Official New Year Training Camp thread

[SeaOfBlue]

Malgin put on waivers with the hope he clears and will be available.

He’s scored 11 goals and 11 assists (for 22 points) in 19 games in the Swiss league.

I am fairly sure he was waived so he can stay in the NLA for the rest of the year. Dubas said he did not want to take people away from loans when there is not a guaranteed roster spot waiting for them.

I would personally put him on the Marlies, who could desperately use him and would allow for him to train with our development staff. Plus I am fairly sure Kossila is coming back and he is only getting a Marlies job.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Any on ice footage yet? Even if it’s just them running drills I’d like to see it.

 

[Stigma]

This is his big chance. He has the size and speed and hands to be solid complementary piece.

Agreed. This is a huge year for Vesey with respect to how his future is going to look like in the NHL. A core piece or a journeyman. It's a big year for Dermott too, but more with respect to whether he stays in Toronto or not.

 

[Advanced stats]

Now that we're expiermenting with lines, and within the Keefe scope of things, I'd love to see:

Thornton-Matthews-Nylander
Vesey-Tavares-Marner
Hyman-Kerfoot-Mikheyev
Engvall-Spezza-Simmonds


That's probably the most balanced forward lines I can come up with.

 

[Cor]

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Okay but what about Rubins though?

He was better than Duszak last year.

 

[Cor]

Robertson-Brooks-Anderson appear to be our “5th line”.

So probably a good chance those 3 will be on our taxi squad. Maybe not Brooks once Kerfoot is healthy, pushing Engvall back out

 

[Twine Tickler]

Nate is a massive upgrade on Tanev and Hamonic is way better than Stech.
Hughes carried Tanev and every stat and eye test backs that up.
The legend that is Jacob Markstrom is getting out of hand.
Sure he had some games that he stole but he is wildly inconsistent and tends to revert back to bad habits a lot. Without Ian there to drill good habits I can see him regressing this season.
Canucks were top 8 in GF and bottom 10 in GA, so not sure how Marky carried us.
Ian Clark turns every goalie he works with into the best version of themselves and a guy like Holtby has the pedigree so I think our tandem will be fine.
TT only played 10 games and was gifted a spot on a top line that was one of the best in hockey.
One thing I will say and this is just my opinion but Hoglander and Jake will more than make up what TT brought.
Demko aside from a bad stretch at the end of the season had numbers quite similar to Marky.

The fact that the Canucks were bottom 10 in GA and still Markstrom was viewed by many as a vezina candidate prior to his injury speaks to the level he played at. I’m not sure how any Canuck fan could say he was not their MVP over the last 2 seasons to be honest. He gave them a shot to win every night. No one is denying the Canucks talent, but to deny the impact of the loss of the players listed is probably wishful thinking. A consistently inconsistent virtanen and a kid who has never played an NHL game could replace tofolli. But let’s consider that somewhere in between what is expected and best case scenario. Trust me, I get it, we all try to spin organizational moves in an optimistic way. Myself included. But let’s be real, we can’t sit here and say The Canuck fanbase was not pitching tents over tofolli/markstrom/Tanev no less then 3 months ago. Yet now they held no impact in the team success.

we all know the Canucks core pieces have remained. But so did the leafs when they shipped out bozak, JVR, gardiner...etc out. All of which had lesser roles on this team then the 3 mentioned above. Moving mainstay pieces out of a room shifts the dynamic of a room. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. In the leafs case, the regular season point totals increased. But the consistency of play has dramatically plummeted since those moves. I really don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities that the Canucks could have a step backwards.

 

[Cor]

Okay but what about Rubins though?

He was better than Duszak last year.

Is he still playing in Denmark? He might be part of the group being left in Europe for the year.

If not, maybe they felt it’s more important for Duszak to get reps on ice, or more specifically in the scrimmage, since he hasn’t seen game action in longer.

Duszak, Rubins, Hollowell are sorta squished into the same tier anyway

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Robertson-Brooks-Anderson appear to be our “5th line”.

So probably a good chance those 3 will be on our taxi squad. Maybe not Brooks once Kerfoot is healthy, pushing Engvall back out

I am not so sure about Anderson either. AHL still needs to be a consideration and he is the only good, proven RW the Marlies would have... And I would assume the Marlies would want a 22/23 year old playing often if they have the choice.

IDK how often the taxi squad is playing, but likely not often enough to justify a guy with waiver exemption not going to the AHL... Especially when they will already have 13 forwards + Engvall ahead of Anderson.

Also, since the Marlies are sticking within Canada, can't the Leafs easily just call someone up whenever they want? It's not like their travel schedule is any different than the Leafs'. They shouldn't need to quarantine if we need a guy like Sandin, Liljegren or Anderson in the lineup at any point, so keeping them on the taxi squad would be counterproductive. Keep Marincin, Rosen, and Engvall there. Maybe sign another veteran to fill a spot there or something.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Is he still playing in Denmark? He might be part of the group being left in Europe for the year.

If not, maybe they felt it’s more important for Duszak to get reps on ice, or more specifically in the scrimmage, since he hasn’t seen game action in longer.

Duszak, Rubins, Hollowell are sorta squished into the same tier anyway

I believe he is coming back for the Marlies.

 

[PuckMagi]

one week to go!

 

[LeafChief]

I am not so sure about Anderson either. AHL still needs to be a consideration and he is the only good, proven RW the Marlies would have... And I would assume the Marlies would want a 22/23 year old playing often if they have the choice.

IDK how often the taxi squad is playing, but likely not often enough to justify a guy with waiver exemption not going to the AHL... Especially when they will already have 13 forwards + Engvall ahead of Anderson.

Also, since the Marlies are sticking within Canada, can't the Leafs easily just call someone up whenever they want? It's not like their travel schedule is any different than the Leafs'. They shouldn't need to quarantine if we need a guy like Sandin, Liljegren or Anderson in the lineup at any point, so keeping them on the taxi squad would be counterproductive. Keep Marincin, Rosen, and Engvall there. Maybe sign another veteran to fill a spot there or something.

Do you know if the players assigned to the taxi squad can be re-assigned to the Marlies?

If Robertson and Anderson are on the taxi-squad and one weekend the Marlies have 3 in 3, can Anderson and Robertson be assigned to the Marlies for the weekend (they don't need waivers) to get those games in?

This is all assuming there is no OHL and Robertson is eligible for AHL.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Do you know if the players assigned to the taxi squad can be re-assigned to the Marlies?

If Robertson and Anderson are on the taxi-squad and one weekend the Marlies have 3 in 3, can Anderson and Robertson be assigned to the Marlies for the weekend (they don't need waivers) to get those games in?

This is all assuming there is no OHL and Robertson is eligible for AHL.

If they don't need waivers yes, but always need at least 4 players on taxi squad, one being a goalie.

 

[Fogelhund]

If they don't need waivers yes, but always need at least 4 players on taxi squad, one being a goalie.

Surely there would be guys on the Marlies, who would be sitting, in lieu of the guys moved from the taxi squad to the Marlies... so if we needed to add some guys to have a minimum number in the taxi squad, we could move those guys sitting from the Marlies....

 

[Fogelhund]

Nate is a massive upgrade on Tanev and Hamonic is way better than Stech.
Hughes carried Tanev and every stat and eye test backs that up.
.

You know, I understand how, and why people conclude that guys like Hughes, carry guys like Tanev. But, more times than not, it's the guys like Tanev, who let guys like Hughes, play their game and cover up for them.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

The fact that the Canucks were bottom 10 in GA and still Markstrom was viewed by many as a vezina candidate prior to his injury speaks to the level he played at. I’m not sure how any Canuck fan could say he was not their MVP over the last 2 seasons to be honest. He gave them a shot to win every night. No one is denying the Canucks talent, but to deny the impact of the loss of the players listed is probably wishful thinking. A consistently inconsistent virtanen and a kid who has never played an NHL game could replace tofolli. But let’s consider that somewhere in between what is expected and best case scenario. Trust me, I get it, we all try to spin organizational moves in an optimistic way. Myself included. But let’s be real, we can’t sit here and say The Canuck fanbase was not pitching tents over tofolli/markstrom/Tanev no less then 3 months ago. Yet now they held no impact in the team success.

we all know the Canucks core pieces have remained. But so did the leafs when they shipped out bozak, JVR, gardiner...etc out. All of which had lesser roles on this team then the 3 mentioned above. Moving mainstay pieces out of a room shifts the dynamic of a room. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. In the leafs case, the regular season point totals increased. But the consistency of play has dramatically plummeted since those moves. I really don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities that the Canucks could have a step backwards.

Nothing against Markstrom but Demko is just flat out same/ to better and with Holtby coming in tending with be same or better than last year ... but real improvement will be Bo as he moves into ELITE level of NHL

 

[TheDoldrums]

he's becoming a parody of himself and I love it. I actually assumed it was a joke quote at first

 

[Cor]

Do you know if the players assigned to the taxi squad can be re-assigned to the Marlies?

If Robertson and Anderson are on the taxi-squad and one weekend the Marlies have 3 in 3, can Anderson and Robertson be assigned to the Marlies for the weekend (they don't need waivers) to get those games in?

This is all assuming there is no OHL and Robertson is eligible for AHL.

My understanding is, The Taxi Squad is considered the AHL. Players can’t be assigned to it unless they clear waivers, if necessary.

Players can be sent to the Marlies for games. As long as we have at least 4 players still on the taxi squad

 

[Cor]

I believe he is coming back for the Marlies.

Right, so that explains it then.

 

[LeafChief]

My understanding is, The Taxi Squad is considered the AHL. Players can’t be assigned to it unless they clear waivers, if necessary.

Players can be sent to the Marlies for games. As long as we have at least 4 players still on the taxi squad

Awesome. So the taxi squad players that don't need waivers won't just be sitting around.

Robertson playing AHL games could be huge for his development.

 

[Zybalto]

The fact that the Canucks were bottom 10 in GA and still Markstrom was viewed by many as a vezina candidate prior to his injury speaks to the level he played at. I’m not sure how any Canuck fan could say he was not their MVP over the last 2 seasons to be honest. He gave them a shot to win every night. No one is denying the Canucks talent, but to deny the impact of the loss of the players listed is probably wishful thinking. A consistently inconsistent virtanen and a kid who has never played an NHL game could replace tofolli. But let’s consider that somewhere in between what is expected and best case scenario. Trust me, I get it, we all try to spin organizational moves in an optimistic way. Myself included. But let’s be real, we can’t sit here and say The Canuck fanbase was not pitching tents over tofolli/markstrom/Tanev no less then 3 months ago. Yet now they held no impact in the team success.

we all know the Canucks core pieces have remained. But so did the leafs when they shipped out bozak, JVR, gardiner...etc out. All of which had lesser roles on this team then the 3 mentioned above. Moving mainstay pieces out of a room shifts the dynamic of a room. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. In the leafs case, the regular season point totals increased. But the consistency of play has dramatically plummeted since those moves. I really don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities that the Canucks could have a step backwards.

In doing my comparisons of the Canadian teams, this seems pretty spot on...especially the goaltending issue.

I've been doing comparisons based on the time since Leafs hired Keefe (from Nov. 20th) and here's what Vancouver looks like in the 47 games since then:

Vancouver is rated as having the worst xGA (team defence) in the entire NHL but the 12th best team save%. It's a good thing their goaltending was so solid against the league-worst shots against during this time but why was it so good?

Let's compare Markstrom and Demko's rankings among the 48 goalies to play at least 1000 minutes during this time to see why:

Markstrom:

GP: 29
Shots Against/60: 34.98 (2nd highest out of 48)
Save%: .923 (7th highest out of 48)
Goals saved above average: .43 (7th highest out of 48)

Demko:

GP: 19
Shots Against/60: 33.28 (9th highest out of 48)
Save%: .900 (39th highest out of 48)
Goals saved above average: -.33 (39th highest out of 43)

Markstrom really does look like an MVP and Vezina calibre goalie and Demko looks like....well...a backup. Maybe Demko is ready to step up but I think anyone should expect a backwards step for goaltending on the Canucks this year as Holtby didn't have the best of seasons himself.

I think Vancouver needs to hope the D turnover is going to help stabilize their issues there to offset the loss of such an important player for them.

 

[McSnypsky]

Barabanov looks like he's 16 years old! TSN saying Team Blue Dominating

 

[Budz22]

Will there be highlights from scrimmage?

 

[Twine Tickler]

In doing my comparisons of the Canadian teams, this seems pretty spot on...especially the goaltending issue.

I've been doing comparisons based on the time since Leafs hired Keefe (from Nov. 20th) and here's what Vancouver looks like in the 47 games since then:

Vancouver is rated as having the worst xGA (team defence) in the entire NHL but the 12th best team save%. It's a good thing their goaltending was so solid against the league-worst shots against during this time but why was it so good?

Let's compare Markstrom and Demko's rankings among the 48 goalies to play at least 1000 minutes during this time to see why:

Markstrom:

GP: 29
Shots Against/60: 34.98 (2nd highest out of 48)
Save%: .923 (7th highest out of 48)
Goals saved above average: .43 (7th highest out of 48)

Demko:

GP: 19
Shots Against/60: 33.28 (9th highest out of 48)
Save%: .900 (39th highest out of 48)
Goals saved above average: -.33 (39th highest out of 43)

Markstrom really does look like an MVP and Vezina calibre goalie and Demko looks like....well...a backup. Maybe Demko is ready to step up but I think anyone should expect a backwards step for goaltending on the Canucks this year as Holtby didn't have the best of seasons himself.

I think Vancouver needs to hope the D turnover is going to help stabilize their issues there to offset the loss of such an important player for them.

Ya I think when you watched canuck games in the past 2 years, a lot of high danger chances were mitigated with excellent goaltending. Demko has what it takes to continue that on any given night, however has never shown he can do that night over night like marky did. Holtby is a wildcard for me. I dont think it is out of the realm of possibilties that he returns to form. If so, they will be a team to contend with.

as for Bo, petey, hughes there is no question that they will bring it. but they brought it last year as well, and that did not prevent them giving up as much as they did. I really do think the biggest part of their team success/record last year was on the back of markstrom. will be interesting to see how they fair without him. and on the same note, how calgary positively gets impacted by that goaltending consistency they've needed since like..........kipper?