Aaronp18 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 10:39 am
The top pick is going to have to live up to expectations not only being the top pick this year but competing with the impact the last 3 first OA picks are having nearly immediately after getting drafted. I mean all 3 were on the Olympic roster radar, one making it outright and the other 2 being talked about as additions if injuries come up!
So here's a question, would you perhaps trade down a couple spots to grab an additional pick in the first round. Im sure more first rounders will move at or before the trade deadline but lets say we win 1st OA, the Blackhawks take 3rd. We move our pick for their 3rd and thier FLA pick this year. They take McKenna to play with his cuz.
Interesting thought.
My initial reaction when considering this is that I don’t see a Crosby, MacKinnon, or McDavid, in any of those guys. Those generational talents have something beyond just the skills, they have a mental focus that lets them blockout the noise and the external expectations, they are driven only by their own expectations and what outsiders callout as failure doesn’t deter them.
Now I don’t know much about these guys individually, but there is something that comes through clearly with those other guys…..and it did before they were drafted.
So yeah, maybe being passed over lowers the external bar and reduces pressure.
Somewhere in NW BC trying (yet again) to trade a(nother) Swede…..
theman wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 12:49 pm
Purely based on what I saw at the WJ tournament and what I have read about the top 3 prospects, this is how I would draft, if I were the Canucks and had the 1st overall pick:
1. McKenna. (Highest ceiling and Canucks need forwards)
2. Stenberg. (Safer pick and fills a need at forward)
3. Verhoeff. (Potential stud RD man, even though Canucks have good young D men can’t pass on his potential but I would still go with 1 of those 2 forwards ahead of him)
Reading stuff like Stenberg is ‘more NHL ready’ kind of scares me TBH. Last time the Canucks got the ‘most NHL ready’ prospect in the draft was Podz and we all know how that turned out. Also, I think McKenna has a ‘higher ceiling’ than him so I would got with the forward prospect with the most potential.
Lastly I would be happy if the Canucks got any of these 3.
If those 3 are sitting there when the Canucks are picking, I'm taking McKenna. The dude skates like the fucking wind and has hands to go with his feet. Speed creates space in this game, and when the hands are there to actually control the puck at speed it's a lethal combo.
If Stenberg was a center then maybe I see some validity to the argument. But he's not. How many wingers drive a line on their own? Kucherov, Kane, Lafleur, Jagr, Howe, arguably Pastrnak.....it's a short list. McKenna looks like he COULD.....but he also might not. Unless there is a line driving pivot, I think what you say about the highest ceiling is the way to go.
Somewhere in NW BC trying (yet again) to trade a(nother) Swede…..
I looked at the Jets record for the last decade. Chevy has been drafting extremely well and made the trades to build a contender that had playoffs 8 out of 9 years, including the previous 2 seasons with 50+ wins.
No doubt they're a bunch of epic chokers, but the fact that they had a plan and built their team the right way can't be disputed.
Now suddenly, they're leading the odds for the 1st overall with the same core is crazy to me as I don't see them trying to deliberately tank.
But the lesson here for Frankie is, you CAN have a real plan and rebuild the right way quickly, ensuring a long, legitimate contending window. Even with a sudden crash, there's a chance to quickly repeat the plan and be right back into contention... instead of a decade of mushyocrity, going nowhere.
Trevor was right and you should have acted accordingly after 2015, when the Flames dusted your team and slammed your window shut.
No Plan. Can't see the big picture. That's our lottery owner. Ranked 31st out of 32.
"Look, I'm just a bitter old man, ok! "
- Anonymous
Despite building the right way, when you fail in the playoffs that many times, with largely the same core of players, you have to transition some of that core. Losing is something you learn from for a short time, when you do it in perpetuity it becomes the culture rather than the forge.
Hellebuyck has cratered multiple times in the post-season. That will erode confidence and it undermines success.....shades of the 2012-2013 Canucks in front of Luongo.
The Jets have a collection of some really good players.....but they've failed in the post-season badly. It's time to turn the page, and this is the year to do it. They have guys who have really good value as trade chips, they are already a lottery team, move one or two vets and max out in the draft this year and get a head start on the next era of Jets hockey.
Somewhere in NW BC trying (yet again) to trade a(nother) Swede…..
Wouldn't mind trying to snag Manny's kid if we can grab another mid first round pick, he seems to be moving his way up the rankings!
Another set of twins available in this draft as well, that look to go second/third round however. Kids from Osoyoos, I heard about them when they put up silly numbers playing out of OHA U15 and U18 prep. Currently helping keep Medicine Hat near the top of the league even after losing McKenna.
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