D at the NHL level.

Which is pretty much the same level of NHL potential that my "eye test" predicts for Frankie Corrado (but the "data" is stronger for Corrado).

I suppose in the future they could even become a solid 3/4 pairing for the Canucks. They have played well together in the past and they compliment each other pretty well, so there's a good basis already for using them as a pairing at the higher levels (if they both make it).

[SamJamIam]

It's not a bad comparison. Although they're fairly different types of players. Corrado's offensive abilities are of a higher level and he's a superior puckmover and a PPQB option. McEneny is bigger and more physical but he's not nearly as "dynamic" a player as Corrado. McEneny is a capable puckmover and skates well enough to join the rush but I don't think he's quite slick enough to be considered a PMD or PPQB option at the pro level. They both have strong shots from the point and they both have good two-way ability.

They actually balance and compliment each other pretty well (and they have had some success playing together--at least in limited action--with Kitchener in 2012-13).

As far as their projected upside, I actually see them reaching similar levels in the NHL (but playing different roles).

And I definitely feel like McEneny has exceeded (most people's) expectations to a similar degree to Corrado. And I believe he's not anywhere near done (exceeding expectations).

I always liked this signing and give Gillis a lot of credit for it.

But I also feel--as you see echoed in the CA article--that McEneny really should have been drafted (based on his performance as a 16-year-old rookie), regardless of the injury that wiped out his draft eligible year (and perceived risks that resulted). Like the article says, he was at least worth a 7th round pick, yet 30 teams passed on him (and chose instead to draft some hugely inferior prospects IMO).

So I was pretty happy when we snagged him via free agency. "Free prospect!"

Of course, he still has more to prove before he's going to be considered a prospect that's quite at Corrado's level. But I do believe that, in terms of future NHL potential and upside, they are actually pretty close. And that's not meant to diminish Corrado in any way, but rather that I have some very high hopes for McEneny.

While the "data" (stats, reports, etc) suggests something more like a depth/bottom-pairing type of ceiling for McEneny, I predict he'll prove to be a much more significant player than that. However, this is just my hunch/gut feeling.

I've felt for quite a while now that McEneny's going to be a legitimate NHL player. This is solely based on the "eye test" factor and what I see when I watch him play. To me at least, McEneny's a guy who has the "look" of an NHL defenseman, just in the way he moves and the choices he makes when he's on the ice. I see some very good instincts in him that could translate well at the highest level. And he certainly has all the necessary physical tools.

This is all very subjective and impossible to really justify or quantify but I just see a player that my eyes tell me could eventually develop into a good middle pairing D at the NHL level.

Which is pretty much the same level of NHL potential that my "eye test" predicts for Frankie Corrado (but the "data" is stronger for Corrado).

I suppose in the future they could even become a solid 3/4 pairing for the Canucks. They have played well together in the past and they compliment each other pretty well, so there's a good basis already for using them as a pairing at the higher levels (if they both make it).

Hmmm. Do you think McEneny will pull a Zalewski and immediately not look out of place in the pros?

Honestly, I haven't gotten overly excited about McEneny because I never watched the Rangers or the Fronts, but from the highlight package in this thread I can see exactly what you mean. Not flashy, but he has all the tools and plays a pro-style game at the junior level. That's actually been why I've been so high on Gaunce as well.