Jalen Chatfield: Thoughts?

[MS]

He's a guy who looks better in small sample sizes than big sample sizes.

When we first signed him in 2017, I was probably his biggest supporter on these boards based on his Prospect Tourney and preseason performances. His skating and attitude are noticeable immediately - he gets around the ice and tries to do the right things defensively.

But when you watch him over and over again for 20 or 30 games, you start to see the limitations. You start to see the goals bleeding. You start to see the shift after shift stuck in his own zone. You start to see the stats piling up, and not in his favour. There will still be a game or two here or there where you'll really like what he's doing, but there are more where he just isn't moving the needle in a positive direction.

My thoughts are that this will be more of the same, and the more we see him, the more we'll realize he isn't a part of the solution. But I'd be delighted to be wrong because he's the sort of undrafted guy with character and the right attitude who you really want to succeed.

I said a season or two back that he reminds me of Gudbranson in terms of effectiveness, even if they aren't a great stylistic match and Chatfield is much more likeable, obviously. But Gudbranson can make a good first impression and has decent defensive fundamentals, too (Ottawa fans apparently liked him to start this season) and doesn't that often make glaring horrible errors ... it's just that he can't move the puck, is always in his own zone, and the goals against start to pile up.

 

[ghostingtaro]

Nothing special here, Ryan Stanton 2.0

 

[clay]

Wish this guy wasn’t in the picture for ice time, but Benning very clearly telegraphed it in the off-season. Clearly a player that shouldn’t be in the plans for a team trying to compete.

 

[VanJack]

Wish this guy wasn’t in the picture for ice time, but Benning very clearly telegraphed it in the off-season. Clearly a player that shouldn’t be in the plans for a team trying to compete.

If the Canucks had a deeper prospect pool of right-shot d-men I doubt we'd be seeing him in the lineup. But Green loves his righty-lefty combinations on the blueline, and there really isn't anyone else right now.

But it's still likely he ends up back on the taxi squad when Hamonic is able to return.

 

[Paulinbc]

Having watched Chatty for a number of games....I'm pleasantly surprised. Calm, reliable, quick, aggressive, this is a guy who should be playing in the Canucks top 6, and eventually killing penalties regularly.

One of the things I like about Chatfield: he doesn't try to do too much. He plays his game, and doesn't try to keep it too simple either - he actually tries to move the puck up the ice with good passes as opposed to just banking a puck out of his zone off the glass. He doesn't go out of his way to be overly aggressive and take penalties, but he's not afraid to stick up for a teammate, like he did when he leveled Brady Tkachuk with the Canucks up 4-1 in the third period.

Everyone rolled their eyes whenever Benning brought up Chatfield, pointing to Rafferty or Rathbone as the next defenseman to play in the top 6 or 7. Chatfield has looked better than either one of them.

What do you guys think? I'd hate to see Chatfield in the press box/taxi squad once Hamonic heals up.

Chaput

He's a fine hockey player but can't do anything with the puck or near it when we have it. Wouldn't want to rely on him. Can't wait for a Boner.

 

[chaputonyou]

The fact he's better than I expected doesn't mean I think he's a top 6 defenceman. I don't see him as anything other than a depth guy. He may work better for Green's preferred LH and RH alignment, but I believe Juolevi not only has more upside but is currently more valuable in the 6D role. Of course, Stecher is significantly better than both of them...

Interesting assessment. If I look at the minutes he has played so far, he has averaged more TOI than Juolevi, and when I watched Juolevi's defensive assignments, he didn't seem to be on the ice against the opposing team's top lines. Green seemed to have Chatfield with Edler on the ice when Brady Tkachuk's line was on the other night, whereas Juolevi seemed to be playing sheltered minutes in his game. Also - I like Juolevi's hockey IQ, but the guy is not quick. Not sure if it's the injuries, but I can see the guy being a human turnstile defending off the rush against fast opponents.

Chatfield doesn't have the pedigree of a first rounder, and we are dealing with a small sample size. I'm just surprised he has played fairly serviceable minutes. Let's see how he does against better teams. He just looked solid to my eyes in his one game against Montreal when Vancouver won in the shootout, and looked pretty good against Ottawa. I personally don't see him as anything more than a third pair defenseman, but if he can keep this up, he may be a nice 6/7 on this team.

 

[DETROIT 101]

Interesting assessment. If I look at the minutes he has played so far, he has averaged more TOI than Juolevi, and when I watched Juolevi's defensive assignments, he didn't seem to be on the ice against the opposing team's top lines. Green seemed to have Chatfield with Edler on the ice when Brady Tkachuk's line was on the other night, whereas Juolevi seemed to be playing sheltered minutes in his game. Also - I like Juolevi's hockey IQ, but the guy is not quick. Not sure if it's the injuries, but I can see the guy being a human turnstile defending off the rush against fast opponents.

Chatfield doesn't have the pedigree of a first rounder, and we are dealing with a small sample size. I'm just surprised he has played fairly serviceable minutes. Let's see how he does against better teams. He just looked solid to my eyes in his one game against Montreal when Vancouver won in the shootout, and looked pretty good against Ottawa. I personally don't see him as anything more than a third pair defenseman, but if he can keep this up, he may be a nice 6/7 on this team.

Ok

 

[DETROIT 101]

Ok/ Chatfield 16 minutes tonight.

 

[chaputonyou]

Ok/ Chatfield 16 minutes tonight.

I was assuming 13-15....let's see. Winnipeg is going to be a tougher test.

 

[Icebreakers]

His overall skill set looks pretty good. No big holes in his game. I wonder why he wasn't able to put up more points at the AHL level. You can pick up more than 4 points in a season by shooting it off body parts.

 

[RussianRacket]

I like him. Another great scouting and signing from Jim.

 

[tradervik]

Positive game for Chatfield tonight in 17 1/2 minutes of ice time. Very decent depth piece.

 

[Blue and Green]

His hockey sense has taken a big leap forward; he used to chase around too much but now he's quite sensible with his movement and positioning. I commented about it during the scrimmage. He's always had wheels and he's always battled hard. Lack of puck skills is still a real issue but overall he's doing better than what I would've expected. The pure defending aspect of his play is NHL-calibre.

 

[dedutchhockey]

I thought Management was blowing us smoke when they kept talking about Chatfield in the off season but the dude has fit right in.

he is that Tanev Bieksa Sopel mould. Calm, solid, nothing spectacular.

At this point he is better than Hamonic. Depth is always great to have so I still don’t mind the Hamonic signing.

great development by the Canucks on Chatfield.

 

[tradervik]

I agree about the lack of puck skills. Also, at times it seemed like his d partners didn't want to pass him the puck. He did make a couple of nice plays in the offensive zone, which went against the narrative from some posters.

 

[bandwagonesque]

I don't know man, this kid actually looks like he could be a competent NHL defender. The bedrock D skills of mobility and positioning are there.

 

[Canucks LB]

Getting better and better.
Played really well for a high flying jets team tonight

 

[chaputonyou]

Kelly Hrudey did a nice Chatfield profile on HNIC with the panel, with Hrudey comparing Chatfield to Bieksa during the second intermission,

Nearly 17.5 mins against a good Winnipeg team and on the ice against the Jets top line 5 on 5.

He definitely reads plays better than a few years ago and he has that quickness that doesn’t give opposing players as much time and space to make plays.

 

[F A N]

Kelly Hrudey did a nice Chatfield profile on HNIC with the panel, with Hrudey comparing Chatfield to Bieksa during the second intermission,

Nearly 17.5 mins against a good Winnipeg team and on the ice against the Jets top line 5 on 5.

He definitely reads plays better than a few years ago and he has that quickness that doesn’t give opposing players as much time and space to make plays.

Bieksa was probably biting his tongue the whole time trying not to say something bad about Chatfield. Bieksa had far better offensive numbers at the AHL level and was soon a top 4 Dman for the Canucks.

With that said, Chatfield does seem to play a pretty composed defensive game out there.

 

[JAK]

A steady third pair defensemen, ease him into PK and he can contribute many years into the future.

Not all players can be stars, and you wouldn't want that anyways, salary cap and all.

 

[HockeyWooot]

He’s been solid in his games so far, let’s hope he keeps it up!

 

[maroon 6]

He's been alright but hopefully Juolevi who has much more upside can surpass him soon. I see him as another Frank Corrado.

 

[JAK]

He's been alright but hopefully Juolevi who has much more upside can surpass him soon. I see him as another Frank Corrado.

Chatfield has a more rounded defensive game than Corrado IMO.

 

[maroon 6]

Chatfield has a more rounded defensive game than Corrado IMO.

But absolutely no offensive production from him

 

[JAK]

But absolutely no offensive production from him

That's what Quinn Hughes is for.

You can't have 6 all star defensemen on your roster.