Leaf Draft Wars 2015: Who! Will! They! Pick!? - Part VII

[Drew311]

Heard the same thing... Apparently loves him and I was told this right after the trade deadline

Makes sense. Go down the checklist of qualities Shanny/Dubas/Hunter want for the future.

1) Skilled
2) High Hockey IQ
3) Work Ethic
4) Character

Harkins has it all. Most likely a future 2C, but should be a very good one. If the Leafs take a dman with the 4th pick I would love them to grab a centre like Harkins with the 24th pick.

 

[Muston Atthews]

That doesn't really answer my question of "wasn't Barkov more hyped than Seguin?"

I'd say so. It was a huge story all year, thus it was hyped all year long. I don't recall Barkov being all that hyped

 

[Stephen]

I have a problem with the whole Leafs approach to the draft if Dubas actually doesn't have a preference.

Yes they need prospects, but it's the staff's job to ultimately pick the diamond out of the players in the cluster where the Leafs are picking. It's not good enough for them to let another team draft Player X for the price of an extra 2nd, which may or may not amount to anything.

I like any number of Strome, Marner, Hanifin in our spot, but it's up to the Leafs to be proactive and comfortable with picking who the best will be out of them.

Imagine if the Kings thought it was a good idea to trade their Drew Doughty pick to grab an extra second and end up with Zach Bogosian? Not cool.

 

[darrylsittler27]

True but...

There may be no wrong choice from Hannifin,Strome,Marner.The Leafs could trade down to 5th very comfortably if the player they want is taken at 3rd.

"Arz. is proud to select, from the London Knights....."

Everyone assumes Marner won't go 3rd, are you so sure?

Hannifin or Strome is the question then. Myself, if we land Hannifin or Strome, plus a 2nd...I'm good.And if we trade Kessel to NJ we get both.

 

[Stephen]

There may be no wrong choice from Hannifin,Strome,Marner.The Leafs could trade down to 5th very comfortably if the player they want is taken at 3rd.

"Arz. is proud to select, from the London Knights....."

I'm happy with any one of the three on draft day, but the issue is our scouts have to feel strongly about which one is going to be the absolute best (by a long shot) as they develop, not pretend they are all going to be just as good five, ten years from now.

I need them to know if Dylan Strome is going to turn into a Chad Kilger, or if Mitch Marner is a Hall of Famer or a dud, or if Hanifin is Pietrangelo or Bogosian.

 

[Drew311]

I have a problem with the whole Leafs approach to the draft if Dubas actually doesn't have a preference.

Yes they need prospects, but it's the staff's job to ultimately pick the diamond out of the players in the cluster where the Leafs are picking. It's not good enough for them to let another team draft Player X for the price of an extra 2nd, which may or may not amount to anything.

I like any number of Strome, Marner, Hanifin in our spot, but it's up to the Leafs to be proactive and comfortable with picking who the best will be out of them.

Imagine if the Kings thought it was a good idea to trade their Drew Doughty pick to grab an extra second and end up with Zach Bogosian? Not cool.

But it can work both ways. It would have looked pretty good if the Wild traded back and drafted Kopitar instead of Brule. Do you think NYI would rather have Trouba than Reinhart at this point?

The Leafs scouting department may feel the players in the 4 - 7 range are interchangeable. If the Leafs trade back, who is to say they won't get a better player at 6th or 7th overall? How can we possibly discredit management at this point for something that is impossible to predict?

 

[darrylsittler27]

I know what you are saying but....

I'm happy with any one of the three on draft day, but the issue is our scouts have to feel strongly about which one is going to be the absolute best (by a long shot) as they develop, not pretend they are all going to be just as good five, ten years from now.

I need them to know if Dylan Strome is going to turn into a Chad Kilger, or if Mitch Marner is a Hall of Famer or a dud, or if Hanifin is Pietrangelo or Bogosian.

It is doubtful any of them will be total busts. Strome may only be a big 2C,Hannifin may only be a top 2 or 3D who is big and mobile. Marner may only be the next Cliff Ronning. Our best bet is more picks and we have the chips to make it happen.There is way too much buzz about this draft, all 3 will be good, just how good(guesswork).

Strome = Kilger, extremely unlikely. Hannifin the next Bogasian, maybe but that is development too. Marner a dud? Um, not even going there...

 

[PuckMagi]

After going back and forth many times... I now hope we draft Marner.

Even if Marner doesn't grow really big, he'll still be good... but if he grows, he could be elite.

If we don't get Marner... I'm pretty much indifferent between Strome and Hanifin. I'd be happy with either of them also.

 

[BigWilly]

I'd say so. It was a huge story all year, thus it was hyped all year long. I don't recall Barkov being all that hyped

Fair enough, thanks!

 

[Mats13]

It would be awesome if we could trade Kessel to either NJ or Carolina and get pick 5 or 6.

Leaving the draft with Marner and Provorov would be insane.

 

[Stephen]

But it can work both ways. It would have looked pretty good if the Wild traded back and drafted Kopitar instead of Brule. Do you think NYI would rather have Trouba than Reinhart at this point?

The Leafs scouting department may feel the players in the 4 - 7 range are interchangeable. If the Leafs trade back, who is to say they won't get a better player at 6th or 7th overall? How can we possibly discredit management at this point for something that is impossible to predict?

Yeah but the issue is the picks from 4-7 are NEVER interchangeable. So they have to be fairly certain in their own minds that they are picking the best. Otherwise what are they paid to do? You and I could be drafting from ISS lists.

 

[darrylsittler27]

Or...

It would be awesome if we could trade Kessel to either NJ or Carolina and get pick 5 or 6.

Leaving the draft with Marner and Provorov would be insane.

Marner and Hannifin or Marner and Strome.

 

[Schenn]

One of the guys Marner looked up to growing up was newly hired Lindsay Hoffard according to coached corner that was just on.

 

[Im Old Gregggg]

Liked what Strome had to say the best during that interview with ron and don that intermission....

Dropped a hint about how JT improved his skating and looks up to him, he's probably dying for the leafs to not pass on him cuz of skating

 

[SeenSchenn2]

One of the guys Marner looked up to growing up was newly hired Lindsay Hoffard according to coached corner that was just on.

Yeah caught that too.

I also liked Strome naming Tavares as a player he looks up to, for all the people who question his skating.

 

[Stephen]

It is doubtful any of them will be total busts. Strome may only be a big 2C,Hannifin may only be a top 2 or 3D who is big and mobile. Marner may only be the next Cliff Ronning. Our best bet is more picks and we have the chips to make it happen.There is way too much buzz about this draft, all 3 will be good, just how good(guesswork).

Strome = Kilger, extremely unlikely. Hannifin the next Bogasian, maybe but that is development too. Marner a dud? Um, not even going there...

We can't walk away from this draft with an okay player, especially if we're trading out of a position to pick the best one.

I wonder how much of this thinking stems from them drafting Nylander and passing up on the Blues picks, which ended up being Fabbri, Barbashev and Letunov last year?

In any case, the extra picks have to come from unloading our roster players, not getting too crazy with high picks.

 

[Stand Witness]

One of the guys Marner looked up to growing up was newly hired Lindsay Hoffard according to coached corner that was just on.

Yup, in literally every single interview he does he some how manages to link himself to the Leafs. Pretty clear what he wants.

Anyone else feel like Strome was attacking a lot of us at HF with his comments? We have probably been the loudest about his skated and I would be shocked if he hasn't read these boards.

Crazy how four of the six guys actually want to be Leafs and by all accounts badly too. Crazy how we could easily not pick any of them too.

 

[PuckMagi]

It would be awesome if we could trade Kessel to either NJ or Carolina and get pick 5 or 6.

Leaving the draft with Marner and Provorov would be insane.

We need to trade Kessel and JVR for top 10 picks this year. Kessel for the 5th OA and JVR for the 6th OA would be ideal.

That would essentially complete our rebuild.

I know it would be crazy for us to end up with 3 top 10 picks... but guys like Kessel and JVR don't become available very often either.

 

[frankthetank91]

I know he gets alot of hate but I wish we had another top 10 pick tk grab Crouse. That kid will be a beauty. I don't get swayed by the hate he gets on here.

 

[darrylsittler27]

I doubt they do both.

We need to trade Kessel and JVR for top 10 picks this year. Kessel for the 5th OA and JVR for the 6th OA would be ideal.

That would essentially complete our rebuild.

I know it would be crazy for us to end up with 3 top 10 picks... but guys like Kessel and JVR don't become available very often either.

And I'm not sure JVR nets a 6th overall..yet. Babcock likes to win, trading both means you ain't winning jack! If we trade Kessel and get 3 firsts, we have done well and can look to fill holes next year and at TD.

 

[lastnotice]

I know it would be crazy for us to end up with 3 top 10 picks... but guys like Kessel and JVR don't become available very often either.

I don't think that has ever happened in the history of the NHL.

In such a deep draft I don't think any teams want to do any the Leafs any favours.

 

[Stand Witness]

Honestly, if we had picks 4 and 5 I would pick the two remainders of Marner/Strome/Hanifin without a doubt.

 

[FlareKnight]

Yeah but the issue is the picks from 4-7 are NEVER interchangeable. So they have to be fairly certain in their own minds that they are picking the best. Otherwise what are they paid to do? You and I could be drafting from ISS lists.

Agreed. It's fine for fans to just think "well 4-7 are all going to be pretty good", but it's their job to say "well this guy is going to be the best of the group." Identify that guy and draft him. They may end up wrong, but it's still their job to figure that out and get it right. The top 5 isn't where you should be slipping around to add a second round pick or whatever.

 

[BlueBaron]

Liked what Strome had to say the best during that interview with ron and don that intermission....

Dropped a hint about how JT improved his skating and looks up to him, he's probably dying for the leafs to not pass on him cuz of skating

It is rather cool that 3/5 of this years top prospects are Leaf fans, would be nice if we got one of them and clearly McDavid won't be coming for another 7 years .

Hanifin could be a dream killer though I suppose.

 

[Sonny21]

Yeah but the issue is the picks from 4-7 are NEVER interchangeable. So they have to be fairly certain in their own minds that they are picking the best. Otherwise what are they paid to do? You and I could be drafting from ISS lists.

I do agree with you overall, the only thing I would say is maybe they don't want to show their hand to the public.

For me personally; they can say whatever they want to the media and etc. I definitely agree that when it comes to it, they better know who they want and who they project to be the best player and that it won't be good enough taking whoever is left over just to get extra 2nd or something (I like your example of Doughty and Bogosian since it was just ONE pick difference and it wasn't as easy call like the top 2 are this year).