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[aGENT]

1 hour ago, IBatch said:

Funny that Detroit was blasted for taking Seider...but now he's rated 6th best prospect in the world ahead of some huge names from the same and previous drafts .... in other words it's a crapshoot.

I was big on Seider last draft... was hoping he'd still be available to us at 10. Would have been a really tough call between him and Podz IMO if both were there.

[IBatch]

16 minutes ago, aGENT said:

I was big on Seider last draft... was hoping he'd still be available to us at 10. Would have been a really tough call between him and Podz IMO if both were there.

Liked him too given he was the top ranked RHD after Byram....that said he was nowhere near the top ten on any list and most had him in the low 20's as far as BPA.   Without a strong WJ's he wouldn't have been noticed and likely available in the second round.   Goes to show how things change and how hard it is to accurately project things....like a skinny kid in Sweden who went to OTT in the middle of the first round when it was all about who was better - Pouty Doughty or frail things Bogasian....I wouldn't at all have been disappointed if he was available and JB took him - was rather fond of RHD Bouchard the year before (ahl-all-star and most certainly joining the Oil next year - ranked 15 overall this year) ... that said I admit (so far and probably in the long haul) I was wrong and QH was the better pick...just glad it wasn't Boqvist.  

[IBatch]

7 hours ago, wildcam said:

How could

 

I don't agree with top 10 with no Dipietro or Brisebois.... Dipietro #3 --- Someone must of forgot making list..Forecast had him #4

Dipietro 20, having a solid first season in pro hockey and he is not in the top 10??? Should  be #3

Briesbois 22 - has to be a head of Focht and Utunen..

 

 

MD is #6.  It's a testament to our depth that top ten regular Brisbois slipped out.   Don't make the lists - it's an average of ten NHL scouts that make them - with the idea of how good their actual NHL careers will be - so not who is better then who at the moment otherwise Brisbois would definitely make the list and others would drop out....do you really thing Mike Diepetro is going to have a better career then the guys ahead of him?  I have some serious doubts he will.

[aGENT]

53 minutes ago, IBatch said:

Liked him too given he was the top ranked RHD after Byram....that said he was nowhere near the top ten on any list and most had him in the low 20's as far as BPA.   Without a strong WJ's he wouldn't have been noticed and likely available in the second round.   Goes to show how things change and how hard it is to accurately project things....like a skinny kid in Sweden who went to OTT in the middle of the first round when it was all about who was better - Pouty Doughty or frail things Bogasian....I wouldn't at all have been disappointed if he was available and JB took him - was rather fond of RHD Bouchard the year before (ahl-all-star and most certainly joining the Oil next year - ranked 15 overall this year) ... that said I admit (so far and probably in the long haul) I was wrong and QH was the better pick...just glad it wasn't Boqvist.  

Hockey Prospect had him at 10 (I had him around there as well)

 

[Canuck Surfer]

9 hours ago, IBatch said:

A power winger who has also played center (that's interesting right?)

If I had  ''critique'' of the prospect pool?

 

Having traded Madden. There seemed precious little in the pivot department. So it is very interesting that Podz also plays center? I saw him take draws at the WJC. But I do not remember this as his key deployment?

 

I love the Podkolzin pick though. NHL strength & speed at 17? To me he looks like a Jake Virtanen who busts chops in puck battles & going to the net. A step slower, but twice the feist! And better puck skills at a comparable age. To me, this is the guy who has potential to be exactly what JT Miller is now. Maybe even meaner!

 

As for the pivot? Well...  Madden, at 160 lbs, was, maybe, not destined to be a center. Not a diatribe on his skills, but physique.  Whether Podkolzin has a volume of experience at center? This is a player with exactly the young Ryan Kesler physique stereotypical of a NHL match up center. Or not unlike Miller, a winger who takes draws, then heads to the wall!

 

This post has me intrigued.

2 hours ago, IBatch said:

I think Hoglander's shown his elite skill level and will make the NHL

I have a parallel, but different view. It draws the same conclusion. And I can't wait to see him & Podkolzin pressuring the puck!

 

Hoglander does have upside to be elite IMO.

 

We can be swept off our feet by a few lacrosse style & other highlight goals! He does have wicked hand eye, dexterity with the puck.  I might be under rating ''hockey skills or IQ?'' I don't see Pettersson, Sedin, or Giroux dangles, puck control, sauce passes. Jake, Elias or Brock Boeser level bar down sniping? Hopefully i am under rating our boy. It is certainly hard for a 17 or 18 year old to pull that off in the SHL, against 22 and 25 year old hardened pro athletes? Where he played. 

 

So maybe it was just hard, or not his place to pull that off. He stepped up his scoring back in his age bracket at the WJC. It could just be under the surface.

 

What I see is a guy who might be the best athlete on the team, as soon as he arrives. Yes at 5'9.'' This is Jake Virtanen with wicked agility, compete level. Jake, BTW, does not have the same lateral movement, hands, endurance. Just raw speed. It's Quinn Hughes power beyond skating, including upper body. Core strength & balance in open ice & when being banged in corners. Ridiculous! He keeps his hands free, eyes on the puck, has dexterity to win battles. Explodes away like very few others.

 

So what I am saying is Nils is still raw. With huge upside and a relatively low floor. But my theory includes that athletes of this level learn skills better than lesser athletes. A guy who can steal a puck off almost any defense man, Cannot catch up to him once he has the puck? Is a already a match up problem for every team.  

 

 

[IBatch]

1 hour ago, Canuck Surfer said:

If I had  ''critique'' of the prospect pool?

 

Having traded Madden. There seemed precious little in the pivot department. So it is very interesting that Podz also plays center? I saw him take draws at the WJC. But I do not remember this as his key deployment?

 

I love the Podkolzin pick though. NHL strength & speed at 17? To me he looks like a Jake Virtanen who busts chops in puck battles & going to the net. A step slower, but twice the feist! And better puck skills at a comparable age. To me, this is the guy who has potential to be exactly what JT Miller is now. Maybe even meaner!

 

As for the pivot? Well...  Madden, at 160 lbs, was, maybe, not destined to be a center. Not a diatribe on his skills, but physique.  Whether Podkolzin has a volume of experience at center? This is a player with exactly the young Ryan Kesler physique stereotypical of a NHL match up center. Or not unlike Miller, a winger who takes draws, then heads to the wall!

 

This post has me intrigued.

I have a parallel, but different view. It draws the same conclusion. And I can't wait to see him & Podkolzin pressuring the puck!

 

Hoglander does have upside to be elite IMO.

 

We can be swept off our feet by a few lacrosse style & other highlight goals! He does have wicked hand eye, dexterity with the puck.  I might be under rating ''hockey skills or IQ?'' I don't see Pettersson, Sedin, or Giroux dangles, puck control, sauce passes. Jake, Elias or Brock Boeser level bar down sniping? Hopefully i am under rating our boy. It is certainly hard for a 17 or 18 year old to pull that off in the SHL, against 22 and 25 year old hardened pro athletes? Where he played. 

 

So maybe it was just hard, or not his place to pull that off. He stepped up his scoring back in his age bracket at the WJC. It could just be under the surface.

 

What I see is a guy who might be the best athlete on the team, as soon as he arrives. Yes at 5'9.'' This is Jake Virtanen with wicked agility, compete level. Jake, BTW, does not have the same lateral movement, hands, endurance. Just raw speed. It's Quinn Hughes power beyond skating, including upper body. Core strength & balance in open ice & when being banged in corners. Ridiculous! He keeps his hands free, eyes on the puck, has dexterity to win battles. Explodes away like very few others.

 

So what I am saying is Nils is still raw. With huge upside and a relatively low floor. But my theory includes that athletes of this level learn skills better than lesser athletes. A guy who can steal a puck off almost any defense man, Cannot catch up to him once he has the puck? Is a already a match up problem for every team.  

 

 

For reference they have Hoglander about exactly where they had BB after he had played 9 NHL games scored some goals and won the Hobey Baker award ... that's very encouraging.  He's a dynamic player and could be fighting for a spot as soon as next year as a teenager....great pick.  

[Jester13]

7 hours ago, xereau said:

Gadj has cement skates. Saw it live in Penticton, dude looks like Lurch on the ice at times.

 

Lind is a sneaky player with LOADS of talent, and he is still flying way under the radar on most Canucks' fans, because he failed to make the NHL as an 18 year old, and then sunk even further in their eyes, because he didn't immediately light it up in the AHL (heh!). The young man clearly has  heart because he has emerged as the AHLer he was in the WHL. He is gritty, for he doesn't take crap from anyone. And he has hands, and NHL level speed. He's a better player than Roussel, with a far cleaner reputation, but still, he will not hesitate to mix it up. He will definitely get a few callups in the next couple seasons, and I could see him making life miserable for management at this fall's training camp.. much like Motte did.

I've always thought that Lind has a chance to be our Perry or Getzlaf (a small chance, but he has a very similar playing style and attitude). I hope he proves me right - we would be unstoppable. 

 

Aside from him, Podz reminds me of Hughes and Petey (hold on a second, hear me out first) in that he will be so much better than people expected once he plays with really good NHLers. He sets his line mates up a ton at every level  but with not much finish from them - he thinks at an NHL level, and his determination is incredible. Once he's on our team, people will be quite surprised at how good he is. 

[Canuck Surfer]

2 hours ago, IBatch said:

For reference they have Hoglander about exactly where they had BB after he had played 9 NHL games scored some goals and won the Hobey Baker award ... that's very encouraging.  He's a dynamic player and could be fighting for a spot as soon as next year as a teenager....great pick.  

Be great if someone could post some spoilers with the full list of all teams on this list??? 

[wildcam]

5 hours ago, IBatch said:

MD is #6.  It's a testament to our depth that top ten regular Brisbois slipped out.   Don't make the lists - it's an average of ten NHL scouts that make them - with the idea of how good their actual NHL careers will be - so not who is better then who at the moment otherwise Brisbois would definitely make the list and others would drop out....do you really thing Mike Diepetro is going to have a better career then the guys ahead of him?  I have some serious doubts he will.

It's always hard to predict how any players career will turn out? All I can say every year since Dipietro was 17 years old he has been one of the best goalies around..

At 17 he lead his team to Memorial cup and won, outstanding and he has continued this high level of play...World JR team Canada #1 goalie and turned pro this year and has had a very good season as a 20 year old..

I like Rafferty but hope this is not a one year thing? Look at his previous years not much offence from him.....Will see in time...

Juolevi,  sure hope he turns out but can't say he deserves to be ahead of Dipietro......

[wai_lai416]

15 hours ago, IBatch said:

Sour puss ha ha.   Depends on what your definition of "impact" means.   If playing a regular bottom six role or bottom pairing role doesn't count as impact then I'm sure your right.   Tryamkin isn't on the list because he's a pro - we already know he can play a bottom pairing role - and well - will be interesting to see if he's coming back for sure.

 

Aside from him it's a crapshoot as it is for any teams pools.   The point is we are still at a good place with ours despite losing sure things QH and EP from it the last couple of years - and have the second highest ranking during the periods they were still prospects.    

 

THN/NHL Scouts see two defenseman that can play next year - OJ and Rafferty - and three forwards within two years.    Maybe they are a little bullish, even more bullish is JB who sees 7 guys....

i mean bottom 6 players bottom 2 pairing are a dime a dozen on the free agents... top 6 players are few and far.. i see podkolzin making an impact.. the rest are replaceable spare parts.. juolevi and raffety if they make the NHL next year will be a bottom pairing.. Juolevi i've long given up on. he seems injury prone and with all the injuries and setback in his development he's already light years behind others in terms of development. if he works out to anything more than a bottom 2 dman it's a bonus.. but not holding out hope.. i mean he's already at the age most teams given up on in terms of defenseman 1st rounder or not.. plenty of examples before him

[IBatch]

13 hours ago, aGENT said:

Hockey Prospect had him at 10 (I had him around there as well)

 

Well I guess pat yourself on the back..ha ha ..Yzerman faced some criticism picking him that high - it worked out for him so far for sure...next highest was TSN/Mckenzie at 15, ISS 17 etc etc.. THN had him 22....at the start of the year you'd be hard pressed to find much about him, on some top 100 lists but he flew up to be picked in the top ten - the WJ's was definitely his coming out party.   Most on here wanted higher ranked Brobeg (the next Edler! Yeah!) even though he's a Lefty and really it's splitting hairs at that point - liked Seider too but was surprised to see him go that early with some sure thing forwards still on the board - including Podz...

Edited March 18, 2020 by IBatch

[IBatch]

7 hours ago, wai_lai416 said:

i mean bottom 6 players bottom 2 pairing are a dime a dozen on the free agents... top 6 players are few and far.. i see podkolzin making an impact.. the rest are replaceable spare parts.. juolevi and raffety if they make the NHL next year will be a bottom pairing.. Juolevi i've long given up on. he seems injury prone and with all the injuries and setback in his development he's already light years behind others in terms of development. if he works out to anything more than a bottom 2 dman it's a bonus.. but not holding out hope.. i mean he's already at the age most teams given up on in terms of defenseman 1st rounder or not.. plenty of examples before him

Thing is we've seen how expensive those free agent vets are to fill the lineup with though - we need some of these guys to hit for our cap situation even if they are bottom six or bottom pairing defenseman.   Think maybe your selling Hoglander short too - if you read some of the drool worthy prospects around where he's ranked you might change your mind on him too.   He's 30 pots ahead of Hobey Baker season Madden for example - and almost 50 spots of where AG was after his Hobey Baker season.   Is AG not making an impact?  Cheaper then everyone around him - and these guy can also be traded as they have value there too (Madden was...although it's yet to determine if that was a zero return on investment or not yet).  

 

Brisbois is already a decent call-up/7th defenseman, and he didn't make the cut.   

 

On OJ...well he's likely getting his turn next year - whether he will sink or swim or get injured again is all understandable.   Have said enough on him in the past ... haven't given up completely on him...but get that others have and definitely have lowered my expectations.   Rafferty is ahead of him now and THN has actually been one of his bigger defenders over the years... 

[BCNate]

We have a deep pool of quality prospects, probably deeper than the past few years.  Podkolzin is an elite prospect.  Not at Hughes or Ep's level, but in line with Boeser.  He is starting to prove why he was viewed as a top 3 draft.  Outside of him, not alot of elite talent, but certainly 7-8 guys with middle of the lineup potential.

[xereau]

14 minutes ago, BCNate said:

We have a deep pool of quality prospects, probably deeper than the past few years.  Podkolzin is an elite prospect.  Not at Hughes or Ep's level, but in line with Boeser.  He is starting to prove why he was viewed as a top 3 draft.  Outside of him, not alot of elite talent, but certainly 7-8 guys with middle of the lineup potential.

Expect several of these guys to be cycled through the top lines in the next 2-3 seasons, to give them value, and then flipped for prospect + a high pick.

This is how rising/competititve teams stay in the hunt, while also up to the cap.

 

Think Chicago and how many people they pumped through the top 2 lines, and got decent returns on, for 10 years running.

 

Get your core going. Draft well. Pump up those below the core with the core. Dump. Rinse. Repeat.  The cap era winning formula.

[189lb enforcers?]

2 hours ago, BCNate said:

We have a deep pool of quality prospects, probably deeper than the past few years.  Podkolzin is an elite prospect.  Not at Hughes or Ep's level, but in line with Boeser.  He is starting to prove why he was viewed as a top 3 draft.  Outside of him, not alot of elite talent, but certainly 7-8 guys with middle of the lineup potential.

I haven’t been following Pod. 
If you or other could elaborate, I’d appreciate some objective references, more than I will subjective fanfare. 
What has he done to deserve these accolades?

 

What I saw at the WJs didn’t wow me, but I’ll say that he appeared poised and calm, like he was thinking the game instead of merely reacting to it. 

 

We need him as part of a core. I hope he is that guy. 

 

[MikeyD]

2 hours ago, xereau said:

Expect several of these guys to be cycled through the top lines in the next 2-3 seasons, to give them value, and then flipped for prospect + a high pick.

This is how rising/competititve teams stay in the hunt, while also up to the cap.

 

Think Chicago and how many people they pumped through the top 2 lines, and got decent returns on, for 10 years running.

 

Get your core going. Draft well. Pump up those below the core with the core. Dump. Rinse. Repeat.  The cap era winning formula.

This is definitely viable, however we cannot dismiss just how many amazing picks/trades Chicago had made in that time frame. They literally had depth players who turned into allstars. Panarin, Buff, Ladd, Teravainen, Leddy, Saad, etc. all went through the system and had good years following their departure. They were absolutely stacked, abused the cap loopholes and bent a lot of rules in the meantime and somehow came out of it without cap penalties (go figure). 

[IBatch]

3 hours ago, 189lb enforcers? said:

I haven’t been following Pod. 
If you or other could elaborate, I’d appreciate some objective references, more than I will subjective fanfare. 
What has he done to deserve these accolades?

 

What I saw at the WJs didn’t wow me, but I’ll say that he appeared poised and calm, like he was thinking the game instead of merely reacting to it. 

 

We need him as part of a core. I hope he is that guy. 

 

I 100% get where your coming from.  Predicted that we'd take Podz if he was still available (back pat whoopee do good for me ha ha) a few days before the draft as even though some lists ranked him as high as three was hoping teams would  skip over him given his KHL commitment and that one or two teams before us as usual would go off board a bit.  It happened and was totally stoked at the time...and now even happier about it.  He definitely hasn't disappointed so far.

 

Back at the draft his biggest criticism was his offensive upside (even though he'd showed a scoring touch at international tourneys against his peer group), one thing that he had better then anyone else in the draft was the ability to as one scout put it " get you ".  What he meant by that was IF you had the puck - Podz was going to get it back and you were going to feel it.   And possibly going to pay for it to boot.  That said a lot considering Kakko and Hughes were the consensus 1-2 but not when it came to this particular skill set.   Get you ... like Claude Lemuiex?  Know you love BT - it's possible we got our own version of that right now in the system (wouldn't that be great!)

 

 

Havent read or seen a lot of him since but what I have so far is he's impressive.  Hoglander might have stole the show with his lacrosse like goals before and during the WJ's, but Podz was an important member of their silver medal squad for sure.

 

THN takes the average ranking of ten NHL scouts when making their lists and like any they never prove exact but i like their process.  For example Maker was 4 to start this season and Q Hughes was right where Podz is now at 10.   J Hughes and Kakko were both higher - but it's also based on how they anticipate their entire career will end up so even then it's too early yet.   Usually the top 30 or so go on to have decent to great careers but of course there are busts too.  OJ was as high as 22 - right around where BB was at the start of his rookie season (not including his 9 games).   Just nice to see Podz ahead of guys like Krebs and Turcotte and Caufield, but who knows for sure how things will turn out.  To be considered a top ten prospect world wild is no small thing...the only guy on our team to beat that since we've made the lists for Future Watch is EP, who was ranked #2 right behind Dahlin after his first overall draft... 

 

Hes played some center since getting drafted, and is in the second best league in the world as an 18 year old (SHL a close third). ... his floor is very high and his ceiling is still unknown.   Generally scouts felt if his offensive game grew to match everything else he'd become the best of his draft class.   He will also drop the gloves - not much at all not to like.  Wonder if Tree is taking notice too ....