Prospect Info: The 2018 Draft Thread
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Aerrol
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- Sep 18, 2014
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Never say never. I could easily see Hughes fulfilling Raab's predictions and becoming a great number 1 dman too. It's just a farther road - as you said, High Risk, High Reward. But you don't get to be as good as Hughes is without the ability to adapt if you really want it.
By the time Hughes becomes a #1D, McDavid might be asking for a trade. We need to draft D's that can closer to making an impact for us. Not 5-7 years from now
Great number 1 defensemen need to defend. Hughes might get there but he is far and away from that. Anything could happen but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Hate to say it, but I think we're going to fall just out of the sweet spot of where we want to be.
I think Bouchard's skating issues are overblown. I watched both his games on the weekend and if you watch him in the first period you are dazzled by his play. He rushes up ice, defends very strongly (overall defensive play is excellent) and makes smart plays all over the ice. He's flat out dominant. He's a two way beast. But from the 2nd period onwards his play deteriorates. I don't think physically he's able to handle all the minutes he plays. And if you catch him later in a game you see a kid that is exhausted and starts to make mistakes and/or you see his weaknesses. For example, his skating.....I think if you catch him early in a game you will come away thinking he's a great skater. If you catch him later in a game, you will think his skating is awful.
I honestly think he would benefit from reduced minutes. Or it could also be a case where as he gets stronger you well get the dominant version of Bouchard more often.
Even if I am overrating his skating the thing about him is he doesn't just use his skating, his biggest quality is his ability to find, anticipate and use open space, even when rushing the puck. That's the sign of a player who thinks the game at a higher level. He'd a be a great add for the Oilers
I honestly think he would benefit from reduced minutes. Or it could also be a case where as he gets stronger you well get the dominant version of Bouchard more often.
Even if I am overrating his skating the thing about him is he doesn't just use his skating, his biggest quality is his ability to find, anticipate and use open space, even when rushing the puck. That's the sign of a player who thinks the game at a higher level. He'd a be a great add for the Oilers
Zaddy
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McDNicks17
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If I were to rank them in regards to a projection 2-3 years down the road, I think I would go Boqvist > Bouchard > Hughes.
Boqvist - I think he projects to be the most dynamic at the NHL level. Has the whole offensive package including the shot. Is already pretty good defensively and I would project him to be at least average at the NHL level when he puts on some more muscle.
Bouchard - The safest of the three, but far from having a low ceiling. The best passer of the three with a big shot that he almost always gets through. With his hockey sense, size, four-way mobility and wingspan, I'd project him to be above average, at a minimum, defensively in the NHL.
Hughes - Not far off from Boqvist, but I really don't like his passing in transition or his lack of shot. I would expect a player with his skating to be much better at opening lanes and making passes in transition. Like others have said, he plays a lot like a forward in transition. I also think his weak shot will limit him from being a true top-end offensive defenseman. Probably the worst defensively of the three and I have a tough time projecting him to move ahead of the other two with his size.
Boqvist - I think he projects to be the most dynamic at the NHL level. Has the whole offensive package including the shot. Is already pretty good defensively and I would project him to be at least average at the NHL level when he puts on some more muscle.
Bouchard - The safest of the three, but far from having a low ceiling. The best passer of the three with a big shot that he almost always gets through. With his hockey sense, size, four-way mobility and wingspan, I'd project him to be above average, at a minimum, defensively in the NHL.
Hughes - Not far off from Boqvist, but I really don't like his passing in transition or his lack of shot. I would expect a player with his skating to be much better at opening lanes and making passes in transition. Like others have said, he plays a lot like a forward in transition. I also think his weak shot will limit him from being a true top-end offensive defenseman. Probably the worst defensively of the three and I have a tough time projecting him to move ahead of the other two with his size.
Watching him play. His defensive position is subpar. Because of his size, seems afraid to get into board battles or play any type of physical game.
People also have to remember that Hughes is older than a lot of the draft and only missed the last draft by a month.
Aerrol
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Really? I can't agree with this - I think he's pretty great at finding lanes with his skating. The area of passing I'd say he lacks is those long-bomb stretch passes. He seems to prefer to skate the puck a bit to make a short to medium length pass. Which, given his skating vs the competition right now, makes sense.
Yes which also is why I think people don't seem him as adapting to the NHL very well for a while. He tries that at the NHL, he is going to be out of position and losing the puck in the neutral zone every time. Also his play and McDavids would clash so damn hard.
Aerrol
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I think he has the passing skills to adapt in that regard in the NHL. Agree about his puck-carrying preferences likely not to mesh well with McDavid though.
If we are drafting a high end defensemen we want them to compliment McDavid and Draisaitls game. And having a puck carrier with an average shot is not that kind of guy.
We need a defensemen that can catch McDavid with a pass when he is in stride and can let out hard shots from the point or the circle.
Dobson, Smith, Bouchard and Boqvist fit that mold. Hughes does not.
I hope the Oilers give Joey Laleggia a few games in the NHL playing as a Dman before even thinking about drafting Hughes. That's the kind of vibe I get from Hughes. Laleggia clone
Hell if their intention was to draft Hughes and then flank McDavid with tiny guys than I mean...sure? lol
McDNicks17
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Maybe it is just a case of his skating being better than his teammates, but in the games I've seen him play, he very rarely transitions with passes.
He usually looks to outskate the first forechecker, take it through the neutral zone and then pass as he's entering the zone or after getting semi-deep into the zone.
Aerrol
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Eh, I'm just defending Hughes a bit because I do think he's got a really impressive skillset. But don't mistake that as me wanting to take him. My order is Boqvist, Bouchard, Smith, Hughes, Dobson probably. Maybe Hughes over Smith as Hughes' skating is something special. As I've said before, I just don't like Dobson as a top 10 pick. He's not dynamic enough for my liking. Doesn't have any real stand-out tools that really blow me away. Just a steady do-it-all guy...at the jr level. Those guys IMO usually turn into steady stay-at-home guys at the NHL level.
MoneyGuy
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So, if we had this coaching staff he'd be on the ice protecting a lead, because Oilers. Thank God these coaches will be long gone by then.
CantHaveTkachev
Legends
Craig's List: Bouchard rocketing up draft board - Article - TSN
Craig Button's list
Bouchard up to #5
Hughes at #12
Craig Button's list
Bouchard up to #5
Hughes at #12
Craig's list just came out an hour ago:
Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin continues to be far and away the top prospect in the March edition of Craig’s List ahead of the 2018 NHL Draft, but London Knights captain Evan Bouchard has forced his way into the top five of our rankings and could be the second blueliner off the board.
Bouchard, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound native of Oakville, Ont., sat in 23rd place in the September edition of our rankings. The right-shot blueliner then turned in a stellar regular season in London, racking up 87 points (25 goals, 62 assists) in 67 games to lead all OHL defenceman in scoring.
Along the way, he climbed to No. 20 in our November list, to No. 10 in our January rankings and now sits fifth.
The highest-ranked Canadian on our board, Bouchard is a fantastic passer who projects as true power-play quarterback at the next level. He has also been counted on to log north of the 30 minutes a night for a Knights team that traded away a number of key veterans during the season.
Craig's List: Bouchard rocketing up draft board - Article - TSN
He has Tkachuk at #2 (which I'm not a fan of) but I respect his opinion. Is interesting nonetheless. He did say any of the 3 wingers could go in any order after Dahlin
Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin continues to be far and away the top prospect in the March edition of Craig’s List ahead of the 2018 NHL Draft, but London Knights captain Evan Bouchard has forced his way into the top five of our rankings and could be the second blueliner off the board.
Bouchard, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound native of Oakville, Ont., sat in 23rd place in the September edition of our rankings. The right-shot blueliner then turned in a stellar regular season in London, racking up 87 points (25 goals, 62 assists) in 67 games to lead all OHL defenceman in scoring.
Along the way, he climbed to No. 20 in our November list, to No. 10 in our January rankings and now sits fifth.
The highest-ranked Canadian on our board, Bouchard is a fantastic passer who projects as true power-play quarterback at the next level. He has also been counted on to log north of the 30 minutes a night for a Knights team that traded away a number of key veterans during the season.
Craig's List: Bouchard rocketing up draft board - Article - TSN
He has Tkachuk at #2 (which I'm not a fan of) but I respect his opinion. Is interesting nonetheless. He did say any of the 3 wingers could go in any order after Dahlin
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dustrock
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If Hughes/Smith and Bouchard/Dobson are (very) roughly similar, who do you pick between them?
I'm no expert but I have Smith ahead of Hughes because of his shot.
Bouchard/Dobson is tough because Dobson could become a Pietrangelo but Bouchard's offensive skills are what we need.
I'm no expert but I have Smith ahead of Hughes because of his shot.
Bouchard/Dobson is tough because Dobson could become a Pietrangelo but Bouchard's offensive skills are what we need.
McFlash97
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- Oct 10, 2017
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Bouchards game will not translate to the NHL very well. watching his highlights, he is not a good skater at all, He has a good wrist shot and a good slap shot, a lot of his up ice rushes are generally quick flips into an open net by getting to the net in time. He will not have this time in the NHL because of his lack of first step and speed. His passes are not all world. I think he will take too long to develop at the NHL level. Boqvist is who the Oilers need to target. you only get so many opportunities to draft a defenseman like him. Speed, quickness, shifty, good shot, good stickwork, high IQ, great passer. This should start and end with Boqvist. There is absolutely no reason to pick anyone else if BQV is available. I don't see a reason to suddenly shift to the hottest player. Boqvist comes as advertised. He is not much further away then Dahlin. Very similar except Dahlin is bigger.
Man this draft is so hard. They all have there positives....honestly I think I’d go Bouchard. When was the last time we had a dman that could run a PP? Souray? And he was more of a PP threat with his bomb. Not sure if he ran the PP for us. So Pronger?
Bouchard can run a PP. He won’t have to with McDavid but he can and then with his cannon he will add a dimension we desperately need. With him and McDavid we will likely have a top 5 PP every year. He also is a great transition passer which we also lack. I think he checks off more boxes for us from a team need standpoint. But they all bring elements we need. I’d be happy with any of them
So what makes Bouchard a bad skater? Is it something technical? If not then why could he not improve with added strength? Drai was a poor skater when we drafted him. His issue wasn’t technical and a summer of squatting every other day helped his speed.
Are you judging his speed at the OHL level? How can you judge his speed on highlights or even without tools to measure how fast he is?
And even if you say he’s slow, why can’t he he be successful like other dmen are? Ekblad, Weber, Boychuk, Erik Johnson, and even Parayko who aren’t the most fleet of foot.
I personally don’t find Bouchard’s skating an issue when I watch him but I’m not an expert so I’m willing to listen others opinions
Aerrol
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Really interesting to see him have Grigori Denisenko at 14th OA. I guess I wasn't being as much of a hipster as I thought I was by throwing his name out there.
Can't believe he'd put Tkachuk over Svechnikov AND Zadina. How can you ignore almost a goal-per-game by Svechnikov after returning from injury?
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