Post by newbeach on Jan 22, 2024 18:09:15 GMT -5
I think we are going to see some improvement still from Canada this year.
At setter, King continues to improve. She improved a lot after her first year in Brazil (top setter in the league last year) and had a great VNL last year.
At OPP, KVR missed the first week of the VNL for personal reasons (was off from playing for a few months), her second week was rough, but by the third week she was getting into form. She also suffered an ankle injury in the VNL in the second week. This year, she is back in form in the top 5 for point scorers in the Turkish League (currently sitting in second overall at 5.76 points per set). As a result of the ankle injury, her serve wasn't as effective last year. She is still mainly float serving but doing well, but pulls out a jump serve here and there. Canada can use some strong serving. Joseph will have some more pro experience this winter in the US and has been an okay back up at OPP. She has potential but she needs to play with more confidence.
At OH, Alexa, had a great VNL last season (passing held really well). She is not having a bad season in Turkiye, but it isn't her best either. She did have a shoulder injury for sometime though and that seems to be on the mend now, so I am looking for her to continue to get back to form. She is currently at 3.43 points per set.
Howe (Johnson) and Mitrovic are both in Poland, but Mitrovic, in particular, seems to be having a great season and has been MVP several times now. Howe has as well, but Mitrovic seems to be doing better passing. It will be interesting to see if Winzer gives Mitrovic the start. I hope she gives her a fair chance and not just have Howe as the default starter. Howe is probably a little better blocker and has a good connection with Brie but... she can also be a liability passing. I think if Mitrovic has improved in passing, I would rather see Canada be a little more stable in that aspect than the slight extra output Howe may have over Mitrovic. I would rather have better passing to set KVR, Alexa, and Maglio in the middle more.
Savard has had a few big moments in the VNL and has helped stabilize the passing at times. She can also hit a heavy ball at times. I'm not sure if there are any other players that are ready to step in and take a passing role. There are a couple NextGen players that could possibly help (Fayad maybe?), but will Shannon bring them on or wait until after the VNL?
At MB Maglio is starting to get into the form in the Turkish League that had her as top blocker at the 2023 Olympic qualifier (and top 10 2023 VNL). She consistently has more than double the touches more any other middle on the team. It hasn't even been close. She is doing well offensively again this year in Turkiye, with 2.88 points per set and currently 6th overall in blocks per set. She is getting back into form after taking some time off in the fall to deal with several injuries last season.
White is surprisingly quite low in the blocking stats (for both VNL and Olympic Qualifying tournament), but she did have some big blocks in key moments last year. I'm not sure how her season in Germany is going, but she had a nice season there last year. Van Buskirk had a couple of good matches against the lower ranked team in the VNL like Korea, but Winzer usually played White over her. She has the potential to surpass White as a starter if she can stay healthy. We haven't seen a consistent season from her yet. She is currently playing for the Vegas Thrill, so it will be interesting to see what kind of form she can get into. She can be a boost to the team when she is healthy. She has had this past fall/winter to rehab her back. Ogums is having a decent season in France. She is doing well offensively (and in blocks). I am not sure if she has the foot speed to be a starter but she may see more floor time if healthy. White, Ogums, and Van Buskirk all different strengths and weakness. We will likely see a return of Jen Cross to the team after tearing her acl in one of the exhibition matches leading up to the VNL last year. She also had an ankle injury coming into the VNL. She has had a year to recover. She will likely be on the roster, but will she be a starter. I think if she is healthy, she had demonstrated that she gets a lot more blocks and touches in her past VNL performances than White has. White has good energy, but she was not very productive throughout the VNL or Olympic Qualifiying Tournament. Cross could fill that blocking void if healthy... then there is Heppell and Thokbuom.
Libero - It will be interesting to see if Palermo improved enough in Portugal. She needs to be more vocal and take charge if she wants to start. I think she has always had the potential but Jost had valuable experience last year and I hope she continues to build on that. Murmann had some health issues the previous year and she seemed to lose some ground to Jost, so it will be interesting to see where they stand this year. It would be fantastic if they have continued to improve.
I also would love to see be on the roster this year. It would be interesting to see how she does at OPP or even middle, but a dub sub would be fantastic too. You can't go wrong with a 6'9 player on the floor at least for a blocking sub in a critical moment.
I don't think we are going to see Livingston back with the NT, but I really liked her as a serving sub and some back row play. Same for Robitaille. I think they have moved on.
I don't think any NextGen player (with maybe the exception of Smrek) will make anything more than a long roster. Canada needs to invest in and keep their starters healthy. The sooner Brie can get connections with the starters the better. Week one wins will be just as important as Week 3 wins with Canada being 22 points back of the Netherlands.
At setter, King continues to improve. She improved a lot after her first year in Brazil (top setter in the league last year) and had a great VNL last year.
At OPP, KVR missed the first week of the VNL for personal reasons (was off from playing for a few months), her second week was rough, but by the third week she was getting into form. She also suffered an ankle injury in the VNL in the second week. This year, she is back in form in the top 5 for point scorers in the Turkish League (currently sitting in second overall at 5.76 points per set). As a result of the ankle injury, her serve wasn't as effective last year. She is still mainly float serving but doing well, but pulls out a jump serve here and there. Canada can use some strong serving. Joseph will have some more pro experience this winter in the US and has been an okay back up at OPP. She has potential but she needs to play with more confidence.
At OH, Alexa, had a great VNL last season (passing held really well). She is not having a bad season in Turkiye, but it isn't her best either. She did have a shoulder injury for sometime though and that seems to be on the mend now, so I am looking for her to continue to get back to form. She is currently at 3.43 points per set.
Howe (Johnson) and Mitrovic are both in Poland, but Mitrovic, in particular, seems to be having a great season and has been MVP several times now. Howe has as well, but Mitrovic seems to be doing better passing. It will be interesting to see if Winzer gives Mitrovic the start. I hope she gives her a fair chance and not just have Howe as the default starter. Howe is probably a little better blocker and has a good connection with Brie but... she can also be a liability passing. I think if Mitrovic has improved in passing, I would rather see Canada be a little more stable in that aspect than the slight extra output Howe may have over Mitrovic. I would rather have better passing to set KVR, Alexa, and Maglio in the middle more.
Savard has had a few big moments in the VNL and has helped stabilize the passing at times. She can also hit a heavy ball at times. I'm not sure if there are any other players that are ready to step in and take a passing role. There are a couple NextGen players that could possibly help (Fayad maybe?), but will Shannon bring them on or wait until after the VNL?
At MB Maglio is starting to get into the form in the Turkish League that had her as top blocker at the 2023 Olympic qualifier (and top 10 2023 VNL). She consistently has more than double the touches more any other middle on the team. It hasn't even been close. She is doing well offensively again this year in Turkiye, with 2.88 points per set and currently 6th overall in blocks per set. She is getting back into form after taking some time off in the fall to deal with several injuries last season.
White is surprisingly quite low in the blocking stats (for both VNL and Olympic Qualifying tournament), but she did have some big blocks in key moments last year. I'm not sure how her season in Germany is going, but she had a nice season there last year. Van Buskirk had a couple of good matches against the lower ranked team in the VNL like Korea, but Winzer usually played White over her. She has the potential to surpass White as a starter if she can stay healthy. We haven't seen a consistent season from her yet. She is currently playing for the Vegas Thrill, so it will be interesting to see what kind of form she can get into. She can be a boost to the team when she is healthy. She has had this past fall/winter to rehab her back. Ogums is having a decent season in France. She is doing well offensively (and in blocks). I am not sure if she has the foot speed to be a starter but she may see more floor time if healthy. White, Ogums, and Van Buskirk all different strengths and weakness. We will likely see a return of Jen Cross to the team after tearing her acl in one of the exhibition matches leading up to the VNL last year. She also had an ankle injury coming into the VNL. She has had a year to recover. She will likely be on the roster, but will she be a starter. I think if she is healthy, she had demonstrated that she gets a lot more blocks and touches in her past VNL performances than White has. White has good energy, but she was not very productive throughout the VNL or Olympic Qualifiying Tournament. Cross could fill that blocking void if healthy... then there is Heppell and Thokbuom.
Libero - It will be interesting to see if Palermo improved enough in Portugal. She needs to be more vocal and take charge if she wants to start. I think she has always had the potential but Jost had valuable experience last year and I hope she continues to build on that. Murmann had some health issues the previous year and she seemed to lose some ground to Jost, so it will be interesting to see where they stand this year. It would be fantastic if they have continued to improve.
I also would love to see be on the roster this year. It would be interesting to see how she does at OPP or even middle, but a dub sub would be fantastic too. You can't go wrong with a 6'9 player on the floor at least for a blocking sub in a critical moment.
I don't think we are going to see Livingston back with the NT, but I really liked her as a serving sub and some back row play. Same for Robitaille. I think they have moved on.
I don't think any NextGen player (with maybe the exception of Smrek) will make anything more than a long roster. Canada needs to invest in and keep their starters healthy. The sooner Brie can get connections with the starters the better. Week one wins will be just as important as Week 3 wins with Canada being 22 points back of the Netherlands.