I'm just watching sportsnet pacific this morning and they start off talking about the draft:
"The first 9 picks went according to plan, and then the canucks stepped up and went in a different direction"?????
how is picking Hodgson with the 10th pick going in a different direction?
Maybe they didn't mean it so much as a different direction from the projected rankings, but rather a different direction from where everyone thought the Canucks were going - Kyle Beach.
Maybe they didn't mean it so much as a different direction from the projected rankings, but rather a different direction from where everyone thought the Canucks were going - Kyle Beach.
I think it goes to show how much hockey knowledge the Sportsnet crew has. They get caught up in the hype of Beach and they spoke of Hodgson like he didn't have a place in the top 10. Hearing Sportsnet and the Team1040 complain on and on about how the Canucks didn't get Beach or how they didn't make any moves was getting annoying actually.
It's an acceptable pick, I guess, but is he a future #1 center? I don't really know. To me, this is a player with Daymond Langkow upside who, conversely, might plateau as an average #2 center. Definitely the safe pick, and unlikely to be a 'bad' pick. We'll see.
If a BC product in Beach is piling up 40-goal, 200 PIM seasons in Chicago while Hodgson is a 50-60 point 'character' #2 center here, this will hurt.
I understand this concern, but I really couldn't be happier with the guy the Canucks took. This is one year that I'm not unhappy with them going for a 'safer' guy, because the risk with Hodgson is lower than Beach, who could be a 40-goal, 200-pim guy, or a five-goal, 200 pim guy.
I understand this concern, but I really couldn't be happier with the guy the Canucks took. This is one year that I'm not unhappy with them going for a 'safer' guy, because the risk with Hodgson is lower than Beach, who could be a 40-goal, 200-pim guy, or a five-goal, 200 pim guy.
Not only is Hodgson the safer pick, more importantly he's a natural centreman. The organizational void at centre was ridiculous and this pick goes a long way in filling that hole.
When the Canucks were up at 10 I was open to Beach or Hodgson. I'm just ecstatic they went with the consensus BPA available that just happened to fill our biggest need.
Gotta love the reports of Hodgson's maturity and character. Have we possibly found the new Trevor Linden? Hopefully.
Gotta love the reports of Hodgson's maturity and character. Have we possibly found the new Trevor Linden? Hopefully.
This would be my counterpoint to the hometown hero argument. Linden was not born in Vancouver but has turned into a hometown hero. The birthplace is irrelevant. The dedication to the city is what matters. I can picture Hodgeson becoming a Linden type player, can't say the same thing about Beach.
I'm so happy with this pick... Thought he was going to raise for sure!
He reminds me so much of Rod Brind'Amour. Good two way player, who has off the charts hockey IQ. The only things he needs to really improve on is his footspeed, but that is one of the easiest things to improve on, and he is already above average in that regard. He is so clutch, and always comes in big in big situations.
What I like most about him, he's a hard worker, with great vision, and playmaking abilities. His goal scorign is vastly underrated he scored 40 goals this year, and 23 goals as a rookie.
Very pleased we finally got a centerman who is our potential future captain, and our potential first line centerman. I think he will be a top 3 forward to come out of this draft. So pleased we got Hodgson I think he's a potential PPG player in the future, with leadership abilities of a captain, and solid two way play, AND CAN WIN FACEOFFS. Think Rod Brind'Amour.
- Retiring of Trevor Linden, the franchise needs to groom their next home-grown leader, Hodgson could be exactly that
- Ray Payne's debut as a scout for the Canucks, scouting the OHL (I believe)
- Gillis claim of drafting players with "character, intelligence, and integrity" .. fits Hodgson to a tee
All that together with being the generally agreed BPA at #10 and it's absolutely no surprise the Canucks took him.
So the question is.. if Hodgson was NOT the concensus BPA, would Gillis have taken him anyway in light of all the above factors? Answer? Who cares! We have ourselves a good player.
Hopefully he can do something like this in Vancouver
Hodgson is a pure winner and hopefully that winning trend will follow him on his way to the NHL
Quote:
As team captain, he led the tournament with 10 assists and 12 points – tying Minnesota Wild star Pierre-Marc Bouchard's 2002 mark for the all-time Canadian scoring record at the event – as Canada won the gold medal.
I'm happy with the pick. Beach would have been just as good.
Hodgson has one thing that Beach doesn't... No question marks. I don't consider "average" skating a question mark. If that's the only thing people could come up with as a negative then to me there isn't much wrong there at all.
He has leadership quality, he has had tons of success. He can go on the powerplay, win face offs, is equally good at scoring and setting people up.
Now will he be able to bring that to the NHL? Thats the question with everyone. I cant see Hodgson being worse than a second line center though.
I'm happy with the pick. Beach would have been just as good.
Hodgson has one thing that Beach doesn't... No question marks. I don't consider "average" skating a question mark. If that's the only thing people could come up with as a negative then to me there isn't much wrong there at all.
He has leadership quality, he has had tons of success. He can go on the powerplay, win face offs, is equally good at scoring and setting people up.
Now will he be able to bring that to the NHL? Thats the question with everyone. I cant see Hodgson being worse than a second line center though.
Yeah. I agree... There is not much risk of him becoming anything worse than a average 2nd line center.
Scouts call a player two-way because his offensive ability isn't good enough so they attribute it to him being a two-way player. We see the same thing in Kesler. You can teach defense to Byron Ritchie. You can't teach offense to Byron Ritchie.
Bingo. "Two way player" is hockey code for "stone hands".
Quote:
Originally Posted by MS
If a BC product in Beach is piling up 40-goal, 200 PIM seasons in Chicago while Hodgson is a 50-60 point 'character' #2 center here, this will hurt.
You forgot to correct your typo highlighted here.
40 goals? 4 will be closer. Beach will struggle to hit 10. 20 tops in a career year if they toss him as a protector on a line with Kane or Toews.
They finally got one right. My jaw dropped when I just watched the draft. And even if Hodgson doesn't turn out to be as great a pick as hoped, it was still the correct move.
This would be my counterpoint to the hometown hero argument. Linden was not born in Vancouver but has turned into a hometown hero. The birthplace is irrelevant. The dedication to the city is what matters. I can picture Hodgeson becoming a Linden type player, can't say the same thing about Beach.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hlrsr
- Gillis claim of drafting players with "character, intelligence, and integrity" .. fits Hodgson to a tee
I can picture this being Beach's "entrance music video" if he were in the WWE:
Kesler is my favorite non-ducks player. Sure he's not quite as good as Mike Richards who Vancouver could have selected instead, probably a mistake, but I absolutely love the way he plays regardless. He reminds me of Sammy Pahlsson. I can definitely see him winning a Selke down the road.
What I'm getting at is Hodgson sounds like a really hardworking, smart, skilled player, who seems like he can be a very solid second tier star in this league and I love 2-way centers who can score so this is awesome. blahh
40 goals? 4 will be closer. Beach will struggle to hit 10. 20 tops in a career year if they toss him as a protector on a line with Kane or Toews.
They finally got one right. My jaw dropped when I just watched the draft. And even if Hodgson doesn't turn out to be as great a pick as hoped, it was still the correct move.
I wonder if Gillis overrode Delorme?
Yeah, because a guy like Getzlaf who had a nearly identical skillset at age 18 sure turned into a 4-goal scorer. Oh, wait.
What do you think Beach is? The guy has sick hands - probably top-5 in the draft - to go with a great shot, terrific offensive sense, and goalscoring instincts. The 'bigger Avery' comparisons people tossed out there were idiotic. If he turns out, this isn't some 15-20 goal agitator - he has Shanahan/Nolan/Roberts type 40-goal potential. He was probably the most dominant offensive player in the WHL until his injury problems hit around Christmas. Would've been a top-5 pick if not for the injury concerns.
Assuming he stays healthy, Beach will be pouring in the goals for Chicago over the next few years with the quality of playmakers he'll have there.
I'm not angry we took Hodgson and I understand the reasons for it and the concerns with Beach. But Beach is not some sort of low-upside schmuck who'll be lucky to score 20 goals/season in the NHL.
Brind'Amour
"Plays a strong, two-way game." - sportsnet.ca
"One of the NHL's best two-way players" - rockymountainnews.com
"Brind'Amour is the best two-way player in the game." - someone on forums.sportsnet.ca
Datsyuk & Zetterberg
"I've been telling people for three years how good Zetterberg is," said Babcock. "And so this isn't a surprise to me. He's just a conscientious good two-way player. So is Datsyuk." - Mike Babcock thehockeynews.com
"Datsyuk also showed a physical side to his game during the postseason; he's a far better two-way player than many realize." - msn.foxsports.com
Afredsson
"Alfredsson, whose strong two-way play has keyed the Senators attack.." - cbc.com
"Alfredsson, a dashing two-way player, leads the team with 19 goals." - sportsillustrated.cnn.com
I think thats about enough...
Last edited by PuckMunchkin: 06-22-2008 at 07:27 AM.
Often when a scout evaluates a player he'll classify him in some way like offensive, defensive, PK'er, character type, PP specialist, 2-way guy, ect.
Often times when a player is called "two-way" it is because his offensive skills aren't amazing and his defensive skills aren't top-notch, either. Hodgson seems like the real deal, but many times teams have drafted a player because of his mystical "two-way play" only to realize the guy is just completely average.
My question pertaining to your location was due to that in North America the "two-way player" tag is used most often. It wasn't a slight towards your nationality, and I'm sorry if you took it as such.
I think he's a potential PPG player in the future, with leadership abilities of a captain, and solid two way play, AND CAN WIN FACEOFFS. Think Rod Brind'Amour.
Answer? Who cares! We have ourselves a good player.
Beach will struggle to hit 10. 20 tops in a career year if they toss him as a protector on a line with Kane or Toews.
My jaw dropped when I just watched the draft. And even if Hodgson doesn't turn out to be as great a pick as hoped, it was still the correct move.
