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2018 Caps NHL Draft Thread

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Cush

Cush

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Langway said:
Could be a good case for teams to move down unless they're married to Their Guy. That should make it particularly unpredictable. And fun.

I'd be kind of surprised if they outright targeted another defenseman in the first round. I could see the fit with Samuelsson, particularly if they're sold on his upside. I could also see it with Alexeyev in terms of his frame and upside but less so with those two smaller Swedes. Sandin comes across as too similar to Djoos in some respects and Lundkvist probably profiles as more of a two-way guy without a true standout strength. I'd also wonder if they did that what it might say about their thoughts on the AHL rookie seasons from Johansen & Siegenthaler, two players they already invested fairly high picks on.

After the top 20, I'd still tend to think that Lundestrom, Dellandrea, the three NTDP d-men and Sandin will be off the board prior to 31 at least. It kind of sucks that Denisenko & Bokk seem to be locks to go earlier but I do like Foudy, O'Brien, Berggren & Alexeyev. If they slip, there is some intrigue with McLeod (albeit as one of the older players available) and Thomas (even though as CHLers maybe they're less likely targets). So I'd mainly be narrowing it down to those four fringe first rounders unless it really does open up and someone slides (aside from Sandin).
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Last 15 pics: 9 D / 5 F / 1 G
 
Langway

Langway

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Cush said:
Last 15 pics: 9 D / 5 F / 1 G
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Yeah but I can't believe it's sustainable. They did more heavily go with forwards in 2014 but particularly if Carlson & Kempny are locked up I'd be much more selective with D than they maybe have been recently. They do have a near-term need for players that can be trusted in any particular situation, whether it's a forward or D selected. I would have hoped with more recent defensemen they would have done a better job of zeroing in on that level of all-around hockey sense than earlier returns suggest and that tends to limit overall upside. We'll see. Maybe Reirden can straighten that out in time but that's an extensive process, particularly if mainly occurring at the NHL level. I'm not sure that level of cerebral D will be there at 31. Alexeyev is a lot further along offensively than Samuelsson and at least has the frame and tools to be a strong defensive player so he would make sense in terms of upside IMO. Mostly, I'd like to see more overall prioritizing of trustworthy all-around forwards than they have for some time via the draft. Aside from Stephenson, their recent record is pretty thin. AJF is tracking as well as anyone else in that regard but there's ample room for more. That level of versatility carries significant value while also ideally translating into simple and effective playoff style hockey.

I think they need to steer away a bit from more raw, toolsy types with suspect toolboxes and more toward consistency and all-around maturity without sacrificing speed or all-around hockey sense. Not that any draft-eligible player is a finished product but I'd be less inclined to select a more one-dimensional type unless the upside is massive. I don't quite think they've hit that balance as well recently. I think at times they've undervalued the hockey sense and determination required to be a higher motor, more consistent and complete player. There's development wrapped up in there as well, of course, and I'd hesitate to form universal rules when putting together a draft board. There will always be exceptions but that general vision should inform things more IMO.
 
EroCaps

EroCaps

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The Habs and Sens situations remind me so much of the Redskins. Passionate fan bases, incompetent, vain management that can't resist the impulse to make short-term fixes.

...and I'm all about Boqvist. Kid is going to be a star for the next decade +, and would be picked #2 if he were an inch or two taller. Which is considerably less relevant in today's game.
 
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Langway

Langway

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EroCaps said:
...and I'm all about Boqvist. Kid is going to be a star for the next decade +, and would be picked #2 if he were an inch or two taller. Which is considerably less relevant in today's game.
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Given that a smaller defenseman in Hughes may very well go before him, I'm not sure that's the concern. I do think there's a case to be made that he has as much upside as anyone beyond the top two but it's also a fairly muddled group from 3-12 or so.
 

Brucelenok

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Assuming Caps trading Gruby and let's say getting 12th overall, they have to take Kravtsov if he is not gone by then. He will be the steal of the draft, just like Kuzy back in a day and may be end up top 3-5 of this draft in 4-5 years. If they end up drafting 31st, I hope they will draft Alexeyev. They need big shut-down defenseman in their prospect pool
 
Langway

Langway

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After taking some injuries out of consideration, I'm not sure there's all that much separating Wilde & Alexeyev. Alexeyev has a decent case for being the smarter and more consistent player. I could see Wilde sliding a good bit, not just due to his rather poor finish at the U18s but him not going to Michigan next season. He hasn't done a great deal to ward off players that have steadily climbed or matured as the season went along. It doesn't mean he can't have a big year next season, likely in the OHL, but there's enough to wonder about his toolbox and just how much past perceived upside remains on track. I'm not quite convinced the Caps are blueline whisperers just yet. It would be nice but it's hard to say, esp. when there's such organizational coaching turnover pending. It is rather awkward all things considered.

I might consider Merkley at 46, though that would mean many rebuilding and talent-starved teams passing. I'd prefer one of Berggren, Marchenko, Lauko or Hallander just because of less baggage but certainly there's a pure upside argument to make. I just have no idea how he'd handle adversity. In general, I'm not a huge fan of any of the non-top 20 ranked defensemen aside from Alexeyev being sort of interesting and then Miller having loads of raw potential as a late convert. I might prefer Regula or Perunovich in the third round over the more typical second round D options, in part because there are few all-around standouts. Johansson or Fehervary could be good but it also depends whether they'd want to target a more limited PKing type defender instead. It's just a more impressive forward group overall in terms of depth IMO, particularly for middle six forwards with some versatility. Maybe I'm just a harsher critic for defensemen but particularly given their existing organizational depth I'd not take guys without being impressed by their complete game and all-around hockey sense. It can be developed in time but there's something to be said for an advanced instinctual grasp of the game.

To sum up based on McKenzie's rough rundown of closer possibilities I'd be hoping for Foudy, Alexeyev, maybe Samuelsson, O'Brien or Berggren at 31. And then Olofsson, Marchenko, Lauko, Nordgren, Hallander or Gustafsson at 46. When put like that it goes to show how little separation there is between the two groups. It's conceivable that McLeod or Wilde drops to 31 but even then I'm not sure there's a tremendous gap there. It would take something on the level of Dellandrea or Miller sliding for there to be a home run option at 31 I think. That's assuming Denisenko lacks a Russian Factor and I believe he did tell teams at the combine he's playing in NA next season.
 
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Langway

Langway

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Pretty good piece on the US NTDP. The article doesn't go into too much detail on some of their depth guys but Tyler Weiss is a guy I like in the middle rounds. Patrick Giles is a local kid with good size that should also go in the middle rounds. Someone asked about Pivonka a while back and I think he's more of a mid-to-late pick. He's a serviceable defensive center and PKer but needs to work on his skating and offensive skills. He's headed to Notre Dame so you know he'll further refine his defensive game there but his all-around upside probably limits him as a mid-rounder at best.
 
artilector

artilector

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I definitely think the Caps should go hunting for underrated Europeans at this point.

Firstly, they just won the Cup (THEY WON THE CUP), so there should no complaints of "soft Euros" for a good while (poor Montreal, btw...)... hopefully the Caps have overcome the "fake toughness" syndrome that yields the Laichs and Brouwers of the world.

Secondly, hopefully for the next decade they'll have Tom F****** Wilson on patrol in the top-6, which really helps equalize things in that department. Equalize, neutralize, vaporize.... whatever the problem, Wilson is part of the solution, haha.

Thirdly, Euros are still underrated, methinks -- even if you just take Russia, the Kuznetsovs and Panarins still appear periodically. Finns and Czechs consistently field teams that are tough to crack, and yet sometimes look like afterthoughts in the draft, no? Etc... I mean, you just don't see top-tier NA talent slip through the cracks like the Euro guys.
 
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Langway

Langway

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Berggren is probably the closest thing to a European player that slips with a top 15 offensive skill set. There are some size concerns but I'd have no problem with that pick. He's a bit boom/bust and top six or nothing but he does compete and has a willingness to play bigger than his size. He'll need to pick his spots going forward and round out his defensive play but the skills and offensive IQ are fantastic.

I do think McLeod in particular could slide among North Americans and fit some of their profile, though they haven't drafted out of the OHL since Tom Wilson six years ago. McLeod gets dinged for being a perimeter player despite his size/skating and also being a relatively older player. But the size/skating are there and a shift to wing could help. Put him on the wing with skilled players and I think he's perhaps similar to Burakovsky with the potential of being brighter and more consistent. (Not a high bar, granted.) O'Brien may have some Oshie in his game and be knocked for his competition level relative to where his upside should dictate he goes. So it's possible there could be some NAs that either go a bit later than they should or that otherwise fit what they value in terms of tools.

Barring the unexpected, I'd predominantly be thinking Berggren & O'Brien when it comes to forwards at 31. There are other characteristics they could value when it comes to Foudy, Samuelsson &Alexeyev. Alexeyev probably has the best case to make in terms of upside. O'Brien & Alexeyev also probably have a safer floor than Berggren so to take Berggren they'd really have to believe in his tenacity and character to continue to work toward being an impact type talent at his size.
 
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Cush

Cush

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2018 NHL Mock Draft: Brady Tkachuk to Canadiens at No. 3? - Sportsnet.ca

And from there it’s jump ball with every teams’ list looking vastly different. The one thing they can all agree on, however, is there are as many as 50 different players that could get selected in the first round.

That’s crazy.

Furthermore, many teams seem to feel that they can get a player of equal value regardless if they pick 12th or 25th so expect teams to try and move down in the draft to collect assets.
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