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Chapter 1: What insights did the hosts gain from the NHL Draft Combine?
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What's up? Welcome to Canucks Talk on Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd here with my co-host Thomas Drance. Drance also covers the Canucks for the Athletic. We are broadcasting live from the Kintec studio. Step strong with orthotics and footwear from Kintec 650. 650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line. Drancer, welcome back from Buffalo. What's going on, man?
Thanks, buddy. Yeah, been a while since I was in studio, as I forget to hit my mic on button. Yeah, no, it's good to be home. Always good to be back in Vancouver. Sure. But you know what? I like the combine. I'd never been before. It was the last NHL event that I'd never covered somehow. There you go. And I'd never worked it either. Right. You know, like I'd never worked it. I'd never been to it.
Yeah. So, yeah. Excuse me. You on the draft clock there? Yeah. I guess something happened. It's probably like Brandon Sorsby. I think it was an American app. Anyway, the... Yeah, it was Brandon Sorsby. It's fun. Like, the thing about the draft combine is really it only starts Friday from a media perspective. So...
Teams are interviewing prospects kind of informally in suites that they're set up in at the Marriott down at the Harbor Center in downtown Buffalo. They're meeting with agents. There's a lot of conversations happening, but they're all kind of informal. And really, it's like Friday and Saturday is when kind of the testing and the meat of it happens.
So really, before that, everyone's kind of just like hanging out in and around the lobby waiting for more important conversations or meetings to occur. And that gives you a ton of opportunity to spend that time chatting up. variety of agents and front office folks and scouting directors and on and on. So it's just like kind of schmoozing the whole time, which I love. I mean, that's great. Sure.
I had a blast. Well, especially with the decentralized draft, right? For sure. And you're just picking up rumors and chatter and, you know, talking and watching Stanley Cup playoff games in the evening and eating chicken wings three nights in a row. And I mean, it's not bad. Like, honestly, it was not a bad event. I suspect I'll be going again so long as the Canucks are Rebuilding?
Picking near the top of the order. So yeah, I mean, I don't think it'll be my last time there. Just get that yearly stay in Buffalo.
Booked in the calendar now for the foreseeable future.
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Chapter 2: How did the Canucks' front office prepare for the draft?
We've got Landon today, right? Yes, we have Landon as well. So maybe we'll do that during the whiteboard once we open it.
Yeah, we got Landon at 1230. But right now, let's go to the whiteboard.
All right, fellas, let's focus up.
It is your daily deep dive into what's up with the Canucks for today, June 8th. And the headlines is or the headline is, yes, the NHL draft combine is done. So let's start there with a combine wrap up a Canucks centric combine wrap up from your perspective after having spent the week in Buffalo.
Yeah, so the Canucks themselves brought a lot of people there, more than they usually would. Both assistant general managers, Cammie Granato and Emily Castonguay. They brought director of scouting, Todd Harvey, but they also brought a senior cross-checker in Phil Golding, who was their Ontario regional scout, became a cross-checker a couple years ago.
Then they also had a variety of people from their human performance department involved.
some of their names I won't be able to rifle off off the top of my head but Mike Cesare is the sort of strength and condition coach he was there and he stayed until Saturday for the actual training Alex Trinka the director was there and then Alex and I can't remember his last name if you looked up their front office I don't know but I'll anyway he's their mental sure performance consultant.
So he was there. And then Ryan Johnson, of course, was there for the start of the week. That's a much bigger contingent. Usually it's been like Cammie Granato and Todd Harvey. And, you know, I think Alex, you'll look up his last name for me, Alex Hodgins, the yeah, and it's a mental performance consultant. I'm pretty sure that's his. So he would be leading the interviews.
So usually it's those three. And maybe Patrick Alvin, given his amateur scouting background, would have dropped in for a bit. But this time it was a much larger contingent, which I think reflects both the importance of this draft class and the fact that the Canucks are under new management right now. And we'll see exactly what that means. A lot of teams do...
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Chapter 3: What informal strategies do teams use during player interviews?
Correct. Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, that is the answer they're looking for. I don't think so. I bet you it is. I hope so.
I bet you it is like teamwork. Yeah. Do you understand teamwork? Leadership? Yeah. Do you? Are you just going to kill the guy? Or? Yeah. I mean, and I mean, you know, right. Yeah. The answer is obvious. The Canucks don't play games. They really are just interviewing guys. Yep. What do you think of that?
I don't have a problem with it, to be honest. I get where teams are coming from with the games. I also think if you were really drawing conclusions based on those answers, you have just as good a chance of fooling yourself as you do gleaning important information. They are, at best, incredibly blunt tools.
And I think really all you're doing is getting the same information you'd get from just talking to the person But you're like tricking yourself into thinking that you've put this scientific process in place. Yeah, that's basically what I think.
Fair. I think I do prefer a baseline. Personally, I prefer a baseline response like the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins do this thing where they cut up a bunch of negative clips of the player, right? Like him getting crushed. in the neutral zone on a hit or a turnover or what have you like one of the challenging sequences from a player's season.
And then they sort of judge their reaction and have them walk them through the video. I like that. I like that more than the like psychological game. Mambo jumbo. Yeah. I just like having a baseline because I think it helps you strip out the bias of like, you know, I'm an outgoing guy. I prefer outgoing people.
See, but I think that, okay, I agree that that's a huge problem with the interview process, but I don't think the games takes that away. In fact, I think it's just as prone to it.
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Chapter 4: What unique tests are teams using to evaluate prospects?
But the drilling down on the game and the game tape, that's fun. That's where I would go.
I like that. I like that. But I would just subcontract it out to someone who knows what they're talking about because I don't.
Yes, I do. I do think where's the fun in that?
I do think it's interesting that the Canucks don't have a specific approach. Their interviews were largely described as chill by the prospects is sort of something that was notable to me. Canucks senior brass didn't stick around for testing. Some general managers seem to value it. The Canucks don't. It's all filmed anyway, so you can sort of rewind and rewatch anything you think that's relevant.
You know, I was pretty focused. Like Stenberg didn't go, didn't test. Caleb Malhotra did and had some pretty freakish results, especially on some of the jumping things that are most correlated with NHL success, basically proxies for skating power. So that's of interest.
I would say a lot of the people who know Stenberg really well thought he was a little nervous at the Combine relative to how affable he has been at other major IHF events. He did get sick after competing at the Worlds, and obviously his season only ended like less than a week ago. Usually players in his circumstances wouldn't even go.
So I don't think any of this will be held against him, but I do think it opened up a, you know, a small data point, a small window for a Malhotra booster versus a Stenberg detractor. Right. To sort of point to the combine as, as reasons to prefer Malhotra. So that I think opens up just sort of a scary situation for the Vancouver Canucks. I was, I was going to Tim Hortons on the Saturday and,
Before testing, so it's like 6.30 in the morning. And in front of me in line was San Jose Sharks general manager, Mike Greer. So you were in the Canucks position. Right, I was right behind. Okay, so I was in the Canucks position picking right behind Mike Greer. So you got the donut you wanted? Well, and he was staring for a while at the menu, struggling to make up his mind. Okay.
So I really was in the Canucks position. And I just thought whatever he gets, I'll take the next best item. Yes. Yeah. And he turns around and he says to me, you know what? I haven't made up my mind yet. You can go ahead. And I responded, you know, those moments where you come up with the exact right thing to say at exactly the right moment.
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Chapter 5: How do the Canucks assess player character in the draft process?
It's pretty hard not to find that up and down this draft order. Not a lot of like interesting measurements, really. I guess Xavier Villeneuve coming in truly at 5'10 is probably a little bit suboptimal, although he killed the VO2 max and had some pretty sensational jump results. Vigo Bjork, 5'9.25. That's tough. A quarter inch taller and he's 5'10 forever. Right. Instead, he's five nine. Yeah.
So I think that holds him outside the top five. Caleb Malhotra six one point seven five. But again, his listed height doesn't matter as much as his reach. Yeah. So, you know, I don't want to say I came out of the weekend like I see it with Caleb. Because that's not true. He's clearly very athletic. He handled himself spectacularly. You can read a ton of my coverage over at The Athletic.
And if you go check my Twitter feed, I've unlocked all my coverage from the combine. So go ahead. Twitter dot com slash Thomas Drance and get all of our coverage from Buffalo. I don't even think like the Canucks didn't have any media people there. Certainly there were no other Vancouver media people there.
So if you want any sense of, uh, Canucks angles from the combine, the athletics, your place to go, and you can access all of our stuff for free, uh, from my Twitter feed on some of the gift links that I've been sharing. Um, but yeah, I, you know, I would say I was really impressed with how he carried himself. I thought it would, the amount of Manny Malhotra questions that he was handling, right?
Like, it's just like your dad, your dad, your dad, your dad, right?
Yeah.
his media scrum after testing was like, you were born in Columbus. What memories do you have of your dad's time in Columbus? You, your dad played one year in San Jose. Do you have any memories of your dad's time in San Jose? You play, your dad played, finished his career in Montreal. Yup. Right.
Like it was just like literally going past the hockey card and then like all everything, nothing was about him. It was, it was, I actually did feel a little sorry for him. You know, it's a tough position to be in, especially when your dad gets hired like two days earlier. Yep. Right. He handled it sensationally. Well, you can totally understand why people think this guy's a future captain.
You know, I still think we need to dwell on in the Canucks need to dwell on where they're at, right, where they're at specifically and some of the downside comps. you know, that are very present.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of the Canucks' draft strategy?
Brendan Gallagher acquisition for the Vancouver Canucks could be in the cards. We'll see. I wouldn't expect anything as imminent. And as he said, there's moving parts. They have other things on their table right now. There's other teams that will be interested, but confirmation of interest from Brendan Gallagher's agent on the part of the Vancouver Canucks in the athletic.
I thought this was an interesting report. Your two colleagues, Michael Russo and Joe Smith, report in The Athletic that the Minnesota Wild are, quote, closing in on signing pending UFA Michael McCarron to a long-term contract. They suggested a five- or six-year term around that. $3.5 million AAV for Michael McCarron. Of course, the massive right shot centerman.
So that would be a potential UFA target for the Canucks that looks to be coming off the board. And at the high end of that estimate, you're talking about more than $20 million total money for Michael McCarron.
Yep. That's a lot of money.
That's a lot of money.
And I don't think that's a good deal for Minnesota. Well, I think the most interesting part of this. In fact, I think they've completely whiffed.
on what their team's needs are and why where and why they fell short against Colorado specifically I think they just didn't have enough scoring depth which is a classic story and I think part of the reason is elective I think you know they spent time and capital adding you know an additional Foligno and McCarron and and so on and that's fine like it's it's
I like Michael McCarron more than most, I think it's fair to say. Yep. But I think for that team to level up, they need skill up and down their lineup. The example that I'd look at would be the Carolina Hurricanes adding Ehlers and Hall and how much that changed their complexion in these playoff series where all of a sudden it doesn't feel like they can't eliminate...
a deficit and they're a threat to score in more of their minutes. And they're still doing weird Carolina stuff that pins their opponents. But now it's got cutting edge right now. It's not just like, well, they're going to get 10 shots, but none of them are going to be dangerous. Now they can actually make stuff happen because they've leveled up for that team. I think the McCarron signing is, uh,
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Chapter 7: What recent NHL news impacts the Canucks' decisions?
It's going to take one guy who bets on himself, does the two-year thing, and then gets the home run payday. And then everyone's going to be like, oh, right, okay. That's a practical path for me. But I think a lot of people weigh downside risk very heavily. These are short careers, right? You cash in when you can. This is a contact sport. Right.
So look, more than anything, congratulations to Michael McCann. I think his highest total value contract was under three million in his career. So to get this kind of payday locked up like that's life changing. This is a life changing day for him and his family. So first and foremost, kudos to a guy who I've always admired how they play the game.
Yeah, and especially for a player like that, you can always understand the security. Totally. Right? Like, I play a very, very physical style. Like, it's hard to pass up that type of term of security.
I'm still sad you didn't get $12 million over two years from the Vancouver Canucks.
I want to make sure you know that. A couple of other notes from around the league. Per Helen St. James out of Detroit, Dylan Larkin has three teams that he would be willing to wave for. Did I tell you about my... When we did the show on Friday, did I do my double birds bit? Yes, yes. And it's like, this only reinforces it. Has that take aged well or what?
Because it's Vegas, Florida, and Minnesota are our three teams currently on Dylan Larkin's list that you'd be willing to wait for. So I don't see, I don't see Stevie Y bending for that one anytime soon.
Flip them up, Stevie. In head coaching news. Can we dwell on this a little more? Sure. Dylan Larkin really wants to be a third line center, huh? Yeah. Apparently. My God. I mean, the fundamental rule of the NHL is that talent concentrates.
All right. Like, well, and you speak, talk about it as a copycat league for players as well. Right. And yeah, you know, Mitch Marner going to Vegas and look what he's doing.
Right.
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Chapter 8: How does the coaching situation affect the Canucks' future?
There is a critical lesson in this for the Vancouver Canucks as they start their rebuild. You can either look at this as like, how are we ever going to catch up? Which, by the way, is a very good question. But I think the more important lesson is Four or five years down the line, how do we position ourselves to be the team that's like Minnesota? Because Minnesota's new here.
The I want to go to Minnesota thing, that wasn't true two years ago. How do we position ourselves for that, right? That is part of the question you have to be asking yourself because you might not draft the best player on the next great Canucks team. You might trade for them, right? You might be the spot they pick. especially with so much Western Canadian talent dominating the NHL now.
So I think that's the biggest Canucks takeaway from this.
Also in head coaching news, Peter Laviolette, the new head coach of the LA Kings. I don't want to dwell on that too long because there was also this report.
Sorry, I'm not a big, can I just annotate quick? I'm not a big Laviolette guy, but I think that's the best Kings coach in 10 years since they fired Daryl Sutter.
Darren Drager reports. The Edmonton Oilers, who of course have a head coaching vacancy, have reached out to the NHLPA about potentially hiring Mike Babcock. And why do they have to reach out to the NHLPA? Of course, Mike Babcock didn't even make it to training camp at his last coaching job, which was with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Because there were allegations he was invading players' privacy and taking their phones to look through them in preseason meetings. So always a great sign when, first of all, the coach you might want to hire didn't even make it to training camp in his last job. And you have to reach out to the NHLPA just to be like, hey, are there any pending investigations or anything?
Do you guys need to clear this guy? Would you oppose if we hired this coach?
Not a great sign. And don't forget, too, that Mike Babcock... was right at the finish line when the Washington Capitals hired Barry Trotz. And Caps players put their finger on the scale and said, nuh-uh. Yep. So, I don't know. If you had a couple super-duper stars who are considering their options very publicly, I think this maneuver might be the height of stupidity.
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