Most people around here don't like him because he doesn't stay in his spot like everybody else and think its automatically a liability.
People are so quick to judge. He just joined the team. Playing a little bit of a higher risk game like that, you have to know your teammates a little better and they have to know your game a little better. But overall, i think he can bring a ton to the table
A full season with the canucks would definitely help
No... more like coach a.v is familar with mag. way back in junior. sooner or later as long as he pinches in on the pp, it's gonna bite them in the ass pretty much.
No... more like coach a.v is familar with mag. way back in junior. sooner or later as long as he pinches in on the pp, it's gonna bite them in the ass pretty much.
AV hardly remembers him according to an interview that I heard. Gragnani was 16/17 years old at the time he was playing for the PEI Rockets and played two seasons before Vigneault took over the Moose.
Gragnani would play 2 more seasons with the Rockets before moving on to the AHL as a Buffalo draft pick.
Honestly, I have no qualms with what this guy can bring once he gets acclimated to the system and everything, but RIGHT NOW, this season, he should be in the AHL rather than be seeing regular minutes, IMO. Should be an absolute last resort in the playoffs, behind Alberts.
I'd prefer if he didn't get a chance to crack the line-up until next season, personally. Not that he hasn't played somewhat half-okay so far and hasn't been burnt, but I hate the way he plays, especially if he's thrown into a big game situation right now. It's not just that he pinches at every opportunity like a Bieksa, he seems to pinch or play ridiculously high up even when there's very little opportunity to.
Last edited by Shareefruck: 03-08-2012 at 03:49 AM.
Gragnani-Tanev was certainly the best-looking tandem we've seen so far for MAG. Whether this is because Tanev is actually a superior partner for him or if it's just that MAG is getting more comfortable and acclimated is difficult to tell over so few games played. However, it's clear that, at the very least, this tandem deserves a few more looks on the bottom pairing.
Having a RH shot on the right and a LH shot on the left seemed to pay the expected dividends (the bottom pairing looked, as a whole, more comfortable and better able to protect the puck in the defensive and neutral zones). Also, the combo seemed, for the most part, to play to each player's strengths. MAG seemed better able to find his partner in the D-zone and his passes were crisper in his own end. MAG's offensive potential was still there, as in the previous games he's played since arriving, with Tanev also showing some flashes in the O-zone.
All-in-all, they looked pretty good together, IMHO. The pairing showed a number of signs that were suggestive of these two being a good fit together, with the possibility of putting together enough chemistry to definitively push Rome and Alberts to #7/8 (albeit with those two still moving up the depth chart when the Canucks want to play a bigger lineup).
For all MAG's wandering, he hasn't really gotten caught all that badly. As games go by, that's beginning to look less-and-less like luck and more-and-more like he's able to pick his spots and that he's actually pretty well-suited to the Canucks' systems.
Once MAG gets to the point where he's familiar enough with his teammates and with team systems that he can anticipate the Canucks' offensive sequences/patterning, his offensive skills and instincts could very well begin to translate into scoring production and another significant offensive threat from the back end (in addition to the existing offensive potential in the top-four).
If MAG can just figure out the right places to be in at the right times (and that's still a big "if"), his wandering is going to stop looking so random and, with a little luck, will start looking very purposeful and begin to make life difficult for opposing squads.
It's going to be interesting to see what happens with the Gragnani-Tavev pairing over the next few games. For now, I'm pleasantly surprised and cautiously optimistic.
I can't believe people are complaining about Gragnani on the PP. He looked great. Gragnani brings a different look. His propensity to pinch down, rotate or even drop into the slot make the whole PP unit more dangerous (even if he doesn't touch the puck) because it constantly changes the angles and shooting lanes.
Not to criticize Salo and Edler, but they tend to be very static on the points. This makes it easier for the PK to close down the shooting lanes. This is why so many times they end up dumping the puck back down into the corner or having their shots blocked. It's important to move the puck, but it is equally important to move the players.
MAG was on the ice for 4 scoring chances and 0 chances against.
He was the only Canucks player who didn't see a chance against while he was on the ice.
Really small, selective sample but it still seems to bear out, statistically, what we're seeing observationally: MAG frequently wanders out of position and looks risky at times but he's not getting caught and he's not giving up scoring chances to the opponent.
It'll be interesting to watch these kinds of stats over a larger sample of games.
If anyone's interested, here are the stats (chances) for all the Canucks' defensemen:
(listed as: jersey#, player name, EV minutes, chances for, chances against, PP minutes, chances for, chances against, PK minutes, chances for, chances against)
I can't believe people are complaining about Gragnani on the PP. He looked great. Gragnani brings a different look. His propensity to pinch down, rotate or even drop into the slot make the whole PP unit more dangerous (even if he doesn't touch the puck) because it constantly changes the angles and shooting lanes.
Not to criticize Salo and Edler, but they tend to be very static on the points. This makes it easier for the PK to close down the shooting lanes. This is why so many times they end up dumping the puck back down into the corner or having their shots blocked. It's important to move the puck, but it is equally important to move the players.
That ability to come in off the point made Ehrhoff dangerous and in turn opened lanes and seams for other players while confusing defensive coverage. If Gragnani was doing something contrary to what Newell Brown wanted, then he would not be doing it. At this point it is all about the PP unit learning to play together with Gragnani back there.
I'm really curious to see if Gragnani will get up to 80 total NHL games before the end of the playoffs.
It's pretty much a lock that Ballard will get at least one healthy scratch (based on AVs "MO") so I'd say there's a good chance MAG will get at least some playoff games.
That ability to come in off the point made Ehrhoff dangerous and in turn opened lanes and seams for other players while confusing defensive coverage. If Gragnani was doing something contrary to what Newell Brown wanted, then he would not be doing it. At this point it is all about the PP unit learning to play together with Gragnani back there.
the huge difference so far between Ehrhoff and Gragnani is Ehrhoff's ability and willingness to shoot. Ehrhoff has a cannon, still tbd whether Gragnani's shot is any sort of weapon.
Come playoffs and a healthy d corp, I don't think MAG makes the top 6. Ballard should be the #5 dman (who knows tho), and Tanev should be the right side of the 3rd pairing. If Ballard isn't ready to go, it would be between Rome and MAG depending on the match up. If nothing else, Gragnani has shown he's viable depth, especially at home. This really tips the trade in our favour imo, for the short term at least.
