I get to watch the Bulls a lot living here in Belleville, and they could challenge for the OHL championship with their trade deadline acquisitions.
Gaunce played the first game after the deadlines on the top line with Graovac, and they both had 4 points. I think Quine was playing on the second line last night. I don't think they'll take Gaunce off the too line. With Subban in goal who could get a shutout on any given night, the only team who could give Belleville a run in the East is Barrie, and they might lose Scheifele for the year to Winnipeg.
I get to watch the Bulls a lot living here in Belleville, and they could challenge for the OHL championship with their trade deadline acquisitions.
Gaunce played the first game after the deadlines on the top line with Graovac, and they both had 4 points. I think Quine was playing on the second line last night. I don't think they'll take Gaunce off the too line. With Subban in goal who could get a shutout on any given night, the only team who could give Belleville a run in the East is Barrie, and they might lose Scheifele for the year to Winnipeg.
He seems to go in spurts. Sometimes he looks like the player I think Gillis wants him to be, and other times he looks dis-interested.
The thing you notice immediately about Gaunce is his lack of a breakaway gear. He's a very average skater. He does battle hard and uses his big body well, but he also doesn't have a mean streak. He's never retaliates (which could be a good thing I suppose), but I'd like to see him get a little angry sometimes.
Another thing I've noticed is he has a quick release. He's able to take a pass from across his body and get rid of it very quickly. I would like to see him shoot more often too. I used to think he tried to use his teammates too much, especially when he had a bunch of 3rd/4th liners to play with. Now that the Bulls got a few bonafide scorers, he can use his passing more often to hit better players.
I think he's going to take off down the stretch. He struggled early this season (terrible linemates/shoulder injury), but he could be a force for the rest of the year and the playoffs.
Side note, he's very quiet off the ice. I've interviewed him a couple times and he doesn't seem to enjoy it too much. I did a story on him about what he's like off the ice and he seemed to like talking about himself more than hockey related stuff. Maybe he'll be more approachable to actual media haha
Would you say this lack of an extra gear is the acceleration off the line?
I know from what little I've been able to see of Brendan, the top speed is fine (actually I thought it was good).
Ya I heard last year they had a bunch of draft eligible prospects doing drills and Gaunce had the fastest top speed which was weird to hear but I forget where I saw it. I'm pretty sure it was a video.
Ya I heard last year they had a bunch of draft eligible prospects doing drills and Gaunce had the fastest top speed which was weird to hear but I forget where I saw it. I'm pretty sure it was a video.
Patric Hörnqvist with his 23 goals is more, but he was not a rookie in that season, only a Jr.
Yeah, it's pretty impressive. Even if you include non-rookie Junior age players, Jensen stacks up extremely well in terms of goals. In the last 20 years, here are the 10 best goal scoring seasons by Jr. aged players in the SEL:
1) Forsberg (92-93): 23
2) Hornqvist (06-07): 23
3) Naslund (91-92): 22
4) Naslund: (92-93): 22
5) D. Sedin (98-99): 21
6) D. Sedin (99-00): 19
7) Weinhandl (99-00): 15
8) Jensen (12-13): 14
9) Tedenby (09-10): 12
10) Bäckstrom (06-07): 12
On that list, Jensen is the only rookie, though obviously he's older than most of the other guys were in their rookie years. Still not bad for his first taste of pro hockey.
Yeah, it's pretty impressive. Even if you include non-rookie Junior age players, Jensen stacks up extremely well in terms of goals. In the last 20 years, here are the 10 best goal scoring seasons by Jr. aged players in the SEL:
1) Forsberg (92-93): 23
2) Hornqvist (06-07): 23
3) Naslund (91-92): 22
4) Naslund: (92-93): 22
5) D. Sedin (98-99): 21
6) D. Sedin (99-00): 19
7) Weinhandl (99-00): 15
8) Jensen (12-13): 14
9) Tedenby (09-10): 12
10) Bäckstrom (06-07): 12
On that list, Jensen is the only rookie, though obviously he's older than most of the other guys were in their rookie years. Still not bad for his first taste of pro hockey.
Would it be easy to list those players ages at the time of these stats? Would be interesting to see how Jensen stacks up.
Some guys produce at lower levels but lack certain tools that make them translate well to the pro game in North America. Jensen doesn't look to be one of those guys, which is encouraging. He has size, strength, smarts and a big league shot. Very projectable frame and skillset IMO.
The Canucks really need Jensen and Kassian to reach their full potential. If these guys can develop into top 6 forwards the team might not take a nosedive in the standings as the Sedins fade into 2nd line players.
Yeah, it's pretty impressive. Even if you include non-rookie Junior age players, Jensen stacks up extremely well in terms of goals. In the last 20 years, here are the 10 best goal scoring seasons by Jr. aged players in the SEL:
1) Forsberg (92-93): 23
2) Hornqvist (06-07): 23
3) Naslund (91-92): 22
4) Naslund: (92-93): 22
5) D. Sedin (98-99): 21
6) D. Sedin (99-00): 19
7) Weinhandl (99-00): 15
8) Jensen (12-13): 14
9) Tedenby (09-10): 12
10) Bäckstrom (06-07): 12
On that list, Jensen is the only rookie, though obviously he's older than most of the other guys were in their rookie years. Still not bad for his first taste of pro hockey.
Has the SEL always awarded a goal for the shootout winner though? If not the results are bit skewed.
