Vancouver’s prospect talent pool runs deep
It might take years to see how these players pay off for the team on the ice, or as trade bait
We’re now officially into the dogs days of summer and speaking of dogs, here are the Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports.
n In light of the Vancouver Canucks’ developmental camp held last week, here’s an interesting exercise.
Take a look at the Canucks’ prospects — and by prospects we mean anyone 23 or under who’s played less than 80 NHL games — and rate them in order.
Granted, there will be arguments over who slots in where — largely because you can’t express an opinion about the Canucks in this town without starting an argument — but here would be my top-10 in descending order.
1. Brock Boeser
2. Thatcher Demko
3. Olli Juolevi
4. Elias Pettersson
5. Jonathan Dahlen
6. Troy Stecher
7. Adam Gaudette
8. Jake Virtanen
9. Nikolay Goldobin
10. Kole Lind Admittedly, this is a completely unscientific and arbitrary ranking system that has something to do with age, experience, and draft position and you might have your own opinion about these players. But the point isn’t where each individual is ranked so much as the sheer volume of prospects now in the Canucks’ system.
What these kids will turn out to be is a great unknown and there are questions, particularly about the three lottery picks, Virtanen, Juolevi and Pettersson. But based on the sheer laws of arithmetic chance, a number of them are going to hit and given their backgrounds a number of them should hit big.
Who are they? Well, you can guess but the real issue here is the depth of the Canucks’ prospect pool. Think of the competition that creates within the organization. Think of the flexibility it gives general manager Jim Benning in the trade market. While we’re at it, think of the impact on the Canucks’ payroll when you’ve got four or five players in the lineup on entry-level deals.
The above list, moreover, doesn’t include names like Jonah Gadjovich, this year’s second-rounder who scored 46 goals with Owen Sound and can already grow a beard; Will Lockwood, who recorded 20 points in 30 games at Michigan as a freshman or goalie Michael DiPietro, who backstopped Windsor to the Memorial Cup. Nor does it account for Petrus Palmu, Guillaume Brisebois, Zack MacEwen or the eternal Jordan Subban. And who knows, Maybe one day Nikita Tryamkin will make it back to Vancouver.
All this doesn’t mean much for next season but these kids are the only relevant story with the Canucks. We’ll know what they have in three, four more years.
In the meantime, it will be more interesting following these kids than following the NHL team.
n Solomon Elimimian made 15 tackles in the Lions’ win over Montreal on Thursday which is impressive enough. But six of those tackles were for gains of five yards or less and three more were for eight yards or less. Not sure if you’ll see a better game from a linebacker.
n Still with the CFL. As the league’s new commissioner, Randy Ambrosie has his plate full but it appears the league got it right when they hired the 54-year-old from Winnipeg. As a former player he has the football chops. As a former CEO he has the business chops.
But his biggest selling point is a personality, which should connect with the fans. This observation is based on a five-minute conversation before the Als-Lions game but, in that time, Ambrosie’s passion for the game and his sense of humour were apparent.
The CFL needs a lot of things but topping the list is a leader who’ll set a direction and inspire confidence in the product. Ambrosie just might be that guy.
n Sometime in early May, I may have pointed out I was leading the Field of Nightmares rotisserie league and I’d broadcast this while I could.
Well, it didn’t take long for the rotisserie gods to punish my hubris. The Red Sox — maybe I should rethink the team name — now sit eighth largely because my team ERA is hovering around the 5.00 mark. I had high hopes when Aaron Sanchez returned from a lengthy stay on the DL. The Jays’ right-hander then allowed eight runs in 1 2/3 innings in his first start. And don’t get me started on Chris Tillman. On the plus-side, Byron Buxton is now hitting a robust .216.
n On a somewhat related note, the Blue Jays are five games back in the wild-card race at the All-Star break but they might as well be 55 games back. For starters, there are six teams between the Jays and the second wild-card spot. Last year they grabbed a wild-card spot with an 89-73 record. This year, they’ll have to go 48-26 over the last 2 1/2 months to reach 89 wins.
One supposes it’s possible. It’s just not very probable but look at the bright side Toronto sports fans. The Argos are 2-1. n And finally. I knew if I lived long enough I could write this sentence: I’m really looking forward to watching the Canada-Costa Rica match in the Gold Cup on Tuesday. The reason, of course, is Alphonso Davies, the preternaturally gifted 16-year-old who toils for the Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS who also scored two goals — I believe this is called a brace — in Canada’s tournament-opening 4-2 win over French Guiana. OK, French Guiana isn’t exactly Germany. But who cares. Canada scored four goals. In one game. There have been years they haven’t scored that many goals and the best part is they looked to be by design, not accident.
That had everything to do with Davies. Clearly, he’s the most exciting talent this country has produced in, well, forever and he changes so many things for the national team. He won’t score two goals every game but, the point is he might and Canada has never had a player who created that sense of wonder and anticipation.
“He’s probably the most exciting kid — and he’s still a kid — that I’ve every played with and seen with my own eyes,” said Canadian midfield Scott Arfield, who plays in the English Premiership with Burnley.
And the best part? He’s just beginning.