Post-Game Talk: Preseason GM04| Vancouver Canucks lose to Calgary Flames | 2-4 (Lekkerimaki & Raty)

TruGr1t

Proper Villain
Jun 26, 2003
24,744
9,420
Think there should be quite a few cuts. Forwards look pretty set, I think Raty has made it, and when Blueger is back, it likely means cycling Suter to wing. Lekkerimaki sent down as there's enough NHL winger depth you don't really need him and he looks better served spending some time in the minors.

Will be interesting to see how the wingers shake out on the final roster. Heinen, Hoglander, and Sprong could all end up on Pettersson's wing, I think.
 

VanJack

Registered User
Jul 11, 2014
22,712
16,205
Raty is easily the story of this training camp. You forget that at 16 years old he was considered a 'teen prodigy' in Finnish hockey, the equivalent of guys like Bedard and Cellebrini in Canada.

And while it was a bumpy road over the next four seasons, you can see now why he was one of the most highly rated prospects in the world and even in the conversation to be a 'first overall pick; before he hit the wall a bit in his draft year.

Lamoriello rarely let an impact prospect go during his many years in the NHL; but he may have lost that edge with Raty. He's a face-off demon, and two-way center that every contending team needs playing down in the lineup, at least to start his career.
 

JT Milker

Registered User
Mar 24, 2018
1,759
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If Lekkerimaki wasn’t a top prospect drafted with a high pick, no one would be advocating to keep him on the team this year.

And the 9 game rule does not apply, he’s 20. His ELC is starting this year no matter what.
 
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Bojack Horvatman

IAMGROOT
Jun 15, 2016
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I know everybody wants to see their favourite prospects make the NHL, but why are some people in a rush for Lekkerimaki to play in the NHL? Am I the only one who has seen this movie before with McCann, Virtanen, Hoglander, and Podkolzin? All played for this organization at 19-20 but later needed to be sent to the AHL to play a more rounded game. Let him cook. Let him play a lot of minutes, and learn the defensive game without fear of getting benched. If he’s torching the AHL in 40 games or something then you can look to call him up. We have great forward depth. There is no need to rush him.
 
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thecupismine

Registered User
Apr 1, 2007
2,651
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Have to think Raty has forced his way onto the team. Would be a bit crazy to worry about losing someone like Aman as the reason to not keep him up - he's the definition of a filler forward at this point & is the exact kind of guy you can get on waivers anytime.

It's nice that he knows the system and can slot in seamlessly, but you can't say that there's battles for training camp in any sort of serious way if you cut Raty for him afterwards. There's a slot open in the top 12 forwards until Joshua is ready to come back, at which point they can re-evaluate the situation. For now it looks like:

Heinen-Miller-Boeser
Debrusk-Petey-Sprong
Hoglander-Raty-Garland
Suter-Blueger-Sherwood
PDG

(Don't get caught up in the line combos, just trying to show the 13 forwards who I think make the cut.)

With Raty's emergence I wonder if they try Suter up the lineup with Miller again, and give Heinen a chance with Petey & Debrusk. Lots of line shuffling to do, should try to make a lot of cuts before the next game so they can work some of it out before the season starts.
 

LuckyDay

Registered User
Mar 25, 2011
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The Uncanny Valley
Hmm...EP26 is also 6'2", same as EP40 but he's 187lbs vs 176libs. He looked a lot smaller to me.
He hasn't looked great in the preseason except for that one hit last night where he took out the guy bigger than him.

What Silov needs to do is somehow stay positionally sound when he can't see the expected pointed shot rather than move to find out - or at least move in the direction he covers the most net. Looking around the short side made his left wide open.

And we need to get guys who can legitimately clear people in front of him or not get there in the first place.

What do you think of reversing the stick on the faceoff? Seems to work but it telegraphs your only play with it. Will it last?
 
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Grip it N RYP it

Registered User
Apr 20, 2017
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Brooklyn, NY
Yes but he didnt force Benning to get Sbisa instead of Theodore, Benning actually insisted to get Sbisa instead.

I almost want a Sbisa jersey just because of how terrible he was. It would be funny walking around with it, but the PTSD would probably take over.

Legendary terrible acquisition.

To think, we could have had Theodore 😆
 

SelltheTeamFrancesco

Registered User
Aug 11, 2015
4,530
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Yes but he didnt force Benning to get Sbisa instead of Theodore, Benning actually insisted to get Sbisa instead.
Should have drafted him 2013 like many wanted us too. Also that trade wasn’t terrible the subsequent trades for Gudbranson and Sutter killed that trade.
 

mossey3535

Registered User
Feb 7, 2011
14,071
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I mean I think you saw a lot of what Silovs needs to work on in this game. Only caught a bit of it but he lacks a lot of judgement on what to do on point shots. He's big enough that he should be able to fight through screens better. This was the book that was out on him before that it took awhile for the Oilers to exploit.

First goal was probably the worst, screen was just forming. There was a window to see that release. Player was RHS so short side is the most likely so it was somewhat of a changeup that he went across his body with the shot.

Just FYI textbook play is to guard the short side and peek from that side when in doubt. Hopefully your dman does their job and pushes the screen to the far side.

Second goal, clear sightline on the release but he pushes to the side for no reason. Basically the puck was going to miss the net. The mass of players is too high so you can't crowd the tip on this play. But if he has just kept his feet he had a chance on the guy in the slot who came out with it. He is a bit of an over-committer.

For example, the tip goal was a textbook example of a high tip, you literally practice these all the time. It wasn't a super hard point shot so you should be able to keep that from going straight in while being aware of the tip - to be fair there are two tip threats but he pushed hard towards the center top of his crease. Even if that guy just received the puck this would leave the player with an easy stickhandle around him. It's just not a great play. Again, if he makes a microadjustment for the far side angle and holds his feet he has a chance on the deflect, which isn't going to be super fast because the point shot didn't have that much velocity. His depth is pretty good.

Last goal was fairly shameful. Guy at the point is RHS, far side is his easiest shot, if he walks out it's going to be to the middle of the ice. So basically no reason to look short side on this one. His first peek is the right direction, I would have liked him to look far side low if he didn't pick it up the first time instead of leaning to the short side and then back again. Especially because the shooter was stationary, you have some idea of where the shot is coming from. You could even watch the feet of your own forward knowing that this is a screen situation and you can read the shot coming through their legs.

I think a lot of it is that Silovs just doesn't have at this stage the innate puck tracking of guys like Marky or Demko. He's only slightly better than Martin IMO. And it's clear he needs to work on reading the play on point shots. It's also clear that other teams have read the book and are going to be trying this all the time.
 

theguardianII

Registered User
Jan 30, 2020
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I was surprised at the line up. But I guess Tocchet just wanted a really good look at the marginal guys one more time.

With all the preseason injuries it isn't a bad idea to keep the regulars off the ice until near the end, just lots of practice.
 

Blue and Green

Out to lunch
Dec 17, 2017
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I mean I think you saw a lot of what Silovs needs to work on in this game. Only caught a bit of it but he lacks a lot of judgement on what to do on point shots. He's big enough that he should be able to fight through screens better. This was the book that was out on him before that it took awhile for the Oilers to exploit.

First goal was probably the worst, screen was just forming. There was a window to see that release. Player was RHS so short side is the most likely so it was somewhat of a changeup that he went across his body with the shot.

Just FYI textbook play is to guard the short side and peek from that side when in doubt. Hopefully your dman does their job and pushes the screen to the far side.

Second goal, clear sightline on the release but he pushes to the side for no reason. Basically the puck was going to miss the net. The mass of players is too high so you can't crowd the tip on this play. But if he has just kept his feet he had a chance on the guy in the slot who came out with it. He is a bit of an over-committer.

For example, the tip goal was a textbook example of a high tip, you literally practice these all the time. It wasn't a super hard point shot so you should be able to keep that from going straight in while being aware of the tip - to be fair there are two tip threats but he pushed hard towards the center top of his crease. Even if that guy just received the puck this would leave the player with an easy stickhandle around him. It's just not a great play. Again, if he makes a microadjustment for the far side angle and holds his feet he has a chance on the deflect, which isn't going to be super fast because the point shot didn't have that much velocity. His depth is pretty good.

Last goal was fairly shameful. Guy at the point is RHS, far side is his easiest shot, if he walks out it's going to be to the middle of the ice. So basically no reason to look short side on this one. His first peek is the right direction, I would have liked him to look far side low if he didn't pick it up the first time instead of leaning to the short side and then back again. Especially because the shooter was stationary, you have some idea of where the shot is coming from. You could even watch the feet of your own forward knowing that this is a screen situation and you can read the shot coming through their legs.

I think a lot of it is that Silovs just doesn't have at this stage the innate puck tracking of guys like Marky or Demko. He's only slightly better than Martin IMO. And it's clear he needs to work on reading the play on point shots. It's also clear that other teams have read the book and are going to be trying this all the time.
How much of the tracking stuff do you think is fixable and how much do you think is innate? I can see things that go wrong but I don't know any of the technical/teaching stuff in terms of how goalie coaches would go about trying to fix it.

I've had a somewhat schizy view of Silovs. I created his prospect thread after two AHL starts because it looked like he had something (and he does have something). After watching him more often in the AHL I became a little more skeptical of his potential, but when he's played in the NHL he's done better than I would've expected based on my opinion of his AHL play (good, not excellent). I still think he's more likely to become a backup than a competent starter but you know a lot more about goaltending than I do, so I gotta ask: what's your best guess of his future?
 

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