DrJockitch

Problem is it is like a well built arch without the keystone. We have a good group of young guys to drop a top flight prospect or two into, we just have no lottery luck. Need big guy in the middle and one on D as well, the rest of the team is actually pretty well built, just need the hardest things to get. (even if OJ and Petterson work out)

You may be getting your wives mixed up there.

He will be playing with Petrus Palmu as well who is tearing it up on TPS.

Was not expecting him to be ready this year anyway. Sometimes the players that are very smart and efficient look lazy and disinterested. They are in position so don't need to hustle into it making dramatic looking plays. A lot of what Olli does is very subtle especially away from the puck. He makes great little pick plays on offence, seems to read the play very well. These things don't show up on the scoreboard always but have a big influence on the team's success. Kind of like how when Jake is in front of the net and the Canucks score, there is no assist for the screen but it directly influenced what happened. Olli has been walked around a few times and is having to find a way to adjust to the NHL forecheck. I imagine for a D man there is no substitute that can get you ready for the speed and size of true NHL forwards. Do wish he could go to AHL this year. Going to Finland and working with Salo would be my preference for the year even though I could go see him more in London.

This page has taken an odd turn. New scouting technique. Bagues can inspect their buttocks and Sutter can check out their balls.

Hey good for you Toews. Like to see confident self aware people. Begs the question though, why are spending so much time arguing with someone on a message board if not looking for validation? If you like having a good debate-lets not call it an argument because that has connotations of conflict that are not necessary-then have a debate. There is a great diversity of opinions here, many of which I disagree with. I have come on here and have been very critical of Sutter and Vanek signings, some people like them. I don't agree with that but hey we are all just fans in the end. If Robb is who he says he is, and I have no reason to doubt that, his background is important in placing context to his opinion. Doesn't mean you need to agree with it but anyone who even had a cup of coffee in the pros deserves some respect. If he is not who he says he is then that is just weird, but he was already a little weird and mazel tov it is just a hockey fan board.

It may be worth noting too that OJ was a pretty slow starter in London last year. Bo is to, maybe it is something to do with playing for the Knights, they save it for the playoffs.

Man what did Burmistrov do to you, that is just mean putting him on that line.

This is a pet peave of mine. Players need strength not bulk. The muscle needs to be put on right or it is just dead weight that needs to be accelerated and maneuvered. When your game is speed and skill you need to have a high power to weight ratio. Focus on the power and flexibility and stay lean in the areas you don't need the extra weight. We see a little of this happening with OJ this year where he focused on getting bigger and seems to be having trouble with quickness since. Happened with Sopel, happened with Jake, now same mistakes being made with OJ and maybe Petterson. Lessons need to be learned and knowledge applied. Looks like he is doing great this year so far. Hope for continued growth in his game and improved strength and appropriate weight gain.

The first one was recovering from shoulder surgery. Not sure about second. edit: Oops flipped the timeline in my head. Yes, was number of games played in NHL.

Not sure anyone ever thought of him as a generational talent. Concern of most people going into the draft was that he had speed and size but no hockey sense, that lack of sense by outward appearance extends beyond hockey. I have said before that most of the mistakes made by this group of management are not terrible, and at the time at least sort of made sense, but the mistakes made in the handling of Jake were egregious. He missed most of his draft +1 season because of shoulder surgery. Benning even admits it was a mistake keeping him the next year, I think part of the issue was a poor relationship with his junior club and him not being eligible for the AHL. When it was obvious that WD wasn't going to play him, he should have been sent back to Calgary and probably would have been better for them to eat a year of the ELC at that point. To then have him working out in Vancouver and not keep an eye on his training was ludicrous. Some of the members of this board noted how heavy he was looking in some of the promo videos of other players where he was working out in the background. How does the club miss this. I hope we have gotten past the hiccoughs and that he can continue his development from here. I hope he spends a year tearing up the AHL with a more talented Utica team and finds a place on the club the next year. He could be a great compliment to the Dahlen and Pettersen types. If he can create room for these guys to work he will be doing his job even if he doesn't turn into great scorer.

General consensus was that after 2 this was a wide open draft and the next 10 spots could really be anyone, turns out it was more like 15. Ultimately Benning got the player he wanted and one he was very familiar with. No 17 year old has ever scored like Petterson did in his league, which is a men's league. Strange to see CA even liking something Benning did, they never do that. Every draft we will have the same response on here no matter who gets picked, if it appears to be a little off the board then people go nuts. Our team lacks skill and anything resembling centre depth so we picked maybe the most skilled forward/centre in the draft. Hope they stick him in a Sedin basement for the summer and get him working out with quality trainers. LV got the guy they wanted so win win. Hate to say it though, the Leafs got the steal of the draft and exactly the guy they needed. I would have been perfectly happy with Lilljegren at five, to get him at 17 wow. Funny the Leafs develop a good plan, get lucky on several occasions and rebuild done, Edmonton has no plan and needs to get lucky again and again and again and again and then finally gets a generational player that forces them kicking and scream into being good. We have no plan and no luck so this rebuild is going to be a long one.

Couldn't you just follow Lu's tweets on say twitter? Why do we need a thread?

I always do my best to avoid the pissing contests on this site so won't drop to the name calling. Not sure what your assumptions are about me but keep them to yourself as I really don't care. I just really disagree with that point. Yes there are a handful of junior players that are better than some NHL 4th liners. I would also suggest here that for the most part that NHL coaches know what they are doing better than I do and I am guessing maybe even better than you. If they have a junior draftee that they think can help then win better than a current fourth liner they keep the junior player. Not like the coaches are really all that concerned about burning ELC years as the average coaching tenure is shorter than an ELC contract, they do what will win. I am glad that you care so much about the Canucks and really really care about your opinion mine is just different.

Wow, junior players are better than most 3-4th line NHLers, wow that isn't even true for the AHL. Most junior teams have one or two players that may move on to the NHL at any level. There are a few powerhouse teams with more but the average 3rd or 4th line NHL player is better than the average AHL player which is a huge jump up from junior. I have mentioned before that Junior really doesn't have a lot to offer Bo. He hasn't had the average Junior career. He has been to three Memorial cups and through two long playoff runs. Unfortunately flu ravaged the Knights when they lost early in the OHL playoffs this year and they had a 35 day layoff before starting the memorial cup. They just couldn't get it going again against the clubs that had just finished their league championship runs after over a month off. Bo plays a pro game so doesn't really need to go back to learn to play both sides of the puck. He needs to learn to play at an NHL pace, not 20+ minutes a night of junior. If he shows something they should consider keeping him up like St.Louis did with Pieterangelo and let him practice and play every 2nd or third game. Should get him close to WJC and if he is ready he stays up if not to WJC and back to junior for the rest of the season and playoffs. Given the number of games he has played these last three years, should not hurt him. Will give him more time to focus on appropriate physical development as well, less games will give more time for focused workouts to improve explosiveness and lean muscle.