coastal1 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 5 hours ago, Phil_314 said: (For this discussion please don't include any trade ideas). With Sutter out for 4-6 weeks and Hank now day-to-day, it's a good time to look at the team's center depth, and it is pretty paper thin. Fact of the matter is, even with #33 available, the group behind him has been pretty lackluster, and now with him out, I'm curious to hear who everyone believes would be the team's go-to center? I believe that many will say it's Jared McCann, the phenom who started off so strong with 5 goals after training camp. However, as a rookie his points have really tailed off, he's been averaging only 12:09/ game in ice time and his face-off % is an abysmal 32.8%. As of now I'm not sure I would load more responsibility on him and essentially throw him to the wolves, as it may hinder his confidence and development if he continues to get buried in terms of driving possession (he's been 2nd worst in that area on the team). Another popular candidate would undoubtedly be Bo Horvat, one of the few revelations from last season and who's been compared to Ryan O'Reilly and Patrice Bergeron since his draft year. However, the sophomore slump has hit him like a Radko Gudas body-check, as he hasn't been putting up points and sports a -15. One positive that he has going for him is that he's above 50% in face-offs and should be able to handle more minutes (he's averaging 16:06 now), but would giving him the tough minutes be the best for his development? An idea which I personally think might work well is putting a veteran winger (e.g. Alex Burrows or Chris Higgins) up the middle. They're not the strongest in face-offs (with career %'s of 42.3% and 41.8% respectively) but both have experience patrolling center ice and lining up in the top-6 against tougher competition. Buffering the kids might help for their overall development as well. Anyone who has faith in Brendan Gaunce/ Linden Vey/ Adam Cracknell or another A.H.L. call-up stepping up can also feel free to voice their confidence, I promise that you will not be ridiculed... that badly So what's everyone's thoughts on this Canuck conundrum (Can-undrum?)? Discuss! "Another popular candidate would undoubtedly be Bo Horvat, one of the few revelations from last season and who's been compared to Ryan O'Reilly and Patrice Bergeron since his draft year". Who makes that comparison?? No one that is watching the Canucks. That is an insult to Bergeron and O'Reilly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckistani Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 15 minutes ago, coastal1 said: "Another popular candidate would undoubtedly be Bo Horvat, one of the few revelations from last season and who's been compared to Ryan O'Reilly and Patrice Bergeron since his draft year". Who makes that comparison?? No one that is watching the Canucks. That is an insult to Bergeron and O'Reilly. To be fair, Horvat in his draft year was seen as *the allrounder* of his draft year, with a potential ceiling of Bergeron/O'Reilley. He may still have that ceiling. And to be honest, even if he ends up to where Kesler was at the best (IMO), anytime in the next few years he'd still have done bloody good.Lets not write the kid off so fast, he is not a standout flashy player but has all the tools to make it big. Decent decision-making ability, good skating, good at face-offs, smart shot choices . These things happen and I don't expect Horvat to be a consistent 20 goal scorer per season for another few years. Though i do expect him to be in the 20-25 goal range and 50-60 points consistently in 5-6 years and that is still having a 25 year old consistenty being a Selke candidate potential. All this may not pan out- sure, these things happen. But it is still few years, to say the least, before writing the kid off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastal1 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 31 minutes ago, canuckistani said: To be fair, Horvat in his draft year was seen as *the allrounder* of his draft year, with a potential ceiling of Bergeron/O'Reilley. He may still have that ceiling. And to be honest, even if he ends up to where Kesler was at the best (IMO), anytime in the next few years he'd still have done bloody good.Lets not write the kid off so fast, he is not a standout flashy player but has all the tools to make it big. Decent decision-making ability, good skating, good at face-offs, smart shot choices . These things happen and I don't expect Horvat to be a consistent 20 goal scorer per season for another few years. Though i do expect him to be in the 20-25 goal range and 50-60 points consistently in 5-6 years and that is still having a 25 year old consistenty being a Selke candidate potential. All this may not pan out- sure, these things happen. But it is still few years, to say the least, before writing the kid off. I agree. Not writing him off at all, just saying that he is not close to this at all. May get there one day, maybe?? But right now, wow, wayyyy over his head in the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stexx Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 if hank is out for any length of time our go to centre is clearly auston matthews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I told you all Vey was a keeper. Oh Alf sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Apparently Gaunce is playing center again now, if this whole Vey experiment doesn't work we could always call up Gaunce. I'd love to see what he could do with a line of his own. But yes, a 20 year old and 19 year old are our 1st and 2nd line centers. Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SvenBae Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 37 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said: Apparently Gaunce is playing center again now, if this whole Vey experiment doesn't work we could always call up Gaunce. I'd love to see what he could do with a line of his own. But yes, a 20 year old and 19 year old are our 1st and 2nd line centers. Wow. Only playing center because of; "Vey: Up with Nucks Zalewski: Sick Hamilton: Suspended Friesen: Hurt" According to Derp in Gaunce thread. http://forum.canucks.com/topic/331566-brendan-gaunce-talk/?page=201 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladimirpuck Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canucks Prophet Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 3 hours ago, coastal1 said: I agree. Not writing him off at all, just saying that he is not close to this at all. May get there one day, maybe?? But right now, wow, wayyyy over his head in the NHL. Lol there you are again, writing him off after barely one and a half seasons in the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canucks Prophet Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Bo and McCann stepped up when the team needed it most, good win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklehead44 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Bo and McCann played a great game. Cracknell crunched out close to 15 minutes and continued to show that for whatever reason opposing teams can't score when he is on the ice (only six all year, with two of those coming in one game against the Blackhawks). Random fact: Cracknell has the 7th best on ice GA/60 mins in the NHL (20+ GP). Didn't even notice Vey but he did score the shootout winner. So a great result for all four. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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