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

Who is BPA available at 24?

  • Benoit-Oliver Groulx - C

  • Jacob Olofsson - C

  • Dominik Bokk - C

  • Ryan Merkley - RD

  • Rasmus Sandin - LD

  • Jett Woo -RD

  • Miller LD/Samuellsson LD/Thomas LW (3/8 appearances)

  • Liam Foudy - C


Results are only viewable after voting.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Apotheosis

Registered User
Mar 27, 2014
11,605
5,140
Toronto, Ontario
Just saw the score and highlights. Jesus Christ, 8-1. I'm still very very high on his offensive ceiling, but he would definitely be a project defensively. Cannot see him going in the top 15 right now.
 

93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
33,841
20,900
Toronto
Just saw the score and highlights. Jesus Christ, 8-1. I'm still very very high on his offensive ceiling, but he would definitely be a project defensively. Cannot see him going in the top 15 right now.
Who are you talking about? The only 8-1 score was Sauga.

Gulph lost 3-1, with Merkley being directly at fault for the last 2 goals which happened in the last 5, but they did get destroyed by Flint mid-week (7-1). The problem with Merkley is he's a project who hasn't shown any willingness to listen to multiple coaches at this point. He's another Ryan Murphy. He'll go top 15 because someone will sell themselves on fixing him. If they manage to get through to him, then it will look great, but I don't like the odds of it.

It will be an interesting draft, it's better than last year, but the OHL crop outside of Svechnikov seems really weak and the WHL isn't that strong. The saving grace could be Sweden and USNTDP. I don't agree with the people trying to compare this to 2003 and 2015. I don't know what universe those people are living in.
 

Apotheosis

Registered User
Mar 27, 2014
11,605
5,140
Toronto, Ontario
Who are you talking about? The only 8-1 score was Sauga.

Gulph lost 3-1, with Merkley being directly at fault for the last 2 goals which happened in the last 5, but they did get destroyed by Flint mid-week (7-1). The problem with Merkley is he's a project who hasn't shown any willingness to listen to multiple coaches at this point. He's another Ryan Murphy. He'll go top 15 because someone will sell themselves on fixing him. If they manage to get through to him, then it will look great, but I don't like the odds of it.

It will be an interesting draft, it's better than last year, but the OHL crop outside of Svechnikov seems really weak and the WHL isn't that strong. The saving grace could be Sweden and USNTDP. I don't agree with the people trying to compare this to 2003 and 2015. I don't know what universe those people are living in.

I was referencing Merkley because of Sauga losing 8-1. Should have specified. And yeah, I'm starting to come around on that. Still have faint hope of him playing in Toronto could fix him, but this isn't look good for him at all. Much safer options littered through this draft.
 

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
35,591
16,773
Who are you talking about? The only 8-1 score was Sauga.

Gulph lost 3-1, with Merkley being directly at fault for the last 2 goals which happened in the last 5, but they did get destroyed by Flint mid-week (7-1). The problem with Merkley is he's a project who hasn't shown any willingness to listen to multiple coaches at this point. He's another Ryan Murphy. He'll go top 15 because someone will sell themselves on fixing him. If they manage to get through to him, then it will look great, but I don't like the odds of it.

It will be an interesting draft, it's better than last year, but the OHL crop outside of Svechnikov seems really weak and the WHL isn't that strong. The saving grace could be Sweden and USNTDP. I don't agree with the people trying to compare this to 2003 and 2015. I don't know what universe those people are living in.

The Q actually looks comparable for once. It's really dropped off in the past few years, besides 2015. Essentially nobody outside of the 1st round in the QMJHL draft is taken, and even then it's iffy. Most of the guys with skill are very undersized and one dimensional, and even then can not compare with similar styled players from Europe or other NA leagues. Most of the big guys are 'meh', and a lot of the goalies, even the high end ones, are busting. Even if they get a good number of guys drafted, you see a lot of them bust or not meet expectations (or just be worse than guys they could have taken from other leagues). I think that's why the Leafs have stayed away recently.

This year though, I think you could see some good 2nd pairing and 2nd line guys. Not centerpieces but guys the Leafs need for the future. Maybe the Leafs even dip in there for once. A good center or bigger LW are decent priorities, and while the Leafs are not hurting for talent back there (or really anywhere), a good defenseman is never a bad investment.
 

93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
33,841
20,900
Toronto
The Q actually looks comparable for once. It's really dropped off in the past few years, besides 2015. Essentially nobody outside of the 1st round in the QMJHL draft is taken, and even then it's iffy. Most of the guys with skill are very undersized and one dimensional, and even then can not compare with similar styled players from Europe or other NA leagues. Most of the big guys are 'meh', and a lot of the goalies, even the high end ones, are busting. Even if they get a good number of guys drafted, you see a lot of them bust or not meet expectations (or just be worse than guys they could have taken from other leagues). I think that's why the Leafs have stayed away recently.

This year though, I think you could see some good 2nd pairing and 2nd line guys. Not centerpieces but guys the Leafs need for the future. Maybe the Leafs even dip in there for once. A good center or bigger LW are decent priorities, and while the Leafs are not hurting for talent back there (or really anywhere), a good defenseman is never a bad investment.
Yeah, Quebec has had trouble producing top talent for awhile, which has hurt the league, and it isn't balanced out by the improved guys from the Maritimes over the past 2 decades. The league has really been dependent on imports. Although, I really like the 2001 class for the QMJHL, I was very impressed by Jakob Pelletier in my views of Moncton this year, and Lafreniere is getting rave reviews. This year the Q is pretty interesting with Zadina, Groulx, Veleno, McIssac, Dobson and Xavier Bouchard. I really like Zadina, and think he could fight for that 3rd overall spot.

The draft is starting to shake out, and there will be an interesting amount of competition between 3 and 20 or so. It feels like Dahlin has put some distance between him and Svechnikov. Right now, I'm pretty open to anyone, considering I have the expectations of drafting in the 20's. I'm wondering if Allen McShane could be this years Nick Suzuki.
 

93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
33,841
20,900
Toronto
Also, want to post this. Has some quality insight about this years draft (how it compares to previous years) and a heavy focus on 3 kids from the USNTDP.

 

93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
33,841
20,900
Toronto
Who's the better prospect, Liljegren or Boqvist?
At this moment in time, people hold Boqvist in higher regard, but that could easily flip as Boqvist is stuck in J-20's (probably too small for the SHL right now) and Liljegren can prove last year was mostly mono and not a massive set back (or stagnation).

Outside of Hlinka, it is very hard for anyone to get significant viewings of Boqvist. This is due to finding J-20 games to watch is not an easy task, and he simply isn't playing in the SHL (2 games played with an average of 6 minutes).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glenn Healy

93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
33,841
20,900
Toronto
i want one of the finnish centers..i want another talented center in our system..we don't need wingers
When your drafting in the mid-20's its not a good idea to focus on positions. We have no idea what our roster will look like in 2020-21/21-22, when we need to fill holes. By then we will have to move on from players and we will need wingers to potentially replace guys like Hyman, Brown, etc. The only real lock to be an effective NHLer in our system on the wing is Kapanen. Guys like Grundstrom, Korshkov, Bracco, etc are promising but the chances of them being top 9 players is still less than a coin flip.
 

TheMadHatTrick

Registered User
Nov 2, 2008
6,628
2,676
Not that he was ever in our range but Jett Woo looking good in the early going. I really like his game. Just solid at everything.
 

darrylsittler27

Registered User
Oct 21, 2002
6,582
1,051
You always take BPA, but he is right, we don't need wingers. I'm guessing it will be C first and Dman second. How are the goalies in this draft?
 

TheMadHatTrick

Registered User
Nov 2, 2008
6,628
2,676
You always take BPA, but he is right, we don't need wingers. I'm guessing it will be C first and Dman second. How are the goalies in this draft?

The goalies don't look as good as last year's crop. I wouldn't take either of the current top guys above the 3rd.

As far as positions go we're somewhat lucky as our needs and the strengths of the draft seem to be overlapping. Lots of defensemen and centres currently in the first round conversation.
 

AppsSyl

Registered User
May 28, 2015
4,113
2,291
I don't know if he will be around where we end up picking, but Jack McBain is a guy I wouldn't mind drafting. Big centre with hands.
 

darrylsittler27

Registered User
Oct 21, 2002
6,582
1,051
I will say this, it looks like Andersen will have Toronto over a barrel in 3 years. Goalies take a while, so unless Woll pans out we will be paying him about $7M/ yr. Is he worth it? Sure, if he wins cups. Another weak G draft means we are missing our window and putting all our eggs in the Andersen basket.
 

MR4

Registered User
Oct 20, 2014
6,270
2,253
I will say this, it looks like Andersen will have Toronto over a barrel in 3 years. Goalies take a while, so unless Woll pans out we will be paying him about $7M/ yr. Is he worth it? Sure, if he wins cups. Another weak G draft means we are missing our window and putting all our eggs in the Andersen basket.
Pickard's been really underrated around here, he was looked at as replacing Varly in Colorado before last season where everyone sucked on that team. Having him and Andy as a tandem for the next 3 years is a dream to me
 

Kiwi

Registered User
Mar 5, 2016
20,979
15,855
The Naki
I will say this, it looks like Andersen will have Toronto over a barrel in 3 years. Goalies take a while, so unless Woll pans out we will be paying him about $7M/ yr. Is he worth it? Sure, if he wins cups. Another weak G draft means we are missing our window and putting all our eggs in the Andersen basket.

You can always trade for one, thats how we got Andersen, no way I'd pay a goaltender 7M+ a year
 

darrylsittler27

Registered User
Oct 21, 2002
6,582
1,051
You may or may not be able to trade for one(Goalie) and you may not like the price. Seems to me Price, Fleury, Murray, Crawford,Quick were all drafted. I'm not seeing a lot of top flight goalies being traded out there unless you mean Rask(jk). Granted Lou traded for Schneider but the price was a top 9 pick which we won't have anymore. Point being we need to draft one or we will be paying him a lot and it may screw up our payroll to keep him.If Andersen wins a cup he could get $7M as UFA.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->