Ryan Stanton Appreciation Thread

[Hodgy]

His decision making and skating will always hold him back from being anything more than a great number 5, decent number 4, defensemen. Certainly not a bad thing considering how we acquired him.

 

[TheWanderer]

His decision making and skating will always hold him back from being anything more than a great number 5, decent number 4, defensemen. Certainly not a bad thing considering how we acquired him.

I wouldn't say his skating is particularly bad. Or at least, I haven't noticed it. What's wrong with his decision making? I woudn't say he's below average in that regard either.

He's a pretty well-rounded player. He even plays physical when he needs to, which is more than we can ask of others a lot of the time...

 

[Get North]

His decision making and skating will always hold him back from being anything more than a great number 5, decent number 4, defensemen. Certainly not a bad thing considering how we acquired him.

What? His skating is the best on our team IMO. There's nothing wrong with his decision making that will hold him back from a top 4 defenceman, he's already playing better than most of our defence.

 

[Bankerguy]

I hate how people talk like they're hockey know-it-alls

I'm no Ice Hockey professional analyst ..i played up until Junior and i watch a lot of hockey now..but thats it..

imo Stanton straight line speed is pretty decent...it does not hinder him. I think he doesnt pivot that well ...and he's not that agile on his skates....its not a huge flaw, but i'd say if anything about his skating hurts him..its those two things..

my 2cents

 

[Shareefruck]

What? His skating is the best on our team IMO. There's nothing wrong with his decision making that will hold him back from a top 4 defenceman, he's already playing better than most of our defence.

I don't think of him as slow, but that's a pretty frightening suggestion.

 

[TheWanderer]

What? His skating is the best on our team IMO. There's nothing wrong with his decision making that will hold him back from a top 4 defenceman, he's already playing better than most of our defence.

K... even in defending Stanton, claims like these are absurd. Can you not make people who don't think his skating is awful look bad?

What the hell is with people and the black and white generalizations? There is something in between, I hope you all realize.

 

[Get North]

I don't think of him as slow, but that's a pretty frightening suggestion.

Mean't for defenceman not the whole team. I think he can go one side of the rink to the other side faster than any other defenceman on our team.

 

[Shareefruck]

His decision making and skating will always hold him back from being anything more than a great number 5, decent number 4, defensemen. Certainly not a bad thing considering how we acquired him.

His decision making is one of his strengths

 

[Shareefruck]

I'm mostly talking about people who thought Sbisa/Weber would be the 3rd pairing and Stanton left out cuz he's on the left side and there is some sort of "obligation" to play Sbisa...

...and the odd person who tried to rationalize it by downplaying what Stanton (an NHL rookie last year) has done so far.

Sounds stupid, but these discussions came up pretty frequently in July, and it was pretty frustrating. Like the Tanev discussions a couple years ago...

He's been on a similar trend to Tanev, yet people have been ignoring it for some reason.

It's only a matter of time before he's a top 4 guy, IMO.

 

[Get North]

He's been on a similar trend to Tanev, yet people have been ignoring it for some reason.

It's only a matter of time before he's a top 4 guy, IMO.

He's already better than Edler, Bieksa and Sbisa.

 

[denkiteki]

He's been on a similar trend to Tanev, yet people have been ignoring it for some reason.

It's only a matter of time before he's a top 4 guy, IMO.

Not actually the same trend... he has been in the year for 1 season and of course he's also 1 year OLDER than Tanev. Remember Tanev entered the league at 20/21 and even played 5 playoff games in his first season. When Tanev was splitting time between AHL/NHL, Stanton was pretty much a lock in the AHL.

The other difference is Tanev is exceptional calm even when he first entered the league. He seems to have a calming factor on his partner even as a rookie 21 yr old... can't say the same about Stanton who looks good but he doesn't actually seem to make his partner play better (which Tanev appears to do). Also Tanev has less PIM in his career than Stanton in 1 season (not saying Stanton commits a lot of penalty but again its amazing how few Tanev takes).

Of course based on play of game 1, you could argue Stanton even out played Tanev... but its only 1 game. He had a great first game and if he keeps playing like that, Edler might find himself on the 3rd pairing and Stanton probably will end up being paired with KB3 in the top 4.

 

[Bleach Clean]

His decision making is one of his strengths

Exactly. One of the oddest assessments of a player I have seen. No hyperbole. Hockey IQ is definitely a trait in Stanton's favour.

 

[Scurr]

Exactly. One of the oddest assessments of a player I have seen. No hyperbole. Hockey IQ is definitely a trait in Stanton's favour.

Agreed. He's not just defaulting to being "offensive" or "defensive", he's playing with great instincts at both ends of the ice.

In general I think fans are too hard on defensemen. It's the toughest position on the ice. Maybe because fans expect so much from them they don't appreciate just how good a guy like Stanton (and Tanev before him) really are? Fans should be really excited about this kid.

 

[Shareefruck]

Not actually the same trend... he has been in the year for 1 season and of course he's also 1 year OLDER than Tanev. Remember Tanev entered the league at 20/21 and even played 5 playoff games in his first season. When Tanev was splitting time between AHL/NHL, Stanton was pretty much a lock in the AHL.

The other difference is Tanev is exceptional calm even when he first entered the league. He seems to have a calming factor on his partner even as a rookie 21 yr old... can't say the same about Stanton who looks good but he doesn't actually seem to make his partner play better (which Tanev appears to do). Also Tanev has less PIM in his career than Stanton in 1 season (not saying Stanton commits a lot of penalty but again its amazing how few Tanev takes).

Of course based on play of game 1, you could argue Stanton even out played Tanev... but its only 1 game. He had a great first game and if he keeps playing like that, Edler might find himself on the 3rd pairing and Stanton probably will end up being paired with KB3 in the top 4.

I said similar, not identical.

And he's making Bieksa play better (which Tanev hasn't done, because they both play the same side). It's tougher for him to make anyone else look better because the only other right side guy is Tanev himself (they both played fantastic together), and all our questionable defensemen who can be elevated by their partners are on the left side. So I would argue that he's had the same kind of impact and has been following a pretty similar trajectory, despite being a year older and a year behind in terms of effectiveness (I could easily see this year's Stanton improving in a similar way to last year's Tanev-- Before that, I thought they were on the same level).

He looks poised to make that jump as well, much like Tanev did. While Tanev is ahead of him in terms of trajectory, you can also argue that Stanton's overall package is a little more enticing as well, in terms of physicality and strength.

Regardless, we should be more excited about what he's bringing/can bring in the future, IMO.

 

[biturbo19]

Stanton is great. He's a solid no-fuss bottom-pairing guy who shows a bit of offensive instinct, and he's on an absolutely incredible bargain deal right now.

What? His skating is the best on our team IMO. There's nothing wrong with his decision making that will hold him back from a top 4 defenceman, he's already playing better than most of our defence.

But it's hyperbole like this that seems a bit out of control with Stanton at times.

By the way a lot of people talk about Stanton, he's already a top-4 blueliner, MVP of our blueline, on par with Hamhuis/Tanev, better than the guy who leads off our defence in minutes, etc.

Stanton has played very well as a bottom-pairing defenceman. Is there some reason for optimism in thinking that Stanton could continue to improve and become something more? Absolutely.

But it seems to get carried away to almost mythic proportions at times, in terms of just how great he has actually been.

 

[TheWanderer]

He's been on a similar trend to Tanev, yet people have been ignoring it for some reason.

It's only a matter of time before he's a top 4 guy, IMO.

Honestly, the only reason I haven't said that is because people go nuts about comparisons for some reason...

But I've thought this for a while, and conservatively thought that - for yet another free young defensemen - having a second Tanev (different skill sets) would be a huge bonus to the lack of d-men in our prospect pool. Stanton has surprising offensive instincts, too.

 

[Get North]

Stanton is great. He's a solid no-fuss bottom-pairing guy who shows a bit of offensive instinct, and he's on an absolutely incredible bargain deal right now.



But it's hyperbole like this that seems a bit out of control with Stanton at times.

By the way a lot of people talk about Stanton, he's already a top-4 blueliner, MVP of our blueline, on par with Hamhuis/Tanev, better than the guy who leads off our defence in minutes, etc.

Stanton has played very well as a bottom-pairing defenceman. Is there some reason for optimism in thinking that Stanton could continue to improve and become something more? Absolutely.

But it seems to get carried away to almost mythic proportions at times, in terms of just how great he has actually been.

I mean't to say best skating defenceman which I already corrected just a few posts before yours.

He's playing better than Edler, Bieksa and Sbisa. When Stanton gets the top 4 time he deserves, then everybody will see how good this kid is.

 

[biturbo19]

I mean't to say best skating defenceman which I already corrected just a few posts before yours.

He's playing better than Edler, Bieksa and Sbisa. When Stanton gets the top 4 time he deserves, then everybody will see how good this kid is.

That's the thing though. He's a)not the best skating defenceman. and b)not playing the top-4 time, whereas some of those guys he is allegedly "outplaying" are.

Which is where i feel Stanton's performance is often exaggerated, as though he's already playing those minutes you feel he deserves and being lauded for it...without actually doing it.

 

[denkiteki]

What? His skating is the best on our team IMO. There's nothing wrong with his decision making that will hold him back from a top 4 defenceman, he's already playing better than most of our defence.

I agree that there isn't anything wrong with his decision making. His skating on the other hand, isn't bad but its not the best on the team... not even the best on D. Based on pre-season and the first game, our best skating Dman appears to be Sbisa. You really notice his speed if you look closely at the way he plays.

Of course Sbisa makes a lot of mental mistakes/bad decisions... that's the big negative on him. A negative you don't see from Stanton, Tanev, and Hamhuis. Stanton is basically slowly becoming another Hamhuis with one difference... he doesn't get nearly as many points (26 vs 15 as rookies).

 

[Scurr]

That's the thing though. He's a)not the best skating defenceman. and b)not playing the top-4 time, whereas some of those guys he is allegedly "outplaying" are.

Which is where i feel Stanton's performance is often exaggerated, as though he's already playing those minutes you feel he deserves and being lauded for it...without actually doing it.

He's already playing the kind of game you'd expect from a top 4 D man… it's not like you can hide a guy for 17:30. Stanton only played :30 less than Hamhuis at even strength last game. 4th most on the team.

I understand the need to put things in perspective… but don't get carried away.

 

[MS]

He's already playing the kind of game you'd expect from a top 4 D man… it's not like you can hide a guy for 17:30. Stanton only played :30 less than Hamhuis at even strength last game. 4th most on the team.

I understand the need to put things in perspective… but don't get carried away.

When he played top-4 minutes last year for a stretch, he excelled. Didn't miss a beat.

He's killing his minutes right now and everything about his game and performances indicate he can carry heavier minutes. That he's playing less than Sbisa is absurd.

 

[VanJack]

Stanton like Burrows is a classic example of a player adding significant elements to their game after turning pro....probably wasn't much more than a fringe AHL'er/ECHL'er coming out of Junior, but kept on getting better with advanced competition. Ceiling probably hasn't been reached yet. Props to the pro scouts in the Gillis era who plucked him off the waiver wire from Chicago. He and Tanev are valuable commodities to the Canucks, affordable d-men who can play up and down the roster and are still RFA's. Not always the case that the only way to acquire good d-man is to draft them

 

[vancityluongo]

His decision making and skating will always hold him back from being anything more than a great number 5, decent number 4, defensemen. Certainly not a bad thing considering how we acquired him.

The only thing holding him back is how he was acquired.

If Stanton was a first round pick or acquired as a part of the Kesler deal, he'd be playing top-4 minutes no question. Pretty similar to Tanev a while back, actually.

 

[Jimson Hogarth*]

2 and a a half minutes less than Sbisa the give away machine last night.

 

[Hodgy]

I wouldn't say his skating is particularly bad. Or at least, I haven't noticed it. What's wrong with his decision making? I woudn't say he's below average in that regard either.

He's a pretty well-rounded player. He even plays physical when he needs to, which is more than we can ask of others a lot of the time...

What? His skating is the best on our team IMO. There's nothing wrong with his decision making that will hold him back from a top 4 defenceman, he's already playing better than most of our defence.

His decision making is one of his strengths

Perhaps I am being overly critical, but my problem with his decision making is his pinching. Last year he caused quite a few two on ones with poor pinches. With respect to his skating, I don't think he is a slow skater, but he also doesn't appear to be a strong skater. He looks relatively weak on his feet at times.