Razors_Edge

I just love this video of Torts singing Don't Push Me!

I agree, but I still think Draisaitl or Dal Colle will fall making the pick a little more challenging, but it looks like Richie is over his injury so his upside is pretty huge.

Benning is the best signing we could have made, he will make the right picks in the draft and make a strong future. I can't wait to see who he picks for coach. I like Trotz but dunno if he will fit the direction and Team Benning will build! I guess we will see very soon who Benning wants! Go Canucks

NHL.com Benning to be named Canucks GM on Friday: report Wednesday, 05.21.2014 / 11:55 AM / News Jim Benning will be named general manager of the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, according to a report on TSN. Benning, 51, has been assistant general manager of the Boston Bruins since 2006. The Canucks have been searching for a new general manager since Mike Gillis, who also held the role of team president, was fired April 8. The team hired former Canucks captain Trevor Linden on April 9 as president of hockey operations. Vancouver also is searching for a new coach after John Tortorella was fired May 1.

Published on Feb 10, 2014 Nick Ritchie scored six goals and two assists in four games to earn OHL Player of the Week honours. He was the first player to score five goals in a game in the OHL since his brother Brett recorded the feat in 2012.

HockeysFuture: For the 2013-14 season, Ritchie finished with 39 goals and added 35 assists in 61 games for the resurgent Petes. He also racked up 136 penalty minutes. That robust physical game and his size projects him as a prototypical power forward, but Ritchie’s hands have earned him some notice... Ritchie’s combination of size and scoring is appealing to a lot of teams, which has rocketed him up the rankings. But Ritchie said he doesn’t focus too much on what the scouting services say. “It’s pretty exciting. I try not to look at that because that’s just certain companies that do those rankings,” he said. “Who I’m really trying to impress is the NHL teams that are out there watching you. You know they’re here every night, so you just work as hard as you can and whatever happens, happens.” And Ritchie said he knows what they’re looking for out of him. “I think I’m a bigger guy, so if I play hard and physical, be hard on the puck, and take pucks to the net — everything they want in a big guy,” he said. “Just play a big man’s game and that’s all you can control.” Ritchie plays on a line with fellow draft-eligible Eric Cornel. And while they’re both cognizant of the draft, they don’t dwell on it. “We don’t really talk about it because you don’t want it to get in your head too much,” he said. “In hockey, you don’t want to add too much pressure to yourself. You just want to focus on playing and winning games with your team.”... Ritchie said there are obvious benefits from playing lacrosse that translate to hockey. “Hand-eye co- ordination is a big thing and competition,” he said. “It’s a hard game with a lot of hacking and slashing, so you learn to be a tougher guy and an all-around better athlete.” So, in the end, who is tougher? Lacrosse players or hockey players? Ritchie chose the safe route considering his long-term job prospects. “I’ll still say hockey players are tougher,”...

I think Richie has way more talent, but as you say if he is just another Pyatt, it won't be a bad thing

Very well said I couldn't agree more, I think Benning will be able to help us tremendously to draft better in the future!

Lol, Thanks, at least someone here reads!

Every player has a different playing weight that works best for him, I don't care if Richie plays at 105 or 150 lbs when he finishes growing and filling out. The Canucks have the best fitness coaches in the NHL and will help him find his best playing weight and help him stick to it. Cheers Go Canucks

NHL.com: Benning expected to be named Canucks GM: report The Vancouver Canucks are expected to name Jim Benning their general manager later this week, according to a report by TSN's Darren Dreger. Benning, 51, serves as assistant GM of the Boston Bruins, a position he has held since 2006. He won the Stanley Cup with them in 2011. Benning played the final 241 games of his NHL career over parts of four seasons with the Canucks from 1986-1990. He was the sixth pick in the 1981 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs and played parts of six seasons with them, scoring a career-best 12 goals and 51 points during the 1983-84 season. After retiring, he worked as a scout for the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres. He spent six years starting in 1998 as Buffalo's director of amateur scouting. Benning would replace Mike Gillis, who was fired last month by Canucks president Trevor Linden. The Canucks are also searching for a coach after John Tortorella was fired following one season. Dreger reports former Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz is high on Vancouver's list.

If Benning is the new GM, he will know the type of team he wants to build and the type of coach that will make it effective. If Benning believes Trotz is the guy, then I believe Trotz will be the best guy to implement the new team direction. If Benning chooses someone else, I am good with that too! Go Canucks

I am not saying he isn't a good player, I just believe he won't go in the top 10, there are just other players that I believe teams will look at harder than him! Cheers

Benning is my first choice and if he wants Trotz I am all in! If Benning has to put the team together, he needs the right coach to make it work! Go Canucks

Well not a ton of players develop into stars after the top of the first round, its more of a crap shoot, but.... Here is a list of some of our undrafted signings and later round signings. Its as good as any other teams and better than most. There are 30 teams in the league why don't you pick out your 5 favorites and give us a list of their later round picks. I am telling you there is nothing wrong with our scouts. The only thing wrong here is the crybabies that call themselves fans. Alex Burrows Eddie Lack Jannik Hansen Alexander Edler Mason Raymond Kevin Connauton Peter Andersson Joe Cannata Frankie Corrado Jordan Subban Cole Cassels Dane Fox Mike Brown Cheers Go Canucks

Wow, Tell us then who you would have picked for each year, we can all use a good laugh

Drafting is often based on whether the team feels it needs a Center, Winger or Dman. Nichushkin might have been a better pick but he wasn't a center and you never know how any pick will turn out there have been 1st overall picks that were busts. Lets look back at 10 years of our 1st round draft 2003 Ryan Kesler 23: Best Available 2004 Cory Schneider 26: Best Available 2005 Luc Bourdon 10: Best Available 2006 Michael Grabner 14: Good Pick - Claude Giroux went 22 2007 Patrick White 25: Poor Pick - P.K. Subban went 43 2008 Cody Hodgson 10: Good Pick - Erik Karlsson D went 15, Jordan Eberle went 22 2009 Jordan Schroeder 22: Ok Pick - Ryan O'Reilly went 33 2010 No picks till 4th round 2011 Nicklas Jensen 29 Good Pick - Brandon Saad went 43 2012 Brendan Gaunce 26 Best Available 2013 Bo Horvat 9 Great Pick - could argue for Valeri Nichushkin 10, only time will tell 2013 Hunter Shinkaruk 24 Best Available Most of our picks have been 20+, Our scouts have done an amazing job getting us the best picks, pretty much every year. Its easy to look backwards and say for example P.K. Subban was available in 2007 and went 43rd. But all that means is he was passed over by everyone at least once and twice by several teams, I am sure every team wish they drafted him now. Our scouts have been able to give us a good pick or the best available on a consistent basis. Its a tough job trying to predict how a draftee will develop. By their record we probably have the best scouts in the league. I would like to see what other teams have done with picks below 10 never mind all the picks we had below 20. Go Scouts

Virtanen won't go in the top 10, his playmaking ability is a little lacking and that's very important, I expect him to go around 15th or so. Cheers

I agree both Burrows and Booth came on strong at the end of the season and I look forward to them have an injury free and productive year in the upcoming season. The team as a whole though needs to get young bigger and faster. To compete we need 4 pretty good lines, we have great players for a 4th line. Its the top three lines that need some life. I hope Kesler stays, that would help or we will have to make some nifty trades. Horvat looks like he may be ready to come up and perhaps one of the other young snipers, but we are still a piece or two away from being dangerous. Sedin Sedin Shinkaruk??? Kassian Kesler Jensen??? Booth Horvat Burrows Higgins Matthias Richardson Or some combination of these players, Santo would be nice but I doubt we get him back. Go Canucks

I can think of quite a few players that have done well at 230 or more But I will just mention #66 Mario Lemieux , I can't imagine anyone here complaining about him! Richie is just a kid, Comparing him to grown players that have been in the NHL for years is absurd. To say he is not Lucic or Nash or whomever is obviously correct. The question is who will he be 5 years from now. He had a couple of injuries in the past, that of course have had an impact on his development. But if he goes the next 5 years injury free, he could easily be better than Getzlaf, Lucic or Nash! If he didn't have the injuries he would be considered for 1st overall, at least one scout still thinks he belongs there now! I don't think he is going to be the next Mario Lemieux, but with a few injury free seasons, this kid is going to be dangerous. I really don't want to see him coming down the ice in a L.A. jersey, that would be ..... Go Canucks

Anyone who compares Ehlers to Pavel has obviously never seen Bure play. Even Wayne said the one player he would liked to have played with was Pavel, he was by far the best player to ever lace up skates. His speed and shot were amazing, he could cut corners on a dime and give 5 cents change, the game is faster today but there is still nobody that has his kind of acceleration and shot. The fun part about Bure was, he could bench press more than anyone else on the team. He was never afraid to mix it up, he never skated away from a fight and didn't want someone else fighting his battles for him. When he was on the ice everyone was focused on him and he still managed 3 or 4 breakaways per game. Yup there is nobody like Bure!!! Go Canucks

Unless the injuries are concussion related they are pretty meaningless, every day you drive a car you stand a chance of being in an accident, luckily most of us never are or if we have one its a minor fender bender, sometimes though we are not so lucky. We get hit by a puck and break our jaw or ankle, or get taken out knee on knee or run into the boards and wreck something, just because someone has an accident doesn't make them fragile. Lots of players have an injury then never have another. Some are unlucky and have a bunch in a row. We just have to blame the hockey gods for that. But if you are a compact car and are playing with trucks if you do get in an accident its you that's most likely to get hurt not that Mack Truck. Cheers! Go Canucks

Yeah Torts built a tough playoff ready team, that AV inherited, I hope they win the Stanley, AV deserves it, a little sorry for Torts but he shouldn't have tried to make a playoff team out of us in just one year, it takes time, and you gotta expect some blowback. I believe Linden must have a deal done with Benning, that will be awesome and I think Benning will pick a great coach. Go Canucks

Some scouts may disagree, some may think he has the carriage of a NHLer right now NHL Prospect Hot List: When Ritchie goes into beast mode, it’s tough to stop the young winger. At 6-foot-3 and 229 pounds, he’s got the carriage to be an NHLer right now, but the Petes are happy he’s still with them. The power forward had two goals and a helper in Peterborough’s shocking come-from-behind Game 6 win over Kingston, a game in which the Petes trailed 3-0 before Ritchie got the 5-4 comeback started.

As much as I think Ritchie has a huge upside and will probably reach it, you just can't predict the future, I think there will be a pretty good player available at 6th, and most teams would probably want a lot to trade. Florida is willing to give up 1st but then we would have to take Ekblad, it would be pretty hard not to. Hmm Edler to Florida for 1st, draft Ekblad and hope Richie is stll around at 6th or Draisaitl/Dal Colle. I don't see us making any big moves without a GM though, Linden has always been a little on the cautious side. Still all that being said I would like to see Richie in a Canucks Jersey instead of Edmonton or Calgary