Speculation: 2018 NHL Draft Talk :)

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I know it's not likely, but if the Canes were to win the lottery, wouldn't they take Dahlin and not look back? I don't know much about these prospects, but I've read it's "Dahlin and then everyone else."

I recognize the concern Kev has, that it would then necessitate a trade of another D or two (Hanifin, Fleury, Bean, Faulk) to address forward/goaltending, but Dahlin is being touted as a potential generational D and it's a lot easier to move a Hanifin when you have Dahlin and Slavin down the LHD side for years to come. We'll likely lose a defenseman in the next expansion draft as well.

Can someone who follows these guys give us a good rundown in the top 10?

Svechnikov: What type of player is he? More of a goal scorer, playmaker?
Zadina: I've read he's the most natural goal scorer. I only saw a bit of him in WJC and his skating didn't look great to me. Is that a concern, or was it just the small sample I saw that was misleading. As a goal scorer, it's definitely a big need for the Canes.
Tkachuk: Seems like he's a clone of his brother? An agitator that plays a power game? That's something the Canes could also use.

Who else after that? Looking at McKenzie's ranking, it looks like it's a top heavy draft for defensemen, which isn't great for Carolina, although may provide an opportunity to get the forward they want if they aren't in the top 5.

 

[tarheelhockey]

This is somewhat of a devil's advocate position, but:

Given the possibility that Dahlin disappoints, and/or the likelihood that he has a 5+ year development curve to get to his "franchise player" potential... would we be better off trading that pick for someone whose prime years would track more closely with our current group? It would resolve the LHD-overload issue without having to find a buyer for Hanifin, and it would likely give us a better return than Hanifin would under such distressed circumstances. We wouldn't end up in a situation where we're trading players just to make room, or end up with Dahlin emerging just as Skinner/Staal are hitting the end-of-career skids and Aho is past his best seasons.

Just a thought.

 

[CandyCanes]

Honestly you can just draft players by last name and get it right most of the time.

For example:



Bust, he'll be KHL fodder soon.



Bust, we'll be making fun of this guy in a few years.



Good solid NHL player right here.



Enigmatic, but he'll keep some team interested enough to trade for him every year.



Minor league goon.



Mother of god, put this man at the top of your list! And get ready for some goals by Lundestooooooooorrrmmmm!


Works every year.

It's true. Like Bean is a boring freaking name, very rarely do boring names make an impact in the NHL.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Go figure that out yourself sunshine!

Seriously though. I don't think this surprising. In 2009, Rutherford came right out and said he wants to add size through the draft, and every player drafted that year was 6'+. Francis, from day 1 said he wants to add size for most every draft, and he has. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I take him at his word and it sure looks like he's doing that.

Point being, without context, those stats are meaningless. If the average height of draftees increased an inch, that would explain most of the Canes shift. Not that I think it's likely the overall avg height moved that much, still would like to see it. Come on, you can do it, you've got a few hours before you need to get to the diner for the early bird special.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Can't find it for draftees, but the average height of NHL players has been FLAT since the mid 90s, so it supports that the average height of draftees has been flat as well. So your "point" doesn't hold water.

Interesting that Weight has been on a bit of decline. Probably because players train so much better now and skating is such a big deal in today's NHL.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Au contraire mon ami. The point still stands. Those stats are meaningless without the context. You've provided the context, so now they are meaningful.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Quit going all BBA on me Rod.

 

[bleedgreen]

The emergence of Barzal has me hoping for a trend that I’ve desperately missed in the NHL. The ridiculously skilled 5’10-6’0 185 lb medium sized true number one center. In the early 90’s almost everyone had one. Sakic, Yzerman, Lafontaine, Turgeon, Oates, Roenick, Janney, Gilmour, Damphousse etc...

Barzal reminds me of that type of player. They became undersized and everyone started wanting the big power center. Dilution of talent due to expansion and increased speed/fitness has meant teams need all the skill they can get and smaller players have obviously made a comeback. A new generation of speedy, dangly, playmakering centers who can also score would be sweet.

 

[Bub]

The emergence of Barzal has me hoping for a trend that I’ve desperately missed in the NHL. The ridiculously skilled 5’10-6’0 185 lb medium sized true number one center. In the early 90’s almost everyone had one. Sakic, Yzerman, Lafontaine, Turgeon, Oates, Roebuck, Janney, Gilmour, Damphousse etc...

Barzal reminds me of that type of player. They became undersized and everyone started wanted the big power center. Dilution of talent due to expansion and increased speed/fitness has meant teams need all the skill they can get and smaller players have obviously made a comeback. A new generation of speedy, dangly, playmakering centers who can also score would be sweet.

Roebuck to Sears was a dynamite combo iirc.

 

[bleedgreen]

The things autocorrect comes up with...

 

[GoldiFox]

Barzal is such a beast. He is the epitome of a guy who makes those around him better. NYI on the verge of potentially losing their 1C and face of the franchise when all of a sudden Barzal appears. Looks even more dynamic than Tavares.

 

[bleedgreen]

He has the one thing Tavares never had, the skating. He could be better, he almost seems better now. I want Tavares to stay because what I miss just as much is multiple teams with the stacked top 2 centers. Sakic/forsberg, Yzerman/Fedorov, Lemieux/Francis all still in their primes at the same time was an amazing time to be a hockey fan.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Tavares/Necas

 

[Breakdowns]

He has the one thing Tavares never had, the skating. He could be better, he almost seems better now. I want Tavares to stay because what I miss just as much is multiple teams with the stacked top 2 centers. Sakic/forsberg, Yzerman/Fedorov, Lemieux/Francis all still in their primes at the same time was an amazing time to be a hockey fan.

Do you 'member that we are Canes fans and Isles + Pens are in our division?

 

[A Star is Burns]

Eff a team in our division having two elite centers. If we can get Tavares (we can't), ship him out west. I'm sure there is some team with one elite center (say Colorado, doesn't hurt they're our second team) out there that will fulfill your desires.

 

[bleedgreen]

Fair enough! I’d love to watch him out here obviously as well.

 

[MinJaBen]

This is somewhat of a devil's advocate position, but:

Given the possibility that Dahlin disappoints, and/or the likelihood that he has a 5+ year development curve to get to his "franchise player" potential... would we be better off trading that pick for someone whose prime years would track more closely with our current group? It would resolve the LHD-overload issue without having to find a buyer for Hanifin, and it would likely give us a better return than Hanifin would under such distressed circumstances. We wouldn't end up in a situation where we're trading players just to make room, or end up with Dahlin emerging just as Skinner/Staal are hitting the end-of-career skids and Aho is past his best seasons.

Just a thought.

I have been think this way as well. And given the desperation that the Oil and Chia want a puck moving defenseman to go with McJesus, I'd try to pull Draisaitl+ away from them with this kid/pick. He is considered by some to be a generational defenseman, but I think I'd rather use him to get a return that allows us to be a cup contender now vs. having to wait for him to finish his development while others we already have choose to leave.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I don't know enough about Dahlin to say, but in this devil's advocate discussion, do you trade away a potential Erik Karlsson (if you think that's what Dahlin ends up as) and get back a guy that may turn out to be a prime Couture, Krecji, or maybe Marleau type player (Assuming Draisaitl turns into a center usually in that 20ish range for production in his primes)?

I get there is risk associated with it, but man, would be a tough call. I doubt we'd win the lottery anyhow but an interesting dilemna.

 

[DaveG]

I don't know enough about Dahlin to say, but in this devil's advocate discussion, do you trade away a potential Erik Karlsson (if you think that's what Dahlin ends up as) and get back a guy that may turn out to be a prime Couture, Krecji, or maybe Marleau type player (Assuming Draisaitl turns into a center usually in that 20ish range for production in his primes)?

I get there is risk associated with it, but man, would be a tough call. I doubt we'd win the lottery anyhow but an interesting dilemna.

I think the premise isn't necessarily getting one talent of that level but getting a talent of that level plus at least one other high level talent in a hypothetical Dahlin trade. IE the trade wouldn't be Dahlin for Drai + 1st or something like that, but they'd also be needing to add say Yamamoto or the like to the trade as well IMHO.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Yeah, I get it, but still a tough call. Those types of players don't come along very often (assuming what they say about Dahlin is true).

 

[A Star is Burns]

To me, you don't trade the generational potential prospect for not generational players. It's been shown that you can trade valuable, but not generational, defensemen like Hanifin, for high end centers. Go that route and keep the guy with massive potential.

 

[Breakdowns]

If we somehow get #1 I would draft Dahlin and keep him if I were Canes GM. We can then trade other guys for pieces we need.

 

[MinJaBen]

If we got the 1st OA, would you trade it straight up for Barkov? I might. He’d be perfect between Aho and TT.

 

[NotOpie]

If we got the 1st OA, would you trade it straight up for Barkov? I might. He’d be perfect between Aho and TT.

The "3 Finns for the Win" line.

 

[Canes]

If we somehow get #1 I would draft Dahlin and keep him if I were Canes GM. We can then trade other guys for pieces we need.

This.

If Hanifin or Fleury showed more this year, I would maybe consider trading down or using the pick for a #1 center, but there are still huge question marks on our left side (and the right side for that matter) after Slavin and Pesce. We could really use a dynamic offensive d-man like Dahlin since Hanifin hasn't exactly lit the world on fire offensively.