Monday Mailbag: Young Stars, Pettersson’s Weight, and Edler’s Leadership

Based on his experience level, status within the organization, and how he looked over the weekend, I think Adam Gaudette has to be the early favourite. I can’t say how high his ceiling is, but he’s a tremendously complete player for someone coming straight from college. He’s fast, has a good frame, plays well in all three zones, and has some offensive upside, too. More importantly, he came to play this weekend. His effort level never wavered, and he looked more consistently engaged than any other player on the ice. He’s going to endear himself to the organization in short order with that kind of work ethic if he hasn’t already. Teams have always valued guys that show up to the rink and give 100% no matter the circumstances. It’s early yet, but it looks to me like he may be one of those guys. The only issue will be finding room for him on the roster.

13-12-25. I think Virtanen is quickly heading towards “he is what he is” territory. He can be better next season, and he might get a few more opportunities offensively, but I still don’t see him as much more than a 30-point guy moving forward. He’ll add to his goal total if he can learn to take the puck to the net with more consistency, but other than that I’m not sure he has much more room to grow.

If the Canucks are as bad as they should be? Losing out on a high-end player in next year’s draft. I love Willie Nylander but I’d steer clear of offering sheets until the Canucks are out of the lottery.

I don’t understand the fixation either, but I think there are a couple of possible explanations. The first is just that a lot of media guys grew up around a different game. Even as little as five years ago, there were legitimate concerns any time a young player came into the league without the physique required to defend himself. Things have changed. The game is more about speed than ever, and the new generation of players just isn’t as interested in gooning it up.

The second and more probable explanation is that the people who have the most control over the media narrative in Vancouver just don’t know all that much about him yet. That’s not a knock on them, it’s just the reality of having to spend most of your time at the rink or on the air. I’d be surprised if many guys on the beat caught any Vaxjo games last year, and I don’t blame them if they didn’t. What they can do is look at a stat line and listen to what other people are saying around the league. If that’s how you’re getting your information on Pettersson, it’s easy to latch on to the fact that he’s slight.

The truth is, his weight isn’t really remarkable. He didn’t stand out in Penticton this weekend for any reason other than his play. In full gear, he looks about the same size as Olli Juolevi. He’s tall, wiry, and has a massive wingspan. There will be growing pains like there are for anyone else, but he’ll be fine.

After what was honestly a fairly disappointing performance in the tournament and at main camp last year, I thought Olli Juolevi returned to form and demonstrated the poise that had impressed me so much two years ago. He made good decisions with the puck, crisp passes, and had a couple of really nice moves, especially in game 1. He’s also really good at getting shots through even if he doesn’t have much power. If it were up to me I’d give him every chance to make the big club but unfortunately I just don’t think there’s any room for him.

It’s too early to say if Woo has an NHL future, let alone in the next 2 or 3 years. It’s also impossible to say if or when Nikita Tryamkin is interested in returning. That said, I think Erik Karlsson is enough to make nearly any team competitive. The Senators were a disaster this year, but made the conference final in 2016-17 without a particularly impressive roster. If the Canucks are indeed interested in Karlsson it makes much more sense to just wait a year and see if they can lure him in free agency. I’m not convinced the fit is there, though.

If Jasek can stick in the lineup and pot a couple of goals here and there that’s good enough for his rookie season. The guy lost almost three years of development to poor handling by his Czech team, so he’s a long-term project at this stage. As far as his ceiling goes, if he makes the NHL , I see him as a Jannik Hansen type who can play spot duty in the top six but ideally would play on your third line.

The Sedins weren’t outspoken guys either, but they led by example and Edler can too. I wonder if some of the reason Edler’s rarely given the benefit of the doubt is that he never gives the media anything. Our concept of leadership in the NHL often boils down to who is most open and honest with the media. I don’t Edler improving in that regard anytime soon, but who knows what he’s like in the room. His teammates seem to like him and I’m sure there’s a reason for that.

If there’s been one takeaway from the scrums this weekend, it’s that Elias Pettersson has a huge personality, so I’m gonna go with him at least as far as who is most likely to belt out a song. Who knows who the T Swift fans are among them, though? These kids were probably like 5 when she burst on the scene so she probably seems as hold hat to them as Madonna does to me.