2017 NHL Draft - Chicago, Illinois June 23-24 2017

[Beary Sweet]

1 hour ago, Alflives said:

Isn't Liljegren supposed to be some really elite dman.  Wouldn't he be a better pick over a couple iffy forwards?

Sorry Alf. I believe they're much better and more valuable than a couple of "iffy" forwards. Hischier has the potential to be Zetterberg but a much sharper and faster version while Patrick can become a Staal, Getzlaf type of player. Either way, having either of these players in our lineup along side potentially Boeser, Gaudette, Dahlen, Goldobin, Granny, Bo, Baer wouldn't hurt considering we can't expect these guys to carry the load. We have to spread it out so we don't pressure the heck out of our young guys to put up points consistently

[Gaudette Celly]

22 hours ago, Blömqvist said:

It's a big slide for the team that finishes 3rd worst. In the worst possible outcome, that is, if three teams outside the bottom 3 and Vegas win the lottery then the 3rd worst team slides all the way to 7th.

As well, every team from #3 down slides down a spot in the other rounds behind Vegas.  Finishing top-2 is thereby additionally preferable this year.

[messier's_elbow]

I'm more worried about next years draft. There are 2 stars in that draft so hopefully we don't sign any overpriced free agents.

[Gaudette Celly]

“Loui (Eriksson) was a unique opportunity. His relationship with Daniel and Henrik…through the Olympics in 2010 he knew and liked the city. I don’t think that’s the way to build this team now. We’re more in the market for ‘bridge’ support, shorter term.”

- Linden

[Noble 6]

I was able to catch most of the London and Windsor game earlier today. Sergachyov was creating offense from the blue line and driving it straight to the net, which led to a goal. Brown was playing a good skill game. Bracco was flying. But Vilardi also played very well. 

 

Vilardi is noticeably bigger than a lot of players. Windsor is a big team. He was protecting the puck and creating offense down low consistently. When he had the puck, he would shake off defenders with quick spins and put them on his hip. None of the defenders could touch him. He set up some good chances and got at least one point by giving it to Sergachyov who drove the net from the point (I didn't check the box score so I don't know the point totals). 

 

His skating seemed good in tight spaces. Looks to have good feet. His skating form definitely looks like it has a solid foundation and just needs to be improved. I'm not sure if he'll improve as much as Horvat, but he should get at least a little faster in straight line speed. However, for the game he plays, he seems fine. 

 

I would like to point out that he definitely seems like a winger at the next level. A good complimentary piece to add to a future top 6. 

 

Tying this to the Canucks, I think if we were to draft him, he would have to play with Horvat to have any success. They are both big, strong players that can play down low. They are both smart players, but get it to the net at the end of the day. For that reason, I don't think we should draft him, despite the fact that he is a good player. We have plenty of players fighting for those middle 6 spots now, so we should go with someone else. Also, we are not a very fast team yet. Despite the fact that Vilardi's game doesn't require super speed, I don't think that would fit in with our pre-existing forward group. 

 

Overall, looks like a good players, but doesn't really fit in with the Canucks in my opinion. 

[Gaudette Celly]

Did not Draisaitl have similar reports as Vilardi about his skating and mobility before (and after) his draft?

[Noble 6]

3 hours ago, Hutton Wink said:

Did not Draisaitl have similar reports as Vilardi about his skating and mobility before (and after) his draft?

 

They were probably similar in terms of their skating. I imagine Vilardi could improve his skating to around the same level as Draisaitl moving forward. Probably not as much as Horvat though.

[N4ZZY]

4 hours ago, Horvat is a Boss said:

I was able to catch most of the London and Windsor game earlier today. Sergachyov was creating offense from the blue line and driving it straight to the net, which led to a goal. Brown was playing a good skill game. Bracco was flying. But Vilardi also played very well. 

 

Vilardi is noticeably bigger than a lot of players. Windsor is a big team. He was protecting the puck and creating offense down low consistently. When he had the puck, he would shake off defenders with quick spins and put them on his hip. None of the defenders could touch him. He set up some good chances and got at least one point by giving it to Sergachyov who drove the net from the point (I didn't check the box score so I don't know the point totals). 

 

His skating seemed good in tight spaces. Looks to have good feet. His skating form definitely looks like it has a solid foundation and just needs to be improved. I'm not sure if he'll improve as much as Horvat, but he should get at least a little faster in straight line speed. However, for the game he plays, he seems fine. 

 

I would like to point out that he definitely seems like a winger at the next level. A good complimentary piece to add to a future top 6. 

 

Tying this to the Canucks, I think if we were to draft him, he would have to play with Horvat to have any success. They are both big, strong players that can play down low. They are both smart players, but get it to the net at the end of the day. For that reason, I don't think we should draft him, despite the fact that he is a good player. We have plenty of players fighting for those middle 6 spots now, so we should go with someone else. Also, we are not a very fast team yet. Despite the fact that Vilardi's game doesn't require super speed, I don't think that would fit in with our pre-existing forward group. 

 

Overall, looks like a good players, but doesn't really fit in with the Canucks in my opinion. 

personally. i'd draft the best player available. when you have a surplus of talent, your in the driver's seat to make a trade for another good prospect. a hockey trade. 

 

[N4ZZY]

7 hours ago, messier's_elbow said:

I'm more worried about next years draft. There are 2 stars in that draft so hopefully we don't sign any overpriced free agents.

if we do this off-season, it would continue to send mixed messages to the fanbase. i think Benning continues to go younger, but not so young like Edmonton was (before McDavid's arrival). I think they still keep veterans around to steer and steady the ship. But Goldobin (22) I suspect will be full time, on top of Baer (25), Granny (24), Gaunce (23), Hutton (24), Horvat (22), Tryamkin (23), Stetcher (23), Boucher (24), on top of whoever we draft this year. That's an average of 23.3 years old.

And that's not including the next tier of older players:

Chris Tanev (28), Jakob Markstrom (28), Brandon Sutter (29), Jayson Megna (28), Philip Larsen (28), Alex Biega (29), Erik Gudbranson (26)

 

And then you got the players in their 30's and above - Edler, Dorsett, Miller, etc, etc.

 

Seems like a good mix of older twenties, young to mid twenties, and a few players in their thirties...

 

Signing another "Eriksson" like contract would signal that we ain't "transitioning"

 

[Noble 6]

I was going to post a lengthier post earlier but my computer crashed so I'm probably gonna keep this shorter. 

 

I got a chance to watch Yamamoto and Anderson-Dolan play today. They were the 2 best players and the best line as Spokane played agaisnt Victoria. The game was a little chippy as the two teams had played each other a lot recently. 

 

Yamamoto was very shifty on his edges. He was a threat every time he was in the offensive zone. He creates space for himself well as he is always in a threatening position to pass the puck. He made a great play on the powerplay. He had the puck on the right side and moved in. He completely looked off all of the Royal's penalty killers and fed a beautiful sauce across but the goalie Outhouse made a big stop. Another time, he beat a player to the puck and had a one on one. He completely undressed the defender and cut inside before being stopped on the backhand. He was a driver of offense and controlled the flow of play when he had the puck. He did seem to be cheating towards offense and leaving the zone early, but I guess that's necessary when your line is responsible for more than half of your teams offense. 

 

Yamamoto was a marked man from the very first shift. The Royals were taking liberties on him at every opportunity, but Yamamoto seemed to be pesky himself. He completely ran the goalie after the whistle was gone and took a penalty. After every hit he absorbed, he made sure to give back a slash. He doesn't seem to take much from anybody. 

 

Anderson-Dolan was also good. He wasn't as flashy as Yamamoto, but he was consistently making good plays in the offensive zone. He retrieved pucks well and kept possession. He and Yamamoto were reading off each other well and we're finding each other on the rush and in the zone. 

 

Overall, I'd say Yamamoto would be a good high risk, high reward player in the 2nd half of the 1st round. Anderson-Dolan would be a solid center to pick up in the same range. If the Canucks land a late 1st, Yamamoto could be a guy they take a risk on if they feel comfortable with who they got with their own pick. 

 

Side note, 2018 draft eligible Ty Smith looked decent out there as well for Spokane. He has 28 points in 58 games and plays on the top powerplay unit as well as playing on the penalty kill. He made one noticeably bad unforced turnover that led to a chance. He also could have tied his man up better on the OT winner. Overall though, he looked pretty good for a rookie WHL defenseman. Will be a name to watch for next year. 

[Noble 6]

55 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

personally. i'd draft the best player available. when you have a surplus of talent, your in the driver's seat to make a trade for another good prospect. a hockey trade. 

 

 

The thing with this draft is, outside the top 2-3, there is not clear BPA. You could make an arguement for just about anyone projected from 4-15. At that point, it's personal preference and organizational need. 

[funkyfresh]

1 hour ago, Horvat is a Boss said:

I was going to post a lengthier post earlier but my computer crashed so I'm probably gonna keep this shorter. 

 

I got a chance to watch Yamamoto and Anderson-Dolan play today. They were the 2 best players and the best line as Spokane played agaisnt Victoria. The game was a little chippy as the two teams had played each other a lot recently. 

 

Yamamoto was very shifty on his edges. He was a threat every time he was in the offensive zone. He creates space for himself well as he is always in a threatening position to pass the puck. He made a great play on the powerplay. He had the puck on the right side and moved in. He completely looked off all of the Royal's penalty killers and fed a beautiful sauce across but the goalie Outhouse made a big stop. Another time, he beat a player to the puck and had a one on one. He completely undressed the defender and cut inside before being stopped on the backhand. He was a driver of offense and controlled the flow of play when he had the puck. He did seem to be cheating towards offense and leaving the zone early, but I guess that's necessary when your line is responsible for more than half of your teams offense. 

 

Yamamoto was a marked man from the very first shift. The Royals were taking liberties on him at every opportunity, but Yamamoto seemed to be pesky himself. He completely ran the goalie after the whistle was gone and took a penalty. After every hit he absorbed, he made sure to give back a slash. He doesn't seem to take much from anybody. 

 

Anderson-Dolan was also good. He wasn't as flashy as Yamamoto, but he was consistently making good plays in the offensive zone. He retrieved pucks well and kept possession. He and Yamamoto were reading off each other well and we're finding each other on the rush and in the zone. 

 

Overall, I'd say Yamamoto would be a good high risk, high reward player in the 2nd half of the 1st round. Anderson-Dolan would be a solid center to pick up in the same range. If the Canucks land a late 1st, Yamamoto could be a guy they take a risk on if they feel comfortable with who they got with their own pick. 

 

Side note, 2018 draft eligible Ty Smith looked decent out there as well for Spokane. He has 28 points in 58 games and plays on the top powerplay unit as well as playing on the penalty kill. He made one noticeably bad unforced turnover that led to a chance. He also could have tied his man up better on the OT winner. Overall though, he looked pretty good for a rookie WHL defenseman. Will be a name to watch for next year. 

As good as Yamamoto is, he's just too small. Anderson-Dolan is 5'11" and he looks at 2- 3 inches smaller than him. With Dahlen, Goldobin, Baertschi, Lockwood, maybe Boucher, and maybe Rodin, the future team is small already. Not all those guys are going to make it or stay on the team, but I would rather take a chance on small guys like Aleksi Heponiemi or Mason Shaw in the 3rd round than use a late 1st on Yamamoto.

 

As for Anderson-Dolan, YES PLEASE.

 

 

[Off_The_Schneid!]

 

I don't mind us winning a few games down the stretch and moving up the standings to force us to pick petterson 

 

him and dahlin play together and could instantly become an offensive line for us

 

however mittlestadt could provide that size we need 

 

Both players should be available at 5 

 

[missioncanucksfan]

32 minutes ago, Off_The_Schneid! said:

 

I don't mind us winning a few games down the stretch and moving up the standings to force us to pick petterson 

 

him and dahlin play together and could instantly become an offensive line for us

 

however mittlestadt could provide that size we need 

 

Both players should be available at 5 

 

If we are out of top 5 the Cal Foote is the guy we need to take

Big RD is raking up his offensive numbers while his +/- is very respectable which shows he doesn't get scored on 5on5. 

Keep him in junior for 2 more years and develop the heck out of him.

 

6'4" 210lb and still 18 folks

 

If we are going to have small skilled players, we need size on the back end and besides Stecher, I think we are getting that

Edited March 5, 2017 by missioncanucksfan

[komodo0921]

It's my opinion that, with the addition of Goldobin, our focus at the draft should be changed.

Watching the few shifts he played, I started to think about where he fits and who fits with his style. I, quickly, realized we don't have a centre that works with him and that we, now, need to either draft him a centre or trade for one at the draft. If we draft one, I can see good fits with either Mittlestadt or Vilardi. As for a trade? I'll leave that for another forum.

[Canucks Curse]

8 minutes ago, komodo0921 said:

It's my opinion that, with the addition of Goldobin, our focus at the draft should be changed.

Watching the few shifts he played, I started to think about where he fits and who fits with his style. I, quickly, realized we don't have a centre that works with him and that we, now, need to either draft him a centre or trade for one at the draft. If we draft one, I can see good fits with either Mittlestadt or Vilardi. As for a trade? I'll leave that for another forum.

My thoughts exactly. Via trade, the Tanev for Sam Reinhart trade that was on the proposals forum is a good idea. We could then draft liljgren with our pick and maybe sign Alzner in the offseason. Gives us Horvat and Reinhart as a great succession plan for when the Sedins retire

 

next year

 

beartschi Horvat Ericksson

sedin Sedin Granlund

goldy Reinhart Sutter

cramarossa Gaunce Boucher

[komodo0921]

8 minutes ago, Canucks Curse said:

My thoughts exactly. Via trade, the Tanev for Sam Reinhart trade that was on the proposals forum is a good idea. We could then draft liljgren with our pick and maybe sign Alzner in the offseason. Gives us Horvat and Reinhart as a great succession plan for when the Sedins retire

 

next year

 

beartschi Horvat Ericksson

sedin Sedin Granlund

goldy Reinhart Sutter

cramarossa Gaunce Boucher

 Know the subject's probably been beat to death but; Does Matt Duchene now make a little more sense in a trade scenario (the steep asking price being beside the point).

[canuckistani]

I am hoping we pick Villardi.

A combination of Horvat-Villardi as #1-2C would give us the best 1-2 punch in centres after the Penguins.

[Lonny_Bohonos_14]

22 minutes ago, canuckistani said:

I am hoping we pick Villardi.

A combination of Horvat-Villardi as #1-2C would give us the best 1-2 punch in centres after the Penguins.

Not even close.. Petty sure Edmonton, Buffalo, LA, and a few others would still be ahead of us. 

 

If we got Patrick or Hersh, then maybe in a few years. 

[missioncanucksfan]

3 hours ago, komodo0921 said:

It's my opinion that, with the addition of Goldobin, our focus at the draft should be changed.

Watching the few shifts he played, I started to think about where he fits and who fits with his style. I, quickly, realized we don't have a centre that works with him and that we, now, need to either draft him a centre or trade for one at the draft. If we draft one, I can see good fits with either Mittlestadt or Vilardi. As for a trade? I'll leave that for another forum.

This was a reason why I was hoping we could've squeezed Lazar from Ottawa.

Considering the price, surely we could've matched that.

 

Is a package of 

Sbisa and Subban

 

That far from Calgary package if 

Jokipaka and 2nd?

 

I know Calgary got a 2nd rnd pick but there should be a case of Sbisa being better than Jokipaka? I'm sure fans here would've agreed with even Sbisa and our 3rd would be fair

 

IMO, Lazar should turn into something. I know we've paid dearly for trading picks for hunches and it has bitten us before (2nd for Vey) but this is something equally tempting.