NucksCup2015

ehlers over ritchie and virtanen given our lack of pure skill in our prospect pool

again so many people thinking this draft pick will solve our CURRENT issues...he wont folks...we are drafting a player that will be ready in 3-4 years. so just saying size will solve our third line issue is silly...this has been my point. look at our FUTURE team / prospects and from that determine what's lacking. and what's lacking is not size with talent its elite talent , ex shinkaruk.... today's problems are not being solved with this pick. people need to start realizing that if you draft a player for today's issues well it may simply create a different issue down the road because we will have a very different team when the player we draft in june is in the nhl

ya his skating worries me...alot of people say well henrik isn't fast, joe thornton isnt fast so yes players can over come it but in our prospect pool we have few players gamebreaking speed..we need speed/size and talent...if we're going to pass on anything given our prospects and the size we have in that group, i'd pass on size at the expense of speed... its a faster game now and as i have said many times, ya nice to have all three but you can manage choosing a smaller player this year because of the composition of our prospects people keep saying size size size because we need that NOW....well news to all, whomever we draft isn't for NOW..he's for 4 years down the road so you have to think AHEAD and the composition of the team THEN not think who we draft in June is going to step in and solve our CURRENT issues...

exactly what i have been saying, people are saying size size size! but they are looking at the roster today, not our prospects, who have size. what we lack in the prospect group, outside shinkaruk is elite skill

5 points thats good oh btw nylander is leading the tournament and virtanen by 11points - same peer group...who's better? http://www.iihf.com/competition/368/statistics.html

or patrick kane

tell kesler sharing the puck can be taught...actually it cant its how a player see's the ice that determines if he shares the puck or not...hockey iq lacking on vertanen sorry

i really love assumptions from people that likely have never watched any of these prospects play lol (not you, who you responded to)

100% percent agree with you..and as you say early pick get the elite skill

you need a mix of skill size and grit to win a cup. grit alone will never do it, size alone will never do it. if you look at the players we've been drafting, they have been a mix of size, grit and skill but very little 'elite' skill....you need game breakers to get there sakic, datsyuk, gretzky!, yzerman, on and on....the reason we didn't win in 2011 wasn't because of size, it was injuries, boston was healthy, we were not and we didnt have the elite skill to score as i have said before, its nice to have the full package but a player like that (Lindros) does not exist this year nor would we get him if he did. Our future we have size/grit and decent talent but not elite other than maybe Shinkaruk Kassian - great size, developing well, will become a very valuable power forward Jensen - good size think Hertl comparable, not a game breaker but a 30 goal potential forward Horvat - good size great 2 way player, never be a game breaker but will be a great 2 way player if he develops Gaunce - same as Horvat Matthias - great size, but a grinder Lain - great size but a grinder Archie - great size but a grinder Cassels - average size but decent skills maybe can pull off a 2nd line C role or a better 3c Fox - elite hands but can it translate who knows but good size, tough kid Shinkaruk - only player with potential game breaking abilities We need elite skill in our group...and thats assuming all those guys pan out...size is easier to find later...

article on ellers and his stats compared to mckinnon in his rookie year are interesting interesting that they say he has speed like bure and is a game changer lets think a bit folks we know his strengths we know how scouts percieve things/biases 1. size is always a negative bias 2. playing in the q is always a negative bias 3. heck there was even concern when mario was drafted that his numbers were inflated in the q (i remember that), as were the concerns on mckinnon 4. separate those out and listen to the talent analysis - those biases have been here since day 1. OHL is supposedly the best and WHL creates tougher players, well alot of high scoring players have come from the Q....in fact alot of the best high scoring players 5. I like what i read and i'd take elite skill if he indeed has that over size but the skill needs to be elite not a maybe elite...that article sounds pretty convincing. “Yeah really impressed with him. Tremendous speed.” Tallon said. ” I see a little Patrick Kane in him, he’s maybe a little quicker. He’s an exciting player to watch with his explosiveness. He’s a great skater. I don’t think there’s a better skater in the draft”. see something special in Halifax Mooseheads rookie Nicolaj Ehlers. When they were teammates, Patrick Kane must have seen something special in him too. Ehlers was fortunate enough call Patrick Kane and Tyler Seguin teammates while playing for Biel in the Swiss A league in Europe during the most recent lockout, and they played a role in convincing Ehlers to move to Canada for a chance to be drafted into the NHL. Although Ehlers was 1 goal shy of 50 in the QMJHL, he’s shown zero attitude problems when it comes to playing defense. In fact, he excels in that role as one of the Mooseheads best penalty killers. By all reports, Ehlers plays more of a North American style 200 ft game than most Europeans do when they make the transition to Canada. But you don’t have to take my word for it. His league leading and ridiculously high +65 speaks for itself.

again, go get a job reading tarot cards and scouting you'll make billions

no im not saying that im saying we have size, so drafting size for the sake of it is unecessary. In addition, you say they aren't game breakers? Nylander has arguably been said to have the most skill in the draft, Ehler is certainly top 5 in skill as well...issue is as you say, size...no one ever wants a 5'11 player for some stupid reason. Why did Eberle fall? Size. I am sure anyone if they had the chance to draft Eberle today would do so top 5 in heart beat. As to your other points Kassian can drop them with anyone sir and on top of that he's using his size to physically dominate players now and create chances in the open ice and along the wall that's why size matters - ability to fight through Jensen has the size to fight through Horvat has the size / will to fight through Grenier - size to fight through and umm not a grinder please look at his AHL totals he had 40 pts this year, in his first real year in the league...will only improve Guance second / third liner with skill and size We're not finding cam neely in this draft man (ie a guy that hits like a freight train, fights and can score 50, if that was available it wouldn't be at #6) Point is we have alot of young size right now with talent but they are just a few years away. At the time we'll need an elite skilled player (Henrik is done) the player we draft this year should be ready A team is not made up of clones, you need size, speed, skill and aggresiveness, few players have all those in one (ie Bert/Neely/Hopefully Kassian). If you think undersized players cant dominate the nhl guys like Kane, Kariya, Gallagher, Fleury, St Louis say hello. Moreover, none of the 'european talents' people are discussing are even that small I didnt see many people saying Shinkaruk's size is going to be an impediment after seeing how he performed in the preseason did you? Size for the sake of size is pointless. You can't teach speed or talent. If you can get a guy of equivalent speed and talent with size, sure you take that player. But if there are questions on talent/hockey iq/skill, take the kid with skill if he's not a 'undersized' and again the two players people are talking about are not undersized simply th same size as Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman were...and from what I can tell they didn't seem to be bad players. Its also alot easier to draft / sign a two way guy with size and 15-20 goal capability in the 2nd and 3rd rounds than it is to find elite talent. Its about using your draft position wisely. Elite talent is seldom found later, size is easily found. Get an Ehlers/Nylander and put a Kassian/Jensen on his wing and then find another big forward (even if he's only a 15 goal guy who hits and creates room) and you have one hell of a line Naslund/Morrison/Bert was one of the most feared lines in hockey history in the past 15 years. Naslund and Morrison were not big. Again, its about a 'team' Shinkaruk Horvat Jensen Fox Nylander Kassian Guance Cassels Matthias Archibald Lain Winger I have no issue with those top two lines and you can't tell me there is not enough size there and expect to be credible - that's bigger than our existing lineup lol

i am glad you can see the future... man the nucks and every nhl team should hire you kreskin since you seem to be able to predict with certainty who will pan out in a draft lmao

One thing to also note folks Granted we can't assume all our prospects make it but, prospect wise we do have size already Kassian Jensen Horvat Fox Gaunce Archibald Matthias Grenier Lain are all 'heavy players' and Cassels has enough size and grit to compete we can fit a smaller skilled player into that group , so those arguing size size size! look at our future lineup first before you assume we don't have the group to compete in conference where size does matter...because remember, whomever we draft with this high pick, likely won't be in the lineup for 2-4 years, and may be the player we need to replace Hank.....

yes exactly. but the problem with this draft is the depth of it even at 6 says we may end up having to take chance that a smaller guy can handle the bigger league because of his skill and speed or a bigger guy can translate his lower skill but size and speed to the nhl... no sure things, this is why this draft will be very interesting, i will expect there will be some steals and busts in this one and a number off the board picks this year as there really is little consensus after the top 4-5 players

simple solution, move hansen to the oilers with our 6th overall for their third and we can get Dal Colle / Bennett or Reinhart, whomever isn't taken yet

but schroeder in the middle might work or kassian on the wing

project is not what you draft at number 6

again i love how cdc'ers claim some kid in the ohl is sooo much better than a guy who's developed over three years and is an emerging power forward in the nhl you people really are something 1. edler is an allstar - after one great year 2. edler sucks after one bad year 3. Horvat = bergeron - yet he's never played an nhl game 4. Lou rocks 5. Lou sucks 6. Trade schnieder 7. why did we trade schnieder 8. kesler is god 9. trade kesler 10. sedins are amazing 11. sedins suck 12. kassian is a bust 13. kassian is the man ya know...it takes time for an ohl'er to make an impact in the nhl and even make it. suggesting some kid who didnt even play on team canada is somehow 'better' than kassian - well is just plain RE TARD ED moreover you may want to see how many players drafted even in the first round, ever stick in the nhl before you claim a kid who has never played vs men and in the nhl is somehow a better passer than kassian lol see Kassian does it against pro's and is probably the second best on the NHL team beyond Henrik lmao retarded

point is head down, straight ahead player. we dont need another player that cant use his linemates effectively, unless the guy is bure, which he is not, he is going to have to know how to play a team game knock on him is he doesn't know how to do that, sorry but the guy isn't even dominating junior (ie 90-100pts) he scored alot of goals, great, aint gonna be as easy in the bigs.... if you are only one dimensional its a bad thing, unless again, you are bure talent

you're kidding right? Kassian has great wheels See's the ice better than anyone other than Henrik Can beat the crap out of people Has developed his defensive play Is using his size well now along the boards and in open ice to create room Just needs to learn to hit Can finish with the best on the team but seems to be more at home passing AND THAT IS IN THE NHL!!! The guy is 2 years away from being a complete package and you say some rookie from the WHL who can't see the ice and can finish has more skill? wow

how hard is it for one person to have a unanimous favorite? and how can you have one favorite alongside another

this was schroeder's first real season and he broke his foot twice. you may want to take a look at how the rest of the team performed as well before you label him a bust wow

agree...sounds like a perfect pick for Boston hey? late first round because of a mouth and attitude issues..lol...fits their squad perfectly