2018 NHL Entry Draft Thread

[jfm133]

Points are easy to get in the Q, you need to watch how those goals are getting scored.

What a cliché and you pretend to be a serious scout? Veleno is alone upfront in Drummondville. The only other forward with real skills is Xavier Simoneau and he is 16 and 5'6''.

 

[Andrei79]

What a cliché and you pretend to be a serious scout?

Round one... FIGHT !

 

[Fozz]

We'll get a great prospect with our first choice, regardless of who it happens to be. What intrigues me way more is what we can get with those 2nd rounders.

Also, centers and mobile d-men are nice and all but this teams has next to zero quality wingers in the pipeline. If they reach for a guy like Valeno while Wahlstrom is available, that would be plain dumb. Still a great prospect but dumb nonetheless.

 

[Fozz]

I wonder... Has there ever been a study on eating too many arena hot dogs and its potential negative impact on the brain?

 

[SquiddFX]

I wonder... Has there ever been a study on eating too many arena hot dogs and its potential negative impact on the brain?

Something we should ask Phil Kessel the next time we see him.

 

[JeromeHP]

What a cliché and you pretend to be a serious scout? Veleno is alone upfront in Drummondville. The only other forward with real skills is Xavier Simoneau and he is 16 and 5'6''.

yes it's a cliche but its true. There's a lot of bad goaltending around the league, the 98-99 born goalies were not a strong classes (a reason why they want to bring back euro goalies back in the league and overager goalies wouldn't count against the total of 3 overagers per team). One good thing we see a lot of good goalies born in 2000, 2016 Q draft produced some good young netminders with Rodrigue, Gravel, Mandolese, Ellis & Emond.

I like Veleno, i put him #1 in our Q draft guide in 2015 and i like his game (speed and work ethic). I'm just not a believer he will be able to transfer his offensive game to the NHL. I said it earlier but he's very similar to Mike McLeod in many ways.

Sure Drummondville doesn't have a ton of high end talent (high draft picks) up front but before Veleno they average just under 4 goal per game, not too shabby (just under 4,50 with Veleno). He's far from being alone there, healthy they have 3 scoring lines that can go against any team in the league depth wise, all year i really enjoyed their 3rd line of Simoneau-Adams Moisan-Desruisseaux. Their transition game has been excellent all year long, Beaudin is having a remarkable year.

 

[Andrei79]

@JeromeHP

Any thoughts on Beaudin, what you think of his upside.

Hearing anything about Timmins liking him ?

 

[JeromeHP]

@JeromeHP

Any thoughts on Beaudin, what you think of his upside.

Hearing anything about Timmins liking him ?

Big fan, i think he's PP QB in the NHL and play on a 2nd or 3rd pair depending how much his defensive and physical game improve. I think he's very underrated.

No idea if the habs like him but with four second round picks maybe he's an option for them.

 

[le_sean]

What a cliché and you pretend to be a serious scout? Veleno is alone upfront in Drummondville. The only other forward with real skills is Xavier Simoneau and he is 16 and 5'6''.

A cliché? There’s no depth in the league and he’s on a team with excellent depth. They are 1st in the Q in Goals For. Stop pretending he’s “alone”

 

[Lebowski]

A cliché? There’s no depth in the league and he’s on a team with excellent depth. They are 1st in the Q in Goals For. Stop pretending he’s “alone”

How does having depth helps a specific player pad his stats?

You pad your stats when you're on a top heavy team and leeching off better players. That's not what Veleno is doing.

 

[jfm133]

yes it's a cliche but its true. There's a lot of bad goaltending around the league, the 98-99 born goalies were not a strong classes (a reason why they want to bring back euro goalies back in the league and overager goalies wouldn't count against the total of 3 overagers per team). One good thing we see a lot of good goalies born in 2000, 2016 Q draft produced some good young netminders with Rodrigue, Gravel, Mandolese, Ellis & Emond.

I like Veleno, i put him #1 in our Q draft guide in 2015 and i like his game (speed and work ethic). I'm just not a believer he will be able to transfer his offensive game to the NHL. I said it earlier but he's very similar to Mike McLeod in many ways.

Sure Drummondville doesn't have a ton of high end talent (high draft picks) up front but before Veleno they average just under 4 goal per game, not too shabby (just under 4,50 with Veleno). He's far from being alone there, healthy they have 3 scoring lines that can go against any team in the league depth wise, all year i really enjoyed their 3rd line of Simoneau-Adams Moisan-Desruisseaux. Their transition game has been excellent all year long, Beaudin is having a remarkable year.

If what you say is true, it's also true for Zadina. He plays in the same league and if the goalies are so bad, he should be way ahead of Veleno, and since Veleno joined Drummondville his point per game production is a bit higher than Zadina.

I saw Veleno three times in Drummondville in the last month and to me he is better than Pierre-Luc Dubois that I also saw for real during his draft year. There is no 19 years old Svechnikov or 20 years old Michael Joly in Drummondville this year to play with Veleno. Not even a 19 years old Maxim Lazarev. So even though Drummondville is globally a good team, well coached with a good goalie, the group of forwards is not great.

So if you want to judge Veleno, you need to take that into account. In the games I saw him play this year he prepared great scoring chances for his linemates that were just not talented enough to put it in. Again, to me, Veleno is comparable to Bergeron, Scheifele or Couturier. He will be a 1C in the NHL with a great two way game, but he won't be a Crosby or a McDavid.. It's obvious, but still, he is worth being picked very early. His offensive potential is way higher than Micheal McLeod. Not in the same category, much better vision and puck skills.

 

[le_sean]

How does having depth helps a specific player pad his stats?

You pad your stats when you're on a top heavy team and leeching off better players. That's not what Veleno is doing.

Well there’s a couple of things. For one, teams cannot matchup defensively when you can roll 4 lines, so he’s not necessarily facing the top defenders every shift. Also, if ever you need to switch linemates, you’re not putting someone like Logan Shaw to play with Drouin and Galchenyuk.

 

[jfm133]

A cliché? There’s no depth in the league and he’s on a team with excellent depth. They are 1st in the Q in Goals For. Stop pretending he’s “alone”

Did you see Veleno play lately for real in Drummondville? Did you see that team play? Do you know the other forwards on the team. Have you ever seen Morgan Adams Moisan skate? You are the number one basher of Veleno here and you don't know what you're talking about.

Drummondville goals per game this year:

Without Veleno: 3.8
With Veleno: 4.4

So without Veleno they were on 258 GF pace for the year, 5th in the league. And the pace with Veleno would have given them 299 GF. That would have been 23 goals ahead of the second. Also, in Drummondville, Veleno was on a pace for a 99 points season, it would have been 30 points ahead of Nicolas Beaudin, a D, the second best player on the team. Turn it the way you want, there was no other elite forward to play with Veleno. Drummondville is a team with three good lines, but the only elite forward is Veleno. The two other elite players are Beaudin a D and Rodrigue, the goalie.

 

[le_sean]

Did you see Veleno play lately for real in Drummondville? Did you see that team play? Do you know the other forwards on the team. Have you ever seen Morgan Adams Moisan skate? You are the number one basher of Veleno here and you don't know what you're talking about.

Drummondville goals per game this year:

Without Veleno: 3.8
With Veleno: 4.4

So without Veleno they were on 258 GF pace for the year, 5th in the league. And the pace with Veleno would have given them 299 GF. That would have been 23 goals ahead of the second. Also, in Drummondville, Veleno was on a pace for a 99 points season, it would have been 30 points ahead of Nicolas Beaudin, a D, the second best player on the team. Turn it the way you want, there was no other elite forward to play with Veleno. Drummondville is a team with three good lines, but the only elite forward is Veleno. The two other elite players are Beaudin a D and Rodrigue, the goalie.

Yeah, they got a good player. I never denied that he’s good. But I’m not taking him in the Top 10 because he finally had a good half of a season in his 3 years in the Q.

The only time he’s shown to be a consistent top line player in the joke of the Q is 30 games playing with a great team for a great coach. Wow, colour me impressed.

 

[Andrei79]

Man, sometimes it feels like Bouchard plays the whole 60 minutes.

And it shows in his play, negatively that is. Like, against Sault St. Marie he was excellent in the first both ways, if not dominant. Used his smarts on defense to break up plays and the Hounds didn't really have an answer for him on either sides of the ice.

Then came the 2nd and the guy just looked winded. It's not the first I see this from him which makes me wonder why they're doing it.

Anyways, my takeaway from it is I'm banking on 1st period Bouchard to be the real one, as he flashed everything you want in a no.1D. Beat guys with speed, strength, positioning, opened up passing lines like no one but Dahlin, showed great anticipation and vision. There's significant upside in him.

Some other thoughts on the game:

Verbeek played no.2C over Hayton, who they put on Frosts wing. Hayton remains one of my favorites, guys got dat dere IQ and he keeps flashing his puck handling skills... but any service that has any center over Kotkaniemi, I'm not bothering to read. Ok maybe Lundestrom, but if I'm drafting a center high, I want higher upside offensively.

Sandin's another one I'm a fan of since the Hlinka and while he had a strong showing in general, he had a concerning moment where he got beat by Foudy and Formenton for a goal. Both are great skaters and you know, they beat most Ds... but it's the manner it happened and by how much they beat him that was worrying. The skating issues were apparent and NHLers would eat a 5'10" D alive who can't quickly garner momentum skating backwards. That said, can't expect perfection for guys ranked late first/second round, the rest of his game I still like too much to pass up.

Won't talk about Dunkley as he didn't stand out. Regula still looks very improved, but needs a lot of refining to his game. I saw some posters put him in the second round, but I'm not seeing that upside compared to other players in my top 60.

Will be fun to watch the Hounds in the playoffs cause they're really stacked. Will get a better idea on Sandin too, with harder, tougher and faster competition.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Man, sometimes it feels like Bouchard plays the whole 60 minutes.

And it shows in his play, negatively that is. Like, against Sault St. Marie he was excellent in the first both ways, if not dominant. Used his smarts on defense to break up plays and the Hounds didn't really have an answer for him on either sides of the ice.

Then came the 2nd and the guy just looked winded. It's not the first I see this from him which makes me wonder why they're doing it.

Anyways, my takeaway from it is I'm banking on 1st period Bouchard to be the real one, as he flashed everything you want in a no.1D. Beat guys with speed, strength, positioning, opened up passing lines like no one but Dahlin, showed great anticipation and vision. There's significant upside in him.

Some other thoughts on the game:

Verbeek played no.2C over Hayton, who they put on Frosts wing. Hayton remains one of my favorites, guys got dat dere IQ and he keeps flashing his puck handling skills... but any service that has any center over Kotkaniemi, I'm not bothering to read. Ok maybe Lundestrom, but if I'm drafting a center high, I want higher upside offensively.

Sandin's another one I'm a fan of since the Hlinka and while he had a strong showing in general, he had a concerning moment where he got beat by Foudy and Formenton for a goal. Both are great skaters and you know, they beat most Ds... but it's the manner it happened and by how much they beat him that was worrying. The skating issues were apparent and NHLers would eat a 5'10" D alive who can't quickly garner momentum skating backwards. That said, can't expect perfection for guys ranked late first/second round, the rest of his game I still like too much to pass up.

Won't talk about Dunkley as he didn't stand out. Regula still looks very improved, but needs a lot of refining to his game. I saw some posters put him in the second round, but I'm not seeing that upside compared to other players in my top 60.

Will be fun to watch the Hounds in the playoffs cause they're really stacked. Will get a better idea on Sandin too, with harder, tougher and faster competition.

Hunter always plays his vets till they drop. I actually think it's part of the reason why London has produced so many NHLers during his tenure as coach. By the time they get to the pros they're used to the pressure.

 

[Andrei79]

@Pompeius Magnus

Yeah, I know. It was more of a rhetorical question as I've been clamoring for our AHL staff to do the same with our high draft picks.

I think it does have an effect on Bouchard though, as the more I see him, the more I see him be able to defend in many different ways, even with the lapses and controller disconnected moments.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

@Pompeius Magnus

Yeah, I know. It was more of a rhetorical question as I've been clamoring for our AHL staff to do the same with our high draft picks.

I think it does have an effect on Bouchard though, as the more I see him, the more I see him be able to defend in many different ways, even with the lapses and controller disconnected moments.

You're preaching to the choir there, I'm as high on him as anyone on this board. I have him in the tier just after the top 3, probably the second best dman after Dahlin even. I know I'm kinda in the minority there but I tells it like I sees it

 

[Andrei79]

You're preaching to the choir there, I'm as high on him as anyone on this board. I have him in the tier just after the top 3, probably the second best dman after Dahlin even. I know I'm kinda in the minority there but I tells it like I sees it

I'm sold on the guy.

Still like Boqvist and Hughes, but Dobson, Smith and Bouchard tick more of the boxes I like to see, with the caveat I don't have much seperation between all of those guys in that tier.

And on a completely different note, Frost is just too good this year. For all the talk about Poehling being a steal, Frost's shown way more tools offensively. And it's almost all at even strength.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Of course you would. You also like Brady Tkachuk.

And so do most scouts...

didn't realize your echo chamber was the be all end all...

 

[JeromeHP]

If what you say is true, it's also true for Zadina. He plays in the same league and if the goalies are so bad, he should be way ahead of Veleno, and since Veleno joined Drummondville his point per game production is a bit higher than Zadina.

I saw Veleno three times in Drummondville in the last month and to me he is better than Pierre-Luc Dubois that I also saw for real during his draft year. There is no 19 years old Svechnikov or 20 years old Michael Joly in Drummondville this year to play with Veleno. Not even a 19 years old Maxim Lazarev. So even though Drummondville is globally a good team, well coached with a good goalie, the group of forwards is not great.

So if you want to judge Veleno, you need to take that into account. In the games I saw him play this year he prepared great scoring chances for his linemates that were just not talented enough to put it in. Again, to me, Veleno is comparable to Bergeron, Scheifele or Couturier. He will be a 1C in the NHL with a great two way game, but he won't be a Crosby or a McDavid.. It's obvious, but still, he is worth being picked very early. His offensive potential is way higher than Micheal McLeod. Not in the same category, much better vision and puck skills.

I cannot disagree more on how you view Veleno's upside but anyway it's all in good fun this is what this place is all about. Everyone can have their own opinions from what they can watch and see.

I have my own, from live viewings going back the 13-14 season with him. I just wanted to get involved in the discussion a bit, i mostly read this thread but i have tried to get more active in here in the last month or so. I'm an old timer on hfboards going way back to 2003 ! Is my old friend @Whitesnake still around ?

 

[WeThreeKings]

And so do most scouts...

didn't realize your echo chamber was the be all end all...

Most scouts thought Griffin Reinhart was worthy of a top 5 pick.

Scouts get a lot of shit wrong because they drool over specific traits.

 

[Whitesnake]

I cannot disagree more on how you view Veleno's upside but anyway it's all in good fun this is what this place is all about. Everyone can have their own opinions from what they can watch and see.

I have my own, from live viewings going back the 13-14 season with him. I just wanted to get involved in the discussion a bit, i mostly read this thread but i have tried to get more active in here in the last month or so. I'm an old timer on hfboards going way back to 2003 ! Is my old friend @Whitesnake still around ?

Always. On Twitter and out here....lol

 

[Vachon23]

yes it's a cliche but its true. There's a lot of bad goaltending around the league, the 98-99 born goalies were not a strong classes (a reason why they want to bring back euro goalies back in the league and overager goalies wouldn't count against the total of 3 overagers per team). One good thing we see a lot of good goalies born in 2000, 2016 Q draft produced some good young netminders with Rodrigue, Gravel, Mandolese, Ellis & Emond.

I like Veleno, i put him #1 in our Q draft guide in 2015 and i like his game (speed and work ethic). I'm just not a believer he will be able to transfer his offensive game to the NHL. I said it earlier but he's very similar to Mike McLeod in many ways.

Sure Drummondville doesn't have a ton of high end talent (high draft picks) up front but before Veleno they average just under 4 goal per game, not too shabby (just under 4,50 with Veleno). He's far from being alone there, healthy they have 3 scoring lines that can go against any team in the league depth wise, all year i really enjoyed their 3rd line of Simoneau-Adams Moisan-Desruisseaux. Their transition game has been excellent all year long, Beaudin is having a remarkable year.

2 questions

1st: Do you think Desruisseaux is worth a 7th pick on him ? I really like his goal scoring ability

2nd: Are you sure Beaudin is not an other Niklas Brouillard ?

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Most scouts thought Griffin Reinhart was worthy of a top 5 pick.

Scouts get a lot of **** wrong because they drool over specific traits.

And so do you.