I'm assuming you're asking about Gadjovich . . . who has really looked good. Plays a heavy game,
often seen in the O-zone around the puck, hits hard but cleanly, doesn't take penalties, has good
hockey sense, very good hands and quick shot around the net. Had kind of a Cy Young last season,
I think 46 goals, so he's known as a finisher, but he sets up plays too from what I've seen in this small sample.
This kind of player is a necessity in the NHL, but the Canucks only have one or two of them
now at the very most. And that's maybe stretching it. Gadjovich could become our vanilla
version of Tkachuk.
When he didn't suit up, and the LW Kapstick took his spot and his number, and played a quicker
game pretty well, I was sure Gadjovich wasn't going to play in the final, but you never know. Find
that out tomorrow I guess. Gadjovich plays a pro-style game already, hard, smart, and heavy,
so there's no doubt in my mind that he'll be a Canuck. He's got the size and strength even now,
along with an advanced level of maturity. No stardom predictions here, but an efficient, hard-working
pro at least, middle-six, with natural leadership ability. Oddly enough, this resembles the consensus
about Bo a few years back.
Gadjovich will go back to the O for a final year, and then report to the Comets IMO. Same probably
goes for Lind, since their birthdays permit it. Unlike Lind, Gadjovich has an outside chance of making
the Canucks a year from now IMO. That's if the numbers allow it, and if his agility and first few steps
have improved. In 3 years he'll be a regular LW joining Sven and Dahlen in the rotation. If I had a crystal ball
I might say that he, Bo, and Boeser would find chemistry on and off the ice, and form a leadership triumvirate
as the heart and soul of the Canucks for the next decade.
