Speculation: Draft Talk, 2018: Picks 1, 32, 94, 117, 125, 156, 187

[Sabretooth]

Why the love for Hughes.
He seems really high risk project.
I see a fast and flashy player with
Questionable desicionmaking.

Is this a Haiku? It reads like a stanza of poetry

 

[Chainshot]

Is this a Haiku? It reads like a stanza of poetry

The Epic GottaDeemanHuh from the Draft Cycle.

 

[Reddawg]

Is this a Haiku? It reads like a stanza of poetry

The first two lines actually are in Haiku form, lol

 

[CatsforReinhart]

Your opinion they may be interchangeable, but I would guess 3 years from now the guy selected 2nd is significantly better then the guy selected 5th or 6th. I won’t lose sleep over it, but it definitely matters whether we select 2nd or 5th.

Actually thats not really true. It depends who is the sabres guy. I am not talking about that those players are all the same I am talking about most scouts have those players on the same tier.

You don't really know right now if Hughes is better than Boqvist or Bouchard or Svech is better than Tkachuk or is better than Zadina.

What we do know is Dahlin is better than them all at this moment and there is no clear number two and 2-7 could be any order right now.

 

[Chainshot]

So 31-ish... Mattias Samuelsson, K'Andre Miller, Alexander Alexeyev? Calen Addison or Akil Thomas if they continue to go smurf? Who ya' got?

 

[Der Jaeger]

So 31-ish... Mattias Samuelsson, K'Andre Miller, Alexander Alexeyev? Calen Addison or Akil Thomas if they continue to go smurf? Who ya' got?

Jack Drury. And don't you type another word...... it's not up for debate.

 

[DJN21]

Jack Drury. And don't you type another word...... it's not up for debate.

If Merkley is still there i bite the bullet and roll the dice on him. He seems like the type to dive later than rise.

 

[truthbluth]

View media item 1681I would only hate it at 2. Even at 3, I'd eventually come around to it, being that his skill set is such an obvious need. Still strongly prefer we come out of round 1 with a dynamic skating defenseman.

 

[truthbluth]

Side note, this draft is the least fun draft in years to follow. Only 2 picks in the top 3 rounds for the worst team in the league? Someday I want to know what it's like to follow a well run hockey team.

 

[Chainshot]

Side note, this draft is the least fun draft in years to follow. Only 2 picks in the top 3 rounds for the worst team in the league? Someday I want to know what it's like to follow a well run hockey team.

I'm following the Jets and the Lightning just as a "oh, hey, this might be a path".

 

[truthbluth]

I'm following the Jets and the Lightning just as a "oh, hey, this might be a path".

The Lightning were a 100 pt team in Stamkos' 3rd season.

The Jets have hit home runs on every single one of their 1st picks in their existence.

Both comparisons require a fair bit of blind hope.

 

[Chainshot]

The Lightning were a 100 pt team in Stamkos' 3rd season.

The Jets have hit home runs on every single one of their 1st picks in their existence.

Both comparisons require a fair bit of blind hope.

Beyond that, it's how they've added key peripheral pieces that intrigues me. They both draft well, but both have done well in development of non-first round picks. Both have made key mid-range UFA signings. Both have experimented to find their netminder. There is something to emulate there.

 

[truthbluth]

Beyond that, it's how they've added key peripheral pieces that intrigues me. They both draft well, but both have done well in development of non-first round picks. Both have made key mid-range UFA signings. Both have experimented to find their netminder. There is something to emulate there.

Don't forget the Jets acquired 4 young NHL caliber assets for two guys they didn't even want. That helps quite a bit.

 

[Chainshot]

Don't forget the Jets acquired 4 young NHL caliber assets for two guys they didn't even want. That helps quite a bit.

More about how they've used their later top-10 picks to build a young core while keeping a guy like Little on a friendly deal and adding someone affordable like Perreault and even Kulikov in free agency. I would think the raids on the cap strapped Hawks initially fueled more of their build with the Buff and Ladd acquisitions. They are an example of how to draft in the 5-10 range and not screw it up like say he 2000-2010 Blue Jackets.

As for Tampa it's cap management and building their roster so that their younger players become their featured players while building in depth from within.

Anywhoo, back to the draft.

Jack Drury. And don't you type another word...... it's not up for debate.

Maybe. I'm more interested in defensemen in round 2, but I could see the appeal.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

More about how they've used their later top-10 picks to build a young core while keeping a guy like Little on a friendly deal and adding someone affordable like Perreault and even Kulikov in free agency. I would think the raids on the cap strapped Hawks initially fueled more of their build with the Buff and Ladd acquisitions. They are an example of how to draft in the 5-10 range and not screw it up like say he 2000-2010 Blue Jackets.

As for Tampa it's cap management and building their roster so that their younger players become their featured players while building in depth from within.

Anywhoo, back to the draft.



Maybe. I'm more interested in defensemen in round 2, but I could see the appeal.

The Jets almost never do trades though, which has been annoying over the years. Almost the Darcy method of only trading when you clearly win on value. It's taken them a VERY long time to get here...going back to Atlanta days. Patience and good drafting are definitely qualities the Sabres are missing, but I'm not sure I want to emulate their timeline.

On the other hand, would they even be where they are now if they made rash trades? I have a hard time with this...I don't know the answer.

 

[Ethan Edwards]

I don't like ranking players I haven't seen much (or at all), so I need more Boqvist viewings (I keep saying this) before offering an opinion.

Okay, I've delved into Boqvist. I hadn't seen much of him before yesterday and today, but I've gotten a decent dose. Enough to throw out a flash take, though not nearly enough to offer up any sort of truly informed opinion. I'll throw out what I can, but take it for what it's worth.

Definite similarities to Hughes, so I can see the synaptic interchange at work when evaluating both. Hughes is a non-stop play driver, moving the puck up ice with fluidity and ease. He can drive it up and lead the rush, dish it off, can be a possession hog at times (in a good way, usually), and at least a couple times a game will carry it around the O-zone net just because he can. I love that aggressiveness and his vision, but as others have noted, here and elsewhere, he is prone to mistakes, both physical and mental, as a result. But like we've seen with Guhle at his best, he has the skating chops to recover from mistakes (or any turnover that pins him deep) and get back post haste. I really like how he projects. If you're like me and you look first at skating, he scores VERY high.

So I've seen a lot more of Hughes than Boqvist, but the latter is definitely impressive. If he's not on par with QH in skating, he's close. He doesn't seem like he's as aggressive in pushing the play compared to QH, though he certainly does push it, and has the ability to do so. What stands out most when looking at all of this is his shot. He can bring it, via slapper or wrister, and I noticed little trouble getting shots through (an underrated ability in my book). But I mostly love his wrister in the flow of play. Could be my imagination, bleary-eyed viewing, screaming kid distractions, Knob Creek, Scarface-worthy mountains of blow, glue sniffing, or the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament, but it seemed like he had an inate ability to use his lateral skating to positionally self-generate screened shots to increase effectiveness. Now that's not a sentence I've written very often, if ever, for many reasons, and like I said I may have been hallucinating, but if that kid was really working some of that voodoo, I'd throw him down at #2 among Dmen, drop the mic and retire to Boca. And yes, he's still a young kid learning the game, so there's that. Meaning we haven't seen his best yet. I've heard he had some trouble adjusting to higher-tiered leagues in his native country, which is understandable given his age and size, but there is a lot there to like if you want an offensive Dman.

I wasn't too thrilled with his defensive play, which is a criticism often lobbed at Hughes, and for the most part fairly so, but both can skate themselves out of trouble. Lots to like with both of those players and I'd be hard-pressed to make a choice with my limited info, but at least I got to see a bit more of the Swede. I'd be curious to hear some other takes on AB because I don't get to see a whole lot of Swedish hockey during the year. I've heard many glowing reports, and obviously he's a darling with the scouts, but how he measures up to some CHL/NCAA prospects, less QH, in the eyes of some with more view time would be of interest. Either way, just from my limited take, he's firmly in that top tier after Dahlin/Svechnikov IMO. Where exactly he fits is a tough call. Still.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

I still am enamored by the thought of Tkachuk, this team more than any team needs that kind of player and personality. Our forward group will be insane in a few years - Eichel, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Tkachuk, Asplund, Nylander, Pu etc

One of those players once they're piling up goals and points can be traded for a dman. Tkachuk other than Dahlin has the most immediate impact in my opinion.

 

[sufferer]

I still am enamored by the thought of Tkachuk, this team more than any team needs that kind of player and personality. Our forward group will be insane in a few years - Eichel, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Tkachuk, Asplund, Nylander, Pu etc

One of those players once they're piling up goals and points can be traded for a dman. Tkachuk other than Dahlin has the most immediate impact in my opinion.

I agree. It's really a shame we're in such desperate need for a defenseman given how much I love Brady's style of play. Having him knock the shit out of the likes of Marchand, Kadri, T. Wilson and Gallagher would be entertaining as hell.

 

[sabrebuild]

I still am enamored by the thought of Tkachuk, this team more than any team needs that kind of player and personality. Our forward group will be insane in a few years - Eichel, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Tkachuk, Asplund, Nylander, Pu etc

One of those players once they're piling up goals and points can be traded for a dman. Tkachuk other than Dahlin has the most immediate impact in my opinion.

So I understand this correctly, your thought is that we draft tkachuk, and then in a few years we will trade a good forward for a defender to solve the massive current defensive core.

That seems like a long time to wait, on the hope that depth forwards will turn out in a few years.

 

[Chainshot]

Okay, I've delved into Boqvist. I hadn't seen much of him before yesterday and today, but I've gotten a decent dose. Enough to throw out a flash take, though not nearly enough to offer up any sort of truly informed opinion. I'll throw out what I can, but take it for what it's worth.

Definite similarities to Hughes, so I can see the synaptic interchange at work when evaluating both. Hughes is a non-stop play driver, moving the puck up ice with fluidity and ease. He can drive it up and lead the rush, dish it off, can be a possession hog at times (in a good way, usually), and at least a couple times a game will carry it around the O-zone net just because he can. I love that aggressiveness and his vision, but as others have noted, here and elsewhere, he is prone to mistakes, both physical and mental, as a result. But like we've seen with Guhle at his best, he has the skating chops to recover from mistakes (or any turnover that pins him deep) and get back post haste. I really like how he projects. If you're like me and you look first at skating, he scores VERY high.

So I've seen a lot more of Hughes than Boqvist, but the latter is definitely impressive. If he's not on par with QH in skating, he's close. He doesn't seem like he's as aggressive in pushing the play compared to QH, though he certainly does push it, and has the ability to do so. What stands out most when looking at all of this is his shot. He can bring it, via slapper or wrister, and I noticed little trouble getting shots through (an underrated ability in my book). But I mostly love his wrister in the flow of play. Could be my imagination, bleary-eyed viewing, screaming kid distractions, Knob Creek, Scarface-worthy mountains of blow, glue sniffing, or the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament, but it seemed like he had an inate ability to use his lateral skating to positionally self-generate screened shots to increase effectiveness. Now that's not a sentence I've written very often, if ever, for many reasons, and like I said I may have been hallucinating, but if that kid was really working some of that voodoo, I'd throw him down at #2 among Dmen, drop the mic and retire to Boca. And yes, he's still a young kid learning the game, so there's that. Meaning we haven't seen his best yet. I've heard he had some trouble adjusting to higher-tiered leagues in his native country, which is understandable given his age and size, but there is a lot there to like if you want an offensive Dman.

I wasn't too thrilled with his defensive play, which is a criticism often lobbed at Hughes, and for the most part fairly so, but both can skate themselves out of trouble. Lots to like with both of those players and I'd be hard-pressed to make a choice with my limited info, but at least I got to see a bit more of the Swede. I'd be curious to hear some other takes on AB because I don't get to see a whole lot of Swedish hockey during the year. I've heard many glowing reports, and obviously he's a darling with the scouts, but how he measures up to some CHL/NCAA prospects, less QH, in the eyes of some with more view time would be of interest. Either way, just from my limited take, he's firmly in that top tier after Dahlin/Svechnikov IMO. Where exactly he fits is a tough call. Still.

This post. Right here. This.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

It could be 3 years before Boqvist makes an impact in the NHL. Not sue if that should be a deciding factor.

 

[PelleLindbergh]

Mittelstadt and Tkachuk for years and years at the expense of a top pairing offensive dman.... tough choice but that chemistry between the 2 at the WJCs was undeniable.

 

[Sabre the Win]

If we are drafting 5th I hope we take Tkachuk if he is there. I know we need D but in that range at 5 I think a D is too questionable to gamble at 5th overall.

I think Tkachuk is the safer bet.

 

[WpgBuffan]

So 31-ish... Mattias Samuelsson, K'Andre Miller, Alexander Alexeyev? Calen Addison or Akil Thomas if they continue to go smurf? Who ya' got?

I would add Jett Woo in that group as well. If we add Dahlin or Hughes who are both LD, I would like to add a righty like Woo in the 2nd round.

It goes the other way as well. If we add one of the RD early in the draft I would lean more towards Miller in the 2nd round.

 

[Revelate]

Jack Drury. And don't you type another word...... it's not up for debate.

I can't wait for three years of posts worrying he's going to UFA!