'14 Draft

[Averick*]

I've seen various comments about how the 14 draft is garbage. This really just seems like rationalization for trading the 1st. There's actually a player that some say is a better prospect as a defenseman than Jones.

Also, does anyone know much about the Swedish defenseman? I've noticed there's several European posters.

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[Gigantor The Goalie]

Isn't the best swede in the draft a forward anyways? William Nylander I believe, son of a former NHLer

 

[Boulder Avalanche]

Starting early I see.

 

[Avsboy]

So bad for Ekblad

 

[Congo Jack]

Swedish defenseman? Are you talking about Ekblad? His name sounds Swedish but the kids a Canadian.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

So bad for Ekblad

Wouldn't that be "suck bad for Ekblad"?

 

[Averick*]

Starting early I see.

I was prompted to raise the issue by several comments about how bad this draft is. It may not be the 13 draft but we should discuss it especially since there are some European posters who can add valuable insight.

 

[Averick*]

Swedish defenseman? Are you talking about Ekblad? His name sounds Swedish but the kids a Canadian.

It could be. It could also be German. German names have been butchered in a variety of ways when emigrating to the new world.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

I think speculation about who's who in the 2014 draft is a bit premature.

But it would be interesting to see what people think now, and what they think at next year's draft.

I really hope this doesn't turn into a "we're going to get a top 5 pick" kind of thread, though.

 

[Averick*]

I think speculation about who's who in the 2014 draft is a bit premature.

But it would be interesting to see what people think now, and what they think at next year's draft.

I really hope this doesn't turn into a "we're going to get a top 5 pick" kind of thread, though.

Well, like we saw with this years draft, it can really be affected by who picks where. Can we agree on his? I find the Avs taking MacKinnon to be far less controversial than the Panthers taking Barkov over Jones. But, again, this speaks to who's picking where. Admittedly, however, a lot can change between now and then.

But hey, it's something to talk about...no different than talking about what it would take to get Vlasic/Coburn/etc.

 

[Bonzai12]

Keep your eye on this kid I heard he's going to be a star

 

[JoemAvs]

All in all I doubt that 2014 is close to as good of a draft as 2013.
But there are a few good prospects in next years draft.
Best of all would be Aaron Ekblad who got exceptional status by the OHL and who is better right now than Seth Jones was at the same time last year. But make no mistake. Jones had a great year and would have deserved to be picked first
His problem was that the ´13 Draft was great and that Mac , Drouin and Barkov are prospects that would have gone 1st in most draft years.
Hard to predict how good Ekblad will look next year.
He has certainly the potential to be as good of a prospect as Jones or even a better one. Will he reach it ? Who knows.

There are a couple of promising forwards available in Reinhart and Nylander. Again. Very hard to project those guys.
But I believe that they will be closer to Lindholm and Monahan than to Mac and Barkov. But who knows.

I really don't want the Avs to suck again. I was very soon on the tank bandwagon this year because of the shortened season and this amazing draft. But next year we desperately need to get out of the bottom. If we just miss the playoffs and win the lottery again, I will not complain about Ekblad. Otherwise please no.

I for myself would be beyond excited if we could pick up Leon Draisatl.
Best german prospect ever. Should be a lock for the 1st round and could go Top10. Maybe even Top5.
If we really have to suck next year and do not win the lottery, I would hope that we pick him and shift him to LW.

Still would rather go for the playoffs hard. I don't see us making them but we need to install somewhat of a winning culture...

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

I think speculation about who's who in the 2014 draft is a bit premature.

But it would be interesting to see what people think now, and what they think at next year's draft.

I really hope this doesn't turn into a "we're going to get a top 5 pick" kind of thread, though.

Last season everything wrong seemed to happen which was a shame because we actually started out decently. Then Landeskog was concussed and we were promptly destroyed in that game by a red hot Sharks powerplay. To me that seemed to be the start of the end for us. Landeskog had trouble getting going, O'Reilly was still out, we managed to blow that huge lead versus the Oilers as well and then there were the Wilson and EJ injuries as well. EJ was doing great until Hanzal got him with a hard hit that gave him a concussion.

 

[Averick*]

All in all I doubt that 2014 is close to as good of a draft as 2013.
But there are a few good prospects in next years draft.
Best of all would be Aaron Ekblad who got exceptional status by the OHL and who is better right now than Seth Jones was at the same time last year. But make no mistake. Jones had a great year and would have deserved to be picked first
His problem was that the ´13 Draft was great and that Mac , Drouin and Barkov are prospects that would have gone 1st in most draft years.
Hard to predict how good Ekblad will look next year.
He has certainly the potential to be as good of a prospect as Jones or even a better one. Will he reach it ? Who knows.

There are a couple of promising forwards available in Reinhart and Nylander. Again. Very hard to project those guys.
But I believe that they will be closer to Lindholm and Monahan than to Mac and Barkov. But who knows.

I really don't want the Avs to suck again. I was very soon on the tank bandwagon this year because of the shortened season and this amazing draft. But next year we desperately need to get out of the bottom. If we just miss the playoffs and win the lottery again, I will not complain about Ekblad. Otherwise please no.

I for myself would be beyond excited if we could pick up Leon Draisatl.
Best german prospect ever. Should be a lock for the 1st round and could go Top10. Maybe even Top5.
If we really have to suck next year and do not win the lottery, I would hope that we pick him and shift him to LW.

Still would rather go for the playoffs hard. I don't see us making them but we need to install somewhat of a winning culture...

Depending on how the Stas/ROR trade scenarios play out, I would consider Daisler. He's not exactly the skater that our top forwards are, but he plays with his head up and sees the ice. The glaring adjustment would be the speed and physicality of the NHL.

 

[Granlund2Pulkkinen*]

Ekblad is a Swedish name but he's Canadian. He could be better than Jones but he's been decently underwhelming in the OHL. He was granted exceptional player status (first since Tavares, and currently only one of four to receive it).

This next season will really dictate where he goes in the draft... As of right now he is behind Reinhart, dal Colle, Clarke, Ritchie, and Draisatl and maybe Nylander. He may not be ready for the NHL in 2014-2015 either. He' still years away from being a reliable #1 defender.

 

[Averick*]

Last season everything wrong seemed to happen which was a shame because we actually started out decently. Then Landeskog was concussed and we were promptly destroyed in that game by a red hot Sharks powerplay. To me that seemed to be the start of the end for us. Landeskog had trouble getting going, O'Reilly was still out, we managed to blow that huge lead versus the Oilers as well and then there were the Wilson and EJ injuries as well. EJ was doing great until Hanzal got him with a hard hit that gave him a concussion.

Fwiw, I live in Chicago and saw the Avs games vs the Blackhawks. The talent is obviously there. Consistency is a problem typical to young teams.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Fwiw, I live in Chicago and saw the Avs games vs the Blackhawks. The talent is obviously there. Consistency is a problem typical to young teams.

I watched nearly every game this season. I agree with you. On some nights we could completely dominate a team, like when we broke Chicago's streak. On every other night though we just didn't have that extra push. Seemed like a coaching thing. Was also a we don't have the best defensemen thing either.

 

[Averick*]

I watched nearly every game this season. I agree with you. On some nights we could completely dominate a team, like when we broke Chicago's streak. On every other night though we just didn't have that extra push. Seemed like a coaching thing. Was also a we don't have the best defensemen thing either.

I thought the Avs were going to end their streak in the first game, which was in Chicago. I see a lot of Blackhawks games and its not often that they look like the slower team, in fact, it's practically never. But the way the Avs could turn on speed relative to the Blackhawks was glaring. I didn't see the game in Denver where the streak ended, but, honestly, I kind of expected it based on the game in Chicago.

Part of me was hoping they'd sign Stalberg as a 3rd liner. If the Avs trade Stazy or ROR , Mac moves to the second line and there's a heavy speed element on every shift.

 

[Nalens Oga]

Ekblad's gonna be a good NHLer but he's probably not gonna be as highly rated as Jones and we shouldn't even be thinking of that.

I'm completely in favour of moving a draft pick along with Stastny to try and land a top pairing dman from a team like Nashville with Josi since it's become clear that Stastny alone especially in his last year isn't gonna get us a #1-2 dman.

 

[PAZ]

Doesn't have the depth of the 2013 draft, but the top end talent is there IMO.

 

[Averick*]

Ekblad's gonna be a good NHLer but he's probably not gonna be as highly rated as Jones and we shouldn't even be thinking of that.

I'm completely in favour of moving a draft pick along with Stastny to try and land a top pairing dman from a team like Nashville with Josi since it's become clear that Stastny alone especially in his last year isn't gonna get us a #1-2 dman.

It depends. Is LeBron James a better athlete than Michael Jordan? Yes, but not in ways that matter to basketball. You have to be careful about how you weigh the significance of a prospects attributes sometimes.

 

[Averick*]

Doesn't have the depth of the 2013 draft, but the top end talent is there IMO.

I think Jones and Ekblad are comparable. But where would you see McKeown going in the 13 draft? I think that's where the separation starts.

 

[Granlund2Pulkkinen*]

I think Jones and Ekblad are comparable. But where would you see McKeown going in the 13 draft? I think that's where the separation starts.

Top 15 still... Haydn Fleury is also a great prospect.

 

[Averick*]

Top 15 still... Haydn Fleury is also a great prospect.

Yeah, possibly but 15 is also where one might expect the high end Euros to enter the picture. One guy who shows up but there's little info on is Adam, Ollas Mattson.

 

[R S]

Did a bunch of digging and list making on the 2014 draft today, from a WHL perspective. I don't think the league will produce a talent like Seth Jones, but there are a few potential top-10 type picks and pretty good overall depth from out west.

A lot needs to go right, but it could end up being a very good draft from a WHL perspective if some of the forwards took big strides to get bigger and stronger this summer. It's definitely a more offensively skilled draft for the WHL this year, just not the same defensive depth we've had the last few years.

I'm actually releasing my current top 20 WHL ranking for 2014 tomorrow morning. Hopefully that can give people more insight.