2018 draft prospects who will bust/disappoint

[tooji]

Noah Dobson.

I think he's among the safest. I think at worst he becomes a solid number 3.

 

[Elias Pettersson]

If the Canucks pick Dahlin, HF will change their opinion of him and call him a #3 defenceman at best. Its inevitable

 

[VictorLustig]

Veleno does so much, so well. He has the size, he's a good skater, he can control the puck and maintain possession in the corners and on the half-boards. He's headsy, and can pick out the correct play. The problem is that his offensive creativity is really lacking. To turn a hockey cliche, he has no nose for the net. There are so many times when he has the puck, and his best move is to turn and go to the net, but he'll instead turn outwards and go to the point. He has all of the tools to do so much more, but his instincts are to go safe instead of to go hard.

Sounds exactly like Lundeström (although I liked Veleno more from limited viewings). Some team will probably pick Lundeström way too high.

 

[Brian Fogarty]

Fair point. Lundestrom has dropped a few spots on our newest Hockey Prophets draft ranking from the February list.

 

[SML2]

I'm not sold on all these 5'10 sub 200lb dmen. All things go in cycles. Everyone is going to go small and then the 225 lb guy becomes a beast again. At the end of the day I still am not going gaga af over Dahlin. Sorry. Maybe I'm wrong but I just can't.

 

[VictorLustig]

I'm not sold on all these 5'10 sub 200lb dmen. All things go in cycles. Everyone is going to go small and then the 225 lb guy becomes a beast again. At the end of the day I still am not going gaga af over Dahlin. Sorry. Maybe I'm wrong but I just can't.

Dahlin being 5'10 is news to me.

 

[SML2]

Dahlin being 5'10 is news to me.

You know what, when you're right you're right. I thought he was smaller. I guess I didn't look close enough because I know we aren't getting him. I guess I am wrong. I will say that the prospects this year in general are so much smaller than what I am used to seeing so maybe that's where I made my mistake.

 

[Gargyn]

You know what, when you're right you're right. I thought he was smaller. I guess I didn't look close enough because I know we aren't getting him. I guess I am wrong. I will say that the prospects this year in general are so much smaller than what I am used to seeing so maybe that's where I made my mistake.

Not trying to be rude but if you did not know Dahlin was the size he is, maybe it shows your lack of knowledge of all of this years prospects. And with every passing game, hitting is slowly getting removed from the game. It sucks, I love hitting but nowadays every time a guy is hit a fight breaks out. And by fight I usually mean some hugs and head noogies. Game has changed and it’s not changing back to a tough league anytime soon.

 

[Fantomas]

I think he's among the safest.

Whenever someone says "safe" about a prospect, my gag reflex activates. I have heard this very often historically and most of the time it's a bad thing.

This is not a comment about Dobson, by the way.

 

[SML2]

Not trying to be rude but if you did not know Dahlin was the size he is, maybe it shows your lack of knowledge of all of this years prospects. And with every passing game, hitting is slowly getting removed from the game. It sucks, I love hitting but nowadays every time a guy is hit a fight breaks out. And by fight I usually mean some hugs and head noogies. Game has changed and it’s not changing back to a tough league anytime soon.

Yeah I guess you're right. There was a time when my life was carefree and I knew all things hockey. I'm slipping. I let myself get old. I've lost a step. Probably more than one. I've been following the game since 1986. Maybe that's long enough for me. I somehow let being a dad and having a job and all that superfluous distraction get in the way of what I should have been doing, like knowing Rasmus Dahlin is 6'2" and not 5'10". I don't know what I can really say about it other than it's an unacceptable oversight. If I'm not going to pay attention to details, I shouldn't be posting. It's just this type of glaring irresponsibility that is the cause of online chat forums like this one that I've been frequenting since about 2000 or so to be in decline. I mean how am I supposed to make a larger point, like for instance that I'm not sold on small by traditional standards defensemen, when I can't come correct with the height of one particular guy even if I did admit I had it wrong? That singular detail being wrong completely erodes the credibility of any subsequent statement or argument I could make. I'm embarrassed by this whole episode. I am my own harshest critic and I think it may be best if I take at the minimum, a leave of absence from these boards. After a period of sustained reflection and self evaluation, I will decide if I will return, or even watch hockey again, for that matter. I must say it's not looking good. I'm in a dark, dark place right now...

 

[Tryamkin]

You know what, when you're right you're right. I thought he was smaller. I guess I didn't look close enough because I know we aren't getting him. I guess I am wrong. I will say that the prospects this year in general are so much smaller than what I am used to seeing so maybe that's where I made my mistake.

The league is trending towards smaller players so it’s not really an issue.

 

[42]

Is there a Strome in this draft?

 

[37 others]

Adam Samuelsson; for no other reason than his brothers both busted.

 

[Goldenhands]

One of the smaller defencemen picked in the top 10-12 will bust. You have Hughes, Boqvist, and Smith who are all near 5'10". At least one of them will not be able to adapt their game at the next level.

Indeed, thats why I would go with Dobson over any of those guys personally, you cant go wrong with Dobson..

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Adam Samuelsson; for no other reason than his brothers both busted.

You think he'll be a high pick? I don't.

I'm not sure he'll be more than a marginal NHL'er because of his skating, but I wouldn't call him a bust if he doesn't become a decent NHL when prior to his draft, many wouldn't claim he's more than a bottom pairing D.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Just take the guy who gets the most "bust" votes on these threads and draft him higher than expected.

 

[CanuckCity]

I could see Bouchard disappointing people, possibly limited by his footspeed and end up being more like a Gudbranson.

There's no way he stoops that low. His foot speed/mobility may prevent him from being a true #1 but his offensive IQ is undeniable. 84 points, 2nd in SOG in the ENTIRE OHL (yes that means including forwards). Has ridiculous vision and passing (some have touted him as the best passer in the draft). His defense is tough to get a proper read on when he's playing 30mins a night for a stripped Knights team.

 

[CanuckCity]

If Tkatchuk goes 3 or 4 (or even 5) I think he will be a disappointment. He's a pretty safe pick and very likely a top6 fwd but I see him as a purely complementary player and 3-5 is too high for that imo. If he goes in the 6-9 range then pretty solid pick if you dont need/want one of the dmen.

 

[Captain Clutch]

I came to say Ryan Merkley, honestly, I hope he kills it, I'm really rooting for him to be a dynamic, impact NHLer as a GM but I wouldn't touch him. Attitude problems, unwilling/unable to play defense, small...I mean thats a lot of red flags. I know his offensive IQ is elite as is his skating but wow...he's a job killer.

As for Veleno, I just wish they would do away with exceptional status altogether, I mean its just an absolute career wrecking ball for no good reason. If a player is a great player, what is the huge rush to get him into the CHL as a 15 year old, so he can get his confidence crushed by a bunch of 18-20 year old CHL veterans with a huge set of expectations placed squarely on their shoulders before they take the ice for the first time, its a bunch of idiocy if you ask me.

I've watched a bunch of Veleno and while I'm no scout, to my eye he is one of the best players in the league, he's always around the puck, plays in crucial situations constantly, is not just a good skater but a near elite one, has excellent puck skills and vision and is carrying Drummondville,especially from a playmaking standpoint, which has way overachieved their talent level, primarily because of Veleno (and Nicolas Beaudin). I think he's a slam dunk as a middle six center who can play up and down the line-up, kill penalties, has power play skill, has great puck possession ability etc. Will he be an elite NHL scorer, no probably not, but the guys is a swiss army knife, like a rich man's JG Pageau or a poor man's Ryan Kesler.

I want to adopt him

 

[AmericanDream]

Bode Wilde - kid has so much boom or bust with him. the team that takes him needs to be patient, have a good system in place, and reign him in a bit and hopefully he turns into what some think he can be.