Prospect Info: 2018 NHL Draft - Shall We Begin?

[Magua]

Have you seen much of Ylönen? He seems like a late riser that could maybe slide into the late-1st round. I have been fairly impressed in my limited viewings.

He seems like he might be more of a project due to his game not being that well-refined. His defensive game could use a little work, but his skating and hands are outstanding. He is excellent at every aspect of skating: changing speeds, acceleration, top-end, agility, etc. His hands are also quite good.

I don't know why he isn't ranked higher tbh.

He’s not ranked too high because he only played in Finland’s second tier pro league and didn’t play internationally this season. That’s harder to scout. He played at the u18s last year, but I didn’t really focus on him. It’s not like I watched Finland’s second tier league for him, so he’s one of like ~3 players I have listed that I actually don’t have good viewings on. I’m in the dark.

He could definitely be a sneaky riser, if a team feels more confident with his Mestis sample. So, we can basically rule the Flyers out! Don’t know if he will be a 1st, but it only takes one team.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

I am going to be so relieved when Tkachuk is picked and is not available for a trade-up. I live in fear that we are targeting a move to get him.

you dont like many people do you? lol.
Tkachuk is a stud. Someone is going to get a hellava prospect.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

If we walk away with hayton and noel i will be beyond pissed off

seems to be one of those drafts where someone is going to be angry no matter who we draft.

 

[Rebels57]

seems to be one of those drafts where someone is going to be angry no matter who we draft.

With 2 picks, i'm just hoping that 1 of the picks tickles my fancy. Definitely not a fan of a Hayton/Wilde combo or something like that.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

you dont like many people do you? lol.
Tkachuk is a stud. Someone is going to get a hellava prospect.

I was in St. Louis and I hated the Blues and their fans, and he was their guy, and he was a ****head, and now he's enormously, unbelievably, almost miraculously fat. In that context, what's to like?

 

[Ghosts Beer]

I was in St. Louis and I hated the Blues and their fans, and he was their guy, and he was a ****head, and now he's enormously, unbelievably, almost miraculously fat. In that context, what's to like?

That depends. If, for example, you own a cheesesteak business in Philly, you could benefit greatly from Keith visiting to watch his son.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

That depends. If, for example, you own a cheesesteak business in Philly, you could benefit greatly from Keith visiting to watch his son.

That's very true, but I don't, so there is no benefit for me. You know that wooing that people talk about? I can barely hear it on TV, so that doesn't bother me either (also I kind of like Ric Flair even more now than I did when he was wrestling), but if it did bother me, I could, for example, wish for Keith to sit in the parents' box and eat so much free food that the box collapsed and crushed all the woo-ers beneath him. But since it doesn't bother me, his fat ass would (and will, for sure) just crush a bunch of more or less innocent people when his fat ass breaks the parents' box with his lard.

 

[SanBlom]

No Hayton or Veleno please. Just dont like either of them (unless they drop far)...

Other than that I'm ok, but I'm in the minority where I would take Lundestrom (Farabee, Denisenko, Kaut, Kupari, and Bergrenn) over Kravtsov so I dont think most would agree with my take.

 

[Winston Wolf]

Someone on the Prospects' board added another video on Barrett Hayton.



Guaranteed there will be numerous players drafted after him that will be better, but he's still a good pick at 14 and will be a real good player. Upside is maybe a Daymond Langkow type player? Good on face offs, responsible in his own zone, great skater in open ice, go to PK guy for the Greyhounds already. Anyone saying that he's not skilled is also out to lunch; the guy has some terrific hands. He scored 2 goals in this game, but he also had two passes that were flubbed by teammates that should've been sure goals. I get preferring others to him, but I don't see any reason to be upset if he's the guy at 14.

Also, Sushko looks good in the video, as well as the draft eligible Rasmus Sandin.

 

[SanBlom]

Someone on the Prospects' board added another video on Barrett Hayton.



Guaranteed there will be numerous players drafted after him that will be better, but he's still a good pick at 14 and will be a real good player. Upside is maybe a Daymond Langkow type player? Good on face offs, responsible in his own zone, great skater in open ice, go to PK guy for the Greyhounds already. Anyone saying that he's not skilled is also out to lunch; the guy has some terrific hands. He scored 2 goals in this game, but he also had two passes that were flubbed by teammates that should've been sure goals. I get preferring others to him, but I don't see any reason to be upset if he's the guy at 14.

Also, Sushko looks good in the video, as well as the draft eligible Rasmus Sandin.

I see your comparison and I know when Lanker was drafted, but I just cant see going 14 for a player like that. If they had some more viewings and really liked him at 19 I wouldn't be as annoyed, but I like several others better at 14. I do see the intrigue but I just like the other guys more, personally. It's probably why I'm not a scout.

 

[Tripod]

Fwiw, this was the result of the HF Mock draft that all the boards participated in. We did good and would not change things.

2018 Mock Draft
1 BUF --- D Rasmus Dahlin 117/126 (93%)
2 CAR --- F Andrei Svechnikov 69/74 (93%)
3 MTL --- F Filip Zadina 56/71 (79%)
4 OTT --- F Brady Tkachuk 38/71 (54%)
5 ARI --- F Oliver Wahlstrom 34/49 (69%)
6 DET --- D Adam Boqvist 41/93 (44%)
7 VAN --- D Quinton Hughes 34/64 (53%)
8 CHI --- D Evan Bouchard 28/39 (72%)
9 NYR --- D Noah Dobson 61/132 (46%)
10 EDM --- F Jesperi Kotkaniemi 41/65 (63%)
11 NYI --- F Joseph Veleno 52/68 (76%)
12 NYI* --- D Ty Smith 44/68 (65%)
13 DAL --- F Joel Farabee 10/30 (33%)
14 PHI* --- F Vitali Kravtsov 30/67 (45%)
15 FLA --- F Grigori Denisenko 5/18 (28%)
16 COL --- F Barrett Hayton 15/47 (32%)
17 NJD --- D Bode Wilde 23/63 (37%) (Tiebreaker)
18 CBJ --- F Rasmus Kupari 9/27 (33%)
19 PHI --- F Jonatan Berggren 38/55 (69%)
20 LAK --- F Dominik Bokk 8/25 (32%)
21 SJS --- D Ryan Merkley 12/42 (29%)
22 OTT* --- F Martin Kaut 15/37 (41%)
23 ANA --- F Akil Thomas 15/30 (50%)
24 MIN --- F Ryan McLeod 6/28 (21%)
25 TOR --- F Isac Lundeström 20/84 (24%)
26 NYR* --- D Calen Addison 18/74 (24%)
27 CHI* --- D K'Andre Miller 10/32 (31%)
28 NYR* --- F Jake Wise 19/83 (23%) (Tiebreaker)
29 STL* --- F Ty Dellandrea 25/47 (54%)
30 DET* --- D Alexander Alexeyev 18/64 (28%)
31 WSH --- F Serron Noel 8/22 (36%)

 

[Winston Wolf]

I see your comparison and I know when Lanker was drafted, but I just cant see going 14 for a player like that. If they had some more viewings and really liked him at 19 I wouldn't be as annoyed, but I like several others better at 14. I do see the intrigue but I just like the other guys more, personally. It's probably why I'm not a scout.

There's no way he's there at 19 and it's not even a guarantee he's there at 14. When you weigh the riskiness of other prospects with considerably more upside available at 14, I'm not sure there's a long list that make sense to take over Hayton unless you're really in love with them, which would be fine. I don't want to call him "safe" as people mistake that for meaning "unskilled, low ceiling" but I think he's a pretty good bet to be a ~50 point player that is valuable all over the ice. Compared to wingers in that range with maybe a reasonable ceiling of ~70 points, but a myriad of other questions about translating their games, I'm just not sure if the value is there. IMO, the same caliber of guys like that will still be around at 19, but I don't think one with Hayton's qualities will be.

 

[SanBlom]

There's no way he's there at 19 and it's not even a guarantee he's there at 14. When you weigh the riskiness of other prospects with considerably more upside available at 14, I'm not sure there's a long list that make sense to take over Hayton unless you're really in love with them, which would be fine. I don't want to call him "safe" as people mistake that for meaning "unskilled, low ceiling" but I think he's a pretty good bet to be a ~50 point player that is valuable all over the ice. Compared to wingers in that range with maybe a reasonable ceiling of ~70 points, but a myriad of other questions about translating their games, I'm just not sure if the value is there. IMO, the same caliber of guys like that will still be around at 19, but I don't think one with Hayton's qualities will be.

Many GM's may agree. I'm not discounting that. I just dont like him as much as others. He's at low to mid 20's on my board. I'll watch more of him in the next week, but I'm just not seeing "it" with him...

I also know that Button had him at 7 or something crazy....just don't see it. Button knows a hell of a lot more than me (or any of us), so I'm fine with being wrong. I just cant find anything that stands out to me as a high 1st round pick.

 

[Magua]

It's weird for me to look at my board and see Hayton as my #2 projectable center in the draft. I don't even have him ranked all that high; it's lower than consensus. It's just that bad of a center draft. I don't know if that plays in at all with some center starved teams, but in a draft deep in wing and defense -- which is also more of a need for us -- it strikes me as odd to go all-in at #14 (either pick really talking about a couple others) on a safer center.

No one will supplant Couturier and Patrick as 2-way pivots. We could be talking 2 Selke-level centers. He isn't better than Frost either, who has true top 6 upside and offense driving ability. I'm always Team BPA because I accept the unknown and best value, so if I thought he was BPA (he can play LW too), I'd be for it, but I don't believe he will be. I don't think he'll be BPA at #19 either in my eyes, though I think that's closer to where he should go on merit. I just like others more. But he won't be there at #19 anyway.

Explained it all better in my blurb, but I'm of the belief he's a fine player and high floor NHLer, with a decent mid ceiling. He won't be a bad pick; he just wouldn't be a great pick either to me. It's why I wonder if the Flyers will pick him if there. But I just don't see higher than middle 6 upside in a vacuum. 50 points might be a good estimate of his realistic potential, PP time depending. I just struggle to see a safer, offensive support player (he's got skill, but I don't think he'll be a difference maker in that area), 2-way center fitting need, fit, or BPA. We need impact, offense difference makers looking at the not too distant future. I don't like risky 1st rounders, but I don't view most of the players I have above him as risks. It's just a good draft for it. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be clamoring for it.

 

[BigToe]

I don't like risky 1st rounders, but I don't view most of the players I have above him as risks. It's just a good draft for it. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be clamoring for it.

You don’t think Kravstov is risky?

 

[deadhead]

This is one reason I'm amazed that people want to include Frost in trade packages, if the Flyers are picking in the 20s, what are the odds they have a shot at a top center in the foreseeable future - that is, a two way center who can control the pace of the game. We "lucked" out on him, can't count on that again.

If you have center depth, especially guys who are defensively responsible and are playmakers, then it's much easier to draft forwards in the later parts of the first round, because you can pick players with strong skills but also deficiencies, knowing your centers can cover for them.

 

[Magua]

You don’t think Kravstov is risky?

Why is he risky? Lack of international play perhaps, combined with being Russian? But he's.....

1) Got very good skills and skating
2) Produced at high levels across the MHL, VHL, and KHL
3) High compete level in all zones
4) Has above-average hockey IQ
5) Has good size he'll continue to grow into

I don't see anything inherently risky. Denisenko is risky. Noel is risky. Kupari is risky. These are all players with flaws or red flags one way or another. Kravtsov might just turn out to be a good, not great NHL player, but that goes for any player. I don't think he's risky or without floor. Certainly not in a way where I'd be skittish to pick him over a safe player.

 

[Tripod]

This is one reason I'm amazed that people want to include Frost in trade packages, if the Flyers are picking in the 20s, what are the odds they have a shot at a top center in the foreseeable future - that is, a two way center who can control the pace of the game. We "lucked" out on him, can't count on that again.

If you have center depth, especially guys who are defensively responsible and are playmakers, then it's much easier to draft forwards in the later parts of the first round, because you can pick players with strong skills but also deficiencies, knowing your centers can cover for them.

Agreed, Frost should not be moved at all. We need a #3 C and having those 3 will create matchup issues for other teams in the future.

Or worst case....Couts leaves via UFA, we have someone to step into a top 6 spot. And yes, I know this is very unlikely.

 

[BigToe]

Why is he risky? Lack of international play perhaps, combined with being Russian? But he's.....

1) Got very good skills and skating
2) Produced at high levels across the MHL, VHL, and KHL
3) High compete level in all zones
4) Has above-average hockey IQ
5) Has good size he'll continue to grow into

I don't see anything inherently risky. Denisenko is risky. Noel is risky. Kupari is risky. These are all players with flaws or red flags one way or another. Kravtsov might just turn out to be a good, not great NHL player, but that goes for any player. I don't think he's risky or without floor. Certainly not in a way where I'd be skittish to pick him over a safe player.

Haven’t watched any of him yet other than highlights because I’ve been watching other guys. I just assumed he was a pure offensive player. Apparently he isn’t lol.

 

[NicolasAubeKubel]

Haven’t watched any of him yet other than highlights because I’ve been watching other guys. I just assumed he was a pure offensive player. Apparently he isn’t lol.

Isn’t it always risky to draft these Russian guys playing in the KHL to some extent?

Think about Tampa if they had Gusev, or Minny if they had Kaprizov last year.

I’m still totally on the Kravtsov hype train if Farabee is gone

 

[daynus]

I would not complain if Farabee or Hayton were our picks at 14. Hayton plays a 200 ft game and although The SOO did not look good vs Hamilton, Hayton was one of their better players in that series.

 

[CanadianSniper]

I would be very happy if we walked out with any 2 of Farabee, Kravtsov, and Bergrenn.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

What would be the best video/article to watch/read about Bergrenn?

 

[Flyerfan13]

Video Courtesy of @Stizzle

 

[Flyerfan13]

What would be the best video/article to watch/read about Bergrenn?

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