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Joseph LaBate | C/LW


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Because all the players we missed may be "steals" for all we know

Wait until they at least suit up for a NHL club

You can say that about any draft if you think like that. So every draft is bad? We're going to miss some good picks no matter what.

To me, this way of thinking is critical and pessimistic as opposed to being hopeful that they will one day suit up. As good as it can be to stay focused and sit on the fence, it doesn't hurt to have at least some optimism. ;)

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Because all the players we missed may be "steals" for all we know

Wait until they at least suit up for a NHL club

I say next draft we should work on acquiring every single draft pick. That way there's no way we can miss any steals. ;)

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You can say that about any draft if you think like that. So every draft is bad? We're going to miss some good picks no matter what.

To me, this way of thinking is critical and pessimistic as opposed to being hopeful that they will one day suit up. As good as it can be to stay focused and sit on the fence, it doesn't hurt to have at least some optimism. ;)

As long as our picks play NHL games I'll be happy

And of course I'm optimistic. I just hate all this talk about our picks being "steals" a day after they are drafted

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For some reason I am thinking that the Canuck's are getting better at picking prospects after each draft under Gillis. This is only Gillis' 4th draft so it is too early to say the organization has improved after each of them. Nevertheless, with Gillis being so meticulous, and that he learns from mistakes, plus he leaves no stone unturned, well I just feel that with this kind of philosophy, it is bound to pay-off in the drafting department. It has already paid-off with the most successful season in Canucks' 40 year history. This after only 3 years under Gillis.

Although we picked at the lowest position ever, I have a feeling that this 2011 draft will more than have one steal. Joseph Labate is probably going to be one of them. He not only has the raw tools but he has a great attitude. Hard working, gritty, and motivated to make the Canucks. To me the debate should be - how can Labate not develope in a great organization like Gillis' Canucks.

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As long as our picks play NHL games I'll be happy

And of course I'm optimistic. I just hate all this talk about our picks being "steals" a day after they are drafted

Well it's better than saying they'll be complete flops. ;)

In reality, a steal is just a prediction among other things. If you think in terms of where they could have been drafted and preferred playstyles (bigger players seem to be more popular in some drafts), a player who has slid into our spot could be considered a "steal". Schroeder 2 years ago would be a great example of this, having been ranked 5th. It doesn't mean all the teams in front of us didn't want him, it just means they wanted other players first. As a result, we were able to get Schroeder unexpectedly; thus, a "steal".

It's all a matter of perspective.

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Reading the mention of Schroeder made me think of Gillis and his vision:

GM MG deffinitely learned from the Finals, that it wouldn't have hurt to have a few more big men in our line-up.

Beyond that, if some of these big players we drafted pan out, they will compliment players like Hodgson and Schroeder, who aren't exactly big beasts out there.

Bravo MG. I have faith in you.

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I hope for the best out of all the prospects.

This young man is well spoken and gracious so he is already a winner and I expect that to continue as he develops:

“I’m so thankful to be picked by such a great organization,” says the native of Burnsville, Minnesota. “You just hope to be picked by a good organization. I really like Ryan Kesler and I’m really thankful to be picked by them.”

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Best selection of the draft for the Canucks, his ceiling is so high nobody even knows what it could be

He's gonna do amazing at Wisconsin and i predict 10-15 goals 15-20 assists in his freshman season (bold for an NCAA freshman i know)

He's the least talked about, except maybe Corrado, but i think he will be the best after Jensen. We needed big power forwards and we added the 2 best available when we picked them.

I'm not thrilled with some picks, but im more excited by Labate than anyone the Canucks have picked in recent years, and anyone that knows me knows ive been covering a lot of drafts

Which ones weren't you thrilled with?

With Labate's size and skill, this seems like a pretty good pick. Any knocks on the guy? Skating or strength? Vision?

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Ha, this is the guy who laughed when we interviewed him and asked him to play a video game to test his hand-eye coordination and reaction times. Then he stopped laughing when they pulled out a pair of 3D goggles and he realized they were serious. They made him pick floating balls out of the air... LOL

That's an interesting story actually, where'd you hear this?

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That's an interesting story actually, where'd you hear this?

Here's the actual quote:

Labate, who played at Holy Angels and will attend Wisconsin in the fall, said Vancouver asked him to play a video game meant to test timing and decision-making. When they mentioned this, Labate said he laughed until he "realized they were serious."

"I walk in this room. I put these goggles on and all these balls were floating around and I had to pick certain ones," the 6-4 center said. "They said I did above average, so that's good."

Weird, too, but Labate said much better than the six 200- to 300-question psychological tests some teams had him take throughout the year.

"It's nuts, but you've got to do them," Labate said. "To me, it's an honor. How many kids would die to be at the combine? And I get it. These teams are making an investment in you. They want to make sure you're in it for the long haul and not going to flake out halfway through an 80-game season."

http://www.standard.net/topics/sports/2011/06/21/nhl-prospects-do-it-all-dance

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Here's the actual quote:

Ah, thanks. That was a pretty interesting read actually. I'm liking how MG is doing his tests with video games to test coordination and reaction time. Hopefully with the way he's evaluating them through outside-the-box thinking he can identify the gems in the later rounds. Kinda reminds me of how he decided to take Friesen last year - because he scored so high on intelligence tests they had come up with for these interviews.

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I am also happy with this pick. A 4th round selection, big centre who was finalist for prestigious mr. hockey award in Minnesota. It seems like he has good attitude from reading interviews, and he has good skill, so I'm wondering why he is 4th rounder and not higher. I guess because teams don't want to reach on high school player sometimes. The player who won the award is Kyle Rau and he was selected 3rd round 91st, 10 picks before Labate. Hope that Joseph does well in Wisconsin.

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I am also happy with this pick. A 4th round selection, big centre who was finalist for prestigious mr. hockey award in Minnesota. It seems like he has good attitude from reading interviews, and he has good skill, so I'm wondering why he is 4th rounder and not higher. I guess because teams don't want to reach on high school player sometimes. The player who won the award is Kyle Rau and he was selected 3rd round 91st, 10 picks before Labate. Hope that Joseph does well in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin has a pretty good program, guys like Rene Bourque, Joe Pavelski came from there, didn't turn out too bad =)

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