Numbers
Registered User
- Sep 26, 2011
- 2,565
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I could also see it being this way if they put Vey on the wing.
Sedin - Sedin - Vrbata
Burrows - Bonino - Vey
Higgins - Matthias - Kassian
Sestito - Horvat - Hansen
Vancouver Canucks' Starting Lineup II
- Thread starter Bourne Endeavor
- Start date
I could also see it being this way if they put Vey on the wing.
Sedin - Sedin - Vrbata
Burrows - Bonino - Vey
Higgins - Matthias - Kassian
Sestito - Horvat - Hansen
CP
Thou shalt not Tank
- Mar 8, 2008
- 865
- 0
Three of four lines look set for opening night, as does D and goalies. Kassian will start on a lower line and work his way up.
Here is how I think it will be on opening night.
Sedin - Sedin - Vrbata
Higgins - Bonino - Burrows
Matthias - Richardson - Kassian
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Edler - Tanev
Sbisa - Stanton
Miller
Lack
The third line will be sheltered more than the other three. If Horvat is out it will be:
Dorsett Vey Hansen
If Horvat is healthy, he will play:
Dorsett Horvat Vey
Sestito, Hansen and Weber will sit, and Jensen will go to Utica until someone gets injured.
Here is how I think it will be on opening night.
Sedin - Sedin - Vrbata
Higgins - Bonino - Burrows
Matthias - Richardson - Kassian
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Edler - Tanev
Sbisa - Stanton
Miller
Lack
The third line will be sheltered more than the other three. If Horvat is out it will be:
Dorsett Vey Hansen
If Horvat is healthy, he will play:
Dorsett Horvat Vey
Sestito, Hansen and Weber will sit, and Jensen will go to Utica until someone gets injured.
biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
- 26,024
- 11,100
Yeah. Exactly.
Some are so intent on moving Vey to the Wing because he sucks hard at faceoffs. Which yes, it's at issue...but faceoffs are so far down the list of what makes a good Center. If you need to...we actually have a few wingers who are half-decent at faceoffs. Doesn't make them Centers though.
It's such a narrow scope reasoning for moving a guy to the wing.
biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
- 26,024
- 11,100
Weber is okay with the puck. When he has space to do things. Cool. But i want to know...what percentage of contested pucks do you think Weber actually wins possession of?
I'd wager it's a very low percentage, certainly quite a bit less than 50%. The thing people seem to consistently miss in the Sbisa vs Weber analysis, is the fact that Weber loses at least as many pucks before he even retrieves them, as Sbisa does with disappointing turnovers after he has actually gained possession of the puck in a contested battle.
Weber lays low. He's just blends into the woodwork, let's other people deal with contested pucks that Sbisa typically turns over...the only pucks Weber ever seems to have on his stick are the uncontested ones. The easy pucks.
Yet so many here judge a defenceman by what he does with the puck on his stick, not how the puck ends up there and what they have done to end up in that situation in possession of the puck. Weber comes out smelling like a rose because he picks his spots effectively, he only tends to handle the pucks that he's going to have complete uncontested control of. That's the issue that seems constantly overlooked.
It doesn't mean Weber doesn't have better puckhandling skills than Sbisa, it just means that he's in an out as far as actually controlling the puck. And that makes for a trickier comparison.
What makes Vey not best suited to Center? He's poor on the dot...so are most of the rest of our "Centers". He isn't a polished defensive player...fair enough, he's clearly not. But why does that mean he's better off as a winger? Won't his defensive issues still persist, and you're adding the issues he has with being uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and poor at working the wall as a winger. And you're subtracting from what it is that Vey does well offensively...carrying the puck and distributing it, playing that high man role where he can survey the offensive zone and make the passes as he has through camp.
A guy like Matthias...maybe he's "happier" at Center, but he sucks at it. He's also terrible on the dot, plays his best hockey on the boards in the offensive zone, and through the neutral zone his best play is: Skate real fast up the Wing and take a shot. There's basically ZERO vision there. He's not any kind of beast down low in his own zone either, often ends up in situations where his Wingers are taking that role, and even when he does take that role he does very little well. There's almost nothing at all outside of potentially his ego that suggest Matthias is a better Center than Winger. He plays the game like a winger.
And nobody is suggesting Vey play vs top Centers as a checking Center. That doesn't mean he can't be a "3rd line Center" on a Willie D team that seems intent on rolling 4 lines. We're not talking about a classic "shutdown 3rd line" here.
thepuckmonster
Professional Winner.
I'm wondering if Higgins would be decent on face offs with a bit of coaching? He certainly has a good deal of upper body strength, I would be interested in seeing what he could do
Jimson Hogarth*
Registered User
- Nov 21, 2013
- 12,858
- 3
Vey isn't great at face offs, loses physical 1 on 1 battles, often is weak in the neutral zone, and hasn't been impressive in his own zone.
I take the opposite view of yours, that Vey has a giftwrapped NHL Center spot- I think Vey at this point hasn't proven he's an NHL center.
I don't see Matthias as a solution at Center either.
Love
Registered User
- Feb 29, 2012
- 15,097
- 12,465
NuxFan09
Registered User
With Horvat healthy, this is what I've come up with:
D. Sedin - H. Sedin - Vrbata
Higgins - Bonino - Kassian
Burrows - Horvat - Hansen
Vey - Richardson - Dorsett
Matthias
Sestito
Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Sbisa - Stanton
Weber
Miller
Lack
The defense and the goaltending is pretty straight forward so I'll just get into the forwards.
For me, an important issue is to craft some sort of checking line and this is what I've ultimately built the bottom 3 lines around. If this team is to be competitive, they need a line they can consistently throw out against the other teams' best lines. From my view, that involves some sort of combination of Burrows, Higgins, Hansen and, yes, Horvat. The Sedin line themselves can sort of play that role based on the fact that they're such great possession players that they can keep one of the opponent's top 2 lines at bay by default. The Horvat line could then take on the other best line.
If Horvat proves he's not ready for this role - which wouldn't be surprising at all, as this is a big and crucial role - then I guess you give the centre spot on this line to Bonino.
The 2nd and 4th line can then feast on the opponent's lesser competition.
D. Sedin - H. Sedin - Vrbata
Higgins - Bonino - Kassian
Burrows - Horvat - Hansen
Vey - Richardson - Dorsett
Matthias
Sestito
Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Sbisa - Stanton
Weber
Miller
Lack
The defense and the goaltending is pretty straight forward so I'll just get into the forwards.
For me, an important issue is to craft some sort of checking line and this is what I've ultimately built the bottom 3 lines around. If this team is to be competitive, they need a line they can consistently throw out against the other teams' best lines. From my view, that involves some sort of combination of Burrows, Higgins, Hansen and, yes, Horvat. The Sedin line themselves can sort of play that role based on the fact that they're such great possession players that they can keep one of the opponent's top 2 lines at bay by default. The Horvat line could then take on the other best line.
If Horvat proves he's not ready for this role - which wouldn't be surprising at all, as this is a big and crucial role - then I guess you give the centre spot on this line to Bonino.
The 2nd and 4th line can then feast on the opponent's lesser competition.
Bourne Endeavor
Registered User
He's okay at it, but has never been consistent. Granted, he's improved a lot since those days, so it wouldn't hurt to have a look. If we gave it a shot, I'd go...
Sedin - Sedin - Vrbata
Vey - Bonino - Kassian
Burrows - Higgins - Hansen
Richardson - Horvat - Dorsett
Oh look, bitturbo continuing with the apolgies for sbisa. Let's kick Weber to make Luca seem better.
What does winning the puck battle matter if after gaining possession he cheaply gives it away or the team loses the possession because he can't make a pass.
What does winning the puck battle matter if after gaining possession he cheaply gives it away or the team loses the possession because he can't make a pass.
thepuckmonster
Professional Winner.
I wouldn't say shift him to centre permanently, just have him take face offs as a winger.
I'm going to puke if Sestito makes this team and they send someone like Jensen down. Jensen, Horvat and Vey all deserve to be in this lineup over Sestito, who brings nothing to the team. And with the coaches push to roll 4 lines, you need players who can play a high paced game for 12 minutes a night. Sestito just simply can't do that. And the constant rolling of 4 lines would assure that the young players all got enough playing time to keep learning. Jensen was better defensively than Shinkaruk, which is why he has stayed around so far. I think Jensen is better both offensively and defensively than Sestito. Sestito is just a punching bag.
D. Sedin, H. Sedin, Vrbata
Burrows, Bonino, Kassian
Higgins, Horvat, Vey
Richardson, Matthias, Jensen
Hansen
Dorsett
D. Sedin, H. Sedin, Vrbata
Burrows, Bonino, Kassian
Higgins, Horvat, Vey
Richardson, Matthias, Jensen
Hansen
Dorsett
It would be easier to keep Vey in the middle if we had a stud winger to take his draws for him, like when Iginla used to take tons of draws for the flames.
I like him in the offensive zone as a C. I hope Benning continues with the "change is coming" and continues to change this roster.
Guys who should be on the block: Hansen, Matthias, Sbisa, and Weber. If we're in the playoff hunt, add an established under 28 top 6 LW, if we're out of the playoff hunt, look for that Kassian/Vey age range.
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Still think Kassian's best spot to start in this lineup is with Richardson.
I like him in the offensive zone as a C. I hope Benning continues with the "change is coming" and continues to change this roster.
Guys who should be on the block: Hansen, Matthias, Sbisa, and Weber. If we're in the playoff hunt, add an established under 28 top 6 LW, if we're out of the playoff hunt, look for that Kassian/Vey age range.
-----
Still think Kassian's best spot to start in this lineup is with Richardson.
Jimson Hogarth*
Registered User
- Nov 21, 2013
- 12,858
- 3
That is a pretty soft lineup. I see Dorsett in the lineup more often than not and I see Sestito as the 13th forward. I think Jensen falls victim to the numbers game and starts in Utica.
Pip
Registered User
TheWanderer
Registered User
- Nov 15, 2013
- 4,959
- 32
Waiver deadlines tomorrow. Roster deadlines tuesday. Depends on Horvat and Richardson
I think we'll see Sestito on waivers tomorrow. Players who are more competent than him have been passing with ease—he'll make it too.
Kmode
Registered User
- Nov 3, 2006
- 809
- 6
I see it going down like this by around game 10 (assuming everyone is healthy). Especially because of the injury (and we don't really know the severity yet), I don't think Horvat will get more than 9 games, if that. Jensen to Utica once Richardson is back
Sedin - Sedin - Vrbata
Higgins - Bonino - Vey
Burrows - Richardson - Kassian
Dorsett - Mathias - Hansen
Sestito
I think depending on the opponent Sestito, Dorsett and Hansen may be interchangeable.
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Edler - Tanev
Stanton - Weber
Sbisa
Miller
Lack
Sedin - Sedin - Vrbata
Higgins - Bonino - Vey
Burrows - Richardson - Kassian
Dorsett - Mathias - Hansen
Sestito
I think depending on the opponent Sestito, Dorsett and Hansen may be interchangeable.
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Edler - Tanev
Stanton - Weber
Sbisa
Miller
Lack
