Nuxfanabroad Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 (edited) I'm eagerly anticipating this coming influx of larger, faster, & yet skilled, NA'n wingers. For the past decade+, would say we've had more of a Euro-skill, perimeter style with our key wingers. For the entertaiment buck, pleased with the(apparently) trending direction. Lind looks like he'll be a good one. Edited September 9, 2017 by Nuxfanabroad 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rob_Zepp Posted September 9, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted September 9, 2017 Kole Lind standing out from second wave of Canucks prospects Kole Lind standing out from second wave of Canucks prospects Kole Lind has been drafted by the Vancouver Canucks. (Marissa Baecker/Kelowna Rockets) September 9, 2017, 10:47 AM PENTICTON, B.C. — As the Vancouver Canucks rebuild, there is so much focus on high-end prospects like Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Dahlen and Nikolay Goldobin, it’s easy to overlook the secondary wave of scoring prospects the organization has assembled. Friday, Kole Lind was impossible to miss. Drafted 33rd overall last June, near the top of the second round and 28 places after the Canucks selected Pettersson, Lind was the best Canucks prospect when Vancouver beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2 here on the opening night of the Young Stars Classic tournament. The winger from Shaunavon, Sask., and the Kelowna Rockets had two assists and an empty-net goal as the baby Canucks fairly dominated the Jets, outshooting Winnipeg’s prospects 39-20. Vancouver was deprived a blowout win only by Jets goalie Mikhail Berdin. Boeser is the only elite Canucks forward prospect in this tournament, which is like a four-day “home” game for Lind, who plays his junior hockey less than an hour’s drive north up the shore of Okanagan Lake. He looked comfortable on Friday, displaying the puck poise and playmaking savvy that encouraged the Canucks to draft him. Lind’s challenge — two or three years from now — will be finding a home on a Canucks team that has a small handful of talented forwards in the pipeline ahead of him. This is the same logjam that other second-tier forward prospects like Jonah Gadjovich, William Lockwood, Adam Gaudette and Zack MacEwen must navigate. “I was really happy getting drafted here because (the Canucks) are definitely in a stage where I feel I can fit in sooner rather than later,” Lind, 18, said. “Hopefully I’ll be ready for the NHL soon. “Being from Saskatchewan, I cheered for the Canadian team that was doing the best and most of the time, when I was growing up, it was the Canucks. So I cheered for them. And being out in Kelowna, I watch the Canucks a lot and my billet family are big Canuck fans so I pretty much had to cheer for them.” Lind had a few Kelowna friends cheering for him on Friday. “I thought he was really good tonight,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said. “He’s smart. He’s really smart and reads the play well. He’s got good hands and a good release on his shot. But he’s really smart — that’s the biggest thing.” Brett McKenzie, another point-per-game junior drafted in the seventh round in 2016, had a pair of assists for the Canucks. Gadjovich, Benning’s other second-rounder from June, Griffen Molino and defenceman Jalen Chatfield had Vancouver’s other goals. Thatcher Demko had a solid night in the Vancouver net. But nobody was better than Lind, who rocketed up draft boards last season by scoring 30 goals and 87 points in 70 games in Kelowna. Impressively, 24 of his goals were at even strength, as were 60 of his points. Statistically, there are similarities between Lind and Portland Winterhawks forward Cody Glass, the elite prospect who had 32 goals and 95 points last season in the Western League and was chosen sixth overall by the Vegas Golden Knights — right after Benning drafted the less-trumpeted but more-talented Pettersson. Glass is six-foot-two and 178 pounds. Lind is listed at 6-1 and 178. At No. 33 in the draft, Lind could be a steal. Or he may never play because, besides the strong competition for NHL employment, there’s a lot he needs to work on in his game and his conditioning. But just as Pettersson possesses skill that is difficult to teach, Lind has his offensive vision and poise. “Growing up, I was always a guy kind of leaned on (to score) and that’s the kind of guy I want to be on a stage like this,” Lind said. “I like to make plays and score goals. Whatever’s open is what I try to do. But this summer, Vancouver really preached me about being a 200-foot player — being a guy who can be relied on in the defensive zone as well. So I worked on little things in that part of my game this summer. “This year is definitely another development year for me in Kelowna, to go back there and make strides and hopefully have another good team that makes a playoff run. We kind of expect that every year. From there, I don’t know where I’ll go. But wherever (the Canucks) think is best for me, I’ll go there. Wherever they think I fit in.” His fit was perfect on Friday. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuckin Kingsly Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Beat me to it. Good read zepp 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-23 Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 What a game from Lind last night, he has some great hockey iq, those 2 assists were nice, especially the second one. Exactly the type of playmaking we need on our PP. He deserves that empty net goal for sure, excellent game for him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyoung Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 How was his game away from the puck? we all know he can be special with it. Happy to see him get on the score board like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaMash Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 8 minutes ago, cyoung said: How was his game away from the puck? we all know he can be special with it. Happy to see him get on the score board like that. You can tell there's still some refining needed but he's tenacious in puck pursuit when he doesn't have it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 7 minutes ago, cyoung said: How was his game away from the puck? we all know he can be special with it. Happy to see him get on the score board like that. Good positioning, but lost quite a few battles later in the game. 1 thing that stuck out was him getting stripped of the puck behind the net, and he didn't try to get it back. His skating reminds me of Boeser when he got drafted. Decent speed, but floats more than he should. Boeser has fixed that, hope Lind can too! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyoung Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Just now, BananaMash said: You can tell there's still some refining needed but he's tenacious in puck pursuit when he doesn't have it. Thats good. I'm glad he's good at what you can't teach. That's what I liked about his game going into the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyoung Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 1 minute ago, Derp... said: Good positioning, but lost quite a few battles later in the game. 1 thing that stuck out was him getting stripped of the puck behind the net, and he didn't try to get it back. His skating reminds me of Boeser when he got drafted. Decent speed, but floats more than he should. Boeser has fixed that, hope Lind can too! I think there is a bit of a mental barrier he needs to break through. He needs some confidence, a few more years in the W will hopefully get him what he needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaMash Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 1 minute ago, cyoung said: I think there is a bit of a mental barrier he needs to break through. He needs some confidence, a few more years in the W will hopefully get him what he needs. I would agree. There were plays where he was totally into it and chasing people down and looked great, then plays where he was sort of lost in floater land. Definitely seemed to be a confidence in his own abilities thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Just now, cyoung said: I think there is a bit of a mental barrier he needs to break through. He needs some confidence, a few more years in the W will hopefully get him what he needs. He's AHL eligible after this season, so in theory he could be playing in the AHL at the end of the season if Kelowna doesn't do well. It's a huge year for him to go from a top junior prospect to a top pro prospect all by next fall. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyoung Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 2 minutes ago, Derp... said: He's AHL eligible after this season, so in theory he could be playing in the AHL at the end of the season if Kelowna doesn't do well. It's a huge year for him to go from a top junior prospect to a top pro prospect all by next fall. That is true. Hopefully he takes some steps in improving what he needs to. He seems very committed which is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Just now, cyoung said: That is true. Hopefully he takes some steps in improving what he needs to. He seems very committed which is awesome. Yup. He's smart and a hard worker, so he just has to go out there and do it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R3aL Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Nice to see him have his moment - he has been overshadowed by our other top end prospects really excited for his future! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysACanuckFan Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 Good modern hockey name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenhodgejr Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 He has a elite vision and hockey IQ. Those things are hard to teach. If he can develop a pro game in Utica i project him as a top 6 winger. Has potential to be a special player. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 Yes, impressive vision and IQ. His skating isn't too bad either. Plus he has an edge and potential as a power forward. Add 20-25 lbs on that frame and he could definitely fill a top 6 role for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gameburn2 Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 8 hours ago, Derp... said: He's AHL eligible after this season, so in theory he could be playing in the AHL at the end of the season if Kelowna doesn't do well. It's a huge year for him to go from a top junior prospect to a top pro prospect all by next fall. Sounds about right. Is he likely to be given decent ice time in this year's pre-season? He can already do things with the puck a lot of our right wingers cannot do. I know he's very young -- and his defensive game is not being talked about as a positive -- but clearly he has that ability to make plays. And we need that very badly. On the pp in the young guns game he looked like a center his vision was so good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV's Coin Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 I dont know too much about either player but Lind does seem like a close comparable to Cody Glass for all the CDC'ers that wanted Glass. Tall, Lanky, smart, good playmaker, decent skater, not too flashy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now