Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiranis
Canucks are not going to pick Subban. Lack was a free agent and Cannata was a late round pick. Why in the world would we consider picking a goalie in the 1st round given that it won't become a problem for us for another 10+ years?
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Here is how I view drafting goalies in the 1st round, taking into account that the typical goalie drafted at 18 will play 2 more years in the CHL, plus 2 more at the AHL level, so you're looking at 4 years before they should be on an NHL roster.
1) You do so only if your #1 goalie is 30 years old and you don't have anyone in your system that you can bank on to be your future #1 goalie. Canucks don't fall into this category. Rangers might, for example, since Lundqvist is in his early 30's and I don't know who they have coming through their ranks.
2) You have no goalie in the system right now and your #1 isn't very good. Again, not the Canucks right now. But, again, factor in that it will take 4 years for the goalie to play and you can see that you really want to be thinking well ahead about replacing your #1 goalie. Columbus for example is in this position.
For the Canucks, they should continue what they have done in the past few drafts with goalies. Take one in the middle rounds. Cannata, Ilhati, Honzig were drafted in rounds 3-6 I believe. Lack was a FA signing. Keep taking shots with mid rounders and hopefully one will develop to take over for Schneider one day. They have a few years more until Cory hits 30 to keep this practice up.
NJ, Brodeur is playing 1 more season from the looks of it, unless there is an extended work stoppage. Best goalie prospect is Scott Wedgewood, but he'll be in the AHL for the next couple of seasons. So, they will need a stop gap between Marty and Wedgewood.
No chance that 3 goalies go in the 1st round.