Draft and UDFA Thread 2017-18

[Kakko Schmakko]

Hughes isn't just a speed skater though, he's an excellent technical skater, great at every aspect of skating and i definitely hold his skating above Dahlins

pass, there is more to hockey than just skating

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

Trading a good center for a good wing is about the easiest thing imaginable to do.

or for an average defenseman, just ask the Oilers. sometimes when you have a surplus of something you give it away for a lot less than what it is worth.

 

[Thirty One]

or for an average defenseman, just ask the Oilers. sometimes when you have a surplus of something you give it away for a lot less than what it is worth.

The Oilers got shafted there because (a) they're dumb and (b) they were trading a winger (easiest position to fill) for a right-handed D (one of the most sought-after positions) so there was a talent premium to be paid. The Oilers didn't even have much of a surplus of good wingers. Trading a center for a winger, you should get a good premium back. There's always a team or two desperate for a good center. Think about how much Montreal would pay now for a good young pivot.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

The Oilers got shafted there because (a) they're dumb and (b) they were trading a winger (easiest position to fill) for a right-handed D (one of the most sought-after positions) so there was a talent premium to be paid. The Oilers didn't even have much of a surplus of good wingers. Trading a center for a winger, you should get a good premium back. There's always a team or two desperate for a good center. Think about how much Montreal would pay now for a good young pivot.

For some reason I thought Hall was a center, which makes it make even less sense cause they need wingers.

anyway if for example Tkachuk/Walhstrom and Kotkaniemi are available I think it might make sense taking a winger rather than creating unnecessary glut at center. Unless of course they feel like Kotkaniemi is significantly better player.

I think maybe we should do a 3 team trade where we get 3rd overall, Arizona gets 9th overall and Montreal gets 5th overall. DeAngelo goes to Montreal and Spooner or Namestnikov to Arizona.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

pass, there is more to hockey than just skating

And Hughes is really good at a lot of it on top of being the best skater in the draft

 

[charliemurphy]

Are folks thinking they stand pat at #9 or they trade up with the other picks and/or roster players?

 

[Good Intentions]

Are folks thinking they stand pat at #9 or they trade up with the other picks and/or roster players?

1. Unable to trade up
2. 9OV farabee

 

[Mikos87]

a some what under the radar player i like as a 2nd round grab is philipp kurashev the swiss lefty pivot who plays for the remparts in the Q.

he's got tools. skates beautifully and has some 2 way to his game. creative and possesses a very nice accurate release.

good bloodlines too.

any thoughts ?

Didn't post killer numbers, but was supposed to be one to keep an eye on going into the draft. Could be there in the 3rd. Would be a very good value pick at 70.

 

[Mikos87]

The Rangers need to backfill like how WPG does. Every hole that they may have in their line-up next year can be filled in by a prospect.

LHD? Two of the better prospects out there in Samberg & Niku.

Goalie? Comrie

Playmaking center? Appleton

Need to trade a RHD for a major upgrade? They've got Poolman.

Took forever but the pieces are there.

 

[leetch99]

Noah Dobson is getting some publicity these days being the highest rated draft pick still playing . Last night they were singing his praises on HNIC in the intermission and I turned the channel over to SportsNet later on and they had him in the broadcast booth for the Memorial Cup round robin match and I was REALLY impressed with his camera presence ...the kid is really genuine and a great interview . Somebody is going to get a GREAT young Dman . Give this kid a Summer in the gym with Turk Gallant and a few other locals like AHL heavyweights Alex & Brett Gallant..he will be packing on the meat and adding some nastiness to that game . Doing pretty good at the Memorial Cup so far...sitting in the Finals and waiting !!!

 

[wafflepadsave]

I wonder:

San Jose is sending their 2019 1st to Buffalo since they are keeping Kane.

Does 26 and 28 get the Rangers to 21?

Should it?

I think 26 and 38 should get you the 21st

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Noah Dobson is getting some publicity these days being the highest rated draft pick still playing . Last night they were singing his praises on HNIC in the intermission and I turned the channel over to SportsNet later on and they had him in the broadcast booth for the Memorial Cup round robin match and I was REALLY impressed with his camera presence ...the kid is really genuine and a great interview . Somebody is going to get a GREAT young Dman . Give this kid a Summer in the gym with Turk Gallant and a few other locals like AHL heavyweights Alex & Brett Gallant..he will be packing on the meat and adding some nastiness to that game . Doing pretty good at the Memorial Cup so far...sitting in the Finals and waiting !!!

It bothers me that they're probably not going to get a shot at him or Hughes.

Both are studs.

 

[Joey Bones]

pass, there is more to hockey than just skating

Hughes is one of, if not, the smartest players in this draft. If you think it's just his skating that gets him on a WC USA team (AS AN 18 YEAR OLD), you're horribly mistaken....

 

[2014nyr]

Hughes is one of, if not, the smartest players in this draft. If you think it's just his skating that gets him on a WC USA team (AS AN 18 YEAR OLD), you're horribly mistaken....

I'd agree it was more than his skating, Hughes is a baller. But you'd also have to concede there's probably some USA hockey politicking here. Not to say he was at all out of place or undeserving per se, I'd just say there were certainly other more seasoned options that are probably overall better players right now and could easily have slotted into that lineup. Now USA hockey has to take under consideration their future, and they've made it a point to bring youth to this tourney - but they also want to keep the Hughes family happy.

He definitely made the most of this showcase. I love Hughes game. His skating is already elite at the pro level and it's so much more than speed. It's the edges, the way he can do everything at the same speed with and without the puck, does a great job creating and hitting seam and cross ice passes. Offensively he's a dynamo, defensively I do think he's better than he's often advertised defensively - he competes and uses leverage well to win battles, plus the skating/vision is a weapon starting rushes. Onnnnn the other hand - there are definitely some significant concerns. I do wonder what his nhl game looks like. Through ncaa/wjc, he was able to play as an almost positionless rover - i'm not sure what compromises may have to be made at the top level, and how that may impact his effectiveness. I know he looked every bit the part at the wc but the big ice certainly provided him some additional running room to avoid more board play/physical contact. now maybe he is the prodigy he's at times looked like and he makes a mockery of these questions, but probabilities are higher he turns out more like thomas hickey than erik karlsson.

if we end up with him though, i have enough trust in our scouts/front office to blindly assume the former evaluation unless and until he proves otherwise.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think Hughes is overrated. I just don't see the obvious high-end calling card that is quantifiable towards winning. What part of his game can you point to and say thats going to make him a 1D?

The skating is great, but what else is so great? Is he great defensively? No, likely won't even be a good defensive player in the NHL. I doubt he'll even be a regular PK'er in the NHL. Is he a player who is likely to score 50 points every season? I don't think so either. I know the "puck-moving defenseman" is a popular skill-set in the NHL, and a guy who skates like Hughes, will carry the puck from zone to zone like Hughes, will contribute to the transition games like Hughes, is a valuable player, but is he a shutdown defenseman? No. Is he an elite PP QB? There's a chance, but I'd still say no. Is his game so well rounded that he can be in the top 1/6th of every category without being top 10 or so in any category? Not in my opinion.

He reminds me of Torey Krug. Slightly undersized, very good skater, well-above average offensively, borderline elite, but doesn't quite have the elite offensive skills. And the defense is somewhat problematic for a top 4D. I don't think it'll be a disaster, but I don't think its to a level where I think it'll ever be more than average. I see his ceiling as more of a 2/3D. I don't see 1D potential like I think players like Dahlin, Boqvist, Dobson, Wilde have. To me, he's more in the 10-15 range, and I hope the Rangers don't pick him. I don't think it would be a disastrous pick because I think he'll be a good NHL'er, but for all the flash, I don't see the elite ceiling in his game. If one Hughes was going to be picked for the World Championship team, I would've picked his brother Jack.

 

[donpaulo]

I am hoping NY does not trade up this draft

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

pass, there is more to hockey than just skating

And Hughes is excellent at pretty much every part of hockey except boxing big forwards out of the crease.

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

I definitely Think Hughes has 1D potential, he's so smart and sees the ice incredibly well on both sides of the puck.

 

[Synergy27]

And Hughes is excellent at pretty much every part of hockey except boxing big forwards out of the crease.

Which, in all fairness, is the playoffs.

 

[Ola]

Noah Dobson is getting some publicity these days being the highest rated draft pick still playing . Last night they were singing his praises on HNIC in the intermission and I turned the channel over to SportsNet later on and they had him in the broadcast booth for the Memorial Cup round robin match and I was REALLY impressed with his camera presence ...the kid is really genuine and a great interview . Somebody is going to get a GREAT young Dman . Give this kid a Summer in the gym with Turk Gallant and a few other locals like AHL heavyweights Alex & Brett Gallant..he will be packing on the meat and adding some nastiness to that game . Doing pretty good at the Memorial Cup so far...sitting in the Finals and waiting !!!

I wonder how much these late season performances are impacting the actually draft. I saw an interview with a scout at the U18 and he almost scoffed at the notion that any kid's performance there would impact their ranking. Saying that team's had their lists done since a while back and that the U18 was mostly about getting to know the kids better.

These guys are pros, they work with it full time. Its not a group of 1 or 2 but a larger team. Form one perspective I can understand how its more black and white for them, and they can form an opinion earlier during the year.

But from another perspective, its a fact that if a draft was redone after a year it would look very different. As would it after two years. A month is like 1/8 of a season, so much room for error, are they that confident?

 

[UnSandvich]

I wonder how much these late season performances are impacting the actually draft. I saw an interview with a scout at the U18 and he almost scoffed at the notion that any kid's performance there would impact their ranking. Saying that team's had their lists done since a while back and that the U18 was mostly about getting to know the kids better.

These guys are pros, they work with it full time. Its not a group of 1 or 2 but a larger team. Form one perspective I can understand how its more black and white for them, and they can form an opinion earlier during the year.

But from another perspective, its a fact that if a draft was redone after a year it would look very different. As would it after two years. A month is like 1/8 of a season, so much room for error, are they that confident?

Wasn't Chytil almost an afterthought until his last month or so? Everything I heard about him post-draft was how he was a huge riser that the Rangers fell in love with

 

[Ola]

Wasn't Chytil almost an afterthought until his last month or so? Everything I heard about him post-draft was how he was a huge riser that the Rangers fell in love with

Yeah, but I don't think we necessarily went out and said that he caught our attention late, think it was more the general awareness of him that started to become greater after the U18 were he was so good. I could be mistaken though.

I do think that we liked both Marc Staal's and Dylan McIlrath's draft year POs a lot which impacted their draft position. On McIlrath, Nashville got Shea Weber somewhat late in the 2nd round, Weber was one of those developed early physically types, built like a bull when he was 17 y/o. But he wasn't a stand out in the WHL, just needed a lot more time to round out his hockey skills. But I think that soon after the 03' draft people really started to acknowledge him, he had such an impressive package of skating and size and some skill too. When we drafted McIlrath, Weber was peaking in the NHL. I think we looked a lot at Weber when drafting McIlrath. Not in the sense that we were banking of McIlrath becoming that good -- but probably taking into consideration that players who are athletic and has a high raw skill package can improve a ton after their draft, and McI was more of an offensive minded D when he was drafted (even if it didn't show in the stats in the WHL) who could fight and hit.

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

pass, there is more to hockey than just skating

Yea he’s also the second best offensive defenseman in this draft and a top 3 defenseman in this draft...

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

I am hoping NY does not trade up this draft

If we’re trading up i think it’s into the top 3 or 4. Which then I’d have no complaints

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Yeah, but I don't think we necessarily went out and said that he caught our attention late, think it was more the general awareness of him that started to become greater after the U18 were he was so good. I could be mistaken though.

I do think that we liked both Marc Staal's and Dylan McIlrath's draft year POs a lot which impacted their draft position. On McIlrath, Nashville got Shea Weber somewhat late in the 2nd round, Weber was one of those developed early physically types, built like a bull when he was 17 y/o. But he wasn't a stand out in the WHL, just needed a lot more time to round out his hockey skills. But I think that soon after the 03' draft people really started to acknowledge him, he had such an impressive package of skating and size and some skill too. When we drafted McIlrath, Weber was peaking in the NHL. I think we looked a lot at Weber when drafting McIlrath. Not in the sense that we were banking of McIlrath becoming that good -- but probably taking into consideration that players who are athletic and has a high raw skill package can improve a ton after their draft, and McI was more of an offensive minded D when he was drafted (even if it didn't show in the stats in the WHL) who could fight and hit.

This is absolutely true. Clark talked about the comparison in an interview, admitted they loved McIlrath’s playoffs as a potential sign of further development.