Andrey Pedan joined the Comets during the 2014-15 season. He appeared to be very raw, was weak positionally in his own zone particularly away from the puck, and had a desire to hit everything and anything which wasn't good either. He also had a penchant to fight which would be his Waterloo.
Green and Baumgartner went to work and cut his hitting down to the appropriate situations. He could still hit and hit hard, but only when it was right for the play at hand. A hit that took him out of the play, left his post deserted, or got him trapped up ice was not good for him or the team.
They conditioned him to make the quick head man pass and those passes were hard and accurate. He became super at the tape to tape stretch pass. He became unbeatable one on one taking the man and not the puck. His long reach became an asset. His skating began to look much better as he was under control in his play. He also exhibited an absolute bomb from the point, but it was equally dangerous to any player on the ice when he let it go because the accuracy was horrible, but when it was on he hurt the defenders trying to block it and the goalies were challenged to stop it, never mind controlling the rebound. They got him to take a little off the shot in order to gain some control and make it more accurate. He reached the point where we here in Utica were reporting he just might be turning into a serious prospect and losing a 3rd for him (that's really what he cost since Mallet wasn't worth a cent) was a good investment.
Then he got knocked out in a fight, suffered a major concussion that cost him the last 1/3 of the season and the entire playoff run that lasted into June.
He came back in 2015-16 and worked to get back to where he had left off. Then he got his first call-up and when he eventually returned to Utica his career began a descent into Hockey Hell. You can go back to the Utica posts 2015-16 season and read post game report after post game report questioning what the Hell was Andrey doing. What happened to him. He was taking the puck every chance he got and skating it all over his own zone trying to eventually skate it up the ice all by himself. He was out of control and a result became a turnover machine by either losing the puck in all of his stick handling efforts or trying to pass it in desperation after running out of self maneuvering options. His accurate passing was gone. He was overplaying his man on the rush. He was tripping, hooking, slashing, and holding as a result. He was shooting the pick every chance he got whether it was the right thing to do or not. His wild shots were aiding the opponent in their breakout or he was hitting the shin pads of the forward charging out at him out creating breakaways and odd man rushes.
He would go up and down several more times over that season and this one as well. This year even with several call ups, he was never penciled into the lineup for a single game in Vancouver. His play in Utica was sporadic and as about inconsistent as you could want. He would have a great game and follow it up with a rotten one. We never knew which Andrey we would see, but no matter which one you could expect a couple noodle wrist clearing attempts that would end up as a scoring chances against and a couple of blind passes right into his own slot or onto the stick of an opponent in the circle well below the dot. His passing was erratic. His frustration penalties mounted. He was caught up ice on bad pinches way too often. He was often out of position in is own end ans was guilty of puck watching. The result was he finally got so bad that he became a healthy scratch on several occasions. He had regressed to the Andrey that we first saw when he arrived in the Fall of 2015.
He was not a third pairing D-man all season. He was all over the place in his pairings. He started out the season with Sautner with the intention being he would help Ashton along, carry him. Then he was with Robak as a first pairing. Then he saw a some time with Shields and then it was on to McEneny. A couple games with Nilsson until he got hurt again. A couple with Subban. Then a series of games with McEneny. Then back to Sautner and ended the season with McEneny. It was always the intention for him to anchor his pairing except when playing with Robak. He might not have appeared to be carrying out his role, but that was the intention.
I have to say I am as surprised as most of the posters here. I thought they might be able to include him in a trade for some help in Utica or simply release him. Then there was the thought he would follow Tryamkin back to Russia, but I think he really likes North America and has acclimated well to its culture. He wanted to stay here. I think he thinks he still belongs in Vancouver.
I hope they make a spot for him in Vancouver because if he plays this coming season in Utica the same way as the last one, he will be a detriment to the Comets and especially to Demko. Their D will be weak enough as it is without Andrey's negatives. Maybe Travis can convince him that there is only one solution for him and that is to reconstruct the game he had going before the concussion. If his drastic style change was the result of what he was told in Vancouver, that can be put behind him. If he can get back to playing solid D, position himself properly, make the good first pass, and hold the offensive blue line, there could be hope, but if he is the same guy we have have been scratching our heads over, put a fork in him because he is done, done, done.
No matter what, MS is correct. The Comets will still require a couple of solid AHL vets to anchor their defense and pair up with the developing kids. One needs to be their overall best D-man, strong both offensively and defensively. That guy is not among those we know the Canucks have signed. The other needs to a defensive standout. That guy is not among the signed either. Without them, the next season will be in the toilet before it begins. Pedan doesn't fit either of those roles nor do McEneny or Subban. Evan and Jordan were often paired together last season and it's time for them to prove they don't need a sitter so playing together is the best setup for them. If either of them proves to still need the sitter, that pretty much writes him off as an NHL player, especially Jordan. It's time for him to cut his path and Evan needs to be approaching the same level. Those that believe it will be good for Thatcher to be supported by what's currently signed are delusional.
