5 thoughts

So….hell of a weekend, eh?

1. I think if my young daughter could fully understand hockey and the rules of the draft, there would be some valuable life lessons from the weekend. First off, probability is a bitch and is defying the odds is a longshot. Right NJ, Philly and Dallas? 121 balls out of a 1000 is really crappy odds, but at least Edmonton got their 200 1^st overall picks before they changed the rules so any non-playoff team could win the #1 pick. We all know Edmonton is the reason for the stupid lottery in the first place and know they have a chance to get to the Stanley Cup final because they also defied the odds and won the 1^st pick when McDavid was available. Man, I sound bitter.

2. Everyone and their dog in Canucks land is now focused on the 5^th pick and who should get selected, but my main worry is far more important. Whoever the Canucks pick, they probably won’t make the team in September and could be sent down to Utica. And when they get there, their coach will be……? Green has been hailed as a great AHL coach and now he’s the captain of the Canucks ship. So I want to know who will be teaching Brendan Gaunce how to score again this year in the minors.

3. Any thoughts on free agents? There are a few defensemen available to replace Groot in case Juolevi is not ready…or Pedan? Cody Fransen always seems to be available. Add Brendan Smith and Karl Alzner. Of course all of these guys could be signed by their own teams. Maybe we just see how it goes again this year and take our chances with the ping pong balls again. I hear Radim Vrbata is a free agent again……I kid!

4. It seems within our own discussion groups that the draft comes down to center versus defenseman. It seems that for the past couple years I have been a vocal advocate of draft defense first. My argument has always been that good defensemen are harder to find. Good puck moving defensemen are even harder to find. If the level of center was higher this draft, I could be persuaded to say “hell yeah!”, but I don’t think this is the case this year. Even the first two guys who will be drafted this year are not seen as team changers.

5. I give full credit to #teamtank. They cheered all year for the Canucks to lose and complained when they did. They cheered when the Canucks fell to 29^th position and crowed about the chance for 1^st overall and the future forward that would be a star. And when the lottery went the way it was supposed to….because of that probability thing I talked about earlier, #teamtank was able to spin the story in their favor quickly. “We never said first or second pick was guaranteed…..we said top 5!”

I tire of #teamtank and dread another year of them on twitter, but I will continue to follow them and read their opinion…..and cry.