2011 WHL Draft

[canes watcher]

What do you think the value is on a team thats lost half a mill in two season? Thats far less than the ice have lost

[2speak4all]

Of the 4 you mentioned, I for sure would keep Johnson as he has improved, gotten tougher to play against and when allowed to use it, has a great shot from the point. Preston is pretty well stuck on Ryckman (Lord only knows why), which means you could move Kiziuk and Oslanski.

I don't know why you don't see Ryckman as value? Maybe I am missing something, but I thought he had a decent year. Preston took what he wanted from Trader Roy's day and sent the rest moving. Johnson and Oslanski are from Preston trades and Ryckman is from Trader Roy's era. He hasn't kept too many of Roy's picks other than the forwards, Braes, Fyten, Sutter, Ross. Tot, Tarnasky, Moser, Reners were all draft picks from Roy's days here too. Reners is gone and I cant see him keeping many of the rest as he will be stuck with a few too many 19 year olds.

Ya I cant see them keeping 4 19 yr old D-men either... although Preston seems to usually do things I dont understand...

So with these 11 guys that I know of... 2 or 3 likely wont make the club next year... LD: Ryckman, Jackson, Machacek, Henry, Hak, Topping, and RD: Johnson, Oslanski, Kiziuk, Hulit, and Erkamps... I believe either a) Preston will send both 16 yr olds back to Midget, or b) Preston will do the smart thing and get rid of 2-3 of the 19/20 yr olds (including Machacek)

IMO, Hak, Topping wont be here. They will play Midget AAA. I see Machacek gone as a 20 year old; Oslanski, Kisiuk, gone to cut numbers as 19 years olds and I don't think Hulit will be here either . I think Henry will have a spot on the roster and Erkamps. As for Johnson, Ryckman and Jackson they could balance out the old on the blue line. I think the max defenceman he will keep is 7. IMO; RD: Johnson, Erkamps and 1 more LD: Ryckman, Jackson, Henry. and leave the 7th spot as a toss up between LD or RD. I'm guessing a trade for a sniper on PP.

[ZAMBONI-PHONEY]

What do you think the value is on a team thats lost half a mill in two season? Thats far less than the ice have lost

The cost of the last expansion franchise (in otherwords starting from nothing) I believe was 7 million. So, with basically a new building, and what appears to be a good young team in the making, I would imagine that the team would be worth at least 7 million on the market. The club has lost that amount due to a very poor on-ice product and the on-going construction at the Enmax. An aggressive owner or ownership group would certainly put the franchise back into the black. As for the money lost over the last couple of seasons, they do have the money to cover it. Trouble is, selling this team could be a legal mess because of the way the team was funded when they started. I am not sure of the details but everytime the suggestion comes up to sell the team, word is they can't. If the day ever comes, the WHL might step in and tell the shareholders that the club must be sold, then those details could be overcome. Would the league ever do that? I would not discount it, afterall look at what they did to Chilliwack.

[Brandon]

I don't think I would support this as my spidey senses tells me its got Pirate's(from the white board) finger prints all over it. The Guy leaves a bad taste in my mouth just from his posts on that message board.

Alberta Cup thoughtsisclaimer (I don't claim to be a scout)
Brycen Martin-reminds me of Jay Bouwmeester. An absolute difference maker. Tall, great skater, offensive imagination, with some nastiness.
Reid Duke-alot like Carter Ashton in many ways. Competive, skilled, big, and shows he wants to win.
Tanner Mcmaster-smooth offensive player. A bit undersized but that shouldn't hold him back.
Brayden Point-made me think of Brendan Gallagher. Small with plenty of skill, heart and unafraid of anything.
Conner Blaeckly-made me think of Dwight King. Kind of that big, skilled, secondary type point producer.
Cavin Leth-much like Dwight King again but a tier lower than Blaeckly.
Gonek- a big skilled Dman that is in a tier lower than Martin.
Ty Mappin- fast and skilled with a real offensive mind. A real pure offense guy!
Blake Penner-my favorite player I saw besides Martin. A winner/assasin. He showed he could play small and big. Slips through tight areas and also could initiate contact. Skilled and really confident look about him.
Tyler Wong-really don't get how this guy produces. He's slow, seems uninterested and never initiated contact yet at the end of the game he has 2 or 3 points. I just don't buy what he's selling.
Riley Simpson-Captian of the Bruins team. Absolutely loved him. He doesn't dazzle you but he gets it done. I could see this guy being a captian on a winning team. He has so many intangibles.
John Quenville-big, skilled, offensive. Liked him but not completely sold on him.
Evan Polei- another player I felt was under the radar but I would put him high in the rankings. I think this kid has a real high ceiling.
Mackenzie Bauer-far less than I had hoped. He really was invisible at times
Kyle Pauls- felt the same about him as I did with Bauer. I'd hoped for so much more.
Jake Dube- a real solid guy. In that second tier with Gonek.
Derek Mazil- really was left dissapointed with him. I was really looking forward to seeing him donminate but it seemed like weak goal after weak goal for a poor team.
Ben Thomas- second teir Dman again but behind Gonek and Dube. Many scouts drooled over him. I didn't get it.
Sam Young- captian of the Northstars. Liked a lot about him. Seemed to not have that Wow factor though. Similar to Simpson but just not at Simpson's level. Saw some Carter Bancks in him.
Jonny Hogue-kid was a showstopper puckstopper. Had a great tourney.
Anyway, just some scattered opinions. So many great young players.
Top 7,in Alberta
Martin
Penner
Duke
Simpson
Mappin
Blaeckly
Polei
MacMaster and Point are very good but how they do at the next level being smaller will be interesting to see.
Okay, now I'm done. Haha

Bocephus - I agree. There are a lot of these sites that smell fishy. I don't think this one is as bad as one notorious site that ends in news but lets face it these sites pop up all over the place with no checks or balances.

As for the AB Cup scouting report, that is outstanding. I like lots of what you say. Will add the odd thought, to hopefully help. I saw a lot of these kids during the season specifically in the south of Alberta.

Agree - Penner was awesome and fun to watch he can do everything it seems and I think he is going to be a fun player to watch at the next level.

MacMaster - His brother morphed into an okay sized power forward type player and I think that Tanner has the potential to do the same but he is much more dynamic. Saw things in the tournament I hadn't seen from him so consistently in the regular season. I really like that he has a very nasty edge, he plays tough and he doesn't back down as far as I have seen. I have been somewhat critical of his ice vision but he is still an elite prospect.

Point -I know there are size concerns and had echoed those in the past but one scout from an eastern conference team said to me "look at his frame and how big his feet are, there is potential for him to grow." Not that he will get big but he may be a little more close to average height and size then the tiny player we see now. Lets face it, he has the best ice vision in Alberta, he sees things that no one else does. Even if he stays small he could have a very Brandon Kozun-esque type WHL career.

Gora - Goalie with the NW team, I just loved his game. This was my first viewing and I thought he was so technically strong. He made his job look easy and utilized his size well. He may have moved to the top of my goalie list he is in the group of 3 I think could be real difference makers (Papirny and a goalie I will talk more about).

Ben Thomas - The reasons scouts drool - This kid has the potential to be almost as good as Martin right no (and Martin is the best Dman and for my money the top prospect in Alberta). Thomas has really good vision, makes great escape maneuvers, can set the pace with his control, has great size, handles the puck pretty well and he has a rocket of a slap shot. I venture to guess Thomas shoots as hard as anyone else there and probably significantly harder than almost everyone. The problem. Two things. 1) Is he mean or nasty? 2) How do you get this kid to compete at his highest level? if you can figure out the answer to number 2 you have a prospect who is at the top of the draft table. This kid is not overrated by those scouts his potential is huge.

Derek Mazil - I know that people weren't overly happy with his tournament but I am going to still pump his tires. Prior to AB Cup he hadn't played a game in the month, sure they are all on the ice but no meaningful games for over a month is too much. He is great. Makes the job look easy plays the puck well (sometimes a little too much), and doesn't get lost in long slumps. If he has an off night he returns the next game with a solid effort. That happened in AB Cup between the blow out game and his next game. In one playoff game he stopped 72 shots in a triple overtime game, many of those saves of the spectacular made easy variety. This kid will be a kid people say I can't believe we got him in round X behind goalies like XXXX and XXXX. He has some real potential and I don't think scouts worried too much about the AB Cup the kid is for real.

Anyways my thoughts. This is a fun topic. Also the idea of moving up the draft I would say wouldn't be worth it. In many years it may be worth it for lethbridge to grab another high position but the truth is this draft doesn't have a lot of separation in the first couple of rounds. No superstars but some really good talent through that first 1 or 2 rounds for sure maybe 3 rounds. You are just as likely to get a great player at 26 as you are 14 and 43.

[Stuck in the Penalty Box]

The other thing that could come into play for the Hurricane Brass is what they do in the Euro Draft. I highly doubt that Kuvaev will be back. The Hurricanes pick 13th (based on the 60 CHL teams point standings-wins in case of a tie). That means they are picking from the top 22% of Euro players. Unless there is another Luca Sbisa hiding in the Alps, one would think that they would add a young (17-18) speedy sniper. Unless they get an offer from one of the WHL teams who pick further down the list, that would give the Hurricanes something of equal value in return. They also might decide that they do not want any Euros (like Koot/TC) and add another Cdn/US player.

As for the Alberta Cup....IMO....The player that the Hurricanes do have a chance to get Reid Duke stood out as the best forward, Mappin was not far behind.

Chow for Now!

[Bocephus]

Preston, don't accept McCrimmon's phone calls. He'll eat you alive.
Regina on the other hand? Buy them dinner.

[Brandon]

I think if they take Reid Duke at 3 they won't be hurting themselves but I am not so sure that in all of western Canada there isn't better choices. Maybe a player like Virtanen falls there and from what I hear he is the forward to take. Last year they took D at 2, 9 and 11 rounds wise. This year the draft has some pretty solid D at the upper end that are getting talk. Maybe lethbridge uses this first pick to grab a D man instead. Forward wise this draft isn't full of top end talent but it has lots of depth and you can get a good forward at 5 or later. Heck there is a good chance Duke could be available at 5. I don't think Mappin is anywhere near the players that guys like Point or MacMaster will be. Also I actually thought Mappin was a little shy on foot speed didn't see him pull away from anyone but I saw him get caught a number of times. I like Mappin he is a good player but he overhandled the buck at AB Cup and I was not as impressed. I would grab him in the first but I would think that he would be in the back half (of course that said without seeing anyone from BC, Sask, or Manitoba.)

[Bocephus]

What's everyone's thoughts? Canes take two forwards with the two top picks or two D? Or a mix?
I'll make this prediction. A defenseman with the third and a forward with the fifth.
I would put money on Calgary taking a big defenseman with the #1 pick. Then Speedy Creek takes Virtanen. Then the Canes take Pilon or Martin whichever one Calgary passes on. I suspect Pilon and Duke to the Canes.

[Brandon]

What's everyone's thoughts? Canes take two forwards with the two top picks or two D? Or a mix?
I'll make this prediction. A defenseman with the third and a forward with the fifth.
I would put money on Calgary taking a big defenseman with the #1 pick. Then Speedy Creek takes Virtanen. Then the Canes take Pilon or Martin whichever one Calgary passes on. I suspect Pilon and Duke to the Canes.

I think you are right. Calgary needs the D badly. They take Martin he is local so that gives him a head start on Pilon. Virtanen has got enough play he should go #2 to the creek but even if they take a Dman I still think Lethbridge goes D and then F. They got a nice pick with Merkley last year and unless they love Virtanen I still think they take a D man at 3. You can still get a solid forward at 5 and even in the early second. I have to think their list could use some defensive prospects at the top.

[Bocephus]

If I was the canes leader I would want Martin. Since I doubt Calgary trades with the canes does this option exist? Virtanen to Calgary and then the canes move up to second to get Martin and speedy takes pilon third? We've seen draft day top picks traded. Ross, Portland and Howden MJ a few years ago.