Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning announces Jake Virtanen (not pictured) as the number six overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning announces Jake Virtanen (not pictured) as the number six overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
The Vancouver Canucks need high-end prospects, but getting them will be extremely hard in case of a playoff finish.
Not many expected the Vancouver Canucks to be in serious playoff contention at the halfway mark of the 2016-17 season. Yet, here they are, just one point away from a wild-card spot 48 games in.
While the Canucks are barely better this season than they were in 2015-16, we need to keep their chance of success in mind looking at the draft.
Michael Schuckers has done some great work developing draft pick values, and I recommend that you give it a read. If you want to skip that and just look at the outcome, here is a great visualisation by Sean Tierney:
View post on imgur.com
From first overall to around 25th, there is a huge drop-off in value. In other words, your chances of getting a future NHL-regular are much bigger in the top 10 than they are in the second half of the first round.
Unfortunately, a playoff finish would equal picking 16th or later.
Ranked #21 by Hockeyprospect.com Ranked #12 by ISS Hockey Ranked #9 by Future Considerations Ranked #23 by McKeen’s Hockey
Unlike my November “players to watch” list, this edition is dominated by defencemen. First up is OHL blue-liner Nicolas Hague, ranked as high as ninth by Future Considerations and as low as 23rd by McKeen’s Hockey.
Hague has a great mix of size, skating and skill…shuts down the oppositions’ top lines and is a driver of the play…is physical and will give that extra shot to his opponent to leave a mark and an impression for the next time…doesn’t give his man room to breathe in front of the net…not shy with stepping in to lay the body, standing up his man with a solid check…controls the gap very well with strong position and good stick work…very balanced and surprisingly mobile for a big kid, he possesses a powerful lateral step…has a strong desire to skate with the puck, keeping his head up while weighing his options and hitting his man with a pass when the timing is right…heavy point shot, but needs to shorten his wind-up…has a solid transition game as he can use his reach to take the puck away from opponent and quickly turn his sights to making the breakout pass in one fluid motion…plays a solid two-way game and has solid top-four NHL upside.
For a long time, Vancouver’s ‘D’ seemed to be the club’s greatest weakness. Things have changed since then, but the Canucks’ D-core is still far from elite. A player like Hague could certainly help.
What stands out the most about Hague is a natural gift: his size. At 6-foot-6 and 214 pounds, Hague looks no less like a giant than Nikita Tryamkin. Also much like Tryamkin, Hague can skate, and he has the skill to make plays with the puck.
So far this season, Hague has 14 goals and 32 points in 43 games.
At this point, Hague doesn’t look like a future No. 1, but he certainly has top-four potential. He combines the size and physicality of a traditional D-man with the skill and mobility needed in today’s NHL.
With Hague, Tryamkin, Ben Hutton, Troy Stecher and Olli Juolevi, the Canucks’ blue line would be all but set for the future.
Ranked #11 by ISS Hockey Ranked #13 by Future Considerations Ranked #20 by McKeen’s Hockey
Next up is another defenceman from Canadian major junior: Juuso Valimaki of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. A native of Nokia, Finland, Valimaki was selected 14th overall at the 2015 CHL Import Draft and could end up getting drafted to the NHL in a similar position.
ISS Hockey have Valimaki ranked 11th, McKeen’s Hockey have him 20th, Hockeyprospect.com have him outside of their top 31.
A strong, minute-munching, two-way, dependable blueliner…not a lot of high-end offensive flash or dash to his game, but just makes the right play consistently…good vision and puck moving ability, has no panic to his game and waits for his options…can sling the puck around with strong accurate passes…his hockey sense allows him to read and react to the play well in advance…very committed to blocking shots…big, rangy and covers a lot of ice, but his pivots and transitions are a little bit choppy…solid lateral mobility, especially carrying the puck and keeping it out of range of the opposition…plays with a good mix of aggression and poise, stepping into lanes to take the puck away from the opposition…just a good, poised, smart player who is not flashy, but consistently makes the right play and helps his team win games.
Like Hague, Valimaki is a strong two-way defenceman. In 40 games this season, he has 13 goals and 40 points.
While Hague looks like the more mobile and defensively sound player, Valimaki is putting up more points. But, there are some concerns about his skating.
Overall, Valimaki and Hague likely have similar potential regarding their future roles in the NHL. Both can be top-four players who eat up minutes on even strength as well as the power play and penalty kill.
Ranked #9 by Hockeyprospect.com Ranked #16 by Future Considerations Ranked #11 by McKeen’s Hockey
The third defenceman on the list is Miro Heiskanen. Unlike Valimaki, this Finn decided to play professionally in Finland rather than taking the North American major junior route.
Again, there are some interesting rankings. ISS Hockey, who have Valimaki at No. 11, don’t have Heiskanen in their top 31. Hockeyprospect.com, who have Valimaki outside of their top 31, have Heiskanen at No. 9.
Undersized defenseman who continues to shine impressively in every international showing. Although he is slightly built and in need of beef and more muscle, he is very athletic, and has shown himself an equal to the grown men playing against him in the Finnish pro league. He possesses high end mobility, agility, an excellent skating stride and vision and makes solid defensive zone reads. A four-direction skater who easily transitions to his back pedal and calmly handles the attacker when middle zone turnovers happen. He is very good around his own net, and has a very active stick, clogs lanes and either moves the puck to the right place in transitions, or will skate the puck out, even under pressure. Plays calm and makes good decisions under pressure in his own end. Anticipates well and reads and activates from the defensive position flawlessly, as he carries and passes the puck so well. A power play quarterback who distributes well and gets it on net when he shoots. The negatives is he may not be able to get that much bigger and needs girth and muscle. So he is what he is: a extremely agile puck carrier who simply is not a big man. hasn’t the NHL had rum for a few of these?
A 6-foot, 175-pound D-man, Heiskanen does not have the size of Valimaki or Hague, but he doesn’t seem to need it. Playing with and against grown men, unlike Hague and Valimaki, Heiskanen is playing impressive hockey.
So far, the 17-year-old has four goals and four assists in 27 games. In addition, Heiskanen had three assist in six Champions Hockey League (CHL) games, playing against top teams from across Europe.
There is no doubt that Heiskanen needs to put on some muscle in order to play in the NHL, but that really shouldn’t be an issue. NHL clubs like a hand-on approach with their prospects, making sure they grow to NHL size — it will be no different with Heiskanen. Plus, smaller, skilled players like Shayne Gostibehere are succeeding in the NHL.
Heiskanen is a great offensive player with solid defensive ability. With Heiskanen, Juolevi and Stecher, the Canucks could have three terrific puck-movers on their blue line for at least a decade.
C Ryan Poehling — St. Cloud State University (NCAA)
Ranked #20 by Hockeyprospect.com Ranked #16 by ISS Hockey Ranked #17 by Future Considerations Ranked #18 by McKeen’s Hockey
The Canucks’ draft focus will likely be on centres. After missing out on Auston Matthews and Pierre-Luc Dubois in 2016, they still need a Henrik Sedin successor, even though Bo Horvat is starting to impress. Getting that kind of player outside of the top 10, however, is unlikely. Still, there are certainly centres worth considering, including Ryan Poehling of St. Cloud University.
While rankings for most players are all over the place this year, Poehling is consistently ranked between 16th and 20th.
Strong skating centre-wing who is very strong on his skates and very difficult to contain. Has size and scoring ability to go along with his good feet. Displays a hard accurate shot. He plays in all situations including the PK & PP. Is willing and able to carry the biscuit out of his own end in transition. Will get stronger and heavier. Will be close to NHL ready sooner than most of his class.
Poehling is a typical example for “stats don’t tell the whole story.” With five goals and eight points in 23 games this season, the centre has been putting up modest numbers. But, he is playing with and against much older and advanced players at the NCAA level while others in his draft year are playing in the USHL or even USHS.
Last season, Poehling had 26 goals and 74 points in 45 USHS games, as well as two goals and four points in nine USHL contests.
At 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Poehling is close to an NHL frame. He has the size, skill and skating ability to be a dangerous threat down the middle. Poehling is a strong two-way player who can eat up minutes in all situations.
Though Poehling is not expected to become a top-line player, he certainly has top-six upside. He would not fill the hole Vancouver is set to have on its top line, but he could be an important piece in a long rebuild.
Ranked #15 by Hockeyprospect.com Ranked #7 by ISS Hockey Ranked #20 by Future Considerations Ranked #3 by McKeen’s Hockey
As mentioned earlier, rankings for most players are all over the place. Just take a look at Michael Rasmussen of the WHL Tri-City Americans. McKeen’s Hockey see him as No. 3 behind Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick, Future Considerations have him ranked 20th behind a whole lot of others.
A big, skilled forward who uses his size well…has improved his skating substantially from his midget days…for a player his size, he moves phenomenally well, smoothly and with impressive power…does a very good job of consistently getting to the greasy areas of the ice; he wins a lot of battles in those areas due to his size and reach…goes to the net and blocks the goaltender’s view while looking for deflections and rebounds…not flashy hands, but can carry the puck using his body extremely well to protect it…has underrated vision and playmaking ability…needs some work on his shot as he currently lacks consistent accuracy and quickness in getting it off his blade…just knows how to utilize his strengths to make a difference…uses his reach to disrupt opponents and get into lanes…willing to block shots…has a ways to go, but could be special and has loads of upside.
The reason for Rasmussen being relatively low on some rankings and high on others is likely the fact that he is far from being a “sure thing”. He is an intriguing player, measuring 6-foot-5 and 203 pounds and possessing a great toolset. But, from top-line centre to bust, it seems like everything is possible.
Rasmussen looks like a player with great raw tools but a lot of work left to do. Still, he currently has 30 goals and 52 points in 48 games.
If the Canucks end up picking in the 15-to-20 range and want to go with a centre, Poehling and Rasmussen would both be good options. The difference: Poehling looks more like a guy who is going to make it one way or another.
At the end of the day, a “sure thing” doesn’t exist outside of the top picks of a given draft. It will all come down to preference, and the Canucks will have several interesting options to pick from.
