2023 NHL Draft Thread: Get hard for Connor Bedard

[BagHead]

I agree about Middleton. He has slow feet. One of the crucial GA in the final game about because he was beaten to a puck on the boards, yet everyone focussed on the lack of net coverage by the Wild players, forgetting that the situation wouldn't have happened if he had even average speed, or better anticipation. I am still fine with him on the squad at his cap hit, however, as he adds toughness that our D sorely needs, especially now that dumba is a virtual certainty to be gone.

We somewhat agree on Addison...what i like about him is that he moves the puck quickly and intelligently, and when he shoots the puck he gets it off quickly. At minimum ELC salary, it's hard to complain. If he was making 4-5+M it would be a different story.

I do think that you are underestimating his worth. The majority of 2nd rounders simply don't work out, and never have the sort of success he has. IMO, he is worth a pick in the 20's...he is a guy who has proven he has a NHL skill, is only a rookie, and is still under team control. If he is traded, though, i have to ask, who the hell would take his place? Spurgeon again? He is a really good player, but average at best on the PP. Faber, Midddleton, and Brodin are out. Goligoski? Really?
ROR got no PP TOI last year, while Hunt got a a liitle bit at the end, though Hicketts and Mermis ran the show. S Jo has some skills, but IMO is a longshot to ever make the NHL. Spacek, Lambos, Peart are at least a year away, probably 2-3, from having a sniff at the NHL, and even then are unproven on the PP at the NHL level. We have no cap space to sign a proven NHL PP guy...so that means we are fine with going back to an aging Spurgeon, who already has his hands full covering for Middleton at ES, and playing in critical defensive situations.

The Wild are hiring a new PP coach. Might as well haze him a little and trade our best PP defenseman.


Half joking, I wouldn't be upset if they get something good for him.

 

[57special]

The Wild are hiring a new PP coach. Might as well haze him a little and trade our best PP defenseman.


Half joking, I wouldn't be upset if they get something good for him.

The vibe around him and Dean/BG is similar to the vibe around Dean/BG and Fiala, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is gone. I do think that anything but an early 2nd at the least coming back would be a loss for us.

I won't be super upset if he goes only because i have low expectations for this team for the next couple of years, and we have a fairly healthy D prospect pool.

I am not around the team....maybe Addison has an attitude problem.... sometimes i wonder if Dean isn't the one with the attitude problem. Seems pretty inflexible.

 

[Minnewildsota]

The vibe around him and Dean/BG is similar to the vibe around Dean/BG and Fiala, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is gone. I do think that anything but an early 2nd at the least coming back would be a loss for us.

I won't be super upset if he goes only because i have low expectations for this team for the next couple of years, and we have a fairly healthy D prospect pool.

I am not around the team....maybe Addison has an attitude problem.... sometimes i wonder if Dean isn't the one with the attitude problem. Seems pretty inflexible.

Definitely. If 2/40 have an issue, it’s definitely not those 2 people but the coach.

I just chalk it up to personality clashes. Nobody’s fault. Just happens.

 

[MNRube]

Addison had the highest P/PG of all rookie D that played a reasonable amount of games. Not Sanderson, not Power, not Guhle. And that's despite him playing over 4 minutes less per game than the other three.

And yet people want to move on from him, when he has the the potential to be the best PP Dman we've had in years, and at a bargain price to boot.

Addison wouldn’t play over Dahlin or Chabot on those teams PP1 and Guhle is barely puck-mover, much less a PPQB so that accolade is basically meaningless.

It’s never going to work with both Spurgeon & Addison. We are too easy to play against. That’s the reason some of us have been saying he should be traded. IMO they should’ve done it at the deadline before all the healthy scratches completely tanked his value.

 

[saywut]

LA doesn't pick till 54 and elected to trade their taller/superior(18 months older, played a bunch on his off-side) offensive RHD with limited defensive ability for a pick in 2024. Can't see Addison garnering a whole lot, Arizona was also one of the more logical destinations for Addison. I don't see the rush to trade him, but trying to bring Peart/Lambos along in 24 or 25 will be difficult if Addison is here, he'll always be a 3RD that needs to be sheltered and have a partner bail him out defensively.

 

[57special]

LA doesn't pick till 54 and elected to trade their taller/superior(18 months older, played a bunch on his off-side) offensive RHD with limited defensive ability for a pick in 2024. Can't see Addison garnering a whole lot, Arizona was also one of the more logical destinations for Addison. I don't see the rush to trade him, but trying to bring Peart/Lambos along in 24 or 25 will be difficult if Addison is here, he'll always be a 3RD that needs to be sheltered and have a partner bail him out defensively.

Lambos and Peart are LHD, and penciling them onto the NHL team in 24-25 is making a lot of assumptions. Addison starred at the WJC's while Lambos didn't even make the team. I don't understand the reason why Addison can't improve as a young player, while Lambos, Peart, Rossi, Beckman, Wallstedt are all assumed to be able to do so.

Again, Addison has a specific skillset that we lack, and is a RD to boot. Lambos, Peart, Hunt, ROR...all LHD.

 

[saywut]

Lambos and Peart are LHD, and penciling them onto the NHL team in 24-25 is making a lot of assumptions. Addison starred at the WJC's while Lambos didn't even make the team. I don't understand the reason why Addison can't improve as a young player, while Lambos, Peart, Rossi, Beckman, Wallstedt are all assumed to be able to do so.

Again, Addison has a specific skillset that we lack, and is a RD to boot. Lambos, Peart, Hunt, ROR...all LHD.

Addison has had 3 years of pro hockey, his accolades at the junior level mean very little at this point. There is room for him to grow but the likelihood of his defensive game reaching even average at the NHL level seem pretty unlikely at this point. The PP production was nice but is it good enough to justify building a team to make up for the deficiencies in his game? I'm not sure they are. By all means we can trot he and Merrill out there for another year and see where it takes him as there isn't anything better we can do given the cap situation. Like I said Durzi is probably viewed as a superior player and the conclusion LA came to with #54 being their highest pick this year to take a pick next year doesn't seem to indicate the market for Addison would be that good when discussing utilizing him as an asset to move up into the 30s.

I only mentioned Peart and Lambos because their skill-sets will not be worth trotting out alongside Addison while also probably not immediately jumping into the top-4. So if one(Peart seems more likely at this point) pushes their way into the line-up for 24-25 then Addison will probably be out of a regular spot, and powerplay specialists don't make good #7s. I don't think Addison's value will change a whole lot in the next 12 months, so I'll re-iterate again that I have no issue trotting him out with Merrill for one more season, I just don't know how much longer he lasts than that.

 

[AKL]

There's no reason to move on from him until there's a reason to move on from him. Right now the only reason there could be to move on from him is if he's a nightmare in the locker room, like DeAngelo bad, or if you can get ++ value in return for him.

 

[f7ben]

There's no reason to move on from him until there's a reason to move on from him. Right now the only reason there could be to move on from him is if he's a nightmare in the locker room, like DeAngelo bad, or if you can get ++ value in return for him.

Or if Evason and Guerin are assholes and this kid can’t or won’t do the square peg in round hole bit.

 

[57special]

I'll say it again...this is the year to move up in the 2nd round, if you are looking for talented forwards like we are. The talent definitely starts to thin out midway through the 2nd.

We have the assets to get it done(two 2nds, Addison(should be worth a 2nd all by himself), a LHD).

 

[BagHead]

Not sure how many have seen this, but I found it interesting and maybe some of you will as well. This is a chart using a cousin of NHLe called NHL DRAFTe, Marco Rossi is on here to add context and, I like to think, also as a cautionary tale to not just look at this chart and think "this guy is better than this other guy as a prospect."

To my surprise, Dvorsky is rated the lowest, significantly behind the guy in front of him, Edstrom. I also couldn't help but notice that most of them are clumped pretty close together, and none currently project as stars except Bedard and Smith.

 

[57special]

;


This about Honzek, the big winger;

"He(Honzek) says that the Giants have told him this season that they could wind up using him at centre more than wing, due to their roster construction. You would think his NHL club would be pleased with adding this to his skillset."

An interesting wrinkle to our decision making process at #21 if he is still around.

 

[DANOZ28]

Addison was both of those things last year 5v5.

if i remember correctly it was addison's first full season, is there zero chance he improves? no coach or spurgeon can work with him to play better? hmmmm so the new standard is every player after one season should be fired sent packing if he isn't perfect? (meant 4 wild posters not wabit)

 

[DANOZ28]

my hype for honzek, it was his first year in NA and he did very well even with an injury i heard. just imagine how much he could improve!

 

[Minnewildsota]

if i remember correctly it was addison's first full season, is there zero chance he improves? no coach or spurgeon can work with him to play better? hmmmm so the new standard is every player after one season should be fired sent packing if he isn't perfect? (meant 4 wild posters not wabit)

He was encouraged to talk to Spurgeon to help his game. From what I’ve read, he didn’t do that.

 

[thestonedkoala]

My wife surprised me; I'm going to the draft on Wednesday and Thursday. So, if anyone wants to a) murder me or b) say hi, I'll be in Nashville those days at the draft.

 

[BagHead]

My wife surprised me; I'm going to the draft on Wednesday and Thursday. So, if anyone wants to a) murder me or b) say hi, I'll be in Nashville those days at the draft.

Congratulations! Have fun there, TSK. Hopefully the Wild cap it off for you by drafting someone high on your list.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Congratulations! Have fun there, TSK. Hopefully the Wild cap it off for you by drafting someone high on your list.

I don't think they have enough juice to get Bedard or even Michkov.

I'm just excited to be going to the draft again. I went in Dallas and that was SO MUCH FUN. I literally ran into Filip Johansson

 

[MNRube]

ASP is a guy who has grown on me a lot. Another small D isn’t exactly a need but he seems to have genuinely elite ability.

 

[Jbcraig1883]

Going to be doing more reading/watching of profiles the next day or two but so far, I think my choice so far in the first are: Yager, Ritchie, Honzek, Sale, Heidt, Enstrom, Nadeau, and Stenberg. Simashev is the only Dman I'd be OK with at that spot.

I wish our seconds were higher...

 

[DeagleJenkins]

I think our realistic best C option for 21 with be Ritchie. IMO he has the offensive upside and size we want an need. I know there may be some quality two way C there also but I don’t want another two way player. We need to be shooting for the game breakers.

 

[57special]

ASP is a guy who has grown on me a lot. Another small D isn’t exactly a need but he seems to have genuinely elite ability.

Will rage if chosen...

Going to be doing more reading/watching of profiles the next day or two but so far, I think my choice so far in the first are: Yager, Ritchie, Honzek, Sale, Heidt, Enstrom, Nadeau, and Stenberg. Simashev is the only Dman I'd be OK with at that spot.

I wish our seconds were higher...

Combine them to move up to early 2nd, or trade Addison for an early one.

 

[MNRube]

Will rage if chosen...

drafting for need in the late 1st is almost always a bad idea. This team has holes everywhere and only about a half a dozen guys who can actually play. Gimme a difference maker, who cares what position. That’s what trades are for

 

[DeagleJenkins]

drafting for need in the late 1st is almost always a bad idea. This team has holes everywhere and only about a half a dozen guys who can actually play. Gimme a difference maker, who cares what position. That’s what trades are for

We won’t trade for a 1C.. we have to draft one end of story. So we need to draft centers until some hit.

 

[AKL]

drafting for need in the late 1st is almost always a bad idea. This team has holes everywhere and only about a half a dozen guys who can actually play. Gimme a difference maker, who cares what position. That’s what trades are for

Usually I'd agree but in the absence of a player who can actually be a difference maker at the spot we're picking in, give me the best center. Organizationally this team doesn't have a hole in the wings, if we're being realistic. And even if it does, that's the easiest position to fill. When it comes to LD we're missing a true top pairing guy. When it comes to RD we're a little more thin, but all things considered, Faber+Addison are at least young NHL players, which is more than we can say for any other position. At center we don't have the young NHL players, AND we're very weak organizationally.

If we could get a #1D or a superstar winger like Pastrnak, go for it. But the odds of that are slim. Take a center.