Brendan Gaunce | C/LW

[SamJamIam]

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.

Gaunce is playing some very sound hockey. Benning used the word "excellent" multiple times. I think the biggest issue with our team was that we had almost no defensemen who could stay in position, make a good first pass or knew when to pinch. Corrado looked bad because he was busy fixing his d partner's mistakes on a regular basis. Shinkaruk, Valk, Horvat, Gaunce and Jensen were doing the same up front, trying to regain possession which was constantly given away by less skilled linemates.

These guys all looked worse than they actually are because they were forced to do everything and very rarely could actually take a risk on a play for fear that it would result in an odd man rush the other way.

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

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.

So by all standards ALL first round picks must be good skaters? And disastrous is a huge stretch...his skating may not be great but not even close to being disastrous. His stride is actually very powerful when he gets going, yes he needs to work on his first few strides, but for those who keep saying his skating is terrible clearly expect every single player to skate like the wind.

Playing bottom six minutes doesn't mean he was facing easier competition, like Horvat he was given ample amount of chances to play against top prospects as well from other teams.

Gaunce showed that he can use his body and protect the puck very well down low and find his teammates, its more so whether he can continually bring that every shift is the problem.

[2SKATES1STICK]

So by all standards ALL first round picks must be good skaters? And disastrous is a huge stretch...his skating may not be great but not even close to being disastrous. His stride is actually very powerful when he gets going, yes he needs to work on his first few strides, but for those who keep saying his skating is terrible clearly expect every single player to skate like the wind.

The first few strides are the most important. And If he's slow at this level, he is too slow for the NHL.

[Easton76]

While watching the game I noticed a player with really impressive explosiveness and overall speed.

It was Gaunce.

The guy is 6 foot 2, 205lbs so you can't really expect speed to be his strength but its definitely not a weakness. I'm not sold on his puck handling skills but his hockey sense is fantastic and has a decent shot.

If given the right opportunity I think he can be a very solid 3rd liner. Kinda like Bolland, but not as douchey.

[VegasCanuck]

I thought he looks a little faster on take off. His cruising speed is pretty good, but he's never going to be a "wow" type of player.

If he can be a good 3rd line center / winger and maybe a second power play (stand in front of the net and look big) type of player, will be pretty happy overall!

He definitely has good hands, its all about how well he adapts to the next level. He seems to read the game well, if he can anticipate at the next level, that goes a long way. There are guys playing in the NHL and being effective who are slower than him!

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

The first few strides are the most important. And If he's slow at this level, he is too slow for the NHL.

I'm pretty sure there is a word....hm oh yeah that's called development and fine tuning of certain skills. For a 20 year old to have every single aspect of his game perfect is extremely unlikely.

There is a reason why Gaunce will spend time in the AHL to develop his skating. Lots of players have the exact same problem as him, this isn't a unique problem just to him. And he will be given time to develop that aspect of his game as many other prospects across the NHL will do the same.

People need to water down their expectations of not only Gaunce but all prospects, because I kid you not, these prospects will not meet all your expectations and everyone will be disappointed.

[aGENT]

People need to water down their expectations of not only Gaunce but all prospects, because I kid you not, these prospects will not meet all your expectations and everyone will be disappointed.

What if your expectations are reasonable and not expecting Gaunce to be the next Bure? Am I still required to spray a hose on them?

[theminister]

Gaunce will be an everyday NHL player.

Anyone who can't see that should question their understanding of the game.

Edited September 16, 2014 by theminister

[Warhippy]

I'm pretty sure there is a word....hm oh yeah that's called development and fine tuning of certain skills. For a 20 year old to have every single aspect of his game perfect is extremely unlikely.

There is a reason why Gaunce will spend time in the AHL to develop his skating. Lots of players have the exact same problem as him, this isn't a unique problem just to him. And he will be given time to develop that aspect of his game as many other prospects across the NHL will do the same.

People need to water down their expectations of not only Gaunce but all prospects, because I kid you not, these prospects will not meet all your expectations and everyone will be disappointed.

buh buh buh but....all our prospects suck.

And we need to trade the twins and a 2015 first for Gaudreau and smith. Cause everyone elses prospects are the next gretzky

(cdc logic)

[Warhippy]

Gaunce will be an averyday NHL player.

Anyone who can't see that should question their understanding of the game.

Apparently not though, he hasn't scored 800 goals in a season and broken all of Gretzkys scoring records before age 20. he's gotta be a bust

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

What if your expectations are reasonable and not expecting Gaunce to be the next Bure? Am I still required to spray a hose on them?

Reasonable by who's standards??? Mine or yours??? Haha it is subjective

Hence CDC's logic

= personal opinion and bias = the right and only one haha

buh buh buh but....all our prospects suck.

And we need to trade the twins and a 2015 first for Gaudreau and smith. Cause everyone elses prospects are the next gretzky

(cdc logic)

CDC has a case of bipolar too lolz

Player X gets a point per game for a stretch of games = next coming of Gretzky

than

Player X pointless for a few games = BUST

[Knucklehd]

Gaunce has improved his first few strides from what I've seen. Last year, it was an area of needed improvement. This year it's not great, but it's adequate. That said his IQ and positioning is fantastic and it makes up for that deficiency. Once he gets passed those couple strides, he's actually pretty quick, and a freight train to boot.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Knucklehd

[2SKATES1STICK]

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

gonna trade him

[Dancin'Droid]

What if your expectations are reasonable and not expecting Gaunce to be the next Bure? Am I still required to spray a hose on them?

Lower your expectations and you will always be happy

[MoneypuckOverlord]

He's Utica bound. What do you we expect Benning say about him? Something bad? lol.

[Guest Dasein]

While watching the game I noticed a player with really impressive explosiveness and overall speed.

It was Gaunce.

The guy is 6 foot 2, 205lbs so you can't really expect speed to be his strength but its definitely not a weakness. I'm not sold on his puck handling skills but his hockey sense is fantastic and has a decent shot.

If given the right opportunity I think he can be a very solid 3rd liner. Kinda like Bolland, but not as douchey.

Oh man have you seen Bolland's final OHL production? 59GP 130P (57G73A) - he actually put up over 2 points/game (2.2PPG to be exact). In his rookie season in the AHL, 65GP 49P (17G32A) - 0.75PPG - also pretty good.

Finally, Bolland's career-high in the NHL so far is 47 points (in 81 games in 2009) and 0.61PPG in 2011.

I would say he has always been a cut above what Gaunce could reasonably achieve in his NHL career. Honestly, I don't think Manny Malhotra is a bad comparison for Gaunce and if he goes on to have a similar career, he'll be considered fairly successful.

Keep in mind, Manny was also one of the league's top 3Cs before his eye injury (not as offensively talented as Bolland, but brought more in terms of faceoffs, leadership, physicality, grit, etc).

Manny's career high of 35 points (in 77 games in 2009) and 0.53PPG in 2006 are something Gaunce can aim at achieving in his career in terms of offense, but it's really with the intangibles that he could make a name for himself like Manny did.

Edited September 17, 2014 by Dasein

[elvis15]

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.

My dad surprised me by mentioning Gaunce always being in the right spot. He'll mention things like, "that guy's fast," or, "he's really big," but doesn't often pick out positional things as much as he did with Gaunce.

[87Crosby]

While watching the game I noticed a player with really impressive explosiveness and overall speed.

It was Gaunce.

The guy is 6 foot 2, 205lbs so you can't really expect speed to be his strength but its definitely not a weakness. I'm not sold on his puck handling skills but his hockey sense is fantastic and has a decent shot.

If given the right opportunity I think he can be a very solid 3rd liner. Kinda like Bolland, but not as douchey.

Wouldn't mind some douchiness in him. Seems to nice to play solid to play gritty hockey

[KassianBeastMode]

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!

I didn't realize that both Richie and Matthias were UFA's end of this season. I think this may be why the Nucks are really wanting Horvat to make it.

Richardson is such a great player in his role and his value come deadline time will be high for a contender. A great checking center who can move easily between 3/4c and is great in the circle and pk's is extremely high value at the deadline as well as how he plays.

I really hope we can re-sign him prior as I love what he brings but if not, I can see him being moved as a rental for a pick...which makes Horvat making it even more important.

I suspect Benning will get Matthias done sooner as he is younger and Benning tried to trade for him in Boston

Interesting...

Edited September 17, 2014 by KassianBeastMode

[stawns]

Oh man have you seen Bolland's final OHL production? 59GP 130P (57G73A) - he actually put up over 2 points/game (2.2PPG to be exact). In his rookie season in the AHL, 65GP 49P (17G32A) - 0.75PPG - also pretty good.

Finally, Bolland's career-high in the NHL so far is 47 points (in 81 games in 2009) and 0.61PPG in 2011.

I would say he has always been a cut above what Gaunce could reasonably achieve in his NHL career. Honestly, I don't think Manny Malhotra is a bad comparison for Gaunce and if he goes on to have a similar career, he'll be considered fairly successful.

Keep in mind, Manny was also one of the league's top 3Cs before his eye injury (not as offensively talented as Bolland, but brought more in terms of faceoffs, leadership, physicality, grit, etc).

Manny's career high of 35 points (in 77 games in 2009) and 0.53PPG in 2006 are something Gaunce can aim at achieving in his career in terms of offense, but it's really with the intangibles that he could make a name for himself like Manny did.

I agree, but in the games that he's worn a Nucks jersey, he always seems to end up with points, even if you don't think he's been noticeable. He just seems to have that knack.

Edited September 17, 2014 by stawns