70seven

Nearly a blend of Tanev (puck retrieval, position, reads) and Hutton (Fantastic mobility, patience, outlets and vision). Really very impressive when you isolate him.

Love Horvat... Hes not "elite".

Except CENTER

Dmen to go in the top 5 over the last 10 years. ***represents 1st D taken in draft. Juolevi*** Hanafin*** Ekblad*** Jones*** Murray*** Reinhart Reilly Larsson*** Gudbranson*** Hedman*** Doughty*** Bogosian Pieterangelo Schenn Hickey*** Alzner E.Johnson*** History showing, we are going to have the first drafted stud D on our hands since Ohlund. Super excited to FINALLY have as high end D in the system. Heres hoping Gudbransons change of scenery pushes his game forward and he continues to trend into a monster of a D.

Benning just said that if Juolevi doesnt make the Canucks, hell go back to London.

Nashville with yet another gem D in Fabbro

Arizona picking up Chychrun and Keller.... Real good day for them... adding to one of the deepest prospect pools again.

YES! Finally a top rated Dman!!! Cant win without one. First step in the right direction. Would have loved PLD or Tkachuk, both more exciting picks, BUT Juolevi is the best pic IMO for where the organization is at.

Reminiscent of Jonathan Quick and MA Fleury imo.

Nice to hear so much positive talk around the hockey world on this signing. A lot of scouts really like this kid. hes got the attitude to make it. Not the kind of personality thatll take no for an answer. he's going to put in the work, and he's going to press for a roster spot. I love how confident he is in his defensive abilities. Saying things like he likes to create offence, but never at the cost of compromising the defence. He honestly sounds really well rounded. Pretty much earned a letter on his chest everywhere he's played. Who knows, maybe we scored a real beauty here...

WHile I think its funny that some panic, thers a legitimate concern here. If anyone here was in Demkos shoes, it would be a tough decision. Just one more year of college... Then he could be a UFA.... And choose where he wants to live. That being said, Vancouver is a very tempting spot and at the end of the day, I do think he signs here, but if he does in fact remain in college, I also think he'll be trade bait at the draft. Its unfortunate, but its part of the CBA. These college players are well within their rights, and its a nice perk for them. Demko is a smart kid and a collaborator, so he wants to talk to friends, family, and other baby Canucks... Not much of a shocker to be perfectly honest.

In before CDC explodes... This was the plan for Boeser all along.... Stay calm and chive on

what a day for sports btw... early jays early hockey masters frrozen four final last game of Nux season damn! off to get some beer and bbq!

National Championship tonight 8pm ET, TSN2

Seems strange that theres so much hype swirling about this kid. I very interested to see us have a 6'8" D prospect that can skate aswell, but youd think a Norris contender was making his debut by the way the hype train is moving. Should be an interesting evolution, but its very possible that he's not ready for the NHL yet and plays next year in Russia... It appears this is his 1st tryout. His 2nd will be pre-season, and then a decision of what to do. As many have discussed, certainly a crowded and average at best looking group. IF we are going to win more games, we NEED production off the back end. They are hoping that Larsson can add, but thats still a long shot. Trading Edler? Its possible, and makes sense with Huttons emergence and Hammers willingness to remain a Canuck. Then the speculated RFA attempt... Tyson Barrie. Home town kid. Fantastic offensive PMD. RIght shot. 24 years old. Hes the perfect addition imo. But anything under 6/year offer sheet and youd think the Avs would match. Is Tyson Barrie worth a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd? TOugh question, but he's easily worth a 1st+ its. Im sure the teams would discuss a deal before an offer sheet was made, but the deal would need to be equivalent to that 1st, 2nd, 3rd offer sheet compensation. Enter the discussed Alex Edler deal. One for one? Or does Van add? Hamhuis Barrie Hutton Tanev Sbisa Tryamkin Pedan Larsson Go UFA shopping.... I know theres been talk that Benning and Linden wont go after older players, but given the attempt on Lucic last draft, and the fact that hes still a couple years off 30, I think they still make an attempt. lines with Lucic in no particular order. Sedin Sedin Hansen Baertschi Horvat Virtanen Lucic Sutter Dorsett Etem Granlund Vey Burrows Gaunce Higgins to Utica McCann to Utica

Virtanen is fast, but is by no means quick. Kid needs a runway before he can take off. Id like to see far more hustle in his game, an area that Hansen, Higgins, and Horvat excel.

heres the deal... Vancouver has roughly 2.8 million open should everyone on the projected roster including Kenins and Clendenning are on the team. IF Virtanen makes the team, which by every indication managment has given, he'll get at least his 9 games. His cap hit is 1.75. SO... now we have roughly 1M open.... and that would be with Linden Vey as our 4th line center... which I cant see as an ideal game plan... We also have other young players looking for spots... cap hit roll out: McCann - 1.107 Shinkaruk - 1.076 Gaunce - 1.026 Cassels - 0.905 Jensen - 0.863 Grenier - 0.585 Friesen - 0.575 Baertschi - .850-1.2 ?? (just a guess but thats what Im thinking) As you can see... its pretty dicey, and you always want to have a little space to play with. My assumption is that there are still some moves to be made, and thats whatll take at least a few weeks to figure out.

Benning must have really been impressed with him at the Ivan Hlinka.

Kid stepped it up for the international tournaments for sure

is pilon gone... or still on the board

Love the pickk. This kid has a fabulous release and has a great offensive IQ as hes adept at finding the soft spots in the slot. I like the idea of having a team full of 200ft players capable of producing. With McCann, Virtanen, and Boeser, we're assembling a nice group of sniping ability. Throw Baertschi and Shinkaruk in for dirty dangles, and Horvat, Cassels, Gaunce in for consistent grinding 200ft games. The future aint so bad up front. Friggin Oilers added McDavid and Reinhart today... We're going to need some awfuly large surprises out of our prospects group.

I too agree that Booth is a good example of the type of game Virtanen possesses. David Booth suffered all sorts of injuries, none of which more serious than getting his head taken off by Mike Richards which rendered him a shadow of the player he was trending to look like. He was actually looking like a solid pick up as the AMEX line began to run amok, but injury again got the better of him. Remind you of anyone? I believe that Virtanen has very similar attributes (Speed, physicality, scoring touch), but has a higher end ceiling in all of them than Booth did, but also has FAR more of a mean streak and fiestiness making him a player that you can use in other roles. I think that both of their weaknesses are in the IQ of the game... ie: being in the right place at the right time, and making the right choice with the puck at the opportune time. IQ is the biggest jump to make at the NHL level. It remains to be seen how he'll make the transition, but his attributes should at the very least make him a useful and antagonizing player in the bottom 6. Lets hope he stays healthy.

After markstrom, he was our best player. really like the way hes looking after just one pro season. imo will be a solid bottom 6er at the nhl level as well.

Its nice to see that part of his game translate well to pro so quickly. Having Virtanen, Kenins, Dorsett, and Kassian running around wont be much fun for the opposition. Cant wait for Pedan and Tryamkin to join the club! Add in the consistent and feisty 200 ft games of Horvat, Gaunce, and Cassels, while Baertschi, Shinkaruk, and McCann and in some speed and dangling. Theres definitely things to be intrigued by this mix of prospects. Hopefully Jensen turns it around and can develop into a useful asset as well. I know its not the elite group that some other teams have, but I do really like the mix of the team, especially should we add in a legit top pairing dman. Hate to say it, but this does look awfully like the ol Bruins model. lol.

I thought the plays that he made to get those scoring chances on his goals were exceptional. I also thought that he made some very skilled passes as well as having a special kind of hand eye coordination as he was able to bat the puck down to himself on multiple occasions. The finish on the goals were good shots, but I would be expecting my Midget A goalies to make those saves... Speed, hands, and vision.... The more ice time, the more success, the more confidence... I think he's going to be a special player for us in the long run. This deal could turn up similar to Naslund for Stojanov. woot!