Craig Button high as fuck if hes got Canucks picking a project big centre that's not even in the top 10

Or he's just poisoning the well early

Craig Button is full of shit.

Here's what he had to say about Bo Horvat at the end of February (when he had 17 points in his last 22 games, was leading the Canucks in D-Zone faceoffs by a mile, was leading the Canucks forwards in PK time by a mile, etc. ... as a 20-year-old). He gave Horvat a D grade for the season, Tanev I believe was a C or C+. He ended up bumping up Tanev to a B-, left Horvat as a D. :facepalm:


Guy clearly doesn't watch the Canucks or any of the western teams aside from Los Angeles and Anaheim.

Given his past assessments of WHL talent, I highly doubt he watches any junior players west of Ontario, either.

a song for the mood...


anyways.. a good player can still come from the 5th pick. just this good player isnt Matthews, Poolparty or Laine :(

Nucks and oilers will scoop a D I am pretty sure. Hope flames get a shot at Dubois or tkachuck

I think that the Canucks need a winger as much as a defenceman. D-men in general take more time to develop their game at the NHL level than a winger.

Tkachuk plays with an edge, can score goals, skates well and has size. A chip off the old block like his father Keith.

Dim Jim should pick this guy in the draft. :considered:

Eliteprospects.com - Matthew Tkachuk

A multi-dimensional energy winger that plays a pro-style, adaptive game. Well-versed as a guy who can consistently put up points, but also as an agitator who plays with a little bit of bite and nastiness. Skates with excellent balance and speed, outclassing many in his age range. No lack of offensive instincts and knows how to score in many different ways. Confidence in his abilities and playing to the extent of his capabilities strengthens his work ethic and creativity. All-in-all, a unique and effective forward who defines his own limits and seeks to exceed them, along with all on-ice expectations. (Curtis Joe, EP 2016)

Someone over on Reddit made a great post highlighting why the Canucks should take one of Dubois, Nylander, or Tkachuk over any of the 4 D

https://www.reddit.com/r/canucks/com..._or_dubois_is/

Why Taking a Defenseman over Tkachuk or Dubois is a MISTAKE

Taking a defenseman over Tkachuk or Dubois is almost as bad as taking Tkachuk or Dubois over Laine/Puljujarvi. There is a steep cut off in talent in this draft after the 3rd overall pick, and another steep cut off almost as large after the 6th overall pick. Linked below is an image of the average draft ranking of six independent sources:

http://i.imgur.com/oFTwsiv.png

Now I know there are other draft rankings out there, but these six generally give a respectable analysis. As you can see, there are big drop offs in rankings from 3rd to 4th, and again from 6th to 7th. The average drop off from 3rd to 4th is 2.16 points, and the drop off from 6th to 7th is 2.13 points. So it's pretty close according to these six sources. But take a look at who's ranked at #6.. It's not a defenseman, it's another forward named Alex Nylander. In fact, Dubois and Nylander both have an average draft ranking of 5.67. Matthew Tkachuk is ahead of both of them with a ranking of 4.83 on average. The highest ranked defenseman is Jakob Chychrun, with an average ranking of 7.8. Following him is Juolevi at 8.33, and then Sergachev at 8.5.

As you can see, the top 6 players in this draft are very clearly all forwards (according to these respectable sources). In fact, none of these sources rank Sergachev higher than 8th, none of them rank Juolevi higher than 6th, and only one out of six sources has Chychrun ranked in the top 5.

So if the Canucks were to pick a defenseman in this draft, it would be because Benning decides it's best we pick a player that fits our positional needs, not because he's taking the best player available. This is a mistake. Yes, we lack defensive prospects, but we also lack forward prospects that project to be 1st or 2nd line players almost equally as much. Below are two pictures of where the Canucks rank in the NHL in terms of Goals For and

Goals Against per game:

Goals for
http://i.imgur.com/5chuu67.png

Goals Against
http://i.imgur.com/QQBDepf.png

So the Canucks are 2nd worst in the league in terms of Goals For per game, and 7th worst in the league in terms of Goals Against per game. Yes, you could argue that our good goaltending inflated our defensive numbers last year, so I'd say that we're equally as bad defensively as we are offensively. But I can tell you one thing right now that these offensive numbers aren't magically going to improve themselves once the Sedins retire in a few years.

Below is an image of what the Canucks' player stats this season look like without the Sedins:

http://i.imgur.com/FweysTz.png

Two players with over 30 points... TWO! Ouch...

Who do we have to replace the Sedins? Horvat? Maybe, but I think he maxes out as a solid two-way 2nd line center. Virtanen? I doubt it. McCann? Maybe, but I doubt he'll be a first liner. Boeser? Very possible, but he hasn't even played an AHL game yet. He's 100% unproven at the pro level and we need a back up plan in case he doesn't turn out to be a 1st liner. Baertschi? Doubt he'll be a 1st liner either, I think he maxes out as Radim Vrbata in his prime. (note: this entire paragraph is just my opinion, maybe I'm wrong and almost all of the players listed above turn out to be 1st liners in the future).

This is where Dubois and Tkachuk come in. Both of them are almost guaranteed to be top six players, and have good odds of becoming first liners too. Dubois' playstyle resembles that of Jamie Benn's, and Tkachuk's resembles that of Corey Perry's. I'm not saying Dubois = Benn and Tkachuk = Perry, but it's possible that they'll become similar players to these NHLers some day.

Now I understand that we aren't looking so hot on defense either. But unfortunately, there just isn't a top end defenseman available in this draft. And taking a defenseman with the 5th overall pick is a big risk. Trading down for defense would be acceptable, but I'd have big beef with Benning if he went "off the charts" again with this draft pick and took Chychrun or Juolevi ahead of Dubois or Tkachuk.

To add to that, Hutton and Tryamkin look like they're going to be studs for us. I definitely see both of them being top 4, or (maybe... just maybe) top 2 defensemen for us in the future. (again, this is just my opinion).

TLDR; FUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK I wish we didn't get screwed in the lottery. But at least we didn't get screwed out of Dubois/Tkachuk.

Anybody have a video of a certain draft pick hitting a bong gas mask?

That's the NFL.

The vid is all over the place (basically any sports news outlet). Projected to be #1 for some reports. Got picked up by the Dolphins later on in the first round.

Many defensemen struggle after solid rookie campaigns, primarily because defensive expectations are much higher. I wouldn't pencil Hutton into the team's top 2 just yet.

As for Tryamkin, he has tools, but he has a lot of work to do to be a top 4 NHL defenseman.

I know that's from Reddit, not your own, just saying.

As for other sources, NHL Central Scouting has Dubois ahead of Tkachuk and Nylander.
2016 Draft Prospects - North American Skaters | NHL Draft Prospect Rankings

The Hockey News has yet to release their final rankings.

Redline Report has Tkachuk at 4, Dubois at 5.
NHL draft 2016: World U-18 Championships provide important information
https://usatboxingjunkie.files.wordp...5-05-39-pm.jpg

I wonder if the Canucks will take a flyer on oft-injured Giant Tyler Benson. Was projected to be a top 15 pick but could seriously drop due to injury after injury during his time in the WHL.

That's what I was purposely alluding to...

Tyler Benson isn't slated to be drafted until the 2nd round now. I wouldn't be against it if they feel that he'd be a good pick in the 2nd round.

^ill pass on him unless he drops to the third kid is always injured!

Also i would think nylander would be the better option between Dubois or tkachuk...nylander highly skilled forward with sick dangles almost exactly like his brother.

Il just leave this here for everyone...tkachuk and Dubois don't look like they can skate to me more of a raw type of players while nylander is very highly skilled!

ironic that the canucks could've drafted William in 2014 and have a chance to draft Alex this year

couldve been the new Sedins 2.0 :lol

drafting virtanen was PR move by the Canucks

Well, Virtanen got dumped by Meretz in favour of one of the little Beckham ladyboys, so maybe he will focus on hockey next year instead of pounding starlet pussy.

Virtanen has all the skills and power to be a great player. It's just a matter if he's willing to put the work into getting to the next level.

Kid isn't 20 yet. Look at the stupid crap we use to do back when we were 20.

That's why I feel horvat is special and he's captain material.

Reminds me of Giroux

what ever the flames picking they will counter our pick, they're in a good position
i thinking Nylander
http://www2.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/l...calgary-flames

Tegra_Devil do you agree?

I just hope flames don't pick nylander cuz that kid will crush us with his skill and shot! I'm thinking Canucks pick will be determined if drake signs with us then JB will probably pick a dman

Nylander was born in Calgary and they need a RW unless tkachuk is available. Takchuk and Bennett play similar grit in front of the net

gg canucks

Wonder if some of the top defensive prospects are available around 10-15 Benning would consider moving our 2nd rounder pick plus a prospect to get in on a defensemen. Maybe Mccann, but in my opinion I really want to see what Mccann can do in a year or 2 with some proper development. I think his ceiling is too high to give up on him just yet!

I'd consider trading up to draft Fabbro

1st overall and my son's first steps all in one evening.

Your son's already made more progress than the Laffs have in 50 years