import draft

[grainbear]

with us moving down with the trade with Portland, do we keep the import pick later in the first round or keep berglund and kolppanen and move the choice for a draft pick or 19 year old forward or younger ? whats your thoughts

[PeacefulChaos]

I personally think that the Canes should keep Berglund. I really like his playing style and think that he'll be a great asset to the team.
Kolppanen never really got his chance to impress so I dont really have an opinion on him.

[shushu]

imo i think kolppanen never was given a chance to proove himself in this league because of the preasure to make the playoffs,which was a big mistake by preston and co....now we have a euro that nobody knows anything about...as for berlund he was a 2nd round pick by portland that never put up any big points, so if we have a late 1st round pick to improove on i say take it....jacob did nothing to improove this team last year.........imo trading away our high first round euro was a massive mistake for the simple reason that the 30 goal scorer that the canes are about to traded for could have been brought in on our top 10 euro draft for free......big f@ck up imo......

[canes watcher]

Kolppanen is not coming back, and hopefully more time to scout Euros means better selection in that draft. Place means very little in that draft. Only the Hitmen and Giants (and now the Portland Winterhawks) and the like really care where their pick is. Lethbridge doesn't throw around enough money to attract the top Euros. Sbisa was an unknown and knew Roman Wick, that's why we got him. I mean, you don't really think the Americans lured Pechurskiy with promises of playing time? Money talks when it comes to Euros.

[CanesCrazy]

I agree that Kolppanen will not be returning. It is a shame he didn't get a chance to improve himself and show what he can do but getting injured and therefore allowing Anderson to shine was a real misfortune. I think Berglund has the opportunity to have a break-out season and be a true leader should they keep him. The Canes need to look for a Euro that is young enough to be developed, who will have time to adjust to the North American game and has the opportunity to show off their skills.

[shushu]

Kolppanen is not coming back, and hopefully more time to scout Euros means better selection in that draft. Place means very little in that draft. Only the Hitmen and Giants (and now the Portland Winterhawks) and the like really care where their pick is. Lethbridge doesn't throw around enough money to attract the top Euros. Sbisa was an unknown and knew Roman Wick, that's why we got him. I mean, you don't really think the Americans lured Pechurskiy with promises of playing time? Money talks when it comes to Euros.

gives a person a better understanding how the euro market works...up to this point i had no idea why some euros showed and others didn't.....makes a person say we have a ton of talent in this country so give them the chance to play...and as don cherry says '' europe, a nice place to visit but quit sending us hockey players".......

[ZAMBONI-PHONEY]

gives a person a better understanding how the euro market works...up to this point i had no idea why some euros showed and others didn't.....makes a person say we have a ton of talent in this country so give them the chance to play...and as don cherry says '' europe, a nice place to visit but quit sending us hockey players".......

I could not agree more! With the talent pool of Canadian hockey players and the ever increasing talent pool in the USA, there is no reason for the WHL or the CHL for that matter to be developing players from Europe. The Kelowa Rockets did not have a Euro on their roster, which means no Canadian or USA born players were left off their roster. Windsor and Calgary only had one each. Unless you have the scouting system (Calgary, Vancouver, Portland and likely Edmonton) has and the $$$$$$$ to lure these players over (against WHL rules) there is no sense wasting the time and effort to scout them, draft them, and hope they show. In order to make a not-so-level playing field just a bit more level, drop the Euro draft entirely.

Kolpanen will not be back, and rather than use a roster spot for another unknown commodity from Europe, fill the spot with one of the talented 16 year olds that could play for this team now!


NOTHING LIKE GOOD HOME COOKING!

[canes77]

I would definately keep Berglund (he was one of our best defensive players, and played with Bancks a lot which has made him better) as one of our 19 year old forwards.
I would pass on Kolpannen myself, whether through a trade or by dropping him. In 14 games, he only earned 1 win, (and it was against PG no less) and showed no improvement throughout the season. Even Juha started slow in his first year but showed steady improvement month by month!

In terms of which position to draft for, it's tough since the Canes have 7 returning D-men and 11 returning forwards, plus a couple high-end rookie candidates up front. In goal though, only Anderson is returning so I would think perhaps an import goalie being selected, whether through the draft or by a trade...my thinking is that Swift Current owns the rights to Joni Ortio who will be 19 next year. Since they have 2 older goalies already, the Canes should try and acquire him. Ortio already has played pro in Finland last year and is a Flames draft pick, and with Darryl Sutter's brother and Darryl Sutter's former assistant coach now running the Canes, I think a deal could be made given how NHL clubs and agents seem to control a lot of the import situation. Remember that Bancks got his deserved pro debut in the same Flames organization.

The only drawback with this scenario is that the Canes would have two #1 goalies, if you can call that a problem.

[grainbear]

you are forgetting about Tyler Macdonald who the canes listed from the LA selects last year, he certainly could come in an learn the ropes or you also have Wakaluk in the background, and a number of older goaltenders who may not postions with there own teams for next year. I for one am not concerned about d men or goaltenders as long as we get some players who either step up and put the puck in the net this year and the import draft is a possibility as well as the number of older forwards available by trade or the dispersal draft as well

[shushu]

i dont think ville was given a chance as a 17 year old to see what he could do....you cant look at a kid that sits for months on end then get chuck into the fire and fails....anderson definately grabbed the bull by the horns and should be our #1 guy, but i look back at leclerc and see a kid that had a great season then kinda fell apart..with that said both these young kids should have been put through the ringer just to see what you have...last years poor attempt to try and make it into the playoff with a depleated team did one thing...it sent an untested 17 year old tender back to finland without any clue of how good he could be.......