2021 NHL Draft Thread

[604]

The narrative that Hughes was 100% without a doubt the BPA is not true at all. The “OMG HOW DID HE FALL TO 7th???” Came well after he was drafted.

There simply wasn’t a consensus between Dobson, Bouchard, Hughes, and Boqvist at the time of the draft.

Hughes was generally rated higher than the rest. Also, all the players you named are defenseman. How would drafting any of them change the "drafting for need" vs "BPA" perspective?

I'd say Juolevi and Virtanen we're both a bit off the board, but in Virtanen's case, the other BPA options were all forwards, so that's just bad scouting, and Petterson was a choice between him and Glass, who are both centres.

I think Juolevi is the only one that seems like drafting for need but it actually seems the guys thought he was BPA, so likely just bad scouting again.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Respectfully disagree. Bob McKenzie's final rankings have Podkolzin at #8. There is no reason to believe the Canucks didn't have him ranked similarly. You can argue BPA in hindsight but at the time it couldn't be argued otherwise with certainty.

Oh fair enough. Idk about consensus rankings, I didnt like pod at 10 and I recall not being the only one.

Hopefully he ends up being a top 6er, I think well see several other players drafted after him be much better.

 

[JohnHodgson]

The narrative that Hughes was 100% without a doubt the BPA is not true at all. The “OMG HOW DID HE FALL TO 7th???” Came well after he was drafted.

There simply wasn’t a consensus between Dobson, Bouchard, Hughes, and Boqvist at the time of the draft.

This is completely incorrect. Nobody even talked about Hughes at the draft because nobody would think he would drop to the Canucks.

It was always Boqvist, Bouchard, and Dobson.

 

[lawrence]

Based on pre-draft rankings Pods was pretty much consensus at the spot we picked based on who was remaining.

according to insider sources, Flyers wouldn't have traded their 11th pick if Podkolzin was still there. He was the last player of a set "tier"

 

[Fedz]

Oh fair enough. Idk about consensus rankings, I didnt like pod at 10 and I recall not being the only one.

Hopefully he ends up being a top 6er, I think well see several other players drafted after him be much better.

Like Hoglander? Again, not a Benning fan but don't think we can critique their 2019 draft whatsoever at this point.

For conversation sake though, who do you think those F's are? Obviously one could argue for Caufield (I had hoped for Caufield when Zegras went to Anaheim) but I see Podkolzin being a more influential player in May and June.

I could see a legitimate argument for Newhook (mostly due to league) or Krebs (partly due to injury) as well but lets be honest, those definitely would have been a reach and certainly not BPA at the Canucks pick.

 

[Love]

This is completely incorrect. Nobody even talked about Hughes at the draft because nobody would think he would drop to the Canucks.

It was always Boqvist, Bouchard, and Dobson.

Hughes was generally rated higher than the rest.

Wrong. Here’s Bob McKenzie’s list which collaborates the consensus among the scouting community (and has Hughes 3rd among the 4 defenceman): Kotkaniemi surges into top five of TSN Draft Ranking - TSN.ca

Again, the “how did he fall to 7th???” idea is a made up narrative from the Vancouver fans and media. It was never a thing pre-draft. It’s hard to be surprised about a guy “falling” to 7th when scouts ranked him 8th.

 

[Canucks LB]

Can somebody try to make a "Tier List"
For the draft this year?

For example.
1-2-----3-----4--5-6--- etc

 

[lawrence]

for me its the usual suspects right now

Beniers
Clarke
Powers
Hughes
Guenther
Evidsson
Eklund
Johnson

that's batch one for me. Although I don't really like Evidsson his skill set is very good, he's 6'4 flies with high speed with the puck but at times questionable decision making scares me. I will be quite happy if we make it out of draft day 1 with anyone on this list except for Evidsson.

 

[604]

Wrong. Here’s Bob McKenzie’s list which collaborates the consensus among the scouting community (and has Hughes 3rd among the 4 defenceman): Kotkaniemi surges into top five of TSN Draft Ranking - TSN.ca

Again, the “how did he fall to 7th???” idea is a made up narrative from the Vancouver fans and media. It was never a thing pre-draft. It’s hard to be surprised about a guy “falling” to 7th when scouts ranked him 8th.

2018 NHL Draft Rankings

ESPN had him 5
Dobber 3
Mackeen 6
Craig Button 6
ISS 7
Pronman 5
Future Considerations 6
The Athletic 5

There were certainly some sources that had him after our pick but there was a lot that had him above our pick.

The general thinking was that DET was definitely going to take him before us as he had links to the team.

Fans on here generally liked him or Dobson but it seemed likely that Hughes would be gone to Detroit so Dobson was who our board settled on.

I don't think it was completely shocking that Hughes was available but certainly it was a bit of surprise given the pre-draft thought that Detroit was going to take him.

 

[JimmyJiveJones]

Wrong. Here’s Bob McKenzie’s list which collaborates the consensus among the scouting community (and has Hughes 3rd among the 4 defenceman): Kotkaniemi surges into top five of TSN Draft Ranking - TSN.ca

Again, the “how did he fall to 7th???” idea is a made up narrative from the Vancouver fans and media. It was never a thing pre-draft. It’s hard to be surprised about a guy “falling” to 7th when scouts ranked him 8th.

I was listening to the draft live on the radio and the hosts were ecstatic that we were able to draft Hughes at #7 cause of what Montreal, Arizona and Detroit did. The "how did he fall to 7th" thing, i heard that at the time he was drafted, the day after and days after that. Not "well after he was drafted" which u say. Everyone thought there was no way Detroit was gonna pass on him cause he was playing in their backyard but then Arizona went off the board and drafted Hayton. Detroit thought they had no choice but to draft who they thought was the BPA in Zadina.

But who is the BPA? Who decides this? Every credible ranking system and all 31 teams all have it different. And in the Canucks mind, Hughes was the BPA which also met an organizational need.

 

[JohnHodgson]

I was listening to the draft live on the radio and the hosts were ecstatic that we were able to draft Hughes at #7 cause of what Montreal, Arizona and Detroit did. The "how did he fall to 7th" thing, i heard that at the time he was drafted, the day after and days after that. Not "well after he was drafted" which u say. Everyone thought there was no way Detroit was gonna pass on him cause he was playing in their backyard but then Arizona went off the board and drafted Hayton. Detroit thought they had no choice but to draft who they thought was the BPA in Zadina.

But who is the BPA? Who decides this? Every credible ranking system and all 31 teams all have it different. And in the Canucks mind, Hughes was the BPA which also met an organizational need.

This guy clearly was not watching the draft...or even a Canucks fan at that point. When Hayton’s went at 5 to Arizona, everybody was shocked. Everyone was ecstatic we would have one of Zadina or Hughes.

 

[TraderJim]

I also recall the general consensus at the time that Hughes was a slam dunk. I would say it was the least disagreed with choice in the Benning era. Hoglander was also well received at the time.

 

[JohnHodgson]

I also recall the general consensus at the time that Hughes was a slam dunk. I would say it was the least disagreed with choice in the Benning era. Hoglander was also well received at the time.

He was a slam dunk pick. I give very little credit to Jim for selecting him.

Petey was the pick you can give credit for. I myself had Tkachuk, Nylander, Glass and Hughes - way better than what we have today. And I’m just a random dude on the internet.

 

[Petey O]

He was a slam dunk pick. I give very little credit to Jim for selecting him.

Petey was the pick you can give credit for. I myself had Tkachuk, Nylander, Glass and Hughes - way better than what we have today. And I’m just a random dude on the internet.

Honestly, Cody Glass instead of Elias wouldn't have been too bad. I like Elias more as a player, but I think Glass is going to be a phenomenal two way player. I think he'll end up as one of those guys that contends for the Selke nearly every season.

Not as offensively dynamic as Elias, not even close, but he wouldn't have been a disaster pick at #5. He's taking more time than his peers, but he's going to be a class player. A ROR or Sean Couturier tier career is not out of the question for him.

 

[Canucks LB]

Any player that is Tough but can Skate well with decent offensive upside?

 

[HockeyWooot]

Like Hoglander? Again, not a Benning fan but don't think we can critique their 2019 draft whatsoever at this point.

For conversation sake though, who do you think those F's are? Obviously one could argue for Caufield (I had hoped for Caufield when Zegras went to Anaheim) but I see Podkolzin being a more influential player in May and June.

I could see a legitimate argument for Newhook (mostly due to league) or Krebs (partly due to injury) as well but lets be honest, those definitely would have been a reach and certainly not BPA at the Canucks pick.

I was partial to Newhook myself, but am happy with the Pod pick. He’s gonna be a good one

 

[sting101]

Can somebody try to make a "Tier List"
For the draft this year?

For example.
1-2-----3-----4--5-6--- etc

this is mine so far

Clarke
Eklund
Hughes

Power
Beniers

Lambos
McTavish
Guenther

Cuelemans
Svechkov
Coronato
Johnson
L'Heureux

 

[HockeyWooot]

We are down to bottom 6 in p%, so we are going to get another high pick.

My head says pick a bhig prototypical #1 d man type like Powers or Edvinsson, but offensive talent is way more exciting. Willian Eklund could be available to the Canucks and he is a highly skilled left winger and center. Even before his draft, he is already playing at the SHL level, and contributing lots of offense - 11 goals 12 assists in 40 games, and 2 points in 3 play-off games. Not a big guy, but strong.

Yes, if he’s there I think we take him. While there will be some good D at the top end of the draft, I smell a few duds coming up.

 

[HockeyWooot]

Canucks desperately need to draft a stud blueliner. When you take stock of the current group, the future looks bleak.

Edler is done....Myers can only go downhill from here on in....Hamonic is a UFA, and Schmidt is trade-bait imo. Hughes is virtually the only quality d-man they have, and he's coming off a rough season. Rathbone is still a rookie and Madison Bowey isn't NHL material.

Really makes you realize how devastating it was for the Canucks to make a complete whiff of the 2016 draft with Juloevi. Normally a fifth overall pick would be a staple in your top-four by now.

So I'd settle for one of Powers, Clarke, Edvinsson or even Luke Hughes.

I agree that we have a dearth of quality young dmen, or even vet deem for that matter.

Ultimately it’s got to be BPA. Perhaps the scouting team will view one as such when we draft, should one be available where we pick.

Dmen at 18 can be harder to project than forwards. While drafting has come along way from the past, it’s still not a perfect science.

In the last decade there are a number of top-10 drafted dmen that didn’t live up to their draft position (Larson, Murray,Reinhart, Pouliot, Koekoek, Fleury, Hanafin, Juolevi).

In this draft, is it case of all the top dmen being legitimate future stars or more so a product of a weaker draft year where there are litte projected top line C/Forward draftees available? (Like 2012)

I suspect several of these top project dmen will go onto to have good careers, though not all will.

There are question marks around the even highly touted Powers and Edvinsson. I don’t think they’re as much a slam dunk prospect as suggested.

 

[4Twenty]

Fully aware this is a highlight pack made to highlight good plays but this is some tantalizing stuff.

 

[HockeyWooot]

Clarke should go 1st overall. Given how this season went though it's tough to say who will go where, but if I had the top pick I'd be taking Clarke.

I'm very high on Ceulemans. He does remind me of Makar, though doesn't have the ceiling that Makar had. I do think he ends up becoming a top 4 defenseman, from the right side, with high offensive potential. If we pick in the bottom half of the top 10 then I would absolutely be happy if we took him. Luke Hughes is another I'm high on, a left shot defenseman, but someone who I think is clearly a top 3 pick.

Very hesitant to take a guy like Owen Power...with these tall players the first red flag to me is are they being overrated because of their size? If they had the exact same skillset would this player still be ranked where he is? I still likely have him in my top 10, but not in my top 5.

I agree on the size point. If you’re an incredible player and you happen to be bigger great, but when size is one of the first 3 points that scouting previews mentions (instead of various elite skills) it does make me nervous.

I also have Clarke ahead of Power.

 

[604]

Can somebody try to make a "Tier List"
For the draft this year?

For example.
1-2-----3-----4--5-6--- etc

Based on scouting reports, not viewings:

1. Power

2. Edvinson
3. Clarke
4. Hughes
5. Berniers
6. Eklund
7. Guenther

8. Johnson


9. Lucius
10. Lysell
11. McTavish

Wildcard (G) Wallstedt

From what I'm seen, people argue about the order within the group's and sometimes a guy like Johnson joins the group above him by being ahead of one guy in the tier above but is almost never in below anyone in the group below.

There does seem to be a top 8 (or 9 if you include Wallstedt) that don't really get rated below the next group very often.

 

[clay]

Evaluating the best player available in this draft isn't such an easy task. There's a real hodgepodge of opinions out there and I would not be surprised to see a few real off the board picks from GMs in the top 15. I generally agree with the BPA rule as the guiding star, but like @clay mentioned, unless a winger is CLEARLY the standout at whichever selection spot, the secondary factor of need can very reasonably tip the scale.

Well said. My take this year is that in general the guys from picks 1 - 12 are all in the same tier. They’re all very solid prospects but no guaranteed home runs.

D: Power, Clarke, Edvinsson, Ceulemans, Hughes

Forward: Beniers, Johnson, Guenther, Eklund, Sillinger, Lucius, McTavish

I think all these guys are great prospects with top pairing/top 6 staple potential. You’re really splitting hairs trying to argue BPA between them. Based on this, would prefer we address a need of RHD or C with the pick.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

I wonder if Power is the Seth Jones of this draft - hyped as 1st overall going in but falls to 4th.

 

[Ita]

My ranking

Beniers
Eklund
Clarke

Power
Hughes
Guenther
Johnson
Edvinsson

IMO we should get a decent player as long as we draft in the top 8, and it would be great if we get one of the top 3.