CanucksArmy Monday Mailbag: Dominik Bokk, Mark Hunter, Noah Hanifin Trade Talk and More!

Hi guys, it’s CanucksArmy. It’s this week’s CanucksArmy mailbag. CanucksArmy let’s go.

Not a chance. Draft analysts seem divided on Dominik Bokk; I’ve seen him as high as eighth and as low as the mid-twenties. It wouldn’t surprise me if he lands somewhere in the middle of those projections, somewhere in the teens. Regardless, I can’t foresee a scenario where he’s available in the second round.

I’m reasonably concerned about those aspects of Adam Boqvist’s career to date. It likewise concerns me that Boqvist’s play in the SuperElit didn’t result in jaw-dropping offensive totals with a good if unspectacular 24 points in 25 games. If you use the SEAL (Situational Era Age League) adjusted points per game metric developed by Jeremy Davis, Boqvist’s 0.57 points per game aren’t even in the top ten among defencemen in this year’s class — even Bode Wilde is outscoring him.

Red flags abound with Boqvist, which is why I’m unwilling to lead the charge for the Canucks to take him at seven. We haven’t even touched on the fact that even his most fervent supporters are willing to admit his defensive game needs serious work. If there’s a landmine in the top ten, it’s Adam Boqvist.

If Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting the Canucks are a stealth team for Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Noah Hanifin, then they’re a stealth team for Hanifin. Friedge doesn’t put stuff out there unless it’s credible.

I don’t know what a realistic offer for Hanifin is. That’s partly because I’m not sure what Hanifin is at the NHL level. Hanifin’s last year, which included his first All-Star appearance, was the first in which he’d resembled a top-five talent. The two years prior were something of a struggle. I lean towards this season being more indicative of his true talent than the previous two, but not with a tonne of confidence. That limits what I would deem a realistic offer.

Just a guess, but I think that realistic in this instance might mean the seventh overall pick for Hanifin.

I’ll give you the first two lines, reluctantly, because I hate projecting the Canucks’ lineup for next season in… May.

Nikolay Goldobin – Bo Horvat – Brock Boeser

Sven Baertschi – Tyler Bozak – Elias Pettersson

That seems a bit rich for my tastes. It might be a bit much to ask that Sean Durzi remain available to the Canucks with their 68th overall pick, but I’d rather risk that than overextend myself considerably for a player that might not be worth it.

I haven’t spent a tonne of time or energy looking at whether such a move is worth the trouble for the Canucks. My intuition is that they’d be better off keeping the seventh overall pick. Stay tuned for a Harman Dayal article on this topic.

I don’t suspect that Hanifin is ever going to be a 50 point defenceman, but I also think it’s a bit early to suggest he’s reached his ceiling. Hanifin is only 21-years-old and just finished his third NHL season. Defencemen peak earlier than most think, but not that early.

No matter where this goes, Erik Gudbranson at his best can’t hold a candle to Hanifin at his worst, so that’s not a comparison I’d use, personally. Pedantry aside, I’m not sure whether seventh overall for Hanifin is fair value (legitimately not certain where I stand on this), but it seems defensible.

I’ll be honest — I haven’t given this a tonne of thought. So… maybe?

I don’t even see the point in acquiring Haydn Fleury. The Hurricanes over-drafted him at seventh overall, and the Canucks shouldn’t take the bait now that he’s floundering to live up to expectations in Carolina. In the absolute best-case scenario, I think he’s a fourth defenceman. That’s not going to move the needle for the Canucks, so why bother?

No.

Football. That said, I’m fully aware that this is a moral failure on my part (I won’t go into detail; it should be self-evident) and I sometimes wonder about how much longer I can go on supporting this league.

Ryan Reaves.

That seems reasonable, even if I wouldn’t bet on Jesperi Kotkaniemi turning into a better player than either of Oliver Wahlstrom and Brady Tkachuk. He’s in that ballpark.

The Canucks hold Jack Rathbone’s negotiating rights for four seasons after drafting him, if my facts are straight. Regardless, the minimum they’d have is four years.

I think we’ve seen the last of the NHL coaches on this year’s chopping block.

The Canucks should have to offer a mid-to-late-round pick for the privilege of getting $4.35-million back in cap space annually from the Anaheim Ducks. At least that’s what the return should be. In terms of what they can actually get, one would have to think that a second-round pick would be on the table.

I’d say that Wahlstrom and Boeser have a comparable offensive upside.

I’ve been a big believer in Brendan Gaunce for years now, but I have a hard time seeing how he’s going to carve out a full-time NHL career at this rate if he doesn’t start to produce. We’re not at the point where we have to ponder his future with the Canucks yet, but it’s not that far off either.

As for Wahlstrom over Noah Dobson and Evan Bouchard, that’s likely what I would do on the draft floor. Whether it’s the wise move or not is another story entirely.

I don’t think so, no. Any team that’s in the John Tavares sweepstakes will be able to make room for Tavares if it isn’t already there. Most of those teams are going to be able to field a comparable if not better package than the Canucks to Tavares in every respect save for the good place to live front — seriously, I just moved downtown, and I’ve got to say, insane cost of living aside, we are so spoiled.

That wouldn’t be Canucks head coach Travis Green’s style. Elias Pettersson is going to have to earn it every step of the way. Remember, this is the same coach that sat Brock Boeser for two games to start the season — never forget!

Really, that’s probably for the best. I just hope that Green doesn’t go overboard and force Pettersson to take shifts on the fourth line or alongside Brandon Sutter. At the very least, he owes it to Pettersson to put him in a position to succeed.

I’ve been working just insane hours between my day job, my career as a freelancer and a mini-renovation on my new place. This is all to say that this is the first I’ve heard about tweaks to the coaching staff. So don’t expect me to have much in the way of profound analysis to offer.

Honestly, I think the Canucks’ coaching staff mostly did a good job last season. I’m not keen on a lot of what assistant coach Newell Brown was doing with the power play, but how can you make a serious change to that part of the bench after a season that saw them spend much of the year in the top five in terms of conversion rate.

As for Mark Hunter, I think he’s a hard-working, diligent hockey mind. There should be a job out there for him somewhere in the NHL. I’m not sure he can offer much that isn’t already covered in Vancouver though. He’s probably not going to accept a job as a boots on the ground scout, and they have most of their front office jobs accounted for already.