Abbotsford Canucks | Season Starting
- Thread starter Mr. Canucklehead
- Start date
WTG
December 5th
WTG
December 5th
WTG
December 5th
WTG
December 5th
Canucks prospects stappled on the bench 
Great development strategy. Meanwhile, Brzustewicz gets the first shift in OT for the Flames.
Great development strategy. Meanwhile, Brzustewicz gets the first shift in OT for the Flames.
JumpierPegasus
Registered User
Blue and Green
Out to lunch
- Dec 17, 2017
- 4,002
- 4,216
Weekend report:
Won an evenly contested opener, then dominated most of the second game but only got one point for a SO loss.
No Lekkerimaki, seems to be injured. Wolanin and Phil D also didn't appear; I'm guessing that they were left in Abbotsford to be the just-in-case guys for Vancouver.
Tolopilo and Patera were both solid; the goaltending should be fine this season.
Hopefully the seven defencemen thing will end sooner rather than later but I can understand why they are going this route at the moment. No particular complaints about any of the guys who played; by AHL standards it was a good group.
--Brannstrom's skill stands out at this level while his defence is solid but unexceptional. Can play either side and should be able to fill a 7/8 role in the NHL if called upon.
--Friedman was fine and will probably be recalled for the road trip due to Myers' day-to-day status.
--Brisebois is probably not yet back to pre-concussion form but had a good second game after what I thought was an average opener.
--McWard looks steadier and smoother than last season; I'm not ruling him out as a prospect.
--Woo is a competent second-pair calibre AHLer.
--Pettersson looked alright as a #6 and PK guy. Big and moves reasonably well for his size, but not much apparent transitional/offensive upside. Hopefully he can become a solid stay-at-home, physical third-pair NHLer.
--Kudryavtsev was in the #7 role, getting a bit less ice time at even strength than Pettersson who is also getting regular PK reps while the former gets none. At evens, Kudryavtsev is the better player at this stage. Smart and quick.
Not going to say much about the forwards as this is long enough and there's nothing earth-shattering to report, especially with Lekkerimaki not playing. As a group they generally were fine, especially in the second game.
This report cannot end without a mention of the worst goal/no-goal review in the history of hockey, which occurred in today's second period. We're talking about a four-minute delay on a shot that didn't get closer than two feet to the goal line-- and no, I am not exaggerating.
Won an evenly contested opener, then dominated most of the second game but only got one point for a SO loss.
No Lekkerimaki, seems to be injured. Wolanin and Phil D also didn't appear; I'm guessing that they were left in Abbotsford to be the just-in-case guys for Vancouver.
Tolopilo and Patera were both solid; the goaltending should be fine this season.
Hopefully the seven defencemen thing will end sooner rather than later but I can understand why they are going this route at the moment. No particular complaints about any of the guys who played; by AHL standards it was a good group.
--Brannstrom's skill stands out at this level while his defence is solid but unexceptional. Can play either side and should be able to fill a 7/8 role in the NHL if called upon.
--Friedman was fine and will probably be recalled for the road trip due to Myers' day-to-day status.
--Brisebois is probably not yet back to pre-concussion form but had a good second game after what I thought was an average opener.
--McWard looks steadier and smoother than last season; I'm not ruling him out as a prospect.
--Woo is a competent second-pair calibre AHLer.
--Pettersson looked alright as a #6 and PK guy. Big and moves reasonably well for his size, but not much apparent transitional/offensive upside. Hopefully he can become a solid stay-at-home, physical third-pair NHLer.
--Kudryavtsev was in the #7 role, getting a bit less ice time at even strength than Pettersson who is also getting regular PK reps while the former gets none. At evens, Kudryavtsev is the better player at this stage. Smart and quick.
Not going to say much about the forwards as this is long enough and there's nothing earth-shattering to report, especially with Lekkerimaki not playing. As a group they generally were fine, especially in the second game.
This report cannot end without a mention of the worst goal/no-goal review in the history of hockey, which occurred in today's second period. We're talking about a four-minute delay on a shot that didn't get closer than two feet to the goal line-- and no, I am not exaggerating.
nah you need to split them up. brannstrom on the third pairing to move the puck while VD stays back. forbort to the pressbox where he belongs.The demon in me wants to see Hughes and Brannstrom together
Hansen
tyler motte simp
Exciting that Brannstrom is blowing the competition out of the water. It would be very nice if he could take over Forborts spot on the third pairing, and it gives us the option to run higher mobility or larger more physical matching against different teams. I want Marcus Pettersson very badly in the mix though
Brannstrom looks like a modern-day rover there. He almost reminds you of a "Quinn Hughes lite' at this level.
Of course in the AHL he has the time and space for his natural talent to shine through......in the NHL, the ice closes down a lot faster and the forwards get a piece of you every time.
Not much doubt he has NHL talent.....but his defense might drive Rick Tocchet to drink if he gets back to the NHL.
But given the parent Canucks almost total lock of offensive d-men once you get past Hughes and Hronek, he probably makes his appearance in Vancouver sooner rather than later.
Blue and Green
Out to lunch
- Dec 17, 2017
- 4,002
- 4,216
I'll do a quick recap now of some of the new/young forwards. The rest, pretty much nothing new to report.
-- Mueller moves well and seems to have a decent defensive game, but not all that good with the puck. Any future NHL utility would have to be scratched out at the margins as a defensive specialist.
-- Smith got into 14 NHL games with Arizona but really didn't show much in preseason or this weekend to indicate that he's really anything more than a middling AHLer.
-- Blais and Twarynski are respectable players on AHL contracts who add some size and toughness that this team needed. Twarynski showed a bit more skill than I had expected based on previous stats.
-- Kambeitz is the new Marc Gatcomb, a reliable PK/bottom-six winger on an AHL contract.
-- Klimovich had a better opening weekend compared to his ugly first two games last season. Don't be fooled by the -3 on Sunday. He made a silly positioning error in the first minute that resulted in Calgary's 1-0 goal but aside from that and one bad giveaway in the Friday game, he played mostly okay.
-- Mueller moves well and seems to have a decent defensive game, but not all that good with the puck. Any future NHL utility would have to be scratched out at the margins as a defensive specialist.
-- Smith got into 14 NHL games with Arizona but really didn't show much in preseason or this weekend to indicate that he's really anything more than a middling AHLer.
-- Blais and Twarynski are respectable players on AHL contracts who add some size and toughness that this team needed. Twarynski showed a bit more skill than I had expected based on previous stats.
-- Kambeitz is the new Marc Gatcomb, a reliable PK/bottom-six winger on an AHL contract.
-- Klimovich had a better opening weekend compared to his ugly first two games last season. Don't be fooled by the -3 on Sunday. He made a silly positioning error in the first minute that resulted in Calgary's 1-0 goal but aside from that and one bad giveaway in the Friday game, he played mostly okay.
Don't watch the games but based on game reviews it seems the problem with Klimovich is that he's the guy who seems to make that pretty major mistake every game. You can't be that guy.
Blue and Green
Out to lunch
- Dec 17, 2017
- 4,002
- 4,216
Point was, his play was not as bad as his stat line might suggest. His hockey sense issues are well documented but were less of a problem this weekend. Nobody has high expectations but he should be competent as the #3RW behind Lekkerimaki and Karlsson this season.
RobertKron
Registered User
- Sep 1, 2007
- 16,211
- 9,837
AHL just doesn’t have the herd immunity needed for me to be more than ambivalent about sending top prospects there.
Oh I understood what you were saying. I was just commenting that as I read these things it seems to be a recurring comment on him since he entered the AHL.
I get why a player like Brannstrom at 5'10" and 185 might struggle at times in the NHL.
But damn watching those highlights of Brannstrom dangling through half of the Wrangler's roster really gets the mojo going. Always had a soft spot in my heart for true rushing d-men--guys who can take on the other team's defenders and wreak havoc in the offensive zone.
Other than Hughes, the Canucks really have a bit of a black hole on their blueline for that type of player. Maybe they could pair him with a big, stay-at-home defender like Myers or Desharnais, freeing him up to do some serious wheeling out there?
Hope we get a chance to see it before the season goes on for too much longer.
But damn watching those highlights of Brannstrom dangling through half of the Wrangler's roster really gets the mojo going. Always had a soft spot in my heart for true rushing d-men--guys who can take on the other team's defenders and wreak havoc in the offensive zone.
Other than Hughes, the Canucks really have a bit of a black hole on their blueline for that type of player. Maybe they could pair him with a big, stay-at-home defender like Myers or Desharnais, freeing him up to do some serious wheeling out there?
Hope we get a chance to see it before the season goes on for too much longer.
Brannstrom probably belongs in the NHL. The fit though is hard. PK duties on Van's left side Forbort and Soucy are needed. I could see a fit with the Wild or Islanders.
