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Sunday Practice - Return of injured, no pizzas


Ossi Vaananen

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I agree that Gaunce has played well. I would favor playing him for another game or two. I also agree that it is hard to keep Higgins out of the line-up if he is healthy. I know that a lot of people think Higgins was not good enough as 2LW last year, and I agree. But as a bottom six LW he is very good.

The relative ranking of Baertschi, Virtanen, and Gaunce is not clear to me. I think Gaunce is better defensively than either Virtanen or Baertschi. He does not hit like Jake but he is big, strong, and contributes to the physical game. His goal against Arizona was all about physical strength in front of the net -- something neither Baertschi or Virtanen has shown enough of. Gaunce suffers because he is waiver-exempt (unlike Baertschi) and can go up and down to Utica (unlike Virtanen).

I admit that Baertschi and Virtanen are both faster skaters than Gaunce and that the speed game matters. But I would like to see Gaunce get more of a chance right now.

And Cracknell is also in the mix. He has size, strength and plays well defensively.

 

Gaunce has shown himself to be a useful player,although I dont think you could make any comparison with him to Baertschi (one is obviously top 6,the other ,bottom 6)...I think this could give WD more choices,if he wants a more skilled lineup,or a grittier one (depending on the opposition)..

There's a long eastern road trip coming up,and as always,bodies start dropping...So,having this depth is nothing but a good thing.

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Yes because whoever HAS been on the line has been really good. Let's not get carried away. Who is laying these chance on a plate for McCann? Prust, Dorsett, Cracknell can all play so let's not give the impression McCann is carrying the other two or even responsible for their performance. It just doesn't fly.

McCann 9 games 5-0-5 +2

Prust 9 games 0-5-5 +3

Dorsett 11 games 2-1-3 -3

Cracknell 7 games 2-1-3 +2

McCann is clearly the finisher on the 4th line.  He has a knack for finding seams and getting off  good shots quickly.   If you have a 4th line that has produced 9 goals in 11 games something is going right.  To suggest that the production has been all one player would be looking at half the story.  Cracknell gave a nice dish from behind the net to McCann who was in a seam and we saw a nice toe drag and a goal in the Coyotes game.  Without the dish, there's no goal but that was a sick move and finish from a future star.  It's not the only all pro finish McCann has made either.  I certainly wouldn't say anybody is spoon feeding McCann goals.  He's making them happen.  I would suggest that Prust, Dorsett and Cracknell are enjoying playing with a guy who has more skill in the middle than they're used to.

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It will be nice to have the Pizza Hutt pairing reunited. 

Hutton is the only D-man I've seen that compliments Sbisa's game. Those two seem to work together.

They do. But Hutton seems to be this year's Tanev, with better offensive skills. Any pairing he's on looks good. What was it, his second ever NHL game Edler was sick, so Hutton takes the place of our number one D-man and didn't look out of place. Can't wait to see what he looks like with 100 NHL games under his belt.

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It will be nice to have the Pizza Hutt pairing reunited. 

Hutton is the only D-man I've seen that compliments Sbisa's game. Those two seem to work together.

I think I've seen seen every Hutton post-game interview, but I don't recall any compliments re: Sbisa's game.

But he does complement Sbisa's game very well. 

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Not sure what Gaunce and Shinkaruk have to do to crack this lineup. Shink scores a goal a game in the AHL, Gaunce scores 1 in 2 games as a Canuck while playing great defensively and physically and they end up sitting out. Cracknell's been a surprise though and WD isn't going to bench Virtanen or McCann so quickly either. With Higgins close and Prust coming in a couple of weeks, looks like another year in Utica for Gaunce and Shinkaruk when they really should be playing half a season in the NHL at least. They're ready to put up numbers in the big league.

Not a bad problem to have.

In my opinion though, I think Shinkaruk and Gaunce belong in the NHL over Baertschi and Virtanen but that's just me. Nice to see Baertschi's getting another chance though, but Shinkaruk > Baertschi and Gaunce > Virtanen right now.

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Not sure what Gaunce and Shinkaruk have to do to crack this lineup. Shink scores a goal a game in the AHL, Gaunce scores 1 in 2 games as a Canuck while playing great defensively and physically and they end up sitting out. Cracknell's been a surprise though and WD isn't going to bench Virtanen or McCann so quickly either. With Higgins close and Prust coming in a couple of weeks, looks like another year in Utica for Gaunce and Shinkaruk when they really should be playing half a season in the NHL at least. They're ready to put up numbers in the big league.

Not a bad problem to have.

In my opinion though, I think Shinkaruk and Gaunce belong in the NHL over Baertschi and Virtanen but that's just me. Nice to see Baertschi's getting another chance though, but Shinkaruk > Baertschi and Gaunce > Virtanen right now.

no way is Guance able to bring what JV does.  JV leads our team in hits, most of which soften the other teams' D.  Plus, he's super fast, big and mean aggressive.  I'll give you Shink over Baer.  That I think is waiver rule

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I have absolutely no problem with JB sending Gaunce down. He'll be better next year.

Cracknell will be a tough choice because he has played well and is waiver eligible. Then again, he's one of those guyd that you can sit in the press box.

Im a little surprised to see Jake on the second line. He hasn't done muh scoring and is much more suited on a checking line.

Personally, I think they're trying to get Virtanen going offensively. He's obviously got the physical game so far, but the offense hasn't been there, and management has been hyping up how much they want him to be that power forward who uses his speed to manufacture goals. He'll get every chance to score and get his confidence up.

And, on top of that, Horvat is struggling a bit and could use linemates like Hansen and Burrows to spark him while he plays a checking role so he can relax and stop worrying about scoring, instead of having either Baertschi or Virtanen on his wing.

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Personally, I think they're trying to get Virtanen going offensively. He's obviously got the physical game so far, but the offense hasn't been there, and management has been hyping up how much they want him to be that power forward who uses his speed to manufacture goals. He'll get every chance to score and get his confidence up.

And, on top of that, Horvat is struggling a bit and could use linemates like Hansen and Burrows to spark him while he plays a checking role so he can relax and stop worrying about scoring, instead of having either Baertschi or Virtanen on his wing.

Just like the coaching staff did with Horvat last year,I dont think that they're putting any pressure on Virtanen to score...I think that they're impressing on him to play a 'responsible' NHL game first...Points be damned...Virtanen is a gifted player,the points will follow.

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Not sure what Gaunce and Shinkaruk have to do to crack this lineup. Shink scores a goal a game in the AHL, Gaunce scores 1 in 2 games as a Canuck while playing great defensively and physically and they end up sitting out. Cracknell's been a surprise though and WD isn't going to bench Virtanen or McCann so quickly either. With Higgins close and Prust coming in a couple of weeks, looks like another year in Utica for Gaunce and Shinkaruk when they really should be playing half a season in the NHL at least. They're ready to put up numbers in the big league.

Not a bad problem to have.

In my opinion though, I think Shinkaruk and Gaunce belong in the NHL over Baertschi and Virtanen but that's just me. Nice to see Baertschi's getting another chance though, but Shinkaruk > Baertschi and Gaunce > Virtanen right now.

Yeah Shink over Baer but Baer has dominated the ahl and we gave up a 2nd so can't do anything. Gaunc is ready and will be up and down all year imo. Full time next year. 

It's a good thing to have these problems though. 

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Yeah Shink over Baer but Baer has dominated the ahl and we gave up a 2nd so can't do anything. Gaunc is ready and will be up and down all year imo. Full time next year. 

It's a good thing to have these problems though. 

It is a great problem to have, but look at all our assets and management of them. We've got about 4 or 5 kids who are good enough to be depth wingers in the NHL and maybe go on to become better with a bit more experience.

Now look at our defensive depth. Hutton is great, Subban is looking good in Utica. That's.about.it. We're still thin where it counts - on the blueline, and we've got stacks of assets at winger.

Time to make a trade I think. Jensen is a former first round pick with size, plenty of value and he's having a good AHL year so far but he's what, our 5th injury call-up at the moment? The poor guy is never going to get a sniff. Meanwhile there are teams like the Ducks with Theodore in hiding on their defence who will never get a crack at the NHL.

It only makes sense...

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Not sure what Gaunce and Shinkaruk have to do to crack this lineup. Shink scores a goal a game in the AHL, Gaunce scores 1 in 2 games as a Canuck while playing great defensively and physically and they end up sitting out. Cracknell's been a surprise though and WD isn't going to bench Virtanen or McCann so quickly either. With Higgins close and Prust coming in a couple of weeks, looks like another year in Utica for Gaunce and Shinkaruk when they really should be playing half a season in the NHL at least. They're ready to put up numbers in the big league.

Not a bad problem to have.

In my opinion though, I think Shinkaruk and Gaunce belong in the NHL over Baertschi and Virtanen but that's just me. Nice to see Baertschi's getting another chance though, but Shinkaruk > Baertschi and Gaunce > Virtanen right now.

Shink needs time to grow his confidence in the AHL. It would be foolish to throw him into the NHL until at least half way through the season in my opinion. He had a pretty down year last year and I think we should let him ride the momentum of tearing up the A.

Virtanen over Gaunce is simply due to the fact that Gaunce can go down to the AHL and Virtanen can't. I would bet that if the Canucks could send Virtanen down to the AHL, they would and Gaunce would have his spot. unfortunately, as you know Virtanen can't be sent down. 

Management thinks that it is worth it to send Gaunce down because they can control his development, it's not like he has nothing left to learn at the AHL level and we have a great coach down there as well. Management isn't confident in the Hitmen to develop Virtanen so they are keeping him here. Not a matter of who drafted who, just asset management. 

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It is a great problem to have, but look at all our assets and management of them. We've got about 4 or 5 kids who are good enough to be depth wingers in the NHL and maybe go on to become better with a bit more experience.

Now look at our defensive depth. Hutton is great, Subban is looking good in Utica. That's.about.it. We're still thin where it counts - on the blueline, and we've got stacks of assets at winger.

Time to make a trade I think. Jensen is a former first round pick with size, plenty of value and he's having a good AHL year so far but he's what, our 5th injury call-up at the moment? The poor guy is never going to get a sniff. Meanwhile there are teams like the Ducks with Theodore in hiding on their defence who will never get a crack at the NHL.

It only makes sense...

As I was reading through your comment that got quoted a few times, what kept coming to mind was exactly what you just spelled out above.

Our prospect pool is weak on D. Given the fact Higgins won't get you squat on the market at this time of year, (or maybe ever)it only makes sense to move a couple of solid f prospects for d prospects, or just use them as upgrade fodder.

The Shink situation is a partly Baerch, partly that his 2way game still isn't NHL quality. It was evident in preseason and so was his buring desire to do it all himself in the O zone. I love his offensive flair, but he needs to settle down a bit, kinda starts flying all over the map, work on the control game. He just doesn't fit the system. Baerch doesn't either, his 2way is improving, but like Shink, they need a long leash to be effective offensively, or maybe they just need weaker opposition. (AHL success not translating to NHL)

Gaunce will never be Virtanen or McCann quality, Shink and Baerch are almost the same player, Jensen has improved his all around play but seems bound to the AHL.

I really wouldn't care if Shink and Jensen got moved. I like Gaunce and can see him being a good player in the future, but he's looking like grade bait too. Though Benning may have said he likes those guys, they aren't his guys, and I would be at all surprised if all three went byebye before too long. Especially because two of his guys just made the team as teenagers. One of them is scoring, one is destroying.. Kinda like his picks..

Sorry for the essay...

 

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