2018 Caps NHL Draft Thread

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NobodyBeatsTheWiz

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I'm more and more on the Berggren train.

High-end IQ, motor, skating, and skill with the potential to play the pivot.

My biggest concern with him is: what am I missing? This looks like an Aho type that should be a consensus top-20 pick.
 

Langway

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Anybody else like center Rasmus Kupari from Finnland? From what I have read he has elite speed and great offensive skills, but lacks hockey sense.
I think he's more of a winger due to the sense and consistency stuff. He's not bad...definitely a good skater. I have him toward the end of the top 20 so for he's unlikely to be BPA at 11/12 or 16 should Colorado perhaps acquire 4 and have interest in Grubauer. Maybe Ottawa at 22 could be a fit if they keep 4 but that seems just a bit late. I don't like him over mid-round Ws Kaut /Farabee or the Cs Lundestrom/Veleno. I think those guys offer more consistency and sense.

I'd be surprised if Wilde goes top 15. Pronman dropped him in his rankings late based on "off-ice and conditioning issues" so who knows where he goes. McKenzie had him 25th. The Caps have taken sliding talents at times but with both Wilde & Merkley there are all-around sense issues that are concerning.

The biggest concerns with Berggren are size, playing a bit too fearlessly at times, his skating not being altogether phenomenal in backing off defenders and his defense. His skating ought to improve as he physically matures, and he has a strong understanding of leverage in using his lower center of gravity to his advantage. He's got a strong motor offensively when it comes to pressuring pucks and using his awareness to be dangerous. If he's there at 31 I'd be surprised if he's not the highest upside player left. He's somewhat boom/bust if he's maxed out physically but his sense is top 15.

Dellandrea should go top 25. He needs to get faster but everything else checks out. I know RLR is really high on Eggenberger but McKenzie has him toward the end of the third round. He's a guy that might be early for 46 and too late for 93. Albin Eriksson & Oscar Back could be similar. There may be a lot of teams trading back if they're not married to one player at a given spot and they like the field so there's some sense to it both at 31 and 46 potentially in some of the worst-case scenarios. Or maybe the Caps add a couple more picks via deals to move around further. It's not a draft where I'd move 46 with 31 to move up slightly unless it's a really good player like Dellandrea, an upside play like Miller or Bokk/Denisenko. They should get a really good player at 46 given the deep depth.
 

Langway

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Further to worst-case scenario gaming...take Bob's list, assume the top 21 are off the board as well as Dellandrea & Miller. Then remove your next seven.

For me that would be Wilde, Foudy, Alexeyev, Samuelsson, Berggren, O'Brien & Olofsson in no particular order. That leaves McLeod, McIsaac, Thomas, Sandin & Merkley among Bob's top 32. I guess I'd take McLeod, move him to wing and hope his tools eventually help him gain confidence to become more dominant. That would be going against recent type in a Canadian OHLer, though, so Sandin may be more realistic. I just think he's a bit too similar to Djoos ultimately. That group of seven would be the prime options I'd be pretty good with that may be fair possibilities. I might have some concerns about Wilde's hockey sense and the eventual upsides of Foudy & Samuelsson but they've got good cases for providing valuable characteristics the org could use. A few from that group should be available and I'd probably hope those OHLers+McIsaac are gone to give them a better selection between them.
 

Langway

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I'm not sure he's actually the 5'10'' or 5'11'' that he's often listed at. He wasn't at the combine for some reason, presumably not invited since Central has him ranked so low, so it's a bit of a mystery to me at least. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a bit shorter.
 

AlexBrovechkin8

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Further to worst-case scenario gaming...take Bob's list, assume the top 21 are off the board as well as Dellandrea & Miller. Then remove your next seven.

For me that would be Wilde, Foudy, Alexeyev, Samuelsson, Berggren, O'Brien & Olofsson in no particular order. That leaves McLeod, McIsaac, Thomas, Sandin & Merkley among Bob's top 32. I guess I'd take McLeod, move him to wing and hope his tools eventually help him gain confidence to become more dominant. That would be going against recent type in a Canadian OHLer, though, so Sandin may be more realistic. I just think he's a bit too similar to Djoos ultimately. That group of seven would be the prime options I'd be pretty good with that may be fair possibilities. I might have some concerns about Wilde's hockey sense and the eventual upsides of Foudy & Samuelsson but they've got good cases for providing valuable characteristics the org could use. A few from that group should be available and I'd probably hope those OHLers+McIsaac are gone to give them a better selection between them.

I'll get smoked for saying this but I'd probably take Merkley in that scenario.
 

brachyrynchos

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Apr 10, 2017
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Samuelsson has the size, 6'4, his offense probably won't be there, but his defensive game likely will. I hope. He's off to college, so his skating should improve. Seems like a safe pick, could be a good shutdown guy/penalty killer. At first glance, I thought he would make a great pairing with Djoos but they both are lefties, oh well. Different mock drafts have him all over the place, late teens to mid 30's, if he's available I'd draft him. Bloodlines are a weird thing, his dad Kjell, was damn good in the defensive zone, his height and reach always seemed to find a way to slow you down, did quite well with Pittsburgh, Rangers, and the Flyers.
As for bloodlines, does Washington draft Jake Pivonka?
 

Hivemind

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Berggren reminds me a lot of Andrew Cogliano. I know he's played center so far, but I think he's more likely to end up on the wing in North America. He's dominated his age group (despite being a late birthday so actually being younger than most), although the success in men's league hasn't quite come yet (although it's rare for draft eligibles to have much expierence let alone success in the SHL). Probably a bit more of a project player you would have to let develop for a couple years.



P.S. I really like Cogliano
 

Langway

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Foudy reminds me more of Cogliano in terms of the speed being great but the all-around effectiveness and upside not entirely matching up. At least just yet...maybe in time.

I've seen a Hagelin comparison for Berggren but to me stylistically he more closely resembles Keller or Gaudreau. He's not the PKer or checker that Hagelin is. He's far more of an offensive-minded guy like those two Americans. He does have a high work rate offensively so he's not soft or a perimeter player. That's not to say that he's as good as those two but stylistically he's a guy the puck finds and he has similar tricks to make things look pretty easy. He's just crafty. Among Swedes the better comparison may be Arvidsson, although Berggren would need to add more all-around tenacity. There's the question of whether he'll be able to have that sort of easier-looking success and comfort level against men where he'll not only have to pay a tougher price in traffic but also have his all-around game tested. He hasn't produced in the SHL yet or necessarily shown a real complete two-way game so it's not hard to see why some staffs may not be sold. He's definitely a winger, where he's mostly played internationally whenever I've seen him.

In four years, he could be one of the most dynamic players from this draft. Or he could not be able to make the transition or struggle to remain healthy along the way. I don't think you're getting a bottom six player. If he misses he's probably not in the league unless he fundamentally alters his style of play. But if you do believe in his determination, creativity and all-around craftiness eventually translating as he matures then he's a top 15 talent and a first rounder despite his size. Since they ought to be shooting for upside at 31 and maybe going safer at 46, he should be in the mix for sure.
 

Langway

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Sam Cosentino mock:
31. WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Kirill Marchenko, RW, Khtany-Mansiysk (MHL):
A remarkably consistent season in the Russian equivalent to the CHL, Marchenko checks the size, skill and right shot boxes.
No Merkley in Sam's first round but he does have McLeod, Thomas & Sandin off the board. Marchenko can rip it. Right shot, left wing? Seems familiar. He's got good size and stickhandling but needs to work on his skating a bit. In terms of pure offensive upside I could see this being a match, esp. with O'Brien & Berggren off the board.
 

Hivemind

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Marchenko has some ridiculous hands and has a really projectable frame, so the upside is there. But he had worse numbers as a 17 year old than he did as a 16 year old, and the lack of explosiveness in his skating scares me. I wouldn't hate it as an upside pick, but I expect there will be players I like more than him on the board.
 

amjay13

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Should be an interesting day. Would be amazing to end up with the Isles 12th overall while keeping the Caps own first.

Jack Drury in round 2!

Get that Isles pick and 3 selections in the top 46 after winning the Cup will go a long ways toward ensuring the future remains bright!
 

RandyHolt

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Yep, we need to move Grubby. I love how the year played out. Regardless of Holts play, I wanted him auditioned to try to pump up his value. Especially after us all living in fantasy land the year before telling ourselves George would take him with no real track record of prolonged success. It sure appears that BMac has created a bidding war on him. 12OA seems high but I am an amateur when it comes to player value. Oh, and when it comes to draft picks. Therefore, I boldly predict a bloodline pick and will get back to lurking.
 

AlexBrovechkin8

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First draft I give a **** about in years.

Was coming to post this. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a draft. Maybe 2012 when we had 2 1sts? After not giving one shit about last year's draft between not having a 1st rounder and the terrible end to the season I feel like tonight can't get here soon enough.

I'm fascinated to see what happens with Grubauer. Sounds like the market is hotter than we anticipated. Can GMBM pull off a blockbuster? Also fascinated to see if EK65 is still in Ottawa after tonight.
 
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Langway

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Was about to post that. For a full rundown we have NYI (11/12), COL (16), OTT (22), CHI (27), DET (30) reportedly in the mix. If 16 is on the table then bundling 31 for 12 goes out the window IMO. Then it becomes NYI needing to move 12 outright. 16 or 22 would be just fine, though. I could maybe even see an Orpik+Grubauer package for Ottawa given that if they do make the pick at 4 they're not going to want to be suck next year.
 

AlexBrovechkin8

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Was about to post that. For a full rundown we have NYI (11/12), COL (16), OTT (22), CHI (27), DET (30) reportedly in the mix. If 16 is on the table then bundling 31 for 12 goes out the window IMO. Then it becomes NYI needing to move 12 outright. 16 or 22 would be just fine, though. I could maybe even see an Orpik+Grubauer package for Ottawa given that if they do make the pick at 4 they're not going to want to be suck next year.

They're going to be the suck next year regardless, but yes, I agree with your premise. Thinking about it a little more, it wouldn't surprise me if it was Ottawa. They are rumored to want to move Anderson. They've had a miserable offseason and likely want to make a move or two so their fans don't become completely apathetic.

My question is... would GMBM actually be willing to move Orpik? Does winning the Cup make it more or less likely they'd be willing to move him? Does losing Trotz -- who has been a staunch Orpik advocate -- change their view on Orpik's value for next season?
 
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twabby

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Mar 9, 2010
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I’ll be a Gruby fan wherever he ends up going. He helped right the ship this year after Holtby went through his funk and he must be excited to be a #1 somewhere. Seems like a trade that everyone will be happy with, especially if they manage to get pick #16 without having to give up #31.
 
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Jacoby4HOF66

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Mar 13, 2009
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And Colorado is in the market for Gruby? Interesting. Also, I remember when Varley was traded to Colorado and all the Avs fans were peacocking the trade. Good times.
 

RandyHolt

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I too want BMac to hold at 31. Play hardball.

He has got to be worth more than 15 draft slots, unless its a really deep draft that the tier dictates we can get a stud, but significantly less so at 31.
 
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