Prospect Info: The 2018 Draft Thread

[Raab]

I think it just means there isn't a huge amount of difference between the guys and when you account for organizational need, it throws it all over the place.

I get that, but how someone ranks Smith above Hughes I have no idea.

 

[CycloneSweep]

If we could land one of the big d (Dobson, Hughes, Bouchard or Boqvist) and than luck out and get Merkley at 40? That's a good draft

 

[CycloneSweep]

I get that, but how someone ranks Smith above Hughes I have no idea.

People see the bigger numbers for Smith and get giddy but don't take in account the league's.

That said I think Smith is currently better defensively but I think Hughes offensive ability and his skating puts him above.

 

[Zaddy]

Funny thing is if it were to play out exactly like that but you gave me the choice of who's left on the board at each pick it'd make a fantastic draft just by picking someone who's 5ish spots later. If they walked out of the draft with Dobson, Kaut, Nordgren, Kirk/Fagemo, another dman at 164(don't know much about the guys around there) and Lindbom/Gravel I'd be ecstatic about that draft.

Agreed. But you just have to hope that the team identifies those pieces instead of the names I mentioned. There's been so many drafts where a guy I really wanted was still available at our pick, just for the Oilers to pick some dud instead.

But at least two of the last three drafts the Oilers have had have been quite good. The 2015 draft could've been amazing had we kept #16 and #33, but it was still quite good with Jones, Bear and Marino.

I didn't like 2016 much (especially Nemo and Cairns picks) but it's looking okay I guess.

2017 I was quite happy with. Got excellent value on those picks. Only one truly bad selection was Brind'Amour.

So hopefully we can have another strong draft here.

 

[Raab]

Agreed. But you just have to hope that the team identifies those pieces instead of the names I mentioned. There's been so many drafts where a guy I really wanted was still available at our pick, just for the Oilers to pick some dud instead.

But at least two of the last three drafts the Oilers have had have been quite good. The 2015 draft could've been amazing had we kept #16 and #33, but it was still quite good with Jones, Bear and Marino.

I didn't like 2016 much (especially Nemo and Cairns picks) but it's looking okay I guess.

2017 I was quite happy with. Got excellent value on those picks. Only one truly bad selection with Brind'Amour.

So hopefully we can have another strong draft here.

If we walk out of the draft with Hughes or Dobson we could literally trade every other pick and it'd be a great draft

 

[CycloneSweep]

Agreed. But you just have to hope that the team identifies those pieces instead of the names I mentioned. There's been so many drafts where a guy I really wanted was still available at our pick, just for the Oilers to pick some dud instead.

But at least two of the last three drafts the Oilers have had have been quite good. The 2015 draft could've been amazing had we kept #16 and #33, but it was still quite good with Jones, Bear and Marino.

I didn't like 2016 much (especially Nemo and Cairns picks) but it's looking okay I guess.

2017 I was quite happy with. Got excellent value on those picks. Only one truly bad selection was Brind'Amour.

So hopefully we can have another strong draft here.

2016 can still be good if Wells becomes somebody and Puljujarvi and Benson become legit NHL guys

 

[Dan Kelly]

Ya picking Cairns one spot ahead of St. Albert's own offensive d-man Josh Mahura still pizzes me off or the 2016 draft would have amazing ! Same with 2015 if we'd have taken Barzal or Conner or Boeser plus Carlo or Aho in the 2nd round ! Still though the drafts that Chia has been involved with are looking pretty good so far !

 

[Zaddy]

2016 can still be good if Wells becomes somebody and Puljujarvi and Benson become legit NHL guys

It has potential for sure. Berglund and Räsänen could be NHLers too. But overall I don't think there was much value in the picks that were made with the options that were available.

 

[Zaddy]

If we walk out of the draft with Hughes or Dobson we could literally trade every other pick and it'd be a great draft

If they become as good as you think they will then yeah...

Either way I really don't see Hughes falling to #10. One of the teams at #4, 5 or #6 takes him I' m pretty sure, and if they don't some other team will.

Dobson on the other hand could fall, but I have no idea what teams are thinking about him. He seems a bit divisive. I think of the top-end d-men Bouchard or Boqvist are most likely to fall. Then again I think Bobby Mac had Bouchard at #5 on his post-lottery rankings and that's usually a pretty good indicator of how the top10 will go so...who knows.

 

[joestevens29]

I think it just means there isn't a huge amount of difference between the guys and when you account for organizational need, it throws it all over the place.

That and you have the oddball guy that wants to pretend to be smarter than everyone

 

[rambo97]

Future Considerations just released their rankings:

https://futureconsiderations.ca/top-rankings-2018/

6	Hughes, Quinn	U Michigan	NCAA	D	5'10	175	USA
7	Boqvist, Adam	Brynas	J20 Superelit	D	5’11	170	SWE
8	Bouchard, Evan	London	OHL	D	6’2	180	CAN
9	Smith, Ty	Spokane	WHL	D	5’11	175	CAN
10	Dobson, Noah	Acadie-Bathurst	QMJHL	D	6’3	180	CAN

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Aerrol]

Apologies if this has been linked already (did rambo do it?), but given some of the discussions we've had re: Smith being below Bouchard, Dobson, Hughes, Boqvist pretty significantly, I thought it was interesting.

Prospect Ramblings: Breaking Down Ty Smith, Evan Bouchard & Noah Dobson

Particularly, I was surprised to see them rate Smith as a better skater than Dobson. Thoughts, @rambo97 ? @Zaddy ? Do you think Smith is a better skater than Dobson? I liked Smith more than Dobson (I've since come around on that a bit) and I never really thought he was much better of a skater.

 

[MessierII]

I think there’s some western bias when it comes to Smith.

 

[CycloneSweep]

If they become as good as you think they will then yeah...

Either way I really don't see Hughes falling to #10. One of the teams at #4, 5 or #6 takes him I' m pretty sure, and if they don't some other team will.

Dobson on the other hand could fall, but I have no idea what teams are thinking about him. He seems a bit divisive. I think of the top-end d-men Bouchard or Boqvist are most likely to fall. Then again I think Bobby Mac had Bouchard at #5 on his post-lottery rankings and that's usually a pretty good indicator of how the top10 will go so...who knows.

Usually with his top 10, 7-8 of those guys do go in the top 10. 2-3 sometimes have snuck in, in the past.

 

[rambo97]

Apologies if this has been linked already (did rambo do it?), but given some of the discussions we've had re: Smith being below Bouchard, Dobson, Hughes, Boqvist pretty significantly, I thought it was interesting.

Prospect Ramblings: Breaking Down Ty Smith, Evan Bouchard & Noah Dobson

Particularly, I was surprised to see them rate Smith as a better skater than Dobson. Thoughts, @rambo97 ? @Zaddy ? Do you think Smith is a better skater than Dobson? I liked Smith more than Dobson (I've since come around on that a bit) and I never really thought he was much better of a skater.

Aerrol I've only concentrated on Smith at the U-18's (so not a huge sample to really make definitive statements on Smith) and I actually criticized his skating in this thread (at first......it was during the U-18's....). I kept watching him and realized that he actually was a fast skater but only without the puck. I actually found him very slow skating with the puck. I read Pronman's article on him yesterday and Pronman indicated that Smith skates slowly with the puck deliberately. He slows the game down to assess all his options.

Even so, I still would give the skating edge to Dobson. Dobson beat Smith at the all skating drills at the Top Prospects Game (though Smith finished right behind Dobson). But in game action Dobson will push the pace (5on5, PK and PP). His recovery ability is also amazing when he shifts from offense to defense. He always gets back into position and it seems effortless. His skating really is fantastic and he uses it when attacking or defending. I'd personally give the edge to Dobson. But like I stated my sample size on Smith is small.

Here's Pronman's exact quote on Smith's pace/skating:

1. For better or for worse, he likes to slow the game down. He has a unique look to his game, where he always has his head up processing everything going on around him. Sometimes he overthinks and could speed up his pace, but he’s always trying to make a play. Despite not having elite speed, he can lead an attack due to his craftiness and ability to spot openings.​

 

[BudBundy]

Fingers crossed for Dobson or Boqvist falling to us. Dobson sucking up minutes as a second pair RH D like Vlasic would do wonders for us.

 

[Aerrol]

Thanks, @rambo97 ! Appreciate the breakdown, that makes sense. From what I've seen, I would also agree with your assessment though. Smith might have an edge with his edgework, but that's about it IMO.

In other news, watch us go off the board and select Kravtsov, haha. I don't know how I'd feel about that. On the one hand, I think he's potentially a Kucherov-level talent. On the other, I have 0 faith in the Oilers ability to handle prospects with English difficulties, especially Russians. I don't believe in the Russian factor in the sense that they fail to pan out more frequently at the NHL level overall, but I sure am starting to believe the Oilers need to start considering it in light of how f***ing bad they've been with Russians.

 

[voxel]

My preference is for players ranked 7-10

Kotkaniemi
Dobson
Boqvist

And if somehow he fell: Hughes

 

[Jumptheshark]

Ya picking Cairns one spot ahead of St. Albert's own offensive d-man Josh Mahura still pizzes me off or the 2016 draft would have amazing ! Same with 2015 if we'd have taken Barzal or Conner or Boeser plus Carlo or Aho in the 2nd round ! Still though the drafts that Chia has been involved with are looking pretty good so far !

but if we can redraft then all teams redraft

Monday morning quarterback is a dangerous path of remorse

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I still think Bouchard will fall to the Oilers at 10. Hughes had a significant WHC, Dobson is having a significant Memorial Cup, people are high on Boqvist, I just see Bouchard getting "over looked" and falling in the Oilers' lap.

 

[Dan Kelly]

Future Considerations just released their rankings:

FC Hockey | 2018 NHL Draft Ranking

6	Hughes, Quinn	U Michigan	NCAA	D	5'10	175	USA
7	Boqvist, Adam	Brynas	J20 Superelit	D	5’11	170	SWE
8	Bouchard, Evan	London	OHL	D	6’2	180	CAN
9	Smith, Ty	Spokane	WHL	D	5’11	175	CAN
10	Dobson, Noah	Acadie-Bathurst	QMJHL	D	6’3	180	CAN

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Not crazy about the rankings after the 1st round by these guys! A lot of players they have ranked in the 3rd and 4th rounds have already been taken in the 2nd round in some of my drafts.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I still think Bouchard will fall to the Oilers at 10. Hughes had a significant WHC, Dobson is having a significant Memorial Cup, people are high on Boqvist, I just see Bouchard getting "over looked" and falling in the Oilers' lap.

Perfect. Bouchard is going to be legit. Keith Gretzky was rumored to watch him a lot this year. Big, right shot, offensively gifted.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Perfect. Bouchard is going to be legit. Keith Gretzky was rumored to watch him a lot this year. Big, right shot, offensively gifted.

Indeed, sounds like he would be an excellent addition to the organization. Might be similar to what we saw with Fowler way back when

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

I still think Bouchard will fall to the Oilers at 10. Hughes had a significant WHC, Dobson is having a significant Memorial Cup, people are high on Boqvist, I just see Bouchard getting "over looked" and falling in the Oilers' lap.

I was just thinking the same thing. I think the rags will pick Kotkaniemi and leave the Oilers with Bouchard.



Bouchard's passing and vision in the Offensive zone is probably the best after Dahlin. Watch at 7:00 in particular.

And to summarize the video above comparing Dobson and Bouchard:

Skating - Dobson
Shooting - Bouchard
Passing - Bouchard
Stick Handeling - Tie
Vision - Bouchard
Defense - Dobson
Phisicality - Tie
Hockey IQ - Dobson

 

[CycloneSweep]

Indeed, sounds like he would be an excellent addition to the organization. Might be similar to what we saw with Fowler way back when

I think he could make the team out of camp but a year in the OHL wouldn't hurt either.