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

[tyhee]

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. ...

Negrin isn't exactly an exciting choice, but he's turned into a somewhat useful AHL player. There's no reason to assume the new guys at forward would have been more help. Certainly the Canucks played better than we had any right to expect, though the lack of skill showed.

 

[Bad Goalie]

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.

I hear you.

 

[DadBod]

I'll reserve judgment until he plays but initially I'm pissed off with our lack of Canadian scouting, and aggressive Amarican scouting. I'm taking a page out of Grapes books here and complain that we are looking in the wrong places for prospects. We still have yet to EVER draft a Vancouver Giant and only seem to pull from the Q and USA. It makes little sense to me, Canada produces on average the best players in the world, yet we're looking hardest in America and Europe. Plus, we've signed almost every player in the world under 6' 190lbs....so I'm not sure what our plan is going forward with a team smaller than your typical high school grad class.

 

[GetFocht]

College hockey have some of the best development programs that rival the NHL. Look at North Dakota's facilities, they're better than most NHL teams.

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Oh boy brownies from Pizza Hut !

 

[Shaun871]

During the broadcast tonight they were mentioning that management hopes he gets into a game before the year ends, which would burn one of the years.

So essentially a 1 year show me what you got contract. I can live with it.

 

[VanJack]

Apparently Molino will be in the lineup on Friday night.....has to be an upgrade on Biega-Larsen, even if it's on the fourth line.

 

[Hansen]

Wonder how he would compare to a guy like Brandon Tanev as a prospect

 

[Bitz and Bites]

Apparently Molino will be in the lineup on Friday night.....has to be an upgrade on Biega-Larsen, even if it's on the fourth line.

Well if he can inject some speed,energy,and offense into the lineup,that would be a plus.He's getting what amounts to an extended preseason look so hopefully he can run with it.

 

[Snatcher Demko]

I like the fact that he's 23. Fills the age gap.

Also, wouldn't hurt at all to have a high energy guy with a motor. We need more of that.

 

[MS]

From the video, he's clearly a plus skater and has a pretty good motor that he can use to forecheck well, although he loves to blow the defensive zone early looking for offense.

Hard to see a smallish college speedster without dynamic offensive totals as having more than Jayson Megna upside, but if he can be a decent system asset that's a success.

Not expecting a lot from his gift NHL audition over the next couple weeks.

 

[timw33]

Kinda glad he's playing and burning a year off the ELC. Just means it's really a 1 year deal with low risk.

 

[denkiteki]

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.

The reason late season rookie additions rarely make an impact with Utica is because Green doesn't really give them a chance. Again Green only plays players he trust and you can't earn trust this late into the season as a rookie(at least enough). Hutton is a good example of this... he wasn't really given much of a chance to play despite Utica pretty much having a playoff spot locked down when he signed his ATO. You can't really say he wouldn't have made a difference when he made the NHL team right away and has been a top 4 NHL D.

So even if Reese signed with us, there's no guarantee that Green would play him or play him meaningful minutes this season. Also, although i don't see French having NHL potential, i do see him being a capable top 6 player in the AHL who could actually make an impact (haven't watched him play but based on scouting reports/stats, there's a decent chance he can make an impact).

French has been pretty much a PPG player the last 3 seasons in the NCAA, which is something that shouldn't be overlooked. Add to that he is actually slightly bigger than Valk, which more or less makes him average size for AHL (or at least Utica). He's listed at 5'10, 185.

Also note that even though French didn't skate with the team, nothing actually says that's a requirement for playing. If someone is a better option, they could play even without team practice. For example, Ryan Fitzgerald signed with Boston AFTER French and played 2 games for the Bruins (2 assists) over the weekend. Stat wise, he's actually very similar to French (in terms of production over the last 3 years and size). Mitch Hunt also signed after French and played 1 game.

Realistically if French doesn't get a decent number of games with Utica this year, it might just discourage NCAA players from signing ATO with Utica going forward. I don't think Stecher signed his ATO last year and he could've played for Utica if he did.

Back on topic, i actually like the decision to play Molino right away because he is an older prospect so we have the option of extending him sooner (unlikely he'll end up costing more after his ELC expires). There is no difference in terms of team controlled years either so really there is no harm in playing him earlier. Also i'm guessing this keeps Grenier in Utica so indrectly i guess it helps Utica too because we would've needed to call Grenier up to replace Skillie Now Grenier stays in Utica for another important 3x3 weekend.

 

[SgtToody]

I'll reserve judgment until he plays but initially I'm pissed off with our lack of Canadian scouting, and aggressive Amarican scouting. I'm taking a page out of Grapes books here and complain that we are looking in the wrong places for prospects. We still have yet to EVER draft a Vancouver Giant and only seem to pull from the Q and USA. It makes little sense to me, Canada produces on average the best players in the world, yet we're looking hardest in America and Europe. Plus, we've signed almost every player in the world under 6' 190lbs....so I'm not sure what our plan is going forward with a team smaller than your typical high school grad class.

I totally agree with what looks like a weakness in scouting in Canada. There is some long-standing issue there that just seems to be neglected. On the other hand, getting NHL calibre players from anywhere is all that's important.

 

[F A N]

I totally agree with what looks like a weakness in scouting in Canada. There is some long-standing issue there that just seems to be neglected. On the other hand, getting NHL calibre players from anywhere is all that's important.

Well our "best scout" (Delorme) is out in the West and we did draft a FORMER Giant in Stukel. To be fair, the Giants have sucked and have pretty much been devoid of draftable prospects the past few years. Benson and Ronning were drafted last season but the last Giants player to be drafted was in 2013. We could have drafted Martinook but Gillis was hell bent on drafting older prospects that year so we went with Mallet.

 

[TruGr1t]

Canucks Army certainly isn't high on this guy. The stats and trajectory aren't good at all based on Biech's article.

 

[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.

Yeah, turns out I didn't notice Molino is because the series was between Michigan state not western michigan........

Too many teams with Michigan in their name

 

[VanJack]

Canucks Army certainly isn't high on this guy. The stats and trajectory aren't good at all based on Biech's article.

Lol....and Willie also less than enthused....was asked about him in the post-game presser and whether he'd be in the lineup on Friday, and all he said was 'yes'....even Craig Button didn't know anything about him.

But he's basically coming on a one-year ELC, so little risk...and he'll get a legit NHL jersey with his name on it to keep as a souvenir.

 

[me2]

think we bring him up and burn the first year?

I would. I'd burn it hard, like coverng it in gasoline, lighting it with flame thrower, in an industrial blast furnace, in a rocket's burner flying to the heart of the sun hard.

At least you can test and throw the duds away in a year this way.

 

[denkiteki]

Canucks Army certainly isn't high on this guy. The stats and trajectory aren't good at all based on Biech's article.

Well everyone in their article is already signed (well Iafallo is still playing i think). Mike Vecchione is the only one not signed and he's been linked to NY Rangers/Philly. Pretty much everyone even listed there has multiple suitors (and in case of Reese, probably 20+ teams).

The thing to remember is even if the article isn't overly positive, the fact an article on 'nucks army included Molino (when he was a UDFA) makes him higher profile than majority of other players.

Also remember the trajectory is low but remember that most 23 years old wouldn't be in their 2nd year in the NCAA (rather they're more likely to be Sr.). That's why there are suggestions of him being a late bloomer (again something the trajectory can't really account for). Its not exactly common for someone to spend 2 years in the USHL instead of NCAA (at his age). He was also 6th in USHL scoring during his final year (Boeser was 3rd that year and of course younger). Out of the 5 players ahead of him, 2 were 1st round picks, 1 was a 2nd round pick and the other 2 are likely to also have NHL interest when they decide to turn profession (Snively and Adam Johnson). Of course the problem with trajectory is he's also older than those players so how do you account for that? If you're trying to draw comparable with players who took a similar route, the sample size might be very small (if it even exist).

 

[VanJack]

Almost the same career path as Jayson Megna, signed by the Pens as a UFA after only one season at the U. of Nebraska-Omaha as a 23-year old.....would be surprised if a guy like Molina even beats out Megna for career NHL games.

But if Twitter reports mean anything there were 14 other NHL teams in on Molina.......and the guy did attend development camps in Jersey and Detroit over the past two years...so the Canucks aren't taking a complete flyer on this guy.

 

[wonton15]

Labate sent down? I'm willing to bet this guy plays this week

 

[TruGr1t]

Well everyone in their article is already signed (well Iafallo is still playing i think). Mike Vecchione is the only one not signed and he's been linked to NY Rangers/Philly. Pretty much everyone even listed there has multiple suitors (and in case of Reese, probably 20+ teams).

https://canucksarmy.com/2017/03/27/report-canucks-sign-ncaa-ufa-forward-griffen-molino/

I included Molino, as reporters indicated there was a possibility teams sought him as a free agent on a few occasions.

In my piece, I make clear that this isn’t a player I would target as a priority signing. There are a few reasons for that.

The thing to remember is even if the article isn't overly positive, the fact an article on 'nucks army included Molino (when he was a UDFA) makes him higher profile than majority of other players.

Biech literally went out of his way to say: "Don't read anything into the fact this guy is in the article."

 

[VanJack]

Labate sent down? I'm willing to bet this guy plays this week

Yes, he's already Vancouver and will be in the lineup on Friday.....parked on the fourth line likely.

 

[PetterssonSimp]

Yes, he's already Vancouver and will be in the lineup on Friday.....parked on the fourth line likely.

Well who do you take off Willie's security blanket line? (Sutter)