Prospect Info: Urho Vaakanainen

[SoldiersOfFilth]

I could see that. I hate player comparisons for this reason. I see the points people are trying to make, well.... Besides Carlo being like Brent Burns haha

agreed. but imagine if those two could someday reach Chara/Seidenberg circa-2011...

 

[maxl7]

i haven't followed those discussions. pretty sure sweeney isn't gonna sign a guy for 5 years
as insurance, but that's another story. even if moore wasn't here, i still don't think UV
makes the team right now as the #7 guy. him having a solid camp after sweeney said
he looked unprepared at rookie camp is important - now you can make a better case for
penciling him in as a potential regular next year.

I truly don't know why Sweeney gave a player of Moore's talent 5 years at *that* salary, but that's another discussion for another thread that's been done to death. The real point is that barring injury, whether Vaak makes the team or not, the Bruins will be benching the younger, better player with Moore blocking either him or Grz.

 

[VanIsle]

agreed. but imagine if those two could someday reach Chara/Seidenberg circa-2011...

Bourque Wesley, Orr and Smith.

Honestly the Bruins have been so fortunate to have such talent on the blue line.

Not saying McAvoy and Vaak will be anywhere near these players, just that we are a lucky fan base to have these greats on our team.

 

[rocketdan9]

I thought that was the whole reason everyone defended signing John Moore, insurance if a kid wasn't ready, and if they were, then we could move on from him.

Well, if Vaak is ready then I'm all for Moore getting some popcorn in the pressbox.

Well don't forget there is also Miller and Grz that are ahead

It was just wonderful to see Vaaka deal with a very very fast RW team without a hitch. He knew exactly what he was doing out there. Like knowing when to reverse the puck, carry the puck, join the rush .... instincts/timing like this is a natural skill. Defensively I also liked his positioning, stickwork.

Time down at the AHL will be good for UV to gain more experience of the NA style game, his shot and get stronger. But in terms knowing how to play, he already looks advance for the AHL. Ahead of the curve compared Zboril, Lauzon and comparable to Carlo at the same age

 

[maxl7]

Well don't forget there is also Miller and Grz that are ahead

It was just wonderful to see Vaaka deal with a very very fast RW team without a hitch. He knew exactly what he was doing out there. Like knowing when to reverse the puck, carry the puck, join the rush .... instincts/timing like this is a natural skill. Defensively I also liked his positioning, stickwork.

Time down at the AHL will be good for UV to gain more experience of the NA style game, his shot and get stronger. But in terms knowing how to play, he already looks advance for the AHL. Ahead of the curve compared Zboril, Lauzon and comparable to Carlo at the same age

Miller is a RD, though. It's not ideal to play a defenseman on their off side and a lot of coaches don't like to do it anyways. Really, Grz is the only one ahead of him on the depth chair on the LD side (or at least, should be, in my opinion)

 

[ON3M4N]

If he can play in the NHL now, I argue that it's better for his development if he plays against NHL competition.

Which LHD is he knocking off the roster?

Chara - Nope
Krug - Nope
Moore - You just signed him so probably not
Grzelcyk - Would require waivers and would probably get claimed

What more beneficial? Playing 15-16 minutes a night on the 3rd pairing in the NHL or playing 20+ minutes a night on the top pairing in the AHL.

 

[Grimey]

I could see that. I hate player comparisons for this reason. I see the points people are trying to make, well.... Besides Carlo being like Brent Burns haha

The Burns comparison made me chuckle a bit. Outside of size, they're totally different players. He's got to get rid of that beard, though. He looks like he lives in a camper in Joe Thornton's backyard.

 

[ON3M4N]

I thought that was the whole reason everyone defended signing John Moore, insurance if a kid wasn't ready, and if they were, then we could move on from him.

Well, if Vaak is ready then I'm all for Moore getting some popcorn in the pressbox.

No, Moore was brought in to add some size to the leftside of the defense. You don't sign a guy to a 5 year deal if he's just for insurance.

As for Moore eating popcorn, that means Grz is too and unless Boston is going to only carry 1 extra forward, we're losing either Grz or Moore to waivers. I can't see them waving Moore after he just signed (wouldn't look good for Boston), so probably Grz is gone via waivers. Now what happens if say Vaak doesn't look as good against a full NHL squad and needs sometime in the AHL? Well you've lost Grz for nothing and now need to find a new d-man to fit that role.

 

[rocketdan9]

Which LHD is he knocking off the roster?

Chara - Nope
Krug - Nope
Moore - You just signed him so probably not
Grzelcyk - Would require waivers and would probably get claimed

What more beneficial? Playing 15-16 minutes a night on the 3rd pairing in the NHL or playing 20+ minutes a night on the top pairing in the AHL.

If Chara did not want to play until eternity lol
and if team traded Krug for a good winger/2c-3c...could have been

Vaaka McAvoy
Moore Carlo
Zboril Miller

I wouldn't have any issues with this setup. Would anybody?

 

[rocketdan9]

The Burns comparison made me chuckle a bit. Outside of size, they're totally different players. He's got to get rid of that beard, though. He looks like he lives in a camper in Joe Thornton's backyard.

Its hilarious... they prob have a bet as to who can grow the longest, grungiest beards. As well Burns also has a bet with Ovie as to who can play with the least teeth

 

[ON3M4N]

If Chara did not want to play until eternity lol
and if team traded Krug for a good winger/2c-3c...could have been

Vaaka McAvoy
Moore Carlo
Zboril Miller

I wouldn't have any issues with this setup. Would anybody?

That's probably closer to what you could see next season (except Chara is probably still playing so Zboril might be fighting for a spot). For this year though, I can't see Vaak knocking anyone out of the rotation unless it's via injury or trade.

Chara - Carlo
Moore/Vaak - McAvoy
Moore/Vaak - Miller/Zboril

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

Josi is a pretty damn good offensive defenseman. Seems like kind of the opposite of Urho in that regard. I do see the point where they're both calming players who excel with skating and can move the puck.

Josi's first couple seasons were nothing special offensively. I think Urho has the skillset to grow into his offensive game, but yeah I was thinking more of the two-way prowess and the skating

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

I thought that was the whole reason everyone defended signing John Moore, insurance if a kid wasn't ready, and if they were, then we could move on from him.

Well, if Vaak is ready then I'm all for Moore getting some popcorn in the pressbox.

it's irrelevant to me why people defended the signing because it has nothing to do with Sweeney's reason for signing him. IMO Moore wasn't signed as insurance for the kids, but rather to replace McQuaid on the depth chart and give them some left side depth in preparation for Chara's inevitable departure in the next couple years. There's no way they signed him to a 5 year deal just to move on within the first year. If he plays poorly that's one thing, but if he comes in and does his job I don't see him going anywhere immediately.

 

[maxl7]

No, Moore was brought in to add some size to the leftside of the defense. You don't sign a guy to a 5 year deal if he's just for insurance.

As for Moore eating popcorn, that means Grz is too and unless Boston is going to only carry 1 extra forward, we're losing either Grz or Moore to waivers. I can't see them waving Moore after he just signed (wouldn't look good for Boston), so probably Grz is gone via waivers. Now what happens if say Vaak doesn't look as good against a full NHL squad and needs sometime in the AHL? Well you've lost Grz for nothing and now need to find a new d-man to fit that role.

"Size" isn't a good reason to lock someone up for five years, either.

Simple solution: don't waive Grz.

 

[maxl7]

Which LHD is he knocking off the roster?

Chara - Nope
Krug - Nope
Moore - You just signed him so probably not
Grzelcyk - Would require waivers and would probably get claimed

What more beneficial? Playing 15-16 minutes a night on the 3rd pairing in the NHL or playing 20+ minutes a night on the top pairing in the AHL.

Waiving Grz would be dumb. I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying playing Moore just because of his contract is worse than putting someone who should be in the NHL in the AHL, especially since that will also give reduced minutes to the players who would actually benefit from playing more minutes there like Lauzon and Zboril.

 

[maxl7]

it's irrelevant to me why people defended the signing because it has nothing to do with Sweeney's reason for signing him. IMO Moore wasn't signed as insurance for the kids, but rather to replace McQuaid on the depth chart and give them some left side depth in preparation for Chara's inevitable departure in the next couple years. There's no way they signed him to a 5 year deal just to move on within the first year. If he plays poorly that's one thing, but if he comes in and does his job I don't see him going anywhere immediately.

McQuaid is a RHD. Moore is a LHD. He's not replacing McQuaid. And, even if he were, McQuaid was a 7th D last year. If Moore is supposed to replace him on the depth chart, in what universe does it make sense to lock up a 7th D for five years?

 

[maxl7]

I realize I just turned this into the John Moore thread all over again.

I liked UV's game. I think he's had a lot of pro experience for someone his age and given that we have other LHD prospects who definitely need more seasoning, if UV is ready for the NHL, then it is in the organization's best interest to play him there. I frankly couldn't care less about the optics of pushing out a newly-signed UFA and if that hurts Sweeney's chances of signing more Moores, Beleskeys, David Backes and other non-cheap/short-term UFAs then I chalk that up to a huge positive for the organization as well.

 

[BruinsBtn]

What people are missing is that you need +7 defensemen in the NHL. It's not about the opening day roster. It's because injuries are guaranteed. No Bruins Bruins defenseman has stayed healthy for an entire season since Seidenberg in 2014-15. There's almost always someone injured. Last year, that meant Postma, O'Gara and McQuaid playing. This year, it means someone will be sitting in the press box until it happens -- and it will happen.

If the solution is to give Chara 10 games off so he's fresh, and to let other guys have a night off if they're banged up, then that's great. You don't want to be in a situation where you're riding your top guys hard all season because there's no one who can step up and fill in.

You know what's a bad plan? Making a roster that's only 18 skaters deep and hoping they all stay healthy all year.

 

[KrejciWinger]

What people are missing is that you need +7 defensemen in the NHL. It's not about the opening day roster. It's because injuries are guaranteed. No Bruins Bruins defenseman has stayed healthy for an entire season since Seidenberg in 2014-15. There's almost always someone injured. Last year, that meant Postma, O'Gara and McQuaid playing. This year, it means someone will be sitting in the press box until it happens -- and it will happen.

If the solution is to give Chara 10 games off so he's fresh, and to let other guys have a night off if they're banged up, then that's great. You don't want to be in a situation where you're riding your top guys hard all season because there's no one who can step up and fill in.

You know what's a bad plan? Making a roster that's only 18 skaters deep and hoping they all stay healthy all year.

Yet here we are with Grzelcyk, Urho, and Kampfer as insurance (nevermind zboril getting a look).

I get being injury aware, but that's excessive considering last year was a fluke. Besides the bruins always trade for a spare dman at the deadline (redden, liles, Holden). Just seems like a little much

 

[Rumpy]

If Chara did not want to play until eternity lol
and if team traded Krug for a good winger/2c-3c...could have been

Vaaka McAvoy
Moore Carlo
Zboril Miller

I wouldn't have any issues with this setup. Would anybody?

The opposition sure wouldn't .....

 

[BruinDust]

I was really impressed with Urho's game last night, but there are a lot of over-reactions here.

Look at it no different than Gryz last year. He didn't break camp with the team, got a chance when someone went down with injury.

He immediately put Postma into the press-box almost permanently, and when McQuaid was healthy, he couldn't get back into the line-up because Gryz was playing that good.

If/when a D-man or two gets injured, decent chance now that Urho gets a look. And if he performs to the point where they can't justify taking him out of the line-up, they'll cross that bridge then.

To make a move now like a trade , or healthy scratch a guy you just signed to a 5-year deal, is pretty short-sighted.

If I didn't know any better with the assessments on here you'd think Urho needed to clear waivers or something to be sent down, not a 1st year NA pro with zero AHL or NHL games under his belt.

 

[rocketdan9]

I get what Jamie is saying now.

Urho Vaakanainen of Bruins likened to Scott Niedermayer

Bruins player development coordinator Jamie Langenbrunner and assistant general manager Scott Bradley drew a daunting comparison between Vaakanainen, the 18th player selected at the 2017 NHL Draft, and an all-time great when they watched the 18-year-old skate.
"I think Scott mentioned to me ... Scott Niedermayer, which I thought was high praise for a guy that could effortlessly skate around the rink," Langenbrunner said. "[Vaakanainen] seems to have a little bit of those tendencies that he kind of floats on his skates a little bit, and it's something that I don't believe you can really teach. ...
"Fluid, you're almost floating on the ice, you're not exerting extra effort to get to the same place. It's effortless, where you think a guy like that could play 50 minutes in a game and not be tired, which Niedermayer probably could have."

 

[finchster]

A few games in the AHL never hurt any rookie defencemen. Injuries will happen, let's hope Urho will be ready when that time comes.

 

[bob27]

Promising start. Solid Brodin/Hjalmarsson type modern defensive defenceman. A year marinating in Providence won't hurt him.

 

[Sheppy]

I agree. Give him a year in Providence playing 20+ mins, and give him a shot next year.

I do think we will see him this year at some point filling in for an injury, though.