2018 NHL Entry Draft Thread (Less then 24 Hours Edition)

[The Great Weal]

One can dream, but would it be too much to ask for Bergevin to trade Pacioretty for a high pick and get Kotkaniemi ?

Id be very tempted to as well, but we should be focusing on getting g 1sts for next year too. So if Kotkaniemi falls, and a team offers 2 1sts for Patches, then you should go for it.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

One can dream, but would it be too much to ask for Bergevin to trade Pacioretty for a high pick and get Kotkaniemi ?

I can see teams like Edmonton and Florida having interest in Patch, also Islanders have two early/mid first rounders and then maybe a team like Carolina with a new owner would want to add a proven to player to try to make the playoffs.

 

[Habs Icing]

Kotkaniemi rising this late is an interesting surprise for a guy who's been following the draft from far for most of the year. He's a late birthday, he's got some good size, comes from an organization with a fairly good reputation (Saarela, Lindell, Aho, Lindbohm, Raanta, Armia have all played in the NHL since 2012) and most importantly, he has the name of our savior in his name: kotkaNIEMI. He's an E5 to MTL in my books.

I'd like us to draft him just so I can say cockamamie.

 

[Mrb1p]

Honestly, the way Berggren and Dellandrea are playing in this tournament makes me confortable enough to go with a Dman with our first : we could address a lot of the center issues by drafting one of the two in the late first/early second. Berggren in particular has a lot of plus offensive tools in my book, his ability to make plays at high speed particularly . He'd automatically be the best center in our depth chart if we can grab him. The one flaw in that is that I'm staring to think both will be gone by the 25th-ish pick, we'd have to do quite a bit of wheeling and dealing to make it happen. A Boqvist + Berggren/Dellandrea haul would have me all smiles.

This is true. As much as I love Kotkaniemi, I'd be a lot happier coming out the the draft with Boqvist and Berggren/Dellandrea than I would be with Kotkaniemi and Sandin (Because I really do not believe Tycho will be there.)

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

It's not impossible...since I can guarantee the Ottawa Senators aren't picking Svechnikov.

They don't draft Russian born players and haven't for awhile.

So if Habs remain 4th...and the Senators somehow drop to #3.

The top 4 could legitimately be; Dahlin, Zadina, (sens pick), Svechnikov

I could definitely see Ottawa drafting Boqvist as a Karlsson replacment. Buffalo could go D too and have a history of not drafting Russians, so I could in fact be Nostradamus.

 

[417]

I've seen a lot of Sens fans who like Boqvist as their pick.

If the draft were to unravel as I just described...I could see Sens drafting Boqvist for sure.

 

[Habs Icing]

	W-3D	W-1D	W-EK	2C-3D	2C-1D	2C-EK	1C-3D	1C-1D	1C-EK
Jesperi Kotkaniemi	x	x	x		x	x			x
Adam Boqvist				x			x	x

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Okay, so in this confusing table, I've marked 3 possibilities for each player: a winger, a 2C, and a 1C for Kotkaniemi, and a 3D, a 1D which should be interpreted as a good starting pairing dman, and Erik Karlsson, for Boqvist. The X indicates which player I would regret taking in the scenario indicated in each column.

Essentially, we have to pick a row. A criterion for picking a row could be that you want to pick the row with the smallest sum. If all regrets are equal, and the likelihood of each column is equal, that means Kotkaniemi loses by a factor of 2. Now, not all columns are equally likely (the EK columns are perhaps the least likely), and not all the weights are likely to be equal. For example, is it better to have a 1C instead of a 3D? Or a 3D instead of a W? To select your player, you'd have to multiply your regrets by their column likelihood, and sum them up for each row, and choose the smaller number.

An alternative is that we can select the row with has the smallest maximum regret. The maximum regret in Jesperi's row would be that he turns into a winger, while Boqvist turns into Erik Karlsson. The maximum regret in Boqvist's row would be that he turns into a 3D while Jesperi is, at last, the fabled unicorn 1C. I think Boqvist wins by that criterion.

I'll bet you chase your shadow when you're at home all alone.

 

[417]

I don't see a team taking Zadina over Svechnikov.

There is more chance that Zadina falls out of the top 3, then that he passes Svechnikov IMO.

Perhaps...i'm just saying, the Sens are currently picking 2nd.

They're not drafting Svechnikov.

I'm not sure if this 'policy' was instituted during Bryan Murray's tenure as GM, but they haven't drafted a Russian born player since 1997 (Ruslan Bashkirov) and even then, he was playing in the Q then.

 

[The Great Weal]

Nobody is passing up on Svechnikov at 2 lol

 

[Andrei79]

Id be very tempted to as well, but we should be focusing on getting g 1sts for next year too. So if Kotkaniemi falls, and a team offers 2 1sts for Patches, then you should go for it.

Oh, absolutely. A 1st this year, assuming its for Kotkaniemi, and a first for next year would be about the ideal return I'd want for Pacioretty. I just think Bergy would be the type to settle for a 1st and some garbage roster player. I could see us trade him with a second for Lucic+Edmontons first.

I can see teams like Edmonton and Florida having interest in Patch, also Islanders have two early/mid first rounders and then maybe a team like Carolina with a new owner would want to add a proven to player to try to make the playoffs.

You've pretty much nailed down why I think we could add a high first for Pacioretty this year. It really is the perfect time to trade him and to specifically target Kotkaniemi.

Assuming we don't get Dahlin or Svech, we could end up with Boqvist+Kotkaniemi, that would make me a happy camper.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

There's a MUCH better chance that Zadina gets picked outside of the top 3 than Svechnikov . I'd say the latter is damn near impossible, outside of a giant, ludicrous case of Russian bias.

 

[Habs Icing]

Nobody is passing up on Svechnikov at 2 lol

How about MB. Tkachuck would still be on the board

 

[The Great Weal]

Oh, absolutely. A 1st this year, assuming its for Kotkaniemi, and a first for next year would be about the ideal return I'd want for Pacioretty. I just think Bergy would be the type to settle for a 1st and some garbage roster player. I could see us trade him with a second for Lucic+Edmontons first.

I would be upset with that. Nevertheless, if Kotkaniemi is there at 16, 16+JAD could be interesting.

 

[Habs Icing]

This is MB's make or break year even for Molson. So the posters that are expecting MB to make moves like Pacioretty for simply high draft picks (even two first rounders) are not looking at the reality of the situation. MB needs results this coming year. At the very least they need to make the playoffs and even that I don't think will save his job. He would need a decent run in the playoffs. So Pacioretty is most likely being traded for established NHL players.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I'll bet you chase your shadow when you're at home all alone.

That's how I stay sharp.

 

[The Great Weal]

Brian Wilde is such a f***er. He says that he believes that the Habs will draft the listed guys then goes about and says that it's his list.

 

[bryan1966]

Any chance Serron Noel falls to the second round? He has impressed me in the U18 tournament so far, big, physical, skating, scoring touch!

 

[Andrei79]

Btw, TaiwanHockey has uploaded some of the games on his youtube channel.

 

[The Great Weal]

How is Jake wise at the u18?

 

[ProspectsSTC]

Just gave the DraftWired draft simulation a go and traded up and down a few times. Ended up with:

6 - Boqvist
22 - Kotkaniemi
38 - Kravtsov
56 - Dellandrea
64 - Gustafsson
66 - McShane
97 - Shafigullin
102 - Foudy
123 - Zhuravylov
128 - O'Reilly
129 - Dunkley
177 - Wylie

Can you say "Instant rebuild"?

 

[hawkeerox]

Watching Canada/Sweden game late, quick personal observations;

Noel: Liking what I am seeing asside from the ****ty balance.
Fonstad: I don't understand the love for him, he didn't impressed me, doesn't generate much, weak along the boards, not a speedster.
Veleno: Best pivots to create space I ever seen pretty much, good puck-mover.
Dellandrea: Growing on me. Love is compete level, plays the game the right way.
McBain: Leaves me wanting more.
Thomas: Invisible.
Foody: Skate like the wind, his game will translate some way pretty sure.
Dudas: Not a fan. Too small sadly. Like his compete level, but doesn't generate much.

McIaac: Vanilla. Don't see much offensive upside at the NHL level, don't see what he is doing on the PP.
Merkley: His best game, but I can see why people are frustrated with his play, truly lacks of intensity in his game, leaves you wanting more.
Smith: Impressed. Poise. Strong puck-moving ability. Smart.
Bahl: He isn't just big, knows how to play the game effectively.
.

Mind if I respond?

The Noel comment is hilarious - the balance thing should change as he grows into his size even more, hehheh
Fonstad? Hockey smarts is what a lot are saying about him, though exactly in what parts of the game I am not sure
Veleno: Played a solid yesterday
Dellandrea: TSN guys were showing the love for him yesterday! He really shone.
McBain: Yah, it is like he is on the cusp but something not quite there yet - he's been playing left wing, until switching to center in the 2nd period last game. So I wonder if he stays at center he may give us more, since it is his natural position.
Thomas: He did get knocked out early, unless you mean for the entire tourney
Foudy: Fast is right!
Dudas: well, I'm a fan, I think he will overcome size issues.
McIsaac: You didn't think he was solid last game>?
Merkey-Bird: Once again, he creates more anticipation for the draft with everyone wondering what to do about him - see the fist bump he got from the head coach?
Smith: Brain-farting at times, causing goals! Smart, yes - consistent, no.
Bahl: I like that guy more and more.

hey thanks for sharing your comments

 

[WeThreeKings]

How is Jake wise at the u18?

Good in the first game.. then he's been invisible since.

 

[Price4Prez]

Am i the only one here who thinks the only player in this draft class who can step in next year and have an impact is Dahlin?

Many good prospects and future NHLers, none that can have a major impact within the next 2 yrs.

If you disagree, id love to hear which players can. Maybe there is some here that have watched particular players more and have a better sense of their potential.

 

[The Great Weal]

Good in the first game.. then he's been invisible since.

I wonder where he ends goes. Mid 2nd is my guess.

 

[The Great Weal]

Am i the only one here who thinks the only player in this draft class who can step in next year and have an impact is Dahlin?

Many good prospects and future NHLers, none that can have a major impact within the next 2 yrs.

If you disagree, id love to hear which players can. Maybe there is some here that have watched particular players more and have a better sense of their potential.

I disagree. Svechnikov will have an impact in the NHL next year. He would probably the best forward on this team right now.