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Gillis for Gilroy
by Alanah McGinley on 04/15/09 at 01:36 PM ET
Comments (4)
From Jason Botchford at The Province:
Think Fabian Brunnstrom, but bigger.
This year the name of the young, relatively unknown free agent who has NHL general managers buzzing is Matt Gilroy, the winner of the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top college player in the U.S.
The 200-pound defenceman is considered the best college free agent available, maybe in years. Gilroy is thought to be good enough that he could step into an NHL roster right now. He will next year.
There are as many as 10 teams that have expressed interest, but the Canucks are considered frontrunners.
More from The Province, which goes on to quote Mike Gillis on the subject of trying to replace the role Luc Bourdon was meant to fill. But there’s a catch to all this: Gilroy is 25 years old and his introductory NHL contract isn’t going to be signed for small change.
The AP via the Sporting News has more on Gilroy here, mentioning among other things that he was made offers as a free agent last summer by no less than 23 NHL teams.
Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: matt+gilroy, prospects,
Comments
Matt Gilroy’s story is an incredible one that I’ve heard/read far too many times. He isn’t the type of guy not to live up to expectations, but the type to constantly exceed them.
Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 04/15/09 at 01:43 PM ET
I have to agree with the Chowd on this one.
Gilroy may not turn out to be a star, but he’s definitely going to be at least a solid, top 4 D within a year.
Posted by shazam88 from California on 04/15/09 at 01:57 PM ET
Love the fact that Gillis is really making a push to go out there and sign some of these unsigned gems in college hockey. Since it does not cost anything but cap space if they make the team, there is no real downer to this.
Posted by Luongo-is-my-hero on 04/15/09 at 03:17 PM ET
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Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
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You would think that the 100s of NHL scouts would have caught this guy a LOT earlier. Then again, look at the load of undrafted or late-drafted players that have gone on to stardom.
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As for Brunnstrom, he wasn’t all that and a bag of chips. After starting off the year with a hat trick, he went in the tank pretty bad. He did finish with 6 points in 5 games (meaningless games), but wasn’t much more than just a ‘decent’ player. Given all the hype, he didn’t quite live up to it.
I’d hope Gillis would be smart enough not to get into a huge bidding war on a guy who is likely not to live up to these sudden expectations. Look at the list of Hobey Baker winners and you’ll see quite a few players that didn’t do much. It’s a mixed bag, for sure.
http://jesgolbez.blogspot.com/2005/11/analysis-hobey-baker-award-winners.html
Posted by JesGolbez from Burnaby, BC on 04/15/09 at 01:19 PM ET