2016 NHL Draft Thread II

[CanadianFlyer88]

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[Appleyard]

Figured it was about time to post my top 30 for the draft as it stands... next few months it will be top 60 like last year, then a top 100 a few days before the draft.

Good starter for the thread to get it off on a note actually about the draft as well and encourage discussion.

Here goes:

#1: Auston Matthews: USA: 6'2, 194lbs. C. LHS
#2: Patrik Laine: FIN: 6'4, 209lbs. LW/RW. RHS.
#3: Jesse Puljujärvi: FIN: 6'3, 201lbs. RW/LW. RHS.
#4: Matthew Tkachuk: USA: 6'1, 187lbs. LW. LHS.
#5: Alexander Nylander: SWE: 6'0, 172lbs. RW/LW. RHS.
#6: Jakob Chychrun: CAN: 6'2, 194lbs. LD. LHS.
#7: Olli Juolevi: FIN: 6'2, 185lbs. LD. LHS.
#8: Mikhail Sergaychov: RUS: 6'2, 205lbs. LD. LHS.
#9: Pierre Luc-Dubois: CAN: 6'3, 201lbs. C/LW. LHS.
#10: Julien Gauthier: CAN: 6'4, 220lbs. RW. RHS.
#11: German Rubtsov: RUS: 6'1, 174lbs. C/LW. LHS.
#12: Clayton Keller: USA: 5'10, 168lbs. C/LW. LHS.
#13: Kieffer Bellows: USA: 6'1, 194lbs. LW/C. LHS.
#14: Michael McLeod: CAN: 6'2, 187lbs. C. RHS.
#15: Max Jones: USA: 6'3, 201lbs. LW. LHS.
#16: Dante Fabbro: CAN: 6'1, 190lbs. RD. RHS.
#17: Tyson Jost: CAN: 6'0, 194lbs. C/LW/RW. LHS.
#18: Charlie McAvoy: USA: 6'0, 205lbs. RD. RHS.
#19: Tyler Benson: CAN: 6'1, 201lbs. LW. LHS.
#20: Luke Kunin: USA: 6'1, 196lbs. C/RW. RHS.
#21: Rasmus Asplund: SWE: 6'0, 180lbs. C/LW. LHS.
#22: Jake Bean: CAN: 6'1, 175lbs. RD/LD. LHS.
#23: Logan Brown: CAN. 6'6, 222lbs, LW/C. LHS.
#24: William Bitten: CAN. 5'10, 168lbs. C. RHS.
#25: Dillon Dubé: CAN: 5'10, 181lbs. C/LW. LHS.
#26: Vitali Abramov: RUS: 5'9, 170lbs. LW. LHS.
#27: Jonathan Dahlen: SWE: 5'11, 176lbs. LW/C. LHS.
#28: Chad Krys: USA: 5'11, 185lbs. LD. LHS.
#29: Sam Steel: CAN: 5'11, 176lbs. C. LHS.
#30: Alex DeBrincat: USA: 5'7, 161lbs. RW/C. RHS.

 

[onlylordsvsmorebp]

how good is logan brown? 6'6"/222

 

[FLYguy3911]

how good is logan brown? 6'6"/222

Not good enough to make Canada's u18 Hlinka team.

 

[CodyTheHuman]

Appleyard, what's so special about Tkachuk? I don't ever see any London Kights games, but a lot of people are very high on him.

 

[Grare]

Patrik Laine please (if things go south)
Haven't had a legit sniper since Carter, & half his shots missed the net & rang around the boards so he doesn't even count

 

[Rebels57]

Love seeing those LW's in our expected draft range!

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Appleyard, what's so special about Tkachuk? I don't ever see any London Kights games, but a lot of people are very high on him.

He reminds me of Corey Perry, not the greatest of skaters but just wreaks havoc around the goal line. He plays with some edge & likes to agitate too.

Some compare him to his dad but I don't think he plays that true power forward game.

 

[Rebels57]

He reminds me of Corey Perry, not the greatest of skaters but just wreaks havoc around the goal line. He plays with some edge & likes to agitate too.

Good comparison. Hes a finisher without the flashiness..much like Perry

 

[onlylordsvsmorebp]

in buttons mock draft he had us taking gauthier...is he exclusively a rw?

 

[CodyTheHuman]

Tkachuk as Perry sounds pretty good. I'm a fan of Perry.

 

[whitstifier]

Puljujarvi looks incredible from the 2015 & 2016 WJC video I've seen. Just doesn't stop going.

 

[FLYguy3911]

He reminds me of Corey Perry, not the greatest of skaters but just wreaks havoc around the goal line. He plays with some edge & likes to agitate too.

Some compare him to his dad but I don't think he plays that true power forward game.

Playmaker in a power forward's body. Needs to gain a step or two to take his game to the next level. Some elements of his game remind me of Schenn.

 

[CutOnDime97]

Here's a guy we won't be able to draft.

 

[whitstifier]

Here's a guy we won't be able to draft.

It's possible. Top three are lotto picks. Can't go wrong with either Laine or Puljujarvi.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Here's a guy we won't be able to draft

Not with that attitude we won't.

 

[CutOnDime97]

It's possible. Top three are lotto picks. Can't go wrong with either Laine or Puljujarvi.

They changed it?

 

[whitstifier]

They changed it?

Flyers have a 10% chance at a top 3 pick

 

[CutOnDime97]

Flyers have a 10% chance at a top 3 pick

Ah ok, did not realize they changed the lottery system.


http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=728795

Beginning in 2016, the Draft Lottery will be utilized to assign the top three drafting slots in the NHL Draft, an expansion over previous years when the Draft Lottery was used to determine the winner of the first overall selection only.

Three draws will be held: the 1st Lottery draw will determine the Club selecting first overall, the 2nd Lottery draw will determine the Club selecting second overall and the 3rd Lottery draw will determine the club selecting third overall.

 

[Appleyard]

how good is logan brown? 6'6"/222

Not as good as everyone thought he would be at this point tbh. He was thought to be a potential top 10 pick until not too long ago.

His skating needs improvement (top end speed & acceleration, the other areas are fine, and he skates pretty smoothly and is agile for size.) and he does not play as physically as you would like really for a big that big.

It is hard not to see the potential though... he has really nice hands, sees the play really well, great passer, is a monster on the boards and at protecting puck, has a heavy shot but uses it far less than he should.

He is a project for sure... he seems a bit 'lackadaisical' at times and game by game you can watch him and think 'wow, this kid is awesome' or 'Jeez, this kid sucks.'

But if you buy into him being able to improve his skating (his technique is not bad, so you hope it will come with simply getting older+some power skating) and be more assertive/engaged with play as he matures he could be a real player down the line.

in buttons mock draft he had us taking gauthier...is he exclusively a rw?

I have never seen him play LW tbh.

He is however right shooting and a great goalscorer. It would not surprise me too much if he could adapt to LW quite easily.

 

[Appleyard]

Love seeing those LW's in our expected draft range!

I have a hard time 'disliking' any of the forwards that likely go in the range we pick:

Dubois
Gauthier
Rubtsov
Keller
Bellows
McLeod
Jones
Jost

are all pretty darn good players who 'should' all go between ~8-20 most likely (though 1 may go earlier than that, 1 later), all have obviously good skill-sets and obvious high end potential... 6/8 of those guys have played LW at some point as well. (to the best of my knowledge Gauthier & McLeod are only ones who have now.)

 

[Stizzle]

#11: German Rubtsov: RUS: 6'1, 174lbs. C/LW. LHS.
#12: Clayton Keller: USA: 5'10, 168lbs. C/LW. LHS.
#13: Kieffer Bellows: USA: 6'1, 194lbs. LW/C. LHS.
#14: Michael McLeod: CAN: 6'2, 187lbs. C. RHS.

These 4 guys are speaking to me. It's early, but if given odds and assuming we hold position, I might bet on one of this group ending up in orange and black. I'd count Dubois in this group as well but I think he'll be gone unless we fall back a bit.

#16: Dante Fabbro: CAN: 6'1, 190lbs. RD. RHS.
#18: Charlie McAvoy: USA: 6'0, 205lbs. RD. RHS.

RHD, so automatically I have interest if we can snag another 1st somehow. McAvoy has looked very solid from what I've seen. Fabbro, I've never seen.

#20: Luke Kunin: USA: 6'1, 196lbs. C. RHS.

Interesting player I need to see more of other than just the AAPG from early this year that was on NHLN. I'm intrigued.

#29: Sam Steel: CAN: 5'11, 176lbs. C. LHS.

I've seen him play a good amount. Now I'm far from an expert on the guy, but he has never impressed me. He seems very average, and nothing stands out to me.

 

[CutOnDime97]

Interesting player I need to see more of other than just the AAPG from early this year that was on NHLN. I'm intrigued.

Wisconsin is on the Big Ten Network quite a bit.

 

[Chinatown88]

I really want another first round pick. I'm actually liking the forward depth in this draft. Hopefully Hextall has some more tricks up his sleeve.

 

[Appleyard]

These 4 guys are speaking to me. It's early, but if given odds and assuming we hold position, I might bet on one of this group ending up in orange and black. I'd count Dubois in this group as well but I think he'll be gone unless we fall back a bit.

I would add Jones & Jost to that group too... I do not think they are too far off and both have great, 1st line, 60+ point potential. I would be happy to see either in O&B... and while I like Bellows (he may be the 2nd best 'natural' goal-scorer in the draft after Laine... he just knows how to get in position for shots and has a beauty of a shot to go with good skating, goes to the net and works hard around it) I could understand why a team could think either Jost or Jones may end up better players.

RHD, so automatically I have interest if we can snag another 1st somehow. McAvoy has looked very solid from what I've seen. Fabbro, I've never seen.

Fabbro I have only seen some clips of an a Hlinka game or two... he plays a really mature game. Mobile, good IQ and has no obvious flaws.

Interesting player I need to see more of other than just the AAPG from early this year that was on NHLN. I'm intrigued.

He is a really likeable player when you watch him. Works hard, gritty, annoys opponents no end, always seems to find open space and is a good skater, solid on D too.

Not sure how much his offense will transfer to the next level... he is not as naturally obviously all-round offensively gifted as many of the guys pegged for 1st round and I do not think he will be 'the' guy on a line at any point. Though his shot is really, really good. I think he could end up as a great complimentary 2nd liner capable of 30 goals and 50 points, maybe even a 1st line 3rd wheel. I imagine he plays RW full-time at the next level. (he has played both C and RW I believe this year... did not properly put his position in the first post, I will go back and update/improve a few of the guys positions, most are copied and pasted from my own watch list I put together before start of season.)

I've seen him play a good amount. Now I'm far from an expert on the guy, but he has never impressed me. He seems very average, and nothing stands out to me.

He has great vision and puck-handling and is a great skater... if he puts everything together he could be maybe a very good NHL playmaker. But he is soft, plays on the perimeter too much, does not use his shot enough.

I prefer both Bitten & Dube... similar size, neither probably have as good a natural offensive skill-set... but both are harder-working, better rounded and have that heart/drive I am not sure Steel has. Both are kind of in the ~Konecny mould in a way and I could see the Flyers drafting either if they got a late 1st or one fell into the 2nd. Both will end up at wing at a higher level, not sure which side in Bitten's case. (Dube already plays LW really now.)