I don't like how the draft is going...

[HockeyinHD]

I have no idea how someone couldn't like this draft. No, I don't mean collapse in sqeeing glee as a fainting goat does at the very thought of it's awesomeness, but man... this was a really good draft.

-4 picks in the top 40... that's as many as they had in the 15, 16 and 17 drafts combined.

-A #1 or #2 pick used on a dman... something they have now done 4 times in 3 years.

-A top pick which fell to them rather than one they reached for.

-2012-2016 drafts: 13 picks in rounds 1-3. 2017 and 2018 drafts: 13 picks in rounds 1-3. Resulting in...

-A series of drafts culminating in this one which have produced so much depth the team is being forced to move out guys from GR 7 years from their draft class to make space.

Yeah, any or all of these players could be garbage. Happens. This is the best I've felt about the Wings' general prospect pool since 2001. I've been more encouraged about specific positions within the draft pool (no young goalies, for example), but in terms of top to bottom depth?

Best since 2001.

 

[Ulysses31]

Larkin is no where near Backstrom and almost guaranteed never to be near him, who cracked 100 points, something even Datsyuk didn't do. And As for Kuznetsov the playoffs he had also puts him a step above Larkin. He had over half of Larkin's production in just over a quarter of the games. Currently his closest comparable would be Toews and more likely a Toews-lite. Its this type of hyperbole that makes people not take fans on here seriously.

As for Zadina, and Ras, they both look like good first line wingers. Mantha is a great player to anchor a second line wing position.

Well agree to disagree. Points arent everything. Like you said Datsyuk is better than Backstrom despite never hitting 100 points. After the year Larkin had last year I dont have much doubt he will be as good as backstrom at some point.

Funny you mention Toews because Toews is better than Backstrom in my eyes.

 

[KJoe88]

Haha, this team hasn't even hit the cellar yet. Sorry to disappoint you. If you thought this season was bad and unwatchable, it's going to get much, much worse. Just you wait!

This is what everyone has been asking for. Don't complain.

Hey, don’t say everyone... :/

I get what you’re saying but this team isn’t five years away from being decent again and making a run for the playoffs. A couple? Possibly, yeah.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Eh, you won't know if this was a good or bad draft for another few years. People get so emotional about something that they're in no position to evaluate at this time, and that they *will* find out about if they're patient enough (and don't die within the next few years).

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

The reason why people are complaining so much is that the current Wings' defense is a pile of garbage. An over payed Danny Dekeyser is our best D right now. We will not be good for the next couple seasons because of it.

And yet, if we took Quinn Hughes, Evan Bouchard, or Noah Dobson... guess who our best D would be? An overpaid and overslotted Danny DeKeyser. None of those guys would play for a few years.

There is one D in the top 12 picks who will be playing in the NHL come October. Dahlin. Others are several years away. We would not be very good on defense for the next couple seasons even if we picked four defensemen with those first 4 picks.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Hey, don’t say everyone... :/

I get what you’re saying but this team isn’t five years away from being decent again and making a run for the playoffs. A couple? Possibly, yeah.

Yeah, the tone you are replying to is very passive aggressive. It's from a poster who believed we were going to win a Cup in Blashill's first year. He was completely opposed to the rebuild. So now that he's been proven wrong on both accounts and we are one of the absolute worst teams in the league he's doubling down and saying 'you got what you wished for, get ready for how bad it's going to be'.

That's fine. I would take all opinions on this forum with a grain of salt. I said I think we can be good again in 5-7 years and when I say that I don't mean we'll finally make the playoffs in 5-7 years; I think we can be a very legit candidate to make it to the conference finals year in and year out for a decent sized window of opportunity during Larkin's prime.

The situation is fluid of course. There are some big holes that still need to be filled. We're finally in a good position to fill those holes. A lot of awful contracts are starting to come off the books. Will Holland make the tough choices? He traded Tatar which was a good start. Will he blow out the cap with free agent signings? That's the next thing I'll be looking at to see if Holland is truly positioning this team to become good again in 5 or so years or is he going to take a shortcut and try to get back into the playoffs in a year or two.

 

[Frk It]

And yet, if we took Quinn Hughes, Evan Bouchard, or Noah Dobson... guess who our best D would be? An overpaid and overslotted Danny DeKeyser. None of those guys would play for a few years.

There is one D in the top 12 picks who will be playing in the NHL come October. Dahlin. Others are several years away. We would not be very good on defense for the next couple seasons even if we picked four defensemen with those first 4 picks.

Bouchard is not that far away. Probably will be in the NHL by next year.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Bouchard is not that far away. Probably will be in the NHL by next year.

I stand corrected on him. However, our best D for the foreseeable future would still be Danny DeKeyser.

 

[Frk It]

I stand corrected on him. However, our best D for the foreseeable future would still be Danny DeKeyser.

I don't like that sentence.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

Apart from packaging a few of our thirds to move up into the second round to draft one of wilde, tychonick or addinsin(sp), holland played this draft well

 

[Roomba With a Bauer]

Ordinarily, I refuse to defend the actions of this team's management. It's important for people to remember that this team is going to be picking in the top 10, if not the top 5, at least 2-3 more times in the next few years...if not longer. If a guy like Zadina and/or Veleno fall into your lap, and they seem like locks to be top-6 guys, you take them. There were no sure-fire top-pair guys in this draft after Dahlin. If you can't draft into a position of need, draft into a position of strength and then trade for the need. If KH is finally pulling his head out of his ass and playing the long game the team will be better off for it.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Eh, you won't know if this was a good or bad draft for another few years. People get so emotional about something that they're in no position to evaluate at this time, and that they *will* find out about if they're patient enough (and don't die within the next few years).

This.

For all we know Zadina/Veleno are mega busts, or they're the next Toews/Kane.

I remember many people here being pretty let down we drafted future 3rd liner Larkin/AHLer Bertuzzi, while many being ecstatic was drafted future stars Pulkinnen/Frk.

On paper though, this looks like an amazing draft where we got 4 players rated significantly higher than where they were eventually picked

 

[Henkka]

On paper though, this looks like an amazing draft where we got 4 players rated significantly higher than where they were eventually picked

Yeap. It still amazing how all Zadina, Veleno and McIsaac were ranked as Top 10 players year before the draft. They didn't have that exciting seasons, but reasons could be just bad seasons. Like Veleno, after getting another chance by a trade, he outproduced Zadina in pts per game at Drummondville.

Then Berggren was the season riser, at TOP15 in many statistical ranks. Played against men.

Those 4 picks really did hit on the mark.

 

[lilidk]

I should be more happy if we trade #6 with islanders for 12 and 13.

 

[jkutswings]

Some numbers for consideration. I looked up the McKenzie rankings for each of the last 5 drafts (including 2018). Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything past the first round for 2014, but otherwise, I tracked how many centers, defensemen, and wingers were ranked in the top 10, top 30, and top 60 of each class:

		2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
C	Top 10	4	5	3	7	1
	Top 30	12	9	9	13	8
	Top 60	N/A	17	18	24	15
D	Top 10	2	2	2	2	5
	Top 30	5	9	11	9	11
	Top 60	N/A	20	18	15	24
W	Top 10	4	3	5	1	4
	Top 30	12	11	10	7	11
	Top 60	N/A	19	21	17	18

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

So while Detroit received very good value on their picks, keep in mind that the number of defensemen considered as top 60 prospects was relatively high this year, and seeing 5 in the top 10 - in a draft class that was considered strong overall - was a rare opportunity. (And one that might not happen again the next few draft classes, if the admittedly small sample size is any indication.)

 

[Syckle78]

I should be more happy if we trade #6 with islanders for 12 and 13.

Yea cause if there's one thing this team has too many of it's potentially elite superstars.

 

[shanman]

Yea cause if there's one thing this team has too many of it's potentially elite superstars.

meh i dont think it is that simple. Wahlstrom was very highly rated coming out as well. He could be a top level scorer similar to zadina. Dobson was rumored to be a possibility going to one of the top 5 teams as maybe the first post dahlin Dman taken. It is an extremely valid discussion to think about whether we would rather have zadina vs wahlstrom and dobson, especially if we still were to get a guy like veleno later on.

 

[NickH8]

meh i dont think it is that simple. Wahlstrom was very highly rated coming out as well. He could be a top level scorer similar to zadina. Dobson was rumored to be a possibility going to one of the top 5 teams as maybe the first post dahlin Dman taken. It is an extremely valid discussion to think about whether we would rather have zadina vs wahlstrom and dobson, especially if we still were to get a guy like veleno later on.

The thing is, I doubt NYI would have ever traded those picks, even if the assumption was they wouldn't get Wahlstrom and Dobson.

 

[shanman]

The thing is, I doubt NYI would have ever traded those picks, even if the assumption was they wouldn't get Wahlstrom and Dobson.

oh i dont doubt that at all. Maybe if it was our first plus the picks that were berggren and mcisaac they might have. But then that is a different question of whether we would want berggren/mcisaac/zadina or wahlstrom/dobson.

 

[odin1981]

I have a bad feeling that in 2-3 years we will really wish the DRW had picked Dobson. I hope i'm wrong but pretty sure as long as he puts on 15-20 lbs next year he is up in the NHL in a year. It wouldn't surprise me either if he is hands down the 2nd best overall D of the draft.

 

[jkutswings]

I have a bad feeling that in 2-3 years we will really wish the DRW had picked Dobson. I hope i'm wrong but pretty sure as long as he puts on 15-20 lbs next year he is up in the NHL in a year. It wouldn't surprise me either if he is hands down the 2nd best overall D of the draft.

While I completely agree, it sounds like Detroit was taking Bouchard if Zadina wasn't there. I still think Evan will be a good player - and is exactly what Edmonton needs - but I think Noah was every bit worth a top 5 pick.

 

[shanman]

While I completely agree, it sounds like Detroit was taking Bouchard if Zadina wasn't there. I still think Evan will be a good player - and is exactly what Edmonton needs - but I think Noah was every bit worth a top 5 pick.

what was interesting is that quote where it was said they would take bouchard if zadina wasn't there, also mentioned tkachuk as one that would be gone when they picked bouchard. i believe Wonder if it was tkachuk still there if they had taken him? That would really have divided the fanbase i think.

 

[Dotter]

I have a bad feeling that in 2-3 years we will really wish the DRW had picked Dobson. I hope i'm wrong but pretty sure as long as he puts on 15-20 lbs next year he is up in the NHL in a year. It wouldn't surprise me either if he is hands down the 2nd best overall D of the draft.

On the flip side, had Wings taken Dobson instead, then I think it is very possible in 2-3 years we'd really wish DRW had picked Zadina over Dobson. I think Dobson has Brent Seabrook upside. Which is great, but with the 6th pick, I want better. I like the bluechip kid, Zadina.

 

[lilidk]

The thing is, I doubt NYI would have ever traded those picks, even if the assumption was they wouldn't get Wahlstrom and Dobson.

Majority red wings fans were against it , simply because there's no talent in the draft after #10. We just wish Dobson still available at 6.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

what was interesting is that quote where it was said they would take bouchard if zadina wasn't there, also mentioned tkachuk as one that would be gone when they picked bouchard. i believe Wonder if it was tkachuk still there if they had taken him? That would really have divided the fanbase i think.

Yes, I have been told by people I trust that Tkachuk and Zadina were higher on our board than Svechnikov.

Also for those that watched NBCSN on draft night they made it appear for all the world that we were about to draft Hughes. Pierre and McKenzie seemed to think it was happening, they ran a Hughes video, zoomed on him while we picked. I am not buying the we were going Bouchard angle at least not yet. My opinion is at some point on a Bobcast McKenzie is going to point out you never now when players start falling in the draft and launch into that story. NBCSN linked us heavily to Hughes in the build up, I also thought Hughes reaction to our pick was telling that he thought he was going here as well. So glad Hughes wound up in Vancouver and not Chicago.

Ultimately we have Zadina and all of the top 10 guys this year have excellent selling points.

I would have been over the moon had it been Tkachuk that fell into our laps. Old school player with modern tools. Brady Tkachuk is going to be a force in this league in my opinion.