[Poll/ Discussion] Nylander vs. Ehlers; only 2 options for Canucks at #6

[Speed or Size]

I'd be happy with any one of

Drasitaille(german), Delacolle

No let's take Ritchy

[NEON.KNEE]

No let's take Ritchy

Really?

no offense, but I don't think I can take you seriously if you consider Ritchie to be on par with Draisaitl or spelling jokes.

[Goal:thecup]

I see Virtanen as a 3rd liner. Craig Button even went as far as to say that he reminds him of Raffi Torres. No thanks. Also, Virtanen is injured as well. His play still won't translate into success in the NHL either. He's barely 6'1 and gets a lot of goals by hitting players and getting the puck from them. Try doing that to Seabrook or Weber and see what happens.

Ritchie is a big question mark. He can be a 1st liner or 4th liner. I see him as a 2nd liner in the EAST, since he won't be able to completely dominate in the West due to bigger players.

Ritchie's not big enough for you?

Unable to completely dominate in the west?

He is one of the biggest players in the top 10, if not the biggest/most dominant.

And at least he can be a 1st liner or a 4th liner, which I assume means he could be a 2nd or 3rd liner too.

Ehlers and Nylander would pretty well have to make the top 6 at least.

You wouldn't (would you?), put them on the 3rd or 4th line?

In a way, you are right: that is, Ritchie is not going to be able to completely dominate the bigger players in the West.

You need a whole team of Ritchie-like players to completely dominate in the West (and the East too; lots of big players there too).

But you gotta start somewhere, and using the 2014 6th is better than overspending later trying to trade for a talented power forward after he has proven himself.

[Speed or Size]

Ritchie has probably 85% the pure talent dal colle has. Passing shooting skating.

All that can improve even more when his fitness excels.

[MoneypuckOverlord]

Ritchie has probably 85% the pure talent dal colle has. Passing shooting skating.

All that can improve even more when his fitness excels.

He will train with his brother. He will be fine.

[canucks155]

Ive watched both Drouin and Nylander highlights, and quite a few of Ehlers goals are PRIMARY assists from Drouin, not even secondary. And no, Ehlers doesn't go to the net that often. Like I said, he uses his speed. to split the D and/or make plays off the rush. Also, I would not mind if Nylander holds on to the puck too much at times, I would rather a person who's extremely confident at times, and believes he can be the guy who an make the difference, rather than someone who is possibly a pass first guy and maybe afraid to actually be that guy who can really make a differnce. Nylander does not have attitude problems. Thats Dal Colle. There have just been reports of Nylanders "Daddy Issues" which is compltely ridiculous. His dad is not the one playing on the ice, its him. So that should have 0 effect. And I never said Ovechkin was good at backchecking. I stated that him being on a bad team is the reason why he's a minus player. Put him on the Kings or another powerhouse team, and I guarantee you he's a plus player. Tavares in an excellent player who doesn't have any significant problem when without the puck. Does that mean that teams can't win with him? No. I assure you all 30 teams in the NHL kill to have Tavares on their team. And 1 goal in 22 games in the SHL, everyone has bad stretches, and the SHL is the absolute highest division of the Swedish Ice Hockey system. And Nylander still had 7 points during that 22 game stretch, not bad as an 18 year old. And he could of also been playing for one of the worst teams in the SHL. I doubt Ehlers would of gotten more than a couple points, if any at all. Joe Thornton only had 11 goals in 82 regular season games this season. Does that mean he's not a great player? No. And you completely ignore the fact Nylander had 19 points in 17 games, playing with Sodertalje in Sweden this year, which is a league of men as well.

Which highlights are u watching? The ones I see, he's speeding through the neutral zone and scoring or he's on the boards and lets go an amazing shot.

Now I realize that u have fallen in love w/ Nylander. You're making his cons look like pros. As far as whole "attitude" problem is concerned, Hodgson had the same problems and now look, he got sent to Buffalo.

I meant in terms of a player u build around. You will never see Ovi hoist the cup if he's a minus player and he's the best guy on the roster. Tavares can still improve his d play but Ovi looks completely unwilling to do so.

Did u really compare Nylander to Thornton? He may have had 11 goals, but he also had 65 assists.

So he can't put up points in the best div in Sweden but he's somehow supposed to put up 100+ points in the NHL. The best hockey league in the world. If he can't even put up any points in the SHL, than Sodertalje means nothing.

[canucks155]

Ritchie's not big enough for you?

Unable to completely dominate in the west?

He is one of the biggest players in the top 10, if not the biggest/most dominant.

And at least he can be a 1st liner or a 4th liner, which I assume means he could be a 2nd or 3rd liner too.

Ehlers and Nylander would pretty well have to make the top 6 at least.

You wouldn't (would you?), put them on the 3rd or 4th line?

In a way, you are right: that is, Ritchie is not going to be able to completely dominate the bigger players in the West.

You need a whole team of Ritchie-like players to completely dominate in the West (and the East too; lots of big players there too).

But you gotta start somewhere, and using the 2014 6th is better than overspending later trying to trade for a talented power forward after he has proven himself.

He's pushing around kids right now... There are no kids in the NHL. I'd like to see him try to get around or thru a guy like Weber. He can't go thru him since Weber is strong and he can't go around him because Weber is faster. Meanwhile, Ehlers or Nylander can blow by him. Now, is it fair to speculate on what Ritchie would be able to do to the best dman in the league, no, but keep in mind, he is going to be hard pressed to beat the dmen to the outside or right up the middle.

[canucks155]

Ritchie has probably 85% the pure talent dal colle has. Passing shooting skating.

All that can improve even more when his fitness excels.

In all 3 categories u mentioned, Ehlers and Nylander is better than him. The only thing Ritchie beats them in is size.

There's no guarantee.

[Bure_Pavel]

Ritchie has the best shot of the three and his skills are very underrated as he can make perfect saucer passes and stick handle in tight, and he will win a hell of a lot more nhl puck battles than nylander or ehlers. He can get to the front of the net and score the dirty goals as well as screen goalies and has a game 7 overtime goal under his belt on a really shitty team. I do think nylander has a really high offensive ceiling and could be a number 1 center some day so I would probably take him slightly over Ritchie.

[JeremyCuddles]

1. When you're a minus player when putting up that many points, then your team isn't going to win a cup. Kopitar was +34 in the regular season and now his team is 1 win away from hoisting the cup. I'd sacrifice points for +-.

2. I think the other guy made a fair point. Most of these guys cant play in the NHL, but some Junior players (Ekblad, Fox) can. He may go up against BIGGER players, but bigger doesn't necessarily mean BETTER.

Most junior players can be pushed around. When you're Nylander's size you don't have the luxury of pushing around smaller players. That's why there are question marks surrounding guys like Ritchie and Virtanen who may use it to their advantage.

[Watermelon]

Which highlights are u watching? The ones I see, he's speeding through the neutral zone and scoring or he's on the boards and lets go an amazing shot.

Now I realize that u have fallen in love w/ Nylander. You're making his cons look like pros. As far as whole "attitude" problem is concerned, Hodgson had the same problems and now look, he got sent to Buffalo.

I meant in terms of a player u build around. You will never see Ovi hoist the cup if he's a minus player and he's the best guy on the roster. Tavares can still improve his d play but Ovi looks completely unwilling to do so.

Did u really compare Nylander to Thornton? He may have had 11 goals, but he also had 65 assists.

So he can't put up points in the best div in Sweden but he's somehow supposed to put up 100+ points in the NHL. The best hockey league in the world. If he can't even put up any points in the SHL, than Sodertalje means nothing.

You say hes being blinded by his love for Nylander, look at yourself. Nylanders dad played in the NHL, hes not stupid. He wouldn't tell him to do something wrong. You say his points in other leagues don't mean anything, may I ask why? I guess Ehlers junior points don't mean anything either. Any way you look at it, a Pro Swedish League > QMJHL. Aside from a select few, most of the people in the juniors aren't half as good as the players in Sweden. Nicklas Backstrom a one time 100 point player in his draft year had 26 points in 46 games. Nylander had 27 points in 35 games in Sweden 1rst Div. as well as 7 points in 22 games in SHL. Both pro leagues.

[canucks155]

Ritchie has the best shot of the three and his skills are very underrated as he can make perfect saucer passes and stick handle in tight, and he will win a hell of a lot more nhl puck battles than nylander or ehlers. He can get to the front of the net and score the dirty goals as well as screen goalies and has a game 7 overtime goal under his belt on a really crapty team. I do think nylander has a really high offensive ceiling and could be a number 1 center some day so I would probably take him slightly over Ritchie.

A better shot than Nylander, but I'd say Ehlers and him are even. They both have accurate, hard shots with good releases. He may be able to pass, but he doesn't do it often and Ehlers can as well. The 1 thing he dominates both in is winning puck battles. But, Ehlers and Willie don't play that style. You don't see Patrick Kane win many puck battles against big guys, but he still puts up #'s. The 1 thing Ritchie gets killed in is speed. Sure he's fast for his size, but he's not speedy. Ehlers can flat out fly. Not only can he fly, he has good balance while doing so.

Side note: Your name is Bure_Pavel. Ehlers is almost a clone of him.

[canucks155]

Most junior players can be pushed around. When you're Nylander's size you don't have the luxury of pushing around smaller players. That's why there are question marks surrounding guys like Ritchie and Virtanen who may use it to their advantage.

That's my biggest concern w/ those 2. Ritchie is one of the biggest guys in the CHL right now and that's y u see him put up good #'s. Will he be able to do that in the NHL? I don't know. All I know is, I'll take Ritchie over Virtanen because Virtanen is even worse than Ritchie when it comes to question marks about his game translating into the NHL. He's 6'1 and sub 200Ibs but likes to hit. Doesn't bode well for him in the NHL.

[canucks155]

You say hes being blinded by his love for Nylander, look at yourself. Nylanders dad played in the NHL, hes not stupid. He wouldn't tell him to do something wrong. You say his points in other leagues don't mean anything, may I ask why? I guess Ehlers junior points don't mean anything either. Any way you look at it, a Pro Swedish League > QMJHL. Aside from a select few, most of the people in the juniors aren't half as good as the players in Sweden. Nicklas Backstrom a one time 100 point player in his draft year had 26 points in 46 games. Nylander had 27 points in 35 games in Sweden 1rst Div. as well as 7 points in 22 games in SHL. Both pro leagues.

I'm not the 1 saying that Ehlers size is actually a positive when it's a negative. Sure, I like Ehlers. I'll admit it. But, I don't overlook his drawbacks.

I said his points in Sodertajle don't mean jack. That's not where the best of the best play. Sure, it's good that he can do that in an easier div, but can he do that in a harder one (SHL?). His stats say he can't. Points don't always= success. If metrics is all that mattered in picking players, than there would be no need for scouts. They're important, but not more than what u see in-game. I don't care that Ehlers put up crazy points. I looked at his game tape and saw a star. The dude can shoot, pass, skate, stick handle and this is after 1 year in NA. He looks a lot better than anybody else I've seen outside of the top 5.

[Watermelon]

I'm not the 1 saying that Ehlers size is actually a positive when it's a negative. Sure, I like Ehlers. I'll admit it. But, I don't overlook his drawbacks.

I said his points in Sodertajle don't mean jack. That's not where the best of the best play. Sure, it's good that he can do that in an easier div, but can he do that in a harder one (SHL?). His stats say he can't. Points don't always= success. If metrics is all that mattered in picking players, than there would be no need for scouts. They're important, but not more than what u see in-game. I don't care that Ehlers put up crazy points. I looked at his game tape and saw a star. The dude can shoot, pass, skate, stick handle and this is after 1 year in NA. He looks a lot better than anybody else I've seen outside of the top 5.

For a 17 yr old(at the time) to play in a pro league at all is really impressive. Ehlers is good, just not better than Nylander. Now Drouin didn't carry him but a 3rd of his points came from him. Also, he and Drouin played on separate lines, which allowed Ehlers to boost his stats and play against lower quality competition. Its like the Sedins vs. 2nd pairing d-men instead of top players. Imagine him trying to get past Weber.

[EV604]

Nylander 100%

[Bure_Pavel]

I don't think ehlers and Ritchie's shots are on par I think Ritchie has a much heavier shot as well as a little better release as sometimes is looks like the puck is evaporating off his stick. Ya ehlers is definitely alot fast that Ritchie but ehlers will probably need 15-20 more pounds to play in the nhl and if Ritchie steps up his conditioning which is almost a given when going pro he will likely be playing just under 220 and should lessen the gap in speed.

[Zoolander]

I like Nylander out of the two....but damn can Ehlers celly

[canucks155]

For a 17 yr old(at the time) to play in a pro league at all is really impressive. Ehlers is good, just not better than Nylander. Now Drouin didn't carry him but a 3rd of his points came from him. Also, he and Drouin played on separate lines, which allowed Ehlers to boost his stats and play against lower quality competition. Its like the Sedins vs. 2nd pairing d-men instead of top players. Imagine him trying to get past Weber.

Fair enough. Lets just agree to disagree. I think they'll both be solid NHLers, but Ehlers will be better. Btw, I don't judge based purely on stats, I mostly care about game tape and I saw a star in Ehlers. Nylander honestly didn't impress me as much. I guess it's because Ehlers' game is more speed based vs Nylander's skilled base. For me, speed > skill.

[canucks155]

I don't think ehlers and Ritchie's shots are on par I think Ritchie has a much heavier shot as well as a little better release as sometimes is looks like the puck is evaporating off his stick. Ya ehlers is definitely alot fast that Ritchie but ehlers will probably need 15-20 more pounds to play in the nhl and if Ritchie steps up his conditioning which is almost a given when going pro he will likely be playing just under 220 and should lessen the gap in speed.

Really? Many of the goals I've seen Ritchie score are ones the goalie screwed up on. He shoots a hard shot tho, I'll give him that.

I think Ehlers at 15-20 pounds more > than Ritchie at 15-20 pounds less. If Ehlers can bulk up, even a bit, it will help him out tremendously.