Vagrant
The Czech Condor
The difficult offseason decisions for the Capitals have largely come and gone. The tough decisions to part with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Miro Heiskanen (in particular) were agonizing for the GM. My conviction with Miro was so strong that I only recall now having moved up from 3rd overall to 2nd overall in a trade with TB (as mentioned in his report of the '17 draft) to make sure that he was to play in Washington. Many years of debating Brock about Heiskanen vs. Makar saw me lose that debate decisively with Makar's explosion onto the scene, but we still loved Heiskanen and wish him well in Nashville.
In total we picked up 3 players in those 2 deals
D Lukas Cormier - scored an absurd 41 goals last year from defense between regular season and playoffs on his powerhouse qmjhl team.
D Ville Heinola - offensive minded defense who will likely play a regular shift for the Jets this season.
D Ronan Seeley - how he managed to fall to the 7th round in the nhl draft befuddles me. Carolina was so convinced in his first rookie camp that they signed him to a deal. It's the first time in my recollection the team has ever signed someone drafted after the 4th round in their first camp.
My goal in these 2 trades was to replenish the coffers on defense so that I could focus my scouting for the draft on the forward prospects available. I had identified 2 targets and Brock guessed them both in his mock. The formula for me is pretty simple. I like to watch the US development program as much as I can so my picks will usually lean there. I am also a fan of unicorn talents who might be falling circumstantially more than meritoriously. In the run up to the draft, my instincts told me that it might be possible to secure both of my targets if I could get back into the 1st round.
1st Round - 20th Overall - W Ivan Miroshnichenkov - Ranked 6th by Bobby Mac and 15th by Button, the TSN guys usually influence my viewing the most so it made sense for me to check him out. He gave me a bit of a Val Nichushkin vibe as sort of a heavy power winger with great skating and a world class shot, if not all the puck smarts to make that all work at the same time. The raw clay here was just too valuable and the lymphoma diagnosis didn't concern me as much as it would have ten years ago. He might have some of the most impressive individual tape you're going to see in regards to goal scoring in this draft. We committed to wait for this player and have no problem with him taking the long way if needed.
1st Round - 24th Overall - W Isaac Howard - Howard has been a polarizing player to a degree. His stick skills are unquestionable, but there have been questions from scouts about quickness and skating that I think are somewhat overblown. His USHL numbers were incredibly impressive as a playmaker and he'll get to showcase that for the Bulldogs next season at UMD. I expect him to be a Day 1 powerplay force for that squad and to grow into his legs. He's a stocky built kid with a strong base. There's some degree of question about his ability to think the game but I believe those concerns are quelled largely by his playmaking ability. He can really chop it up with the puck on his blade.
In total we picked up 3 players in those 2 deals
D Lukas Cormier - scored an absurd 41 goals last year from defense between regular season and playoffs on his powerhouse qmjhl team.
D Ville Heinola - offensive minded defense who will likely play a regular shift for the Jets this season.
D Ronan Seeley - how he managed to fall to the 7th round in the nhl draft befuddles me. Carolina was so convinced in his first rookie camp that they signed him to a deal. It's the first time in my recollection the team has ever signed someone drafted after the 4th round in their first camp.
My goal in these 2 trades was to replenish the coffers on defense so that I could focus my scouting for the draft on the forward prospects available. I had identified 2 targets and Brock guessed them both in his mock. The formula for me is pretty simple. I like to watch the US development program as much as I can so my picks will usually lean there. I am also a fan of unicorn talents who might be falling circumstantially more than meritoriously. In the run up to the draft, my instincts told me that it might be possible to secure both of my targets if I could get back into the 1st round.
1st Round - 20th Overall - W Ivan Miroshnichenkov - Ranked 6th by Bobby Mac and 15th by Button, the TSN guys usually influence my viewing the most so it made sense for me to check him out. He gave me a bit of a Val Nichushkin vibe as sort of a heavy power winger with great skating and a world class shot, if not all the puck smarts to make that all work at the same time. The raw clay here was just too valuable and the lymphoma diagnosis didn't concern me as much as it would have ten years ago. He might have some of the most impressive individual tape you're going to see in regards to goal scoring in this draft. We committed to wait for this player and have no problem with him taking the long way if needed.
1st Round - 24th Overall - W Isaac Howard - Howard has been a polarizing player to a degree. His stick skills are unquestionable, but there have been questions from scouts about quickness and skating that I think are somewhat overblown. His USHL numbers were incredibly impressive as a playmaker and he'll get to showcase that for the Bulldogs next season at UMD. I expect him to be a Day 1 powerplay force for that squad and to grow into his legs. He's a stocky built kid with a strong base. There's some degree of question about his ability to think the game but I believe those concerns are quelled largely by his playmaking ability. He can really chop it up with the puck on his blade.
