He's not physical for his size which is probably the main reason the Sabres never seemed to consider him in their future NHL plans. He has a super-heavy shot but nothing outside of that is notable. He has potential to be a good PP contributor. I would say if he has a future in the NHL it is probably on the 3rd line because he would be a poor 4th line fit unless he commits himself to playing aggressively and physically (though that all depends on "traditional" role definitions of lines).
Up until last season his call-ups have been subpar but late last season he played alongside Gerbe-Gaustad and that line was great. It was also great with other people in his position, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he contributed when slotted in there.
At the very least he will be a valuable player on your farm club. He has a decent shot at sticking in the league on the right team but the Sabres are just way too deep at wing and he's basically been buried on the organizational depth chart by new players every year since day 1.
I wouldn't say he's not physical, just not a banger like he could be with his size. He's got good offensive instincts and is capable of meshing with much more talented players and could have some success as a point on the PP because he has a huge shot and has played defense in the past.
What limits him is foot speed. Not fast enough to really be an effective fore checker or a consistent top six guy. I think it's a good signing though for depth, especially if you have a need on the wings. As the previous poster said, he never had a real chance with the Sabres due to our depth at that position, but whenever he had a shot, he played reasonably well.
Took his role well when we called him up. Doesn't use his size to his advantage but did some good puck protection in the corners. Yo-yoed between us and Portland. But as the others say; buried in wing depth here, could be an effective 3rd liner or at least a farm boy, Slow foot speed.
he never really fit the bill here in the blue and gold.they gave him quite a few sots to prove he belongs on the team but he never did anything to stick out.he did have a few good games at the end of the season last year.he is not going to wow anyone though.he kept falling behind other players on the depth chart and this is prob why he was able to walk.i guess it all depends on how your team views him,he may turn into a 3rd line player and chip in a goal here and there.but he does not have the top end speed to excite many
One problem most fans have is that he looks lazy. I don't know if he is, but the way he plays the game, a big guy who can score but isn't physical, flashy or fast, makes it look as if he doesn't care and just floats a lot of times. Again, i don't know about his work ethic, but he sometimes is frustrating to watch.
I may be one of the few that really like Mancari. I always thought that he was lost down in the AHL because he stopped developing. Once you stay somewhere for so long, it stops you from learning and getting better. I always thought he had great potential. I think he will do well with Van and wish him the best. He was always a great teammate and citizen while up here.
He just struck me as an average player. Nothing really stuck out to me about him. Took up space and ice time, I dunno. And yeah, since the Sabres are neck deep in talent on the wings, there was no way he was going to consistently make the big club unless there was a catastrophic rash of injuries on the wing. It's best he moves on, although to Vancouver? I doubt he's gonna do a whole lot better there. He should have gone to a team weaker on the wings where he could have had a better shot to stick in the NHL.
Huge shot. Doesn't have the skating to free it up reliably. Decent offensive instincts. Mediocre defensively. Big body, but not physical unless agitated. Invisible most of the time, but every now and again will have a big shift on the cycle.
I always considered Mancari to have that Taylor Pyatt -esque quality. Good on 4th line, sometimes gives a great night and other times just invisible. And as some have pointed out, he's big but doesn't use his size.
But Pyatt did get time with Sedins, so maybe Mark can get his chance there, too.
I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that, given a full season of good ice time on a good team, Mancari can put up 20 goals. He never got that chance in Buffalo. I thought he looked good in his last few call ups - particularly in the games when he got to play with Vanek. I kind of think Buffalo mis-handled his career. I would have kept him. The problem was that in his first few call-ups, he looked really bad and didn't use his size at all. I thought at the end, he was using his size better along the boards and playing a pretty good puck possession game down low that lead to some scoring chances. I predict we regret this a little bit.
And for the record, I'd take Mancari over AlKo any day of the weak.
It's like this... He's a great AHL player, because the game is slower and the players are worse. However, in the NHL, his speed isn't average enough to get him by, it's just plain slow. His shot, which can cleanly beat goalies in the AHL, will not beat NHL goalies cleanly, because even though it's a rocket of a shot, he needs a lot of time to get it off (And often doesn't have that time because he doesn't have the speed to create space), and even when he does get it off, these are NHL goalies, and they will stop it most of the time.
If he plays a full season, I can see him getting 10 goals and 20 points, but that's it.
There's something extremely wrong if hes on the ice with them long enough to get 25 goals.
Hes an nhl player this year. They signed him to a 1 way.
The Canucks have started to attract the best AHL veterans with one-way contracts, but send them to the AHL to mentor their young guys. They did it last year with Joel Perreault, and Mancari and Ebbett might be those types of signings. I wouldn't say he's guaranteed to be in the NHL.
Severe case of Jody Gage syndrome. Has been dominating in the AHL for a few years but for so long his call-ups were pretty lousy. Definitely not a heavy hitter.
That said, he got extended time with the big club late last season and was MUCH improved. I think he's got good hockey smarts and could contribute some scoring on the 3rd or 4th line, provided there's someone to free up some space for him. His slapper goes for world-class speed, too - 102.8 MPH @ the AHL all-star competition. Good depth guy, they can't all be superstars!
