Jalen Chatfield: Thoughts?

[clay]

What on Earth this organization sees in him is beyond me. It takes no more than a quick glance at this guy’s AHL stat line to see how utterly useless he is.

 

[VanJack]

The 'prince' turned back into a 'pumpkin' in this game. Chatfield looked every bit the AHL d-man that he is. But he wasn't alone on this Canuck blueline.

So sad to see Edler these days, who's career with the Canucks is winding down. Clearly he's lost a step, but mobility was never his strong suit anyway. Sad reality though, is that he just doesn't matchup well with the swift forwards in this Division.

 

[bossram]

I posted in this thread earlier when he was looking "good". My opinion is the same as it was then.

Extremely limited player. Can't really handle the puck, and doesn't have the processing speed to make quick plays. He can chip it off the glass and avoid making the coach mad, but he just doesn't have the baseline skill level to be an NHLer. And the fact that he's undersized limits his defensive efficacy to boot.

I don't really hold the non-offside touch leading to a goal against him. It was a weird situation. That wasn't and isn't the issue with Chatfield.

 

[MS]

9 GP 0 points -7.

As I said earlier in this thread, when you look at a single game he looks ok but when games start piling up the numbers start piling up against him.

 

[Dab]

It’s honestly shocking Juolevi can’t beat this guy out

 

[TraderJim]

<Insert reference to GME stock>

 

[FOurteenS inCisOr]

The 'prince' turned back into a 'pumpkin' in this game. Chatfield looked every bit the AHL d-man that he is. But he wasn't alone on this Canuck blueline.

So sad to see Edler these days, who's career with the Canucks is winding down. Clearly he's lost a step, but mobility was never his strong suit anyway. Sad reality though, is that he just doesn't matchup well with the swift forwards in this Division.

The last few games will negatively effect them, but Edler’s underlying numbers had been pretty solid for the season.

 

[Intangibos]

When I watch him play, he’s like a cross between the two Tanev and Stetcher. He’s a mobile guy like Tanev, he can move the puck out, he competes hard. He’s a competitive defensive player who can transition the puck up ice.

 

[EpochLink]

Glorified Doo Doo

 

[CherryToke]

"He's a cross between Tanev and Stetcher"

"We really like our depth"

 

[Intoewsables]

When I watch him play, he’s like a cross between the two Tanev and Stetcher. He’s a mobile guy like Tanev, he can move the puck out, he competes hard. He’s a competitive defensive player who can transition the puck up ice.

And we're just supposed to believe that the guy who said this about Chatfield is some sort of master scout.

 

[VanJack]

You can tell that Chatfield is a 'gamer'....I give him credit for that. But what scares me even more is Benning pumping his tires furiously as a guy ready for depth role in the NHL.

It really helps explain why--other than Hughes who fell into his lap in the 2018 draft, the Canucks haven't be able to trade, acquire or draft a single top-four d-man in the Benning era. I'm convinced this brain-trust wouldn't recognize a legit NHL d-man if he fell out of a tree and hit them on the head.

And the number of draft picks they've flushed away for the likes of Pouliot, Gudbranson, Pedan, Clendening and Larsen and others I've long forgotten, is beyond depressing. The UFA signings of guys like Myers and Benn is just icing on the cake.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Nice wheels and offensive instincts, but he's so outmatched at this level.

It's like me sparing in a Div 1 game.

 

[NoShowWilly]

You can tell that Chatfield is a 'gamer'....I give him credit for that. But what scares me even more is Benning pumping his tires furiously as a guy ready for depth role in the NHL.

It really helps explain why--other than Hughes who fell into his lap in the 2018 draft, the Canucks haven't be able to trade, acquire or draft a single top-four d-man in the Benning era. I'm convinced this brain-trust wouldn't recognize a legit NHL d-man if he fell out of a tree and hit them on the head.

And the number of draft picks they've flushed away for the likes of Pouliot, Gudbranson, Pedan, Clendening and Larsen and others I've long forgotten, is beyond depressing. The UFA signings of guys like Myers and Benn is just icing on the cake.

Sbisa and Bartkowski. I think that's it for the defense

 

[Nucker101]

This dude is in over his head in the NHL. He works hard and I’m sure he’s thrilled to be making NHL money, but I hope he’s ready for the Sbisa/Gud/Bartkowski treatment from this fanbase this season.

 

[VanJack]

Sbisa and Bartkowski. I think that's it for the defense

Lol!...yep forgot all about Bartkowski and Sbisa, the latter being the jewel coming back from the Ducks in the Kesler trade. And seems to me that Benning was convinced Adam Clendening could run an NHL pp when he acquired him. It's a 'murders row' of dismal d-men to be sure.

 

[DETROIT 101]

Lol/ first goal power play/. 23 /. Second goal. 23 makes 4 bad plays on one play lol. First lost battle on board s. Second he back up. Third he must the pass. Fourth he fell down. Lol. Blame the cheapest player on them. Third goal 21 does not get his man. His man passes it / 23 did not push his guy To side of net. Fourth /we’ll come on/. 9. And goalie wtf. And the last one come on what was you watching 21 was inside to low and did cover point shot. Lol. Like 20mill. And blame a kid with 9 games and and min $700,000

 

[The Vasili Jerry]

Lol/ first goal power play/. 23 /. Second goal. 23 makes 4 bad plays on one play lol. First lost battle on board s. Second he back up. Third he must the pass. Fourth he fell down. Lol. Blame the cheapest player on them. Third goal 21 does not get his man. His man passes it / 23 did not push his guy To side of net. Fourth /we’ll come on/. 9. And goalie wtf. And the last one come on what was you watching 21 was inside to low and did cover point shot. Lol. Like 20mill. And blame a kid with 9 games and and min $700,000

This post kinda resembles his play.

 

[MS]

I don't love how brutal this thread is being on the guy.

He's an undrafted guy who worked hard to turn himself into a good organizational soldier and reached the point where he could be an emergency callup for a couple games and do an OK job. Reaching the NHL from his situation is a major triumph.

It isn't his fault that Jim Benning can't evaluate defenders and thought he was as good as Troy Stecher. It isn't his fault that Travis Green is giving him hard 2nd pairing minutes and matchups against Austin Matthews when he should be getting 12-13 minutes on a 3rd pairing. If he was the #9 guy and came in and played a few 3rd pairing games when we had injuries, that would be 100% fine. The problem is that he's our #7 defender currently getting played like a #4-5.

 

[Lupuls Grit]

I don't love how brutal this thread is being on the guy.

He's an undrafted guy who worked hard to turn himself into a good organizational soldier and reached the point where he could be an emergency callup for a couple games and do an OK job. Reaching the NHL from his situation is a major triumph.

It isn't his fault that Jim Benning can't evaluate defenders and thought he was as good as Troy Stecher. It isn't his fault that Travis Green is giving him hard 2nd pairing minutes and matchups against Austin Matthews when he should be getting 12-13 minutes on a 3rd pairing. If he was the #9 guy and came in and played a few 3rd pairing games when we had injuries, that would be 100% fine. The problem is that he's our #7 defender currently getting played like a #4-5.

I don't think anyone is ripping Chatfield on being a bad dude. People are rightly concerned that he's not an NHL defender. Yes, he's done amazingly well to actually make it this far. Kudos to him - it speaks to his work ethic and character - but that doesn't mean his play is immune from criticism or that it's unfair to state the obvious: he is not talented enough to play in the NHL. At least not at this point. With the aforementioned work ethic and character, perhaps he can develop into a Biega-style, bottom pairing defender. But he's not there yet.

 

[VanJack]

I think this poor guy might have been doomed when Benning gave him 'the good housekeeping seal of approval'. Given how this GM spoke in glowing terms about the likes of Myers, Sbisa, Gudbranson, Juolevi, Pedan, etc. etc.....you just knew what would happen when we went out of his way to anoint another d-man like Chatfield, who wasn't really wowing anybody in the AHL.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Saw him on the list of UFAs.

Any potential here since he is one of the younger players on that list?

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Saw him on the list of UFAs.

Any potential here since he is one of the younger players on that list?

He’s a serviceable depth defender who ideally should not be in the lineup on a regular basis. Hard working guy who gives an honest effort, but a very limited skill set. For cheap depth, you could definitely do worse.

 

[Pip]

Saw him on the list of UFAs.

Any potential here since he is one of the younger players on that list?

I don’t think there’s potential as a regular NHLer but as a 7/8 guy potentially. Can’t say he was thrown into a fair situation last year.

 

[AwesomeInTheory]

Saw him on the list of UFAs.

Any potential here since he is one of the younger players on that list?

I would imagine that our illustrious ~*~ talent whisperer ~*~ of a GM, Jim Benning, will snap him up in due course because he's infatuated with him. He's a decent spare parts, 'tweener' player. Maybe as a 6th defender as his ceiling.