Andrey Pedan at forward is misguided

Photo Credit: Jason Vinlove/USA TODAY SPORTS

With the Canucks near the bottom of the NHL and with nothing to tangibly play for, this is the time for the team to experiment and see what they have with some of their young players for next year. One of those players in young Lithuanian-born defenceman Andrey Pedan.

As I outlined last week, Pedan is a player that should be in the mix for a full-time NHL spot, mostly due to the price they paid to acquire him,which was a 3rd round pick, and that he would require waivers next season. So with nothing on the line right now , playing Pedan would be a prudent plan. It allows him to get some game action and assess where he is personally, and then it allows the Canucks an extended look to know what they thunk he needs to work on and then develop a summer plan accordingly.

But that plan should be as a hard-nosed defenceman who skates very well for his size and looks to push the play offensively. The key being here, as a defenceman. 

Last night, Pedan played another game as a forward with the Canucks and it appears that Coach Wilbrod Desjardins feels that this is a good plan:

So, with only three more games left, does this ‘opportunity’ continue?

Canucks colour commentator Dave Tomlinson was on TSN 1040 yesterday and said this is a great opportunity for Pedan to ply his trade as a swing player with the Canucks. He made the argument that the alternative is to not play, and thus having Pedan in this role, is a good way to utilize their players and ensure they are game action.

Although that is a fair argument to be had, and matches the thought process from the Canucks, it seems a bit misguided.

Good teams don’t generally have these swing players, they have enough depth in their forward ranks that moving a defenceman up to play 5-7 minutes is not needed. The only team that does this with some regularity is the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they will usually double shift a forward in the 12th forward spot and it’s usually Nikita Nesterov as the 7th dressed defenceman. 

Nesterov is then used a power-play quarterback and then rotated in for some regular shifts as a defenceman. So using the Lightning as a comparable, Nesterov has a specific role that they are trying to maximize, where Pedan is just likely meant to play big and tough. Roles that could easily be filled by incumbent NHL forwards Derek Dorsett and Jake Virtanen. Brent Burns has done this role in the past, but Burns is an elite player who played his entire junior career as a forward, thus the transition is easier.

We also profiled where the Canucks sit in regards to the forward group last week, and to summarize, it’s a crowded group for next year. So adding Pedan to that group just adds another body fighting for ice time. It also means that a roster spot is being taken away from Brendan Gaunce or Alexandre Grenier. Although both have had some struggles adjusting to the NHL, they are best served playing and having Pedan up front just puts another roadblock in their way. This is even before the Canucks go shopping the UFA market.

Looking specifically at this season, how can the argument be made that Yannick Weber or Matt Bartkowski are playing on the back-end over Pedan. Both will likely not be back, and both have had their struggles. So the argument of wanting a winning culture is moot, because both of those players have played regularly and the win haven’t exactly been piling up. Obviously coaches are trying their best to win, but the last four games of the season isn’t going to make or break management’s decision on bringing back Desjardins.

Honestly, putting Pedan on defence and Bartkowski as a forward may actually be a better use of their skill-sets.

Lastly, Pedan was sent down to Utica this season with the instruction to work on his offensive game while ensuring to continue being a solid dependable defenceman. Pedan was almost always on the Comets first pairing this season, where he doubled his goal total over last season, increased his assists per game to 0.33 and improved his plus/minus to +19. All while pushing his GF to 53.8% and increasing his shots per game from 1.88 last season to 2.36 this season. So it’s fair to say that Pedan listened to their suggestions, worked on those areas specifically, and saw success.

Jon Abbott was on TSN 1040 later in the day yesterday and brought up the point that asking Pedan to transition to a forward at the NHL level, with no previous experience at the position will be a very hard transition.

I liked the trade for Andrey Pedan – the Canucks recognized him as a player that was buried behind another team’s depth and targeted him as a player to acquire. He brings something that they lack and if given the opportunity and minutes, he should round out into a good NHL defenceman. At this moment, when we look at comparables to Pedan, 48.7% went on to becoming NHL regulars.

When it comes to prospects drafted outside of the top 15, there aren’t too many better dice-rolls than that.

We are obviously six months away from the puck drop of the Canucks 2016-17 season, and a lot can change but  having Pedan play forward now seems misguided. The Canucks gave up a 3rd round pick for Pedan with hopes that he would develop into a young dependable defenceman for them in their rebuild. He has done what has been asked of him and should be given a chance to get his feet wet at the NHL level in the position he has played his entire career. 

If the alternative is him not playing at all or possibly being placed on waivers next year, then I guess playing forward is the better alternative, although playing around 8 minutes game won’t make a drastic difference. But with some easy thought-process changes, he could easily be playing where he should be.