2015 NHL Draft Thread, Part II

[SoupNazi]

Empirical observation and information gathering from afar

So you don't have a source?

 

[Tatar Shots]

Empirical observation and information gathering from afar

May I please ask how you empirically observed that Kylington does not want to go to the AHL?

 

[HisNoodliness]

Kylington is awful, if you want another Mattias Bäckman (both playing style and don't want to play in AHL) then go ahead I guess

Woah, pretty brave assessment, I know he had a bad season this year, but you don't think he has the potential to be a strong offensive defenseman? What is it that makes you feel so sure? From what I've seen of him (I'm in NA so nothing in person, only videos. You being in Sweden are probably more familiar with him) he's a very good skater with decent vision that can pass well and release a pretty nice shot. He definitely seems to lack poise in the defensive zone and has lapses and miscues more than anyone would like, but I think he's a boom/bust home run pick that could be an incredible D in the NHL if he can minimize those and reach his offensive potential.

 

[Tatar]

I wonder what impact Jeff Blashill will have on future draft picks. Babcock was pretty vocal about drafting tall, two way players. It'll be interesting to see what impact Blashill has on this draft, and what kind of players we'll be taking

 

[Tatar Shots]

I wonder what impact Jeff Blashill will have on future draft picks. Babcock was pretty vocal about drafting tall, two way players. It'll be interesting to see what impact Blashill has on this draft, and what kind of players we'll be taking

I'm not sure how much input Blashill will actually have. Babcock eventually earned some input on the draft I believe, but I don't think Blashill will have input given to him immediately.

 

[Frk It]

I wonder what impact Jeff Blashill will have on future draft picks. Babcock was pretty vocal about drafting tall, two way players. It'll be interesting to see what impact Blashill has on this draft, and what kind of players we'll be taking

Could see there being an emphasis on drafting speedy players, maybe?

 

[Tatar]

Could see there being an emphasis on drafting speedy players, maybe?

I'm hoping for that, and the return of drafting smaller, skilled players. I don't mind tall players, but look at Goose, Tats and Pullu. All undersized players who are turning out to be stars. Fun fact, the last time we drafted someone less then six feet tall was Alan Quine in 2011.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Chiarelli mentioned on the radio that the Oil would be open to trading their #16 overall pick. Too bad we don't have anything they want, this would be the perfect time to part with someone and then draft two high end d-men in the top 20 and hope at least one turns into a decent NHL'er not the string of replacement level guys we have throughout the pipeline. It'd be a great way to get the rebuild started.

 

[Tatar]

Chiarelli mentioned on the radio that the Oil would be open to trading their #16 overall pick. Too bad we don't have anything they want, this would be the perfect time to part with someone and then draft two high end d-men in the top 20 and hope at least one turns into a decent NHL'er not the string of replacement level guys we have throughout the pipeline. It'd be a great way to get the rebuild started.

We have Howard

 

[HisNoodliness]

We have Howard

I know that was sarcasm, but let's suppose for just one second that we could put together a deal along the lines of Howard+Jensen+a 3rd+Ercisson or something (I have no idea on value maybe throw in our first next year and take out big E or something IDK, but EDM would get a starting goalie, a 7th D (with some potential for more) and a steady 2nd pairing D to solidify their D-core as the trade is now) for 16th overall then we sign an Ericsson replacement in the offseason (perhaps a long-term solution or just a vet to play stop-gap) and draft Chabot and Kylington (the two that won the KOTR mock vote so I'll assume they're our targets). If Kylington and Chabot both hit their potential our D could be:
Kylington-DK
Chabot-XO
Unpredictable D-Marchey
It would be pretty good. Lots of ifs (particularly with Kylington and Chabot hitting their potential and getting a trade done which knowing Holland would never happen) and whatnot, but I like the look of things. The unpredictable D would just be someone we drafted, a free agent signing or Smith if he never leaves. Certainly our team would probably suffer in the short term and we'd have to find Dats and Z replacements by the time this D was playing but it could be a contender someday. The other problem is the dreaded 4-5 lefty thing, but that's ok. Thoughts?

 

[drw02]

Really hoping for Jeremy Roy or Noah Juulsen...not a big fan of Chabot, upside isn't high enough imo. Kylington almost seems like the Swedish version of Sproul, not sure we need that atm.

 

[Run the Jewels]

I know that was sarcasm, but let's suppose for just one second that we could put together a deal...

It would be pretty good. Lots of ifs (particularly with Kylington and Chabot hitting their potential and getting a trade done which knowing Holland would never happen) and whatnot, but I like the look of things. The unpredictable D would just be someone we drafted, a free agent signing or Smith if he never leaves. Certainly our team would probably suffer in the short term and we'd have to find Dats and Z replacements by the time this D was playing but it could be a contender someday. The other problem is the dreaded 4-5 lefty thing, but that's ok. Thoughts?

Edmonton wants guys who are ready to play right now so we'd need to offer volume since we don't have anyone who could be a 1-for-1 trade to acquire the #16 pick. So I think you may be able to at least get them to think long and hard if you offer up Howard - assuming he waives his NTC - Ericsson and top d-man prospect (Ouellet, Marchenko, Sproul, etc). Holland would likely have to eat a chunk of Howard's salary as well.

That helps Edmonton address their defense and goaltending immediately. They also get a d-man prospect who can probably play right away and likely tops out as a bottom 3 d-man.

For Detroit the problem is Bob MacKenzie doesn't rate any d-men in the range where we would pick at 16 and 19. At 16 you have Colin White who is a right handed guy but is yet another guy in the mold of Sheahan and Larkin, ie middle 6 centers. At 19 you may be able to draft Denis Gurianov (Bobby Mac has him at 21) and he'd be a top line scoring forward.

Those would both be very solid picks if you go BPA. However you completely fan on drafting any of the guys who are getting some hype (Kylington, Chabot, Roy, Juulsen).

I have been one of those guys who has the draft as many d-men as you can mindset, but I do like the idea of drafting White and Gurianov with those first round picks. We need to hit on our high draft picks, not fan like we typically do with the first rounders, or continue to trade down and pick up a bunch of guys with long odds of becoming great players.

So I think I would at least see what Edmonton wants for that #16 and see if you can swing a deal. Our defense is crap and that ain't gonna change anytime soon drafting guys who are likely to fall to the second round.

Instead I think I like the idea of building up our depth at center with White, Larkin, Athanasiou and Sheahan and then adding in Gurianov to Mantha as guys who could both be elite goal scorers.

Like I've said a million times, I expect to miss the playoffs over the next couple years and perhaps at that point we can draft a can't miss d-man or two. I'm sick of constantly trading back for volume. It's time to start drafting guys who can contribute within 1-2 years, not guys who will need to spend 3+ years in the minors to become replacement level players.

 

[wingsfan33]

Trade back and draft meloche and dermott

 

[HisNoodliness]

Edmonton wants guys who are ready to play right now so we'd need to offer volume since we don't have anyone who could be a 1-for-1 trade to acquire the #16 pick. So I think you may be able to at least get them to think long and hard if you offer up Howard - assuming he waives his NTC - Ericsson and top d-man prospect (Ouellet, Marchenko, Sproul, etc). Holland would likely have to eat a chunk of Howard's salary as well.

That helps Edmonton address their defense and goaltending immediately. They also get a d-man prospect who can probably play right away and likely tops out as a bottom 3 d-man.

For Detroit the problem is Bob MacKenzie doesn't rate any d-men in the range where we would pick at 16 and 19. At 16 you have Colin White who is a right handed guy but is yet another guy in the mold of Sheahan and Larkin, ie middle 6 centers. At 19 you may be able to draft Denis Gurianov (Bobby Mac has him at 21) and he'd be a top line scoring forward.

Those would both be very solid picks if you go BPA. However you completely fan on drafting any of the guys who are getting some hype (Kylington, Chabot, Roy, Juulsen).

I have been one of those guys who has the draft as many d-men as you can mindset, but I do like the idea of drafting White and Gurianov with those first round picks. We need to hit on our high draft picks, not fan like we typically do with the first rounders, or continue to trade down and pick up a bunch of guys with long odds of becoming great players.

So I think I would at least see what Edmonton wants for that #16 and see if you can swing a deal. Our defense is crap and that ain't gonna change anytime soon drafting guys who are likely to fall to the second round.

OK, I still think we need D. Perhaps instead of picking at the 16 and 19 we could use one of them and trade the other for like 20-25ish and a second and get two or three of the defenseman total (Kylington, Chabot, Roy, Juulsen, Zboril, or someone in the tier below). I wouldn't mind if we decided to draft White with one of them. I like the idea of another skilled forward, but I think it would have to be a center so I don't love the idea of Gurianov. Besides Larkin our C prospects aren't great, but we have lots of wingers both in the NHL and throughout the system (Mantha and AA being the best prospects). Our D is pretty weak both in the NHL and while we have some good AHL guys there isn't anything coming up so I think that should be the focus of this draft. Centers are of course always welcome. I would be pretty happy with Howard+Ericsson+Sproul, though I think Marchey and XO are more or less untouchable unless a D who can play now or very soon is coming back.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I'm sure nobody cares, but Eriksson-Ek had a really good showing on the VO2max at the combine today. That's considered to be one of the tests strongly correlated with athletic success. (Larkin was one of the best on VO2max in his year as well.)

https://link.nhl.com/centralscouting/public/;jsessionid=1e2ssez8454r61hm4h1bdbdvbx

Larkin actually had a 61.9. Eriksson-Ek's 68.8 would have been the best overall from that entire year!

 

[Tatar Shots]

I'm sure nobody cares, but Eriksson-Ek had a really good showing on the VO2max at the combine today. That's considered to be one of the tests strongly correlated with athletic success. (Larkin was one of the best on VO2max in his year as well.)

https://link.nhl.com/centralscouting/public/;jsessionid=1e2ssez8454r61hm4h1bdbdvbx

Larkin actually had a 61.9. Eriksson-Ek's 68.8 would have been the best overall from that entire year!

nice. I'd like to point out that that number was from Larkin's second attempt because some error occurred during his first.

 

[Frk It]

I'm sure nobody cares, but Eriksson-Ek had a really good showing on the VO2max at the combine today. That's considered to be one of the tests strongly correlated with athletic success. (Larkin was one of the best on VO2max in his year as well.)

https://link.nhl.com/centralscouting/public/;jsessionid=1e2ssez8454r61hm4h1bdbdvbx

Larkin actually had a 61.9. Eriksson-Ek's 68.8 would have been the best overall from that entire year!

What do you mean by "athletic success"? Isn't it basically just a test of endurance?

 

[Tatar Shots]

What do you mean by "athletic success"? Isn't it basically just a test of endurance?

Sort of, but it supposedly is able to test what your absolute attainable limit is. It measures how much oxygen one can use.

 

[Run the Jewels]

I'm sure nobody cares, but Eriksson-Ek had a really good showing on the VO2max at the combine today. That's considered to be one of the tests strongly correlated with athletic success. (Larkin was one of the best on VO2max in his year as well.)

https://link.nhl.com/centralscouting/public/;jsessionid=1e2ssez8454r61hm4h1bdbdvbx

Larkin actually had a 61.9. Eriksson-Ek's 68.8 would have been the best overall from that entire year!

Yeah I mentioned Ek a while back in the first thread. I'd be happy with him, we need elite talent and he has a good shot at being a scoring line center. I want d-men but we seem to be stuck in no man's land where there isn't a d-man worth the 19th pick. Ek is right there, plus he's got the dual last name thing going for him like Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

There's very good talent where we are drafting. It sucks that it ain't defensive talent but we can't be picky, we need help pretty much everywhere other than maybe goal. So with that being the case I really don't want to trade back.

 

[Frk It]

Sort of, but it supposedly is able to test what your absolute attainable limit is. It measures how much oxygen one can use.

Hmm, interesting. Thought it was just a reflection of your current cardiovascular endurance.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

What do you mean by "athletic success"? Isn't it basically just a test of endurance?

I just mean that high VO2max scores are statistically correlated with becoming successful professional athletes. There are a couple of studies to that effect.

 

[Anchor Town*]

I'm hoping for that, and the return of drafting smaller, skilled players. I don't mind tall players, but look at Goose, Tats and Pullu. All undersized players who are turning out to be stars. Fun fact, the last time we drafted someone less then six feet tall was Alan Quine in 2011.

Lol what? Pulkkinen is a star? Who cares about minors. What matters is the NHL, and Pulkkinen certainly isn't a star

 

[Anchor Town*]

I just mean that high VO2max scores are statistically correlated with becoming successful professional athletes. There are a couple of studies to that effect.

And correlation does not equal causation.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

And correlation does not equal causation.

I'm not sure what your point is. Are you arguing against inductive reasoning across the board? Correlation doesn't necessarily imply causation, but sometimes it indicates that very thing. Scoring goals is highly correlated with winning hockey games. The sun rising is highly correlated with a certain time of morning.

 

[Bench]

I'm not sure what your point is. Are you arguing against inductive reasoning across the board? Correlation doesn't necessarily imply causation, but sometimes it indicates that very thing. Scoring goals is highly correlated with winning hockey games. The sun rising is highly correlated with a certain time of morning.

Worst case scenario, it means he's really fit. Which is a good trait to have when your entire job description is "be really fit while hitting rubber objects."