Confirmed with Link: Derrick Pouliot's here because reasons. Part 1. (#859)

[hooverdam]

Pouliot had a nice little stat line last night, I see. I've been a fan of his since junior; his issues on defense are largely overblown because he had a slew of bad luck where every little mistake ended up in the back of the net for him. Did you guys like what you saw last night?

One thing to keep an eye on is that he's a possession monster. Pens fans used to use him as an example of why advanced stats were bunk. Given a proper chance, I think he's a top four defenseman with a fantastic impact on the possession game.

 

[MS]

He was very average last night and did little good or bad. All things considered it was a solid first effort.

 

[RandV]

Looks a lot better than I expected, skates really well, smart and accurate passes, no issues defensively, based on his play so far (small sample) we may have gotten a top 4 D for a 4th round pick...no rehab needed.

Can't really argue about the game last night, but I would caution 'wait for it...'.

For a guy with such a high draft position/pedigree and showed such promise as a prospect, if there was nothing wrong with his game Pittsburgh wouldn't have dumped him for a 4th. Not to mention 29 other teams wouldn't have let him pass if he was available for such low value.

 

[hooverdam]

Can't really argue about the game last night, but I would caution 'wait for it...'.

For a guy with such a high draft position/pedigree and showed such promise as a prospect, if there was nothing wrong with his game Pittsburgh wouldn't have dumped him for a 4th. Not to mention 29 other teams wouldn't have let him pass if he was available for such low value.

Sullivan didn't like him, and from that moment his days in Pittsburgh were numbered no matter what he did. They did the same thing to Despres, though Despres was at least given a body of work in the NHL to prove he belonged. Pouliot played well, got benched for no reason other than they had to find a spot for Schultz, played well again, got injured, got sent down, and never got another fair chance.

29 other teams had no idea what they were getting with him based on his NHL experience. The reward for you guys could be ridiculously high here.

 

[Paulinvancouver]

Sullivan didn't like him, and from that moment his days in Pittsburgh were numbered no matter what he did. They did the same thing to Despres, though Despres was at least given a body of work in the NHL to prove he belonged. Pouliot played well, got benched for no reason other than they had to find a spot for Schultz, played well again, got injured, got sent down, and never got another fair chance.

29 other teams had no idea what they were getting with him based on his NHL experience. The reward for you guys could be ridiculously high here.

Agreed. Thanks for the insight!

 

[VanJack]

Pouliot had a nice little stat line last night, I see. I've been a fan of his since junior; his issues on defense are largely overblown because he had a slew of bad luck where every little mistake ended up in the back of the net for him. Did you guys like what you saw last night?

One thing to keep an eye on is that he's a possession monster. Pens fans used to use him as an example of why advanced stats were bunk. Given a proper chance, I think he's a top four defenseman with a fantastic impact on the possession game.

And Patrick Weircioch was also a darling of the analytics and possession-stat crowd.....but couldn't crack the Canucks blueline.....some of those stats are pretty meaningless unfortunately.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

He was very average last night and did little good or bad. All things considered it was a solid first effort.

Agreed,..I didn't notice him too much,which is a somewhat backhanded compliment...Hopefully,he gets his swagger back,so we can see what he's really capable of..

 

[Breakers]

I HATE this way of thinking. Ohhh he was an 8th overall pick. From this quote Benning believes draft position actually makes you a better player.

 

[Dissonance Jr]

"Pedigree" is easily one of the dumbest terms in hockey.

 

[MS]

I HATE this way of thinking. Ohhh he was an 8th overall pick. From this quote Benning believes draft position actually makes you a better player.

Again : there is zero evidence that being a high draft pick means anything when you can't crack the NHL 5 seasons after being drafted, and in fact it's probably a negative because it means you couldn't make it in spite of being gifted the multitude of opportunities that come with being a top-10 pick.

It's just completely wrong logic.

 

[Breakers]

"Pedigree" is one of the dumbest terms in hockey.

He comes from that prestigious 8th overall pedigree.

 

[TeddyBare]

Again : there is zero evidence that being a high draft pick means anything.
It's just completely wrong logic.

I remember Steve Yzerman and Ron Francis were interviewed by NHL.com as both were 4th overall picks and now GM's.
They asked what they have learned from the draft after all these years being around the NHL. Steve Yzerman told a story about after he was drafted he went running up to his dad and said something like "I went 4th overall, I was the 4th best player chosen" or something like that. His dad responded by saying "So".

He said it was the one of the biggest A-Ha moments of his career. As his dad said right there you aren't any better than any of the other hundreds of kids chosen in the draft, but you can be.
He finished by saying draft position means absolutely nothing, it just means a team likes you more.

Benning should try and grasp something alone those lines.

 

[Jyrki21]

I mean, that's kind of the opposite extreme... if I went 4th overall in the draft of the world's top-level league of the sport I played, and my Dad was that apathetic, I don't know that I'd want to hang around him much. And it also is a pretty good indicator of likely future success, frankly.

 

[I in the Eye]

Dad... I went 4th overall!!!
So... I have 5000 posts on hfboards.

 

[Breakers]

I remember Steve Yzerman and Ron Francis were interviewed by NHL.com as both were 4th overall picks and now GM's.
They asked what they have learned from the draft after all these years being around the NHL. Steve Yzerman told a story about after he was drafted he went running up to his dad and said something like "I went 4th overall, I was the 4th best player chosen" or something like that. His dad responded by saying "So".

He said it was the one of the biggest A-Ha moments of his career. As his dad said right there you aren't any better than any of the other hundreds of kids chosen in the draft, but you can be.
He finished by saying draft position means absolutely nothing, it just means a team likes you more.

Benning should try and grasp something alone those lines.

Thats some tough love.
Ray Ferraro had a theory he uses when analyzing trades. I don't remember his words exactly, but he said if a GM ever uses........ 'so and so was drafted __ overall' as a primary reason for making the trade. More often then not that GM lost that trade.

 

[VanillaCoke]

I HATE this way of thinking. Ohhh he was an 8th overall pick. From this quote Benning believes draft position actually makes you a better player.

 

[Hodgy]

Jim Benning continues to demonstrate that he is incapable of basic rational/logical analysis. We see this in the trend of moves he makes. Whether dumping picks for former first or second round picks that are nearing waiver eligibility, or attempting to compete based on a misunderstanding of simple probabilities. The fact that some people think this man is fit to be a general manager is quite frankly beyond me.

 

[PG Canuck]

I mean, that's kind of the opposite extreme... if I went 4th overall in the draft of the world's top-level league of the sport I played, and my Dad was that apathetic, I don't know that I'd want to hang around him much. And it also is a pretty good indicator of likely future success, frankly.

Some people are just soft, some aren't. If I was told that, it would bring me back down to reality and learn not to expect to be great in the NHL. Just because you're drafted, doesn't mean the work is over - it hasn't even begun.

 

[wavaxa2]

I have to wonder if Gagner's awesome pedigree of being picked 6th overall ten years ago played a part in his signing.

 

[VanJack]

And Griffin Reinhart was a fourth overall pick, who's now on his third team after being plucked in the expansion draft.....and they've got to be a little queasy in Edmonton considering they gave up the 16th and 33rd picks in the 2015 entry draft, which the Isles used to draft Mathew Barzal...you think Chiarelli might want that deal back?

But it's just a reality that high first round picks command a premium in the marketplace no matter how their career has tracked.

 

[y2kcanucks]

Nail Yakupov was a 1st overall pick and Benning had zero interest in him for free as a UFA....just saying.

 

[Uhmkay]

He couldn't find a way to lose a mid to late round pick when trying to sign Yakupov.

 

[MS]

I have to wonder if Gagner's awesome pedigree of being picked 6th overall ten years ago played a part in his signing.

Probably.

Someone posted a list here a few weeks ago noting the abnormal amount of #1 picks on the team this season, and pretty much every offseason acquisition this summer (Vanek, Gagner, Del Zotto, Burmistrov) was a 'high-pedigree' former #1 draft pick. Same with Gudbranson last year and Sutter the year before.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Wow that's true - there are 14 first round picks on the roster! Plus Goldobin in Utica.

That's more than the 13 on the roster back in 2010-11, which was a lot at the time.

 

[canuckfan75]

He had a very nice 1st period