2021 NHL Entry Draft

[flickyoursedin]

2 minutes ago, Kenny Blankenship said:

Do you think Lysell would be a good pick at 9? Justifiable? Or would you consider it a reach?

Really depends if somebody slides to you. But if nothing crazy happens it’s definitely justifiable! Believe he’s ranked early teens but I don’t see much separation between 9-14. Also he seems like a Benning pick.

[Kenny Blankenship]

3 minutes ago, flickyoursedin said:

Really depends if somebody slides to you. But if nothing crazy happens it’s definitely justifiable! Believe he’s ranked early teens but I don’t see much separation between 9-14. Also he seems like a Benning pick.

 Based off what I’ve seen I would agree he looks like a Benning pick, great engine and highly skilled. I just don’t have a great depth of knowledge on this years draft compared to past years. I’m fairly confident the nucks will end up with a difference maker. 

[Nurnge]

2 hours ago, janisahockeynut said:

I know I sound like a broken record, but IMO, this is an extremely important draft for the Canuck, as is next years.

 

When you look at the age of our stars, and core, this years players will be hopefully graduating onto the team in 3 years

 

This is important, because it really signifies the beginning of our approach to the upper echelons of the NHL

 

So, it is important that this years players are home runs.

 

Again, in my humble opinion, the likes of Lind, Jasek, McEwen, DiPietro, Lockwood, and Woo are all expendable to some extent, as is our 2023 1st and 2nd

 

Those players and picks are easily replaceable later on down the road. IMO, they do not represent "CORE" pieces

 

So, with that declariation, I will say, that getting Clarke is pivotal, as is a another RHD, early in the 2nd round, and as Hammer has pointed out, there will be a few to choose from at the 41 OA pick as well. 

 

I am not sure how Benning would find out or how open the GM's are about their picks, but I would want Benning to find out where Clarke will be picked, then move ahead of that team.

 

What is the cost? I have not a clue, but our #9 + our 2023 1st, should move the needle for quite a few teams. In the middle of the first round a 2nd will move you approx. 4 spots.

 

I would imagine another 1st, would more you up further, especially, when the teams you are trading with are rebuilding, and would love to have that additional 1st, a couple of years later. (2 years to be exact).

 

So does any of our prospects move the needle? Does moving up by way of trading for Martin Jones (as suggested in another thread) do it?

 

Hope is a wonderful thing and everyone should have hope, but hope and a $1.50, gets you a Coke at the local convenience store. IMO, you have to make your own luck. And in the case of Clarke, he completes a problem we have had for a long time.

 

Yes, Benning has to be aggressive, it should start at the draft!

 

 

 

 

 

 

9th plus next years first just to move up a few spots ? What if a few injuries to key players Happen say Miller Demko  and Horvat and we are Bottom 5/10 again next year.  That is way to risky for me  Maybe a 9th and third or B prospect . But I think we really need to stop trading away top picks until the Canucks are near the top of the league not the bottom . just my 2 bits  

[HighOnHockey]

4 minutes ago, Kenny Blankenship said:

 Based off what I’ve seen I would agree he looks like a Benning pick, great engine and highly skilled. I just don’t have a great depth of knowledge on this years draft compared to past years. I’m fairly confident the nucks will end up with a difference maker. 

I keep going back and forth on Lysell. He's one of those kids that was just so talented that he knew he could do whatever he wanted at the junior level and get away with it. The jump to SHL was a huge reality check for him. You can tell how committed he is though by how hard he's working to be responsible and learn the pro game, but it's been a struggle for sure. Even in the SHL he has moments where he can take over a shift with his skill, but other times he just looks so unsure of himself with the puck, it's a totally different player than watching him at U17s or U18s. He was only playing about 7 mins a game when he was in SHL though, so not a lot of opportunity for development there; we'll have a much better idea of what kind of pro he'll be next year, but unfortunately teams need to make a decision by July. NHL teams tend to be risk-averse, so my guess is some teams will shy away and he'll drop a little further than some people expect.

[flickyoursedin]

40 minutes ago, Kenny Blankenship said:

 Based off what I’ve seen I would agree he looks like a Benning pick, great engine and highly skilled. I just don’t have a great depth of knowledge on this years draft compared to past years. I’m fairly confident the nucks will end up with a difference maker. 

After Bennings comments about being aggressive this off-season makes me think he’s trading this pick for an immediate roster upgrade. I like the talent around our pick so I’m hoping I’m wrong.

[J.I.A.H.N]

1 hour ago, Nurnge said:

9th plus next years first just to move up a few spots ? What if a few injuries to key players Happen say Miller Demko  and Horvat and we are Bottom 5/10 again next year.  That is way to risky for me  Maybe a 9th and third or B prospect . But I think we really need to stop trading away top picks until the Canucks are near the top of the league not the bottom . just my 2 bits  

No, actually I said 2 years from now, as in 2023. But either way, I think your point is valid, and I do not take it lightly. 

 

All, I am really saying is go after Clarke and use all available, and sane methods to get him.

 

IMO, he looks to go 5 to 8, so if we are in 4 or 5, we are fine. If he goes earlier, there are then other ways to achieve the same thing. Aka, move Hughes over to the right side and draft another LHD. Or Trade the new pick for a current prospect, aka Soderstrom? Or maybe one of NYR's.

 

Go after some of the lesser RHD...Ceulemans, Morrow, Heimosalmi, Schmidt, Mailloux, Bar etc..........first 2 being 1st rounders, last 3 being 2nd rounders.

 

Just for the record, I do not want to trade away, next years pick, as I know there is a very good chance we still do not make the playoffs, regardless if we have major injuries or not.

 

PS

 

I appreciate the way you responded.....feel free to question me like that anytime....

 

Cheers

[Nurnge]

8 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

No, actually I said 2 years from now, as in 2023. But either way, I think your point is valid, and I do not take it lightly. 

 

All, I am really saying is go after Clarke and use all available, and sane methods to get him.

 

IMO, he looks to go 5 to 8, so if we are in 4 or 5, we are fine. If he goes earlier, there are then other ways to achieve the same thing. Aka, move Hughes over to the right side and draft another LHD. Or Trade the new pick for a current prospect, aka Soderstrom? Or maybe one of NYR's.

 

Go after some of the lesser RHD...Ceulemans, Morrow, Heimosalmi, Schmidt, Mailloux, Bar etc..........first 2 being 1st rounders, last 3 being 2nd rounders.

 

Just for the record, I do not want to trade away, next years pick, as I know there is a very good chance we still do not make the playoffs, regardless if we have major injuries or not.

 

PS

 

I appreciate the way you responded.....feel free to question me like that anytime....

 

Cheers

I do like Clarke as a pick But if we win top 2 . I would have to take Power first  and than either Beniers or Hughes for second and hard not to like Hughes  . You could have a Hughes on the ice for 50 minutes a game Really hard not to want that , draft a more defensive RHD in the second and hope they can Draft another next year  . Thanks . I read your stuff on here a lot agree with most of it just don't sign in very often . Many prospect polls and mock drafts have Clarke at 8 or 9th . On draft day many Dmen tend to slip a spot or 4 so I hope we can get him there or only trade up a spot maybe 2 depending on the ask 

[J.I.A.H.N]

5 minutes ago, Nurnge said:

I do like Clarke as a pick But if we win top 2 . I would have to take Power first  and than either Beniers or Hughes for second and hard not to like Hughes  . You could have a Hughes on the ice for 50 minutes a game Really hard not to want that , draft a more defensive RHD in the second and hope they can Draft another next year  . Thanks . I read your stuff on here a lot agree with most of it just don't sign in very often . Many prospect polls and mock drafts have Clarke at 8 or 9th . On draft day many Dmen tend to slip a spot or 4 so I hope we can get him there or only trade up a spot maybe 2 depending on the ask 

I am open to that. Q. Hughes can play either side, so as I said earlier I am not married to the idea, but I think we should explore the possibility of moving up. I mean who knows for sure...Benning could take Lambos and play him with Quinn Hughes as a long term plan......

 

I would still like Clarke if given a chance.

[hammertime]

3 hours ago, Hogs & Podz said:

He looks very good,  didn't know anything about him before your mention... He only weighs 155 lbs right now ... Maybe that's why he's not getting the love?  Do you see him slipping into the second round?

 

https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2021/wm18/skaters/scoringleaders#player-heimosalmi-aleksi

 

I imagine he had a weigh in at the tournament. Listed 5'11 170 seems about right watching him play. I absolutely loved the showing Finland had at the u18. 

[Sedinyoureyesontheprize]

4 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

I'll be shocked if he makes it past the top 4. Goran Stubb and Central Scouting are notorious for shying away from smaller players (they had Lundell and Holtz over Raymond last year), and even they have Eklund ranked first in Europe. Power is the safest bet to go first overall for sure, but if a team with a heavy European scouting presence wins the lottery (Columbus, New Jersey, Detroit), I could honestly see Eklund going first overall. Especially if it's Kekalainen - that guy could not give a &^@# what traditional hockey logic thinks; and their director of amateur scouting is based out of Europe (not sure there are any other teams that is true of) and their director of European scouting is based out of Sweden.

 

I've said all year that Chibrikov, Johnson and Lysell are the most purely skilled players in the draft. Eklund is a bit of a step down from them in pure skill, but his hockey IQ is through the roof, and as you mentioned, intensity and compete look very high too.

I think he’s a better play driver than the other guys.
 

Hopefully he slides under the radar, he looks very self assured with his playing style, arguably  has better overall tool box to become a consistent contribuer than the other guys. Johnson looks good too though. 
 

who is in your top 4 ?

Edited May 30, 2021 by Setyoureyesontheprize

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

4 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

I'll be shocked if he makes it past the top 4. Goran Stubb and Central Scouting are notorious for shying away from smaller players (they had Lundell and Holtz over Raymond last year), and even they have Eklund ranked first in Europe. Power is the safest bet to go first overall for sure, but if a team with a heavy European scouting presence wins the lottery (Columbus, New Jersey, Detroit), I could honestly see Eklund going first overall. Especially if it's Kekalainen - that guy could not give a &^@# what traditional hockey logic thinks; and their director of amateur scouting is based out of Europe (not sure there are any other teams that is true of) and their director of European scouting is based out of Sweden.

 

I've said all year that Chibrikov, Johnson and Lysell are the most purely skilled players in the draft. Eklund is a bit of a step down from them in pure skill, but his hockey IQ is through the roof, and as you mentioned, intensity and compete look very high too.

You're totally right. No way he makes it past Jersey.

[Nave]

1 hour ago, Herberts Vasiljevs said:

You're totally right. No way he makes it past Jersey.

I wouldn't be surprised if they took Eklund over Hughes.

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

28 minutes ago, Nave said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they took Eklund over Hughes.

I'm sure they'd go with Eklund.

[HighOnHockey]

6 hours ago, Setyoureyesontheprize said:

I think he’s a better play driver than the other guys.
 

Hopefully he slides under the radar, he looks very self assured with his playing style, arguably  has better overall tool box to become a consistent contribuer than the other guys. Johnson looks good too though. 
 

who is in your top 4 ?

Completely agree. Those other three have massive upside, but lots of risk factors. No real risk with Eklund except for size.

 

Top four is the only thing I really have set in stone at this point:

 

1. Brandt Clarke

2. Owen Power

3. William Eklund

4. Matthew Beniers

[AC Readership]

I know we need D really bad, but Beniers has me really intrigued.

[HighOnHockey]

6 hours ago, Nave said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they took Eklund over Hughes.

Very tough to say where New Jersey might go. In the years Paul Castron was DAS, they drafted out of the CHL with every single first round pick, until Jack Hughes first overall; they didn't have much of a choice there. He's since been bumped to "VP of amateur scouting" and after former video scout Scott Harris took over as DAS last year they drafted out of SHL, QMJHL, and KHL with their three first round picks. Considering most of the scouting will have been done by video this year, this will play right into Harris' strengths, but also makes things almost impossible to predict.

 

Harris' top two guys will be Paul Castron and director of European scouting Greg Royce. As I mentioned, Castron heavily favored the CHL, so CHL or Europe seem the most likely destinations for the Devil's pick. This means the closest thing to a safe guess we can make is that they probably won't pick from NTDP or NCAA; none last year in 8 picks in Harris' first draft at the helm, but we really don't have much to go on from him yet.

Edited May 30, 2021 by HighOnHockey

[Nave]

2 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Very tough to say where New Jersey might go. In the years Paul Castron was DAS, they drafted out of the CHL with every single first round pick, until Jack Hughes first overall; they didn't have much of a choice there. He's since been bumped to "VP of amateur scouting" and after former video scout Scott Harris took over as DAS last year they drafted out of SHL, QMJHL, and KHL with their three first round picks. Considering most of the scouting will have been done by video this year, this will play right into Harris' strengths, but also makes things almost impossible to predict.

 

Harris' top two guys will be Paul Castron and director of European scouting Greg Royce. As I mentioned, Castron heavily favored the CHL, so CHL or Europe seem the most likely destinations for the Devil's pick. This means the closest thing to a safe guess we can make is that they probably won't pick from NTDP or NCAA; none last year in 8 picks in Harris' first draft at the helm, but we really don't have much to go on from him yet.

Damn, I'm a Devils' fan, and you know more about their scouting department than I do.

I think it will go down to whether they want to have two Hughes brothers, or pair Eklund with Alexander Holtz. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Nave

[HighOnHockey]

32 minutes ago, Nave said:

Damn, I'm a Devils' fan, and you know more about their scouting department than I do.

I think it will go down to whether they want to have two Hughes brothers, or pair Eklund with Lucas Raymond. 

Lol, thanks, I guess. I make it a point to know a little bit about every team's scouting departments. Realistically, in a team's scouting meetings, things like chemistry and brother relations are almost a zero factor. It's fun for fans to discuss, and would be nice to consider in theory, but chemistry is meaningless if one of the players flops. Most fans and media do mock drafts based on things like that, and team needs, but teams and scouts don't care about any of that; they just want to get the best players. The Sens are the team and staff I know best, so to take an example from them of how scouting happens:

 

They hired a few new scouts in the past couple years. I will focus on two. One called Bobby Strumm, and one called Anders Ostberg. Currently their most trusted scouts are Mikko Ruutu, Bob Janecyk, Don Boyd and Trent Mann, so those guys get the most say with the most important picks, in the first couple rounds. In 2019 they gave Anders Ostberg what you might call an "area pick", where none of the rest of the scouting staff was very familiar with the player, but the area scout really liked him. That was Viktor Lodin in the 4th round. We know this is the case because the pick was way off the board and Ostberg was formerly a scout for Lodin's team Orebro. So this is also what you might call a tryout pick. You put some trust in your new scout and give him an opportunity to prove himself. Unfortunately, Lodin turned out to be a total bust, so they won't be trusting Ostberg with any higher picks any time soon; they will continue to give him a say on later round picks until he either proves he can hit on some, or he's eventually let go.

 

Strumm, on the other hand, came to the organization very highly regarded. He is the son of former GM Bryan Murray's close friend and former head scout Bob Strumm Sr. His first area pick was Angus Crookshank in the 5th round in 2018. Maybe not exactly a home run, but for a 5th round pick it is looking really good, as Crookshank has established himself as a completely legitimate NHL prospect, at the very least. As a reward, Strumm was given a little more say in the earlier rounds, as he would have been involved to some extent on 2019 first rounder Lassi Thomson and probably moreso on second rounder Mads Soogard. Soogard has been coming along nicely, and I believe Strumm is making an impression on Dorion and Mann (GM and head scout) and so was probably the main voice behind Ridly Greig with the 28th overall pick last year.

Edited May 30, 2021 by HighOnHockey

[Nave]

Just now, HighOnHockey said:

Lol, thanks, I guess. I make it a point to know a little bit about every team's scouting departments. Realistically, in a team's scouting meetings, things chemistry and brother relations are almost a zero factor. It's fun for fans to discuss, and would be nice to consider in theory, but chemistry is meaningless if one of the players flops. Most fans and media do mock drafts based on things like that, and team needs, but teams and scouts don't care about any of that; they just want to get the best players. The Sens are the team and staff I know best, so to take an example from them of how scouting happens:

 

They hired a few new scouts in the past couple years. I will focus on two. One called Bobby Strumm, and one called Anders Ostberg. Currently their most trusted scouts are Mikko Ruutu, Bob Janecyk, Don Boyd and Trent Mann, so those guys get the most say with the most important picks, in the first couple rounds. In 2019 they gave Anders Ostberg what you might call an "area pick", where none of the rest of the scouting staff was very familiar with the player, but the area scout really liked him. That was Viktor Lodin in the 4th round. We know this is the case because the pick was way off the board and Ostberg was formerly a scout for Lodin's team Orebro. So this is also what you might call a tryout pick. You put some trust in your new scout and give him an opportunity to prove himself. Unfortunately, Lodin turned out to be a total bust, so they won't be trusting Ostberg with any higher picks any time soon; they will continue to give him a say on later round picks until he either proves he can hit on some, or he's eventually let go.

 

Strumm, on the other hand, came to the organization very highly regarded. He is the son of former GM Bryan Murray's close friend and former head scout Bob Strumm Sr. His first area pick was Angus Crookshank in the 5th round in 2018. Maybe not exactly a home run, but for a 5th round pick it is looking really good, as Crookshank has established himself as a completely legitimate NHL prospect, at the very least. As a reward, Strumm was given a little more say in the earlier rounds, as he would have been involved to some extent on first rounder Lassi Thomson and probably moreso on second rounder Mads Soogard. Soogard has been coming along nicely, and I believe Strumm is making an impression on Dorion and Mann (GM and head scout) and was probably the main voice behind Ridly Greig with the 28th overall pick last year.

Eeks, you quoted my mistake having Lucas Raymond instead of Holtz . Raymond was the guy I wanted them to get, Holtz was the guy they got. However, Eklund and Holtz did play together on Djurgardens IF, with Eklund getting more goals and points than Holtz did in his Draft +1 season. Hard to believe they'd pass on Eklund. 
Interesting stuff about Ottawa's scouting department. They've been the butt of many jokes lately cause of their owner, but they have the makings of a very tantalizing prospect pool and young group of players. And, you have to respect how they completely blew it up to rebuild. 

[smithers joe]

how do they grade players that didn't play this year? if they played, there must be some good propects there. do they look at the year before records?