I'm going to go out on a limb and say Merkley drops to us and the Leafs take him.
Me aswell and I doubt Merkley makes it to 31.I'd rather take Woo or Xavier Bouchard myself, I'd like to see us take a more well rounded defenseman if we're taking defense in the 1st round
I'd rather take Woo or Xavier Bouchard myself, I'd like to see us take a more well rounded defenseman if we're taking defense in the 1st round
Me aswell and I doubt Merkley makes it to 31.
I doubt they reach our pick, which is what I'm saying.
He was terrible in the last 5 minutes tonight. I'd be a bit surprised if Hunter took him.I'm going to go out on a limb and say Merkley drops to us and the Leafs take him.
Who are you talking about? The only 8-1 score was Sauga.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.
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.
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 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.
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).Who's the better prospect, Liljegren or Boqvist?
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.i want one of the finnish centers..i want another talented center in our system..we don't need wingers
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?
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 meI 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.
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.