Prospect Info: Jonah "The Man Child" Gadjovich

[clay]

Forgot he played 1 game and ended it with 17 PIM. Remarkable start and earned the respect of his teammates going into training camp. I think Gadjovich has nothing to prove in Abbotsford and should be the 1st call-up if he doesn't find a role as a top 12 forward. He won World Junior Gold.

There's many other prospects worse than Gadjovich who receive tons of ice-time. Look at Jason Robertson exploding in Dallas, nobody expected that. I think we have a surprise, not to that extent, but Gadjovich has elite net front ability. If people remember Holmstrom/Kunitz/Bickell, then they know skill players can make use of big, physical players.

Bailey has better speed and hustle, but not the skill/hand-eye of Gadjovich. I think Highmore is a good 13th forward, but Gadjovich has top 9 utility not Highmore. And the Canucks are in tough if they are using Petan, Di Giuseppe higher than 4th line. If injuries hit, Gadjovich is the guy for top 9 minutes.

Agree. Personally think he would bring more to the table than Pearson in the top 9. Pearson brings no toughness or speed and very little scoring - just another overpaid lumbering plug that Benning has doubled down on with too much money.

 

[Jay Cee]

Agree. Personally think he would bring more to the table than Pearson in the top 9. Pearson brings no toughness or speed and very little scoring - just another overpaid lumbering plug that Benning has doubled down on with too much money.

Really? I don't think he is an NHL player and I doubt he will ever be an NHL regular. Hope I'm wrong. He is a clunky skater with no really great skill with the puck.

 

[Hit the post]

Really? I don't think he is an NHL player and I doubt he will ever be an NHL regular. Hope I'm wrong. He is a clunky skater with no really great skill with the puck.

That describes me as a poster & look how long I’ve lasted.

 

[clay]

Really? I don't think he is an NHL player and I doubt he will ever be an NHL regular. Hope I'm wrong. He is a clunky skater with no really great skill with the puck.

I do see decent puck skills, but his bread and butter is going to be getting to the dirty areas and creating havoc. He brings more of an identity to the lineup than Pearson who is as vanilla as it gets and doesn't really bring anything. Should have been punted after his contract expired.

 

[Lindgren]

My pet theory, which I don't really believe in myself (but still), is that Gadjovich didn't get benched in that final game because of his bad error, but rather because they didn't want to show any more of him and lose him in the expansion draft, in case Seattle was looking for a player who brought that "edge."

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Still a bit of a long shot unless his skating improves imo. Another year in the AHL and maybe a couple of short call ups. He improved his odds a lot last year. Let’s hope it continues.

 

[Blue and Green]

NHL-calibre within 10 feet of the opposition's goal crease and sub-NHL across the rest of the rink.

 

[Breakers]

Who knows if he becomes an NHL player

But he is doing right now what Vancouver has told Virtanen to do for 6 seasons. which is hand the puck off and skate directly to the net and take a defenseman with you.

 

[iceburg]

I maintain that a good lineup strategy should be to develop three lines with two more offensively oriented and one more defensively oriented. It goes without saying the better those lines are at the all around game the more competitive the team will be.

now, to the point. The 4th line needs to include specialty, situational, players. Motte and Lockwood, for example, are high energy players who can be good on the pk. Gadjovich has shown two things: he has serious toughness and has high end finishing talent, at least he has shown it at every other level. I’d say this is where he fits in the NHL. He doesn’t need to be in the top 9. He needs to be able to contribute in certain circumstances. And, within the organization, it’s arguable that he is the best at what he does.

 

[Nucker101]

Free the Whale....

illustrated by that guy the Canucks just signed too.. awesome

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

I maintain that a good lineup strategy should be to develop three lines with two more offensively oriented and one more defensively oriented. It goes without saying the better those lines are at the all around game the more competitive the team will be.

now, to the point. The 4th line needs to include specialty, situational, players. Motte and Lockwood, for example, are high energy players who can be good on the pk. Gadjovich has shown two things: he has serious toughness and has high end finishing talent, at least he has shown it at every other level. I’d say this is where he fits in the NHL. He doesn’t need to be in the top 9. He needs to be able to contribute in certain circumstances. And, within the organization, it’s arguable that he is the best at what he does.

Very Holmstrom like, yes.

 

[RobertKron]

Very Holmstrom like, yes.

I get the comparison, but Holmstrom was often downplayed as just a fridge that got wheeled out to the front of the net for PPs, but I believe he played 3rd line minutes or more at ES until basically his final season.

 

[strattonius]

Agree. Personally think he would bring more to the table than Pearson in the top 9. Pearson brings no toughness or speed and very little scoring - just another overpaid lumbering plug that Benning has doubled down on with too much money.

Unless Gadjovich takes a HUGE stride this year, he will not surpass Pearson as an effective NHL'er.

You made your biased opinion known that you just don't like Pearson because of his contract. It's a shit contract, agreed, but it doesn't thrust Gadjovich in to our top 9.

I hope Gad proves most of us wrong will gladly eat crow.

 

[clay]

Unless Gadjovich takes a HUGE stride this year, he will not surpass Pearson as an effective NHL'er.

You made your biased opinion known that you just don't like Pearson because of his contract. It's a shit contract, agreed, but it doesn't thrust Gadjovich in to our top 9.

I hope Gad proves most of us wrong will gladly eat crow.

Contract aside (which is a brutal one), Pearson put up a 30 point pace while getting 17 minutes a game and plenty of PP time while providing zero physicality. It’s actually difficult to produce that poorly with the quality of minutes he was fed and I have no doubt Gadjovich would surpass that bar while being very difficult to play against.

 

[cc]

He's hard pressed to make it out of camp even if he dramatically improves his skating. There will be a bias towards other bottom six players like Mac and Highmore so he would have to significantly outplay them to make the team.

The most that can be expected is a call up assuming he successfully passes through waivers.

 

[F A N]

Contract aside (which is a brutal one), Pearson put up a 30 point pace while getting 17 minutes a game and plenty of PP time while providing zero physicality. It’s actually difficult to produce that poorly with the quality of minutes he was fed and I have no doubt Gadjovich would surpass that bar while being very difficult to play against.

So what is your projection for Gadjovich? 2nd line winger scoring 20 goals? 25 goals?

 

[clay]

So what is your projection for Gadjovich? 2nd line winger scoring 20 goals? 25 goals?

A lot of it is about opportunity but I see him as a 3rd line winger who could provide 25+ goals if used as a net front presence on the powerplay. He has the scoring ability as well as the ability to play up and down the lineup based on his physicality. Insert him in the lineup and he is instantly the toughest player on the team.

 

[F A N]

That describes me as a poster & look how long I’ve lasted.

Hiding underneath WTG's bed obviously helped with your longevity.

 

[F A N]

A lot of it is about opportunity but I see him as a 3rd line winger who could provide 25+ goals if used as a net front presence on the powerplay. He has the scoring ability as well as the ability to play up and down the lineup based on his physicality. Insert him in the lineup and he is instantly the toughest player on the team.

So he can be like Nick Ritchie? The thing is he's not going to get much of an opportunity to be a net front presence here, at least not on the 1st unit PP. The 2nd unit PP has historically not gotten much time. Toughness is useless if you can't skate and is a liability defensively. But certainly if the team manages to dress MacEwen and Gadjovich at the same time there's some fighting power there.

 

[clay]

So he can be like Nick Ritchie? The thing is he's not going to get much of an opportunity to be a net front presence here, at least not on the 1st unit PP. The 2nd unit PP has historically not gotten much time. Toughness is useless if you can't skate and is a liability defensively. But certainly if the team manages to dress MacEwen and Gadjovich at the same time there's some fighting power there.

There are countless examples of guys who are poor skaters that have carved out solid NHL careers. Toughness/physciality absolutely matter, particularly in the playoffs. That isn't really a question - look at the last 4 cup winners. Tampa consistently underachieved in the playoffs until they focused on complimenting their skilled core with size and physicality.

But at the end of the day, I don't think Gadjovich will get the opportunity, particularly after the Pearson signing. The top 9 spots are spoken for until 2023-2024.

 

[Get North]

Contract aside (which is a brutal one), Pearson put up a 30 point pace while getting 17 minutes a game and plenty of PP time while providing zero physicality. It’s actually difficult to produce that poorly with the quality of minutes he was fed and I have no doubt Gadjovich would surpass that bar while being very difficult to play against.

So you think Pearson's play has declined? His first 2 seasons with Vancouver were excellent. Miller and Pearson's 1st full seasons with Vancouver resulted in them winning 2 playoff series. Clearly, we can win with these players in our line-up as they produced in the playoffs. The fact we have Pearson, Gadjovich and Motte competing for 2 left wing positions is a good thing.

Look at Petey, Bo, JT, Gaudette, Virtanen. All their production declined in 2020-21. Pearson is not the only one. I think Pearson's skill level is more designed for a 3rd/4th line role rather than top 6. He should be a net front presence on the PP, but we might have more skilled players than him so we can use him on PK.

Pearson has never really been a fighter. He's a fast, two-way, versatile player that can score in close, push around small defencemen, and hold his own physically. We are good on fighters, we need to use our depth to win. Nobody expects Pettersson to beat McDavid or Horvat to beat Draisaitl, it's on the shoulders of Pearson, Hogs, Pods to conquer Duncan Keith, RNH, Ceci, etc.

 

[F A N]

There are countless examples of guys who are poor skaters that have carved out solid NHL careers. Toughness/physciality absolutely matter, particularly in the playoffs. That isn't really a question - look at the last 4 cup winners. Tampa consistently underachieved in the playoffs until they focused on complimenting their skilled core with size and physicality.

But at the end of the day, I don't think Gadjovich will get the opportunity, particularly after the Pearson signing. The top 9 spots are spoken for until 2023-2024.

I'm not disagreeing with the importance of toughess and physicality. But you can be hard to play against and win puck battles without being 6'2"+ 210lbs+. Pat Maroon has won three straight Cups but I think most Lightning fans consider him a replacement level 4th line player. Certainly Goodrow and Coleman played bigger roles.

Gadjovich is likely still figuring out his path to the NHL. If he can improve his skating and play a hard forechecking game without being a defensive liability. I'm sure he'll get opportunities either here or elsewhere. I can confidently say that Green is a much bigger fan of high motor guys who forecheck with speed rather than the bigger more physical guys who are lumbering skaters.

 

[iceburg]

Contract aside (which is a brutal one), Pearson put up a 30 point pace while getting 17 minutes a game and plenty of PP time while providing zero physicality. It’s actually difficult to produce that poorly with the quality of minutes he was fed and I have no doubt Gadjovich would surpass that bar while being very difficult to play against.

I don't understand the comparison...it's like comparing a pickup truck to a Bolt EV. They both have 4 wheels, yes. But they have very different utility.

 

[clay]

I don't understand the comparison...it's like comparing a pickup truck to a Bolt EV. They both have 4 wheels, yes. But they have very different utility.

The point is to say Pearson is clogging a spot in the top 9 where Gadjovich could replace him and easily outmatch his production, while providing more in terms of grit and physicality.

I don't like Pearson as a hockey player.

 

[F A N]

Pearson didn't have a good season. He also had his second worst SH% of his career. Still, Pearson has proven to be a fit alongside Horvat in the past. Only thing Gadjovich has proven is that he's not going to get a lot of rope from Green.

I don't like Pearson as a hockey player.

Did you watch him when he was younger?