CallAfterLife

So glad Alex was able to do this before he passed. RIP

Isn't Podkolzin's agent also the coach of the team? Not trying to take anything away from Podkolzin. But just saying.

Podkolzin and Pettersson are already connecting.

Even if that happened it likely wouldn't have made a much of a difference if you looked at the order of the draft. Minnesota's third round pick was #65 and the Canucks was at #82. The Canucks then picked two spots ahead of them in the fifth round. Minnesota didn't have a fourth, sixth or seventh.

I think this will be one of the most interesting drafts the league has ever had after the fact. With CHL teams and NCAA teams having delayed seasons. This will be a huge test for scouts and GMs.

You clearly know very little about Russia if you think they don't need to modernize numerous parts of their society. I feel like I can't state this enough. This would be a complete non-story if Mitchell Miller made amends to Isaiah Meyer-Crothers. It's pretty clear that he and his family leaked the story to the Arizona Republic and it was then picked up by bigger outlets. There's no way some journalist from a newspaper that doesn't even primarily focus on sports would bother deeply investigating a 4th round pick in one of the smallest hockey markets in the league. It's also pretty clear that Isaiah Meyer-Crothers' mother still holds a grudge by the letter she wrote to the Coyotes. This isn't about cancel culture so much as the fact that Mitchell Miller had 4 years to make things right but never bothered to do so. Had he done so perhaps the victim of his bullying wouldn't have thrown a grenade into his dreams.

Supposedly SKA is interested in him. Oh Russia. Why are you stuck in the 1900s on almost every issue?

I think there's some sort of policy that NCAA schools have to honour scholarships for one year if they give a player a spot on their team. No scholarship after that though.

I can honestly say that I teared up when I read the text messages Biden sent his son when he was in rehab. They were so heartfelt. Biden clearly loves his son very much. But ask yourself this. Why does Joe Biden have nothing but love and compassion for his own son but nothing but contempt for those he sent to prison by championing the 1994 crime bill which he proudly touted back then as the Biden Crime Bill. Why does Hunter Biden get the benefit of a fancy rehab facility while others suffered and continue to suffer the trauma of an American prison? Where was Biden's heart in 1991 when three women were ready to testify to the claims made by Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas but were sidelined by Biden? Biden was the head of the judiciary committee that could have allowed those women to speak but chose not to give them the opportunity. Where was Biden's heart in 1994 when he voted to de-regulated the financial industry by that eventually led to the practices that caused the recession? I won't disagree that Biden is clearly capable of empathy and Trump is very clearly a narcissist. But Biden's heart is pretty useless on a lot of major policy items that tangibly benefit peoples lives. Biden has also clearly stated that he wants his presidency to usher in new politicians like Pete Buttigieg. Not AOC and those like her. Pete Buttigieg. The guy who raises money in houses and wine caves of billionaires. I think what a lot of people miss is the civility. They miss people who use condoms.

I'm not a big fan of cancel culture either. I honestly think Mitchell Miller could make a fortune by going into politics and talking about this issue and how it doesn't allow for people to grow from their mistakes. But let's all be clear about why this is entire story is now a national issue in Canada and the US. Isaiah Meyers-Crothers and his mother simply didn't feel that Mitchell Miller did enough to apologize and atone for his actions. Had he done so the quotes from Isaiah in the Arizona Republic and the letter that his mother wrote to the Coyotes wouldn't have damned him. I posted a Sports Illustrated article earlier that said said how one scout interviewed him on multiple occasions about the incident and said that he felt that Miller simply didn't understand why what he did was so damaging and so was put on their do not draft list. I think it says a lot that Miller is a RHD that shows pretty good offensive ability and by all accounts had the talent to go somewhere in the second round fell all the way to the fourth round and was picked up by the most desperate organization in the league. I think it shows that Miller was on the no draft list of pretty much every team in the league and the Coyotes picked him because their entire situation is a mess. Their GM basically left without notice. They lost multiple picks for tampering. I think their situation biased them into believing that selecting Miller wouldn't have blown up in their face. I don't think Patrick Roy would have gotten away with what he did in this day and age since the MeToo / Time'sUp and the BLM movement have started to gain traction. We really can't compare why past offenders we're given a pass or lesser sentences because society is finally starting to understand why certain behaviours need taken more seriously.

The whole situation is just another reason why the Coyotes are a dumpster fire. I think Isaiah Meyer-Crothers mom would still have gone to the press and written a letter to the team that drafted Mitchell Miller regardless of where he was picked. I still love cheeseburgers.

Led by Coyotes, UND and USA Hockey, the hockey world failed Mitch Miller I’ve spoken to three current head scouts and one retired and not one of them would have picked Miller in the draft solely because of Miller’s past. One of them said he really dug in on Miller and spent hours of his time on calls with coaches and teammates who all had glowing things to say about the player. But he also interviewed Miller on more than one occasion specifically about the incident and that’s when he made the determination that Miller would be taken off their draft list. “I didn’t get the feeling there was remorse,” he said. “Now I’m not saying he’s a sociopath or psychopath, but basically he said, ‘Yeah, I did it. It was stupid, it was wrong.’ But it was more than that and you wanted to him say that he realized it was more than that.” When the Coyotes took Miller, one scout who also decided to take Miller off his list, was surprised he went as high as he did, saying Arizona probably could have selected him lower in the draft. But he was also intrigued. “When they drafted Miller, the first thing I thought was that they had a plan,” the scout said. “I thought, ‘This is going to be interesting because there’s going to be some blowback.’ I thought, ‘They’re going to roll this in with the Hockey Diversity Alliance, they’re going to roll this in with what (Coyotes owner Alex) Meruelo and (team president Xavier) Gutierrez are doing. Wow, that gives them an advantage.’ And then nothing.” It turns out that recruiting and drafting Mitch Miller was a mistake. The Coyotes and North Dakota not having a plan of action, then turning their backs on him, was even worse. I honestly thought UND ran its program better than this.

I think the sort of middle ground between both your opinions is that both Trump and Biden express their racism in the America but in different ways. I'm honestly not sure that Trump is racist to his core. The bulk of his support comes from demographics that were racist long before he came along in 2016 and so he panders to those groups and in a lot of ways has adopted their way of thinking. Biden meanwhile is not only responsible for the 1994 crime bill that has disproportionately hurt communities of colour by sending individuals to prison for minor drug possession charges. But also had a hand in numerous pieces of neoliberal legislation that has economically depressed and alienated the groups that now support Trump away from the Democratic Party. Midwestern parts of America have traditionally voted for Democrats because they've been pro-worker. But have now turned away from the Democratic Party because they believe Trump will bring their jobs back. Many of those voters lost their jobs under Bush and never recovered under Obama. Trump is dangerous right now because he's radicalizing a lot of people. But Biden was responsible for the conditions that made people susceptible to Trump's radical message. I guess to use a farming analogy. Biden has worked the soil and but Trump is now watering the seeds. Biden was a US Senator when Ronald Reagan was President and started perpetuating the myth of the black welfare queen. Biden didn't push back against that myth. Biden was also against desegregating public schools. An issue his very own VP pick Kamala Harris attacked him on in the primary. Biden may have served under a black man. A black woman could possible serve under him. But what unites Biden, Harris and Obama. Not to mention every single President from Nixon to Bush that Biden served under in the US Senate, is that they are pro-corporations and pro rich people. Policies that would actually lift people out of poverty like affordable healthcare and college and UBI are anathema to them. Between Biden and Trump, Biden is the more dangerous candidate because he doesn't understand why people voted for Trump. Biden like Trump will continue to push policies that will cause people to live economically uncertain and unstable lives. But Biden will chastise them if they express racism. If I were an American I would honestly vote for Trump, not because I'm a racist, but for what the Democratic Party did to Bernie Sanders. The Democrats need to learn a lesson. Their party's future lies with the path paved by Bernie Sanders and those like him. Not with smug people like Pete Buttigieg and all these Never Trump / Lincoln Project Republicans.

The NFL has just absolutely set the bar so low.

His life isn't ruined. He still has his scholarship. The only thing that's really been taken away from him at this point is the ability to be part of an NHL organization. No pre-season camps and no communication with coaches that could help with his development. At this point in time he's basically at the equivalent of an undrafted player. The only difference is that he's getting all this deservedly negative media attention. He has an opportunity to play hockey and get an free education. He could very well mature at UND as a player and a person and be welcomed back into the NHL.

At least the judge in Isaiah Meyer-Crothers case took Mitchell Miller's actions seriously and didn't dismiss them with some wordy legal version of boys will be boys.

Too bad for the Canucks. It would have been great if the Canucks brought him back.

This is a good point. Leivo may not have wanted to compete with those guys for a spot in the line up. I mean he's in his late 20's and likely only has 1 maybe 2 more chances to sign a big contract in the NHL.

Quotes by JD Burke. Scott Wheeler and Cam Robinson both had similar opinions on Kunz and Zlodeyev in the same article. The article's headline is very deceptive, the Canucks didn't necessarily "hit it out of the park," the overall assessment of the 2020 Canucks draft class is that they got decent value for the picks they had. With the exception of Kunz, they thought that a lot of the other prospects would be taken higher in the draft.

Joni Jurmo: "His weaknesses aren’t as debilitating as his strengths, especially at Pick 82. This guy had early second-round potential all day so to get him in the late third is a heck of a swing and something that I’d put on a stamp on too." Jackson Kunz: "The thing about Kunz is if he ever makes the NHL, he’s going to be a fourth-line grinder. And you look at the players available to them in the fourth round, I just don’t think the juice is anywhere worth the squeeze." Jacob Truscott: "I think what the Canucks did was they looked at his package of skills — he can skate well, he’s got good size, decent shot, can move the puck — he’s shown in spurts that he can put it all together and be something of a modern transitional defenceman. The question is if he can harness his skill on a game-to-game basis and I think that’s going to be the challenge." Dmitry Zlodeyev: "His skill level isn’t especially high, but that’s not what he’s projected to do at the NHL level anyways. He’s going to be, if anything, a third or fourth-liner who can find teammates relatively well but provides a ton of value on the penalty kill and in defensive situations." Viktor Persson: "He’s kind of one of the generals on Brynas where you can see that he’s kind of dictating how things are going to get set up, even when he doesn’t have the puck. He has the skating ability, he’s an intelligent kid, has a nice playmaking element where he can see how things open up instead of rushing his first pass. I think he has NHL upside and really liked this pick." Jurmo and Truscott were the most well liked picks.

SKA St. Petersburg just doesn't give young players big minutes. When you look at Vladimir Tarasenko's KHL career his TOI on his first team, HC Sibir Novosibirsk, was 18:48 and he was just 1 point shy of being a ppg. When Tarasenko left for St. Petersburg his TOI went down to 14:47 despite him being a ppg player for them. In the playoffs he scored 16 points in 15 games and his TOI was only 12:16. I think the concern with Podkolzin is both panic and frustration. He's a promising young player that isn't being developed properly and that could lead to stagnation. A lot of Russian players have developed nicely in the KHL but I really can't think of a single one in the last 10 years that developed in St. Petersburg's system.

Canucks' belief in Jayce Hawryluk may be what his winding career needs That was Benning’s first draft in charge of the Canucks and, after an impressive showing by Hawryluk at the pre-draft combine, Vancouver rated him highly. But the Panthers selected him four spots before the Canucks’ second-round pick, and Benning chose goalie Thatcher Demko. Thank you Florida for Demko and Hawryluk.

I think they're married now. So a future divorce would have to be part of his signing deal.

Tampa and Vegas can wheel and deal during the trade deadline and free agency because they have assets to burn. The Canucks haven't fully recovered form the years of dead end prospects under Gillis. Tampa is one of the top organizations when it comes to drafting. Take a look at their draft history and you'll see that they've usually had at least 6+ draft picks every year. They may have had some years with filled with major busts but then they have monster years where they draft 2 or more NHL players. With that kind of depth they aren't afraid to add sweeteners to get the kind of players they need to stay in contention. Just take a look at how they brought in JT Miller and Ryan McMcDonagh from the Rangers. They've also been pretty successful at identifying good talent to trade for. They traded for Ben Bishop and then they traded him for Eric Cernak. Drouin for Sergachev. Coburn for picks. Plus they aren't afraid to deal roster players for extra picks. All of this was possible because they had strong core pieces that they've kept together. Vegas had a great expansion draft where they negotiated with teams for extra picks in exchange for not selecting certain roster players. They had so many assets in the beginning that they could afford to trade for better pieces to stay competitive. They were able to bring in Max Pacioretty in exchange for Nick Suzuki. Mark Stone in exchange for Erik Brannstrom. The Canucks are able to attract players though. When the Canucks traded for JT Miller he said that Vancouver was one of his favourite cities. OEL wanted to come here. Braden Holtby chose to sign here. Nate Schmidt had a 10 team no trade list and Vancouver wasn't on it. Just last summer Tyler Myers and Michael Ferland chose to sign in Vancouver. Just because the Canucks have had a quiet UFA period this year it doesn't mean that the city is somehow one the blacklist of most UFAs. I think the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward was a first year backup and played lights out in the playoffs. Eric Staal was on his ELC when he scored 100 points and was Carolina's leading playoff scorer in 2006. I think Justin Williams was on a really cheap secondary contract that year though. I think Malkin was still on his ELC when Pittsburg won in 2009. I'm pretty sure Jordan Staal and Kris Letang were also on ELC's that year. Crosby might have just signed his second contract. I'm not 100% sure. I think the Canucks are in a position to be like the LA Kings when they won their cups in 2012 and 2014. With some core pieces in their early 30s like Justin Williams and Marian Gaborik, some pieces in their to mid late 20s like Dustin Brown, Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter and some pieces on their early twenties like Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli.

This off season will be a big test for Jake and his maturity. If he shows up to camp in shape and without any questionable incidents then he'll have shown that he was worth keeping.