Prospect Info: Jonah "The Man Child" Gadjovich

[VanJack]

Gadjovich was the second-round draft compensation for Columbus signing Torts as their coach. A lot was made of it at the time that this would be last time that an NHL team would ever receive a compensatory pick for the signing of their former coach. The NHL changed the rules.

So he was Torts parting gift to the Canucks. Should it therefore be any shock that it doesn't look like it will work out?

 

[Bad Goalie]

The upside with Gadjovich is he at least is aware that his skating is his biggest deficit and is a huge work in progress

Comets seriously need a full time skating coach or something. or the coaches that Horvat or MacEwen employed should be recommended to Gadj in the offseason.

"Comets seriously need a full time skating coach..."

That would be something for Benning and Johnson to get to work on.

I haven't heard of any AHL teams having a professional skating instructor on staff.

Wouldn't be bad idea having witnessed the problems a lot of Comets have displayed in the past 6 years.

 

[Bad Goalie]

The AHL is an absolute grind. Most players are basically in maintenance mode, physically, once they get into the season. I don't think you have a very good understanding of either the intensity of pro hockey, or the intensity of off-season training if you're suggesting this.

Agree 100%.

However, if he can't skate well enough to make any kind of impact, it might mean he ends up scratched when the team is flush anyways. The Comets do have an advantage over a lot of the rest of the AHL. A large proportion of their games are only a couple hours away at the most and quite a few others within the 4 hour range. It gives them a lot more time at home instead of riding buses getting to games and then back home again taking up 2 or 3 days. It would give the real needy skaters time to work on their skating, even if it's only straight ahead speed. It wouldn't be the same as the intense summer workouts, but something would obviously be better than nothing when what you've got is keeping you out of the lineup.

 

[Jyrki21]

"Comets seriously need a full time skating coach..."

That would be something for Benning and Johnson to get to work on.

I haven't heard of any AHL teams having a professional skating instructor on staff.

I'm now picturing Gadjovich lined up with 9 year old kids and a power skating coach at the New Hartford Rec Center.

 

[MS]

Archibald wasn't exactly a tough guy and willing fighter in juniors though. That was something he added at the pro level to better his chance of earning a spot. I think you're overly harsh on many players. Gadjovich was 20, was not up to speed, and dropped the gloves against bigger guys. To use an analogy, it's normal for boxers to be cautious and feel his opponent's power first. It's not being a p***ycat. It's possible that once Gadjovich is more comfortable about his abilities at the AHL level you would see a more physical game out of him.

Archibald was always a vicious hitter and carried that reputation when he was signed. I watched Gadjovich all year in Utica last year and can't remember a bodycheck where he knocked an opposing player down. He just isn't very physical at all.

 

[Hoghandler]

I hate to say this (dreading the backlash), but LaBate, who was never good, was better than Gadjovich's best outings on his worst nights.

LaBate didn't play in Utica until he was 22 in his draft +5 season.

Gadjovich went to Utica's camp as a 19 year old in his draft +2 and is still only 20...

A 24 year old LaBate put up an identical season statistically to Gadjovich's disappointing rookie pro season. Give Gadjovich another 3 years and you're comparing him on equal footing to Labate's rookie pro season.

 

[4Twenty]

LaBate didn't play in Utica until he was 22 in his draft +5 season.

Gadjovich went to Utica's camp as a 19 year old in his draft +2 and is still only 20...

A 24 year old LaBate put up an identical season statistically to Gadjovich's disappointing rookie pro season. Give Gadjovich another 3 years and you're comparing him on equal footing to Labate's rookie pro season.

Lets compare him to Brendan Gaunce then. A throwaway slow-footed non-productive replacement level player, no? Well, by his 2nd year in Utica he was a 1st liner player who finished his season in the NHL.

I know everyone thinks people are being negative on purpose or for no reason when discussing these guys, but it's reality. It's really f***ing hard to make the NHL in any capacity and in general, the majority that do, don't struggle so mightily with the pace of the AHL or NHL preseason.

Same as when people knock Goldy's preseason.....looking ok is not enough, you have to excel/dominmate lower levels to usually have a shot at making the NHL period, let alone being more than replacement level player.

Hate to kick the kid while he's down, but he sticks out like a sore thumb because he's a slow....and not Gaunce slow either, like Scotty Bowman in skates slow.

 

[Hoghandler]

Lets compare him to Brendan Gaunce then.

Why do you want to compare him to Brendan Gaunce? Not seeing what that has to do with Joe LaBate...

 

[4Twenty]

Why do you want to compare him to Brendan Gaunce? Not seeing what that has to do with Joe LaBate...

I dunno entered the thread, saw comparisons to Labate, Archibald etc.

You stated Labate was a bad comparable because of his age.....so I brought up Gaunce since their ages are closer.

The threads about Gadjovich. I interpreted we were comparing Gadjovich and his poor skating to other former prospects who were poor skaters. I'm trying to provide the "equal footing" you were looking to get in Labate vs Jonah.

Can't we just have a discussion? Why were you elaborating about Labate? What are you attempting to moderate my posts? Why can you blather on about the age gap between Labate and Gadjovich, but I can't join in and potentially add to the conversation?

We get it, you like to be contrarian.

 

[PM]

So what is this guy actually good at? He’s not small of course but he’s not really that big either compared to actual large hockey players. Maybe ten years ago he could carve out a part time role on a fourth line but now I’m not sure he’s even got what it takes to be a full time AHLer.

 

[Bad Goalie]

LaBate didn't play in Utica until he was 22 in his draft +5 season.

Gadjovich went to Utica's camp as a 19 year old in his draft +2 and is still only 20...

A 24 year old LaBate put up an identical season statistically to Gadjovich's disappointing rookie pro season. Give Gadjovich another 3 years and you're comparing him on equal footing to Labate's rookie pro season.

LaBate was a 4th round pick with little chance of getting out of this league. Gadjovich was a 2nd rounder with so called promise. The guy can't skate. There were players on the Division III Utica College Pioneers who skated better than him. He should have been miles beyond LaBate. This hurry up and wait BULL is just that. All reports from camp are his skating is just like it was at last year's camp. Many prospects who came here and failed were better skaters. He better **** and do it quick or he's a goodbye.

I hope he finds his game because I hate watching these kids fizzle out, but I know as well as you that most of them will. Out of last season's trio I rate the chances with:
#1 Jasek
#2 Lind
#3 Gadjovich
That's already all that's left from last season's crop of top rookie prospect wingers.

If MacEwen doesn't pick it up several notches, he will be on his way to becoming a Grenier. This league doesn't take any prisoners. The next crop of kids want your job. The best stroke of luck for the kids sent here is that there usually aren't a number of kids sent here every season. 7 rounds every season should see a steady arrival of new prospects every year. No new forwards at all this year and no centers for some time now. Rookies coming in on D, but no vets signed to keep them out of the lineup. No vets on D in this league is a recipe for disaster.

The age excuse is crap. He played all season as a 20-yr-old and he will play this whole season as a 21-yr-old. His birthday is October 12. Game 2 for the Comets is on his birthday.

Before you bring it up in another post, Lind turns 21 on the 16th of October. Game 3 will be on Lind's birthday. There are many AHL players who do not turn 2o until somewhere between the start of the season and the December deadline that makes them ineligible until the next season. These 2 are way ahead of that curve.

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

Wasn't it obvious enough last year that he would have seriously done this in the Summer that just passed?!?!?
He should have sought out such coaching immediately on his own.

The Canucks management should have been all over it as well. Waste product Ghost Johnson should have been ordering it and imploring Benning to get on it, if through nothing more than a phone call to the kid expressing the importance of such summer work to his future with the Canucks.

He's never going to amount to anything if he can't skate in a profession where the #1 job requirement is skating.

I believe I posted an article about Gadjovich a few days ago where he talks about losing weight and working on his skating to get quicker this summer. That the work doesn't appear to have paid dividends doesn't mean it wasn't done. Maybe his skating can't be improved?

 

[Bad Goalie]

I believe I posted an article about Gadjovich a few days ago where he talks about losing weight and working on his skating to get quicker this summer. That the work doesn't appear to have paid dividends doesn't mean it wasn't done. Maybe his skating can't be improved?

And if that's true, he won't make it. He'll have to fight to even get on the game day roster after 10 games or so and Cull is no longer just playing him just because he's a Canuck prospect. Malone will also be a rookie who played better than him at the end of last year. Is that why he wasn't invited to the main camp? He is the only Comet that wasn't there and nobody answered my question as to knowing the reason why.

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

Is that why he wasn't invited to the main camp? He is the only Comet that wasn't there and nobody answered my question as to knowing the reason why.

He's here BG. I'm fairly certain he played in Victoria Tuesday night.

Here's the article I referred to earlier. His focus this past summer appears to have been on conditioning more than skating, from what I can glean from it:


Kole Lind and Jonah Gadjovich struggled as first-year pros, but Canucks hope that made them stronger

 

[F A N]

Gadjovich was a late 2nd round pick. He could of easily been an early 2nd round pick or 3rd round pick. If you look at the scouting reports in his draft-eligible year it was all over the place. If you like him you saw high compete level, a pro style game, a pretty well-rounded toolset aside from his skating that needs work, and you probably caught him playing in games where he dominated. If you don't like him you saw suspect skating and probably saw him on some bad games.

Fast forward to now, I don't think his draft status and the fact that he was old enough to play in the AHL has helped him. We see that a lot of posters who watched him play last year in Utica has written him off as a prospect.

Personally, I don't think there's much to discuss here. A lot of his supposed strengths were reportedly not on display last season in Utica. Why that is I don't know. I suspect that a bit part of it besides his skating is that he was another guy who was physically able to dominate in juniors but couldn't at the AHL level. The hope is that he can figure things out and continue to make strides. Fortunately for him, his contract slid so he has 3 years left on his ELC.

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

Fortunately for him, his contract slid so he has 3 years left on his ELC.

@F A N I noticed that Gadjovich's contract apparently slid but Kole Lind's did not. Hmm. Same age (within four days) same draft class. Same rookie year in Utica more or less. Any idea what's going on here?

 

[VanJack]

A guy with 'skating issues' in junior hockey isn't likely to get much better after turning pro. The only exception I can think of is Bo Horvat, who worked hard to improve his speed and explosiveness. But then Bo was a much better skater in junior, so he had less of a hill to climb. And besides, there's really only one Bo.

Gadjovich has so far to go, you'd have to say he's now a long-shot as an NHL player.

 

[F A N]

@F A N I noticed that Gadjovich's contract apparently slid but Kole Lind's did not. Hmm. Same age (within four days) same draft class. Same rookie year in Utica more or less. Any idea what's going on here?

Canucks signed Gadjovich in 2017 and Lind in 2018. This is significant because under the rules, a player's age on September 15 in the year you sign your ELC matters as it determines the age in which you signe the ELC. Gadjovich was therefore considered to be 18 year old while Lind was a 19 year old. So Gadjovich's ELC was able to slide for an extra year.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

Should maybe trade him while he still has some value

 

[megatron]

Should maybe trade him while he still has some value

That ship has long sailed bud, hes got no value. He peaked the moment he was drafted.

 

[MS]

Should maybe trade him while he still has some value

That ship has sailed. He's worthless at this point.

 

[sting101]

A guy with 'skating issues' in junior hockey isn't likely to get much better after turning pro. The only exception I can think of is Bo Horvat, who worked hard to improve his speed and explosiveness. But then Bo was a much better skater in junior, so he had less of a hill to climb. And besides, there's really only one Bo.

Gadjovich has so far to go, you'd have to say he's now a long-shot as an NHL player.

Mark Stone, Jamie Benn there is lots of examples.

You dont have to be NHL fast to be effective either, although without tremendous skill it's a pretty daunting task.

Kid has played 1 game and people want to come to a lot of conclusions. How about we let him play and see how his year goes? Like what is the point in stamping him a bust so quickly? Hopefully his family never reads HF. Geez some of you guys are ruthless.

Still time to get on the Brent Sopel steak diet

 

[MS]

Mark Stone, Jamie Benn there is lots of examples.

You dont have to be NHL fast to be effective either, although without tremendous skill it's a pretty daunting task.

Kid has played 1 game and people want to come to a lot of conclusions. How about we let him play and see how his year goes? Like what is the point in stamping him a bust so quickly?

Still time to get on the Brent Sopel steak diet

I supported the pick when it was made because it's hard to get talented big bodies outside of the first round, and because of the history you mention where some big guys can improve their skating. Thought it was a worthwhile high-upside shot.

But Gadjovich isn't Benn or Stone. Both guys absolutely dominated in their last year of junior, and Benn walked straight into the NHL and scored 22 goals. Stone was a high-producing AHLer right off the rattle.

Gadjovich has completely stagnated since being drafted and his skating is just too bad to project as any sort of NHLer. And this isn't off one game - I've seen him play about 50 games now since we drafted him. Guy was completely lost in the AHL and blown away by the pace at that level. On merit, he should have been in the ECHL. Unfortunately there's just nothing there.

 

[Jyrki21]

That ship has long sailed bud, hes got no value. He peaked the moment he was drafted.

Which goes back to the incredulity that I always repeat here, how nonsensical it is to say a GM "did well" at the draft immediately after it has occurred, when no new information has surfaced since it happened.

 

[I am toxic]

I'm now picturing Gadjovich lined up with 9 year old kids and a power skating coach at the New Hartford Rec Center.

Well, we laugh about it, but every August I see Barb or Karen working with NHL'ers who have booked their own sheet of ice.

And yes, Barb will make them wear a parachute.