Prospect Info: Jett Woo, Pt. II

[vadim sharifijanov]

You had a rookie President who know nothing about anything and he's interviewing a former teammate who was a veteran leader on the Canucks when he was a rookie. And according to Linden he was 'blown away' by the fact that Benning could talk about individual goals that some of the prospects for the 2014 draft had scored and that 'draft knowledge' seemed to be what got him hired.

the surprising thing is benning was only 25 years old in linden’s rookie year, and a marginal player playing his way out of the lineup. of the canucks’ regular dmen, jimbo was actually the youngest on the roster, followed by nordmark and butcher (26), lidster and melnyj (28), reinhart (29), and the grizzled old snepsts (34).

back on topic, benning then was only two years older than jett woo now. weird to think right?

 

[F A N]

back on topic, benning then was only two years older than jett woo now. weird to think right?

It is. Petey is almost 2 years older than Jett Woo and Petey is entering his 6th NHL season.

It was a perfect storm to have something like Benning's hiring happen.

You had a rookie President who know nothing about anything and he's interviewing a former teammate who was a veteran leader on the Canucks when he was a rookie. And according to Linden he was 'blown away' by the fact that Benning could talk about individual goals that some of the prospects for the 2014 draft had scored and that 'draft knowledge' seemed to be what got him hired.

Absolute idiocy.

Said this many times over the years... the problem with Linden is that he didn't come in bringing a strong vision and hiring a GM to excute his vision, he didn't have front office experience where he at least saw how things were done, and he didn't surround himself with a mentor/senior advisor with GM experience (the perfect storm also included Quinn being in bad health/passing away).

John Davidson had Larry Pleau. Sakic kept Sherman on before absorbing his duties. Shanahan hired Lou. Linden had TC Carling.

 

[MS]

the surprising thing is benning was only 25 years old in linden’s rookie year, and a marginal player playing his way out of the lineup. of the canucks’ regular dmen, jimbo was actually the youngest on the roster, followed by nordmark and butcher (26), lidster and melnyj (28), reinhart (29), and the grizzled old snepsts (34).

back on topic, benning then was only two years older than jett woo now. weird to think right?

Yeah, in my head Benning was like 28 that year although to be fair he already looked like 38.

He did win the Babe Pratt as the team’s top d-man in 87-88 immediately before Linden arrived so you might be selling him a bit short in terms of role, though.

 

[HairyKneel]

???

Jim Benning was absolutely dumb as rocks, but what made him the worst GM in NHL history was that he was an incredibly arrogant ass on top of that.

Didn't listen to his scouts, fired people who disagreed with him, never admitted mistakes and repeatedly doubled down on them. Would watch a junior player play once and then write off the opinions of scouts who watched him play 50 times.

If Jim Benning was stupid but humble and delegated to his staff and listened to what others were telling him, the disaster wouldn't have been 1/10 as bad.

Agree to disagree. I think Burke and Gillis were absolutely arrogant but they weren’t a complete moron like Elmer was. I hate the man and he and Jack Gordon are on the backsplash of my shitter. But Benning can’t even spell the word imho. For whatever reason that helmet head keeps getting dragged into every thread. I have PTSD from that kunt running this team. I'd prefer to move on.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Yeah, in my head Benning was like 28 that year although to be fair he already looked like 38.

He did win the Babe Pratt as the team’s top d-man in 87-88 immediately before Linden arrived so you might be selling him a bit short in terms of role, though.

related, if you had asked me how old butcher was in 1989 before i looked it up, i would have said 30.

i was barely conscious of what i was seeing in 1989 and remember exactly nothing about jim elmer benning on that team, but can someone a bit older fill us in on benning on the canucks?

from what i can tell, benning finished out the 1989 regular season as a regular player but then was taken out of the lineup to start the playoffs, when reinhart came back in (presumably after resting in garbage time with the 4 seed locked up). then after game 4, a canucks win to tie the series, benning reenters the lineup for larry melnyk. i am guessing because it was a win that this was an injury to melnyk (who played 9 more rs games than jeb)?

also often during the rs there were 7 dmen dressed. did someone play forward? robert nordmark pp specialist, i’m looking in your direction…?

the next season, benning plays his last 45 NHL games before moving on to europe.

 

[Fulham]

Canucks essentially need to commit to keeping him on the roster, or they will lose him to waivers. Like him as a player, however we have higher upside guys to shelter.

 

[VanJack]

When you look at the current Canuck blueline, a few of the veteran d-,men ahead of Woo, are all now on expiring contracts. Myers, Irwin and Cole fall into that category

So there will be spots opening up on the Canucks blueline....and if you're convinced that Woo could one day take the place of those guys and play at the NHL level--then it would be a shame to lose him.

 

[Javaman]

the surprising thing is benning was only 25 years old in linden’s rookie year, and a marginal player playing his way out of the lineup. of the canucks’ regular dmen, jimbo was actually the youngest on the roster, followed by nordmark and butcher (26), lidster and melnyj (28), reinhart (29), and the grizzled old snepsts (34).

back on topic, benning then was only two years older than jett woo now. weird to think right?

It's weird.

I remember Nordmark, and Butcher, and Lidster, and Melnyk, and Reinhart, and Snepsts being on the Canucks. I have absolutely zero recollection of Benning being on the Canucks.

 

[krutovsdonut]

It's weird.

I remember Nordmark, and Butcher, and Lidster, and Melnyk, and Reinhart, and Snepsts being on the Canucks. I have absolutely zero recollection of Benning being on the Canucks.

there is some truth in this.

 

[Javaman]

there is some truth in this.

Honestly, I have a better recollection of hot-shot US college prospect Ian Kidd than I do of Benning.

 

[Deeds26]

 

[wonton15]

It would be great if Woo turned out to be a physical bottom pair defenseman. We need someone like him to come up out of nowhere.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Coming up to his 5th year since he was drafted..I think the book is rapidly closing on this player

 

[VanJack]

Coming up to his 5th year since he was drafted..I think the book is rapidly closing on this player

Sad but true.....by the time a player is in his draft-plus 5 season, without playing a game in the NHL, he gets passed by other draft picks and UFA signings. And that's what's basically happened to Woo.

Guys like Hirose, McWard, Rathbone and maybe even Johansson are probably ahead of him on the depth chart. And they've got young prospects like Wilander, D-Petey and Brzustewicz soon to be pushing from the rear.

The suppose the only 'positive' is that most teams in the league have a prospect like Woo in their system, so there's a chance a clears waivers and heads back to Abbotsford for another season.

 

[MS]

The strides he took in the second half of last season really can't be understated. He looked like a totally different player down the stretch in 22-23 than he did at the end of 21-22 and even to start 22-23.

If he can build on that and have a strong camp, he's very close to being able to fill the Kyle Burroughs role.

I doubt he's ever going to be be a top-4 D or a high-value asset, but there is significant hope that he can be a quality cheap depth/3rd pairing RHD here.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

From what I’ve seen of Woo, he has always reminded me of a Bryan Allen-lite. Allen’s play would not age well with the modern NHL that emphasizes on speed/skill and transitional game, so he’d likely be a bottom pairing player as well.

 

[LemonSauceD]

From what I’ve seen of Woo, he has always reminded me of a Bryan Allen-lite. Allen’s play would not age well with the modern NHL that emphasizes on speed/skill and transitional game, so he’d likely be a bottom pairing player as well.

The thing is, Woo is a good skater with good mobility. Allen had Dana Murzyn mobility.

It would be nice to have a surprise in training camp.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Coming up to his 5th year since he was drafted..I think the book is rapidly closing on this player

Statistically speaking that’s true. But there are always outliers and so much depends on the individual player and how motivated they are.
I think it’s his make or break year.
Took a big step last year but really needs to take another one this year at camp.
He plays the type of game that the team really needs so would be huge if he takes that step.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Two Covid years really skewed some standard timelines.
Normally, I would have written Woo off by now, but last season gave me some hope that we might just have an NHL’er here

 

[racerjoe]

Two Covid years really skewed some standard timelines.
Normally, I would have written Woo off by now, but last season gave me some hope that we might just have an NHL’er here

Two Covid yeats and the crappy development under Benning that like all of our players had.

 

[F A N]

Two Covid yeats and the crappy development under Benning that like all of our players had.

Woo was kind of already trending down. His draft+2 year was a disappointment, didn't make the WJC, and he didn't look all that great in his first pro year. He was also a Luke Schenn type where basically it was just the offensive part of his game that needed to be developed. For a guy we specifically targeted in the early 2nd round, he's been a disappointment.

 

[VanJack]

Huge training camps for both Woo and Rathbone......doesn't appear to be any room for them, and doubt either one would clear waivers to be sent back to Abbotsford.

Maybe a trade? Wouldn't be a catastrophe to lose either one, but seems a shame to give up on two guys you drafted and developed, for nothing.

 

[F A N]

Huge training camps for both Woo and Rathbone......doesn't appear to be any room for them, and doubt either one would clear waivers to be sent back to Abbotsford.

Maybe a trade? Wouldn't be a catastrophe to lose either one, but seems a shame to give up on two guys you drafted and developed, for nothing.

I think the opposite. I would be more surprised that they get picked up than surprised that they clear. I think Rathbone has more of a chance of being picked up. I feel that at one time Rathbone was more highly regarded. But how they perform in the preseason can also be factors.

 

[MS]

I think the opposite. I would be more surprised that they get picked up than surprised that they clear. I think Rathbone has more of a chance of being picked up. I feel that at one time Rathbone was more highly regarded. But how they perform in the preseason can also be factors.

I'll disagree there.

I don't think there would be much interest in a smallish LHD coming off a terrible season in Rathbone.

Woo, on the other hand, is a big physical RHD who had a great finish to the season. I think he'd probably get claimed by someone thinking he can add depth on the right side, much like Kovacevic last year. In particular I'd think Winnipeg would have interest given that he's a hometown kid and had a crazy run of production against the Moose last year with their organization watching.

 

[biturbo19]

I think the opposite. I would be more surprised that they get picked up than surprised that they clear. I think Rathbone has more of a chance of being picked up. I feel that at one time Rathbone was more highly regarded. But how they perform in the preseason can also be factors.

Yeah. I have basically zero concerns about throwing Woo on waivers and expecting him to clear. He hasn't established anything at the NHL level. Most teams will have plenty of their own guys they're simultaneously also trying to slip through waivers. There will be much better defenceman available.

I just don't see anybody being willing to burn a full-time roster spot on someone like Woo at this point. He's not established whatsoever, probably still has work to do at the AHL level frankly, and he's not even some sort of "high upside" project to pick up. He's a project where you're hoping that eventually he grows into a cheap, solid defensive 3rd pair/depth guy. Nothing about him has suggested he's on track to become a Top-4D...and waivers are always full of more established cheap 3rd pairing/depth defencemen that time of year.



Rathbone...there's an outside chance he'd be claimed. There's at least that potential "upside" as an offensive, point producing fringe Top-4 puck-mover. I'd rather swap him for a change of scenery guy on someone else's roster bubble. But if you have to waive him, it's not something to sweat extensively over.