GDT(s) Sept 20 - Canucks vs. Calgary Split Squads! 6pm & 7pm

[Benjo]

Thank god Eddie Lack had a growth spurt over the summer so he's 6'5 now

[BCExpat]

Hmmmm

Saddledome
Calgary 9 powerplays
Vancouver 2 powerplays

Rogers
Calgary 5 powerplays
Vancouver 0 powerplays

S_C

I'm not sure about the game in Vancouver, because I'm only getting the game in Calgary, but it sound's like a lot of the penalties the Canucks are getting, are a result of not skating. They seem to be getting a lot of penalties trying to hook, hold, etc. The Flames seem to be skating well and causing the penalties.

[Southern_Canuck]

Rogers - Lack with a great save off of Glencross.

Saddledome - Calgary with their 11th and 12th powerplays of the game. Sheesh - Auger?

S_C

[Southern_Canuck]

Rogers - Pinozzotto to Schroeder on a 2 on 1, and Schroeder confidently slams it in.

3-3

S_C

[Southern_Canuck]

Desbiens crosschecks Roussel, Roussel drops the gloves, and gets the better of the scrap.

S_C

[Jovorock]

Steve Pinizzotto - Jordan Schroeder - Nicklas Jensen

Good looking young line,sure one goal by Jensen was lucky but they play well together.

[Benjo]

Tanev hits post and Ballard's skating is unrecognizable compared to last season.

[Scintillator]

Tanev hits post and Ballard's skating is unrecognizable compared to last season.

+2 on Ballard, he's whizzing around out there, lugging the biscuit, dipsy-doodlin, jiggin and jivvin. Oh, yeah, he's making better decisions with the puck too.... AV

[dhabums]

Desbiens crosschecks Roussel, Roussel drops the gloves, and gets the better of the scrap.

S_C

I liked Desbiens for no real reason, but has anyone seen him win a fight?

[Per]

Sturm was good it seems, as was Läck.

Did anyone actually go watch the game at Rogers?

[Southern_Canuck]

Tough to draw conclusions from pre-season games (level of competition is obviously several notches down from regular NHL) – however here are some things that stood out:

Rogers:

Ballard was all over the ice, with Tanev deferring to him on breakouts, and forwards forcing it to him at the point. His skating looked very good, and he was aggressive along the boards in the defensive zone. He looked comfortable in such an unstructured game.
You’ve got to like the skating Tanev showed on his goal, and he continued to look calm in his own zone. Very promising.

I was interested in how Schroeder would look compared to Ebbett – in this game, Schroeder showed better vision and playmaking. He is still not a very aggressive forechecker, but he came back hard to his own zone on the backcheck. His line with Jensen and Pinozzotto showed chemistry as the game wore on.
Although Ebbett may make the team out of camp because of injuries, he played a disappointing perimeter game.
Other than Nolan’s one 2-on-1 chance that he shot high and wide, he didn’t have the puck much – not sure if he has the skating to keep up.
Sturm has good hands, and was in the right spot for his rebound goal.
Rodin-Lapierre-Volpatti had zero chemistry, and had difficulty maintaining possession.

Saddledome:

With very few veteran players, the Canucks were hemmed in their own zone for much of the game, and had to kill 12 penalties (Calgary went 2 for 12). The defensive zone play was sloppy, breakout passes were virtually nonexistent, and coverage from backchecking forwards was poor.

Hodgson was saddled with two wingers that couldn’t maintain possession or make a pass, so he created a few chances pretty much single-handed. Other than Hodgson, no one stood out offensively as the forwards were either chipping it out of their own zone or playing dump and chase for the most part.

On D, Anders Eriksson looked rusty, and was behind the play – I could see him getting cut early from this camp.
I was disappointed with Connauton, who has difficulty checking players in his own zone. Too passive in front of his own net, and loses puck battles along the boards; somehow he ended up -3.
I was hoping for more out of Erixon – he's my dark horse candidate to nab an NHL job, but he looked small and ineffective out there. Hopefully he’ll get some more chances, and get some more powerplay time.

S_C

[jackalman]

Hey SC good to see you and Ballard are getting along a little better. Agree with every thing in your post...Tanev is going to be a damn good D man. Anyway just want to know if you are going to do one of your Follow the future treads here at corner? I for one think they were great threads, and hope you keep them coming every year.

[LotusBlossom]

Hodgson was saddled with two wingers that couldn’t maintain possession or make a pass, so he created a few chances pretty much single-handed. Other than Hodgson, no one stood out offensively as the forwards were either chipping it out of their own zone or playing dump and chase for the most part.


S_C

I don't think I'll ever understand what CoHo is going to be made of if he keeps getting dumped with crap linemates. If he looked impressed with a sea of crap, perhaps AV will reward him by playing him with some guys with at least some potential on Saturday. Seriously, the kid always seems to get shafted IMO. I rarely agree with Tony Gallagher, but his last rant about Hodgson not getting any leeway with AV is right. AV is making MG's 1st ever draft pick look like a plug, and he's not.

[jackalman]

I agree LB. I have always had issues with some of AVs decitions but his handling of Hodgson is something else. Give him a game centering Sedin and Burr for christ sakes, see what he's got. It's pre season AV!!! It doesn't matter if they loose, and judging by the group you sent to cow town, winning isn't a high priority anyway. I can't help but get the impression AV WANTS Hodgson to fail. If this continues I will have lost all faith in our head coach, and hope that MG does something about it! Now I don't want to anything to be given to Cody that he hasn't earned, but give him a chance in a position that he could actually succeed in.

[Southern_Canuck]

I don't think I'll ever understand what CoHo is going to be made of if he keeps getting dumped with crap linemates. If he looked impressed with a sea of crap, perhaps AV will reward him by playing him with some guys with at least some potential on Saturday. Seriously, the kid always seems to get shafted IMO. I rarely agree with Tony Gallagher, but his last rant about Hodgson not getting any leeway with AV is right. AV is making MG's 1st ever draft pick look like a plug, and he's not.

I think Hodgson made the best of a bad situation last night, and that will help his cause.

I'd like to see what Hodgson and Sturm could do together... both have good awareness and soft hands (you're soaking in it).

I agree LB. I have always had issues with some of AVs decitions but his handling of Hodgson is something else. Give him a game centering Sedin and Burr for christ sakes, see what he's got. It's pre season AV!!! It doesn't matter if they loose, and judging by the group you sent to cow town, winning isn't a high priority anyway. I can't help but get the impression AV WANTS Hodgson to fail. If this continues I will have lost all faith in our head coach, and hope that MG does something about it! Now I don't want to anything to be given to Cody that he hasn't earned, but give him a chance in a position that he could actually succeed in.

Nah - if you watch AVs interviews on CanucksTV he is very supportive of prospects in general - I don't believe for a second that he has it in for Hodgson. Instead, I think he looks for hard workers that want to learn and do what it takes. If you're not that kind of guy, then AV doesn't want you. With the hustle and try that Hodgson showed in the first game, I think he'll be in good with AV.

Don't forget that Hodgson got 6 or 7 pre-season games last year, and was kept by AV until the bitter end, lining up with NHL wingers... he just wasn't healthy enough to stick. Different ballgame this year.

S_C