2018 HF Team Boards Mock Draft -- Pick #17

[Nocashstyle]

I've read a lot of good things about Sanding and a decent amount of question marks about Wilde and Miller.

For my mostly uninformed decision, I pick: Sandin.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Let's also note that Sandin plays on a stacked team.

I see Sandin as a younger Andy Greene .

Maybe we shoot for higher ceiling at 17?

 

[Nocashstyle]

Let's also note that Sandin plays on a stacked team.

I see Sandin as a younger Andy Greene .

Maybe we shoot for higher ceiling at 17?

I mean, at one point, Andy Greene was a legit top pairing guy.

If that's what we get out of a #17 pick...I'll be ecstatic.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Went with Bode Wilde. @StevenToddIves has definitely sold me on K'Andre Miller so it's certainly a toss up between those two and I would be happy with either one. If we can develop either of them the right way, it sounds like we could have ourselves that bonafide stud on the backend we've been longing for.

 

[Scorcho]

Picked Wilde. butt i'd be ecstatic with wilde, miller, or bokk

 

[Devils Dominion]

I mean, at one point, Andy Greene was a legit top pairing guy.

If that's what we get out of a #17 pick...I'll be ecstatic.

Greene should have never been a top pairing d man, even in his prime.

2nd pair guy

 

[Nocashstyle]

Greene should have never been a top pairing d man, even in his prime.

2nd pair guy

Are you one of those people that think there are only like 8 legit top pairing defensemen in the league?

Because prime Greene was most certainly a quality top pair defender at one point.

 

[Darkauron]

Lol Greene was great as a first pair D for a long while.

 

[Unknown Caller]

Relevant snapshots from Pronman's rankings today without taking all of his content:

8. Bokk
16. Wilde
21. Ty Smith
34. Sandin
36. Miller

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

we were 2 games away from winning a Cup with Greene being on the top pair....

the revisionist history on here is wild

 

[Nubmer6]

Relevant snapshots from Pronman's rankings today without taking all of his content:

8. Bokk
16. Wilde
21. Ty Smith
34. Sandin
36. Miller

Yeah, I keep seeing Ty Smith rated pretty low in a few rankings. Hopefully some other teams agree with that. I'd take him in a heartbeat if he managed to drop to us.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Lol Greene was great as a first pair D for a long while.

Yeah for all of those non playoff teams .

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Wilde, Merkley or Bokk.

Picked Wilde

 

[Better Call Sal]

Yeah for all of those non playoff teams .

Clearly the fault of the defense/Greene and not the offense that was 28th, 27th, 28th, 30th and 28th in scoring in those non-playoff years.

 

[Devils Dominion]

If we hadn't picked all of those tiny Swedes in recent drafts I'd think Berggren would be a Castron target.

He will be a NHL sniper

 

[Combat Koala]

Wilde, Merkley or Bokk.

Picked Wilde

Same here. Steven has had some high praise for K'Andre Miller though which makes me kind of interested in him too.

Also smiling at DD for patting himself on the back yet again

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Same here. Steven has had some high praise for K'Andre Miller though which makes me kind of interested in him too.

Also smiling at DD for patting himself on the back yet again

Miller doesn't have the offensive upside others have. We've been burnt by toolsy prospects with little offensive production too much in the past. (Zacha, McLeod, Santini, etc).

 

[Darkauron]

Yeah for all of those non playoff teams .

Today I learned if your team is not making the playoffs then it doesnt matter if you are a good player or a top pairing D. Huh. Thanks for your valuable insight as always.

 

[Combat Koala]

Miller doesn't have the offensive upside others have. We've been burnt by toolsy prospects with little offensive production too much in the past. (Zacha, McLeod, Santini, etc).

I honestly don't know much about Miller at all aside from what I've read about him on our board.

You're right about the toolsy prospects though. I still have a lot of hope for them, despite my massive amount of disappointment so far.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Sandin gets the vote because he’s the most reliable combination in terms of defensive responsibility along with solid offensive skill. And he still has plenty of upside. He also has some of the best 5v5 numbers of any of the defenseman who will be available at 17. From Cordell: “Sandin was a more efficient 5v5 producer at the OHL level than the likes of Vince Dunn, Travis Dermott, Dougie Hamilton, Aaron Ekblad, Olli Maatta, Mikhail Sergachev and Jakob Chychrun in their draft years so clearly he is competent offensively.”

I like Cordell a lot, but I disagree with his heavy reliance on metrics sometimes. I am of the belief that you have to factor that in as just a part of a much larger picture when evaluating prospects. I watched a lot of Sault Set. Marie this year -- it was difficult not to -- they were 55-7 and a juggernaut. They dominated night in and night out. And Sandin was a part of that success for certain, but I can throw out another stat that he was only third out of their top 6 D in PPG.

Another LD in the CHL I could compare using these stats is Alex Alexeyev. His PPG was virtually similar to Sandin despite playing on a 27-32, rebuilding Red Deer Rebels team. Though hurt much of the year, when he played he was clearly the top D on the team. Of course his 5x5 efficiency was hampered by the fact that he played on a mediocre team which did not possess the puck a fraction of the time that Sault Set. Marie did. Meanwhile, he's also a LD, he's faster, he's bigger, he's more physical, and he's as good both offensively and defensively as Sandin. His outlet passing is just outstanding. Watching these two players I would be forced to ask, what on earth would make anyone feel that Sandin has superior potential to Alexeyev?

Or how about LD Jared McIsaac? He also played on a very good team in Halifax (43-18) and was far and away the best D on the team (Devils prospect Jocktan Chainey was second). McIsaac put up a slightly lower PPG than Sandin but is superior defensively and seen by many scouts as a future shut-down guy in the NHL. He is also faster, bigger, more physical and closer to the NHL. Again the question: why would someone prefer to draft Sandin over McIsaac?

I'm not trying to put down Sandin. I would certainly consider him if the Devils had a pick in the late first/early second. But he's not even in the top 5 of the D on this list, and if the only argument that he is centers around 5x5 efficiency on a 55-7 team, I don't think that's good enough.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Miller doesn't have the offensive upside others have. We've been burnt by toolsy prospects with little offensive production too much in the past. (Zacha, McLeod, Santini, etc).

Miller had the best PPG of any D on the US-NTDP... including Wilde. But if you're looking at scoring numbers at higher competition as your barometer, Merkley should have to factor into your argument, as should Alexeyev, who potted 37 points in 45 games while struggling with injuries on a mediocre team.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I'd also like to add that I respect the people who voted for Merkley and Kupari. I think it's gutsy to want to swing for the fences, and both of these players have absolute superstar upside despite their red flags. I don't know if I would have that kind of gumption at the draft table, but they would certainly be exciting picks at #17.

 

[NJDevils17]

Merkley - love his upside.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Merkley - love his upside.

Someone asked me what the difference in offensive upside between Merkley, Hughes and Boqvist was. I said it was probably too close to tell. Boqvist has the best shot, Hughes has the best skating, Merkley the best puck handling. All three have elite vision.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I've read a lot of good things about Sanding and a decent amount of question marks about Wilde and Miller.

For my mostly uninformed decision, I pick: Sandin.

That's comparing Sandin to the two USHL defensemen on this list. It's also important to note that he does not compare favorably to other CHL defensemen, most notably Jared McIsaac/Ryan Merkley but also Alex Alexeyev.