[Aquiace]

Apparently the Winnipeg Free Press has nothing good to say about Luc Bourdon in these playoffs. Blake Price described his performance as "underwhelming". Could this be an injury related problem or are Canucks just the worst drafting team in history?

[Vancouver_Canucks]

Aquiace, on May 15 2007, 12:22 AM, said:

Apparently the Winnipeg Free Press has nothing good to say about Luc Bourdon in these playoffs. Blake Price described his performance as "underwhelming". Could this be an injury related problem or are Canucks just the worst drafting team in history?

Kopitar + Marc Staal

I dunno, I just hope that Bourdon atleast makes a solid 5th d man or something. If he doesn't even make the NHL full time in a few years that will sort of suck.

[Fedor_Chubarov]

Wow heads should roll in manitoba, they had great depth with victoria and vancouver out, and they even had the Chouiner if need be.

I don't know who won't be coming back by choice but they should clean house. I don't think Genoway was effective once we picked him up, i think he was a center before we traded for him. Schultz had a moose record for GOALZ last year, and if Jaffray gets a 2 way they would be a good 35+ GOALZ each winger pairing for Genoway. Reid i doubt will wanna stay in our organization but would be great for Raymond and Grabner for a super fast scoring line. Hansen despite the love fest only had 12 GOALZ and needs to develop his hands next year, he was playing LW recently and might work well with Simek on a line.

Bourdon didn't get the offensive ice time Coulombe and Edler got in vancouver this october making it harder for him to succeed, and i could see him being sent down for the 3rd year in a row for development purposes. Edler altho good, i could see similarly kept down for development and adding some size. Rahimi i think could make the canucks first due to his size and grit, at the NHL level he may be a guy for whom points are just a bonus, making his climb shorter and faster if he can deliver hard hits and be responsible, but i could see him being part of the moose big 3 D prospects.

quick lineup i pulled out from between my cheeks:

Jaffray-Genoway-Schultz
Raymond-Reid-Grabner
Hansen-Smith-Simek
Shirokov-Keane-Brown

Edler-Fortunus
Bourdon-Rahimi
McIver-Ryan

I forgot about Shirokov until i got to the 4th line. I'm sure manitoba would want a couple of their guys on the team and afew less prospects. Schultz Ried Smith and Keane are probably all vets next year, not sure if anyone else qualifies with games played. They need to watch the number of vets they sign next season yet still have some good leadership.

enough of this conan is on

[Vancouver_Canucks]

Rahimi is the mother ******* man!

[timw33]

Grabner, on May 14 2007, 09:45 PM, said:

Wasn't he in the penalty box?

Nope, he took a penalty in OT, but they killed it.

Vancouver_Canucks, on May 15 2007, 12:25 AM, said:

Kopitar + Marc Staal

I dunno, I just hope that Bourdon atleast makes a solid 5th d man or something. If he doesn't even make the NHL full time in a few years that will sort of suck.

STFU.

The guy is 19 F*cking years old, this is is first few games in the AHL.

Dmen take longer to come into their own.

Give him some f*cking time, did I mention he is 19?


As for Kopitar, refer to Toxic's sig.

[TerryE]

timw33, on May 15 2007, 12:10 AM, said:

Nope, he took a penalty in OT, but they killed it.
STFU.

The guy is 19 F*cking years old, this is is first few games in the AHL.

Dmen take longer to come into their own.

Give him some f*cking time, did I mention he is 19?
As for Kopitar, refer to Toxic's sig.

Bourdon turned 20 in February. He had a mediocre season at best. As you know, he didn't have a great Canucks camp, although he wasn't given much icetime. When he came to the Wildcats in Junior he started very strong, I remember his first game after coming from the Canucks, he had 4 points and was first star. He had a very good World Jr. tournament, again. He was then traded to Cape Breton, where I understand it, was ok, but not outstanding by any means. Hard to evaluate the couple games with the Moose.

I really hope he has a better Canucks camp next year, and a full year with the Moose is likely. Next year will tell the tale for Luc in my opinion. He was a "blue chip" prospect, no question. The jury is very much out right now on whether he will be a top 2 guy at the NHL level. As I have said many times, he has all the tools. Not sure about his mental game though.

[Boudrias]

Passing judgement on a 20 year old dman is a fool's game. Way to young. A guy like Bourdon could take another 3 to 4 years to become a competent NHL dman. IMO he has not been a standout in the games I have seen but that means little as I have not seen him other than with the Canucks and World Juniors.

With the accumulating defensive depth that Nonis is building I can see him making a deal for a forward by moving a dman.

[itzabreeze]

Bangs head at Bourdon OMGZ11 Kopitar Thread.

This just in.....

JonnyBCYa is a bigger tool then Reidfan.

[Grabner]

NHL DraftBuzz
Draft Riser: Hot DANE!

Lars Eller
*****
Country: Denmark
Position: Center
League: J20 SuperElit
Team: Vastra Frolunda HC Indians
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 198
Shoots: Left
*****
The Skinny: The best Danish prospect available for this year's draft has really skyrocketed up many scouts lists the second half of the season and has all but solidifed himself a spot in the top 20. Eller is a player who is technically very sound; he is a quick skater, owns both a hard and accurate slapshot and wristshot, and is a great stickhandler equipped with the above average vision needed to be a playmaker. Above all, he is a mature, two-way player. He has progressed on a steep development curve, one that started as soon as he came into this season with added size and strength. The most impressive feat in Eller's meteoric rise, according to DraftBuzz, is the quality of the competition he had to first prove he could hang with and then later surpass. Aside from Mikael Backlund, Eller seemingly had to deal with the rest of Sweden's notable draft eligible's stealing the spotlight, having outstanding teammates such as Simon Hjalmarsson, Joakim Andersson, and Jens Hellgren. To go from afterthought in scouts eyes to hot prospect in such a short period of time is remarkable. Although Eller's main weakness is his unselfishness as he often passes up open shots, the second year player for the HC Indians went on to be the team's biggest threat on the powerplay leading the team with 6 goals. Lars Eller is most definately on the prospect fast track, as he is widely considered one of the few young J20 candidates to move up to the Swedish Elites next year. With Denmark earning a promotion in the WJC for 2007-2008, Eller will also be given a chance to match his talent up against other junior stars on the biggest international stage.
*****
2006/2007 Regular Season Stats:
*****
39 games 18 goals 37 assists 55 points +22 58 PIM
*****
WJC18 d1 '07 - Team Denmark
*****
5 games 3 goals 7 assists 10 points +5 6 PIM
*****
WJC d1 '07 - Team Denmark
*****
5 games 2 goals 5 assists 7 points +6 16 PIM
*****
Draft Day Status/Projection: Top 20 is a conservative prediction based on the hype, but it's not farfetched to believe a team in the 8-14 range may gamble on Eller's unique upside and select the rising Dane after the draft's first tier of talent's.

[Vancouver_Canucks]

Grabner, on May 15 2007, 11:45 AM, said:

NHL DraftBuzz
Draft Riser: Hot DANE!

Lars Eller
*****
Country: Denmark
Position: Center
League: J20 SuperElit
Team: Vastra Frolunda HC Indians
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 198
Shoots: Left
*****
The Skinny: The best Danish prospect available for this year's draft has really skyrocketed up many scouts lists the second half of the season and has all but solidifed himself a spot in the top 20. Eller is a player who is technically very sound; he is a quick skater, owns both a hard and accurate slapshot and wristshot, and is a great stickhandler equipped with the above average vision needed to be a playmaker. Above all, he is a mature, two-way player. He has progressed on a steep development curve, one that started as soon as he came into this season with added size and strength. The most impressive feat in Eller's meteoric rise, according to DraftBuzz, is the quality of the competition he had to first prove he could hang with and then later surpass. Aside from Mikael Backlund, Eller seemingly had to deal with the rest of Sweden's notable draft eligible's stealing the spotlight, having outstanding teammates such as Simon Hjalmarsson, Joakim Andersson, and Jens Hellgren. To go from afterthought in scouts eyes to hot prospect in such a short period of time is remarkable. Although Eller's main weakness is his unselfishness as he often passes up open shots, the second year player for the HC Indians went on to be the team's biggest threat on the powerplay leading the team with 6 goals. Lars Eller is most definately on the prospect fast track, as he is widely considered one of the few young J20 candidates to move up to the Swedish Elites next year. With Denmark earning a promotion in the WJC for 2007-2008, Eller will also be given a chance to match his talent up against other junior stars on the biggest international stage.
*****
2006/2007 Regular Season Stats:
*****
39 games 18 goals 37 assists 55 points +22 58 PIM
*****
WJC18 d1 '07 - Team Denmark
*****
5 games 3 goals 7 assists 10 points +5 6 PIM
*****
WJC d1 '07 - Team Denmark
*****
5 games 2 goals 5 assists 7 points +6 16 PIM
*****
Draft Day Status/Projection: Top 20 is a conservative prediction based on the hype, but it's not farfetched to believe a team in the 8-14 range may gamble on Eller's unique upside and select the rising Dane after the draft's first tier of talent's.

Sure if he is available

We draft 26 though?

[suomistyler]

if the Sens win the cup we will draft higher i believe...

[Fedor_Chubarov]

I just noticed something, Bourdon played 5 games in the playoffs, Rahimi played 4, yet Rahimi was with the moose for the end of the regular season, so he had weeks to get used to the team, and spent some time watching from the pressbox, Bourdon however being a top 10 pick 1st rounder seemed to get rushed into action on the moose, i don't think he was a healthy scratch once, unlike all the other prospects who joined the moose and who were slowly integrated in with the odd game and pressbox time. I wonder if the moose were pressured to make room for him, or if they have double standards?

[Vancouver_Canucks]

Fedor_Chubarov, on May 15 2007, 12:49 PM, said:

I just noticed something, Bourdon played 5 games in the playoffs, Rahimi played 4, yet Rahimi was with the moose for the end of the regular season, so he had weeks to get used to the team, and spent some time watching from the pressbox, Bourdon however being a top 10 pick 1st rounder seemed to get rushed into action on the moose, i don't think he was a healthy scratch once, unlike all the other prospects who joined the moose and who were slowly integrated in with the odd game and pressbox time. I wonder if the moose were pressured to make room for him, or if they have double standards?

It might have something to do with not being as familarized with the North American style hockey. He isn't as fine tuned as everyone else I guess and is coming from a larger ice surface.

I don't know though, either way Rahimi is the most intriguing prospect imo.

[Millerdraft]

I think the Moose will have even more of a fantastic year next year if we can convince Corey Schneider to turn pro. Think about what that'll do for the likes of Edler, Bourdon, Rahimi, Raymond, Hansen, Simek and Grabner (if he can gain some lbs). The skilled guys won't be afraid to take an extra chance if it presents itself and they'll all get a sniff of what it's like playing with a mini-Luongo behind them. The mirror imaging of the Canucks should do wonders, not to mention them all growing together at the AHL level first. I see the Moose fast becoming one helluva speedy transition team that'll feast on turnovers, sound defense and outstanding goaltending. Next year will be hella exciting.

[-mb]

Ever since I read about Eller I've been a big fan. In fact I think I was the one who first brought him up as a potential pick for the Canucks. However as much as I like him, and as good as he sounds there is still that other side of me that worries.

Will he be able to adapt to the NA style of play? As of right now he isn't the type of player that likes to play the physical type of game. Hansen came right over and had no problem. And even Rahimi, who stayed an extra year in Sweden, hasn't had much trouble adjusting. But those players aren't flash and dash skill players. They like to get into the battles down low and can both take and deal out hits. I'm not saying Eller is a "soft euro", but there's always the chance the adjustment to the NA pro game will be difficult for an offensive player like him.

Another knock on him that has been brought up is that although he is a pretty solid guy at 6'1 200lbs, he doesn't seem to use his size to his advantage. From what I've read one of the biggest things he lacks is that competitive edge. Scouts would like to see him take charge and not just play the game but compete. We've seen it with Chouinard this year. He's a big guy and he has NHL skill, but when he plays it's like he's asleep out there. Obviously I haven't seen Eller play, and am basing this whole thing on what I've read from scouting reports. I'm just trying to keep things in perspective.

I'm not saying Eller isn't a good player, and I'm not saying for whatever reason that the Canucks should not draft him. But it just seems to me that most of the reports about him posted in this thread have shown all of the great attributes and none of the things he may need to work on.

[Millerdraft]

OMFG that screams soft Euro/afraid to go to the net/dislikes physical contact. I will freak if we draft that kid in the 1st round. He's almost Kesler's size, ahem, lay some checks! Drive the net! No more perimeter players! They don't create open ice!!!

A 6'2"+ 200lb+ centre with vision, hands and a love of the physical game please. We have no one like that in our organization and we desperately need it (unless we plan on trading Mo and Bieksa for Marleau next year).

[Grabner]

You guys haven't even seen him play, so how can you say he's another soft Euro?

[Grabner]

25. Lars Eller – C - Vastra Frolunda (J20 SuperElit) 6’0 – 190lbs – Shoots L

Eller is the best Dane available this year. He has great size and is a very good two way player. Towards the end of the year, as the competition became stiffer, Eller added a good physical element to his game and began to muck and grind for the puck. Eller has a good skill set; strong skating, good vision and a great shot. He is very responsible at both ends of the ice and is strong on his skates. Eller’s biggest strength is his mature, smart style of play and his ability to dominate on special teams.

2006/07 Regular Season Stats: 38GP – 18G – 37A – 55Pts - +22 – 58PIM


http://nhldraftprevi...ft-ranking.html

[-mb]

Yeah F*ck it...

Let's draft Eller. If there's one guy we should take a chance on it's him.

This post has been edited by -mb: 15 May 2007 - 06:55 PM

[timw33]

Grabner, on May 15 2007, 06:16 PM, said:

25. Lars Eller – C - Vastra Frolunda (J20 SuperElit) 6’0 – 190lbs – Shoots L

Eller is the best Dane available this year. He has great size and is a very good two way player. Towards the end of the year, as the competition became stiffer, Eller added a good physical element to his game and began to muck and grind for the puck. Eller has a good skill set; strong skating, good vision and a great shot. He is very responsible at both ends of the ice and is strong on his skates. Eller’s biggest strength is his mature, smart style of play and his ability to dominate on special teams.

2006/07 Regular Season Stats: 38GP – 18G – 37A – 55Pts - +22 – 58PIM
http://nhldraftprevi...ft-ranking.html

Awesome.

I really want Eller, if we have to trade up a few spots to get him, do it.