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Erik Gudbranson | #44 | D


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8 hours ago, Skip Spence said:

I’ve seen three full matches this season and never before have I been aware of the player. That’s enough to know Gudbrandson is awful at hockey. The dude who posted the statistical rundown above made the point better than me. Can’t really judge whether his intimidation effect makes up for his poor hockey skills though I’d wager no. 

Haha. Nice try. 

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8 hours ago, Skip Spence said:

I’ve seen three full matches this season and never before have I been aware of the player. That’s enough to know Gudbrandson is awful at hockey. The dude who posted the statistical rundown above made the point better than me. Can’t really judge whether his intimidation effect makes up for his poor hockey skills though I’d wager no. 

Actually, when you learn a little about hockey you will find that the defensive Dmen are not supposed to be noticeable. If you notice them all the time, then it often means they are awful. If you don't notice them it generally means they are doing their job competently.

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5 minutes ago, WeneedLumme said:

Actually, when you learn a little about hockey you will find that the defensive Dmen are not supposed to be noticeable. If you notice them all the time, then it often means they are awful. If you don't notice them it generally means they are doing their job competently.

And how many hockey “matches” have you seen Guddy play?  :lol:

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I'm liking the Edler-Tanev top pairing with Hutton-Stecher as the mobile, puck moving second pairing. It helps to keep Gudbranson away from the more speedy opposition forwards and allows him to put time in on our excellent PK units. I can't wait until Hughes replaces Pouliot's spot in the lineup towards the end of the season. He'll help Gudbranson immensely and Gudbranson the same with Hughes. If that pair hits, we could possibly have a #2D-#2D / #4D-#4D / #4D-#4D defense core in Edler-Tanev / Hutton-Stecher / Hughes-Gudbranson.

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Just for reference, despite the NHL transitioning into more mobile dman who are excellent skaters and offensive producers, there is still an appetite in the league to have big, stay at home dman with poor to moderate skating.  The NHL still has a clear appetite to have this breed of dman around.

 

There is literally at least 1 guy on every team varying in salary, term, etc...and if you are Edmonton's case you have more than 1...perhaps 4

 

Anaheim - Josh Manson, Korbian Holzer, Jake Dotchin, Andrei Sustr

Boston - Kevyn Miller

Buffalo - Zach Bogosian

Calgary - Dalton Prout

Chicago - Conner Murphy

Colorado - Ian Cole

Dallas - Jamie Oleksiak, Marc Methot

Detroit - Luke Witkowski

Edmonton (LOL) - Adam Larsson, Brandon Manning, Alex Petrovic, Kevin Gravel

Florida - Ian McCoshen

LA - Derek Forbert

Montreal - Jordie Benn

Minnesota - Greg Pateryn, Nate Prosser

NYI - Scott Mayfield, 

NYR - Adam McQuaid, Marc Staal

OTT - Marc Borowiecki, Ben Harpur

PHI - Radko Gudas, Christian Folin

PIT - Brian Dummolin

SJ- Brendan Dillion

STL - Robert Bortuzzo, Joel Edmundson

TB - Eric Cernak, Brayden Coburn, Dan Girardi

TOR - Ron Hainsey, Martin Marincin

VGS - Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb, Nick Holden

WSH - Brooks Orpik

WPG - Ben Chariot, Dmitry Kulikov

 

Believe it or not there are a large handful who make much more salary wise than Gudbranson does, and another handful that make near to the same amount as him.

 

Despite his numbers and the analytics against him, there is still a role for Gudbranson in the NHL.  Considering how brittle and light we are as a team, having Guddy is the least of our problems.  There are far more pressing issues than having Gudbranson on our team.

 

Also, I listened to sportsnet 650 with Mira Lawrence and Aynsley Scott, and both commented after talking to majority of Canuck players in the locker room, Gudbranson seems to be the most popular guy in the room.  Yeah his on ice measures suck, but his attitude and overall presence seems to really rub off well on the team in general.  Makes a huge difference walking into that locker room and seeing a guy you really like on your team. 

 

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, aGENT said:

Alberts was a better (7-8th) D than a lot of CDC gave him credit for (AHLberts was a popular nickname IIRC) but he couldn't hold EG's jock strap.

Guds is so tough...he doesn’t  even use a jockstrap.:P

Edited by NewbieCanuckFan
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4 hours ago, WeneedLumme said:

Actually, when you learn a little about hockey you will find that the defensive Dmen are not supposed to be noticeable. If you notice them all the time, then it often means they are awful. If you don't notice them it generally means they are doing their job competently.

 

4 hours ago, Alflives said:

And how many hockey “matches” have you seen Guddy play?  :lol:

You seem to be missing my point. Never have I claimed to be en expert on hockey and even less The Canucks. Thought I spelled it out clear that I’ve only watched this team three full matches and never been aware of EG before. Lots of players on the roster are still anonymous to me but EG really stands out. And not in a flattering way. 

 

He can’t skate, has a terrible first pass (more icings than forward passes it seems) and is constantly left for dead in the defensive zone because he’s dreadfully slow, has terrible positioning and anticipation of the game or just wants to wrestle or pound someone on the boards. Just watch his shifts, his teammates always have to cover for his ineptitude.

 

I’m sure he’s a lovely bloke but at the same time it must be demoralising playing with someone who never can keep possession and and just keeps getting the team in trouble. 

Edited by Skip Spence
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gudlock.jpg.602f5e8e86464553e975a7e4ce2ab781.jpgThe feared Tom Wilson, getting headlocked and fed some fist. For the fact that Guddy can do this when needed is necessary. 

 

HKN-Blues-vs-Canucks-20181220-2.jpg.4397b27fe8f06cfab9ef81e5591a0b19.jpgHere's former Canuck killer, Alexander Steen looking somewhat sad and scared. 

 

With the right partner, Edler, Guddy can tighten up his deficiencies. 

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3 hours ago, Skip Spence said:

 

You seem to be missing my point. Never have I claimed to be en expert on hockey and even less The Canucks. Thought I spelled it out clear that I’ve only watched this team three full matches and never been aware of EG before. Lots of players on the roster are still anonymous to me but EG really stands out. And not in a flattering way. 

 

He can’t skate, has a terrible first pass (more icings than forward passes it seems) and is constantly left for dead in the defensive zone because he’s dreadfully slow, has terrible positioning and anticipation of the game or just wants to wrestle or pound someone on the boards. Just watch his shifts, his teammates always have to cover for his ineptitude.

 

I’m sure he’s a lovely bloke but at the same time it must be demoralising playing with someone who never can keep possession and and just keeps getting the team in trouble. 

Nice shtick. If you don't know anything about hockey or the Canucks you appear to be lost lol.

 

Nice try.

 

As most hockey people or long time actual hockey fans know, players like Guddy have their uses. A guy like Guddy would probably terribly frighten many blokes.  :bigblush:

Edited by Kanukfanatic
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 Is that gif supposed to say something positive about Gudbranson? On the actual play, Tkachuk followed his shot to the net and bodied Gudbranson out of his way to look for a rebound. After the whistle, Guddy gave him a 'shot', which was more of a push up high, and Tkachuk took a dive trying to draw a penalty.

 

It hardly speaks to Gudbranson's toughness or intimidation; the latter being a concept that is overblown greatly by his supporters.

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42 minutes ago, Maninthebox said:

 Is that gif supposed to say something positive about Gudbranson? On the actual play, Tkachuk followed his shot to the net and bodied Gudbranson out of his way to look for a rebound. After the whistle, Guddy gave him a 'shot', which was more of a push up high, and Tkachuk took a dive trying to draw a penalty.

 

It hardly speaks to Gudbranson's toughness or intimidation; the latter being a concept that is overblown greatly by his supporters.

It's weird he's strong when he doesn't have the puck like when he decides to hit of box players out. But then when he has the puck in his own end it looks like Kyle Wellwood could outmuscle him and strip the puck off him if he wanted to. 

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I have read for days how some of you have bashed Gudbranson to death,  well sorry I am the opposite, I don't go for all the fancy numbers,  never have. Gudbranson works fine for our team, funny how other teams are interested in him still. 

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On 1/29/2019 at 10:19 AM, bree2 said:

I have read for days how some of you have bashed Gudbranson to death,  well sorry I am the opposite, I don't go for all the fancy numbers,  never have. Gudbranson works fine for our team, funny how other teams are interested in him still. 

I agree that there is still a place for hard playing, rugged guys in the NHL.  No more true than in the playoffs.

 

But ya gotta bring more to the table.  You have to admit that he does nothing out there well as it pertains to reducing scoring not increasing scoring.  He can't make either play to save his life. The only thing he does is hit, and even then he should be our hit leader as well as delivering bone crushing hits... which he rarely does. 

 

If I felt he was feared and disrupted plays, or if he really crushed guys regularly then I'd possibly change my mind.

 

 

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Honestly, the idea that professional hockey players, who routinely throw themselves in front of slapshots, are afraid enough of a punch from the slightly larger guy on our team to influence how they play against us, is beyond farcical.

 

The arguments that Gudbranson plays best "when paired with an elite defenseman" is hopefully a joke, or actually a damning indictment of his hockey ability. Much like anyone who played om the Sedin line having a good stat-line, Gudbranson is apparently at his best when a much more talented player is doing all the work and covering his uselessness. I don't want one of my best players wasted babysitting a guy who's only in the league because he's 230lbs and was drafted 3rd overall.

 

The fact that other GMs might be interested in him still is not a validation of his ability, it is an appeal to authority fallacy. Ever work with someone and think 'how did this guy get hired?' only to reason it out with 'well management must know what they are doing and some other company also hired him previously...' Thought not.

 

I do see the importance of physicality in the game of hockey, but never at the expense of ability to actually play hockey.

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Oh, funny no one mentions the goal he saved when the Nucks were down 2-0 then seconds later the puck goes the other way and Boeser gets the Canucks back in it.  Yeah they eventually lost but Guddy played like a...... wait for it.... a NHL defenseman. 

 

Oh no complaints or bitching on all the turnovers and goals against he allowed in Colorado?  Oh that's right, he played another great game that night as well.  How does the worst defenseman in the league*, an AHL calibre defenseman*, pull those performances out of his ass like that?

 

 

*According to the CDC scouts.

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9 minutes ago, Tre Mac said:

Oh, funny no one mentions the goal he saved when the Nucks were down 2-0 then seconds later the puck goes the other way and Boeser gets the Canucks back in it.  Yeah they eventually lost but Guddy played like a...... wait for it.... a NHL defenseman. 

 

Oh no complaints or bitching on all the turnovers and goals against he allowed in Colorado?  Oh that's right, he played another great game that night as well.  How does the worst defenseman in the league*, an AHL calibre defenseman*, pull those performances out of his ass like that?

 

 

*According to the CDC scouts.

Linden Vey scored some goals, stud?

 

I stick to my original statement from mid season last year. Guddy is a good 3rd pairing defenseman and nothing more.

Edited by Where'd Luongo?
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6 minutes ago, Tre Mac said:

Oh, funny no one mentions the goal he saved when the Nucks were down 2-0 then seconds later the puck goes the other way and Boeser gets the Canucks back in it.  Yeah they eventually lost but Guddy played like a...... wait for it.... a NHL defenseman. 

 

Oh no complaints or bitching on all the turnovers and goals against he allowed in Colorado?  Oh that's right, he played another great game that night as well.  How does the worst defenseman in the league*, an AHL calibre defenseman*, pull those performances out of his ass like that?

 

 

*According to the CDC scouts.

Those incidents are easily ignored by the anti-Gudbranson brigade. They can't call him the worst defenseman in the NHL if he does something right. Screws with the narrative. 

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He's not the worst D in the league. He skates really well, brings a needed physical presence & he can defend man on man. The current group needs his toughness & at times he can be very effective in our own end.

 

I just think Gudbranson's problems are 2 things; He struggles at times reading the play defensively. And his inability/inconsistency moving the puck. 

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