Canucks1219 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 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. I never saw him play with the Comets, but I keep hearing that his defensive game improved drastically under Green. Can you corroborate this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UticaHockey Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I never saw him play with the Comets, but I keep hearing that his defensive game improved drastically under Green. Can you corroborate this? There is no question about it. Jensen was very much a defensive liability during the first half of the season to the point where Green would staple him to the bench late in games if the Comets were trying to protect a one goal lead. Once he earned Green's trust Jensen ice time increased dramatically including late in games. The two things Green looks for is playing well in all three zones without the puck and a willingness to play hard in the dirty areas. The guys who do this will be rewarded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks 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. Seventh year coaching...second as head coach in AHL who turned down an NHL job in the summer...more than half a season as head coach of Mem Cup finalist...four and a half as assistant under Mike Johnstone. I think he's got a decent amount of experience to develop young prospects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaMash Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 There is no question about it. Jensen was very much a defensive liability during the first half of the season to the point where Green would staple him to the bench late in games if the Comets were trying to protect a one goal lead. Once he earned Green's trust Jensen ice time increased dramatically including late in games. The two things Green looks for is playing well in all three zones without the puck and a willingness to play hard in the dirty areas. The guys who do this will be rewarded. That's great too, because the big club expects players to be able to play in all zones. I was skeptical of green when they first announced him as coach, but I think he's done a pretty good job with our prospects in Utica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustABandwagoner Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ehh not expecting much outta him. He went undrafted and we got him for free lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgyfan Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ehh not expecting much outta him. He went undrafted and we got him for free lol Same could be said of Alex Burrows and Greg Adams eh? And a few more names you might recall... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NHL_players_who_were_not_drafted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakyWalton Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 There is no question about it. Jensen was very much a defensive liability during the first half of the season to the point where Green would staple him to the bench late in games if the Comets were trying to protect a one goal lead. Once he earned Green's trust Jensen ice time increased dramatically including late in games. The two things Green looks for is playing well in all three zones without the puck and a willingness to play hard in the dirty areas. The guys who do this will be rewarded. I would imagine that Shink will have his butt stapled to the bench...he is great in the O zone..but he is learning the D part of his game...and could be an adventure for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustABandwagoner Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Same could be said of Alex Burrows and Greg Adams eh? And a few more names you might recall... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NHL_players_who_were_not_drafted Its rare to see someone who is undrafted to have success in the NHL. At best i think Fox will become a 3rd liner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgyfan Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Its rare to see someone who is undrafted to have success in the NHL. At best i think Fox will become a 3rd liner. I'd be thrilled if he becomes a 3rd liner in the best hockey league in the world. That is success. Guess you didn't have a look at the names on the link i gave you. Not so rare as you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesB 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. I did not know much about Green until last year. I think he did a great job. The Comets started out very badly -- losing their first 10 games -- and you could see why just by looking at the roster. The team did not have much talent and Gillis decided to work on developing prospects instead of bringing in skilled career AHLers who would help the team win. They did have a couple of veterans and they brought in O'Reilly, which helped, but the Green did a great job to get the team playing good hockey by the end of the season. Take away the first 10 games and they make the playoffs. And several players, including Jensen, Archibald, and Lain, improved a lot over the year. As have been pointed out, over-age juniors (like Valk and Fox) who are undrafted but put up big numbers in their overage years rarely do well in the NHL. Yes, you can make a list of players who made it, but as a fraction of the total number it is a very small fraction. I am not surprised to see Fox sent to the K-Wings. And, as for Valk, I am just glad to see that the Canucks organization gave him a pro contract even though it is a Comets contract not a Canucks contract. Both guys have a chance to show what they can do. Fox needs to improve his skating and Valk needs to show he can handle the size and strength of professional players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuktravella Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 hope he lights it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2SKATES1STICK Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 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. good =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumerman77 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Same could be said of Alex Burrows and Greg Adams eh? And a few more names you might recall... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NHL_players_who_were_not_drafted I wonder what the actual odds are of an undrafted player playing over 100 games in the NHL. Probably at least 1 in 1000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrible.dee Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 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. And that is the kiss of death, the #1 thing that keeps talented guys out of the NHL, And the sad part us, there isn't a whole lot you can do about it, all the skating classes in the world will only improve you a little bit, skating is kind of a "Either you have it, or you don't" kind of thing. That stance is corroborated, by numerous people, Paul Coffey included. Don't take my word for it, do some poking around online and you'll see for yourself. Now he and Valk have been sent to the K-wings? There was a time before the rise of "Play the system" hockey, that there was room for guys like this in the NHL, they weren't expected to back check, so as long as they could burry it, their only job was to get open, Anyone old enough to remember Ray Sheppard, Luc Robiatille types will know what I mean, Sheppard skated like he was in sand, but he scored 50 goals. I'll never forget the first time I saw Robitaille play live, I couldn't believe what I was seeing, he was so much slower then everyone else, but back when half court offense was still around you could get away with it. I wish Fox the best, but if he's as bad as you say, it will be a very hard climb to the top for him. I recall you used to hear the term "Floater" a lot in hockey, haven't heard that term in ages, guys who can't play 200ft. don't make the league anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyhee Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 And that is the kiss of death, the #1 thing that keeps talented guys out of the NHL, I remember many years ago Bob Nystrom was drafted by the Islanders ('72, the Islanders first year) and his problem at the NHL level was his skating. He managed to stick with a really bad AHL team (16 wins, 40 losses, 20 ties in 76 games) and took Laura Stamm's power skating course the following summer, then scored over 20 goals in the NHL each of the next 5 seasons. Steve Duchesne was another undrafted player who had skating issues as he began his career. You already mentioned Luc Robitaille, a 9th round draft pick because of his poor skating who also took Stamm's course to improve it. It can be the kiss of death, though it isn't alway so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stexx Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I remember many years ago Bob Nystrom was drafted by the Islanders ('72, the Islanders first year) and his problem at the NHL level was his skating. He managed to stick with a really bad AHL team (16 wins, 40 losses, 20 ties in 76 games) and took Laura Stamm's power skating course the following summer, then scored over 20 goals in the NHL each of the next 5 seasons. Steve Duchesne was another undrafted player who had skating issues as he began his career. You already mentioned Luc Robitaille, a 9th round draft pick because of his poor skating who also took Stamm's course to improve it. It can be the kiss of death, though it isn't alway so." skating has many areas in which a person can be deficient causing them to lose skating power. to name a few core strength / lower leg explosiveness edge work stride lengthening leg size wasted body motion (overactive upper body) unbalanced body weight (like raymond who skates almost like hes going down a hill causing be to unbalanced at times) some of these areas can be greatly improved with technique, training and body conditioning. However there does reach a point where some players are constricted by their body type like Hodgson who just has short legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyCuddles Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Looks like he's in Kalamazoo this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I actually think this is a good thing for him. He has talent in his shot and positioning, but if he has any chance of getting to the NHL, he needs to be able to get some top 6 minutes and really work on his skating. With Injuries, he will likely spend time in Utica regardless, but with some hard work on improving that part of his game, hopefully he can earn a full time spot on Utica during the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Vintage Canuck- Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 News1130 Sports @News1130Sports Green says Dane Fox knows how to score, but needs to work on his skating to make it in the AHL / NHL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrible.dee Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 skating has many areas in which a person can be deficient causing them to lose skating power. to name a few core strength / lower leg explosiveness edge work stride lengthening leg size wasted body motion (overactive upper body) unbalanced body weight (like raymond who skates almost like hes going down a hill causing be to unbalanced at times) some of these areas can be greatly improved with technique, training and body conditioning. However there does reach a point where some players are constricted by their body type like Hodgson who just has short legs. So what's Fox's issue? Just an awkward stride? Is it a technique thing, what is it about his skating(other than the fact that he's slow )that is is holding him back. I do skate and have played (Rec league, not serious competition) but I am no skating expert . It sounds like you might know more about it then me, but just to be clear, the reason I posted the info I did is because I have heard it repeated by people I do consider experts. That having been said, what you posted about being able to improve somewhat was also stated by the same experts. It's just they all agree that you can only fix it so much, so if someone has real skating deficiencies they probably won't make the big show, no matter what they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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