S N Y P E R S 7 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Hey Canucks and ... Canuckettes? Contrary to popular belief, I am not exclusively intrigued with one prospect; that prospect being Nikolaj Ehlers. I absolutely LOVE Nikolaj Ehlers, but I have turned my attention to the direct needs of the Vancouver Canucks - that being depth scoring and physicality. Grit and determination. We may be interested in taking, from the Peterborough Petes of the OHL, Nick Ritchie @ #6 Overall. What he brings to the table: Pros: (HUGE Potential. Ceiling is as high as he makes it.) - Physicality (This envelops: Hitting, Checking, Fighting, etc.) - Attitude - Dynamic - Size & Fearlessness - NHL-Level Hockey IQ - Hands & Shot - Forechecking - Skating (Quick Feet) - Complete Game [built from the Ground Up; D-Core] Cons: - Skating (There is much more potential there. . .) - Injury Prone (?) [Concussion Problems Already, Shoulder Injury(ies)] - Work Ethic (Comparing his to Nikolaj Ehlers, some would say he's "not trying") - Disinterest at times. - Size (Top Heavy; Could Lose Some Weight To Compensate And Add That Missing Speed Element) - Inconsistency [same with almost all prospects at this age] - Attitude (Yes, He Has A Tendency To Take Undisciplined Penalties. At 6'3 + 230 Lbs, It Isn't Hard To Get Into Trouble) My Input: Probably my favorite player available at #6, next to Nikolaj Ehlers - that is, if one of the Big 5 (Leon Draisaitl, Michael Dal Colle, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekblad) does not fall to us. He has some stuff to work on, but this guy is a can't miss prospect; one that would make 29 other teams very jealous. His package is to drool over: Skill [check], Physicality [check], Size [check], Skating [check], Hockey Sense [check]. If we could pick up his line-mate, Eric Cornel, in the second round... we would have some instant chemistry there, and two very highly skilled and harmoniously sound prospects that would be able to read off each other from a young age -> old age. NHL Comparables: Milan Lucic Jarome Iginla Alexander Steen Johan Franzen Shane Doan David Backes {Let's go back in time for this one}: Raffi Torres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaMash Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Switchin' into Elvis mode here, but why are there 1,000 threads discussing who we could pick at 6th, when there's a whole entire thread exactly for that reason? See what I mean? All in Canucks Talk and none are Canucks. I'm cryin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiznak Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Tell me, when was that last true power forward picked in the top 10 (or even in the top 15 for that matter) that actually panned out? That's my reason for not picking Ritchie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 OP, you love bending the rules don't you. If you want, could've just posted in another open thread and if not, at least put it in the right section.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik Kesler Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Raffi Torres was once highly touted as the next great powerforward...that's what I see with Ritchie. Pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motzaburger Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Maybe we should draft me? http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=253347 Or is it a little late....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoneypuckOverlord Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Direct quotes from fans who watched him live. "I cant see him dropping. When he's on his game he is the complete package and is someone who is too big and too talented to fall out of the top 10 in my opinion. Fun player to watch. Great hands, good speed for a big guy, hits hard, fights, great hockey sense too." "I love the way Ritchie plays. First off, he's huge and he loves to use his weight. His offensive tools are great as he's fast, has great hands, a good shot, and is a surprisingly good passer. When he's on, he's all over the ice making things happen. The injuries and lack of discipline are concerning, but his skillset is so rare." "I've only seen him at the TP (top prospects) game, but he was big, physical, and had a nose for the net. Hes got a good skill set as well. Hard to imagine him not developing into an NHL player, if not as a producer at least as a good grinder. "“He handles the puck tremendously – one of his best assets, in fact – and can both shoot the puck as well as make a good pass when presented with the decision,” Mulligan said. “He knows when to join the rush and when to hold off, keeping his positioning in check. Jumps into the play really well and always seems to get open in the offensive zone.” "In an update to that, Ritchie is now at 32 goals and 62 points in 51 games. He’s been on quiet the streak with nine goals and 14 points in his last nine games. Yesterday, I had another opportunity to watch him live as his Peterborough Petes team was in Mississauga facing the Steelheads. The Petes won 4-0 and Ritchie scored a second period goal utilizing that tremendous wrist shot and release from the top of the slot. I can’t say enough about that release, it is tremendously quick, and might be at an NHL level right now. He gets the puck off so quickly, and it was in the back of the net before anyone in the rink knew what happened, including Steelheads’ goalie Spencer Martin. Ritchie also impressed me with his strength on the boards, as he was overpowering Steelheads defencemen in board battles. One other thing I noticed about Ritchie last night was that his first step quickness is also very good. While he is merely average when we talk about straight line speed and skating a long distance, he is very agile and has a great first step which helps him beat other players to loose pucks in the offensive zone. After the game I had the opportunity to catch up with Ritchie and he was nice enough to answer a few quick questions for me." "His skating is much better than Kassian's and I would say his skating is definitely one of his strengths. He reminds me of a poor mans Rick Nash but has more of a mean streak. The way he uses his body to over power defenders to get in a better scoring position is really special.I am really hoping the Canucks tank these last 5 games and the teams below them get a few wins because I really don't see Ritchie being available from 8-10. He has easily turned into one of my favourite prospects since the new year." "Bob Mckenzie on TSN Radio about Ritchie. -"physical tools that N Ritchie has. He's really big and strong. He teases with his abiltites & scouts want to see it all the time" -"Ritchie had a great playoffs. outperformed Sam Bennet and all this draft eligible guys"If one of top 5 are not available, I definitely want the Canucks to draft Ritchie because the Canucks have a player like Ehlers in Shinkaruk and Ehlers is a high risk high reward type of player.` LOL. Bob Mckenzie is on the side of Canucks fans who think Ehlers is a high risk prospect. Also compared him to Shinkaruk. Ouch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoneypuckOverlord Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Raffi Torres was once highly touted as the next great powerforward...that's what I see with Ritchie. Pass. No he wasn`t. Never was. On top of that, he was only 5`11 200 lbs at draft day. He was short stocky guy, and today he`s only 5`11 210 max. Ritchie 6`3 235. Not even close. Tell me, when was that last true power forward picked in the top 10 (or even in the top 15 for that matter) that actually panned out? That's my reason for not picking Ritchie. Cam Neely Nathan Horton Keith Premieu Evander Kane Joe Thornton Rick Nash. Jarome Iginla Eric Lindros Jason Arnot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absent Canuck Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I disagree that Ehlers is a 'high risk' player. High risk of what? Hes too fast and too talented to outright bust. Ehlers has had a better playoffs than Ritchie so he must be talking about the OHL only. I want Ehlers because his ceiling is higher. He has superstar potential. So does Nylander . However I would also be good with Ritchie . He should turn into a power forward of capable ability. 30 goals from Ritchie would be a fantastic draft pick. If we took anyone lower than those three I would be disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiznak Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Cam Neely Nathan Horton Keith Premieu Evander Kane Joe Thornton Rick Nash. Jarome Iginla Eric Lindros Jason Arnot So 2002, when Nash was the unanimous first overall pick. I don't know where people get this idea of Kane being a power forward. He's more of a sniper, than a power forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiznak Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Raffi Torres was once highly touted as the next great powerforward...that's what I see with Ritchie. Pass. If not Torres, than James Sheppard, Colin Wilson, Benoit Pouliot, Anthony Stewart, Jack Skille, etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merci Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 The hell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NucksCup2015 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 i would really LOVE IT if people on this board would 1. realize the needs we have NOW will not be solved with a kid who will not be in the lineup for another 4 years 2. realize therefore that you have to look at your PROSPECT POOL, ASSESS THAT AND SAY WHAT IS MISSING before picking 3. realize we have alot of 2 way gritty prospects but lack real offensive game breakers 4. realize we have quite a decent amount of size in that prospect pool 5. see number 1 and read all again until it sinks in 6. you dont solve a current problem with a player down the road. if you draft that way you're always going to draft wrong. the nucks need to look at what their FUTURE TEAM needs will be and thats based off their FUTURE PLAYERS OTHERWISE KNOWN AS PROSPECTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzy Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I didn't like the different fonts. That's the only thing I can say about this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshinefe Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 So 2002, when Nash was the unanimous first overall pick. I don't know where people get this idea of Kane being a power forward. He's more of a sniper, than a power forward. Because he's 6'2" 195lbs and will throw big hits and fight. Not to mention a lot of his goals are camped out in dirty areas... I agree he's not your Todd Bertuzzi prototypical Power Forward, but his style of play definitely contains strong elements of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpt Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Ritchie is a gamble. He can turn out anywhere from Kyle Beach Tom Sestito Steve Bernier Raffi Torres Ryan Clowe Milan Lucic do we want to take that risk? I sure hope Trevor knows what he's doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merci Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Ritchie is a gamble. He can turn out anywhere from Kyle Beach Tom Sestito Steve Bernier Raffi Torres Ryan Clowe Milan Lucic do we want to take that risk? I sure hope Trevor knows what he's doing. Need to include Nash, Neely, and Getzlaf to that list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rounoush Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Every prospect is a risk. Ehlers is just as big, if not a bigger risk, than Ritchie. I would personally be fine with us drafting any of Ritchie, Ehlers, Nylander or Virtanen (or a top 5 if he drops to us). I like the idea of Ritchie because a future line of Ritchie - _______ - Kassian is just beautiful to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 The amount of draft threads is too damn high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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