NHL Entry Draft 2019 Entry Draft Discussion

[aragorn]

It's only a no brainer because you feel the way you do about Brannstrom. Not here to debate that viewpoint, as much as to point out it's (likely) not so cut and dry for NHL front offices.

Good point about the quantity of picks though, PD obviously has the ammo to move around if there are guys he values (maybe not into the top-three mind you, which is the point of contention here).

Ask yourself this, is Brannstrom going to replace Chabot on the top pairing LD spot or is he going to move to RD to play with Chabot on the right side? If the answer is no to both questions & that's my opinion than he is a 2nd pairing LD on this team & Ott has Wolanin who has shown that he is very capable of playing the 2nd pairing LD spot as has Lajoie until he ran out of gas or got injured. IMO Ott can afford to move Brannstrom if it is possible to get a top quality high scoring player like Cozens who can play RW or centre. I understand most love Brannstrom, but I prefer Chabot as my top pairing LD over Brannstrom & see him more as a high valued asset & IMO Wolanin is going to be a very good LD too. And I would take Cozens over Brannstron if given the choice.

 

[Sweatred]

Ask yourself this, is Brannstrom going to replace Chabot on the top pairing LD spot or is he going to move to RD to play with Chabot on the right side? If the answer is no to both questions & that's my opinion than he is a 2nd pairing LD on this team & Ott has Wolanin who has shown that he is very capable of playing the 2nd pairing LD spot as has Lajoie until he ran out of gas or got injured. IMO Ott can afford to move Brannstrom if it is possible to get a top quality high scoring player like Cozens who can play RW or centre. I understand most love Brannstrom, but I prefer Chabot as my top pairing LD over Brannstrom & see him more as a high valued asset & IMO Wolanin is going to be a very good LD too. And I would take Cozens over Brannstron if given the choice.

I agree with most of that with one large *... Our D is as bad as any in the league and don't slot in those spots on many other teams. CW, MJ, are likely a 5-8th DMAN. I think the jury is still out is Wolanin is much better/effective than Wideman.

 

[BondraTime]

1. Would anyone trade Brannstrom and CBJ 1st for 3rd overall? Not sure how Chicago would feel about it but its not terrible for them.
2. Who would you pick at 3rd?

Would much rather Brannstrom + Harley/Seider/Bjornfot/Heinola/etc than Byram or Dach.

The difference between Dach/Byram and the guy we get at 19 isn't a top 5+ D prospect in the league.

Would trade any other prospect in the system, or combination of prospects, along with any multitude of the picks we have, but Brannstrom shouldn't be assed to a mid 1st to grab a guy who may not even be as good as Brannstrom in Byram, or Dach.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I wouldn't. I think if Brannstrom were in this draft he'd be closer to Byram than any of the other D available.

You can certainly make an argument that Byram/Turcotte/Cozens/Podkolzin are better prospects than Brannstrom, but I have a hard time seeing the difference being a top-20 pick.

Valid point.. The 2017 Draft was not seen as being particularly strong. Brannstrom could be the 3rd, 4th or 5th D off the board in a redraft there. Heiskanen and Makar would go ahead of him pretty certainly, then there would be some debate for Foote, Jokiharju and Brannstrom. At any rate he could see his 15 spot slide.

Ask yourself this, is Brannstrom going to replace Chabot on the top pairing LD spot or is he going to move to RD to play with Chabot on the right side? If the answer is no to both questions & that's my opinion than he is a 2nd pairing LD on this team & Ott has Wolanin who has shown that he is very capable of playing the 2nd pairing LD spot as has Lajoie until he ran out of gas or got injured. IMO Ott can afford to move Brannstrom if it is possible to get a top quality high scoring player like Cozens who can play RW or centre. I understand most love Brannstrom, but I prefer Chabot as my top pairing LD over Brannstrom & see him more as a high valued asset & IMO Wolanin is going to be a very good LD too. And I would take Cozens over Brannstron if given the choice.

I think Brannstrom is a good prospect but I am thinking along these lines as well.. Now as Stempniaksen says it may be an overpayment to move to 3 particularly if we are at 18 or 19. . I think its worth considering some kind of move up into that top 10 ; the higher the better

 

[benjiv1]

Yah, no Bueno trading Brannstrom.

As Bondra mentioned, Brannstrom + Seider (for example) > 3rd Overall Pick.

A defensive core of:

Chabot-Seider
Brannstrom-JBD
Wolanin-Jaros

Could be money.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Would much rather Brannstrom + Harley/Seider/Bjornfot/Heinola/etc than Byram or Dach.

The difference between Dach/Byram and the guy we get at 19 isn't a top 5+ D prospect in the league.

Would trade any other prospect in the system, or combination of prospects, along with any multitude of the picks we have, but Brannstrom shouldn't be assed to a mid 1st to grab a guy who may not even be as good as Brannstrom in Byram, or Dach.

Yah, no Bueno trading Brannstrom.

As Bondra mentioned, Brannstrom + Seider (for example) > 3rd Overall Pick.

A defensive core of:

Chabot-Seider
Brannstrom-JBD
Wolanin-Jaros

Could be money.

Sold.

 

[aragorn]

Yah, no Bueno trading Brannstrom.

As Bondra mentioned, Brannstrom + Seider (for example) > 3rd Overall Pick.

A defensive core of:

Chabot-Seider
Brannstrom-JBD
Wolanin-Jaros

Could be money.

Yep, could go that way as well, hopefully they all turn out as expected. There are a number of good prospects in this draft even after 18th overall that Ott could exploit to their advantage IF they turn out.

 

[BondraTime]

We can toss out Newhook and Caulfield, won't be able to get them without trading up.

Nobody else on Canada really interests me at 19 aside from Cozens, Newhook and Krebs, all of which will be gone.

Seems to me there will be a group of 6 or 7 D we will have a choice of where we pick. Picks 12-20 I see all of Harley, Seider, Heinola, Bjornfot, Soderstrom, Broberg and York going, give or take a spot.

Then guys like Lavoie, Brink, Suzuki, and Tomasino who are still there as well, though the latter 2 don't interest me at 19.

Seems to me like picking in the 15-20 range you have to take a D, unless someone like Caulfield/Newhook/Krebs fall into your laps.

 

[Benttheknee]

Just going to point out that Columbus just took out Tampa and the could end up in the cup final. That would drop the pick to 30-31 correct?

 

[BondraTime]

Just going to point out that Columbus just took out Tampa and the could end up in the cup final. That would drop the pick to 30-31 correct?

They win the next series and the pick can be no higher than 28th

 

[branch]

Ask yourself this, is Brannstrom going to replace Chabot on the top pairing LD spot or is he going to move to RD to play with Chabot on the right side? If the answer is no to both questions & that's my opinion than he is a 2nd pairing LD on this team & Ott has Wolanin who has shown that he is very capable of playing the 2nd pairing LD spot as has Lajoie until he ran out of gas or got injured. IMO Ott can afford to move Brannstrom if it is possible to get a top quality high scoring player like Cozens who can play RW or centre. I understand most love Brannstrom, but I prefer Chabot as my top pairing LD over Brannstrom & see him more as a high valued asset & IMO Wolanin is going to be a very good LD too. And I would take Cozens over Brannstron if given the choice.

I'm sorry but this opinion is just so out there that it is barely functional. You're talking Erik Brannstrom, who is a consensus top prospect almost sure shot to be an effective NHL player, and we just throw him away to take a magic bean in the draft? Wolanin/Lajoie would both be moved way before him in almost every scenario. Who is not to say that Brannstrom doesn't come out next year and have an impact like Chabot did? Or is it because Chabot is 2.5" taller? Do you realize that body mass is not solely based on height? More often than not it's body type. If a stocky Brannstrom at 5'10 produces more energy as a movable object (kinetic energy being the main catalyst for any type of effective body contact in this league) will you be willing to revise your opinion? I just can't get over how you want to trade a top prospect in this league for no discernible reason.

 

[Mark Stones Spleen]

Ask yourself this, is Brannstrom going to replace Chabot on the top pairing LD spot or is he going to move to RD to play with Chabot on the right side? If the answer is no to both questions & that's my opinion than he is a 2nd pairing LD on this team & Ott has Wolanin who has shown that he is very capable of playing the 2nd pairing LD spot as has Lajoie until he ran out of gas or got injured. IMO Ott can afford to move Brannstrom if it is possible to get a top quality high scoring player like Cozens who can play RW or centre. I understand most love Brannstrom, but I prefer Chabot as my top pairing LD over Brannstrom & see him more as a high valued asset & IMO Wolanin is going to be a very good LD too. And I would take Cozens over Brannstron if given the choice.

Doesn't really matter if Brannstrom is a second pairing Dman on this team if he's genuinely good enough to be on the top pair.

By your definition, Paryko is considered a second pairing Dman because he's stuck behind Pietrangelo. That's precisely how you build competitive teams.

 

[Tkachuk27]

I wouldn't draft a 5'6 one trick pony

Horrible assessment lol

 

[operasen]

Yah, no Bueno trading Brannstrom.

As Bondra mentioned, Brannstrom + Seider (for example) > 3rd Overall Pick.

A defensive core of:

Chabot-Seider
Brannstrom-JBD
Wolanin-Jaros

Could be money.

With another year to put the pieces together, this could become a solid group. Lajoie as the 7. Gustavsson, Hogberg, Daccord begins them.

Absolutely need the right coach to bring it all together.

 

[benjiv1]

We can toss out Newhook and Caulfield, won't be able to get them without trading up.

Nobody else on Canada really interests me at 19 aside from Cozens, Newhook and Krebs, all of which will be gone.

Seems to me there will be a group of 6 or 7 D we will have a choice of where we pick. Picks 12-20 I see all of Harley, Seider, Heinola, Bjornfot, Soderstrom, Broberg and York going, give or take a spot.

Then guys like Lavoie, Brink, Suzuki, and Tomasino who are still there as well, though the latter 2 don't interest me at 19.

Seems to me like picking in the 15-20 range you have to take a D, unless someone like Caulfield/Newhook/Krebs fall into your laps.

Agreed on most of this, but I’m fairly confident Dorion will move up using our later 2nd rd pick.

He already talked about turning the quantity of prospects into quality, and has shown he’s pretty open to draft floor trades.

Lots of picks I would be happy with in the later half of the 1st Rd, with Newhook and Seider being my preference.

 

[BondraTime]

Agreed on most of this, but I’m fairly confident Dorion will move up using our later 2nd rd pick.

He already talked about turning the quantity of prospects into quality, and has shown he’s pretty open to draft floor trades.

Lots of picks I would be happy with in the later half of the 1st Rd, with Newhook and Seider being my preference.

Newhook won't be lasting near our pick, he's more likely to be gone in the top 10 than last past 15

That 2nd pick may move our 1st up 3/4 spots, not sure that's worth it.

We still only have 7 picks this year, we don't have quantity or quality until next year.

There are buyers in the playoffs this year with that many, or more picks this year

 

[Micklebot]

Ask yourself this, is Brannstrom going to replace Chabot on the top pairing LD spot or is he going to move to RD to play with Chabot on the right side? If the answer is no to both questions & that's my opinion than he is a 2nd pairing LD on this team & Ott has Wolanin who has shown that he is very capable of playing the 2nd pairing LD spot as has Lajoie until he ran out of gas or got injured. IMO Ott can afford to move Brannstrom if it is possible to get a top quality high scoring player like Cozens who can play RW or centre. I understand most love Brannstrom, but I prefer Chabot as my top pairing LD over Brannstrom & see him more as a high valued asset & IMO Wolanin is going to be a very good LD too. And I would take Cozens over Brannstron if given the choice.

Did pronger replace Niedermayer? Having two elite defenders anchor their own pair is a strength not a problem, particularly when one likes playing his off side on the PP.

For a team that has had such a hard time putting together more than one great d pairing it amazes me that some want abandon the depth we finally seem to be building at the position

 

[Tkachuckycheese]

If Dorian doesn't trade up. I'd like to see Ottawa trade down if they are in the 18-22 range to the 25-28 and pick up more picks. Then draft Seider if he's still available or Lassi Thomson to help build the RHD depth. With their second round pick they should get Pelletier or take a chance on a high risk high reward player.

 

[aragorn]

Did pronger replace Niedermayer? Having two elite defenders anchor their own pair is a strength not a problem, particularly when one likes playing his off side on the PP.

For a team that has had such a hard time putting together more than one great d pairing it amazes me that some want abandon the depth we finally seem to be building at the position

No one is saying it's a problem, it's a different perspective to strengthen another perceived area of weakness, to strengthen the forward cord & build a competitive team. IMO Wolanin is not that much of a drop from Brannstrom, many may think differently, but I don't. IMO adding Cozens to this roster would make it better not worse & with so many people constantly telling me that this team needs elite talent that can only be acquired by drafting high in the draft & Cozens is ranked quite high in the elite range, is he not? Chabot, Wolanin, Lajoie, Harpur, Boro & Englund seems like enough significant depth at LD. They could use more depth at RD as well as RW & Cozens can play RW as well as centre. Chabot at LD is going to get the big minutes in all situations for this team for the forseeable future & whoever the second pairing LD is going to be is going to play much less IMO. Essentially, I would prefer to have a roster with Cozens & Wolanin on it than just Brannstrom playing on the second pairing.

 

[aragorn]

I'm sorry but this opinion is just so out there that it is barely functional. You're talking Erik Brannstrom, who is a consensus top prospect almost sure shot to be an effective NHL player, and we just throw him away to take a magic bean in the draft? Wolanin/Lajoie would both be moved way before him in almost every scenario. Who is not to say that Brannstrom doesn't come out next year and have an impact like Chabot did? Or is it because Chabot is 2.5" taller? Do you realize that body mass is not solely based on height? More often than not it's body type. If a stocky Brannstrom at 5'10 produces more energy as a movable object (kinetic energy being the main catalyst for any type of effective body contact in this league) will you be willing to revise your opinion? I just can't get over how you want to trade a top prospect in this league for no discernible reason.

Do you have the capability to look at different perspectives? I'm proposing a different perspective on building a better team, you may not like it & I could care less, it's just another opinion. Do you not consider Cozens as an elite prospect being ranked so high on almost every poll? I would prefer Wolanin & Cozens on this team over just Brannstrom.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

I wonder if Samuel Poulin falls into the 2nd round. He hasn't been getting a ton of ice time in the IIHF tournament. He has good flashes but he needs to work on his acceleration. I could see other players who are having more impactful IIHF tournament potentially leap above him in the rankings.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

We should still be able to get some good players with a late first and our second round picks. Some combination of jakob pelletier, Jamieson rees, samuel poulin, Brett Leason, albin grewe, egor afanasyev, nick Robertson and Nolan Foote should be available

 

[Sweatred]

We are going to have to trade a young dman at some point. I think we could get more for EB plus our pick than a 3-5 pick.

Chabot, EB, CW, Ceci, and even JBD are 5 monochromatic dman who project to be soft in our own end. Something has to give ...

 

[Micklebot]

No one is saying it's a problem, it's a different perspective to strengthen another perceived area of weakness, to strengthen the forward cord & build a competitive team. IMO Wolanin is not that much of a drop from Brannstrom, many may think differently, but I don't. IMO adding Cozens to this roster would make it better not worse & with so many people constantly telling me that this team needs elite talent that can only be acquired by drafting high in the draft & Cozens is ranked quite high in the elite range, is he not? Chabot, Wolanin, Lajoie, Harpur, Boro & Englund seems like enough significant depth at LD. They could use more depth at RD as well as RW & Cozens can play RW as well as centre. Chabot at LD is going to get the big minutes in all situations for this team for the forseeable future & whoever the second pairing LD is going to be is going to play much less IMO. Essentially, I would prefer to have a roster with Cozens & Wolanin on it than just Brannstrom playing on the second pairing.

I think you assumptions are incorrect. Pronger and Niedermayer didn't see their roles reduced when they played together, Karlsson (when healthy) and Burns continued to be used to their fullest on the same team.

Also, Wolanin is 5 years older than Brannstrom. I like him a lot but he simply was nowhere close to Brannstrom at the same age. One guy is nearly a finished product the other just two weeks older than Tkachuk

I'd be far mor receptive to trading one of our D for a RD who plays a more well rounded game than moving one for a winger. Wingers are the easiest spot to fill, really not interested in going that route at the cost of the best D prospect in the system.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I think you assumptions are incorrect. Pronger and Niedermayer didn't see their roles reduced when they played together, Karlsson (when healthy) and Burns continued to be used to their fullest on the same team.

Also, Wolanin is 5 years older than Brannstrom. I like him a lot but he simply was nowhere close to Brannstrom at the same age. One guy is nearly a finished product the other just two weeks older than Tkachuk

I'd be far mor receptive to trading one of our D for a RD who plays a more well rounded game than moving one for a winger. Wingers are the easiest spot to fill, really not interested in going that route at the cost of the best D prospect in the system.

I understand the basis of your point. But also you are talking about two the the premiere defensemen in the game in their prime.. They were 100% elite.; no ifs or projections. Although I threw the concept out there more as food for thought than a proposal, if we were talking Pronger or Neidermeyer vs Brannstrom I don't think there is much room for a discussion. I agree the value of moving a 18/19 + Brannstrom to move up into even 3rd overall is likely too much considering the possibility of being able to add a good prospect in this draft at that position. I don't think Wolanin is as good a prospect as Brannstrom but he is still a good player and capable of being a top 4.
I think if 19 + Brannstrom could get you Kakko there would be more interest. Regardless its just discussion material, and I doubt Dorion will move the player that gave him his proudest day as a GM.