Got to admit, I wasn't familiar with Willander until the Canucks sub started hyping him up a few weeks before the draft. Really great choice, really looking more and more like a great awesome pick!!!
I had first heard about Willander (the “w” in whose surname I have pronounced the same way as that in the German word “Volkswagen”) shortly before the Canucks had chosen to draft him. Who knew, during the 2023 NHL off-season, how he might turn out? He hasn’t signed an NHL entry-level contract just yet while he’s only spent a single season, from the 2018-19 Swedish U16 Men’s Division 1 one, playing for any team not based in his homeland. Key will be in his development being able to sufficiently repeat the level of play that last NCAA season he just played, with 25 points, 4 of them goals,, over 38 games and a +28. Another key will be how he transitions from NCAA to,playing in a major-junior league or AHL depending on his age. Given his February 2005 birthdate, he is eligible to play for a Canadian Hockey League team up to and including the end of the 2025-26 season because his 21st birthday will be in February 2026, which comes after the CHL‘s 2025-26 regular season has begun but BEFORE the 2026-27 one has begun. Time will tell if he will play a regular-season or playoff game in the NHL, because as much as expectations may not be as high for him as if he had been taken in the top-10 of his NHL Draft year, they are likely at least somewhat higher than if he had been taken after the first round.
yh same i never thought he was our pick and my choice either but then the rumours came out and i started to learn to him over asp or benson who was my few choices and i was didnt mind any of the options since i had some high hope for all
For fans who don't pay attention prospects except their own Salmonsson stock has went from 2nd rounder to 2nd best prospect in Jets system playing for team Sweden winning SHL. And potential be top 3 dman.
Tbh with how rare good RHD are and how much you have to shell out to get one via trade, drafting a couple here and there is a good long term investment
If you're looking for topics, maybe do a deep dive on how quickly the Canucks had their fate turned around by quality management, and non-meddling ownership who see how to properly run a team. When Allvin and Rutherford took over the cupboards were bare for prospects, our AHL club was disorganized, and our NHL roster was filled with bloated contracts with 4th line guys getting insane $$ and term. It blows my mind how quickly things got turned around.
Any team that's in win now mode has a average to mediocre pool. The fact that the canucks even have several prospects that could crack the roster is good
It’s tempting to believe that Willander was a bit of a reach as some have claimed, but whether or not he was will remain a matter of debate. What matters is ultimately whether he will: - get to play in the NHL - if the above appliances, for which team and if so, whether he’ll get to do so other than just during preseason play - successfully transition his NCAA game to the NHL particularly as not all prospects end up successfully transitioning their game from major-junior or minor-league levels to that elite league
The problem is that especially with defensemen, who tend to develop slower, you just don't know what you have until at least 1.5-2 years after their draft year. You can look at the tools they have, their attitude and their work ethic, but that's about it. Nik Lidstrom was drafted 53 overall at the age of 19, so not a lot was expected of him, clearly. Granted, in the late 80s, getting information about European players wasn't as easy as it is now. Lidstrom jumped in at the age of 21 and scored 60 points, pretty much out of nowhere after 23 points in 38 games in the SEL. Granted 91-92 and 92-93 were 2 of the highest scoring seasons in NHL history. But the point is, it's a guessing game. An educated guessing game, hopefully, but still a guessing game. Hopefully he comes in and proves a lot of racists wrong. He's never going to be Derian Hatcher in terms of toughness, but he won't have to be if he's responsible at both ends of the ice. The fact that he wanted to play in North America and get acclimated immediately was already a great sign. A lot of guys come out of college hockey and don't look out of place in the NHL. Granted, I wouldn't panic if he needed a year in Abby. From all the scouting reports I've seen, if he was a reach, he wasn't by much. And if Lidstrom had been picked in the 1st round with hindsight being 20/20 he would have been seen as a huge reach until he actually got to the NHL. You just don't know with 18 year olds. Reach or no reach, 2 years is a long time at that age and we'll see what he looks like when he gets here.
@@christhornycroft3686 Willander, like Mikhail Sergachev, was drafted by a Canadian NHL team in the 1st round of his NHL Draft year and had already been playing in North America. That was although the Russian d-man had already, by the time he'd started playing for the Habs' team that'd drafted him 9th overall in 2016, been playing for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League and would go onto play 57 more games (50 regular season and 7 postseason) for that major-junior team before getting to play more of a full-time role with the Bolts' team with which he'd go onto win a Stanley Cup. Sergachev had only gotten to play 4 regular-season games with the Habs before they'd sent him back to the Spitfires to continue his development. The Habs, in an exchange of draft picks with the Bolts, got winger Jonathan Drouin, a top-5 NHL Draft pick, in the Sergachev trade, with the Drouin contract having aged relatively well, with the winger's worst season the very last after which he would sign a 1-season near-NHL-minimum contract with the Avs.
Woo aint NHL calibre. It’s unfortunate but i just dont think hes at that elite lvl. Hasnt developed him game to the point where he is outshining his peers in the AHL
Got to admit, I wasn't familiar with Willander until the Canucks sub started hyping him up a few weeks before the draft. Really great choice, really looking more and more like a great awesome pick!!!
I had first heard about Willander (the “w” in whose surname I have pronounced the same way as that in the German word “Volkswagen”) shortly before the Canucks had chosen to draft him. Who knew, during the 2023 NHL off-season, how he might turn out? He hasn’t signed an NHL entry-level contract just yet while he’s only spent a single season, from the 2018-19 Swedish U16 Men’s Division 1 one, playing for any team not based in his homeland. Key will be in his development being able to sufficiently repeat the level of play that last NCAA season he just played, with 25 points, 4 of them goals,, over 38 games and a +28. Another key will be how he transitions from NCAA to,playing in a major-junior league or AHL depending on his age. Given his February 2005 birthdate, he is eligible to play for a Canadian Hockey League team up to and including the end of the 2025-26 season because his 21st birthday will be in February 2026, which comes after the CHL‘s 2025-26 regular season has begun but BEFORE the 2026-27 one has begun. Time will tell if he will play a regular-season or playoff game in the NHL, because as much as expectations may not be as high for him as if he had been taken in the top-10 of his NHL Draft year, they are likely at least somewhat higher than if he had been taken after the first round.
yh same i never thought he was our pick and my choice either but then the rumours came out and i started to learn to him over asp or benson who was my few choices and i was didnt mind any of the options since i had some high hope for all
Willander and Hughes will be a top duo!
For fans who don't pay attention prospects except their own Salmonsson stock has went from 2nd rounder to 2nd best prospect in Jets system playing for team Sweden winning SHL. And potential be top 3 dman.
Tbh with how rare good RHD are and how much you have to shell out to get one via trade, drafting a couple here and there is a good long term investment
If you're looking for topics, maybe do a deep dive on how quickly the Canucks had their fate turned around by quality management, and non-meddling ownership who see how to properly run a team. When Allvin and Rutherford took over the cupboards were bare for prospects, our AHL club was disorganized, and our NHL roster was filled with bloated contracts with 4th line guys getting insane $$ and term. It blows my mind how quickly things got turned around.
Willander will be like a Rafalsky. The way he complimented Scott Niedermayer, Willander will be that for Quinn Hughes.
i honestly wouldnt see him with hughes since we got hronek but the second option who is always able to play with a ld that could help and improve them
Can’t wait to see the double punch of offensive defenceman of Hughes and Willander🤩
He's not really that kind of defenceman. Has never put up big numbers. He'll be a more of well rounded smooth skating defender.
@@benjaminaxselholm hes like a complimentary guy like hronek hes good at both but i do hope hes better defensively then hronek who is solid
Pretty easy when the prospect pool is basically ankle deep
Any team that's in win now mode has a average to mediocre pool. The fact that the canucks even have several prospects that could crack the roster is good
I wish Willander will be even Half as good as Makar
It’s tempting to believe that Willander was a bit of a reach as some have claimed, but whether or not he was will remain a matter of debate. What matters is ultimately whether he will:
- get to play in the NHL
- if the above appliances, for which team and if so, whether he’ll get to do so other than just during preseason play
- successfully transition his NCAA game to the NHL particularly as not all prospects end up successfully transitioning their game from major-junior or minor-league levels to that elite league
The problem is that especially with defensemen, who tend to develop slower, you just don't know what you have until at least 1.5-2 years after their draft year. You can look at the tools they have, their attitude and their work ethic, but that's about it. Nik Lidstrom was drafted 53 overall at the age of 19, so not a lot was expected of him, clearly. Granted, in the late 80s, getting information about European players wasn't as easy as it is now. Lidstrom jumped in at the age of 21 and scored 60 points, pretty much out of nowhere after 23 points in 38 games in the SEL. Granted 91-92 and 92-93 were 2 of the highest scoring seasons in NHL history. But the point is, it's a guessing game. An educated guessing game, hopefully, but still a guessing game. Hopefully he comes in and proves a lot of racists wrong. He's never going to be Derian Hatcher in terms of toughness, but he won't have to be if he's responsible at both ends of the ice. The fact that he wanted to play in North America and get acclimated immediately was already a great sign. A lot of guys come out of college hockey and don't look out of place in the NHL. Granted, I wouldn't panic if he needed a year in Abby. From all the scouting reports I've seen, if he was a reach, he wasn't by much. And if Lidstrom had been picked in the 1st round with hindsight being 20/20 he would have been seen as a huge reach until he actually got to the NHL. You just don't know with 18 year olds. Reach or no reach, 2 years is a long time at that age and we'll see what he looks like when he gets here.
@@christhornycroft3686 Willander, like Mikhail Sergachev, was drafted by a Canadian NHL team in the 1st round of his NHL Draft year and had already been playing in North America. That was although the Russian d-man had already, by the time he'd started playing for the Habs' team that'd drafted him 9th overall in 2016, been playing for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League and would go onto play 57 more games (50 regular season and 7 postseason) for that major-junior team before getting to play more of a full-time role with the Bolts' team with which he'd go onto win a Stanley Cup. Sergachev had only gotten to play 4 regular-season games with the Habs before they'd sent him back to the Spitfires to continue his development. The Habs, in an exchange of draft picks with the Bolts, got winger Jonathan Drouin, a top-5 NHL Draft pick, in the Sergachev trade, with the Drouin contract having aged relatively well, with the winger's worst season the very last after which he would sign a 1-season near-NHL-minimum contract with the Avs.
HUGHES Hronick
Woo willander
Pathetic canucks fan . Woo will never make the nhl. Never mind a 3, 4 dman. 😂
Hughes-Hornek
D(Petterson) Willander
Woo aint NHL calibre. It’s unfortunate but i just dont think hes at that elite lvl. Hasnt developed him game to the point where he is outshining his peers in the AHL
hughes hronek
zadorov willander
whoops....
Willander was the 4th best D man out 6 defensmen in the U20 tourny. All 3 D were drafted higher than Willander. Hes sounding a bit over rated
What say the anti-Swedes now?