RW Valeri Nichushkin (2013, 10th overall, Dallas) II

[Lundface*]

Carolina, Buffalo, and especially Vancouver are kicking themselves for not taking him.

He is good with Seguin/Benn but what if he was on the Sedin's wing?

Vancouver wouldn't use a rookie with the twins, or any top line unless they are defensive dynamos.

Switch Kassian and Nichushkin and Kassian would be the one lighting it up on the top line and Nich would be on the 4th line/press box and would have probably booked his flight back to Russia by now.

Not even saying Vancouver is right, but they took the right guy for their organization.

 

[Love]

Carolina, Buffalo, and especially Vancouver are kicking themselves for not taking him.

Have you seen Horvat lately? I know he's in junior but be patient. Do you honestly think any team is kicking themselves 5 months after the draft? (Okay, maybe the bolts for drafting Erne ) Way too early to tell.

 

[dwanmaster*]

No, Edmonton is an abundance of wingers in Hall, Eberle, Yakupov, Perron, etc. We needed a stud d-man prospect and thats what Nurse is.

I'm not saying Nurse is a better talent than Nichushkin but he is a much bigger need in our organization.

stud d-man prospect that can't even make the WJC Preliminary roster?

 

[Jack DiBiase]

I mean the Oilers are probably a little disappointed they didn't take Nich but Nurse's dominance in the OHL is making us feel better about it.

Yeah, I get what you mean. Both seem like good picks.

Looking at Buffalo, they're biggest need is a guy who can put the puck in the net. Their forwards look absolutely horrendous after Vanek and Pominville were shipped out.

Buffalo's biggest need is pretty much everything. But as far as their prospect pool is, they have many quality young forwards, like Armia, Grigorenko, Girgensons. Larsson, but didn't have almost anything for defencemen, before Ristolainen and Zadorov.

 

[MetalGodAOD*]

Buffalo already has streaky sniper guys like Grigorenko and Armia. They much rather need a top dman prospect rather than another streaky sniper.

I don't disagree with you but Nuke plays more of a power forward game than a sniper.

 

[Ryp37]

I'm a low key stars fan so I'm pumped for the kid and Dallas, going to be a beauty trio to watch

Very happy with our pick though not going to be "kicking ourselves" when our guy hasn't even played a game yet

 

[La Bamba]

stud d-man prospect that can't even make the WJC Preliminary roster?

Everyone knows he should have been on the team. Don't kid yourself.

 

[YEGJuniorFan]

stud d-man prospect that can't even make the WJC Preliminary roster?

This has no impact on his ability to be a game changer in the future. See Logan Couture. Most knowledgeable hockey people knew that was a surprising omission. That is not really your arguement is it? Oiler fans and management are more than happy with Nurse.

 

[Woodhouse]

It was certainly a good game for Nichushkin and I'd say he was truly involved in two of the goals -- that'd be numbers three and four. (And I get that four points are four points stat-watchers.)

I felt his first assist was more attributed to the PHI LD pinch and/or Seguin's counter speed than his DZ breakout pass. As for his second assist, I thought he lost the puck more than he left it for Goligoski. On his third assist, I liked how he used his body to separate Hartnell from the puck, but I didn't think he nudged the puck to Seguin and felt he was rewarded with a phantom assist. His goal was a solid wrister from the circle.

[NHL]2013020446-X-h[/NHL]

 

[tsujimoto74]

Au contraire, Nichushkin has just scratched the surface. As I said before the draft, Nichushkin has upside to rival Mackinnon, Drouin, and Jones.

And if Ristolainen hits his max upside, he's another Shea Weber, Horvat a better ROR, etc. All of zero teams are kicking themselves for passing on this kid right now. Maybe in 5 years if he's the only one of the bunch that looks like he'll reach his ceiling.

 

[Exit Dose]

I'm still baffled at how far he fell on draft day. It seemed like a classic case of teams over-thinking things at the draft.

 

[Love]

[NHL]2013020446-X-h[/NHL]

Its crazy how good Jamie Benn looked in that video yet he only had 1 assist.

 

[TangoMcBride]

It was certainly a good game for Nichushkin and I'd say he was truly involved in two of the goals -- that'd be numbers three and four. (And I get that four points are four points stat-watchers.)

I felt his first assist was more attributed to the PHI LD pinch and/or Seguin's counter speed than his DZ breakout pass. As for his second assist, I thought he lost the puck more than he left it for Goligoski. On his third assist, I liked how he used his body to separate Hartnell from the puck, but I didn't think he nudged the puck to Seguin and felt he was rewarded with a phantom assist. His goal was a solid wrister from the circle.

[NHL]2013020446-X-h[/NHL]

I disagree about his second assist. I think it's pretty clear that he intentionally left the puck for Goligoski at the blue line and even tied up the stick of the Flyers player after leaving it to ensure that the puck reached its intended target.

 

[jc17]

I think Buffalo would have taken him if they knew Zadorov would be there with their second pick.

 

[Juxtaposer]

And if Ristolainen hits his max upside, he's another Shea Weber, Horvat a better ROR, etc. All of zero teams are kicking themselves for passing on this kid right now. Maybe in 5 years if he's the only one of the bunch that looks like he'll reach his ceiling.

Okay, I love Risto, but his upside is not Shea Weber.

 

[CanadienShark]

I've said it before, I'll say it again, "the Nucks ****ed up." They should have taken Nichushkin with the 9th overall. Horvat will be a good player imo, but not on Nich's level. I was ASTOUNDED when they didn't take Nichushkin quite honestly. But as someone who considers the Nucks to be in his least favourite 3 teams, I'm more than happy.

 

[CanadienShark]

I think the Oilers are quite happy with Darnell Nurse.

Agreed, despite the fact they passed up a superior player. I think it was the smart decision to take Nurse.

 

[Vankiller Whale]

Okay, I love Risto, but his upside is not Shea Weber.

I wonder how many people thought Shea Weber had Shea Weber upside when he was drafted.

I think Ristolainen has the potential to be as good as Weber, although whether or not he reaches it is a very different discussion.

 

[beardedgraf]

I disagree about his second assist. I think it's pretty clear that he intentionally left the puck for Goligoski at the blue line and even tied up the stick of the Flyers player after leaving it to ensure that the puck reached its intended target.

I was going to say the same thing

 

[CanaFan]

I've said it before, I'll say it again, "the Nucks ****ed up." They should have taken Nichushkin with the 9th overall. Horvat will be a good player imo, but not on Nich's level. I was ASTOUNDED when they didn't take Nichushkin quite honestly. But as someone who considers the Nucks to be in his least favourite 3 teams, I'm more than happy.

Nah, we're good thanks. Gonna take more than 4 goals in 27 games to make me regret taking a guy who has a 200-foot game and is averaging over 1.5 PPG. Believe it or not it is actually possible for Nichushkin to become a good player AND for Horvat to have been a good pick. This isn't Highlander; there can be more than one ...

 

[RastaRockett]

Vancouver wouldn't use a rookie with the twins, or any top line unless they are defensive dynamos.

Switch Kassian and Nichushkin and Kassian would be the one lighting it up on the top line and Nich would be on the 4th line/press box and would have probably booked his flight back to Russia by now.

Not even saying Vancouver is right, but they took the right guy for their organization.

Looking at both teams right now, Vancouver really isn't much better than Dallas. Dallas has him on their top line and could easily finish ahead of Vancouver in the standings this season.

 

[VanCanucks53]

Nah, we're good thanks. Gonna take more than 4 goals in 27 games to make me regret taking a guy who has a 200-foot game and is averaging over 1.5 PPG. Believe it or not it is actually possible for Nichushkin to become a good player AND for Horvat to have been a good pick. This isn't Highlander; there can be more than one ...

This.

Just because Nichushkin has looked good recently doesn't mean Horvat won't be a real good player too. I'm usually pretty honest when the Canucks **** up (and it happens often, especially in the draft) but I can honestly say that I am stoked that we picked up Horvat. No regrets at all.

I think both will excel. They are just completely different players though.

 

[Vankiller Whale]

Vancouver wouldn't use a rookie with the twins, or any top line unless they are defensive dynamos.

Switch Kassian and Nichushkin and Kassian would be the one lighting it up on the top line and Nich would be on the 4th line/press box and would have probably booked his flight back to Russia by now.

Not even saying Vancouver is right, but they took the right guy for their organization.

Nichushkin is a lot less of a defensive liability than Kassian though. And Kassian did play for a while with the Sedins last year before cooling off.

Especially with the amount of time Burrows has been injured this year, I'm pretty sure if we had drafted Nichushkin he would have been given his fair shake with the Sedins.

 

[Orca Smash]

Nichushkin is a lot less of a defensive liability than Kassian though. And Kassian did play for a while with the Sedins last year before cooling off.

Especially with the amount of time Burrows has been injured this year, I'm pretty sure if we had drafted Nichushkin he would have been given his fair shake with the Sedins.

I dont know if nuke would be with the team right off the bat, would have been interesting to see.

 

[BobDobolina]

Not bad for a guy with only one move and no hockey sense