2018 HF Team Boards Mock Draft -- Pick #10

Pick #10

  • F Denisenko Grigori

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • F Hayton Barrett

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • F Kravtsov Vitali

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • F Kupari Rasmus

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • F Lundeström Isac

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • D Miller K'Andre

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • F Thomas Akil

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • F Veleno Joseph

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    65
  • Poll closed .

BarDownBobo

Registered User
Oct 19, 2012
6,437
3,071
City of Champions
Show me our D prospect with top pairing potential......

It's the same thing every year it seems. We are desperate for top pairing D, we get beat up in deals for dmen, we say all year that we need to find a dman, and then the draft comes and we see a shiny new toy and the defenseman is there, but we don't want to wait 4 years, and the forward could help us next year, and around and around we go.

I'm ok with using our second rounder to fill some of the holes. There will likely be several strong C prospects available there from the group of Wise, Drury, Khovanov, Dellandrea, McBain, Kurashev, Hallander, Lauko, Foudy, Groulx.... I would also be fine with this team using this pick on a second defenseman. Until our defense is fixed spend as many assets as possible on it. As we've seen in the past five years or so, it is easy to move good defenders for a good return... not so easy to move forwards.

I understand that our C prospect pool is extremely weak, and I won't be upset if we end up with Kotkaniemi, but we have McDavid, Drai and RNH at C. Assuming we hold on to all 3, we are using a number 10 pick on a guy we expect to be our 3 C, or he becomes another swing player who moves to wing. I'd much rather take a swing on a top pairing defenseman. Ty Smith has that potential. He's being overlooked because of how strong the defense pool in this draft is.
I must not see Smith the same things in Smith as you do. I really think he'll end up being a Sekera-esque dman, jack of all trades but master of none. Still a useful player but I personally rate Kotkaniemi much higher. Also while there might not be a top pairing dman in the prospect pool, I'm fairly confident that Larsson and one of Klefbom/Nurse will form the long term top pairing here.

As I said earlier in the thread though, I think it's moot point because Kotkaniemi will be picked before us and one of Dobson/Boqvist/Bouchard/Hughes will be there.
 

PKSpecialist

Registered User
Feb 6, 2010
1,750
838
I must not see Smith the same things in Smith as you do. I really think he'll end up being a Sekera-esque dman, jack of all trades but master of none. Still a useful player but I personally rate Kotkaniemi much higher. Also while there might not be a top pairing dman in the prospect pool, I'm fairly confident that Larsson and one of Klefbom/Nurse will form the long term top pairing here.

As I said earlier in the thread though, I think it's moot point because Kotkaniemi will be picked before us and one of Dobson/Boqvist/Bouchard/Hughes will be there.

Oh I agree that I would expect Smith to become something like Sekera. But he definitely has greater upside than that.

If Adam Larsson is on our top pair here long term, we have problems.... and do you really think a Klefbom/Larsson Nurse/Benning is viable for a Stanley Cup contender.

Long term we need to start developing our defense corps to be like Nashville. Josi, Subban, Ekholm, Ellis wasn't even good enough to get out of the second round. We've got a long ways to go. Finding our next Sekera now shouldn't be seen as a bad thing.
 

McDNicks17

Moderator
Jul 1, 2010
41,588
29,948
Ontario
Show me our D prospect with top pairing potential......

It's the same thing every year it seems. We are desperate for top pairing D, we get beat up in deals for dmen, we say all year that we need to find a dman, and then the draft comes and we see a shiny new toy and the defenseman is there, but we don't want to wait 4 years, and the forward could help us next year, and around and around we go.

I'm ok with using our second rounder to fill some of the holes. There will likely be several strong C prospects available there from the group of Wise, Drury, Khovanov, Dellandrea, McBain, Kurashev, Hallander, Lauko, Foudy, Groulx.... I would also be fine with this team using this pick on a second defenseman. Until our defense is fixed spend as many assets as possible on it. As we've seen in the past five years or so, it is easy to move good defenders for a good return... not so easy to move forwards.

I understand that our C prospect pool is extremely weak, and I won't be upset if we end up with Kotkaniemi, but we have McDavid, Drai and RNH at C. Assuming we hold on to all 3, we are using a number 10 pick on a guy we expect to be our 3 C, or he becomes another swing player who moves to wing. I'd much rather take a swing on a top pairing defenseman. Ty Smith has that potential. He's being overlooked because of how strong the defense pool in this draft is.

I guess I just don't really see that potential in Smith.

The Sekera comparison is something I've thought too. Just seems like a guy who could be a solid #3D that is pretty good defensively and pretty good offensively, but not really noteworthy in either.

I don't think he has the upside to draft for need over BPA(Kotkaniemi, IMO).
 

BarDownBobo

Registered User
Oct 19, 2012
6,437
3,071
City of Champions
Oh I agree that I would expect Smith to become something like Sekera. But he definitely has greater upside than that.

If Adam Larsson is on our top pair here long term, we have problems.... and do you really think a Klefbom/Larsson Nurse/Benning is viable for a Stanley Cup contender.

Long term we need to start developing our defense corps to be like Nashville. Josi, Subban, Ekholm, Ellis wasn't even good enough to get out of the second round. We've got a long ways to go. Finding our next Sekera now shouldn't be seen as a bad thing.
I think Klefbom/Larsson and Nurse/xxxx is good enough for a cup contender yes. Benning is the obvious weak link in there but I think if you find a decent puck mover to pair with Nurse there you've got a solid top 4.

I agree they've gotta start developing the D from within, but the Nashville example you used kinda shows that you don't have to spend 1st to do that. The four dmen you listed contain one 1st round pick, two 2nds and a 4th. I like how all of Jones, Bear, Lagesson, Berglund, Samorukov and Kemp are tracking so far and think we'll get at least one or two NHL defensemen from that group. If they miss out on the Dobson/Boqvist/Bouchard/Hughes group I'd much rather pick a forward like Kotkaniemi and then add to the D prospects in the 2nd with a guy like Lundkvist.
 

PKSpecialist

Registered User
Feb 6, 2010
1,750
838
I think Klefbom/Larsson and Nurse/xxxx is good enough for a cup contender yes. Benning is the obvious weak link in there but I think if you find a decent puck mover to pair with Nurse there you've got a solid top 4.

I agree they've gotta start developing the D from within, but the Nashville example you used kinda shows that you don't have to spend 1st to do that. The four dmen you listed contain one 1st round pick, two 2nds and a 4th. I like how all of Jones, Bear, Lagesson, Berglund, Samorukov and Kemp are tracking so far and think we'll get at least one or two NHL defensemen from that group. If they miss out on the Dobson/Boqvist/Bouchard/Hughes group I'd much rather pick a forward like Kotkaniemi and then add to the D prospects in the 2nd with a guy like Lundkvist.

In 10 years this team has drafted:
1 - Nurse/Klefbom
2 - Marincin
3 - Gustafsson
4 -
5 - Bear
6 - Davidson
7 -

That's it.....6 defensemen who have made the NHL in 10 years....numbers are a little skewed, because many of the recently drafted guys are still question marks, but there's a few things to note here in my opinion... just because there are top defenders in the NHL who have been found outside of the first round doesn't make it a good practice to neglect to draft defenders with your top picks. The Oilers actually have a pretty good track record for drafting defenders, the problem is they don't draft enough of them... Maybe someone can find the stats somewhere, I'm not big on stats, but I would guess that despite being brutal for the last 10 years on defense, until the three most recent drafts, we probably were in the bottom 5 teams in the NHL for numbers of defensemen drafted or percentage of defensemen drafted. The strategy we have had for 10 years has produced 1 playoff team. Time to change the strategy. McDavid, Drai, RNH, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, Benson are a solid starting point on offense. We need puckmoving defensemen to supplement them. DRAFT DEFENSE DRAFT DEFENSE DRAFT DEFENSE......say it with me.

Again, I am not rallying against Kotkaniemi or any of the other forward prospects. They are fantastic prospects and I would be happy to have them on the team, but to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results would be foolish. Where would this team be today if we hadn't been gifted Connor McDavid in the draft?
 

BarDownBobo

Registered User
Oct 19, 2012
6,437
3,071
City of Champions
In 10 years this team has drafted:
1 - Nurse/Klefbom
2 - Marincin
3 - Gustafsson
4 -
5 - Bear
6 - Davidson
7 -

That's it.....6 defensemen who have made the NHL in 10 years....numbers are a little skewed, because many of the recently drafted guys are still question marks, but there's a few things to note here in my opinion... just because there are top defenders in the NHL who have been found outside of the first round doesn't make it a good practice to neglect to draft defenders with your top picks. The Oilers actually have a pretty good track record for drafting defenders, the problem is they don't draft enough of them... Maybe someone can find the stats somewhere, I'm not big on stats, but I would guess that despite being brutal for the last 10 years on defense, until the three most recent drafts, we probably were in the bottom 5 teams in the NHL for numbers of defensemen drafted or percentage of defensemen drafted. The strategy we have had for 10 years has produced 1 playoff team. Time to change the strategy. McDavid, Drai, RNH, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, Benson are a solid starting point on offense. We need puckmoving defensemen to supplement them. DRAFT DEFENSE DRAFT DEFENSE DRAFT DEFENSE......say it with me.

Again, I am not rallying against Kotkaniemi or any of the other forward prospects. They are fantastic prospects and I would be happy to have them on the team, but to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results would be foolish. Where would this team be today if we hadn't been gifted Connor McDavid in the draft?
I want them to draft a dman at 10, but it has to be the right dman. One of Dobson/Boqvist/Bouchard/Hughes absolutely, but in the scenario that these are the guys left on the board taking Smith over Kotkaniemi because he's a defenseman would be a very poor decision because there is a significant gap between them. But it's a moot point anyways because I'm very confident that Kotkaniemi will be selected before our pick, we'll get one of those 4 defensemen and we can both be happy on draft day.

Also your list of NHL defensemen that the Oil have drafted is going to grow significantly in the near future because Chia/Gretzky have done a fantastic job of stocking those cupboards. I believe the 14/15/16/17 drafts will produce at least 2 solid nhl defensemen if not more, with a few others getting decent looks here or elsewhere as well.
 

nexttothemoon

and again...
Jan 30, 2010
29,303
16,475
Northern AB
Merkley
Kotkaniemi
Nordgren
Kravtsov
Addison
Thomas
Alexeyev

Those are a few I'd be considering at that point with the Oilers #10 pick.

Merkley is the best pick among the dmen at that point and it's between Kotkaniemi/Nordgren/Kravtsov among the forward choices.

The safe and solid pick is Kotkaniemi and the home run BOLD pick is Merkley.

I pick Merkley.
 

belair

Jay Woodcroft Unemployment Stance
Apr 9, 2010
38,541
21,721
Canada
Merkley
Kotkaniemi
Nordgren
Kravtsov
Addison
Thomas
Alexeyev

Those are a few I'd be considering at that point with the Oilers #10 pick.

Merkley is the best pick among the dmen at that point and it's between Kotkaniemi/Nordgren/Kravtsov among the forward choices.

The safe and solid pick is Kotkaniemi and the home run BOLD pick is Merkley.

I pick Merkley.
Merkley might be there for our second pick with how his stock has trended.
 

PKSpecialist

Registered User
Feb 6, 2010
1,750
838
I want them to draft a dman at 10, but it has to be the right dman. One of Dobson/Boqvist/Bouchard/Hughes absolutely, but in the scenario that these are the guys left on the board taking Smith over Kotkaniemi because he's a defenseman would be a very poor decision because there is a significant gap between them. But it's a moot point anyways because I'm very confident that Kotkaniemi will be selected before our pick, we'll get one of those 4 defensemen and we can both be happy on draft day.

Also your list of NHL defensemen that the Oil have drafted is going to grow significantly in the near future because Chia/Gretzky have done a fantastic job of stocking those cupboards. I believe the 14/15/16/17 drafts will produce at least 2 solid nhl defensemen if not more, with a few others getting decent looks here or elsewhere as well.

Although you say there is a significant gap between Kotkaniemi and Smith, that is a matter of opinion. I rank Smith ahead of him. Future considerations does as well. They also have Bode Wilde ahead of Kotkaniemi.

There is no wrong or right choice here. It’s a matter of what is right for the team in the long run. All of these prospects have bright futures if developed well and given the right opportunities. At the end of the day we don’t have a choice in the matter. We just need to hope that whatever choice Chia makes is the right one. Until we fix our defence, I won’t get my hopes up for this team to be perennial contenders...and there is a lot of fixin left to do.
 

EDMOILERS9729

Registered User
Dec 25, 2017
638
192
Chiarelli said that any trade involving the pick would happen most likely on the draft floor. He wants to see whos there at 10 before he trades it.
 

McDrai

Registered User
Mar 29, 2009
23,933
18,337
Ty Smith is probably the safest bet. We don't have the greatest track record with Euro prospects.
 

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