2015 NHL Draft Prospect Discussion - Solidly in the top 10

[Drew311]

i really have a hard time seeing the leafs pass on strome if he is on the board. if we made a checklist of all of the assets we would want in a player and compared him with marner and some of the defenseman who also could easily be picks with where our 1st is slotted i think strome would get more checks.

other then skating is their any glaring fault to his game? position, size, iq, local boy, pedigree?

despite some people on here who seem a little off put by strome lately i think if he is on the board a tear will trickle down shannahans cheeck as he calls out his name.

I think a big characteristic Shanny will focus on in the drafts going forward is compete level. Now I haven't watched Strome/Marner as much as most posters here, but to me it sounds like Marner has Strome beat by a long shot in this category.

My two cents on the size vs. skill discussion....I think something will have to give eventually if the Leafs draft Marner. Average to undersized fowards in the organization with impact potential would include Marner, Nylander, Brown, Leipsic and Johnson. At that point you almost have to even out the prospect pool and intentionally focus on drafting some power forward types in the early rounds. The majority of successful teams today have the perfect mix of size and skill, which becomes important in a long grinding playoffs series against teams like LA, STL, ANA, WASH, PITT, etc.

 

[Faltorvo]

What financial woes do you think Buffalo has?

yup you are correct, he would have been better off omitting buff but adding FLO and NJ

mcjeesus is not coming to Canada and buff dropping to eichle is just fine, edm gets the D they need in Hanif.


ariz,NJ,Caro,
between those 3, in my gut is a 100% lock, 1 ends up with mcfranchise saver.

 

[gabeliscious]

I think a big characteristic Shanny will focus on in the drafts going forward is compete level. Now I haven't watched Strome/Marner as much as most posters here, but to me it sounds like Marner has Strome beat by a long shot in this category.

My two cents on the size vs. skill discussion....I think something will have to give eventually if the Leafs draft Marner. Average to undersized fowards in the organization with impact potential would include Marner, Nylander, Brown, Leipsic and Johnson. At that point you almost have to even out the prospect pool and intentionally focus on drafting some power forward types in the early rounds. The majority of successful teams today have the perfect mix of size and skill, which becomes important in a long grinding playoffs series against teams like LA, STL, ANA, WASH, PITT, etc.

is stromes compete level really an issue? if the skating thing is blown out of proportion then i would think it is equally true for the compete level. marner isnt that small, i think he is listed at ~5'11ish. so im not against drafting him based on his size, i just think that given where the leafs are in relation to what we have in the cupboard we would be better off drafting a krejci or getzlaf lite type center over a patty kane right now.

i think most would agree that in a vacuum the center>winger. even though the % of marner being a better nhl player then strome is there, sometimes you need to take a chance. if strome hits, it will be what we have been waiting for since sundin retired.

 

[realgoodleafs]

Neither player has played a single game in the NHL, yet they can replace Kessel? Ignorance at its finest.

Neither of them should even be playing in the NHL next year but eventually they could replace what he brings to the team.

 

[Face Of Bear]

I dont like when I hear a prospect being described as having par to subpar skating and a compete level with room for questioning. Throw in that he get's to play with McDavid on his team, and then you get, imo, a player with some pretty big questionmarks on how he projects in the NHL.

 

[91Stammer*]

Harkins, Meloche, Roy gets my vote for our NSH's pick.

 

[Pi]

I like Jeremy Roy for our 2nd pick too. He's got all the tools to be a great defenseman. I'd much rather pick a C or D with that pick.

 

[ErnieLeafs]

I dont like when I hear a prospect being described as having par to subpar skating and a compete level with room for questioning. Throw in that he get's to play with McDavid on his team, and then you get, imo, a player with some pretty big questionmarks on how he projects in the NHL.

It's a good thing that compete level isn't measured by what the kid's stride looks like, to someone wholly unqualified to project his talent and growth over the coming years than, right?

The nonsense about Strome not being a competitor is getting out of hand.

 

[Ace88*]

It's a good thing that compete level isn't measured by what the kid's stride looks like, to someone wholly unqualified to project his talent and growth over the coming years than, right?

The nonsense about Strome not being a competitor is getting out of hand.

While i agree with you on Strome, you just know he's going to be savagely picked apart over it if we draft him. I'm almost hoping for his sake we don't draft him.

 

[SprDaVE]

While i agree with you on Strome, you just know he's going to be savagely picked apart over it if we draft him. I'm almost hoping for his sake we don't draft him.

Anyone we pick outside of McDavid is going to be savagely picked apart. It's all ready started with Nylander. It's all ready there for Rielly.

Heck even Eichel and Hanifin would be picked apart, probably because of the league they play in.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Colin White with the Preds 1st would be a great pickup.

Guy was touted as a top 10 pick for a while, and has all the tools to be a great 2nd line C... bergeron/Kesler-lite

 

[ErnieLeafs]

While i agree with you on Strome, you just know he's going to be savagely picked apart over it if we draft him. I'm almost hoping for his sake we don't draft him.

It's not necessarily his being picked apart that I'm arguing, as I agree with you there.

It's the fact that people make wild assumptions based on something completely unrelated. His skating needs work, sure, but that has nothing to do with how the kid competes. He doesn't put up the points he has without competing. He isn't a top 4/5 pick without competing.

Was Joe Thornton not a competitor, because he wasn't the best skater? Sundin? Tavares? Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but that doesn't mean their opinion is correct. I recall being heavily on the wagon of two youngsters from the Remparts, both of whom were outright slandered for having "character issues". One of them looks like a beast, and is going to be a very good player in the league for a long time, and the other is having a fine season, being a solid leader for his junior club, and appears to really project well into the system he was drafted in.

The point is, most opinions are unqualified.

 

[Green Snow Storm]

Colin White with the Preds 1st would be a great pickup.

Guy was touted as a top 10 pick for a while, and has all the tools to be a great 2nd line C... bergeron/Kesler-lite

Yeah mono has kept him from living up to expectations this year, but he still has pretty good numbers. I know many scouts feel he's a better prospect than Larkin, and I love Larkin.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Yeah mono has kept him from living up to expectations this year, but he still has pretty good numbers. I know many scouts feel he's a better prospect than Larkin, and I love Larkin.

Yup exactly. I think he would be a steal.

1 of Strome/Marner + White and we would be set down the middle potentially... A top line C + 2nd line C

 

[sniper81]

It's a good thing that compete level isn't measured by what the kid's stride looks like, to someone wholly unqualified to project his talent and growth over the coming years than, right?

The nonsense about Strome not being a competitor is getting out of hand.

I agree, he competes very hard, so does Marner.

 

[Ace88*]

It's not necessarily his being picked apart that I'm arguing, as I agree with you there.

It's the fact that people make wild assumptions based on something completely unrelated. His skating needs work, sure, but that has nothing to do with how the kid competes. He doesn't put up the points he has without competing. He isn't a top 4/5 pick without competing.

Was Joe Thornton not a competitor, because he wasn't the best skater? Sundin? Tavares? Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but that doesn't mean their opinion is correct. I recall being heavily on the wagon of two youngsters from the Remparts, both of whom were outright slandered for having "character issues". One of them looks like a beast, and is going to be a very good player in the league for a long time, and the other is having a fine season, being a solid leader for his junior club, and appears to really project well into the system he was drafted in.

The point is, most opinions are unqualified.

No doubt. People on this site play broken telephone all the time and as a result you see a whole bunch of people regurgitating false information on prospects they have seen little or none of. How many people in the last 5 pages of this board's prospect threads have mentioned Strome's skating or compete? Like because he doesn't go tearing around the rink aimlessly every shift and instead anticipates the play and guides it with his intelligence it means he can't be an impact NHLer? It's ridiculous. And it happens in this thread every year.

The start of the year this is my favourite place to be because guys actually in the know come together to make predictions and talk prospects. Then around this time it gets flooded with people who either dont know what they're talking about or don't even watch junior hockey trying to make opinions on players they have seen little to none of. It's too bad, it really is. Lawson Crouse is the perfect example from the previous iteration of this thread, there was probably 20 pages worth of discussion on him. I mean there are people who rag on Gauthier who STILL haven't seen him play more than 2 or 3 times ffs (but that's a different discussion)

 

[carko32]

No doubt. People on this site play broken telephone all the time and as a result you see a whole bunch of people regurgitating false information on prospects they have seen little or none of. How many people in the last 5 pages of this board's prospect threads have mentioned Strome's skating or compete? Like because he doesn't go tearing around the rink aimlessly every shift and instead anticipates the play and guides it with his intelligence it means he can't be an impact NHLer? It's ridiculous. And it happens in this thread every year.

The start of the year this is my favourite place to be because guys actually in the know come together to make predictions and talk prospects. Then around this time it gets flooded with people who either dont know what they're talking about or don't even watch junior hockey trying to make opinions on players they have seen little to none of. It's too bad, it really is. Lawson Crouse is the perfect example from the previous iteration of this thread, there was probably 20 pages worth of discussion on him. I mean there are people who rag on Gauthier who STILL haven't seen him play more than 2 or 3 times ffs (but that's a different discussion)

Bolded reminds me of Kopitar. I'd love to have Kopitar on my team

 

[gabeliscious]

i for one am prepared to take my chances with stromes "compete level problems" and sub par skating. if he works out then we are good to go with a top line center.

 

[Menzinger]

I think im about to jump on the Strome bandwagon. Wouldn't take over Hanifin though

 

[sniper81]

i for one am prepared to take my chances with stromes "compete level problems" and sub par skating. if he works out then we are good to go with a top line center.

Honestly his skating really isn't bad at all, his feet are just a bit heavy but it has steadily improved this year. His compete level isn't an issue at all, he competes very hard for loose pucks and finishes his checks.

 

[SeenSchenn2]

McDavid, Strome, and Marner are all Leaf fans. Would be nice to get any of them.

 

[Warden of the North]

While i agree with you on Strome, you just know he's going to be savagely picked apart over it if we draft him. I'm almost hoping for his sake we don't draft him.

If we pick Marner over Strome you know it will be "undersized forward while their was a prototypical big 1st line C just waiting for us". This town will pick apart whichever kid we pick. It will be like picking Nylander over Ritchie last year, but worse.

 

[Ace88*]

If we pick Marner over Strome you know it will be "undersized forward while their was a prototypical big 1st line C just waiting for us". This town will pick apart whichever kid we pick.

True, but at least the masses will be initially pacified by his buzzsaw play style

 

[BigWilly]

I agree with you on Strome. I recently watched a few of his "good games" on HS and wasn't that impressed. On the positive side, he has great offensive instincts, vision, patience, and passing ability. But he's also slow transitional skater and a slow skater period. He has to make these slow wide circle turns to change directions, like a cruise liner trying to change course. He also is not the most engaged player I've ever seen. He's not the type of guy who's going to go in and make things happen, he's more opportunistic cerebral guy, waiting for soft spots to open up (which can be a good thing or a bad thing). I don't see him being a dynamic or explosive offensive player. That's just not his game. Defensively, I would have liked to see him compete more and show more jam. I guess part of it is skating and strength (which he also needs to improve on). There are times when there's a 50/50 puck right there up for grabs, and he just can't get it, either from lack of speed, or desire, or both. Having said that, he's the kind of guy who could get a lot better with just a little bit of work (and by all accounts he's a high character kid with a good work ethic). If he can improve his skating to the extent that Connor Brown did, and add strength without losing agility, you can't teach 6'3 or vision, and he's a no doubt centre with his faceoff abilities.

This post (from the last thread) sums up Strome perfectly. In my opinion, he's a guy you're happy to take from 6-10, but not in the top 5.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Just watched all the footage i could find on dylan strome and he didn't impress me much. His stats and his height are good but he's skinny and slow. If we can't get into the top 2 i think we might be best of taking a defenceman, hanifin and werenski look really good.