Abbotsford Canucks Talk | Part 2

[Vector]

 

[VanJack]

If there room in the NHL for another coaching gig for Travis Green, then you'd think that Jeremy Colliton should be on some team's radar list.

The Sharks are in full tear-down and rebuild mode.....and the start of the long process is drafting Cellebrini in June. A coach like Colliton might make some sense for them.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Would suck to lose Colliton. Done a great job in Abby.

 

[ManVanFan]

Replace Yeo with him

 

[ManVanFan]

Abbotsford has a pretty full roster already for next season.
Forwards (11)
Lekkerimaki
Mueller
Nielsen
Sasson
Glover
Bloom
Raty
Klimovich
Bains
Loewen (AHL deal)
Stevens (AHL deal)

Defence (6)
Wolanin
Brisebois
Felton
Hirose
Pettersson
Kudryatsev

Goalie (1)
Tolopilo


Still weak at center and right side defence Felton is the only player currently signed.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Abbotsford has a pretty full roster already for next season.
Forwards (11)
Lekkerimaki
Mueller
Nielsen
Sasson
Glover
Bloom
Raty
Klimovich
Bains
Loewen (AHL deal)
Stevens (AHL deal)

Defence (6)
Wolanin
Brisebois
Felton
Hirose
Pettersson
Kudryatsev

Goalie (1)
Tolopilo


Still weak at center and right side defence Felton is the only player currently signed.

They are going to need to add some serious AHL depth up front. Outside of Bains, Raty, Sasson, Lekkerimaki and Nielsen that is a wafer thin group of borderline AHL/ECHL/washout players.

Defense doesn’t look too bad, and Tolopilo had a promising first campaign, but they’ll need a backup / 1B to roll with him.

 

[MS]

Haven't seen it mentioned at all here but Filip Johansson is gone and has signed back in Sweden.

Pending RFA Canucks defenceman Filip Johansson signs two-year deal in Sweden

With both the Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks’ 2023–24 seasons offici...

canucksarmy.com

Ended up being a decent mid-pairing AHL guy but nothing really popped to project any sort of success moving up levels.

 

[Peen]

They are going to need to add some serious AHL depth up front. Outside of Bains, Raty, Sasson, Lekkerimaki and Nielsen that is a wafer thin group of borderline AHL/ECHL/washout players.

Defense doesn’t look too bad, and Tolopilo had a promising first campaign, but they’ll need a backup / 1B to roll with him.

I’ve been thinking that in of some of the transactions they make this summer, they’ll try and throw in some of the AHL guys they’ve somewhat lost confidence in. Not a lot of flexibility, tbh

 

[ProviesGhost]

So Malholtra in. I have found memories of him as a player and a stand up guy. Not sure how good of a coach he is, but he’s kind of Tochett like somehow (not hair).

 

[Vector]

Haven't seen it mentioned at all here but Filip Johansson is gone and has signed back in Sweden.

Pending RFA Canucks defenceman Filip Johansson signs two-year deal in Sweden

With both the Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks’ 2023–24 seasons offici...

canucksarmy.com

Ended up being a decent mid-pairing AHL guy but nothing really popped to project any sort of success moving up levels.

I posted it in a different thread a few days ago. Explains why he wasn’t one of the Black Aces.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I’ve been thinking that in of some of the transactions they make this summer, they’ll try and throw in some of the AHL guys they’ve somewhat lost confidence in. Not a lot of flexibility, tbh

We definitely need to add or retain some top flight AHL guys (Dries being the only real AHL star we had up front). If we can bring Dries back great, otherwise he’ll need replacing. Definitely want some food veterans to insulate Lekkerimaki and help him adjust.

At this point it looks like some or all of Podkolzin, Karlsson and Bains might be in the running to cement a big club spot next year. That leaches us looking at something like -

Lekkerimaki - Sasson - Nielsen
Raty - Stevens - Glover
McDonough - Mueller - Klimovich
Loewen - Bloom - Walker

Wolanin - Cicek
Hirose - McWard
Pettersson - Brisebois
Fenton
Kudryatsev

Tolopilo
???

If any of Bains, Podkolzin or Karlsson end up back in Abbotsford that obviously helps, but that bottom six looks dreadful right now - lot of guys that arguably aren’t AHL caliber (Bloom, Loewen, Walker) and guys who might well not be back (Klimovich).

 

[krutovsdonut]

I posted it in a different thread a few days ago. Explains why he wasn’t one of the Black Aces.

allvin seemed pretty high on him last offseason. i guess a guy who gets overestimated a lot.

 

[Vector]

allvin seemed pretty high on him last offseason. i guess a guy who gets overestimated a lot.

He was pretty good in the SHL the year before he came over. As a UFA RHD prospect on a team with one, I get the optimism. There were several here who didn’t really see anything in him and I suspect, internally, that was the same expectation.

 

[MS]

He was pretty good in the SHL the year before he came over. As a UFA RHD prospect on a team with one, I get the optimism. There were several here who didn’t really see anything in him and I suspect, internally, that was the same expectation.

He was a decent enough mid-pairing AHL defender but did nothing well enough to project to move up levels.

As a defensive D, he was undersized and while good enough for the AHL he certainly wasn't a lockdown defensive guy and was occasionally prone to big mistakes.

As an offensive guy he skated pretty well but never really showed + transition skills and wasn't a guy who projected to have much PP utility.

I'd put McWard in the same category, as was a guy like Wyatt Kalynuk was on Abbotsford in 22-23. Slightly undersized guys who don't project to fill a role in the NHL because they don't do anything well enough. They're good 'all-around' AHL defenders but relative to NHL competition they're either average or below-average at everything, and below-average overall.

A guy like Juulsen could step up because his size/physicality/PK skills actually projected and allowed him to fill a role on an NHL roster. Even a Brisebois is 6'3 and mobile and ++ defensively and plays high-leverage shutdown minutes in the AHL.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

He was a decent enough mid-pairing AHL defender but did nothing well enough to project to move up levels.

As a defensive D, he was undersized and while good enough for the AHL he certainly wasn't a lockdown defensive guy and was occasionally prone to big mistakes.

As an offensive guy he skated pretty well but never really showed + transition skills and wasn't a guy who projected to have much PP utility.

I'd put McWard in the same category, as was a guy like Wyatt Kalynuk was on Abbotsford in 22-23. Slightly undersized guys who don't project to fill a role in the NHL because they don't do anything well enough. They're good 'all-around' AHL defenders but relative to NHL competition they're either average or below-average at everything, and below-average overall.

A guy like Juulsen could step up because his size/physicality/PK skills actually projected and allowed him to fill a role on an NHL roster. Even a Brisebois is 6'3 and mobile and ++ defensively and plays high-leverage shutdown minutes in the AHL.

Man, I feel for Brisebois. Finally seemed to be getting his break and then runs into freaking concussion issues. The guy has paid his dues and then some, hope he’s able to get healthy.

 

[arttk]

He was a decent enough mid-pairing AHL defender but did nothing well enough to project to move up levels.

As a defensive D, he was undersized and while good enough for the AHL he certainly wasn't a lockdown defensive guy and was occasionally prone to big mistakes.

As an offensive guy he skated pretty well but never really showed + transition skills and wasn't a guy who projected to have much PP utility.

I'd put McWard in the same category, as was a guy like Wyatt Kalynuk was on Abbotsford in 22-23. Slightly undersized guys who don't project to fill a role in the NHL because they don't do anything well enough. They're good 'all-around' AHL defenders but relative to NHL competition they're either average or below-average at everything, and below-average overall.

A guy like Juulsen could step up because his size/physicality/PK skills actually projected and allowed him to fill a role on an NHL roster. Even a Brisebois is 6'3 and mobile and ++ defensively and plays high-leverage shutdown minutes in the AHL.

Curious about McWard, how was his dev last season?

 

[VanJack]

The difference with McWard and some of those other marginal prospects he's being compared to, is his skating. It definitely stands out. He was just about the only Abbotsford d-man who could actually skate the puck out of trouble.

So if anyone can make it as a slightly undersized d-man at 6'1" it could be McWard. Certainly the Canucks hockey ops department seems to be high on him.

 

[MS]

Curious about McWard, how was his dev last season?

Nothing player at the AHL level, generally the #5 guy there.

Skates well at times but soft and kinda weak defensively. I don’t see any sort of NHL player there and I’m confused why the org is so high on him.

He’s worse than Johansson and only a year younger.

 

[sting101]

I'm a lot higher on McWard than MS is.

Has NHL wheels and a bomb of a shot and with some confidence and growth he can be a depth guy. His size is decent and he's actually pretty powerful.

Definitely will have to be more assertive and pick up his reads quicker but that can come with coaching and confidence. I'll be really interested how he does this year being comfortable with the systems and with some experience in pro hockey.

Johansson was a gong show to me. Guy was clueless defensively would get walked to the outside and was too weak to 1v1 battle worth a damn. Other than his puck moving and shot he's not even close to a NHL player which is why he's gone back to big ice hockey where he wont continue to get beat up and not get a sniff in NA. Unlike McWard he also had plenty of pro experience to draw from. He's just not a good prospect and why Minnesota walked away.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Still can’t believe how badly Hirose cratered this season. Sounded like had a decent playoff, but what a nightmare season after so much promise last spring.

Hope he and McWard put in the work over the summer and take another step forward in their development next season.

 

[Hansen]

Still can’t believe how badly Hirose cratered this season. Sounded like had a decent playoff, but what a nightmare season after so much promise last spring.

Hope he and McWard put in the work over the summer and take another step forward in their development next season.

He was carrying Myers at Myers' worst last spring, playing steady, he absolutely passed the eye test. It made no sense to me how it was just deemed he wasnt an NHL player because he was underweight; and I guess Tocchet was pissed at him for not beefing up for camp? I dont know what the story was there. Either way he was decided to be not an NHL player this fall, and I get the sense he gave up after that and mentally checked out. If that's the case and he didn't have the compete to bring it in the minors he never had a chance I suppose, but really frustrating case.

I really felt he had a chance to become a top 4 d this year and Im eating crow big time there

 

[VanJack]

Hirose is now 25 and is listed at 6' and 170 on Hockey DB. The only way he makes the NHL at that size is if he's gifted on the offensive side of the puck. Because it's unlikely he gets any bigger.

His problem in Abbotsford was he took a lot of punishment along the wall, and missed more than half the season with an injury. He's currently signed for one more season.

But barring some sort of miracle breakthrough in the AHL next season, it's hard to see the Canucks re-upping him with so many other young guys in the pipeline.

 

[clay]

I wonder if management has a plan for Jett Woo moving forward. He has consistently improved every year as a pro and broke out offensively for 0.5 PPG this year. His development is about as much as you could ask for after drafting him as a stay at home D. Wonder if he'll want a change of scenery given the team hasn't even given him an NHL game yet.

 

[Tonystretcher]

Is it a given McDonough will be back? They already have some wasted contract slots in Klimovich, Bloom, and Hirose. I wonder if they would rather let him walk to UFA and sign a better AHL veteran. Also, will they retain Johansson’s NHL rights or will he become a UFA?

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Is it a given McDonough will be back? They already have some wasted contract slots in Klimovich, Bloom, and Hirose. I wonder if they would rather let him walk to UFA and sign a better AHL veteran. Also, will they retain Johansson’s NHL rights or will he become a UFA?

I could see it going either way. He had a decent second half and formed 2/3 of a good line with Marc Gatcomb. We don’t have a ton of prospects incoming, so if they do decide to move on from him, they’d have to replace him in free agency.