TGokou

An interesting thought. I know nothing of the ambitions and motives of hockey players but I have to admit, going to an up and coming team like florida is not a bad option. Plus it's florida....pretty awesome if you ask me. Kesler, consult with your family and get it done!

I agree Sanheim or Lemieux

If that is the case I think I pass on Pastrnak. Yes he has talent but these injuries are very iffy and there are so many other good players to draft, why take a risk?

I really hope Brendan Lemieux is available for Canucks to draft. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=714885 Just the type of player that Canucks need and the way Benning should draft.

First of all, I have Ehlers rated really high, just behind Ritchie so I have no reason to put down Ehlers. If we drafted either of the two I would be happy. Second of all, there is a wide discrepancy in talent and I've never said that there isn't. However, if I draft Ritchie it's not because of what I expect him to accomplish points wise, but how he can dominate opposing lines and create space and chances for teammates. Btw nowhere in my post did I put down Ehlers. There is no source for what I have to say about the teams but Burke is the kind of guy that would draft a bigger guy like Ritchie over some of the other prospects. Ritchie going to Edmonton at 3rd is a bit of a reach I think but there may be a decent chance that he could be drafted at 5 as well or by us. The comparison to Hodgson was more of a trade value in that a prospect already contributing at the NHL level could only fetch a power forward prospect who had proven nothing. I was not trying to compare Hodgson to Ehlers. Lastly my point about the skill is that there are a lot of skilled guys that are 1st line material who were not drafted in the first round and that you don't have to be as skilled as Ehlers to be a 1st line guy..hence skill guys being a dime a dozen. On the other hand, because of the rarity of Ritchie's package it gives him a really good shot at being an effective 1st line guy and most 1st line power forwards are drafted in the first round, Lucic being just outside the 1st round.

Perhaps this could be why Islanders draft him. Having to choose between giving the 2014 or 2015 1st round pick might mean they want the player that is most ready to step into the lineup. I think Ritchie and Dal Colle are probably the two players most ready to play in the NHL at the spot they are drafting.

Lucic only scorers 60 points a year but does anyone think he is not the best power forward in the league? His element is that he gets other players off their game and creates space for his teammates which in itself is probably worth the 20+ points a season you give up for drafting a more skilled player. I'm not saying Ritchie will be as good as Lucic but you have to understand that scoring points is not their best asset to contribute to the team.

The problem with playing like the "Bruins"/"LA"/"St. Louis" is that you have to first have a star #1 goalie and star #1 D. In most of these games you will be winning 2-1 or 3-2...very tight games and you need your goalie to be consistent and amazing. The D will play 30+ min a night and be a workhorse for your team. Our two best goalies are now gone and having a star #1 D is the most difficult asset to come by. Unless you manage to get both you will end up in the second tier of "Size" teams, namely "San Jose"/"St. Louis"/"Anaheim" because they haven't managed to win when it counts. On the other hand, drafting to play a more skill with size like Chicago is likely the 'easiest' way to win. These games you can afford to win 4-2/5-3 because you may not have an all-star goalie. You will likely still need a great D maybe not a star #1 but acquiring the players you need to fit your team will be much easier in my opinion.

I think Ritchie has the higher potential to be drafted higher than Ehlers. Out of the top five teams I have a feeling that only Florida is interested in Ehlers (of course they are all interested but Dale Tallon has made it known he is exceptionally high on him). Assuming Florida trades down, they would most likely be trade partners with Edmonton or Calgary and they would draft Ehlers 3rd overall or 4th overall. Otherwise, he falls to 6th+. Ritchie on the other hand is unlikely but possible to Edmonton at 3 but Calgary may have a big interest in him at 4. I could also see Islanders picking him at 5. Of course if he falls to Canucks they could also pick him at 6. Like Razor said, there are a lot of skill guys and they are a dime a dozen. Yes Ehlers is likely more skilled than most but Ritchie is quite a rare combination of size and talent that will be difficult to pass up. It took Hodgson who was drafted 10th overall and was having a successful rookie season to even trade for Kassian who at that point had shown nothing (drafted at 13th) which goes to show you the intrinsic value of a player like that.

I think Perlini has fallen off a lot of people's radar with his horrible playoffs. In 7 games he only had 1 assist. He was ranked as high as 6th at one point but pretty sure he will be taken just outside top 10. I'm guessing he'll go 11th.

Wasn't directed at me but Ill take you up on the wager ;-)

I currently still have Ritchie ahead of Ehlers but barely and possibly even ahead of Draisatl. I'm still not entirely sold on him. If this guy ever gained some consistency he would be one of the premier power forwards in the league. I mean come on, a five goal game just doesn't happen that frequently (and weird how his brother was the previous one to do it).

I was doing some comparisons on Ritchie with a few players from the 2009 and 2010 draft that are power forwards. Based on Bob Mckenzie's rankings back in 2009 when Kassian was drafted, he was expected to go 14th and went 13th to Buffalo. His stats that year in 61 games were 24 goals 39 assists for 63 points. The following season he was suspended for 20 games but judging by his stats it looked like he was never going to hit his career high even if he had played the full season. With Ritchie, he is miles better than Kassian as he has 39 goals and 35 assists for 74 points in the same number of games. His goal totals are substantially more than Kassian and he is more of a pure goalscorer. Furthermore, I noted that Kassian was supposedly 210 lbs 6'3'' when drafted whereas Ritchie is 230 lbs 6'3''. It is likely that Ritchie's playing weight will be closer to 220 and that should really help his speed and endurance which I feel are his biggest flaws right now. I also compared him to Nino Niederreiter who was drafted 5th overall and only had 36 goals and 24 assists for 60 points back in 2010 in 65 games played (WHL). Although the WHL is a slightly tougher league it still can't make up for the fact that Ritchie had tremendous numbers. I strongly feel that if we draft Ritchie and he works on his conditioning this summer, he could come back for 45 goals and 45 assists in the OHL next season.

I can't say that Mr. Benning is the most well-spoken guy and he looked fairly nervous up there. Other than that though I'm really excited to have him on board and his expertise. Linden can be the media guy and Benning can act behind the scenes.

I have to agree, if Canucks do decide to trade down then Fabbri has to be considered. I admit I know nothing about his game but if he plays a really gritty game then I am not scared by his height. Assuming his interviews and combine results go well, I still only see him as 10th at the earliest but could go as late as 16. If his interviews/combine don't go well I could see him fall to 20 range. I don't think it is a risk to trade down to 10-11 range if Canucks wanted Fabbri cause there will still be decent talent available. For example, if Toronto takes Fabbri then that means someone else will sip. Perhaps Virtanen is available at 10 or 11. Fabbri may have been the guy but Virtanen would be an excellent consolation prize. Of course this all depends on the return coming our way.

Don't count on it..unless you somehow have the ability to read Linden's mind.

I'm not sure that you can teach someone how to avoid perimeter play. Fear is a very strong motivator and imo a perimeter player is always a perimeter player. I can't judge and say that Perlini is scared of going to the tough areas but that is never a good thing. Better to be capable of going to the tough areas earlier in your career so you at least know how to do it vs never wanting to from the beginning.

I also want to point out that maybe we should draft the guy that will make his teammates better. Virtanen may be a pure goalscorer but seems like he needs teammates that can make him better. Ritchie is either or to me because he can create space for his teammates and has decent passing skills. Ehlers appears to be a player that could make his teammates better by drawing defenders in due to his speed and excellent passing skills

Im a little warmer to the idea of drafting Virtanen. It's not because he has a great shot, skating or tenacity. The main reason I pick Virtanen over the other prospects is that I see him at worst a really good 3rd line hockey player but most likely an upside of 2nd line winger, MAYBE a 1st line winger...hence a really safe pick. Also what intrigues me the most is that he is one of the youngest of his draft class and will have ample time to hone his skill. I think Virtanen is maybe more of a project than some of the other prospects, and I expect him to take minimum 3 years to make it to the NHL and should not be rushed. I still think his potential upside is less than Ehlers and comparable with Ritchie but is most likely the safest pick of the three. Assuming all 3 hit their potential: I pick Ehlers if I want the most exciting game-breaker and score 70 + points. He will instantly increase the speed of the team and would likely be the team's leading scorer after the Sedins retire/fade. Would be an instant fan-favourite. On the other hand, I don't see him as a total bust but maybe 20g 20a 40 point scorer playing on second line at worst(?) I pick Ritchie if I want to play Kassian on one line and Ritchie on the other and dictate the game through size with an element of skill. Games would be less exciting with less speed and we would likely be playing more 2-1 or 3-2 games. I see him as a 25-30 goal scorer and 20-30 assists at his peak. I don't see him as a complete bust but if he doesn't pan out and he will likely be a 3rd line player scoring 10 goals 15 assists I pick Virtanen if I want a hybrid of both players that will be a fan-favourite because of his origin and who will also increase the speed of the team but provide the much needed grit that a team needs. Still 17 he will likely grow an inch or two taller to 6'2'' or 6'3'' and he definitely has the physical tools to be a force in the NHL. I see him as a 30-40g and 20-25 assists if he hits his peak. As many have noted though, it's not clear how good his vision or hockey IQ is which is the major knock on him and for that I think his high upside is limited with a most likely projection of 2nd line winger 20-25 goals and 15-25 assists. If Jake can hit his higher upside then out of the 3 I'll pick Virtanen over the other two. I'm just not confident that he can achieve those lofty goals.

I know there is always the BPA mantra but what really defines BPA? Best overall potential? Best chance to reach their potential? Ability to be an effective player even if they don't reach their potential? etc etc. I think at the 6th spot you go for combination of of those top two. Nylander may have the best overall potential but higher bust %. Ehlers I place in a good chance to reach his potential but mediocre risk of busting. Virtanen and Ritchie are both players that will likely take longer to make it into the line up and have a lower overall potential but high chance in being effective players in the league. I guess it really all depends on your teams risk tolerance.

To me, any of Ehlers, Ritchie or Virtanen would be good for different reasons. The reason I like Ritchie is I believe the Canucks should have two power forwards in their line up BUT I think they should be on two separate lines. A combination of Ritchie and Kassian on the same line would be too slow for the defensive role of the game. They may have a quick stride in the offensive zone but they would be ineffective in trying to prevent 2 on 1's. On the other hand, having Ritchie and Kassian on separate lines would allow them to make room for the players like Shinkaruk/? on two lines. Btw, I had no idea that Draisatl was almost a full year older than Virtanen! I would still pick Draisatl over him any day but if a team thinks they can make Virtanen a better overall player than I don't mind him....I just think it might be a little harder to get him to change. He is still young though. I'm still strongly against drafting Nylander.

Really the same could be said about any of the scouting services. Bob Mckenzie who I value more because it's based off an average of scouts has Ehlers as 7th. In the end though, I know I'll have to be happy with who the Canucks pick because the chance of them picking the player that each fan wants is very slim and that if they choose 'off the board' it'll be because they did their research. However, when we're talking about picks in the 6-15 range I think that any of these players have a chance to be a really good player but reality is that 80% of them don't turn out anything special, so if I team picks a player ranked 12th on one scouting service at 6 it's not as big a deal as if a team picks 10-20 picks earlier than where that player is projected. In the end though, I believe history has shown us that when teams pick off the board it usually bites them in the bum. Conversely, players ranked 4-6 who fall tend to do well (at least in my memory)

Yeah seriously get off your high horse and look it up. The guy already did the hard work of looking up every single one of his points and you criticize his effort. It'd be harder to make up the stats then just copy and paste it. If you don't believe him then look it up, copy and paste it here for all to see and criticize him all you want.. then you have a real argument. If you hadn't so blatantly glanced over my post where I referenced that secondary assists by Drouin should not count because they almost never affect a play. The primary assist or the goal itself should be what matters. Drouin had 13 secondary assists according to the chart provided by theminister but if you don't believe me look it up . Therefore Drouin really only had an impact on 18% of his point totals. I also provided that should Drouin not have been in the lineup for all those points that he supposedly inflated it's quite reasonable to expect someone else to have scored or someone else would've assisted on a few goals making that 18% inflation much less... Then if you increase Ehlers ice time because a player of Drouin's calibre is not in the lineup you realize that the inflation is most likely under 10%..probably closer to 5%. Now, I notice you never reply to any of my posts maybe because you realize that all my stats are fact and are reasonable assumptions....so maybe you can reply back and poke fallacies in my ENTIRE argument ..not just cherry picking certain points...otherwise you have no basis ever again to discount Ehlers inflated numbers.

Sorry my reference was to his regular season stats.

Thanks a lot for that!! However I still fail to see how he was involved in 50% of his points. It shows here that 31 of the points are connected to Drouin for a 30% rate not the 50% stated. Also, I think the point needs to be brought up that a secondary assist should not count as a connection. After all, we can all agree a primary assist is usually fairly important (ie. one timer, cross ice pass) but a secondary assist? Maybe if the player sent a pass from the D zone to the blue line on a 2 on 1...but other than that, secondary assists are pretty pointless especially when we're talking about how much Drouin 'helped' Ehlers stats. I counted 11 secondary assists for Drouin. If you subtract the 11 from the 31 you have 20/104 points connected = 20% direct contribution from Drouin padding Ehlers stats. Therefore, assuming that Drouin wasn't in the lineup Ehlers could expect 84 points at a bare minimum. That's not including the fact that someone else could have scored/passed to Ehlers in Drouin's absence plus the expected increase in icetime. I think realistically he scores 95-100 points without Drouin. Edit: actually 13 secondary assists so 18% direct contribution from Drouin