2017 NHL Entry Draft - Let the Prospect Sleuthing Begin

[LaymanX]

Hmm.. maybe not Russia as that region is heavily scouted already, but some non traditional hockey markets like Slovenia or something?

 

[93LEAFS]

Hmm.. maybe not Russia as that region is heavily scouted already, but some non traditional hockey markets like Slovenia or something?

Scouting in russia is extremely difficult and most teams don't have more than one full time scout dedicated to the area. Let alone that some teams won't even touch a Russian who has a KHL contract. Scouting Russia is very difficult because unlike other leagues the teams aren't co-operative all, so getting quality info is always difficult. That's before even getting into the shady situations with agents.

Almost any good player from an area like Slovenia will move to a better league by the time they are draft eligible. Kopitar was in Sweden when he was drafted.

 

[Field of Dreams]

Why do you say its a weak draft year??

Because it lacks obvious franchise talent like the previous two drafts, ie Mcdavid Matthews Eichel.
This draft does appear to have good depth in the first round.
This draft lacking obvious franchise talent likely doesn't affect us given our trajectory this season.

 

[FifthLine]

Because it lacks obvious franchise talent like the previous two drafts, ie Mcdavid Matthews Eichel.
This draft does appear to have good depth in the first round.
This draft lacking obvious franchise talent likely doesn't affect us given our trajectory this season.

This is pretty much how I see it. It only really lacks the franchise guys in the top 3. But I don't see us picking there so it doesn't really effect us imo.

 

[realgoodleafs]

Except, no one outside of Liljegren has clear top pairing potential. You don't seem to grasp that, Hague is raw, and Foote is nice, but he's more likely a good top 4 defender. Realize he just broke the .5ppg mark as an 18-year-old in the WHL. That usually doesn't scream top pair defender. That is before even factoring in that defencemen are much more high risk in projection than a forward.

I'm also not talking about Shattenkirk, I'm talking about targeting the middle tier of UFA's (for example Michael Stone), not the very top. Our top 2 defensemen are either in their first year in the league or still haven't turned 23. Our main issue is lacking a top 4 RHD, and we have a terrible bottom pairing. Those are fixable by development and going after UFA's.

Hopefully we can deal Bozak at the deadline for a late first and we'll have more flexibility. I won't mind a winger as our first pick if we add a couple defencemen in the 1st and 2nd round.

 

[93LEAFS]

Hopefully we can deal Bozak at the deadline for a late first and we'll have more flexibility. I won't mind a winger as our first pick if we add a couple defencemen in the 1st and 2nd round.

I doubt we get a 1st for Bozak. His value is decreased because he has to be protected in the expansion draft. I think the best we can hope for is a playoff's team 2nd and a B prospect.

 

[bobermay]

The top of the draft isn't on par with 2016, 2015 and 2013 entering the year. The best players have all missed significant time (Patrick, Liljegren, Vilardi), the only serious riser at the moment is Nico Hischier (in regards to the top 10).

I generally believe that if the top 10 of a draft is weak, it generally will be weak overall. The reason for this is, outside of extreme outliers (see 2003 draft) all drafts perform close to the same after the top 10 picks, so how good a draft will be is generally determined by the very top. Every top prospect has a pretty serious question mark next to their name (at the moment there is no Eichel, Matthews, McDavid, Laine, Mackinnon, S. Jones). This draft could be like 2014, where the top 10 surprises due to depth, but more likely it is closer to 2012 or in a slightly better case scenario 2011. Nolan Patricks injury issues have made it a bit difficult. Entering the year he could be viewed similar to how Ekblad was in 2014 (funny how everyone tries to play it like they knew he was a generational defender now, or at least entering the year). That doesn't mean there won't be great players selected, but the odds of it are probably lower. Remember P. Kane and Ekblad weren't considered consensus number 1's in weaker draft years. Also, a lot of the top players in this draft currently play wing or are projected to play there.

Because it lacks obvious franchise talent like the previous two drafts, ie Mcdavid Matthews Eichel.
This draft does appear to have good depth in the first round.
This draft lacking obvious franchise talent likely doesn't affect us given our trajectory this season.

Thanks.

I agree that the top end talent may not be the same, but I still think there will be really good players drafted. With Hunter at the helm, and ~Top 10 pick, I think we should make out well.

 

[realgoodleafs]

I doubt we get a 1st for Bozak. His value is decreased because he has to be protected in the expansion draft. I think the best we can hope for is a playoff's team 2nd and a B prospect.

Are you sure? This article http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/official-nhl-expansion-draft-exempt-list-contains-surprises/ says only Nathan Horton has to be protected.

 

[93LEAFS]

Are you sure? This article http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/official-nhl-expansion-draft-exempt-list-contains-surprises/ says only Nathan Horton has to be protected.

Meant that if a team trades for Bozak its a pure rental trade unless they want to protect him. Bozak for a year and a half is more valuable than the remainder of the year, and most playoff teams will already have difficulties on deciding who to keep.

As for Horton, at the moment we have to protect him, but in the end he won't qualify because his injuries will disqualify him.

 

[realgoodleafs]

Meant that if a team trades for Bozak its a pure rental trade unless they want to protect him. Bozak for a year and a half is more valuable than the remainder of the year, and most playoff teams will already have difficulties on deciding who to keep.

As for Horton, at the moment we have to protect him, but in the end he won't qualify because his injuries will disqualify him.

Oh I see what you mean. I guess it depends on the team. Some might want a pure rental. I'd settle for a second anyways.

 

[Voodoo Child]

I keep hearing this draft 'lacks elite talent', in hfboards of all places?

Great players come out of every draft. If we're drafting high, unless we get our socks knocked off with an unbelievable offer, like Seth Jones or Justin Faulk or whatever, keep the pick.

In ideally 3 or 4 years time when the leafs are good enough to be picking in the 20-30 range, then we can talk about moving 1sts.

 

[Kiwi]

Except, no one outside of Liljegren has clear top pairing potential. You don't seem to grasp that, Hague is raw, and Foote is nice, but he's more likely a good top 4 defender. Realize he just broke the .5ppg mark as an 18-year-old in the WHL. That usually doesn't scream top pair defender. That is before even factoring in that defencemen are much more high risk in projection than a forward.

I'm also not talking about Shattenkirk, I'm talking about targeting the middle tier of UFA's (for example Michael Stone), not the very top. Our top 2 defensemen are either in their first year in the league or still haven't turned 23. Our main issue is lacking a top 4 RHD, and we have a terrible bottom pairing. Those are fixable by development and going after UFA's.

We're going to be bidding against half the league to get Stone
That contract is going to be ugly in term and dollars

We have Rielly as a top pair guy Zaitsev and Gardiner as second pair guys and maybe Carrick as a second pair guy in the future
Dermott could be a second pair guy in the future and Nielson has some nice tools but has skating issues
After that there's bottom pair guys and filler but maybe Valiev could get to second pair with a lot of luck maybe Greenway if he gets his head on straight
That's thin to downright bad
What people don't seem to grasp here is that if we continue down this road either our D is going to suck or were going to have to make a Hall for Larsson type desperation trade

 

[93LEAFS]

We're going to be bidding against half the league to get Stone
That contract is going to be ugly in term and dollars

We have Rielly as a top pair guy Zaitsev and Gardiner as second pair guys and maybe Carrick as a second pair guy in the future
Dermott could be a second pair guy in the future and Nielson has some nice tools but has skating issues
After that there's bottom pair guys and filler but maybe Valiev could get to second pair with a lot of luck maybe Greenway if he gets his head on straight
That's thin to downright bad
What people don't seem to grasp here is that if we continue down this road either our D is going to suck or were going to have to make a Hall for Larsson type desperation trade

What you don't seem to grasp is that we are unlikely to get a top pairing player at the top of the draft outside of Liljegren, and that is the only obvious hole. Also, no team is going to trade us a legitimate top pairing RHD for our current pick. You don't ever draft for need at the top of the draft. You listen to your scouts. The biggest mistake the Oilers made (who you seem to want to compare us to, even though they never had a D with the talent of Rielly when rebuilding), was having either ownership or the GM overrule the scouts and take Yakupov over Murray (scouts were in favor of Murray). Do you think the Oilers regret taking Leon Draisaitl over Haydn Fleury? I sure as hell doubt it, and they still would have made that Hall for Larsson trade.

Also, the D outside of Timothy Liljegren aren't elite or high-end skaters.

 

[93LEAFS]

At the 5 minute mark, McKenzie talks about this drafts Defencemen.

http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-105...leafs-best-player-so-far-this-season-1.616281

He doesn't make it sound like we should be prioritizing defenders at this draft.

 

[Menzinger]

Because it lacks obvious franchise talent like the previous two drafts, ie Mcdavid Matthews Eichel.
This draft does appear to have good depth in the first round.
This draft lacking obvious franchise talent likely doesn't affect us given our trajectory this season.

The other thing too is I feel the few defensemen who are slated to likely go in the first round are all getting overrated due to their rarity.

I don't like any D men in this draft as much as I liked provorov and werenski for example.

 

[Kiwi]

What you don't seem to grasp is that we are unlikely to get a top pairing player at the top of the draft outside of Liljegren, and that is the only obvious hole. Also, no team is going to trade us a legitimate top pairing RHD for our current pick. You don't ever draft for need at the top of the draft. You listen to your scouts. The biggest mistake the Oilers made (who you seem to want to compare us to, even though they never had a D with the talent of Rielly when rebuilding), was having either ownership or the GM overrule the scouts and take Yakupov over Murray (scouts were in favor of Murray). Do you think the Oilers regret taking Leon Draisaitl over Haydn Fleury? I sure as hell doubt it, and they still would have made that Hall for Larsson trade.

Also, the D outside of Timothy Liljegren aren't elite or high-end skaters.

Very few players in this draft dont have major question marks hanging over there heads
Some have injuries others have holes in there games in other areas
Saying any player in the 5/15 range is a sure thing over another seems like a gigantic step to me
None of those players will be in all likely hood
Just remember this we don't have to draft defenceman but we're going to pay the piper at some stage
Your right our first won't get us a top line RD that's why either Marner or Nylander is going to end up going out the door

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Because it lacks obvious franchise talent like the previous two drafts, ie Mcdavid Matthews Eichel.
This draft does appear to have good depth in the first round.
This draft lacking obvious franchise talent likely doesn't affect us given our trajectory this season.

Patrick seems like a legitimate franchise player, he just got injured.

However, Liljegren and Foote both seem like legitimate guys who deserve to go in the ranges they are projected to go into, and are exactly the range we'll be drafting in. They may not be ready to jump straight into the NHL, but we can afford to give them time since we'll likely pick up a 2nd pairing RD for a few years anyways.

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

Very few players in this draft dont have major question marks hanging over there heads
Some have injuries others have holes in there games in other areas
Saying any player in the 5/15 range is a sure thing over another seems like a gigantic step to me
None of those players will be in all likely hood
Just remember this we don't have to draft defenceman but we're going to pay the piper at some stage
Your right our first won't get us a top line RD that's why either Marner or Nylander is going to end up going out the door

Even though there are questions marks potentially placed on every player in this draft, there some players who have less questions marks than others, there are some players who have higher potential than others and there are some players who some may believe can overcome the question marks.

Based on what I've seen, the best players in this draft are forwards rather than defensemen. Especially in the 1st round pick, you never go with need over BPA. You allow your scouts to do their job and pick who they think is the best player available.

Maybe we're able to draft a forward that allows us to trade a Nylander for a defensemen in the near future. With all the prospects that we're stocking up, it gives our GM a big advantage. Maybe, we're able to pull a blockbuster. Also, every successful organization will have to find a gem in the late rounds. At some point, we can't just depend on our 1st round picks turning into gold. So since there are so many moving parts the bottom line is, don't change your draft approach/strategy and just let things play out

 

[LV*]

I cant wait till we add another shiny new blue chip prospect to our collection

 

[RedHead Kingpin]

We're going to be bidding against half the league to get Stone
That contract is going to be ugly in term and dollars

We have Rielly as a top pair guy Zaitsev and Gardiner as second pair guys and maybe Carrick as a second pair guy in the future
Dermott could be a second pair guy in the future and Nielson has some nice tools but has skating issues
After that there's bottom pair guys and filler but maybe Valiev could get to second pair with a lot of luck maybe Greenway if he gets his head on straight
That's thin to downright bad
What people don't seem to grasp here is that if we continue down this road either our D is going to suck or were going to have to make a Hall for Larsson type desperation trade

Thus is the second time that you've posted about some sort of off ice or head space issue with Greenway. What does this stem from? What have you heard? Just curious.

 

[Johny Drama]

I keep hearing this draft 'lacks elite talent', in hfboards of all places?

Great players come out of every draft. If we're drafting high, unless we get our socks knocked off with an unbelievable offer, like Seth Jones or Justin Faulk or whatever, keep the pick.

In ideally 3 or 4 years time when the leafs are good enough to be picking in the 20-30 range, then we can talk about moving 1sts.

Definitely lacking high end talent in this draft compared to McDavid, Eichel, Matthews, Laine etc, but seems to be a quite a bit of depth. Looks to me, there is every chance you could get just as good a player picking 15th as you could at 5th.

There is also a pretty decent crop of goaltenders in this draft. About 6 or 7 who could go anywere from bottom of first round to middle of the 2nd round. Hoping we can grab one in the 2nd round.

 

[Johny Drama]

We're going to be bidding against half the league to get Stone
That contract is going to be ugly in term and dollars

We have Rielly as a top pair guy Zaitsev and Gardiner as second pair guys and maybe Carrick as a second pair guy in the future
Dermott could be a second pair guy in the future and Nielson has some nice tools but has skating issues
After that there's bottom pair guys and filler but maybe Valiev could get to second pair with a lot of luck maybe Greenway if he gets his head on straight
That's thin to downright bad
What people don't seem to grasp here is that if we continue down this road either our D is going to suck or were going to have to make a Hall for Larsson type desperation trade

Its not that bad. I think people get too caught up on labeling players as a top pairing/bottom pairing player etc. I think we lack a good defensive dman who can play that shutdown role and also a defenceman who has a great shot on the PP.

We have Reilly already, who looks like a core piece. Improvement from Zaitsev Gardiner Carrick in next 2 years isn't out of the question, so that leaves only 2 spots to fill to round out the blueline. So all we really need is 2 players out of Nielsen, Dermott, Greenway, Valiev and Lindgren to become NHLers, adding in future drafts and potential to sign players either UFA's or free wallets similar to Zaitsev, and of course the trade route.

Personally, I would look to place a priority on defencemen in the mid to later rounds of this year's draft. Would also entertain the idea of moving JVR after the new year for a defenceman. I like the idea of JVR for Hamonic.

 

[Keep Sorokin Me Babe]

According to Arthur Staple who is the most reliable Islanders insider, they rejected Hall for Hamonic, we're definitely not getting him with JVR lol

Man, this draft is looking so underwhelming, what a buzzkill. I noticed a trend where up-and-coming teams have a surge of a season making the playoffs, then fall back to earth the season after (kind of like a sophomore slump) before becoming a consistently good team. I was hoping this would be our playoffs year, and next year with the stacked draft is our slump year, if we get one

 

[Field of Dreams]

I doubt we get a 1st for Bozak. His value is decreased because he has to be protected in the expansion draft. I think the best we can hope for is a playoff's team 2nd and a B prospect.

Bozak is a good 2nd line centre, which holds higher value both to our team and to other teams than that package.
If we have to trade him, which I hope we don't, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised with the return.

 

[Cor]

According to Arthur Staple who is the most reliable Islanders insider, they rejected Hall for Hamonic, we're definitely not getting him with JVR lol

Man, this draft is looking so underwhelming, what a buzzkill. I noticed a trend where up-and-coming teams have a surge of a season making the playoffs, then fall back to earth the season after (kind of like a sophomore slump) before becoming a consistently good team. I was hoping this would be our playoffs year, and next year with the stacked draft is our slump year, if we get one

They also rejected that back in the summer.

2 months into the season and it's become apparent they need a forward. JVR is a solid fit.

There's a thread on the main board on a deal around JVR + Kappy for Hamonic + Mayfield (with Halak for Polak as toss ins) and Isles fans seem happy with it as well.