2017 NHL Draft | 4:00 PM | United Center | NBCSN
- Thread starter HanSolo
- Start date
Foley might not be involved but he can give a direction what kind of style he wants to see, especially at the start. And as some others said, Conte seems to choose those physical types in drafts too.
ChicagoBullsFan
Registered User
In that situation Kristian Vesalainen would be very good selection to Las Vegas.
He's 6'3 and physical power forward who likes to go straight for the net.
Also Vesalainen is strong player who can impact the game in many ways.
Plays a versatile and up tempo offensive game, but is also a beast along the wall.
Mixes a heavy game with very soft hands and a great, powerful shot.
Builds impressive speed and is tough to stop.
When he wants to he can dominate but does not always play with consistent effort.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCIahzDSHCA
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ChicagoBullsFan
Registered User
Yes Tolvanen is only 5'10 but being undersized when you are forward isn't obstacle to play in NHL.
Look example Patrick Kane he isn't big either and still he's superstar in NHL.
Then there's been Martin St- Louis and Theoren Fleury they weren't big either and still they both did quite well in NHL.
What comes to Tolvanen he's got serious knack for scoring as i said earlier.
While Tolvanen was 15yrs old season 2014-2015 he scored 84 points 39 goals + 45 assists 2,04 PPG in Espoo Blues B juniors ( U18 team).
That's under 16 yrs old and older players scoring record in Finnish juniors.
Only player who's been even close to score those numbers before Tolvanen was Sebastian Aho Carolina Hurricanes 2nd rounder 2015 draft.
( 60 points in B juniors season 2012-2013).
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The NHL is getting smaller and faster. Small players are perfectly fine nowadays assuming they can skate. A poor skating small guy still has no chance though.
And in one of the most recent interviews Foley gave, it does sound like he's going to put his mark on the roster.
He mentioned having a gritty, hustling, give it all type team.
Thats perfectly fine with me as long as theres some skill role players sprinkled in. You need those game breaking offensive skill guys to break open close games i.e. Mike Hoffman who may not be great defensively, but can rush end to end and roof a puck by himself.
And in one of the most recent interviews Foley gave, it does sound like he's going to put his mark on the roster.
He mentioned having a gritty, hustling, give it all type team.
Thats perfectly fine with me as long as theres some skill role players sprinkled in. You need those game breaking offensive skill guys to break open close games i.e. Mike Hoffman who may not be great defensively, but can rush end to end and roof a puck by himself.
Tkachuk Norris
Registered User
- Jun 22, 2012
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Patrick- potential #1C
Liljegrin- skating, top pairing D
Comtois- Big, fast, strong forward. Top line potential.
Tolvanen (sp?)- goal scoring machine, smaller winger.
Foote- Big, strong top pairing D type.
You guys will get a great player. I think Liljegrin is the most likely to be a franchise player so I would pick him at #1. You play in the Pacific though. Anaheim and LA are basically goon squads, it might be smart to draft a player with muscle and skill like Comtois or Foote.
Liljegrin- skating, top pairing D
Comtois- Big, fast, strong forward. Top line potential.
Tolvanen (sp?)- goal scoring machine, smaller winger.
Foote- Big, strong top pairing D type.
You guys will get a great player. I think Liljegrin is the most likely to be a franchise player so I would pick him at #1. You play in the Pacific though. Anaheim and LA are basically goon squads, it might be smart to draft a player with muscle and skill like Comtois or Foote.
jwhouk
Former Cheesehead, Always a Preds Fan
GMGM is going to have a nervous tic if he drafts a Finn in the first round...
Something something Martin Erat something.
Something something Martin Erat something.
Thanks,
Vesalainen sounds interesting since I'm only interested in forwards. We should be set for years with many still developing defenders like DeHaan, Petrovic, Manson and Savard.
Yes Josh Manson from Anaheim. Some on the Ducks board would even protect him as one of 3 defenders. He's on a cheap contract and will be RFA in 2018. I would prefer him over Despres.
The Vegas fan in me would too. But the Ducks fan in me really wants them to hold onto him.
I dont think you can just cancel out any d-men with that top 6 pick. Remember, while the team will be best off with the defenseman they draft, a lot will be older i.e. Methot who will be regressing in the next year or two.
Defenseman historically take longer to develop. So your player may not even be in the league yet when some of these guys start to regress and become more third pairing esque players.
I dont think that will be a problem though. Although its wayyy early, only Liljegren and Foote are projected to go in the lottery at this time, so odds are its a forward.
tl;dr BPA regardless of needs. Always.
Defenseman historically take longer to develop. So your player may not even be in the league yet when some of these guys start to regress and become more third pairing esque players.
I dont think that will be a problem though. Although its wayyy early, only Liljegren and Foote are projected to go in the lottery at this time, so odds are its a forward.
tl;dr BPA regardless of needs. Always.
BPA is ideal but let's not act like teams never draft based on need either. Sometimes team needs to factor into how a team ranks their draft board. No one will ever convince me the New York Rangers actually objectively felt McIlrath was a better defenseman than Gormley and Fowler. Their whole culture at the time was to create a grittier team with bite. I know that's not a lottery example but that's the needs vs BPA example I'm most familiar with.
jwhouk
Former Cheesehead, Always a Preds Fan
Your first entry draft pick can be a harbinger of your franchise.
ADV = Number of games played by the player divided by the maximum number of possible regular-season NHL games the player could have played, to date.
* - The Atlanta Thrashers, who obviously really screwed up this pick.
** - The Sharks had a built-in advantage that they essentially were half of a sundered Minnesota North Stars franchise.
- Nashville - 1998, David Legwand, C (.8353 ADV)
- Tampa Bay - 1992, Roman Hamrlik, D (.7837)
- Minnesota - 2000, Marian Gaborik, RW (.7801)
- Florida - 1993, Rob Niedermayer, C (.6634)
- Anaheim -1993, Paul Kariya, LW (.5690)
- Columbus - 2000, Rostislav Klesla, D (.5510)
- Ottawa - 1992, Alexei Yashin, C (.4775)
- Winnipeg* - 1999, Patrik Stefan, C (.3560)
- San Jose - 1991, Pat Falloon, RW** (.3230)
ADV = Number of games played by the player divided by the maximum number of possible regular-season NHL games the player could have played, to date.
* - The Atlanta Thrashers, who obviously really screwed up this pick.
** - The Sharks had a built-in advantage that they essentially were half of a sundered Minnesota North Stars franchise.
nobody important
the pessimist returns
OK, why do we have to own Atlanta's screw up Stefan, but Calgary doesn't have to own the other, even bigger Atlanta screw up, Jacques Richard?
I consider Winnipeg's franchise starting pick to be Mark Scheifele, who will have a wonderful career. That the NHL forced us to again start in a hole by taking on a bunch of Thrasher refugees (worse than being an expansion franchise) is something I regularly try to erase from my memory with the consumption of much alcohol.
Ducks fans got the last laugh with Kariya though. We got to watch him retire without a cup after ditching us to join the would be Colorado super team. And he got to watch the team he promised a cup win it without him.
Primakov!
Registered User
Martin Erat is a Czech and Filip Forsberg is a Swede so the issue with the Finn comes from...?
jwhouk
Former Cheesehead, Always a Preds Fan
That fits my point exactly though. Fowler >>>>>>>>Gormley + McIlrath.
If two guys are equal on your board, then yes, lean towards the best "fit." Every other scenario, BPA. I dont care if you are the Pens and the best player is a center. Draft him.
And the Rags are a poor drafting team...so maybe they did have McIlrath as the BPA lol.
Didnt McPhee bring in the draft master from the Caps? If that memory is correct, we are in very good hands. Im a draft buff too so I am thrilled.
Not sure how I am going to be able to watch these prispects with HS shut down, but I'll find a way.
BlueBaron
Registered User
I'm going to be roaming your boards a fair bit because I have an expansion fetish and find the process very exciting. Vegas just became my #2 Team.
Considering the team is going to start with an NHL quality D and Goaltending it seems obvious to me they will chase a Centre hard but will settle for the best forward available. Why do I think this?
1. Marketing. A forward can probably make the team right out of the gate because the team will be offensively challenged.
2. The stacked Blue line means any D drafted will probably not be on the team right away, they are also harder to project so you want to take a fairly safe pick with the first ever.
2.b. This also means there is lots of time to develop D so signing college guys and maybe using the 2nd or 3rd round picks on a D might make more sense.
3. Centres are so hard to get, you have to draft your own (as a Leaf fan let me tell you how Sundin's retirement affected us....). From what I can tell the team will start with a bunch of #2-3 centres and getting a true number one will be the teams greatest challenge. I could see trading up if need be to get one of the top centres throwing in a Defenseman or Goalie to get it done.
4. The division. The phrase " Big Western style Centre" comes to mind. Kopitar one night, Getzlaf another. Patrick would be ideal but seems a bit much to hope for, who is the second best C available? Going to need some size up the middle ASAP.
Considering the team is going to start with an NHL quality D and Goaltending it seems obvious to me they will chase a Centre hard but will settle for the best forward available. Why do I think this?
1. Marketing. A forward can probably make the team right out of the gate because the team will be offensively challenged.
2. The stacked Blue line means any D drafted will probably not be on the team right away, they are also harder to project so you want to take a fairly safe pick with the first ever.
2.b. This also means there is lots of time to develop D so signing college guys and maybe using the 2nd or 3rd round picks on a D might make more sense.
3. Centres are so hard to get, you have to draft your own (as a Leaf fan let me tell you how Sundin's retirement affected us....). From what I can tell the team will start with a bunch of #2-3 centres and getting a true number one will be the teams greatest challenge. I could see trading up if need be to get one of the top centres throwing in a Defenseman or Goalie to get it done.
4. The division. The phrase " Big Western style Centre" comes to mind. Kopitar one night, Getzlaf another. Patrick would be ideal but seems a bit much to hope for, who is the second best C available? Going to need some size up the middle ASAP.
It'd be fun to be a fly on the wall for some of the discussions. It almost seems at times that some teams already have a guy penciled in at a certain spot and aren't prepared to pivot if somebody unexpectedly fell.
Around the 10:40 mark, you see the Washington brass have a somewhat intense looking discussion as Forsberg unexpectedly fell into their laps. I would have thought it was a no brainer decision, but it almost looks like they had to talk themselves into it.
Another one I'm reminded of is Toronto in 1995. They had the 17th pick and they were all set to select a local kid Brad Church. Petr Sykora unexpectedly fell, but they took Church anyways. The press bugged the Toronto brass about it and assistant GM Tim Watters didn't help his cause by trying to vouch for Church since he was classmates with his kids.
