Jared McCann | C/LW

[Guest Dasein]

Why am I more excited for Jared than Jake? I absolutely LOVE the Virtanen pick, but..but..idk.

Probably because Jared dropped and could pan out enormously for us considering he is #24 whereas Jake at #6 we expect to be a good player.

[JeremyCuddles]

Any word why he fell so much? Some rankings I've seen are 10-15ish. Not that I am complaining just curious as to why he didn't go as high as projected. Seems kind of redundant with all our other 2 way centres but I guess some will have to learn wing.

[Guest Dasein]

Any word why he fell so much? Some rankings I've seen are 10-15ish. Not that I am complaining just curious as to why he didn't go as high as projected. Seems kind of redundant with all our other 2 way centres but I guess some will have to learn wing.

I think I read somewhere that he had all the tools but didn't put up the stats to back it up.

If he put up 80-90 then he would have been long gone.

[Plum]

Any word why he fell so much? Some rankings I've seen are 10-15ish. Not that I am complaining just curious as to why he didn't go as high as projected. Seems kind of redundant with all our other 2 way centres but I guess some will have to learn wing.

My guess is that teams didn't need a two-way center and if they did Larkin was above McCann. 12-25 are very equal in terms of the BPA because they offer different playing styles, skillsets and positions.

[DJ Kreuzberg]

Any word why he fell so much? Some rankings I've seen are 10-15ish. Not that I am complaining just curious as to why he didn't go as high as projected. Seems kind of redundant with all our other 2 way centres but I guess some will have to learn wing.

Personally, I believe he was over-valued a bit by the scouting agencies. He went exactly where i thought he would. I will provide constructive criticism below, so for those reading and don't want to know, stop reading here.

---------------

I feel something is missing from McCann's game from the games i watched this year. More often than not, i came away not being impressed with his full game. He flashes skill certain shifts and you won't see him again for several more, he flashes his speed sometimes, he flashes his physicality once every 5 games. This is the inconsistency some are discussing here. It was rare to see all these attributes together in one game.

McCann has very good awareness and is absolutely solid in his positional play, will always be in position. But he does not attack the puck as much as one would like. I find that he feels content being in position, rather than gaining possession or forcing the issue. He lacks some urgency and that killer instinct at times.

He makes some low % plays with the puck, IMO, and has a case of tunnel vision at times, There have been numerous times, where i've seen him skate the puck into the zone, be angled towards the boards and lose the puck. He just skates with his head down into the zone with a fancy rush, but nothing amounts of it. I think too often plays die on his stick, and it results in the play going the other way.

He got a lot of time on the PP; but his shot seemed to go wide/high a lot. Tries to pick the corners a bit too much. I found the Soo PP very tailored around McCann's shot, they would set him up for one timers often.

Final item that i think dropped him, a very poor U18s. Probably one of the more disappointing performances on the team. When Brayden Point went down with an injury, i think everyone hoped McCann would step up and produce. Instead, he continued to make low % plays, was very ineffective beyond faceoffs and was inconsistent shift by shift. McCann started on the 2nd line in the tournament, got moved down as the tournament progressed and got his ice time cut, despite Team Canada being down a centerman.

For me, McCann was a player i felt was trending downwards, so his "fall" was not much of a surprise to me.

That said, I was a big fan of McCann's rookie season, i just did not feel he made much progress this season. He still has all of the tools i like; his arsenal of shots, excellent skating, good puck skills, smart defensively. But needs work to get all of those tools to work together. I can't say i see a 90-100 pt season coming from McCann. I'll be satisfied with him reaching 80, which i think is a reasonable point projection.

[Canucks1219]

Matt Sekeres brought up reports about McCann not having good interviews/being a cocky kid/etc. to Trevor Linden in a 1040 interview after the draft. I don't really like to use something that didn't happen as a point... but Linden didn't deny it.

EDIT: I went back and listened to the interview. Linden said it's probably more of McCann's competitiveness and so he doesn't mind it.

[Robongo]

I can't believe we drafted this kid!!! He was the guy I wanted the Canucks to draft back in February old 2014 draft chats, back in the (Canucks will finish anywhere from 10 11 or 12th pick range.) This kid is scary underrated. Greyhound fans had nothing but awesome things to say about him. Skies the limit for this kid, only thing he didn't achieve was 90 Point plus or else he the "the big 6".

I'm stoked, shocked. We drafted Virtannen then I couldn't follow the draft no more, turn my iphone app, see who the hell we drafted Jared frackin Mcann OMG what a day! He's the guy that "will go to war" to win games for his team. He also listed as "this years Horvat" according to hfboards.com, even though I don't think he does not have Horvat's cerebral game, McCann is a responsible 2 way player, hard back checker, a deadly one timer, skates like the wind, sometimes he reminds me of Sidney Crosby the way he skates with the puck. Unbelievable, shocked!.

He does not have the best upside at that position, (Ho Sang does) but really.....

We will see the true effect of these guys come playoffs down the road. McCann also have the best ability to be one of the best forwards in the draft. Many people are jealous Canucks were able to draft this kid!

+1 I am very excited for our future. To those people saying we have too many redundant prospects..guess what? These are the type of players you win with in the post season and they can adjust to wing quite easily. By all accounts, even Jared's own, he was very inconsistent and disappointed with his offensive production which wasn't bad at all. Like you said, not the highest upside, but the type of player that you win with in the playoffs and you certainly cannot have too many of those. The only knock that I can find on him is his attitude, but hes one of the younger players taken in the first round so a bit of immaturity isn't that big of a deal.

[Derp...]

Can't wait to see this kid at prospects camp. He's a real tournament type player in my opinion. Really good in short stints at this point, but that consistency will come with time as he tailors his game to the NHL.

The draft was so predictable up until the Vrana pick, then I was sure Detroit would take McCann, and they didn't.

Then as picks went by it was down to us getting, McCann, Fabbri, or Kapanen. I was so stoked to see those guys on the Board.

Kapanen would have been my first choice, but McCann was easily ahead of Fabbri for me. Fabbri is a great junior player, he's going to have a tough time matching up physically in the NHL though.

McCann is literally a Toews lite. He hasn't put it all together, but if he does he could end up being our 1C down the road.

For me he projects as a 30 and 30 tough mins guy in his prime, if he reached his ceiling. Horvat 25 and 50 if he reaches his ceiling.

[Brocklovich]

Probably a good sign that Botchford hates this pick completely

[messier's_elbow]

I honestly thought the Kesler deal was a fleecing at first. Until I realized 2 things.

1. Benning had no control. Kesler was being a baby and would only go to 2 teams. Benning did alright considering.

2. Our 24th pick McCan looks like a steal. Good in all areas of the game like Horvat. He sucked at the beginning of the season for whatever reason then got better as his season went on. He looks like a 2nd line center in the future. Great pick, even if I could have easily made it just as Benning did it was a no brainer.

[messier's_elbow]

I like the Krejci/Bergeron idea. No Henrik or Crosby or anything, but it could be really solid and help make the Canucks a really good defensive team (with more offensively minded wingers in the top 6). Still, the Canucks need a really good defenseman for the future.

Maybe something like this:

Virtanen-Horvat-Kassian

Shinkaruk-McCann-Jensen

Gaunce, Bonino, Cassels, Matthias...

Looks pretty good but need a number 1 center to be a cup contender and a number 1 dman. Im sure this isnt news to Benning since he went hard for Reinhart.

[messier's_elbow]

Probably a good sign that Botchford hates this pick completely

I dont think Botchford knows what hes talking about half the time, he just wants people talking about him.

[JeremyCuddles]

Personally, I believe he was over-valued a bit by the scouting agencies. He went exactly where i thought he would. I will provide constructive criticism below, so for those reading and don't want to know, stop reading here.

---------------

I feel something is missing from McCann's game from the games i watched this year. More often than not, i came away not being impressed with his full game. He flashes skill certain shifts and you won't see him again for several more, he flashes his speed sometimes, he flashes his physicality once every 5 games. This is the inconsistency some are discussing here. It was rare to see all these attributes together in one game.

McCann has very good awareness and is absolutely solid in his positional play, will always be in position. But he does not attack the puck as much as one would like. I find that he feels content being in position, rather than gaining possession or forcing the issue. He lacks some urgency and that killer instinct at times.

He makes some low % plays with the puck, IMO, and has a case of tunnel vision at times, There have been numerous times, where i've seen him skate the puck into the zone, be angled towards the boards and lose the puck. He just skates with his head down into the zone with a fancy rush, but nothing amounts of it. I think too often plays die on his stick, and it results in the play going the other way.

He got a lot of time on the PP; but his shot seemed to go wide/high a lot. Tries to pick the corners a bit too much. I found the Soo PP very tailored around McCann's shot, they would set him up for one timers often.

Final item that i think dropped him, a very poor U18s. Probably one of the more disappointing performances on the team. When Brayden Point went down with an injury, i think everyone hoped McCann would step up and produce. Instead, he continued to make low % plays, was very ineffective beyond faceoffs and was inconsistent shift by shift. McCann started on the 2nd line in the tournament, got moved down as the tournament progressed and got his ice time cut, despite Team Canada being down a centerman.

For me, McCann was a player i felt was trending downwards, so his "fall" was not much of a surprise to me.

That said, I was a big fan of McCann's rookie season, i just did not feel he made much progress this season. He still has all of the tools i like; his arsenal of shots, excellent skating, good puck skills, smart defensively. But needs work to get all of those tools to work together. I can't say i see a 90-100 pt season coming from McCann. I'll be satisfied with him reaching 80, which i think is a reasonable point projection.

Sounds a lot like Kesler. Lets hope he isn't a quitter like Kes.

[Henrik Kesler]

I dont think Botchford knows what hes talking about half the time, he just wants people talking about him.

There's a reason he's known a "bitchford" around here.

[HockeyHobo73]

I hope McCann turns into a Joe Pavelski

[canucksVSflames89]

I don't mind this pick. Although, as I've said before, I do think that they missed out on some much needed skill players. This guy is supposed to be much better than he showed this past year, with great hockey IQ. So let's look for a rebound next year.

As for having too many centres. I would disagree because many junior centres are moved to the wing. Mathias, bonino and Gaunce can play wing.

[SamJamIam]

Personally, I believe he was over-valued a bit by the scouting agencies. He went exactly where i thought he would. I will provide constructive criticism below, so for those reading and don't want to know, stop reading here.

---------------

I feel something is missing from McCann's game from the games i watched this year. More often than not, i came away not being impressed with his full game. He flashes skill certain shifts and you won't see him again for several more, he flashes his speed sometimes, he flashes his physicality once every 5 games. This is the inconsistency some are discussing here. It was rare to see all these attributes together in one game.

McCann has very good awareness and is absolutely solid in his positional play, will always be in position. But he does not attack the puck as much as one would like. I find that he feels content being in position, rather than gaining possession or forcing the issue. He lacks some urgency and that killer instinct at times.

He makes some low % plays with the puck, IMO, and has a case of tunnel vision at times, There have been numerous times, where i've seen him skate the puck into the zone, be angled towards the boards and lose the puck. He just skates with his head down into the zone with a fancy rush, but nothing amounts of it. I think too often plays die on his stick, and it results in the play going the other way.

He got a lot of time on the PP; but his shot seemed to go wide/high a lot. Tries to pick the corners a bit too much. I found the Soo PP very tailored around McCann's shot, they would set him up for one timers often.

Final item that i think dropped him, a very poor U18s. Probably one of the more disappointing performances on the team. When Brayden Point went down with an injury, i think everyone hoped McCann would step up and produce. Instead, he continued to make low % plays, was very ineffective beyond faceoffs and was inconsistent shift by shift. McCann started on the 2nd line in the tournament, got moved down as the tournament progressed and got his ice time cut, despite Team Canada being down a centerman.

For me, McCann was a player i felt was trending downwards, so his "fall" was not much of a surprise to me.

That said, I was a big fan of McCann's rookie season, i just did not feel he made much progress this season. He still has all of the tools i like; his arsenal of shots, excellent skating, good puck skills, smart defensively. But needs work to get all of those tools to work together. I can't say i see a 90-100 pt season coming from McCann. I'll be satisfied with him reaching 80, which i think is a reasonable point projection.

I actually feel he's being undervalued because he isn't flashy, not necessarily because he lacks consistency. He reminds me an awful lot of Gaunce, albeit smaller and with more speed. He's always in position, not running around trying to make things happen but letting the game come to him. This leads a lot of scouts to reach for reasons about why they aren't noticing them as much as they expect to given their skill. We hear that they're slow, have low compete levels, or lack consistency or intensity and they drop in the draft. While digging into the reasons why Benning chose to select McCann, I've found that this calmness with and without the puck is likely the single most misunderstood quality when assessing draftees. Oddly, MG seemed to use this to inform his picks in 2012 and 2013, which has garnered us a lot of our most highly-touted prospects like Gaunce, Cassels and Horvat.

What a lot of very good two-way prospects realize is that their comrades aren't so great defensively. Thus they take on much of the burden to hang back whether it's their assigned role or they simply feel compelled to keep pucks out of the net as much as put it in their opponents'. Unfortunately, this greatly reduces their offensive numbers and that defensive responsibility (and the high hockey IQ that it implies) doesn't increase their stock on draft day nearly as much as points totals would have. The Canucks keep swooping in to take these kids, then the next year their game develops a little bit more and they gain the confidence to attack more. Suddenly we're hearing that they've "found their offensive game", when their talent was there all along. The issue was learning the fine balancing act of taking on a key role where their talents at both ends of the ice can be used fully. One could argue it's a case of younger players learning the "man's game" early on. And while I have no particular proof of this aside from the eye test, I suspect these guys are learning a way to play the game that allows them to contribute at higher levels faster and more significantly than some very talented junior scorers.

Basically, give these guys some time to work their way up and don't be surprised when they seem to just keep getting better and better each year. They're working through issues in their game that most players don't confront until they hit a brick wall trying to score in the AHL, and which many players fail to overcome at all. These are quality prospects, just on a very different development curve which makes them appear more underwhelming in junior than their combination of hockey IQ, competitiveness, and talent would imply,

[Derp...]

Interesting stuff. I do like the well rounded player picks. Guys who know how to play the game and can play with anyone. That mental ability separates them from more skilled players.

If you can out think your opponent, then all you have to do is execute, and that is where the development happens.

Reading the game quicker and making the right play faster.

[Tearloch7]

I actually feel he's being undervalued because he isn't flashy, not necessarily because he lacks consistency. He reminds me an awful lot of Gaunce, albeit smaller and with more speed. He's always in position, not running around trying to make things happen but letting the game come to him. This leads a lot of scouts to reach for reasons about why they aren't noticing them as much as they expect to given their skill. We hear that they're slow, have low compete levels, or lack consistency or intensity and they drop in the draft. While digging into the reasons why Benning chose to select McCann, I've found that this calmness with and without the puck is likely the single most misunderstood quality when assessing draftees. Oddly, MG seemed to use this to inform his picks in 2012 and 2013, which has garnered us a lot of our most highly-touted prospects like Gaunce, Cassels and Horvat.

What a lot of very good two-way prospects realize is that their comrades aren't so great defensively. Thus they take on much of the burden to hang back whether it's their assigned role or they simply feel compelled to keep pucks out of the net as much as put it in their opponents'. Unfortunately, this greatly reduces their offensive numbers and that defensive responsibility (and the high hockey IQ that it implies) doesn't increase their stock on draft day nearly as much as points totals would have. The Canucks keep swooping in to take these kids, then the next year their game develops a little bit more and they gain the confidence to attack more. Suddenly we're hearing that they've "found their offensive game", when their talent was there all along. The issue was learning the fine balancing act of taking on a key role where their talents at both ends of the ice can be used fully. One could argue it's a case of younger players learning the "man's game" early on. And while I have no particular proof of this aside from the eye test, I suspect these guys are learning a way to play the game that allows them to contribute at higher levels faster and more significantly than some very talented junior scorers.

Basically, give these guys some time to work their way up and don't be surprised when they seem to just keep getting better and better each year. They're working through issues in their game that most players don't confront until they hit a brick wall trying to score in the AHL, and which many players fail to overcome at all. These are quality prospects, just on a very different development curve which makes them appear more underwhelming in junior than their combination of hockey IQ, competitiveness, and talent would imply,

Very well said .. and we should at least try to be supportive of each and every one of them ..

[Smashian Kassian]

The thing I like about McCann is that, he's well rounded but he does have some great offensive skill aswell, his shot is great.

The thing I don't like is the inconsistency (his biggest issue IMO), as DJ K said, shift to shift he's inconsistent, I saw that in the U18's too, one shift he would be flying around out there, and his skills would be very apparent, and the next shift he's floating around & not doing anything.

He's got all the tools, skill, hockey sense, two-way ability, just needs time to develop, this is a longer term pick, but could be a really good player.

He was considered to be a top 10 player coming into the year, with potential elite skill, so with the right development he really could be a great player.