elvis15 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Jeff Paterson @patersonjeff 9m#Canucks Willie: Bo Horvat skated before group today. Roster decision looming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wshdrvvn Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 to me it seems pretty obvious they're going to keep him around into the regular season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollieo Del Fuego Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 (edited) Willie said something like "he is coming off an injury, I really liked the way he was playing so we will have to see if he can keep that going when he gets back". Bo is going nowhere until he makes it or bakes it. 9 games then decision time, it is up to Bo to do just what he was doing.\ He's only going to get better. He will make the team. Edited October 8, 2014 by Rollieo Del Fuego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dasein Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Any news on Bo's progression? He's obviously not ready for tonight's season opener, but will he be healthy for our home opener? Or get an extra full week of rest before our 3rd game of the season next friday? It seems more and more likely that we will see Bo next week, as it gives him time to heal and allow us to play Bo in some games against better competition in November than the Albertan teams that we start against in October... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyllenhaal Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Any news on Bo's progression? He's obviously not ready for tonight's season opener, but will he be healthy for our home opener? Or get an extra full week of rest before our 3rd game of the season next friday? It seems more and more likely that we will see Bo next week, as it gives him time to heal and allow us to play Bo in some games against better competition in November than the Albertan teams that we start against in October... Linden was on TSN1040 and said he should be ready next week, and no AHL stint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maniwaki Canuck Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I was skeptical about Horvat lasting beyond 9 games, but after the Canucks' terrible performance on faceoffs last night, it's hard to see him getting sent down. With him in the lineup, there are 3 credible guys on the draw and platoon possibilities between Vey, Matthais and Bonino to keep them all on their strong side when taking draws. So I'm won over to Bo as 4C for the year and am looking forward to watching him find his feet in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maniwaki Canuck Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 You're assuming Bo will perform well in the dot. He's been good against Calgary and Edmonton who are awful on faceoffs. The one game against a decent faceoff team like Arizona had Bo at 40% (for comparison, Bonino was 59%, Vey 32% and Henrik had an off-night with 23%). If that's going to be the case, Bo has to do a lot more other things to convince he should be at center over Matthias or Vey. Bo's strength at faceoffs is very much unproven at this level. He's shown he can win vs EDM's AHL centers and junior Draisaitl, and CGY's junior Bennett and sophomore Monahan (who is awful at faceoffs in the NHL). The real test comes in regular season - not only for the other centers you mentioned, but for Bo as well. It's going to be interesting how he fares against STL, DAL, TBL, and WSH. It's too bad we don't face a Cali team until Nov 6th which is well after 9 games. Perhaps WD will sit Bo in the press box a few games to pick the 9 games he will audition in and get him a game in against SJS, ANA or LAK. Fair comment: I am assuming he'll do well in the dot, and yes, that's unproven. Still, even in the Arizona game you mention he was 2nd best after Bonino, albeit at 40%. Fact is nearly all of our centres have been abysmal in the dot so far, which makes Horvat relatively better, even when he's bad in absolute terms. Faceoffs are starting to look like an achille's heel for us, and are going to affect the team's game pretty negatively if they don't improve soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dasein Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Fair comment: I am assuming he'll do well in the dot, and yes, that's unproven. Still, even in the Arizona game you mention he was 2nd best after Bonino, albeit at 40%. Fact is nearly all of our centres have been abysmal in the dot so far, which makes Horvat relatively better, even when he's bad in absolute terms. Faceoffs are starting to look like an achille's heel for us, and are going to affect the team's game pretty negatively if they don't improve soon. Ya we were so bad against Calgary - only Richardson was 50% and Bonino at 45% was our second best... And Calgary used to be the worst team in the NHL in faceoffs last season. I can see Vey and Matthias struggling a bit as they are not particularly strong, but I am surprised to see Henrik struggle. Hope WD works on faceoffs a lot during practice. At this rate, we might need to keep Bo even if he's around 40-45% because that would have made him our 2/3rd best last night. Yikes. If we end up sending Bo down, I hope we can add a faceoff specialist on the 4th line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollieo Del Fuego Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Fair comment: I am assuming he'll do well in the dot, and yes, that's unproven. Still, even in the Arizona game you mention he was 2nd best after Bonino, albeit at 40%. Fact is nearly all of our centres have been abysmal in the dot so far, which makes Horvat relatively better, even when he's bad in absolute terms. Faceoffs are starting to look like an achille's heel for us, and are going to affect the team's game pretty negatively if they don't improve soon. Bonino started out terrible in the FO cirlcle then finished strong. Matthias and Vey were awful in the cirlcle and Richardson started out slow then did alright. I think Horvat will be our best FO guy by mid season, he is going to be on the team but not just because of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70seven Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 yup this team needs some serious help on the draw, or else theyre going to be chasing the game every night. Hansen is expendable. As we could have current centers Vey or Matthias play in his spot on the 4th line. I would target a player like Zack Smith, who had 13 goals, 175 hits, and was 52.7% on the draw last season. He's 6'2" - 212, and might be available for the right price. Ottawa has Turris, Zibenejad, Legwand, and Lazar as their top 4 centers, thus leaving Smith on the wing. Perhaps a flip for Hansen would be enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Who goes out if Horvat steps in for us? Hansen? Matthias? Dorsett? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberz21 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) Who goes out if Horvat steps in for us? Hansen? Matthias? Dorsett? Not to bash on Hansen, but it would be a waste to keep him on the fourth and play him < 10 minutes at 2.5M. Plus we have Vrbata, Burrows, Vey (better suited for wing IMO), Kassian and you could also argue Jensen who are more than qualified to play top 9 RW. Therefore, Hansen is expandable IMO. Plus, the Sedin played less than 20 yesterday, so 10 minutes for our 4th line was generous, it wont always be like that, even though the plan is to role 4 lines. 8min should be the average. So that's a small role for a 2.5M$ man. I think there'll be a rotation between Horvat, Matthias and Richardson for 3/4C during the year, depending on the schedule, opponent, injuries and Bo's progression as the season goes on. Edited October 9, 2014 by timberz21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off_The_Schneid! Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Hansen was the worst player last night by far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Who goes out if Horvat steps in for us? Hansen? Matthias? Dorsett? Hansen was the worst player last night by far I like Hansen, particularly in WD's system (in theory anyway) but if he keeps playing like he did last night, he's the guy sitting to make room for Bo IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Kneel Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 At some point I would also like to see Lain or Gaunce called up for faceoff duties (esp against the bigger teams). not discrediting Richardson in the least just to try a bigger body if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 At some point I would also like to see Lain or Gaunce called up for faceoff duties (esp against the bigger teams). not discrediting Richardson in the least just to try a bigger body if needed. Horvat's not exactly small FWIW. Around 210-215 if I recall. He's also a clearly better player than Lain and on par or slightly better than Gaunce IMO (pretty even skill-wise but Horvat's got better compete level IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dasein Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 At some point I would also like to see Lain or Gaunce called up for faceoff duties (esp against the bigger teams). not discrediting Richardson in the least just to try a bigger body if needed. Looks like the Canucks brass are hell-bent on moving Gaunce to the wing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaMash Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) I like Hansen, particularly in WD's system (in theory anyway) but if he keeps playing like he did last night, he's the guy sitting to make room for Bo IMO. I could see either him or Matthias sitting/being moved out if Horvat actually sticks. Hansen was bad last night, but I think he brings way more at his best than Matthias does. Matthias is one of those "meh at everything" type of players to me. Really not much of a fan. Edited October 9, 2014 by BananaMash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I could see either him or Matthias sitting/being moved out if Horvat actually sticks. Hansen was bad last night, but I think he brings way more at his best than Matthias does. Matthias is one of those "meh at everything" type of players to me. Really not much of a fan. Agree. He'd likely get decent return too given his age, size etc...but that's also why I'm scared to move him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaMash Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Agree. He'd likely get decent return too given his age, size etc...but that's also why I'm scared to move him I think we could trade him and Markstrom for Luongo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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