mangosteens

When Keith was drafted at 18 years old in his 2nd year of eligibility he was listed at 168lbs and 5'11. He was passed over in the draft as 17 year old because he was small. Rathbone's father is listed as playing at 6'0 and 200lbs, so there are indications Jack could be that size by the time he matures fully. Add in that Rathbone scored very high on several fitness tests at the NHL combine, and I see some parallels to a Keith who is a legend for fitness. I like Barrie too, so if he is more Tyson Barrie that's fine as well. I get to see Rathbone and the other prospects tonight and can report back who he is more like

A slightly smaller frame guy on D who can really skate, has a hard shot, and plays with intensity. Rathbone seems to profile like a young Duncan Keith, except that Keith went undrafted in his first year of eligibility. I feel like Rathbone has the potential to be the pick that elevates this draft class for the Canucks even though he is years away. Seems like he has tools that would have made him an earlier pick, but being undersized and electing to play another year of high school for family reasons probably moved him down some draft boards. Judd Bracket, the Canucks director of amateur scouting, had coached Rathbone on some youth teams so there was some personal knowledge of this player that I think led to the pick.

150lbs? He's a project. His brother, Emil, was drafted by Nashville in 2013, so maybe he is an indication of how much weight Elias will put on.

Nedved was known for playing ball hockey and showing up at local lacrosse boxes to join in pick-up games of street hockey and roller hockey. He really loved the sport.

Yes he didn't work his way out of the NHL, but even you need to admit that his future as an NHL regular looks much less certain now than it did 12 months ago. Virtanen has not developed at the same rate as his peers in the 2014 draft class.

Virtanen is the reverse Burrows. Burrows goes undrafted and works his way through the ECHL, AHL, playing ball hockey, and eventually a long NHL career. Virtanen is a high draft pick and has worked his way out of the NHL down the to AHL, and is now playing inline hockey in the summers. Next stop ECHL?

Goldie, 0 shots and a minus 1 in Utica's 7-2 loss last night.

From the boxscore, it looks like he was defending a teammate. Valk, who is a smaller guy and the team's top scorer was in a fight. Virtanen got a game misconduct for 3rd man in.

You are also missing that Dahlen will inevitably be competing for a scoring wing or center position on this team in a year or two. This is why I did not like this trade when it happened. Goldobin was not the prospect we needed as we have similar style players to him in our system and on the roster. We needed a center. The way to get centers is through the draft. Hansen's no trade contract limited Benning's options, but if it had to be San Jose, why not take a lesser prospect and their guaranteed first round pick? That pick could be used to draft a center or a player that can develop into something we don't have. Or hold Hansen if the deal isn't right. On the positive, there is a good chance that at least a couple of Granlund, Baerstchi, Boeser, Goldobin, Dahlen, Boucher, Virtanen can develop into capable NHL wingers that play in our top 6. My bet is that Boeser and Dahlen end up as the top scoring threats out of that bunch. Pretty clear that Goldobin is not a finished product at this point. Hopefully he sees this and he and the Canucks can be on the same page in getting him to where they both want him.

Goldobin is Yakupov 2.0 and not in a good way.

The CBA doesn't allow the team coaches to work closely with the players over the summer, there are limits on team led practices, etc. They can give them guidance at the beginning of the off season, but the offseason is up to each individual player.

Am I the only one who sees a Nail Yakupov clone in Goldobin? Same height and stature. 5'11 and about 190ish pounds. Yakupov was born Oct.6th 1993, Goldy was born Oct.7th 1995. So, they are the same age when you compare them in their draft years. Both played for the Sarnia Sting and put up similar numbers. Yakupov had more points per game. Both are fast and have a good release on their shots. Both seem to be lost in the defensive zone but have an ability to pounce on offensive chances. Hope Goldobin develops better than Yak.

You're right. Early returns are often misleading. A Canucks example. Sedins were drafted in 1999. If you were to have taken a snapshot of players from that draft after the 04/05 season (5 years after that draft) the Sedins were trailing Martin Havlat and in points and points per game produced, and were at the same level of production as Tim Connolly and Patrick Stefan. Fast forward to the present day and the Sedins are the leaders for points and games played in that draft. Zetterberg is close behind them but 5 years after that 1999 draft, he was just starting with the Wings. Sedins and Zetterberg are clearly the three best players from the 1999 draft. 5 years after that draft, that fact was not clear. Does that mean Virtanen is going be another Sedin? Probably not, but we don't know. Still too early to pass a final judgement. Again, early returns are often misleading.

By all accounts this is a wide open draft after pick #2. Scouts have the same players ranked anywhere from #3 to late first round. I'd say any players other than Patrick or Hischier have a realistic chance of being available at 10.

Overlooked by Team USA for the World Jrs this year. Maybe next year?

Played a whopping 3:57 in the game against USA. 7th on the depth chart to start?

Can't say I disagree. Canucks knew two years ago that Demko was going to be part of the future. I'm wondering if there is more to this than just the chance to be UFA in a season. Demko underwent hip surgery this past year on what I would assume is his own cost or perhaps the university. Seems like after his sophomore season would have been a good time for the Canucks to step up, sign him, provide support for his surgery and rehab. Who knows? Just speculation.

Correct. Players drafted and playing for CHL teams are ineligible to play in the professional minor leagues (AHL, ECHL) until they are 20 years old (by December 31st of that year) or have completed four years in major juniors. Brisebois doesn't turn 20 until July 2017 and is in his 3rd year in major junior. He won't be eligible to play the full season the AHL/ECHL until he plays one more year in junior.

Benning said this during the summer summit. He was targeted by the team for a pick in the 2nd round. Impossible to say if he would have been picked by Vancouver had they got a 2nd round pick because we don't know which pick it would have been or who else was available on their list. Benning's comment was clear that Brisebois was one of the guys they wanted to get with a 2nd round pick though. Benning also cannot pronounce Guillaume's first name. Benning says GILL-EE-AM, but it is pronounced GUY-HOMME.

First player drafted by the Canucks out of the Czech Repulic since Libor Polasek.

Virtanen scores a beauty in a world junior tune-up game and the naysayers are on here pumping up Nylander? You know that if Nylander or Ehlers had scored a goal like that we would be hearing "look at that skill and speed" and "can Virtanen do that?" Virtanen scored a beauty goal and also ran over a few players. He has a role to play on Team Canada and I wouldn't be surprised if he provides a much needed spark with physical play or a big goal.

Team Canada assistant coach Lowry was interviewed on the radio last night, and he was not overly complimentary of Jake Virtanen. Made it sound like he was a bubble guy compared to some other players. Virtanen may not be making this team as everyone had hoped/expected. Hockey Canada makes some weird decisions with the World Jr team. Like any coaches and management, they have their favorites and pet projects.

Markstrom has had some very strong seasons in the AHL before, but maybe he has started to take things to the next level? Has the size to be an imposing goalies like a Rinne or Bishop. Still under club control after this season because he is an RFA. We have some injury insurance in net at the very least.

What about the Canucks defenseman draft picks? Edler(91st) and Bieksa(151st) were both Canucks draft picks. Tanev signed as a college UFA and is essentially a draft pick. That is half of the d-core. Also Corrado(150th) was a 5th rounder who looks like he will be an NHL d-man at some point. In goal, Eddie Lack was signed as an undrafted UFA out of Sweden. Essentially the same as a draft pick.