Prospect Info: The 2018 NHL Entry Draft Thread

[landy92mack29]

Yeah Smith has an impressive set of tools no doubt. I think the 5'11 listing is generous even for hockey though. I'd say he's still around 5'9.

Anderson-Dolan measured 5'11 at the combine and they're a similar height. AD was also even younger than Mackinnon in his draft year so he's probably grown. Big thing with Smith is he needs to bulk up but height wise he'll be just as big as Makar.

+/- doesn't mean much except for outliers and Smith is +27 better than the closest D-man and +22 ahead of the closest player which is an interesting tidbit

 

[cgf]

Anderson-Dolan measured 5'11 at the combine and they're a similar height. AD was also even younger than Mackinnon in his draft year so he's probably grown. Big thing with Smith is he needs to bulk up but height wise he'll be just as big as Makar.

+/- doesn't mean much except for outliers and Smith is +27 better than the closest D-man and +22 ahead of the closest player which is an interesting tidbit

I could probably live with:

Peacock - blueline MacK
T-notboobs - Bambi on ice
Samwise - scary french bae

 

[Gabe the Babe]

I need us to win one of the top-3 picks so bad if we miss out on the playoffs. Having Dahlin sets up our defense for the future so well, Svechnikov would be hilarious on this team. Zadina would really complete that MacK line for the future.

As a giddy fan boy who likes to imagine the best case scenario...

Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Jost-Tavares-Svechnikov

That would be so damn fun to watch.

It’d be karma for last year. We’d deserve it.

I want Svech... bad

 

[Foppa2118]

I'd argue the biggest organisational hole is goaltending.

It's not even close really. They could use a right handed RW sniper, or a big center, or even another defenseman, but those aren't anywhere near as big a need as a top goaltending prospect.

The Avs just don't like taking goalies higher than the 3rd though. They haven't picked a goalie in the 2nd since Pickard in 2010. Not coincidentally, their last NHL caliber goalie.

It's almost like they've had so many misses, they've just given up on trying to draft one. The last three goaltenders they've taken were in the 4th, 5th, and 6th rounds. That's not a confident strategy to find a goaltender, that's just hoping to get lucky.

Maybe that will change though since they have two 2nds this year. If they have the Sens pick, they could end up with three decent picks on forwards/defenseman. Unless the situation demands otherwise, might as well use that other 2nd on a goalie if there's one available.

 

[Patagonia]

It's not even close really. They could use a right handed RW sniper, or a big center, or even another defenseman, but those aren't anywhere near as big a need as a top goaltending prospect.

The Avs just don't like taking goalies higher than the 3rd though. They haven't picked a goalie in the 2nd since Pickard in 2010. Not coincidentally, their last NHL caliber goalie.

It's almost like they've had so many misses, they've just given up on trying to draft one. The last three goaltenders they've taken were in the 4th, 5th, and 6th rounds. That's not a confident strategy to find a goaltender, that's just hoping to get lucky.

Maybe that will change though since they have two 2nds this year. If they have the Sens pick, they could end up with three decent picks on forwards/defenseman. Unless the situation demands otherwise, might as well use that other 2nd on a goalie if there's one available.

Goalies are the most difficult to draft and take the longest to develop. Drafting in the 2nd or 3rd round is a good area to select, but it might be better to simply draft BPA on a F or D and overpay to trade for a Goalie.

 

[S E P H]

I'm with Patagonia, goalers are the most difficult to draft (and develop) so I understand how they're the biggest organizational need. A RW sniper as Waringo said is bigger and more realistic to fill. However, I believe Avs have drafted some okay ones with their random European selection (as peeps call it here). Werner for example is absolutely having an outstanding season, but because all of them are in Europe it's hard to say which ones should be warrant of Filip Gustavsson praise and which ones are a complete waste of draft pick such as Pajpach. Kvaca is also putting up some really solid numbers as well, next should be a big season from him.

I am not opposed to picking goalers with higher draft picks, but I much rather go with two players and grab a goaler in the 3rd round and beyond. One dude I am currently looking at is Ivan Prosvetov, though he's an overager he has the size NHL scouts like, has decent amount of skill, and as a long term project isn't entirely bad for a 5th or 6th round pick. I just hope he decides to go to the NCAA route. Furthermore, there are always organizations who have an abundance of goalers, so they're more than likely to want to trade them and play the asset management game than lose them on free. Daniel Vladar from the Bruins organization is a perfect example of one of these targets for me.

He's gonna have to eat a lot of Dairy Queen!

Better yet, just dump Dairy Queen on top of steak as an appetizer with pork chops topped with a dozen eggs for the main course, and a protein milkshake with a ton of nuts for desert. We'll make Ty go beyond Barrie to Byfuglien territory, then he would be unstoppable.

 

[Balthazar]

I wonder if the Oilers will draft one of the forwards if they get to pick in the #2 to #4 range? They need secondary scoring but there's plenty of high end PMD in this draft, which is what they need the most.

 

[cgf]

I wonder if the Oilers will draft one of the forwards if they get to pick in the #2 to #4 range? They need secondary scoring but there's plenty of high end PMD in this draft, which is what they need the most.

Draft Zadina, trade Leon for Barrie+

obviously

 

[CobraAcesS]

I wonder if the Oilers will draft one of the forwards if they get to pick in the #2 to #4 range? They need secondary scoring but there's plenty of high end PMD in this draft, which is what they need the most.

Why even pretend like that team isn't drafting #1 O/A?

 

[cgf]

Why even pretend like that team isn't drafting #1 O/A?

Because the blackhawks will be in this lottery

 

[CobraAcesS]

Because the blackhawks will be in this lottery

I don't know which would piss me off more between those two teams winning the lottery. I'm so looking forward to all of those bandwagon Chicago jerseys going into storage and never coming out.

 

[cgf]

I don't know which would piss me off more between those two teams winning the lottery. I'm so looking forward to all of those bandwagon Chicago jerseys going into storage and never coming out.

It's fine, we'll still get svech, so the hawks can have Dahlin and the McDavids can have Zadina

 

[CobraAcesS]

It's fine, we'll still get svech, so the hawks can have Dahlin and the McDavids can have Zadina

Nope..

Buffalo, Colorado, then AZ that's my ideal top three. Screw the other teams.

I need to keep my hate for Vancouver fresh for the Seattle rivalry. I'm sick of seeing Chicago jerseys everywhere, and I will never wish good things for mickey mouse organizations like Montreal, Ottawa, and Edmonton.

 

[cgf]

Nope..

Buffalo, Colorado, then AZ that's my ideal top three. Screw the other teams.

I need to keep my hate for Vancouver fresh for the Seattle rivalry. I'm sick of seeing Chicago jerseys everywhere, and I will never wish good things for mickey mouse organizations like Montreal, Ottawa, and Edmonton.

I live in chicago and I'd like to see Dahlin live all the time, plus a lot of my friends who are new to hockey are hawks fans.

I'm cool with Buffalo replacing Edmonton in the top 3 tho...as long as the oilers send Leon to a team I actually like...

 

[CobraAcesS]

I live in chicago and I'd like to see Dahlin live all the time, plus a lot of my friends who are new to hockey are hawks fans.

I'm cool with Buffalo replacing Edmonton in the top 3 tho...as long as the oilers send Leon to a team I actually like...

It's funny you say that about Chicago. I was thinking something similar regarding Detroit lol. I'm going to enjoy being here for Detroit's rebuild if they ever start one of course.

 

[McMetal]

A non-Avs Central team has to win the lottery every year. First Winnipeg, then Dallas, and now Chicago. It's in the rules, I'm sure.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Have some more goalie thoughts for this years draft class:

-I think this year might be perfect for Hepple if he wants to keep with the European strategy but also wants to add a high end goalie prospect as it's looking like a strong European draft class for first time eligibles

-Lukas Dostal has earned a spot in my top 3. The hype around this guy is real (or mostly real anyways) and brings something close to the full package. He's very well rounded as he possesses strong technical, mental, and physical skills. When you have a goalie that understands the position, sees the puck well and to top it all off by being quick around the crease he makes a very good target for the early parts of the draft. The downside with Dostal is there's an obvious rawness to his edge work in terms of control. The biggest issue to keep an eye on is seeing if he can tone down just how active he is in net. He'll treat long shots through traffic as if there is no traffic and take himself out of position if there is any sort of deflection.

-I am so intrigued every time I watch Amir Miftakhov. He has everything you could possibly want in a goalie...except for an even average frame. I want him as a prospect so badly because he knows the position, he's a magician on his edges, and his eyes are just glued to the puck (except when it's behind the net, struggles in those situations). The size disadvantage though is a real issue and shooters know the room is there (or potentially there). He does his best though to not play small and try to play to his size or even above it if possible. I'd fully advocate the Avs taking him in the later rounds (5-7) if we took a goalie earlier in the draft.

-Finally got to watch Drew DeRidder and it's obvious that the US NTDP has a type for in net. That type being quick on their edges, a good puck tracker and a strong puck handler without concern for their size. Dylan St. Cyr fit that type last season and was highly success at holding the starting position and now Drew DeRidder is doing the same. The question with DeRidder is the same question for Miftakhov and Olivier Rodrigue, are they purely junior goalies or can they translate their games to the pro's? While talented, I wouldn't bring in Drew DeRidder for the same reason I wouldn't bring in Griffen Outhouse, a small goalie that plays small. To make it to the NHL he'd need to transform the vast majority of his game which is difficult.

-Justus Annunen rounds out my top 3 international goalies and would be a really good target in the 3rd/4th round of the draft. I do think he'd drop because he doesn't have the same physical skill set of Ukk0-Pekka Luukkonen but he understands the goalltending position a lot better than UPL. Annunen reminds me a lot of Matthew Villalta from last years draft in just how technically sound he is in net and has a good grasp on not only knowing his weaknesses but how to minimize them.

 

[S E P H]

So it seems more likely that Avs will finish around 17th to 20th instead of around 14th overall. Because of that, I am more on the board of selecting a potentially more riskier and raw type of player. It sucks that we're playing out of the range of players such as Dobson, Farabee, Bouchard, and Wilde, we are opening ourselves to players like Akil Thomas, Serron Noel (who I am still a big fan of), K'Andre Miller, Martin Kaut (another fan of), and dare I say it for @cgf Dominik Bokk. Hell, even Jared McIsaac potentially at 19th overall where Avs currently are is not a bad pick in the slightest. I even wouldn't mind even getting Woo or Merkley, but that might rile some people up on here.

There are two players I am currently looking at though for an "off the board" pick. Those two are Vitali Kravtsov and Jonathan Tychonick. Kravtsov is a bigger-bodied RW Russian with superb offencive talent that can beat you in multiple ways such as shooting and playmaking. Like a lot of prototypical Russians, he's more underdeveloped physically and doesn't really play a rough style of game, but has a wonderful set of tools you want offencively. Tychonick is an average sized offencive defender with amazing skating ability and loves jumping into the rush. He like Kravtsov is also underdeveloped physically, but likes playing bigger than his size says. He definitely has an edge to his game and fortunately for him he decided to go the NCAA route to North Dakota (which is unfortunate for @Hasbro).

One player I still hope we avoid is Isak Lundestrom, people calling him the next Bergeron, but I simply do not see it.

 

[cgf]

I haven’t seen any of Bokk so have no idea how excited that would make me

 

[Balthazar]

17th to 20th is definitely McIsaac territory if he's still available (which I doubt). I'm kinda scared of picking very big forwards in the first round (Lawson Crouse/Michael Rasmussen/Serron Noel type).

K'Andre Miller's scouting reports are almost a copy and paste of Siemens' back in 2011. Big fat no. Not the type of player we want.

 

[Pokecheque]

Mock draft on mynhldraft.com has them taking McLeod (19th overall). Wouldn't that be something. As always, grain of salt and what not, I think they just reshuffle the order based on standings and go by prospect rankings only.

 

[S E P H]

I haven’t seen any of Bokk so have no idea how excited that would make me

This draft's version of Nikolaj Ehlers.

 

[5280]

I'm not good at this, but I decided I should start following it (the draft) a bit more this year.

What about this guy?......Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Edit: Seems like Woo or McIsaac might not be bad choices either. I think we could use a little bit more bite to the team.

 

[S E P H]

17th to 20th is definitely McIsaac territory if he's still available (which I doubt). I'm kinda scared of picking very big forwards in the first round (Lawson Crouse/Michael Rasmussen/Serron Noel type).

K'Andre Miller's scouting reports are almost a copy and paste of Siemens' back in 2011. Big fat no. Not the type of player we want.

You saying no to Miller, but definitely wanting McIssac is kind of hilarious. Miller is just quite raw at the moment and has shown more offencive instincts than Siemens has ever shown. Remember that Siemens posted insane numbers because of getting to play with Stefan Elliott, Miller has nobody like that as his partner. I am not saying that Miller can potentially develop into a Siemens type of player, that is risk with rawer players, but McIsaac has just as much as becoming Duncan 2.0 as well. Remember that Jared was labelled as a top 5 prospect heading into the draft and has fallen to the late teens. These are red flags as well.

Crouse and Rasmussen have NEVER displayed the offencive talent that Noel has shown. Crouse was always labelled as a two-way guy with a big body that had offencive limitations. Rasmussen hasn't posted bad numbers and isn't that bad of a player, he also has limits such as being used in front of the PP and whacking in goals. Noel actually is the best puck carrier of the trio and has fantastic puck skills to be warrant of the 19th overall pick IMO.

 

[McMetal]

So it seems more likely that Avs will finish around 17th to 20th instead of around 14th overall. Because of that, I am more on the board of selecting a potentially more riskier and raw type of player. It sucks that we're playing out of the range of players such as Dobson, Farabee, Bouchard, and Wilde, we are opening ourselves to players like Akil Thomas, Serron Noel (who I am still a big fan of), K'Andre Miller, Martin Kaut (another fan of), and dare I say it for @cgf Dominik Bokk. Hell, even Jared McIsaac potentially at 19th overall where Avs currently are is not a bad pick in the slightest. I even wouldn't mind even getting Woo or Merkley, but that might rile some people up on here.

There are two players I am currently looking at though for an "off the board" pick. Those two are Vitali Kravtsov and Jonathan Tychonick. Kravtsov is a bigger-bodied RW Russian with superb offencive talent that can beat you in multiple ways such as shooting and playmaking. Like a lot of prototypical Russians, he's more underdeveloped physically and doesn't really play a rough style of game, but has a wonderful set of tools you want offencively. Tychonick is an average sized offencive defender with amazing skating ability and loves jumping into the rush. He like Kravtsov is also underdeveloped physically, but likes playing bigger than his size says. He definitely has an edge to his game and fortunately for him he decided to go the NCAA route to North Dakota (which is unfortunate for @Hasbro).

One player I still hope we avoid is Isak Lundestrom, people calling him the next Bergeron, but I simply do not see it.

I don't see it with Lundestrom either, he strikes me as a guy who has a good chance to turn into Colin Wilson in the NHL. Pretty good at everything but lacking any one really strong skill that makes him more than an interchangeable depth player. He'll be seen as a "safe" pick in the first, but will probably be disappointing.

Kaut would be cool, so would Noel. I'm not a major fan of Thomas, I would hope for a little more pure skill to go with his wheels, but I wouldn't hate the pick. Bokk has some real skill too but I'm not sure I'd take him over any of the names above just yet.

For D in that range, I've always liked Miller, I think he has the potential to take a Zadorov-like development path where it takes him a while to get all his tools together, but when he does he'll be a beast. Woo isn't bad either, but he's a rightie and that's not ideal. I'd rather go for Miller if we take a D.