[Gnickers87]

*Note: The Grades I assign to each pick are based on the criteria of value, need and overall talent. Value has to do with where he was selected compared to generally where he should have gone, need is whether or not he fills a hole or gap in the system and i'm sure you all know talent is.*

1st Round (22nd Overall) - Jordan Schroeder Grade - A

In terms of talent, Schroeder easily falls into Top 10 in the draft, with only his size "holding him back". However, most rankings still had him in the Top 15 and the CSS had him 5th for North America. (when you factor in Europe, he's about 9th or 10th) While the Canucks selected a Center last year as well in Cody Hodgson, it's not like their system is brimming with depth, as most of the other Centers who have a shot at the NHL project into a bottom 6 role. Schroeder provides versatility by being able to play on the wing and is already well-rounded defensively. While there will always be the question of size, that can always be alleviated by putting him with a winger with the talent, size and tenacity to compliment him. (say...Ryan Kesler in a couple years) The possibility of the Canucks having Cody Hodgson and Jordan Schroeder as their 1-2 punch at Center down the road should have any Canuck fan very excited.

2nd Round (53rd Overall) - Anton Rodin Grade - A

Speed, talent and flair are all things evident Anton Rodin's game. He had dominant year for the Byrnas J20 squad (29 Goals/55 points in 37 games) and had an equally impressive run with the U19 squad with 5 goal and 13 points in 8 games. His contract with Byrnas runs till the end of the 2010/2011 season. Rodin likes to score goals and does so in entertaining fashion with consistency. Rodin is not overly big, (6'0 176lbs currently) but uses his size well and does not shy away from physical play, however he will probably like to get to 185lbs - 190lbs eventually. Rodin is LW and as such he fills a hole that the Canucks have in their system, as their only prospects at that position are Shirokov, Kablukov and Labire...aka not very promising. Rodin is a very good pick in the 2nd round, as he addresses the need of a goalscoring winger.

3rd Round (83rd Overall) - Kevin Connauton Grade - C+

A bit of a head scratcher for some when they saw him picked, as many have not heard of him and he was ranked 202nd in the CSS. This is not to say Connauton is a bad player or pick, it just seems that he went a round or two early. However, maybe GM Mike Gillis was aware of somebody else who was planning to select him

This is the Alberta Junior product's second go-around in the draft as he was born in February 1990. He had a solid Freshman season for a mediocre Western Michigan squad, with 7G/18p in 40 games, garnering him an Honorable Mention to the All-Rookie Team. He has good size at 6'1 185lbs and is talented defenseman with a knack for offense who was logging big minutes as a Freshman. He skates very well and is adept at moving the puck up the ice. While Connauton no doubt fills a position of need, there are presently questions around his value at the spot he was taken, hence his draft grade.

4th Round (113th Overall) - Jeremy Price Grade - B

Like Connauton, the selection of Price raised a few eyebrows as well, however he was selected much closer to his ranking. Price is set to join Colgate of the NCAA this coming season and spent the past season with the Nepean Raiders of the CJHL. He had a very productive season with 41 points in 55 games while leading all defenseman in the league in goalscoring. He has a frame similar to Connauton, but is listed slightly bigger at 6'1 194lbs. (as per Eliteprospects) He is also different from Connauton in that Price is Right-Handed, a coveted trait among defenseman.

Because of the league Price played in last year, it is harder to gauge where he is at in development and overall ability. However, a strong Freshman season for Colgate will help alleviate some question marks. Like Connauton, he fills a position of need, but provides better value then the latter in the spot he was drafted.

5th Round (143rd Overall) - Peter Andersson Grade - B+

I’d be lying to you if I said I knew a lot about this pick. However, seeing that he is Swedish and a late-rounder, you’d have to think Thomas Gradin was involved.
In Petersson the Canucks again address the need for defeseman, but this time they get a player with a larger frame and size projectable to Alexander Edler. (currently listed at 6’3 195lbs) Andersson is listed as a well-rounded defensemen, who can skate, move the puck, has a hard shot and is defensively responsible. He had a decent year offensively with the Frolunda J20 side, putting up 8 points in 36 games. He also represented the U18 Swedish squad throughout the year. It is likely Andersson will play one more season with the Frolunda J20 before joining the SEL team in 2010/2011.

6th Round (173rd Overall) - Joe Canatta Grade - A-

Joe Canatta had a very good Freshman season for Merrimack College in the NCAA in arguably its toughest conference. (including National Champions Boston University) Like Connauton, Canatta was eligible to be drafted last year but was not. Canatta put up very impressive numbers with a 2.35 GAA and a .918% on a sub-500 team. (superior to the Freshman season of highly-touted prospect Cory Schneider) Canatta is described as calm, confident, with good angles and reflexes while being very competitive.

Canatta does not address an immediate positional need for the Canucks with both 23-year-old prospect Schneider and Roberto Luongo ahead of him. (although the latter is a UFA in year) However, you cannot have too much goaltending depth and by the time Canatta leaves the NCAA, Schneider will be 25/26 and Luongo will be 32. I predict the he will do 2 more years at Merrimack, before joining the Moose for the 2011/2012 season.

7th Round (187th Overall) - Steven Anthony Grade - A

A very intriguing pick for the Canucks. In Anthony, the Canucks select a player who was being mentioned in the same breath as Tavares only 3 year ago, clearly a lot has changed in that time. A few years ago, Anthony was described as the total package with size, (listed at 6’2 205lbs) speed, talent and skill. However, what has plagued him these last 2-3 years is a question of his work-ethic, motivation and attitude. This was evident in this with the Sea Dogs in the QMJHL where he had a very slow start to the season. He had only 19 points in his first 37 games, but he finished very strong with 29 points in the final 30 games. If he can bottle some of what he had in the 2nd half of the year, it will do wonders for his future.

If the Canucks development team and Dave Gagner can get this kids head on straight, they could have themselves a real game.

Steven Anthony the ultimate Low-Risk/High-Reward pick, unless of course you were very high on Shaun Heshka.

Overall: B+: The Canucks did a very good job of addressing positions of need while also getting good talent and value in their other picks. This draft with its earliest signs are very promising, but a lot will come down to at least one of the defenseman selected eventually becoming a Top 4 Defenseman.

Thoughts? What are some of your grades?

This post has been edited by Gnickers87: 27 June 2009 - 01:37 PM

[billabong]

I am more confident in gillis's drafting than anyone else like he has not made a bad pick yet or any signs of it. Most important he has stole two picks hodgson and schroeder.

[Hafizzle]

Great report card. I agree with majority if not all of the grades and nice summaries under them. Clearly you've done your research. Only thing I might change is an overall rating of A- rather than B+. I must say, I'm impressed with this years draft.

[AmazingNuck]

With Rodin's pick, we passed up several big name prospects (Doherty, Tatar, Orlov, Gelinas). With Connauton, we gave up Button and Rajala (first MSP, now Rajala. T_T). We passed up Pasquale for Price, but at the end of the day, they may just be overhyped (except Orlov).

[ilikecanucks]

Great OP Gnickers!

Would have like to see some different guys in round 3 and 4, but Im not going to complain.

Its a great day for fans of the Canucks, considering we have a pick in every round.

Got a lot of talent, and addressed organization weakness' on defense and on talent at the forward position.

It's going to be fun following these guys for the next couple years.

[El Barto]

We won't know if Gillis has truly turned our fortunes around till a few years down the road, but for now it sure seems he's fixing our shallow prospects pool

[ilikecanucks]

Hafizzle, on Jun 27 2009, 12:23 PM, said:

Great report card. I agree with majority if not all of the grades and nice summaries under them. Clearly you've done your research. Only thing I might change is an overall rating of A- rather than B+. I must say, I'm impressed with this years draft.

If you swap Connauton for Button or Bertilsson its an A or A-, but other than that this draft looks ultra solid.

I mean we didnt fair as well as Nashville, but we also made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs. A good draft from a solid season.

In 5 years this draft could be comparable to the 2003 draft....lets just hope 3 of the 7 are on the Canucks roster in 5 years.

[Iamcanadian16]

Finally it seems like the Gm of the canucks and the scouts put some thought into their 6th and 7th rounders instead of closing their eyes and pointing to a name. Both 6th and 7th seem to have some ability, they are no zetterbergs, but they look like they have the ability to suprise somewhere down the road. All in all very nicely done, back to back steals for the Canucks? We can only hope!!!

[Gnickers87]

ilikecanucks, on Jun 27 2009, 12:27 PM, said:

Great OP Gnickers!

Would have like to see some different guys in round 3 and 4, but Im not going to complain.

Its a great day for fans of the Canucks, considering we have a pick in every round.

Got a lot of talent, and addressed organization weakness' on defense and on talent at the forward position.

It's going to be fun following these guys for the next couple years.

Thanks

Yeah Round 3 and 4 are the two picks that I think will garner the most questions. Saying that, I think my grades are fitting based on the formula I used of Value vs Postional Need vs Talent.

Connauton and Price were likely not the BPA or even he BPA at their positions (at this time), but a person cannot deny their positional value.

Like I said in the OP, this is a very NFL way of looking at draft grades. Although it works better in the NFL because guys who are drafted step in right away since they're 20 - 24

[Rey]

It was a perfect draft. I'd give it a A. I liked everything about it. There wasn't one wasted pick and the majority of the players who the Canucks picked where all "risers" in ranking.

Kevin Connauton and Jeremy Price were surprises because no one knew who they were but in the end. I think was 2 solid picks. Two offensive defense man, which will help the Canucks system. Kevin Connauton was a prospect who was rising incredibiliy, so drafting him in the 3rd spot shouldn't really be a surprised. He was a top 10 prospect in the NCAA. He wasn't mentioned much earlier because of his size but ever since he's grown a couple inches. He's made incredible strides. I can't say the same for Jeremy Price because of the league he plays in. Regardless. The Canucks were able to pick player needs and still be able to draft solid legit prospects.

Even if Connauton and Price were so called "off the boards". At least the Canucks made up for it with Andersson, Canatta, and Anthony.


In the end. I'm just glad Schroeder was able to fall so far. Elite offensive skills that Schroeder is hard to find. Add Rodin to the mix. Those two are going to be very huge quality potential top six forward or better prospects. No safe picks of 3rd/4th liners and bottom 4 defense man.

This post has been edited by Rey: 27 June 2009 - 12:40 PM

[Rob_Zepp]

Drafts are very difficult to grade until at least three to five years after they occur....for example, HIGHLY unlikely anyone drafted by Canucks this year will be with Canucks before 2011-2012 season.....BUT this appears to be the most "solid" draft for the team in at least 10 years and perhaps ever given their starting position in first round.

Gillis has done an outstanding job stocking the shelves this draft and last, with the NCAA UFA signings, the apparent Russian prospect signing (not confirmed) and such.....the Canucks will likely find their prospect ranking by organization go up from mid 20's out of 30 to top 10 in the next year or so if this continues.

Very nice to see!

[Gnickers87]

Rey, on Jun 27 2009, 12:37 PM, said:

It was a perfect draft. I'd give it a A. I liked everything about it. There wasn't one wasted pick and the majority of the players who the Canucks picked where all "risers" in ranking.

Kevin Connauton and Jeremy Price were surprises because no one knew who they were but in the end. I think was 2 solid picks. Two offensive defense man, which will help the Canucks system. Kevin Connauton was a prospect who was rising incredibiliy, so drafting him in the 3rd spot shouldn't really be a surprised. He was a top 10 prospect in the NCAA. He wasn't mentioned much earlier because of his size but ever since he's grown a couple inches. He's made incredible strides. I can't say the same for Jeremy Price because of the league he plays in. Regardless. The Canucks were able to pick player needs and still be able to draft solid legit prospects.

Even if Connauton and Price were so called "off the boards". At least the Canucks made up for it with Andersson, Canatta, and Anthony.


In the end. I'm just glad Schroeder was able to fall so far. Elite offensive skills that Schroeder has is hard to find.

For my Overall grade, I used an averaging system of each grade I assigned per player, which is where I got the B+. If I were to assign a grade as a whole without considering the player-by-player as much, I would give it a A-.

Rob_Zepp, on Jun 27 2009, 12:38 PM, said:

Drafts are very difficult to grade until at least three to five years after they occur....for example, HIGHLY unlikely anyone drafted by Canucks this year will be with Canucks before 2011-2012 season.....BUT this appears to be the most "solid" draft for the team in at least 10 years and perhaps ever given their starting position in first round.

Yeah I realize that and its an NFL thing, but I like doing this kind of stuff.

This post has been edited by Gnickers87: 27 June 2009 - 12:41 PM

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

awesome report card, I found out a little more about these guys

I do agree with You on Anton Rodin on being a steal for that position we clearly have very few scoring wingers

Rodin, Gendur, Grabner and Shirokov are truly the only scoring wingers on our prospect pool

I'm a bit surprised though that you gave Anthony an A-....just like to know why?

[A. Kopitar]

Hafizzle, on Jun 27 2009, 12:23 PM, said:

Great report card. I agree with majority if not all of the grades and nice summaries under them. Clearly you've done your research. Only thing I might change is an overall rating of A- rather than B+. I must say, I'm impressed with this years draft.

[Hafizzle]

Iamcanadian16, on Jun 27 2009, 01:31 PM, said:

Finally it seems like the Gm of the canucks and the scouts put some thought into their 6th and 7th rounders instead of closing their eyes and pointing to a name. Both 6th and 7th seem to have some ability, they are no zetterbergs, but they look like they have the ability to suprise somewhere down the road. All in all very nicely done, back to back steals for the Canucks? We can only hope!!!

Exactly. Thats one of the things I'm most pleased by. This year our 6th and 7th rounders actually look promising and clearly there was thought put in before they were drafted rather than drafting randoms. Quite pleased with this draft.

[Gnickers87]

CRAZY_4_NAZZY, on Jun 27 2009, 12:40 PM, said:

awesome report card, I found out a little more about these guys

I do agree with You on Anton Rodin on being a steal for that position we clearly have very few scoring wingers

Rodin, Gendur, Grabner and Shirokov are truly the only scoring wingers on our prospect pool

I'm a bit surprised though that you gave Anthony an A-....just like to know why?

It's actually an "A"

I gave him an A because based on his talent, (1st-Round worthy) he has unreal value as a 7th Round Pick. Yes, it is likely he will never reach the potential people saw 2-3 years ago, but as a 7th-Round Pick, that potential makes him an A. If he was picked in the 4th Round let's say, I would probably have given him a B- or C+.

People who follow NFL Draft's like I do will likely see where I'm coming from more. Like I said, I was using a kind of formula.

This post has been edited by Gnickers87: 27 June 2009 - 12:46 PM

[WhY So SeRiOuS]

I agree.

[Rey]

To Add. It's impressive that Gillis drafted players that are already playing in the NCAA.

Here's the list of top 10 NCAA prospects.
http://www.hockeysfu..._the2009_draft/

1. Schroeder
4. Canatta
8. Connauton



It is more convincing for them to have played in the NCAA and had success rather than the majority of players who play in high schools that will be going to college.

[Gnickers87]

Rey, on Jun 27 2009, 12:46 PM, said:

To Add. It's impressive that Gillis drafted players that are already playing in the NCAA.

Here's the list of top 10 NCAA prospects.
http://www.hockeysfu..._the2009_draft/

1. Schroeder
4. Canatta
8. Connauton



It is more convincing for them to have played in the NCAA and had success rather than the majority of players who play in high schools that will be going to college.

Yeah I saw that as well. That's the good thing about Connauton, is that he has a very good Freshman season under his belt.

That is the issue with a guy like Nick Leddy and Chris Krieder. (using 1st Rounders from this years draft)

Also interesting is that #2,3,5, 6 and 10 weren't drafted. I thought for sure that Florek would go.

This post has been edited by Gnickers87: 27 June 2009 - 12:56 PM

[Marian Hossa]

I agree with you pretty much. The 3rd and 4th rounders as everyone can agree on are a reach. I'm a bit worried about Rodin now that you mention he has a contract until 2011 so I'm worried he might not come over.