Post-Game Talk: Canucks lose 4-3 in OT. Trade everyone!

[BeardyCanuck03]

I wouldn't put much into those numbers... But the point is right, he was never looked at as a star offensively, yet some feel like he has to become a new player to please them, its kinda ridiculous.

Horvat will never be the flashy player. Which is why he gets the Bergeron comparison

 

[Mofletz]

If only Subban could grow a few inches.

 

[bossram]

Valk and Fox looked like they can really create offense and finish. Zalewski looked good. Everyone else meh.

But my god was Liberati awful.

Tkachev was clearly the best player out there. Man he was freakin' slick. He's small, but was physical and his two-way game was solid too, except for the OT giveaway. Any team (us included) could have had him for a 7th round pick. And it would have been a much better choice than Petit/Mackenzie.

 

[Balls Mahoney]

Liberati was a terrible draft pick. Matter of fact I have quite a few qualms with Canucks drafting in later rounds.

Liberati is a talented skater but has virtually no other identifiable tangibles. The Canucks draft players like Liberati, Petit, Cederholm and Stewart and yet players like Aho and Valk go undrafted. Heck we could've had the Russian savior in the 7th round any of the last two years if management was on it's game.

 

[Trelane]

The claim that our top line was absent is valid if going by collective draft pedigree of Virtanen-McCann-Cassels v Horvat-Shinkaruk-Fox.

You can tell what particular neurosis ravaged the upper brass of both clubs the last few years by their prospects. Edmonton is all about size and Van is about grit, initiating more than their share of rough stuff and letting nothing slip sans prompt retaliation (my boy Wilson). We got tons of penalties in the first half and deserved them all and maybe more. Lots of heavy hits being thrown, as well as stick work going on behind the play. Can't wait for Calgary. Could get real nasty.

The without the puck stick work of Fox and Shinkaruk was noticeable. I dare say rat like. If either makes it to the show they will not be liked. Hunter's claimed 186lbs looks legit and size will no longer be an issue if he keeps improving in other areas.

Subban gained some as well but the change is not as drastic. Rushes the puck well but like all our D had some positioning miscues and fumbles. Need to see him defending against regulars and how he does along the boards.

Newsflash: Corrado isn't the second coming of Tanev.

Gaunce lost a little weight but looks taller. Seems faster too (as does Horvat). Alas, it didn't translate into him being any more dangerous offensively. Him and Jensen need to step it up. Not horrible just didn't generate much if any chances.

Cederholm >>> Liberati and McEneny. Granted none of these guys is much of a threat to get more than a cup of coffee in the show.

As for Horvat, he is what he is, an unflashy corsi/fenwick suppressor that wins puck battles an makes safe % plays. Simply, if Draisaitl is sticking with Oilers, as we all know he will, then Horvat should easily stick as well (but we all know he won't). Wouldn't look out of place in our bottom 6 right now.

The Fox goal came as a result of Horvat caused turnover. Line started slowly and got better as the game went on, but, like last year at this tournament, I didn't see any of that often mentioned "chemistry" between Bo and Hunter, beyond what might be expected of any two good players thrown together haphazardly. Long term Nucks may want to rethink that.

 

[denkiteki]

Didn't watch the entire game but parts i saw, Valk probably earned himself a contract. Hopefully the contract he signs is with us but i'm sure other teams would now be interested in him (if they weren't already).

Our D was an issue like i kinda expected. Corrado played worst than i expected but it being a prospect tournament and first action in a while, i guess Corrado has an excuse. Its not like his roster spot will be earned in the tournament. He really did look like someone who had nothing to gain and nothing to lose (which is probably his status this tournament).

BG looked worst than last season/what i remembered. Hopefully he fixes up his game before pre-season starts. Otherwise he'll be in Utica for sure. Based on this game alone, Horvat is ahead of him in the depth chart for a possible spot on the team (honestly not sure if there is a spot unless they really out play the "vets" and/or Vey).

HS and Fox both look like they'll do something special in Utica this season. Fox is becoming a pretty interesting prospect at this point.

 

[Rey]

Horvat will never be the flashy player. Which is why he gets the Bergeron comparison

Bergeron is flashy though

 

[Pip]

Valk and Fox looked like they can really create offense and finish. Zalewski looked good. Everyone else meh.

But my god was Liberati awful.

Tkachev was clearly the best player out there. Man he was freakin' slick. He's small, but was physical and his two-way game was solid too, except for the OT giveaway. Any team (us included) could have had him for a 7th round pick. And it would have been a much better choice than Petit/Mackenzie.

Nurse was by far the best player out there

 

[bossram]

Nurse was by far the best player out there

Strongly disagree. Tkachev looked very good.

 

[Rey]

On a seriously note, it's the first game. I doubt any of the guys that have been here really cares. It's until the end, when it's NHL competition when it actually matters for those guys. It's up to the lesser guys to work their butts off for the opportunity to come to training camp, and get a look or a contract. There's no reason for the other guys to try. We see it all the time, where an unknown looks like the best player, but wear out when it matters. Gaunce, Shinkaruk, and Horvat all looked at the end of all this last year. You figure they'd be smart enough by now to just reserve energy.

 

[Pip]

Strongly disagree. Tkachev looked very good.

Tkachev had a strong game, and was a lot flashier, but Nurse looked like a man against boys out there. Controlled the play at both ends, it really was a treat to watch him.

 

[Taelin]

Cannot say how much I love Fox and Shinkaruk enough.

 

[Rey]

Tkachev had a strong game, and was a lot flashier, but Nurse looked like a man against boys out there. Controlled the play at both ends, it really was a treat to watch him.

he looks like a stick though. kid better bulk up if he wants to survive.

 

[me2]

Are there stats anywhere?

 

[Balls Mahoney]

Are there stats anywhere?

Here's the box score, unfortunately I can't find TOI anywhere.

http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=2516197

 

[me2]

Thanks BM

 

[skyo]

Valk and Fox looked like they can really create offense and finish. Zalewski looked good. Everyone else meh.

I think Fox might be the most ready, just based on one game, unless Jensen/Horvat can pick it up.

Zalewski should be rock solid 4th line material.

 

[Kmode]

Jensen = Grabner

I feel they are so similar in a lot of ways.

I think we will lose faith with him, ship him out for next to nothing and he will develop into a pretty good scorer somewhere else.

 

[biturbo19]

Ugly scrambly disjointed game, as is to be expected from the first game a prospect tournament like this. Still makes it hard to really get a fair read on some players. That said, the Oilers clearly came out looking better prepared.

As for some of the individual players:

Horvat: Did what he does, played his game. There's just not much to say really..."reliable" pretty much sums up his night.

Shinkaruk: Looked decidedly rusty. Not a guy you'd normally expect to fight the puck like that, bobbling pucks, flubbing things, etc. But that said, even through the rust you could see the skills on display...much of the offense generated seemed to go through him. All in all not a bad effort for the amount of time he missed.

Corrado: Seemed to have a bad case of the Kasual Kevs. Just didn't look like he was particularly interested in the game. I'm not going to read too much into it, as i recall the exact same thing happening last year, only to turn it on and look significantly better at "real camp".

Jensen: Weird game for him. Like Corrado, didn't seem like he was really all that interested in the game. But also had this weird insistence on trying to do too much at the same time. As though he knows he's supposed to dominate this sort of tournament, but wanted to do it without working too hard. Lead to a lot of really stupid plays, turnovers, etc. Every once in awhile you could see a burst of effort where he looked bigger, faster, stronger, more confident than most everyone else out there...walking through 2 or 3 guys in the neutral zone with ease and then...just something silly, trying to force a "play" to someone else. Whatever, not really his sort of game i guess. More interested in seeing what he can do when he actually sets his mind to it.

Gaunce: Looked really bad. Shockingly so. So timid in all facets. Treated the puck like a hot potato constantly, just dishing it off to someone else for no good reason. Stayed out of the physical stuff, didn't really assert himself in any way at either end of the ice. No idea what was going on there, but hopefully it was just another example of a "veteran" not taking it seriously.

Subban: Had some nice splash plays. It's hilarious how much he plays like a scaled down version of his brother...right down to the epic butt check and the puck rushing style. Looks a lot better with the puck on his stick, than without it though. Some really suspect positional decisions throughout, trouble really containing guys at times. Of course, compared to the rest of the blueline, he stood out positively. Yikes.

Fox: Skating is still hilarious. Just trudges around dragging his feet like he's throwing a tantrum or something. It's not terrible, but it's definitely not good. The shot though, that is for real.

Valk and Lotz: The tryout guys that were obviously "noticeable". Lotz was good, did his job, kept us in it early...but the talk of offering him a contract based on this one outing is laughable. We're not talking about a guy who kicked in the door of the tournament and put on a thoroughly dominant goaltending showcase like Eddie Lack a few years back. Valk...well, he notched some goals so it's easy to put him in the win column i guess. Personally, i thought he was actually fairly invisible for most of the rest of the game. Especially seemed to disappear in his own end, but even offensively...he scored twice and had a few nice enough forechecking efforts, but didn't really seem to drive the play offensively like one might infer from 2 goal statline. Interesting guy to keep an eye on for sure as the tournament goes on...but for a guy who scored two goals i found him strangely lackluster. He is noticeably very small in a tournament like this though.

On the other end of the small guy spectrum, Tkachev is a little guy who really stood out to me. Creating all kinds of things offensively...one of the few guys in this game who seemed to break through the scrambly play at times to string together some well composed offense.

 

[skyo]

Jensen = Grabner

I feel they are so similar in a lot of ways.

I think we will lose faith with him, ship him out for next to nothing and he will develop into a pretty good scorer somewhere else.

Nah, Jensen has the size that willie/tl/benning like, he could get some slack due to his size, he seemed to play better as the season went on.

 

[B-rock]

Was not impressed at all by the d core. Subban had moments but his overall size still shows in a negative way.

I thought Horvat had a solid game and definitely got better as the game went on. He mad 3 or 4 pretty effective set ups for some players but they couldn't convert from the shooting areas. If those shots go in people might be singing a different tune about his offensive game. I definitely think he's capable of playing in the NHL this year.

Fox has that great release and offensive instincts. He's definitely a player that could make some noise during pre-season and could definitely be a dark horse.

Shinkaruk was ok, he must be rusty as he kept fighting the puck but you gotta love his tenacity and determination in the offensive zone. Definitely leaves it all on the ice.

While Valk scored some nice goals I felt he was pretty much invisible out on the ice.

All other forwards weren't really that memorable for me. Zaelewski has some great wheels and forechecking.

This is exactly my assessment to a "T". Valk scored but he was otherwise invisible. Gets beat on the boards and in the corners due to his size.

Suban decent, but his lack of size is an impediment.

Zalewski showed good forechecking and determination. More there than I though.

Etc Etc, the same as Bieksa#3

 

[hockeywoot]

Ugly scrambly disjointed game, as is to be expected from the first game a prospect tournament like this. Still makes it hard to really get a fair read on some players. That said, the Oilers clearly came out looking better prepared.

As for some of the individual players:

Horvat: Did what he does, played his game. There's just not much to say really..."reliable" pretty much sums up his night.

Shinkaruk: Looked decidedly rusty. Not a guy you'd normally expect to fight the puck like that, bobbling pucks, flubbing things, etc. But that said, even through the rust you could see the skills on display...much of the offense generated seemed to go through him. All in all not a bad effort for the amount of time he missed.

Corrado: Seemed to have a bad case of the Kasual Kevs. Just didn't look like he was particularly interested in the game. I'm not going to read too much into it, as i recall the exact same thing happening last year, only to turn it on and look significantly better at "real camp".

Jensen: Weird game for him. Like Corrado, didn't seem like he was really all that interested in the game. But also had this weird insistence on trying to do too much at the same time. As though he knows he's supposed to dominate this sort of tournament, but wanted to do it without working too hard. Lead to a lot of really stupid plays, turnovers, etc. Every once in awhile you could see a burst of effort where he looked bigger, faster, stronger, more confident than most everyone else out there...walking through 2 or 3 guys in the neutral zone with ease and then...just something silly, trying to force a "play" to someone else. Whatever, not really his sort of game i guess. More interested in seeing what he can do when he actually sets his mind to it.

Gaunce: Looked really bad. Shockingly so. So timid in all facets. Treated the puck like a hot potato constantly, just dishing it off to someone else for no good reason. Stayed out of the physical stuff, didn't really assert himself in any way at either end of the ice. No idea what was going on there, but hopefully it was just another example of a "veteran" not taking it seriously.

Subban: Had some nice splash plays. It's hilarious how much he plays like a scaled down version of his brother...right down to the epic butt check and the puck rushing style. Looks a lot better with the puck on his stick, than without it though. Some really suspect positional decisions throughout, trouble really containing guys at times. Of course, compared to the rest of the blueline, he stood out positively. Yikes.

Fox: Skating is still hilarious. Just trudges around dragging his feet like he's throwing a tantrum or something. It's not terrible, but it's definitely not good. The shot though, that is for real.

Valk and Lotz: The tryout guys that were obviously "noticeable". Lotz was good, did his job, kept us in it early...but the talk of offering him a contract based on this one outing is laughable. We're not talking about a guy who kicked in the door of the tournament and put on a thoroughly dominant goaltending showcase like Eddie Lack a few years back. Valk...well, he notched some goals so it's easy to put him in the win column i guess. Personally, i thought he was actually fairly invisible for most of the rest of the game. Especially seemed to disappear in his own end, but even offensively...he scored twice and had a few nice enough forechecking efforts, but didn't really seem to drive the play offensively like one might infer from 2 goal statline. Interesting guy to keep an eye on for sure as the tournament goes on...but for a guy who scored two goals i found him strangely lackluster. He is noticeably very small in a tournament like this though.

On the other end of the small guy spectrum, Tkachev is a little guy who really stood out to me. Creating all kinds of things offensively...one of the few guys in this game who seemed to break through the scrambly play at times to string together some well composed offense.

Good summary.

Personally I don't put too much stock into these tournaments. Put more judgement into main camp/preason. (obviously since we're starving for hockey, this'll have to do for now)

 

[skyo]

Good summary.

Personally I don't put too much stock into these tournaments. Put more judgement into main camp/preason. (obviously since we're starving for hockey, this'll have to do for now)

I wish to hear about who YOU think is playing impressive and deserves a chance with the big squad thus far.

 

[bossram]

he looks like a stick though. kid better bulk up if he wants to survive.

If the kid can play, he can play. Look at Gaudreau. God damn.

 

[StrictlyCommercial]

-Grabner had a lot more talent than Jensen + the insane speed. Jensen has size, yeah, but he doesn't use it at all.

-I also found Fox's skating to be a mixture of hilarious and frightening. I don't even know how you go through a highly successful junior career without fixing that stride. I wonder if he has hip issues or something. A guy I grew up with had some weird hip thing and also had a really weird stride like Fox (and was even a high draft pick with such a silly skating style).

-Valk probably bought himself a ticket to Utica camp with his performance today.