Welcome to the Dark Side Minions: The Top Draft Prospects'14

[Chef Boi RD]

ISS has Nylander ranked 5th, Draisaitl 6th, Perlini 7th, Tuch 8th, Ritchie 9th, Virtanen 10th, Ehlers 11th, Fleury 12th, Kapanen 13th in their latest April rankings

[Diehard1]

ISS has Nylander ranked 5th, Draisaitl 6th, Perlini 7th, Tuch 8th, Ritchie 9th, Virtanen 10th, Ehlers 11th, Fleury 12th, Kapanen 13th in their latest April rankings

Nylander with a hattrick and 5 points total today against Slovakia. Slovaks aren't great but it's not like they were playing the Danes or Germans. Now tied for the lead in tournament scoring.

If he keeps this up for a few more games and shows well against the better teams he might be in the conversation for the top 5, let alone the #6 that the Nucks have. He's the very definition of a wildcard and is one to watch.

[Chef Boi RD]

We only beat the Slovaks 2-1. Man, this kid is making a strong case for himself

The reviews on the tourney have Nylander being the best player along with Eichel. Some scouts are really high on him.

The canuck scouts better be there doing their homework. This is a huge pick for this teams future

[SKYO]

I'm hoping for Claude Lemiuexs kid with our 36th or the giant Hunter Smith who is a pretty decent player and scrapper. Smith is Cassels linemate in Oshawa. I'm sure the Canucks scouts have seen a lot of him. Could be like a Tom Wilson type.

Hell yeah, 2nd round potentials..

Fabbri

Fabbri is a below average sized buzz saw who works hard and has some of the best feet in the entire draft. He uses his speed and mobility to be shifty and elusive but is also willing to play physical. His hands are skilled, he shows some creativity on the ice and has a quick shot release.

DeAngelo one of the best offensive dmen in the draft, but if his rumoured attitude makes him drop to the 2nd we should get him, doubt he'll get past the 1st rd though.

“I’m just trying to get better and better and improve every game. But, to be honest, I just want to help the Sting make the playoffs,” he said. “That’s my first goal and then after that I can focus a little bit more on myself: training and getting ready for the combine. But right now my focus is on getting us back into the playoff race.”

And what needs to improve?

“Really, everything, to be honest with you. Anything I can get better at, I will,” he explained. “I spend a lot of time watching video of myself with the coaches to see what I can improve. I like to watch video of other guys and see if there are things that they do that I can include in my game.
hockeysfuture.com/articles/103317/stings-deangelo-focused-on-team-goals-rather-than-nhl-draft/

Brendan Lemieux - 6'1 210lbs

Like father, like son. Brendan, whose father Claude is known as one of the most vilified agitators in NHL history, tries to model his game after that of his dad. Adding some new age play to his dad’s old school style, Lemieux embodies to future of the power forward/agitator. Even Lemieux’s teammate Aaron Ekblad acknowledges his ability to get under peoples skin, saying “as a teammate you love him, but as an opponent you don’t.”

Lemieux is a hardnosed player who keeps his game simple to succeed. He’ll battle in the corners, and doesn’t mind planting himself in front of the net. Whatever he’s doing though, he does it as hard as possible, which just adds to how annoying he can be. He takes pride in getting under opponents skin, but doesn’t let it keep him from making smart plays and playing the game the right way.


This season however, he has also shown his ability to be a points man, showing an increased offensive presence. While he may not be flashy or fancy, his work ethic and his determination to play within himself have helped him excel as a top six guy with the Colts this season. He already has good size, but with continued growth and skill development, the 2nd generation Lemieux could be a force at the NHL level.
propuckprospects.com/2014/03/brendan-lemieux.html#sthash.JAuUr9kG.dpuf

Alex Peters dman - http://www.propuckprospects.com/2014/03 ... hoots.html,

Jack Glover dman -

At 6’3 195lbs, Glover plays like ex-Devil Paul Martin. He plays a very quite game and plays a well rounded two-way game and isn’t afraid to get in your face as much as he can quarterback a powerplay. His best asset is his first pass on the breakout which will help the Devils transition game. - See more at: thehockeywriters.com/2014-nhl-mock-draft-april-edition/#sthash.dXPjjpBA.dpuf

3rd - Reid Duke or Juraj Siska

[SKYO]

ISS has Nylander ranked 5th, Draisaitl 6th, Perlini 7th, Tuch 8th, Ritchie 9th, Virtanen 10th, Ehlers 11th, Fleury 12th, Kapanen 13th in their latest April rankings

Nylander with a hattrick and 5 points total today against Slovakia. Slovaks aren't great but it's not like they were playing the Danes or Germans. Now tied for the lead in tournament scoring.

If he keeps this up for a few more games and shows well against the better teams he might be in the conversation for the top 5, let alone the #6 that the Nucks have. He's the very definition of a wildcard and is one to watch.

Thank goodness the top 5 are a supposed lock, Nylander is only 17 at 5'11 - 170, in 2-3 years he could should try to get to 195 lbs, which would be optimal for a speedy, highly skilled scorer/playmaker in the NHL.

[Diehard1]

Nylander is showing why it's a tough choice for me between him and Ritchie. I really like both players, would love to see both on the team though that's a pipe dream.

Speedy, ultra skilled centre or massive goal scoring winger? Both are big future needs. I still think Trevor goes for the big man but guess we will see what happens.

[Nuckertuzzi]

Nylander is showing why it's a tough choice for me between him and Ritchie. I really like both players, would love to see both on the team though that's a pipe dream.

May not be as big a pipe dream should Ducks disappoint in the playoffs.

[dbr]

Nylander is showing why it's a tough choice for me between him and Ritchie. I really like both players, would love to see both on the team though that's a pipe dream.

May not be as big a pipe dream should Ducks disappoint in the playoffs.

This draft is supposed to be a real toss up for the players between 6 and 15ish, but even still you have to think Ritchie and Nylander (and Ehlers while we're at it) will be off the board by Ottawa's pick at 10.

Still, gotta be a lot easier taking a risk with those two picks in hand even if you can't get two of those guys.. if you go for a smaller high end skill guy at 6 you can likely get Virtanen or Tuch or even Perlini or Kempe next, or if you go with Ritchie odds are some team does not take one of Nylander/Ehlers/Kapanen and they are your pick at 10.

Of course it's all fantasyland stuff. I don't know what it would take for the Ducks to part with that pick or how likely the team is to deal a major contributor like Kesler at this point but it's probably safe to assume it's not happening..

[Nuckertuzzi]

I don't know what it would take for the Ducks to part with that pick or how likely the team is to deal a major contributor like Kesler at this point but it's probably safe to assume it's not happening..

Yeah likely not happening but the possibility is there.

If the Ducks don't get it done this year, Kesler would appear to be the perfect type of player they should be looking at to put them over the top. And we desperately need to accomplish at least one of two things this summer (preferably both) and that is A) to continue to replenish our youth/farm system and B ) mix up the core that has been incredibly stale the past several years. Edler should be a no brainer for B ) but that's not enough. The Twins are going nowhere, we all know that, and Burr is not a real tradable asset as far as getting a good return (although a sideways move might work if we can find one).

All I know is unless we can expect guys like Kassian, Jensen, or Horvat to make an impact in the top 6, and that's pretty unrealistic, we cannot come back with the same top 4 up front next year. I'd hate to part with Kes but it's something we almost have to do and it's just a matter of maximizing the return. Coming out of this year's draft with 2 picks in the top 10, making it 4 first rounders in the past 2 years, would go a long way in ushering in a new era of Canucks hockey. And a guy like Kes should be able to yield another line up ready prospect in addition to the pick. That's fair to give up for a Ducks team long on depth and expendable picks (2 in the first round) who's maybe only a big piece away from the top prize should they not get it done this year.

[Betamax]

Mock drafts have been saying nylander all along for Vancouver..

A lot of scouts say he is the most skilled player in this class, Reinhart, Bennett included.

skilled + small + soft + most of his stats playing in 2nd-teir leagues in Sweden = recipe for first-round failure. You look at the playoffs this year and years past, and this kid will get pulverized into the ice before he can think of a dangle. Let him go to Nashville or some place where not much is expected of him or the team.

If the Canucks draft Nylander, let's hope he doesn't turn out to be Anton Rodin v2.0.

[SKYO]

Nylander is showing why it's a tough choice for me between him and Ritchie. I really like both players, would love to see both on the team though that's a pipe dream.

Speedy, ultra skilled centre or massive goal scoring winger? Both are big future needs. I still think Trevor goes for the big man but guess we will see what happens.

Nylander or Ritchie hmm tough call, here's a new highlight vid for the wizard.

[Nuckertuzzi]

Can't help getting visions of Sandlak and Stojanov dancing in my head when thinking of Ritchie.

Nylander looks so much like a girl can't help but think of when another team picked a slick right-handed Euro who looks like a girl 6th overall, Nikita Filatov.

I know, I know...nuff with the bad vibes already.

Maybe to change our drafting luck we should decide who we want and pick the guy we don't.

[Strangelove]

Can't help getting visions of Sandlak and Stojanov dancing in my head when thinking of Ritchie.

Nylander looks so much like a girl can't help but think of when another team picked a slick right-handed Euro who looks like a girl 6th overall, Nikita Filatov.

I know, I know...nuff with the bad vibes already.

Maybe to change our drafting luck we should decide who we want and pick the guy we don't.

So we're the George Costanza of NHL drafting?

[Nuckertuzzi]

Exactly..."every instinct has been wrong". Change the approach...worked for George.

[Chef Boi RD]

Apparently Virtanen scored a spectacular goal today at the U-18's. I'm all in on the local kid now. Agree with Nuckertuzzi regarding Ritchie and Nylander