Popular Post HKSR Posted December 11, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 11, 2023 Can we pause for a moment and just be thankful we have a couple bonafide defensive coaches in Foote and Gonchar leading our defence core now? Hughes is Hughes, but he's elevated his game to another level. Hronek has benefited from playing with Hughes, but from what I've read, he was a bit of a mess defensively in Detroit. He looks fantastic now. A true top pair RHD. Myers. My oh Myers. Even he has looked better. Zadorov doesn't look as chaotic as he did in Calgary. Quick turnaround there. Cole looks great, but I think his age is catching up to him a bit. Soucy looks like he could be a top 4D under this coaching. Juulsen.. man, he looks like a true NHL defenceman now. Wouldn't it be great if not only do we have Ian Clark churning out top tier goaltenders, but then we also get Foote and Gonchar churning out NHL calibre defencemen? 2 2 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Crossbar Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 (edited) A positive topic! Unbelievable! Thank you! I was just looking at all the negatively themed topics on the main page and then this appeared. Well done! The additions of Foote and Gonchar and their impact on our D can't be understated. I have so much more confidence that whatever struggles we have or go through on the blueline will be corrected or short-lived. They're getting more out of our D than even our Dmen knew was possible. Just look at Myers and his improvements. It's not perfect by any stretch, and he's still a liability at times, but without Foote and Gonchar, even Tocchet, we know he'd be reckless chaos. If anything, Foote and Gonchar have increased his value and made him more attractive on the market. You can see Juulsen's evolution - still very much a work in progress - but he's been learning the right way from both of them, maturing defensively, and improving. Defensively, Foote and Gonchar have our blueline thinking the game much better, also strategically and outside the box. It's invaluable for our young prospects like Hirose, McWard, etc, coming up and getting experience. I hope Foote and Gonchar are in for long haul to guide Willander, D-Petey, and our next generation into the league. And I just want to point out something about the Hronek narrative above ... Hughes is actually having a monster season because he's playing with Hronek ... It's not that Hughes solely elevated his game on his own completely. It's Hronek's ability and mobility that's allowing Hughes to open up and feel free to elevate his game rather than having to carry the load . It's not only that Hronek is benefitting from Hughes and that's the only reason why he's having a great season. That makes it sound like Hronek's success is only due to Hughes. That's inaccurate. It's actually working both ways with Hronek and Hughes. Both are having a tremendous impact on each other's successes. See the last video I posted in the Happy Hronek thread. It's a good breakdown of how Hughes and Hronek compliment each other. And Hronek is a different guy defensively, which Foote and Gonchar have been part of shaping. Hronek has been less offensively minded and more measured and defensively responsible. Like Ian Clark and the commitment we made to him, we have to make the same commitment to Foote and Gonchar. We need them here in this window of going for it now over the next few years. Edited December 11, 2023 by Dr. Crossbar 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnstorm Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 36 minutes ago, Dr. Crossbar said: A positive topic! Unbelievable! Thank you! I was just looking at all the negatively themed topics on the main page and then this appeared. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 Appreciate the positivity. The past couple of games have been solid, though we were struggling quite a bit more defensively before these last two games. Hopefully they're a sign of things to come. I agree with your takes on Hughes, Hronek, Zadorov, Soucy, and Cole. Myers is having a pretty solid year by his standards, but is still prone to boneheaded plays now and then. He's putting up more points than he has in any other year with the Canucks. Juulsen makes some good plays most games, but, like Myers, loses the puck in situations he really shouldn't be sometimes. He also has a tendency to go for hits that put him way out of position. He might grow to fix those areas eventually, though at 26, it's not like he's a young gun. Should be starting to enter his prime about now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawbone Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 One thing that has been glaringly obvious to me is how many fewer odd-man chances we give up this year. Same with quick cross-crease passes for tap-ins. Those are the kind of goals the team was letting in every game last year. It feels like the Canucks are still giving up more chances than I'd like, but at least they are limiting the real high-danger ones. The other thing I've really noticed is the consistency. Last year, the team would start to panic and run around late in games when defending leads, and now for the most part they just keep playing the same way even when the other team applies pressure. I no longer have a panic attack in the last 5 minutes of every game, and that's much appreciated! 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromeslab Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Great thread.Honestly like how this coaching staff has showed patience with Juulson.hes developing into an asset for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromeslab Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 (edited) People talk about depth,but there is depth by coaching......... Edited December 12, 2023 by Cromeslab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman1964 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 10 hours ago, HKSR said: Can we pause for a moment and just be thankful we have a couple bonafide defensive coaches in Foote and Gonchar leading our defence core now? Hughes is Hughes, but he's elevated his game to another level. Hronek has benefited from playing with Hughes, but from what I've read, he was a bit of a mess defensively in Detroit. He looks fantastic now. A true top pair RHD. Myers. My oh Myers. Even he has looked better. Zadorov doesn't look as chaotic as he did in Calgary. Quick turnaround there. Cole looks great, but I think his age is catching up to him a bit. Soucy looks like he could be a top 4D under this coaching. Juulsen.. man, he looks like a true NHL defenceman now. Wouldn't it be great if not only do we have Ian Clark churning out top tier goaltenders, but then we also get Foote and Gonchar churning out NHL calibre defencemen? Oh shite, i definitely should have scanned the boards first before posting a thread about our improvements on +/- which now looks to me was basically saying the same thing.. No I did read this and try to highjack the topic but HK, my apologies for sure. Note to self, look first before posting anything! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammertime Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 (edited) Yes Mr Alvin went out and got us Suter, Beluger, Lafferty, Soucy, Cole, Zad, a healthy Mikheyev and a backup goalie that stops pucks. Our PK improved from last to 27th bravo. We are 21st in shots against and 32nd in high danger shots against 5v5. But top 5 in goals allowed per game. I think its some of the ol "You show me a good coach I'll show you a good goalie". Edited December 12, 2023 by Hammertime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromeslab Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Just now, Hammertime said: Yes Mr Alvin went out and got us Suter, Beluger, Lafferty, Soucy, Cole, Zad, a healthy Mikheyev and a backup goalie that stops pucks. Our PK improved from last to 27th bravo. We are 20th in shots against and 32nd in high danger shots against. But top 5 in goals allowed per game. I think its some of the ol "You show me a good coach I'll show you a good goalie". We need to eliminate our chances against no doubt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackcanuck Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 (edited) Fabulous read here on the defensive upgrades on the team Much Credit to Foote and Gonchar https://www.nhl.com/canucks/news/protecting-the-house-it-all-starts-from-the-back As much as we see Canucks all over the top of the league’s leaderboard for points, the more important top of the leaderboard is the standings. With the Canucks newfound structure on the backend, the sky is the limit to what this team can accomplish this season. It’s been a great start to the year but there’s a long road ahead. The good news is that they have been ‘protecting the house’ and that will be even more important as we head into 2024. Edited December 23, 2023 by Mackcanuck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yawn Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 Probably going to get flamed for this and I don't post often on the board (or ever really I'm a lurker) but something has been bothering me, and my buddies at the bar watching the Dallas game and we all agreed... Tyler Myers: whenever he is on the ice makes us so afraid we can't even drink our beers... He's just out of position so much, and in our defensive end it just seems all he does is stand infront of our net. Doesn't chase or follow his man. Are myself and the 2 other Stooges at the bar with me the only ones? He was on the ice for all 3 regulation goals against Dallas which is, in my opinion, completely unacceptable. The whole game was just "get him off the ice PLEASE". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbieCanuckFan Posted December 23, 2023 Share Posted December 23, 2023 (edited) Anybody *SERIOUSLY* thought JT Miller might get Selke votes this season? I mean forget those that always believed in him (I'm ashamed to say I wasn't one of those but am glad I was wrong in my assessment). Boeser improving in other areas of his game (eg.., screening in front of the net has led to goals even if *HE* wasn't the one scoring the goal for example). Coaching, from the head coach to the assistantt should get their props. Its more about the cards you are dealt but how you play them & Tocchet & Co. have played their hands expertly for the most part. Edited December 23, 2023 by NewbieCanuckFan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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