(upbeat music) - I've learned more lessons of how to take a punch from Dan Reed to go than anyone, man. I admire you for it. (laughing) - Sorry, dude. - You know when Sat does the snort, he's having a laugh. He's awkward. (laughing) It's okay, regroup at halftime. - He'll have their spros at halftime. Maybe they'll fire the coach at halftime too. (laughing) - The snorts, we're only 90 minutes into this. - Man, I'm running out of sleep. - Technically, the Italy match only 45 minutes in. - No, the show, us, we're 90 minutes into this. - A long way to go. It feels like we've been stuck on pick 82 for a while. It usually doesn't happen where we go to break and no pick happens on day two of the draft, but that's where we're at. - Time out, what happens? And GMs convince themselves, like, yeah, this is the one. - Yeah. - This is the one, man. We have supreme confidence in. - Can't believe we're getting this guy here. - Yeah. - I mean, every single draft, almost every single pick in the first round is like, we can't believe. This guy was still here. (laughing) This is, it is draft central, Dan Reicho, Satyar Shah, Bik Nazar here in the Kintech studio. We've got producers, Eddie Gregory and Josh Elliott-Wolf with us through the course of the day's programming. We are in round three of the NHL entry draft, Canucks pick at 93 and there's a lot of names that have come off the board. A lot of names that will be available for the Vancouver Canucks coming up here at 93. So we'll see who they end up selecting as it is getting a little bit closer. But so much the focus continues to be on what's happening around the league and how things are setting up for Monday and signing season, free agency, whatever we're calling it these days and what the Canucks might be doing. But I'd say the story of the day from a Canucks perspective to this point after hearing, you know, Frank's Air Valley and people continue to bring up that the Canucks could be the favorites for Jake Genssel. Now we've seen Tampa Bay open up more than $11 million of cap space today and 16 and 1/2 million total in space. Doesn't guarantee them Jake Genssel because they have other roster spots to fill out so they can't just willy-nilly spend everything that they have. But it's a very big time potential thorn in the side of Vancouver's pursuit for one of the big free agents available on Monday. - It's competitive and when you're competing for the top free agent on a market or it looks to be the top free agent because we're not seeing Reinhardt get their most likely and then we'll see what happens. There's always going to be stiff competition and it gets uncomfortable. - Yeah, I understand why Canucks fans are nervous because usually when a team like Florida or Tampa clears space and they have a willingness to get a star player, players seldom say no, especially American-born players. So that's what makes you nervous as a Canucks fan 'cause if Tampa truly has the desire to get Genssel and I do think the Canucks would beat them out. - It's hard, like we're just guessing. - It's hard to beat out Tampa. - For any team of league, it's hard to beat out, yeah. - I'm not saying the Canucks aren't going to get Genssel and we don't even know for sure how interested Tampa is but they're clearing the decks. Insiders are saying it looks to be potentially for Jay Genssel and that's going to be the stiffest. I think Tampa is far stiffer competition than Carolina. - Oh, yes, you know. - So that's kind of what makes this really fascinating here over the next 24 hours. - I don't know if you move Mikhail Surgachev just to bring back Stephen Stamkos. - I get like the legacy thing and all of that. But for as much as Stamkos' production has maintained and even been incredible these last couple of years, like he's not a play driver in the way that he used to be. He's, I don't wanna say a power play merchant but you know, that's like where a lot of the damage he does gets done and I'm just not sure you could, if you're Tampa like locking into 34 plus Stephen Stamkos for another few years, like how does that raise your ceiling as a team? That would be my question as Julian Breezewa. - Yeah and especially for a team that's kind of and needs something significant for it to jump back to being a real title contender again. And if your swap Stamkos out for Genssel, give Hedman the captaincy. - Yeah. - You're probably better than you were last year. - Well at least that preserves, you know, not three years, four years. - You extend the window a little bit. Whereas if you bring back Stephen Stamkos, you make some other nominal moves around the roster. It's basically, we gotta go to conference finals this year. We gotta go to Stanley Cup this year. - Yeah. - So that preserves what the future is as well. - And Stamkos has been playing wing more than center. - Oh. - This is the season. So he takes draws, he's a right handed guy. He wins a lot of draws still. I think he had like 56% of draws but he took like half the amount of draws he normally takes this year 'cause he doesn't play center full time anymore. So if they're looking at the wings anyways, I can understand why they would prefer to, you know, replace Stamkos with Genssel. - And I think there's a way for them to clear even more money if they find a destination for a Nick Paul, right? 'Cause they, down the middle, like they're gonna go with Point and Anthony Sirelli. - Oh, oh wow. - He's so heartbroken. - I'm just very angry at my Italian heritage right now. - He's so heartbroken. He's like, I'm not even doing this. He's not, he's like, I'm not Italian right now. I'm from Woodbridge. - We might need to take a time out on the show so you can recover here. That was unreal. - I am Canadian, not Italian. - What does PBG stand for right now? - I don't know. I know it's Canada's beating Chile tonight, whatever. So they have depth on the middle. - You know, man's down bad with Point and Tirelli. I wore my Italian-themed shoes today and it isn't even doing anything. - They are nice though. You're a deaconess. - Are they? - Yeah, they're Italian-themed. - All the stripes of the-- - They're a zootie blue with the green white. - Hey, they finally brought on the guy that can score goals though. - Thank goodness. - What are we talking about? - They keep Mateo Darmian on the field because if they did, it's a problem. Okay, for Canucks fans listening, like think of Darmian as the Jason Magna version of an Italian soccer player. - Keep Jason Magna out there and you're good. - Or an Erika Branson. - Yeah, that's a better reference. - Yeah, it's a much better reference. Bobby and Richmond's gonna be mad if I mention Erika Branson in a negative light again. - Oh, yes. (laughs) - I don't even remember what point I was making about Tampa's center depth. Nick Paul potentially being somebody they could move. - Yeah, 'cause they have the center depth there with Point and Sirelli. - It's a really hard move if you are Tampa though. I mean, you gave Nick Paul that big contract. He's been pretty good for it. - I mean, they traded everything for Tanner's, you know. - Yeah. (laughs) - Michael Sogachev, that contract and within a year, they're like, you know what? Let's, let's carry this out. Now he does have a no trade clause, a full no trade clause. Makes it difficult, but. - It's, it's an interesting spot that Tampa finds themselves in. - How, what? - Two nil 45 seconds into the game. - Great start under the half, boys. Bring back Darby in. Oh man, yeah, you're so angry. - Do you want him in it? Do you want him in it? - You're all right there, reach. I'm okay, I've given up whole time. - At least, at least it's. - I don't know why I had hope. I was so mad after the last match and then Zakani scores in the 98th minute just to give me a little bit of a sprinkle of hope. - We got a text here. - Like at the end of the tunnel. - No, there isn't. Not with this squad. - The good news is it's only, well, no, nevermind, actually. - We got a text here and then this is kind of where I was building towards with the Tampa conversation. This guy's just shaking and sitting next to me. I'm going to try not to pay attention. Someone texted in, people are Vancouver, say money, where are you going? So I believe like the way the comics have to make this work. My math might be a little rough here, but if it's eight by eight in Tampa, I believe you got to get to 9.5 in Vancouver. - So Vancouver, there were reports they're willing to get to 9.5. - So there you go. - But the thing is, that just matches what you take on home, right now. It depends on your, you know, if you have a good accountant and all that, you can figure a lot of this stuff out. But to me, now this comes down to simply where it does Gensil want to play. 'Cause I would imagine Vancouver and Tampa would be pretty similar in terms of what they would offer. Unless Tampa is doing the, hey, you want to come here? You got to take less? - Oh, you know, if they do that, then it's not happening. But I can imagine. - If you're a pre-Asian and someone says that to you, like bye, imagine immediately. - So it comes down to preference, really. - Yeah, and look, lifestyle, I think the beauty of Vancouver and the very passionate fan base, I think is a huge draw. Like there's big, big reasons why playing in Vancouver is a destination. And there's big, big reasons why playing in Tampa is a destination. So to me, like they can counter each other out. It's a different experience playing in Canada. So if you want ambitious players, I think guys like that will want to have that experience. I just look at it though and say, like what team do I think is gonna be better in the next three to four years? I might be willing to back Vancouver over Tampa Bay. I mean, there's just not a lot to love about Tampa's future projection here because given how much they've committed to this team, this core, and now it's aging out a little bit, yeah, sure. Like you've got Kucharov and Brayden Point still, but we saw what their ceiling was last year. Like they weren't necessarily like all that close to really punching above that. Now you've moved off of Sergachev, you're committing more to your 33-year-old defense. Now I'd take Hedman every day of the week and twice on Sunday over Sergachev, yes. But like, you know, probability's sake, say over the next number of years, you know, Sergachev is probably the guy you would want to maybe hand the keys over to as Victor Hedman starts to age out a little bit into his next contract. So like there's just a lot of issues. And when you've committed and you've been as good and competitive for as long as Tampa has been, like the window starts to close at some point and it has been closing for a couple of years now. It'd be like buying a stock that you know has one more good year left. And then you don't know what's gonna happen after that. - Yes. - Where Vancouver, okay, it might take a year, but the dividends might pay out in years two, three, four, five. And if I'm approaching free agency with a competitive mindset of my number one priority is, I want to be in the playoffs consistently. I want to go for a Stanley Cup. And I'm choosing between Vancouver and Tampa, over the course of seven, eight years, I might shade towards Vancouver. - Yeah, I mean, in terms of team competitiveness, I can see it. But also like American players are different. We've seen Americans come to Vancouver too in the past, but like does he prefer, has a preference for an American market if all things are equal. And I think that's the thing to keep in mind. The Canucks are pick away. Carolina's up on the clock on 92. Vancouver's picking in 93. - Canucks on the clock now. - They're now on the clock. Who did Carolina take? - It's not listed. - Okay, they're all on the floor is tweeting out that the Canucks are on the clock. - Okay, so Dom's on top of it. So yeah, we'll see who Chicago takes, 'cause Chicago and Carolina made a deal. So Chicago had the 92nd pick. There are a few interesting players. There's one player available, Aaron Kivihariu, who's a left-handed defenseman out of Finland. He was considered a guy that's kind of a borderline first round pick by a lot of people's draft boards. And a surefire second round pick, a lot of people thought he's still available. He's probably the highest ranked player who's still available on the board for most draft rankings. We'll see if the Canucks go down that path or not here, but one name to keep an eye on, 'cause if this guy was taken in the second round, a lot of people would be making a good case of this being a value pick. We'll see where the Canucks go here with their third round selection. - That is just a little bit of what happened last year with Hunter Bruce Davidch, and we saw how well that worked out. He ends up being the centerpiece, or one of the centerpiece pieces of the Elias Lindholm trade for the Vancouver Canucks as they have made their selection at 93rd overall. Melvin Fernstrom is their pick, a right winger for the Vancouver Canucks with their first pick of the draft. Melvin Fernstrom out of Orabro and the J-20. So Patrick Alveen going back to his roots in Sweden for his first selection here of the draft. - Yeah, and looking at his scouting profile, he can shoot the puck fairly well, he passes the puck fairly well, not the fastest player, hasn't been the most physical player, but good production at the J-20 level. I actually played six games at the SHL this season. I don't know where he ranks on a lot of people's lists. I think he's one of those guys that may have been on some lists, but not on some other lists. - I think central scouting had him really, I think 20th or 23rd. - 23rd, European skaters, okay. So yeah, we'll see what the team has to say about him. We'll get some more scouting details on him, but one of those players that clearly has a potential, but also a work in progress. - A long bet it would seem like, which is basically every pick in the third round. Now Elite Prospects does have him listed as a center on NHL Network, they listed him as a right wing, so he's a forward, we know that much. A player who finds space and time for himself with the play in the offensive zone. His off puck instincts enable him to take advantage of his shot, that is Elite Prospects quick synopsis of the player, Melvin Fernstrom, six foot one, 18 years old, 188 pounds. - I just wanna say I reacted negatively. That's 'cause I was reacting to the pick before. I was kind of excited to see where Jack Perdom goes. - And he went. - He went one pick before Vancouver. So my awe was in no way a reaction to the Vancouver pick. I was excited to see where Jack Perdom went. - Yes, he went 92 to Chicago, and now the Canucks will be sitting on the sidelines for a little bit, again, as they do not have a fourth round selection, but they do have two selections in the fifth, sorry, they have a fourth round selection, not a fifth round selection. - But a right handed winger, right? You go through the depth chart that they had, it was like Brock, it's Garland, the facility, but Colson, Danila Kumavitch is, where is that going at this stage? And it's the Clare Mackie, and then there's Jack Malone, so this is something that they could use a few more bodies of that ilk, and with the way this team looks for goal scoring, and wants to develop these guys, fits the mold of what they've done in the past. - Fernstrom, the selection, Melvin Fernstrom for the Canucks, had 31 goals in 45 games in the J-20 National, so Sweden's Junior League, a pretty good solid draft eligible season for the player, but-- - Tell me what some weight to him as well, listed 187 at his age. - And does shoot right as well, and over six feet, so some size and some heft to this player at just 18 years of age. So the Canucks will have a fourth round selection, we're gonna link up with Shane Malloy at some point here, and get his take on the player Vancouver has selected. Also, we'll get in on a conversation with Rick Dollywall, and what he's hearing about what the Canucks could be up to ahead of Monday. The Utah Hockey Club making a couple of big moves, and we sort of expected them to be a team that is a big player. They had a ton of cap space, they had a ton of draft capital, and they used it today. We have the Canucks first selection here in the 2024 NHL entry draft, Melvin Fernstrom joins us here on Sportsnet 650. Thanks for this, Melvin. How you feeling after getting drafted? - I'm feeling pretty well, very fun experience. - How exciting is it to be drafted by a team like Vancouver that has such a rich history of Swedish players? - I have very excited, very happy to be here. - A lot of Canucks fans are listening. Can you describe your game and your own words of what you like to do on the ice? - Yeah, I like to score much goals, and I like to create offensive play. I try to take a big part in the census zone also, but mostly, most of the offensive. - You're a good little ton of great. You know, the seeding twins, a big part of Canucks history. Elias Patterson is now the big Swedish player on the Vancouver Canucks. Are these players you looked up to as a young hockey player growing up? - Yeah, yeah, for sure. Swedish guys growing up, watching them. It's hard to score, it's hard to figure it out. - What do you think of a player like Elias Patterson and guys like that in one day, maybe down the road, having a chance to play with players like that? - Yeah, that would be, I may have seen. But Patterson, obviously they're a great player. That would be, but no, they're all going to be playing with them. - So what's your plan for next season, Melvin? - I think I was playing in the Chell with the Oregon. - Very good, Melvin, we really appreciate your time. Congratulations, big day for you and your family. Congratulations on getting drafted to the Vancouver Canucks. - Thank you very much. There is Melvin Fernstrom, the 93rd overall pick and the first selection for the Vancouver Canucks in this year's NHL entry draft. Now, Orbro is where he is currently at and played with Orbro in the J-20 National, so they're junior team. And of course, if you look at where the Canucks are and what types of players that they have had, Elias Pedersen, DPD, did have some time with Orbro. Last year, that's where Jonathan Lecaromaki applied his trade this year as well. So the Canucks maybe have a really good sense of this player and maybe why he was on their radar, even if he wasn't necessarily that high on a ton of draft boards. - Yeah, and a guy that's kind of known as, or his profile shows, there is some potential for scoring down the roads you were taking, some upside, you're taking an upside bet at the third round, which is when you don't have a first-ner-sacred round, pick out no issues with you taking a guy that has some upside, even if it's not super likely to pan out. - Good scoring profile, at least in his draft year with over 30 goals and 40-plus games with Orbro in the J-20 National. All right, let's get to Rick Dollywall joining us here, a presentation of Bassant Motors on SportsNet 650. Thanks for joining us, Rick. How's your Saturday going? Is the phone buzzing like crazy? Are we keeping you away from anything right now? - No, I, unlike you guys, I drink coffee, none of this sprull crap. - Espresso is just a better version of coffee. - No, no, no, listen, I'm a Timmy's guy and so large, two cream, no sugar. - That's it. - All right, all right, fair enough. As long as it gets-- - I see your sprull crap, it's just disgusting. - This can't handle the-- it's just espresso, man. How is it disgusting? Yeah, but they do say people who drink black coffee have psychopathic tendencies. I don't know if that says anything about me, but I'm just throwing it out there. - Me and Timmy, Timmy, and they're not even a frickin' sponsor. - They should be. So, okay, there's a lot going on here, Rick. Obviously, you know, the Canucks in on Jake Genssel. You had the report about maybe them taking a look back at Ian Cole. What are you hearing today? What's first on the front burner? - Well, let's talk about the defense because there's been some significant last 24 hours, you know, moves with the defense. First of all, Zadorov leaving. Now, that, okay, by the way, Agent Dan Milstein is expected to make a statement on Monday. He's not ready to talk about Zadorov leaving. I was told the issue was not money in term with Zadorov, and Milstein's gonna clarify more on Monday. Look, the Canucks made a very good offer. And, you know, this is gonna hurt because Rick Tockett loves Zadorov. Tockett, he got his size back with Joshua and Myers, but man in a perfect world, he was hoping you could get Zadorov back as well. But you can't win them all. You just can't. The Canucks gave it their best shot in Zadorov. He certainly had the market eaten out of his hands there in the playoffs. He was a real central figure. But we will wait 'til Monday. And apparently, Milstein's gonna make a statement. I don't know if he's, you know, Twitter or whatever, but he's gonna explain the decision to walk away from Vancouver. But I was told last night it was not money in terms. So I'm, you know, I'm waiting anxiously to see what Milstein's gonna say about Zadorov. So that's one. Two, now wouldn't Brandon Dillon, a Surrey, be a great, tremendous fill-in for Zadorov? You got the size, kills penalties. He hits, he blocks shots. He's got a mean streak, defends teammates. A lot of the stuff that Zadorov does. Now, a lot of teams are in on Dillon, including the Canucks. But I was told as of now, and another thing I gotta tell you guys, look, we can only report on what we're hearing right now. It's all subject to change. You know, member Friedman said, you know, the Canucks are in on Gensil, they're out on Gensil. It's just been going back and forth like a tennis match. Things change, they really do. And I'll explain later on how things change. But I do wanna say on Dillon, unless something changes with a phone call, it sounds like he's going to be signing elsewhere. His demand, boy or boy, he's gonna get good money in term. This tells me the Canucks probably can't meet his money demands, and you have to realize that with Hughes and with Susie on the left side, it is gonna be tough to pay somebody $4 million to come in and play behind Susie. It just looks to me like they're looking for that guy behind Susie at a lower rate. The devils and the Bruins are gonna be in on Dillon, but I'm not ready to write everything off on Dillon, but as of now, and things can change with a phone call, it certainly looks like that could happen. He's gonna sign elsewhere. So let's get to Ian Cole. It would not surprise me. If the Vancouver Canucks check in with Ian Cole, a veteran guy, they know they need help on that left side, and clearly he would come at a lower price. He would come at a lower price than Edmondson, Dillon, all those guys. Cole talked with the Canucks after the season as agent. The Canucks needed him to take a big pay cut. He wouldn't do it, but if they reengage, and I'm telling you, if they reengage, and I would not be surprised, can they cut a deal? We'll keep an eye on that one. - Well, that's interesting too, because if you're looking at a lower cost behind Susie, and you're looking at a lower cost behind Hughes, on the left side, Cole fits in, right? And it's fine for your six defense method case, making two million. But if you're only spending two or so million on him, does that mean they have a bit more to chase Chris Tannov on the right side? - Yeah, and Tannov is still a target, but the Tannov update for you guys is he is still talking to Dallas. And the fact that he is still talking to Dallas, and July 1st is a couple of days away, that gives you good insight. Like Tannov, like Dallas. It's good, you know what? Dallas is a whole lot closer to winning than the two back-to-back Western Conference championships. Winning is important to Chris Tannov. Stars really want him back. But what I've been told is, can Dallas do four years? - Term is going to be big with Tannov. The Tannov camp is looking for good term. We're not talking one or two or three years. Like Chris Tannov thinks he can still play for a lot of years. You know, he's one of those guys that keeps care of his body off the IEC. He's such a smart player on the IEC. He's got great hockey sense, great teammate. We know why everybody loves Chris Tannov. He's probably the best defensive defenseman in the national hockey. He still feels he can play. Look, if he hits the market, obviously Vancouver, he's got a soft spot for this city. Never wanted to leave. It was mismanagement. Why Chris Tannov left Vancouver in the first place. He should never left. It should have been done. It didn't get done. But then you got Toronto on Ottawa. His own province, his mom and dad live in Toronto. Host of other teams. Look, does he get to July 1st? That's the big thing. But I can tell you right now, a term is going to be big. Can the stars do something like four years and over five? Chris Tannov, and what I was told about Vancouver and Tannov as well, the Canucks can't get into a bidding war. Because look what's happening in Vancouver. You've got a heroic at 7.2. You've committed Myers three years at three. So all of a sudden, you don't want to be dropping another right-shot defenseman between five and six. I don't know. I heard they don't want to get into a bidding war with Chris. But I do want to tell you guys, that term is very big with the Tannov camp. Last one. You've mentioned a lot with Casey the Smith and the whole goal-turning situation. Do you have an update on that? Yeah, I do. The Canucks are still talking with Casey the Smith. His agent is in Vegas, obviously, at the NHL draft. Both sides are busy today with the draft. I expect the Casey the Smith talks to resume tomorrow. When I checked in yesterday, there was a lot of work to do. Now, the Canucks want a veteran in the Smith. They know what they got. He's loved in that dressing room. Good relationship with Damko. You guys remember that? Go back to Edmonton when the Smith won in Edmonton, and he locked in first place, big win, Saturday night hockey. And he's walking off. Damko gives him a hug. Tock gets watching him. This guy's liked in that dressing room. He really is. After months of no contact with the Smith's agent-- and I'm telling you guys, months-- the Canucks contacted in this week much to the surprise of many. Damko's coming off two series back-to-back names. You never know what he's going to be like at training camp, right? You've got to have that insurance. Up till last week, I believe they were confident about Damko and C-Lobs combo. Something changed. It's a good move, though, to get a veteran to be safe, maybe let C-Lobs take the ball and run with it, be the top guy in Abbittsburg. Now, because I can't go left in Abbittsburg, they are still now looking for a goaltender down. Oh, no, they've got the Thai young kid at a Prince George. So they got that. But if they do the Smith, then they'll be set in Abbittsburg with C-Lobs and Tola Pilo. But look, I was told today work to do with the Smith, but the both sides are going to resume tomorrow. The fact they're talking to him, Bick, is good. And it'll give them some clarity and sense of having a backup. And hopefully, Damko is ready to go for training camp and a way they go. Before we let you go here, Rick, and thanks for joining us for the latest on the forward acquisition front, it's clear they want Jake Enzel. I know you talked about that quite a bit. The question is, is he getting to market? We see today, Tappa making moves to clear space, rumored that they're after Genssel as well. I've heard, Rick, that the Canucks would love to get Genssel as we know, but if they don't, they'd want to get a couple forwards. That can score if it's not Genssel. But what do you think of Genssel right now? And do you think the Canucks still have a chance to land him? Well, it's the old waiting game, right? We're all waiting. We're just waiting for that shoe to drop with Genssel in Carolina. Is it going to get done? Is it not? The fact that either-- the fact that Genssel's agent Ben Hankinson hasn't come out and said, we're moving off from Carolina, that's interesting to me. I was told the week and a half ago that Carolina is not going to let this guy go, even right up till the 11th hour. They're going to try on this guy, and you can see why. But he is the Canucks number one priority. They do need a winger for Patterson. And I do believe-- and I think, Matt, you've said this in the market as well-- there is mutual admiration here between the Canucks and also Genssel. Genssel would love to be a winger on Patterson's line. He knows management from Pittsburgh days. The Canucks absolutely love him. They try to get him at the deadline. But how can you get him at the deadline when you don't have any draft capital? And you don't have the assets. And the Canucks don't have a deep prospect pool. So you're trying to get in on him. But how are you going to get that guy with no draft capital and not a great prospect pool? So here's the thing. We all wait, but we all do know that Genssel is very, very, very high on Vancouver's list. They absolutely adore the guy. And how can you not? Look, the Canucks have $15.5 million, and you're better with numbers than I am. But I think they have $15.5 to sign four players and a backup goalie. So it's going to be amazing if they don't get Genssel. It's going to be amazing to me. I'm hearing Tifoli's getting a lot of action with LA and New York, the Rangers. But then the Rangers might be trading Tuba and clearing up space for Genssel. Who knows? Everybody's clearing up. Everyone's trying to clear up cap space for Genssel. You mentioned Tampa Bay. It's going to be a fascinating 24 to 48 hours. And absolutely, it's going to be fun. It's going to be fun. You guys, it's a good time to be live on the radio right now because things are going to be happening. We'll look at the trades this morning. It's a fun time for hockey fans. Yeah, it's going to be a lot that goes on from now until Monday. I'm going to go back to drinking my espresso, Rick. We'll talk soon. I'm going to Timmy's right now. And lastly, somebody bought me my two coffees right in front of me. The guy bought me two coffees. Whatever that was, thank you. But I'm going to Timmy's right now because the only thing I can't do is put sugar in my coffee because once you hit 50, everything goes south. The doctors are all over yet. But he hasn't told me no crown yet. So I'm OK. But anyways, I'm not going to drink your espresso crap. I'm going to stick with Timmy's every day. There is Rick Dollywell joining us. Donnie and Dolly tend to noon on check TV each and every Monday through Friday. And he joins sports at 650 regularly. He is a presentation of bassant motors powering the playoff drive home of over 400 pre-owned vehicles and where the players go. Draft coverage here on Sports at 650, brought to you by oxygen yoga and fitness, not your typical yoga studio. They are into round four of the NHL entry draft. 120 is where the Canucks will be selecting. So we're about 10 picks away from the Canucks next selection. Their first selection, Melvin Fernstrom, a winger out of Sweden, scored over 30 goals. In the J20 with Orbro, which was Jonathan Lekoramaki's team last season. Also, DPD Elias Petterson played there as well. So the Canucks are very familiar with the coaching staff on that squad. And Thomas Drance tweeting that a lot of evaluators view Fernstrom as the highest upside player that was still left on the board when the Canucks selected at 93. So a lot to get excited about. What else could be happening? Pick number four for the Vancouver-- or pick number two for the Vancouver Canucks. And more coming on draft central, Stan Richo, Biknizar, Satyar Shah on Canucks Central. [MUSIC PLAYING] We're back on Canucks Central, Dan Richo, and Satyar Shah on Biknizar here in the Kintec Studio. Our draft coverage continuing. Draft central, the Canucks selecting Michael Fernstrom with their first pick in the 2024 draft. 93rd overall, in the third round. They have another pick coming up here in the fourth round. We bring in Shane Malloy as our next guest on the program hockey prospect radio and a regular contributor here on Sports at 650. Thanks for the Shane. How are you? Doing great. I mean, look, OK, not be great. We're in the best place in the world. You're like, all those years of drafts in the rink, and we came here, I don't know how the NHL could ever not come back here again. It's unbelievable. I was gobsmacked when I walked in here. And no matter what it costs for this event, the amount of brand value that the NHL has received from this is ad-zeroes to it. It's been that impressive. Yeah, I mean, even on television, it looks unbelievable. And yes, we are all very jealous that you are enjoying the draft there in Las Vegas at the sphere. I mean, it just-- the presentation value looks through the roof. And yeah, can't believe it's the last one like this, or at least that's the plan. Oh, I don't-- I wouldn't jump to that. OK. I think this is going to put a shot to the assistant to a lot of people. And there was always going to be a draft, and the player is going to be there, and the media is going to be there. It's just that the teams weren't going to be there. So it would have been more like an NFL-style draft. But with how well this went off and the amount of exposure the NHL has received from it, they may rethink what they're going to do with their draft moving forward. Because it's the one event, if the NHL does better than any other sport by a country mile is our entry draft. Before we get to the selection that Canucks made, what's been the overall takeaway of how the draft has shaken out so far, day one now heading into day two? Well, I think it wasn't a terrible surprise. There was going to be a run of defenseman, because it was going to be defensive heavy in probably the first 40 picks. So that didn't come as a surprise. And then I think once again, we have to look back to the playoffs and go, well, how the teams went in the playoffs. And there was a lot of big body forwards, a two-way centerman. And it shouldn't have come a shock that a lot of the defenseman are obviously 60, 63, or bigger that are mobile. So that was really the theme. And if you were a smaller defenseman, you'd better be very talented offensively to make up for some of those deficiencies. So it didn't shock me how it played out. On Martin or Melvin Fernstrom for the Canucks pickle red 93 overall, it's been mentioned. Look, he's got a fantastic scoring ability with some of the developmental prospects. What are you looking for on the next two years of the scale of their development growth? Well, big shocker that the Banker Canucks took a Swede. So we'll get that out of the way. I think for Melvin, especially when you're a young player and you play primarily mostly in the K-20, it's not as a structured league as other leagues. So as he moves up, I think the emphasis for him is going to be playing off the puck, which is how he plays. Find his identity when he plays defensively and just keep growing on that. Because that'll be the separate factor of whether he plays in the NHL at all. It's going to be his off puck play. And, look, offensively, he's a primary shooter. He has a sneaky shot. He likes to score goals. I thought he, you know, I was at the World U-A teams and I thought he had an excellent tournament there in that respect. So he's going to have to be patient with him. Because there's a reason why he's chosen in the third round. If not, he would have went like early second, you know, or mid second from that standpoint. So offensive talent is there. Just got to be patient with the defense. So I think, once again, we look to the playoffs. And even if you're skilled forward, you have to find a way to contribute off the puck. Otherwise, you just don't play. Yeah, and I wonder how much to, like, the Canucks. They had Jonathan Lekramacki playing at Orbro. I think Elias Petterson, DPD, or as we call him here in Vancouver, the defense version of Elias Petterson, now with Abbotsford, was over at Orbro as well. They have Michaela, Samuelson, as sort of there. They're a guy in Sweden that's working with a lot of their prospects that are out there. Could a team have a connection to this player that gives them a better sense of what he could be versus other teams? And I feel like that's potentially played a part in Vancouver's selection here. Certainly. I mean, one of the biggest advantages, is not just understanding the player on the ice, but more importantly, understanding him off the ice. And then what his capacity mentally and emotionally is. And does he have the internal grit, resilience, to be able to work through and try to punch his way through to the NHL? Because the telephoto compresses really quickly, when you get to the American hockey league, then it compresses again in the NHL. And it's amazing. You see in the American league game, how many first, second and third round picks and top players are just in the American league. You forget how great they were either in college or in junior or over in Europe. So that's going to be an uphill battle for him. But look, I think he has people around him in the development side that understand who he is. And they're going to give him the best chance to succeed. And third round picks, it's not a very high probability. On average, it's only going to be eight players out of the third round that'll play more than 200 games. So he's melding to one of them. We don't know that yet. But I think over the next two years, we're going to begin to find that out pretty quickly. I could give the kid three years, and you start to get an understanding, okay, he's going to be able to turn the corner after he hits draft plus five. And he gets into that 23 year age group. Because that's probably how long he's going to need if he is going to play. But considering where the Canucks are, would not having a ton of higher draft picks, going for a guy that maybe Boomer bust is too heavy a word considering he's a third round draft pick. But it makes sense to kind of take a swing at a guy that has him upside, but also some risk. Well, it's also like familiarity. So if you can reduce your risk in a bunch of different areas because you know the player, you know his background, you know his family, you understand the system he's in, you know his coaches and the rest of the development people, it just makes it easier, more seamless, to be able to work on a profile and a plan for him that everyone buys into. And that's a huge advantage too, because we have conflicting camps trying to do whatever they want to do with that player. It never works out well for the player. So I think that makes a huge difference and it may give Melvin a bit of a bump in that respect. So I completely understand the strategy when you're getting to the third, to the seventh round of getting players that you have high familiarity with. And you know look at the end of draft and all suites, wouldn't shock me. - Is that something we overlooked too from the outside of, you know you have a hand in their development obviously, but you're trusting so much of your growth on external factors like what destination these players are landing in. And is that something that maybe the general public doesn't factor in enough of what the players look like from this stages of the rounds? - Environment matters, the environment you develop in as a human being, like gotta remember, he's a 17, 18 year old kid. So the environment you put them in makes a huge difference of how they build their habits and then how their habits become their behaviors on and off the ice. So that's it, I think it's a factor that I, especially over the last 10, 12 years, have waited far more heavily than I ever did in the past. And it was part of my learning curve of recognizing human development in that respect, particularly cognitive develop of what's going on between years. 'Cause we all remember everyone that's on this call, we remember what we were like when we were 17, 18 years ago. We were kind of like hairless monkeys running around. So we needed some guidance and help and these players move that too. They're infinitely talented in what they do as hockey players, but that doesn't make them NHL players. There's other things that they have to learn to get better. So I think that really factors in, especially if you trust the organization that they're playing in and you have a really good relationship with them. I think that makes a tremendous amount of difference because when the player understands that everybody's on the same page, just trying to help him, that you need that trust with your player. 'Cause if you don't have it, he's gonna second guess his way all through his development process. - The Canucks coming up here in the fourth round at pick number 125 or in the 119 range right now with Nashville on the clock. Shane, before we let you go, is there some names that you're still, or surprised maybe that have not come off the board just yet there at the draft? - On my list actually, 'cause I did a, my list is pretty small. So I only go to 85 and only 60 of my think will play 200 games in the NHL and if I look at my list, they're all gone except for one goalie. So far, no, not really, they need big surprises. I would have thought that the one player that didn't go in the first round thought he would have been Igor Shurnishoff at a dynamo system. I thought he would go in the first round. So he went, you know, obviously right in the second, the first pick in the second round. So it wasn't a big drop. And that's one of the things the fans may not realize as well is inside the first round, five slots, seven slots, it's not relevant. You get into the third round, like even into the late second round and it's a 10 to 15 slot difference between maybe some of your census rankings and where the players take them also are relevant. That doesn't matter, like you're in the same grouping of your rankings. So you kind of go, oh, you had them 15 spots different? Whatever, but this really doesn't matter that much. - Shane, we always appreciate the time and your insights. Enjoy the rest of the draft there in Las Vegas. - Have a great day, gentlemen. Talk to you later. - There is Shane Malloy, Hockey Prospect Radio joining us here on Canucks Central. And some thoughts there on Melvin Fernstrom still needs the rest of his game to round out. But the offensive profile is certainly intriguing, which is the lone Canucks pick that we have to go on. We did speak to him briefly. He likes to score much goals. So that's it. - Love that. - Somebody responded on Twitter. It was like, well, don't all prospects. The question we asked them was like, how do you describe yourself as a player? And it was like, to score goals and get points. That's how I describe myself as a player. - It's like a reach. He likes to drink much pros. - Yes, very much so. So Melvin Fernstrom is the pick for Vancouver. They're coming up here at 125 as well with their fourth round selection. Do not have a fifth round pick this year. That went to Calgary in the Nikita's Dorov trade. Do have two sixth rounders and a seventh rounder to come a little bit later on. But yeah, we are getting very much into the, who are these guys range of the draft? And, you know, I think the Canucks, okay, everybody's making the joke that the Canucks draft a bunch of Swedes, right? Like they did it with Velander. They did it with like a Romaki. It's obviously something that they're comfortable with and they have an infrastructure there in and around Sweden that they maybe have more intel on those players than they do some others. And that's what they're comfortable selecting. - And also Canucks fans are also a very comfortable being nervous and it doesn't take a lot for Canucks fans to get nervous. And so already you're right. It's like, oh, another Swede. Like what's going on? - Okay, you're draft kids from Canada. - And even though nobody has signed yet because we're not into July 1st and free agency, a lot of people are like, Canucks are missing out on all their targets. What's going on? They're not going to sign anybody. Am I like, just calm down? Like it's a stage with the draft. July 1st hasn't come around yet. Like we'll see what happens. But yeah, panic is never too far away in Canucks nation and it's already starting to build up. One on not picking a Canadian with a third round draft pick. And the other one being that they haven't landed a big fish yet. So I'd say when you see just calm down a little bit. Relax, chill. - It's not July 1. - Let it play out. Let it play out. It's only the 29th. - It's like the 30th, right? The 30th is tomorrow, right? Like I forgot. I was thinking about paying rent. I had it July 1st. I'm like, all right. It's not even the 30th. We have one more day to go. - I'm thinking about paying rent. You're like that meme? I'm like, my grind is so good. I asked my landlord to raise my rent. (laughing) - I need the challenge. - We do have an update from Elliot Friedman and where the market is heading for Jake Gensle. He just tweeted out a story that he has typed up very quickly there while he is covering the draft in Las Vegas and talks a little bit about the Tampa Bay. Moving on for Michaela Surgachev and Tanner Janno. This morning, Tampa's believed priority target is Jake Gensle coming off the 30 goal season in Pittsburgh and Carolina. What happened between the hurricanes and Gensle is still being determined according to multiple sources. Gensle's ask was eight by eight. It was made some time ago with the two sides grinding away in negotiations since that time, perfectly normal. On Thursday, the hurricanes agreed to meet those terms and were prepared to discuss structure. Several teams said they heard the winger was staying in Carolina, but with July one approaching those same sources indicated Gensle decided that the longer it took, the more he thought about testing free agency as is his right. It looks like the market changed from when they started negotiating and now another GM said it's possible. Gensle's rights are traded prior to Monday. There are teams who want to talk to him to gauge his interest as for Stampcoast. It's hard to say immediately what this means as the draft continued. It became obvious there is no shortage of teams that would love to talk to him if he gets to free agency. We'll see what develops. That is from Elliot Friedman. - So does this mean he's going to get to July 1st then? - If you're Carolina, would you wanna trade to Tampa Bay? It's not indivision, but it's like that's a rival. - Yeah, no, it's interesting. And this is what we talked about yesterday, that if he doesn't sign, you're gonna start hearing about his rights. And now we're hearing about is his rights going to be traded? The thing that could throw a wrench into all that is Gensle. He can say, I'm just gonna wait to July 1st. And if he does that, it changes the equation. - Carolina has given permission to Gensle previously to negotiate with other teams. So maybe as an idea and says, "Hey, I'm comfortable going here," and they facilitate a trade. But yeah, if you're Carolina, you wanted a third round pick, 'cause that's usually what it should go for. - And you're not getting a third this year. - You're not getting a third now. - But you get a future for third. You can get a third for next year's draft, right? And I think the other thing too, is Tampa willing to go eight years? Considering they wanted to go eight with Samco's, that's a team that probably is. Is that an edge for them? 'Cause we know with Vancouver, they've been reluctant so far to go to that eight year range with the guys that are 2930. We saw it obviously with JT Miller as well, and some of the other negotiations. Is it Dora? I've also been one of them? Is that something there? And, but I think if you want Gensil, you may have to be willing to do something like that, right? - This is kind of what Patrick Levine was alluding to yesterday a little bit when he spoke about their free agent targets, and things are in a spot right now where we feel good about it, but a lot can change with one phone call, and things happen that can change the situation dramatically. And the Gensil situation has changed dramatically here over the last 24, 48 hours from things trending towards him resigning in Carolina, to maybe Vancouver potentially being the favorites. Tampa now opens up money. Are they entering the Gensil sweepstakes? Like so much can happen as the Canucks are now on the clock at pick one, 25, and they have made a selection. It is centerman Riley Patterson, that is the Vancouver Canucks latest pick. - The Barry Colts, Canadian, there you go, everyone can. - Ooh, really, right. - A lot of points. - Yeah. - A lot of points, right shot, six feet tall, 192 pounds, plays right wing, and also listed as a center per the NHL network. So he goes to the Canucks at pick one 25 here, and the quick synopsis from elite prospects, dynamic speed, a quick release in flashes of NHL caliber hockey sense, making one of the draft's most exciting mid-round bets that is from the NHL draft guide at elite prospects. We will find out a little bit more about Riley Patterson. Are we going to connect with Riley Patterson? Okay, well, we won't take a break then until we potentially have a chance to connect with Riley Patterson, the Canucks latest selection. - And unless the Canucks add another draft pick here, they're not picking to the sixth round after this. - So it's going to be a hot minute. - Yeah, it's going to be a minute here before they get to that point. And now they've drafted two right hand shots as wingers and back-to-back picks. One is Riley Patterson, the other one was Millen Fernstroom. - They have a type. - They do, like it looks like right now, they're looking for guys with some offensive skill, right hand shot type players. And they're going after it. - Two offensive upside picks with the two picks they've had in the draft. - Yeah, and the fact that he has a couple of what looks to be, I wouldn't say plus-plus, but somewhat plus attributes like his skating, the shooting. These are the types of players I'd like you taking shots at here, you know? And if they pan out, great, you have some value. If not, well, if most picks in that range aren't going to turn out to be anything. - Shoot for the moon. - Yeah, all right. - Especially we don't have a first and a second and you haven't had a second round pick for four straight years. - Yeah. Both guys, you know, like profiles as exciting prospects, exciting offensive prospects, which is something you like to hear. You like to see that these guys have good scoring profiles. He was just under a point of game in the OHL this year through 68 games played, Riley Patterson. So, you know, we'll get a little bit more intel from the player himself as soon as we're able to connect in Las Vegas. Use atmosphere and doing the whole shaking hands, kissing babies kind of thing right now with the Vancouver Canucks and those around him in his family that are enjoying this big moment for Riley Patterson. But another, you know, player over six feet that the Canucks have selected here with an offensive profile. Melvin Fernstrom and Riley Patterson, the two selections. Four Vancouver to this point of the NHL entry draft and Riley Patterson joins us now, the latest member of the Vancouver Canucks organization. Thanks for this Riley. Congrats on getting drafted to Vancouver. - Yeah, thank you guys. I really appreciate that. - How you feeling in this moment right now? Describe how you're feeling? - Yeah, no, it's definitely a great come true. I mean, we've worked so hard, you know, my whole life to get to this moment. You know, defining what you're going to call it is. Also, I'm especially, you know, a dream job. So, you know, I have my family and some family friends who spend time with them and enjoy with them. It's, you know, really special for me. - Do you have any inclination that the Canucks might be interested in you or with picks in this range? - Yeah, I mean, yeah, we have some conversations, you know, during the year. And also, I'm going to get the combine, which I thought it as well. We went to that interview. So, I know you always just hope to get drafted and you know, you're my name calls. If they could order such a good organization, you know, I can't take them enough. And I'm just ready to go to work. - Was there a moment in the past two years, Riley, where like this started to feel like a reality for you that like the NHL dream was going to be there for you? - Yeah, I think, you know, the first year of junior hockey, I mean I played in, you know, JHL, which is a, you know, tier two junior league in Ontario and you know, had a good year there. So I think after that, it was kind of a realization there. You know, if you keep working hard and you'll keep your head down and be a good kid, and you know, I can, you know, you can achieve your dream to be drafted in a NHL. And you know, I'm just, I'm so pumped right now. - So tell us about your game. - Yeah, and I think I'm a, you know, 200 foot player that loves the puck on the stick. I think I can create offense in those own, well for myself and my teammates. And you know, I love putting the puck on the net. So, you know, that, you know, a guy that loves the offense, but you know, can also take a defensive zone as well. - How much have you watched this Canucks squad? And what do you kind of look at when you look at this Canucks team and figure what you might do in the future here? - Yeah, no, it's awesome. I mean, I've said tougher since I'm the West Coast, you know, late games, but you know, other times I get, you know, that it's an awesome organization that, you know, it's a great young team. And, you know, doing some, you know, great things the next couple of years. So I'm a pup to be a part of it. - Do you have a favorite player or a player that you've modeled your game after? - Yeah, I think I actually find enough is J.T. Miller from, you know, from the Canucks. Say, you're the thicker body that, you know, loves the offense and, you know, it's trusted at the defensive zone. So, you know, a player like him, you, you know, you create the offense, but he's also trusted, you know, I'd run the ice. - Well, we appreciate getting to know you a little bit better. What's the summer looking like for you, Riley? - Yeah, a lot of training. I know a couple of cottage trips. A couple of cottage trips. - Right, answer. - You know, family and friends. But, you know, a lot of training on the ice, working out just, you know, getting ready for training camp and all that. So, you know, busy summer, but, you know, really looking forward to it. - Riley, I've been great getting to know you. We'll see you up here in Vancouver soon enough. I'm sure. Thanks for this. - Yeah, awesome. Thank you so much. - There is Riley Patterson, the latest pick of the Vancouver Canucks. 29 goals in 68 games with Barry Colt's last season. - We won an oboe, like the partying. It's like, well, what are you doing in the summer? - Training, training, right away. Just training, training. Back to the ice, back to the ice. - Yeah, trying to turn it out. - He sounded hype though, right? He sounded hype. That was great. - I know a lot of our listeners are gonna be happy to hear that he likes J.T. Miller as a player comp to himself. - Well played, hey, media training. Through the roof. - Yeah, no, no, that's fantastic. - And it kind of has the name that you can chant, like the J.T. Miller. It's Riley Patterson, it kind of goes right there. - And we don't want the funny thing too, is there is an NFL kicker named Riley Patterson, plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. So, if you're trying to search his name, make sure to put hockey. I was like, wait, did you have to do a kicker? If you're in a two fantasy league, hockey and football, like down the line, you get a Riley Patterson in both. - Yeah, but I mean, honestly, like the kid did have a strong year. Like, he had 62 points in 68 games, has a first year draft eligible player, which is not an easy thing to do. Like, it's good production, 29 goals. So, there's real talent here. - And he mentioned his OJHL, you have the numbers there. - Yeah, the OJHL, he had 73 points in 52 games, 30 goals. So, I mean, he's a guy that can put the points up. And so, a third round pick with some upside, a fourth round pick with some upside. And listen, the chances of either of these players playing for the Canucks are small. Like, they are, like, when you start looking at the odds of draft picks coming through, and we know we talk about Ryan Bader, who does a good job of bringing these stats up. So, a third round pick has a 21% chance of playing in the NHL, like just playing like 200 games in NHL, and has a 2% chance of being a star. A fourth round pick has a 7, 18% chance of playing 200 games, a 0.9% chance of being a star. - And I think by his threshold, star is not even like top-lying players. - So, star-- - It's top six and top four, right? - So, star is 200 games, 0.7 career point per game. So, over half a point per game. It's like a 55, 60-point player type of deal. That's a star, quote unquote. A superstar is another level to it. But when you look at those numbers, that you're talking about a 2% and 1% chance, I go for the guys with the upside that might get there for you. - There's three players in NHL history that were drafted in the third round, and it ended up scoring more than 1,000 points. So, it's very slim. - Yeah. - Pickens to get superstar level players at this point. But the Canucks get a couple of higher upside plays in the third and fourth rounds. Couple of Vancouver Giants updates. Tyler Thorpe going at 1.30 to Montreal, and then Colton Roberts, the big defenseman, going to the San Jose Sharks at 1.31. So, a couple of Vancouver Giants going back to back. Back to back here in the fifth round. Canucks do not have a fifth round selection, but they do have two selections in the sixth round. So, we'll keep an update on that. And, of course, as Elliott Friedman just tweeted out, an update on the Jake Genssel sweepstakes, Tampa has entered the chat. - Yes, and whether that's a good thing or bad thing, he mentioned other teams, but no specific mention of Vancouver with Jake Genssel. - We'll see where this goes. It's going to be a long 48 hours before we get to signing season on Monday. It's Dan Reichow, Satty R. Shaw, Bick Bazar, Draft Central on SportsNet 650. (upbeat music) - Yeah, I think I'm going to the foot player. I love the puck and the stick. I think I can create offense. I'm in the ozone. Not for myself, my teammates. I love for the puck than that. So, you know, a guy that loves the offense, but, you know, can also take other defenses on the floor. - There is Riley Patterson, fourth round pick at 125 for the Vancouver Canucks. Their latest selection in the draft, they do not have a pick until round number six where they will select twice in the sixth round, and then one more in the seventh. So, three more picks on the day for the Vancouver Canucks. And so far, Melvin Fernstrom, winger out of Orbro, in Sweden and Riley Patterson of the OHL's Barry Colts, their two selections. - We take the jokes per 60 as well, 650, 650. The Canucks couldn't get another Swede or Patterson, but they got close with a Patterson. Pretty good, pretty good on signed text there. - They found the most sweetest sounding Canadian remaining on the board. - Rookie of the Month twice in the OHL as well, according to the Dunbar Lumber texting boxes, we're getting some 416 numbers tweeting in from out there in Toronto. - Our scouting scouting network is massive. - Another text coming in, Patetico. I don't know if that's Italian for Pathetic. - Is that reference to the Switzerland masters? - I think so, yes. - Or the Canucks not picking Americans or Canadians. This one's, it is a joke. You can't tell me you don't feel the same way. Put a scout in Western Canada, maybe. So, I mean, I'll always love to see more Canadians get picked, and who doesn't, but I think the Canucks picked a few Canadians last year, didn't they? I mean, that could be wrong. - Hunter Bruce Davids. - And he traded him. - Yes. - Little picked him. - I'm just saying. - That was, you know. - Well, it took like eight and celebrating two last year, remember? Nobody talks about that. - It worked out. - Saw your menu. - Head of the curl on the celebrities. - It worked out in a way for Vancouver with Hunter Bruce Devitch, because that's kind of where the Canucks are in their window right now where, yes, you need prospects. - He's American, isn't he? He played in the OHL, but he's American. - Yeah, he's American, yeah. You want prospects to potentially come up and play on entry level deals and help balance your cap in that way, but more than anything, prospects are trade chips for you to add to your squad. - Yeah, more or less, right? But last year the Canucks picked Aiden Celebrini from Vancouver, BC. They picked Matthew Perkins from Saskatchewan. - That's one, he was, he played in the US like, yeah. - And Ty Mueller, who also went to the US and played at University of Nebraska, also from Alberta last year, and saw a menu from BC. So last year the Canucks picked two players out of BC, one from Alberta and one from Saskatchewan. How many picks did they have last year? Yeah, they had seven picks and four of those were Canadians. - So more than half. - And so far this year they've had two picks, one's a Canadian and one's a Swede. I think some of this consternation is just reflexive stress and panic. - Yes. - That's what I think it is more than anything else. 'Cause if you look at the last two drafts, they've taken quite a few Canadians. - There is certainly more of a reaction to this then is what is normally warranted in that sense from where I sit at the very least. Now here we sit in the fifth round of the draft and you know, the Canucks don't have a ton of picks as we've talked about, but the focus continues to be elsewhere. We've seen other teams making moves. Now why haven't the Canucks been on, in on trades? You know, we've heard that they were in on a John Marino, at least had prior interest before he was traded from Pittsburgh to New Jersey. He gets traded here again today, this time from New Jersey to the Utah team, Utah Hockey Club for a couple of second round picks. You know, there's a clear want for the Canucks to add to their decor after getting Myers locked in and Hronik locked in, but it has to be in a cost effective way because at the end of the day here, like they're filling out guys that are playing third pair roles. That was one of the reasons about like going the extra mile to sign Zadora, but at the end of the day, as Patrick Levine mentioned yesterday, he was still gonna be a third pair of defenseman for us. So there's a limit to what we can do here and for what the Canucks are trying to fill out on their roster right now. Yeah, you're looking for a guy who can play a 4-5 type role with Tyler Myers and Carson Susie, but it's got to come in a cost effective way because they need to add scoring up front in some way, shape or form. - If there's the price point, I know Marina was the one that we were just here recently discussing. Like that's a price point where to me, like you're getting a number four and better. And so if that moves Myers down, okay, that's fantastic. So that still exists, but now the names are starting to dwindle, obviously. You weren't gonna be in the circuit chip market, that's just not realistic. I understand the trepidation of like, why haven't they gotten a bit more active? I don't, the Marina one's the only one I look at and say, "Oh, that kind of sucks to miss out on." But I don't think they had the assets to pull that one off. It was gonna cost more than Hoaglander. It's two second round picks. - Yeah. - So at that stage, just, okay, what have you really missed out on that you can actually do and to preserve the cap space to give yourself a chance moving forward here on this Gensil stuff? And I know the lightning stuff is starting to snowball and pick up a lot of steam, but it's gonna be tight times here in these next 48 hours, preserving that cap space to me is still of the most importance. - Yeah, the cap space is important. Having as much of it as possible for the Canucks to be real players here. And then I see a lot of people texting and be like, I don't want the Canucks to spend anything in free agency. I do not want the team to get better. - Honestly, that's- - I see a lot of this and it's like, and I understand- - It's been happening for weeks. - It has been, it's like, just hold on to your money. Maybe something comes available. Like, what do people think is gonna come available? Do you think all of a sudden Leon Drey said I was gonna get cap dumped by Edmonton? - No, like cap dumps are not for star level players. - Yes. - You're saying, okay, don't sign free agents, but take on bad contracts instead? What do you wanna do? You wanna hoard draft picks and bad contracts and perhaps be a mid-level team, or are you trying to get better? The Canucks don't have a lot of draft capital, right? For you to have a star player, you draft them usually, right? Okay, well the Canucks don't have a draft capital. Now, the Canucks also don't have a lot of trade capital, so it's gonna be hard for them to go and trade for top-end guys, but they have cap space to sign players. I'm fine if the Canucks get a star player and save some of the cap space like we talked about. If you have like three or four million, then you can get some bargain buys to supplement your roster with depth positions and role players, but this notion of holding onto your cap space and letting things develop later on, like there's no magic being being dropped down later. Like if you, this team needs to raise its ceiling. Star players don't get just error dropped for free later in the summer. They're not gonna be, like they're not gonna be the types of players you can look at and say, wow, like this player is gonna, you know, all of a sudden play with Pederson has scored 35 goals. Those players don't get, don't get capped dumped. - No. - And those players, like Nachas, for instance, a guy who hasn't even been proven, the Canucks haven't been able to make a trade 'cause it's too expensive of Vancouver to make that trade. - Yeah, and they've been a team, you know, prior to even this front office getting here, spent too many of their assets. You know, there was a time and a place for the Canucks to be the team that collects assets and bad contracts. They didn't do it at that time. - Yeah. - They're certainly not gonna do it now, right? Calgary's in that spot right now. Utah was in that spot. You know, people are making a lot of comments. Look, look at how quickly Utah has, you know, changed, upgraded their defense. Why does this look so easy? - Well, it's because they have cap space and they have a ton of draft picks. - Well, it's also easier when you have zero demands, aren't you? - Yes, yeah, it's like great. They don't have anybody right now. So it's like-- - But you have the cap space. - When you have cap space and you've been collecting picks for a couple of years and prospects, like yeah, you have a lot more things to trade because you're at a position where you need to trade for those things to actually get better. - All right, well, this reminds me of, this is a dated reference now, but remember Kanye West College dropout that came out? You get that skid on it about the guy who like has all the college degrees, but is homeless? - I got the college degrees, man. They keep me, like, I got all these degrees. They keep me warm at night. - Yeah. - What are you doing when you get cold? I burn these degrees and I stay warm. It's like, yeah, you have all these degrees but you ain't doing anything with it. - Yes. - You know what I mean? Like, so what are we trying to do here, right? - Kids, please go get an education that is not the takeaway you want. - No, I'm not saying no getting an education but it's like, the point was, like, you get useless, like all these degrees, like, how do you apply this to life? It's like, it's not about having an academic profile. It's about having a real profile, a, in a real world profile that is manageable, right? And I see a lot of academic takes. It's like, yeah, sure, this sounds great but the real world isn't gonna all of a sudden airdrop you a 40 goal score in August because you saved your cap space. - I'm jazzy with a question. Problem is, they need stars. I'm sick and tired of bargain buys. That is from jazzy, which is why they are hot on the heels of Jake Genssel. - Yeah, and we'll see with Genssel, that one's tough. - It's a star level player but with star level players comes a lot of interest from other teams and we're seeing Tampa move heaven and earth to make a play for Jake Genssel here in free agency which might be where he ends up. - These are real takes coming into the text in the box. No draft capital because Alvin Benning have given them all away. Going to be a long, long time before we get another shot at the cup. Need a real GM, Alvin has only slightly improved on slight improvement over Benning, 5% at the most. Like this is Asinine. Like listen, it's summer time. - Yeah. - It's day two of the draft. It's June 29th. The level of consternation and stress I'm seeing in the text in the box is like, come on. We can do better than this, right? We're better than this, aren't we? - It's nice out. - We're not better than this. - Like the Canucks haven't had a first or second round draft pick. They had a successful season. They have cap space. They're going to be aggressive. And people are freaking out. - They're a good season. - Successful. - Well, it was successful season, it was. - Good season. - No, it was successful season. I don't give a crap what anybody says. It's a successful season. The Canucks went from not being a playoff team forever. Had the second biggest turnaround of franchise history. They were a tough final, 18. Went to game seven against Edmondson. They signed at least Pederson long-term. They have Filiparonic signed long-term. They have a team that's competitive. That's success. - I don't care what anybody says. - Patrick Aldean and Jim Rutherford, since taking over as the Canucks for an office, until this year, we're only one pick deficient. They took six players in 2022, seven players. Last year, they did have their first round selections in each of their first two drafts. One of the issues with the Canucks draft capital, lack of prospects in the system, high end, higher end prospects in the system, and trade capital from a prospect perspective is the lack of second round picks. And this was an issue going back to the Benning era. Part of Alvin's trading of second round picks has been to move off of salary. He had to move off of the Jason Dickinson contract. It cost a second round pick to do that. That was one of the first moves they made in their first full season ahead of their first full season. And so you're in this spot where they traded a second to get rid of a player, get some cap space. They traded another second to get Philopronic, it was part of the Philopronic deal. And now they've traded a third second round pick a couple of years down the line in order to move off of William and Caleb's contract, which was the first one that they did to their own money, to move their own money off the books. But that's where the Canucks have maybe not had as much draft capital as you would like. It's the lack of second round picks they've had in recent years. We'll get more into that conversation a little bit later on, but now joining us here on Draft Central, it is Colton Roberts who was selected here today to the San Jose Sharks out of the Vancouver Giants to the WHL. Thanks for this Colton, how are you? - I'm good, thanks for having me. - Congratulations on getting drafted man. Is a lot of emotions, you know, the first goal of becoming a professional hockey league career, having a professional hockey league career. I mean, you've met it here in your draft eligible season. - Yeah, I mean, unbelievable, like it was really cool. Like, good to have my family decide me. Like, I'm forever grateful for them. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here now. So thanks for them. - Well, and obviously you have the type of profile that teams are after being a right hand defenseman, but also you play with some toughness, you have some size, you move the puck well. Did you kind of get a sense that, you know, with your profile in this draft, that you know, you would kind of go in the range, you ended up going in? - Yeah, I mean, I had no idea what was gonna happen. I was just sitting up there waiting for my name to be called, and I'm pretty grateful for it to be called to the Sharks organization. - What was that five minute sequence like, 'cause I imagine you were pumped up for your teammate, Kyle, a Thorpe going right ahead of you, and then I imagine you just hear your name right after as well. - Yeah, it was pretty cool. I mean, both my crew of giants, eligible guys, like going back to back, like, that's really cool. Really good for Tyler. I mean, I'm really excited for him. - How are you feeling about your game, and what are the steps you wanna keep improving on here, Colton, after your big season this year? - Yeah, I just wanna keep improving on my D zone. I mean, I know for the next step, I need to work on that stuff. So, throughout my coaching staff and summer program I'm with, that's stuff I wanna work on, and I wanna get obviously stronger and faster and quicker. So, it can go all nice. - Colton, really happy for you, man. Congratulations again on getting drafted and all the best to you this summer, and we'll see you back up with the Vancouver Giants soon. - Yeah, thank you very much for having me. - There is Colton Roberts, six, four, right shot defenseman with the Vancouver Giants selected today with the second pick of the fifth round, 131st overall to the San Jose Sharks, a pick that was once owned by the Vancouver Canucks. It's funny looking at where the pick started. It was with Chicago, then to Vancouver, then to Calgary, and now with the San Jose Sharks, where Colton Roberts was selected. The Canucks do not have a selection here in the fifth round, their fifth round selection belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In this, at least it does now. So, that's where the Canucks pick is for this fifth round. They'll have a couple of sixth round selections to come later on. - Yeah, we'll see what happens here in a sixth round. What do you have some news for us? - It's a small trade. Vegas is acquiring a Kirish Mead from New Jersey from Pure Lebron. - I thought he was supposed to be the next goalie for that, what happened? - Remember that ship that was like a one playoff game? Remember we had two playoff games or whatever it was like. This is our guy, one tough year, at a New Jersey. - Sad, pulled that receipt. Look, he was returning something in a Canadian tire so fast. - He's bringing his already. - I got the Kirish some meat. - I got the receipts already, man. I don't forget. - The Kirish Mead Receipt. - You know what, some people will keep receipts so I can bookmarks, I have them all in my head. - Yeah. - Unbelievable. - Oh my God. - There was another. - Alex Niedelkovich received. - He was like, ah, I thought he was supposed to be awesome. - Yeah, one of the funny things too on the text inbox, somebody says something ridiculous, we read it, and then they whine about why we read through a text message and made fun of it. It's like, well, have better text, bro. What do you want me to do? - Sad's just calling everybody out now. We've reached that stage of drafting. - We've got one, are we going to break so I won't read this text? All right, Jackson from Langley says, can someone explain why the comics didn't trade UFA's for late picks for signing rates? It's like they literally miraculously move Sam Lafferty as part of the McKayev trade. That trade should have cost way more. Now, I get it, you want to pick back. They get a fourth rounder, but that trade, I still don't understand from Chicago's perspective. It should have cost way more than a second, and including Sam Lafferty, that is like-- - But it's not only that it's just a second, it essentially amounts to, I mean, we'll see where the two teams end up, but it's going to be like 45, 50 picks in the draft. It's essentially a trade down in the 20, 27 draft to move off of McKayev at $4 million. - Yeah, clearly like Sam Lafferty had value, yes. - No, he did. - Now, and I would say this, like if the Canucks could trade Zodorov's rights and Lindholm's rights, I'm sure they do it. So I don't think it's like them like holding on to their rights saying, "Hey, we're not moving these guys." Like somebody has to be willing to make an offer to get those anyways, right? Like last year, only one player got traded for his draft rights with Seaberson. - Yeah. - So you know, all the talk around this, and that's something that you see every year, like multiple guys get traded for draft picks just to negotiate their rights with them. Like it's not as common as people would lead you to believe. - Given some of the Settlebutt as well around Nikita Zodorov, I mean, there's multiple teams interested. He turned down a pretty significant offer from the Vancouver Canucks. Whatever that final offer ended up being, we're not too sure, but Darren Dragor reported $5 million on the average annual value. We've talked about 4.75 Canucks getting into that range in the past. - Should mention a statement is the coming apparently as well from the agent Dan Milte. And it's pretty obvious that Nikita Zodorov is looking for as much money as he can find in the trees and taking the biggest offer that he's going to get in July one free agency, which is his right. So it's hard to trade that player when they themselves are just out and wondering what that biggest offer is going to be. And they haven't made their decision yet on where they're going to end up. Dan Ricio, Satyar Shah, Biknazar Moore, draft central coming on SportsNet 650. (upbeat music) - Back into the Kintech Studio, draft central continues Dan Ricio, Satyar Shah, Biknazar around the table. Kintech Canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands, thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sort of heat, what are you waiting for? As we enter the sixth round of the draft, the Canucks will have a couple of selections as they do have the first pick of the sixth round, a 162nd overall, and that is from the Jaxtadnika trade. Jaxtadnika did not get qualified by San Jose, so he will be a free agent. So we do have more on the New Jersey Devils Vegas Golden Knights trade. It is Alexander Holtz, just a few years ago, the number seven overall pick. He is going to Vegas along with Akira Schmede, Paul Cotter, and a Vegas third rounder in 2025. So not a very good return for Alex Holtz going back to the New Jersey Devils. I know it was not always great for Holtz in Vancouver, or sorry, in New Jersey. He did, by the number 16 goals in 82 games, his first full year with New Jersey, did not play in the playoffs for them, but a player that was a seventh overall pick, and now New Jersey is moving on. I think they've long struggled with his total game as part of the conversation around Alex Holtz, but he scored big, scored well in the HL, and he'll probably be great for the Vegas Golden Knights. The Canucks have just made their selection, the first pick of the sixth round, and is Anthony Romani as their pick here, a player with the North Bay Battalion in the OHL, right winger, another right winger, shooting right, with an offensive profile. He is a little bit of an overrager, was a D+1 player, so a year after his first draft eligible season, but had an unbelievable year statistically with the North Bay Battalion scoring 58 goals in 68 games, 168 games, 111 points. So the same profile continues here. We're gonna have a pretty obvious conversation with Todd Harvey in a little bit of like, so you guys are targeting right shot players with offense, hey, because that's at least the profile of all three selections so far for the Vancouver Canucks. - Yeah, I mean, I think for Vancouver, why wouldn't you wanna do that? Like, I think it's very clear they have a profile and some upside that they're looking for, and they're going after that. And I think it's always dependent on the types of players that are remaining on the draft board too, and who's kind of left, and what you're trying to get out of, right? And so I think it's very clear the profile that Canucks have identified in the mid to late rounds, and right now they're really hammering that home. - Is it, at some point, is it overkill to do it too much like this? Now, look, it's something you need in the organization, right hand shots are tough to find, but are they serving the entire organizational depth chart this way? - I mean, it's a fair point. Like, you're not wrong in making that assertion, right? And he is a D plus one player, had Gody numbers this year, but he's a 19 year old, not an 18 year old, and you look at him scoring 58 goals and 68 games for the North Bay battalion of the OHL this past season. But it's a fair point. The thing is, though, like we talk about having variants. - Totally. - Again, like I mentioned before, we're talking about these players, especially now that we get to the sixth round, there's like a 10% chance of these guys playing NHL games. There's like a 0.5% chance of these guys being stars, right? - If you're just following the BPA model and saying, hey, and especially what's stunning too, from previous regime comparing it to now, the level of confidence this group has in their player development. And if they believe, like, hey, we're gonna pick BPA and ensure there's certain level of need and organizational fit in. But if there's a belief that when we get our hands in these guys, the growth that they're gonna show over the course of 18, 36 months, then you're gonna see, okay, what sort of assets do we have? What sort of post draft potential do they have? If there's a level belief that I think a lot of people that check out Abbotsford and have seen the growth of these players will get excited about naturally. And that element too, as much as it is about the draft and entry point, the real work begins with the development. And this organization and to this regime has shown that they've rather qualified with their development program. - Anthony Romani, so the elite prospects, quick synopsis of the player, or as they call it, the elevator pitch, an ice stretching transition passer with a knack for perfectly timed riskers and one touch passes, improved physicality and skating. Give him a chance to crack the show. And he joins us now. Anthony Romani, Pickering, Ontario, and now the newest member of the Vancouver Canucks. Thanks for this, Anthony. Congratulations on getting drafted. How you feeling? - Great. I'm super excited to be a part of the organization. I'm super excited to get started. - Yeah, I'm sure it's a big day for you and your family that's helped you along. How do you feel right now in this moment and meeting a big career goal of getting drafted to the NHL? - Yeah, I mean, I'm super excited. It's been a dream of mine. Always growing up and it's really cool to see it happen. And yeah, I'm just super excited to get started with Vancouver and head down there. - Well, and you're somebody who had to work very hard. This past year had a great year for the North Bay Battalion. Like, how optimistic were you that you were gonna get drafted this time around? - Oh, yeah, I mean, obviously going on draft of last year, it's kind of one of my goals coming to this year. And I just wanted to prove myself. So I think I was pretty happy on the year I have. And I was excited to get down here. And I'm super excited to be a part of Vancouver. - We always like asking the prospects. How would you describe your game? - Yeah, I think I'm a field offensive court. Kind of used my hockey IQ to make plays around the ice. And yeah, I think I have very offensive and creative in the ozone and have a scoring touch and can find my teammates. - So what led to your breakout this year? I mean, you led the OHL and goals. So you had a pretty good season, man. - Yeah, I mean, like I said, just kind of always been in your mind. So I just wanted to have a big season this year and just working hard in the off season, getting better. And yeah, I mean, I'm playing with great players all the time and they really helped me such as my line mate. So I'm putting credit to the team more for that. - You obviously worked very hard this past off season to take your game to another level and had so much success. Like what's on the docket this off season to try to gain a little bit more heading to next year? - Yeah, I think just trying to get bigger and stronger and just working all aspects of my game going to this off season. I want to have a big season next year. And yeah, I mean, I'm back to me, which I want to win the championship there. So that's my goal going to next year. - What's the plans for the summer now? - I know I'm heading down to Vancouver tomorrow. So should be fun dev camp there. And then yeah, just back in Toronto for my off season training and just try to get bigger and stronger. - Well, we'll see you here at dev camp next week. Thanks so much for this, Anthony. Congratulations again on getting drafted. - Thank you very much. - There is Anthony Romani, the latest selection for the Vancouver Canucks. Another right shot forward playing the wing and this one a D+1 but scored 58 goals in the OHL this year. That is an OHL leading 58 goals. But now the reason he is a sixth rounder is a D+1 draft year player. So his draft year would have been last season and of course he did not get drafted. - No, he didn't. But you know, his skating is one thing that has been pointed out by the scouting profiles that he needs to work on and he gets a little bit faster. But you know, he scored a lot. I think even for D+1 guys scoring 58 goals in 68 games. - Yeah, leading the OHL is still pretty good. Yeah, it's still pretty good, right? Now we've seen that in passing. Dane Fox was a guy that connects that. Now he was a bit older when he scored like 70 goals or whatever it was so he doesn't always translate. But it's clear, they're going after guys that can shoot the puck that have some upside and hopefully one of these guys works out. - Can I just do some combine stuff here? - Sure. - So Romani finished top 20 in the grip stuff. If we're just looking for athletic stuff here, Romani finished top 20 in the grip of those exercises. Riley Patterson did well in the anaerobic ones. He was also top 20 and then Fernstrom also did well in the fatigue index as well. So the mean power output was Patterson's and the fatigue index was Fernstrom. So for a athletic profile, they managed to get some guys that did well to combine. In certain events, not across the board. - It's, so a couple of thoughts there. You're always looking for different types of things. The Canucks have clearly had a bit of a type here as far as like player type. We know this is a team that is big on culture, character, like last year, the profile last year was character guys, right? And high hockey sense, high hockey IQ was a theme running around the scouting reports of the lot of the players they drafted this year. Like the theme this year, it doesn't have to be the same theme every single season. It's just like, okay, we're going for high upside, offensive talents. And that's at least the theme of the first three players the Canucks have selected in this draft, Fernstrom Patterson and now Anthony Romani. They do have another selection coming up here in the sixth round in just a little bit. So the Canucks will be on the clock shortly as, you know, you kind of start to wonder as Bick mentioned earlier, do you space out the death chart a little bit now that you focused on bringing some more offensive talent into the organization? - I bring it up because more so, they got some demon last year, right? Celebrini and Rustavitz and then one goes out and obviously Willander, like they targeted right-hand D last year. - Sorry, but I think that was also a reflection of, - He's lefty, is he not? - Yeah, but I think it was a reflection also of the draft class last year. There were a lot of righties in that range and it's kind of like you go after what you feel like is a strength. That's there too. - GPD in there as well. - I agree with what you're saying. And I think when you think of it philosophically, it makes a lot of sense. But at the same time, I can keep going back to like, these guys don't hit. And I think over the, just take the guy you think is the best prospect that's going to play in the NHL. And if that happens to be three straight right-wingers at the end of a draft, who cares, right? - I love the phrase, the draft is fake after the fifth round, so yeah. - Exactly, right? So it's like the Canucks picked these three guys. There's a chance none of them work out, right? But if one does. - I don't think NHL might go down a four rounds. - Yes, exactly. - Well, I also say it because it was the draft of Vancouver where the Canucks didn't select a defenseman. And that regime did get, I wouldn't say crushed for it, but yeah, there was a lot of discussion in 2019 when the Canucks did not select a defenseman in 2019. - 650, 650, three scoring right-wingers. I guess Besser has gone after this year. - I wouldn't make those types of links as Sat puts his palm to his forehead. I just, I wouldn't make those types of links because it's difficult, man, to get to the NHL, man. - But it's like. - Okay, so fourth, third, fourth, and like sixth round picks. Like, when do you think these guys are going to arrive if they arrive? - Yeah. - Yeah, like five years? - It just, again, I don't like, like, despair is the name, it's not about that. But like, I remember like the Tyler Madden conversation was like, "Why do they give up on this guy so quick?" It's tough, man. Like, that was the 68th overall pick. It is really, really tough to make the NHL. - And like, I think, Reach, you nailed it earlier. And I'm not saying trade all your prospects, but like, when you draft guys outside the first and second round, like, their best assets to you is that if they play well enough that their trade ships for you. Like, really, 'cause you have more value than those guys that show well and show promise that are third, fourth, fifth round picks in trade. 'Cause when they get to the NHL, they're probably not going to be what you thought there would be anyways, right? - Well, and if you have a great scoring, like, we saw it with Perstavitch this year, how come he popped and became a tradable prospect, a guy who could be one of the big pieces in a trade to get a big time rental-like-a-lies little, scored for days in the OHA, led the OHL in scoring for a time during the season, right? - And if he was that, can't miss. Like, they felt like, "Oh, man, this guy's going to be the guy." Why are they drafting Zayn Parrick with their ninth overall pick? - Yeah. - Who's also right-hand defense, but that's a higher grade than Bruce Davis. It shows you, like, 'cause even Calgary understands, yeah, we get a nice prospect than Bruce Davis, but if there's like a 20% chance he's a player, 30% chance he's a player, you know what I mean? So it's like, I have no issues doubling up on positions of need. - Let's get in a expert's take on some of the more recent Canucks selections. Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects joining us now. Thanks for this, Cam. How's the draft going there in Vegas? - Oh, you know, we're having a good time. A little blurry this morning or up from the edges, but we're pushing through as we always do. - Nothing. A little coffee or liquid IV can't help. So getting into these latest picks. Well, from the Canucks perspective, I mean, we've seen it at least looking at their profiles. I'm sure you have a better thought on all the prospects than maybe I do, but Fernstrom, Patterson, and now Anthony Romani, the Canucks selecting, you know, forwards with big scoring profiles here with their three selections so far in the draft. - Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, like, we talked about it, the head of the draft is that we would be interested to see on, you know, what avenue they decided to take, whether it was, you know, big cuts on upside or if they're gonna go safety first. And I think it's pretty clear that they're betting on upside, which I think the Canucks fans should be excited about, that they're, you know, they're, if they miss, then they don't get a player, but, you know, they're not taking someone that they can help or play a bottom six role. So, you know, the first one, Melvin Fernstrom. You know, I saw him at the U18s. He put up eight points in seven games. I didn't love this game, let's say that. He's a little, a little slow pace. The feet aren't great. He plays a little on the perimeter for my liking, but I mean, the kid knows how to produce offense. Like at the U20 level, at the J20, he was, you know, nearly a point and a half a game. Like I said, over a point of game at the U18s, he knows how to get himself into scoring areas, has really good like off-pocket instincts, which allows him to kind of find pockets of space and then maximize those opportunities. And that's, I think, how he generates the, primarily how he generates his off-pocket smarts, which is, you know, a useful and could be a translatable skill at the next level. So, not the biggest kid, not the fastest kid, but he definitely has skill and, you know, it's not a bad pick in the third round for my money. - Well, and I think he's one of those guys, right, that he has some talent, but that pace. And I think some concern I've seen some Canucks fans wondering what to pick and saying, "We'll forget the sweetest part," but profiles as perhaps being a little bit soft, is that the biggest criticism around him that he's considered, quote, unquote, a soft player at times? - Yeah, you know, like, there's some things that really kind of bothered my game where he wouldn't sell out to like exit the zone, you know, with a D-man coming, barreling down on him. He would kind of just like turn away and not take the hit to make the play, that kind of stuff. So, you know, his analytic profile is like, the offense is really, really high. And then his transition game is really, really low. And his defensive team is also really low. So you're really betting that he's gonna leverage his offensive skills and add some quickness and then potentially be like this interesting top nine winger for you. But I'd say like at this point, it's, he's still raw enough that there's a chance that that happens. But again, we're talking about a third round pick here, a late third to the likelihood that it breaks, right? It's probably pretty low, but it's a swing on upsides. And so you can get behind that. - In the fantastic EP Draft Guide, there's a little badge on Anthony Romani's page where it says analytics darling. You want to take us through a little bit of a profile that speaks more about then just the counting stats of 111 points? - Yeah, I mean, like it's, like you said, he is an analytic darling. Like he creates, you know, his expected goal rate is extremely high, right? He creates shots at a super high level. His vision is really, really strong. Like he sets guys up with that, you know, the pass across the slot and then puts them in good positions to score himself. He is, you know, the opposite where he creates, you know, things off of the rush, you can transition the puck out of his own end and into the neutral zone and into the offensive end really, really well. Obviously, you know, an overrager, another kid, not super big, not super fast, but has, you know, good shot, really good passing. I like his hockey sense, puck handling is fine. Like all these things are NHL average or maybe like could project to be a little bit above, except for the feet and that's why he wasn't drafted before and that's why he slipped where he did to Vancouver. But, you know, he's got a motor, you know, the feet are, he's not a burner, but, you know, he definitely, he's working out there for sure. I like that pick, you know, he improved his physicality this year and I think that that edge really kind of amplified his game and made him more well rounded and obviously, you know, put up nearly 60 goals in 68 games or whatever. And like you said, 110 points. So I definitely know that I hit the score sheet and there was a little bit of a cheer from some of the scouting public people around because Romani, he's a bit of a fan favorite amongst some of these guys. - All right, your take on Riley Patterson, the fourth round selection for the Vancouver Canucks had 29 goals in 68 games with Barry this year. - Yeah, actually, this one might be my favorite one because he's the best skater of the bunch. You know, he's got, he's got some like really good edge work and quick, that gives three step quickness is pretty good. And, you know, hockey senses is good. He's, he can be a little physical. He's more of a shooter than a playmaker, but he's very, very raw at this point. And, but he's got tools and it's the skating, right? But again, we got a kid who's six foot, right? They're all, they're none of them are big, but at least he plays a little thicker. He projects to probably play, you know, 200, 205 pounds. So he'll have the NHL speed, but, or size, I should say, but it's the speed that really gets me exciting. So looking for him, he was allowed to kind of wheel and peel a little bit coming up the ranks in junior A. And I think that allowed him the confidence to kind of step into the OHL and thrive as a first year player. But now it's time to refine his game and become a little more translatable into the pros, that style play, but I do, I do like this pick for Vancouver. - The Canucks still have two selections, one more on the sixth round and one seventh round pick before they're done. Do you see anything intriguing still on the board here that Vancouver may be able to snag? - Ah, I'm backstage now here. We're not looking at the screen, but, you know, take a cut on upside again, that's clearly the mandate. So maybe they'll go back to Sweden, maybe the Russian kid, I don't have a name for you right now actually though. - Well, hey, listen, we're like 180 picks in. So I'm not really expecting to come up with a name. Just kind of wondering. It was a great hit, a great hit up until that last answer, Cam, come on. - Yeah, just cut me off your voice. - Yeah, maybe a little bit more Gatorade, Cam. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, back to the craft table. - Nah, just all jokes aside, man. We always appreciate your insights and thank you for your take on all three of the Canucks prospects to this point. So we appreciate your time as always. Enjoy the rest of the draft. - Of course, thanks for all the sticker. - There he is, Zach. One of the greats, Cam Robinson joining us. Really likes Riley Patterson and the profile that he brings with the speed and scoring profile that he was able to show in this past year. And Anthony Romani, another one that's become a bit of a darling for a lot of the scouts or expert draft analysts around the NHL. - Yeah, and listen, I haven't put eyes on these players. I'm only going by what some of the scouting reports are. - We'll get eyes on them next week at Dev Camp. - Yeah, and I know I've sent some messages to some scouts and given me some details on some of these guys, but it's the same theme. You heard Cam talk about it. High upside guys, skill guys, guys that can score. Obviously, they all have flaws. That's why we're talking about them being selected in the fourth and sixth rounds here, right? So third, fourth and sixth rounds. So that's why you have to realistic about what things are going to look like for them. But they're all players that have talent. And I have no issues with you swinging for upside at the stage of the draft. - The Canucks are soon to be on the clock as they have picked number 189 here in the sixth round. I've selected it in the sixth round already with Anthony Romani, the first pick of the round. So we're going to take a break. We'll come back. We'll tell you what the Canucks do pick or whom the Canucks do pick and hopefully connect with that player as well. As we continue our draft coverage here on Draft Central, Dan Reicho, Satyar Shah, and Bick Nazar presentation, our draft coverage, a presentation of Oxygen, Yoga, and fitness, more coming next on Sports Sense 650. (upbeat music) - Dan Reicho, Satyar Shah, Bick Nazar, into what could be the final hour of our draft coverage here on Sports Sense 650? - Yeah, it could be. It's funny because Reich went through heartbreak, watching Switzerland play, beat Italy today. - I'm already over it. - Yeah, but I'm far more ordinary than Reicho's today. Bick's trying to take my laptop away from me. - So I'm like on here, I'm just like, playing therapist, like Sat. People are texting in, calm down. - Oh, yes, our draft coverage brought to you by Oxygen, Yoga, and fitness. And we are in the Kintech Studio. Kintech Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. So our feat, what are you waiting for? Is Ramani a Mark Stone comparable? - Remember when we went through the stretch of like Jim Benning, and everybody. - Everybody had picked on like this Hall of Fame. - Oh, the best was, what was his name? There was Jukunov, he called him Datsu. - Yeah. (laughs) - Well, let's bring in our next guest. You know him from the Vancouver Giants. Tyler Thorpe is now joining us, drafted by the Montreal Canadiens today at the beginning of the fifth round. Thanks for this, Tyler, how are you? - I'm doing pretty good. - I'm sure you are, man. You just got drafted to the National Hockey League. How does it feel? - It's pretty surreal, honestly. - So you had a great season with Vancouver. You get drafted here today. How you feelin' about your game, and also the fit with Montreal here? - You know, I mean, this is just the start of it. Obviously I got things to work on. And yeah, this is just the beginning of something that could be really great. - And how special is it to be drafted by Canadian team and an original six team at that with the Montreal Canadiens? - It's an unreal feeling because obviously being from Canada, and you know everything about the Canadian teams, and especially at an original, actually get an extra pressure, and it's just, you know, you got this whole city, whole city room behind you, so it's just fantastic. - What's this journey been like these last couple of months here, getting ready for the draft, and then finally hearing your name? - You know, it's been long, especially with my injury and everything, it's been a long journey, but I'm ready for what the future holds. - Lower mainland native, of course. Richmond, BC's very own Tyler Thorpe. It's, you know, coming up through Vancouver, you get to play your junior hockey with the Vancouver Giants. I mean, this is the next big step of your career. We congratulate you for it, and Ty, we appreciate your time today. Thanks for this. - Thank you for having me. - There he is, Tyler Thorpe joining us here on Canucks Central. - You could hear that smile, hey? - Yeah. - You could hear it to ear, you could hear it in his voice, that's great. - The Canucks have made their latest selection here in the draft, Parker Alcos. Defenseman out of the Edmonton Oil King, six foot three, right shot, D-Man. - That's all bird of beef. - The quick synopsis from Elite Prospects, a tall smooth defenseman with shut down defensive potential and a sneaky good puck game was rated 93 in their draft guide this year. Parker Alcos, the latest selection by the Vancouver Canucks. So they went with some high upside forwards with scoring prowess in their first three selections here, their fourth selection, adding a right shot defenseman to the organization. - Okay, so it's like they turn the filter off on left hand shots, and they're like, we only want righties this year. - Righties are hard to find. Those are the guys we're getting. And he's from, you know, we're talking about a guy from Port Moody. - Right. - My local. - So the Canucks, I know, like maybe plug your ears for those that don't think the Canucks draft Canadian kids. The Canucks are now drafted. - Don't draft lower mainline kids either. - So of their last, I believe it is, 11 picks. Now this is their fourth selection, correct? - Yeah. - So out of their last 11 selections, seven have been Canadian. - Yeah. - Seven and 11. - Seven and 11. So all of the consternation after they drafted a Swedish player with their first pick in the 2024 entry draft, maybe a little bit of hyperbole. - They picked the three straight Canadians. - They hate Swedes now and lower the lower mainland. - So. - They no longer like Scandinavians. My column. - We are unsure if he is there in Las Vegas at the draft. So we're not sure if we'll be able to connect with Parker Alcos here as the Canucks have made their latest selection in the draft. But a lot of these players will get to see them up close and personal at the dev camp, which goes and begins July 2nd. So right after free agency dev camp, a lot of these players planning to come out and show their skills at dev camp here in Vancouver next week. It's, you know, when you look at the Canucks organizationally, I mean, one of the things about their prospect pool, they just don't have a ton of high-end talent, right? They've got like Romacki, they've got Villander. But what we saw at the trade deadline is when they went around trying to acquire players, well, teams either wanted a second round pick or they were like, well, we want Villander or we want like Romacki. Otherwise we think we have better offers on the table from elsewhere. And that to me, when you're in a competitive window is sort of the biggest thing that's tough for the Canucks right now, you've spent a lot of draft capital, higher draft capital that, you know, for as much as these guys and they have exciting profiles and that kind of thing, today's a big day of hope for a lot of these players. The Canucks need more trade assets in the organization to go along with talent that can credibly bring them, you know, or NHL competition down the line. It's, you're trying to fill two things at once if you are the Canucks right now with some of your draft capital here today. - Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, the Canucks do have to fill the prospect pools, right? Like I see people texting in, they're like, well, they should do what Chicago is doing. It's like, well, they're not gonna rebuild, right? And they're like, well, they should be more patient and build out their farm system. It's like, the Canucks are kind of in a position now where you have two years left of Demko. You have JT was 30 years old. You have Quinn who needs a contract. Like you're kind of in the prime of these players' careers. So if you're looking at, okay, hogging a bunch of third round picks and second round draft picks, like the ETA for these players like three, four, five years down the road. And I'm not saying you shouldn't have guys in your coffers, you should, but like those guys aren't helping you wanna stand the couple of next handful of years. That's more for the second half of the next decade, which is okay. Like you need guys there too. You need guys to supplement and everything. But the priority with this team, with their current situation is to maximize this next three to four, five year window. Having said that, despite trading away your draft picks, they're still gonna need to have players come through on cheap ELC contract to supplement their core. They're gonna need players to emerge. And this is where they have a big task. Like I'm okay with you trading your draft picks as long as you find replacements down the road. Can you get some college free agents? Can you find other free agents? Do you develop somebody? Do you trade for somebody in different ways? Do you find ways to find those players? They still have to do that. Like I'm not saying trade your picks and don't have anybody in your system. It's a hard thing to do. It's a, you know, it's a very hard thing to thread through. But that's kind of where they live and what they have to accomplish. So it's not just about the draft but the Canucks. I think they have to find other ways to find prospects as well right now. - There's difference between, you know, building everything and then shoe-horning your organization for one style, right? And we were talking about Tampa earlier. Well, they're at the back end of going for it, going for it, going for it. And so you get depleted. And when you're looking at Chicago and Utah and some of these other teams of people who have referenced that they, hey, they really like their draft. Okay, it's great that they're winning today but is it translating to actually winning on the ice? And we'll see what happens moving forward for some of these teams. But they've built themselves up for a day like today. The Canucks are trying to serve both masters and it's difficult. And people wanted to find path forward but they've hit every marker along this stage that makes sense and they're having their successes with it. People wanted to see the full teardown rebuild and the Horvat trade got people excited and then it went with the Roanek move. Well, that one has worked out and this path they've taken, I understand it's difficult and I understand it's different and it's not clearly specific that everyone's on the same page. But if you haven't figured out by this stage what they're trying to do, I think you're just missing the point of it all. And are they hitting the correct markers in this path, right? You have to judge them on what they are trying to do. And so far, I think they've doing well with the direction that they have chosen. And here they are, again, they are willing to bet on themselves and something that's difficult to assess with the development process. And that's why I give them credit on the idea of where someone like Nils Hoaglander has come from, finding in our steep banes, not all these guys gonna be top six guys, but do you have success doing it? And are your processes correct? And they are willing to bet that they will find more of these guys. And look, there was complaints when people, when they drafted DPD and all these things. And a year later, people get excited about them because they get their hands on these guys and they feel like they know how to develop these players. - Yeah, everyone loves prospects and potential 'cause the thing is, it's like-- - Because you're never wrong on tomorrow. - Yes, and it's also somebody, it's like buying a car before you drive it off the lot. - Yeah. - And before you do that, it has so much value, it's so much intrigue. And they're like, "Okay, this is what it is." - You drive it off the lot and it's worth half the money. - Yeah, and then you drive it off for a while, you're like, "Yes, it's okay." - We're still getting texts about Nikita Trampkin. It can be fantastic. At some point, it becomes a meme, I get it, but people always hold on to their draft stock. They're like, "Wow, they really didn't give "petris Paul Moo a chance," or-- - No, I know it's true, it's true. - It's true, though, that's the thing, we laugh about it, but that's what happens. - No, and also, people were wondering, why did the Canucks not trade-- - For holds. - For holds, so people were asking us that question. And I like holds, too, right? But the price was Paul Cotter, who is a player, who's a very solid, bottom six guy. He's making 775K this year and next season. He's not a three-year deal. So he's a bargain, bottom six guy that can play regular minutes is versatile for you as well, scores a little bit, too. Plus a third round draft. Like, the Canucks don't have an equivalent to match that. Like, they could trade the third, but what player do they have that fits the Paul Cotter mold even? - Not guys that they really want to trade. - Well, yeah, I had to go to Joshua this past year, right? And I don't think put holds and it's done anywhere, close to what Cotter has done yet, for them to feel like he can, you know, be this gritty, bottom six guy for us. - And Vegas is taking a chance on holds, right? Like, holds is not too dissimilar from where, like, I know he was a seventh overall pick, but he's not too dissimilar from where knows Hoaglander's value kind of is right now. Where it's like, yeah, there's an offensive profile here, but this player isn't playing the 200-foot game that it takes to win in the playoffs. And New Jersey is very much focused on that type, right after they missed out on the playoffs this past year, and they saw their defensive game as a team just completely crumble. They pointed to guys like Alex Holtz as part of that reasoning, being a little bit too youthful in how they played the game. They're moving off of John Marino for two second round picks so that they can go spend that money in free agency on a guy that they think is better than John Marino, right? So, yeah, those teams like New Jersey and Tampa Bay that they're recouping some of their prior assets that they traded away in recent years, but by doing so, they're trading away good players, you know, and are going to turn that money around and spend it in free agency. Canucks didn't and don't really have those players unless you're willing to trade Brock Besser or we're willing to trade Philopronic. That's not really an option for the Canucks right now, but we do have their latest selection in the NHL entry draft now joining us from the Edmonton Oil Kings to the Vancouver Canucks Organization and the pride of Port Moody on BC. It is Parker Alcoast joining us. Thanks for this Parker, how are you? - I'm doing really good. - How are you doing? - We're doing well, man. You just got drafted to the NHL and by your hometown team, I guess, how does it feel? - Yeah, it still feels like it didn't happen. It's crazy that they really did super surreal right now. - Did you have any inclination that the Canucks might be interested in drafting you with one of their picks? - Yeah, we had a few calls, so you never know anything to draft, but I'm glad it's Canucks, my grown-up team, local. - We've been asking every prospect that joins us today. Describe your game to the Canucks fans. - My team would be a two-way defenseman who is a mobile, good skating, past-first defenseman. - I see, you know, just the size is a part of your game, you know, looking at a lot of the scouting reports, your rush defense, a lot of praise for the way that you defend. Where does that side of your game come from? How has it developed over the last couple of years? - Yeah, just mostly through experience with playing with different players, playing against playing types, just not here up against in the main key and experience through the years in the NHL. - And you're one of the younger players in the draft. You turn 18 next month, July 20th, and played this entire year as a 17-year-old. You played some games last season as well, and then when you go back and looking at your history at the lower levels before that, you mentioned you're a two-way guy. You did put up points at lower levels, too. Do you kind of feel like next year, you know, in your second full year in the NHL, bigger role that you can shine offensively a bit more? - Yeah, like I said, with experience, I'll get better over time. And I think next year with a bigger role, I think that offensive part will come with it, too. - Do you have a favorite player to watch to model your own game after? - Ah, Quinn Hughes is my favorite player to watch, and I try to add some of his offensive features to mind. - Maybe a future deep-airing for you. Now that you are a member of the Vancouver Canucks organization, what's the summer look like for you, Parker? I guess we'll see you at dev camp here next week, maybe. - Yep, yeah, I'll see you guys there. But summer is just staying local, just keeps skating and not working out, trying to get better. - What makes Port Moody the best city of the Tri-Cities? - What makes it better that I'm on the mountain, so I'm all the nature around me, and all the trails and all that. - I love it, that's great, Parker. It's great to see a lower mainland native get drafted to the Vancouver Canucks. Congrats on a big day for you and your family. - Thank you very much. - There is Parker Alcos, six foot three, right shot defenseman drafted in the sixth round to Vancouver. - That was a dig at Bic, more than anything else. - Coocleum's still number one. - That's what I was talking about. I don't know what I was talking about. - I love the Tri-Cities, Port Moody's beautiful, but it was always dig at Bic more than anything. There's always a competition between Port Moody and Coocleum, like, you know. And was like yeah, Poco's doesn't count, but it's like Coocleum and-- - Yeah, Jersey doesn't count. New Jersey doesn't count over there, right? We got-- - Or Poco, always got Manhattan, got Queens there. - It's like the one thing, Coocleum and Port Moody residents agree on, it's like yeah, Poco doesn't. - Poco's the armpit of the Tri-Cities, man. - We got people living in Poco, and I got-- - I was gonna say Ron's metal, but Andy went for big air. - He's called it Jersey. - Jersey's fine. - He's fine. - I didn't call it an armpit. - Yeah. - I didn't call it Missouri. - Port Moody's got a great little Italian joint, spaca-nopoly. - Yeah. - Oh man, love that place. - Do you think they were pumped today about the result, too? - I'm sure they were. Parker Alco's, Port Moody's very own drafted to the Vancouver Canucks. We'll have one more selection here in the seventh round as we are getting into the ladder stages of the draft. The Canucks will have the fifth to last selection at Pick 221. We are currently at 209 with the St. Louis Blues on the clock. I can't believe what just happened. All the Tri-Cities talk here. - That was great. Well played, well played. (laughing) - So, we all know, though, Kuquilim, right? I lived in Kuquilim before, so I'm not gonna hate on Kuquilim. I like Kuquilim. - Port Moody rise up. - Port Moody's beautiful. - Yeah. - We really like Port Moody. - Port Moody's got the restaurant game on Kuquilim, that's the thing, though. - Yeah, and the breweries by the water are fantastic, too. - At the end of the day, someone has to be three. - Yeah. - It's just life. - That's where it goes. So, Parker Alco, the first defense been taken by the Canucks in the draft today. As you mentioned, Sam, one of the younger players in the draft, we'll see, he scored just the one goal with Edmonton last year, but as a draft eligible player, still played big minutes for them with big-time defensive game. So, we'll see if he's got more offense to add into his game, moving forward for his career. As far as the Canucks are concerned, like, we talked a little bit about the situation for Vancouver as we look ahead to Monday, and Tampa Bay moving out Sergachev and Tanner Geno, puts them, maybe, I don't know if it's pole position for Jake Genssel, but they're definitely now one of the teams in on Jake Genssel. And as we start to close up and wrap up the draft here, the focus is most definitely going to shift to what happens in the lead-up to free agency, which opens Monday at 9 a.m. for the National Hockey League. - It's all gonna depend on, you know. - Jake Genssel's the first on this. - Yeah, that's the thing, right? - It's just like everything comes down to that, not just across the NHL, but for Vancouver. - For a lot of teams, and for Carolina, maybe for Tampa Bay right now, and also for Carolina. Like, is it over with Carolina? It feels like it's over with Carolina. - It sure feels like it's over, like you had your chance. You've passed your own self-mandated deadline. What's left? And the thing with the deadline, too, that never really made sense to me, it's, so you have another, you know, 36 hours here to negotiate with Jake Genssel. You're just not gonna have a eighth round pick, or an eight-year deal offer to them in these next little bit, it just, I never understood like why you would put your own deadline on yourself, and maybe they circle back and they're able to get a deal done, but it certainly feels like their opportunity is dwindling here, but come Monday, if he's still available, like they got the cap space, they got the opportunity, they got the relationship, like a lot of things line up for Vancouver to do it, can they actually pull it off, though? - That's the question, can they actually pull it off, right? And the other thing, like we mentioned before, is you can talk about trading for the rights all we want, but at this stage, it's pretty clear that the team that trades for its rights is gonna be the team that thinks they're gonna be able to sign 'em, if they trust themselves. You know what I mean, I think at this stage now, usually you'll see the rights get traded a bit earlier, speculative, but this is too late to be speculative, it's like now you're looking to get a deal done, literally they have one more day. - Nobody is doing it on spec, now what's interesting is Vancouver's made trades to clear up cap space, Tampa Bayes, made trades to clear up cap space, well one of them's not getting them. - Yeah, well I mean the thing is, they're not gonna be empty-handed, like I said, if Vancouver does not sign Genssel, I think their preference is to find two top six guys. - Probably a left shot and a right shot. - Yeah. - Now Tifoli, Tifoli's gonna be interesting because if LA and New York are in on that, the feeling was ahead of the deadline that Tifoli preferred to play in a market south of the border, is it going to take a premium for Vancouver to land a Tyler Tifoli in free agency? I certainly have that question. As far as I know, you know, for whatever Tifoli's camp has been able to gauge with the market, Vancouver has come in lower than other teams and what they can project to get on Monday, on the open market, then you start talking about Jonathan Marcheso, you're starting to look at maybe further down the line, Jake Dubrusk, as far as we know, Tyler Tifoli is still going to hit free agency, there are players there, but players that might get more than what you'd like to pay them when it comes to free agency. - Let's build out a short list here. Just a consensus, one between the three of us here. I'm assuming all three of us, Gensil's number one. - Yes, Gensil is as far as fit goes and everything else, Gensil is number one. - So I'm gonna put just name names here and tell me if this guy's above the next guy. Let's say Jake Dubrusk, right now we'll say number two. - Yep. - Mm-hmm. - No, I'm just saying, I'm in the same, we'll move these guys down. Tarivine and above Dubrusk or not. - Oh man. - I put them in the same tier. - Yeah. - I'm pushing you to decisions here. - I'll probably take Tarivine and, man, I do what I, I don't know. - I didn't like neither. - Okay, he wants Dubrusk, I'm with Tarivine and Arvidson. - Arvidson's above both. - Okay, I'm the same with you. - Yeah, I'd like Arvidson more than either, those two. - Marsh or so? - Yeah, above both. He's number two behind Genssel to me. - Stamkos. - Above. - By the way, that's why I moved on, so. - Above, I don't know if I'd put, I'd put March so ahead as Stamkos. - I would too. - Is that crazy? - No, I don't think so at all. - I think fit-wise in the power, like I think, I think when people say Stamkos, and we talked with us quite a bit, I don't know if people are taking into consideration that he's not really a center anymore, he doesn't have the same pace with his game and his best place in the power plays exactly were JT plays. - Yeah, that's why I don't think it's as seamless a fit as people think it's going to be. - Yeah, what other names are like Bertuzzi? - I'd have him probably in the Theravine and DeBrusque range. - Right, I'm a big fan of Tada. - I think I would take Bertuzzi above Theravine 'cause I think he would fit better stylistically for the Canucks, so I'd put him right on. I probably put him, when I put him on my head, I think I put him ahead of Stamkos 'cause he's cheaper. - Yeah. - I like Stamkos, but I think that Stamkos is gonna be like eight million, like it's not gonna be cheap, you know? - It's gonna be like, it'll be similar to the Pavelsky and Dallas contract, but with like inflation of, you know, how many years ago was that Pavelsky and Dallas contract? - Yeah, maybe it's four, he actually gets eight million over four. - He might get 32 million, yeah, that's tough. - Now he hasn't been officially bought out, but Jeff Skinner. - Would you put him above Mars or so? - No. - No? - Yeah, again, I'm with you. So if you start building the sounds and this guy's available, now we didn't even touch on the trade market if there's someone that's interesting there in a line, he always gets mentioned. But I would probably have March or so above line, and I would probably have line above Stamkos. - Does Monahan fact factor in at all? - I think Monahan is a better fit than a lot of those guys, but Monahan had a good power play fit. - Yeah, and the thing with Monahan though, is like he's probably gonna get like three, four years and it's not gonna get cheap. - You might get around 20 million. - Yeah, I don't know if I feel comfortable with that, with him. I think the line, one is very fascinating because if you can get him, dirt cheap. - And that's the attraction. It's dirt cheap, it's all upside. - Could you get him at half retention, or like a third retention? - Could you get something back for him? - I don't know if you get anything back for him. - Sorry. - 'Cause the Canucks at this stage, they traded Mikayev. - Could you get a piece with it as well? - Because the Canucks have traded Mikayev, they're not sending money out, I don't think. Like unless it's Garland, which I don't think they're gonna do for him. - But would they pay you off to take the whole 8.7? - I'd still be surprised if they would do that, but like it's fascinating. Like to me, that's an intriguing, if you can get him for free for two years? Like sure. - The risk versus some of those mid-tier guys were talking about it being five, six year deals, versus the risk of 8.7, but at least there's the exit ramp of your out in two years. If it works, hey, like you're thrilled. - Well let's say you're getting like legitimately a 40, 50 goal score for nothing. - And the upside on some of those other guys is it might be a grind for some of those guys to get to 25 goals. Whereas if it works with line A, you're talking about a 40 goal score. It's some of the options that the Canucks have available to them. At the NHL Entry Draft 7th round, Miruschlav Schatan is off the board. The son of the Miruschlav Schatan that you would know from previous NHL fame. He is to the Washington Capitals. Canucks are on the board at 2.21, so we'll take a quick break, come back with our final selection in this year's entry draft. Dan Rachos, Satyar Shah, Biknazar, Draft Central on Sportsnet 650. - Sportsnet 650, Vancouver. (upbeat music) - We're back on Draft Central, Canucks Central in the KidTech Studio. Dan Rachos, Satyar Shah. - Now the commentary between breaks is still out of pocket. - Biknazar will rejoin us once he is. - I'm good. - Commence to having a good laugh. - I'm good. (laughing) - Oh, man. (laughing) - You all right? - No, I'm out of class today, man. - It's a lot of fun. - I love Day 2 of the Draft. - Yeah. - It's been a wild one. A lot of news early, you know, a lot of trades seemingly. We're in the coffers overnight and they got announced early on and round two and now it's just been straight draft picks for the most part since. Canucks are on the clock at pick number 221. They have made four selections to this point and will be making their fifth selection, their most recent one was Parker Alcos. Port Moody native with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHO. And we already spoke to him. Very happy to get selected by his hometown team as you can imagine. And so the Canucks have added a bunch of right shots to their organization with some offensive profiles and their most recent with a defensive profile on the back end. - All right, so the Canucks have made their selection Basile San Sonans. - Are you sure it's not Basile? - Well, maybe it is. I don't know. I'm raw dogging it, man. (laughing) - Just don't say that again. - Oh boy. Basile San Sonans, the latest pick for the Vancouver Canucks. - You know what? They did not draft a Swedish player, but they draft a Swiss player. - Yeah, big day for the Swiss. - We can ask Basile about... Was he more excited about Switzerland beating Italy or getting drafted today? - Reach is just not gonna introduce him. - He's just gonna be on the phone and here's the next seven round pick of the Vancouver Canucks. - So he's six foot four. You're the first left hand shot that the Canucks have drafted today. Lefty defenseman. They have a lefty defenseman and a righty defenseman. So they drafted three right wingers, one lefty D and a one righty D, one with five picks. - Yeah, played at the U18s with Switzerland and is now a member of the Vancouver Canucks. So that is the latest selection we hope to connect and we'll also connect with Todd Harvey at some point now that the draft is coming to a close, get his take on what the Canucks were looking for here in this trade, in this draft. So Elliot Friedman, just with a big time report, can we get a trade horn here? - Oh yeah. - Like a real one. - Like a real one. This deserves a real one. (dramatic music) - Seventh round blockbuster, I guess. - That's why you stay 'til the end of the draft. - Wait, is it a seventh rounder or a seventh and happening in the seventh round? - It's a blockbuster during the seventh round. - Yeah, I don't think the, it is a seventh round pick being exchanged here. The Maple Leafs have acquired, yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired Chris Tannev from the Dallas Stars. So they have acquired the rights to Chris Tannev, which suggests the Maple Leafs will be the ones to lock in and pay the price that it's going to take to get Chris Tannev onto their squad. - So, I mean, they've made all their selections. They're on the clock now. So unless they're trading their seventh round pick, which I guess- - Surely it's gotta be more than that. - But the thing is like, yeah, I guess it could be a 20/26 pick. Like they only have a fifth round pick next season. So we'll see what they got, what they gave up for Chris Tannev. - All right, let's focus in on the Vancouver Canucks. And now joining us director of amateur scouting with your Vancouver Canucks, it is Todd Harvey, is the Canucks have just wrapped up their day at the draft with their latest selection. Thanks for this, Todd. How are you? - I'm very good. How are you doing, guys? - We're doing well. So you make a few selections here today and draft coming to a close, but how do you feel about the way things played out for you and your team? - Well, first of all, I just wanna say the amount of work that our guys put in and, you know, I think we're real happy with the picks we got and, you know, that we had them rated pretty high and we ended up getting them, so we're real excited. - And, you know, it was interesting watching the selections you guys made and you guys selected three straight right wing prospects and guys that can shoot the puck, one from Sweden, a couple of Canadian kids. Was that something you guys were targeting? In that stage of the draft, you guys thought there was some value with some goal scoring right shot forwards? - We really did. We liked the right shots, but I really think, you know, we put our list together. We think the best player available and they were there for us and it just happened to be that they were all, you know, right shot and we're real excited with the upside with these guys. - Take us through some of these players then. Let's start with Melvin Fernstrom. - Well, I've seen Melvin quite a bit. Obviously our guy in Sweden, Bobby, he's real high on him and Melvin is a guy that's got a real good shot. He's involved in the game, he gets to the net and he's got a real good score in touch around the game, around the net. And I think that, you know, the way he plays, he plays a good detailed game. So he plays a good 200-foot game that way. - You guys had like Romacki there with Orbro and I think defenciently as Patterson was also with Orbro before coming over to Abbotsford. - Did that give you maybe a better sense of the character or maybe an inside look at what Melvin Fernstrom's all about? - Well, watching Melvin, obviously, we've seen him in Orbro, but we also see him on the national team and he's one of their go-to guys there on the national team and he's always, you know, one of their go-to guys. And we once like clicking players from Orbro, we've got a few of them here. - Yeah, you guys certainly do. And, you know, and people are always wondering about, you know, you guys drafting some Swedish players. You drafted quite a few Canadians last year and also this season as well. And, you know, Riley Patterson's a really intriguing player. Well, we really stood out for you guys with him and another guy that can shoot the puck really well. - Yeah, we really liked his second half. He was a true rookie in the league this year. And his second half, he really started to come and played a real more direct game. And the goal started to come for him. He could play both positions. He could play the center position and play the wing. So, we're real excited about that. And I think he's got some real good upside. - Also, went local as well with Parker Alcoz as well. Is that any sort of organizational philosophy to want to get the guys that are, you know, homegrown and lower mainland? - Well, obviously it's nice, but obviously we want to take the best player available. We thought, you know, getting him, we were real excited that he was still there on the board. And obviously it's just a bonus, having him being a local kid, he can drive into development camp now. - Makes it easier. - Yeah, you can drive into development camp, which is a nice little value. You also select one over Adrian here in Anthony Romani. I mean, I look at the numbers. I'm like, how did this guy not go soon? Or 58 goals led the OHL in goals. Just really had a breakout campaign after going undrafted last year. - Yeah, and I actually thought he probably could have got drafted last year. And, you know, he played, they had a good team and they played behind some guys. And this year, he really took the step and, you know, took his game to another level. And I still think there's more there. You know, he's gonna gain some speed and some strength. And, you know, 58 goals is 58 goals. It's pretty darn good. - Well, that's what I wanted to expand on a little bit because you can look at it and say, well, he's an over, you know, he's draft plus one. He had 58 goals, but for draft plus one guys to get 58 goals, like that's quite the accomplishment still, isn't it? - Very much so. And I think if I'm correct, there's not too many guys that have done that in their draft plus one year. So he's in a select few in a company there. So, you know, we're excited that he was there for us and our guys really liked him. And I think we got a good one there. - Todd, I'm curious too, 'cause the draft is the entry point for these players and the real work now for the organization begins on the development path. What is the communication level between, you know, your staff and the development staff as well of why these guys are important and what the next steps are? - Well, definitely. And we keep in contact all the time 'cause we're out there seeing these players and in contact with our development staff. And like I said, they're gonna come into development camp and they're gonna be, you know, gonna take them on. They're gonna learn and they're gonna take that back to the club teams. And our guys are on them. They talk to them quite daily and I think it's for us. It's a nice, you know, communication for us. They let them know if we see them and we're playing where we talk to our development guys and give them what we've seen. And it's a group effort. - When it comes to, I mean, maybe one of these years, Patrick will give you a few more picks to get down with. But, you know, does your process change at all when you don't have as many selections going into the draft? - No, you know, we put it together. Our staff does a great job and we're out there and watching the games and getting at all these players. And we put it together from one all the way down to how many players we have on our list. And, you know, we don't change our philosophy one bit when we're putting that list together. We're putting it together like we're picking first overall or 10th overall all the way down. So, credit to our guys. They did a real good job this year. And we really liked their list. - I wanted to get your thoughts on the final player you guys selected. It's a Swiss kid, Basilie Sensenas. I'm sorry if I'm saying his name wrong, but six foot four, lefty defense. I mean, like, what intrigued you guys about this kid? And, you know, the Swiss have been really, you know, getting up there when it comes to hockey ability the last few years, but what really stood out here with him? - Well, he's a big kid. He's got room to grow and I like this as IQs. He moves good for a big guy. And we've seen him play at the national tournaments. And, you know, we kind of caught our guy's eye over there. And, and we decided to make that selection. And we're real happy that we got him there. - One for me is here. What was the experience like being in the sphere there? And... - Actually, I got a sore neck from looking up. (laughing) - So it's an occupation and hazard being there. Like being in the first row at the movie theater, hey? - Well, I'll tell you, yeah, exactly. But I'll tell you, they did a really, the NHL did a fantastic job here. And it was a great setup. And I'm sure everybody really enjoyed being here in the sphere and having that. Basically, it was the first live event here and the NHL did a fantastic job. - Well, and the final one on the overarching day here for you guys, obviously, you know, scouts, you guys always want more picks. Not less picks, right? That's always how you guys feel. But do you feel pretty strongly about what you guys were able to accomplish, considering you weren't picking until the third round today? - We're real excited, actually. We had our guys up there and they happen to be there for us. And we're real happy with the way this draft played out for us. - Hey, Todd, always appreciate the time. And, you know, it's always great getting to catch up. Enjoy the rest of your time there in Vegas. We'll see you at Dev Camp. - All right, thank you. - There is Todd Harvey joining us, Director of Amateur Scouting with the Vancouver Canucks. - Yeah, and that pretty much brings us almost to the end of the draft coverage there. A quick note on the TANF trade. So it looks like the Chris Tranf TANF trade goes for his rights and it's a seventh round pick and the rights to another player going the other way. And the max L is-- - It's 2026, seventh round pick too. - So 2026, seventh round pick. And the max L is prospect, is it just nominal? Or is it actually, like, I saw some stuff about it being nominal and not really, you consider it an asset? - He's a free agent to believe, right? - So I think it's a nominal contract going the other way. - Darren Dragger just tweeting that acquiring TANF's rights from Dallas, Gives Toronto, the option of going to max eight-year term sounds crazy, but a longer team, longer term helps lure players from more tax-friendly markets and lowers the average annual value. TANF is likely to sign in the five to eight-year range. - Are you allowed to do that anymore? - You are, you are. - But I thought you'd do the sign-in trade. 'Cause Severson technically signed in his city and then went to Columbus. - Oh, okay, okay. You mean that, okay. I thought you mean like signing a guy to a long-term deal like that. And it's essentially cap circumvention because if TANF signs a 70-year deal, he's probably not playing till 40, 41, right? - Sure, but I was like eight-year, like eight-year. - I thought you had to do it with your original team. - It would also be, yeah, it would just be nuts if they gave them a make-years. - Yeah, it would be nuts. But I mean-- - Eight-by-three. - You know, we talked about how apparently Tampa, according to LeBron, offered an eight-year deal to Samco's, same idea, right? Guy in his mid-30s, you go max out the term. He's not gonna play probably the last two, three, perhaps even four years of that contract. And what ends up happening with those players, they'll probably just go on L-T-I-R. - Before L-T-I-R, it gets changed. Everyone's trying to jam these contracts. - But I mean, honestly, if the Canucks don't do anything like this, I hope the NHL does the same thing they did to Vancouver. - Sure. - Where it's like, hey, yeah, this is cap circumvention. We'll hit you guys back on the other side. - I hope so. - Absolutely. - 'Cause otherwise, like, why did you do it to Vancouver? - Yeah. - You know? And-- - One of the greatest mysteries. - Exactly, it's like, it was legal when they did it, and then they said it was legal after the fact and hit them hard on it. And if this is, to me, this goes against the spirit of the cap, right? - Yeah. - You're trying to cap circumvent with these sort of things, so I hope the NHL goes after them the same way they went after Vancouver. - I'm gonna be curious what the total money looks like for Chris Tannov, 'cause I would project somewhere in the range of, you know, $16 million, but if we're talking five-- - If we get 20? - Yeah, like if it's a five-year deal. - Well, if it's 20 over eight-- - Keep it at four, keep it at four million on the average annual value if you're gonna go to five years. - Well, here's the thing, if you actually go eight years and it's 20 million, there's only 2.5 against the cap. And even if he walks away from the last two, that's still how much? 15 to 16 million, which he's looking for for three to four years. So it is a creative way of getting around things. - All right, so final thoughts here is we wrap up our draft coverage. Chris Tannov acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade. He is eligible to be a free agent on Monday, but I'm guessing the Leafs feel pretty good about being able to get him signed to a contract. Of course, Brad Treliving has already signed Chris Tannov to a contract once before when he left Vancouver for the Calgary Flames. Treliving was the GM in Calgary at that time and looks to be after Tannov yet again. So the focus now shifts to Monday and what the Canucks are going to be able to do. Tampa Bay cleared the decks, opened up some cap space. They're going to be chasing Jake Genssel who is not yet signed with Carolina Hurricanes. That is the Canucks top priority target as well. As we've talked about so much today, what are our final thoughts? What's going to happen with Jake Genssel? That is the biggest question mark as we head into July 1. - Sorry, just Darren Dreger has immediately corrected this saying you can't get the A-year deal. - So seven years, we were ahead of the curve on that one. Had to be a sign in trade. - Nevertheless, I mean, seven is still a lot. - Seven would still be quite a bit. But yes, Jake Genssel is the big story going into Monday. Tampa we expect is going to throw a wrench into the side of the Vancouver Canucks and their pursuit of Jake Genssel. That's where we're at. The pursuit for a top six forward is Vancouver's top priority now. - That's what competition is going to look like, right? And if they're sitting in the, like I'm curious what Tampa Bay's like seven-year offer would be. 'Cause we came in today thinking, okay, they make some moves. Sergey Chav goes out, Janot goes out. They got the cap space to maybe go send a pick to Carolina. And could they do the eight by eight? And look, that's going to be a very competitive offer. And it's like eight million in Florida goes a lot farther than eight million in Carolina and nine in Vancouver. But if this is going to go to Monday and now Tampa has to increase the AAV 'cause of the seven years, well, that's going to change the dynamics. And can they go to a certain point where they still want to bring guys back? If they have to go to 9.5, like that's going to get tougher for them. - Yeah. And since Jake Genssel is said to be their top priority target, Steven Stamkos is likely headed elsewhere. Because I don't think like Tampa, you look at their cat picture, even after moving Sir Gotchev and Tanner Geno today. Like bringing in Jake Genssel and keeping Steven Stamkos doesn't really seem like an option. - No, it's probably one over the other and a defenseman. You're going to fill out your roster. - So that is the lay of the land. Canucks made their selections today. Melvin Fernstrom in the third round. Riley Patterson under the Barry Colts in round number four, two fifth round selections. Anthony Romani and Port Moody's very own Parker Alcos with their second sixth round selection. And then Basile San Sonens was their final selection at 221 in the seventh round of the draft. That concludes our draft coverage presented by Oxygen Yoga and Fitness here on Canucks Central, Draft Central, whatever we were calling it today. I apologize for my outbursts on the Italian national team failing us today and losing to Switzerland. But now we look forward to Canada. I am trading in my blue shirt for a red shirt this afternoon. (speaking in foreign language) Canada Chile at Copa, America a little bit later on. We're going to join in progress with the Blue Jays, I believe? - We feel confident about that. - Ah, Vancouver Canadian's local content. Site here on SportsNet. - Blue Jays organization. - 650. Blue Jays organization, local content, Vancouver Canadians coming up next for producers Josh and Eddie, my co-hosts today, Thanks Sat and Bick, I'm Dan, you've been listening to Draft Central.
