Prospect Info: 2015 NHL Entry Draft Talk

[Satan]

Wouldn't be opposed to another defender but I think this is a great draft to get a star forward to eventually replace Spezza/Hemsky. There's a crazy deep pool of players who shouldn't be there at 10+ who will make NHL rosters someday.

Right now I think the only way we take a defenseman is if someone falls into our hands. Think like Fowler/Gormley fall.

 

[OttMorrow]

Right now I think the only way we take a defenseman is if someone falls into our hands. Think like Fowler/Gormley fall.

Is this another forward deep draft like 2014, or are you saying that we got our fill of defensmen in the last draft?

 

[Satan]

It's a mix of both. We've got a deep enough pool of defensive prospects and the amount of talent in this draft is ridiculous especially up front.

 

[OttMorrow]

It's a mix of both. We've got a deep enough pool of defensive prospects and the amount of talent in this draft is ridiculous especially up front.

I think we take the BPA. We still don't have a true #1 D yet...or none proven, despite a wealth of solid D prospect. I feel like between our current top 6 plus Ritchie, Dickinson, and Shore, we are much more set at forward than anything.

 

[OttMorrow]

Satan,

I know you are an Ice Caps fan, but do you also follow the Sea Dogs?

If so, I'd like to get your take on Jakub Zboril

Thanks

 

[Satan]

Zboril is my 2nd favorite Dman in the Q after Roy.

I've watched the Sea Dogs a few times thanks to Nathan Noel being on the team.

He's smart, mobile and not afraid to contribute offensively. Pretty solid shot and rather versatile.

 

[OttMorrow]

Zboril is my 2nd favorite Dman in the Q after Roy.

I've watched the Sea Dogs a few times thanks to Nathan Noel being on the team.

He's smart, mobile and not afraid to contribute offensively. Pretty solid shot and rather versatile.

Thanks. How big is the gap between him and Roy in your eyes?

 

[Satan]

It's not very big. Right now I think Jeremy Roy is just outside of being a top 10 prospect in this draft while Zboril is top 20/25. Both players have been pretty important to their team's successful starts.


Also, one for the 2016 draft is Luke Green from the Sea Dogs (#1 in the Q draft). Kid is a defenseman but holy **** is he ever offensive minded. Let him groom his game in his own end and watch the hell out.

I've slowly been compiling a top prospects list, but I feel like it would be better served to wait until the end of November so I have more time to judge players.

 

[OttMorrow]

It's not very big. Right now I think Jeremy Roy is just outside of being a top 10 prospect in this draft while Zboril is top 20/25. Both players have been pretty important to their team's successful starts.


Also, one for the 2016 draft is Luke Green from the Sea Dogs (#1 in the Q draft). Kid is a defenseman but holy **** is he ever offensive minded. Let him groom his game in his own end and watch the hell out.

I've slowly been compiling a top prospects list, but I feel like it would be better served to wait until the end of November so I have more time to judge players.

Thanks, Satan. I'm doing the same as far as compiling a list of prospects, but I'm not really stack ranking at all yet. Way to early to get a bead on it. The top end of the draft this year is obviously extraordinary. It will be interesting to see how the quality of players looks in range that the Stars will be picking 18-24ish. You have any early opinions on how that range compares to last year's 18-24, and how it compares to say Honka at 14?

Also, I saw part of the latest Sea Dogs game against the Wildcats and saw Luke Green score. Looks to be one to keep an eye on for sure.

 

[Satan]

Honka is kind of making me eat crow. He's definitely a solid snag at 14, but this year's draft is shaping up to be similar to 2013, very very deep.

 

[Clardz]

Dallas scout Jiří Hrdina thinks Slovak d-man Erik Černák could be a good fit for the Stars:

http://www.hokej.sk/extraliga/clano..._Erikovi_Cernakovi_Ma_na_prve_kolo_draftu.htm

I can do a translation if anyone's interested

 

[OttMorrow]

Dallas scout Jiří Hrdina thinks Slovak d-man Erik Černák could be a good fit for the Stars:

http://www.hokej.sk/extraliga/clano..._Erikovi_Cernakovi_Ma_na_prve_kolo_draftu.htm

I can do a translation if anyone's interested

Please do translate. If our scout was really interested in the guy, why would he show his hand like that?

 

[Satan]

Used google translate and was able to understand most of it.

 

[BigG44]

According to the Google translate he walked a fine line of complimenting the player without saying he was exactly a fit for the Stars. The closest thing seemed to be him saying Dallas was aware of him for 2 years.

He seems to have been asked if the player was a good fit, but he defected by saying Dallas is a good place for all young players because of Jim Nill.

It is interesting that Hero ... that's awesome by the way ... I totally need to do something in my life where people refer to me as Hero ... anyway he mentioned that he could be a 1st or 2nd round pick. Hertl had a ton of success getting drafted straight out of the Czech league. I'd love to see more guys succeed with that country. The Czech youth program gets dumped on quite a bit, and it seems like most of the brightest prospects come to the CHL or even other European programs like Sweden U20 and then get shunned by the country. I don't like that shunning aspect of their program. It punishes their U20 program more than anything, but it would be nice to see the other big hockey countries get even better to challenge the Russia, Sweden, and Canada. That'd only make the WJC keep getting bigger and better.

EDIT: Just realized he's from Slovakia not Czech Republic. Hrdina is the Czech. Still, both do seem to lose a ton of talent to the CHL and other U20 leagues. I'm not sure if the Slovaks have the same mindset of not letting those players always play for the national team though so that could be irrelevant.

Who was the last big top prospect Slovak in a draft? I honestly can't think of one recently.

 

[BigG44]

That guy was the captain of Slovakia's U-18 team as a 17 year old. Nice. Plus he's a right shot.

 

[Satan]

Marko Dano was probably the last Slovakian top prospect.

 

[Clardz]

Here's my translation, might be a little rough here or there but a little easier to get than Google's version:

""Dallas Scout Jiri Hdrdina on Erik Černák: "He's a first rounder."

Scouts for NHL clubs are increasingly catching games of HC Košice. Catching their attention in a jersey of the Slovak champions is 17 year old defender Erik Černák. In a game against Piest’any was the legendary Czech player Jiri Hrdina, who works as a scout for the Dallas Stars and was curious for the Košice player with number 14.

A handful of NHL scouts have been in the stands over the course of several HC Košice games at Steel Arena. At wednesday’s Champions League game against Cologne there was also Oto Haščák, a scout for the New York Rangers, who was also at the Extraliga game against Piestany.

“I came to see the defenseman Erik Černák, who is a big talent. We’ve known about him for two years already.” revealed Hrdina. “This year is special because after this season, he could be drafted. I’ve seen him play several times, most recently against Skalica.” he added.

Černák just had his seventeenth birthday in May, and had already seen regular time with the big club (as opposed to the U18 and U20 Košice squads). He played about 20 games in the Extraliga including the playoffs; this year his coach Anton Tomko gives him an opportunity in every game. Scouts from overseas clubs see in him many positives, which Hrdina sees as well.

“He has great character, he is a great skater. He has excellent understanding of the game and is very good both defensively and offensively. He is a complete defenseman and in this day and age, every team needs one. If he doesn’t go in the first round, then definitely in the second. Quality defensmen who know how to make quick decisions with the puck are rare, there’s never enough of them; and therefore I think that he will be very sought-after.” predicts Hrdina

In the draft, which will take place at the end of June 2015 in Florida, is still a ways away and Černák’s position there depends on his play in the current season.

According to Hrdina, the young Košice defender could improve his physical play. He has the ability to do it.

“I already saw him play last season, especially at the junior level, in which he dominated. His game didn’t have many flaws, but he could make better use of his physical gifts. The former Czech national team player (Hrdina) could see Černák on the Dallas Stars, for whom he works.

“I think the Dallas Stars is a good destination for young players. The new GM Jim Nill builds through the draft and although we brought in some free agents, many young guys get a chance” said Hrdina.

Černák himself saw the attention of scouts at the games. He’s aware of his position and would like to be the next young Slovak to succeed in the NHL.

“In every game I try my best and I hope I’ll do well in the draft. My dream club is Chicago, but I would be happy just to be picked by any team in the NHL” said Černák""

Martin Reway is possibly the youngest Slovak prospect considered to have strong upside. He put up good numbers in the Q and is playing in the Czech league so he can get experience against men. Tomáš Jurčo had a pretty good amount of hype in his draft year although he slipped to the second round.

Slovakia has had a hard time producing players that can hang in North America at quite the same rate as the Czechs, who even then, aren't too far ahead. And as mentioned a lot of them go overseas to the CHL or to Sweden (Jakub Vrana being a good example.) Slovakia has a team, HK Orange 20 who are all jr age players that compete against the other men's teams in the Slovak Extraliga, but don't compete in the playoffs. It's geared towards having young guys get experience against men, and a main reason behind it is keeping Slovakia in the World Juniors, but often times clubs want to keep their homegrown talent (like Černák) or they get poached up to the Czech or Swedish leagues, or the KHL (in Dano's case)

Also Big44, Hrdina means Hero in Czech and Slovak, so Jiří's name literally translated would be "George Hero"

 

[BigG44]

That's funny about his name. I liked it better though when I thought the guy was calling him Hero.

Thank you for the easier to read translation.

I assumed the Czech and Slovak men's league's were pretty even. That's brutal that even the Czech's are poaching Slovakian players.

Really does seem like Sweden though is really putting an emphasis on scouting and signing European talent.

 

[OttMorrow]

Anybody seen Ryan Pilon play? This guy looks interesting. The son of Rich Pilon, I do believe.


Stats so far in the WHL this season:

D, 6'2, 212 lbs Shoots: Left

16 GP
4 G
14 A
18 PTS
15 PIM
+11

Scouting Report:

"A do-it-all, minute-munching, dependable defenseman…a pretty good skater…has a strong base, and powers through his strides and transitions…doesn't have a dynamic skill set, but he has poise and many tools to get the job done in many situations…distributes passes crisply and with purpose…good patience and makes smart/safe decisions…has a good shot that is deceptively strong and hits the net consistently…has a definite physical edge as he throws some big hits and stands up for teammates; has a nasty streak…forte is in the defensive zone with positioning and ability to eliminate attacking players."

- Futureconsiderations.ca

 

[Stars99Lobo37]

Changed this into the draft thread...and added poll.

Tank.

 

[Noodletoro]

Tank.

 

[SonicSpeedDash]

Tank.

 

[piqued]

You can never go wrong voting 11th-15th.

 

[Hull Fan]

Anyone got a scouting report on Nick Merkley? The last guy to play for Kelowna and eventually Dallas turned out well. Is he a 1st round guy? It's not easy for a rookie to lead the WHL in scoring, no matter how good his team is.

 

[WhoahNow]

Anyone got a scouting report on Nick Merkley? The last guy to play for Kelowna and eventually Dallas turned out well. Is he a 1st round guy? It's not easy for a rookie to lead the WHL in scoring, no matter how good his team is.

I live in Kelowna and have seen him play a few times. He's a real cerebral player, doesnt have great size, but plays very smart. I'd say he is a solid late 1st round pick, but if he was a few inches taller would be an easy top 15 pick. Very smooth and intelligent, while also is rather feisty.

I find it hard to rate individual players on teams such as Kelowna as they are arguably one of the top teams in the country and stacked at every position.