fanfor42 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Watched him live against San Jose. Clear why he was sent down. He doesn't skate well enough to keep up with regular NHLers. Nothing more nothing less. He will have to improve his skating a lot in order to have an NHL future. Like the kid. Hope he puts in the work and it pays off. Right now, it's a bit of a long shot. But let's see in another year where he is at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nas19ua Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Watched him against the Sharks too. Working on his skating is a must for Dane, too many short strides. He needs to work on a more wide, powerful stride to succeed on professional level. Seasoning in Utica with Green and Baumgartner will do a lot of good things for Fox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I haven't seen anything official yet but apparently Dane Fox did not make the Comets opening day roster and will start the season at K-Zoo. The Comets had their season ticket pickup party last night and Fox was not one of the players introduced to the fans. Neither was Mallet which doesn't surprise me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonberries Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I still have a hard time believing we went with Mallet with Damon Severson and Devin Shore sitting there available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dasein Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Ouch. Too bad for Fox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderTwinPowers Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Like Archibald some time down in the Zoo working on what the structure of being a professional hockey player is. Conditioning, diet management etc. He'll be back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Where's Wellwood Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I haven't seen anything official yet but apparently Dane Fox did not make the Comets opening day roster and will start the season at K-Zoo. The Comets had their season ticket pickup party last night and Fox was not one of the players introduced to the fans. Neither was Mallet which doesn't surprise me. Fox, Mallet, and Valk all assigned to the K-wings. http://www.mlive.com/kwings/index.ssf/2014/10/k-wings_receive_players_from_a.html The K-Wings also received two players from one of their NHL affiliates, the Vancouver Canucks and another from their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. Vancouver reassigned forwards Alex Mallet (male-LAY) and Dane Fox, while the Comets have reassigned Curtis Valk. A second round (57th overall) selection of the Canucks in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Mallet is a third year pro that is returning to Kalamazoo. Mallet, who spent all of last season with the AHL's Utica Comets, spent 46 games during his rookie season with the K-Wings. Prior to turning pro, Mallet had his breakout junior season with the Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) where he posted 81 points (34 goals, 47 assists) and had 81 minutes in penalties in 68 games to help Oceanic reach the QMJHL President's Cup Finals. In total, Mallet played four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League netting 120 points (54 goals, 66 assists) in 203 contests. Embarking in his rookie campaign Fox comes to Kalamazoo after spending the past three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Erie Otters. Last season, Fox ranked second on the Otters in scoring with 107 points (64 goals, 43 assists). Showcasing his offensive skills, Fox posted 227 points (118 goals, 109 assists) in his 243 game OHL career. From 2011-2013, Fox was coached by Robbie Ftorek, the father of current K-Wings defenseman Sam Ftorek. Valk will begin his rookie season with the K-Wings. Leading by example, Valk was an alternate captain two seasons ago and a team captain last year for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League. During the 2012-13 season, Valk tallied 91 points (46 goals, 45 assists) in 71 contests. Valk's offensive prowess continued the following season where he set a personal career-best with 92 points (47 goals, 45 assists) in 72 games. In five seasons with the Tigers, Valk posted 255 points (125 goals, 130 assists) in 270 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
people please Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Ik it's only his first pro season but I had him making Utica and getting 40-50 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canucks1219 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Obviously I'm disappointed about his demotion, but clearly Travis Green and Co. see something there that needs to be worked on. I wonder though, where would Fox play on the K-Wings depth chart? Aren't the K-Wings affiliated with a number of NHL teams? If so, I would imagine then that the Canucks would not have much say in where he should be playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiboynux4lifee******* Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 fox has talent the kid has a quick shot. Yes he lacks in his skating speed but for gods sake be patient with your prospects. I know its the first move but Im starting to lose some serious confidence with the development of our prospects. I watched fox's game i found positives and negatives, which is normal for a young player. Seems to me canucks going to lose on this guy and he comes back to bite us in the you know what. In short he can score 60 plus goals in the ohl but can't score 15 in the ahl? kid wasn't given a fair shot, he was played on the fourth line during the pre-season at the farm. Horrible move I can see us losing a real solid player that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 For Mallet this is his third season as a pro and being demoted is not a good sign. For him you have to think that his chances of playing in the NHL are fading fast. He had two big fights in a preseason game last week which made me think that he is trying to literally fight his way on to the roster but that didn't work. Fox and Valk are but entering their first year as pros so I wouldn't be overly concerned. Clearly they didn't show both the Canucks and Comets coaching and player development staffs enough that they were ready for big minutes in the AHL. So let them start their careers in the ECHL first and learn the pro game. It is up to them to earn a call up and a place at the next level and when they get here they need to earn the opportunity to play with Vancouver. I know they both put up ridiculous numbers in juniors but the fact that neither was drafted tells me that there must be a flaw in their games that needs to be corrected before they are ready to be professional hockey players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 For those familiar with the ECHL, is the quality of hockey improving in the E? I see that there is a claim being made by the ECHL on their website that 72 ex-ECHLers are in NHL lineups today. Probably a good thing for Fox to go the 'zoo and get quality minutes and find his pro game down there. Better than sitting and being a healthy scratch in Utica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I am surprised with the reactions. I am not surprised by this, sure the ECHL is lower quality than the AHL but Fox and Valk will play top 6 minutes which is something they need. If they can excel at the ECHL then slowly move their way up to the AHL and hopefully NHL, this is their first pro season aswell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I am surprised with the reactions. I am not surprised by this, sure the ECHL is lower quality than the AHL but Fox and Valk will play top 6 minutes which is something they need. If they can excel at the ECHL then slowly move their way up to the AHL and hopefully NHL, this is their first pro season aswell. I think folks are worried he's going to be buried in the ECHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Fox will be back once Jensen or Shinkaruk are called up. I wouldn't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2SKATES1STICK Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I'm not sold on Travis Green. I'd rather a coach with actual experience to develop our prospects. Hopefully he made the right decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I'm not sold on Travis Green. I'd rather a coach with actual experience to develop our prospects. Hopefully he made the right decision. See my post in the Utica Comets thread about an article on Travis Green and his expectations. With Green you earn everything you get. Nothing is handed to you. To me that is a good approach to developing players who are truly ready for the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canucks1219 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I am surprised with the reactions. I am not surprised by this, sure the ECHL is lower quality than the AHL but Fox and Valk will play top 6 minutes which is something they need. If they can excel at the ECHL then slowly move their way up to the AHL and hopefully NHL, this is their first pro season aswell. I don't think anyone is necessarily "surprised" by this. It's just disappointing that he didn't start the season on the Comets roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 See my post in the Utica Comets thread about an article on Travis Green and his expectations. With Green you earn everything you get. Nothing is handed to you. To me that is a good approach to developing players who are truly ready for the NHL. Jensen and 4th line minutes last season is a sure sign of that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Jensen and 4th line minutes last season is a sure sign of that Yes and the difference in Jensen last year and the Jensen in preseason this year is night and day. He is a better player because of Green's "tough love" and will be an even better player after spending more time playing for him to start this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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