GB5 Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 5 hours ago, mll said: WD's comments on Gaunce via Kuzma in the Province: Brendan Gaunce was a healthy scratch Tuesday for the fourth-consecutive game. The centre/winger was a versatile fourth-line lock, but Willie Desjardins is more confident in Jack Skille, Michael Chaput and Jayson Megna. “He’s able to give us more,” Desjardins said of Gaunce. “It happens a lot of times — you get in the lineup and you relax a bit. He needs to have more edge to his game.” Said Gaunce, who has but three assists in 29 games: “You’ve got to be confident when you’re playing. I don’t necessarily have the same confidence as I did last year and that’s something I’m trying to work on and need to work on.” Gaunce is awesome. He says the right things, doesn't whine and works very hard to do the right things. Problem is like I've been saying is that Willie seems to think that the team is better with two minor leaguers on the fourth line getting 6 minutes a game as opposed to helping to develop a player that has the potential to have an important role in the future with this team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horvats_Big_Head Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 21 minutes ago, GarthButcher5 said: Gaunce is awesome. He says the right things, doesn't whine and works very hard to do the right things. Problem is like I've been saying is that Willie seems to think that the team is better with two minor leaguers on the fourth line getting 6 minutes a game as opposed to helping to develop a player that has the potential to have an important role in the future with this team. No, the problem is that Gaunce doesn't have any talent. He works hard but that is all he has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 So much like the Virtanen saga, why the heck is the team keeping him up here when he could be playing big minutes in Utica? Watching Gaunce play this season, it seems to me that he's not quite ready for a regular role with the big club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB5 Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 3 hours ago, Horvats_Big_Head said: No, the problem is that Gaunce doesn't have any talent. He works hard but that is all he has. Hard work has made for many lengthy careers in the NHL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 4 hours ago, MJDDawg said: So much like the Virtanen saga, why the heck is the team keeping him up here when he could be playing big minutes in Utica? Watching Gaunce play this season, it seems to me that he's not quite ready for a regular role with the big club. Unlike Virtanen, Gaunce has already had extensive experience in the AHL and has proven himself there, improving drastically in his 2nd season. He has little left to prove there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 5 minutes ago, ajhockey said: Unlike Virtanen, Gaunce has already had extensive experience in the AHL and has proven himself there, improving drastically in his 2nd season. He has little left to prove there. On a rebuilding team, should Skille and Megna (late 20's) play ahead of Gaunce on our fourth line? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 3 minutes ago, Alflives said: On a rebuilding team, should Skille and Megna (late 20's) play ahead of Gaunce on our fourth line? No, I wouldn't say so, especially since Gaunce has nothing left to prove in the AHL. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoseTruckWasIt Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 12 minutes ago, ajhockey said: No, I wouldn't say so, especially since Gaunce has nothing left to prove in the AHL. He got a good long look and did sweet eff all. That kind of thinking is what cost us Richardson. I want Gaunce to be good, but he's actually had a tonne of opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 4 minutes ago, WhoseTruckWasIt said: He got a good long look and did sweet eff all. That kind of thinking is what cost us Richardson. I want Gaunce to be good, but he's actually had a tonne of opportunity. Maybe Gaunce is another in the growing list of young forwards who Willie D confuses? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Just now, WhoseTruckWasIt said: He got a good long look and did sweet eff all. That kind of thinking is what cost us Richardson. I want Gaunce to be good, but he's actually had a tonne of opportunity. It depends on what you're expecting from him. Defensively, he's doing his job. Offensively, he is underachieving quite a bit. As for the defensive side: (Out of 15 forwards with 5+ games) +/-: 7th out of 15 Corsi: 5th out of 15 Fenwick: 11th out of 15 Defensive Zone starts: 2nd (only Chaput has a higher percentage of defensive zone starts) Hits/Game: 4th out of 15 (despite his low minutes/game) Where Gaunce is weak is in his offense. His shots/game is among the lowest on the team and he needs to revitalize that part of his game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoseTruckWasIt Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 2 minutes ago, ajhockey said: It depends on what you're expecting from him. Defensively, he's doing his job. Offensively, he is underachieving quite a bit. As for the defensive side: (Out of 15 forwards with 5+ games) +/-: 7th out of 15 Corsi: 5th out of 15 Fenwick: 11th out of 15 Defensive Zone starts: 2nd (only Chaput has a higher percentage of defensive zone starts) Hits/Game: 4th out of 15 (despite his low minutes/game) Where Gaunce is weak is in his offense. His shots/game is among the lowest on the team and he needs to revitalize that part of his game. I thought that a lack of intensity was the main concern. He was definitely good on defensive zone draws, and I don't need him to score a tonne, but he's had like 40-odd games to make an impression on the forecheck or something. I'm on the fence about this guy, but I definitely think that the scratching is warranted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 34 minutes ago, WhoseTruckWasIt said: (farting sound) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 16 hours ago, Alflives said: On a rebuilding team, should Skille and Megna (late 20's) play ahead of Gaunce on our fourth line? No! The 4th line has had many good nights but still 6 minutes of TOI is not doing any favors for their roles. Last year the 4th was getting more TOI and IMHO it should bottom at 9 - 10 minutes. Gaunce has to play. I wanted him to get at least 40 games this year. Movement up and down to Utica might not be a bad thing. I thought Willie hit his play on the head when he said he wanted a more aggressive game. ie more hits and more battle in front of the net. Gaunce is developing more comfort at the NHL level but bumping his game up a tad likely helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 I think Gaunce has been too focused on defense. I almost want to see him play in the top 6 and be told, okay go out there and score just to see what he does. Need to find the balance between offense and defense in the NHL. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 2 minutes ago, Derp... said: I think Gaunce has been too focused on defense. I almost want to see him play in the top 6 and be told, okay go out there and score just to see what he does. Need to find the balance between offense and defense in the NHL. Our ENTIRE forward group is too focussed on defence, especially to start games. Willie D's system is VERY PASSIVE and guys get standing around watching the other team. We don't start pushing forward until the team scores. Willie is KILLING the confidence of the young guys, including Gaunce. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB5 Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 Just now, Alflives said: Our ENTIRE forward group is too focussed on defence, especially to start games. Willie D's system is VERY PASSIVE and guys get standing around watching the other team. We don't start pushing forward until the team scores. Willie is KILLING the confidence of the young guys, including Gaunce. Absolutely, as the old adage goes, Willie is obviously playing "not to lose" instead of "playing to win". 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldoescobar Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 23 hours ago, Horvats_Big_Head said: No, the problem is that Gaunce doesn't have any talent. He works hard but that is all he has. This^ Gaunce is a very hard worker, says the right things etc but he just doesnt have the talent to be a regular NHL player. I could see him having some success in Europe, perhaps the KHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAZY_4_NAZZY Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 Give Gauncy some special team's minutes and lessen some other guys like Sutter and Horvat's minutes. I believe you give Gaunce more responsibility he will relish it plus frees up a couple more shifts of a fresher Sutter and Horvat to either do more 5v5 or on the powerplay. Willie is going to run his vets into the ground before the team can put themselves into a competitive situation. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancaster Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 SMH.... people writing off Gaunce after less than half a season of body work. I guess they're the same people who were calling Kesler a bust after his initial foray in the NHL. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 I still have no reason to believe Gaunce won't be a 4th line player at least. It's becoming a bit more apparent that he might not have the offensive skill to be a 3rd liner, but he's smart, defensively sound and a very hard worker. If he get's a bit stronger (and he should be able to) he'll be able to carve out a decent career. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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