Prospect Info: 2018 NHL Entry Draft Discussion: Final Countdown! Tomorrow is the big day!

[Walshy7]

who are a the 6'6" dmen we will be taking form the 3rd round on?

 

[Kiwi]

who are a the 6'6" dmen we will be taking form the 3rd round on?

You forgot the bit about them being from the OHL Walshy

 

[Walshy7]

You forgot the bit about them being from the OHL Walshy

Oh yeah, except greenway I guess, but then he is “only” 6’4”

 

[Kiwi]

Oh yeah, except greenway I guess, but then he is “only” 6’4”

We're not counting midgets

 

[horner]

who are a the 6'6" dmen we will be taking form the 3rd round on?

Alec Regula London knights
6' 04" 190 lbs

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

who are a the 6'6" dmen we will be taking form the 3rd round on?

I'll go with Kevin Bahl from Ottawa:

https://ohlprospects.blogspot.ca/2017/10/preliminary-top-50-for-2018-nhl-entry.html?m=1

11. Kevin Bahl - Defense - Ottawa 67's

Hulking stay at home defender (6'6, 230lbs) who has been impressive in his OHL career thus far. Stood out among a young blueline last year and has emerged as one of Ottawa's top defensive players this year. Impressive mobility for a big defender. Straight away speed isn't terrific and he'll need to work on that if he wants to contribute more offensively. But his lateral mobility and overall agility are strong. Combine that with his reach and you've got a potential shutdown defender. Would like to see him get even meaner (I know, I know, not everyone can be the next Derian Hatcher), as there is room for improvement in being tougher to play against. Also like his decision making with the puck. Largely keeps things simple but is able to make a good first pass. Also shows potential on the point of the powerplay. Needs to work on his point shot though, as for such a big guy, it really seems to lack any substance. Progressing nicely and is probably a better prospect than Logan Stanley was at this point in his draft year IMO.

 

[Walshy7]

I'll go with Kevin Bahl from Ottawa:

https://ohlprospects.blogspot.ca/2017/10/preliminary-top-50-for-2018-nhl-entry.html?m=1

For sure he is a candidate. He has doubled his OHL scoring in 40 less games than last season, there is signs of life there.

 

[Walshy7]

Hockey prospect has Ryan McLeod rated at 25, would he be a good pick around then? i know his brother had some issues (skating?) that made people not want him at all, same deal with Ryan?. 6'2" C would be nice as long as he can skate

 

[Kiwi]

I'll go with Kevin Bahl from Ottawa:

https://ohlprospects.blogspot.ca/2017/10/preliminary-top-50-for-2018-nhl-entry.html?m=1

Might as well fit him for the Leafs jersey now

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Might as well fit him for the Leafs jersey now

Right? To paraphrase Babs: "He's 6'6 when he goes to sleep and 6'6 when he wakes up."

 

[Kiwi]

Right? To paraphrase Babs: "He's 6'6 when he goes to sleep and 6'6 when he wakes up."

But is he a "good man" and does he "love his family" and "do it right everyday"?

 

[93LEAFS]

Xavier Bouchard wouldn't be the worst option in the 20's, his mobility sounds really good

He's promising. Still, have a boatload of the season to go. Way too early to start getting fixated on guys. I just like to look around at what there is at this point, then start figuring out who I really like around February. When you hope to be drafting in the 20's, and not top 3 or 4, there's no real point on falling in love with certain players. Last year in January I liked Nick Suzuki, and thought we were out of the running for Liljegren. By the draft date we probably had an equal shot at both. Hell, of the 4 guys I expected to be in our range at our pick (I still wasn't expecting Liljegren to fall that much), I thought Cal Foote, Suzuki, Lias Andersson or Poehling. Of those, we only had a chance at Poehling.

Hockey prospect has Ryan McLeod rated at 25, would he be a good pick around then? i know his brother had some issues (skating?) that made people not want him at all, same deal with Ryan?. 6'2" C would be nice as long as he can skate

Huh? Mikey McLeod is an amazing skater. He's just has a bad shot and isn't very smart offensively. He has great skating and works hard. I don't like Ryan, he's not as hard a worker as Mikey, and he's not much better offensively. A quote about them that was relayed to me by someone in the know (keep in mind Ryan McLeod and Matthew Strome are best friends, and the families live in the same neighborhood). "How come all the f***ing McLeods can skate but can't think, but all the Stromes can think but can't skate."

So far in my viewings of the OHL, I'm not sure there is one guy outside of Svechnikov I would take where they are currently projected to go. This OHL crop is piss poor.

 

[Stephen]

Is CHL (Canadian) talent drying up these days? Was looking at the THN Top 100 and after Connor McDavid, there isn't exactly a steady stream of future Stamkos, Tavares, Hall, Seguin level prospects coming up these days. Everything seems to be coming out of the States.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Is CHL (Canadian) talent drying up these days? Was looking at the THN Top 100 and after Connor McDavid, there isn't exactly a steady stream of future Stamkos, Tavares, Hall, Seguin level prospects coming up these days. Everything seems to be coming out of the States.

I feel like the QMJHL is getting pretty weak... They spurt out a good draft or a few good prospects once in a while, but it's nothing like what the OHL and WHL were doing (or what I think they did in the past). OHL is always a hotbed for talent. WHL also produces some solid guys every year.

The last couple of years have seen a little bit of a shift, but you still see a lot of top Europeans and Americans go on to play in the CHL as well.

I'm more concerned for Canadian talent. It's not as dominant as it used to be. Sure the 2015 draft had some high end talent, but since then it's been pretty weak. Not many guys there that I would expect to dominate an international competition or anything. Canada should always continue to do well in WJC tournaments given the amount of 2nd and 3rd round talent they have, but no McDavid's or anything like that really.

 

[Walshy7]

He's promising. Still, have a boatload of the season to go. Way too early to start getting fixated on guys. I just like to look around at what there is at this point, then start figuring out who I really like around February. When you hope to be drafting in the 20's, and not top 3 or 4, there's no real point on falling in love with certain players. Last year in January I liked Nick Suzuki, and thought we were out of the running for Liljegren. By the draft date we probably had an equal shot at both. Hell, of the 4 guys I expected to be in our range at our pick (I still wasn't expecting Liljegren to fall that much), I thought Cal Foote, Suzuki, Lias Andersson or Poehling. Of those, we only had a chance at Poehling.


Huh? Mikey McLeod is an amazing skater. He's just has a bad shot and isn't very smart offensively. He has great skating and works hard. I don't like Ryan, he's not as hard a worker as Mikey, and he's not much better offensively. A quote about them that was relayed to me by someone in the know (keep in mind Ryan McLeod and Matthew Strome are best friends, and the families live in the same neighborhood). "How come all the ****ing McLeods can skate but can't think, but all the Stromes can think but can't skate."

So far in my viewings of the OHL, I'm not sure there is one guy outside of Svechnikov I would take where they are currently projected to go. This OHL crop is piss poor.

i couldnt remember why but i remember alot of posters wanted nothing to do with him.

Mrs Strome and Mr Mcleod should of got together to have 6 perfect hockey kids

 

[Menzinger]

Is CHL (Canadian) talent drying up these days? Was looking at the THN Top 100 and after Connor McDavid, there isn't exactly a steady stream of future Stamkos, Tavares, Hall, Seguin level prospects coming up these days. Everything seems to be coming out of the States.

I don't think it so much talent is "drying up" in Canada but rather hockey is getting a lot more popular in the United States and so more top teenage atheletes are now pursuing the sport rather than say playing football or baseball, so they're going to start to see the fruits of that, Auston Matthews is a prime example

 

[93LEAFS]

Is CHL (Canadian) talent drying up these days? Was looking at the THN Top 100 and after Connor McDavid, there isn't exactly a steady stream of future Stamkos, Tavares, Hall, Seguin level prospects coming up these days. Everything seems to be coming out of the States.

Stuff like this is cyclical. This OHL draft crop looks quite strong, and the 2001's from out West look really strong (Krebs, Dach, and Byram). 2001 also might be the best QMJHL crop since Mackinnon, Drouin, Morin, and Gauthier (Mantha and Poirer were also in this draft but were late birthdays).

While, I as a general rule, don't like talking about kids NHL potential before they play a game above AAA and travel hockey, I've been told this OHL draft is better than pretty much all since 2014, and probably 2013 (Especially if you include McDavid with his actual age group, and not the 2012 class). Last years was very promising on paper, but all the top talents were USNTDP bound (Wise, Turcotte, Beecher, Alex Vlasic), whereas this crop is GTA based and to the best of my knowledge none have American citizenship like Hughes, which makes them highly likely to be CHL bound. Quinton Byfield of Yorke-Simcoe appears to be a comparable prospect to Hughes last year. Guys such as Drysdale with the Marlies are held in very high regard, there is also the small kid from Whitby who has played some OJHL games this year and is now with the Vaughn Kings Cole Perfetti.

Hockey in Western Canada has been overhauled with more emphasis on Prep travel teams, it will be interesting to see how this works out. Its raised the comp levels but is a more strenuous travel.

 

[93LEAFS]

I feel like the QMJHL is getting pretty weak... They spurt out a good draft or a few good prospects once in a while, but it's nothing like what the OHL and WHL were doing (or what I think they did in the past). OHL is always a hotbed for talent. WHL also produces some solid guys every year.

The last couple of years have seen a little bit of a shift, but you still see a lot of top Europeans and Americans go on to play in the CHL as well.

I'm more concerned for Canadian talent. It's not as dominant as it used to be. Sure the 2015 draft had some high end talent, but since then it's been pretty weak. Not many guys there that I would expect to dominate an international competition or anything. Canada should always continue to do well in WJC tournaments given the amount of 2nd and 3rd round talent they have, but no McDavid's or anything like that really.

Still produced 2 of the top 5 in this last draft. Patrick just can't stay healthy. But, 2013 and 2015 were also very strong from a Canadian perspective. 2014 looked to be, but hasn't panned out that way.

 

[Morning Dart]

At London-Saginaw tonight at Bud Garden. Keeping an eye on Evan Bouchard. Also looking at drafted prospects like Pu and Max Jones. Saw someone point out Regula so I'll keep an eye out for him as well. Anyone else?

 

[Kiwi]

At London-Saginaw tonight at Bud Garden. Keeping an eye on Evan Bouchard. Also looking at drafted prospects like Pu and Max Jones. Saw someone point out Regula so I'll keep an eye out for him as well. Anyone else?

Middleton he's one of our prospects and a kid called Giroux from the Spirit I've seen him mentioned on the prospects board as an interesting draft eligible

 

[Morning Dart]

At London-Saginaw tonight at Bud Garden. Keeping an eye on Evan Bouchard. Also looking at drafted prospects like Pu and Max Jones. Saw someone point out Regula so I'll keep an eye out for him as well. Anyone else?

Ended up watching Bouchard due to the London connection, RHD, size, good skater, projected in our range. He quietly had a multi-point night, scored a pretty nice goal with a wicked point shot. Good puck mover, dished a couple nice passes throughout the night. Played a ton of minutes tonight, ES/PP/PK. Seemed to be on a Karlsson rotation (every other shift). On the other hand, he tries to engage physically but just doesn't seem that good at it. I may have caught him on an off night, but he had a couple pretty egregious turnovers tonight as well.

I was honestly more impressed with Regula. Eliteprospects has him listed at 6'2, but I'd give him maybe 6'3-6'4 with a frame that could fill out nicely. RHD, strong skater with the eye for offence. He spent a lot of the night with Bouchard and scored on a pretty nice point shot. Like Bouchard, doesn't seem to physically engage as much as his size may suggest he's capable of, but again it was just one night (and not a great one for the Knights D losing 6-5). Regula's definitely one to watch though, especially if he's only touted as a later round pick. He's more of a project, but he definitely has intriguing tools.

Only noticed Giroux a couple times, one particular rush that lead to a shot. Pretty invisible otherwise. Wasn't impressed at all with Middleton. He's clearly a massive dude, but I'm not sure he's involved enough offensively for me to really care. I'm not saying every dman has to be Paul Coffey, but a guy with an NHL trajectory should be able to impact the offence in junior, especially post-draft. Not sure Middleton will ever be good enough in that regard to bust in on a stacked left hand side, with Rielly/Gardiner/Dermott/Nielsen all ahead of him in the pecking order assuming no one else pops up.

As for Pu/Jones, was impressed with Pu's burst. Looks like he's really trying to take games over. Jones was rattled tonight, went back to the bench swearing loud enough to be heard on a couple occasions. He was snakebitten tonight but he's got an intriguing skillset for sure.

 

[Suntouchable13]

It still blows my mind that we will see some players that were born in the year 2000 play in the NHL next season.

 

[Menzinger]

It still blows my mind that we will see some players that were born in the year 2000 play in the NHL next season.

Statistically a player born in 1987 will be leaving their primes

 

[horner]

I think we are going to draft in the range of
15 to 20 range

Jack Mcbain c 6-03 190 -
any info on this kid

Jeff Woo d -
have seen this kid play offence and defence are really good

Evan Bouchard d
Same as above


Another kid that is going to be a later round pick 3rd or 4 the .

Alec Regula d 6-04 190
Watch alot of londons games this kid is going to be really good
He never seems to get rattled.
Tape to tape passes
I think he has some offence in his game

 

[Stephen]

I wonder what the policy will be regarding small skilled wingers? Hunter and co. have been drafting a ton of small skilled guys: Marner, Bracco, Timashov, Dzierkals, added to Nylander, Brown, Kapanen, Soshnikov, Johnsson. Some teams like Ottawa are overdrafting centermen so they have more versatility in their forward group. I wonder if that's a direction the Leafs will go in?