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

[Menzinger]

Starting goalies are probably the easiest core piece to get. They're always avilible on the trade market due to limited about of starting jobs. I mean the Leafs just bought one for a pair of picks.

That said, got nothing against taking a goalie at the coming draft but wouldn't waste a first or second round pick on one. Use a mid/late round pick and hope they take a "boom" in their development

 

[darrylsittler27]

A first rounder I wouldn't pay for a goalie but a 2nd rounder I would pay. Mind you Price and Fleury turned out well.

 

[Johny Drama]

A first rounder I wouldn't pay for a goalie but a 2nd rounder I would pay. Mind you Price and Fleury turned out well.

Would never say never.
I thought at the time, when we picked Tukka Rask, this was a really good pick.
Goalies definitely seem to be more unpredictable and take longer to develop, but that doesnt mean you ignore them until later in the draft.

 

[Walshy7]

I have this gut feeling we will be without a 1st this year. Not sure why I just think we will trade it, obviously it would be in a package for a age appropriate top4D which I would be fine with. Unless of course we trade JVR in which case we will have at least 1 1st

 

[4thline]

You always take BPA, but he is right, we don't need wingers.

Sure we do. by the time a winger drafted this year is AHL ready (let alone NHL) the current wing glut will be through the system. We need everything.

 

[gabeliscious]

Sure we do. by the time a winger drafted this year is AHL ready (let alone NHL) the current wing glut will be through the system. We need everything.

centers and defense are a way bigger priority imo. even a stud goalie in the system is a bigger priority then more wingers.

a team needs a continual influx of players at every position but some positions are just easier to fill. ie. wing.

right now the leafs youth movement looks something like;

( ) = age

hyman (25) matthews (20) nylander (21)
xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx marner (20)
xxxxxxxx kadri (27) brown (23)
xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx

wingers in system:
leivo (24)
grundstrom (19)
goat (24)
kapanen (21)
bracco (20)
johnsson (22)
altonen (24)

all of the above wingers in the system have a very shot at being full time nhlers imo. the depth at center is scary bad and at defense isnt much better. The only position of weakness worse is goaltending. andersen is young and locked up but given the length of time it takes to develop a goalie properly it would be wise to look for one sooner then later. i dont think sparks is our guy.

based on the above wingers, i am convinced that nylander will be a center next season. it makes no difference how amazing the chemistry with matthews is. both are elite players, they will succeed with any somewhat decent player.

hyman-matthews-marner
marleau-nylander-kapanen
xxxxxx-kadri - brown

 

[4thline]

centers and defense are a way bigger priority imo. even a stud goalie in the system is a bigger priority then more wingers.

a team needs a continual influx of players at every position but some positions are just easier to fill. ie. wing.

right now the leafs youth movement looks something like;

( ) = age

hyman (25) matthews (20) nylander (21)
xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx marner (20)
xxxxxxxx kadri (27) brown (23)
xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx

wingers in system:
leivo (24)
grundstrom (19)
goat (24)
kapanen (21)
bracco (20)
johnsson (22)
altonen (24)

all of the above wingers in the system have a very shot at being full time nhlers imo. the depth at center is scary bad and at defense isnt much better. The only position of weakness worse is goaltending. andersen is young and locked up but given the length of time it takes to develop a goalie properly it would be wise to look for one sooner then later. i dont think sparks is our guy.

based on the above wingers, i am convinced that nylander will be a center next season. it makes no difference how amazing the chemistry with matthews is. both are elite players, they will succeed with any somewhat decent player.

hyman-matthews-marner
marleau-nylander-kapanen
xxxxxx-kadri - brown

Agree on centre, disagree on D. It's all about timing/ flow and contact/ development status.

Of that group a grand total of 1 will still be on an elc by the time a normal 2018 pick is AHL ready, let alone NHL. By that point the rest will either be on the roster, on someone elses roster, or trending towards being an AHL lifer not worth much (Rychel currently). There are 8 wing spots at the NHL level, let's say at least half should be filled with legitimate prospects. Kara is our only wing prospect born in 98 or 99. Our wing group is old, and this depth is going to age out.

At D on the other hand we have
Greenway-Middleton-Mattinen-Liljegren-Rasanen-Gordeev-O'connell.

We need everything. and we need a constant pipeline of it. But "constant" has constraints

 

[TMLeafs17]

Loads of great Dmen this draft, hope we snag a winner

 

[DDRhockey]

Loads of great Dmen this draft, hope we snag a winner

Adam boqvist could fall to leafs

 

[realgoodleafs]

We have a lot of wingers now but we could lose Komarov, Bozak, and JVR. If Bozak is gone then Nylander might move to center. 2 years after this upcoming draft Marleau will be gone. So that's 4 wingers gone and we'll be tight to the cap.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

We have a lot of wingers now but we could lose Komarov, Bozak, and JVR. If Bozak is gone then Nylander might move to center. 2 years after this upcoming draft Marleau will be gone. So that's 4 wingers gone and we'll be tight to the cap.

Even if JVR and Leo leave we're still pretty overloaded. Lets say Leivo or Kap take JVR's spot, Grundstrom or Soshnikov take Leo's spot, that still leaves us with Johnsson, Bracco, Timashov, Aaltonen, Rychel.

Our biggest need is centre depth. Not that we should draft for need, but if the talent is equal I go C, D, W.

Luckily C and D seem to be the deepest positions in the draft.

 

[4thline]

Even if JVR and Leo leave we're still pretty overloaded. Lets say Leivo or Kap take JVR's spot, Grundstrom or Soshnikov take Leo's spot, that still leaves us with Johnsson, Bracco, Timashov, Aaltonen, Rychel.

Whose ages for the 20-21 season will be something like 26, 23, 24, 27, 26. Bracco and Timashov will be the only factors in the pipeline at that point, and it will be as make it break players who have to go through waivers for the first time. The rest are our current depth. 2018 picks are our future depth, the next wave. We're not picking for next season, or the season after that, or even the one after that. We're picking the players to be ready to replace Brown/Hyman and even Kap/Grundstrom/Korshkov 4-5 years from now when we can't afford to keep them. That being said a Poehling type late 1st 2way C with decent offensive upside i by far our biggest need in this draft. 4 year development time has them right on track to replace Kadri. D I'm not concerned about. Wouldn't be mad about a pick because of it, but the pipeline is pretty full atm and we've shown a pretty great ability to fill the gaps overseas

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Whose ages for the 20-21 season will be something like 26, 23, 24, 27, 26. Bracco and Timashov will be the only factors in the pipeline at that point, and it will be as make it break players who have to go through waivers for the first time. The rest are our current depth. 2018 picks are our future depth, the next wave. We're not picking for next season, or the season after that, or even the one after that. We're picking the players to be ready to replace Brown/Hyman and even Kap/Grundstrom/Korshkov 4-5 years from now when we can't afford to keep them. That being said a Poehling type late 1st 2way C with decent offensive upside i by far our biggest need in this draft. 4 year development time has them right on track to replace Kadri. D I'm not concerned about. Would be mad about a pick because of it, but the pipeline is pretty full atm and we've shown a pretty great ability to fill the gaps overseas

Allan Mcshane is intriguing if you're looking for a two-way centre. Brock, who covers the OHL, compares him to Ryan O'Reilly.

Other centres currently ranked around us like Ty Dellandrea and Khovanov are pretty interesting as well.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

A first rounder I wouldn't pay for a goalie but a 2nd rounder I would pay. Mind you Price and Fleury turned out well.

Most top 5 picks at any position turn out well.

 

[LeafChief]

Adam boqvist could fall to leafs

I wish it were true but he will likely go top 5-10.

 

[Walshy7]

I wish it were true but he will likely go top 5-10.

this time last year Liljregren was going top2! there is always hope, but this draft i expect we wil be picking 20-24 bit of a longer wait than 17 for a faller

 

[Kiwi]

Allan Mcshane is intriguing if you're looking for a two-way centre. Brock, who covers the OHL, compares him to Ryan O'Reilly.

Other centres currently ranked around us like Ty Dellandrea and Khovanov are pretty interesting as well.

Is Khovanov the kid with hepatitis?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

The one thing the Leafs need more than anything is youth in their prospect pool. They have good young goalies and defensemen (although they could stand to add one more goalie from the NCAA, Europe or Russia and defense is always a good pick if the value is there), but the only 98/99 forwards they have are Kara and McGregor. We need some guys in the 98-00's at forward because we are probably going to start to use some of our 95-97's as trade chips, or they are going to graduate to the NHL. It's quite possible we only see one guy on the Marlies top 6 return next year, and he's not even a prospect.

Now the Leafs are not desperate. Korostelev may come in if there is a mutual agreement. Piccinich, Marchment, Dzeirkals and Pospisil can probably take spots. Moore, Timashov, Brooks and Bracco are all back if none of them are dealt. We may get some Europeans like Bobylev, Engvall, Chebykin, Korshkov and Grundstrom over. Vesey is someone we could give an AHL deal to possibly. Plus the Leafs are never afraid to go looking for some good young guys on AHL deals, and there are going to be vets filling some spots again as well. I do think people would agree though that having only 2 forward prospects under the age of 20 (at any position) means we should probably think about stocking up.

First two rounds I'd probably look at some guys I could get into the organization quickly and are considered a BPA. Guys from the CHL or other places who are willing to come in after a year or two. 3-5 rounds is BPA from anywhere. Maybe a goalie with a 4th/5th rounder here. 7th round I'd consider taking a goalie if one wasn't taken earlier, or I'd take a long term development piece. The only CHLers I would take with a 6th or 7th round pick are ones with 2nd/3rd round skill but fell due to injury (McGregor and Korostelev) or something stupid like whatever happened to Brown.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Is Khovanov the kid with hepatitis?

Looks like you're right. Hopefully he falls to our second. He looks really skilled from what I've seen. I might be confusing him with another guy I watched in a highlight but he does hog the puck a bit, or at least hold onto it a little long, but has nice dangles.

 

[Kiwi]

Looks like you're right. Hopefully he falls to our second. He looks really skilled from what I've seen. I might be confusing him with another guy I watched in a highlight but he does hog the puck a bit, or at least hold onto it a little long, but has nice dangles.

I'd love to draft the kid, he's highly skilled

 

[Wendelstache]

Nylander is a beautiful creature...
This kid creates almost every shift.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

I'd love to draft the kid, he's highly skilled

Might be a Dvorak situation where he falls cause of injury or illness in this case.

 

[Kiwi]

Might be a Dvorak situation where he falls cause of injury or illness in this case.

That and the Russian factor potentially, he's going to be out for awhile so I wouldn't be shocked if he slid a bit at draft time

 

[SeaOfBlue]

That and the Russian factor potentially, he's going to be out for awhile so I wouldn't be shocked if he slid a bit at draft time

Remember Grundstrom was supposed to be an early 2nd/late 1st round prospect too. We got him late. Same with Bracco. We pounce on those types of picks often. Then you get real beauties like Korostelev who is a late 1st/early 2nd round prospect you get in the 7th round. Unfortunately injuries got him again, but had they not, he'd probably be on the Marlies right now. Plus who knows, he needs the extra year in the CHL to make up for his time lost to injuries and then he's ready to come here on an AHL deal or something?

Rasanen was taken where he was expected to be taken. Late 2nd/early 3rd.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

From the teams I follow closely:
London: Evan Bouchard looks really good, top 15-20 if he keeps this up. Foudy and Moskal are off to slow starts, but if London turns things around either could be a good late round pick for center depth, if not higher than that. Otherwise, could be good options for a D+1 if they turn things around next year. Same goes for Whittaker on the wing, Kooy in net and Regula on RD. Kooy has a ton of skill for someone his age, and if he falls due to London having a poor season and an even worse defense, then that could be a major coup for the Leafs.
Sherbrooke: Nothing really worth getting excited about. Alexeyev could be a good undersized playmaking wing addition in the later rounds. Having another pretty good year in his D+1. Other than that, Anderson MacDonald, who was dealt to Moncton, looks like he may fall to the 2nd round but he's a great scorer (29 goals as a rookie on a weak team) and has size. Could be a top 6 PWF/SNP type.
Sault Ste. Marie: Barrett Hayton looks like a top 60 center prospect, possibly even in the top 30-40. Haven't seem much of Sandin, but he's supposed to be a late 1st/early 2nd defensive prospect as well.
Saginaw: Blade Jenkins has struggled since being a top draft choice, but could turn things around and be a worthy late round pick. Damien Giroux is an undersized center/wing who looks like a late 3rd round pick/early 4th round pick. He's doing pretty well.
Spokane: Filip Kral looks like a 2nd round quality defenseman. Maybe drops to the 3rd round, but he's got skills. Ty Smith could go top 10 or even top 5. They've got some other decent 2000's who could be taken in the later rounds, but are more likely to be taken as a D+1 if they have a good follow up year like the guys in London. They also have some 99's who may be worth a pick in the late rounds, like Weatherill (went to SJS camp) and McIndoe (who we invited to camp).
Prince Albert: Cole Fonstad looks like a 3rd rounder as a smaller center/wing. Otherwise, a few 00's who are struggling but may turn things around and a few 99's on defense who may be worth a late round pick.

As for NCAA guys drafted by these teams: Johnny Gruden is a 3rd round winger to me. Scorer, average or slightly below average size. You see a lot of those types of guys go in the 3rd round. Gavin Hain is a 2nd-4th round center prospect. 5'11" but skilled. Jacob Goldowski may be a 5-7 center prospect. Bode Wilde is a top 10-15 pick. Mitchell Morrison and Tyler McBay may get late round consideration. Tkachuk is considered a top 5 prospect. Dominik Bokk (CHL Import Pick) may be a 2nd/3rd round winger prospect. Jacob Semik is rated as a 2nd round defensive prospect, but I think he'll end up being taken in rounds 3-5. Peter Muzyka may be a late round pick.