Can one argue Demko is the best goalie prospect in the game?

[Sulla]

very different markets IMO

[bergman]

very different markets IMO

Agree. Toronto was begging for a complete and total teardown because the Burke rebuild didn't work out and put some less-than-spectacular players and contracts in their core.

Vancouver fans have kind of had a contending team pulled out from under them...

[als_revenge]

Agree. Toronto was begging for a complete and total teardown because the Burke rebuild didn't work out and put some less-than-spectacular players and contracts in their core.

Vancouver fans have kind of had a contending team pulled out from under them...

If people in Vancouver think a bit of tinkering will turn their team into something competitive, then they are the silliest fans on the planet.

While you may both be right (I don't have my finger on the pulse of the city of Vancouver), it's really hard for me to picture people out west being THAT delusional...

[bergman]

If people in Vancouver think a bit of tinkering will turn their team into something competitive, then they are the silliest fans on the planet.

While you may both be right (I don't have my finger on the pulse of the city of Vancouver), it's really hard for me to picture people out west being THAT delusional...

I guess if I were a Canucks fan, I'd be hoping for a Benning-led quick turnaround over a Benning-led long rebuild.

[Sulla]

If you look at what pieces the Canucks have lost over the last 5-10 years I think it's hard for them to even acknowledge they've been handled that badly to end up here. Toronto just wants to be relevant again and TBH with the stable of young players a lot of people are now talking about them (in a positive way) but those fans will turn out for anything - it's that type of city.

Give the Canucks a losing/re build environment and I'm not sure the rink is still filled every night to watch that...

[butch]

no love for malcolm ?

[stevegamer]

I would say that he's clearly not the best prospect right now, simply because of a few factors:

1. Pro track record is non-existent.
He looks really good now, but goalie prospects are like high school pitching prospects in baseball, you need to give it a year or two in the minors to see who is for real.

2. There are more proven and possibly higher potential prospects ahead of him.
The article referenced above had Markstrom as a prospect at the age of 25, when he became ineligible for the Calder 2 years prior, and finished 14th in the voting. By that definition, Murray & Hellebuyck are definitely prospects, and have to rank ahead of him, along with Vasilevsky.

I can't simply stop counting those guys as prospects when they are Calder-eligble or barely past that line.

[lucafen4]

I think the concern is how the market would handle it if they announced to the world that they are rebuilding though...

Vancouver would be happy to be given a clear direction of where this team is going period. They're trying to patch holes in a paper boat but the water is soaking through

[lucafen4]

It's hard to put Demko in with Murray/Vasil/Helle because they are much further along in their development. By end of 16/17 there will be an AHL body of work that we could compare Demko then to where those three as they rank today.

Outside of those three I would put Demko right in the mix with Samsonov & Sorokin as top G prospects. I'm big on Sorokin and think he's the best of the 3 ATM.