When I watched the WJC I thought the three best players were Zegras Stutzle and Podk. Then there was another tier for Byfields Eklunds and others.

That was my take anyways. Byfield may be great one day but I would not trade Pod for him.
- VANTEL

Agree on the 1st paragraph. Byfield was young but didn’t impress me at all. I’m no fan of the overgrown types it’s rare any turn out good great. 6’-6’2 190lb give or take is my area of size preferred.

The draft says otherwise, they’ve made a ton of picks, 29 to be exact, in the past three drafts.

The Canucks have picked 20 times over the same timeframe.
- LeftCoaster

What is impressive in those 29 picks?

Stockpiling is flawed. Quantity highly overrated. It is & always will be who can draft & get lucky in later rounds. There is where scouts earn their keep. The flaws are there but the character & development tend to be the difference. Good teams with depth can groom their picks for roles & the odd once in awhile one blossoms.
- Nighthawk

That logic is fundamentally flawed, the more you pick the better chances you have to find a that elusive player in the second round and beyond. Better management and scouting staffs certainly weigh in on that though.

What is impressive in those 29 picks?
- Nighthawk

If you go read the pool rankings you’ll be able to see why those who made the rankings are impressed

They may take a few goalies but unless there is a high draft pick Holtby wont be a Kraken.

If Holtby had value Canucks would trade him themselves
- VANTEL

Well that sounds high he's not LE bad. Also they need him for goalie e-draft requirement so no trade attempts.

That logic is fundamentally flawed, the more you pick the better chances you have to find a that elusive player in the second round and beyond. Better management and scouting staffs certainly weigh in on that though.
- LeftCoaster

Nope. 50 player roster is a finite number. 29 picks cannot all be signed. All it amounts to is throwing more darts. Shotgun drafting.

9 of 29 in 1st 2 rounds. Therein lies the hope & of those they look like nothing special.

If playing poker it’s not how many hands I win it’s how big the pots are that I win.

If you go read the pool rankings you’ll be able to see why those who made the rankings are impressed
- LeftCoaster

I’ve scanned them many times every year. I single out whom I like not the entire pool. Many will bust like they always have.

The draft says otherwise, they’ve made a ton of picks, 29 to be exact, in the past three drafts.

The Canucks have picked 20 times over the same timeframe.
- LeftCoaster

Montreal have a pretty set team and very few of them will make the Habs . It doesn't matter but Habs don't have a strong pool after Caulfield Romanov are playing NHL.

Nope. 50 player roster is a finite number. 29 picks cannot all be signed. All it amounts to is throwing more darts. Shotgun drafting.

9 of 29 in 1st 2 rounds. Therein lies the hope & of those they look like nothing special.

If playing poker it’s not how many hands I win it’s how big the pots are that I win.
- Nighthawk

Scouting staff can also dial in more with the normal amount of picks compared to 10+

https://www.hockeydb.com/...aft/teams/dr00006929.html

That is not impressive drafting at all.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr00006929.html

That is not impressive drafting at all.
- Nighthawk

That’s because their head scout is MG’s boy, Eric Crawford

Well that sounds high he's not LE bad. Also they need him for goalie e-draft requirement so no trade attempts.
- NuckUp

He is a 5.7 mil with a 3.67 GAA and 889 SV% . Teams are not going to be lining up to hitch onto some of that action. I don't think anyways .

Predicting another lottery pick?
- Nighthawk

Hard to say right now, given that none of the aggressive off season moves have been made yet. But based on the challenges they face, my initial guess is that they finish 4th or 5th in their division, likely outside the playoffs.

Hard to say right now, given that none of the aggressive off season moves have been made yet. But based on the challenges they face, my initial guess is that they finish 4th or 5th in their division, likely outside the playoffs.
- 1970vintage

Do we even know divisions for next year? It’s back to normal I assume?

Nope. 50 player roster is a finite number. 29 picks cannot all be signed. All it amounts to is throwing more darts. Shotgun drafting.

9 of 29 in 1st 2 rounds. Therein lies the hope & of those they look like nothing special.

If playing poker it’s not how many hands I win it’s how big the pots are that I win.
- Nighthawk

If you don’t put in the work, sure, you’re just throwing darts. Again, that’s flawed logic to support your narrative.

In the past three drafts Montreal stockpiled 3 - first round picks, 6 - second round picks and 4 - third round picks....where most of the leagues players are drafted.

Simple math says, providing we agree Montreal has a competent staff, picking 13 times instead of the normal 9 times they have a better chance to find an NHL player with some of those extra picks. In fact it already has because Romanov was their second 2nd round pick and he’s now an nhl regular with them.

They got that pick by trading Tomas Fleischmann and Dale Weise to Blackhawks for Phillip Danault and a 2018 second round pick (#38-Alexander Romanov).

Montreal have a pretty set team and very few of them will make the Habs . It doesn't matter but Habs don't have a strong pool after Caulfield Romanov are playing NHL.
- VANTEL

I’m not disagreeing with you, but the people who write those articles are. I don’t know enough about prospects to have an informed opinion.

I’m not disagreeing with you, but the people who write those articles are. I don’t know enough about prospects to have an informed opinion.
- LeftCoaster

Do we even know divisions for next year? It’s back to normal I assume?
- Nucker101

Hopefully, it was painful watching the Canadian Division this year. Thankfully NHL Center Ice was available

Montreal have a pretty set team and very few of them will make the Habs . It doesn't matter but Habs don't have a strong pool after Caulfield Romanov are playing NHL.
- VANTEL

Habs struggke to attract UFA’s in a non covid year & will continue. As they age & they are it’ll be what MB can trade them for. He’s fairly savvy but not perfect at that. Suzuki for Patches was a win Drouin for Sergachev nope. Lots still rides on KK & has to resign Danault who wants to get paid.

Hard to say right now, given that none of the aggressive off season moves have been made yet. But based on the challenges they face, my initial guess is that they finish 4th or 5th in their division, likely outside the playoffs.
- 1970vintage

Yes too much is yet to happen & yes a bubble team til they turn the corner. That is what we all are waiting for. I’m predicting the D & special teams will be better. Not saying much but that should be enough. How much better hard to say but lots of room to do so.

Do we even know divisions for next year? It’s back to normal I assume?
- Nucker101

Yes Arizona goes to the Central.

I think with Podk and Hog playing with the Canucks the pool took a hit but Canucks already have a boatload of young players
- VANTEL

Exactly. One of the youngest. Yes stock thr cupbosrds, but this idea that we dont have any young guys is a joke.

Do we even know divisions for next year? It’s back to normal I assume?
- Nucker101

That’s what I’m assuming, so:
Vegas
Edmonton
Calgary
LA
Vancouver
Seattle
San Jose
Anaheim

E draft is funny what fans of each team are expecting. I keep seeing Vanouver fans expecting Seattle to take Holby or Roussel. WHY? They could take MAF Allen Corpisalo Dreiger Broissoit. Why would they even want Holtby?

I think the flat cap will cause more trades than the E Draft .
- VANTEL

Its a good point, flat cap changes the lamdscape big time. Seattle has a huge advantage in that sense.

That’s what I’m assuming, so:
Vegas
Edmonton
Calgary
LA
Vancouver
Seattle
San Jose
Anaheim
- 1970vintage