Prospect Info: 192nd overall: Vancouver selects Matthew Thiessen (G, University of Maine commit)

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[Josepho]

...Okay?

not downright terrible but so many meh picks

 

[Tim Calhoun]

He won't play for Maine until 2019-2020. This is a very long term project.

 

[MS]

This is a really, really, really long-term project. Probably won't play a pro game until 2023.

Impossible to comment on, really. Was higher-ranked than this by some sources and the #4 NA goalie by CSS.

 

[F A N]

Ranked 4th among NA goalies and 5th best goalie in the draft.

He won't play for Maine until 2019-2020. This is a very long term project.

That's fine. The Canucks essentially will have 5 years to decide whether to sign him or not and when they do it will be like a 1 year ELC.

 

[VancouverJagger]

Don't mind at all the Canucks taking a long term project with this pick - especially a goalie.

Really like our consistency in drafting goalies semi regularly the last few years

 

[StreetHawk]

This is a really, really, really long-term project. Probably won't play a pro game until 2023.

Impossible to comment on, really. Was higher-ranked than this by some sources and the #4 NA goalie by CSS.

Not really an issue given that it's better to have some space between goalies and when they get to the AHL level.

Demko can either play in the NHL this year or head back to the AHL for year 2. Depends on his performance at camp.

But, he should be out of the AHL when Dipietro arrives in 19-20 season. And he'll have 2-3 years to develop in the A before the Canucks even offer Thiessen a contract.

Always want to give a goalie 2 full years in the AHL before another young guy shows up. Even if Thiessen did play at Maine in 18-19, I'd probably leave him there until he completed his junior year. That would give Dipietro 2 full AHL seasons under his belt. And that's even if Thiessen deserves an NHL contract. I wouldn't expect the Canucks to grab a goalie in 2019 draft.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Matthew Thiessen is one of my underrated goalies of the draft. He's a guy that has the potential to go from long, long term project to out of the NCAA in two years. At the very least his potential is worth the wait. Here's part of the write-up done on him as part of my rankings where he finished 12th:

One of the most attractive parts of Thiessen’s game is he has an average pro frame and he knows how to use it. He’s not just a technical goalie but he’s able to integrate his hockey IQ and physical skills into his game to make him a better all-around goalie. With this type of play style Thiessen likes to have his legs low and wide in order to be able to activate his edges quicker but keeps his upper body tall to take up the top part of the net. His technical skills in particular are high end showing up in many aspects of his game. Starting with his post play he moves efficiently post-to-post and is able to integrate quickly. There are times where he goes into the RVH a little too early but for the most part he’s very solid all-around on his behind-the-net play including his ability to track the puck in these situations. Thiessen’s technical ability is also apparent when he moves around the crease. Whether it’s on his feet or he’s on his knees Thiessen keeps his form tightly together in an impressive way. The only moments where his form noticeably falls apart is on passes that cross the royal road. When it comes to playing the puck he likes to play the puck a lot and has the decision making to ensure the puck ends up out of dangerous situations.

When it comes to the physical skill department Thiessen has a solid base. He understands and applies the mechanics necessary to get around the crease efficiently whether it’s using his footwork or using his edge work. What he lacks is the strength and refinement that makes him average at being quick around the crease compared to his age group. He’s able to get away with it right now because his positioning is very good and he keeps himself from being too aggressive but will need to keep working on his physical skills in order to make an impact at the higher levels of hockey. Another aspect of his game that Thiessen will need to keep working on as he climbs the hockey ladder is in his puck tracking. Generally he did well in tracking the puck around the ice however there were noticeable times where if a quick pass occurred behind any sort of screen (whether very light to heavy) he’d lose track of and react by going to his knees early. This hurts Thiessen because he’s not quick enough to recover immediately and ends up behind the play.

Analytically Thiessen showed up strong because of his shot tracking. If Thiessen can see the puck he’s highly capable of delivering a high impact through his rebound control. On low danger pass situations he’s below average in his impact for the reasons mentioned above. On low danger clear shot situations he’s high above average in his impact and even in all high danger shot situations Thiessen posts an above average impact. This is because Thiessen’s shot tracking is at a level high enough that he’s able to make an active save selection more often than not.

 

[M2Beezy]

Hope he pans out.

Yeah me too

Guess its good to have goalies in case somehow Demko AND Dipi both dont make it (unlikely as hell tho)

 

[Hammer Slammer]

Here's a look at him from April

Matthew Thiessen vs Virden | Apr 21 2018

 

[VanJack]

Fourth ranked goalie according to Central Scouting....so not bad to take a flyer in later rounds I guess...and will spend three years in the NCAA so the Canucks will have lots of time to make a decision on him. But parked behind Demko and DiPietro in the prospect pool, just hard to see the future for him.

 

[Carl Carlson]

Hope he pans out.

 

[Chubros]

Whoa, looks like this kid could turn out to be the next Alfie Michaud!!!

Jason Botchford: Did Canucks ‘steal’ their goalie of the future in Dallas draft?

 

[alternate]

I do like the drafting strategy with goalies. When they offer good draft value, take it.

 

[Melvin]

Wasted pick

 

[Hammer79]

I don't mind adding some goaltending depth in the 7th round.

 

[Kel Varnson]

Wasted pick

It's a 7th round pick. Nothing wrong with taking a flyer on a developmental goalie. Our 4th round pick was a wasted pick.

 

[M2Beezy]

It's a 7th round pick. Nothing wrong with taking a flyer on a developmental goalie. Our 4th round pick was a wasted pick.

Utunen? Seems like a steal pal

 

[Chubros]

Wasted pick

I enjoyed your potato drafting work. You should make it account for goalies to substantiate/ disprove this claim.

 

[THE Green Man]

Utunen? Seems like a steal pal

That was the 5th. The 4th was Pouliot when we could have redrafted Mascherin

 

[Melvin]

I enjoyed your potato drafting work. You should make it account for goalies to substantiate/ disprove this claim.

It already does by ignoring them.

If I were to draft a goalie, it would probably be a 22 year old one like Fredrik Andersen. Trying to project goalies six years out is a fool's errand.

 

[VanJack]

Thiessen is really 'a long way out'....apparently he'll spend next season in the USHL before he ever gets to Maine, so likely 3-4 seasons before the Canucks even have to make a decision on him. The goalie equivalent of "Jack Rathbone'.

 

[Lindgren]

I like the pick a lot. Obviously it's difficult to project his future with any certainty, but the same is true of all players taken so late. I think he's a good bet to progress.

 

[F A N]

Thiessen is really 'a long way out'....apparently he'll spend next season in the USHL before he ever gets to Maine, so likely 3-4 seasons before the Canucks even have to make a decision on him. The goalie equivalent of "Jack Rathbone'.

There are some teams like Detroit and San Jose who use be really successful at drafting Europeans in the later rounds and have them develop over there for years before coming to North America to play in the AHL. Obviously Thiessen isn't European but he will have time to develop or be fast tracked if his development curve shoots straight up.

 

[StreetHawk]

In terms of drafting goalies, you don’t want to be looking for them if you don’t have one in the nhl level, al the isles. You’re screwed.

If you have a #1 guy like helly, Jones , vasilevski, etc in their 20’S you only need to use late round picks to take one of you feel that they offer value.

Once your top guy hits age 30, you need to determine if you have a legit possible replacement on the radar. Rangers, panthers, predators, sens, flames fall into this group where their guy is past age 35. Preds seem set with sarros. Calgary hoping for Gillies. If you don’t have your guy you need to think about using your 2nd rounder to take he best goalie in the draft. Don’t leave it until the last minute cause it will take 4 years for the kid to be a backup them another 2 to take the top job. So, 6 years out.

In the Canucks case hey have demko and DiPietro. So they are in good shape. So, taking a flyer isn’t a bad thing. A duo of D and D isn’t going to last long anyways. If both are nhlers one will get moved out by the time DiPietro is 25.

 

[Get North]

I feel like goalies are really useful value-wise. I remember we had Schneider, Luongo, and Lack. We got a lot for Schnieder and we still had a starting goalie. If you have a surplus of talented goalies, I feel like you can use that to trade for more valuable pieces in other parts of the line-up.

Look at the Rangers, they traded Talbot for a 2nd, 3rd, and a 7th. The Rangers signed Talbot as a UFA 8 years ago. You can get a top 20 goalie in the draft in the 6th or 7th round which is great value compared to a long shot forward.

 

[Bitz and Bites]

Fourth ranked goalie according to Central Scouting....so not bad to take a flyer in later rounds I guess...and will spend three years in the NCAA so the Canucks will have lots of time to make a decision on him. But parked behind Demko and DiPietro in the prospect pool, just hard to see the future for him.

Having too many good goalies is a good problem to have.Say Demko does become our #1 guy going forward then DiPietro can take his spot in Utica and work towards becoming the number one G there until he’s ready for the show:If he shows that he’s a capable NHLer and Thiessen is killing it in the AHL,then he’s tradeable ala Jones or Talbot for a first or a package of picks and Thiessen becomes the new backup and the next prospect starts his AHL journey.In the meantime,you have good organizational depth in case of injuries and have a non-vet player on your AHL team.

 

[Chubros]

It already does by ignoring them.

If I were to draft a goalie, it would probably be a 22 year old one like Fredrik Andersen. Trying to project goalies six years out is a fool's errand.

So you're saying that your system accurately accounts for the value of drafting goalies because there is actually zero value in drafting a goaltender.

Carey Price, Fleury, and Luongo all went really high and are still decent looking picks in hindsight. Rask, Dubnyk, Vasilevskiy, and Schneider are also 1st round picks. That's pretty much a quarter of the league's starters last year - all drafted in the 1st round.

Now I'm not necessarily advocating drafting goalies in the first round, but it seems to me that drafting goalies can provide good value - especially if you hit on a good one in a later round.

I'm sure it would be hard to come up with a system that ranks relative value of goalies and skaters together. But it seems like something an efficient potato would do.

 

[Tryamkin]

This is a great pick up in the 7th. He was ranked 6th among my top goalies. I’m the 7th round you want players like these that could surprise you as a long term project. If he looks decent when his rights expire then throw him a contract, if not then who cares? We already have Demko and DiPietro so there’s no pressure.

 

[StreetHawk]

So you're saying that your system accurately accounts for the value of drafting goalies because there is actually zero value in drafting a goaltender.

Carey Price, Fleury, and Luongo all went really high and are still decent looking picks in hindsight. Rask, Dubnyk, Vasilevskiy, and Schneider are also 1st round picks. That's pretty much a quarter of the league's starters last year - all drafted in the 1st round.

Now I'm not necessarily advocating drafting goalies in the first round, but it seems to me that drafting goalies can provide good value - especially if you hit on a good one in a later round.

I'm sure it would be hard to come up with a system that ranks relative value of goalies and skaters together. But it seems like something an efficient potato would do.

If you have an established #1 guy right now, you don't need to spend a high pick to find a goalie. Take guys in the later rounds and hope you find something. But, that's only based on your goalie's age. Once your guy hits 30, you need to assess what you have in the organization and whether you really believe one of the guys you took in the later rounds appears to have the stuff to be your future #1. If not, then you need to really consider using a higher pick, like round 2 to grab one of the best guys in the draft. Don't wait until your #1 guy is 34 to begin the search for the replacement. Generally takes close to 6 years for a kid to be #1 ready, and then you have a 40 year old starter.

Canucks, if all goes well everyone plays well, are set in nets. Don't need to be using any picks earlier than round 5 to draft a goalie for a few years.

Canucks were wise to double down with Dipietro, just in case.

Broissant was the only guy in the Oiler's system and now he's a free agent and basically done. They went out and traded for Talbot who has had an ok season, amazing season, then a terrible season for the Oilers. This is make or break for him to show the Oilers whether he's still their guy moving forward or not. If you put all of your eggs in 1 prospect's basket and he busts, you are screwed.

 

[Melvin]

So you're saying that your system accurately accounts for the value of drafting goalies because there is actually zero value in drafting a goaltender.

Carey Price, Fleury, and Luongo all went really high and are still decent looking picks in hindsight. Rask, Dubnyk, Vasilevskiy, and Schneider are also 1st round picks. That's pretty much a quarter of the league's starters last year - all drafted in the 1st round.

Now I'm not necessarily advocating drafting goalies in the first round, but it seems to me that drafting goalies can provide good value - especially if you hit on a good one in a later round.

I'm sure it would be hard to come up with a system that ranks relative value of goalies and skaters together. But it seems like something an efficient potato would do.

This really isn't about drafting for me, and more about my belief that goalies basically have no value, and even at the NHL level I do not care about them very much at all. I think that about 90% of the goalies in the league are completely inter-changeable and what is perceived as good performance is more a function of the team, system and random noise.