Mëds wrote: ↑Tue Jun 02, 2026 3:01 pm
I’m with Topper at this point in D-Petey. I don’t see anything more than a 3rd pairing there. So I don’t see him being a part of this organization’s future when they are actually competitive.
I don't see him as likely more than that either. I pumped the brakes on the initial enthusiasm because the issues were clearly there.
Of course, most third rounders won't even get to third pairing status.
But at 22, there's still a good period for development. Big questions about whether the turn is unresolvable, but surely he will pick spots better with wisdom. (If he doesn't, he'll be Noah Juulsen).
The point being that if there's a 10% chance he develops into a middle pairing guy and a 20% chance that he develops into a 4-5 (best suited for a third pairing assignment, but fully capable to cover when there's injuries), that leaves us with "likely won't ever be better than 3rd pair" yet better odds than the defensemen the Canucks take in the second round this draft. And at his age, he's absolutely in the window to be peaking when the Canucks might have their next core identified and playing competitive hockey.
Consider Kevin Bieska. At 22 years old he was a 4th year NCAA player in an unexceptional program and without an NHL contract (Canucks had his rights). He had skating issues, he had picking his spot issues, he had gap control and angle issues, but he played a snarly game and he didn't treat the puck like a grenade. In his age 23 season he made the jump to the AHL, and also developed his game. In his age 24 season, he split time between the minors and the NHL, never being much more than "we're injured who can we dress" at the NHL level.
At that time, at age 24, having played 60 fewer NHL games than EP25 has at age 22, some fanboys surely proclaimed Bieksa's going to be a top 4 defenseman some day. Because he was fun, he delivered some hits, he was old timey in disposition. But its revisionist to think he had better odds of getting there than EP25. I'm not saying EP25 is the next Bieksa, but he's a comparator in that there are several overlapping attributes (good and bad) to what Bieksa showed when Bieksa was already 2 years older than EP25. Whether we've seen the best of EP25 (or close to the best) is a function of how coachable he is, how dedicated he is, how disciplined he is about getting better -- things he controls (and I don't know) -- and how much is fixable.
Don't get me wrong -- he's for sale. But it just doesn't make sense to use an asset like that in exchange for temporary protection that is also available on the waiver wire and the not-high-demand UFA market instead of in exchange for (or as part of a package for) an asset with a chance to be more.