lawrence
Registered User
- May 19, 2012
- 16,123
- 6,992
Edmonton pulling the same stunt by benching Bouchard, wow.... wtf guys.... he should be a regular right now.
Olli Juolevi makes his NHL debut
- Thread starter Dr Black
- Start date
You have to play OJ if you want the team to have any chance. Hamonic is a disaster defensively. His spacing is comical, probably because of his skating speed. He backs in so far that the forward has all the time to decide what to do.
You keep Benn and play with Hughes because they had a stabilizing influence with each other. A hamonic hughes pairing is a nightmare. Ham is sometimes pinching up all the way to the opposition goal line...Like what the heck are you thinking?! Hughes is now the defensive conscience? Crazy man.
Play OJ and have the guts to scratch Hamonic Greener
You keep Benn and play with Hughes because they had a stabilizing influence with each other. A hamonic hughes pairing is a nightmare. Ham is sometimes pinching up all the way to the opposition goal line...Like what the heck are you thinking?! Hughes is now the defensive conscience? Crazy man.
Play OJ and have the guts to scratch Hamonic Greener
It's absolutely amazing that we're essentially 10 points out of the playoffs and are dressing Jordie Benn - a 33 y/o pending UFA who was a healthy scratch in the bubble - ahead of a 22 y/o defender who was better than Benn when he was actually in the lineup.
RobertKron
Registered User
- Sep 1, 2007
- 15,522
- 8,666
After everything that happened last year, maybe "just sneak in and anything can happen!" is no longer the mantra, and has been replaced with "just be kinda near the playoffs and then maybe there's a pandemic and play-ins and a bubble and anything can happen! Final 8!"
As someone else mentioned, I think they just aren't good enough at math to understand the GP differential and that 'only 5 points behind Montreal!' is actually 10 points behind Montreal if they get 5 points in their 5 games in hand. And that their playoff chances are 2% as a result.
But it is crazy that when Travis Green had another crappy veteran defender in Fantenburg available - and Fantenburg isn't even good enough to be in the NHL this year - that Benn was a healthy scratch in the bubble, but when the competition is a rookie defender ... Benn is welded into the lineup. And Benn isn't playing any differently now from last year.
RobertKron
Registered User
- Sep 1, 2007
- 15,522
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It's interesting to compare Ottawa and Vancouver so far this season. The Sens are treating it the right way....they're emphasizing 'development'. They're moving guys on and off their taxi squad to find out who can play and who can't.
The Canucks on the other hand are heading over the cliff with the same veterans night after night, and right now they're not getting any better results than Ottawa.
Let's face it, guys like Benn, Hamonic, Roussel, Beagle, Edler, Sutter, Pearson and Holtby will be long gone before the Canucks are in a position to win anything. Most of them will likely be gone before next season.
But if you're expecting this coach to park any of them in favor of rookies who might have a future with this organization, forget about it. It's the reason why an in-season coaching change might in the best long-term interests of the team.
The Canucks on the other hand are heading over the cliff with the same veterans night after night, and right now they're not getting any better results than Ottawa.
Let's face it, guys like Benn, Hamonic, Roussel, Beagle, Edler, Sutter, Pearson and Holtby will be long gone before the Canucks are in a position to win anything. Most of them will likely be gone before next season.
But if you're expecting this coach to park any of them in favor of rookies who might have a future with this organization, forget about it. It's the reason why an in-season coaching change might in the best long-term interests of the team.
Pastor Of Muppetz
Registered User
- Oct 1, 2017
- 26,218
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Not quite the same scenario imo...The Sens were not really expected to do anything but show up and compete this season..The Canucks on the other hand were expected to make a playoff push...One team is playing loose with minimal expectations, (and probably enjoying it), the other most certainly isnt.
Other than Hog and OJ, I dont think any of the other Canuck prospects are literally being 'blocked'.
When the Canucks are officially eliminated (anyday now) I would expect them to get the young guys more ice time.
Andy Dufresne
Registered User
- Jun 17, 2009
- 2,642
- 737
Have you no mercy, think of Brogan Rafferty's parents: Any day now, any day now, our boy is gonna make it!
We could have had a bottom pairing of
Jack Rathbone - Brogan Rafferty; a bottom pairing that sounds like the crew of a pirate ship would be a very small win, which is more than we've got from our defence some nights this year.
Seriously OJ should be in based on his play and our situation going forward, not many are advocating to play Chatfield over either of the old vets. Because his play didn't really warrant many more chances. Just put OJ back in, we have so few positives this year, him becoming a legit everyday nhl d-man would be one.
I feel so bad for juolevi tbh,
Wouldn’t surprise me if he asks for a trade
Wouldn’t surprise me if he asks for a trade
Based on Benning's presser today, Green will have carte blanche to play whoever he wants until at least the trade deadline.
So prepare yourself for a steady diet of Benn and Hamonic, who stand zero chance of re-signed once the season is over. So looking like another 'lost season' for Juolevi.
If they're not going to play him, they might as well trade him.
So prepare yourself for a steady diet of Benn and Hamonic, who stand zero chance of re-signed once the season is over. So looking like another 'lost season' for Juolevi.
If they're not going to play him, they might as well trade him.
I looked at the stats and Juolevi scored a goal and an assist, is +3 and never took a penalty in 15 games(I thought he played less than that but maybe I’m wrong), doesn’t look out of place for a rookie.
But hey who the hell needs to develop young guys like that on the team when you can play a 30y/o guy who’s 100% not a part of the future.
But hey who the hell needs to develop young guys like that on the team when you can play a 30y/o guy who’s 100% not a part of the future.
I read somewhere that OJ is not playing because if he plays 12 more game this year, he would then be elligible to get drafted by the Kraken. Does this make any sense ?
What doesn't make sense is gifting Juolevi's ice-time to somebody like Benn, who's a goner as soon as the season is done. If they're sidelining Juolevi because of the expansion draft, it doesn't say much about the 'player development' plan. This guy needs to be in the lineup.
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
Not really. Expansion draft eligibility probably doesn't even pop up on Benning's radar, and somehow I doubt the Kraken's gm will have much difficulty finding 6 better dmen than him.
After all the injuries, disappointment and dead time, I was actually enjoying seeing him show actual signs of NHL life. This was of course shut down, because who wouldn't want to watch Benn and Hamonic?
It kinda doesn't make sense to me, because surely there will be better players available to the Kraken? I mean, I suppose there is an outside chance that they give him the games, he plays far better than we expect he will, and is then eligible and taken, but surely those are low percentage odds that would be worth gambling against in an effort to get a player who has been waiting THIS LONG to finally get some NHL games under his belt and build up some experience/confidence?
On the other hand, perhaps he is a higher percentage chance for being targeted by the Kraken than I thought, considering they'll have to add up their cap hits just as much as any team would, and might really like to have a few bottom pairing defenders with big potential upside and very low contracts to pay.
Juolevi looked good against the Leafs. Long stretch passes and solid in his own end. He also appears to have a mean streak. One poor pass to Chatty but other than that, he was solid again.
Mr. Canucklehead
Kitimat Canuck
He moves the puck really well. Really smart passes and outlets.
It was his first game in a while, so some rust was to be expected, but I thought he was OK. The things he needs to work on haven’t changed much over the years (gives up the blueline too easy, gets burned to the outside). But he’s a smart hockey player who should have a future as at least a bottom pairing D Man.
I have more confidence in his outlet passing than anyone other than Hughes. Hughes has the advantage of scrambling under player is open, as a pocket passing OJ is really good. Chatfield and some forwards were having some problems clearing zone which resulted in extra defending time.
He seems to have a little bit of a signature play by firing quickly to the net when it comes to him at the point. Creates chaos in front. I like it.
Hughes
Rathbone
Juolevi
Left side D for years to come...
Hughes
Rathbone
Juolevi
Left side D for years to come...
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sting101
Registered User
- Feb 8, 2012
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Yes his stretch passes are impressive.
Last nights game had a moment where Hughes deferred to OJ to move the puck up ice which said a lot to me about what his teammates think of his ability also.
His IQ and passing range makes him extremely tantalizing and you can see why he was rated so high. It's really going to come down to him not being a pylon and being able to log 20 minutes without needing sheltering. I'm actually very encouraged by what i've seen so far. Thought he would struggle more than he has but it is still a work in progress.
Crazy few yrs for this guy. Just want some stability for him and health so he can focus on improvement. Could be a huge piece for us if he can be relied upon as a top4.
Hit the post
I have your gold medal Zippy!
Now only if Green would actually use him consistantly. Shouldn't have to resort to Benning taking away his favourite toys to make that happen (ie., trading Benn).
- Jun 25, 2007
- 2,374
- 2,500
Green has no contract extension and therefore no motivation to develop young players. For a coach in Green's situation, if an aging vet like Benn is .1% better than a rookie like Juolevi, it makes total sense to play Benn ahead of Juolevi even though playing Juolevi ahead of Benn would make more sense for the long term future of the team.
