6th Pick: 2014 NHL Entry Draft

[Smashian Kassian]

So if Draisaitl is there for us at 6, do we take him? Or do we grab one of the power forwards in Virtanen or Ritchie?

Take Draisaitl.

If any of: Reinhart, Ekblad, Bennett, Dal Colle or the German are available, thats the player we take.

I've seen several people post etem and both anaheim 1sts for kesler.

Thinking that ducks would not do that. 10th overall pick has potential to be better than kesler 5 years from now and etem is a legitimate great prospect that has shown he can contribute in the nhl in his limited opportunities.

I think if we can get even these 2 thats a great trade but good luck getting both firsts and etem.

I doubt they will even offer the 10th. Likely the latter of the 2 first would be in their offer realiatically.

I don't know about that.

And proven talent =/= potential.

[Smashian Kassian]

It's weird hearing all the excuses for the other guys, 'oh he might grow', 'oh but he can learn defense', 'oh but he he's not that slow', etc.

But with Virtanen having all these physical attributes, respect from the WHL as a league, us as fans absolutely thirsty for some WHL power and a high goal-scoring season to boot, it's 'well he has no hockey sense at all.'

Really? He seems to have enough hockey sense to be the offensive leader on Team Canada's U18 squad.

Honestly, yeah, he's not the best playmaker in the world, but why should that be an end-all reason to disregard him, considering all his other top-notch physical attributes? It makes zero sense.

Virtanen was a 1st overall WHL bantam pick. A 19-20yr old WHL d-man I know said that Virtanen is the best player he's ever played against. Better than Shinkaruk. Better than anyone in recent drafts. If that's not legit respect, I don't know what is.

We should select Virtanen. He's fast, big, tough and can score highlight reel goals. He loves the Canucks. He loves Linden. He's going to be the real deal. I think we would sorely regret not selecting him.

Well, I've made my pitch. Do what you will with it. There are other players i'll be happy with, but I seriously think Virtanen would make us happier as fans than most of them.

Derrick Pouliot was a 1st overall pick in the Bantam Draft aswell.

Its not really making excuses for anyone, rather evaluating every players strengths & weaknesses, and whether or not they have the tools/ability to overcome/correct there weaknesses & become good players at the next level.

With Virtanen the problem is he has great tools, but seemingly no tool box. He's a great goal scorer, but if he was the complete package with boat loads of upside like people say he is, I think he would have finished higher than a PPG considering he scored 45 goals & played with two 85 point players.

You really have to beyond the stats aswell, like with Virtanen alot of his goals come off the rush, he tries to beat/go through defenseman, or get himself in a position to shoot. Reminds me of the things Kesler (tries to get himself in a position to shoot rather than making a play) does. And Kesler this season was a 25 goal scorer, a good goal scorer, but only had 49 points total. Which is about what I see Virtanen being.

Thats a good player, but at 6? No, I think that's a reach or as you would say "wasting a pick".

[westcoast]

I think Trevor linden has to protect himself from this Virtanen problem somehow.The kid keeps rising his stock and putting Vancouver in a bad way that the #6 is so important to get a home run and it may happen but now Virtanen is closing the gap.If Virtanen pans out that will haunt Van for a long time.Kesler to Anaheim has to be looking like a serious consideration .

[asian player]

Wow, that makes, like... No sense whatsoever.

Meaning, our team lacks in speed, size and skill

[Merci]

People should look at it this way say we get Etem and the 10th for Kesler and our 2nd

We would be guaranteed 2 of

Ritchie, Virtanen, Perlini, Kapanen, or Ehlers

And if one of the top 5 drop we get one of them as well.

So this draft year we remove Kesler and inject

Etem, Ritchie, Virtanen oh god plz plz plz jesus plz we deserve it

[davinci]

Changed up the poll. Close 1 & 2 Draisaitl and Dal Colle. No close 3rd.

So on the premises that nobody falls out of the consensus top 5.... who would you pick?

[Gstank29]

either way Canuck fans are going to say why didn't we draft ______ he's a all-star now.

Also i believe if kesler is gone Gaunce or Horvat will probably take his place. Not the guy that we pick this year (as many think will happen)

[Merci]

Anaheim was apparently offering 2 1sts and 2 2nd rounders

If we offered them our 2nd for just Etem and the 10th I think they bite.

You are literally acquiring Kesler, possibly for the rest of his career to win 3 cups with Getzlaf. By removing no players from your line up and acquiring a devilishly high 2nd rounder.

If it takes adding a hansen I do it without hesitation.

[Plum]

People should look at it this way say we get Etem and the 10th for Kesler and our 2nd

We would be guaranteed 2 of

Ritchie, Virtanen, Perlini, Kapanen, or Ehlers

And if one of the top 5 drop we get one of them as well.

So this draft year we remove Kesler and inject

Etem, Ritchie, Virtanen oh god plz plz plz jesus plz we deserve it

Bonino had more points than Kesler and younger, do they really need Kesler that much?

[Special Ed]

The team is a mess right now. Whoever we draft...... BETTER be good.

[Smashian Kassian]

Anaheim was apparently offering 2 1sts and 2 2nd rounders

If we offered them our 2nd for just Etem and the 10th I think they bite.

You are literally acquiring Kesler, possibly for the rest of his career to win 3 cups with Getzlaf. By removing no players from your line up and acquiring a devilishly high 2nd rounder.

If it takes adding a hansen I do it without hesitation.

I heard Murray put all the picks on the table, I never heard they were all offered.

I would offer Kesler for Etem + there two firsts. We could throw in something else if need be.

Getting 6th & 10th would be huge.

Bonino had more points than Kesler and younger, do they really need Kesler that much?

Alot of Bonino's points came on the PP, still no debate who's better, Kesler's an easy 30 goal 60 point player on that team IMO.

[messier's_elbow]

I've seen several people post etem and both anaheim 1sts for kesler.

Thinking that ducks would not do that. 10th overall pick has potential to be better than kesler 5 years from now and etem is a legitimate great prospect that has shown he can contribute in the nhl in his limited opportunities.

I think if we can get even these 2 thats a great trade but good luck getting both firsts and etem.

I doubt they will even offer the 10th. Likely the latter of the 2 first would be in their offer realiatically.

Then screw trading in our division. Id rather get Pouliot from the penguins in some kind of package.

[BanTSN]

Derrick Pouliot was a 1st overall pick in the Bantam Draft aswell.

Its not really making excuses for anyone, rather evaluating every players strengths & weaknesses, and whether or not they have the tools/ability to overcome/correct there weaknesses & become good players at the next level.

With Virtanen the problem is he has great tools, but seemingly no tool box. He's a great goal scorer, but if he was the complete package with boat loads of upside like people say he is, I think he would have finished higher than a PPG considering he scored 45 goals & played with two 85 point players.

You really have to beyond the stats aswell, like with Virtanen alot of his goals come off the rush, he tries to beat/go through defenseman, or get himself in a position to shoot. Reminds me of the things Kesler (tries to get himself in a position to shoot rather than making a play) does. And Kesler this season was a 25 goal scorer, a good goal scorer, but only had 49 points total. Which is about what I see Virtanen being.

Thats a good player, but at 6? No, I think that's a reach or as you would say "wasting a pick".

This post needs to be put in a tool box.

Are you saying that Virtanen should have gotten more assists merely because a 7th rounder and an overager were on the same team he's on? Okay, then I guess Ehlers should have scored 200pts this season if he had Drouin with him, using that logic. Put this in with the tape measure.

Are you saying that Virtanen isn't all that good because he plays like Kesler, who scored 40 goals in a season and won the Selke? Or because he scores goals in general? I see. Put that in with the drill bit set.

Perhaps we should note that Sami Kapanen, the father of the great Kasperi Kapanen, never scored more than 27 goals in a season and he was never really known to be a top line player either. At least not a big game one. Instead the terms 'playoff ghost', 'lightweight' and 'pretty darn overrated' come to mind. Oh, but i'm sure his son will put him to shame, of course. Just not here. Not ever. Let's put Kasperi in with the digital level.

Virtanen is ranked 6th in NA central scouting and no euro beats him. Waste of a pick indeed.

[Bure_Pavel]

If we could get Ritchie and Nylander this draft I would consider a kesler deal, if not I think it will leave a whole down the middle next year unless we get a center back in the deal too or get one in FA. This team will be desperately trying to make the playoffs next year and horvat may be able to step in and take that spot but maybe not, NHL second line center is a big jump and I don't think management can risk it.

[Derp...]

I think everyone will be happy if we acquire one big winger and one high skill player in the draft.

Ehlers/Nylander/Kapanen

+

Ritchie/Virtanen/Perlini

If we are lucky in the second we could pick up Bleackley or McKeown

[Smashian Kassian]

This post needs to be put in a tool box.

Are you saying that Virtanen should have gotten more assists merely because a 7th rounder and an overager were on the same team he's on? Okay, then I guess Ehlers should have scored 200pts this season if he had Drouin with him, using that logic. Put this in with the tape measure.

Are you saying that Virtanen isn't all that good because he plays like Kesler, who scored 40 goals in a season and won the Selke? Or because he scores goals in general? I see. Put that in with the drill bit set.

Perhaps we should note that Sami Kapanen, the father of the great Kasperi Kapanen, never scored more than 27 goals in a season and he was never really known to be a top line player either. At least not a big game one. Instead the terms 'playoff ghost', 'lightweight' and 'pretty darn overrated' come to mind. Oh, but i'm sure his son will put him to shame, of course. Just not here. Not ever. Let's put Kasperi in with the digital level.

Virtanen is ranked 6th in NA central scouting and no euro beats him. Waste of a pick indeed.

Hahaha what?

What does the players being a 7th rounder & an overager have to do with anything? They aren't the ones we are judging as prospects, its Virtanen.

Those two players had 85 points in 70 or so games each, Virtanen (remember, my post was responding to people who call him a complete package player with Corey Perry like upside) should have been able to get over a PPG don't you think, consider he scored 45 goals, and he plays with those players who did, and he is a complete package player.

Like if you didn't know how many points he scored & in how many games, but you saw that he had scored 45 goals, and had played with two 85 point players, and on top of all that was labelled as a complete package player, you would probably be expecting to see 80-90 points? no?

I'm not sure what your trying to prove with your Ehlers/Drouin thing, I'm talking about two players who both were well over PPG, who played on his line, its been pretty well documented Ehlers & Drouin don't play on the same line, its probably been explained to you atleast 20 times by now. And no he shouldn't have put up 200 pts, cause unlike Virtanen, Ehlers was well over a PPG, and finished with way more points & more goals in less games. You can argue the Q is a lesser league all you want, but with that big a difference in the two that argument doesn't hold much water as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not saying Virtanen isn't good, I'm saying Jake Virtanen shouldn't be the player we select because he's a reach at #6 and there are better players with higher upsides available. I compared his offensive game to what Ryan Keslers was this past season, did I say he would have Kesler upside? No. I don't think he will ever hit 50 assists in a season. And he's not even close to being the two-way player Kesler is, so I'm not sure what bringing up a selke adds to the discussion since I clearly have maintained this entire time the Kesler comparison is merely there offensive games.

Basically, the same criticisms Kesler has gotten about his offensive game since 2011 (he doesn't pass enough, doesn't create offense, that stuff) are the same criticismsI have of Virtanen, and what Kesler has been since 2011, is what I expect Virtanen to be at the NHL level. He might have a peak where he hits 30 goals and 60 points, but do I see that consistently? no.

Sami Kapanen was an oustanding two-way player with great skating ability, and good offensive skills, a really useful player, though I do believe Kasperi Kapanen to be a superior offensive player in the NHL. Besides I'm not really sure what saying negative things about Sami Kapanen has to do with my post.

I think Jake Virtanen will be a good NHLer, 2nd liner. 25 goal 40+ point player. I think he consistently be what Ryan Kesler was this season offensively. (without the defensive game) thats a good player.

But my issue is taking this player at pick #6, with the other players that are available.

[Merci]

I think everyone will be happy if we acquire one big winger and one high skill player in the draft.

Ehlers/Nylander/Kapanen

+

Ritchie/Virtanen/Perlini

If we are lucky in the second we could pick up Bleackley or McKeown

Nope need ritchie and virtanen.

They both define power forward and our main concern right now is offense.

Snatorelli kassian richardson and matthias and sedins all play with enough finesse.

We need guys who can jam the puck in the net

[Salmonberries]

Why not split the difference and take Ehrtanen then. We'll never resolve this; best go with a sensible hybrid.

[theminister]

I'm lovin' those moves. I found myself "plus"ing almost every single one of your posts in this thread.

One of the only posters in this thread who's saliva for one player isn't blinding their vision for the others.

As for myself, I just want at least one of these guys: Dal Colle, Draisaitl, Ritchie, Virtanen or Perlini. I do, however, believe we should be drafting every single player that resembles Jamie Benn, Alex Chaisson, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Milan Lucic, Jarome Iginla, David Backes, Ryan Johansen, Max Pacioretty, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell, Rick Nash, Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle etc, until we actually get a couple of those guys that pan out at this level and go from there. This franchise needs some big players that can provide primary scoring and also stand up to playoff wear and tear. It looks like we may have something in Kassian, which is a good start. Now let's add to it.

High praise indeed. Thank you very much. Reciprocal, as always.

The way I see it is that there are more ways than one to skin a cat. We aren't as badly off as many seem to think. We have many pieces of clay that can be used to re-establish other parts of the organization.

I, too, would like to see more sizeable skill in the line-up. i agree with you that it makes sense if you flub on one prospect of that type if two or more pan out. I think that's how you build a foundation, you sink your walls deep.

Many people are talking about this being a weak draft but I don't think that others view it the same way I do. This draft is weak on the amount of talent spread through the 3rd round but it isn't weak on the top end. Ekblad=Johnson, Reinhart=RNH, Bennett=Landeskog, Draisaitl=Galchenyuk, Dal Colle=Huberdeau. I can post relative comparisons for every member for the top 15 and I think there are good players throughout 20.

Although I think the 2015 draft is better all around, it doesn't mean that the organization can't make big strides for the future this year. Possibly at cut rate prices.

By hedging a bet to get a couple of draft picks for 2015 and being able to get quality picks this year, the Canucks can retool the prospect depth chart fairly quickly with minimal damage to the NHL roster. I even think these few tweaks could improve the on-ice result. I don't believe in tanking but I also am firmly of the opinion that you bulls a strong base with constant upward momentum and pressure.

I suppose my point is….. we have many options going forward. Now we need a good GM to get on the phone and find pout what is possible.

[canucks3322]

it is possible we could get one of the players that fall out of the top 5 example if Florida choose Ekblad Sabers pick Reinhart Edmonton pick Draslit Calgary picks Ritchie Islanders pick Viranten we pick Bennett it's a long shot but its not impossible