[Official] 2015 Canucks Draft Talk

[baumerman77]

I think Harkins has more offensive upside than the prevailing narrative describes. If he's available he would likely be the best forward at 23. Playing for the Cougars hurt his stock somewhat. Despite playing for fairly bad team he did score at a very good rate for a projected 20-30 pick.

Compared to some of our two-way centers Harkins' draft year production looks good if not better than most.

Even Strength PPG

Harkins: .74

Gaunce: .62

McCann: .52

Horvat: .47

Cassels: .38

Team Point %

Harkins: 36.24%

McCann: 25.31%

Horvat: 22.73%

Cassels: 20.00%

Gaunce: 37.22%

I see a lot of similarities between Harkins and Gaunce. Which is a good thing. Normally players with similar draft profiles as Gaunce turn out to be fairly good players (for their draft placement). No doubt there is still time for Gaunce to develop, but his draft +1 and +2 season didn't see the offensive development one would have liked to see (as is the case with many prospects).

I wouldn't be upset if we drafted Harkins but I don't necessarily want him either. That being said I think he is a better prospect than Cassels, McCann or Gaunce. Because center is such a valuable position I would be OK with the Canucks accumulating more, although of course I'd prefer the high end variety.

[davinci]

Who cares if we have lots of talented centers. It's not redundant when you can move them for other pieces if they all pan out exactly as you need. But if you stretch for position over bpa then he could bust and you have nothing .

[86Viking]

i hope we take svechnikov if he is available at 23. He has the size and skill we could use for a future top 6 player

[Knucklehd]

Oliver Kylington would be the perfect example of a player you'd develop over time to become an impact player.

He as all of the talent of a terrific offensive defencemen -- the skating, offensive instincts, passing, shot -- but, like seemingly every one of these players, he has issues in his own end. Fortunately, this sort of stuff can be addressed with good coaching and a decent development program, which I think we have now. You'd be hard pressed to find another player with this sort of natural talent anywhere near our pick.

There's so much negativity about him because he has fallen in all of the rankings despite his amazing resumé. And, really, the only reason he seems to have fallen is because he didn't do "as well" as everyone was hoping, when the expectations (expecting him to take the SHL by storm) were probably set way too high to begin with.

- His 7 points in 17 games (0.41 PPG) in the Allsvenskan is comparable to Ekman-Larsson who, in his draft year, had 17 in 39 (0.44 PPG) in the same league.

- His 28 points in 31 games (0.90 PPG) in his draft and pre-draft SuperElit (U20 league) seasons are comparable to Erik Karlsson's 47 points in 48 games (0.98 PPG). The reason why Kylington's PPG over his J20 career is much lower (0.59) is because he was already playing regularly in the SuperElit two years before his draft year, something neither Karlsson or OEL were able to do.

- Neither Karlsson or OEL played a single SEL/SHL game before their draft -- in fact, OEL never played above the Allsvenskan, in Sweden -- and Kylington already has 50 games of experience spread over two seasons. A 16/17 year old playing a regular shift in the top league in the country is a bigger deal than some may think.

- The only thing Karlsson and OEL have over Kylington is a really good U18 tournament. Karlsson had 7 assists in 6 games and OEL had 8 points (2g, 6a) in 6 games. Kylington had just 2 assists in 5 games, but I can't see how you could put that much, if any, legitimate stock into a 1 week tournament.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I am not suggesting that Kylington is going to be the next Erik Karlsson or Oliver Ekman-Larsson. What I am saying is that Kylington has had a better year than some people seem to think, and that his resumé and comparable players suggest that he definitely has the upside of a top talent. In fact, even if you just went by his numbers last season, he would still find his way into this year's first-round, easily. He didn't play the WJC this year or have a particularly good U18, and was up and down between the SHL and Allsvenskan... yet he still improved on his previous year. Luckily, he is now signed to a 2-year contract with AIK (of the Allsvenskan) who he is fully committed to and who is fully committed to him and his development.

If Oliver Kylington is available to the Canucks at No.23 this year... you can be damn sure that I will be on my hands and knees begging (telepathically) for Jim Benning to take him.

Agreed, i think Kylington brings all the things we have been wanting and needing on our back end. The defensive part of the game takes time to mature, I'm ok with that.

[Canucks1219]

i hope we take svechnikov if he is available at 23. He has the size and skill we could use for a future top 6 player

Svechnikov is someone that many of the stats folk seem to really love. They think that he deserves to be closer to the 10th pick than the 20th pick, where he is usually around. Supposedly, players with his track record (age, experience, point production, etc.) have had fairly good success rates at becoming NHL regulars. He's a player that is really skilled that deserves to go higher but could fall because of the always seemingly pertinent "Russian factor". He is a late '96 birthday, for what that's worth, and he scored at an impressive 1.42 PPG as a CHL rookie, which was also best on the team. He was on pace for 96 points in a full 68-game season. I would be really happy with him as well. We don't have any legitimate top-6 LW prospects aside from Baertschi and Shinkaruk, and neither are locks right now either, so he would fit nicely into our prospect pool as well, to appease a faction of the "draft for need" people. For what it's worth, Craig Button has mentioned in his scouting report that he is closer to the NHL than most of the other prospects.

Agreed, i think Kylington brings all the things we have been wanting and needing on our back end. The defensive part of the game takes time to mature, I'm ok with that.

Yep, for sure. It's not that I would be upset with some of the other top defensive prospects (Roy, Zboril, Chabot, Andersson, Pilon, Meloche, Juulsen, etc.) but I think it's time that we tried to go for a grandslam-type player. Some people may think he's got a bigger "bust factor" than other options, but as a team that will never be quite "bad enough" to pick a surefire franchise player, forcing us to wallow in mediocrity (both on-ice and in the draft), we aren't likely to get top players unless we try to swing for the fences.

[chickenman92]

Crouse and Rantanen were interviewed by Vancouver

http://niceskateswannapuck.weebly.com/the-blog/-crouse-and-rantanen-on-canucks-and-flames-radar

[Derp...]

I think if you look at it from a asset management standpoint at 23 you want to add value to your prospect pool. Value means not a bust, and most likely an NHL player. Once you have an NHL calibre prospect there value is much higher than a bust no matter the position, so in theory it's better to choose a safe bet as an NHL player with less risk when you have limited picks in a given draft.

This is the theory JB seems to be working under. The more NHL level talent in the prospect pool the higher chance he can maneuver his way into getting other NHL level prospects with less risk of busting.

With that said I'm certainly okay with Harkins at 23 if he can end up being a slightly more skilled version of Gaunce. Most likely a middle 6 playmaking forward.

Harkins, Boeser, White are the fairly safe picks if you want to call them that.

Svechnikov, Erikkson Ek, Kylington, Roslovic are the mid risk picks for me

Sprong, Merkley, Roy, Guryanov are the high risk picks.

I would like to see us get Svechnikov, Kylington, or Guryanov as potential homeruns, but if I'm in JB's position I probably take Boeser, Harkins, or White

[Derp...]

As for the second rounder that we are supposedly getting.

Guryanov, Roslovic, Andersson, Dunn, Juulsen, Beauvillier

One of those will do nicely.

[Gstank29]

Crouse and Rantanen were interviewed by Vancouver

http://niceskateswannapuck.weebly.com/the-blog/-crouse-and-rantanen-on-canucks-and-flames-radar

Just typical covering your bases, means nothing

[Canucks1219]

I know I'm coming off of a couple of posts raving about Kylington but here's an excerpt from a recent Flames Nation article on the top Swedish prospects in the upcoming draft. Spoiler Alert: It doesn't flatter Kylington at all.

"Jacob Nystrom of Hockeysverige.se was kind enough to join me and chat Swedish prospects eligible for this month’s NHL Entry Draft."

C: Oliver Kylington was supposed to be that elite talent this year, and everyone agreed at the beginning of the year, but he has plummeted down draft boards, universally. Why is that? How do you view Kylington?

J: Kylington has had a rough year. Last year he made his debut in SHL and made some real noise after becoming the youngest scorer in SHL history. As he was only sixteen, he was given a lot of slack for his mistakes, and there were a lot. But going into this year the stakes were raised and he was suppose to build on last years performance. Unfortunately he couldn't and i think that lead to a lot of stress and pressure that he couldn't handle.

My view of Kylington is that he is a fantastic skater - brilliant, in fact - but I don't see him having a basic understanding of the game or the vision that will take him to the next level. Perhaps it's just a phase, but I don't see him becoming the defender a lot of others see. As to the drop I think some of the scouts have picked up on it. The ones that still thinks his a top prospect are the ones who've not seen him enough.

Add to that a reputation of being difficult to deal with and you have a perfect storm to drag you down the draft lists.

...

C: Which has been your greatest disappointment?

J: Most disappointing is Kylington. Maybe the hype became to big for him to handle but he didn't have a good year.

...

C: Jacob Larsson and Gabriel Carlsson are two blueliners who have had fabulous draft years - and could be candidates for the Flames to select, if not in the 1st round, then with one of their 3 2nd rounders - and in the eyes of some have surpassed even Kylington. How do you evaluate the two? Do you like either over Kylington?

J: Larsson and Carlsson are two opposites on the ice. Larsson is two way defenseman who can contribute both offensively and defensively, while Carlsson is mainly a shutdown D.

As of right now, I would take Larsson ahead of Kylington, but not Carlsson. My reason for that is that Larsson has a larger repertoire than Kylington. Sure, Larsson doesn't have the skating abilities of Kylington but the way he reads the ice and and his vision is a lot better.

Carlsson is a stay at home defenseman with a good first pass and decent shot. He has a tremendous reach and is very hard to go around. He also read the ice very well and can analyze what will happen in a good way. The reason i would pick Kylington over Carlsson is because there's a higher reward for Kylington. Sure the risk is much higher as well but if you willing to take a gamble Kylington could play out - even if I have my doubts.

...

C: If you had to choose the most overrated Swedish eligible this year - the one everyone loves but you're skeptical about - who would that be?

J: Again Kylington come to mind although he's fallen a lot during the season, but more so I’d have to say Fredrik Forsberg, little brother to Filip Forsberg. He had a good season last year but he couldn't deliver on the same level this year. It's unfair to compare him to his brother because they're not at all on the same level, but right now I don't see him becoming a NHL-player. He simply doesn't have the skating for it. Maybe he could change that but it's a long way to go.

I will be the first to admit that I haven't seen him enough and, really, this article in general has changed my opinion on Kylington... slightly, anyways. It certainly sounds like Kylington is not quite as dynamic a player as some of us may have thought/think and there seem to be issues surrounding his overall hockey sense.

I won't lie, this has changed my opinion of him from where it was even an hour ago, albeit just a little, but I see the success and accomplishments he's had and I have a hard time believing it was a fluke. This person suggests that he isn't quite as talented offensively as people think (eg. not enough of an understanding of the game's basics, and vision) but every other scouting report I've seen lauds his skill level quite a lot. I do think there's some credence to his report since it is indeed fact that Kylington has fallen on every draft ranking. That being said, I can't imagine someone would have this much success at the levels he's been at getting by just on his skating ability.

As many people have said, Oliver Kylington will be the most intriguing prospect to watch come draft day. He is truly an X-factor.

PS: I would still take him at 23.

[baumerman77]

I know I'm coming off of a couple of posts raving about Kylington but here's an excerpt from a recent Flames Nation article on the top Swedish prospects in the upcoming draft. Spoiler Alert: It doesn't flatter Kylington at all.

"Jacob Nystrom of Hockeysverige.se was kind enough to join me and chat Swedish prospects eligible for this months NHL Entry Draft."

I will be the first to admit that I haven't seen him enough and, really, this article in general has changed my opinion on Kylington... slightly, anyways. It certainly sounds like Kylington is not quite as dynamic a player as some of us may have thought/think and there seem to be issues surrounding his overall hockey sense.

I won't lie, this has changed my opinion of him from where it was even an hour ago, albeit just a little, but I see the success and accomplishments he's had and I have a hard time believing it was a fluke. This person suggests that he isn't quite as talented offensively as people think (eg. not enough of an understanding of the game's basics, and vision) but every other scouting report I've seen lauds his skill level quite a lot. I do think there's some credence to his report since it is indeed fact that Kylington has fallen on every draft ranking. That being said, I can't imagine someone would have this much success at the levels he's been at getting by just on his skating ability.

As many people have said, Oliver Kylington will be the most intriguing prospect to watch come draft day. He is truly an X-factor.

PS: I would still take him at 23.

Kylington sounds like he would be a great candidate for a very close development. Bring him to the AHL ideally on a team owned by the NHL team (Utica) that way you can manage his minutes, game situation, training, practices. Instead of leaving him in the SHL where the NHL team can't manage him so closely.

[BBQ Sauce99]

Kylington sounds like he would be a great candidate for a very close development. Bring him to the AHL ideally on a team owned by the NHL team (Utica) that way you can manage his minutes, game situation, training, practices. Instead of leaving him in the SHL where the NHL team can't manage him so closely.

He seems like a hit or miss pick. I'll be honest, other than posters on here I haven't seen the guy play but he sounds like he could be an amazing pick at 23 if he's available or.... ... yah. IF we drafted him wouldn't it be better to have him play another year in the SHL than bring him over to the AHL for another 1-2 years.

Lol .. gonna be a looong wait with any D man before we see them in the Nucks' uni .

[elvis15]

Who cares if we have lots of talented centers. It's not redundant when you can move them for other pieces if they all pan out exactly as you need. But if you stretch for position over bpa then he could bust and you have nothing .

Well, if they don't pan out then we aren't exactly going to get a lot for them - especially if we've hung onto them for so long hoping they don't bust. Looking at Kylington or a number of other D that could be available isn't likely to be a stretch for position vs taking someone like Harkins at that point.

Agreed, i think Kylington brings all the things we have been wanting and needing on our back end. The defensive part of the game takes time to mature, I'm ok with that.

I like a lot of the skillset and potential Kylington brings - especially at 23rd overall - but the one thing I worry about with him is whether he's smart enough hockey-wise to take advantage of all that skill as the competition gets tougher and tougher. Has he just been succeeding because he's naturally talented, or can he continue to take advantage of all the tools he has longer term against the best players in the world?

I think if you look at it from a asset management standpoint at 23 you want to add value to your prospect pool. Value means not a bust, and most likely an NHL player. Once you have an NHL calibre prospect there value is much higher than a bust no matter the position, so in theory it's better to choose a safe bet as an NHL player with less risk when you have limited picks in a given draft.

...

No player is any kind of guarantee to most likely be an NHL player at 23rd overall. You're making a pretty large assumption on what adding value means to Benning. A high ceiling player that fills an organizational need would hold significantly more value as an NHL player even if they're less likely to achieve that so maybe that's in their thought process.

[elvis15]

Crouse and Rantanen were interviewed by Vancouver

http://niceskateswannapuck.weebly.com/the-blog/-crouse-and-rantanen-on-canucks-and-flames-radar

That's a misleading article to say the least.

Now before you go flying off the handle and dreaming up what it will take to land a top-10 pick, meetings like this are fairly common practice during the combine. In fact, both players interviewed with more than 20 teams each throughout the week, so they are on a lot of team’s radar right now.

We aren't anywhere near a top 10 pick so not much to see here.

[Canucks1219]

Kylington sounds like he would be a great candidate for a very close development. Bring him to the AHL ideally on a team owned by the NHL team (Utica) that way you can manage his minutes, game situation, training, practices. Instead of leaving him in the SHL where the NHL team can't manage him so closely.

Good point. Unfortunately, everything I've seen, read, and heard suggests that Travis Green runs the show, despite the Canucks being owners of the Comets. It works counterintuitive to the purpose of owning a farm team but Benning himself is on record as stating that he leaves those decisions up to Green.

He seems like a hit or miss pick. I'll be honest, other than posters on here I haven't seen the guy play but he sounds like he could be an amazing pick at 23 if he's available or.... ... yah. IF we drafted him wouldn't it be better to have him play another year in the SHL than bring him over to the AHL for another 1-2 years.

Lol .. gonna be a looong wait with any D man before we see them in the Nucks' uni .

Yeah, he's your typical high-risk/reward prospect. Developed properly, he could be the best offensive defenceman from this draft. His skating is universally agreed upon as being arguably the best in this draft class, while many agree that his defensive positioning needs work.

Kylington recently signed a 2-year deal with AIK, a team currently in the second-tier Allsvenskan, so that's where he is likely to play for the next 2 years (at least).

I like a lot of the skillset and potential Kylington brings - especially at 23rd overall - but the one thing I worry about with him is whether he's smart enough hockey-wise to take advantage of all that skill as the competition gets tougher and tougher. Has he just been succeeding because he's naturally talented, or can he continue to take advantage of all the tools he has longer term against the best players in the world?

I would say those are pretty fair concerns. Personally, I feel like his natural talent is playing a role which is why it's particularly important with him that he gets developed/taught properly. I know, I know... what a surprise. He isn't a dumb player by any means -- 4/5 smarts from Button -- but it does seem like he needs to, like the Swedish guy in the article above says, gain a better understanding of the game. I've not seen much of him but from what little I have, his positioning isn't great, he is prone to chasing the play/is a bit of a scrambler out there, and tries to do too much himself. His game needs some structure badly, but if you can get him to buy in, the rewards would be immense. There is definite work to be done with Oliver Kylington but I just love his upside so much.

[86Viking]

if we were to trade up in the draft to grab a d man, I would prefer we take Werenski. He has nhl size already, had a solid 1st year of college at the age of 17 playing against men.

I think Colorado is eyeing him tho along with others.

it would be worth inquiring about the price tag for a pick when he is available6-10 range. Package of Lack and 23 to a team in need of a goalie. Id do edler straight up for that pick if it were possible and he waived. Retain hamhuis for 3-4 yrs if he doesnt want a huge raise aswell as he is a solid guy who could mentor a young defender, Edler cant do that, hasnt been the same and I think his value wont get much better so maybe sell high if ya can

[WestlockWarrior]

I agree they wouldn't get top five but perhaps top 10 if they threw in a goalie and kassian (or the 23rd).

That is a huge price to pay for an unproven 18 year old.

Are you suggesting :

Kassian

Lack

23rd

Cassels

For 1 of

Barzal/Zacha/Wirienskie

[Baer.]

That is a huge price to pay for an unproven 18 year old.

Are you suggesting :

Kassian

Lack

23rd

Cassels

For 1 of

Barzal/Zacha/Wirienskie

Not a chance we trade Cassels. Take him out and I'd do it in a heartbeat. Id even throw Grenier in.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Who cares if we have lots of talented centers. It's not redundant when you can move them for other pieces if they all pan out exactly as you need. But if you stretch for position over bpa then he could bust and you have nothing .

How about if it's not a stretch though?

It's not like we're passing on McEichel to select Hanifin. We'd be passing on a redundant 2c to go for a 2d.

[MaxieMan98]

If Bennings trades Bo, I will be devastated