Helene St. James Wings eyeing Bouchard

[NickH8]

Last year they said they wanted some guys who are big and hard to play against. This year they have said they are going more for skill players.

Hopefully it results in getting a good mix of both, we will see. I don’t think Wright has drafted many forwards with plus puck skills in his career up until this point.

Hopefully they go for some boom/bust guys since they have an abundance of picks. Dominik Bokk would be really nice with the Vegas Pick. If Ryan Merkley is available they should take him right away. I know they like character but Merkley is so good it's worth picking him and putting in the effort to help him grow and become a better guy, especially so low in the first round.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

Last year they said they wanted some guys who are big and hard to play against. This year they have said they are going more for skill players.

Hopefully it results in getting a good mix of both, we will see. I don’t think Wright has drafted many forwards with plus puck skills in his career up until this point.

That's my worry. They say they want to draft more skill, but do they have an eye for that skill?

I won't be upset with Dobson, Bouchard, or Hughes, or Wahlstrom...

But I want to see what they are going to do about the non no-brainer picks.

 

[njx9]

Hopefully they go for some boom/bust guys since they have an abundance of picks. Dominik Bokk would be really nice with the Vegas Pick. If Ryan Merkley is available they should take him right away. I know they like character but Merkley is so good it's worth picking him and putting in the effort to help him grow and become a better guy, especially so low in the first round.

Yeah, I think Merkley is exactly the kind of guy you can/should use one of those extra picks on. But I feel like he'll be gone before the VGK pick.

 

[Frk It]

Man, the media is really laying it on thick here connecting Bouchard to the Wings.

This is a good interview/video that has comments by Bouchard and Button:
Going sixth to Red Wings would be fine by Evan Bouchard

 

[Frk It]

 

[njx9]

I like it. I'll be ecstatic either way.

 

[TatarTangle]

As long as Hughes can gain 30-40 pounds. The guys I play hockey with, who played at Michigan, and are still close with the team, say Hughes isn't more than 150 soaking wet

 

[Frk It]

As long as Hughes can gain 30-40 pounds. The guys I play hockey with, who played at Michigan, and are still close with the team, say Hughes isn't more than 150 soaking wet

We will see his height and weight at the combine in a few weeks here.

 

[rhef3]

If it's between those two, I'm leaning towards bouchard being he is a little more sound defensively and bigger.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Bouchard is a Tyler Wright guy, but with the recent affinity toward Michiganers, I wouldn’t be surprised if we took Hughes.

I’m definitely on the Hughes train, I think he’s the second best defenseman of the draft.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Yeah, I think Merkley is exactly the kind of guy you can/should use one of those extra picks on. But I feel like he'll be gone before the VGK pick.

Isn't Merkley the exact opposite type of guy the Wings want in the organization?

 

[HisNoodliness]

Isn't Merkley the exact opposite type of guy the Wings want in the organization?

The only reason we have a chance at getting him is his attitude issues. At ~29 everyone will have a flaw. I think it's worth the risk because he has so much potential. We're building a team of leaders which should be a great environment to work out Merkley's attitude. He has phenomenal talent.

 

[Hammettf2b]

The only reason we have a chance at getting him is his attitude issues. At ~29 everyone will have a flaw. I think it's worth the risk because he has so much potential. We're building a team of leaders which should be a great environment to work out Merkley's attitude. He has phenomenal talent.

oh don't get me wrong, I agree. Kid has talent, but do you see the Wings brass giving this kid a chance? Especially with what we've seen with Mrazek and AA?

 

[HisNoodliness]

oh don't get me wrong, I agree. Kid has talent, but do you see the Wings brass giving this kid a chance? Especially with what we've seen with Mrazek and AA?

You're probably right that they'll pass him over, but Tyler Wright has repeatedly said they'll be prioritizing skill this year so if Merkley's there I wouldn't be too surprised if we gave him a shot.

 

[njx9]

Isn't Merkley the exact opposite type of guy the Wings want in the organization?

Yeah, I think so, but I totally disagree with them. Use your extra picks to gamble on talent, plenty of time to get your "character" nobodies after the 3rd.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

oh don't get me wrong, I agree. Kid has talent, but do you see the Wings brass giving this kid a chance? Especially with what we've seen with Mrazek and AA?

Do you see Merkley earning a chance?

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

Don't care how talented Merkley is.

Don't want him. Too many issues, and if a team thinks they can fix him, then that scouting department and org in general has never dated.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

The only reason we have a chance at getting him is his attitude issues. At ~29 everyone will have a flaw. I think it's worth the risk because he has so much potential. We're building a team of leaders which should be a great environment to work out Merkley's attitude. He has phenomenal talent.

Why do we even think Merkley is going to fall to 29? Sure, he's got some serious issues, but the talent pool is pretty darn thin at around 25-ish; you're on the same tier for about 20 picks after that, and everybody is interesting, but not great. Every analysis I've ever read has said that teams are of different minds about him, with some refusing to draft him at all, and some thinking it's overblown. With as many teams as there are, somebody's got to be interested. In particular, I think some of the good playoff teams have dollarsigns in their eyes when they think of him still being on the board late in the 1st.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Bouchard is a Tyler Wright guy, but with the recent affinity toward Michiganers, I wouldn’t be surprised if we took Hughes.

The Michigan thing might be a little overstated. Yeah, the Wings have some guys with Michigan ties, and yeah, Ryan Martin likes signing Michigan guys to play in GR, but I can't really see where it has affected their drafting at all. Larkin was a guy you take even if he's from Idaho, and Svechnikov, Cholowski, Smith, Hronek, Rasmussen, and Lindstrom don't exactly strike me as eating paczki and curing colds with Vernors quite yet.

 

[njx9]

curing colds with Vernors quite yet.

I know it's off topic but... there are other ways to cure a cold?

 

[Jon Cusack]

Didn't we draft for character guys last year to push talent players like Merkley? Wrights plan is coming to fruition.

 

[HisNoodliness]

Why do we even think Merkley is going to fall to 29? Sure, he's got some serious issues, but the talent pool is pretty darn thin at around 25-ish; you're on the same tier for about 20 picks after that, and everybody is interesting, but not great. Every analysis I've ever read has said that teams are of different minds about him, with some refusing to draft him at all, and some thinking it's overblown. With as many teams as there are, somebody's got to be interested. In particular, I think some of the good playoff teams have dollarsigns in their eyes when they think of him still being on the board late in the 1st.

I don't think he will last until 29. If he were to, we should take him.

 

[odin1981]

I'll be happy with either Bouchard or Dobsin at this point.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Do you see Merkley earning a chance?

Not with the Wings, no.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

Do you see Merkley earning a chance?

]

The Wings' management have no patience with kids who refuse to do things the "right way" (their way). I'm sure the kid is talented, but I don't see the team having any interest in someone who has such attitude problems on and off the ice. Going by what I've heard he seems way more of an on-ice quitter than AA and seems just as entitled and spoiled off the ice.
I truly doubt he's on the Wings' list and I'm fine with them taking a pass on this brat.