2017 Draft Discussion - Part Deux
- Thread starter TheLegend
- Start date
IPreferPi
A Nonny Mouse
As long as Heiskanen goes in the top four as we expect, Canucks taking Pettersson guarantees one of Vilardi, Glass, or Mittlestadt will be there at 7.
Well, I thought I better get this out there sooner than later. Mainly because I keep flipping rankings every three seconds on some players.
Preamble: Every time I felt I had nailed down a list, I would find a guy that I was going to rank lower and then would fall in love with an aspect of his game and I would be trying to justify a move 6-7 slots higher and then the process would happen again. There are honestly a half dozen players that I could rationalize the Coyotes taking at 7.
History: Last year will go down as the Logan Brown draft list. I was enamored with the big C at the Under 18’s as the upside of a 6’8†playmaking C playing on a relatively small non-physical Coyote team was at the top of my wish list. The next players on my list…. Tyson Jost and a small playmaking forward Clayton Keller whose dynamic play did not go unnoticed. That being said, I absolutely buried Chychrun after his U18 performance and was originally going to drop him from 8 to 18 on my list before I ended up slotting him in the middle at 13.
Bias: I love size. Arizona is a small team that is largely not physical or very hard to play against. I know I have been a stronger (devils) advocate for a big C like Rasmussen and I will say I took great lengths on slotting him (similar as I did with Chychrun) to reflect my actual opinion on how he will play in the NHL.
Rumors: How do you not hear rumors about who likes who and not have that influence your rankings? All I can do is acknowledge the rumor that is out there that Makar is a player Arizona has red circled and hope I haven’t moved him higher than I otherwise would have.
Organizational Preference: The biggest needs for the franchise are top line C, top pairing RD, and RW depth (although the righty/lefty thing isn’t apparently as big of a deal these days as we are growing more comfortable with the concept of Duclair and/or Keller playing the right side. My feeling though is the organization has long been without sufficient depth at C and while I have long been an advocate for Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak, I wouldn’t hesitate to provide preference to further solidifying the C position for the next decade.
Coyote Draft Philosophy: Under Maloney, I felt I had a great feel for their draft list. Under Tippett/Chayka? I get the sense that Keller was so far out in front of everyone else at 7OV last year that it was a “no brainer†for our group. Bernhardt has a history of missing on his first round picks but the early returns of Perlini (I was wrong on that draft list btw) and Keller say otherwise.
My Opinion: I honestly think that if we walk away from the draft having used all three of our picks in the Top 35 then this next season will be a huge disaster and we will be looking to completely overhaul our management and coaching (please no more Dave Tippett is awful posts – there’s a separate thread for this where you can all rub your hands in glee at this concept). I think we need to walk away from the draft table with an immediate asset that either provides sufficient depth at C to buffer development of Strome or a significant upgrade at RD to finally solidify the other glaring organizational weakness. Failure to do so would be in my mind an organizational failure and one that I don’t believe the fan base should be very forgiving on.
My List:
1. C Nolan Patrick – This is largely based on what I saw last year. Yes, he has a history of injury. That being said, he has the highest upside of any player in the draft.
2. C Nico Hischer – In a “two†player draft, I have him at 2. While everyone was complaining about Patrick’s injury history, Hischer’s play dropped off significantly in the last half.
3. C Gabriel Virardi – The struggle is real. This is the safe single instead of looking for the home run. Yes, he may only be a 20 Goal, 50 point C but he would add great depth to a position that I feel needs to be prioritized. I also hate myself for placing him here because I want to put a flashier player here.
4. D Makar – Great skating puck moving D who apparently some teams (Arizona and Detroit) have rated as the best blueliner. Dominated like he should in a low caliber league. We almost had a cardiac arrest incident by fans when we took a player out of the Sweden’s second division years ago in Ekman Larson. This is the scratch ticket of the draft. Question is do you want the Coyotes to be the team that takes the gamble?
5. D Heiskanen – Seems to be the consensus top rated D who rocketed to this slot after a great U18’s. Likely will go in Top 3 on draft day. If you are risk adverse, he’s the safer play to Makar.
6. C Glass – Playmaking 2nd line C. The Mark Schiefle comparisons are why I slotted him here.
7. RW Tippett- First line potential. Home run swing. Fantastic shot, great speed.
8. D Liljegren – A year ago this player was thought as a first overall challenger. Kid can skate. It’s worth the price of admission. If his hockey IQ returns to the same level that it showed a year ago, we could regret passing on this kid.
9. C Pettersson – He’s small but he put up points at an age and size that he wasn’t supposed to. I don’t think this would go unnoticed by out scouts and by Chayka’s analytics group.
10. C Midelstadt – Playmaking 2nd line C. You have to believe that he will leave the NCAA within 2 years or else you drop him like a stone (8-10 spots) on your list.
11. RW Kostin – Injury plagued, Russian enigma with production issues when he did play. And yet he could potentially go in Top 10 based primarily on the Ivan Hlinka tournament where he absolutely dominated.
12. C Rasmussen – I tried to find a way to keep this kid in the top 10. I really did. I view Rasmussen as the permanent solution to the third line for a decade. A bull on the PP who will pot 20 goals per year from the slot banking in sweet feeds from the abundance of playmakers (Domi, Keller, Strome, etc.) who are already in the organization. That being said, I’m talking about a 3C and I just couldn’t justify it at 7 when I looked at the other names. I gave it the College try though.
13. C/RW Necas – 2nd line C who disappointed at U18’s.
14. C Suzuki – Small 2nd line C.
15. LW Vesalainen – I thought he was great at the U18’s where he was finally playing amongst his peers. Showed first line potential.
16. RW Tolvanen – A year ago I thought this guy was a lock for the Top 10. Great shot.
17. C Poehling – Struggled offensively as a true NCAA freshmen but produced at the U18’s.
18. D Cal Foote – Big D always command a premium. If he can also provide offense then he should slot in this range.
19. C Thomas – I love London’s system and history of developing players.
20. D Valimaki – Good offensive D.
21. RW Yamamoto – Great speed and skill.
22. RW Robertson – Feet may be an issue but that’s why we hired a skating coach. This could be another Christian Fischer type selection.
23. G Ottinger – Top rated G. Long-term solution for our future on the next pressing need. If you are confident this particular goaltender will be there at our 2nd round pick you take him then. If not, you either have to drop down a slot or two (and pick up another pick) and/or hold your nose and make the pick.
Preamble: Every time I felt I had nailed down a list, I would find a guy that I was going to rank lower and then would fall in love with an aspect of his game and I would be trying to justify a move 6-7 slots higher and then the process would happen again. There are honestly a half dozen players that I could rationalize the Coyotes taking at 7.
History: Last year will go down as the Logan Brown draft list. I was enamored with the big C at the Under 18’s as the upside of a 6’8†playmaking C playing on a relatively small non-physical Coyote team was at the top of my wish list. The next players on my list…. Tyson Jost and a small playmaking forward Clayton Keller whose dynamic play did not go unnoticed. That being said, I absolutely buried Chychrun after his U18 performance and was originally going to drop him from 8 to 18 on my list before I ended up slotting him in the middle at 13.
Bias: I love size. Arizona is a small team that is largely not physical or very hard to play against. I know I have been a stronger (devils) advocate for a big C like Rasmussen and I will say I took great lengths on slotting him (similar as I did with Chychrun) to reflect my actual opinion on how he will play in the NHL.
Rumors: How do you not hear rumors about who likes who and not have that influence your rankings? All I can do is acknowledge the rumor that is out there that Makar is a player Arizona has red circled and hope I haven’t moved him higher than I otherwise would have.
Organizational Preference: The biggest needs for the franchise are top line C, top pairing RD, and RW depth (although the righty/lefty thing isn’t apparently as big of a deal these days as we are growing more comfortable with the concept of Duclair and/or Keller playing the right side. My feeling though is the organization has long been without sufficient depth at C and while I have long been an advocate for Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak, I wouldn’t hesitate to provide preference to further solidifying the C position for the next decade.
Coyote Draft Philosophy: Under Maloney, I felt I had a great feel for their draft list. Under Tippett/Chayka? I get the sense that Keller was so far out in front of everyone else at 7OV last year that it was a “no brainer†for our group. Bernhardt has a history of missing on his first round picks but the early returns of Perlini (I was wrong on that draft list btw) and Keller say otherwise.
My Opinion: I honestly think that if we walk away from the draft having used all three of our picks in the Top 35 then this next season will be a huge disaster and we will be looking to completely overhaul our management and coaching (please no more Dave Tippett is awful posts – there’s a separate thread for this where you can all rub your hands in glee at this concept). I think we need to walk away from the draft table with an immediate asset that either provides sufficient depth at C to buffer development of Strome or a significant upgrade at RD to finally solidify the other glaring organizational weakness. Failure to do so would be in my mind an organizational failure and one that I don’t believe the fan base should be very forgiving on.
My List:
1. C Nolan Patrick – This is largely based on what I saw last year. Yes, he has a history of injury. That being said, he has the highest upside of any player in the draft.
2. C Nico Hischer – In a “two†player draft, I have him at 2. While everyone was complaining about Patrick’s injury history, Hischer’s play dropped off significantly in the last half.
3. C Gabriel Virardi – The struggle is real. This is the safe single instead of looking for the home run. Yes, he may only be a 20 Goal, 50 point C but he would add great depth to a position that I feel needs to be prioritized. I also hate myself for placing him here because I want to put a flashier player here.
4. D Makar – Great skating puck moving D who apparently some teams (Arizona and Detroit) have rated as the best blueliner. Dominated like he should in a low caliber league. We almost had a cardiac arrest incident by fans when we took a player out of the Sweden’s second division years ago in Ekman Larson. This is the scratch ticket of the draft. Question is do you want the Coyotes to be the team that takes the gamble?
5. D Heiskanen – Seems to be the consensus top rated D who rocketed to this slot after a great U18’s. Likely will go in Top 3 on draft day. If you are risk adverse, he’s the safer play to Makar.
6. C Glass – Playmaking 2nd line C. The Mark Schiefle comparisons are why I slotted him here.
7. RW Tippett- First line potential. Home run swing. Fantastic shot, great speed.
8. D Liljegren – A year ago this player was thought as a first overall challenger. Kid can skate. It’s worth the price of admission. If his hockey IQ returns to the same level that it showed a year ago, we could regret passing on this kid.
9. C Pettersson – He’s small but he put up points at an age and size that he wasn’t supposed to. I don’t think this would go unnoticed by out scouts and by Chayka’s analytics group.
10. C Midelstadt – Playmaking 2nd line C. You have to believe that he will leave the NCAA within 2 years or else you drop him like a stone (8-10 spots) on your list.
11. RW Kostin – Injury plagued, Russian enigma with production issues when he did play. And yet he could potentially go in Top 10 based primarily on the Ivan Hlinka tournament where he absolutely dominated.
12. C Rasmussen – I tried to find a way to keep this kid in the top 10. I really did. I view Rasmussen as the permanent solution to the third line for a decade. A bull on the PP who will pot 20 goals per year from the slot banking in sweet feeds from the abundance of playmakers (Domi, Keller, Strome, etc.) who are already in the organization. That being said, I’m talking about a 3C and I just couldn’t justify it at 7 when I looked at the other names. I gave it the College try though.
13. C/RW Necas – 2nd line C who disappointed at U18’s.
14. C Suzuki – Small 2nd line C.
15. LW Vesalainen – I thought he was great at the U18’s where he was finally playing amongst his peers. Showed first line potential.
16. RW Tolvanen – A year ago I thought this guy was a lock for the Top 10. Great shot.
17. C Poehling – Struggled offensively as a true NCAA freshmen but produced at the U18’s.
18. D Cal Foote – Big D always command a premium. If he can also provide offense then he should slot in this range.
19. C Thomas – I love London’s system and history of developing players.
20. D Valimaki – Good offensive D.
21. RW Yamamoto – Great speed and skill.
22. RW Robertson – Feet may be an issue but that’s why we hired a skating coach. This could be another Christian Fischer type selection.
23. G Ottinger – Top rated G. Long-term solution for our future on the next pressing need. If you are confident this particular goaltender will be there at our 2nd round pick you take him then. If not, you either have to drop down a slot or two (and pick up another pick) and/or hold your nose and make the pick.
IPreferPi
A Nonny Mouse
Free scouting guide to this year's goaltending class: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B08H89cY4M5xTVZaU0kzY2xtYzA/view
IPreferPi
A Nonny Mouse
I could not disagree any more with this entire paragraph. This year I feel is the best opportunity we have to really shore up our prospect pipeline in all positions. Use the picks we have and try to get more in the top 100. Next year when we have a clearer idea which of our prospects have a future here, we can start flipping assets for immediate help as we transition from rebuilder to contender.
That said, thanks for the interesting insight as usual, hbk.
Thanks. I understand that position as well. At some point you max out on prospects and picks. I'm not advocating trading all our picks. I'm saying we have to do something to improve our roster for next year and the commodity of choice from my perspective is at least one of these picks.
If this is all about kicking the can down the road again then sell OEL and start the tank plan for the 2018 draft today. If we don't show progress then OEL asks out and those nightmare trade proposals that we get hit with on a weekly basis; one of them comes true sooner than later.
Just my opinion of course.
PhoPhan
Registered User
- Feb 27, 2002
- 14,724
- 100
Interesting list, hbk. Thanks for posting.
With the exception of Makar, I think my disagreements come less from talent assessment or risk management than from philosophy. To me, guys like Rasmussen and Foote would have been much more coveted 15 years ago, but with where the league is now (and more importantly, where it will be when they actually start playing in the NHL), I see their strengths being marginalized and they're weaknesses being exposed. They can still be decent NHL players, but there's a reason Brian Boyle and Dylan McIlrath are fairly cheap today when Bobby Holik and Derian Hatcher were franchise players a generation ago.
With the exception of Makar, I think my disagreements come less from talent assessment or risk management than from philosophy. To me, guys like Rasmussen and Foote would have been much more coveted 15 years ago, but with where the league is now (and more importantly, where it will be when they actually start playing in the NHL), I see their strengths being marginalized and they're weaknesses being exposed. They can still be decent NHL players, but there's a reason Brian Boyle and Dylan McIlrath are fairly cheap today when Bobby Holik and Derian Hatcher were franchise players a generation ago.
PhoPhan
Registered User
- Feb 27, 2002
- 14,724
- 100
I do agree that it's time to be more aggressive about acquiring established or closer-to-impactful players, whether that costs prospects or picks in this or future drafts. No rebuilding team can ever turn the corner on drafted prospects alone. A couple decent middle 6 forwards and/or a 2nd pairing defenseman would go a long way toward not only making the team more competitive next year but ensuring greater long term growth for the prospects they do keep around.
RR
Registered User
Two mocks from RedLine Report. In both Heiskanen is our pick #7.
Mock #1
1 NJD — Nolan Patrick
2 PHI— Nico Hischier
3 DAL — Casey Middlestat
4 COL — Cale Makar
5 VAN — Gabriel Vilardi
6 LAS — Cody Glass
7 ARI — Miro Heiskanen
8 BUF — Owen Tippett
9 DET — Elian Pettersson
10 FLA — Kristian Vesalainen
11 LAK — Nick Suzuki
12 CAR — Martin Necas
13 WPG — Michael Rasmussen
14 TBL — Erik Brannstrom
15 NYI —Jason Robertson
16 CGY — Eeli Tolvanen
17 TOR — Juuso Valimakai
18 BOS — Isaac Ratcliffe
19 SJS — Kailer Yamamoto
20 STL — Klim Kostin
21 NYR — Timothy Liljgren
22 EDM — Lias Anderson
23 ARI — Robert Thomas
24 CLB — Cal Foote
25 MTL — Jesper Boqvist
26 CHI — Connor Timmins
27 STL — Aleksi Heponiemi
28 OTT — Kole Liad
29 DAL — Joni Ikonen
30 NSH — McKenzie Entwistle
31 PIT — Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Mock #21 NJD — Nico Hischier
2 PHI— Nolan Patrick
3 DAL — Cale Makar
4 COL — Gabriel Vilardi
5VAN — Cody Glass
6 LAS — Michael Rasmussen
7 ARI — Miro Heiskanen
8 BUF — Nick Suzuki
9 DET — Timothy Liljgren
10 FLA — Casey Mittelstadt
11 LAK — Kristian Vesalainen
12 CAR — Elian Pettersson
13 WPG — Martin Necas
14 TBL — Juuso Valimakai
15 NYI — Owen Tippett
16 CGY — Ryan Poehling
17 TOR — Cal Foote
18 BOS — Lias Anderson
19 SJS — Robert Thomas
20 STL — Eeli Tolvanen
21 NYR — Erik Brannstrom
22 EDM — Jesper Boqvist
23 ARI — Kailer Yamamoto
24 CLB — Pierre-Oliver Joseph
25 MTL — Klim Kostin
26 CHI — Urho Vaakanainen
27 STL — Conor Timmins
28 OTT — Nicholas Hague
29 DAL — Jason Robertson
30 NSH — Jake Oettinger
31 PIT — Shane Bowers
Mock #1
1 NJD — Nolan Patrick
2 PHI— Nico Hischier
3 DAL — Casey Middlestat
4 COL — Cale Makar
5 VAN — Gabriel Vilardi
6 LAS — Cody Glass
7 ARI — Miro Heiskanen
8 BUF — Owen Tippett
9 DET — Elian Pettersson
10 FLA — Kristian Vesalainen
11 LAK — Nick Suzuki
12 CAR — Martin Necas
13 WPG — Michael Rasmussen
14 TBL — Erik Brannstrom
15 NYI —Jason Robertson
16 CGY — Eeli Tolvanen
17 TOR — Juuso Valimakai
18 BOS — Isaac Ratcliffe
19 SJS — Kailer Yamamoto
20 STL — Klim Kostin
21 NYR — Timothy Liljgren
22 EDM — Lias Anderson
23 ARI — Robert Thomas
24 CLB — Cal Foote
25 MTL — Jesper Boqvist
26 CHI — Connor Timmins
27 STL — Aleksi Heponiemi
28 OTT — Kole Liad
29 DAL — Joni Ikonen
30 NSH — McKenzie Entwistle
31 PIT — Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Mock #21 NJD — Nico Hischier
2 PHI— Nolan Patrick
3 DAL — Cale Makar
4 COL — Gabriel Vilardi
5VAN — Cody Glass
6 LAS — Michael Rasmussen
7 ARI — Miro Heiskanen
8 BUF — Nick Suzuki
9 DET — Timothy Liljgren
10 FLA — Casey Mittelstadt
11 LAK — Kristian Vesalainen
12 CAR — Elian Pettersson
13 WPG — Martin Necas
14 TBL — Juuso Valimakai
15 NYI — Owen Tippett
16 CGY — Ryan Poehling
17 TOR — Cal Foote
18 BOS — Lias Anderson
19 SJS — Robert Thomas
20 STL — Eeli Tolvanen
21 NYR — Erik Brannstrom
22 EDM — Jesper Boqvist
23 ARI — Kailer Yamamoto
24 CLB — Pierre-Oliver Joseph
25 MTL — Klim Kostin
26 CHI — Urho Vaakanainen
27 STL — Conor Timmins
28 OTT — Nicholas Hague
29 DAL — Jason Robertson
30 NSH — Jake Oettinger
31 PIT — Shane Bowers
IPreferPi
A Nonny Mouse
Combine heights and weights.
See the not on the first group.
http://thehockeywriters.com/2017-nhl-combine-heights-weights/
See the not on the first group.
http://thehockeywriters.com/2017-nhl-combine-heights-weights/
Pho has seen more games than I have this year. I'm not as confident with my list as I was in Stromes draft year. I watched a ton of OHL that season. This year I dabbled.
I think what ever happens between now and the expansion draft will dictate what we do at the draft. I hope the kids will continue to progress which should help us in the standings, but we still have to fix the RD and maybe our C for next yea. There is no way I trade the 7OA, but the 23rd I would.
IPreferPi
A Nonny Mouse
I doubt our ability to grab a RD that is significantly better than what we have currently with the 23rd OA as the main piece. Unless something materializes, I'd rather just use that pick to draft an RD, which this draft class has quite a few of.
There are pieces I'm willing to move like Crouse or MacInnis or Capobianco. But for the most part I don't think we have the ammo to go after most of the desired names that are in the market.
- Oct 26, 2006
- 18,565
- 11,448
I agree with this position somewhat, but given the context of the season - we're early-round pickers again - as well as our shallow cupboard once our current crop of young guys matures, I would have to see something REALLY impactful to convince me that we shouldn't be shoring up our prospect pool.
Our pipeline is very thin, I think. We have a lot of young talent here and with the 'Runners but after that we have nobody of any real consequence waiting in the wings. So if we're not going to restock our cabinet then I would hope it's for an extremely good cause.
Let's talk after the expansion draft to see if anything happens there. If not, I'm afraid you could be right in that we could have a hard time finding the RD we want.
I agree. I think we are a year early to make any kind of trade using our prospects or kids unless it means a prospect or kid comes back. The organization has been patient with this rebuild so far, let's hope it continues.
Last edited by a moderator:
hbk's list
(hope you don't mind hbk...just making your post a little easier to read)
Well, I thought I better get this out there sooner than later. Mainly because I keep flipping rankings every three seconds on some players.
Preamble:
Every time I felt I had nailed down a list, I would find a guy that I was going to rank lower and then would fall in love with an aspect of his game and I would be trying to justify a move 6-7 slots higher and then the process would happen again. There are honestly a half dozen players that I could rationalize the Coyotes taking at 7.
History:
Last year will go down as the Logan Brown draft list. I was enamored with the big C at the Under 18’s as the upside of a 6’8†playmaking C playing on a relatively small non-physical Coyote team was at the top of my wish list. The next players on my list…. Tyson Jost and a small playmaking forward Clayton Keller whose dynamic play did not go unnoticed. That being said, I absolutely buried Chychrun after his U18 performance and was originally going to drop him from 8 to 18 on my list before I ended up slotting him in the middle at 13.
Bias:
I love size. Arizona is a small team that is largely not physical or very hard to play against. I know I have been a stronger (devils) advocate for a big C like Rasmussen and I will say I took great lengths on slotting him (similar as I did with Chychrun) to reflect my actual opinion on how he will play in the NHL.
Rumors:
How do you not hear rumors about who likes who and not have that influence your rankings? All I can do is acknowledge the rumor that is out there that Makar is a player Arizona has red circled and hope I haven’t moved him higher than I otherwise would have.
Organizational Preference:
The biggest needs for the franchise are top line C, top pairing RD, and RW depth (although the righty/lefty thing isn’t apparently as big of a deal these days as we are growing more comfortable with the concept of Duclair and/or Keller playing the right side. My feeling though is the organization has long been without sufficient depth at C and while I have long been an advocate for Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak, I wouldn’t hesitate to provide preference to further solidifying the C position for the next decade.
Coyote Draft Philosophy:
Under Maloney, I felt I had a great feel for their draft list. Under Tippett/Chayka? I get the sense that Keller was so far out in front of everyone else at 7OV last year that it was a “no brainer†for our group. Bernhardt has a history of missing on his first round picks but the early returns of Perlini (I was wrong on that draft list btw) and Keller say otherwise.
My Opinion: I honestly think that if we walk away from the draft having used all three of our picks in the Top 35 then this next season will be a huge disaster and we will be looking to completely overhaul our management and coaching (please no more Dave Tippett is awful posts – there’s a separate thread for this where you can all rub your hands in glee at this concept). I think we need to walk away from the draft table with an immediate asset that either provides sufficient depth at C to buffer development of Strome or a significant upgrade at RD to finally solidify the other glaring organizational weakness. Failure to do so would be in my mind an organizational failure and one that I don’t believe the fan base should be very forgiving on.
My List:
1. C Nolan Patrick – This is largely based on what I saw last year. Yes, he has a history of injury. That being said, he has the highest upside of any player in the draft.
2. C Nico Hischer – In a “two†player draft, I have him at 2. While everyone was complaining about Patrick’s injury history, Hischer’s play dropped off significantly in the last half.
3. C Gabriel Virardi – The struggle is real. This is the safe single instead of looking for the home run. Yes, he may only be a 20 Goal, 50 point C but he would add great depth to a position that I feel needs to be prioritized. I also hate myself for placing him here because I want to put a flashier player here.
4. D Makar – Great skating puck moving D who apparently some teams (Arizona and Detroit) have rated as the best blueliner. Dominated like he should in a low caliber league. We almost had a cardiac arrest incident by fans when we took a player out of the Sweden’s second division years ago in Ekman Larson. This is the scratch ticket of the draft. Question is do you want the Coyotes to be the team that takes the gamble?
5. D Heiskanen – Seems to be the consensus top rated D who rocketed to this slot after a great U18’s. Likely will go in Top 3 on draft day. If you are risk adverse, he’s the safer play to Makar.
6. C Glass – Playmaking 2nd line C. The Mark Schiefle comparisons are why I slotted him here.
7. RW Tippett- First line potential. Home run swing. Fantastic shot, great speed.
8. D Liljegren – A year ago this player was thought as a first overall challenger. Kid can skate. It’s worth the price of admission. If his hockey IQ returns to the same level that it showed a year ago, we could regret passing on this kid.
9. C Pettersson – He’s small but he put up points at an age and size that he wasn’t supposed to. I don’t think this would go unnoticed by out scouts and by Chayka’s analytics group.
10. C Midelstadt – Playmaking 2nd line C. You have to believe that he will leave the NCAA within 2 years or else you drop him like a stone (8-10 spots) on your list.
11. RW Kostin – Injury plagued, Russian enigma with production issues when he did play. And yet he could potentially go in Top 10 based primarily on the Ivan Hlinka tournament where he absolutely dominated.
12. C Rasmussen – I tried to find a way to keep this kid in the top 10. I really did. I view Rasmussen as the permanent solution to the third line for a decade. A bull on the PP who will pot 20 goals per year from the slot banking in sweet feeds from the abundance of playmakers (Domi, Keller, Strome, etc.) who are already in the organization. That being said, I’m talking about a 3C and I just couldn’t justify it at 7 when I looked at the other names. I gave it the College try though.
13. C/RW Necas – 2nd line C who disappointed at U18’s.
14. C Suzuki – Small 2nd line C.
15. LW Vesalainen – I thought he was great at the U18’s where he was finally playing amongst his peers. Showed first line potential.
16. RW Tolvanen – A year ago I thought this guy was a lock for the Top 10. Great shot.
17. C Poehling – Struggled offensively as a true NCAA freshmen but produced at the U18’s.
18. D Cal Foote – Big D always command a premium. If he can also provide offense then he should slot in this range.
19. C Thomas – I love London’s system and history of developing players.
20. D Valimaki – Good offensive D.
21. RW Yamamoto – Great speed and skill.
22. RW Robertson – Feet may be an issue but that’s why we hired a skating coach. This could be another Christian Fischer type selection.
23. G Ottinger – Top rated G. Long-term solution for our future on the next pressing need. If you are confident this particular goaltender will be there at our 2nd round pick you take him then. If not, you either have to drop down a slot or two (and pick up another pick) and/or hold your nose and make the pick.
(hope you don't mind hbk...just making your post a little easier to read)
Well, I thought I better get this out there sooner than later. Mainly because I keep flipping rankings every three seconds on some players.
Preamble:
Every time I felt I had nailed down a list, I would find a guy that I was going to rank lower and then would fall in love with an aspect of his game and I would be trying to justify a move 6-7 slots higher and then the process would happen again. There are honestly a half dozen players that I could rationalize the Coyotes taking at 7.
History:
Last year will go down as the Logan Brown draft list. I was enamored with the big C at the Under 18’s as the upside of a 6’8†playmaking C playing on a relatively small non-physical Coyote team was at the top of my wish list. The next players on my list…. Tyson Jost and a small playmaking forward Clayton Keller whose dynamic play did not go unnoticed. That being said, I absolutely buried Chychrun after his U18 performance and was originally going to drop him from 8 to 18 on my list before I ended up slotting him in the middle at 13.
Bias:
I love size. Arizona is a small team that is largely not physical or very hard to play against. I know I have been a stronger (devils) advocate for a big C like Rasmussen and I will say I took great lengths on slotting him (similar as I did with Chychrun) to reflect my actual opinion on how he will play in the NHL.
Rumors:
How do you not hear rumors about who likes who and not have that influence your rankings? All I can do is acknowledge the rumor that is out there that Makar is a player Arizona has red circled and hope I haven’t moved him higher than I otherwise would have.
Organizational Preference:
The biggest needs for the franchise are top line C, top pairing RD, and RW depth (although the righty/lefty thing isn’t apparently as big of a deal these days as we are growing more comfortable with the concept of Duclair and/or Keller playing the right side. My feeling though is the organization has long been without sufficient depth at C and while I have long been an advocate for Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak, I wouldn’t hesitate to provide preference to further solidifying the C position for the next decade.
Coyote Draft Philosophy:
Under Maloney, I felt I had a great feel for their draft list. Under Tippett/Chayka? I get the sense that Keller was so far out in front of everyone else at 7OV last year that it was a “no brainer†for our group. Bernhardt has a history of missing on his first round picks but the early returns of Perlini (I was wrong on that draft list btw) and Keller say otherwise.
My Opinion: I honestly think that if we walk away from the draft having used all three of our picks in the Top 35 then this next season will be a huge disaster and we will be looking to completely overhaul our management and coaching (please no more Dave Tippett is awful posts – there’s a separate thread for this where you can all rub your hands in glee at this concept). I think we need to walk away from the draft table with an immediate asset that either provides sufficient depth at C to buffer development of Strome or a significant upgrade at RD to finally solidify the other glaring organizational weakness. Failure to do so would be in my mind an organizational failure and one that I don’t believe the fan base should be very forgiving on.
My List:
1. C Nolan Patrick – This is largely based on what I saw last year. Yes, he has a history of injury. That being said, he has the highest upside of any player in the draft.
2. C Nico Hischer – In a “two†player draft, I have him at 2. While everyone was complaining about Patrick’s injury history, Hischer’s play dropped off significantly in the last half.
3. C Gabriel Virardi – The struggle is real. This is the safe single instead of looking for the home run. Yes, he may only be a 20 Goal, 50 point C but he would add great depth to a position that I feel needs to be prioritized. I also hate myself for placing him here because I want to put a flashier player here.
4. D Makar – Great skating puck moving D who apparently some teams (Arizona and Detroit) have rated as the best blueliner. Dominated like he should in a low caliber league. We almost had a cardiac arrest incident by fans when we took a player out of the Sweden’s second division years ago in Ekman Larson. This is the scratch ticket of the draft. Question is do you want the Coyotes to be the team that takes the gamble?
5. D Heiskanen – Seems to be the consensus top rated D who rocketed to this slot after a great U18’s. Likely will go in Top 3 on draft day. If you are risk adverse, he’s the safer play to Makar.
6. C Glass – Playmaking 2nd line C. The Mark Schiefle comparisons are why I slotted him here.
7. RW Tippett- First line potential. Home run swing. Fantastic shot, great speed.
8. D Liljegren – A year ago this player was thought as a first overall challenger. Kid can skate. It’s worth the price of admission. If his hockey IQ returns to the same level that it showed a year ago, we could regret passing on this kid.
9. C Pettersson – He’s small but he put up points at an age and size that he wasn’t supposed to. I don’t think this would go unnoticed by out scouts and by Chayka’s analytics group.
10. C Midelstadt – Playmaking 2nd line C. You have to believe that he will leave the NCAA within 2 years or else you drop him like a stone (8-10 spots) on your list.
11. RW Kostin – Injury plagued, Russian enigma with production issues when he did play. And yet he could potentially go in Top 10 based primarily on the Ivan Hlinka tournament where he absolutely dominated.
12. C Rasmussen – I tried to find a way to keep this kid in the top 10. I really did. I view Rasmussen as the permanent solution to the third line for a decade. A bull on the PP who will pot 20 goals per year from the slot banking in sweet feeds from the abundance of playmakers (Domi, Keller, Strome, etc.) who are already in the organization. That being said, I’m talking about a 3C and I just couldn’t justify it at 7 when I looked at the other names. I gave it the College try though.
13. C/RW Necas – 2nd line C who disappointed at U18’s.
14. C Suzuki – Small 2nd line C.
15. LW Vesalainen – I thought he was great at the U18’s where he was finally playing amongst his peers. Showed first line potential.
16. RW Tolvanen – A year ago I thought this guy was a lock for the Top 10. Great shot.
17. C Poehling – Struggled offensively as a true NCAA freshmen but produced at the U18’s.
18. D Cal Foote – Big D always command a premium. If he can also provide offense then he should slot in this range.
19. C Thomas – I love London’s system and history of developing players.
20. D Valimaki – Good offensive D.
21. RW Yamamoto – Great speed and skill.
22. RW Robertson – Feet may be an issue but that’s why we hired a skating coach. This could be another Christian Fischer type selection.
23. G Ottinger – Top rated G. Long-term solution for our future on the next pressing need. If you are confident this particular goaltender will be there at our 2nd round pick you take him then. If not, you either have to drop down a slot or two (and pick up another pick) and/or hold your nose and make the pick.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
The "All of PhoPhan's dreams come true draft..."
Smith+23 for Bouma+16
Mittelstadt at 7 and Poehling at 16
Pho gets his #1 & #8 ranked players in the draft.
Smith+23 for Bouma+16
Mittelstadt at 7 and Poehling at 16
Pho gets his #1 & #8 ranked players in the draft.
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
I'd say the chances that Vilardi drops out of the top five is about 0%. I'd put $100 against a beer on that.
