Kiss his Ast good-bye

[johnnyradiant]

I'll miss him. He was one of those players a guy decides he likes to cheer for as long as he puts in an honest effort. Had a lot of hard luck here. I loved to yell out the opposition goalie's name and tell him to kiss my Ast the few times he scored at home. That alone was almost as much fun as watching some of those snow removal people pretending they can scrape the snow away from the entire net are while 'skating' simultaneously on their skate blades and ankles.

[Priceisright]

No more signing autographs in between periods :( lol.

I saw him there many times.

On another note, whl trades really never amount to much. I guess because teams only have players 1-2 -3 yrs etc.

Lots of 2-3-4 rounders for players.

Good luck to him.

[Lucic]

I won't. I don't mean to sound like an ass but I constantly felt disappointed in him. He just couldn't stay healthy long enough to be an impact player. He would show signs at times but they were few and far between. Hopefully he can go on and produce in Medicine Hat.

It just sucks the Giants lose a former 1st round pick and only gain a 3rd round pick. Not that I'm suggesting he is worth more because he isn't, IMO. He didn't produce enough to justify a higher return. That is just a product of poor drafting by the Giants.

[Swando]

Ast has had a tough ride here. Probably one of the smoothest skaters we had but also most injury prone along with another 1st round bust in Sward. Ast can't be blamed for being a 1st round pick but when you look at the 2010 draft and see names like ...ARE you ready.. Reinhart, Petan, Geertsen,Bowey, Ully, and Comrie we could have picked ...Our scouts chose Ast.

[Priceisright]

I was thinking our drafting isn't too good is it?

Seems were always acquiring players. Where has the "good" and "significant" home grown talent? Drafted talent.

Cheers

[dondo]

I liked his work ethic. It doesn't make sense to acquire yet another 19 yr old and trade an 18 year old who has had a tough time -- now we are one of the oldest "re-building" teams in the league. We need 18 and 17 year olds, not more 19s. I'll miss him. He played hard every shift, but unfortunately not too lucky healthwise.

[Swando]

Dondo:

We have a LOT of young draft picks coming on board next year . The age group.. soon will change. If 1/4 of the kids in our system come to play there will be tough decisions to make. I'm glad Bonner made the trade for both..import will help us in scoring and Ast really did not do much and allows the Leone's, Ronnings and Baers to play. I always hear you saying to play the youngsters instead ..well here is their chance.

[dondo]

It's true we have a lot of young guys coming on board and also true we have few 18 yr olds becoming 19 yr old veterans, and yet we have 8 or more 19 yr olds most of which won't be here as OA players. I would have liked to see us trade some 19 yr old players and maybe a pick to sweeten the deal for some 18s to adjust for that disparity. I expect we'll be busy in the off-season, but it feels very square-one thinking to me.

If 2016 is our Mem Cup goal then a lot of the draft picks we are acquiring won't be old enough to make an impact and our top players coming next season will probably find themselves in the NHL. I just find it odd that we have kept all of these 19 yr old players. It limits our options.

That said - apparently Ast's agent was looking to have him dealt, not sure of the reason and his injury issues makes it a tad less painful. I liked the kid - he might not have lived up to his first round pedigree, but he was solid, had some skill and played hard out there. It's shame his injuries have kept him off the ice so much as he needs time and consistency to meet his potential.

[MeszarosFan]

Ast has had a tough ride here. Probably one of the smoothest skaters we had but also most injury prone along with another 1st round bust in Sward. Ast can't be blamed for being a 1st round pick but when you look at the 2010 draft and see names like ...ARE you ready.. Reinhart, Petan, Geertsen,Bowey, Ully, and Comrie we could have picked ...Our scouts chose Ast.

All of those players were taken before Vancouver even had a pick. So not exactly a fair statement.

[Malc]

Minor detail, but the Vancouver Giants had the 13th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft (when Reinhart, Petan, Geertsen, Bowey, Ully, and Comrie were all available to be selected).

But they traded that pick to the Tri-City Americans to switch first round picks (to receive Tri-City's 2nd round pick in 2011 = Reid Zalitach).

The Tri-City Americans chose Eric Comrie with that 13th overall pick.
Reinhart (15th pick), Petan (16th pick), and Geertsen (18th pick) were chosen before the Giants selected Ast with the 19th overall pick.

Bowey (1st pick of the 2nd round, 23rd overall) and Ully (8th pick of the 2nd round) were still available.

[Lucic]

I wouldn't call that a minor detail, that is rather significant. It just validates some of the issues Giants fans have with their scouting staff. They like to attribute that to not having many high draft picks over the years but that is just a load of crap. It comes down to bad drafting simply put.

[johnnyradiant]

Some of the picks, which feel like too many of the picks have been busts. As far as raw skill, talent, and ability to get it done Ast ranks in that group, but at the same time because of his effort when healthy he ended up being one of those players a guy in the stands may like to root for, that underdog thing I guess. As far as the overall effect on the team, not gone miss at all. I wonder how much diabetes factored into his injuries, not getting them but how it affected the injury and how it effected getting over them. (one of those __ffected's has to be right)

Even Hay seemed to go well beyond the politically correct parting well wishes when he spoke of him. It sounded very sincere to me.

Water under the bridge if they make something of the picks they picked up.

[dondo]

Minor detail, but the Vancouver Giants had the 13th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft (when Reinhart, Petan, Geertsen, Bowey, Ully, and Comrie were all available to be selected).

But they traded that pick to the Tri-City Americans to switch first round picks (to receive Tri-City's 2nd round pick in 2011 = Reid Zalitach).

The Tri-City Americans chose Eric Comrie with that 13th overall pick.
Reinhart (15th pick), Petan (16th pick), and Geertsen (18th pick) were chosen before the Giants selected Ast with the 19th overall pick.

Bowey (1st pick of the 2nd round, 23rd overall) and Ully (8th pick of the 2nd round) were still available.

Wow I was hoping our scouting staff weren't that clueless, but apparently they are. Our euro drafting is even worse. It might be time for the Ripplingers to get the boot and the Giants bring in some real scouts willing to do the leg work, as it seems we (who should have the wherewithal to acquire the best scouts) are lacking scouts who can properly assess talent. I find it odd for a team to pass on a Reinhart or Petan and choose Ast - hindsight is 20/20 of course, but good scouts would have caught that.