dbr wrote:I'm kind of torn on what I want to happen, now that "win the draft lottery" is out of the equation.
Well - I'm torn on what I want to happen, assuming that nobody in the top five goes way off the board because the easy choice at six is to take the faller.
If everyone above us does what they should, there is a pretty considerable group of players ranked 6-15ish that from what I can tell haven't separated themselves all that much from the pack.
(eg. Nick Ritchie is a great big kid with a real arsenal of shots, but has also already got some baggage in the form of shoulder and concussion injuries; Ehlers is piling up points but is doing it with perhaps the best player in the CHL on his team in one of the more lopsided junior leagues; Nylander is supremely skilled but has a Mason Raymond build; people who follow these kids say Kapanen is right there with the latter two players, but nobody watches him enough for the hype to build the same way; Virtanen is a raw, speedy player with a nose for the net but does 'raw' mean that he's going to develop much vision? Etc..)
If certain teams are amenable to it (and if my profoundly uninformed opinion has any merit in reality) I wouldn't mind the Canucks doing some horse trading and ending up with a couple of 10-14 picks. The Ritchies, Ehlers, Nylanders of the draft are enticing prospects but perhaps not so much that it wouldn't be advantageous to have two of the McCann, Tuch, Virtanen, Kapanen, Perlini, Fleury set.. or one and one if Bob McKenzie is right and a player like Nylander doesn't even go in the top ten.
That said if they do hold onto the pick and if none of the top five players fall to them, at the very least we can be assured that they are in a position to make an informed decision. We know Laurence Gilman personally went to watch Ehlers play (something Canucks brass rarely do), Ritchie is right in our OHL wheelhouse, and Nylander plays in Thomas Gradin's territory and has been in the Modo system for that matter (not to mention his father is a former Gillis client, hopefully whatever intelligence MG possessed on this kid has been gleaned and recorded already).
When did Ritchie become injury prone? He had a concussion 2 years ago and a shoulder injury last year, yet he's injury prone? A guy like Jared McCann had a concussion last year in the playoffs, is he injury prone as well? I find it odd that people are making out like Ritchie has this lengthy history for some reason. He's missed 28 games over the past 2 seasons, they vast majority (21) because of his shoulder that seems to be fine now. For comparison Sam Bennett has missed 19 regular season games and is missing the U-18s because of an injury but nobody is calling his history concerning. I just find it odd.
For me, you grab a player like Ritchie or Draisaitl and it sets up your rebuild/retool well - with Ritchie, Jensen, Horvat, Gaunce and Kassian all well over 200 pounds you can pick smaller skilled guys to fill in around them like Shinkaruk, Nylander, Robby Fabbri or whoever else. Those guys are much easier to find than big and skilled. Ritchie would set up the team nicely for the future - big, skilled guy who may be able to pot 20-30 in the future? Yes please, especially considering he's got a mean streak and likes contact, meaning he will fit in very well in the playoffs.