Prospect Info: 2018 Draft Thread (STL #1 via WPG is 29th OA)

[TruBlu]

Let's just hope that the tkachuks are as motivated to go back home as Shatty was. That may work out for us down the road.

 

[simon IC]

I would love to see us get back in to the 1st round. I realize it is a tall order. Some Pen's fans posted that they would accept Sobotka for their 1st. I would do this, if everyone was healthy at the TDL.

 

[TruBlu]

I would love to see us get back in to the 1st round. I realize it is a tall order. Some Pen's fans posted that they would accept Sobotka for their 1st. I would do this, if everyone was healthy at the TDL.

That seems like a really tall order these days.

 

[The Note]

I would love to see us get back in to the 1st round. I realize it is a tall order. Some Pen's fans posted that they would accept Sobotka for their 1st. I would do this, if everyone was healthy at the TDL.

If it was contingent on the Blues having another deal lined up for a top 6 winger then ok. Sobotka is pacing for around 40 points, a playoff bound team shouldn’t be trading a productive middle 6 guy for a pick during the season. If you can swing a deal at the draft to trade Sobotka for a mid-late first I’m on board with that especially if they have already added a Hoffman, Simmonds, etc.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

I know people are questioning the depth of this draft, but I don't think anyone should contest the amount of great names the draft has.

Jett Woo
Nando Eggenberger
Dominik Bokk
Allen McShane

And definitely the GOAT name in sports history: Blade Jenkins.

Seriously, if any team should draft on name alone, Jenkins should be the one. Who cares about hockey bloodlines when you can draft someone that sounds like a character Jason Statham would play as.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

For real though.

For Nando's first goal, I would announce it like this:

 

[jbron]

Libor Zabransky son also with the same name is in the 2018 draft. The elder played 40 games for the Blues.
His son is RHD if anyone wants to follow sons of past Blues.

A few prospects that do fit a need that possibly have an outside chance to slide to the middle of the second are
RC Ty Dellandrea
RW Jesse Ylonen
RHD Calen Addison

 

[Bluesnatic27]

If the Blues are interested in RH defensemen, I hope Axel Andersson is on their list. He's being pegged all over the 2nd round, and so far, he looks pretty good. He's very raw, and his skating is choppy, but his offensive instincts are there and he has a wicked wrist shot.

This is the 2000 born Axel Andersson playing for Djurgarden's junior team, not the Swiss one or the LWer.

 

[izzy]

i hope the blues take a chance on foudy even though hes struggled

 

[simon IC]

I like Foudy, but I hope the Blues select an RHD. Preferably a physical one. We need to re-stock that position. There is nobody after Schmaltz.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Two big, physical right-handed dmen with offensive upside (or at least puck moving ability... think Edmundson) out of the OHL (where we like to pick from) are Alec Regula and Caleb Everett. Both would be solid additions to our group, and if we can add both that would be ok with me. Owen Lalonde has been disappointing again this year, but seems to be doing a little better with a bigger role, if he’s there in the later rounds I’d be ok with that.

I don’t think much of Foudy, but if ever there was a time to prove himself, he’s gonna get an opportunity now with London being so depleted. There are better options out there imo.

Curtis Douglas is a person that would be a good add. Huge center with good skating, good vision, and physicality/determination. Rasmussen-lite. If we want to breed our own net front presence, look no further.

One of the only goalies I have much interest in is Erik Portillo out of Sweden. Everybody else is too short, or is having a very mediocre season so far. Nobody that would vault above Fitzpatrick, but I think that Portillo is underrated potentially. If nothing else, I still am on the “sign Dhillon” train.

 

[Bye Felicia]

I know people are questioning the depth of this draft, but I don't think anyone should contest the amount of great names the draft has.

Jett Woo
Nando Eggenberger
Dominik Bokk
Allen McShane

And definitely the GOAT name in sports history: Blade Jenkins.

Seriously, if any team should draft on name alone, Jenkins should be the one. Who cares about hockey bloodlines when you can draft someone that sounds like a character Jason Statham would play as.

I'm all for the Blues drafting Trygve Many Guns.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Libor Zabransky son also with the same name is in the 2018 draft. The elder played 40 games for the Blues.
His son is RHD if anyone wants to follow sons of past Blues.

A few prospects that do fit a need that possibly have an outside chance to slide to the middle of the second are
RC Ty Dellandrea
RW Jesse Ylonen
RHD Calen Addison

Zabransky and Ylonen would be solid adds. If we can snag Ylonen in the 2nd and one of Everett/Regula/Zabransky in the 3rd/4th, that would be a totally acceptable draft imo.

 

[The Note]

I hope the Blues draft BPA and don’t try and draft based on “need.” Get the most talented guys in the pipeline.

 

[jbron]

In a few weeks on January 25th there is the Guelph CHL / NHL prospects game. Riley Sutter/ Kody Clark/ Ty Dellandrea/Krill Nizhnikov will be some of the 40 prospects playing and might give an indication of how these
players perform directly against the better players in the CHL.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Can't really say I'm board with Regula. At least, not within the first 3 rounds. I'm just seeing too many holes in his offensive game to think he'd be impactful at higher levels. He kind of looks like what Boumeester is now. From what I've seen, the guy has stone hands and while his skating is fluid, I wouldn't fall him mobile.

As a general rule of thumb, when evaluating a player and the start of the report begins with his size as a positive, I generally see that as a red flag. I don't think size should ever be the reason to avoid or pick a player, his other attributes should be what ends up deciding it. Regula, as of now, fits into that mold of "pick him because of size" category.

 

[ezcreepin]

Two big, physical right-handed dmen with offensive upside (or at least puck moving ability... think Edmundson) out of the OHL (where we like to pick from) are Alec Regula and Caleb Everett. Both would be solid additions to our group, and if we can add both that would be ok with me. Owen Lalonde has been disappointing again this year, but seems to be doing a little better with a bigger role, if he’s there in the later rounds I’d be ok with that.

I don’t think much of Foudy, but if ever there was a time to prove himself, he’s gonna get an opportunity now with London being so depleted. There are better options out there imo.

Curtis Douglas is a person that would be a good add. Huge center with good skating, good vision, and physicality/determination. Rasmussen-lite. If we want to breed our own net front presence, look no further.

One of the only goalies I have much interest in is Erik Portillo out of Sweden. Everybody else is too short, or is having a very mediocre season so far. Nobody that would vault above Fitzpatrick, but I think that Portillo is underrated potentially. If nothing else, I still am on the “sign Dhillon” train.

You said huge and I thought like 6'4, 6'5. I did not expect to see a 6'8 17 year old...

 

[Bluesnatic27]

I gotta say, I like what I see from this draft. It’s definitely weaker in terms of NA talent, but there are plenty of European players that look promising.

 

[OSA]

Here is Brock Otten’s top 50 OHLers for the 2018 NHL draft

OHL Prospects: Midseason Top 50 for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft


It’s certainly not the deepest year for OHLers, but here’s some players that I think the Blues should look at.

2nd Rd.
Caleb Everett (Saginaw)
Kevin Bahl (Ottawa)
Alex Regula (London)

3rd Rd.
Nathan Dunkley (London)
Cameron Hillis (Guelph)
Dennis Busby (Flint) *if he is healed 100%
Curtis Douglas (Windsor)

4th Rd.
Kody Clark (Ottawa)
Giovanni Vallati (Kitchener)

5th Rd.
Aiden Dudas (Owen Sound) *Schwartz-like
Jacob Ingham (Mississauga)
Nico Gross (Oshawa)
Damien Giroux (Saginaw)
Blade Jenkins (Saginaw)
Rasmus Sandin (Sault Ste. Marie)
Adam Liska (Kitchener)


Others I haven’t listed because I think they will go higher than they ought to, they could be later round selections or not selected at all.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

No way Sandin falls that far. He’s being called in the late first by a good handful of scouting services right now.

Steve Burtch had a nice thread on twitter yesterday looking at CHL dmen, and Regula looks like a real catch relative to his ice time. I know the Blues interviewed both him and Bouchard at the beginning of the season at least, so he’s on our radar for sure.

Another few players to pay attention to are the two-headed monster in Drummondville: Beaudin and Bernard. Beaudin is clearly the better of the two, but Bernard has some upside worth talking about too. We seem to like taking a few players out of the Q every draft, so one of those guys could end up being a target.

In general, this seems like a good draft to stock back up on defensemen. Part of the reason Nashville was able to land Turris this season is because of the glut of quality dmen they have been able to nab in later rounds. Well, if ever there was a time that quality dmen are going to trickle down to the later rounds, it's likely to be this year. I'm not sold on the forward depth this year, although guys like Ylonen and Fonstad are interesting to me, as well as a few others.

Anton Andersson is doing at least decently well in Sweden, but the Bourque pick last year was a huge swing and a miss, and I'm not sure how we didn't see that coming. He's still looking for his first goal in a league that isn't terribly hard to score in (OHL). David Noel is doing better than I think most people expected from him, but there was more than enough cause for concern during camp to throttle the optimism there. We've still got Schmaltz, Walman, and Mikkola developing in the wings, and Lindbohm if you're still holding out hope there. But I'd like to see us add a few more legit names to that list, especially considering that finding a goalie prospect worth much this year is going to be real tough. Portillo aside.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Here is Brock Otten’s top 50 OHLers for the 2018 NHL draft

OHL Prospects: Midseason Top 50 for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft


It’s certainly not the deepest year for OHLers, but here’s some players that I think the Blues should look at.

2nd Rd.
Caleb Everett (Saginaw)
Kevin Bahl (Ottawa)
Alex Regula (London)

3rd Rd.
Nathan Dunkley (London)
Cameron Hillis (Guelph)
Dennis Busby (Flint) *if he is healed 100%
Curtis Douglas (Windsor)

4th Rd.
Kody Clark (Ottawa)
Giovanni Vallati (Kitchener)

5th Rd.
Aiden Dudas (Owen Sound) *Schwartz-like
Jacob Ingham (Mississauga)
Nico Gross (Oshawa)
Damien Giroux (Saginaw)
Blade Jenkins (Saginaw)
Rasmus Sandin (Sault Ste. Marie)
Adam Liska (Kitchener)


Others I haven’t listed because I think they will go higher than they ought to, they could be later round selections or not selected at all.

Thanks for posting. Although, I think the placement of some of these guys are strange. Sandin, is way too low and Bahl seems way too high.

I really need to watch Regula more because for the life of me, I don't know what I'm missing with him. I have just never been impressed with him. However, I agree that the Blues need to look at Dunkley early on. The guy just knows how to play and his trade to London will probably shoot up his draft position. Caleb Everett is an interesting name, and I like what I see out of him. Although I can't really find one particular aspect of his game that seems especially dangerous. Seems like jack-of-all trades kind of guy a la Jordan Schmaltz.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

If the guy plays for London, I’m interested. Easily becoming my favorite juniors team.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Hunter knows how to develop teens better than maybe anybody else in the CHL right now

 

[OSA]

Just posting where I would probably take those guys if I were the Blues. There are only a limited number of picks. However, I’m certainly no scout, just a fan.

Admittedly, I haven’t seen a lot of Sandin being up in the Soo, but I haven’t been overly impressed with what I’ve seen.

Bahl might not be getting the fanfare, but he deserves it. He has outplayed the higher drafted Dmen on his own team and earned a roster spot on Canada’s U17 team. He also played one of the Canada-Russia games for the OHL. That’s impressive for a draft eligible player.

There are lots of guys that end up being drafted far away from where they were expected. Kyrou was taken higher than a lot of people thought he would be, Sokolov and Korostelev a lot lower (the latter I remember Easton took in the 2nd round I believe of the moderator mock draft a few years back).

 

[KirkOut]

Swear to god if there's a dude named "Blade" still on the board in round 5 and the Blues don't pick him I'm never watching another game