Maniwaki Canuck Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Pretty much what Fred is saying. I think we've already seen one intervention from JB in putting Horvat on the 23 man roster, and could well see another with Virtanen this year. And for the most part, that's fair. It's Willie's job to win with what he's got and JB's to manage the larger succession plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I think some of WD's comments are taken a bit out of context...Of course he wants the youngsters to succeed,but coming straight out of junior to the NHL is a pretty big step (his comments reflect that,more on the side of caution than anything else) ....Most players coming out of junior don't have the size ,maturity or hockey IQ to play in the NHL, at 18 years of age.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyCuddles Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I think once he gets more comfortable his stance on young guys will change. Most of the top teams, or up and coming teams, have some sort of young guy playing in a key role. We don't have that, even Bo has been limited to a 5 on 5, 4th line role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 like detroit, willie believes that young players should be ready for the nhl before they play in it. he knows that rushing players into the league can set their careers back...his job is to ice the best team he can..i think willie cares for his players and will do what's best for them and the team..sounds like a good coach to me. Totally agree Joe. All of WD's ex-players speak nothing but good about him. His first response is always of respect for the player. Now some might suggest that he over does it. I think Benning and Linden are on the same page as Desjardin. They obviously had that conversation when WD was hired. I always considered Linden coming into the NHL at 18, captain at 21 was a huge indicator of how good he actually was. Who should know more about what pressure that puts on a young player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanTSN Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 So WD thinks Linden Vey is worthy of every shot on the team, but is aprehensive about using Horvat and Virtanen? Either he's joking, he was misread, or he is an idiot. The guy signed on here knowing full well where this team is at. We're beginning a rebuild, people. Time to put on the big boy pants and see it through. Oh, and what happened to 'change is coming' and hyping up all of our prospects last off-season? Remember that vid telling the kids that they all have a shot on this team? I don't buy this about-face to preferring vets when Benning is saying day after day we have to get younger. If it is true, then it just looks like the Canucks have no direction at all. It's embarrassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 we have a very opinionated fan base, but too many think that if management doesn't see things as they do, then they are stupid and detrimental to the future of the team...i have yet to read anyone on cdc, me included that has any real knowledge of building a successful team... sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 So WD thinks Linden Vey is worthy of every shot on the team, but is aprehensive about using Horvat and Virtanen? Either he's joking, he was misread, or he is an idiot. The guy signed on here knowing full well where this team is at. We're beginning a rebuild, people. Time to put on the big boy pants and see it through. Oh, and what happened to 'change is coming' and hyping up all of our prospects last off-season? Remember that vid telling the kids that they all have a shot on this team? I don't buy this about-face to preferring vets when Benning is saying day after day we have to get younger. If it is true, then it just looks like the Canucks have no direction at all. It's embarrassing. Linden Vey had three years in the AHL (with good numbers),so by all accounts he should've been ready for the NHL...Not every player is Bo Horvat that can make that major leap straight out of junior...Horvat was dominant at the junior level....Virtanen clearly hasn't been this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckledraggin Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 As the coach, all WD can do is ice the team that management gives him. I seriously doubt that without pressure from above that WD would have kept Horvat in the lineup last year. The same thing is going to happen next season imo. With Baertschi being basically gifted a spot and Virtanen bringing NHL size and speed that Benning keeps harping on, I think WD is going to have no choice but to ice a younger team. Whether WD likes it or not, the Canucks have to gradually get younger and Benning is going to insist on putting 1 or 2 young guys in the lineup each year. As much as WD did a good job of accepting Horvat into the lineup, he was still entirely too stubborn about giving him more resposibility, when he had clearly earned it. From the trade deadline on, Bo was at least the 2nd best center on the team most nights, but still didn't get any promotion or powerplay time. Obviously WD really likes the lunchbucket type guys on this team, the Higgins, Hansen, Burrows type players, that are very reliable and require less coaching. But this year and for the forseeable future, I see WD having to adjust his style slightly so that the team can get younger, faster and more skilled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 As the coach, all WD can do is ice the team that management gives him. I seriously doubt that without pressure from above that WD would have kept Horvat in the lineup last year. The same thing is going to happen next season imo. With Baertschi being basically gifted a spot and Virtanen bringing NHL size and speed that Benning keeps harping on, I think WD is going to have no choice but to ice a younger team. Whether WD likes it or not, the Canucks have to gradually get younger and Benning is going to insist on putting 1 or 2 young guys in the lineup each year. As much as WD did a good job of accepting Horvat into the lineup, he was still entirely too stubborn about giving him more resposibility, when he had clearly earned it. From the trade deadline on, Bo was at least the 2nd best center on the team most nights, but still didn't get any promotion or powerplay time. Obviously WD really likes the lunchbucket type guys on this team, the Higgins, Hansen, Burrows type players, that are very reliable and require less coaching. But this year and for the forseeable future, I see WD having to adjust his style slightly so that the team can get younger, faster and more skilled. WD started Horvat on the 4th line and had him learn about positional play...not worrying about scoring...After January,Horvat was fairly grounded in his positional play and we started to see more confidence and offence from him...WD did not want to put Horvat in a position that was too far ahead of his abilities (putting pressure on himself if he's not putting up points)...The idea of WD holding back Horvats ascent out of stubbornness ,or spite, is ludicrous..IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabcakes Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Actually Canuckledragin, ice time for the bottom 3 centres was more dependant on who's line was playing better on any given night. Horvat's line often had the 2nd or 3rd most ice time even though they were the 4th line in rotation. It's unusual but it shows that all the talk about the Canucks having a first line and 3 third lines was accurate in the eyes of the coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baer. Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 A coach being nervous about giving a teenager a full time NHL job? Oh my stars!! Call the coaching police!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronning4center Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 A coach being nervous about giving a teenager a full time NHL job? Oh my stars!! Call the coaching police!!! Not so much being nervous, thats only natural, it's what he says and how he says it.....very important to watch what you say in this market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilduce39 Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 So WD thinks Linden Vey is worthy of every shot on the team, but is aprehensive about using Horvat and Virtanen? Either he's joking, he was misread, or he is an idiot. The guy signed on here knowing full well where this team is at. We're beginning a rebuild, people. Time to put on the big boy pants and see it through. Oh, and what happened to 'change is coming' and hyping up all of our prospects last off-season? Remember that vid telling the kids that they all have a shot on this team? I don't buy this about-face to preferring vets when Benning is saying day after day we have to get younger. If it is true, then it just looks like the Canucks have no direction at all. It's embarrassing. Your little Linden Vey dig is exactly why Canucks' brass are right to "re-tool" over "re-build". Zero chance this fanbase has the patience for a team full of Vey's and Sbisas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5nothincanucksohno Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Seems to me that he just has a realistic attitude about young players. Horvat did better than anyone expected, it looks like he will be a special player. I think Willie is just being smart, why throw a tonne of pressure on a teenager. Might as well say he played well and that he has things to work on...no pressure or expectations come playoff time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgyfan Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Horvat proved himself and won WD over. That's the way it should be. This is the NHL, not grade school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Heres one for B-mac, Donnie and the Moj. Is it just me or is Willie Desjardins attitude towards young players surprisingly negative for a guy who only recently made the Jump from Jr to the NHL? Not sure how I feel about this...... Willie on Jake Virtanen : "He played well for a young guy at this time of the year. He has stuff to work on." Willie on Bo Horvat “I didn’t expect an awful lot from Bo. I didn’t know if he’d make the team,” head coach Willie Desjardins confessed Monday. “If he did make the team, I didn’t know how good it would say our team was.... Willie admittedly was "Not excited" about having a teenager join his team.Lil Willie is a rookie himself and is nowhere near being proven. He'll be given a fairly short leash the next couple of seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Fig Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Lil Willie is a rookie himself and is nowhere near being proven. He'll be given a fairly short leash the next couple of seasons. Blunt, I'm going to basically disagree with that. The minute he is let go is the minute Benning and Linden admit to a mistake. They're not likely to want to expedite that moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Willie is a proven winner. Same as AV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maniwaki Canuck Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Blunt, I'm going to basically disagree with that. The minute he is let go is the minute Benning and Linden admit to a mistake. They're not likely to want to expedite that moment. True, dat. Even Gillis, with his huge ego, eventually had to own up to some mistakes. I wonder how long it will take this group? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabcakes Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Correct me if I'm wrong but..... The GM provides the players, the Coach gets the most out of them. So, on Horvat, he had: been scouted to death in junior played well in prospects camp played well in main camp....so having cleared 3 hurdles earned a 9 game trial.... did fine in his first game and then got injured went to Utica for conditioning and played well in 6 games finished his 9 day trial At the end of all these steps, any one of which may have indicated that he should go back to junior, JB decided that he should play on the Canucks. The decision was not just a gut feeling or made because JB liked him personally. This is not to say that Willie didn't have input, it is clear that JB wants input from everybody, just that JB made the decision. Linden Vey on the other hand, Had a stellar junior career with Willie as his coach (won the scoring title in the WHL his final year) Had paid his dues in 2 1/2 years in the AHL and produced well He was scouted by JB in Manchester (close to Boston). So based on certain knowledge of his record in the minors, he was given plenty of opportunities early in the season with the Canucks. What happened? He didn't produce as expected so they cut back his pp and ice time. They made him a healthy scratch. He finished the year as the 13th forward and produced ok. They like the kid because he has character but they weren't afraid to reel him in when he didn't play as expected. If Horvat backslides, and he might, it is common, he'll be back on 4th line minutes too. I don't think he will though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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