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Confirmed with Link: Canucks sign D Akito Hirose to 1-Year ELC

arttk said:
Totally random


Taller and bigger Stecher sounds like a top 4 guy
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Agreed on a taller Stecher being a great outcome.

So far though, in the scouting video above and his 1 NHL game, he doesn't really play like Stecher as far as I can see.

Seems less scrappy and more cerebral and a better skater. Hirose backwards skating is quite a beautiful think to watch in Daniels video breakdown.

Stech is such a dog in the way he battles, so if Akito has that aspect it will be most welcome.
 
Thought he was good tonight.

An agile skater with high iq and puck skills, he fits the mold of a modern defender.
 
Tocchet seems to like him. Likes how he thinks the game, listens to the staff on things he needs to do different and then goes out and does it. For all these younger guys right now (inclduing Podz and Kravtsov) this summer is going to be huge. How do they take the lessons they've been provided, the NHL experience and put that into their training for the summer?

I don't expect Hirose to compete for a top 6 spot or anything next camp and he likely isn't expecting it either but he will be looking to get that first call up spot type of thing.

I think Tocchet's last couple of post-game interviews have been telling. The effort needs to be there because you have a lot of guys that should be playing for their NHL lives. And like I say that extends well beyond guys like Hirose.
 
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Grantham said:
Agreed on a taller Stecher being a great outcome.

So far though, in the scouting video above and his 1 NHL game, he doesn't really play like Stecher as far as I can see.

Seems less scrappy and more cerebral and a better skater. Hirose backwards skating is quite a beautiful think to watch in Daniels video breakdown.

Stech is such a dog in the way he battles, so if Akito has that aspect it will be most welcome.
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I would say he mirrors Yannick Weber.

Like you said. Good skater. Good acceleration and ability to skate back into the play. Also seems to have good hockey vision.

Doesn't have that element of physicality (yet?) and will probably need to be more confident in carrying the puck out of the zone and through the neutral zone (this is what really hurt Yannick Weber's career).
 
So impressed with this kid. Moves well. His positioning and awareness are very good. Haven't seen enough to know if there's any offensive upside. Smallish but, at a listed 6ft, he could put 5-10 lbs on his frame. Any more than that and it could impact his mobility.
I like Wolanin but, at his age, I'd rather he be a guy in the minors as a first call-up on the left side, or a stop gap to give Hirose and Rathbone a little more time to develop. If Rathbone isn't traded in the summer, training camp will be huge for him. He will need to earn his spot over Hirose who looks like he has an edge right now.
 
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I'm super curious to see what sort of extension the Canucks work out with Hirose. They probably already have the basics worked out with his agent.
 
iceburg said:
So impressed with this kid. Moves well. His positioning and awareness are very good. Haven't seen enough to know if there's any offensive upside. Smallish but, at a listed 6ft, he could put 5-10 lbs on his frame. Any more than that and it could impact his mobility.
I like Wolanin but, at his age, I'd rather he be a guy in the minors as a first call-up on the left side, or a stop gap to give Hirose and Rathbone a little more time to develop. If Rathbone isn't traded in the summer, training camp will be huge for him. He will need to earn his spot over Hirose who looks like he has an edge right now.
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Rathbone and Hirose are the same age..Rathbone is gifted offensively,but Hirose seems the better defender.
 
I thought he was really excellent tonight.

He opened up his play a little bit more and flashed some puck-handling as well as pass lane manipulation. He's so low event it is easy to miss how skilled he is. Tanev-like in how he always seems to continue the play but rarely make it. We need this style so badly.

He played multiple roles well - PP, PK, 5v5. His calmness is refreshing and his positional intelligence can take him far. He actually paired well with Myers at times and he seemed to be the calming presence for Bear when they were paired, as noted when they got swapped on their sides once this game.

Finally, he's got a great active stick. He's calm, cool and quick reading the play, but any time the low forwards on the opposing power play got too comfortable sitting in a spot he'd smack their stick just to disrupt them. He does more than just mark his spot and wait for the play to proceed and I see it as another sign of high level dzone IQ.

I was expecting nothing but now I wonder if this could be our LD3 next year and maybe a future top 4. I'll be curious to see if he can add weight this summer as that's the only thing I see as a potential hindrance right now - he can be physically victimized along the boards.
 
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i just want to brag and point out i called hirose a better signing than livingstone back in december:

Fantasy GM Thread | Two Minutes to Midnight for Horvat?

hughes does not have nearly the popularity (league wide) you seem to think he does. he'd be the 2nd or 3rd best left defender they have depending on how you feel about siegenthaler Huh??? Hughes is top 5 in scoring for NHL defenceman over the past 3 seasons. Only Fox, Makar, Josi & Hedman are...
forums.hfboards.com forums.hfboards.com
 
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Don't want to get too far ahead of anything, as there have been college UDFAs in the past that have looked good at this point, only to falter when it comes to being an NHL regular.

But he moves very well, and has that "playing with a cigarette in his mouth" air about him. Being waiver exempt means he'd have to really outplay some other guys to make the team out of camp, but looks to be a guy in the "legitimate depth" conversation now.
 
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alternate said:
Don't want to get too far ahead of anything, as there have been college UDFAs in the past that have looked good at this point, only to falter when it comes to being an NHL regular.

But he moves very well, and has that "playing with a cigarette in his mouth" air about him. Being waiver exempt means he'd have to really outplay some other guys to make the team out of camp, but looks to be a guy in the "legitimate depth" conversation now.
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the thing that makes me optimistic for hirose is that the only obvious flaw in his game is his strength and that's almost definitely something he can improve with time and effort. he may have some hidden flaw like garbage fitness or he takes a million undisciplined penalties but if not the only thing holding him back is something that can be fixed relatively easily
 
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credulous said:
the thing that makes me optimistic for hirose is that the only obvious flaw in his game is his strength and that's almost definitely something he can improve with time and effort. he may have some hidden flaw like garbage fitness or he takes a million undisciplined penalties but if not the only thing holding him back is something that can be fixed relatively easily
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Yeah, the thing that stands out immediately is that he's stepped hugely up in levels and had no problems at all processing the game at this level. Thinks quickly, moves the puck quickly, makes good decisions and knows where to be. And that's probably the hardest skill for a defender and you see guys like Gudbranson and Myers who simply never acquire it. Or a prospect like Rathbone who has the skating and puck skills but whose game just falls apart under a heavy forecheck when he doesn't have time to make decisions.

But you can see when he gets in contained defensive situations that he's weak and has trouble winning puck battles and battling larger opposing forwards. If he can add 5-10 lbs. of muscle over the summer we might really have something here.
 
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Mr. Canucklehead said:
Small sample size, but loving what I’m seeing in terms of how calm he is and how smartly he moves the puck. This team has been starving for guys that can make proper outlet passes other than Hughes - now with Hronek and maybe Hirose, maybe that is finally taking a turn for the better.
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We should comprise a defense solely made up with players whose last names start with “H”.
 
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My biggest concern is being too soft to play against.

You're gona have a left side o

Hughes
OEL
Hirose


Right side of

Hronek
Bear
Myers

All soft players.
 
If Myers departs in the off-season, the Canucks will surely have the smallest and lightest blueline in the NHL.

You really can't judge players from a game against a team like Chicago in garbage time. They're tanking for Bedard, hard.

As things stand right now, this Canucks blueline isn't good enough for them to get anywhere near a playoff spot in the West next year. After Hughes and maybe Hronek, it's a black hole. Hirose is a nice story so far--but he starts next year in Abbotsford.

So how do you swap out your entire blueline in the off-season and expect to compete?
 
We don't have any other choice. I fully expect us to drop some salary and try to add a top 4 d man. Both moves would be very expensive, but there is no way we can hope to be a competitor in the NHL with this defense corps. The time is now for bold moves if we're going to do it.
 
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