2025 DRAFT Thread

[MS]

A number of draft sites have the Canucks picking Cootes at #15.

His draft profile is being compared favorably to Bo Horvat in his draft year. The knock on Horvat was clearly his skating--which he obviously worked on relentlessly, to a point where it became one of his strengths.

But I guess any time you're picking a kid with some 'skating issues', then post-draft player development becomes crucial. And there's always going to be some risk.

Cootes is a plus skater.

 

[ScoutyMcScoutface]

The Sedins and Ryan Kesler were some of the best and most dynamic forwards in franchise history. But when you look at their development curve, they hardly dazzled during their first few years in the league.

The Sedins in particular, were painfully slow to percolate. Henrik broke in as 19-year old, and had four seasons of 9, 16, 8 and 11 goals, and crested 40 points only once. Daniel was a little better with 20, 9, 14 and 18 goals, but also only broke the 40 point mark once.

In fact they were both so discouraged, they were talking about returning to Sweden during the lockout season in 2005 and just staying there. And it was Trevor Linden who apparently talked them out of it.

And of course Ryan Kesler's early struggles were well chronicled. Fast, decent on the draws but with no vision and hands of stone.

Despite all this, there are people on these Boards who want to trade Lekkerimaki ASAP,......even saying that if he isn't an impact player as early as next season (when he'll still be only 21) then he's basically a bust.

Fortunately most NHL front offices don't reflect the unreasonable impatience of their fan base.

I think most fans see the potential for Lekkerimäki to play meaningful NHL games, it's how he fits on a true contender that has people thinking he gets us closer to a cup as a trade piece.

If we can somehow trade him for a youngish centre with upside you have to do it. Wingers like him making an impact in the conference finals/cup finals are very rare, and that's the end goal. We don't need more "Mr.October" types

 

[VanJack]

I think most fans see the potential for Lekkerimäki to play meaningful NHL games, it's how he fits on a true contender that has people thinking he gets us closer to a cup as a trade piece.

If we can somehow trade him for a youngish centre with upside you have to do it. Wingers like him making an impact in the conference finals/cup finals are very rare, and that's the end goal. We don't need more "Mr.October" types

My only point is that back in the day, if people had come on to these Boards and advocated trading the Sedins or Kesler early in their Canuck careers for 'immediate help' somewhere else, a lot of people would have been on board.

But like most teams in the league, the 'Canucks and 'immediate help' always seem to go together in the same sentence season after season. But trading any of those guys before the broke out--would have been a franchise-crippling mistake.

 

[ScoutyMcScoutface]

My only point is that back in the day, if people had come on to these Boards and advocated trading the Sedins or Kesler early in their Canuck careers for 'immediate help' somewhere else, a lot of people would have been on board.

But like most teams in the league, the 'Canucks and 'immediate help' always seem to go together in the same sentence season after season. But trading any of those guys before the broke out--would have been a franchise-crippling mistake.

His performance in the AHL playoffs doesn't help his stock and we're at a point in our attempted window that we need to be maximizing assets.

Could he develop into a ~30 goal winger still? absolutely

Will he get there in time to help us hang onto Hughes? Highly unlikely considering his sample of NHL games this year and his play in the AHL playoffs

Seems to me to be the type to hit his stride in his 23+ year old season and we don't have the luxury of patience

 

[The Iron Goalie]

Been awhile since I've posted, but with draft rapidly approaching... I figured it could be fun to go through and list some of the players I'd like to see the Canucks draft outside the 1st Round starting with,

2nd Round 47th overall

Eddie Genborg (LW) - 6'1.5 205lbs

Genborg is a power winger, who loves to drive the net, and is a menace on the forecheck.

Offensively, he's more than willing to go to the dirty areas, and scores most of his goals from around the net, but he does have a solid shot. Playmaking is just ok, but his passing ability is good enough for him to keep plays connected, and the make most of the plays he needs to (the play doesn't die on his stick). That said he'll need to improve his skill level overall, but he does flash some very nice short area skills and is a great net front presence.

Genborg has a strong commitment to both ends of the rink, and has a knack for winning boards battle + disrupting passing lanes( I believe he has some future PK upside).

Ultimately, Genborg will have to continue to improve his overall playmaking, and try to become more dynamic offensively, but he has a strong overall game with plus physical and individual skills. If he does pop offensively, there's a chance we get a top 6 winger power winger, but if not he could still develop into a solid bot 9 contributor.


Luca Romano (RC) - 5'11 177lbs

The first thing that stands out with Romano is his plus skating ability and easy speed, but his release is a close second. His skating allows him to back off defensemen on the rush, and pressure quickly on the forecheck. Romano has above average skill + passing at the OHL level, but it's his awesome release which forces opposing D to respect him as a shooting threat, and that opens up passing lanes for him to make plays.

His overall game shows promise as well, due to his solid hockey sense, willingness to engage physically, and win board battles. He may be a bit undersized, but he make up for it with a high work rate.

If he can improve his overall skill level/dynamism, there's a chance he develops into a 2nd line C, but even if his offensive game doesn't pop... his shooting ability, skating, and two-way grit should give Romano a strong chance of developing into a solid bot 6 two-way C who can provide some secondary goal scoring.


Kurban Limatov (LD) - 6'4 190lbs

Limatov is a big smooth skating D, who while not as mean as D-Petey...does well in boards battles, and more than holds his own physically in my limited viewings. His skating allows him to pressure attackers while holding a solid gap, and he can recover from any mistakes/bad pinches with relative ease. Limatov has solid all around defense/offensive positioning, but will need to continue to improve (as all prospects do obviously)

While his overall offensive game remains unrefined, he does show flashes of skill and a willingness to attack with his skating that can't ignored, and while his individual skills can impress... Limatov does need to work on involving his teammate a bit more and develop his playmaking ability (has a bit to much tunnel vision at times).

Give him a few seasons in the KHL to grow into his game, and we may strike gold with a huge ELITE skating top 4 D, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him go earlier in the 2nd, or maybe even push for a 1st round selection (if a team falls in love with his size+skating combo)