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

[Sundinisagod]

Trade up a few picks and grab C Barret Hayton, or LW Denisenko.

Bokk is a RW and the Leafs are stacked there as well.

Denisenko is the one you hope falls to us.

If Nylander becomes a centre, we could use another top 6 RW imho.

 

[DraftGuru]

Based on being interviewed, I think Dubas has narrowed down his first round choices to 10,
Kupari.
Lundestrom.
Hayton.
Dellandrea.
Veleno.
Wilde
Miller
Bokk
Farabee
Noel
Farabee, Veleno and Hayton wont be there at 25 so we are down to 7. I think this will be their top 7 draft list at 25. At least 1 of those 7 should be there.

Kupari
Lundestrom
Wilde
Miller
Dellandrea
Noel
Bokk

You can even throw in Olofsson as well. They interviewed Sandin and McLeod also but I see that perhaps they wanted to appear interested seeing Dubas' ties with SSM and smoothing things over with Ryan McLeod after Mirtle released his article saying that McLeod was a Hunter pick and Dubas wants nothing to do with picking McLeod at 25

 

[HC7]

Couple things.

K'Andre Miller is what we were hoping Greenway to be. Massive D-Man with a ton of tools. Difference is that the advanced stats show Miller to be the best D-Man from the USDNTP this year, and it's not even close. Mitch Brown does some fantastic work and suggest to read his work if you question the validity of his project. His ceiling is honestly Hedman/Jones.

I change my mind constantly however if we can grab one of the following players we should be in good shape. At this point I would do a lot to get some more late 1st early 2nds. There's a ton of talent in that area which will be better than a lot of the players in the 10-20 range. On draft night maybe that changes however there are some really good players in our range.

Miller
Wise
Berggren
Merkley

 

[93LEAFS]

Miller would be a great pick. Out of the boom/bust defenders people around here like, he's by far my favorite from a tools perspective. Sort of wish he was going to a coach with a better development track record, but Wisconsin is still a historic program when it comes to college hockey.

I really question Addison's ability to play NHL level defense. Merkley is a no-draft for me.

I like Samuelsson at 25, as he really looks like a player who can compliment Liljegren long-term.

I'm still hoping for one of the two Russians. Denisenko is going to be playing in the CHL or AHL next year. Kravtsov is probably left over there for another 2 years.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Denisenko is the one you hope falls to us.

If Nylander becomes a centre, we could use another top 6 RW imho.

Could be, but I feel Marner, Kapanen, Brown have RW locked down...and chances one of the lesser possibilities steps up, like Korshkov or Grundstrom (who I prefer on LW)...even if Nylander moves to C eventually, RW is still an organizational strength I believe (unlike LW).

 

[Rielly4]

Could be, but I feel Marner, Kapanen, Brown have RW locked down...and chances one of the lesser possibilities steps up, like Korshkov or Grundstrom (who I prefer on LW)...even if Nylander moves to C eventually, RW is still an organizational strength I believe (unlike LW).

Johnsson, Grundstrom, Korshkov, Moore, Marchment, Timashov, Engvall. We definitely have a ton of depth at LW maybe just not the high end guys like Kapanen, Marner, Brown. But after the guys in the NHL the only real RW prospect we have is Bracco...Who i like but we could definitely use more depth. Yes we have the top 2 RW spots probably locked down for a long time but we will still need fresh bottom 6 RWers in the coming years.

 

[Stigma]

Just a fan who watched a lot of junior this year. Glad you enjoyed it and hope others here do too (I'm a closet leafs fan)

Yeah, I thought it was great! You should seriously consider a blog or becoming a freelance writer for a hockey website.

If you have a minute, can you give a brief summary for Sandin and Lundestrom? I noticed there's no write-up for those two on your list and they're brought up a lot around here.

 

[hockeynorth]

Barring there being impact imports or a surprise USNTDP kid showing up, 2019 looks like a very sub-par OHL year. I'm not sure if there is one kid there who I'd be comfortable calling a sure-fire 1st round pick a year from the draft. 2017 had at least 2 of them in Tippett and Vilardi. This draft class didn't look great in that regard either until Svechnikov came. Not a shock that 2019 will be a bad OHL class considering arguably the top 5 kids in the OHL draft for 2017 all went to the USNTDP (Hughes, Turcotte, Beecher, Vlasic, and Case McCarthy).

Next year the WHL will be the league to watch. Absolutely amazing class coming from there. USNTDP will also.

Watch Kaliev, who was a nice surprise, Murray who was great at both ends for Sudbury, and Suzuki who has a lot of potential.

 

[Judas Tavares]

Based on being interviewed, I think Dubas has narrowed down his first round choices to 10,
Kupari.
Lundestrom.
Hayton.
Dellandrea.
Veleno.
Wilde
Miller
Bokk
Farabee
Noel
Farabee, Veleno and Hayton wont be there at 25 so we are down to 7. I think this will be their top 7 draft list at 25. At least 1 of those 7 should be there.

Kupari
Lundestrom
Wilde
Miller
Dellandrea
Noel
Bokk

You can even throw in Olofsson as well. They interviewed Sandin and McLeod also but I see that perhaps they wanted to appear interested seeing Dubas' ties with SSM and smoothing things over with Ryan McLeod after Mirtle released his article saying that McLeod was a Hunter pick and Dubas wants nothing to do with picking McLeod at 25

Interesting list. I think Kupari will be gone at #25. I feel like Dellandrea and Lundestrom would be targets if we move down to the early 30s. Not that I would be upset if we took Dellandrea at 25, he is a personal favourite. So that would leave Wilde, Miller, Noel and Bokk at 25, as I don't think they will make it into the 2nd round. As we get closer, my gut is saying Miller and Tychonick are the 2 they are zeroing in on, but honestly its almost impossible to tell.

 

[FrankGallagher]

Yeah, I thought it was great! You should seriously consider a blog or becoming a freelance writer for a hockey website.

If you have a minute, can you give a brief summary for Sandin and Lundestrom? I noticed there's no write-up for those two on your list and they're brought up a lot around here.

Thanks, maybe someday but liked just posting it here for free more of a hobby than something I'm looking to profit on.

Not a problem. Sandin really has one standout ability, his brain. Can tell he really understands the game and sees every single option when he has the puck. Very good in transition and has a really slippery ability to beat forecheckers. Offensively he also is a great thinker especially with how he moves without the puck to create room for teammates or slip into the slot unnoticed. His passing also really stands out as he can hit some pretty crazy ones through very tight windows. Defensively he was extremely reliable in the OHL, as he played a tight gap and was physically strong enough to compete with anyone. My questions with him centre around his skating, which is about average for a guy any size, and how much upside he has. He thinks the game better than the non-Tychonick guys he's competing against, but he doesn't have nearly the skating ability, or puck handling skill as well as being more physically developed already.

Lundestrom just never really did a ton for me when I saw him, especially considering his age. If one thing stood out as a strong NHL trait to me, it was his skating. I thought he was an extremely fast and powerful straight line guy who had some agility too. I also really like his IQ, he doesn't look out of place at all as a pro and clearly processes the game very quickly. I don't think he has the puck handling ability or creative and attacking mindset to necessarily take advantage of his speed and smarts. Defensively, like all the Swedish centres this year, he plays a game ahead of his years. He is excellent positionally and does a very good job in battles. Ultimately he's 46th for me because I don't see the talent level or creativity to ever be more than complimentary offensively.

 

[HC7]

Could be, but I feel Marner, Kapanen, Brown have RW locked down...and chances one of the lesser possibilities steps up, like Korshkov or Grundstrom (who I prefer on LW)...even if Nylander moves to C eventually, RW is still an organizational strength I believe (unlike LW).

I wouldn't draft him based on my opinions of him as a player however if you're high on him and he's BPA you have to take him and decide later to trade from a strength for a weakness.

 

[Stigma]

FrankGallagher - Thanks for that. Good observations!

 

[4thline]

I think I'm going to be more apprehensive waiting to see who's available at 52 than about who we pick at 25. With so many interesting options it seems hard to wrong at 25, whereas 52 may well be a chance to grab I guy that I'd be happy with at 25 like we lucked into with Bracco and Grundstrom.

Hallander, Dellandrea, Bernard-Docker, and Berggren seem like too much to hope for, but a Wise/Lundqvist/Johansson would be great.

 

[Morgs]

I know nobody cares, but this is my top-20 RANKINGS as of today:

1. Rasmus Dahlin - LD
2. Andrei Svechnikov - RW
3. Ty Smith - LD
4. Quinn Hughes - LD
5. Adam Boqvist - RD
6. Filip Zadina - LW
7. Oliver Wahlstrom - LW
8. Vitaly Kravtsov - RW
9. Jesperi Kotkaniemi - C/W
10. Noah Dobson - RD
11. Evan Bouchard - RD
12. Brady Tkachuk - LW
13. Joseph Veleno - C
14. Gregori Denisenko - RW
15. Calen Addison - RD
16. Isac Lundestrom - C
17. Rasmus Sandin - LD
18. K'Andre Miller - LD
19. Jonatan Berggren - W
20. Martin Kaut - RW

There will definitely be updates come draft day, but my top-5 is almost guaranteed locked at this point.

 

[Garlando]

I know nobody cares, but this is my top-20 RANKINGS as of today:

1. Rasmus Dahlin - LD
2. Andrei Svechnikov - RW
3. Ty Smith - LD
4. Quinn Hughes - LD
5. Adam Boqvist - RD
6. Filip Zadina - LW
7. Oliver Wahlstrom - LW
8. Vitaly Kravtsov - RW
9. Jesperi Kotkaniemi - C/W
10. Noah Dobson - RD
11. Evan Bouchard - RD
12. Brady Tkachuk - LW
13. Joseph Veleno - C
14. Gregori Denisenko - RW
15. Calen Addison - RD
16. Isac Lundestrom - C
17. Rasmus Sandin - LD
18. K'Andre Miller - LD
19. Jonatan Berggren - W
20. Martin Kaut - RW

There will definitely be updates come draft day, but my top-5 is almost guaranteed locked at this point.

Very interesting list, thanks for sharing! What is it about Ty Smith that has you so much higher on him than most of the consensus?

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Barring there being impact imports or a surprise USNTDP kid showing up, 2019 looks like a very sub-par OHL year. I'm not sure if there is one kid there who I'd be comfortable calling a sure-fire 1st round pick a year from the draft. 2017 had at least 2 of them in Tippett and Vilardi. This draft class didn't look great in that regard either until Svechnikov came. Not a shock that 2019 will be a bad OHL class considering arguably the top 5 kids in the OHL draft for 2017 all went to the USNTDP (Hughes, Turcotte, Beecher, Vlasic, and Case McCarthy).

Next year the WHL will be the league to watch. Absolutely amazing class coming from there. USNTDP will also.

Perhaps it's early, but having had the chance to see him in each game he's played for Kitchener (granted mostly on tv) I'd be comfortable calling Michael Vukojevic a pretty sure fire 1st rounder for the NHL draft next season. Where in the first is another question.

 

[Leafs Fan 12]

Perhaps it's early, but having had the chance to see him in each game he's played for Kitchener (granted mostly on tv) I'd be comfortable calling Michael Vukojevic a pretty sure fire 1st rounder for the NHL draft next season. Where in the first is another question.

I second this. I have seen Vukojevic lives 20+ times and he is a complete stud. I have a friend who knows a few scouts and they said they see him as a top 20 guy for next year. I'd love if the leafs could somehow get him.

 

[DraftGuru]

Craig Button's final draft rankings.
https://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-svechnikov-solidifies-hold-on-second-spot-1.1103996

 

[hockeynorth]

I second this. I have seen Vukojevic lives 20+ times and he is a complete stud. I have a friend who knows a few scouts and they said they see him as a top 20 guy for next year. I'd love if the leafs could somehow get him.

I’ll agree here too hes pretty good, as an avid OHL fan I think we could see a decent amount of fort rounders next tear. The W is clearly has the top guys next year but the OHL will have a presence for sure, and you never know who could surprise

 

[Morgs]

Very interesting list, thanks for sharing! What is it about Ty Smith that has you so much higher on him than most of the consensus?

So many reasons:

1. He might be the best skater in this entire draft. If not, he's tied with Quinn Hughes for #1.
2. His IQ is just absolutely bonkers. You watch him play and he's never put in a bad situation, he always makes the right play and always makes his teammates look better than they are.
3. He slows the game down to his speed. When he's on the ice he's dictating the pace of play.
4. He might be small, but he uses his body so effectively and efficiently that it is no issue to him everywhere on the ice. Great stick & skating really helps him defensively. Makes him better than the rest of the "top offensive guys (Merkley, Addison, Hughes, Boqvist, Bouchard).
5. Has some of the best GF% and relative GF% numbers, as well as leading all undrafted prospects in rel.ESGF/60.
6. His NHLe ranks only behind Bouchard, Merkley, Dahlin, Addison, and Svechnikov.

So in reality I just believe he's barely better than Hughes/Boqvist to be the best defenseman after Dahlin, and that the defenseman (Smith, Hughes, Boqvist) will be better NHL players than the forwards (Zadina, Wahlstrom, Kravtsov).

 

[HockeyGuruPitka]

Wouldnt mind adding some center depth to the organisation. Would love to see Mcleod or Veleno fall to us at 24.

 

[93LEAFS]

I’ll agree here too hes pretty good, as an avid OHL fan I think we could see a decent amount of fort rounders next tear. The W is clearly has the top guys next year but the OHL will have a presence for sure, and you never know who could surprise

There will not be a draft where the OHL doesn't have some presence in the first round. But, next year isn't particularly strong, and picking out who will be a first rounder isn't easy. Right now, barring some quality imports, it looks like on of the weaker OHL classes in recent memory.My point was picking out the guys who look like absolute locks to go in the 1st next year is more challenging than most years. Compared to the Dub, where it will be a surprise if somehow Dach, Krebs, Cozens and Byram or the USNTDP with Turcotte and Hughes, where it would be an absolute shocker if any of those guys slipped out of the first day of the draft.

 

[Sundinisagod]

Could be, but I feel Marner, Kapanen, Brown have RW locked down...and chances one of the lesser possibilities steps up, like Korshkov or Grundstrom (who I prefer on LW)...even if Nylander moves to C eventually, RW is still an organizational strength I believe (unlike LW).

I agree that RW is an organizational strength, but I still maintain that we could use another top 6 RW if Nylander shifts to centre. I see Kapanen being molded into an elite checker, imho he'll be more of a high end 3rd liner than a legit top 6. Brown is a great bottom 6er as well.

Marner
XXX
Kapanen
Brown

 

[LeafChief]

I didn't think the Leafs had a 1st round pick. I thought they were stripped of the 1st round pick from the NHL for falsely failing Lupul's physical.

Does The Winter Soldier care to discuss? I know you're reading.

 

[AppsSyl]

I know nobody cares, but this is my top-20 RANKINGS as of today:

1. Rasmus Dahlin - LD
2. Andrei Svechnikov - RW
3. Ty Smith - LD
4. Quinn Hughes - LD
5. Adam Boqvist - RD
6. Filip Zadina - LW
7. Oliver Wahlstrom - LW
8. Vitaly Kravtsov - RW
9. Jesperi Kotkaniemi - C/W
10. Noah Dobson - RD
11. Evan Bouchard - RD
12. Brady Tkachuk - LW
13. Joseph Veleno - C
14. Gregori Denisenko - RW
15. Calen Addison - RD
16. Isac Lundestrom - C
17. Rasmus Sandin - LD
18. K'Andre Miller - LD
19. Jonatan Berggren - W
20. Martin Kaut - RW

There will definitely be updates come draft day, but my top-5 is almost guaranteed locked at this point.

Thanks for sharing your list.