This time of year I'm always plagued with a hopeful attitude toward the upcoming season. I hope Podkolzin can take a step, I hope Hoglander can solidify his overall game so he is relied upon as an everyday top 9 forward, I hope Myers can repeat his solid play of last year, I hope the team's coaching staff can help at least one or two players reach another level (Desharnais, Raty), I hope Demko can stay healthy...
This time of year I lean towards assuming all of these things will be true. By November my hopes are usually dashed.
So, in an effort to be clear eyed in these doldrums of summer, I offer myself the following reality check:
The Canucks really only have two established top 4 D-men (Hughes, Hronek) with a third being a solid 4/5 (Soucy). All others are at best bottom pairing:
Desharnais
Myers
Forbort
Juulsen
Off these 4, Myers is the only one that can be counted on to play top 4 minutes on a regular basis.
The quality of the coaching and the tight D-system make it possible to have these guys playing reasonable minutes. But that comes at the expense of offense.
The addition of one top 4 D-man has to be this team's highest priority followed distantly by solidifying the 3C spot longer term. There is some promise within the organization to fix the latter. But, other than Willander, who is at least 2 years away from playing top 4 minutes, I don't see a fix for the D.
ok, now back to my unabashed optimism...