[Poll/Discussion] Did we draft the best defenseman, relative to the pick?

[Nave]

I think we got the best defenseman in the draft, and it seems like a lot of people agree. However, a lot of analysts praised Arizona for taking on Datsyuk's contract in order to take Chychrun, and Sergachev was often thought of as having the most potential.

 

Which got me thinking: Who made the best pick regarding a defenseman, in terms of talent, fit, and placing in the draft?

[DeltaSwede]

Time will tell. I had Juolevi as the best defensemen in the draft and we picked him.  

[AlwaysACanuckFan]

 I trust that Benning made the right choice when it was his turn at the podium. 

[iinatcc]

Canucks did for sure. Still would have preferred Tkachuck though.

[Canuck Surfer]

I just about jumped out of my chair, excited, when we picked.

 

Been campaigning for 5 years to invest our top pick at least every 2knd or 3rd year on the best blue chip D we could get...

[shiznak]

You're asking an "unbiased" Canucks fanbase, who picked the best defensemen? Gosh, I wonder who they're going to say?

 

Personally, I still think Chychrun is/was the best complete defensemen, coming out of this draft class, but only time will tell if I'm right or not.

[Phat Fingers]

Going into the draft, I was really torn between Chychrun and Juolevi.  I was not sure about whether Juolevi benefited from being on a championship team(s) or was a major contributer.  

 

Chychrun is a good skating defence man that has all the physical gifts to play in the NHL, pretty appealing.  Both he and Serg, had more points, and could play a more physical brand of hockey. 

 

So why is Juolevi the best player. Well, many consider him to be the best skating defence man in the draft.  This is a common JB theme, and I support it. He was also considered to have the highest hockey IQ of almost any player drafted, that he saw the play developing before anyone else, and transitioned the puck out of the zone quickly and economically.

 

He scored at a lower ppg pace than the other two defenders, he was also coming off a serious knee surgery.  His playoff ppg was excellent, and in the WJC, he was his teams best defender. 

 

While Serg and Chychrun have Juolevi beat in physical size and shot, Juolevi is the best skater, highest IQ and best passer. He is considered to have the highest floor of any defender in the draft.  The only thing Juolevi has to do is gain some size.  The other two could end up as better players OA if the stars align for them.

 

       Juolevi has been compare to Lindholm, OEL and of course Lidstrom... take that with a grain of salt. But a smooth tall lanky defender with high IQ and a great first pass/transition game has been on my wish list for a decade.

 

EW

[-AJ-]

Canadiens*

[thejazz97]

44 minutes ago, The 5th Line said:

Chychrun's youtube highlights video was way sicker, we picked the wrong guy..

Can't tell if serious. Players don't get picked off of highlight videos.

 

I think we got the right guy, at the right spot. But Fabbro at 19 is a steal IMO

[canucklehead44]

Prior to the draft I liked Chychrun - Sergachev - Juolevi. Now I don't really know, it isn't like they went 5-6-7. 

I am not entirely sure why Chychrun dropped so far. He went from potential second overall to around 5/6 after he didn't make the WJ team. I thought this was a bit unfair, as the top six for team Canada were all two years older (they went with a veteran blueline). 

 

Sarnia was ousted first round as well, but Chychrun scored 8 points in 7 games. Then he goes 16th?

Sergachev won OHL defenseman of the year. Big, physical, and scores tonnes of points. Could be NHL ready next season. 

Juolevi in my mind is the safest pick of the three. He is highly likely to be a very solid dman, but doesn't have the #1 upside of the other two. 

[aGENT]

Sergachev arguably has the highest ceiling (but also a higher bust factor). He's got all the tools, it's a matter of if his mental game will develop with them. 

 

Chychrun was a steal where he was picked. I'm still shocked he fell that far. Pretty safe bet to be a solid #2-#3 with good size and skates like the wind. 

 

Juolevi is fast skating, has the highest IQ and best passing of the three. Prototypical modern D who constantly transitions the puck forward.  Once he adds some bulk, he's going to be buttery smooth fun to watch. 

[IBatch]

26 minutes ago, canucklehead44 said:

Prior to the draft I liked Chychrun - Sergachev - Juolevi. Now I don't really know, it isn't like they went 5-6-7. 

I am not entirely sure why Chychrun dropped so far. He went from potential second overall to around 5/6 after he didn't make the WJ team. I thought this was a bit unfair, as the top six for team Canada were all two years older (they went with a veteran blueline). 

 

Sarnia was ousted first round as well, but Chychrun scored 8 points in 7 games. Then he goes 16th?

Sergachev won OHL defenseman of the year. Big, physical, and scores tonnes of points. Could be NHL ready next season. 

Juolevi in my mind is the safest pick of the three. He is highly likely to be a very solid dman, but doesn't have the #1 upside of the other two. 

Chychrun was a man child bullying the kids around at 15, and was neck to neck with Mathews for 1st overall at that point, to second, to still the best defensive draft pick, to what he did last year once the rest of the crowd started to gain on him.  At 6 2, 192lbs he is now just a slightly below average NHL player (average according to THN is 6'3")  when three years ago he was predicted to turn into a monster.    Experts aren't as high on this guy as they once were for a reason.   He likely won't get any taller, so he will have to rely on his skating and other skills to turn him into a #1, just don't see that happening.  If Juolevi puts on ten pounds he will be bigger than him, and is already a better skater, passer and has possibly one of the highest hokcey IQ in this years drafts.  Sergachev and Juolevi are probably going to both have better careers than him.  

Hard to know for sure though - time will tell.  

[Phat Fingers]

1 hour ago, The 5th Line said:

Chychrun's youtube highlights video was way sicker, we picked the wrong guy..

Sarcasm I hope;). 

[Phat Fingers]

49 minutes ago, canucklehead44 said:

 

Juolevi in my mind is the safest pick of the three. He is highly likely to be a very solid dman, but doesn't have the #1 upside of the other two. 

This is a common refrain. Not sure why though. Juolevi is slighter and less physical than the other two.  He is still growing. 

 

     I see no reason to say that Chychrun or Serg will be better if they all reach their potential.  Juolevi plays a smart game, less physical.

 

     Lots of number one defenders have been very successful that way. All I take from him being the safest defender is that his game is the most complete of any defender in the draft. 

 

      EW. 

[IBatch]

5 hours ago, Canuck Surfer said:

I just about jumped out of my chair, excited, when we picked.

 

Been campaigning for 5 years to invest our top pick at least every 2knd or 3rd year on the best blue chip D we could get...

I did jump out of my chair, as did my brother, disclaiming a huge "WHHAAAT!!!!" and wanted to beat the TV (but it is a nice one so we wouldn't do that).  Both of us were expecting PLD, so when he was picked and Tkachuk was available we both felt a little righteous retribution coming back our way after slipping from 3-5 overall....."WTF WHO THE HELL IS OLLI JUHEVELIO OR WHATEVER bro says WHY NOT CHYCHRUN IF NO MATTHEW AND WHY THE HELL IS KEITH SO F#%ING FAT NOW!!!" my brother was pacing around my family room clearly going mental and...I was too to be honest, I thought we just scored a 40 goal guy almost a GPG in the playoffs should translate right?  BUT STILL WHY WAS his DAD so FAT that made us laugh (many times) and we settled down to looking into this what's his namer, (ok we saw him play in Juniors but who's kidding, once Canada was out....).  I wasn't nearly as high on Chychrun, so was happy we didn't take him, and after an hour or so later we were pretty pumped about going for an organizational need, rather than possibly the better player, and going through all the draft mags felt pretty pumped on who we picked (and still do).

[Kevin Biestra]

I don't have the scouting info to really make a good judgment between these different D's.  But it's kind of sad to know that we could have also potentially had Chychrun for taking on Datsyuk's contract, just like we learned after the fact that Taylor Hall was available.

[komodo0921]

I think JB drafted the player we needed. It wasn't the sexiest of picks with Tkachuk staring us in the face but he made the right pick. JB said he believes in picking the best available player; they all say that. JB picked the best available player that fits his vision and I'm all for it. His drafting, thus far, has been exemplary. We are seeing, first hand, his ability to find the right player at whatever position we may be in. This is awesome because, if we are going to be an annual contender in the future (as I believe we are), the bottom of the first round is going to be home for us and his ability to find the "diamond amungst the rubble" is going to be a key factor.

I also love his aggression going after NCAA talent. He's not affraid to step up and get them. I'm also very interested in seeing players that other teams have given up on. Larsen is going to be an intriguing player going into the upcoming season. Even a relatively unknown prospect like Yan Pavel Leplante carries a certain amount of interest. I think he plays a style of game that could translate well to the NHL.

He is, once again, making Vancouver a desired destination for players and will make winning, a tradition in BC. The bottom line is, I have faith in TL and JB. Trevor lives and breathes green and blue. He wants to win just as bad as any fan but he also wants to create long term success and he's brought in the right GM for that.

I think both Trevor and Jim need a pat on the back and not so much scrutiny. They took over a team that had no direction and have patched it as best they can under the circumstances they entered into. I am 100% behind them and what they've done and hope they continue in this direction.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Hard to say what the future holds but for right now, I'm confident we drafted the best defenseman available and made the right pick. That doesn't necessarily mean that in 5-10 years, Juolevi will be considered the best Dman in his class. Just impossible to know.

 

As for the 2016 Dman with the best value relative to draft position, I expect some little known defenseman from the later rounds will earn that title (in about ten years or so).

[ForsbergTheGreat]

I think we got a really good D and believe that Juolevi will be a mainstay with this team for years to come, will be the best, historically, probably not. When D are picked outside of the top 2 picks, typically the first D picked doesn’t turn out to become the best D. 

 

It might be too early to tell but 2013 Jones went #4 when Ristolainen went #8

In 2012 Reinhart when #4 when Reilly went #5 and Trouba #9

In 2011 Larsson went #4 when Hamilton went #9

In 2010 Gudbransson went #3 when Fowler went #12 and Faulk #37

In 2009 OEL was the first D taken outside of the top 2 and he’s the best D.

In 2008 Bogosian went #3 when Pietrangelo went #4 and Karlsson #15

In 2007 Hickey went #3 when McDonagh went #12

In 2006 Erik Johnson was the only D picked in the top 10 and he went #1.

In 2005 Jack Johnson went #3 when Vlasic went #29 and Letang #62 (Bourdon # 10)

In 2004 Barker went #3 when Green went #35 and Edler #91

In 2003 Suter went #3 when Seabrook went #14, Burns #20, Weber #49

In 2002 Bouwmeester went #3 when Keith went #54

 

It really seems that unless the kid is a top 2 lock the next picked player gets surpassed.  Most of them turn out to have decent NHL careers but there always tends to be the sleepers that skyrocket in their development.  So if you think about it, you have to think about why this happens?  Do D just tend to be late bloomers?  Are the scouts looking for the wrong attributes in 18 year old defencemen?

[timberz21]

5 hours ago, shiznak said:

You're asking an "unbiased" Canucks fanbase, who picked the best defensemen? Gosh, I wonder who they're going to say?

 

Personally, I still think Chychrun is/was the best complete defensemen, coming out of this draft class, but only time will tell if I'm right or not.

Until draft day I was thinking the same, that Chychrun was somewhat overscouted and would end being the best defensemen of this class and would have been happy with us picking him at 5.   Now I'm relieved we didn't.

 

I believed that because I thought Chychrun would fall to 7,8 or 9 maybe.   But the fact that he fell to 16, behind Bean and McAvoy also, tells me that this is not only 1 or 2 team that saw problems with Chychrun, but multiples teams.  Reminds me a little bit of Fowler/Gormley falling off too in 2010 or when Schroeder and Shinkaruk fell too.

 

Rare are the examples of prospects falling off the grid hard and ultimately proving everyone wrong after.  So this tells me that NHL scouts and GM saw things that really scared them off, similar to (but really not as bad) as Sean Day.  I think Chychrun will be a top 4 some day, but not much more.

 

but you're right only time will tell.