Bert Diesel

Much of the recent criticism and negativity towards the team relates to the way in which Benning/Weisbrod have constructed the salary structure. They have clearly made the team better and much harder to play against but some of the negativity is warranted. Management has put themselves in a risky situation for a couple seasons. The next 3 years will be difficult to navigate salary wise and it will be challenging to add more free agents. However, the situation isn’t as dire as some (J.D. Burke especially) would like you to believe. The bad contracts come off the books in a way that allows them to resign their big RFA talents but not with much room to add. They may be able to add UFA talent at the deadline with LITR space but overall, they’ve hamstrung themselves a bit in this regard. The year that the team should build towards would be the 2022-23 season. I know it’s too far ahead and there are too many variables to make a truly informed prediction but with the core intact and the cap space to make changes, that season will be a very strong opportunity to do playoff damage. At least a few of the prospects like Podkolzin, Woo, Madden, Hoglander, Tryamkin, Rathbone, Lind, etc. will be coming into the league at that point on their ELC’s and the team will still have Horvat, Myers, Ferland, Miller, Hughes, Petterson, Boeser on the squad. After the Luongo recapture, Erikson, Beagle and Roussel contracts come off the books they could add another impact forward or defenceman. My main concern is patience, I hope they don’t jump the gun and trade some of their prospects or draft picks too early. Another X-factor is the Seattle expansion; if the team is smart, they will expose players like Myers and Ferland who might be attractive to Seattle and will make cap room if taken. The Upcoming season (2019-2020) In= Benn, Myers, Miller, Hughes, Fantenburg, Ferland, Pearson Out= Pouliot, Hutton, Spooner, Granlund, Gudbranson, Schenn Cap Space Remaining= 5-6 million (Boeser unsigned) Salary Cap Outlook: Boeser will need to be resigned and will likely make between 6.8-7.5 million. This can absorbed with Roussel’s LITR. By the time Roussel gets back someone else may be injured and the team can stay compliant. Obviously trading one of Baertschi, Sutter, Tanev or Eriksson would instantly solve the issue. I can see a salary retention on Tanev or Sutter may give them back value. Next Season: (2020-2021) In= Juolevi, Macewen Will need a raise: Stecher, Virtanen, Gaudette, Markstrom= total raise $ required=6-7 million (above the current cost of players) Out: Tanev, Schaller, Leivo= around 7.5 million Salary cap outlook: If the salary cap goes up around 2 million; the team will have 3-5 million left over, resigning Leivo and replacing Tanev will likely take up this space. Ultimately, there will not be much room for improvements this season, they need to worry about the following year with Petterson and Hughes’ contract will be up. Following Season: (2021-2022) Expansion Draft=????- may create some cap space In= Podkolzin, Woo, Hoglander, Lind? Needs to be signed: Petterson, Hughes, Demko, Juolevi= Petterson 10.5 Hughes= 7.5 Demko 3 million= Juolevi (2 million)= 23 million estimated Out/UFA: The buyout of Spooner, Edler, Pearson, Sutter, Baertschi, Benn: total=20 million coming off the cap Salary Cap Outlook: Very little space. The big name core pieces will need to be resigned. Depending how the cap goes up and how the RFA numbers are going up, this could be a tricky season. Thankfully, there is enough veteran contracts expiring this season to be flexible. If Demko and Juolevi or some other prospect has a strong season the year before, it may mean there isn’t enough space to keep everyone. They may have to buyout Eriksson’s if he isn’t already gone or Beagle. The team will have to get younger this season and the success may largely depend on the strength of their prospect pool. Following Season: (2022-2023) Need to be signed: ?? This is too far ahead to predict. May be some RFA bridge deals that need to be signed. Out: Eriksson, Beagle, Roussel, Luongo cap recapture= 15 million Salary Cap Outlook: Quite good. This season will see a bunch of space free up and the big RFA’s will have already been signed. They will be able to add some veterans (hopefully on short contracts) to help the core who will be entering their prime. The outlook for this season is quite optimistic and this may be a good time to trade prospects or draft picks and go for a cup. Conclusion: In a weird, roundabout way, the bad contracts they’ve signed will prevent them from making other similar mistakes. It has created some contract discipline as they need to focus on retaining their stars. The reasonable contracts they have like Horvat and Miller will serve them well in the long run and things are looking up. My prediction is that they miss the playoffs this year, make it the year after, and are in contention for a few years after that.

Biega is better than most people think. He's active, physical and skates well. He scored at a 30 point pace last year, around the same output as Myers. Benn also is quite adept at playing the RD position so I wouldn't be too worried about this right now. I'm more concerned about the lack of prospect depth at this position. Woo and Rafferty aren't going to cut it. It would be my priority to address this in the next draft.

Nedved= not Russian

Great point. I wonder if they give Hutton 1 million or less if he doesn’t get snagged. He must be getting a bit worried.

Also, I think he’s got a chance to make it in 2020-21 season. Playing in the SHL already is a super good sign. Already surpassing Lind and Gadjovich’s production in a mens league but two years younger.

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but go look at Hoglanders combine results. Normally, a player excels in one or two categories. Hoglander was top ten in more than half of all the tests. That’s potentially unprecedented. With that kind of strength and fitness, it shocks me that he fell to us. He is probably the best overall athlete in the draft. In my opinion this makes his size a non issue.

Next 20 on my board: Hoping for Lavoie, Brink, Dorofyev, either Robertson

To further this, although I think Tryamkin should've been more of a team player and accepted a brief stint in Utica back then, his talent was undeniable and he certainly deserved more ice time than the inept, now run out of the league, Desjardins gave to him. The thing that everyone misses with BFG is that his skill set is far more suited to the NHL game than the KHL. His stats in the KHL were never going to be that amazing as he isn't an offensive guy and smaller guys do better on the international ice. The smaller ice surface lends itself to a big man like Nikita with a great wingspan and powerful stride. I remember watching him and thinking that the other team had no chance to score when he was on the ice. Looking at the statistics from that year, the team was terrible and his +/- was far better than most other defenceman on the team. I think he would be a very valuable asset to the team moving forward and is almost an ideal bottom pair defenceman. If he's able to up his physical game he will be a major force in the league.

I wonder if the smoke around Zaitsev is related to Tryamkin potentially being lured back by the Canucks. Tryamkin and Zaitsev would actually be a good bottom pair having another Russian on the blue line might be attractive to the BFG. That being said, they need to get something else from Toronto if they are going to get Zaitsev as he is overpaid.

The draft is becoming so hard to predict. Last year was shocking and delightful to see Hughes drop to 7. I wonder if there will be any big movers into the top 10 this year that will bump someone unexpected to the Canucks. Right now the top 5 seem to be in place one or two may drop to 6-7 but these guys are all gone by the time the Canucks are on the board: Hughes, Kakko, Turcotte, Podkolzin and Byram. The rest is where it becomes unpredictable between about 5-12 it's anyone's guess. Pick 6 belongs to the Red Wings: they have Rasmussen and probably won't take another similar big body so I predict they take Cozens. The Number 7 belongs to Buffalo; again I think they pass on Dach with and go with the high upside Caufield. Number 8 belongs to Edmonton who takes Soderstrom because they need more D depth.No 9 belongs to Anaheim who likely take Boldy. That leaves Dach, Krebs Newhook or Zegras for the Canucks.I'd take Dach here as he could add a more physical presence to the Canucks lineup with a high ceiling. Ultimately, i'd rate this 6-12 category this way in order of who i'd like them to pick; if Turcotte or Podkolzin make it to 10, they have to sprint to the podium. 6. Caufield 7. Boldy 8.Cozens 9. Dach 10. Krebs 11. Soderstrom 12. Zegras 13. Newhook

There’s no guarantee it wouldn’t have been Adam Mascherin as well

Wrong. He was a complete liability

Spooner is reporting to Vancouver but hopefully eventually will be demoted to the Comets. At the moment b/c of Virtanen, Sutter, and Baertschi injuries, I think there is room on the roster for Spooner. When one of those guys gets healhty, they can send Spooner down. He is highly unlikely to be claimed on waivers because of his salary so the club doesn't need to worry (it would help their cap anyways) about sending him down later. I'm hoping Gaudette stays up longer and ends the season in Utica if the big team doesn't make the playoffs. Same for Brisebois, Schenn, Macewen.

Re: the Spooner trade. It could be a good move for Utica. Having Gagner with the Marlies was a class move but didn't help the organization in any way. Spooner gives the Canucks and the Comets a bit of depth and if (or more likely when) the big club does not make the playoffs, Spooner, Macewen, Schenn and Gaudette can be sent down. An AHL line up of: This Comets groups should have enough depth to make a run at the Calder cup giving many of the prospects invaluable playoff experience.

Put whatever stock you like in this but Corey Pronman has upgraded his rating of Madden from a Depth prospect to a legit NHL prospect (at or close to 1st round status) Tyler Madden, C, Vancouver (Northeastern-Hockey East) 2018 projection: Depth prospect Current projection: Legit NHL prospect Draft slot: No. 68 I remember watching Madden early in his draft season and thinking he was a clear top 2-3 round prospect. I saw tremendous skill and vision and the production was there. Then he had an iffy second half, his scoring tailed off, he wasn’t playing a ton in his USHL games and concerns about his skating led me to drop him down my board. At Northeastern this season he is showing more of what he displayed early last season. Madden has been an all-situations guys for his team and its top line center, including being on PP1 for a good college team. I have some concerns about his pace/speed for a guy his size, but he’s looked a tad quicker than I thought. Northeastern’s coach Jim Madigan pointed out how lean he is right now and that his speed will improve as he bulks up.

Hands are not the issue; it's entirely speed. He's a step behind which was what everyone thought when he was drafted; otherwise he would have been a first round pick with his stats. He's a project and will take a couple years. By the end of this year, he should be able to contribute on the COmets 4th Line. Possibly next year, he will be able to move up the lineup a bit. With all these guys (Lind, Gadj, Jasek, Palmu, Juolevi, Dahlen) the organizations and fanbase need to have some patience. I see this turning around by Christmas time.

Thanks for that. Jeff Marek had him at #19 in March. Dobber prospects had him at #25. Brett Slawson of the Hockey writers at #24. All things considered, there were many scouts who had this guy as a first rounder. Anyone saying this was a reach is objectively wrong. How he turns out only time will tell but it looks like a solid pick in a draft deep on defenceman.

I wonder how high on the Canucks board Woo was. I know Ryan Kennedy of the Hockey News had him ranked as his #21 prospect in the draft. Others had him ranked in the 50's or 60's. This was a crazy draft for variance of opinion among teams and scouts. I wonder if it was just Woo's injury and subsequent change of role that accounts for such a disparity in the rankings. Anyways, i'm happy with the pick and he Woo seems like a safe bet to make the NHL. In the 2nd round, if your able to draft a guy who is in your bottom pair it's a win, top 4 is a homerun. Any other ranking have Woo in the first round?

No chance McEneny gets claimed on waivers next year. Coming off a season where he played 11 games?? I think he's quite safe as any team claiming him would need to clear a roster spot on their NHL team. In addition, the Canucks have 8 NHL defenceman already under contract or control for next year.

Pierre Maguire mentioned on Sekeres and Price today that Rathbone had a huge game with Dexter today or yesterday and that he was very high on him. I wasn't able to find any info on this game online. Anyone know anything about this? Obviously one of the more elusive prospects in recent years, another later round gem?

Based on what exactly? He looked competent in the NHL but not much more than a #7. When teams look to waivers they generally look for someone younger with a bit more upside. Biega is a bulldog and great guy to have in the system but also the perfect guy to sneak through waivers. He is unlikely to have much more upside at the age of 27. Utica will have a much younger blueline next year and will need some older mentors like Biega or Fedun. A big priority for this regime was to have a strong AHL affiliate. Biega and Stecher give them some solid blueline depth at that level that can be called up. Stecher would have to really light up the AHL in his first season to get a call up. Anyone thinking otherwise is a bit delusional IMO. We've seen how they've like to have "Overripe prospects" under JB/TL so far and I think that Utica will stack up well next season I know this is unlikely to be the final roster but my ideal Utica roster could be something like: Grenier MCCann Vey Burrows/Kenins Gaunce Higgins Hamilton Cassels Labate Bancks Zalewski Friesen Zhukenov? Jasek? Defense Subban Stecher Biega Sautner Carl Neil Brisebois Olsen Fedun

I agree he(Biega) was good in patches this season. I don't think it's likely he gets claimed in waivers; he's 5"10 and had 0 goals and 7 assists to go along with a -11 rating this year. That coupled with the fact he's a bit older doesn't equal an attractive asset for most Nhl teams. I think he was resigned because he is a great depth option to have in Utica that can be brought up when injuries happen. The Team will likely carry 8 defenseman and he will not be one of them IMO.

But he would also have more time to train and become more physically mature and with less games; less likely to get injured. See Jake Virtanen and Hunter Shinkaruk. Coming into pro hockey at 22 instead of 20 is not necessarily a drawback.

It's to Vancouver's benefit that he stays 2-3 years at UND. That way we he arrives he will be more seasoned and for salary cap purposes, he will head into his entry level deal at a later age. Just like Ben Hutton. Correct me if i'm wrong.

here are the 6th overall picks since 1990 I would take a Chris Kreider over half of these guys. 6th overall does not guarantee an NHL All-Star. If Jake becomes a phyiscal 2nd or 3rd line winger; that seems about right compared to other picks. 2013 Sean Monahan C Ottawa (OHL) Calgary Flames 2012 Hampus Lindholm D Rogle (Swe) Anaheim Ducks 2011 Mika Zibanejad C Djurgardens IF (Swe) Ottawa Senators 2010 Brett Connolly RW Prince George (WHL) Tampa Bay Lightning 2009 Oliver Ekman-Larsson D Leksand (Swe) Phoenix Coyotes 2008 Nikita Filatov LW Moscow CSKA-2 Columbus Blue Jackets 2007 Sam Gagner RW London (OHL) Edmonton Oilers 2006 Derick Brassard C Drummondville (QMJHL) Columbus Blue Jackets 2005 Gilbert Brule C Vancouver Giants (WHL) Columbus Blue Jackets 2004 Al Montoya G U. of Michigan (NCAA) New York Rangers 2003 Milan Michalek LW/RW Ceske Budejovice HC (Czech) San Jose Sharks 2002 Scott Upshall LW/RW Kamloops Blazers (WHL) Nashville Predators 2001 Mikko Koivu C TPS Turku (FNL) Minnesota Wild 2000 Scott Hartnell C Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) Nashville Predators 1999 Brian Finley G Barrie Colts (OHL) Nashville Predators 1998 Rico Fata RW London Knights (OHL) Calgary Flames 1997 Daniel Tkaczuk C Barrie Colts (OHL) Calgary Flames 1996 Boyd Devereaux C Kitchener Rangers (OHL) Edmonton Oilers 1995 Steve Kelly LW Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) Edmonton Oilers 1994 Ryan Smyth LW Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) Edmonton Oilers 1993 Viktor Kozlov C Moscow Dynamo (Russia) San Jose Sharks 1992 Cory Stillman C Windsor Spitfires (OHL) Calgary Flames 1991 Peter Forsberg C Modo Hockey Ornskoldsvik (SEL) Philadelphia Flyers 1990 Scott Scissons