Brendan Gaunce | C/LW

[Jiggs50]

Gaunce will be a solid, versatile top 9 player for us. Center or Winger. Love it. The 6'2 frame is the icing on the cake. Excited for the future!

[Canucks1219]

I feel like that just indicates how physically mature the prospect is at the draft - it just means they are physically more NHL-ready than others. For example, Tom Wilson is literally EVERYWHERE on that list. That translated to making the NHL as a 19-year-old last year for Wilson, but Gaunce was unable to capitalize on having a more mature body. We saw Gaunce being touted as being close to NHL-ready on draft day, and I think this had a lot to do with his physical maturity.

Two years after the draft, I don't think combine numbers mean anything anymore since all prospects had two years to develop physically. Whatever advantage of physical maturity he had at the starting point (at the draft) is gone.** He's been physically ready for a couple years. We need to see other things from him.

** By that I mean filling out. Gaunce obviously still has a huge size advantage over most players due to his frame, but as we see, players smaller than Gaunce who have filled out their own frame can compete and dominate the NHL. So by saying his advantage is gone, I mean everyone's filled out for most part by now just like he already was back in 2012.

Yeah, I agree, which is why I mentioned it was "outdated". It was just something I hadn't seen before and thought was interesting enough to share.

[Guest Dasein]

Yeah, I agree, which is why I mentioned it was "outdated". It was just something I hadn't seen before and thought was interesting enough to share.

Yup. It's too bad he wasn't able to capitalize like Wilson did. I think it was his skating, and Gillis not wanting to start him on the 4th line. Wilson's game is more suited for the 4th line with a lot of speed, hitting and some fighting.

I still think Gaunce may be the most NHL-ready among our drafted center prospects (so excluding Vey) and is really kind of flying in under the radar because Bo gets so much attention. Bo could very easily prove me wrong though.

Dark horse for the 4C position.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Dasein

[canucklehead44]

When Gaunce was drafted he was pretty much the first decent prospect we had and everyone called him the next Trevor linden.

Over the years we have drafted flashier more appealing prospects, but I do see some Trevor linden in this kid.

Other prospects taking the limelight off Gaunce was probably the best thing for him.

Last main camp he got more points then any other prospect but everyone was talking about shinks.

He has done his thing in the juniors, improving every year, but he has that natural leadership abilities that was one of the reasons he was drafted.

He will definitely be a player i focus on during his comets play and I wouldn't be surprised if he was tops of the call-up list.

I think a big part is the plateau of his point totals. A point per game for a big centre in his draft year is pretty good, but typically you would expect a 10-20 point increase in production year over year.

While his goal totals had a nice bump, his ppg was identical the year after the draft. This season they were a bit higher at 72 points in 65 games but his goal totals dropped to 31. A first round pick, in his second second after the draft, should put up around 90 points. This is why Gaunce went from a projected 2nd line player to a projected 3rd line player.

Horvat on the other hand had slightly lower point totals (61pts in 67gp) but his second season he had 74pts in 54gp which is a nice sign of progression.

Take a look at Henrik Samuelsson numbers. He is the player we would have likely selected if Gaunce didn't drop in the rankings. Perfect example of how a player should progress offensively over their junior career.

Edited August 11, 2014 by canucklehead44

[Off_The_Schneid!]

Not every prospect needs to develop at the same pace. If that were the case we would have 4 prospects playing this year. He has the personality and the work ethic to be a solid nhl player one day. Linden vey is a prime example of how a player should be developed. The exciting thing is that now we actually have prospects who can develop chemistry in Utica

[Derp...]

Different situations.

Gaunce also played most of his draft + 1 year on the wing of Tyler Graovac.

He also had more PP time in Belleville than in Erie.

He projects as a solid 3C, but still has second line upside.

[Rex425]

I'd be happy if he's a great bottom 6 forward.

[MattJVD]

My hopes for him are Higgins-like middle six production (averageing 40 points, might put up 25 goals and 50 points in a career year) while being a solid face-off guy and good defensively. Ideal for a 3rd line centre that can do spot duty in the top 6 when required.

[elvis15]

PROSPECT PROFILE #7: BRENDAN GAUNCE

...

One of the biggest challenges for Gaunce going into his rookie season in the American Hockey League is whether or not he'll be able to stick at center in the professional ranks. In my estimation, he's better on the wing (where he often played during the 2012-13 season), and may not have the foot-speed to cover the middle of the ice at the AHL and NHL levels.

In terms of true natural centerman, the Utica Comets will go into next season with Cal O'Reilly, Dustin Jeffrey, Kellan Lain and Alex Friesen down the middle. That's a group that probably doesn't rate all that strongly in comparison with the Comets' potential depth along the wall (Nicklas Jensen, Darren Archibald, Hunter Shinkaruk, Brandon DeFazio, Ronalds Kenins, Alex Grenier etc.).

Considering the roster composition of Vancouver's AHL affiliate, it's probably worth allowing at least one of Gaunce or his Otters teammate Dane Fox to fail at center before moving them to wing, and I'd think that Gaunce - based on his size and what the club has invested in him as a first-round pick - would be first in line. This is a minor league training camp story that could be worth watching this fall.

One other note on Gaunce, he's extremely smart and well spoken, and he's also ludicrously competitive. A noted gym rat, Gaunce has also started the season slowly repeatedly over the years and I've begun to wonder if he's been in the habit of reporting to camp with too much weight on his big frame. The Canucks have reportedly asked top-heavy Bo Horvat to lean out this summer, and I wouldn't be surprised if Gaunce was given similar instructions. It could do him some good and hopefully allow him to show better at the Penticton Young Stars tournament than he did last September.

A full-fledged professional now, Gaunce will be at Canucks training camp this September and it'll be interesting to see how difficult he can make it for Willie Desjardins to cut him. No one expects Gaunce to break camp with Vancouver's NHL club, but the opportunity is there for a surprise player or two to bust into the top-13 forwards. I'd have Gaunce (along with Horvat, Jensen, and Jeffrey) on my short-list of players who could realistically surprise this fall.

More likely, Gaunce will have an extended opportunity to cut his teeth at the AHL level this upcoming season. There's going to be a lot of internal competition among Comets players to be the first injury call up, and I'll be very curious to see how Gaunce's production and abilities stack up against the likes of Jensen, Shinkaruk and Fox. One thing working in Gaunce's favor is that his skill set and size project into a bottom-six role (put it this way: the Canucks aren't calling up Shinkaruk in the event of a Brad Richardson injury), so it wouldn't be a mind-blowing shock to see Gaunce get a cup of coffee in Vancouver next season.

In summary: don't let Gaunce's depressed spot in our rankings confuse you, there's still significant reasons to be optimistic about his development and his NHL future. His offensive game hasn't come along as hoped since his draft eligible season, but it's way too soon to write off a 20-year-old forward with the on- and off-ice intelligence that Gaunce has consistently displayed throughout his major junior career.

Down from #1 last year (which was too high by almost everyone's estimation) to #7 this year, despite having a pretty good season after moving to Erie and playing a pivotal role there.

[Rollieo Del Fuego]

They say he is highly competitive, that should set a fire under him, going from #1 to #7.

Hope to see compete in just 2 weeks or so!

[TrueFan22339]

He's gonna be awesome, can't wait. Maybe makes the team this year, we're gonna need 2 centres to start the season and with his work pedigree he might be the perfect fit for the 3rd line.

Shawn Matthias and Brad Richardson? there is actually not much room for Center at this time, but both are free agents at the end of the year, so if Gaunce plays well in his first year in Utica, maybe the nucks move Richardson or Matthias for some draft picks near the deadline, and call Gaunce up, other than that possibility, or injuries plaguing us down the middle, i dont see any of our young prospects making the team this year, would like to see Linden Vey make the club though, was a great pick up!

[Hugor Hill]

They really should put Matthias on the wing and open another spot at C. One of the Panthers' former coaches said he is better on the wing anyways.

[aGENT]

They really should put Matthias on the wing and open another spot at C. One of the Panthers' former coaches said he is better on the wing anyways.

I think that's what's likely going to happen.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Benning spoke to the media during the Youngstars game.

"Gaunce has been good, even away from the puck. He's a big strong kid and he's playing very well" - Benning

[Ihatetomatoes]

Benning spoke to the media during the Youngstars game.

"Gaunce has been good, even away from the puck. He's a big strong kid and he's playing very well" - Benning

Tonights game was the 1st game of the tournament that I caught and Gaunce impressed me as well, maybe not so much in a wow this kid is good sort of sense but he impressed me in that he looks a lot faster on the ice this year as compared to last which is what is going to be his make or break factor on whether he makes the NHL or not. From watching him last year to this year I think he's progressing nicely to be a decent 3rd line centerman that chips in the odd goal here and there. Smart player, if he can keep improving his skating he'll be a decent player.

[Plum]

Gaunce had a good game, he's a smart player and is good with the puck. He has size and protected it well today, worked well down low transitioning to the net. I think he'll start in AHL even if he could have a good chance at beating someone out because junior to NHL isn't easy and playing a little in the AHL wouldn't be too bad, we can see how he performs over there then call him up if he is doing great.

[Robongo]

He looked a lot better and more comfortable when he was switched to a bottom 6 role. I'm still very excited about Gaunce, he's going to be our tough minute muncher. I think he's going to be our new Manny Malhotra in a few years.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Agree wholeheartedly with those who've liked Gaunce's performance so far.

I've been especially impressed with his level of awareness and ability to anticipate the flow of play. During what's been mostly scrambly and unstructured hockey, he's been very successful in protecting his teammates from their own mistakes.

On nearly every shift he's played, I've watched him shore up weak coverage and bail guys out when they've lost their checks or gotten caught up ice. Most of the time, he does this so "quietly" that you almost don't realize (unless you're paying close attention) that he's just saved his team from giving up what would have been a dangerous odd man rush.

Quite often, simply because he plays so smart and anticipates so well, he doesn't look like he's doing a lot out there. But when you really watch him, you see just how well he recognizes the flow of the game and the developing plays and how he has almost a sixth sense for getting to the right areas, especially on his neutral zone coverage (which was a particularly weak area for the Canucks Young Stars).

And unlike most of his teammates during the tourney, Gaunce was rarely caught out of position and you really never saw him chasing.

I think he'll only look better as the level of hockey improves during main camp and preseason.

[2SKATES1STICK]

SO SLOW

[nas19ua]

He looked a lot better and more comfortable when he was switched to a bottom 6 role. I'm still very excited about Gaunce, he's going to be our tough minute muncher. I think he's going to be our new Manny Malhotra in a few years.

Moved to bottom 6 in his case is facing easier competition. He's nowhere near Manny Malhotras of the world.

His foot speed and skating is disastrous for a first round pick. He'd better work his butt off this season in Utica or he may face perspective to be on the move come D-day.

Maybe I'm too hard on him but right now I can't see any significant progress from previous years.