Past Canuck Players

[Picker of Cherries]

If Tocc leaves and Manny takes his place, I want Kuz back.



And maybe OEL.

[Carl Yagro]

I feel like Tocchet deliberately sabotaged this guy because he just didn't want him. Tried to make him into something he couldn't possibly be, set him up to fail.

Kuz has his warts, but if he's in the right situation, he can clearly produce at a high level offensively without hurting you. That goal was reminiscent of his first season here.

[UWSaint]

I feel like Tocchet deliberately sabotaged this guy because he just didn't want him. Tried to make him into something he couldn't possibly be, set him up to fail.

Kuz has his warts, but if he's in the right situation, he can clearly produce at a high level offensively without hurting you. That goal was reminiscent of his first season here.

I don’t know that it was deliberate sabotage, but Tockey wants a hard forecheck and that’s not Kuzmenko. Tockey wants the whole group to be able to Tockey hockey when they find themself F1, and failed to put much weight into the concept that if you can enter the zone with full possession and control, you don’t need to forecheck as much or as effectively. So maybe it’s good to have players who do that — which they finally started talking about in January or so. Around the time they acquired Chytil, a guy with a forecheck I didn’t notice and an ability to hold the puck on entries.

I think on balance Tochett is good. But there is more than one way skin a cat. As the team gets less skilled, however, Tockey hockey will prove itself to be the best strategy….

[donlever]

Tocchet did allow in his presser to his infallabilities and the need to bring in some fresh blood (Assistants) to amend the message and flow...

...he also stated he needs to learn and adapt as well.

[Carl Yagro]

Not trying to be argumentative but... you have a (near 3x) 100pt center to help carry it in, who also doesn't do hard forechecks... so why can't that line just hold on to the puck and carry it in instead of trying to make one guy do something 99% of his countrymen don't do?

All I'm saying is he is a very effective player in the right circumstances (clearly not when playing Tockey) and got a bad rap from the fans here after a very successful rookie year. It is what it is. He's a LA kind of guy, I'm happy for him.

[donlever]

Tocchet
Calgary
Torts

LA

...things are all George Jefferson like for Kuz.

[UWSaint]

Not trying to be argumentative but... you have a (near 3x) 100pt center to help carry it in, who also doesn't do hard forechecks... so why can't that line just hold on to the puck and carry it in instead of trying to make one guy do something 99% of his countrymen don't do?

All I'm saying is he is a very effective player in the right circumstances (clearly not when playing Tockey) and got a bad rap from the fans here after a very successful rookie year. It is what it is. He's a LA kind of guy, I'm happy for him.

Oh, that’s not argumentative and I agree. But I also understand that the new coach was trying to establish an identity and Kuz didn’t fit. I get that, though I think there are tradeoffs to uniformity as there are tradeoffs with a lack of identity.

I was posting “Free Kuzmenko” at the time. At first because I wanted to see Tockey let him play his game, and then because I liked the player enough to want him to get a chance somewhere else. Calgary didn’t work, really (though he did well enough after the trade, not this year). Kuzmenko is both a scorer and a playmaker, but not a play driver. He’s shifty in small spaces but only has a half court game. Guys like that need to play with skill and high o-zone iqs or they are pretty useless.

[Carl Yagro]

^ I agree with this

[Per]

Jordan Schroeder and Anton Rödin are both on a Brynäs team that just made history and may make history again.

Brynäs was demoted from the SHL in 2023, but won Hockeyallsvenskan in 2024 and got promoted back to the SHL again.

They have had a bunch of former NHLers return home to join them; Jakob Silfverberg (OTT/ANA), Johan Larsson (MIN/BUF/ARI/WSH), Christian Djoos (WSH/ANA/DET), Oskar Lindblom (PHI/WSH), Victor Söderström (ARI), Erik Källgren (TOR). And they also have 2023 St Louis first round pick Theo Lindstein.

Anyway, they got off to a good start and just kept going, becoming the first team to win the regular season in their first season after promotion. And they then won the quarter and semi final matchups as well and are currently playing the SHL playoff final against Luleå. the series is drawn 1-1 after two games. If they win the final they'll also become the first team ever to win the championship in their first season after promotion.

Former Brynäs players include Börje Salming, Inge Hammarström, Mats Näslund, Pär Djoos, Tomas Sandström, Andreas Dackell, Fredrik Modin, Mikael Samuelsson, Nicklas Bäckström, Mattias Ekholm, Elias Lindholm and goalies Johan Holmqvist, Eddie Läck and Jacob Markström.

[donlever]

Interesting Per, thanks for posting.

Quite an accomplishment for the group.

Rodin and Schroeder were taken by Gillis in the same draft as I recall.

Long term connection.

[UWSaint]

Interesting Per, thanks for posting.

Quite an accomplishment for the group.

Rodin and Schroeder were taken by Gillis in the same draft as I recall.

Long term connection.

If Rodin's injury history had been different, he might have had a chance. I remember going to see Schroeder after he was drafted and thinking he had some real skill. But I might have just been comparing him to Patrick White playing in the same game, and my thought was "WTF". I don't think I've ever seen a first rounder in his second or third year of college ever look so mediocre.

[donlever]

Every time I see Patrick Whites name I hear Jon Anderson saying, and here's Alan White.

[Per]

If Rodin's injury history had been different, he might have had a chance.

Yeah, I always felt bad for him. He was voted SHL MVP the 2015/16 season when he got that freak injury where a team mate’s skate severed a tendon on the side of the knee. He was leading the scoring with 37 points in 33 games before that accident happened during practice. Was still voted MVP at the end of the season despite missing 19 games.

Next season he only played a total of six games. 3 for Utica and 3 for Vancouver. The season after that he played 19 games; 7 for Utica, 8 in the Swiss league and 4 for Team Sweden. He hung in there and eventually carved out quite a decent career for himself at the SHL level. 11 seasons with Brynäs, four of those as captain, but he lost the C when they got demoted. Still wears an A though.

If it weren’t for that injury I’m convinced he would have become an NHL regular. He and Silfverberg played together in their youth and were roughly the same skill level. Silfverberg played more than 800 NHL games spread over 13 seasons. I think Rödin would have had similar numbers, playing on the second or third line of an NHL team. Not a superstar, but a pretty good NHL level player.

Oh well, Shit happens. And he still makes more money than me, so I shouldn’t pity him.

[donlever]

Whodat?

Guess that back thing indeed may have fucked up his git along just a bit.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI1pJwSB ... Z4NHYyMzVm

[Lancer]

Whodat?

Guess that back thing indeed may have fucked up his git along just a bit.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI1pJwSB ... Z4NHYyMzVm

Yeah, he never was the same after that. His shot just never had the same pop.

Credit to Brock that he found other ways to score and got to 40 goals, but it is to wonder if he would have done so if not for that injury.

Coulda shoulda woulda...

Probably why I worry about EP40 with this nagging knee injury. His skating was good but not great beforehand. Hopefully it's just a matter of physio and putting in the gym work.