GDT: 2015 NHL Draft Day Thread

[Frk It]

The blurbs left me uninspired, I guess. We'll know more about these guys in a year, I'm sure. Plus, anything can happen. Developing is equally as important as drafting, after all.

Yeah, I mean based on blurbs Larkin is only a bigger Helm, so doesn't always tell the story. And Bertuzzi was ranked way worse by central scouting than what he thought he was worth.

So we have a pretty good track record of looking at these guys on a deeper level and seeing stuff others miss. Or things that aren't obvious.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Here is my take on the Wings draft.

Actual Picks:
#19 - LW EVGENY SVECHNIKOV - Not a bad pick as I first saw this kid three seasons ago at the U17's in Quebec and saw him carry defenders to the net as he scored seven times in six games.

#73 - D VILI SAARIJARVI - Looked impressive offensively at the U18's in Switzerland this past April but during his season in Green Bay he did not look too good. Size is an issue 5-9/170.

#110 - G JOREN VAN POTTELBERGHE - This is a kid I liked every time I saw him both in the Swedish U18 league and also at the U18 in April representing the Swiss. Love how he keeps himself in solid position and moves in the crease.

#140 - C CHASE PEARSON - "High Upside" is what I hear coming out of the Wings scouts but I did not see it in the USHL views I had. Screams 4th liner at best if the kid makes it that far.

#170 - D PATRICK HOLWAY - No info on as I have not scouted him.

#200 - LW ADAM MARSH - Lacking in drive and work ethic. Has some gritty goal scoring ability at the junior level but not a guy who will score at the NHL level IMO. Has no bottom six potential either. Scorer or bust and I am leaning heavily towards bust.

What I find with this draft and the last couple to be honest is that the Wings scouts seem to be getting away from those Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Nyquist/Tatar/Pulkkinen/etc type prospects who have loads of skill and heart but lack the size when drafted. Those are the guys that have brought the Wings so much success. Now they seem to think size is on par with skill.

My Picks:
#19 - LW TRAVIS KONECNY - Skates very well, shoots the puck hard, plays with an edge, has very strong leadership qualities. I think will be a future star. Has limited size at 5-10/170. Picked at #24 by Philadelphia.

#73 - C DENIS MALGIN - A flashy pivot who handles the puck like a wizard and makes creative passes. Picked at #102 by Florida.

#110 - LW KIRILL KAPRIZOV - An offensively creative playmaker who will also go to the net and tough areas to score. Possesses strong drive and determination. Was impressive as a 17 year old in the KHL. Picked by Minnesota at #135.

#140 - D VEETI VAINIO - A slick puck mover who has a great shot from the point. Needs work in his own zone. Was picked by Columbus at # 141.

#170 - RW NIKITA KOROSTELEV - A goal scorer who has top six upside. Was picked by Toronto at #185.

#200 - G VEINI VEHVILAINEN - Was the kid who almost won the U18's for Finland this past April. Surprisingly was not picked.

your pick list would've been fairly similar to mine. i really wanted some of those skilled small players and some weren't even drafted (korostelev, malgin, garland, schweri, kase, salituro etc)

 

[Lampedampe]

Can someone fill me in on Patrick hollway? I like his size and his stats seems quite good as far as i can tell. What's his potential?

 

[Redwingsfan]

Not happy at all with this draft. I liked the Svechnikov pick, and I'm warming up to the Saarijarvi pick, although I wanted someone else. rounds 4-7 look terrible at first glance and I would change every pick if I could.


19: Yevgeni Svechnikov
73: Jesper Lindgren
110: Veini Vehvilainen (I know he could have been had at #200, but I wouldn't know that at #110.)
140: Ryan Pilon
170: Nikita Korostelev
200: Gustav Bouramman

 

[Dotter]

Not happy at all with this draft. I liked the Svechnikov pick, and I'm warming up to the Saarijarvi pick, although I wanted someone else. rounds 4-7 look terrible at first glance and I would change every pick if I could.


19: Yevgeni Svechnikov
73: Jesper Lindgren
110: Veini Vehvilainen (I know he could have been had at #200, but I wouldn't know that at #110.)
140: Ryan Pilon
170: Nikita Korostelev
200: Gustav Bouramman

Are you changing the Wings draft to the above because the media hyped those kids and told you they have better potential, or do you have first hand knowledge of important aspects of all prospects in question?

 

[Redwingsfan]

Are you changing the Wings draft to the above because the media hyped those kids and told you they have better potential, or do you have first hand knowledge of important aspects of all prospects in question?

I'm not a scout, but I've seen enough games, video and read enough about this draft to know who I wanted. I've followed this draft since last years draft, like I do every year. The guys I listed may or may not turn into anything at the NHL level, but I like their chances a lot more than the guys we picked. Time will tell, like always, but I'm not overly optimistic about anyone we drafted after the 3rd round.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

I feel like its tougher to find late round steals from NA than Europe. That's what makes me a little disappointed with the later rounds of this draft. Hopefully I'm wrong though.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

I guess that has more to do with having Hakan than anything else.

 

[Ennui]

I may be butchering the statistic, but isn't the average drafting success rate something like one successful pick per draft? If so, we may still be ahead of the average, as everything I've heard and seen of Svechnikov leads me to believe he will be an NHL player, and Saarijarvi seems like he could have the making of a Vatanen or a Krug. If those two players are the only to make it to the NHL out of our entire draft selection, you should still be feeling good about your amateur scouting staff.

Also, Hakan said something to the effect that he was really high on Van Pottelberghe, so there's reason to be hopeful there as well.

 

[Run the Jewels]

I may be butchering the statistic, but isn't the average drafting success rate something like one successful pick per draft? If so, we may still be ahead of the average, as everything I've heard and seen of Svechnikov leads me to believe he will be an NHL player, and Saarijarvi seems like he could have the making of a Vatanen or a Krug. If those two players are the only to make it to the NHL out of our entire draft selection, you should still be feeling good about your amateur scouting staff.

Also, Hakan said something to the effect that he was really high on Van Pottelberghe, so there's reason to be hopeful there as well.

Regarding the first comment that's something Ken Holland has always aspired towards. He said if you get one NHL player in a draft you are doing well. We've done well in that regard, the bigger issue is most of our NHL'ers end up being Joakim Andersson, Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Ericsson and Brendan Smith level NHL'ers. We need more elite talent and we have a chance at Larkin and Svechnikov being highly skilled/talented NHL'ers.

I think one of the main things the Wings are looking for is guys who are "everydayers". When you read the comments about Van Potteberghe his coach said he gives his all every single practice. There's certainly some benefit to selecting those guys. The incremental improvement you make day after day can be the difference between being a replacement level NHL player or never making it beyond the AHL.

 

[InjuredChoker]

I may be butchering the statistic, but isn't the average drafting success rate something like one successful pick per draft? If so, we may still be ahead of the average, as everything I've heard and seen of Svechnikov leads me to believe he will be an NHL player, and Saarijarvi seems like he could have the making of a Vatanen or a Krug. If those two players are the only to make it to the NHL out of our entire draft selection, you should still be feeling good about your amateur scouting staff.

Also, Hakan said something to the effect that he was really high on Van Pottelberghe, so there's reason to be hopeful there as well.

i think it's 1.9, so basically 2 players.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Can someone fill me in on Patrick hollway? I like his size and his stats seems quite good as far as i can tell. What's his potential?

No one really knows his potential at this point. He has a lot of things the Red Wings value:

• Size
• RH
• Offensive D-man
• Going to college which lengthens his development window

We've had very poor luck developing d-men going all the way back to Kronwall. It will probably 3+ years until Hollway turns pro if that day ever comes. He could be a Danny DeKeyser like d-man who is mobile and can play on all three units. OR he could be Mike McKee and get switched from defense to forward given how raw he is in order to take advantage of his size and athleticism. The Wings are stocking up on big projects on defense including James DeHaas and the more swings you have at the plate the better your chances of eventually making solid contact.

 

[mindfly]

Our drafts since Nill and the other scouts left have been very disappointing, Larkin and Svechnikov were no-brainers and anyone could have picked them, the rest of the picks have been very questionable.

 

[mindfly]

On a sidenote:
Which recent picks were "failures" (that is has not been offered a contract/looks like they won't get a contract and therefore are wasted picks)

Quine, Hudon, Bodin, Wheaton, Mcnulty, Melén?

Kadeykin... stays in russia forever?

 

[Tatar]

Our drafts since Nill and the other scouts left have been very disappointing, Larkin and Svechnikov were no-brainers and anyone could have picked them, the rest of the picks have been very questionable.

What has Nil done for Dallas in the draft since he left? Other then take Nichuskin?

 

[Tatar]

I'm not a scout, but I've seen enough games, video and read enough about this draft to know who I wanted. I've followed this draft since last years draft, like I do every year. The guys I listed may or may not turn into anything at the NHL level, but I like their chances a lot more than the guys we picked. Time will tell, like always, but I'm not overly optimistic about anyone we drafted after the 3rd round.

I wasn't too impressed with the draft, but I did like the Wings going bold with some of the picks.

 

[Frk It]

Our drafts since Nill and the other scouts left have been very disappointing, Larkin and Svechnikov were no-brainers and anyone could have picked them, the rest of the picks have been very questionable.

Weren't you a huge Mantha fanboy? Did you give up on him already?

Mantha, Larkin, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi have been good picks these last 2 drafts.

 

[Bench]

Our drafts since Nill and the other scouts left have been very disappointing, Larkin and Svechnikov were no-brainers and anyone could have picked them, the rest of the picks have been very questionable.

Not even close to true. At both drafts, there were a handful of guys the Wings easily could have taken instead and nobody would have batted an eye. I guess you didn't pay attention to all the talk last year about Larkin that he didn't have any top 6 upside. Teams passed on Larkin for players that look inferior. If it was a "no brainer" he wouldn't have been on the board. Same goes for Svechnikov.

 

[WesNichols14]

Yeah I remember being really upset we passed on Fabbri..... I wasn't against the Larkin pick because he's a local boy with speed, but I was definitely thinking Fabbri was the better pick :/ (and my dreams of becoming a scout died after the season when I was way wrong)

 

[Claypool]

Yeah I remember being really upset we passed on Fabbri..... I wasn't against the Larkin pick because he's a local boy with speed, but I was definitely thinking Fabbri was the better pick :/ (and my dreams of becoming a scout died after the season when I was way wrong)

Reading the Larkin draft thread is really fun. You start to notice a pattern with certain posters who complain and overreact with every roster move this team makes (or doesn't make). I'm not even sure why they continue to post here.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1697827

 

[newfy]

Just gonna remind some of the couch scouts on here complaining that a lot of people complained about Larkin not having enough offense to be picked that early. Bertuzzi being picked almost made this website go down lol.

The wings are a great drafting team, they know what theyre doing so in 3 years when we can actually start to gauge these guys complain and say how bad the draft is.

 

[Big Ed]

Reading the Larkin draft thread is really fun. You start to notice a pattern with certain posters who complain and overreact with every roster move this team makes (or doesn't make). I'm not even sure why they continue to post here.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1697827

Gotta love all the people calling him a bust minutes after being drafted.

 

[Frk It]

Just gonna remind some of the couch scouts on here complaining that a lot of people complained about Larkin not having enough offense to be picked that early. Bertuzzi being picked almost made this website go down lol.

The wings are a great drafting team, they know what theyre doing so in 3 years when we can actually start to gauge these guys complain and say how bad the draft is.

The Wings have certainly earned the benefit of the doubt from me. I did not like either of those picks and they have looked great so far.

These guys are so obscure (besides Svech), I'm just going to give them a year or 2 and wait and see.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

Reading the Larkin draft thread is really fun. You start to notice a pattern with certain posters who complain and overreact with every roster move this team makes (or doesn't make). I'm not even sure why they continue to post here.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1697827

phew thankgod it wasnt me clay..

then again, i really only complain about how holland does his job(or doesen't

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Here is my take on the Wings draft.

Actual Picks:
#19 - LW EVGENY SVECHNIKOV - Not a bad pick as I first saw this kid three seasons ago at the U17's in Quebec and saw him carry defenders to the net as he scored seven times in six games.

#73 - D VILI SAARIJARVI - Looked impressive offensively at the U18's in Switzerland this past April but during his season in Green Bay he did not look too good. Size is an issue 5-9/170.

#110 - G JOREN VAN POTTELBERGHE - This is a kid I liked every time I saw him both in the Swedish U18 league and also at the U18 in April representing the Swiss. Love how he keeps himself in solid position and moves in the crease.

#140 - C CHASE PEARSON - "High Upside" is what I hear coming out of the Wings scouts but I did not see it in the USHL views I had. Screams 4th liner at best if the kid makes it that far.

#170 - D PATRICK HOLWAY - No info on as I have not scouted him.

#200 - LW ADAM MARSH - Lacking in drive and work ethic. Has some gritty goal scoring ability at the junior level but not a guy who will score at the NHL level IMO. Has no bottom six potential either. Scorer or bust and I am leaning heavily towards bust.

What I find with this draft and the last couple to be honest is that the Wings scouts seem to be getting away from those Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Nyquist/Tatar/Pulkkinen/etc type prospects who have loads of skill and heart but lack the size when drafted. Those are the guys that have brought the Wings so much success. Now they seem to think size is on par with skill.

My Picks:
#19 - LW TRAVIS KONECNY - Skates very well, shoots the puck hard, plays with an edge, has very strong leadership qualities. I think will be a future star. Has limited size at 5-10/170. Picked at #24 by Philadelphia.

#73 - C DENIS MALGIN - A flashy pivot who handles the puck like a wizard and makes creative passes. Picked at #102 by Florida.

#110 - LW KIRILL KAPRIZOV - An offensively creative playmaker who will also go to the net and tough areas to score. Possesses strong drive and determination. Was impressive as a 17 year old in the KHL. Picked by Minnesota at #135.

#140 - D VEETI VAINIO - A slick puck mover who has a great shot from the point. Needs work in his own zone. Was picked by Columbus at # 141.

#170 - RW NIKITA KOROSTELEV - A goal scorer who has top six upside. Was picked by Toronto at #185.

#200 - G VEINI VEHVILAINEN - Was the kid who almost won the U18's for Finland this past April. Surprisingly was not picked.

I don't buy your assessment of Marsh for a second. He absolutely screams bottom-sixer at the professional level: above average skater, good acceleration, very physical, good shot. He may be a head case and getting out of his own way may present an issue going forward, but I don't buy for a second that he is top six or bust. I have zero objections to using a 7th on a player with his skill set.