Final Report Cards for the 15-16 Canucks.

[HC20.0]

So, the regular season is over. I know for me personally, this year has been challenging as a fan, after being used to winning for so long, finishing 28th was tough. However, this is what I expected coming into this season, so it doesn't surprise me. This was always gonna be the transition year, injuries just sped up the process. However, I'm still proud of the boys, they still gave it their all till the end, that's all I could've asked for. Thank you Canucks. The kids were very entertaining to watch as well. Now, here are my final grades this season. Please feel free to post yours too, I'd like to see what people thought of the Canucks.

 

Forwards:

Jannick Hansen: A+. Really hard to give any forwards an A, but Hansen went above and beyond this season. One of the lone bright spots this year. 

Bo Horvat: B+. Had a really bad start to the year, and a brutal +/-(Most misleading stat ever), but had one hell of a second half. Him and Baertschi carried the Canucks in the second half of the year.

Sven Baertschi: B+. Same as Horvat, rough start, tremendous finish. Looking like we fleeced Calgary here if he can carry this over.

Daniel Sedin: B. Great first half, complete no show after the all star break. Possible the Sedin's were battling through injuries, but it honestly looked like they mailed it in this season.

Henrik Sedin: B. See Daniel. Though Henrik I think was definitely playing injured, he wasn't the same after returning from his injury.

Brandon Sutter: B. Barely saw anything of him with his injuries, but he played extremely well when he was in the line up. 

Jake Virtanen: C+. Rough start, rough WJC, but seemed to pick it up after coming back to the team. I think he'll be back next year, he improved greatly as the season went on.

Emerson Etem: C+ Terrific start and end to the year with Vancouver, but in between he was very average.

Derek Dorsett: C+(Forgot him, yeesh) Perhaps overpaid, but was a solid 4th liner all year round for us. 

Linden Vey: C. Greatly improved from the mess he was last year, but I wouldn't be sad if he didn't return next year.

Markus Granlund: C. Played Okay. Giving up Shink for him hurts, but I think there's still untapped potential there. 

Jared McCann: C-. Fantastic first month, but the poor guy lost his confidence after and never recovered. Should've gone back to junior. Doubt we'll see him opening night next year.

Brendan Gaunce: C-. I kind of expected a bit more from him to be honest, but at the same time, he played decently in his call ups. A lot to work on though.

Alex Burrows: D+. Love Burr so much, but I think his time has come and gone. He's clearly lost a step, but can still PK well.

Chris Higgins: D. Probably the last we'll see of Higgy. Poor guy just regressed too much. He played well in Utica, and after his call up though.

Radim Vrbata: F. Not much to be said here. Nothing went right for Vrby this season, and he really dragged Horvat down at the beginning of the year.

Brandon Prust: F. The ankle sprain turned into a train wreck for this guy. The stunt he pulled in New York was pretty bad too. 

 

Defense:

Ben Hutton: A+. I had no clue who this kid was when he came to camp this year. Turned into our best defenseman. And he's still a rookie. 

Chris Tanev: B+. As always, Tanev was our most reliable D defensively by a mile.

Alex Edler: B. Honestly, never realized how much Edler brings until he got injured. When he went down, the defense went with him. 

Luca Sbisa: C+. Sbisa was vastly, vastly improved from last season, and actually played quite decently. Like Sutter though, injuries really derailed his season. 

Dan Hamhuis: C+. Brutal in the first half of the year, but came back very, very well after that devastating jaw injury. Deserves that Masterson nomination. 

Alex Biega: C. Did well to earn his spot on this team. Played very well, but I think he'd be best served as our 7th D next season. He has a few glaring holes in his game.

Nikita Tryamkin: C. Took a little for him to adjust, but played well once he found his footing. Still a few things defensively he needs to work on though before he can really make the jump to the NHL. 

Matt Bartkowski: D. Brought in as a stop gap, put up some points, but hoo man was he brutal defensively. Not really his fault though, Bart's a 7th-8th defenseman on any other team, he was thrown to the wolves this year. 

Yannick Weber: F. Can't say one good thing about Weber. Didn't even score a goal. I really hope this is the last we see of him.

 

Goalies:

 

Miller: A. Lost in this season of chaos was Miller. After how poor he was last year, he played extremely well this season. His stats would be a lot higher if we hadn't left him and Markstrom out to dry most nights. 

Markstrom: A. Same as Miller, had a very, very good season. The D just hung him out most nights though. He was actually in the top 15 at one point this year for save %. Markstrom was absolutely fantastic this year.

 

Not rating the players who played less than 10 games for us this year, because not really a long enough look for them. Not rating Pedan either because half his games played were as a forward. I want to better see how he does as a defenseman before rating him, though he looked good on the back end. 

[Spotted Zebra]

I'd bump:

Baertschi to an A- 

Biega to a C +

Tryamkin to a B+

McCann to a C+

 

Drop

 

Henrik to a B-

Edler to a C+

Miller to a B

[Green Building]

Good assessment, pretty much how I feel. Few changes though:

 

Sutter:  INC    I liked what i saw, but extremely well sounds overly positive for someone who only played 20 games. Hopefully he has a MUCH healthier season next year

 

Hamhuis:  B-  He crushed it upon his return, and has earned what I think is a serious look at being re-signed for next season. Year to year, 2 year max. 

 

McCann: Was placed in a position to, well, not fail, but also not exactly succeed either. My hope is that the gym days combined with the limited ice time, and seeing what pros do to ready themselves for the rigors of an NHL season will motivate him this summer. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in Chicago* next year, hopefully getting top 6 minutes.

 

Horvat: same grade, but I don't feel his start was as bad as you do. He was doing stuff right, just didn't get the 2nd half bounces like he seemed to get last year as well. 

 

* or Utica, if we want to be more accurate

[Green Building]

Love question #3

[Fateless]

While I agree with a the majority of your rankings (at least within a letter grade of difference), there are a couple I think you've vastly underrated and overrated.

 

The first big one is your grade on Tryamkin. I'm not really sure what you expected from him but giving him a C is a little ridiculous. The guy played great for his first stint in the NHL speaking a different language in a new system. I think he deserves a B or B+ based on what he brought to the situation.

 

Virtanen, Gaunce and McCann. Same problem as with Tryamkin. I don't really know what you expected but considering the age and lack of NHL experience these kids had coming into the year - they all deserve higher than the C's you gave them. Virtanen improved immensely and probably deserves a B-, McCann may not have put up the points after the first month, but his overall game improved a lot. I'd say he deserves at least a C+. Gaunce played amazing for us in the limited ice-time he was given this season and based on that ice-time he deserves at least a B.

 

Miller. I don't really know why you think he deserves an A. Markstrom had a stellar year based on the expectations we had coming in, but Miller had a rather poor year overall. Sure our team sucked, but Markstrom outshone Miller all season long. Miller's age showed this year and while I appreciate his effort every night, the team didn't play for him and his attitude sucked. I think he deserves a B-.

 

The last one pair I disagree on is Baer and Horvat. While you gave them both high B's, I think they deserve the A. The two of those kids were one of the few bright spots on this team and they both over-performed compared to what this fanbase and team expected of them. Horvat is developing into an amazing leader who can put up some great numbers (40 points!) and Baer is looking like a steal. Together they played amazing and were more entertaining to watch than the Sedins most nights.

 

Again, I think your grades were fine overall, but there were a couple I definitely saw differently.

 

Edit: You also forgot to give Dorsett a grade. I think based on expectations he earned himself a C+. Was slightly below expectations but wasn't the reason this team did so poorly.

[Honky Cat]

Good assessment OP..especially for the goalies..Under the circumstances Miller and Markstrom played very well (especially on the road against the NY teams and the Bruins)...

[oldnews]

I hate "report cards".

 

And I don't think a grade and one-liner does any player justice.

[Heretic]

This year was exactly what I expected.

[Rush17]

25 minutes ago, Green Building said:

Good assessment, pretty much how I feel. Few changes though:

 

Sutter:      INC    I liked what i saw, but extremely well sounds overly positive for someone who only played 20 games. Hopefully he has a MUCH healthier season next year

 

Hamhuis:  B-  He crushed it upon his return, and has earned what I think is a serious look at being resigned for next season. Year to year, 2 year max. 

 

McCann: Was placed in a position to, well, not fail, but also not exactly succeed either. My hope is that the gym days combined with the limited ice time, and seeing what pros do to ready themselves for the rigors of an NHL season will motivate him this summer. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in Chicago next year, hopefully getting top 6 minutes.

 

Horvat: same grade, but I didn't feel his start was as bad as you do. He was doing stuff right, just didn't get the 2nd half bounces like he seemed to get last year as well. 

 

 

Chicago ?   Have you been in a time capsule or something lol.  

[Green Building]

Just now, Rush17 said:

Chicago ?   Have you been in a time capsule or something lol.  

Yes. But I definitely meant Utica.

[JamesB]

8 minutes ago, Green Building said:

Good assessment, pretty much how I feel. Few changes though:

 

Sutter:      INC    I liked what i saw, but extremely well sounds overly positive for someone who only played 20 games. Hopefully he has a MUCH healthier season next year

 

Hamhuis:  B-  He crushed it upon his return, and has earned what I think is a serious look at being resigned for next season. Year to year, 2 year max. 

 

McCann: Was placed in a position to, well, not fail, but also not exactly succeed either. My hope is that the gym days combined with the limited ice time, and seeing what pros do to ready themselves for the rigors of an NHL season will motivate him this summer. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in Chicago next year, hopefully getting top 6 minutes.

 

Horvat: same grade, but I didn't feel his start was as bad as you do. He was doing stuff right, just didn't get the 2nd half bounces like he seemed to get last year as well. 

 

 

Like Green Building, I agree that the OP is pretty accurate. I think A+ is a bit much for Hansen, though. Yes he had a good year but without the Sedins his numbers would have been a lot less impressive. And if 22 goals and 38 pts gets an A+, what does Kane's 106 pts or Ovechkin's 50 goals get? Now those are A+ numbers. I would not give any A+ or A scores to Canuck players this year. The team did finish 28th after all.

 

I also think Hammer gets at least a B-. He held the D together when Edler and Tanev were both out. And he "led" the D with a +/- of -2 despite playing a lot of tough minutes and often paired with a guy who was not a legitimate top 4 D.

 

It is striking that in the second half of the season, the top scoring forward comboa was Horvat and Baertschi, not the Sedins.

To paraphrase Torts and many others, that is great news for Horvat and Baertschi but bad news for the Canucks.

 

(Specifically, in January through April, the Sedins combined for 46 pts. Horvat and Baertsch combined for 47 pts even though Baertschi missed the last 5 games due to injury.)

[Rush17]

Just now, Green Building said:

Yes. But I definitely meant Utica.

Lol. totally :D

[Green Building]

1 minute ago, JamesB said:

 

 

It is striking that in the second half of the season, the top scoring forward comboa was Horvat and Baertschi, not the Sedins.

To paraphrase Torts and many others, that is great news for Horvat and Baertschi but bad news for the Canucks.

You know, I don't mind that the young combo had a better 2nd half than the twins. I'm pro Sedins, and think they would have to lose a step to be displaced from the top line, and if it happens, so be it. In the meantime, I'm stoked that we have youth producing points down the stretch. One day that kind of thing might just carry over into the playoffs, and if we're lucky, trickle into the 1st half of the season.

 

That might sound overly optimistic, but the Twins are aging, we all know that. At least we may have either stop gap or replacement players to take the reigns one day soon. 

[HC20.0]

14 minutes ago, Green Building said:

You know, I don't mind that the young combo had a better 2nd half than the twins. I'm pro Sedins, and think they would have to lose a step to be displaced from the top line, and if it happens, so be it. In the meantime, I'm stoked that we have youth producing points down the stretch. One day that kind of thing might just carry over into the playoffs, and if we're lucky, trickle into the 1st half of the season.

 

That might sound overly optimistic, but the Twins are aging, we all know that. At least we may have either stop gap or replacement players to take the reigns one day soon. 

I remember in 06 when the Twins started taking over for the WCE. It marked the beginning of a new era, and it was pretty exciting. Horvat and Baertschi really took over the team in the second half. If they can continue to stay on par with their development, then I'm pretty excited for the future.  

[HC20.0]

28 minutes ago, JamesB said:

Like Green Building, I agree that the OP is pretty accurate. I think A+ is a bit much for Hansen, though. Yes he had a good year but without the Sedins his numbers would have been a lot less impressive. And if 22 goals and 38 pts gets an A+, what does Kane's 106 pts or Ovechkin's 50 goals get? Now those are A+ numbers. I would not give any A+ or A scores to Canuck players this year. The team did finish 28th after all.

 

I also think Hammer gets at least a B-. He held the D together when Edler and Tanev were both out. And he "led" the D with a +/- of -2 despite playing a lot of tough minutes and often paired with a guy who was not a legitimate top 4 D.

 

It is striking that in the second half of the season, the top scoring forward comboa was Horvat and Baertschi, not the Sedins.

To paraphrase Torts and many others, that is great news for Horvat and Baertschi but bad news for the Canucks.

 

(Specifically, in January through April, the Sedins combined for 46 pts. Horvat and Baertsch combined for 47 pts even though Baertschi missed the last 5 games due to injury.)

I gave Hansen an A+ because he's been a grinder his whole career. Nobody expected him to pot 22 goals. That was a huge surprise. Also, he played consistently from start to finish. Game in, game out, he played great hockey, even when the Sedin's did not play well. He went well beyond his expectations, and was consistant all year. The Sedin's definitely helped, sure, but Hansen was the one who raised the bar. 

 

I did not realize that Baertschi and Horvat outscored Hank and Dank in that stretch. Wow.  

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, Green Building said:

You know, I don't mind that the young combo had a better 2nd half than the twins. I'm pro Sedins, and think they would have to lose a step to be displaced from the top line, and if it happens, so be it. In the meantime, I'm stoked that we have youth producing points down the stretch. One day that kind of thing might just carry over into the playoffs, and if we're lucky, trickle into the 1st half of the season.

I'm with you there, and not to be forgotten are all the injuries that the Sedins played through in the 2nd half of the season which probably contributed to their drop of.

 

I'm going to rate players based on their performance as to what was expected of them. 

 

Jannick Hansen: B+ 

Bo Horvat: B

Sven Baertschi: C+

Daniel Sedin: B-

Henrik Sedin: B-

Brandon Sutter: C+

Jake Virtanen: C

Emerson Etem: C+

Derek Dorsett: B

Linden Vey: C+

Markus Granlund: C+

Jared McCann: D

Brendan Gaunce: C

Alex Burrows: C+

Chris Higgins: C

Radim Vrbata: C-

 

 

Ben Hutton: A

Chris Tanev: B+

Alex Edler: B

Luca Sbisa: C

Dan Hamhuis: B-

Alex Biega: C

Nikita Tryamkin: C+

Matt Bartkowski: C-

Yannick Weber: D

 

 

Miller: A+

Markstrom: A+

 

Laugh and ridicule my goalie ratings, but we would've been the worst team in the history of the league had it not been for our goalies this year.  Thanks for keeping us out of record books.

[-AJ-]

Great assessment. The only things I'd really change are Hamhuis from a C+ to a B- and Daniel from a B to a B+. Hamhuis was such a monster and a core player on our back end after coming back from his injury that I have to put him a bit higher.

 

Daniel, while slowing down a lot at the end, scored 28 goals, the most he's scored in 2011-12, the year after he won the Art Ross.

 

EDIT: I also find it odd that people are most impressed with Hutton. Sure, I was the most surprised by Hutton, but I was definitely more impressed with Horvat's play or even Markstrom's.

[Dumb Nuck]

Winning: F

Tanking: D-

[Baggins]

Move Burrows to a C

Move Vey to a C+

Drop McCann to a D

Drop Virtanen to  C-

 

[Rocky Balboa]

Ben Hutton: A

Goalies: B+

Everyone Else: E

Rogers Arena Hot Dogs: F