2018 NHL Draft Discussion

[Jakey53]

It was annoying the whole time. I was absolutely losing my mind over it. Most everyone around here was begging me to just shut up about it. He should've been in junior where he belonged. He should've been learning to be a dominant offensive performer. Now he's always going to be a plumber.

Crouse wasn't a scorer in junior and was never going to dominate in the points department and I don't think anyone thought he would dominate in the point department in the NHL. That is not his game. He is a power forward with speed who likes to hit. If you want to call that a plumber so be it. I do believe Crouse was drafted much to high but he will still be a valuable player, just not top six. Why he is in the AHL now with Rinaldo on suspension is beyond me.

 

[MIGs Dog]

It's only a matter of time until Buffalo passes Arizona in the lottery standings. Look how bad Buffalo is right now. Then take away Lehner and Kane.

As noted in another thread, Buffalo has 12 pts since Dec 4, while the Yotes have gathered 4. Trend favors AZ finishing 31st.

 

[Mosby]

ISS Top 31 - January 2018 - ISS Hockey

Latest rankings from ISS have Tkachuk at 2.

 

[Mosby]

26 in white

 

[moosemeister]

Jesus Christ.

There is no way we land #1 haha

 

[Mosby]

More Dahlin fun:

 

[che]

Been to a few Frölunda games this year (not nearly as many as I would've wanted) but that kid is ridiculously good. But I dare not get my hopes up on getting #1

 

[MIGs Dog]

26 in white

I like the defenders moves. What's his name?

 

[rt]

I like the defenders moves. What's his name?

David Hale.

 

[RABBIT]

David Hale.

almost crazy enough to believe

 

[The Feckless Puck]

David Hale.

Damn you for making me remember the phrase (and color!) Rustic Auburn Sunset.

 

[Mosby]

Tank one more year??

 

[hbk]

Tank one more year??

Reunite the Hughes Brothers thread countdown

 

[Heldig]

Reunite the Hughes Brothers thread countdown

We do value NHL siblings in the desert.

 

[ck26]

HV71 have a 17 year old center named David Gustafsson. Good sized kid, left shot ... best I can gather he's split time with the senior team and the under-20 team this season. Didn't do anything amazing but he held his own against Djurgardens on Saturday, aggressive in the offensive zone, stickhandled pretty well. Draftsite has him projected as a 3rd rounder. That's all I've got but in a sample size of 1 game, I give the kid a rating of: "I noticed him."

 

[Hogan20]

Thoughts on Dahlin being named to the Swedish Olympic team.

 

[ParisSaintGermain]

Thoughts on Dahlin being named to the Swedish Olympic team.

Our own Joakim Lindstrom should be able to tell him how great our organisation is!

Joking aside, please Lord, make sure we get number 1 pick this year. Muchas gracias.

 

[Matias Maccete]

Thoughts on Dahlin being named to the Swedish Olympic team.

No surprise. Kid is a monster.

 

[Mosby]

 

[Mosby]

Central Scouting midterms are out

Euro - 2018 Draft Prospect Rankings | NHL Draft Prospect Rankings

NA - 2018 Draft Prospect Rankings | NHL Draft Prospect Rankings

 

[rt]

Read an article where Zadina's coach was comparing him to a shark. Always circling around, looking for a deadly scoring opportunity. I noticed that at the WJC and have since in his highlights. He's not much for driving the play from what I've seen but he seems to work hard to get into scoring positions and his shot looks pretty lethal. He strikes me as a complimentary player, but the most valuable kind of complimentary player. I'm also liking some of the high character quotes that have been coming out about him. Chayka seems to place a lot of value on drafting good people first.

 

[Grimes]

What has happened to Merkely? Not even top 20 now?

 

[rt]

What has happened to Merkely? Not even top 20 now?

Major red flags for character, maturity, coachability. Only wants to do things his way. Throws tantrums.

 

[Heldig]

Major red flags for character, maturity, coachability. Only wants to do things his way. Throws tantrums.

Yeah, he is gonna drop. Maybe to the late second round.

 

[rt]

Yeah, he is gonna drop. Maybe to the late second round.

Thinking about these kids that come along every few years with major character red flags, it doesn't seem like many work out. Getzlaf was considered a pretty big problem, if I recall correctly. He fell out of the top ten as a result. So there's one. Anthony Duclair is another that seems to be doing okay despite his troubles, but hasn't exactly had the smoothest start. Steve Downie fell and never really panned out. Anthony DeAngelo is a still a work in progress but it's not trending well, and is another example of a 1st half of 1st round talent that fell in the draft.. Akim Aliu took a draft year tumble and never recovered. Kyle Beach hung onto his top draft status but only because Chicago took a gamble earlier than many would have. They obviously regretted it. Kiril Kabanov was supposed to be a top 10 pick and fell due to character problems and he's a total bust. Same for Robbie Schremp. Dustin Byfuglien was never considered a 1st rounder but went much later than he would have if he wasn't fat and seemingly unfocused/not dedicated to his hockey career.

These are just a handful I can remember off the top of my head. What are some other examples? Especially of guys who actually worked out?