Post-Game Talk: 2017 NHL Draft | III

[PhilMick]

'what could be so damning?' *says chytil to self* 'ohhh'

Lol I kept expecting them to talk about like, what they got up to at the bar last night or some other rowdy ex player stories.

 

[arttk]

Brackett interview on 1040:

Dahlen and Pettersson chemistry was factor in decision over Glass, but not the deciding factor/tipping point.

Pettersson has capacity to grow muscle wise into that NHL body he'll need.

On Reunification of players: Not purely coincidental, but not something they set out to do re(Gadjovich/Palmu)

Gadjovich/Lind: Both had tremendous years and Lind was easy for them to eye at 33.

Gadjovich net front presence and way he opens up ice is fantastic.Don't see Gadjovich skating as a issue and he'll be working on it.

DiPietro: Proven Winner, hard worker and tremendous Athletism. May not be the conventional 6'0 + goalie, but they like him.

Rathbone: Brackett has known him for awhile and didn't have to travel far to see him. Had a eye on him.

Gunarsson: He's defensive orientated as the guy who stays back and punishes players and has jam to him. Very strong world Juniors in their minds.

Palmu: Overlooked height and his play shows for itself.

Brassard: His willingness to shoot was something they liked. Identified him last year and continued to track him. Top 3 in shots taken.

Interviews were a big part of the selections. All of them came across as strong interviews when meeting them.

Surprised that Brassard is an analytics pick.

 

[thepuckmonster]

I have to say that Brackett is so relieving to have running things it seems. I don't have that constant feeling of utter dread like I did previously.

 

[Zombotron]

We're gonna close this up with some retrospective:

June 28th, 2016:

Looking forward to losing the lottery again....

At least you were ready.

Hopefully we have more than five picks for this one. Already missing a 6th and either a 4th or 5th.

Merry Christmas.

Wanted:

1. An elite #1C Henrik replacement
2. or a right-side high-IQ offensive defenseman
3. and if we can't have nice things, then first-line forwards of any position, please and thanks

Got my wish.

I don't see a second consecutive top-5 pick this year. I think we'll finish with a pick in the 8 to 10 range

In your face, idiot.

I wouldn't get excited about Rasmussen just yet, he only has 4 even strength points, 6 of his goals are on the PP, and all of his assists so far are from the PP.

I'm always weary of junior players only producing on the PP and have a huge discrepancy between goals and assists.

I wouldn't get excited about Rasmussen just yet, he only has 4 even strength points, 6 of his goals are on the PP, and all of his assists so far are from the PP.

I'm always weary of junior players only producing on the PP and have a huge discrepancy between goals and assists.

Rasmussen is the LAST person this team should be selecting.


All he does is stand in front of the net on the power-play

This team needs someone who can create offense.

Good call.



October 21st:

Cody Glass of the Portland Winterhawks is someone who I think will rise up the rankings. 19 points in 12 WHL this year. Very clever player in the offensive zone with a knack for finding his linemates and giving crisp passes. Not afraid of contact either, but he could definitely benefit from putting on a few more pounds. He's not a speedster by any stretch of the imagination, but with a decent frame and great brain, I don't think it'll drag him down. In terms of Canuck comparables, he kinda reminds me of a quicker Bonino in the offensive zone minus the lethal wrist shot that Bones brought to the table.

$$$$$$


November 23rd:

Hischier appears to be the big prize so far. Should be setting our sights on him but expecting the likes of Patrick, Liljegren, Vilardi etc. as that's who were more likely to end up with. Not at all complaning about that though.

December 1st:

Keep your eye out as a possible 2nd round pick from Owen Sound Jonah Gadavich

Big Strong Tough LW who has shown some good touch around the net

December 10th:

I think Vilardi will drop out of the top 3. The times I watched him he really doesn't stand out at all. Relies too much on Brown to get him the puck it seems. When you are watching prospects when you have to look for them on the ice instead of noticing them immediately it's usually not a very good sign.

For the canucks I think it's better we focus on players that are electric. We need players who can drive offense and make a difference when you are on the ice, not players who sit back and let the offense come to them.

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In November, McKeens had Hischier at #1, and ranked Gabriel Vilardi in the teens:

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Some things to dwell on:

• The Liljegren hype train, to start
• Rasmussen being talked up a great deal by JetsAlternate, and validating that attention with a four-goal season opener
• Discussion of Vesalainen as a potential top-ten pick
• Comtois's collapse in the rankings
• Nikita Popugaev having a very strong start to the season, only to deflate after being traded to PG

 

[WTG]

Ehhhhhhh look at me, correctly guessing that Vilardi would not go top 3 all the way back in December.

Ask me what the winning lottery numbers are, I can't be stopped.

 

[JA]

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In November, McKeens had Hischier at #1, and ranked Gabriel Vilardi in the teens:

As bold as McCagg was to rank Hischier #1 in November, he was not sincere about his beliefs. He pushed Hischier down two spots only a few weeks later after a few average performances.

I think I had a few heated discussions with others at that time about Hischier and Patrick. November was when Nico's play exceeded anything I had seen of Patrick up to that point.

11-23-2016, 03:35 AM

I am convinced now that Nico Hischier is the player that the Canucks need. The 6'1'' 176 lbs center has 16 goals, 17 assists, 33 points in his last 14 games. He had a very slow start, but has elevated his game to incredible heights since then. So far, he has 19 goals, 22 assists, 41 points in 24 games. I think it took a while for Hischier to become acclimated to the QMJHL, but he has since been spectacular.

...

He is the highest-scoring draft-eligible prospect of the past month, surging above all other prospects on the scoring chart. No other 2017 draft-eligible prospect has elevated his game to the same level as Hischier has this month.

If he continues to play as he has, he will be the unanimous choice for first overall. None of the other top contenders will match his point totals this year due to injuries, and if Nico plays all season like he did this past month, he will be the popular choice for first overall. He probably won't need to play at that level all season to be the first overall selection.

...

11-30-2016, 10:31 AM

I actually have Nico Hischier ranked ahead of both of them.

He is explosive, although he is also a patient, sneaky player. He lurks, and is an east-west type with incredible agility and acceleration. He is the best skater of the draft class and has high upside. He doesn't often accelerate up to top speed upon receiving the puck and thus he doesn't seem as fast as he really is; he will instead use his acceleration to surprise the opposition and create distance; on the defensive side of the game, he'll accelerate to close distance. He manages his speed well, and plays at various different speeds. He is a smart skater. Unlike players who gallop up the ice at every opportunity, he is selective about when to hit top speed. He only needs four strides.

Patrick Kane has terrific acceleration and agility, but he lacks top speed. Hischier not only has better acceleration, but better top speed. He can pull away more quickly than Kane can. He is extremely elusive, and I imagine him being very difficult for the opposition to contain. I've previously said that Kane is the closest thing to Pavel Bure (at least, pre-injury Bure) in the league in terms of style of play.

There is lots of subtlety in his game. I believe that smart skaters are the most difficult to play against because they're impossible to read.

Nico Hischier plays that same style, and I think he's closer to Bure in style than Kane is. For the record, coaches have thought to place Kane and Bure at center because of their roaming style, their preference to play the entire zone, and their tendency to stay behind the play and quarterback the offense. Of course, faceoffs are a different issue. Hischier does the same things.

I think he is the best player in this draft class.

The culmination of my research into the topic can be found here: http://forum.canucks.com/topic/380199-nhl-entry-draft-2017-nico-hischier-the-challenger-for-first-overall-plus-a-detailed-analysis-nico-hischier-vs-nolan-patrick/

I love this post by Josepho from December 1, 2016:

On the topic of 2nd rounders, one guy who would be appealing to me would be Kole Lind (who somehow wasn't even ranked on Button's list) of the Kelowna Rockets.

He's already above 6'0" and 180 Pounds. He has that same sort of offensive versatility that Boeser has, along with a similar shot (Boeser with a better wrister, Kole with a better slapper). He isn't just a sniper either, the guy sees the ice well and gets his fair share of assists. He isn't exactly a speedster (not slow by any stretch of the imagination either), but he holds his own and is quite difficult to take off the puck.

Lind is currently 2nd in 5v5 PrimaryPoints/60 amongst (1st year) draft eligible forwards (with a minimum of 10 games played) from the WHL.

This is someone who I'd much rather have than Gadjovich, though he definitely could be gone before our pick, which is probably somewhere in the 32-37 range. I won't get my hopes up though, it's not like the Canucks are known for finding gems out of the WHL and they seem to loathe the idea of having two similar prospects in the pipeline.

The 2017 NHL Draft was fun to follow.

We now move on to the 2018 draft class.