Mason Raymond appreciation thread!

[Angry Little Elf]

I felt the other thread had too much negativity. So here's part 2. Mase has had an amazing bounce back year so far, his chemistry with JS is unbelievable.

Click to read more...

 

[YogiCanucks]

For me, this is as good as speedymacyraymond gets. This is Raymond "all put together". While I think his development has plateau'd clearly he's a strong piece of the puzzle here and hope he can keep up his play.

 

[PhilMick]

I'll join this thread based on that sweet dangle last night leading to Hansen's goal, and for crashing the net on that loose puck on the goal line (even though he completely failed to make any contact with the puck lol).

 

[lush]

He's evolved his game in the offensive zone drastically this season. I'm curious whether the coaching/skills development staff have been working with him on his skating because he's just so much better at starting/stopping/reversing and using not only his speed but his acceleration to basically play keep away from defenders and generate a lot more scoring chances than I've ever seen before

 

[Wilch]

From goat to hero in a year.

Pretty boy Raymond must feel great now, especially when negotiating for his upcoming contract.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Good start for him; would love nothing more than to see him sustain it.

That Raymond - Schroeder - Hansen line needs to stay together.

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

From goat to hero in a year.

In about three weeks by my count.

Anyways, helps his trade value if he keeps this up. Whatever we end up getting from Luongo will most likely (inevitably) include a top six player; I see Raymond going the other way.

 

[keslerburrows]

In about three weeks by my count.

Anyways, helps his trade value if he keeps this up. Whatever we end up getting from Luongo will most likely (inevitably) include a top six player; I see Raymond going the other way.

I don't. If anyone goes the other way it'll be Booth. Raymond should be a huge part to our 3rd line this year just like he has been.

 

[Bleach Clean]

They'll let him walk if he keeps going at this rate. No way they can afford him.


It's a perfect storm: Full offseason to train, motivation of new contract, extra motivation by team reducing his current salary, getting a real playmaking C, changing a few things in his game and early production. He got off to a good start and has kept it going.



Gillis will keep him as depth scoring on the wings, then just let him go in the offseason. The decision really isn't Raymond vs. Booth either. Two different styles.

 

[Reign Nateo]

I think his injury against Boston really affected him last year. He's going into the corners and working for the puck again which is leading to his success. He seemed timid to go into the tough areas last year and kind of floated around the perimeter. He could always skate, shoot and pass, now he's back to doing the sacrificing it takes to produce in this league.

 

[PhilMick]

Good start for him; would love nothing more than to see him sustain it.

That Raymond - Schroeder - Hansen line needs to stay together.

Sure looks good right now, but I can't help but think it'd be even more dangerous with a healthy Booth in Hansen's spot.

 

[nekyvGkOPaiWICTscLl6]

I was always one of the "get him off this team ASAP" guys for the past 4 years.

Now I sit humbled, as he has become a great part of this team and I was wrong about him.

 

[PhilMick]

I was always one of the "get him off this team ASAP" guys for the past 4 years.

Now I sit humbled, as he has become a great part of this team and I was wrong about him.

Not me, I've always told people he'll come around

/hurriedly goes back through posting history deleting all evidence

 

[Angry Little Elf]

Not me, I've always told people he'll come around

/hurriedly goes back through posting history deleting all evidence

I didn't believe, either..

 

[LeftCoast]

I've been a pretty staunch supporter of Raymond all along. I said when he returned last year that I didn't have high expectations for him because I didn't think he would have the strength to contest pucks or get into the dangerous scoring positions.

This morning Jason Botchford was jumping on the Mason Raymond bandwagon after Ferarro openly praised him. Only a couple weeks ago Botch went on for 10 minutes or more about "cut down Raymond" - making a petty and nasty point about his cut down arbitration. That was the morning when Mike Gillis came on and was very prickly and called Rintoule and Botch "disaffected". I sent the show a text this morning asking for Botch to tell us more about "cut down Raymond". They chose not to read my text.

When I see a player with obvious skill, who has some gaps in his game, but has a great work ethic and plays very solid defensively, I'm likely to believe he will come around. Raymond's problems the last 2 years have been injury related. Last year it was recovery from back surgery, the previous year he was playing through an injured shoulder and broken hand. These injuries - not a lack of courage - made him a peripheral player. You could see all along that he was trying to work the boards, and trying to get to the slot, but was physically unable to do so. So many other laughed and scorned when he fell down - to me, falling down a lot was a symptom of trying to do things that his body was not able to do.

A full summer + extended off season to recover had made a world of difference for Raymond.

 

[PhilMick]

On a related note, I was just in Cochrane this past Sunday and was disappointed to find out the town sign doesn't say "Home of Mason Raymond". There's an ice cream shop there with a ridiculous amount of flavours.

That is all.

 

[Mizral]

Just goes to show you that sometimes players need time & the right environment to succeed. I hope we don't cast off guys like Schroeder in the future when they inevitably come up against some challenges.

Raymond's move last night against the Wild last night was really something to behold and shows the kind of flash of skill that teams really want. What's amazing to me is the Canucks have guys like Raymond & Hansen that are BARELY able to make the 3rd line some nights - imagine when Kesler & Booth return. This is probably the deepest forward group in the league right now.

 

[roastpuff]

My girlfriend appreciates him a bit too much, if you get what I mean....

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

This morning Jason Botchford was jumping on the Mason Raymond bandwagon after Ferarro openly praised him. Only a couple weeks ago Botch went on for 10 minutes or more about "cut down Raymond" - making a petty and nasty point about his cut down arbitration. That was the morning when Mike Gillis came on and was very prickly and called Rintoule and Botch "disaffected". I sent the show a text this morning asking for Botch to tell us more about "cut down Raymond". They chose not to read my text.

I had a bit of a set-to with Jason Botchford via Twitter some months back. I don't normally do so, and I'm not exactly a Raymond fanboy per se, but his foaming at the mouth lunacy regarding Raymond spurred me to ask him.

So I (none too politely) asked if Raymond had beat him up and stolen his lunch money. We engaged in a back and forth which he ended up deleting after calling me an overemotional fan, to which I replied "as opposed to the supposedly professional reporter who got sucked into this?"

I suppose Mods do make the best trolls...

But to my central point - as much as Raymond has struggled, I've never understood the level of vitriol that Botch has had for him. The guy is a hack, plain and simple, and he tries for shock-jockey reporting tactics that just come off as sensationalistic rants.

 

[PhilMick]

I had a bit of a set-to with Jason Botchford via Twitter some months back. I don't normally do so, and I'm not exactly a Raymond fanboy per se, but his foaming at the mouth lunacy regarding Raymond spurred me to ask him.

So I (none too politely) asked if Raymond had beat him up and stolen his lunch money. We engaged in a back and forth which he ended up deleting after calling me an overemotional fan, to which I replied "as opposed to the supposedly professional reporter who got sucked into this?"

I suppose Mods do make the best trolls...

But to my central point - as much as Raymond has struggled, I've never understood the level of vitriol that Botch has had for him. The guy is a hack, plain and simple, and he tries for shock-jockey reporting tactics that just come off as sensationalistic rants.

I have a game I play where I read an article on the Province website and use the amount of typos in said article to determine if it's written by Botch or not. It's really easy.

 

[Taelin]

But to my central point - as much as Raymond has struggled, I've never understood the level of vitriol that Botch has had for him. The guy is a hack, plain and simple, and he tries for shock-jockey reporting tactics that just come off as sensationalistic rants.

Our media are hacks in general. Kuzma was busy pumping up Ebbett's tires and playing down Schroeder's play. Now I laugh when I see he's jumped on the Schroeder bandwagon (tried to ask him about this on Twitter, but he obviously never responded).

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Our media are hacks in general. Kuzma was busy pumping up Ebbett's tires and playing down Schroeder's play. Now I laugh when I see he's jumped on the Schroeder bandwagon (tried to ask him about this on Twitter, but he obviously never responded).

Yeah, the Ebbett/Schroeder thing was a big head scratcher for me. Obviously they were both battling for the spot, but the way everyone in our local media seemed to automatically declare Ebbett the winner almost by acclamation was weird. Not quite to "Botch hates Raymond" levels, but still.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

That toe drag move he made right before Hansen's goal last night...honestly not a lot of Canucks are flashy stickhandlers these days, probably haven't seen anything like that since the Naslund-in-his-prime days.

Love that contract year effect

My girlfriend appreciates him a bit too much, if you get what I mean....

Why does your girlfriend like prepubescent 12 year old boys

 

[Proto]

Credit where it's due: Raymond looks significantly stronger on his skates. He still has some significant flaws, but his backcheck is back to being stronger (last year his defense took a step back I thought). I could see Raymond and Hansen as third-line staples (with Raymond getting 2nd unit PP duties/spot duty on the 2nd line) for years to come.

If he continues his place, it's a good year to use the cap coming down as leverage to sign him to a 4-5 year deal at a reasonable rate (3-ish a year?)

 

[Angry Little Elf]

On a related note, I was just in Cochrane this past Sunday and was disappointed to find out the town sign doesn't say "Home of Mason Raymond". There's an ice cream shop there with a ridiculous amount of flavours.

That is all.

That IS odd. Port McNeil has "Home of Willie Mitchell" on their sign and are planning to add Clayton Stoner.