2025 DRAFT Thread
- Thread starter Peen
- Start date
Caught the entirety of the Sweden-USA semi; and parts of the Canada-Sweden final.
I know consensus is this is a 'weak draft'. But I'm certainly not seeing it, based on my observation of some of the draft-eligible players in this U-18 tournament. Lots of speed and skill from my viewing.
I'd love to see Brady Martin slide to the Canucks at #15, but that may not happen after his strong tournament. But I saw a number of guys who probably won't be top-10 picks, but would still look awfully good in the Canucks' prospect pipeline.
I guess 'conventional wisdom' has the Canucks dealing their pick. But they might be missing out on a very good player.
I know consensus is this is a 'weak draft'. But I'm certainly not seeing it, based on my observation of some of the draft-eligible players in this U-18 tournament. Lots of speed and skill from my viewing.
I'd love to see Brady Martin slide to the Canucks at #15, but that may not happen after his strong tournament. But I saw a number of guys who probably won't be top-10 picks, but would still look awfully good in the Canucks' prospect pipeline.
I guess 'conventional wisdom' has the Canucks dealing their pick. But they might be missing out on a very good player.
I really feel we should be walking away with at least 2 of the centers in this 1st round. I’d quite honestly trade Willander for the 7th-10th OA for a chance to draft Martin and Reschny with our 15th.
Been thinking about it for awhile but there’s really no other position as valuable to us right now than the Center position. Martin and Reschny have really valuable and desirable traits that every team would covet. Martin’s ability to completely tilt the atmosphere of the game as well as Reschny’s all around game are the exact two types of players our team has been missing.
Martin is somewhere between Schenn and Kesler 2.0. I’d easily trade Willander for the chance to select him. Willander for Buffalo’s 7th OA pick.
Been thinking about it for awhile but there’s really no other position as valuable to us right now than the Center position. Martin and Reschny have really valuable and desirable traits that every team would covet. Martin’s ability to completely tilt the atmosphere of the game as well as Reschny’s all around game are the exact two types of players our team has been missing.
Martin is somewhere between Schenn and Kesler 2.0. I’d easily trade Willander for the chance to select him. Willander for Buffalo’s 7th OA pick.
lawrence
Registered User
- May 19, 2012
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its not a good platform to evaluate the entire draft. Right now these players are given centre stage, so they might look better than they actually are.
this is a flat out terrible idea. I feel at 15 we can still grab a player equally as good as martin or Reschny because other players werent there such as Bear, and Mcqueen because they are unavailable because they're teams were in the playoffs.
if Bear/McQueen are still there at 15 then yeah. But I’d take Martin over all of them and I don’t think he’ll be there after 10.
lawrence
Registered User
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me2
Go ahead foot
I'm struggling to get into this years draft knowing we are not likely to have our first.
BenningHurtsMySoul
Unfair Huggy Bear
PavelBure10
The Russian Rocket
I could see it going back to closed door once we get to the McKenna draft. Like before Pittsburgh will magically get the franchise player once Crosby is headed for retirement.
The 15th overall pick in this year's draft isn't going to get you much. The Canucks will pretty well have to throw in one of Lekkerimaki or Wilander (or perhaps even both) to get the ball rolling.
And then you start looking around to the league to see what kind of center that package might get you--and it's pretty 'underwhelming'.
About the only guy you might trade that package for is Dylan Larkin in Detroit. But he has a full NTC, so is he likely to waive it to come to the Canucks?
So my bet is the Canuck keep the pick. But I'm more interested to see what they do in later rounds. They own their own second round pick; and also San Jose's third round pick, via the Rangers in the Soucy trade.
Maybe they can package their second and third round picks to move up in the draft and grab another decent prospect later in the first round?
And then you start looking around to the league to see what kind of center that package might get you--and it's pretty 'underwhelming'.
About the only guy you might trade that package for is Dylan Larkin in Detroit. But he has a full NTC, so is he likely to waive it to come to the Canucks?
So my bet is the Canuck keep the pick. But I'm more interested to see what they do in later rounds. They own their own second round pick; and also San Jose's third round pick, via the Rangers in the Soucy trade.
Maybe they can package their second and third round picks to move up in the draft and grab another decent prospect later in the first round?
SelltheTeamFrancesco
Registered User
- Aug 11, 2015
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I watched the Gold medal game of the U-18's was a snooze fest but Canada won gold so who cares.
Martin
Not gonna talk to much about him because I don't think he will be available at 15 but if he is pick him. Lead the tournament in +/- at +15, and had 12 point in 7 games but really 6 since he got kicked of one of the games early. Thing he needs to work are his playmaking and getting his shot off quicker and through traffic more.
Reschny
I liked his games, especially against the Czechs where he saved them from being eliminated. Then followed it up against the Slovaks where after Martin got kicked out the team struggled to create offence and he was one of the only players driving play. Great hockey IQ and vision, knows how to protect the puck, and his one-timer is underrated. Reschny has good acceleration and speed in tight areas but needs to get faster and stronger. Fatigued a bit in the final games although easily could have 2 more points in the Sweden game. Lacks dynamism to his game, not gonna wow with his individual skills.
Kindell
His games against Finland and Sweden were his best. Looked good at times, but kind of disappeared for stretches and had to search for him. I think he is a winger in the NHL. Defensively I thought he wasn't great but just okay not super engaged at times. I wanted him to be more aggressive and demand the puck more, felt like if he was engaged he had the ability to dominate. Skating looked good, he was better without the puck in the offensive zone than I previously thought. I think even though he wasn't put in the best positions he was still noticeable and produced which is hard for players at this age to do because they are so used to being one of the top guys on their junior teams.
Nesbitt
I like his game just not at 15 he is on my dnd for the Canucks. Good with his stick, and has good hands, and offensive awareness. Man, his feet and skating are bad, he doesn't move his feet at times and needs two or three strides to even get up full speed which isn't very fast. Surprisingly he had some good forecheck sequences where he made some good plays with his stick. Is good at the net front and knows how to find and make space. A big concern I have for him is his decision-making, he made some low iq plays where he killed play in the offensive zone and had some bad turnovers in the defensive zone simply because he wasn't moving his feet. Nothing stands out other than his size.
Cootes
I think he wasn't as good as his numbers suggest but you can easily see a path to the NHL. To me it looked the coaches wanted him to drive his line and without Martin, he struggled to do that. His linemates weren't doing him any favours. Was really good defensively, and has a lot of tools and skills to work with. I do think his vision and decision will limit his offence in the NHL. After watching him at the U-18 this is a player I want to watch more of. And see why his offence was limited this year.
Schmidt
Not an option at 15, I think he is a second round pick. Doesn't impact the game enough, was cheating for offense at times. Was able to find space and had a couple breakaways and still didn't score. He is a good straight line skater but needs to add more quick burst and acceleration into his game. Has a good shot but I think he holds on to the puck too long, needs a faster release.
Boumedienne
I know he had 14 points in 7 games but don't let that fool you. He was downright bad when it mattered most, and his defensive game was terrible. Got outmuscled and outworked a lot against Canada and the US. Yeah, he scored some secondary assists cool, and so did Jouelivi when he played in the WJC in his draft year. I would not draft him at 15, he is still the 4th-ranked dman in my opinion. His skating is really good, underrated shot, he is good at activating and jumping up in the play. I question his hockey IQ on both sides of the puck.
Smith
Not gonna be there at 15. Really a tournament of ups and downs. With more downs than ups. Just was way too nonchalant and relaxed at times. I expected him to absolutely dominate on both sides. Reminds me of Chychrun but the difference is that Smith is not as physically dominant as Chychrun but has fewer decision-making questions. Also, Chychrun was more developed at the same age. He has all the tools to be a top-paring guy. Is a player anytime I watch I am left wanting more from him. Should be way more physically opposing, especially on the boards. I have no why he wasn't winning like a majority of his puck battles in this tournament. His consistency game to game in this tournament sucked.
Mrtka
Not gonna be available at 15. Was good against Canada, but it would have been sick if would had ended Canada in OT in the quarterfinals. Skating for his size is good. I think he needs development, still quite raw in terms of his development. Decision-making was questionable at times and needs to be way more physical. He was turning the puck over because he was playing with too much finesse. Almost had me yelling at my screen for him to just take the opposing player into the board and eliminate him. If he had used his size to his advantage the play would have ended a lot more plays before they got started.
Martin
Not gonna talk to much about him because I don't think he will be available at 15 but if he is pick him. Lead the tournament in +/- at +15, and had 12 point in 7 games but really 6 since he got kicked of one of the games early. Thing he needs to work are his playmaking and getting his shot off quicker and through traffic more.
Reschny
I liked his games, especially against the Czechs where he saved them from being eliminated. Then followed it up against the Slovaks where after Martin got kicked out the team struggled to create offence and he was one of the only players driving play. Great hockey IQ and vision, knows how to protect the puck, and his one-timer is underrated. Reschny has good acceleration and speed in tight areas but needs to get faster and stronger. Fatigued a bit in the final games although easily could have 2 more points in the Sweden game. Lacks dynamism to his game, not gonna wow with his individual skills.
Kindell
His games against Finland and Sweden were his best. Looked good at times, but kind of disappeared for stretches and had to search for him. I think he is a winger in the NHL. Defensively I thought he wasn't great but just okay not super engaged at times. I wanted him to be more aggressive and demand the puck more, felt like if he was engaged he had the ability to dominate. Skating looked good, he was better without the puck in the offensive zone than I previously thought. I think even though he wasn't put in the best positions he was still noticeable and produced which is hard for players at this age to do because they are so used to being one of the top guys on their junior teams.
Nesbitt
I like his game just not at 15 he is on my dnd for the Canucks. Good with his stick, and has good hands, and offensive awareness. Man, his feet and skating are bad, he doesn't move his feet at times and needs two or three strides to even get up full speed which isn't very fast. Surprisingly he had some good forecheck sequences where he made some good plays with his stick. Is good at the net front and knows how to find and make space. A big concern I have for him is his decision-making, he made some low iq plays where he killed play in the offensive zone and had some bad turnovers in the defensive zone simply because he wasn't moving his feet. Nothing stands out other than his size.
Cootes
I think he wasn't as good as his numbers suggest but you can easily see a path to the NHL. To me it looked the coaches wanted him to drive his line and without Martin, he struggled to do that. His linemates weren't doing him any favours. Was really good defensively, and has a lot of tools and skills to work with. I do think his vision and decision will limit his offence in the NHL. After watching him at the U-18 this is a player I want to watch more of. And see why his offence was limited this year.
Schmidt
Not an option at 15, I think he is a second round pick. Doesn't impact the game enough, was cheating for offense at times. Was able to find space and had a couple breakaways and still didn't score. He is a good straight line skater but needs to add more quick burst and acceleration into his game. Has a good shot but I think he holds on to the puck too long, needs a faster release.
Boumedienne
I know he had 14 points in 7 games but don't let that fool you. He was downright bad when it mattered most, and his defensive game was terrible. Got outmuscled and outworked a lot against Canada and the US. Yeah, he scored some secondary assists cool, and so did Jouelivi when he played in the WJC in his draft year. I would not draft him at 15, he is still the 4th-ranked dman in my opinion. His skating is really good, underrated shot, he is good at activating and jumping up in the play. I question his hockey IQ on both sides of the puck.
Smith
Not gonna be there at 15. Really a tournament of ups and downs. With more downs than ups. Just was way too nonchalant and relaxed at times. I expected him to absolutely dominate on both sides. Reminds me of Chychrun but the difference is that Smith is not as physically dominant as Chychrun but has fewer decision-making questions. Also, Chychrun was more developed at the same age. He has all the tools to be a top-paring guy. Is a player anytime I watch I am left wanting more from him. Should be way more physically opposing, especially on the boards. I have no why he wasn't winning like a majority of his puck battles in this tournament. His consistency game to game in this tournament sucked.
Mrtka
Not gonna be available at 15. Was good against Canada, but it would have been sick if would had ended Canada in OT in the quarterfinals. Skating for his size is good. I think he needs development, still quite raw in terms of his development. Decision-making was questionable at times and needs to be way more physical. He was turning the puck over because he was playing with too much finesse. Almost had me yelling at my screen for him to just take the opposing player into the board and eliminate him. If he had used his size to his advantage the play would have ended a lot more plays before they got started.
rypper
21-12-05 it's finally over.
- Dec 22, 2006
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Canucks LB
My Favourite, Gone too soon, RIP Luc, We miss you
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BenningHurtsMySoul
Unfair Huggy Bear
Stoked for the Islanders tbh, that franchise get absolutely no luck and has been that way since the 80s.
And since we drafted high, most of the teams above us moved down.
And since we drafted high, most of the teams above us moved down.
VIPettersson
Registered User
- Apr 9, 2018
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Love how , literally after the first ball, Canucks were crossed off for all the draws immediately.
thecupismine
Registered User
- Apr 1, 2007
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Utah jumped to 4th? Classic, team that finished one point behind us jumps up into a top 5 slot 
One more regulation loss instead of OT and we have the 4th pick, such is life.
We retain our spot as the team that’s dropped the most spots all time.
One more regulation loss instead of OT and we have the 4th pick, such is life. We retain our spot as the team that’s dropped the most spots all time.
rypper
21-12-05 it's finally over.
- Dec 22, 2006
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I have a hard time accepting that when they were a dynasty in the 80s and can look back fondly at 4 cups. We can look back fondly at losing 3 times in the cup final.
BenningHurtsMySoul
Unfair Huggy Bear
The majority of their current fans weren't really around for those cups though. They have been a completely mid team for 30+ years
Just A Bit Outside
Playoffs??!
- Mar 6, 2010
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