BloatedGuppy
Registered User
I was reviewing our hypothetical upcoming lineup in my head, and while the memory of the 2016-2017 Vancouver Canucks is one of a galaxy of low talent plugs polluting the ice with tons of effort and zero excitement, I'm noticing a worrisome absence of...well..."meat and potatoes". If we have our druthers and the young guys play, our starting forward group will contain...
1. A concussion prone and aging Daniel Sedin.
2. An undersized forward who plays a skill game in Sven Baertschi.
3. A complete greenhorn in Brock Boeser.
4. A small, soft, slow offensive complimentary player in Reid Boucher.
5. A soft, lanky, cerebral winger/center in Markus Granlund.
6. A speedy lightweight who needs an instruction manual for his own zone in Nikolay Goldobin.
Anchoring this crew...
1. Henrik Sedin, who has the heart of a lion but is pushing 40 and starting to get buried defensively.
2. Brandon Sutter, who isn't pushing 40 but still gets buried defensively.
3. Bo Horvat, who is the darling of Canucks nation and can do no wrong but STILL gets buried defensively.
And...
1. Loui Eriksson, a wildly overpaid 30 year old player signed to score goals and who ironically might now be our only stabilizing defensive force in the top 9.
There's a huge void where the names "Hansen" and "Burrows" were once listed. Who is going to forecheck? Who is going to go into the corners and win battles and retrieve pucks? There's been much talk (fully warranted) about how this team is an offensive void and needs to add speed and skill, and it absolutely does. Looking at this (admittedly entirely hypothetical) lineup though, where the heck is the defense? The size? The battle? Keeping in mind we were already the league's smallest team BEFORE the 6'8 guy packed up his bags and went home (we are actually the smallest team that is not cynical exaggeration).
Does this matter? Has today's game changed THAT much? Keep in mind our prospect pipeline (such as it is) contains hulking specimens like Dahlen, Juolevi and Jordan Subban.
1. A concussion prone and aging Daniel Sedin.
2. An undersized forward who plays a skill game in Sven Baertschi.
3. A complete greenhorn in Brock Boeser.
4. A small, soft, slow offensive complimentary player in Reid Boucher.
5. A soft, lanky, cerebral winger/center in Markus Granlund.
6. A speedy lightweight who needs an instruction manual for his own zone in Nikolay Goldobin.
Anchoring this crew...
1. Henrik Sedin, who has the heart of a lion but is pushing 40 and starting to get buried defensively.
2. Brandon Sutter, who isn't pushing 40 but still gets buried defensively.
3. Bo Horvat, who is the darling of Canucks nation and can do no wrong but STILL gets buried defensively.
And...
1. Loui Eriksson, a wildly overpaid 30 year old player signed to score goals and who ironically might now be our only stabilizing defensive force in the top 9.
There's a huge void where the names "Hansen" and "Burrows" were once listed. Who is going to forecheck? Who is going to go into the corners and win battles and retrieve pucks? There's been much talk (fully warranted) about how this team is an offensive void and needs to add speed and skill, and it absolutely does. Looking at this (admittedly entirely hypothetical) lineup though, where the heck is the defense? The size? The battle? Keeping in mind we were already the league's smallest team BEFORE the 6'8 guy packed up his bags and went home (we are actually the smallest team that is not cynical exaggeration).
Does this matter? Has today's game changed THAT much? Keep in mind our prospect pipeline (such as it is) contains hulking specimens like Dahlen, Juolevi and Jordan Subban.