2014 NHL Draft Discussion: Part I

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YashinWorksHard

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What if we start to talk about the 2014 NHL Draft with calm and curiosity?

My first and early impressions are the nice start of the season by Michael Dal Colle with Oshawa (Seven points in just two games) and the rough start for Nylander in Rogle (five games without points and a -4).

Looks like the OHL group is very Strong, also a nice class from the WHL but not so much talent in the QMJHL besides Barbashev or Pepin (an intriguing prospect).

Early thoughts about this draft related to the Islanders? Any particular player who do you like?
 

Konk

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Mar 11, 2008
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This draft is strong upfront. A lot of good all-around talent and some good power forward prospects available.

I really like Barbashev, Virtanen, Ritchie, Mistele, MacInnis, Clarke, and McCann.

Ritchie, Barbashev, and Virtanen are probably top 10 picks, so hopefully the Isles won't have a shot at them. That said, Mistele is a guy I really like. Best suited for the wing, good skater, physical player, very good shot, great kid with coachable attitude. High character kid, he and McCann both fit the Isles mold early on. McCann is very mature, responsible two-way forward with very good offensive skills himself. I could see both rising throughout the year.

Ryan MacInnis is a project type. Big kid, 6-4, but lanky I think he's probably 180 something at this point. He has the tools and the upside, but he's not quite at the level of some of his OHL peers so he will likely be in range of where the Isles pick.
 

scott99

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May 13, 2005
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Man, I am way behind on my 2014 Draft knowledge, gotta catch up to you guys.
 

Konk

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Man, I am way behind on my 2014 Draft knowledge, gotta catch up to you guys.
I think most fans only follow the draft when time gets closer, or as it's usually the case for Islander fans, if there's nothing else to look forward to. I think it's a good sign that you and others are behind on the 2014 draft, means the Islanders are trending upwards.

Myself, I follow juniors/college primarily so I am always looking forward to the draft.
 

Levi Walking Bear

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Oct 8, 2009
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tsn.ca draft centre has Bob McKenzies pre season ratings and the first list by Craig Button this season.As always will get into it as the season gets going,
 

scott99

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I think most fans only follow the draft when time gets closer, or as it's usually the case for Islander fans, if there's nothing else to look forward to. I think it's a good sign that you and others are behind on the 2014 draft, means the Islanders are trending upwards.

Myself, I follow juniors/college primarily so I am always looking forward to the draft.

You kidding me ? I'm a draft fanatic. I follow the draft all season long. I just need to catch up a bit.
 

Konk

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Scott, why would you play into that? It was phrased that way intentionally to draw you in.
Can't believe I missed this.

Actually, I know you've got it in since I called you out, but that was not intended to be disrespectful to scott. I actually did not know he follows the draft closely, I just made a general observation that draft talk here has died down with the success of the Islanders.

If you think I phrased my post to incite a negative reply, then maybe you were looking for it when you read it, because I most certainly did not. You're really grasping here.
 

Konk

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You kidding me ? I'm a draft fanatic. I follow the draft all season long. I just need to catch up a bit.

Scott, ignore that fool above.

I did not mean disrespect and did not realize you follow the draft closely. My apologies, it was honestly meant more as a general statement rather than being directed solely towards you.
 

steveat

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Jun 4, 2011
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Outside of the top 3..there's really no one I am REALLY interested in. I am waiting for 2015 as it's a much better draft and a much better first overall. Would love to see McDavid in an Isles uniform...I'd trade up and overpay to get him.

2014 draft is the one where G Reinhart's younger brother (Sam) might go first overall...just an fyi to those that don't follow the draft.
 

InformTheMasses

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Outside of the top 3..there's really no one I am REALLY interested in. I am waiting for 2015 as it's a much better draft and a much better first overall. Would love to see McDavid in an Isles uniform...I'd trade up and overpay to get him.

2014 draft is the one where G Reinhart's younger brother (Sam) might go first overall...just an fyi to those that don't follow the draft.

There's a lot of talented but 'undersized' players in this draft. (undersized being under 6'0" tall). Not that I think under 6'0" is undersized but seeing how Hickey is talked about here, 5' somethings are just thought of differently by a lot of fans.

Here is one guy to keep an eye on: Jared McCann I think he would be perfect in the Islanders current system. Really good in all zones, speed, skill. I think he goes up the charts this year and becomes a top 10 pick, but if not I would love to see the Islanders take him (wherever they draft).
 

Sidney the Kidney

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One player to keep an eye on: Sam Bennett of the Kingston Frontenacs. I'm going to make a bold prediction and say that, while a long shot, if there's another forward who pushes Reinhart for 1st overall, it will be him.

Fantastic stick handler, great vision, and he seems to have improved his skating speed by another gear or two since last season. And best of all where NHL teams are concerned, he's already good defensively. Top PK unit for the Fronts, great at the back check, and doesn't cheat in the defensive zone. Also plays with a feisty edge.

He plays the game very similarly to how his GM, another former #93, played (hint: his GM is Doug Gilmour).
 

scott99

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Scott, ignore that fool above.

I did not mean disrespect and did not realize you follow the draft closely. My apologies, it was honestly meant more as a general statement rather than being directed solely towards you.

How dare you question my integrity.....just kidding, no offence taken. Since the Isles aren't 3-18-3, I haven't been studying up as much as I usually do, shame on me.

What's the deal with Nikolai Goldobin of the Sarnia Sting ? Seems like he's dropped to the lower half of the 1st round. Scored 30 goals and 68 points as a 17 year old in Sarnia.
 

PWJunior

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One player to keep an eye on: Sam Bennett of the Kingston Frontenacs. I'm going to make a bold prediction and say that, while a long shot, if there's another forward who pushes Reinhart for 1st overall, it will be him.

Fantastic stick handler, great vision, and he seems to have improved his skating speed by another gear or two since last season. And best of all where NHL teams are concerned, he's already good defensively. Top PK unit for the Fronts, great at the back check, and doesn't cheat in the defensive zone. Also plays with a feisty edge.

He plays the game very similarly to how his GM, another former #93, played (hint: his GM is Doug Gilmour).

Kingston is stacked with Bennett, McKeown, and Watson as draft eligibles. I've read good things about Bennett. McKeown intrigues me, the guy is supposed to be an amazing skater.
 

Sidney the Kidney

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Kingston is stacked with Bennett, McKeown, and Watson as draft eligibles. I've read good things about Bennett. McKeown intrigues me, the guy is supposed to be an amazing skater.

This is a good highlight package of some of Bennett's work early on. His goal at 1:33 of the video was a thing of beauty.



McKeown's such a smooth skater. Very fluid both North/South, and moving laterally. He's also got a tremendous first pass, which has been a huge part of Kingston's transition game this season. And not that I put much stock in the plus/minus stat, but McKeown currently leads the OHL with a +21 in only 11 games. He's got to work on being stronger in front of the net, though. He's solid positionally, however.

Watson's got a nose for the net. He's got a high goal scoring IQ (the kind of guy who just seems to find those openings), and a high hockey IQ in general. But I think he's a lesser prospect than the other two because a]he's small, and not just short. His build is small. He's probably around 165 lbs., and that's after gaining weight in the off season, and b]while he's not slow, he's not exactly a speedster. So it's not like he can make up for his lack of size with explosive speed. Watson's probably a guy that will fall to the second round, unless someone takes a chance on him late in the first.
 

Konk

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How dare you question my integrity.....just kidding, no offence taken. Since the Isles aren't 3-18-3, I haven't been studying up as much as I usually do, shame on me.
It's a good thing and that was my original point, success of the Isles = low draft pick = less interest in the draft from fans overall. I travel a lot throughout North America for work and I have the opportunity to watch a lot of WHL/OHL action, sometimes QMJHL, and not as much NCAA/USHL as I used to, but I do see these kids in person quite a bit so it keeps my interest.
What's the deal with Nikolai Goldobin of the Sarnia Sting ? Seems like he's dropped to the lower half of the 1st round. Scored 30 goals and 68 points as a 17 year old in Sarnia.
Well, what I noticed last year was that he was very slight and one-dimensional. I think most of the time these types of smaller, offense-only players start out projected as late 1st/2nd round selections and as the year goes on, they are afforded the opportunity to rise. If Nikolay can show improvement and address some of the concerns about his projectability as a pro I think he'll rise, if not, expect him to be slotted in that range.
 

Chapin Landvogt

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This is a good highlight package of some of Bennett's work early on. His goal at 1:33 of the video was a thing of beauty.



McKeown's such a smooth skater. Very fluid both North/South, and moving laterally. He's also got a tremendous first pass, which has been a huge part of Kingston's transition game this season. And not that I put much stock in the plus/minus stat, but McKeown currently leads the OHL with a +21 in only 11 games. He's got to work on being stronger in front of the net, though. He's solid positionally, however.

Watson's got a nose for the net. He's got a high goal scoring IQ (the kind of guy who just seems to find those openings), and a high hockey IQ in general. But I think he's a lesser prospect than the other two because a]he's small, and not just short. His build is small. He's probably around 165 lbs., and that's after gaining weight in the off season, and b]while he's not slow, he's not exactly a speedster. So it's not like he can make up for his lack of size with explosive speed. Watson's probably a guy that will fall to the second round, unless someone takes a chance on him late in the first.


I myself belong to the Sam Bennett fan club. He stuck out at the last U18 despite being one of the youngest guys in the tournament (that, uhh, McDavid kid was even younger) and then was an absolute beast at the Ivan Hlinka MT. Don't know if there is a team out there who wouldn't love to add him to their system.

Just as complete a prospect as they seem to get.

McKeown seems to really hold his own, although I know nothing about how he's presenting himself in the OHL. Can't get a good read on his actual upside. I can say that at the Ivan Hlinka, he was definitely a safer, more controlled Dman than a one Mr. Ekblad, who had a number of surprisingly uninspired errors and flubs.

At the moment, I don't think Watson's results will convince scouts about long-term potential at a higher level. He's a guy who often doesn't stick out and well, I agree thoroughly with your take on him.
Oh, he'll get picked along the way. In fact, whoever grabs Bennett in round one may even see to it that they snipe Watson as well if he's still around in round 3 or 4.

As for the NYI, if they miss the playoffs and find themselves picking somewhere between spots 10-14, well, my suggestion would be to use some of that defensive depth in the prospect system to help move upwards in a swap of first rounders just to grab Bennett, who I think is probably hovering around spots 7-18 on a lot of teams' lists.
 
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