Post-Game Talk: Pre-Season GM 2: LVGK 9, Canucks 4 - (you're) welcome, Vegas

[Ozone]

I think other than Boeser, this management has shown they can't do much in the first round. I'm not holding my breath.

Here's another issue! It's early, as some might mention, but we have Horvat rip raring to go. Yes we lost the lottery big time twice, but we seem to be losing out on much more, big time.

Top drafted players, from the last few years, are making/going to make an impact, soon.

Not ours..

 

[Ozone]

I guess my final point is; players like Tkachuk, seem to fit more in to our rebuilding timeline.

OJ, is long term, at best. He might turn out to be amazing, but that does NOT help our immediate needs after last year's draft. We needed toughness, scoring, and a ready-to-play winger..
We needed it last year...

Bo's waiting....

 

[Regal]

I seem to remember a lot of similar comments about Horvat and how not taking the other guy would haunt us for years.

Horvat silenced those for the most part in the 2nd half on into the playoffs as a rookie in his D+2 season though. Virtanen's headed into his D+4 season and people are just happy he looks better than a bottom 6 AHLer this year. Meanwhile the two players most wanted instead just put up top line numbers. Juolevi is still early and defensemen take longer usually, but he isn't showing well so far. Horvat didn't get worse after drafting him.

Here's another issue! It's early, as some might mention, but we have Horvat rip raring to go. Yes we lost the lottery big time twice, but we seem to be losing out on much more, big time.

Top drafted players, from the last few years, are making/going to make an impact, soon.

Not ours..

It's really disheartening to think how easily the team could have had a Nylander, Horvat, Tkachuk and Boeser forward core going forward. Would have been a nice blend of styles as well.

 

[Ozone]

I'm not sure all people understand 'timeline' and 'window of opportunity' enough.

Bo, with TK and BB....

This is how great things happen..when you plan..

Sorry folks. Benning doesn't even plan his breakfasts.. it just happens.."like, like, I saw a tray of fruit, like it looked real good, real good. Everyone followed the eggs benny, but I liked the way this tray of fruit moved." "Real good"

 

[Ozone]

Horvat silenced those for the most part in the 2nd half on into the playoffs as a rookie in his D+2 season though. Virtanen's headed into his D+4 season and people are just happy he looks better than a bottom 6 AHLer this year. Meanwhile the two players most wanted instead just put up top line numbers. Juolevi is still early and defensemen take longer usually, but he isn't showing well so far. Horvat didn't get worse after drafting him.




It's really disheartening to think how easily the team could have had a Nylander, Horvat, Tkachuk and Boeser forward core going forward. Would have been a nice blend of styles as well.

Exactly.

I just don't understand how anybody can arguably support this ownership/management group..

Cray cray!

 

[Ozone]

Horvat silenced those for the most part in the 2nd half on into the playoffs as a rookie in his D+2 season though. Virtanen's headed into his D+4 season and people are just happy he looks better than a bottom 6 AHLer this year. Meanwhile the two players most wanted instead just put up top line numbers. Juolevi is still early and defensemen take longer usually, but he isn't showing well so far. Horvat didn't get worse after drafting him.




It's really disheartening to think how easily the team could have had a Nylander, Horvat, Tkachuk and Boeser forward core going forward. Would have been a nice blend of styles as well.

I actually hate looking back, as you're right: but it seems to be highly relevant in this case. Our team can make a few bad choices, but this is getting ridiculous.

I love my team. It's in massive disarray, and it makes me sad.

 

[JuniorNelson]

This team looks a lot better on the ice than they did on paper. Except in net.

Defense looks like there might be scoring potential. Wow! Green will have some options.

Canucks can muster two speedy kid lines! Each featuring elite scoring threats. That's pretty significant. Of course, not every one of those guys can fit but the vets might add important elements, too. Three scoring lines looks possible based on almost no data. The young guys look much better than anticipated. If the old boys have fresh legs, Canucks do not look really bad.

Goaltending , on paper, looks weak. In play, they didn't shock anybody. They haven't had a real top defense to play behind, either. Canucks shut down defensemen are, IMO, very good, almost elite. Edler and Tanev will make the goaltending look better right away. This still seems like a weak area to me. Losing Miller really forces Canucks to bet on unproven guys. This seems very risky, to me. Reckless, even.

 

[Yggdrasil]

I'm not sure all people understand 'timeline' and 'window of opportunity' enough.

Bo, with TK and BB....

This is how great things happen..when you plan..

Sorry folks. Benning doesn't even plan his breakfasts.. it just happens.."like, like, I saw a tray of fruit, like it looked real good, real good. Everyone followed the eggs benny, but I liked the way this tray of fruit moved." "Real good"

john weisbrod must be fired.

 

[tantalum]

Guys like Rodin/Goldobin really need to be playing with capable NHL players for us to get a decent measure on them—they're both more complementary players and it's not surprising they weren't able to get a lot going on their own.

But that also speaks to the problem of having so many complementary, small skill wingers that need to be around other talented players to be effective. Also: this is why it's bad to trade players like Hansen away. For almost nothing.

It was essentially a prospects game. They should be showing a lot more if they want to be in the NHL. Who they played with absolutely can not be used as an excuse going up against the team the Knights iced. Not that it ever really can. They were listless and unimpressive. The first part of camp against lineups of youth and AHLers, NHL hopefuls ought to be standing out like Boeser and, yes, Virtanen have. And how many of the knights stood out. Essentially their prospects/AHL team handed our prospects/AHL team their lunch.

 

[UticaHockey]

It was essentially a prospects game. They should be showing a lot more if they want to be in the NHL. Who they played with absolutely can not be used as an excuse going up against the team the Knights iced. Not that it ever really can. They were listless and unimpressive. The first part of camp against lineups of youth and AHLers, NHL hopefuls ought to be standing out like Boeser and, yes, Virtanen have. And how many of the knights stood out. Essentially their prospects/AHL team handed our prospects/AHL team their lunch.

And yet fans in Utica keep hearing how stacked the Comets will be this year. I'll believe that only after I've seen them play a handful of games in October.

 

[NYVanfan]

Horvat silenced those for the most part in the 2nd half on into the playoffs as a rookie in his D+2 season though. Virtanen's headed into his D+4 season and people are just happy he looks better than a bottom 6 AHLer this year. Meanwhile the two players most wanted instead just put up top line numbers. Juolevi is still early and defensemen take longer usually, but he isn't showing well so far. Horvat didn't get worse after drafting him.




It's really disheartening to think how easily the team could have had a Nylander, Horvat, Tkachuk and Boeser forward core going forward. Would have been a nice blend of styles as well.

so we slam the virt and OJ picks b/c Tkachuk and Nylander now look better, but no credit for the Boeser and Horvat picks, who look v good for their drafting positions?

yeah, if only they always picked the guy who will turn out best...

we need D more than F ..OJ was a well regarded pick all round...
the only issue is can he contribute to a contender level team within the Bo contract, which seems to be our latest window

 

[PuckMunchkin]

so we slam the virt and OJ picks b/c Tkachuk and Nylander now look better, but no credit for the Boeser and Horvat picks, who look v good for their drafting positions?

yeah, if only they always picked the guy who will turn out best...

we need D more than F ..OJ was a well regarded pick all round...
the only issue is can he contribute to a contender level team within the Bo contract, which seems to be our latest window

I definitely give them credit for Horvat & Boeser. For what thats worth...

 

[tantalum]

so we slam the virt and OJ picks b/c Tkachuk and Nylander now look better, but no credit for the Boeser and Horvat picks, who look v good for their drafting positions?

yeah, if only they always picked the guy who will turn out best...

we need D more than F ..OJ was a well regarded pick all round...
the only issue is can he contribute to a contender level team within the Bo contract, which seems to be our latest window

People give plenty of credit for Horvat (Gillis pick) and Boeser (Benning pick). They have both been good picks where they were taken.

But it's different. Tkachuk was CLEARLY the guy to take at #5 while Juolevi arguably should not have been the first D-man taken. It was bad pick then and it very much remains so. I think they picked for perceived need rather than taking best player available...and I recall Benning's interviews leading up to the draft talking about how they wanted to get some premium young D-men into the system. He telegraphed picking a D-man from a mile away. I thought it was going to be Sergachev. Every day that goes by it looks less and less likely that Juolevi will be a true impact player. Tkachuk already is. He might be solid and even very good but he's going to have to make some serious leaps in his game to be that impact guy. You want impact with a top 5 pick.

Virtanen wasn't as bad of a pick on paper but the bulk of publications and experts had him ranked behind nylander and ehlers. It was also a bad pick as they picked for perceived need yet again (gritty hitting machine, local boy).

When you have three top 6 picks you need to be drafting probably 2 of the cornerstones of your core moving forward. You have to hit. They whiffed on the first two. Hopefully they didn't on Petterson but Cody Glass sure showed some great vision and passing yesterday....

Want the proof they weren't the correct picks to move the franchise forward on the rebuild path? Look at all the veterans they have had to bring in to fill out a decent roster this year (and it will still be terrible in all likelihood). The salt in the wound isn't just they'd be better off moving forward but they'd be a lot better NOW AND LAST SEASON had they made the correct picks.

In short I don't believe you pick for perceived need and certainly not with a very high pick. You pick the best player available. I've yet to truly see a team have too many good young players in the sytem at a position that it truly causes real issues. We would be so lucky to have to trade a great young player for another great young player at a different position a couple years down the road because one has "too much talent" somewhere.

 

[Grantham]

Hague, Suzuki, Glass, and Wong looked really really good.

A while back when the expansion draft was going on, Team 1040 asked a poll question, "Who wins a Stanley Cup first, Vegas or Vancouver?"

Damn

 

[Regal]

so we slam the virt and OJ picks b/c Tkachuk and Nylander now look better, but no credit for the Boeser and Horvat picks, who look v good for their drafting positions?

yeah, if only they always picked the guy who will turn out best...

we need D more than F ..OJ was a well regarded pick all round...
the only issue is can he contribute to a contender level team within the Bo contract, which seems to be our latest window

As other posters said above, they do get credit for the Horvat and Boeser picks. But the other two picks were gimmes with the majority of this board being right and they whiffed on them. Sure you can't expect a team to get the pick right every time, but this isn't the same as passing on a player who later exceeds all expectations. They passed on the ones who were obvious, and were burned. And while the team certainly needs defensemen, you don't draft for need at number 5. Its simply too high to pass on bpl, and Joulevi wasn't even considered the best defenseman prospect for most and certainly still looks behind Sergachev and Chychrun. Defensemen also tend to be harder to predict and I believe it's best to avoid them for the most part at the top of the draft. It's much easier to find defensive gems later in the draft.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Our AHL PK sucks

LOL That won't even be the Comets PK once it's all sorted out.

 

[Hit the post]

so we slam the virt and OJ picks b/c Tkachuk and Nylander now look better, but no credit for the Boeser and Horvat picks, who look v good for their drafting positions?

Tryamkin & Forsling were FANTASTIC picks - especially when you take note of where they were drafted.

Then there was how they were managed - Benning should stick to scouting and leave the actual managing to others.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Cut that fool. Trying to play offensively as a dman on the Canucks ? Not allowed.

But But. Travis plays a trap and doesn't let his guys use their skills. He collared and restrained Subban. BS

But you also see how Subbie and D don't fit in the same sentence yet.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Lots of work to do with the Utica D. Brutal positioning and anticipation.

Subbie and McEneny have been a pair in Utica. According to the lineup I've seen Mac is on RD. That's abnormal, but seeingthe list of likelies on the Comets D it's way short on RHers. This is an experiment. This won't be Utica's top 6 either. Sifers, Biega/Wiercioch, and Pedan will balance out the youth and Mac and Subban are no longer "utes" (to quote Vinny Gambini a la Joe Pesci). I even see Chatfield ahead of Brisebois to start.

 

[Bad Goalie]

I think Virtanen is injured. Must be that bum shoulder

That's why he can't run around knocking the world down. He had that problem from the get-go in Utica last season. He can play hockey and be physical, but not a monster hitter. If he can't elevate his game to being an actual successful winger, passing, finding open space, and shooting, and getting back to accept defensive responsibilities like you saw glimpses of in the last game, he won't make it in the NHL. The shoulder will be his Achilles heel.

Maybe some surgery? I've known guys to suffer this malady and even after surgery, they still had problems with the trick/bum shoulder.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Tbh I think I have Holm higher on the depth chart than MDZ. Even despite that play there

3M 7dman tho

3M AHL D-man though? If he stays up and MDZ is #7, that sends both Biega AND Wiercioch to Utica. Biega was very good in Game 1.

 

[rune74]

That's why he can't run around knocking the world down. He had that problem from the get-go in Utica last season. He can play hockey and be physical, but not a monster hitter. If he can't elevate his game to being an actual successful winger, passing, finding open space, and shooting, and getting back to accept defensive responsibilities like you saw glimpses of in the last game, he won't make it in the NHL. The shoulder will be his Achilles heel.

Maybe some surgery? I've known guys to suffer this malady and even after surgery, they still had problems with the trick/bum shoulder.

I don't think Virtanen is injured, I'm not sure where he got that info from.

 

[Huggy]

Hague, Suzuki, Glass, and Wong looked really really good.

A while back when the expansion draft was going on, Team 1040 asked a poll question, "Who wins a Stanley Cup first, Vegas or Vancouver?"

Damn

*rolls eyes so hard the earth spins*

 

[Bad Goalie]

Trifecta of bad right now.

Centers/defense not working together in transition.

Centers and wingers not communicating at all.

Goaltending leaving juicy rebounds

Kind of to be expected with this center line up we have.

Yeah, can't wait for the "kids" to be saddled with these guys down on the farm. Boeser? (for all of a week if they do send him down), Goldobin, Dahlen, Virtanen, Rodin, Molino, Boucher and then there's Carcone, MacEwen, and LaBate and don't forget the team's incumbent leading scorer, Archibald would all benefit from really good playmakers.

There were a lot better centers available, but Chaput and Megna both got 1-ways. You go figure. As much as he drove me crazy, O'Reilly was once again on the market and signed a 2-way with the Iowa Wild paying him $375,000 to play in the AHL. TJ Hensick is signed to play for the Ontario Reign on an AHL contract. Both are better than
Megna ever thought of being as set-up men.

Chaput is okay, but the next 3 not so much. Megna belongs on the wing and if Chaput is recalled, evaluate the center depth left. There isn't a single guy worth calling #1.

 

[krutovsdonut]

watched game last night on pvr. prospects plus watered down ahl team vs prospects plus watered down nhl expansion team is a pretty harsh lesson. there is just a huge gap between a bunch of our utica regulars and the nhl. the result was no coherent system or steadying hand for our prospects.

i thought our top prospects did ok in the circumstances, or at least i won't draw many conclusions from the bad, other than molino and juolevi. i missed the penalty juolevi drew in the first which might have been a positive. i saw nothing good. he looked absolutely out of his depth, bewildered and shellshocked out there from what i saw. molino was hopefully just trying too hard.

archibald stood out as the only ahl guy with a good game. cassels did show some grit.

not ready to order confetti for the calder parade but boesser deserves a shot to see if he can beat nhl goalies like that. pavelski is who he reminds me of for now. i think he has more game than the pure shooter he is.