It's a shame I didn't do a review last year as it would've been a lot more entertaining than this is about to be. The 2016 draft was a special one as I managed to land the top 3 picks...none of which are still with the team.
Anyways, 2017...yikes. My run of lottery pick luck would come to an end this year and the trend of mostly terrible mid/late round picks would continue. Not a good year for the organization.
1.4 - Cody Glass - C
Status: AHL/NHL tweener...bust given the draft slot
I held the 3rd pick but made a draft day trade with the Caps to move back one spot. Josh to Heiskanen, I took Glass. He was who I wanted at this spot all along. I thought I was getting a can't miss playmaking 2nd line C to play behind Matthews at worst, a quality top line C to push Matthews if things went right. Early on, they seemed to be going right, as he continued to dominate the WHL and played well with Team Canada. Injuries started to hit, development time was missed, and it just didn't get better. He's been a really strong player in the AHL but never seemed to click in the NHL. I'm not writing him off just yet but it's clear he's not going to be a franchise altering player at this point.
2.39 - Joni Ikonen - W
Status: SM-liiga player...traded
If Glass was meant to be a safe high upside pick, this was a not so safe pick. He was highly skilled and projected as a 2nd rounder so this felt like a reasonable selection at the time. He was supposed to give me some depth scoring if all went well. He battled through his own injury issues that hampered his progression before I eventually traded him to Colorado in a package to acquire Nick Leddy.
2.46 - Josh Brook - D
Status: AHL player
I was targeting a D with this pick and was thrilled to land Brook. He was a solid all-around player with good offensive instincts. As an aside, I seem to be too drawn to this "all-around" player type that continues to let me down. His D+1 season was poor but he brought all I could have asked for in his D+2 season, putting up 75 points in 59 games. The hype was real and I had a sure-fire top 4 D in my system. Fast forward a few more seasons and he can't put it all together as a pro. This one really hurts.
3.70 - Jarret Tyszka - D
Status: Canadian college player...bust
While I was confident with my first 3 picks, this was a bit of an unknown. A project pick referred to me by my Director of Amateur Scouting, he had the physical tools to be good, but not the mind for the game. He used that size to his advantage to post decent seasons after being drafted but was never offered a NHL contract and chose to come home and play for UBC.
4.103 - Kasper Kotkansalo - D
Status: Sm-liiga player
I was very happy to land Kotkansalo at this point as he was high up on my day 2 list. Yet another solid all-around D with good size, he didn't have the greatest draft season in the USHL but was still considered a decent prospect that went in the 3rd round in the NHL. After 3 years placing in the NCAA he went back home to Finland and hasn't returned.
4.118 - Pavel Koltygin - W
Status: VHL player
I love me some mid-round gambles on Russian players and was happy to have landed Koltygin here. He had just posted a decent first season in the QMJHL, so the first obstacle to drafting Russians was already solved, he was in North America. Unfortunately he didn't take the next step in the seasons following being drafted and returned home to Russia.
6.174 - Dayton Rasmussen - G
Status: Out of hockey...bust
Not a particular target of mine, likely the best rated goalie left for the selection. He had good size & athleticism and had won a USHL championship. After a short stint in the NCAA he jumped back to the USHL before leaving hockey for good.
All told from this draft class I have a lottery pick that might still find his way to be an NHL player, a 2nd round defender that's possibly never going to get out of the AHL, and a bunch of European/collegiate players that didn't pan out. Lets hope for better luck next year!
Anyways, 2017...yikes. My run of lottery pick luck would come to an end this year and the trend of mostly terrible mid/late round picks would continue. Not a good year for the organization.
1.4 - Cody Glass - C
Status: AHL/NHL tweener...bust given the draft slot
I held the 3rd pick but made a draft day trade with the Caps to move back one spot. Josh to Heiskanen, I took Glass. He was who I wanted at this spot all along. I thought I was getting a can't miss playmaking 2nd line C to play behind Matthews at worst, a quality top line C to push Matthews if things went right. Early on, they seemed to be going right, as he continued to dominate the WHL and played well with Team Canada. Injuries started to hit, development time was missed, and it just didn't get better. He's been a really strong player in the AHL but never seemed to click in the NHL. I'm not writing him off just yet but it's clear he's not going to be a franchise altering player at this point.
2.39 - Joni Ikonen - W
Status: SM-liiga player...traded
If Glass was meant to be a safe high upside pick, this was a not so safe pick. He was highly skilled and projected as a 2nd rounder so this felt like a reasonable selection at the time. He was supposed to give me some depth scoring if all went well. He battled through his own injury issues that hampered his progression before I eventually traded him to Colorado in a package to acquire Nick Leddy.
2.46 - Josh Brook - D
Status: AHL player
I was targeting a D with this pick and was thrilled to land Brook. He was a solid all-around player with good offensive instincts. As an aside, I seem to be too drawn to this "all-around" player type that continues to let me down. His D+1 season was poor but he brought all I could have asked for in his D+2 season, putting up 75 points in 59 games. The hype was real and I had a sure-fire top 4 D in my system. Fast forward a few more seasons and he can't put it all together as a pro. This one really hurts.
3.70 - Jarret Tyszka - D
Status: Canadian college player...bust
While I was confident with my first 3 picks, this was a bit of an unknown. A project pick referred to me by my Director of Amateur Scouting, he had the physical tools to be good, but not the mind for the game. He used that size to his advantage to post decent seasons after being drafted but was never offered a NHL contract and chose to come home and play for UBC.
4.103 - Kasper Kotkansalo - D
Status: Sm-liiga player
I was very happy to land Kotkansalo at this point as he was high up on my day 2 list. Yet another solid all-around D with good size, he didn't have the greatest draft season in the USHL but was still considered a decent prospect that went in the 3rd round in the NHL. After 3 years placing in the NCAA he went back home to Finland and hasn't returned.
4.118 - Pavel Koltygin - W
Status: VHL player
I love me some mid-round gambles on Russian players and was happy to have landed Koltygin here. He had just posted a decent first season in the QMJHL, so the first obstacle to drafting Russians was already solved, he was in North America. Unfortunately he didn't take the next step in the seasons following being drafted and returned home to Russia.
6.174 - Dayton Rasmussen - G
Status: Out of hockey...bust
Not a particular target of mine, likely the best rated goalie left for the selection. He had good size & athleticism and had won a USHL championship. After a short stint in the NCAA he jumped back to the USHL before leaving hockey for good.
All told from this draft class I have a lottery pick that might still find his way to be an NHL player, a 2nd round defender that's possibly never going to get out of the AHL, and a bunch of European/collegiate players that didn't pan out. Lets hope for better luck next year!
