Glad to know that someone else is seeing the same thing in Dahlen that I see. If a Utica fan questions Dahlen's heart on some message boards it doesn't go over very well. There are a large number of Canucks fans that want this kid in the NHL now if not sooner.
Personally I would like to see Dahlen and Juolevi in Vancouver and in the lineup. I want to see if they play the same way up there. If they do, the hype will fade fast. If they don't the poster who said he thinks they will just click a switch and prove themselves NHL quality will be spot on. I don't think it will turn out that way. I think we see what they are. There is no switch to click.
The best thing for them is to see the physicality at the next level is even greater than it is here. Therefore, playing on the perimeter to avoid it like Dahlen does here won't help his game up there any better. IF these guys have just been treading water to avoid trouble (I don't see that), that would say a lot about their lack of integrity.
While we are at it Carcone and MacEwen should get the same look and that means in the lineup on a regular shift, not in the press box a la Chatfield and Brisebois.
I want to see how Carcone's game of going it alone until he is out of options before he passes goes over with Travis as well as his line mates. If he is going to be a passer, like he should, will we also see his difficulty in passing accuracy since he does it so little that he's not very good at it?
Also want to see if Mac can carry the puck vs NHL D-men and have any more success against them than he does against the AHL defenders. Will we see him stumble around off balance or will he get leaning or reaching out too far ahead of his skates and end up off balance from these efforts as well? Those issues usually see him falling to the ice or using half the width of the rink to right himself and get going again. Will passes bounce off his stick like they do so often here? Will he keep trying the same futile toe drag and get stripped time after time? Will his half boards pass be to a Canuck or an opponent? That's assuming he wins the half boards battle in the first place. When/if he fixes these issues, I can see NHL potential, but not the way he plays now.
Can't take anything away from his efforts, but all that ramming around while missing the check he had set up, or the stick he pokes or swings at, or the puck he is going after that ends up just out of his reach has zero to do with how he scores goals. His goals don't come off the rush. Most are dirty goals in the low slot, the crease, or off the edge of the net and are often on rebounds from someone else's shot. Carrying the puck is not his forte. He will almost always lose it when going it that way. He needs to go the net and dirty places while competent line mates carry the puck and get it to him in his scoring areas. He can make short, accurate, crisp passes as we saw on his pass to Kero from behind the net for a goal Saturday night. That is how he will be most valuable. That's where he can use his size and strength to the best of his abilities.
He hasn't connected on most of those one time or quick release plays because he is too busy trying to be a puck carrying, power forward, carrying it to the net himself with little positive results. After practice or at the end of pregame warmups you can watch him release Boucher type one timers on passes sent across the ice to him. In the games, he seems to be unable to take that shot, often flat out whiffing at the puck. He needs to practice this play much more since he has received those passes in games and his goal numbers would skyrocket if he managed to get the shots off, and then also of importance, on net.
Vancouver should take these guys up one at a time and give them a regular shift for at least one whole game and see what they've got. If the promise is high give 'em another game or 2. If they are really good, send someone else down. It's not like there are not guys in the lineup who couldn't be replaced by a competent player. If their game is not ready, they will see it, the coaches will see it, and the fan base will see it. Send them back to Utica with a clear picture of what they have to get better at. Thinking they are ready, but are just waiting for room is not a good way to develop as a prospect.
