GDT: [EX GM 3] Vancouver Canucks vs. Seattle Kraken | 6:30PM PST | SNET

[Peen]

Couple of disjointed thoughts:

-Poolman looks like a guy who missed a lot of time, hadn’t had a full off-season. The other problem, he was bad when he was healthy
-Burroughs is competent; he’s maximizing enough secondary skills to make him a good NHL depth guy
-defence is still terrifying, even without injuries; with everyone healthy I figure they could tread water for a bit; maybe later in the season Rathbone would be able to play up in the lineup; with what they have a top-4 guy is needed so badly
-Kuzmenko and Pettersson is going to be loads of fun; they think the game the same way and read off each other; they’ve only been together a short time and already look like linemates from way back
-very impressed with Pettersson’s effort; he looks determined to cement himself as a gamebreaker
-Hoglander seemed invisible and then suddenly wasn’t
-Aman’s skating really sets him apart from all the other depth guys; at this point he looks to provide the exact same skills as Dickinson

Poolman looked… yeah…

That’s an AHL team and he was struggling in ways that you shouldn’t if you’re a surefire NHL defender.

Drance had been reporting that this management was fairly high on Poolman for a while… wonder if that’s changing

 

[Vector]

Poolman looked… yeah…

That’s an AHL team and he was struggling in ways that you shouldn’t if you’re a surefire NHL defender.

Drance had been reporting that this management was fairly high on Poolman for a while… wonder if that’s changing

All the Drance reporting about management being positive on him are very strange to me. Even when healthy he was bad. Plays died on his stick and all he was capable of doing was puck-glass-out. He skates better than Schenn and is bigger than Burroughs but is far worse than either of them. Last year showed that and this pre-season confirms it.

To me he’s a candidate to be buried in the AHL. They just need to say after so much time off the team feels he needs more time to get back up to speed. He’ll certainly clear waivers. His cap charge would be 1.375m. Burroughs makes 0.75m. If you consider it a straight roster swap then that’s a slight cap savings of 0.375.

 

[logan5]

Isn't this Poolman's first game in quite a while? Poolman imo is a decent defenseman. Our team is better with him.

 

[Vector]

Isn't this Poolman's first game in quite a while? Poolman imo is a decent defenseman. Our team is better with him.

There’s 40 games as a Canuck from last year that show otherwise. And now he’s had an abbreviated off-season and is a potential concussion reoccurrence.

The other problem is that the Canucks already have Schenn and Burroughs who each provide more than Poolman does at league minimum.

 

[AppleHoneySauce]

Isn't this Poolman's first game in quite a while? Poolman imo is a decent defenseman. Our team is better with him.

When was he a decent dman? If im not mistaken he has always been a bottom of the lineup body and he was doing that on a rather Defensively inept Jets team.

 

[sting101]

Not much good to take from this game other than....

Pettersson and Hughes look poised to go to another level. Don't think the RD thing is gonna work though.

Kuzmenko is gonna be a nice addition. Been watching him off the puck to see his anticipation and he's always playing cat and mouse for space. Shot is deadly. He will score

Karlsson looks like he can bring some utility and depth once he gets used to things. Smart player and strong on the puck

Joshua will help Schenn deal with some of the intimidation teams may try to undertake. Looks very serviceable and will be a fan fave

Burroughs is a gem in the depth department.

On the down side....

Lockwood looks like he's done as a NHLer

Aman will need better hands to accomplish anything at the NHL level.

Dekeyser looks like Andrew Alberts circa 2013

Poolman had better wake up soon. Terrible at seeing the ice going forward

Hoglander looks a little rudderless and disjointed. Was not impressed by his IQ in this one

Rathbone does not look like he can defend well enough at this stage and made some really bad decisions. 2 games in and im not overly bullish. Gonna have to pull it together quick because when they start playing big boy hockey against teams like Minnesota and Calgary he will get exposed badly at this rate.

 

[logan5]

There’s 40 games as a Canuck from last year that show otherwise. And now he’s had an abbreviated off-season and is a potential concussion reoccurrence.

The other problem is that the Canucks already have Schenn and Burroughs who each provide more than Poolman does at league minimum.

I seem to recall him playing fairly well when he was playing regularly. I wouldn't write him off until we see him playing a good healthy stretch.

 

[Vector]

I seem to recall him playing fairly well when he was playing regularly. I wouldn't wright him off until we see him playing a good healthy stretch.

He wasn’t. He’d have the odd okay games but every play is puck-glass-out. Could make an outlet pass to save his life. Should have been key to the PK but instead was part of the reason it was nearly historically bad.

His health is the big problem now. There are better options internally and if he needs time to get up to speed then he has to do it in the AHL. This Canucks team is expected to be a playoff team and you don’t use a defensive slot on a player requiring more rehab.

 

[Shareefruck]

I would take Burroughs over Poolman, personally.

 

[MS]

He wasn’t. He’d have the odd okay games but every play is puck-glass-out. Could make an outlet pass to save his life. Should have been key to the PK but instead was part of the reason it was nearly historically bad.

His health is the big problem now. There are better options internally and if he needs time to get up to speed then he has to do it in the AHL. This Canucks team is expected to be a playoff team and you don’t use a defensive slot on a player requiring more rehab.

Yeah. He was incredibly fringy last year.

But like I said earlier in the thread, most of his games were under Green, so unlike a lot of other players we didn't really get to see what he could do in a more functional system under Boudreau. And I don't want to fully pass judgement until we see that.

But this game looked just like last year. He's big and skates pretty well but his transition game is just shockingly bad. And he also doesn't provide nearly the grit that Burroughs does as a depth guy.

I'd definitely put him on waivers right now before Burroughs, who would certainly be claimed while it would be a welcome miracle if Poolman did.

 

[David71]

Dakota Joshua has made this team off this one game alone lol

when was the last time vancouver had a player like that could skate hit and fight. take regular shift and not just 5 mins. wow agreeds hes made the team. poolman sucks.. maybe needs more time in the ahl. if sent down. burroughs is a gamer though. rathbone.. needs more work in the defensive end. petterson is on a mission this year. kuzmenko will be a surprise for the pp unit 1. but can he hold up the regular season grind? some plays he looks gassed.

 

[orcatown]

Again very little purpose talking about the vets but:

Miller was back to making those blind pass turnovers and was sluggish

Pearson was set up a number of times. Got one but overall flubbed most everything. Should never be near a first or second line and you wonder if there are others better even if he is moved down the line up.

OEL mailed it in and had a very poor third. Don't think the experiment with him and Hughes worked at all well as the game went on.

Pettersson played well particularly on the back check . Garland had some excellent shifts and with a little help from his line mates could have produced. Hughes had a great first period but then seem to put it in neutral.

The highlights for the Canucks were:

Kuzmenko play down low in the offensive zone was terrific. If there is any sense in the team, he starts on the first power play. Guy shows tremendous potential.

Rathbone - had very good second period where he moved the puck from the back end with authority. Was reasonably decent around his net although this remains a concern. Team needs to hang in with him b/c alternatives are not pleasant.

Others

Burroughs is playing his way on to the team. Might have made the least mistakes defensively than anyone else back there

Dekeyser and Poolman looked dinosauric. If they end going with this pair, they're in very deep trouble. Not being able to get Poolman on long term injury is hurting the team

Karlsson - given a good look but could never could assert himself. Not enough happening here for him to make the roster. Get him down to Abbotsford

Lockwood - makes me long for Motte. Lockwood can skate but that's extent of it. Auto cut to Abby

DiGuiseppe - has moved ahead of the Lockwoods etc. Maybe starts as a 13th/14th spare. Consistently got puck out of his end and got decent pressure in the offensive zone. Looked ok on the PK

Joshua - showed up physically but his stick handling and passing are not NHL caliber.

Silovs - fighting the puck and scrambling wildly. Did this in Abbotsford last year as well. Good stretch and then seemingly losing his composure and start over-reacting to shots and begin to fall apart.

Aman - played well enough but you wonder if he can ever create any offense. One thing he is decent at is getting the puck out of his zone and through the neutral zone.

Hoglander - another game where he couldn't create anything. Had trouble getting possession of the puck and keeping it. Looks quick at times but overall not that fast. Disappointing after the training camp comments. Did think this at first, but you could see him starting the year in Abbotsford.

 

[RutherPlan]

 

[Shareefruck]

Yeah, I'm actually still not that sold on Joshua, personally. If he plays like a heat-seeking missile absolutely every game, then sure, I guess that's okay, but I'm not sure that's sustainable and outside of that, his play was pretty mediocre. I think DiGuiseppe was better, personally.

 

[VanJack]

Kinda' surprised that some posters are 'down' on Aman and Karlsson.....checked them out on Hockey DB and they're both just 22. They're younger than Jack Rathbone, who gets all the 'rookie' plaudits and attention.

In my humble opinion there aren't two players in this entire training camp who've been bigger 'risers' than those two guys. After only one rookie tournament and couple of exhibition games, and Karlsson looks to me like he's not far away in the skating department.

As for Aman, there's no doubt he has NHL wheels......and if nothing else he's a serious candidate for a future fourth line center role and a key PK'er. While both guys are still likely to end up in Abbotsford, they definitely opened some eyes in this training camp.

And considering that both these guys were basically almost 'free assets', you have to be encouraged.

 

[Peen]

Kinda' surprised that some posters are 'down' on Aman and Karlsson.....checked them out on Hockey DB and they're both just 22. They're younger than Jack Rathbone, who gets all the 'rookie' plaudits and attention.

In my humble opinion there aren't two players in this entire training camp who've been bigger 'risers' than those two guys. After only one rookie tournament and couple of exhibition games, and Karlsson looks to me like he's not far away in the skating department.

As for Aman, there's no doubt he has NHL wheels......and if nothing else he's a serious candidate for a future fourth line center role and a key PK'er. While both guys are still likely to end up in Abbotsford, they definitely opened some eyes in this training camp.

And considering that both these guys were basically almost 'free assets', you have to be encouraged.

I think most people I saw were fairly ok with Aman.

Didn't seem to be much difference between Jason Dickinson and Aman for me.

 

[Nucker101]

- Pettersson and Kuzmenko have great chemistry, just find them a 3rd wheel who can complement them well and that line is going to control the puck and put pucks in the net.

- Poolman playing his first game in a long time, but man he was brutal and it's not like he was good last year before the injury either. Handedness be damned, give me all of Schenn/Rathbone/Burroughs over him.

- Miller just didn't give a shit tonight

- Joshua is a tank and I'm glad we have him. That is all.





If the Kraken are cool with dealing Soucy in division, he should be a target, he can play both sides and is solid defensively while being competent enough at moving the puck.

 

[Vector]

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Not much good to take from this game other than....

Pettersson and Hughes look poised to go to another level. Don't think the RD thing is gonna work though.

Kuzmenko is gonna be a nice addition. Been watching him off the puck to see his anticipation and he's always playing cat and mouse for space. Shot is deadly. He will score

Karlsson looks like he can bring some utility and depth once he gets used to things. Smart player and strong on the puck

Joshua will help Schenn deal with some of the intimidation teams may try to undertake. Looks very serviceable and will be a fan fave

Burroughs is a gem in the depth department.

On the down side....

Lockwood looks like he's done as a NHLer

Aman will need better hands to accomplish anything at the NHL level.

Dekeyser looks like Andrew Alberts circa 2013

Poolman had better wake up soon. Terrible at seeing the ice going forward

Hoglander looks a little rudderless and disjointed. Was not impressed by his IQ in this one

Rathbone does not look like he can defend well enough at this stage and made some really bad decisions. 2 games in and im not overly bullish. Gonna have to pull it together quick because when they start playing big boy hockey against teams like Minnesota and Calgary he will get exposed badly at this rate.

And lastly Miller's line looks like they didn't care at all. I mean I get it pre-season, but it's not the best sign.

- Pettersson and Kuzmenko have great chemistry, just find them a 3rd wheel who can complement them well and that line is going to control the puck and put pucks in the net.

- Poolman playing his first game in a long time, but man he was brutal and it's not like he was good last year before the injury either. Handedness be damned, give me all of Schenn/Rathbone/Burroughs over him.

- Miller just didn't give a shit tonight

- Joshua is a tank and I'm glad we have him. That is all.





If the Kraken are cool with dealing Soucy in division, he should be a target, he can play both sides and is solid defensively while being competent enough at moving the puck.

Forget about Miller, did Pearson and Garland give a shit either? I didn't see them give a shit.

 

[canuckking1]

Not much good to take from this game other than....

Pettersson and Hughes look poised to go to another level. Don't think the RD thing is gonna work though.

Kuzmenko is gonna be a nice addition. Been watching him off the puck to see his anticipation and he's always playing cat and mouse for space. Shot is deadly. He will score

Karlsson looks like he can bring some utility and depth once he gets used to things. Smart player and strong on the puck

Joshua will help Schenn deal with some of the intimidation teams may try to undertake. Looks very serviceable and will be a fan fave

Burroughs is a gem in the depth department.

On the down side....

Lockwood looks like he's done as a NHLer

Aman will need better hands to accomplish anything at the NHL level.

Dekeyser looks like Andrew Alberts circa 2013

Poolman had better wake up soon. Terrible at seeing the ice going forward

Hoglander looks a little rudderless and disjointed. Was not impressed by his IQ in this one

Rathbone does not look like he can defend well enough at this stage and made some really bad decisions. 2 games in and im not overly bullish. Gonna have to pull it together quick because when they start playing big boy hockey against teams like Minnesota and Calgary he will get exposed badly at this rate.

I don't understand why Hughes is moving to the RHD, not OEL. Hughes is the one who transitions the puck he shouldn't be taking passes on his backhand. Good to hear Petey is coming in strong this preseason.

 

[Blue and Green]

Rathbone does not look like he can defend well enough at this stage and made some really bad decisions. 2 games in and im not overly bullish. Gonna have to pull it together quick because when they start playing big boy hockey against teams like Minnesota and Calgary he will get exposed badly at this rate.

I see Rathbone's ceiling as a #5 + PP2 guy, his floor as a steadily employed #7/#8 in the Brad Hunt vein. He outclassed the AHL last season as an offensive and transitional defenceman but defensively he didn't seem any better than Guillaume Brisebois. He's at an age where improvement is likely to be modest rather than transformational.

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

EP and Kuz are gonna be so much fun to watch.

 

[VanJack]

A tough night for Tanner Pearson. Although he scored once, he was the goat on the tying Kraken goal when he mystifyingly stickhandled the puck back into his own zone, and got stripped. Then in OT, a fumble of the puck in the slot sent Donato back the other way on a breakaway from his own blueline to seal it.

The game gets faster every year, and Pearson gets more exposed. I can't think it would hurt the Canucks if he was dropped down to fourth line duty. A guy with better wheels needs to move up the lineup to play with Garland and Miller.

 

[sting101]

A tough night for Tanner Pearson. Although he scored once, he was the goat on the tying Kraken goal when he mystifyingly stickhandled the puck back into his own zone, and got stripped. Then in OT, a fumble of the puck in the slot sent Donato back the other way on a breakaway from his own blueline to seal it.

The game gets faster every year, and Pearson gets more exposed. I can't think it would hurt the Canucks if he was dropped down to fourth line duty. A guy with better wheels needs to move up the lineup to play with Garland and Miller.

Garland and Miller were no better. Maybe off 1 pre season game they all should move down to the 4th line for someone with better wheels?

 

[sting101]

I see Rathbone's ceiling as a #5 + PP2 guy, his floor as a steadily employed #7/#8 in the Brad Hunt vein. He outclassed the AHL last season as an offensive and transitional defenceman but defensively he didn't seem any better than Guillaume Brisebois. He's at an age where improvement is likely to be modest rather than transformational.

Yes it's tough to watch the last 2 pre seasons and argue with this.

I loathe to put a ceiling on him yet but his defensive play so far at the NHL level needs heavy sheltering. Hope that changes to a serviceable level at least like Hunt had found half way through last year because he makes some excellent stretch passes and can be an asset in the offensive zone and the PP as you say.

I'm trying to stay patient but it's concerning and I don't think Bruce is going to have a long leash once the season starts.