Alright, again, I have to apologize for the delay on posting this, but I've been somewhat busy lately with other projects.
Jozef Balej - If ever there were someone you could term to be a tough luck individual, Joe Balej would probably be your man. Balej suffered a serious setback in his professional career, rupturing his kidney after a freak accident the last time he had played for the Moose, back in 05/06. The next season, Balej had opted to sign with Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss-A League, citing personal reasons. Canucks management were happy to oblige Balej and he had come into 07/08 with the intention of making some big strides in his development. Unfortunately, Balej suffered yet another freak accident, tearing his ACL in a game against the Rockford Ice Hogs. Determined not to suffer another setback, Balej attempted to come back three weeks later, playing in 2 games. Frustratingly, Balej was not confident with his play and opted to go for surgery now, aiming for a return sometime around the playoffs.
For the Moose, the loss of Balej, who comprised the top scoring line alongside Jaffray and Moran, was, by itself, not a huge blow. However, with the subsequent injuries and callups that have plagued the Moose, his presence is sorely missed. A deceptively strong player, Balej was guy who was hard to knock off of the puck and had some good chemistry going with Jaffray and Moran, doing a great job of cycling and controlling the puck in the offensive zone. I enjoyed his play out there and is a hard working, determined individual, recording 13 points in 16 games with the Moose, 4 of which were goals. Not much more can be said about him, unfortunately, so here is hoping for a speedy recovery for the young Slovakian.
Rypien, moments before tearing his right ACL, breaking his arm and suffering a neck fracture (just kidding, we love ya, Rick!)
Rick Rypien - Rick the 'Rypper', as he's been affectionately called by Vancouver Canucks fans, has also had a rocky start to his pro career. Plagued with injuries, Rypien has struggled to stay healthy with a variety of different maladies and has allowed for other Canucks prospects to have a shot at making the roster. Rypien himself was penciled into Alain Vigenault's opening night roster for the Vancouver Canucks, but his time on the IR has limited that. While only playing 11 games thus far for the Moose, Rypien has been willing to drop the gloves and engage in fisticuffs as necessary and has done an admirable job on special teams for the Moose. His play on the PK, in particular, has been the more noticeable of the two. Rypien is a sparkplug player who needs to stay healthy, otherwise he might have a hard time getting re-signed when his contract is up.
Mike Keane - The Captain of the Moose, Mike Keane has been doing just about everything asked of him and has looked pretty damn good while doing it. The 40 year old veteran certainly looks 40 years young out on the ice and has done a great job of redefining the term 'leading by example.' Score some timely goals? Check. Drop the mitts and absolutely pummel someone half your age? Check. Kill penalties? Check. Powerplay? Check. Really, there is nothing bad to say about Mike Keane: he's playing with the Moose because he loves doing it and he brings his A game EVERY shift. Any team would love to have a guy like Keane on their roster and the Moose are incredibly lucky to have this man as their captain, mentoring some of their younger players. Honestly, there's not much I can say about him that's bad. One of the most dependable and consistent players for the Moose.
Jannik Hansen - Continuing with Dave Nonis' personal quest to draft a player from every single European country is Jannik Hansen, the only Danish born player that wears a Moose uniform. Hansen surprised a number of Canucks fans last season when serving as a call-up in round 2 of Stanley Cup playoffs against the eventual Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. Another player who was slotted into Alain Vigenault's opening night roster, Hansen suffered a broken thumb that kept him out of the lineup and saw him making his 07/08 season debut in a Moose uniform. Hansen did spend a 5 game stint with the Canucks, where he recorded no points and was then subsequently re-assigned to Manitoba. While there are some fans who have been disappointed with Hansen's lack of production on the score sheet and, as a result, starting to sour on him, I've been quite impressed with Hansen's defensive play and his passing abilities. Hansen makes smart decisions out there on the ice, both with and without the puck, and is a tenacious checker, making good use of his lumber out there on the ice. I feel that many folks might be overrating his prowess, at least offensively, and are ignoring the other traits that he possesses. He's missed a couple of games now with a concussion, but should be back soon. That said, he could stand to pick up his offensive game a tad, as he does have experience in the AHL and has shown the ability to bulge the twine at that level of play. I would say Hansen is arguably the most disappointing player thus far, although part of that is as a result of injuries he has sustained. Hopefully he'll be able to turn things around in the latter half of the season.
Alexandre Bolduc - Another former St. Louis player, Bolduc has struggled to make a name for himself at the AHL level, although this season has seen him putting up his best numbers yet after spending the past 2 seasons bouncing between the ECHL and the AHL. Bolduc hasn't really done much of anything to stand out for me and has really been fitting into the Greg Classen slot, as a player who doesn't really stand out and isn't really noticeable...which means you know that he's doing his job. I'd say the ship has sailed for Bolduc to make any kind of splash, but we'll see.Greg Classen - The 30 year old Greg Classen has been doing a decent job on the Moose's grinding lines, playing alongside guys like Mike Keane and Mike Brown, chipping in offense where he can. Coming off of hernia surgery in the off-season, Classen was determined to make a good impression in training camp with the Canucks, although it seems now that Classen's window has closed for him and there really hasn't been anything of note that might warrant taking a closer look at him. Very bland player who does not stand out at all, really. Recently, he has been playing on a line with Milan Gajic and Michael Grabner, and have looked quite good out there as a line, although Classen really hasn't been contributing much himself on that line. Not much else to be said about him.
Brad Moran - Currently injured, Brad Moran started the season as part of the Moose's top line alongside Jaffray and Balej, although is currently spending time on the IR. As part of the top line, he clicked quite well with Jaffray and Balej, who worked well together in the offensive zone protecting and cycling the puck. Moran was the Moose's point leader up until last Saturday, when Colby Genoway overtook him. Brad did have a cup of coffee with the Canucks last season, in a three game stint alongside former Moose player Brandon Reid, although his performance was underwhelming.
Ryan Shannon - Accquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks, with forward Jason King going the other way, the speedy Ryan Shannon has been regarded by some as being the second coming of Brandon Reid. However, that would do a disservice to the dimunitive forward, as his point totals throughout his junior career were much higher and far more consistent than Reid, who has gone overseas to play in Germany. Shannon himself did distinguish himself at training camp, earning a
roster spot, but soon played himself off the roster, going a -7 in 3 games played. He did, however, score 2 goals for his efforts. A knee injury has kept him sidelined now and, after coming back and playing for 2 games, he had re-injured it. From what I was able to observe of him, though, Shannon did have problems holding onto the puck and was a liability at times in his own end. However, the sample size is too small to form any sort of definitive conclusions about him, so I will continue to remain optimistic about him until his play gives me reasons to believe otherwise.
Juraj Simek - The Swiss-Slovakian dual national, has been confounding for me. The former Brandon Wheat King has recorded only 9 points in 26 games and is presently a -2. Before the injury bug came along, Simek was alternating being a healthy scratch with Pierre Cedric Labrie but is now playing fulltime. His spotty defensive play has been cause for concern and I've seen him taking shifts off, particularly when action is in his own end. This is strange when you take into consideration that Simek has been described as someone who is hard working and isn't afraid of 'mucking it up.' However, within the last 3 or 4 games Simek has started to pick it up and I've been starting to notice him more and more. That said, I haven't been wildly taken by this youngster, as a
number of other fans who follow this Canucks prospect have. Here's hoping he can turn it around in 2008.
Colby Genoway - Colby Genoway has probably been the most pleasant surprise for the Moose thus far this season, Genoway was an undrafted player who was picked up by the Anaheim Ducks and then subsequently traded to the Canucks in return for defenseman Joe Rullier. Although doing quite well in his inaugral first season in the AHL, notching 61 points in 77 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Genoway slumped a bit in his sophmore season but looked to be picking things back up this season. Genoway has been a chameleon for the Moose, performing well on just about any line he's been placed with: before injuries took their toll on the Moose, he was regulated to second line duty where he played alongside players like Shannon, Classen, Labrie, Raymond, Grabner and Simek and then he was elevated to the top line where he was playing with Brad Moran and Jason Jaffray before Jaffray was called up to the Canucks. Currently sidelined with an unknown injury, Genoway hasn't played much as of late for the Moose (but really, what else is new?), but should be drawing back into the lineup shortly.
Here's hoping the second half of his season will be just as productive if not more than the first half of his season (9g, 15a in 29 games.)
Pierre Cedric-Labrie is asked to stop laying the smackdown to Dale Purinton
Milan Gajic - Although he's a relative newcomer to the Manitoba Moose, Milan Gajic isn't unfamiliar with donning the Antlers and playing under Scott Arniel: the Victoria Salmon Kings player did get to see some pre-season action with the Moose, scoring a couple of goals for his efforts. Unfortunately, due to the number of forwards that were a part of the Moose this season, there really wasn't much of a slot for him. Injuries have now provided another opportunity for him and he's been enjoying success with Michael Grabner and Greg Classen, recording 8 points in 12 games. His skating is somewhat suspect and it's questionable if he'll be able to make the transition to the NHL, but as of right now, Gajic is doing a great job at making himself useful and compensating for his somewhat lackluster skating ability. Michael Grabner - Although his training camp started off on a bad note, with some reports filtering out that he was giving forth a 'lazy' effort, Michael Grabner has done quite a bit to silence his critics since then. Presently the Moose's leading scorer, having overtaken Jason Jaffray for the lead with 11 goals, Grabner has really started to come on as of late for the Moose, playing well and improving all over the rink. Head coach Scott Arniel has praised Grabner's development, particularly his defensive play, which he believes has taken great strides since the start of the season. I would tend to agree with that sentiment, as Grabner looked a little out of place early on in the season, floating near the blueline and missing passes that were meant for him. As well, he had a good start offensively but started to taper off before flaring back up again. Grabner is currently enjoying a 4 game goal scoring streak and is starting to display previously unheralded play making abilities, as he has as many goals as he does assists. This might be the result of playing on a poor
Spokane team last season or the next step in his development, either way, it's enjoyable to see. He also has been playing rather well with Milan Gajic, a somewhat new arrival to the Moose and his shot, when he gets it off, is bloody fast. Great to see from him.
Jason Jaffray - Jaffray, who signed with the Vancouver Canucks over the summer, despite receiving several offers from other NHL teams, was going into the Canucks training camp competing with other forwards for a shot at the one of a couple of roster slots that were available. Although he didn't have a bad training camp, per se, he didn't have a camp where he really distinguished himself. After a meeting with Alain Vigenault and a talk with Scott Arniel, Jaffray was told to focus on being a 'grittier' player. Jaffray took those words to heart, as he stepped up his game, showed a willingness to drop the gloves and, in one memorable tilt, broke Kendall McArdle's jaw. Playing on the top line alongside Moran and Joe Balej, Jaffray was also showing a tendency to put the puck in the net. All of this attracted the attention of Canucks management, as his solid play earned him his first chance at playing in the NHL. With the Canucks, Jaffray has shown that he's able to hang in the big league, notching a 2 point night in his NHL debut and has experienced some bad luck with scoring, such as a waved off goal against the Dallas Stars. That said, Jaffray has been doing an admirable job of stepping up, showing himself to be a competent faceoff man. For an undrafted player who has managed to make his way onto an NHL team's roster, it's hard to say that Jaffray can't be labelled a success. I wouldn't mind seeing Jaffray get a shot playing with the Sedin twins, as his cycling with Moran and Balej was a thing of beauty at times and I think that his weaker skating ability would be offset playing with the twins. If he's still struggling to find ways of putting the puck into the net, I also wouldn't mind seeing him making use of some of that 'grit' that worked well for him earlier in the season with the Moose.
Moose call-ups Jason Jaffray and Mason Raymond enjoyed immediate success with the Vancouver Canucks.
Mason Raymond - I doubt there's very few people who are NOT familiar with the speedy winger, as he's been turning heads at both the AHL and the NHL level. Having impressed the Canucks with his performance during training camp and the pre-season, Raymond made the starting roster for the Canucks back in October, although he was eventually re-assigned to the Moose. Although some players would look upon such a move as a demotion or take it the wrong way, Raymond took it all in stride, going on a tear with the Moose that culminated in a 5 point night for him, of which included a hat trick. Unsurprisingly, his play attracted the attention of Vancouver again and they came calling and Mason is now presently back with the Canucks and doing well for them, having notched 8 points in 9 games since being called up. Raymond could stand to get bulk up a bit as it is easy to knock him off of the puck due to his present size. As well, I would like to see Raymond be a little more creative with the puck, as 9 times out of 10 he will try to play the puck off the boards and force his way past a defender. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't and the more teams play against him, the more familiar they will become with his ability.
Mike Brown - Going into this season covering the Moose for the first time and not being 100% familiar with Vancouver's drafting, I was unfamiliar with Mike Brown, but he quickly gained my attention with his play as an 'energy' player. Although his pugilist skills are a little suspect, Brown shows no fear and is willing to throw down with just about anyone. He also hits anything that moves, which is great to see, and has some decent hands, where he has tallied 1 goal with the Canucks and 3 with the Moose thus far this season. If Brown could manage to stay on his feet while he fights (far too many of his tilts ended with him literally going down swinging...) he would be a formidable fighter and a valuable asset to both the Moose and Canucks. On top of all of that, he stays HEALTHY, unlike other tough guys who have had a hard time staying 100%. I'd also like him to be a little smarter with his decision making out on the ice, as he likes to try and go for the big hit, which takes him out of the play. Still, he's a great role player and I'm happy that he got a shot at playing with the Canucks.
No comments:
Post a Comment