Player Discussion Brendan Gaunce
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Ho Borvat
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- Sep 29, 2009
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I think Gaunce will see some games this year (assuming we run into a stretch of injuries to one/both of them), and get a handful of games as our 4th line center.
Im not overly optimistic with Gaunce, and don't really see him as anything more than a 4th line center long term... but think he will be a serviceable NHL'er.
Im not overly optimistic with Gaunce, and don't really see him as anything more than a 4th line center long term... but think he will be a serviceable NHL'er.
CCF23
Registered User
Yeah, everytime I watch Gaunce he doesn't look flashy but he's in the right place and scores some key goals. I'm also optimistic he can develop into a solid third line center. He does a lot of little things right already. He's one of the guys I expect to impress at camp although I think he spends most of the year in the AHL.
I'm on the same boat. Although I don't think it's impossible, I think it's very unlikely he becomes a top 6 forward when you look at his offensive skill-set. He has the tools to become a very valuable 3rd liner (or 2nd/3rd line tweener). He's also a good character guy who is likeable and I could easily see him getting an "A" on his chest down the road (assuming he reaches his potential).
I also think it's realistic that he spends most of his ELC time in the AHL. The top 6 icetime in the AHL will be better for him than bottom 6 (probably 4th line) icetime he'd get in the NHL, and he'll have more room to develop his offensive abilities.
Amazing how young players get type-cast before they hit 20. Remember all the conventional wisdom on Ryan Kesler....good skater, good on the forecheck, physical but with limited offensive upside. Third-liner at best. See some similarities with Gaunce...two-way play will get him to the NHL....offense still a work in progress, but has the raw tools. Also great leadership qualities, which can't be measured.
I am a Canucks fan, so I will assume Nathan Smith upside until proven otherwise.
C'mon, Gaunce is clearly better than that. I'm assuming Patrick White.
For this year, I'd hope that he becomes a strong ES scorer in the AHL and high-level two-way player at that level. More that 40-45 points might not be too realistic unless he gets more PP time than expected, but if he can score 30+ ES points that would be a good start. And gets up here for a few games when we get some injuries down the middle.
Riley Sheahan's rookie AHL season wouldn't be a bad comparable.
Riley Sheahan's rookie AHL season wouldn't be a bad comparable.
ihaveyuidonttouchme
MrShiftbyShiftGuy
i think he'll finally get a legitimate line mates who can actually score a goal. He always played with such un naming worthy (no offense) line-mates with the Bulls but made them much better player than they were and still ended up with PPG almost every season
i mean can u really remember who they were?? (Curtis, Zharkov, Crammarossa, Hooey, Simmonds? Eww!)
The only time he really had an opportunity of playing with elite talent was his short short stint in Erie (Burakovsky and that Brown guy...not sure if he played with Fox) and even then, he ended up more defensive role with scrap players... (though they were formidable as i heard)
this is his real chance with so much young players on the rise to play with and i expect him to take full advantage of it
high high hopes for him
but in terms of production expectation, we'll see b.c he could still end up playing a 3rd line defensive role like with scrap players...oh the horror!
i mean can u really remember who they were?? (Curtis, Zharkov, Crammarossa, Hooey, Simmonds? Eww!)
The only time he really had an opportunity of playing with elite talent was his short short stint in Erie (Burakovsky and that Brown guy...not sure if he played with Fox) and even then, he ended up more defensive role with scrap players... (though they were formidable as i heard)
this is his real chance with so much young players on the rise to play with and i expect him to take full advantage of it
high high hopes for him
but in terms of production expectation, we'll see b.c he could still end up playing a 3rd line defensive role like with scrap players...oh the horror!
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Gaunce' ISS scouting report 2012:
What do you think, how this has realized?
I like Gaunce' overall game, his work ethic, his hockey sense and competitive game, but i'm not sure his offensive upside (on the other hand, in his draft year, he produced even-strength goals at a higher per game rate than every draft eligible skater and he played Bulls). He is however a powerful forward and an extraordinary defensive player with NHL size. He could make his NHL debut on next season and i look forward that he develop Canucks 3rd line center in the future.
What do you think, how this has realized?
I like Gaunce' overall game, his work ethic, his hockey sense and competitive game, but i'm not sure his offensive upside (on the other hand, in his draft year, he produced even-strength goals at a higher per game rate than every draft eligible skater and he played Bulls). He is however a powerful forward and an extraordinary defensive player with NHL size. He could make his NHL debut on next season and i look forward that he develop Canucks 3rd line center in the future.
I'm quite excited about Gauncer. Feel like he came a long way in the last year. Don't see him as ever being a liability on the big club either thanks to his defensive play.
All good brah.
All good brah.
I think he'll be an injury replacement player this year... come up for a few games when someone gets hurt (center) but that'll be it.
Szechwan
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- Sep 13, 2006
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His disposition reminds of Shane Doan, and he plays well in the same areas of the ice despite primarily playing C rather than RW.
If I'm not mistaken he played a fair amount of LW this year after the trade, so I'd be interested in seeing him get a look there in training camp; his offensive game looks a lot different when he doesn't have to worry about the defensive responsibility that comes with playing C and I think that's exactly what he needs at this stage of his development.
He's got the 2 way game dialed, now time to focus on scoring from in tight because that's where he's going to have success if he ever makes the NHL.
If I'm not mistaken he played a fair amount of LW this year after the trade, so I'd be interested in seeing him get a look there in training camp; his offensive game looks a lot different when he doesn't have to worry about the defensive responsibility that comes with playing C and I think that's exactly what he needs at this stage of his development.
He's got the 2 way game dialed, now time to focus on scoring from in tight because that's where he's going to have success if he ever makes the NHL.
Tobi Wan Kenobi
Registered User
lol......... He could have been in the NHL last season and held his own. He's NHL ready. Especially now that he's improved his foot speed. Needs lot's of development to be in the top 6 yes, but he's bottom six ready now.
Yeah I think our mix of "bottom 6 C's" i.e. Horvat, Gaunce, Fox, McCann and Cassels can all play a bit of wing. Very versatile group we have.
By Doan, do you mean something along the lines of quiet and composed until something gets his back up and then he flicks a switch and becomes ultra competitive? I can relate.
Blue Suede Shoes
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- May 5, 2012
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On a 1-5 scale, 1 being poor, 2 being below average, 3 being good, 4 being very good, 5 being excellent, I would rank him something like this
Size/Strength: 4
Physical Play: 3
Skating - Acceleration: 2
Skating - Top Speed: 3
Puck Skills: 2
Shot: 4
Offensive Play: 3
Defensive Play: 5
Vision: 4
Competitiveness: 5
Hockey Sense: 5
With the last 2 categories being - in my mind - by far the most important categories for any hockey prospect. And 'vision' being the next most important.
So while I don't see a very high upside with Gauntlet, I think he has everything it takes to be a good NHL player, and he probably has everything it takes to surpass peoples expectations. I would guess that he becomes a very good 3rd line center or winger.
TheWanderer
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- Nov 15, 2013
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I don't feel like you're really basing that opinion on anything other than his draft position and a lack of hype, to be honest. Care to elaborate?
Could argue he's bottom 6 ready but he has one disadvantage working against him... he does not need to clear waivers, which makes him a great depth/13/14th forward. Of course if he flat out wins the job, then he deserves a roster spot but if its close (and given the number of NHL 3rd/4th liners we have signed it probably will be), then he'll end up in the minors.
The other argument is 4th line NHL vs 1st line NHL... which will help him more in the long run. Winning a 3rd line spot on our team isn't exactly going to be easy (once again because we just have a decent amount of depth and surprisingly quite a few 2 way players similar to BG without his upside... if he was like HS/Jensen, he probably has a better shot since we clearly lack finishers).
Similar players he'll be competing against (that are locks to make the team pending a trade):
Higgins
Burrows
Hansen
Matthias
Vrbata
Other forwards that are locks
Sedins x2
Bonino
ZK
Vey
That's already 10 and its hard to imagine BG beating 2 of them to be in the top 9 (more so given he isn't a pure finisher and that's what we likely need more than another 2 way player). Also if he was competing for the 4th line, you have to add in Richardson, Dorsetti, and i guess Sestito (as well as the argument of ice time vs NHL 4th line... more so since BG hasn't really played in the AHL so the experience should help him). Its ironic that if he was a few years older with the exact same talent, he probably has a better chance of making the team due to waiver situation and lower upside (lower risk of ruining his development by having him play 4-5 minutes a night).
TheWanderer
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- Nov 15, 2013
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I don't think he'll make the team out of camp because of the roster's situation with waivers, but I think he is a 1st call-up for the bottom 6, with Jensen being 1st call-up for top 6.
Shinkaruk and Fox both have the potential to leap-frog themselves into 1st call-up duties.
Shinkaruk and Fox both have the potential to leap-frog themselves into 1st call-up duties.
Don't know if Fox can leap frog Jensen/BG but a couple thing BG does have going for him in terms of call-up...
#1 Multiple players in our 3rd line are players that often do get moved upto the top 6 as IR. Of course that was with a different coach (or i should say coaches) so that could change. Assuming it doesn't, that means a good chance the replacement in the top 6 will actually be a call-up to replace a bottom 6. That and realistically for us it'll be top line then 3a and 3b (honestly our 2nd line isn't offensive when compared to other team's 2nd line).
#2 Size... Jensen has a NHL body and so does BG. Its debatable rather Fox or HS are physically ready for the NHL. HS isn't going to get much bigger and the style he plays, he probably won't need to get bigger. Fox on the other hand probably needs to add a bit more muscle before being NHL ready (tho that might be already done, its one of the things to look for during the pre-season).
#3 Position, Fox and BG are center and being realistic our center depth isn't great (tho a few wingers could play center spot, they might be better off on the wing). BG can also play LW so that gives him a slight edge if we want to move players around during the game.
The other advantage BG has is he's relatively healthy and was @ camp last year. Jensen has a similar advantage but that puts HS in a huge disadvantage. Major injury generally takes a while to recover from... not just the injury itself but getting back into game shape.
Basically the #1 call-up spot is BG's to lose in most situations (unless D. Sedin gets hurt, in which case we probably want the best offensive player we got to replace him meaning Jensen or HS will likely get the call, if H. Sedin gets hurt, i expect Vey would likely be given a chance to replace him since Vey is likely the best playmaking center we have outside H. Sedin so the call up would replace Vey, meaning again likely BG).
David Bruce Banner
Nude Cabdriver Ban
Outside of Corrado and Vey, I think he's the most likely Canuck prospect to see significant ice time with the NHL squad this year. In order of likelihood...
Vey
Corrado
Gaunce
Jensen
I'm not including Archibald and Lain who, although they could also see time with the Canucks this year, will never amount to more than 4th liners/healthy scratches.
Gaunce's best case scenario is a 2nd line Joel Otto type 2-way center... but he'll need to get meaner.
Vey
Corrado
Gaunce
Jensen
I'm not including Archibald and Lain who, although they could also see time with the Canucks this year, will never amount to more than 4th liners/healthy scratches.
Gaunce's best case scenario is a 2nd line Joel Otto type 2-way center... but he'll need to get meaner.
Shareefruck
Registered User
I like him more than Shinkaruk/Jensen, personally, and I think he's got more offensive upside than given credit for.
He simply doesn't play a style game where his weaknesses (namely puckhandling) are really that glaring, IMO-- The way he picks his spots in the offensive zone is almost Hull-esque-- it's all positioning-- puck on and off his stick whether he's passing or shooting or forechecking. Lurk passively, assess, find a hole and hit it aggressively kind of guy.
I think he'll be an ideal 3rd line guy that will never be the driver of the play offensively, but I can see finding a really useful and interesting niche offensively the way guys like Holmstrom or Andreychuk do.
This is out to left field, but if he plays wing, I can actually see him as the type of player who might have a miraculous spark playing with the Twins considering the way he plays. I also think he'd be a pretty great fit with Higgins or Kassian.
He simply doesn't play a style game where his weaknesses (namely puckhandling) are really that glaring, IMO-- The way he picks his spots in the offensive zone is almost Hull-esque-- it's all positioning-- puck on and off his stick whether he's passing or shooting or forechecking. Lurk passively, assess, find a hole and hit it aggressively kind of guy.
I think he'll be an ideal 3rd line guy that will never be the driver of the play offensively, but I can see finding a really useful and interesting niche offensively the way guys like Holmstrom or Andreychuk do.
This is out to left field, but if he plays wing, I can actually see him as the type of player who might have a miraculous spark playing with the Twins considering the way he plays. I also think he'd be a pretty great fit with Higgins or Kassian.
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