Hard not to be pumped about the two young Euro de-men picked in the third and seventh rounds. Jurmo and Persson are 6'4" and 6'3" d-men who are already superior skaters and can transition the puck by rushing it out of their own zone. Both guys will play at well-over 200 pounds when they turn pro. It'll be fascinating to monitor Persson's development just up the highway in Kamloops but with the news today, that he's made the Swedish WJC team, we'll also be able to watch him over the holiday season in the World Jr. showcase.
Big d-men who can skate and create offense from the back end aren't supposed to be still on the board that late in the draft. I suspect if hockey hadn't ground to a complete halt in March, they probably wouldn't have been available to the Canucks. The fact that they played in Europe with all the playoffs and international tournaments cancelled, probably had them flying under the radar.
But if either guy works out, it's a huge bonus for the Canucks. Suddenly the blueline, which was a position of weakness in prospect pool, becomes a strength going forward.
Actually, we have quite a mixed bag on D prospects.
This year Edler Hughes Myers Schmidt as our top 4. Benn Rathbone Rafferty and Juolevi fighting it out for the next 4 spots.
Next we will likely (hopefully) have Tryamkin added to the mix. If so, Edler might be done, unless he takes a serious pay cut.
But we then have Woo, Utanen, Jurmo, Truscott and Persson in the system. And a few others. But they all seem to be trending well.
Interesting mix, 3 smallish puck moving d men Rafferty Rathbone and Hughes. then some big boys in Tryamkin, Juolevi and the 3 this year. And of course Myers. Mid size with schmidt Woo etc.