Eddie

What a Sunday of Hockey !!!!!!!

Be interesting to see if playing in Nashville opens up more rush chances as the crowd will be cheering them onto be aggressive and move forwards.

Sooo pumped to be back in the playoffs after so many years of long summer suffering. Go Canucks !!!!

Woo is likely out long term, I haven't read a status update on him, but I imagine that is it - and they wanna good run this year.

Straight to the bust pile with you Klimo lol. I like some others here felt like Stank was the sure fire pick at that point, and that's not being revisionist, watching him at the worlds that year and his stats he would have gone top 15 if he had been bigger. Of course I get Shinkaruk vibes with any player of that profile but he was certainly a better swing for the fences pick at that slot considering the upside and how fewer draft picks we had last year. Now that aside i still think its too early to write this kid off - This was the year you felt he could break out, but from the start he didn't look right and a good step back from his strong finish to last season. Ultimately he's had a nightmare season with injury, but will he come out of it like Lekkermaki or like Juolevi ? I still don't think they have disclosed what the injury was or if there were two different injuries as he did come back midseason and looked good, scoring a couple then disappeared again shortly afterwards. Ultimately this kid could be a more offensively gifted Pods - and suffers from a lot of the same problems too, with regards to on ice decision making, confidence and intelligence. If he can put it all together he could be an absolute force and physically really fit into the big team. He's still a long way from that sure, but still young and its sad to see him getting written off already.

JL was really starting to find his offensive game last night and looked a lot more comfortable. What I found really encouraging about him is that he has a real knack for finding the soft area's of the ice where he can get that shot off. I think you will see him score A LOT more when he's on a line with better visions. Could deffo see him doing well on a line with Petey one day. He does still look a bit weak and slight compared to the big boys but he holds his own on the boards and had some pretty committed back checks in the game. Still a little early to pencil him into a top 6 role on the big club next seasons but he is showing good continued development for sure. And to be perfectly honest I thought we were looking at an all out bust with this guy after his disappointing D+1 year, so happy to be looking like I'm prove wrong.

I thought he looked really promising last night. He really does stand out physically and makes some good strong plays as well as nice break outs. He did indeed get his first point last night with a lovely feed over to Neilsen, who i also felt played a lot better next to him on a D pair, which could be encouraging news for a future pairing of Hughes / D-Petey one day.

Raty is on fire over the last 7 games averaging 2 points a game. Check out the down on one knee snipe show he burried last night : He's been absolutely dominant along with the team finally finding some form. Big hopes for him next season.

I've watched a lot of Abby both in person and on stream this year keeping an especially close eye on Raty. Too add my thoughts to the debate on his position. I think the rationale for his switch to wing is that he is likely the best along the boards of all the top centers and a good number of the potential wingers there, Abby is in a heavy conference up against a lot of bigger teams, and are quite lacking in this department, especially in the top 6. Couple that with while I think he is a competent center he is a good bit less experienced in that position than the other options at top 6C, in a position where experience really helps. This swap likely gives Abby the best chance to win, and him the best chance to put up points, which your seeing as of late. I don't think this discounts him from being a C moving forward. He is tracking numbers-wise quiet similar to JT Miller who spent a lot of his earlier days swapping too and from wing. he has most of the tools to be a good C apart from maybe the one we will come to. Raty is a really smart player, second to probably only Bains on the team. He is strong down low, has good hands and good shot. The comments on his skating are somewhat deserved, like I said here before, it's not really his top speed, it's his acceleration that is the problem. Where he has failed a few noticeable times during his time at C was defending high slot turnovers, he just can't catch up with the play and it often leads to a clear-cut chance against on the break for the opponents. I think he's 100% a NHL'r, likely next year. How high he can go and where in the lineup depends on his ability to increase his acceleration, much like Bo in his early days. If he can find an extra gear out the gate he can easily be a 2/3 C or even play on Petey's line maybe with Lekkermaki at some point, if not I feel he is likely gonna be anchored to the bottom of the lineup. Really good promising prospect still who shouldn't be slept on. He's progressing consistently and going from strength to strength right now.

Yeah i gotta say it's turning into a rough year for some of the higher profile prospects down on the farm. Both those guys have really struggled to make their mark, Ratu and Podz have shown real high spots, but lots of inconsistency. Even Silovs doesn't look as solid this year, for me Tolopilo has had the better performances, but i have only seen < 50% of games. Klim has had his injury issues and yeah McDonough hasn't managed to adapt successfully to the speed and strength of the pro game - the skill is there to see at times tho. A lot will depend on how he responds this summer. The 'older' prospects like Woo, Bains Karlson have been really good - but not to the point where they are trusted on the big team as yet, tho with the Canucks playing at such a high level and having good luck with injuries I'm not sure how concerning that is. It also might change now they may be hitting a bit of a skid with some more key players out. The Abby team is going through a bit of a struggle right now, and I think the coaching staff are trying to spark some things. Tho i do think its fair to question some of the deployment and development of these guys who we have big hopes for at least bottom pair upside.

I've been a huge fan of Woo since we drafted him, was sure he was gonna be that missing piece for us at time, and other time I'm sure he was gonna straight up bust. He's been money this year in Abby at both ends of the ice. After a few injury disrupted years ( much like Juules) His skating and gap control has much improved, he's got a good hard shot that he can get through and his vision in the O zone isn't bad either. He can also absolutely lay the smack down. Biggest knock for me is that he has a few Tyler Myers moments where you're really worried about what he's doing in transition or when pinching. I'm not sure his hockey IQ is up there with the best of them. . . That said he's been really leaned on this year to provide offense with some of Abby's key Offensive D either moving on or being injured and in and out the lineup. If he can play a calmer bottom-pair game in the NHL he could be a big hit ( pun intended lol) I think it's still to be seen if he plays or not - i got the impression that Management really want him to have the Hogz / Pods experience of having a full injury-free year on the farm where he can be the goto Guy for D, and maybe also not risk a higher profile waivers exposure next year with some NHL games. Still rootin for the kid ... Woooooooooooooooooooooo

Been keeping a close eye on Raty all season as I feel he can be a huge piece of the puzzle moving forward if he can develop well. He's still been solid, good along the board, good vision, and good instincts at both ends of the ice. He hasn't exactly been spectacular tho - but still has time to step that up. As many know he's been moved from C to wing a month or 2 ago and has had a bit of a blender of line mates, which might be holding back his ability to really break out. He has played with some good players tho to be far. Without a doubt, his biggest problem is still his foot speed. Once up to speed, he is now ok, but accelerating from a stop or changing direction he looks a yard behind at least, really noticeable compared to the rest of the roster. Not sure he can play on the big lineup with that flaw, considering how we play. Can't really comment on his skating technique, but he is a big guy and likely needs to really focus in the gym and nutrition this off-season to get himself an extra step.

I feel in the last 3-4 games Podz has finally picked his game back up to the next level we know he can hit. He's started to look like Hogz was last year where he stands out every game as being a cut above in terms of skill and vision on the ice in the A. His play in the O Zone especially has been really impressive. The big thing with the lad will be can he now keep this level consistent. Toch and the gang have done a great job of doing that across our roster, but Podz really needs to prove this isn't just another flash in the pan for him, otherwise he might end up like Jake in terms of unfulfilled potential

Sounds like a complete snoozer - which is great as i read 4pm ET as 4pm PT like a feckin idiot and missed it lol !! Still stoked we won - what an absolute Wagon... busted up New York like Godzilla before he porked out !

Totally agree with J.R - Second line is our biggest area of need. The D is looking pretty tight right now with no injuries. Sure i would love another top 4 RHD but i wouldn't pay the price for that. I'd give up : Any draft pick this year. Anyone on Abby not name Raty. Any prospect not named Lekkerimaki or Willander - tho that being said I would trade Lekkerimaki for a reallllly good piece that is going to be part of the core ( like Ek). The reasons for this would be his value is never going to be higher - he is still unproven on NA Ice and could struggle with his slight build and i can't spell his god dam name ! I'd say no to expensive rentals that take 2-3 of the pieces above. Prefered approach for me would be to bring in someone like Greenway or Crouse that we could probably get for a First plus Kuz / sub blue chip prospect. Someone that can win board battles, and create space would really help the other pieces on that line if Petey or even Miller drops down to it. They're not going to destroy the Salary cap moving forward and could be a long-term piece. I'd hate to give up one of our 'blue chips' now as we are reallllly going to need them to help with the salary cap pain moving forward. I think we have a really good chance to do some serious post-season damage this year. The team is sooo good right now. But there are lots of really good teams in the West and the core has little in the way of post season experience. I'd hate to sell the farm only to fall short and then that's it for the core for the next few years and we end up with huge balance problems like the Laffs. We have a solid 4-5 year window with this core in which time we have a great chance to win it all.