6th Pick: 2014 NHL Entry Draft

[theminister]

ISS and Button are a list of perceived talent.

Our lists are on who will be drafted where, different lists.

I always have three different lists.

1) What I think will happen

2) What I think should happen

3) Who I think will produce in my pool the best

All three are different every year.

[funkyfresh]

The draft order is ever evolving.....Some guys might have impressed/disappointed at the combines..lots of factors.

Yea I guess so. But, come draft day, if he's somehow available at the 5th spot, Canucks should try their darnedest to trade up.

[Derp...]

I can see Florida passing on the Toronto deal. If they want someone who's guaranteed at 6 then they will trade with us.

It's not about the best deal it's about the right deal.

Do they really need Kadri or would they be better off getting some gamers like Hansen/Higgins ?

I don't see the Toronto deal being ideal because of the pick.

Who knows what will happen, but I hope we don't give up too much if we are trading up.

I trust JB though.

[Ossi Vaananen]

Does all this emanate from the Torts hiring? Had we hired a competent alternative, & just missed out(say picking #11-#15, this draft), we wouldn't have half the involved & lengthy debate, that we've been having.

Helping to rid Lu & welcoming a new era(with a young drafted star). Torts' legacy will bookend/compare nicely with that of Keenan's(recalling how quickly Capt Kirk was gone). Brought their teams crashing down to rock bottom, from where the next mgt/coaching group could start again.

Those two will prob be looked back on with the same bitterness, but maybe they were necessary in 'the process' of a rebuild?

I guess that's one way of salvaging a positive from the Torts hire. Any year we miss the playoffs there's always a lot of hype towards the pick. I think that is exponentially increased by not only the Canucks having such a high pick, but also the added weight of a consensus top 5. I mean if everything plays out as the rankings go, and Reinhart, Ekblad, Bennett, Draisaitl and Dal Colle all round of the top 5 as CDC expects, then our pick essentially becomes the 1st pick of 2nd tier players. In this respect we're drafting 1st out of the next 25.

There is of course those who would argue there is no consensus top 5, and hope, much like myself that the Canucks will draft an MDC or Draisaitl. However, much of the focus is towards who is for sure going to be available, and everyone has their favourite.

[baumerman77]

Generally speaking, I think size only becomes a detriment if the player is under 5'11" 180lbs. Conversely size becomes an asset when a player is over 6'2.5" 220lbs.

With big players like Ritchie you have to be careful that they are not just manhandling less developed teenagers in junior and that is the reason they are putting up big points. Every year you get a man-child or two who dominates junior, the question becomes when the size playing field becomes more even (the NHL) will his skill still make him effective?

With smaller players like Nylander and Ehlers you have to be careful that they are not just using their speed and high-end skill (stick-handling, fancy moves, etc) to put up big points. Sure they can make nice plays in junior but what about when they get to the NHL and the players all have a much higher skill-set and Hockey IQ, not too mention bigger size. Can they still be effective in the NHL?

In sum, we should analyse both big and small players based on how they will/could adapt to the NHL not how they went about dominating juniors.

[Bure_Pavel]

I know its just the combine and not too much should be put into it but Nylanders wingate test for peak power output is very impressive.

He blew the scores from the previous best players in that category out of the water!

2014: Nylander - 17.5

2013: Samuel morin and shea Theodore - 15.8

2012: Alex Galchenyuk - 15.6

2011: Ty rattie - 15.9

2010: John McFarland - 16.2

2009: Jordan szwarz - 15.6

Not sure exactly what the test measures other than it has to do with lactic acid and I think plays a big part in explosiveness.

But if Nylander has that elite skill and special physical tools he seems like a great pick even over a guy like Ritchie.

[Absent Canuck]

The draft order is ever evolving.....Some guys might have impressed/disappointed at the combines..lots of factors.

This. Bennett might fall all the way down to 6th. I pray not. I would like Draisaitl as well but Dal Colle is more realistic in my mind.

[asian player]

This. Bennett might fall all the way down to 6th. I pray not. I would like Draisaitl as well but Dal Colle is more realistic in my mind.

You might be the only person in the world who would not want Bennett. Bennett is simply a better prospect than Ehlers. It has not been talked about, but he has one of the best release in the draft. He is quick on his feet. He has great vision. He plays a very strong two-way game and is not afraid to step it up physically despite his 180 lbs.I have actually seen him throw some pretty decent hits from time to time. He has also been compared to Jonathan Toews a few times. He's not great in the faceoff dot but other than that, I don't see any weakness in his game.

[Honky Cat]

I guess that's one way of salvaging a positive from the Torts hire. Any year we miss the playoffs there's always a lot of hype towards the pick. I think that is exponentially increased by not only the Canucks having such a high pick, but also the added weight of a consensus top 5. I mean if everything plays out as the rankings go, and Reinhart, Ekblad, Bennett, Draisaitl and Dal Colle all round of the top 5 as CDC expects, then our pick essentially becomes the 1st pick of 2nd tier players. In this respect we're drafting 1st out of the next 25.

There is of course those who would argue there is no consensus top 5, and hope, much like myself that the Canucks will draft an MDC or Draisaitl. However, much of the focus is towards who is for sure going to be available, and everyone has their favourite.

Some of the players 5-10 have every chance of being as good,or maybe exceeding some of the consensus top 5...They just have a few more question marks...

[Smashian Kassian]

You might be the only person in the world who would not want Bennett. Bennett is simply a better prospect than Ehlers. It has not been talked about, but he has one of the best release in the draft. He is quick on his feet. He has great vision. He plays a very strong two-way game and is not afraid to step it up physically despite his 180 lbs.I have actually seen him throw some pretty decent hits from time to time. He has also been compared to Jonathan Toews a few times. He's not great in the faceoff dot but other than that, I don't see any weakness in his game.

Yeah he's a really good prospect, if I was Florida or Buffalo I wouldn't take him, but if I was any team after those 2 I definitely would.

It isn't as simple as just saying size vs skill IMHO.

It's important to look at each player's total package which is why everyone has extremely different lists every year after the first grouping.

The simple fact is there are good arguments why the Canucks prospect pool in its current state, after years of low picks, bad picks and traded assets, could use an injection of each. Same goes with certain types of defensemen.

I believe this is why so many people want another high 1st, to check off at least two boxes, as well as making other significant trades. I think it's because with so many of our young players we don't know what we have yet as so few of them are very advanced in their development. If we had a better pool of players in the 22-24 age range, like Kassian and Tanev, there would probably be a lot less disagreement on this subject.

For my part I'm not really bothered which way we go.

Well, some people brush off players just because of size, but my thinking is more along the lines of yours, each player needs to be assessed differently and individually.

Like we have seen in the last few drafts big players get taken a bit earlier than expected because they are big, can skate & have some skill, and the teams think they could be the next Lucic. (Biggs in '11, Wilson in '12, McCarron last year).

You could just say Ritchie is the next one of those guys to have his skill be overrated & go higher than he should because of the PWF potential, but in his case, I think out of all of them he's definitely much better, much better skill, with a much better chance at being a top 6 PWF.

Still not my preferred choice however, but thats just an example. Similar examples could be said for guys like Ehlers & Nylander aswell.

[messier's_elbow]

If Canucks can trade Kes for Etem and 10th 24th overall then I see no need for any trades to move up or down.

I'm flip flopping for NYlander here. If he's there at 6 you take him. I was onboard for Ritchie but there's an outside chance you snag him at 10, or else Virtanen.

Or, maybe you can trade up from 10 to 8 which would be less expensive IMO.

I am now convinced that Nylander has the potential to be the best in the draft. If he's off the board then MDC is ours anyway, maybe even Bennett if some crazy team bites on Ehlers.

Six is actually a terrific spot to stay put at because this draft will be full of surprises. Even LD could fall.

Im on board with this. If we trade Kesler and get a package that involves the top 10 pick, my dream situation would be to take Nylander at 6th and Ritchie or Virtanen at 10th.

[LeanBeef]

2014: Nylander - 17.5

Not sure exactly what the test measures other than it has to do with lactic acid and I think plays a big part in explosiveness.

But if Nylander has that elite skill and special physical tools he seems like a great pick even over a guy like Ritchie.

It essentially tests how long a player can keep top speed for 30 seconds. The lactic acid starts to build up so it's pretty impressive how weLl he did.

[Honky Cat]

It essentially tests how long a player can keep top speed for 30 seconds. The lactic acid starts to build up so it's pretty impressive how weLl he did.

Nylander was impressive enough at the combines...so much so ,that it is now the consensus 6 top players in the draft,as opposed to the top 5.

[Ihatetomatoes]

I know its just the combine and not too much should be put into it but Nylanders wingate test for peak power output is very impressive.

He blew the scores from the previous best players in that category out of the water!

2014: Nylander - 17.5

2013: Samuel morin and shea Theodore - 15.8

2012: Alex Galchenyuk - 15.6

2011: Ty rattie - 15.9

2010: John McFarland - 16.2

2009: Jordan szwarz - 15.6

Not sure exactly what the test measures other than it has to do with lactic acid and I think plays a big part in explosiveness.

But if Nylander has that elite skill and special physical tools he seems like a great pick even over a guy like Ritchie.

It really is quite impressive how much Nylander seems to have raised his stock by demonstrating his elite athleticism. You can see his explosiveness in how quickly he moves around the ice. Endurance is an important attribute to he able to compete at a high level throughout an entire season and playoffs.

[thad]

Yeah he's a really good prospect, if I was Florida or Buffalo I wouldn't take him, but if I was any team after those 2 I definitely would.

Well, some people brush off players just because of size, but my thinking is more along the lines of yours, each player needs to be assessed differently and individually.

Like we have seen in the last few drafts big players get taken a bit earlier than expected because they are big, can skate & have some skill, and the teams think they could be the next Lucic. (Biggs in '11, Wilson in '12, McCarron last year).

You could just say Ritchie is the next one of those guys to have his skill be overrated & go higher than he should because of the PWF potential, but in his case, I think out of all of them he's definitely much better, much better skill, with a much better chance at being a top 6 PWF.

Still not my preferred choice however, but thats just an example. Similar examples could be said for guys like Ehlers & Nylander aswell.

I agree with your assessment on Ritchie. I think he's better than people give him credit for on here. There's a lot more skill there than some of the big guys in the past.

I think it's going to come down to his training whether he fully reaches potential. I think the skill is all there he just needs to work on his athleticism and that's why I want him. It's a very easy thing to correct or build up when your talking about developing a player into what you want him to be. Easier than teaching a one man show to have the instinct to pass ect.

To me he looks like a Jamie Benn/Lucic hybrid. He's got the skill and offensive instincts of a benn but the athleticism and mobility of Lucic holds him back from being a real high end offensive player. He's got the size and toughness of a guy like Lucic but his offensive mindset takes away from his mean streak.

He should be a good player in his own right. Solid top six scorer but not quite a Benn like star. He'll be tough and mean but not quite as bad ass or intimidating as Lucic.

I hope to god if we draft him our development team works on that athleticism. How much that improves will determine how good of a player he becomes in the end.

[MoneypuckOverlord]

Why do so many people think Draisaitl is likely to drop to 6? From what I've seen, there's a higher probability of him going 2nd than dropping to 6th.

Because the latest iss ranking have him at 6 which gets a lot of people excited, including myself. Would be one of the biggest steals if he fell to 6th

[MoneypuckOverlord]

Yeah he's a really good prospect, if I was Florida or Buffalo I wouldn't take him, but if I was any team after those 2 I definitely would.

Well, some people brush off players just because of size, but my thinking is more along the lines of yours, each player needs to be assessed differently and individually.

Like we have seen in the last few drafts big players get taken a bit earlier than expected because they are big, can skate & have some skill, and the teams think they could be the next Lucic. (Biggs in '11, Wilson in '12, McCarron last year).

You could just say Ritchie is the next one of those guys to have his skill be overrated & go higher than he should because of the PWF potential, but in his case, I think out of all of them he's definitely much better, much better skill, with a much better chance at being a top 6 PWF.

Still not my preferred choice however, but thats just an example. Similar examples could be said for guys like Ehlers & Nylander aswell.

lol Biggs was an off the chart move by Brian Burke. Wilson, we'll he was not as heavy as ritchie and not as offensive, although he is faster, ritchie provides far more offensive fights. But who knows now. He is currently ranked 10th and ehlers at 11

[jdatb]

It really is quite impressive how much Nylander seems to have raised his stock by demonstrating his elite athleticism. You can see his explosiveness in how quickly he moves around the ice. Endurance is an important attribute to he able to compete at a high level throughout an entire season and playoffs.

Nylander was impressive enough at the combines...so much so ,that it is now the consensus 6 top players in the draft,as opposed to the top 5.

I know its just the combine and not too much should be put into it but Nylanders wingate test for peak power output is very impressive.

He blew the scores from the previous best players in that category out of the water!

2014: Nylander - 17.5

2013: Samuel morin and shea Theodore - 15.8

2012: Alex Galchenyuk - 15.6

2011: Ty rattie - 15.9

2010: John McFarland - 16.2

2009: Jordan szwarz - 15.6

Not sure exactly what the test measures other than it has to do with lactic acid and I think plays a big part in explosiveness.

But if Nylander has that elite skill and special physical tools he seems like a great pick even over a guy like Ritchie.

All aboard the Nylander hype-train!

[Derp...]

I'm curious to see Nylanders upside in general. If the Canucks take him cool, there's lots of data to back him up at 6. Realistically I think we all want to know how good he's actually going to be. Is he that can't miss offensive player that some scouts talk about, or is he the undersized bust potential player that CDC has labelled him?

Will be interesting to see who's right

[TOMapleLaughs]

I know its just the combine and not too much should be put into it but Nylanders wingate test for peak power output is very impressive.

He blew the scores from the previous best players in that category out of the water!

2014: Nylander - 17.5

2013: Samuel morin and shea Theodore - 15.8

2012: Alex Galchenyuk - 15.6

2011: Ty rattie - 15.9

2010: John McFarland - 16.2

2009: Jordan szwarz - 15.6

Not sure exactly what the test measures other than it has to do with lactic acid and I think plays a big part in explosiveness.

But if Nylander has that elite skill and special physical tools he seems like a great pick even over a guy like Ritchie.

You're right. Just by looking at the names attached to the numbers, it would appear that the numbers are meaningless. These numbers are suggesting that 5'-11" 170lb William Nylander is more powerful than 6'-7" 210lb Morin? Okay. No.

Meanwhile last combine Drouin, Jones and MacKinnon all elected not to do physical testing. And how did that affect their draft status?

And Nikushkin said in all of his interviews that he wanted to play in the NHL. He still fell in the draft.

You'll find combine numbers being a total non-factor when it comes to the draft. It is a dog and pony show.

I'm growing weary of all the misinformation presented to us after a fairly bad draft choice put out there to artificially inflate the picks' NHL upside. Year after year after year.