*Buzzsaw* Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I am a little disappointed by Jared McCann's play through most of the season... but at the same time, I see a lot of positives which are being hidden by bad stats. The biggest positive is he is a smart player. The biggest potential negative is he has a tendency to get frustrated when things are not going his way, and try to do everything himself. For example, his shooting percentage. 7.7% is more like what you'd see from a defenseman... and way off what he was doing at the start of the season. There is no question he has fallen prey to the typical rookie scenario, after a fast start with a lot of quick goals, he reacted by overthinking his shots... taking that extra micro-second to try to place the puck exactly where he wants, instead of relying on his instincts and just getting the puck off his stick. There is no question he has a great wrister, lots of velocity and a potential quick release, but he is not taking advantage of those strong points... typically he will wait, try a shift, or drag move, and it is just giving the defenseman time to block the shot. The good news is, he can fix the problem... just let the puck go immediately he gets it on his stick. The same applies to his puck handling and puck carrying. At the beginning of the season, he was just reacting, skating into the holes and making simple passing plays. Now he has a tendency to hold onto the puck too long... circle the net, try a deke, etc. And most of the time, he ends up turning the puck over or making a pass nowhere. Like a lot of elite level Junior players, he is having to make an adjustment to the huge increase in overall player skill in the NHL. Dekes and shifts he could routinely get away with in Junior are just not working. The good news is, he DOES have elite level skills which can translate to the NHL. He does have extremely good acceleration, good top speed, and his puck handling at high speed shows a lot of promise. But he needs to simplify his playbook. Holding onto the puck less, making his passes a few seconds earlier, quick give and goes, and overall more straight ahead play. One positive I see is his plus/minus... also his defensive play has been pretty good for a rookie. He does back-check pretty hard, and he is willing to use the body. He has good anticipation, is good at forcing turn overs, (although often he'll waste his turnover opportunity by trying too fancy a pass after) and generally is a good pest. I see McCann having an upside comparable to Burrows... in fact that's who I think he should be aiming to emulate. If he cues up the tapes of Burrow's 2007-2008, 2008-2009 seasons, before Alex played with the Sedins, and when he was finding his game, and watches how Burrows covers the ice in the forecheck, he could really learn something. Burrows at the top of his game was a master in anticipating where the breakout pass was going, and either picking it off, or getting on top of the opposing player before anything can develop... I think McCann has the same type of anticipation and quick acceleration which gave Alex so many opportunities, and IF McCann can analyze where he needs to improve, we could see a radical upturn in his stats. Overall I see the potential for a real rebound in his sophomore season... if he learns from his mistakes in 2015-2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazmanian Devil Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 No he isn't. He shouldn't even be in the NHL right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Needs to get top 6 time in Utica and get stronger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannydog Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 2 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said: Needs to get top 6 time in Utica and get stronger. I agree 100%,the lack of physical strength,is his only downside. A couple pounds and some time with TG in Utica will be all he needs.He should have been played LW from the start IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 He will be a big part of the Canucks in the future IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Fig Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Jared will be a very good NHLer, but it's going to take some time before he gets there. He's going to need to get a lot stronger and need to have the puck on his stick more often. The first needs to happen before the second will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaMash Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 McCann is being Brule'd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggins Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 McCanns stats are his. He certainly has the potential to be better than his current stats but they do show where he's currently at. He'll be better served with AHL time next year playing a larger role at a lower level to improve his game and his confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R3aL Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 12 minutes ago, BananaMash said: McCann is being Brule'd. Luckily they have completely different playing styles and McCann will be fine. hell have a long summer which is good he will be able to put on strength and some weight, and have a strong year in Utica or with us most likely in Utica tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Weasel Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I really like McCann, but I think he's going to get traded, especially if we somehow manage to win 1st overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beni Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Would be great for him to do one year in Utica. Better off In the long run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 3 minutes ago, beni said: Would be great for him to do one year in Utica. Better off In the long run Alf believes both McCann and Vitanen will start next season in Utica. It will too hard for them to beat out STAMKOS AND LUCIC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gstank29 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I said in Nov he is better suited to play the wing. He has looked better since being moved to the wing but he will have to play in a top 9 role next year otherwise he will be sent to Utica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesB Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 1 hour ago, Kazmanian Devil said: No he isn't. He shouldn't even be in the NHL right now. 46 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said: Needs to get top 6 time in Utica and get stronger. Have to agree with these comments and many others along similar lines. The OP is putting a very positive gloss on McCann's performance. I like McCann and he has a high skill level, but I think he would have been better off in Junior this year and I would have liked to see him at the World Juniors. And I agree with Junkyard and many others that he needs to hone his skills with Travis Green in Utica (assuming Green stays in Utica) before playing with the big team. Part of the issue is that he just needs to get stronger. I like his attitude and he competes hard, but he just gets pushed around too easily right now. He tries to fight back, but he needs more strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Buzzsaw* Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 12 minutes ago, JamesB said: The OP is putting a very positive gloss on McCann's performance. Actually I am saying the opposite. I think his performance has not been up to what he could achieve... he can do a lot better if he makes some changes. Strength is definitely a factor... but it is not the whole story. Plenty of NHL'ers with less strength are succeeding by playing smarter. McCann is not playing smart, and he is not playing with confidence. It may be a stint in Utica would do him some good, but I think he would be wasted spending the whole of next year down there. If its just a question of strength, then that can be dealt with with an off season power building program. Most of the problems are between his ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabcakes Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Johnny Gaudreau for example is listed at 5'9", 157 lbs and he's 22. He's played more with men and he's more relaxed out there. He's also not taking face offs as a left wing. I'm not equating the players but think that given a couple of years with the proper development, McCann could certainly be effective too. I thought that when Benning picked up Granlund, this signaled his intention to send McCann to Utica for seasoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Kind of crazy that everyone keeps talking about his shot as his greatest asset, yet his shooting percentage reminds me of Dana Murzyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleboy Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 32 minutes ago, Crabcakes said: Johnny Gaudreau for example is listed at 5'9", 157 lbs and he's 22. He's played more with men and he's more relaxed out there. He's also not taking face offs as a left wing. I'm not equating the players but think that given a couple of years with the proper development, McCann could certainly be effective too. I thought that when Benning picked up Granlund, this signaled his intention to send McCann to Utica for seasoning. So what you are saying is that people need to relax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice orca Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 For supposedly being frail and not strong he is one of the very few Canuck players to not get injured this year. Gets a beating and keeps on ticking unlike some guys in the line up who get banged up just by looking at the boards or in front of the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintPatrick33 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 2 hours ago, *Buzzsaw* said: Actually I am saying the opposite. I think his performance has not been up to what he could achieve... he can do a lot better if he makes some changes. Strength is definitely a factor... but it is not the whole story. Plenty of NHL'ers with less strength are succeeding by playing smarter. McCann is not playing smart, and he is not playing with confidence. It may be a stint in Utica would do him some good, but I think he would be wasted spending the whole of next year down there. If its just a question of strength, then that can be dealt with with an off season power building program. Most of the problems are between his ears. I agree with your assertion Mr. Buzzsaw. Some well made points and examples. We are all forgetting that McCann has not been healthy the past few seasons, which has drastically reduced his strength and conditioning. That is probably why we have limited the amount of games this season. A great offseason focussed on physical strength and faceoffs could help push him to take that next step ala horvat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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