His comments about liking the idea of being drafted by Vegas are encouraging. My main fear is him deciding that he's going to stay a Gopher until they win a title. And then deciding he'd rather just play for the Minnesota Wild instead of Arizona. His sentimentality about his HS team is VERY off-putting to me. UNLESS this means he's loyal like Doan. And if we take him at 7th, he'll imprint on us and convince himself that he needs to be ultra loyal to us also. I just worry he's simply afraid to leave home.
My secondary concern is that there's at least a 50% chance he's yet another LW. Puke.
I'd rather draft Hischier, Vilardi, Makar, Necas, Glass and even Patrick over Mittelstadt. Eh. Maybe he's tied with Patrick.
I don't like Patrick at all. He doesn't strike me as at all motivated or passionate. It seems like a job already. Like he doesn't actually WANT to be doing any of this.
From everything I've read about/from Mittelstadt, going back to high school had more to do with his friends on the team than the school itself. Strikes me more as a maturity thing (maybe even homesickness) than a loyalty thing.
Patrick has always been offputtingly laid back. It comes through in his play, too. I think it's more that he's just a mellow dude than anything, but I don't think it suggests a lack of commitment or anything like that.
Lias Andersson - 5'11", 200 lbs
Joni Ikonen - 5'11", 176 lbs
I had seen Ikonen listed anywhere from "a generous 5'9"" to a hair under 6' even, so that's good to see. He's probably the guy I want most at 23. Off-the-charts hockey sense and a nonstop motor.
For me it's:
1.Makar
2.Heiskanen
3.Liljegren
4.Valimaki
5.Hague
6.Jokiharju
7.Brannstrom
All of them would be in my top 31.
The defensemen in the first round for me:
1. Heiskanen (#5)
2. Brannstrom (#15)
3. Liljegren (#16)
4. Makar (#21)
5. Valimaki (#28)
6. Joseph (#29)
7. Timmins (#30)
8. Jokiharju (#31)
Hague, Phillips, Foote, Gildon, Vaakanainen, Brickey, Brook, and Smart make the cut for the second round.
