Welcome to the Dark Side Minions: The Top Draft Prospects'14

[Arachnid]

Yet you criticize our GM for crappy drafts for what you just admitted was a complete crapshoot.

Yes, what about that Dude?

By the way fellas, it may please you to know that I, for one, have repented from my archiving ways!

Holly shit, Dude and I just won the war without even firing a shot

[Strangelove]

.... mind you, I haven't fully repented from lying.

[Strangelove]

[Arachnid]

.... mind you, I haven't fully repented from lying.

You never have ever told the truth

[Hockey Widow]

So if Calgary wins out their last three in regulation and we lose our last three in regulation, we get 5th, draft spot that is. Can we do it. Cheer for Calgary??

Kinda tough since Jacob is going to get the final three games to cheer for him to lose.

Can you imagine the last game against Calgary if the regulation winner drafts sixth? You will have Calgary fans cheering for us and we will be cheering for them. Talk about a bizarre situation. It could happen!!

[SKYO]

So if Calgary wins out their last three in regulation and we lose our last three in regulation, we get 5th, draft spot that is. Can we do it. Cheer for Calgary??

Kinda tough since Jacob is going to get the final three games to cheer for him to lose.

Can you imagine the last game against Calgary if the regulation winner drafts sixth? You will have Calgary fans cheering for us and we will be cheering for them. Talk about a bizarre situation. It could happen!!

I can totally see us losing that game! much to the dismay of the Flamers.

[Arachnid]

http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=9363

Anyone seen this Draisaitl character play? Big, fast scoring German is what I want/we need....not a soft Holden 2.0

[Lancer]

Take the criticisms of players like Virtanen for what they're worth - a draft like this, it seems almost every draftee has some warts - but looking at those highlights (yes, they're highlights) the kid's shot is undeniable. He can also knock people over WHILE CARRYING THE PUCK, and has some serious wheels in all directions.

Ritchie wouldn't be a bad idea either, and frankly neither of them would be a bad pick in the 8-10 spot.

[Strangelove]

Cheer for Calgary??

BITE YOUR LIP!!

Okay, well how about just a little nibble then.

[Diehard1]

Looks like the worst the Nucks can pick is 10th, the best is 6th. Will get a good player in that range, hopefully another to join the likes of Horvat, Gaunce, Jensen, Shinkaruk and help form the future forward core.

With 6th to 10th, assuming Reinhart, Bennett, Ekblad, DalColle and Draisaitl are gone, I would go with:

Ritchie
Ehlers
Nylander
McCann
Virtanen

Probably in that order. Hard to choose between Ehlers and Ritchie, I think Ritchie is more likely given his skillset is near impossible to find. Wouldn't be unhappy with either guy. Nylander is a wild card, ultra skilled but not sure if he will put it together. He's very versatile, can play all 3 forward positions.

[SKYO]

With 6th to 10th, assuming Reinhart, Bennett, Ekblad, DalColle and Draisaitl are gone, I would go with:

Ritchie
Ehlers
Nylander
McCann
Virtanen

Probably in that order. Hard to choose between Ehlers and Ritchie, I think Ritchie is more likely given his skillset is near impossible to find. Wouldn't be unhappy with either guy. Nylander is a wild card, ultra skilled but not sure if he will put it together. He's very versatile, can play all 3 forward positions.

No doubt, I'm fully on board with Nick Ritchie he'd be a good start of our new era in CanucksTown, keep on getting bigger and better.

[rats19]

So with 2 games left..are we picking 8th at the moment? Win one loose 1 the 7th...loose both pick 6th??

[dbr]

So with 2 games left..are we picking 8th at the moment? Win one loose 1 the 7th...loose both pick 6th??

We cannot be passed by the bottom five teams at this point.

Carolina is at 6th (2 fewer points than us with 2 games left) and will end the season with more ROWs than us (first tiebreaker) so if they go 2-0 and we go 1-1 or 0-0-2 they will pass us. They play Detroit who is 2-0 and Philly who is 0-2-1 against them so 1-1 seems plausible, we'd have to go 0-2 to end up behind them.

Winnipeg have one more point and one fewer game remaining than us so they could easily end up drafting ahead of us (they play the Flames are are 1-0-1 against them this year).

Toronto have three more points, one remaining game (against the Senators who they've gone 3-0 against this year) but if they lose and we pick up those 3 points they'll finish behind us based on the ROW tiebreaker.

Ottawa have three more points and two games (leaves 0-2-1, Penguins 1-0-1) and are behind us on the ROW tiebreaker so if they don't pick up another ROW they'll draft ahead of us. If they do pick up another ROW we can't catch them which is great news as the season series is tied and goal differentials are similar meaning it would be possible the NHL could run out of tiebreakers.

Nashville also have three more points and two more games (Chicago 3-1!, Minnesota 1-2-1) and are way ahead on the ROW tiebreaker so just one more point and they're assured to stay out in front of us.

We can technically catch New Jersey but they don't count, thanks Ilya!

Basically what we're hoping for is a Carolina win against Detroit and a Winnipeg win over Calgary tonight, a Nashville win over Chicago and an OT game between the leaves and Sens (leaves have to win to stay out of reach but I won't be cheering for it) tomorrow, and on Sunday a New Jersey win over Boston, a Carolina win over Philly, an Ottawa win over Pittsburgh and a Nashville win over Minnesota.

[black ace]

So if Calgary wins out their last three in regulation and we lose our last three in regulation, we get 5th, draft spot that is. Can we do it. Cheer for Calgary??

Kinda tough since Jacob is going to get the final three games to cheer for him to lose.

Can you imagine the last game against Calgary if the regulation winner drafts sixth? You will have Calgary fans cheering for us and we will be cheering for them. Talk about a bizarre situation. It could happen!!

I dont think Calgary can catch us. we could be tied in points and ROW but we win the tie break.

[Hockey Widow]

So if Calgary wins out their last three in regulation and we lose our last three in regulation, we get 5th, draft spot that is. Can we do it. Cheer for Calgary??

Kinda tough since Jacob is going to get the final three games to cheer for him to lose.

Can you imagine the last game against Calgary if the regulation winner drafts sixth? You will have Calgary fans cheering for us and we will be cheering for them. Talk about a bizarre situation. It could happen!!

I dont think Calgary can catch us. we could be tied in points and ROW but we win the tie break.

I wrote that when we both had three games remaining. When Calgary won
in OT they made it impossible for us to finish below them as we hold the final tie breaker.