204CanucksFan

Definitely showed why he is still the Canucks top prospect and that he can absolutely be a force in the NHL. Like a few others have already said, he easily could/should of had a few more points tonight, just no luck when he set his teammates up for easy opportunities.

Podkolzin looks to be ok

Podkolzin giving the Austrian goalie props for the massive windmill save

Can't wait til he's got Petey, JT, Boes or Cap'n Bo to finish those off

Podkolzin looks almost predatory for the puck whenever there is a battle on the boards that he's not in the middle of. He stands just outside of the scrum and as soon as he sees the puck start to come loose he pounces on it and whomever on the opposition has it. Really looks like he thinks the game at higher level than most of these other kids in this tournament.

I would say Persson, Jurmo and Zlodeyev have a reasonable chance of hitting the 200 game mark in the NHL. Can't say to what degree their impact will be but even if they only made marginal contributions in bottom six/third pair roles for that amount of games that would still be a very successful draft considering no 1st or 2nd round picks

For me bridge deals are probably worst case scenario. You are probably right, they will sign bridge deal but those will still be around 7 each (Laine type money) and then 2-3 years later they are looking for 10+ each. And although those are probably inevitable numbers anyway I'd prefer to try and get Petey for 8×9.5ish and Quinn at 8×8.5ish. Maybe not realistic but a guy can dream. Thats why I think a player like Rathbone is going to be very important while still on his ELC. Same with Podz and Hogs. I'd hate to see the team in 3 years be trying to resign all 5 of those player and fit them under the cap

Yeah... a realist. Edler is a soon to be 35 year old dman that is going to start declining sooner than later. And in a flat cap world that we live in at the moment we will have 22.7 mil to resign Pettersson, Hughes, Gaudette, Demko and Edler as well as fill the forward holes left by Pearson and Sutter (although I think Hogs and Podz should fill those holes nicely ) So we are going to have to make some tough choices. To me one of those would be let Edler walk and fill with a player on an ELC. Like sid said his salary demands will be critical in making a final decision but as you have pointed out he is currently still playing as a more than capable dman and unless he takes a massive discount we simply can't afford him.

This isn't shiny toy syndrome. I love Edler. The problem is he will be 35 before this season ends. The only people that age playing quality top 4 minutes are Giordano, Keith, Suter, Weber and Burns. Which are a much higher tier of dmen than Edler ever has been. The biggest advantage he has over the other players in our system are the two you can't teach: experience and size. Unfortunately if the last couple of years of hockey have shown anything, its that size is great but it doesn't mean much if you can't skate. Yes, he can still put up points if he doesn't have to do the heavy lifting and play against the teams best players. This isn’t a shot against him I just believe that we will see that the other players are going to be capable of passing by him on the depth chart sooner than later, as they progress and he declines. Dmen like Chara, Lidstrom and even Chelios are an abberation, not the norm, he is getting to the age that 95% of dmen statistically fall off a cliff His injury history is also troubling and is only going to get worse as he get older with his style of play as well. He has only ever managed to play more than 70 games 5 times in his career. Again, I love Edler, he is the franchise leader in almost every statistical category for a dman for a reason. That being said like so many other player his age the game passes them by and I think players like OJ and Rathbone are great prospects and they are going to show themselves fully capable of handling it

AHL is probably best for Nils this year if they have a season but I wouldn't be completely surprised if he forced his way on to the team this year. Its concerning to hear that his current coach thinks he needs work defensively and that could definitely keep him off the team this year. But his ability on the forecheck is very impressive and being in the top 15 for Corsi% in the SHL is worth noting. Its easier to defend if the opponent can never get the puck out of their own end when you are on the ice.

I would love to see Rathbone come to camp and force his way on to the team this year with his excellent skating and cannon shot i just don't see it happening this year. He may make the taxi squad if they have one and get rotated in for a few games but with the top 2 spots on the left side locked in for this year I believe that Green is going to want OJ in the third left spot simply because he can play the PK. Jack hasn't demonstrated that ability yet. Add to that that the AHL has said they are aiming for a Feb. 5th start date and I believe that the team will want him in Utica for this season, play top pairing minutes and develop a little more defensive reliability. After this season though I think we should, and I hate to say it, probably let Edler walk. This is how I see pairings shaking out after this season: Pair 1 Hughes - Myers Not out for the tough match ups but playing the most minutes. Not an ideal top pair, simply because Myers on the top pair is probably never ideal, and I honestly don't think Seattle will take him when we leave him exposed. But in limited minutes last season they seemed to have some chemistry where they actually elevated each others game not just the usual boost every dman got from playing with Hughes. Pair 2 Juolevi - Schmidt Playing almost as many minutes as pair 1 but getting the tough match ups. Schmidt has proven he can be a top pair dman on the right side and with another year of hopefully injury free pro experience for Juolevi I think he will show he can be relied upon defensively to make the right play in his own end and both players can transition to puck out of the d zone quickly and efficiently. (Side note: I believe the Juolevi will show he is a less physical version of Mattias Ekholm) Pair 3 Rathbone - Rafferty or UFA Benn replacement Rathbone will show he is more than ready for NHL minutes by this point and will also be running PP2. I'd like him to be able to do this with Rafferty as his partner but 2 rookies on the 3rd pair isn't ideal and we will probably bring in a cheap and reliable dman who is more of a stay at home type with Rafferty staying as the 7th dman, which is where I see him slotting in this year as well. All in all I think Rathbone is an excellent prospect and I am super excited to see what he can do at camp but I just don't think this is his year because the left side is too plugged this year and more minutes in Utica (if they even have a season) would be best for him.

That just looks like two guys nose to nose beaking at each other and Jurmo pushed the other players head away with his head. Probably happens 100's of times during an NHL season, and for that he gets a suspension

Super excited for him to get named to camp. I think he a legitimate shot to make the team even if its only as 7th Dman. Like I said before he is the pick im most excited for from the 2020 draft. It would be great if the Canucks had legit Canadian prospects. Definitely make it a little more fun to watch and cheer for home team instead of always having to cheer for Canada and the prospects separately.

Maybe they were 'Putin' the screws to him

Holy, I never expected this debate to blow up the way it did. First thing I want to make clear is I have a lot of respect for 73 Percent as a poster on CDC. I completely agree with his opinion that prospects are fallible and should be open to criticism for mistakes. I also respect the position that we need to take off our rose colored glasses when it comes to our prospects, they aren't all Hall of Famers, and most won't ever make an impact in the NHL let alone play a single game in the league. That being said... I still feel that that particular article is demonstrating clear bias. As I feel Podkolzin and Amirov are clear comparables. Both are almost the exact same age, they play similar positions (both are wingers), both have been developing in the same leagues (at the same times), both were drafted at almost the exact same position (I don't care about where players are ranked by pundits or couch scouts, only where they were actually drafted as that is where the actual league or team scouts saw them ranked based on their peers) and yet one is praised for 6 points in 19 games in the KHL and the other is criticized for 6 points in 21 games.

Except in this case it didn't. They played in the same development leagues in the same years, just on different teams. You're grasping at straws to keep this argument going.

Podkolzin is only 3 months older than Amirov. He missed out on the 2019 draft by 2 weeks and was one of the oldest 1st time eligible players in 2020. So both have same development time. So why is one praised and the other criticized. Both have early to mid first round pick expectations. Both are almost identical ages. Its comparing apples to apples

10th overall vs. 15th overall. Not that big of a difference

Maybe just Minister of Defence

Not assuming anything of the sort. Simply pointing out that the author of that article states that Podkolzin, with 6 points in 21 games 'hasn't had the breakout many expected from his second KHL season' but Amirov with 6 points in 19 games 'has continued to open eyes'. Both are strong, legitimate prospects in their own right with strengths and weaknesses but both have essentially the same production in the same league and one is praised and the other is criticized. To me this demonstrates bias.

Except he actually has 6 points in 21 games and that same article praises Toronto prospect Rodion Amirov for his 6 points in 19 KHL games. Also praising his 3 goals in the Karjala Cup while basically dismissing Podkolzins performance as the tournaments leading scorer. It says he was a stand out at the tournament then instantly starts talking down about him. Standard eastern bias.

Is he not able to sign as soon as his season is over, which could be as soon as Feb 28th given the highly unlikely scenario his team misses the playoffs?

Thanks for the clarification. I clearly misread section 10.2(b)(i). Well hopefully his KHL season is done before we are 1/4 through our season

True. But if I understand the CBA correctly, which I very possibly don't (I don't speak fluent lawyer-speak) Tryamkin is not subject to the Dec 1 deadline as he is not considered a standard Group 2 RFA. I believe he falls under the Group 4 'Defected Player' classification which has a different set of rules. Again I could be completely wrong on this and wouldn't complain about being corrected by someone with a far better understanding of the CBA.