Prospect Info: 2018 NHL Draft

[Fil Larkmanthanasiou]

Or perhaps players that are given free of charge. Please enjoy this Mike Green defensemen, free of charge. The Red Wings gift to you.

 

[Skippy73]

I know it is far too early to really assess last year's draft, but it looks like we made too many "safe" picks last year on guys that probably will never pan out. I am ready for us to draft skill. I don't know enough about this Russian kid to comment, but those goals are nice. Gamble on skill, and maybe we find a gem. Tampa and Washington do not shy away from the Russians, I think it's worth a 3rd rounder to gamble on players with incredible skill.

Sounds like this has been the plan since last summer.

Red Wings Will Focus On Skilled Forwards In 2018 NHL Draft

I just hope this doesn't result in us passing on a blue-chip defense prospect that we also desperately need

 

[Dotter]

I think this is going to be Detroit's best draft in decades. I really think this is going to be a very impactful draft. We won't truly know for 5 full years, however

 

[Redder Winger]

You should never draft the safe player.
You can replace safe players in UFA quite easily and cheaply.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

You should never draft the safe player.
You can replace safe players in UFA quite easily and cheaply.

Unfortunately this has been Ken Holland's schtick for awhile now. Otherwise we'd have Vilardi instead of Rasmussen.

 

[RedWingzz]

Unfortunately this has been Ken Holland's schtick for awhile now. Otherwise we'd have Vilardi instead of Rasmussen.

I wasn't a fan of the Ras pick, but he is growing on me. If he can improve his skating, we may have ourselves an impactful 2nd line center in the future. The fact that he's 6'6 and can scores goals is a nice combination. I'm worried about his skating, but if he can work on this, we should have ourselves a solid player.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I wasn't a fan of the Ras pick, but he is growing on me. If he can improve his skating, we may have ourselves an impactful 2nd line center in the future. The fact that he's 6'6 and can scores goals is a nice combination. I'm worried about his skating, but if he can work on this, we should have ourselves a solid player.

I'm probably the most critical of Rasmussen of anybody here, and I'll be the first to tell you that you don't need to worry about his skating. He's a very good skater; it's actually a strength. He's never going to have awesome footspeed or acceleration, but that's just part of being 6'6 on hockey skates.

 

[Redder Winger]

I wasn't a fan of the Ras pick, but he is growing on me. If he can improve his skating, we may have ourselves an impactful 2nd line center in the future. The fact that he's 6'6 and can scores goals is a nice combination. I'm worried about his skating, but if he can work on this, we should have ourselves a solid player.

I'm not sure if Rasmussen is going to shatter the mold.
But I guess I wonder who he'd look like.
Here are the NHL centers over 6'5
NHL.com - Stats
Bjugstad
Kevin Jayes
Bryan Boyle
Adam Lowry
Martin Hanzal
Tage Thompson
Nobody else with more than 9 games.

 

[Redder Winger]

I'm probably the most critical of Rasmussen of anybody here, and I'll be the first to tell you that you don't need to worry about his skating. He's a very good skater; it's actually a strength. He's never going to have awesome footspeed or acceleration, but that's just part of being 6'6 on hockey skates.

The issue is, is he skilled enough to be a top line guy?
Were there others who might have had a better shot at being a top line guy?

 

[Frk It]

Thought this was interesting (really like both of them)

 

[Red Stanley]

Thought this was interesting (really like both of them)

Interesting graphic. It shows Svetch to be more opportunistic with the below and around the goal line goals and willing to go to the dirty areas with the proximity to the crease goals. Not sure if the goals near the blue line are also indicative of a harder shot.

 

[RedWingzz]

Thought this was interesting (really like both of them)

Unfortunately with all of our winning of late, we won't have a shot at either unless we win one of the lottery picks. At this rate I'm happy with one of Hughes or Bouchard with our pick, and then go all in for skill on a forward with the Vegas pick, maybe Noel/Veleno/McLeod drop a bit, I doubt any of them will be available but you never know.

I'd then target McShane with one of our 2nd rounders. If we are serious on gambling for skill, I'd target Semyon Der-Arguchintsev with a 3rd\4th.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

1st: Bouchard
1st: Dellandrea
2nd: Bernard-Docker
2nd: McLaughlin
3rd: Dostal
3rd: Iskhakov
4th: Khodorenko
4th: Busby
6th: Roberts
6th: Keane

 

[WingsMJN2965]

Unfortunately with all of our winning of late, we won't have a shot at either unless we win one of the lottery picks. At this rate I'm happy with one of Hughes or Bouchard with our pick, and then go all in for skill on a forward with the Vegas pick, maybe Noel/Veleno/McLeod drop a bit, I doubt any of them will be available but you never know.

I'd then target McShane with one of our 2nd rounders. If we are serious on gambling for skill, I'd target Semyon Der-Arguchintsev with a 3rd\4th.

In all likelihood they go 2-3 so you'd need to win a lotto pick either way.

 

[newfy]

The issue is, is he skilled enough to be a top line guy?
Were there others who might have had a better shot at being a top line guy?

I'm sure the guys who actually scout these players extensively thought he has the skill and potential to fit in the wings top 6 down the road and fit the identity of the team theyre building. There is nothing right now to say Necas or Vilardi have abetter shot at being a top line center in the NHL, I'm sure those are the guys youre subtly trying to imply here.

As for this draft, would be nice to pick in the lottery but I think the wings are going to get a crack at one of Bouchard, Dobson, Boqvist or Hughes. If it isnt one of the top 3 guys I would be surprised if they didnt take one of them.

I'm more interested in the back of the frst round now though. K'Andre Miller or Jet Woo could be good picks to help with the defense. Maybe Benoit Oliver Groulx is around where they pick too

 

[TheMule93]

If we aren't getting Dahlin I really want one of those three wingers that can probably step in next season and make an immediate impact

 

[HisNoodliness]

So there's a discussion on the trade board about a team with a series of seconds moving up, and someone posted a chart (which I'm having a hard time embedding. Sorry), but it essentially concludes that our 26-30th pick has a value of ~15.5 in a trade (trade value is inflated over real value the higher the pick), and our two seconds have ~11 a piece. Meanwhile 10-15 OA have a value 36-27.

If the draft goes something like:

1.Dahlin 2.Svechnikov 3. Zadina
4. Boqvist 5.Tkachuk. 6. Hughes
7. Bouchard. 8. Dobson (Detroit).
9. Smith 10.Wahlstrom

And from 11-15 we have Veleno, Farabee, Merkley, and Wilde as the next selections.

How would everyone feel about packaging 27 + 34 + 35 (37.5 value so an overpay by approximately 1 second) to move into that 11-15 group and grab someone like Veleno or Merkley? Obviously someone would have to be willing but we could offer a team that somewhat narrowly missed the playoffs three decent prospects that can build a lot of pool depth for the chance at a more high end player that we more desperately need.

 

[Frk It]

Veleno will go higher than he should. He will finish as the top ranked center, and some team in the top 10 will want a center.

Might not be opposed to trading up for Wilde, though. Too hard to guess until it's actually draft day and the picks start to happen.

If we aren't getting Dahlin I really want one of those three wingers that can probably step in next season and make an immediate impact

Bouchard may not take long either. He is a late birthdate, and he is pretty physicall mature already.

I'm more interested in the back of the frst round now though. K'Andre Miller or Jet Woo could be good picks to help with the defense. Maybe Benoit Oliver Groulx is around where they pick too

Should be lots of good options with that pick. I like all of your suggestions here.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

probably step in next season and make an immediate impact

This being a key reason to draft a player makes me nervous.

 

[TCNorthstars]

If we get 2nd and take lil Svech, does he immediately pass big Svech on the depth chart?

 

[TheMule93]

This being a key reason to draft a player makes me nervous.

Those wingers are all projected to go in the top 6 or so last time I looked. We need an elite forward. Wingers generally transition to the NHL the easiest. I'd prefer to go for one of them over a hit or miss defenseman. We really need to hit with this draft pick.

 

[Christien]

If we get 2nd and take lil Svech, does he immediately pass big Svech on the depth chart?

Without a doubt. If we draft him he instantly becomes our #1 prospect and makes the team next year.

 

[Ezekial]

Those wingers are all projected to go in the top 6 or so last time I looked. We need an elite forward. Wingers generally transition to the NHL the easiest. I'd prefer to go for one of them over a hit or miss defenseman. We really need to hit with this draft pick.

The key is that all three seem to be impact rookies next year, not just make the nhl.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Those wingers are all projected to go in the top 6 or so last time I looked. We need an elite forward. Wingers generally transition to the NHL the easiest. I'd prefer to go for one of them over a hit or miss defenseman. We really need to hit with this draft pick.

But everyone needs to hit on every pick. Using that as justification to draft the one position your organization is flush with is... questionable. This reasoning would lead to a winger every time for every team. That's half the reason the Wings prospect pool is as bad as it is right now; we could do without guys like OHL semi-star Givani Smith.

Wingers are more likely to hit, but centers and defensemen are drastically more valuable. And IMO wingers have synergistic value that is only unlocked with a good enough center or defenseman... which the Wings do not have.

There's this idea that if we finally draft good enough wingers, they'll be able to carry our lackluster C and D groups. I think that's nonsense. We have good wingers who are held back by having no help. Better wingers will still be held back by having no help.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Those wingers are all projected to go in the top 6 or so last time I looked. We need an elite forward. Wingers generally transition to the NHL the easiest. I'd prefer to go for one of them over a hit or miss defenseman. We really need to hit with this draft pick.

If you want elite defensemen, you need to draft elite defensemen. The strength of this class is the defensemen that will be available. This rebuild is going to take several years. The last thing this team needs to be concerned about is using this draft to improve next year's NHL roster.