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Everything posted by DeNiro
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Pastrnak I would give him a pass on because alot of GMs passed on him, and McCann was highly ranked. Every ranking had Ehlers higher than Virtanen and Tkachuk higher than Juolevi however. Virtanen's speed and grit just don't make up for his lack of hockey sense. That was the year to go for elite hockey IQ over grit. Tkachuk was an opportunity for Benning to make up for his mistake of taking Virtanen, yet he chose a player because of position not BPA. The funny thing is, this upcoming draft is probably our best opportunity to get the puck mover we needed in Liljigren and/or Foote. We just gotta hope certain later pick forwards surprise and make up for the missed picks.Can't afford to keep picking just good prospects that high.
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Juolevi will probably be a good top 4, but there's no sugar coating the fact they missed out big on Tkachuk. He's exactly what they hoped Virtanen would become. That's two out of three drafts now we missed on impact players. We do it again next draft and it's bye bye Benning.
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Yea what a stupid thing to compare. Another reason why Blake Price is nothing more than a sensationalist twat.
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"Elite" gets used too loosely on here I think. He's a great prospect don't get me wrong. But D-men take a long time to ever reach a top level, and more often than not they don't reach their ceilings. He's still got a LONG ways to go before he becomes a regular top 4 D, let alone a top pairing one.
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Being big and being strong are two different things though. Taylor Pyatt was big. It's how he uses his strength that's important too.
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Not being strong enough is definitely a fault. Yes he'll get stronger, but lets not pretend this guy is a lock to be a first pairing guy just yet.
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Doubt it. Tkachuk will be a impact player in his prime.
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As Gillis showed though, you miss on too many drafts and you won't be able to fill the team with enough talent to compete.
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And then ask what a team would be willing to give up to acquire Ehlers right now. It's okay to be against the selection but still root for Virtanen. What's done is done. I only hope they don't fall into the same trap next time they get a high pick (next draft?)
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Virtanen was never the consensus BPA at the time though, not even close. Any GM who has been watching the trend in the NHL would know that with Ehlers speed and hockey IQ he was going to excel in the NHL. They took a gamble on Virtanen because they thought they could shape him into the next Jamie Benn type. There's a reason why those players are so rare though. We didn't draft the guy that fit our biggest need with that pick. Our biggest need with that pick should have been scoring. We've been lacking that just as much as size and toughness. Any GM who is half decent at drafting can address size and toughness in later rounds anyways.
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Hansen is a great player, I already said that. You can't be happy taking a player with a career high 39 points 6th overall though. I could care less what the historical 6th overall picks did. Sean Monahan scored 30 goals in his second season and was drafted 6th overall a year before Virtanen. Benning is supposed to be a master scout and he passed on two players that would currently be leading our team in points. That can't be ignored.
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Hey I'd take that player too. Not with a 6th overall pick though, maybe a 3rd or 4th round pick. Either way, it didn't address our real needs, which is lack of scoring. It's nice grinding it out and getting "moral victories", but all that really matters is what's on the scoreboard.
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After he was drafted the expectations were much higher than another Jannik Hansen type. Expectations have fallen considerably since he was drafted. I don't know how anyone can say management didn't mess up when we chose a Hansen type player over players that will likely be point per game players in their careers. I like Hansen alot, but to ignore this teams desperate need for scoring like that just doesn't make sense.
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Well I think I can safely say Virtanen isn't going to close the gap on those two, so yes I would say they will always have more value. As for micro-analyzing every game, it's not micro analyzing when you look at the last two years of his career. These last two years have been nothing short of underwhelming. I'm still hoping for the best for him, but it's time to be realistic. He's not likely going to be the impact top 6 powerforward ala Todd Bertuzzi that we were all hoping for. A realistic expectation for him would more likely be a third line energy guy that can hopefully pot 15-20 goals one day.
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Nobodies putting more value on Virtanen right now though, and that's my point. For him to close the gap on these two players he would have to take MAJOR strides over the next few years, which I don't see happening. At this point I think everyone just hopes he can become a full time NHLer at some point.
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I don't think there was ever any doubt that Ehlers and Nylander would put up more points than Virtanen in their careers. Virtanen was looked at as a project power forward that if everything went right in his development would be very valuable. That always represented a higher risk level though since there were apparent flaws to his game well before he was drafted.
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In two years we'll probably be lacking scoring even more. You don't pass on scoring for toughness, bottom line. Even if Ehlers or Nylander don't fit future plans, these two players will always have more value than Virtanen. They could have at the very least been used to acquire an impact player.
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People on here say that Nylander is too soft or that Tkachuk would be on the fourth line in Vancouver to make themselves feel better that we passed on great players. When two prospects who were right there for the taking would now be leading your team in scoring, there's no other way to say it then management messed up. This team was desperate for scoring and they passed on scorers for toughness and a player who's ceiling is up in the air.
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Just missed on the tying goal and the hattrick.
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2 goals for Gaudette
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He enters the zone with alot of speed and confidence. Made a really nice play holding the zone by batting the puck out of mid air on his backhand.
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Nah, we never had a lead in the final game. Let alone a 25 point one...
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They did early in the season, maybe that's changed.
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Lower quality linemates followed up by a wrist injury he hasn't fully recovered from. Onc Jost is back he should get rolling again.
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Ehlers, Nylander and Pastrnak all putting up big points already. Benning will be remembered for the players he passed on more than the players he picked unfortunately.