TheGuardian Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 What else to think. While maybe not all the most skilled the are certainly looking like a playoff set. And depth. I just did a post in the Bear thread and started looking deeply into the Canuck's total defence corps. What a surprise, they are fracken deep now. Playing Juulsen, McWard, Friedman and some of the other AHL guys could be just getting those players ready if needed. By my estimation the Canucks could have 14 defencemen that can play a role or some time on the big club. And most are NHL average size. Hughes, Hronek, Cole, Myers, Zadorov, Soucy, Brisebois, McWard, Juulsen, Irwin, Wolanin, just those are a formidable group. Wilander and Brzustewicz could or might even be able to make an appearance. That is friggin impressive, i don't think I have ever seen a group that deep on the Canucks.. Size, age, experience and now hopefully truculence. Lots of chat over Bear, why? Does the team need him really? What for? Even if the team trades Myers there are many waiting to be the next man up. 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Integra250 Posted December 4, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 4, 2023 Maybe not the best but this defense core helped solidify a #1 Offense, PP, and PK... Hamhuis Ehrhoff Edler Salo Bieksa Tanev Ballard Alberts Rome 8 7 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKSR Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 1 minute ago, Integra250 said: Maybe not the best but this defense core helped solidify a #1 Offense, PP, and PK... Hamhuis Ehrhoff Edler Salo Bieksa Tanev Ballard Alberts Rome That was a much more balanced defence. Basically 6, maybe even 7 top 4 defencemen on that roster. The one we have now is top heavy. Hughes and Hronek is the best pairing this franchise has ever seen. But Cole, Zadorov, Myers, and Soucy are realistically #4D or lower. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Arrogant Worms Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 Wilander and Brzustewicz are not close to being NHL players yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawkDrummer Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 Maybe it's time to trade some of the extras to say Toronto? We can always use a few more picks to use or deal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker67 Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 NHL Hughes - Hronek Cole - Myers Zadorov - Bear* Soucy AHL Brisebois - Juulsen Wolanin - Friedman Irwin - McWard Hirose - Woo Kudryavtsev - Johansson Developing Pettersson - Willander Jurmo - Brzustewicz Celebrini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 (edited) The high end, being Hughes and Hronek, are very good, but overall the D on those top end Sedin led teams was better We had championship team caliber depth, we don't have that right now Edited December 4, 2023 by Coconuts 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6of1_halfdozenofother Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 26 minutes ago, TheGuardian said: i don't think I have ever seen a group that deep on the Canucks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucks curse Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 8 minutes ago, RawkDrummer said: Maybe it's time to trade some of the extras to say Toronto? We can always use a few more picks to use or deal. Amen brother, send them Juulsen. Not joking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucks curse Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 5 minutes ago, Coconuts said: The high end, being Hughes and Hronek, are very good, but overall the D on those top end Sedin led teams was better We had championship team caliber depth, we don't have that right now agree we had: edler-Bieksa Erhoff - Salo Hamhuis - Tanev all of those guys are top 3 d men. Ballard was the 7th D and he came from FLA where he was their no.3/4 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Integra250 said: Maybe not the best but this defense core helped solidify a #1 Offense, PP, and PK... Hamhuis Ehrhoff Edler Salo Bieksa Tanev Ballard Alberts Rome Lumme Murzyn Babych Diduck Hedican Brown Glynn. Plus i think you got your order wrong. Tanev barely played a game. And Hamhuis Bieksa was our top pairing. Edited December 4, 2023 by IBatch 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 Y'all sleeping on 1982. Doug Halward Rick Lanz Kevin McCarthy Harold Snepsts Garth Butcher Lars Lindgren Colin Campbell Jiri Bubla Neil Belland Anders Eldebrink 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mando27 Posted December 4, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 4, 2023 2011 group was deeper. We have just been subjected to terrible Defence over the years that we forgot what a competent group looks like lol. 1 1 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 3 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said: Y'all sleeping on 1982. Doug Halward Rick Lanz Kevin McCarthy Harold Snepsts Garth Butcher Lars Lindgren Colin Campbell Jiri Bubla Neil Belland Anders Eldebrink Yep. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 1 minute ago, Mando27 said: 2011 group was deeper. We have just been subjected to terrible Defence over the years that we forgot what a competent group looks like lol. That's basically it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integra250 Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 4 minutes ago, IBatch said: Lumme Muzyn Babych Diduck Hedican Brown Glynn. Plus i think you got your order wrong. Tanev barely played a game. And Hamhuis Bieksa was our top pairing. Tanev played 29 games that year, and I was just putting their names in random order https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000392011.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 2 minutes ago, Mando27 said: 2011 group was deeper. We have just been subjected to terrible Defence over the years that we forgot what a competent group looks like lol. We spent almost a decade complaining about Edler/Tanev, so i'm pretty sure we are well aware. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattJVD Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 34 minutes ago, Integra250 said: Maybe not the best but this defense core helped solidify a #1 Offense, PP, and PK... Hamhuis Ehrhoff Edler Salo Bieksa Tanev Ballard Alberts Rome Yeah, 6 top 4 D (Hamhuis, Bieksa, Edler, Ehrhoff, Ballard, and Salo), an up and coming Tanev, and Alberts and Rome as solid bottom pair/depth players. The current team would love to add any of those top (6!) 4 guys to play on the 2nd pair. Right now we have a better top pair with Hughes-Hronek, but after that we have a lot of #4/5 guys and no one who can anchor that 2nd pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 (edited) Shoot out to 2000-2001 wasn't so bad either Ohlund Jovo Aucoin Lachance Baron Sopel Strudwick Edited December 4, 2023 by IBatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSVII Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 I think 8 years of purgatory has warped our sense of what good defensive depth is. This is serviceable, I feel we still need one more mid pair defenseman. But man, what a change a year makes! Hughes-Schenn OEL-Myers Burroughs-Bear Stillman to Hughes-Hronek Zadorov-Cole Soucy-Myers Friedman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 (edited) As for this current D. Seen 3 better ones, maybe four for now anyways. Let's see how it goes when Soucy gets back. And have at least an entire season with them first. On paper it looks amazing at the top end. Then you'd have to explain how Zadorov, Soucy and Cole are better then, say Murray Baron even, who in my mind, replaced some of what we lost from Garth Butcher. To me all 3 are good number 5's. Edited December 4, 2023 by IBatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimist Prime Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 Hughes, Hronek, Soucy, Cole, Zadorov and Myers for now are a formidable six Dmen when they are all healthy and in the lineup, I would argue Bear for 7th improves us vs Juulsen, Brisebois, Poolman, Irwin, McWard, Hirose, Wolanin, Johansson and Woo (not in any particular order for those AHL kind of guys). I think we don't need Bear but I would like Bear, I guess that is for me the distinction, more than the other AHL guys. Shrug. Happy with what Management has done to reinvent our D rather fast. Bear would be the icing in the middle of the two layered cake though. I am still hopeful to see Myers gone sooner than later, but worst case scenario, his 6m is on the books till summer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 (edited) As for the OP, love to see some optimism! Right now we've got a top pairing league wide at just past the quarter mark. Watched Aucion once co-own Orr's PP goal record, and that was about all we had to cheer for that year (later think Sheldon Souray bested both of them). For now it's a marked improvement over anything we've iced since probably 2013. When Soucy comes back, we will see. Maybe it's the best yet to come? Edited December 4, 2023 by IBatch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 2011 was far ahead of our current defense. We didn't have a #1 like Hughes, but we had five #2 defensemen and Keith Ballard, who was probably a 4/5 as our #6. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoreanHockeyFan Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 Like many others have said, our defence has greatly improved, but it's quite top heavy - not as balanced as the 2011 group. I'd argue that at least a couple of the bottom 4 defencemen are stop gaps for the likes of Willander and Brzustewicz. At least 2 of Cole, Soucey, Myers and Zadorov won't be on the Canucks in 3 years time. Canucks are ascending as a team, but still in a transitionary period. Thank goodness Allvin and Rutherford recognize this - explains why a bunch of the recent signings have been for 1 or 2 year deals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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