Dont drink coffee or water or anything now, while driving. ICBC and our friendly neighbourhood pigs are ticketing people in Vancouver for distracted driving.

best way to build a long term contender. if the majority of your core is your draft picks, you will have relative cost certainty for longer allowing you to pick up better ufa's or higher priced players through trade. (yup, i can be captain obvious as well).

in my opinion, you need a solid core of approx 6-8 players. from that core, to be a real contender, you need 2-5 elite players. you then fill out the rest of the roster with complementary players based on the makeup of your core (again, i'm being captain obvious).

based on the team right now, the only players that project elite to me are ones that haven't played a single pro game (boesser and demko). so, that projection is equal parts wishful thinking and "projection" on my part.

the bigger core, is being filled out by solid players eg horvat, jake, mccann (?), baertschi (?). could any of those become elite? sure, but it would be a bit of a surprise. being a solid top 6 player and part of a good, strong core is not a knock against them either.

i'm not sure there are any players that project to be a part of a solid core on d. there could be but we are too early to tell. and since they take longer to develop, we're not going to know quite yet.

the team still needs some elite talent and that usually happens through drafting and developing. the fan base needs to draft "patience."
- RealityChecker

I don't agree that you absolutely NEED elite talent to win, depending on what your definition of elite is I guess. I think Anze Kopitar is one of the better centres in the league because of the way he plays the game, but is he elite, as in the Crosby Gretzky Lemieux mold, not IMO.

The Kings have two Stanley Cups and they don't IMO have any "elite" talent. Sure they have some great players, but none of them have any individual hardware.

Does St. Louis have any elite talent? I'd say no, but they do have some really good players.

Does San Jose have any elite talent? Again, I'd say no, but they too have some very good players.

Blues and Sharks are deep, that's why they're winning. That's what the Canucks have always lacked. Look at the Hawks this year, they lacked depth and it came back to bite them in the ass.

His picks are better than what other Canuck GM's accomplished in their first two drafts.

So should people stop with the drafting jesus stance...yes, but on the other side should people stop with the hasn't proven anything stance...yes.

Allow development before proclaiming a win or lose, it's a bit early...IMO
- Makita

One of these things is not like the other....

Totally agree with the above. But let me ask you this... Purely from a production perspective, what do you think have been the best canuck draft picks in the last 10 years?

Mason Raymond?
Michael Grabner?
Bo Horvat?

Going further back it gets a little easier...

Cory Schneider
Alexander Edler
Jannik Hansen
Ryan Kesler
R.J. Umberger
Kevin Bieksa
Twins

I don't understand the statement that JB has done "better than what other Canuck GM's accomplished in their first two drafts".

What do you base this on?
- bloatedmosquito

I would base it on quantity. Like someone posted earlier, the good teams have a big chunk of their players drafted by the team. In 2 drafts (basically 1) he has had 3 play NHL games. His top pick from the second draft and Demko look to be a lock to be NHLers at this point. In 2 drafts, he looks to have acquired 5 solid NHLers while others are still developing and could possibly make it.

Now a few of Gillis' picks are coming along, and kudos for getting these guys from poor draft positions that come with being a Cup contender, but JB seems to be on the right track so far

One of these things is not like the other....


- belcherbd

Bi-polar?

Bi-polar?
- SRam19

Drama Queen one moment and then Circle Jerk the next.

Totally agree with it all
My comment on the notion was just based on how fast everyone was turning on McCann from the beginning of the season where he was scoring goals and was anointed as the #1C to now trade bait
Tempering expectations is important, guys develop at different rates but we do have a fair amount of C's in the organization with upside that we could focus on Tkachuk and some other wingers to get that balance of "elite" on the top line that you mentioned
- WhiteLie

Totally.
I just hope that it's more of the "everyone should be available for the right price," rather than assessment on his ceiling.

After all, the last 3 elite players drafted by the team (kes and twins... Schneider if you want too) took 5 or more years 5 develop. And I still remember the cries to trade them b/c they would never be top end.

I have to get incredibly high before mowing my lawn.

I prefer hot with ranch dip
- LeftCoaster

Hot wing, cold beer, no dip.

I have to get incredibly high before mowing my lawn.
- A_SteamingLombardi

Only way to do it. Get high as eff and put the headphones on with some good tunes.

Totally.
I just hope that it's more of the "everyone should be available for the right price," rather than assessment on his ceiling.

After all, the last 3 elite players drafted by the team (kes and twins... Schneider if you want too) took 5 or more years 5 develop. And I still remember the cries to trade them b/c they would never be top end.
- RealityChecker

Only way to do it. Get high as eff and put the headphones on with some good tunes.
- RealityChecker

I don't agree that you absolutely NEED elite talent to win, depending on what your definition of elite is I guess. I think Anze Kopitar is one of the better centres in the league because of the way he plays the game, but is he elite, as in the Crosby Gretzky Lemieux mold, not IMO.

The Kings have two Stanley Cups and they don't IMO have any "elite" talent. Sure they have some great players, but none of them have any individual hardware.

Does St. Louis have any elite talent? I'd say no, but they do have some really good players.

Does San Jose have any elite talent? Again, I'd say no, but they too have some very good players.

Blues and Sharks are deep, that's why they're winning. That's what the Canucks have always lacked. Look at the Hawks this year, they lacked depth and it came back to bite them in the ass.
- LeftCoaster

I think it all comes down to your definition of Elite.

Is Elite the top 5 players to ever play the game (using your Crosby Gretzky Lemieux reference) or is Elite the top 15 players in the league over say a 5 year period?

If it is the latter then I think the Kings, Blues, Sharks, Canucks and so on and so forth have all had Elite talent. I also think you are oversimplifying depth, did the hawks lose because they didn't have depth or because they lost to a team who happened to play slightly better over a 7 game series?

What really changed as far as depth for the Hawks between last years cup and this years first round knockout ?

I have a hard time believing that Panarin, Anisimov, Ladd and Daley is a significant change from Saad, Sharp, Vermette and O'douya.

Hot wing, cold beer, no dip.
- CubanBuffet

Suicide, blue cheese, cider.

just wait, it will start all over again...remember it's either "Drama Queens or Circle Jerk Gangs" here.
- Makita

Some days I hang out with both.

Some days I hang out with both.
- thundachunk

So what brother is the drama queen?

http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=871027
This is one of many articles you can find on his impact. He's a pure supporter/mentor of offensive forwards, aside from the Sedins there is no one else that can help these kids find and learn offense. Of the remaining 30+ guys, who else is going to help in that area? Vrbata=gone, Burrows=buyout candidate, Hansen=not a natural scorer, Higgins=AHLer and thats it. Dorsett, 29, has limited offensive skills, and Sutter, 27, has never topped 40 points. And I would add to the argument, how can Daniel or Henrik really relate to these kids when the two of them have played 99% of their careers only with each other?

Lucic has been a hot/cold guy, very polarizing and those that play his game tend to breakdown faster or drop off the cliff quickly (Clarkson comes to mind, though Lucic has always been better). Purcell to me is just a safe 3rd Liner who can move up or down a bit who I think could be had for cheaper and shorter term

Yeah, I just think the Canucks have enough bottom 6 talent on Forwards. Take a 1-2 year risk on an offensive guy rather than another grinder.

No problem! I enjoy talking to different opinions. Its much more interesting

EDIT: Also I dont have strong opinions on this topic either, I am not advocating for any particular moves and wont be upset over it if none of the player I mention are signed
- WhiteLie

Sorry, I don't really have time to read the article but I wanted to answer back. Lucic probably doesn't have a lot of years left but if Van is going to try for a cup then I would want to use up his last few years then move on from him. You say Van has enough bottom 6 forward talent but you'd like purcell as a third liner. That's kind of the reason I didn't want him really because we have enough bottom 6 talent that are 30. doesn't really fit into the age range JB is looking for. Price for him, I would rather have hansen at 2.5 then purcell who is coming off 4.5 contract. Even close to that is too much for a bottom 6 player.

Dont drink coffee or water or anything now, while driving. ICBC and our friendly neighbourhood pigs are ticketing people in Vancouver for distracted driving.
- SRam19

I don't know if I heard this from a driving instructor or documentary (long before cell phones), but when you are messing with the radio/8track or heating/cooling controls, it is as though you are impaired...

yet police officers are always messing with their computers and stuff while driving

the police are often the worst drivers out there. or at least they never use turn signals, seen a few rolling through stop signs. etc.

I don't agree that you absolutely NEED elite talent to win, depending on what your definition of elite is I guess. I think Anze Kopitar is one of the better centres in the league because of the way he plays the game, but is he elite, as in the Crosby Gretzky Lemieux mold, not IMO.

The Kings have two Stanley Cups and they don't IMO have any "elite" talent. Sure they have some great players, but none of them have any individual hardware.

Does St. Louis have any elite talent? I'd say no, but they do have some really good players.

Does San Jose have any elite talent? Again, I'd say no, but they too have some very good players.

Blues and Sharks are deep, that's why they're winning. That's what the Canucks have always lacked. Look at the Hawks this year, they lacked depth and it came back to bite them in the ass.
- LeftCoaster

I hear what you're saying but like Belcher mentioned it comes down to your definition of elite.

I absolutely think Kopitar is elite. I just think he's VASTLY underrated. Quick and doughty. Anyway, i5 goes back to how you define elite.

In any event, those are guys that you mostly get through drafting. High picks don't guarantee anything but like you said, if you know what you're doing the positing of drafting doesn't always matter (Kopitar
)

I would base it on quantity. Like someone posted earlier, the good teams have a big chunk of their players drafted by the team. In 2 drafts (basically 1) he has had 3 play NHL games. His top pick from the second draft and Demko look to be a lock to be NHLers at this point. In 2 drafts, he looks to have acquired 5 solid NHLers while others are still developing and could possibly make it.

Now a few of Gillis' picks are coming along, and kudos for getting these guys from poor draft positions that come with being a Cup contender, but JB seems to be on the right track so far
- WhiteLie

OK.

I assume the three you are talking about are Tryamkin, Virtanen, and McCann. Sure they have played NHL games but I think most on here would agree the best place for these players is in the AHL. They have played games because the roster is lacking top NHL talent.

I'm happy rookies are playing because I want another high draft pick next season but I'm not sure that's an endorsement of JB's drafting ability. The one pick I've become most pleased with is Boeser at 23. That was a really good pick.

I think it comes down to potential. JB has drafted players with great potential to be NHL players. But isn't potential measured based on draft ranking? The higher the draft placement the higher a players potential.

In the last two drafts JBs had three 1st round picks. Has any previous canuck GM had that to work with?

Totally agree with it all
My comment on the notion was just based on how fast everyone was turning on McCann from the beginning of the season where he was scoring goals and was anointed as the #1C to now trade bait
Tempering expectations is important, guys develop at different rates but we do have a fair amount of C's in the organization with upside that we could focus on Tkachuk and some other wingers to get that balance of "elite" on the top line that you mentioned
- WhiteLie

Some have an idea that because guys are first round picks they should be able to produce immediately.
8 players from the 2015 draft played games in the nhl this year
21 players from the 2014 have now played in the nhl.
55 players from 2013.
74 players from 2012.

I don't expect any player that's less then 20 to make an impact in any nhl team unless they are a generational player that comes around every couple of years. If they happen to have a good season before 20, great.

I would base it on quantity. Like someone posted earlier, the good teams have a big chunk of their players drafted by the team. In 2 drafts (basically 1) he has had 3 play NHL games. His top pick from the second draft and Demko look to be a lock to be NHLers at this point. In 2 drafts, he looks to have acquired 5 solid NHLers while others are still developing and could possibly make it.

Now a few of Gillis' picks are coming along, and kudos for getting these guys from poor draft positions that come with being a Cup contender, but JB seems to be on the right track so far
- WhiteLie

First of all, I think Benning is a really good draft guy and think we will see success from his picks.

That said, many players look like "locks" when following their junior careers so while I think Boeser and Demko look really good right now, many felt the same way about Schroeder, Hodgson, Sauve, Ellington, Shirokov etc. during their junior years and beyond.

I also don't think Virtanen, McCann or Tryamkin would of played in the NHL this season if it had not been for other circumstances that we did not see in previous regimes.

While all those players at times showed promise none of them IMO were able to prove they belonged as an everyday NHLer the way Horvat and Hutton did their first season.

Some have an idea that because guys are first round picks they should be able to produce immediately.
8 players from the 2015 draft played games in the nhl this year
21 players from the 2014 have now played in the nhl.
55 players from 2013.
74 players from 2012.

I don't expect any player that's less then 20 to make an impact in any nhl team unless they are a generational player that comes around every couple of years. If they happen to have a good season before 20, great.
- manvanfan

Some have an idea that because guys are first round picks they should be able to produce immediately.
8 players from the 2015 draft played games in the nhl this year
21 players from the 2014 have now played in the nhl.
55 players from 2013.
74 players from 2012.

I don't expect any player that's less then 20 to make an impact in any nhl team unless they are a generational player that comes around every couple of years. If they happen to have a good season before 20, great.
- manvanfan

Can we please stop calling players generational if they come around every couple of years....

But otherwise I agree with what you are saying.

I have to get incredibly high before mowing my lawn.
- A_SteamingLombardi