2014 Draft Thread – Part Three

[SabresBillsBuffalo]

It really shouldn't matter. If Reinhart's only legitimate concern is that he only has 3 points in 16 games in the WHL playoffs which he played against the best defensive team in the best defensive league as a 17 year old..

He's played in 3 years of playoffs in the WHL. and has 3 points in 16 games.... You guys can all argue his u20 and his Ivan Hilika stats when he's playing with the best his country has to offer at those levels. It's not hard to play with people with that talent. This draft just isn't very good this year and it sucks that it is that way. He's not #1 overall pick worthy.

 

[OcAirlines]

WhatI don't understand is how quick Button's opinion on Draisaitl changed.. how does a prospect go from 11 to 4 in one fell swoop, when Button has had him lower than most for essentially the whole year..

Button basically admitted in his video segment that he was wrong to place Draisaitl that low in his last list. But I just think that his prospect rankings aren't very good in general, whenever I see his lists there are a bunch of headscratchers for me, a feeling that I don't have when I look at the lists of McKenzie or others. When you have the same players fall and rise that much in consecutive lists, it usually means that you are too rash in your assessment of prospects, having them rise/fall way too fast based on a few games, then realizing your mistake the month after.

Although to be fair, I still think that Draisaitl is probably one of the toughest prospects to evaluate. I could see him gong 1st Overall, although chances for that are slim, but it is also a very possible scenario that he slips to the 7-10 range. No matter what happens, some people will look foolish after the draft for having him so high/low, but obviously hindsight is 20/20.

 

[EichHart]

He's played in 3 years of playoffs in the WHL. and has 3 points in 16 games.... You guys can all argue his u20 and his Ivan Hilika stats when he's playing with the best his country has to offer at those levels. It's not hard to play with people with that talent. This draft just isn't very good this year and it sucks that it is that way. He's not #1 overall pick worthy.

I've never seen so much wrong in one post. I bought a 10 game package to WHL and Reinhart is 100% a better player than LD, but it is hard to compare them since they play very different games. Reinhart plays a game like Toews, LD plays a game like Kopitar. I can't speak as much to the OHL or Q since I haven't watched nearly as much of them. But Reinhart is a number one pick IMO, he is better than RNH/Yakupov but below players like Hall/Tavares/Stamkos/Mack

 

[AirBriere48]

@coreypronman 1h
Brief thoughts in next few tweets... RT @NHLs_Future: @coreypronman Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart or Ekblad if you're buffalo?

@coreypronman 1h
I'll do a detailed write up when the draft slots are done, but for BUF, when you're a god awful team, not sure how you don't pick the BPA...

@coreypronman 1h
Unless you're so sure in your young prospects/NHLers at a certain position. BUF has arguably as many good young Fs as Ds too.....

@coreypronman 1h
And frankly I feel many just want Buffalo to not pick Ekblad just because EDM is a nice fit.

@coreypronman 1h
Are Myers/Zadorov/Ristolainen/Pysyk/McCabe substantially better than Hodgson/Girgensons/Grigo/Armia/Fasching/Compher? IMO nope.

@coreypronman 1h
And a lot of other stuff too. Hell of a risk for 30th best team to pick for position RT @bryanflork: @coreypronman BUF needs a #1 center.

 

[Zip15]

He's played in 3 years of playoffs in the WHL. and has 3 points in 16 games....

Seven of those games were as a 15 year-old. You're going to pass on a guy because of his playoff numbers as a 15 year-old when many of his contemporaries were popping zits in lower level leagues? Okay.

I'd like to see numbers better than 3 pts in the other 9 games, but he's got another playoffs to prove himself. If he falls flat in the 1st round this season, I think we can start looking further into this issue. But until then, it's a non-issue.

You guys can all argue his u20 and his Ivan Hilika stats when he's playing with the best his country has to offer at those levels. It's not hard to play with people with that talent. This draft just isn't very good this year and it sucks that it is that way. He's not #1 overall pick worthy.

That cuts both ways. He's also playing against the best the other countries have to offer. And I'm sure those other mid-1st and later-round players who are on Reinhart's international teams are the ones bolstering his numbers, and not vice-versa.

 

[stokes84]

@coreypronman 1h
Brief thoughts in next few tweets... RT @NHLs_Future: @coreypronman Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart or Ekblad if you're buffalo?

@coreypronman 1h
I'll do a detailed write up when the draft slots are done, but for BUF, when you're a god awful team, not sure how you don't pick the BPA...

@coreypronman 1h
Unless you're so sure in your young prospects/NHLers at a certain position. BUF has arguably as many good young Fs as Ds too.....

@coreypronman 1h
And frankly I feel many just want Buffalo to not pick Ekblad just because EDM is a nice fit.

@coreypronman 1h
Are Myers/Zadorov/Ristolainen/Pysyk/McCabe substantially better than Hodgson/Girgensons/Grigo/Armia/Fasching/Compher? IMO nope.

@coreypronman 1h
And a lot of other stuff too. Hell of a risk for 30th best team to pick for position RT @bryanflork: @coreypronman BUF needs a #1 center.

Yes. Not to mention a hockey team consists of 12 forwards and only 6 defense.

 

[Samsonite23]

Yes. Not to mention a hockey team consists of 12 forwards and only 6 defense.

I lol'ed a little really though, how could he look past that? Plus the defensemen are clearly more sure-thing prospects when compared to the forwards.

 

[AirBriere48]

Yes. Not to mention a hockey team consists of 12 forwards and only 6 defense.

Yeah, he comes off the rails there. It comes down to top-end talent. I'm pretty confident that that D corps has four top 4 guys in it, who could collectively serve as the anchor for a cup contending defensive unit. Whereas the forward group, I'm pretty confident, doesn't have a single 1st line forward on a cup contending team. AND, the latter are much, much, MUCH harder to come by outside of the top of the draft than the former.

 

[1972]

If I have picks 1 and 4, with very likely a top 5 pick in 15' I am taking Ekblad. We have good defensive prospects but none are going to be the level that Ekblad will be.

 

[Paxon]

Yes. Not to mention a hockey team consists of 12 forwards and only 6 defense.

Exactly. I don't see Ekblad as BPA anyhow. I mean, maybe he is but it's not obvious. If Jones or Hanifin were prospects this year they'd be easy BPA and I'd say we should absolutely take them. I don't feel the same way about Ekblad.

 

[BananaSquad]

If I have picks 1 and 4, with very likely a top 5 pick in 15' I am taking Ekblad. We have good defensive prospects but none are going to be the level that Ekblad will be.

I agree. If the Isles give Buffalo 4th overall, its pretty easy to take Ekblad 1st and one of the Centers at 4th.

 

[HOOats]

We have good defensive prospects but none are going to be the level that Ekblad will be.

This sounds like hogwash tbh. Just pretend Risto were Chuck Flannery from Thunder Bay and Zads was Barry Green from Mississauga. Actually don't pretend that, because then they'd have gone 5th and 8th instead of 8th and 16th.

 

[ZeroPT*]

Exactly. I don't see Ekblad as BPA anyhow. I mean, maybe he is but it's not obvious. If Jones or Hanifin were prospects this year they'd be easy BPA and I'd say we should absolutely take them. I don't feel the same way about Ekblad.

This.
Jones and Hanifin have distinct strengths, Ekblad doesn't particlularly impress me, he's a damn good player, but I don't see him having the "it" factor that I'd like to see.I also don't see #1 potential

 

[Woodhouse]

Where is this mock draft? I followed the link and couldn't find it. All it seems to have is the prospect rankings

For anyone else who misses it initially, here's the direct link to Button's mock --> http://www.tsn.ca/VideoHub/Default.aspx?collection=139&show=306961&section=Sports

 

[1972]

This sounds like hogwash tbh. Just pretend Risto were Chuck Flannery from Thunder Bay and Zads was Barry Green from Mississauga. Actually don't pretend that, because then they'd have gone 5th and 8th instead of 8th and 16th.

or watch them play, and realize what both of those players lack Ekblad has. Zadorov is a physical freak, and looks like his is going to be a top 4 guy at the very least but he doesn't think the game at an elite level that is usually required from a #1 D. It's not a huge gap between them, but I think not only is Ekblad more likely to reach his potential, but it's also higher.

 

[Zip15]

Exactly. I don't see Ekblad as BPA anyhow. I mean, maybe he is but it's not obvious. If Jones or Hanifin were prospects this year they'd be easy BPA and I'd say we should absolutely take them. I don't feel the same way about Ekblad.

Ekblad is a better prospect than Jones--and I was a bigger Seth fan than 90% of this board last year, and I deride Devine to this day for his "thank God" comment on Beyond Blue & Gold when the Preds picked Jones over Ristolainen--and one could argue either way for Ekblad and Hanifin. I think Ekblad suffers on this board for two primary reasons. First, people have prospect fatigue with him--he's been talked about as one of the top two prospects in this draft for going on on 18 months now. Second, we have a nice defensive prospect stable, so he's brushed aside for the top forward prospects. (And let's be honest, forward prospects are a lot more exciting.)

 

[Zip15]

This.
Jones and Hanifin have distinct strengths, Ekblad doesn't particlularly impress me, he's a damn good player, but I don't see him having the "it" factor that I'd like to see.I also don't see #1 potential

Respectfully disagree. The "it" for you must not be hockey sense, because he has that in spades.

 

[dotcommunism]

Ekblad is a better prospect than Jones--and I was a bigger Seth fan than 90% of this board last year, and I deride Devine to this day for his "thank God" comment on Beyond Blue & Gold when the Preds picked Jones over Ristolainen--and one could argue either way for Ekblad and Hanifin. I think Ekblad suffers on this board for two primary reasons. First, people have prospect fatigue with him--he's been talked about as one of the top two prospects in this draft for going on on 18 months now. Second, we have a nice defensive prospect stable, so he's brushed aside for the top forward prospects. (And let's be honest, forward prospects are a lot more exciting.)

Wasn't one of the possible explanations for this that they didn't see Jones falling to them period, so Ristolainen getting picked there would have been worse because he and Jones would both be gone?

 

[1972]

This.
Jones and Hanifin have distinct strengths, Ekblad doesn't particlularly impress me, he's a damn good player, but I don't see him having the "it" factor that I'd like to see.I also don't see #1 potential

why? I don't know if you have ever seen guys like Pietrangelo and Doughty play juniors but he has just as big of an impact as they ever did (maybe not at Doughty's level). Ekblad has all the tools to be a guy that a team is built around, nearly every scout you talk to will say without hesitation "he is a 25-30 minute guy in the NHL no question".

He is the real deal, people who don't see him play want to make the stupid "he just dominates because he is big" argument. It's not true, he is good because there are no holes in his game, he has an elite shot from the point, and has elite hockey sense and has that "it" factor to take over a game.

As for Noah Hanifin, he looks like the real deal but let's pump the brakes a little bit.

 

[Mit Yarrum]

Wasn't one of the possible explanations for this that they didn't see Jones falling to them period, so Ristolainen getting picked there would have been worse because he and Jones would both be gone?

That's how I always took it. It does come off weird without that context though. Unreasonably so.

 

[Zip15]

Wasn't one of the possible explanations for this that they didn't see Jones falling to them period, so Ristolainen getting picked there would have been worse because he and Jones would both be gone?

Depends on whether you put stock in the report that the Canes had #5 and McBain on the table for #8 and Sekera, I suppose.

 

[Woodhouse]

Ekblad is a better prospect than Jones--and I was a bigger Seth fan than 90% of this board last year, and I deride Devine to this day for his "thank God" comment on Beyond Blue & Gold when the Preds picked Jones over Ristolainen--and one could argue either way for Ekblad and Hanifin. I think Ekblad suffers on this board for two primary reasons. First, people have prospect fatigue with him--he's been talked about as one of the top two prospects in this draft for going on on 18 months now. Second, we have a nice defensive prospect stable, so he's brushed aside for the top forward prospects. (And let's be honest, forward prospects are a lot more exciting.)

I interpret Devine's reaction more as reacting to a potential wrinkle in their mock projections if Ristolainen goes earlier, not his like/dislike of Jones (aka they expected Jones to be off the board). I do agree on the prospect fatigue and forward bias points though, as Ekblad's still the clear number one on my board and has been all season long.

 

[ZeroPT*]

why? I don't know if you have ever seen guys like Pietrangelo and Doughty play juniors but he has just as big of an impact as they ever did (maybe not at Doughty's level). Ekblad has all the tools to be a guy that a team is built around, nearly every scout you talk to will say without hesitation "he is a 25-30 minute guy in the NHL no question".

He is the real deal, people who don't see him play want to make the stupid "he just dominates because he is big" argument. It's not true, he is good because there are no holes in his game, he has an elite shot from the point, and has elite hockey sense and has that "it" factor to take over a game.

As for Noah Hanifin, he looks like the real deal but let's pump the brakes a little bit.

You probably know better than I do. I'm just saying from what I've seen/read I don't think he has that potential. As I said I think he will be a damn good player but at this point I don't think he's that much of an upgrade on Risto/Zads/Myers to take him over a potential game breaking forward which we sorely need.

As for Hanifin I'll disagree, it's clear that he thinks the game faster than everybody else, he thinks light years faster than hes peers and it shows. I'm really high on him.

Respectfully disagree. The "it" for you must not be hockey sense, because he has that in spades.

As I told 1972, you probably know much more than I do, I'm just stating my opinion on these guys, perhaps we see something different.

Personally, I don't think Ekblad has the offensive tools that will translate to the next level.. Petro,Doughty,Keith,OEL are some of the games best blueliners and IMO, they dwarf Ekblad's offensive capabilities which make me think he won't be a #1 guy.
He's puts up great numbers in junior but watching him play, that's what I get.

 

[1972]

I interpret Devine's reaction more as reacting to a potential wrinkle in their mock projections if Ristolainen goes earlier, not his like/dislike of Jones (aka they expected Jones to be off the board). I do agree on the prospect fatigue and forward bias points though, as Ekblad's still the clear number one on my board and has been all season long.

Everytime I watch Ekblad I always come away thinking "he is clearly the best player in the draft" but I don't want to believe it because we could really use a forward. In saying that would Ekblad be your selection? or would you pass for a forward? If you look at each players total package, and if you have to peg one guy at a franchise player at the next level it's going to be Aaron Ekblad.

A guy like Bennett for example is a player I think the world of, but even him I view more of a piece of the puzzle then the entire picture.

 

[Zip15]

As I told 1972, you probably know much more than I do, I'm just stating my opinion on these guys, perhaps we see something different.

Personally, I don't think Ekblad has the offensive tools that will translate to the next level.. Petro,Doughty,Keith,OEL are some of the games best blueliners and IMO, they dwarf Ekblad's offensive capabilities which make me think he won't be a #1 guy.
He's puts up great numbers in junior but watching him play, that's what I get.

With a few exceptions (e.g., Erik Karlsson), I think a defenseman scoring 40+ points is as much about opportunity (i.e., playing time) as anything else. Ekblad will be on the ice 25+ minutes per game, and he'll get top PP minutes on the point. In furtherance of this point, I don't think anyone would say that Ehrhoff has been an offensive dynamo since he came to Buffalo, but his 82-game averages put him around 40 pts per season.

I think Ekblad will be a shoo-in to score 40+ in most years.