Player Discussion Aatu Raty

[ChilliBilly]

He had a strong night in the circle for sure but it is pre-season. Still it is clear from Tocchet's post-game that he very much noticed Raty in a good way and his faceoffs was one of those things. Also really loves how hard he is working in every drill, practice, scrimmage and game. Raty has come to camp to make the team. He's one of those guys who if he doesn't make it out of camp he will be brought up at some point and likely never see the AHL again. The question is can he continue to improve to be more than a 4th line center or bottom 6 winger. Can he be a strong third line center?

In all honesty I am hoping he is centering our 2nd line in a. few years. If he continues to improve his skills he is going to be a very valuable contributor soon. He will be 22 at the end of this season, and a RFA, so what he is offered will depend on what happens this year. If he has a good year, it will be interesting to see what sort of contract he gets.

 

[Regress2TheMeme]

What Raty showed last night was intriguing. He's got size and skill and smarts. His nice, soft bump pass to Hoglander was pretty and he was an inch away from scoring a beautiful bar down goal. I really hope his skating continues to come along as he could add some skill to the lineup and maje the Canucks more of an offensive threat 5 on 5. Despite his slow footspeed he's got a nice pass or shoot skillet that will compliment his smarts.

 

[MS]

What Raty showed last night was intriguing. He's got size and skill and smarts. His nice, soft bump pass to Hoglander was pretty and he was an inch away from scoring a beautiful bar down goal. I really hope his skating continues to come along as he could add some skill to the lineup and maje the Canucks more of an offensive threat 5 on 5. Despite his slow footspeed he's got a nice pass or shoot skillet that will compliment his smarts.

The bump pass on Hoglander's goal was Linus Karlsson - Raty had the 2nd assist moving it down to Karlsson.

 

[Regress2TheMeme]

The bump pass on Hoglander's goal was Linus Karlsson - Raty had the 2nd assist moving it down to Karlsson.

Ahhh, ok. Nice play from Karlsson.

 

[mathonwy]

Aman is 6'2. And Lammiko's style of play was more a reflection of Tyler Motte who was the actual play driver on that line.

Interesting.

I though Aman was 6’ for some reason.

Aman isn’t a defensive liability but plays much smaller than Lammiko IMO.

 

[TruGr1t]

He's still not a blazer, but he's not getting caught behind the play like he was due to the improved skating. I was mostly impressed with his work in the dot last night, I didn't even know he could do that. It will be interesting to see how he holds up defensively because it's Tocchet we're talking about ... but I didn't think he could play centre, so this has been really encouraging.

 

[ohnoeszz]

Ahhh, ok. Nice play from Karlsson.

There was another sequence though where Hoglander came up to the high slot and let the pass to Raty go by him while Raty one touched the puck back for a high slot one-timer with a clear path on the net.

Clearly a rehearsed play but still nice to have players capable of executing it. It was an interesting fold to how the PP could develop.

Maybe not the thread for it but while we are on the topic of the PP, I really hope someone has gotten through to Hughes to give the puck down to the low man on the PP whenever possible rather than trying to hold and create at the blueline always.

Hughes is fantastic but he overhandles at times and that simple high to low movement would open up so much if he makes the defense respect it.

 

[Sexy Necksy Garland]

Aatu HawkTu

HawkTu, A.

 

[F A N]

Aman is 6'2. And Lammiko's style of play was more a reflection of Tyler Motte who was the actual play driver on that line.

Motte was definitely the driver on that line but at the end of the day, the Lammikko, Motte, and Highmore line had a stretch of very strong play and Lammikko played the way Boudreau and the Canucks wanted him to play and chipped in offensively.

I've been critical of Aman because I just don't see a passive low event defensive player having a long NHL career. It's just one of those things where bubble players need to add to their game / bring something tangible to stay in the league. Things like worth ethic, getting in on the forecheck, throwing hits, drawing penalties, blocking shots, winning faceoffs, and chipping in offensively help 4th liners stay in the league. Like if you break it down Aman has attributes you like but if if doesn't take a significant step forward you'll have guys like Raty pushing for a spot.

We gave Aman a shot when he was 22. He'll be 25 by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Raty will turn 22 in November. If Raty continues to improve and show promise I'll give him a shot on the roster and see if he can establish himself as an NHL regular.

 

[Blue and Green]

I think he'll be sent to Abbotsford to start the season, at least. His skating looks better but still an issue for the NHL, especially if they have designs on him playing centre at some point. He's always shown some good qualities and I'd peg his realistic NHL ceiling as a solid third-liner. Definitely the second-best forward prospect in Abbotsford behind Lekkerimaki. Let him get plenty of minutes as a centre in the AHL and see how he develops.

 

[VanJack]

At some point if your're going to 'talk the talk' you've got to 'walk the walk'. The Canucks front office keeps preaching that if some of the young guys come in and outplay some of the veterans and force their way on to the team, they'll find a place for them.

Unless that's just empty platitudes, if the pre-season ended today, Raty would be on the team.