2015 NHL Draft Thread Full of Hope and Optimism

[detredWINgs]

All American prospect's game tonight, a lot of high end players will be playing.

Roster:

http://www.allamericanprospectsgame.com/page/show/1397570-full-2014-roster

Anyone know if there's going to be a feed for this?

Also, I'm going to assume that Ryan Larkin is related to Dylan Larkin. Stats say Ryan was born in Clarkson, which is next door to Waterford, where Dylan is from.

 

[Brandel*]

Bobby Mckenzie

http://www.tsn.ca/teen-titans-mcdavid-eichel-top-mckenzie-s-draft-ranking-1.83478

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Bobby Mckenzie

http://www.tsn.ca/teen-titans-mcdavid-eichel-top-mckenzie-s-draft-ranking-1.83478

Sprong, Connor, White, Svechnikov all outside of the top 15. If the Wings finish where we expect them to (15-18th overall), they're probably going to land an awesome player. That's just how this draft is. Crazy depth.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

http://www.isshockey.com/iss-top-30-released-october-2/

Wowww. These rankings definitely spell out how much talent is going to be available after 15th. Being able to pick between Connor, Sprong, and J. Roy at 15/16 would be amazing.

 

[joe89]

Been a fan of Svechnikov since I saw him at the U17 Worlds, seems like he's gotten quite a bit bigger since aswell. However I haven't followed his progress.

 

[Ennui]

Been a fan of Svechnikov since I saw him at the U17 Worlds, seems like he's gotten quite a bit bigger since aswell. However I haven't followed his progress.

Considering that Svechnikov has been mocked/rated by most scouting agencies and analysts to be outside of the top 15, and considering that he will likely be the most "elite" player to fall considerably (Russian factor and all), he would be an ideal candidate for the Wings' first rounder in 2015. The Wings' scouting staff was very high on Nichushkin, only to have him snatched up by Dallas first; here's an opportunity for them to have their big, skilled, game-breaking Russian. Babcock would probably be very high on him, considering his size and willingness to play the body

He has been on a serious hot streak since starting with Cape Breton, and he is clearly on another level than the vast majority of his peers. 5 goals and 9 assists in 7 games is pretty damn good, and if he maintains that level of performance he will likely be taken far earlier in the draft than the Wings' draft position; nonetheless, he is earning his reputation as an elite draft prospect, and it isn't the Russian skill bias that is driving his hype train.

It seems that he has the potential to be an elite player in the vein of a "Kovalchuk" more than a "Datsyuk", not necessarily as good as or better than either player, but with everything he has shown he could be that kind of player if he gave it his all; he would certainly greatly complement a player like Mantha. Given that Datsyuk doesn't have many years left in the tank, I would love it if the Wings drafted another "Magician", and he could very well fit the bill.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I know that there is a ton of hockey to be played between now and draft day, but there is just so much to like in the first round of this class.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Slightly OT, but it's crazy how much talent Michigan is putting out lately, both native born and otherwise. After all, almost every decent USA prospect plays NTDP in Ann Arbor (but many also play for teams like Honeybaked or Compuware before that), and those kids end up spending 3-4 years in town. I remember a few years ago, MN HS hockey was still a huge deal, and you'd get great kids playing at that level. These days, you don't see much of that. Those kids play NTDP now. So maybe in our own little way, we're starting to catch up to Minnesota.

Just in this coming draft, we've got Connor and Werenski, who are impressive talents and should be top 20 picks. I'm sure I'm ignoring a lot of talented kids who aren't quite on the radar yet, too. Next year, even though we aren't going to get credit, we have Jakob Chychrun and Sean Day, who both lived and played for years in metro Detroit and call it home (even if they don't call themselves American). Max Jones is usually put into that top group, too, so there's some real high end talent there. Those are potential top 10 picks.

Anyway. Just wanted to point out that it seems like Michigan is starting to become a great developmental environment. It's cool to see.

 

[detredWINgs]

Right now, the Wings would be picking somewhere around 22nd.

In terms of centers, Kyle Connor is coming along decently with 15 points in 9 games in the USHL. He's from Shelby Township. Jansen Harkins is climbing the charts as well. Leads his team (WHL) in scoring with 20 in 17. The other guy center that should be available in the early 20s in Mikko Rantanen. I don't know much about him, but he's putting up decent numbers in the SM Liiga. Maybe Teravainen would be a comparable? Merkley is another guy that might be available where we're picking. He's putting up a ton of points this year.

As for D, In the few Michigan showings I've seen, Werenski has been a stud. He's also a Michigan boy playing for Grosse Pointe.


But man, whoever gets McDavid.... I just hope it isn't Arizona. It would be a waste, IMO. Even when Arizona/Phoenix is a middle of the road team or better, their "fanbase" doesn't seem to care. Sure, McDavid would boost sales and publicity, but I don't think they'd appreciate him enough. Or keep coming back just to see McDavid even if the Yotes are still losing. Same thing with Carolina, to a lesser extent. Rooting for Buffalo to land him. Or even Winnipeg.

 

[RedHawkDown]

My wishlist:
1. somehow trade with another team for their 1st round pick (e.g. tatar+smith+ouellet+1st for byfuglien+1st), have that team finish in the bottom 14, win the lottery, draft mcdavid, watch HF explode and bask in the glory of the stanley cups to come
2. Kyle Connor
3. Zach Werenski, would have him ahead of Kyle but we need centers more than dmen
4. Nick Merkley
5. Daniel Sprong
6. Mikko Rantanen
7. Jordan Greenway

lots of great talent to choose from in this one

 

[InjuredChoker]

rantanen style comp is more of a north-south joe thornton.

 

[Brandel*]

i want jeremy roy so badly

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

i want jeremy roy so badly

Kid is fantastic. We'd have to really suck to land him, though. He's going top 10.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

McDavid is straight killing it. This is the year to tank.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

McDavid is straight killing it. This is the year to tank.

Unfortunately Detroit could never tank that bad to get McDavid.

 

[Ennui]

Unfortunately Detroit could never tank that bad to get McDavid.

All it takes is 17th place, right? Although the chances of that happening are very, very low.

Wouldn't mind if the Wings landed any of Sprong, Svechnikov or Strome, though. I would be willing to bet that the worthwhile 1st round talent D prospects ( Hannifin, Kylington, Roy) will be hot commodities, gone by the point at which the Wings draft.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

All it takes is 17th place, right? Although the chances of that happening are very, very low.

Wouldn't mind if the Wings landed any of Sprong, Svechnikov or Strome, though. I would be willing to bet that the worthwhile 1st round talent D prospects ( Hannifin, Kylington, Roy) will be hot commodities, gone by the point at which the Wings draft.

Unfortunately, Strome will be long gone. He's easily a top 10 guy. Svechnikov, who knows. Big talent, but Russian kids fall. Sprong is underwhelming so far, though. Besides, what do we need all these wingers for? We could land a great defenseman. We could even take another kick at the Kindl can in Jakub Zboril. I've heard good things about Matt Spencer, too. RH, super physical.

And then there's hometown boy Zach Werenski, who is kind of the Jack Johnson type manchild. Playing NCAA hockey at 17 and contributing offensively.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

I've heard good things about Matt Spencer, too. RH, super physical.

And then there's hometown boy Zach Werenski, who is kind of the Jack Johnson type manchild. Playing NCAA hockey at 17 and contributing offensively.

Werenski and Roy top my list for Detroit. Spencer is also up there, with Provorov.

Some centers I like are Merkley, Harskins and Musil.

Either way, I only want a center or a dman in round 1, after that have at it.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

It's official: ISS is on crack. J. Roy at 27 in their most recent ranking. We would be making out like ridiculous bandits if we got J. Roy any time after 15.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articl...vid-remains-top-prospect-iss-hockey-rankings/

 

[AD1066]

It's official: ISS is on crack. J. Roy at 27 in their most recent ranking. We would be making out like ridiculous bandits if we got J. Roy any time after 15.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articl...vid-remains-top-prospect-iss-hockey-rankings/

"This isn’t to say that McDavid’s main challenger for first overall hasn’t played well as Eichel has been as good as advertised to start the 2014-15 season."

This sentence hurts my head.

Sounds like Svechnikov could be a steal, wish the Wings were more open to drafting Russian talent in the 1st. Look at guys like Tarasenko and Kuznetsov.

 

[Brandel*]

It's official: ISS is on crack. J. Roy at 27 in their most recent ranking. We would be making out like ridiculous bandits if we got J. Roy any time after 15.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articl...vid-remains-top-prospect-iss-hockey-rankings/

Nicholas roy before jeremy roy

 

[InjuredChoker]

Craig's List - November Ranking

 

[Vatican Roulette]

Bump, kinda.

Anyone got any speculation(yours or other's, i.e. "source") on who the Wings are targeting?

Joel Eriksson Ek
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=139633

Erik Cernak
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=166368

Fredrik Forsberg
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=99859

Jansen Harkins
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=160158

Jesse Gabrielle
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=199921

Noah Juulsen
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=199905

Nick Boka
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=206621

Dante Salituro
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=169595

Just some names to toss out, other than the top guys, that I would like to see the Wings target.

Obviously, I'd like some more draft picks.


Any other players you guys like?

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I've really been looking at defensemen. Matt Spencer, Jeremy Roy, Ivan Provorov, Jakub Zboril (although we have bad luck with Czech guys named Jakub who play in the CHL). Forward-wise, I still like Colin White a lot. I think he could be a Bergeron type player. There's a tiny chance that Matt Barzal could fall, too, which would be amazing.

Of course, it all depends on where this team finishes. I'm thinking they'll pick in the 20-22 range, and they're probably not going to get some of those guys at that position. But you never know.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Talk about schizophrenia. He's Jeremy Roy's ranking list on eliteprospects:

Ranked #11 by Hockeyprospect.com
Ranked #27 by ISS Hockey
Ranked #17 by Future Considerations
Ranked #17 by McKeen's Hockey