Post-Game Talk: Sharks defeat Canucks 4-1 [Santorelli]

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NuxFan09

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Jun 8, 2008
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Merritt, BC
Team isn't deep enough with offensive ability and the veterans look really slow and disinterested at times.

The reason San Jose is as good as they have been in the past year and a half is the second wave. The youth that plays with energy, speed, and excitement - something the Canucks lack within their organization. Maybe next season with Shinkaruk and Horvat, but right now the Canucks aren't able to keep up with the Sharks.

On nights when Marleau and Thornton aren't going as hard, Couture, Pavelski, Burns can provide a secondary push.

When the Sedins and Kesler aren't going...who's left? Higgins? Hansen? Booth? It's unrealistic to expect top 6 performance out of players who have never provided it consistently over the course of their careers.

It's been an issue here for a long time, a lack of a supporting cast for the leaders on this team. When this team had Kesler running wild in 2011, it wasn't an issue due to his dominance, but without him at that form, eventually you need some support. Pretty dismal worth ethic last night from the Canucks, behind to almost every puck and no real push until the third.

Well said. The Canucks really needed at least one impact player from one of the drafts between 2006 and 2008 like the Sharks got in Couture.

If Schroeder somehow makes a leap in his development and becomes an impact player, that helps a lot. Then, eventually the Canucks will get that next wave in Jensen, Gaunce, Shinkaruk and Horvat. It's just that right now the Canucks are in a phase when they have veteran impact players and a wave of young promising players that hasn't hit yet, but no middle layer of young-ish impact players just nearing their prime.
 

struckmatch

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Jul 28, 2003
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Vancouver
The problem is that our second wave simply isn't ready yet. It will hopefully include Kassian, Schroeder and Corrado, three players who look close to contributing, but - especially in the case of the first two - could still prove not to be everything we hoped for.

Beyond that we have Jensen, Gaunce, Horvat, Shinkaruk, and some other prospects, but they are a ways off from contributing.

SJ's got the best of both worlds in that they have both young guns contributing now and some aging veterans who are still terrific players. We have the latter, but the former isn't ready yet.

Agreed completely. It's an indictment of management that a lack of top 6 scoring hasn't been addressed for quite some time now. How long have we said Kesler has no top 6 wingers? It's been too long and it's a big reason why the Canucks cup chances went out of the window against the Bruins, and in the past two playoff seasons.

Understand there's a salary cap and trades are hard to make, but management is accountable for personnel and should take ownership of this issue. The botching of the Luongo trade and then dealing Schneider in a mad panic could have been handled much better and garnered a better return.

That's only 1 example, but its a bad trend that has stuck with the Canucks for way too long - playing bottom 6 NHLers and masquerading them as top 6 offensive producers.
 

PhilMick

Formerly PRNuck
May 20, 2009
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Well said. The Canucks really needed at least one impact player from one of the drafts between 2006 and 2008 like the Sharks got in Couture.

Honestly it's remarkable that the Canucks are even competitive when they go stretches like that without drafting a single ****ing useful player.
 

Drop the Sopel

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May 4, 2007
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Agreed completely. It's an indictment of management that a lack of top 6 scoring hasn't been addressed for quite some time now.

No top 6 scoring and no 3rd line centre. Gillis has done a very poor job adding skill and quality to the forward ranks during his tenure.

I'm scared to think what Gillis' body of work and the team would look like had Nashville and Florida had the funds to re-sign their quality dmen. Yikes...

I still can't believe we couldn't find a deal with a quality young centre/winger that was ready to contribute in the Schneider trade.

This team desperately needs a Cody Hodgson type.
 

Drop the Sopel

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May 4, 2007
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One with Cody's offence that is defensively competent though. Otherwise we'd just get beaten even more badly by the Sharks.

The Canucks have enough defensively responsible wingers to cover for a guy like Hodgson. Put Higgins and Hansen on Hodgson's wing and he would be fine. The team also desperately needs a 2nd for the 2nd PP unit, an area where defense doesn't matter.

I can't figure out why Gillis seems so disinterested in adding skill and finishing ability. Look at the top forwards Gillis has brought in - Demitra, Samuelsson, Sundin etc... Skill guys. Instead we're looking to pay a King's ransom for Ryane Clowe? It's like he's succumb to the idiots on his staff and forgotten his initial vision that led him to some early success.

Going after Damien Brunner was a no-brainer. It's very worrisome there was no interest on our end IMO. The rookie Gillis would have been all over that move.
 

NuxFan09

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Jun 8, 2008
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Honestly it's remarkable that the Canucks are even competitive when they go stretches like that without drafting a single ****ing useful player.

Yep. The drafts from 2009 and on will be the source of this team's next core as they got basically nobody from 2005-2008 who would otherwise be comprising their current young core.

Drafting under Nonis was absolutely terrible, apart from his very first draft in 2004, which was actually a remarkable draft. In fairness, the Canucks got Grabner from the 2006 draft, who in my mind is a difference maker, and he was traded. Other than that, 2005 brought a potentially solid defenseman, who sadly passed away, and a tweener in Raymond, 2006 yielded nobody outside Grabner, and the 2007 draft was an absolute travesty. No players from that draft saw even one game in the NHL.

Gillis' 1st year at the draft table was also a letdown. Hodgson obviously came out of it but he too was traded. Nobody else from that draft has sniffed the NHL, except for Yann Sauve for a couple games.
 

NuxFan09

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Jun 8, 2008
21,649
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The Canucks have enough defensively responsible wingers to cover for a guy like Hodgson. Put Higgins and Hansen on Hodgson's wing and he would be fine. The team also desperately needs a 2nd for the 2nd PP unit, an area where defense doesn't matter.

I can't figure out why Gillis seems so disinterested in adding skill and finishing ability. Look at the top forwards Gillis has brought in - Demitra, Samuelsson, Sundin etc... Skill guys. Instead we're looking to pay a King's ransom for Ryane Clowe? It's like he's succumb to the idiots on his staff and forgotten his initial vision that led him to some early success.

Going after Damien Brunner was a no-brainer. It's very worrisome there was no interest on our end IMO. The rookie Gillis would have been all over that move.

I was thinking this as well when the season started. Brunner was a late, late signing too! He was there for the taking at a reasonable price. Boggles my mind.
 

Jack Tripper

Vey Falls Down
Dec 15, 2009
7,250
64
Perth, WA
just finished watching the game, pretty deflating as a benchmark considering the canucks had a relatively full lineup and adequate rest

theres alot of veterans struggling at the moment which has already been well documented in this thread, as well as a lack of youthful support that wont be ready for the foreseeable future

game also had a strange lack of intensity from a physical perspective for vancouver, with weise and higgins seemingly the only forwards interested in forechecking hard...at least tortorella correctly identified this as an issue in his post game comments, and certain players will either have to play harder or face reduced icetime once kassian and burrows return
 

Obsessed Sharks Fan

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Aug 7, 2006
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www.obsessedsharksfan.com
hey, sharks fan here.

I was at the game last night - - my first sharks game in canada--and I just have to say thank you to 100% of the people I've met in Victoria and Vancouver. my seat mates at the game (all canucks fans) were great. lots of laughs and good conversation and light hearted ribbing that mostly ended up in some sort of compliment.

and I love how your average waiter here in B.C. knows about as much about the sharks as I do, seriously. I was wearing my sharks gear day prior and on game day around Vancouver and people were so respectful and had nothing but nice things to say about the sharks and thought Hertl was exciting etc.

All around great time and can't wait to be back. the only strange thing to me was how quiet Rogers was, even before sharks took the lead. couple isolated chants here or there but really mostly like people were watching at home on TV. just a cultural thing?
 

NuxFan09

Registered User
Jun 8, 2008
21,649
2,631
Merritt, BC
hey, sharks fan here.

I was at the game last night - - my first sharks game in canada--and I just have to say thank you to 100% of the people I've met in Victoria and Vancouver. my seat mates at the game (all canucks fans) were great. lots of laughs and good conversation and light hearted ribbing that mostly ended up in some sort of compliment.

and I love how your average waiter here in B.C. knows about as much about the sharks as I do, seriously. I was wearing my sharks gear day prior and on game day around Vancouver and people were so respectful and had nothing but nice things to say about the sharks and thought Hertl was exciting etc.

All around great time and can't wait to be back. the only strange thing to me was how quiet Rogers was, even before sharks took the lead. couple isolated chants here or there but really mostly like people were watching at home on TV. just a cultural thing?

I think it is a cultural thing. The positive spin that has been put on it is that most people in Vancouver are so in to their hockey that they just want to sit and watch it intensely. The negative spin is that there are too many suits there that are only there because it's fashionable. Having grown up there, my take is that Vancouver is an incredibly self-conscious city, so much so that almost everyone in the lower bowls is afraid to stand out in any way by chanting, yelling, etc.
 

vanuck

Now with 100% less Benning!
Dec 28, 2009
16,797
4,012
hey, sharks fan here.

I was at the game last night - - my first sharks game in canada--and I just have to say thank you to 100% of the people I've met in Victoria and Vancouver. my seat mates at the game (all canucks fans) were great. lots of laughs and good conversation and light hearted ribbing that mostly ended up in some sort of compliment.

and I love how your average waiter here in B.C. knows about as much about the sharks as I do, seriously. I was wearing my sharks gear day prior and on game day around Vancouver and people were so respectful and had nothing but nice things to say about the sharks and thought Hertl was exciting etc.

All around great time and can't wait to be back. the only strange thing to me was how quiet Rogers was, even before sharks took the lead. couple isolated chants here or there but really mostly like people were watching at home on TV. just a cultural thing?

Glad to hear you had a good time in BC. I would definitely say Rogers Arena is quieter than a lot of other rinks for some reason. Nashville and San Jose always seem to have the place rocking.
 
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