Cody Hodgson the top pick in Vancouver Canucks' 2008 draft class

[Jyrki]

16 players past the first round in the 2008 draft can even be said to be NHLers. 16 total.


I'd say VAN did alright by getting Hodgson. Could have been a lot worse.

The next 4 picks after Sauve (Wiercioch, Schultz, Adam, Dalpe) are all legit prospects. Hamonic, Hayes, Stepan and Scandella were chosen in the 2nd round still. We could've done a bit better.

 

[Mit Yarrum]

It's cool. Fun to discuss drafting years.

Hodgson was a great pick.

He's got several attributes that are indisputably valuable. His vision and offensive stick work fits perfectly with Vanek. Pommers looks to Vanek, but Vanek will make use of anyone moving in front of the net and Cody excels there.

Cody needs skill/hands type guys as linemates. Good situation for him and I'm sure that's what Gillis saw...would do well with technical players (Sedin type players).

 

[Fat Tony]

Hodgson was a great pick.

He's got several attributes that are indisputably valuable. His vision and offensive stick work fits perfectly with Vanek. Pommers looks to Vanek, but Vanek will make use of anyone moving in front of the net and Cody excels there.

Cody needs skill/hands type guys as linemates. Good situation for him and I'm sure that's what Gillis saw...would do well with technical players (Sedin type players).

Hodgson has a knack for finding a loose puck in the slot. And he's shown a willingness to wade in there. If that's what Vanek looks for, the two of them will work out well.

 

[deckercky]

Hodgson was a good pick.

Sauve is looking bust, but he's looking bust because of injury, which can't be helped. He was looking good until then.

 

[Mit Yarrum]

Hodgson has a knack for finding a loose puck in the slot. And he's shown a willingness to wade in there. If that's what Vanek looks for, the two of them will work out well.

As good of a pick as you hope to make in that spot.

This season in the AHL helped as well I think. I'm not so sure he starts out like he has this year without that time in the AHL tuning up.

As a side note, I think it was good for the on ice game in the end.

 

[KidCanuck*]

Yeah, that draft was a disaster.

2009 is looking waaaaay better for us.



edit: looking at the last few draft years, there's a little more uncertainty, but 2011 is looking pretty good, too. I wonder why Gillis decided to torch 2010.

Yeah cause Hodgson into Kassian is a complete disaster. If you can get 1 player out of each draft to be a mainstay in the NHL, that's pretty good, 2 is exceptional, 3 is amazing.

 

[KidCanuck*]

Hodgson picks up 3 points today. Yes, I'm aware of who is linemates are.

He is like the rest of their players, terrible defensively. Other then a few guys like Regehr and Ott they don't know what defense is. Poor Miller, not that his glove hand has been helping at all.

 

[Shareefruck]

Yea but you can't make hypothetical situations to make evaluations about a real hockey teams decisions. Hodgson couldn't have been successful stuck in a 3rd line role. So it wasn't a choice of Schroeder/Kassian or Hodgson. It was more likely a choice between moving either Hodgson or Kesler.

I'm totally over the result, I just get annoyed by the fan bias.

By hypothetically, I meant that I was NOT referring to this team's makeup specifically but just his objective value as a hockey player in a vaccuum.

 

[Shareefruck]

Why wouldn't you rather have the guy who has the most goals on his team and isn't depending on his two linemates to inflate his point totals? Hodgson has 9 points, well Vanek and Pominville have 19 and 13. It's pretty clear who's leeching off others on that line. It's remarkable to me that you would actually willingly take Hodgson who is a year older and downright horrible defensively. Players like him (soft, slow, one-dimensional with attitude issues) are quite literally worthless when fully developed as could be seen by what Roy and Ribeiro fetched in a trade.

I think your post demonstrates what Shareefruck is saying in the post you quoted.

Hodgson is playing well. He's even skating well from what I've seen.

Absolutely. He obviously had/has kinks to work out in his game early on, but there's no part of me that thinks he'll be stuck with incompetent strength and speed as he continues to develop. You can't teach his awareness and ability out there. The ceiling is just so damn high.

I feel very strongly that Canuck fans are going out of their way to downplay his game and be pessimistic about it just because they took it a bit personally when he was moved in such a surprising and ugly fashion. I think "attitude problems" is unfair.

I'm not arguing that Hodgson is without a doubt going to be better than Kassian, because it could go either way depending on how lucky we are with Kassian (I'm leaning towards Hodgson being the better player/bigger star when it's all said and done, though). I just hate the flip-flopping.

 

[Apple Juice]

Yann Sauve can still make the Canucks. Just a little longer than expected but I'm expecting him to be like a Chris Tanev. Come in his "prime" and suit up as a 6th d-man for us. But with the way our defensemen are signed for long term, there's no way that Tanev and Sauve will become perennial top 4 or top 2 defensemen in a long time..

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Yann Sauve can still make the Canucks. Just a little longer than expected but I'm expecting him to be like a Chris Tanev. Come in his "prime" and suit up as a 6th d-man for us. But with the way our defensemen are signed for long term, there's no way that Tanev and Sauve will become perennial top 4 or top 2 defensemen in a long time..

Disagree on Tanev. He may never light the lamp but I can easily see him become a premier defensive dman who puts up 15-20 points per year.

 

[Fat Tony]

Tanev was a twig last year. He'll just get better as he matures physically. And his slapshot is at least as good as Willie Mitchell's.

 

[Tim Calhoun]

Yann Sauve can still make the Canucks. Just a little longer than expected but I'm expecting him to be like a Chris Tanev. Come in his "prime" and suit up as a 6th d-man for us. But with the way our defensemen are signed for long term, there's no way that Tanev and Sauve will become perennial top 4 or top 2 defensemen in a long time..

Tanev and Sauve have zero similarities.

I used to like Sauve, but it's pretty evident now he is simply not good enough to ever play in the NHL again. The fact that he's playing in the ECHL after two years in the AHL is evidence enough.

 

[Bleach Clean]

Ignoring the Cody vs. Zack debate...

That draft - outside of the Hodgson pick - was abysmal. Not one legitimate prospect in the bunch. 2009 is looking much, much, much better. Also, thank goodness for some of our shrewd UFA signings.

Whaddayamean? We got Weise out of the 4th round. (I know we didn't draft him).

 

[hellstick]

Abysmal.

That being said, this was Gillis' first draft having been hired just weeks previously. Wasn't it said that he mostly relied on input from our head scouts to make any drafting decisions?

Still though. Prab Rai. Eww.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Abysmal.

That being said, this was Gillis' first draft having been hired just weeks previously. Wasn't it said that he mostly relied on input from our head scouts to make any drafting decisions?

Still though. Prab Rai. Eww.

To be fair the drafting of Prab Rai is a positive.

If Canucks hadnt drafted him youd have a bunch of numb-nuts calling for MG to acquire him because hes from the area.

 

[vanuck]

Gillis had the option of giving up the 2011 1st rounder instead but gave up the 2010. I guess he didn't see anyone he liked enough.

And a darn good choice too.

Ignoring the Cody vs. Zack debate...

That draft - outside of the Hodgson pick - was abysmal. Not one legitimate prospect in the bunch. 2009 is looking much, much, much better. Also, thank goodness for some of our shrewd UFA signings.

I think it might demonstrate in a way just how bad our scouting department was, when you consider that MG only had input on our 1st round pick, and nobody else. Remember them recommending Kyle Beach? Holy cow.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Yeah, our junior scouting still leaves a lot to be desired. In other breaking news, water is still wet. Ron Delorme still has a job here. The "ugh" should be for that, not Prab Rai. Every generation of Canucks fans needs its Robin Bawa.

Honestly still glad for CoHo and the Sabres. Cody'll be a star, especially if he's playing with guys like Vanek. Sucks to lose him, but I heard there's this guy we traded him for who's also doing well.

Cody might end up as the better offensive player, but he'll never cave in Ben Eager's face.

 

[Fat Tony]

Every generation of Canucks fans needs its Robin Bawa.

For a guy that only played 2 games for the Canucks, he made a decent impression. Hit everything in sight.

I looked him up on hockeydb just for kicks. I didn't realize he played for the Sharks and Ducks after us.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

For a guy that only played 2 games for the Canucks, he made a decent impression. Hit everything in sight.

I looked him up on hockeydb just for kicks. I didn't realize he played for the Sharks and Ducks after us.

Still remember him sending someone through the glass. No idea who it was; also don't remember why they didn't keep him around. Pretty bleak times, then. Couldn't have done much worse.

 

[Duodenum]

Kassian has owned more of the 200 x 85 than any other canuck this year. Both sides of the red line. Something Hodgson never has and likely never will do.

Eh, I feel Kassian has been lucky not to be exposed defensively yet, he doesn't look like he has the greatest IQ on the defensive end. As a winger, it doesn't affect the team as much as a bad defensive center like Hodgson at least.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Eh, I feel Kassian has been lucky not to be exposed defensively yet, he doesn't look like he has the greatest IQ on the defensive end. As a winger, it doesn't affect the team as much as a bad defensive center like Hodgson at least.

Dont understand what you mean be "lucky to not to be exposed defensively yet"? Maybe you can provide an example.

Hes played the d role quite well. Is he going to be a defensive specialist? No. And certainly not while playing on the Sedins line as his role right now is to provide offense with his size and strength and skills. But hes been back in position and is keeping his head up and not really floating around.

But as Ive said before his defensive work has been starting in the offensive zone which is exactly what you want from a guy like him. Hes always got his head up and looking to make sure hes in a defensive position while still in the other teams end.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

08 wasn't good at all.

2009 seems to be a solid draft for us though, Schroeder, Andersson, Connaution, Cannata. I haven't given up on Rodin yet either.

2011 is also looking very good, Jensen and Corrado are the main guys, but Honzik is still very much a prospect, then Labate and Tommernes seem good, even like what we have in Grenier.

Gillis has actually done quite well IMO, everyone underrates the job he has done, it could be alot worse.

 

[Royal Canuck]

2011 looks like it could be a stellar draft year for us, and Gaunce isn't looking to bad either.

2008 was quite the failure aside from Hodgson though.

 

[Wisp]

Re: 2010. Price is also having a great year in college.

Re: Kassian in the defensive zone. Are effing kidding me? He played stellar there. Watch the game with the Kings. He used his size to win puck battles and get the puck out constantly that game.