Rating our draft this year

[disisdayear]

Agree with AndyBernard and Playstation...too early to evaluate the draft.

Looks like the players picked up in 2012 draft fills some short term and long term needs of the organization, but time will tell.

I like the Gaunce pick and in his interviews he sounds pretty grounded and seems to have high level of intelligence (academic strength) and leadership qualities -- two key attributes MG and his staff seems to look for.

I'm a little mixed on the Mallett pick. I wonder if the Canucks would have had a shot at him at a later round, or even as a free agent signing (assuming nobody else was willing to use a draft pick on him). Looks like he had a break out year in his final year of junior eligibility, so question is whether he was able to do this because he was playing against guys 2-3 years younger than him. Here's hoping that he's the next coming of Alex Burrows.

The rest of the picks, as AndyBernard points out, are heading to college, so they are a few years away.

[canucklesmith]

Would of like to see a pick from the WHL. Do we even have any scouts that watch games in the Dub?

[DownUndaCanuck]

We needed big, physical defencemen and instead we draft the lowest-ranked forwards of the group. Beattie is 6'3" though which is nice.

Gaunce was a great pick though, this kid works out with Gary Roberts and I'll expect to see him slot into our 3rd line center position in 2 years time for sure. Steal at 26.

[canucklax]

I honestly see us as having the 30th or 29th best draft in terms of quality picks. Gaunce was a solid pick, but after that its a bunch of off the board guys we could've gotten by trading down to get more picks. Mallet was completely unranked, could've gotten him in the 5th or 6th honestly and if not there are plenty of overagers from the CHL to replace him. Thats the pick I have the most issue with, having no 3rd or 4th round picks to go for a reach in the 2nd is to pretty much drop from 2rd round to 4th w/o getting any more picks.

If Mg had taken a guy in his first draft year that was actually thought of as a quality player by I dunno anybody besides whoever our QMJHL scout is then it would've been a good or at least above average draft. By selecting Mallet I give MG a D. Montreal, Calgary, NYR, Columbus all had great value drafts, we did not

[RXnucks975]

This years draft was forgettable in my mind. I think we got some good players, but I don't think we have any future stars. Gaunce has a good chance of turning into a top 6 player (him and jensen a good little tandem?) but I liked Samuelson better myself. I saw him play in the WHL finals against Portland and he was a beast out there. He would help shut down the Wintershawks line of Rattie-Nobels-Baertschi, and chipped in a lot of timely points. I thought Samuelson would bring a gritty hard nose player with a ton of Character who only gets better as the games gain meaning.

But granted I don't really know enough about Gaunce to say that he isn't the better pick. He was always projected in the top 15 it seemed, and I don't get to see him play out in Portland

[Joel Heyman]

Alright, here's my little analysis based on the little I've dug up on these kids:

1st Round, 26th Overall: Brendan Gaunce, C (Can play wing too), 6'2", 215lbs, 18yrs old, Left-handed

Gaunce is a prototypical two-way centerman, he is efficient at both ends of the ice and puts in 100% every shift. By many accounts, him and Malcolm Subban did a two-man drag of the team to the playoffs, and some think that given good linemates, he could explode offensively, he compares to Jordan Staal or Ryan O'Reilly. Pros: size, grit, awareness of the ice, maximum effort given, has good top speed. Cons: Acceleration could be improved, bad haircut. He also has a very hot sister or girlfriend.

Highlight video:

2nd Round, 57th Overall: Alexandre Mallet, C/W, 6'1", 201lbs, 20yrs old, Right-handed

We love our Francophone agitators here in Vancouver, Alex is just that. Playing in his 2nd year in the QMJHL for the Rimouski Oceanic, he broke out offensively, gathering 34 goals and 47 assists along with a +/- of 23 and 132 PIM's all in just 68 games, this is very impressive compared to his previous season (60 gp 10 g 9 a 19 p -1 +/- 86 PIM's). He compares to a Steve Downie or a Burrows who can beat people 'till they cry. Pros: speed, grit, solid defensively, good offensively, deadly shot, fights very well and isn't afraid to, can play in Chicago next year. Cons: offensive game may not translate to pro, may have a bit of a shock when he's not quite as big compared to the other guys as he used to be.

Here's one of his fights (He's in the dark jersey, #21):

5th Round, 147th Overall: Ben Hutton, LD, 6'3", 195lbs, 19yrs old, Left-handed

Ben Hutton is a very big and skilled offensive d-man, he doesn't lay the body down much, but will when needed. He's come through the CCHL and is going to the University of Maine next year. I think he is very similar to Patrick McNally or Jeremy Price.

Pros: Size, skating ability, offensive skill. Cons: Needs to learn to play defense better, will need to build more muscle.

Here's a link to his player page on the Nepean Raiders' site:

http://nepean.stats....3&seasonid=9215

And here's an article about him:

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/12/29/sports/umaine-sports/university-of-maine-hockey-lands-point-producing-defenseman-for-next-season/

6th Round, 177th Overall: Wesley Myron, F, 6'2", 190lbs, 19yrs old, Left-handed

For the first time in roughly 5 years, the Canucks have selected a player from BC. Wes is from Victoria, and plays in the BCHL for the Victoria Grizzlies. I had to call up my Uncle, who is a hardcore BCHL fan, to dig up some info on him. He said that Myron is comparable to Chris Higgins, with less offensive skill (meaning less dangles then Higgy mostly). He has speed and tenacity, could be a good player for us in the future. He will be attending Boston University next year, which has an excellent track record for developing talent. Pros: speed, size, skill. Cons: Needs to put on more muscle.

Here's a little video interviewing him:

7th Round, 207th Overall: Matt Beattie, RW, 6'3", 175lbs, 19yrs old, Right-handed

Ranked in the mid-100's during mid-term rankings, Beattie fell quite a bit, but you can understand why we took him; he is a big bodied, skilled and gritty forward. The White House Station, New Jersey native plays a good two-way game, just like pretty much every other pick this year, that seems to be the theme. Beattie will be attending Yale next year and I think will surprise people with his stats as a freshman, similar to Patrick McNally. A die-hard Devils fan, he likens himself to a defensively-responsible Ilya Kovalchuk (who can pass). Pros: speed, good hands, size, can score in many ways, passes well, good in all zones. Cons: quite light for his size (however, I believe he underwent a Tanev/Jankowski-like growth spurt), will need to focus a little bit more on positioning (he goes for the hit most of the time).

Here's a highlight video of him, mute your speakers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjhXLnZce9U

I actually think that this draft wasn't too bad, we got some guys who will be able to contribute. However, they all are projects, with the exceptions of Gaunce and Mallet, who are only a couple years away.

Oh yes, and here are their twitter accounts:

Brendan Gaunce - https://twitter.com/BrendanGaunce16

Alexandre Mallet - https://twitter.com/LaMalletos_21

Ben Hutton - https://twitter.com/bhutt10

Wesley Myron - https://twitter.com/Mysie9

Matthew Beattie - https://twitter.com/UnBeatable_13

And that is my analysis of this draft, coulda been better, coulda been worse.

[22sedins33]

we really need to get rid of Delmorne. Heck anyone can draft in the 1st round with TSN and CSS in front of you and Gilis at your back. But 2nd round to pick Mallet that early when you have a really good chance to get him with 5th pick? Our track record of "picking guys we could got with our later picks" in the 2nd and 3rd rounds continues.

[TACIC]

Would of like to see a pick from the WHL. Do we even have any scouts that watch games in the Dub?

[Rounoush]

I voted for all of them.

[aqua59]

Considering when the Canucks picked and considering they gave noting up and considering we fans know little other than what we've read about the selection it has to be considered a good draft. When comparing it to Calgary moving down in the draft when they needed to stay put or move up Vancouver has had a great draft. the draft can only be evaluated 3 or 4 years from now because of the late picking stage. To rate this draft is only a guess rating from fans. So I for one have to say they did great, just to stay positive.

[elvis15]

I figure by the 2013-2014 season both Sauve and Connauton will be with the Canucks. Neither of those two are exactly shut-down defensemen. Who's left in the system for the Canucks then? Corrado, Polasek and McNally haven't exactly proved to me that they are NHL caliber players. Hell, Polasek and McNally are going to be 22, Polasek didn't even play a full season in the AHL, and McNally is still in college, not quite the depth you alluded too. So really what the Canucks have, on D depth, is one second pair guy, one third pair guy, and a few call-ups. Where's the, let's say, Drew Doughty in the Canucks' system?

I agree that the center depth is also pretty shallow, but you know what you can trade for really cheaply? A third/fourth line center, which is what Gaunce projects to be. I don't think it was a bad pick, but, if we are going by the best player available concept, Skjei, in my opinion, was a better player available for the Canucks.

[one night]

I love what Gillis has done these past few years. He's made a few mistakes, but all in all, within the next 2-5 years, the Canucks are going to be a force to be reckon with. With guys like Gaunce, Jensen, Kassian, Grenier, Mallet and Labate no longer are the Canucks going to be pushed around or accused of being soft. Screw the Detroit modo, when rats like marchand or bolland come antagonizing our stars, players like Kassian or Mallet will intervene and beat that rat's face into a bloody pulp. I hope Gillis keeps all these prospects because building from within is really the way to go. No longer will we be f*cked with.

[doobiedoodoo]

Really disappointed by the draft. Why were they drafting guys that were passed on by last year? The whole, they are more ready to play or getting an education is garbage.

[JamesB]

It is impossible to provide any reasonable assessment of a draft until at least 2 or 3 years later as we see how the players have developed.

[GradinToSmyl]

Skjei- 6'2", 200lbs, from Lakeville Minnesota

[GradinToSmyl]

It is impossible to provide any reasonable assessment of a draft until at least 2 or 3 years later as we see how the players have developed.

[Ellis/Fan]

Ask me in 3 years

[Jägermeister]

Outside of Gaunce, we made a bunch of questionable choices.

I can't predict the future or anything, but based off what I know of the prospects we drafted (outside of Gaunce), we won't be seeing a big return out of who we got this year.

[Teksys]

I wanted Samuelsson so I'm a bit dissappointed by our first round choice but we'll see how Gaunce ends up. Happy about getting Mallet in the 2nd.

[Dayman]

Could've done without wasting a 2nd on Mallet.

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