Confirmed with Link: Canucks sign college FA Griffen Molino (Western Michigan University) to two-year ELC

[701]

I am a wmu student been to about all his games has great speed a very nice release and plays with a bit of a chipy edge he might just surprise you guys

Sounds a bit like a Lockwood clone. Fast, smallish, chippy, good shot. No doubt they've played
against each other, there in Michigan. Kinda like Ypsi boy Chatfield too, come to think of it.
What's the deal with all these speedy Wolverines and Huskies? Need more Gophers

 

[ihaveyuidonttouchme]

white #17 LW/C?

good skater. has a bit of wide stance. seems to jump into offense as he's usually the first to go. doesnt seem to be out of place for the most part

JB seems to b targeting a lot of players with good explosive speed


definitely has that football name. every time his name comes up, i think Dan Marino

 

[Verviticus]

i was critical of one of the other signings and indifferent to the other, but this just strikes me as straight up bad

 

[Bad Goalie]

ATO to Utica or straight into the Canucks' lineup a la Boeser or practice with the Canucks until the season is over and play nowhere?

 

[Verviticus]

christ, hopefully its not an ato. then we're only stuck with him next year

 

[ihaveyuidonttouchme]

ATO to Utica or straight into the Canucks' lineup a la Boeser or practice with the Canucks until the season is over and play nowhere?

no one knows.....doesnt seem to have a leverage..



i guess now it's official

 

[UticaHockey]

ATO to Utica or straight into the Canucks' lineup a la Boeser or practice with the Canucks until the season is over and play nowhere?

If it's an ATO with the Comets it will just be a trip to the press box anyway. He has a better chance of playing in Vancouver. I know you don't like it when I rag on Travis Green but can you explain his decision to insert John Negrin into the lineup on Sunday as a 7th dman and go with 11 forwards and not give Max French, Brett McKenzie or even Emerson Clark a chance to play? A team that can't score goals and playing on a Sunday afternoon with tired legs in a 3 in 3 weekend and he won't give the kids (forwards) a chance to inject some energy into the lineup.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Apparently Molino's ELC kicks in this year, so he can't play in Utica this season, and will probably play games for the Canucks down the stretch. And effectively becomes a 1-year deal.

I'm actually a fan of this, we'll know very quickly if Molino has pro potential or not and can't cut him loose if he isn't.

 

[Verviticus]

christ, hopefully its not an ato. then we're only stuck with him next year

Apparently Molino's ELC kicks in this year, so he can't play in Utica this season, and will probably play games for the Canucks down the stretch. And effectively becomes a 1-year deal.

I'm actually a fan of this, we'll know very quickly if Molino has pro potential or not and can't cut him loose if he isn't.

thank god

 

[Hollywood Burrows]

If he contribute on the Comets next season I guess that's nice

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

At least it's a 1 year deal really

 

[Bad Goalie]

If it's an ATO with the Comets it will just be a trip to the press box anyway. He has a better chance of playing in Vancouver. I know you don't like it when I rag on Travis Green but can you explain his decision to insert John Negrin into the lineup on Sunday as a 7th dman and go with 11 forwards and not give Max French, Brett McKenzie or even Emerson Clark a chance to play? A team that can't score goals and playing on a Sunday afternoon with tired legs in a 3 in 3 weekend and he won't give the kids (forwards) a chance to inject some energy into the lineup.

First off, I'd put Roy on the first plane, train, or bus to Alaska. The guy gives his all, but it is nowhere near enough.

Clark showed me absolutely nothing as he lumbered about.

McKenzie hadn't been on the ice yet.

French isn't a Boeser, Larkin, Aston-Reese, or even Molino. He's a water bug like Valk and Carcone and had barely skated with the team as well.

I really thought he should have tried Subban up front. He would have been a better choice than the 4 guys available and the 6 D left were competent. Green did get a Hell of an effort from the lineup he iced "on a Sunday afternoon with tired legs in a 3 in 3 weekend". It was the best game they played of the 3. 46 shots! Lost 2-1 with their backup keeper?

Rendulic skated today with no restrictions. The two new guys skated as well. We'll see what the weekend brings. They have to beat Rochester both nights or their chances melt into the thinnest possible ice especially if they drop the 3rd game to the Pens.

The only new late arrivals I have ever seen inject a shot of oomph into the Comets lineup were Baertschi, Conacher, and Hensick. Anyone else has been far from exciting.

I would hope to get a look at them as well. I don't think they would look a whole lot worse than Carcone or Cassels, but the chances of either wowing us is slim to none. McKenzie, who will probably be in camp come October, is the most likely to get a nod on the wing. He's a Canuck prospect. French is a College UFA center, but is the same size as Valk and look how long it took for him to learn how to deal with the size difference. Asking this kid to make that adjustment under the pressure of a playoff crisis while good for his baptism under fire, is asking a lot of the guy, but he is 24.

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

From Friedman's 30 thoughts:

"Meanwhile, Vancouver continues to stockpile prospects, nabbing 23-year-old Griffen Molino, a forward from Western Michigan. Best asset: very fast. Another exec said he thought the Canucks had a good shot when Molino’s father left his own seats to sit with Vancouver scout Jonathan Bates during a recent game."

 

[UticaHockey]

First off, I'd put Roy on the first pane, train, or bus to Alaska. The guy gives his all, but it is nowhere near enough.

Clark showed me absolutely nothing as he lumbered about.

McKenzie hadn't been on the ice yet.

French isn't a Boeser, Larkin, Aston-Reese, or even Molino. He's a water bug like Valk and Carcone and had barely skated with the team as well.

I really thought he should have tried Subban up front. he would have been a better choice than the 34 guys available and the 6 D were competent. Green did get a Hell of an effort from the lineup he iced "on a Sunday afternoon with tired legs in a 3 in 3 weekend". It was the best game they played of the 3. 46 shots! Lost 2-1 with their backup keeper?

Rendulic skated today with no restrictions. The two new guys skated as well. We'll see what the weekend brings. They have to beat Rochester both nights or their chances melt into the thinnest possible ice especially if they drop the 3rd game to the Pens.

The only new late arrivals I have ever seen inject a shot of oomph into the Comets lineup were Baertschi, Conacher, and Hensick. Anyone else has been far from exciting.

I would hope to get a look at them as well. I don't think they would look a whole lot worse than Carcone, but the chances of either wowing us is slim to none. McKenzie, who will probably be in camp come October, is the most likely to get a nod on the wing. He's a Canuck prospect. French is a center, but is the same size as Valk and look how long it took for him to learn how to deal with the size difference. Asking this kid to make that adjustment under the pressure of a playoff crisis while good for his baptism under fire, is asking a lot of the guy, but he is 24.

I fail to see how not one of these guys is not a better choice than throwing Negrin in as a 7th dman and going with 11 forwards. Yes they put up a ton of shots against the best team in the conference in what was a trap game for them after beating their biggest rival the night before but the result was a loss and only one goal scored. The three game weekend only produced a total of two goals in actual hockey play. There are no moral victories when you are on the outside of a playoff spot with so few games left to be played. A decision not to use one of the kids instead of Negrin makes no sense to me.

 

[jeromemorrow]

From Friedman's 30 thoughts:

"Meanwhile, Vancouver continues to stockpile prospects, nabbing 23-year-old Griffen Molino, a forward from Western Michigan. Best asset: very fast. Another exec said he thought the Canucks had a good shot when Molino’s father left his own seats to sit with Vancouver scout Jonathan Bates during a recent game."

Interesting tidbit. I don't mind a flyer on a LWer that can skate and forecheck.

No harm whatsoever.. If he can have a couple shots on net, he's an upgrade on Cramarossa already.

 

[MikeK]

He's 23yrs old already. Not sure this is worth the spot. IDK, I'll be honest and admit I don't know him at all, but at 23 I can't see him being a major score.

 

[M2Beezy]

After reading the thread and esp taking into account the guy who watches all Molinos home college games makes me think this is actually a smart move again by Benning and co finding someone out of nowhere

Infact as much as we must bash Benning for being a dud and screwing up our team he has seemed to have done smart moves since last offseason (which was terrible - Eriksson singing etc)

-Boucher
-Shore
-Crammer

Those three in that order were ok-good aquisitions that we needed in desperate times

-infact Boucher himself looks like a keeper

-the two TDL deals for Goldy and Dahlen were good

-None of them groundbraking moves but different then his first 2+ years of screwups

-I guess the bar is low or whatever the saying is after so many disaster moves but i have a lil faith in lil moves like this Molino or the other ones cause it seems Benning is starting to figure SOME things out

In conclusion i have faith in this guy. Lets give him the space and support to move fwd

 

[Cupless44]

At least it's a 1 year deal really

Exactly. a one year deal with a nice signing bonus essentially.

What exactly is the harm in this?

He will likely be a depth player in Uitca next year.

There is some good news happening if people can stop quacking enough to notice. The Canucks are loading up on as many prospects as they can, adding them to the mix. The youth movement and long awaited rebuild is on.

 

[VanJack]

Regardless of how the guy turns out, it has to be encouraging that the Canucks are in serious conversation with NCAA UFA's like Molino and Aston-Reese apparently.

Both are U.S. East Coast guys, whom you'd have through would be interested in signing only in the Eastern Conference. Molino apparently grew up in a Detroit suburb and was a lifetime Red Wings fan.....even attended their development camp last year.

So obviously the pitch from Jimbo is getting through to these guys...maybe it's the open competition for spots in the NHL, but then the Wings could make the same claim.

 

[Canucks LB]

Apparently 14 teams had severe interest.

He picked Van due to location and oppertunity.

Had no clue he was so saught after

 

[Bgav]

Apparently 14 teams had severe interest.

He picked Van due to location and oppertunity.

Had no clue he was so saught after

Wow, everyone saying his skating is elite

 

[WTG]

I watched W. Michigan's series vs Michigan, can't say I recall Molino standing out too much. Saying that, it's not like I was focusing on the play too much, unfortunately Michigan and Utica would play on similar times. So I would focus on other games whenever Lockwood wasn't on the ice.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Molino is in Vancouver, could possibly see a game or two before the end of the season, according to the local beat writers. Sounds like there was fairly significant interest in him which gives me some cause for optimism.

Totally fine with acquiring prospects like this, so long as there are plans to jettison other contract slots that are taken up with some dead weight.

 

[Saturated Fats]

I'm higher on this kid than on McEwen and Chatfield, at least. If he's getting a shot down the stretch here, we'll know pretty quickly if he's capable.

 

[F A N]

Apparently 14 teams had severe interest.

He picked Van due to location and oppertunity.

Had no clue he was so saught after

Wow. I don't see why. But hopefully there is a lot there.