Prospect Info: The Prospect Thread (Part XXXIII)

[M2Beezy]

http://theprovince.com/feature/canucks-top-10-prospects-jake-virtanen

Jason Botchford lists him as our 10th best prospect.

No way Virtanen makes our top ten prospects

Boeser
Gaudette
Juolevi
Demko
Dahlen
Goldobin
Briesbois
Lockwood
Mckenzie
McEneneny
Subban

Off the top of my head WAY ahead of Virtanen

 

[Snatcher Demko]

No way Virtanen makes our top ten prospects

Boeser
Gaudette
Juolevi
Demko
Dahlen
Goldobin
Briesbois
Lockwood
Mckenzie
McEneneny
Subban

Off the top of my head WAY ahead of Virtanen

You're way off on Virtanen. He's, at the least, ahead of the bolded.

 

[tyhee]

I believe we keep his rights....I don't see how him playing a couple years in Russia is a bad thing. If hes good enough to sign, then sign him in 2 yrs. Zhukenov was always going to be a project, and projects take time.

The Canucks keep his rights for two more years, so after the expiry of his new Czech contract he can become an unrestricted free agent.

 

[Saturated Fats]

I'll be putting together the annual prospect rankings poll the week after the draft.

I'm curious if people are wanting Virtanen to be included this year? There was some controversy when he was on the list last year, and he is literally at the exact threshold considered by HF as a prospect - 65 NHL games (they consider anything beyond 65 to be 'graduated').

I think it makes sense to include him after basically a year away from the club. He's still young (younger than some of the others who will be showing up on the list), and has room to improve.

 

[Lindgren]

I'll be putting together the annual prospect rankings poll the week after the draft.

I'm curious if people are wanting Virtanen to be included this year? There was some controversy when he was on the list last year, and he is literally at the exact threshold considered by HF as a prospect - 65 NHL games (they consider anything beyond 65 to be 'graduated').

I think it makes sense to include him after basically a year away from the club. He's still young (younger than some of the others who will be showing up on the list), and has room to improve.

It makes sense to me to consider him a prospect. He's not yet busted out of consideration, and to say he's "graduated" is silly, for the reason you put clearly above.

 

[TruGr1t]

From Botch's article:

There are at least two scouts who watch him a lot concerned his career path could be the same as Jack Skille’s.

Like Virtanen, scouts were divided on Skille, who was drafted seventh overall in 2005. He was projected as a scoring power forward by some and a bottom six checking-line guy by others. Turns out, those in the latter camp nailed it.

Others see a more encouraging future and believe Virtanen’s upside is like Tom Wilson, Washington’s physical third-line right-winger.

So our best case scenario is now Tom Wilson. Great pick.

 

[clunk]

We could have had Nylander/Ehlers and Tkachuk in our top 6 by now... No Megna, Chaput, etc...


Anyone calling Jim Benning a good drafter is delusional.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Boeser was a great pick but that was probably our USHL scout who was all over that one.

 

[M2Beezy]

From Botch's article:



So our best case scenario is now Tom Wilson. Great pick.

Wed be super lucky if that were the case

 

[FOurteenS inCisOr]

No way Virtanen makes our top ten prospects

Boeser
Gaudette
Juolevi
Demko
Dahlen
Goldobin
Briesbois
Lockwood
Mckenzie
McEneneny
Subban

Off the top of my head WAY ahead of Virtanen

Don't you think GODette should be at the top of the list?

 

[PG Canuck]

From Botch's article:



So our best case scenario is now Tom Wilson. Great pick.

I remember when I compared Virtanen to Skille and a couple people went absolutely bananas. Hilarious that it's brought up now.

 

[Josepho]

No way Virtanen makes our top ten prospects

Boeser
Gaudette
Juolevi
Demko
Dahlen
Goldobin
Briesbois
Lockwood
Mckenzie
McEneneny
Subban

Off the top of my head WAY ahead of Virtanen

where would tater tot rank

 

[David Bruce Banner]

I'll be putting together the annual prospect rankings poll the week after the draft.

I'm curious if people are wanting Virtanen to be included this year? There was some controversy when he was on the list last year, and he is literally at the exact threshold considered by HF as a prospect - 65 NHL games (they consider anything beyond 65 to be 'graduated').

I think it makes sense to include him after basically a year away from the club. He's still young (younger than some of the others who will be showing up on the list), and has room to improve.

Can he be a "prospect" and a "bust" at the same time? People's head's might explode.

I'd say include him, even though it will give some posters a platform for refusing to vote for him at all because he's a big fat failure who could have been Nylandehlers. He should be around our top 5-7 prospect, but I expect us to end up rating him somewhere after Jakob Stukel.

 

[Tobi Wan Kenobi]

You're way off on Virtanen. He's, at the least, ahead of the bolded.

Brisebois? Naw probably not. Brisebois has top 4 potential

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I'll be putting together the annual prospect rankings poll the week after the draft.

I'm curious if people are wanting Virtanen to be included this year? There was some controversy when he was on the list last year, and he is literally at the exact threshold considered by HF as a prospect - 65 NHL games (they consider anything beyond 65 to be 'graduated').

I think it makes sense to include him after basically a year away from the club. He's still young (younger than some of the others who will be showing up on the list), and has room to improve.

I'd include him. Kind of feels like we hit the reset button on the guy. He's lost so much weight and changed his style of play so much I barely even recognize the player.

 

[M2Beezy]

Don't you think GODette should be at the top of the list?

One day maybe but not now

 

[M2Beezy]

where would tater tot rank

Benning aint resigning him bub

 

[Josepho]

Benning aint resigning him bub

but what if he did bub

 

[Shareefruck]

You're way off on Virtanen. He's, at the least, ahead of the bolded.

I have higher hopes for Brisebois than Virtanen, personally. Smart, agile, reliable player, trending upwards, filling out and developing an offensive game.

 

[VanJack]

I have higher hopes for Brisebois than Virtanen, personally. Smart, agile, reliable player, trending upwards, filling out and developing an offensive game.

Apples and oranges, as Brisebois is a d-man, but I get your point....actually, in terms of wingers, I'd put Virtanen behind, Boeser, Dahlin, Lockwood and Goldobin...and if the Canucks were acquire a second first-rounder this year, and picked a guy like Owen Tippett, then Jake wouldn't be long for this market.

 

[FroshaugFan2]

You're way off on Virtanen. He's, at the least, ahead of the bolded.

To me Virtanen is only clearly ahead of McKenzie. The others you have bolded are debatable. Around 10 seems about right.

I'll be putting together the annual prospect rankings poll the week after the draft.

I'm curious if people are wanting Virtanen to be included this year? There was some controversy when he was on the list last year, and he is literally at the exact threshold considered by HF as a prospect - 65 NHL games (they consider anything beyond 65 to be 'graduated').

I think it makes sense to include him after basically a year away from the club. He's still young (younger than some of the others who will be showing up on the list), and has room to improve.

Definitely include him. He's not an NHLer and he hasn't busted.

Is there any argument for including Tryamkin in the poll as well? He has played 79 games, but he isn't and NHLer either and he's still developing.

 

[Kryten]

I personally like to include any player still on their ELC as a prospect

 

[alternate]

I'd say yes to including Jake but no to Tryamkin. Imo Try established himself as an NHLer this season and the only question is whether he's coming back.

 

[RobertKron]

"What’s happened with Jake is that in junior he was a big scorer, so he really didn’t have to play a well-rounded game, because his coaches and the team would always count on him to get the big goal."

Was he even a first line player his last year in the WHL?

 

[Rotting Corpse*]

I personally like to include any player still on their ELC as a prospect

This is a pretty good rule of thumb.

That would leave out Tryamkin, which is reasonable.

That would also make Stecher still a prospect, which I think is absolutely fine. A player can play a bunch of NHL games and then fall back, as we saw with Jake.