Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

Wolfgang Durst

Members
  • Posts

    2,139
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Wolfgang Durst

  1. about 30-40 minutes with the fast train (ICE - intercity express).
  2. says who? Is this your personal opinion or someone others opinion you are posting here?
  3. Adam Kimelman of NHL.com: Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said he will try to give Nikita Zaitsev the fresh start that he is looking for. “That will be our goal, to try to find a fresh start for him, for his own personal and private reasons,” Dubas said at the 2019 NHL Scouting Combine. Dubas has met with Zaitsev’s agent but wouldn’t comment on to why he’s looking to move on. “I don’t want to speculate on their behalf,” Dubas said. “I think that’s for Dan and Nikita to address if they want to.” Dubas added that this doesn’t mean they will trade him who noted that he’s one of their top four defensemen, is right-handed and his play improved with paired with Jake Muzzin. Question: anyone around having background in / more insight about Zaitsev's "own personal and private reasons"?
  4. Could the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs work out a deal involving Zaitsev? Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: believes that the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to try to trade defenseman Nikita Zaitsev this offseason even before he made his trade request. Zaitsev’s 10-team no-trade list kicks in on July 1st. The Leafs might have to create a larger deal to move him given his contract and struggles. The Carolina Hurricanes and Maple Leafs coming together on some type of deal seems to make some sense because of needs and the fit between the two teams. Would Zaitsev and one of Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson for one of the Hurricanes right-handed defenseman work? Mike Augello: “A potential factor in the #Leafs trading Zaitsev could be his $3M signing bonus for 2019-20. After July 1, he is owed only the base salary of $1.5M, which might be more of an enticement for interested teams.” this could very well work out for both teams. if they move out Zaitsev they have to find a player taking Zaitsev's spot at the right side. Carolina would get some goal scoring from either Kapanen or Johnsson.
  5. Edmonton could use him as well.
  6. No, for sure not. It's amazing what efforts those scouts made to see him playing. Mannheim does not even has an airport. They had to take the train from Frankfurt to get to Mannheim. Haha... 84 scouts; that means 3 scouts from 28 teams.
  7. The Above Average 2019 draft I canvassed NHL draft experts on the quality of this draft. The consensus seems to be this is a B/B+ draft. Not great, not bad, but good, maybe even very good. Here are their responses: Cam Robinson @Hockey_Robinson It may sound vanilla of me, but I’d rate this class around a B. It offers two elite, non-generational talents at the top. A handful of potentially impactful forwards. A possibly elite D and G, and then something of a mixed bag. 2020 is shaping up to be an A. Get excited for that. Scott Wheeler @scottcwheeler of The Athletic: B/B+ due to the depth of high-end Cs. I’d probably rank the last five drafts (tentatively) like this: 1. 2015 2. 2016 3. 2019 (with room to catch 2016 and room to fall behind 2018). 4. 2018 5. 2017 This draft is weak at D. Decent depth at goalie. Two A-level guys at the top. Steve Kournianos @TheDraftAnalyst Best draft after 2015 & 2018. Best center draft since 2015. Best goalie draft in years. Deep in Euro defensemen but not CHL. Best USHL crop in years. Historic NTDP group likely gets 7 players in top-20. 2015 A+ 2018 A 2019 A- 2016 B+ 2014 B 2017 B- Ryan Kennedy @THNRyanKennedy I would give it a solid ‘B.’ You’re getting two sure things in Hughes and Kakko, plus another tier with loads of potential (Turcotte, Byram, Cozens, Caufield, etc.)… I usually think of recent drafts based off the high end. So this year isn’t McDavid/Eichel or Matthews/Laine, but probably better than Hischier/Patrick HockeyProspect.com @ScoutingService Top 2 are in their own tier, very different players but both getting ranked #1 overall by team Scouts we’ve spoken to. 1st round as a whole would be weaker than recent drafts. Probably rate Rounds 2-7 weaker than recent drafts but probably not quite as bad as we initially thought… 3-12ish is a solid group. 1st round falls off more after that. Weak OHL class is a big factor. Without the great USNTDP group this 1st round would be really ugly. Chris Peters @chrismpeters of ESON I tend to agree with the answers you already got. I think it’s B, B+. I like the draft as a whole better than last years, but 2015 and 2016 were exceptional in comparison. Think 2019 Top 12 is excellent, tapers off more beyond that. Still good value beyond, but not exceptional.
  8. scouts from all 31 NHL teams did scout him during the regular DEL season.
  9. 4. We’ll see a run of five defensemen selected in sequence from 12-16 The top end of this class is the near opposite of 2018. Last June we saw five defenders selected by the 12th pick. Ty Smith wasn’t far behind at 17th overall, and if he were in this class, he would be the consensus second-best blueliner available. 2019 will test the mettle of scouts and GMs. Does your team want to improve its backend depth? Well, you’ll have to take a swing on a handful of players pegged in the 15-25 range. Once one goes, the run will begin. Starting with Minnesota and running through Florida, Arizona, Montreal and Colorado we will see five consecutive defenders taken. Those defenders will be some mix of Victor Soderstrom, Cam York, Ville Heinola, Moritz Seider and Thomas Harley. This theory hinges on the Avalanche selecting a forward with their first pick (fourth overall) – which is highly likely unless Byram is sitting there. Each one of those squads will be looking to add a defender to their pipeline and with the dip in talent at the forward position at that portion of the draft, a D-run is looking plausible.
  10. would be suprised if they go with a D-Man at #9 my best guess is that they will draft the best center available, one out of Dach, Krebs ,Zegras - in this order. Zegras is the most likely player they are going to draft.
  11. to BUF: Trouba to WPG: Ristolainen Now would be the time to Ristolainen if they’re going too WGR 550: Scott Cullen on Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen: ” If they trade him, it’s time now. There’s enough of a track-record. I have the #Sabres trading him to Winnipeg. Their surroundings would allow Ristolainen to get better results.
  12. so has Seider: So, just how did Seider get so good? His natural athleticism and fantastic work ethic are two big factors, but another one that doesn’t get discussed enough about him is his playing environment. Adler Mannheim, his DEL team, had eight players on its 2018-19 roster that previously played games in the NHL, including a couple guys with Stanley Cup rings in Andrew Desjardins and Ben Smith. It should also be mentioned that these were primarily guys who made it to the NHL because of their hard work and determination, not their natural skill. With more than 1,000 combined games of blue-collar NHL experience in Mannheim’s locker room, one can easily assume that Seider learned a lot about the training and discipline needed to play in the NHL. That’s a huge advantage that not all 2019 draft prospects received, including some who played professionally in Sweden, Finland, or Russia. When you look at the big picture of what Seider offers, it’s easy to become enthralled by his raw upside and potential. He might not excel at any one thing, but there’s just so much to like here, with regards to both his physical abilities as well as his mental approach to the game. Worst case scenario, you get a third-pairing defenseman who can do a little bit of everything. Best case scenario? It’s no guarantee, as his long-term development would need to be handled perfectly, but you could get a top-pair defender down the road.
  13. aGENT, your thoughts on Connor Brown? Can see the Maple Leafs being able to retain William Nylander, Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen and Mitch Marner. It will likely mean that they’ll need to trade Nazem Kadri, Connor Brown, or convince Patrick Marleau to waive his no-movement clause. Putting Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott on the LTIR at the start of their season will also likely happen.
  14. Not an overly interesting discussion from a fantasy perspective, but Jason Gregor was on TSN1040 on Tuesday and revealed that he has a source who confirmed that the Canucks had strongly considered moving Loui Eriksson to Edmonton for Milan Lucic. I'm not exactly sure why this would be the case as Lucic has an additional year on his terrible contract. Additionally, after a July 1st bonus is paid out, Eriksson's real money owed will be substantially lower than his cap hit – something floor-reaching teams are often interested in. I am so relieved that this discussion apparently came to an end in the Canucks front office. Sounds like they are no longer considering this swap (Lucic / Eriksson). Would have liked: to VAN: Lucic + Edmonton's 1st 2019 + Edmonton's 2nd 2019.
  15. Jeff Paterson interviewing Jim at the Combine: Q: I know you held organizational scouting meetings prior to the combine. The team released a short video that took us inside that meeting room. How would you characterize what went on behind closed doors this year? Are you all on the same page as a scouting staff or are their dissenting views in those discussions? A: We’re in a good place. Those are our amateur meetings. We’re talking about trying to figure out the players. There is always discussion on each player and on some players there is heated discussion. We’re not always going to get along on all the players. But as a group, we have a tight group. Those guys know the types of players I want to draft. We work together to try to figure out which guy we want to take with that first pick. We work toward creating a good environment that will allow us to draft good players and be successful for a long time.
  16. Pronman's rankings are out: 1. Hughes 2. Kakko 3. Turcotte 4. Byram 5. Caufield 6. Zegras 7. Cozens 8. Boldy 9. Broberg 10. Dach podkolzin and krebs outside the top10.
  17. NHL combine - Day 3: Question of the day Forward John Farinacci of the Dexter School in Massachusetts, at No. 35 on Central Scouting's final ranking and the highest-rated United States high school player, said he got an interesting hypothetical question from one team. "There's a 50/50 chance of a 20-foot python who hasn't eaten in five months is in the hallway," Farinacci said. "There's five of us in this room. Which one's going out there?" Farinacci (5-11, 185), who is going to Harvard next season, was able to tie his answer into hockey. "I think it almost relates to the ice a little bit, sacrificing for your teammates," he said. "The message [the team official] tried to get across was basically if you're a leader you go out there and there happens to be a snake, what are we going to do? You work your way around it, you communicate with everybody beforehand, figure out the plan if there is a snake out there."
  18. as for the Gaudette discussion which is going on for a while here. Travis Green in his season ending press conference about Gaudette's areas in which he needs to improve: - skating - shot - strength What I really don't get is why those areas haven't been adressed by Gaudette or his NCAA team much earlier. He was drafted by the Canucks in 2015. Now we write the year 2019 - that's 4 years in which Gaudette had the opportunity to work on things like strength, skating, shot. Once he got drafted the Canucks should have made sure that the player puts in the necessary effort to improve in the areas he has to in order to become an NHL regular. Not sure if the Canucks monitored his development close enough. Obviously he should be further down the development road
  19. Canucks and Oilers have/haven’t talked Lucic-Eriksson TSN Radio Vancouver: Jason Gregor: “I heard from a really good source that Jim Benning and his staff did sit down and discuss a Loui Eriksson for Milan Lucic trade. I see it from both sides. Here’s our bad guy for your guy who’s underachieved. I was told it happened in April, May, this offseason.” Radio Vancouver: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1040 radio: “When I first heard the Lucic for Eriksson talk, I initially thought “oh that’s creative, fans and media thinking about how to get rid of a problem”. Like a fantasy thing you sometimes talk about. But do I think it’s within the realm of possibility?” TSN Radio Vancouver: McKenzie continued: “As of recently, there were no conversations between the teams on the subject matter. But that’s not to say there won’t be, particularly as we get closer to the draft. I would think you’re dealing with close to an untenable situation on both sides.” TSN Radio Vancouver: McKenzie continued: “But as of right now, no tangible discussions. But I think it’s one where it’s worth keeping an eye on, as it might turn out to be something that has some legs.”
  20. Canucks scouting staff focusing on prospect's personality in the interviews at the Combine , interviewing 70 players. So don’t expect gaming questions to be a priority when the Canucks hockey operations department interviews 70 players during 10-15 minute segments this week in advance of medicals and physical testing. As for the scouting combine, here’s a Q&A with the Canucks GM: What do you want to accomplish in the interview process? “Getting to know the personalities and finding out what makes them tick, their competitiveness and how badly they want to be NHL players. The hard part of our job is we’re trying to project what they’re going to turn into three or four years from now when they’re fully matured physically and mentally. We’re looking for a skill set and a foundation to develop.” What doesn’t surprise you about today’s driven prospects? “How polished they are and how comfortable they are walking into a room of adults and selling themselves on their strengths and talking about their weaknesses. That just mirrors today’s society, they’re more interactive with their phones and they’re more social.” What’s the best question to get a real read on a player? “When you ask how a teammate would describe him, he can’t lie. We could go and check with the players, coaches or trainers. They usually give a pretty honest answer. And we challenge them with tough questions about things we’ve heard about them and if it’s true. The Swedish and Finnish players are more reserved and give short answers, so it’s harder to get a feel for their personalties. And sometimes with the Russians or Czechs, there’s a language barrier.” The Canucks were impressed with the poise shown by their first-round draft pick Quinn Hughes (above) in his interview at the pre-draft combine, recalls Vancouver GM Jim Benning (right). Michael Ainsworth / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS files What was the Quinn Hughes interview like a year ago? “Sometimes when players are nervous, they talk a lot. But with Quinn, there was just a quiet confidence in his ability. After we interviewed him, we just felt like there was an air about him and that he came from a hockey family and knew what to expect. This was just another step to prove he was going to be a good NHL player. “And with Petey (Elias Pettersson), he had a self-confidence about him (before the 2017 draft). He was humble, but we could tell there was a quiet intensity about him to knock that door down to show people he could be one of the best players.” Have you been turned off by a player and not drafted him? “Yeah. If we don’t get a good feel — whether it’s the personality or drive and willingness to face adversity and develop as a player in the AHL — there may not be the mental toughness and it’s too easy for them to give up.” What sets the U.S. National Team Development Program apart with five top-10 prospects? “They have a pro-style set-up there (in Plymouth, Mich.) with school, working out and practice and when we talk to those kids, they’re organized. There are probably 12 players off that team that we’re gong to interview. “Spencer Knight (rated 19th overall) has the ability to develop into No. 1 goalie. And the players there are so good and dominant offensively, sometimes when you look at one player, you lose sight of how good the group is.”
  21. News from the NHL Combine - day two - : Question of the day Podkolzin's most interesting interview so far was with the Washington Capitals. "Washington asked if I know how to sing," he said via a translator. Pretty good question from the reps of the Washington Capitals to get Podkolzin out of his comfort zone. Were they successful? No. Podkolzin did not sing. Test failed. Vassili: If you want to get selected by an NHL team in the top 10 you have to show the north americans that you are capable of jumping out of your comfort zone. Obviously the "school bus" question would have been better suited for the forward Podkolzin: Which direction the school bus is travelling”
  22. Blake Wheeler is in my eyes one of the best 2 way forwards in the league. Lavoie will never skate like Wheeler, Lavoie will never play Wheeler's 2 way game. Lavoie will never make plays in the o-zone like Wheeler. Lavoie will never fight like Wheeler. Did you see the Wheeler/Malkin fight?
×
×
  • Create New...