Abbotsford Canucks Talk | Part 2

[Lindgren]

McWard has a great set of wheels for a d-man, and is a valuable right-shot defender who's still only 22. He might have a shot down the road.

As or Hirose, he's been better recently and is earning a regular shift in these playoffs.....but his size is a big deterrent. He struggles mightily against an aggressive forecheck.

The d-man who's kind of intriguing in Abbotsford is Filip Johansson, who's quietly had a decent season. He's a fixture on the PP and gets some PK work, in addition to a regular shift. He's also a right-shot defender that ups his value.

I don't know if any of these guys crack the Canucks lineup in the near future.....but all you're looking for right now is continuous improvement at the AHL-level.

The #1 pairing is ...?

 

[THRILLHOIAF]

Questions for the Abby watchers:

How is ice-time being distributed on the back end as the playoffs move along?

Is there an obvious top pairing?

Are there any positive signs from "prospects" McWard and Hirose?

Power play
Johansson pp1
Wolanin pp2

PK
Irwin-Johansson and Cicek-Wolanin rotate as the first pk shift
Hirose-McWard will get third-shift reps if the game is even, or it's early, and they need minutes, and the PK is going well. Otherwise, Colliton rotates his two vet pairs on d and at forward.

5-on-5 is a total mess because of how many penalties get called in the AHL

Cicek-Wolanin are probably the biggest minute-munchers across all situations.
Irwin-Johansson are big minute munchers owing to 5-on-5 and the PK
McWard and Hirose are the third pair but get played a decent amount when trailing over Irwin/Johansson, which is interesting.

I've actually thought that McWard and Hirose have been their best pairing through playoffs. Very defensively reliable, moves the puck pretty well, McWard can crank it from the blue line, and Hirose—despite having zero velocity on his shot—has been throwing shots on goal in volume.

5v5 goal differential through four playoff games:
McWard 4GF - 2GA = +2
Hirose 3GF - 1GA = +2
Wolanin 5GF - 5GA = 0
Irwin 2GF - 2 GA = 0
Fil Johansson 0GF - 2GA = minus-2
Nick Cicek 2GF - 6GA = minus-4

Cicek been getting ventilated at 5-on-5 in my viewings. Has been a brutal playoffs for him. Tones of poor clearances, exit passes, reversals...puck has just not been his friend through these games, sad to say. I thought he was pretty solid during the regular season.

 

[Lindgren]

Power play
Johansson pp1
Wolanin pp2

PK
Irwin-Johansson and Cicek-Wolanin rotate as the first pk shift
Hirose-McWard will get third-shift reps if the game is even, or it's early, and they need minutes, and the PK is going well. Otherwise, Colliton rotates his two vet pairs on d and at forward.

5-on-5 is a total mess because of how many penalties get called in the AHL

Cicek-Wolanin are probably the biggest minute-munchers across all situations.
Irwin-Johansson are big minute munchers owing to 5-on-5 and the PK
McWard and Hirose are the third pair but get played a decent amount when trailing over Irwin/Johansson, which is interesting.

I've actually thought that McWard and Hirose have been their best pairing through playoffs. Very defensively reliable, moves the puck pretty well, McWard can crank it from the blue line, and Hirose—despite having zero velocity on his shot—has been throwing shots on goal in volume.

5v5 goal differential through four playoff games:
McWard 4GF - 2GA = +2
Hirose 3GF - 1GA = +2
Wolanin 5GF - 5GA = 0
Irwin 2GF - 2 GA = 0
Fil Johansson 0GF - 2GA = minus-2
Nick Cicek 2GF - 6GA = minus-4

Cicek been getting ventilated at 5-on-5 in my viewings. Has been a brutal playoffs for him. Tones of poor clearances, exit passes, reversals...puck has just not been his friend through these games, sad to say. I thought he was pretty solid during the regular season.

Thanks, Man. Really appreciated!

 

[VanJack]

A couple of egregious defensive breakdowns and the Abbotsford Canucks are down 0-2 in the first period Game #2 against the Regin.

Too bad, because Abbotsford is carrying a lot of the play.....but their blueline just looks seriously vulnerable right now.

 

[VanJack]

Still down 0-2 after two....but unfortunate to be trailing. This might be easily one of their best games in these playoffs. They've really owned the puck five-on-five and have earned enough PP's to get back into the game.

But you can really see the wide disparity in skill level between the AHL and NHL. Canucks are getting the puck in prime shooting areas, but either bobble it or miss the pass altogether. In the playoffs in any league, you're only going to get a limited number of high-quality chances--and if you don't bury them you're not likely to win.

Canucks best players--Sasson, Bains, Karlsson and Wolanin are playing well in this game. But their blueline has just really struggled at times. They miss Woo, who's basically gone for the year. And it's sort of disappointing that none of the young Canucks d-man seem to be showing a whole heap of progress.

 

[VanJack]

Ends 0-4.....three of the Ontario goals resulting from glaring turnovers from the Abbotsford blueline. Their panic threshold with the puck just seems so high and erratic at times.

Now down 2-0 in the series, which shifts back to Abbotsford for Game #3. But hard to see any scenario where the Canucks can win three in a row and extend their season.

I guess the only 'positive' is that their better prospects like Bains, Sasson, Karlsson and McWard are getting valuable minutes in intense playoff action. And with Silovs playing well in Vancouver, a number of guys who started the season in Abbotsford have all improved and could find their way into the NHL lineup sooner rather than later.

I guess at the end of day that's the most important job on your AHL farm team.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

I haven't checked, but it would be amazing if the Ontario Reign's goal song was "It's Raining Men".

 

[Wry n Ginger]

I haven't checked, but it would be amazing if the Ontario Reign's goal song was "It's Raining Men".

How about?

 

[ManVanFan]

4 goals 2nd period puts Abbotsford on the brink of elimination going into the 3rd. ffs

 

[Mudshark50]

Schedule | Abbotsford Canucks

Abbotsford Canucks Season Schedule

abbotsford.canucks.com

Baby Nux...

 

[VanJack]

Abbotsford's season is done.....they just ran into a stronger team in the Ontario Reign. Aatu Raty had a strong game for the Baby Canucks with a goal and an assist....voted the third star.

Not saying the result would necessarily have been different, because Sawchenko played well and wasn't the reason they lost the series in straight games. But losing both your starters in Silovs and Tolopilo, had to hurt.

I guess a few guys will be called up now to participate in practices during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Doubt than any of them get into the lineup though.