2019 Draft Discussion

[Peter James Bond II]

Great job, NJ!!! Great goal with less than 4 mins to go by Connor Carrick...great play by Stafford!
And Mikey Anderson's brother, Joey score empty net to seal it. Gotta Love the fam helping out!

NJ with 70 points now, 3 ahead of Kings. But they only have 2 games left.
Go Flames!

 

[regulate]

Someone a little while ago posted that the Kings were really high on Hughes. Possible from the Sttenifvthe Union address? Please correct me if I am wrong or imagining things.

If that is the case and we land 3 to 5 in the lottery. Would our top five pick plus our second 1st be enough to secure 1st overall if our second first is a top 20?

Not a chance.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

What an agony.

At this point i dont even know who I prefer anymore between 3 & 5.

It was Turcotte but look what happened to Wahlstrom this season. Two different players but still.

I am starting to lean towards Byram. A top defender who plays 25 minutes a night. That is huge

 

[kilowatt]

What an agony.

At this point i dont even know who I prefer anymore between 3 & 5.

It was Turcotte but look what happened to Wahlstrom this season. Two different players but still.

I am starting to lean towards Byram. A top defender who plays 25 minutes a night. That is huge

its gonna be a forward.

with doughty here for good, the kings just need to hope that two of durzi, clague, brickley, phillips, and anderson become top four guys. defense should be okay. guys like roy and walker are fine bottom pairing guys.

goaltending should be good with peterson and villalta.

kings have a lot of good bottom six players - grundstrom, wagner, amadio, luff, iafallo, brodz, and likely veterans like brown, clifford, and lewis.

but top six is the problem. kopitar, vilardi, kupari, jad, thomas. those guys all need to hit, and even then we’re short a 1c when kopitar inevitably slows down (if he hasnt already).

im assuming that we trade or lose guys like carter, toffoli, martinez, forbort, and quick. i dont think kovalchuk plays for the kings next season.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

its gonna be a forward.

with doughty here for good, the kings just need to hope that two of durzi, clague, brickley, phillips, and anderson become top four guys. defense should be okay. guys like roy and walker are fine bottom pairing guys.

goaltending should be good with peterson and villalta.

kings have a lot of good bottom six players - grundstrom, wagner, amadio, luff, iafallo, brodz, and likely veterans like brown, clifford, and lewis.

but top six is the problem. kopitar, vilardi, kupari, jad, thomas. those guys all need to hit, and even then we’re short a 1c when kopitar inevitably slows down (if he hasnt already).

im assuming that we trade or lose guys like carter, toffoli, martinez, forbort, and quick. i dont think kovalchuk plays for the kings next season.

Disagree with your review, not so much with the fact that most likely it will be a forward.

Out of Durzi, Clague, Brickley, Philips and Anderson...I think only Anderson is a top 4.

That goaltending should be good with Petersen and Villalta...is also based on very little.

The players (read; forwards) you say that ''need to hit'' are exactly the highly touted prospects.

Not guys like Brickley, Philips, Durzi, Villalta....

 

[KopitarFAN]

Early 2020 Draft Class Viewing

An early look at the 2020 class.

 

[AzKing]

Kings will have a Top 10 pick again next year.

 

[King'sPawn]

2019 NHL Entry Draft Headquarters - Last Word on Hockey

I really enjoy this web site, and appreciate the thought they put into their articles and rankings.

The top 3 have been started, and they usually post one update per day

 

[AzKing]

This alone makes me a hard pass on Podkolzin:

According to Elite Prospects he is signed with SKA through the end of the 2020-21 season. There have also been rumours that he could stay in Russia even longer. With SKA being one of the richest teams in the KHL, they can pay him more than he could earn on an NHL ELC.

 

[Brodeur]

That's definitely going to be a curveball with Podkolzin. While 2015 draftee Kirill Kaprizov wasn't a high draft pick, Minnesota's been unable to sign him due to the limitations of the ELC system.

I suppose teams could take a gamble that there's possibly going to be a lockout in 2020-21 anyways, but Podkolzin would still have to sign a three year ELC at age 20. Perhaps he could do with Evgeni Kuznetsov did and sign just in time to burn the first year.

It's tough, I imagine we all look back at the 2010 Draft and wonder if Tarasenko/Kuznetsov should have gone higher even if meant dealing with the uncertainty.

 

[kilowatt]

It's tough, I imagine we all look back at the 2010 Draft and wonder if Tarasenko/Kuznetsov should have gone higher even if meant dealing with the uncertainty.

I don't think there was any doubt that Tarasenko wanted to come over. This is a fun read, though: https://thehockeywriters.com/tarasenko-senators-draft-day/

 

[SlimCharles]

If a team really wanted Podzolkin could they entice him to come over with a large signing bonus? Or is that illegal under the CBA? After Hughes and Kakko the guys I'm most interested in are Turcotte and Cozens. I really like Cozens considering he is almost 6'5" and very skilled.

 

[King'sPawn]

If a team really wanted Podzolkin could they entice him to come over with a large signing bonus? Or is that illegal under the CBA? After Hughes and Kakko the guys I'm most interested in are Turcotte and Cozens. I really like Cozens considering he is almost 6'5" and very skilled.

Not legal. There are bonuses and maximum amounts allowed in an ELC, which is about $3 million (?). KHL can offer more and it's home.

 

[Brodeur]

If a team really wanted Podzolkin could they entice him to come over with a large signing bonus? Or is that illegal under the CBA?

CBA outlines the maximum bonuses, so there's not much teams can do. The max they can guarantee the player is 925K, so we can understand why a guy might decide that making a couple million guaranteed (and possibly tax free) in Russia is enticing. The most a guy could possibly earn is 3.775 mil and that's if he hit all his bonuses.

I don't think there was any doubt that Tarasenko wanted to come over. This is a fun read, though: https://thehockeywriters.com/tarasenko-senators-draft-day/

Yeah I didn't remember there being as much worry about Tarasenko, but it seemed weird that he fell as far as he did.

 

[SlimCharles]

Not legal. There are bonuses and maximum amounts allowed in an ELC, which is about $3 million (?). KHL can offer more and it's home.

Ah, okay. Yeah he will probably fall quite a bit in the draft then. You would think some of these guys would see the success of other Russian players and want that recognition and fame of playing in the best league in the world. Worst case scenario for him he can always go back to Russia if it doesn't work out.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I don't think there was any doubt that Tarasenko wanted to come over. This is a fun read, though: https://thehockeywriters.com/tarasenko-senators-draft-day/

I remember there being no strong feeling one way or the other, which is why I believe he dropped. "russian factor" of not affirming his desire to play in the NHL quickly or something. Not like Podolzkin where he's making it known pretty strongly he'll take the money and home, or on the opposite end like Voynov who made it clear he wanted to play in the NHL and would do what it took. It's easy in hindsight but the uncertainty is a very real thing

 

[YP44]

Kings will have a Top 10 pick again next year.

hopefully as the result of trading Toffoli to Edmonton and LA's pick is bottom 10

 

[KopitarFAN]

Now that we know they'll be picking no worse than 7th, in theory, they should be looking at someone from this group:

Hughes
Kakko
Dach
Cozens
Byram
Krebs
Turcotte
Zegras
Boldy
(No particular order 3-9)

This is assuming Podkolzin is blackballed and falls outside the top 10.

 

[AzKing]

I was thinking about why I was just annoyed last night after the win and I think it's more that I have a certain handful of guys that I want in the draft after the obvious Hughes/Kakko picks and if we somehow end up 6th or 7th(especially 7th) it throws a rather large wrench into that mix of guys. The only way that this season is palatable is that we have a potential Top 3 Forward or a Top 2 Dman in this group:

Cozens
Dach
Turcotte
Byram

I think that these first 6 guys will be impact players to some extent and I want one of them. There are no guarantees in draft picks but they all have the talent to be elite.

If we drop to 7 then my next guy would be Krebs. I am not down on Krebs and he very likely could be picked over the 4 that I just mentioned I just like the others more. Krebs seems like more playmaker than scorer and his build is somewhat slight which makes me wonder if he will be easier to knock off the puck and have more difficulty with the physicality than the other guys I have listed. We probably could add Zegras in there as well but he is another guy that can be knocked off the puck. After that, there is a dropoff to guys like Newhook and Boldy.

We could win the lottery and it will all be great but I am just preparing my lists for what could happen if we go the other direction. The one wildcard here is Podkolzin. If he gets picked before we pick then everyone slides down which is great because I want no part of the Russian due to his KHL affiliation and their deep pockets.

 

[Brodeur]

Ah, okay. Yeah he will probably fall quite a bit in the draft then. You would think some of these guys would see the success of other Russian players and want that recognition and fame of playing in the best league in the world. Worst case scenario for him he can always go back to Russia if it doesn't work out.

It's tough, I think we can understand it in their shoes plus the KHL has been trying to keep its guys. If you're 18:

A) Sign a 3 year ELC, with max guarantee of 925K but also with the potential of spending time in the AHL where you'd be getting paid closer to 70K. Potential lockout looming in 2020-21, and you'd be locked into playing in the AHL if you're in the middle of a two way deal as I understand it (Edmonton's AHL club during the 2012 lockout featured Hall/RNH/Eberle). But you'd get through your ELC by age 21.

B) Stick around home for a couple years and make more (possibly tax free). Sign at the tail end of the 2020-21 season if/when lockout is resolved, burn the first year of the ELC. Probably be more developed and keep an NHL spot. Tarasenko signed a deal before the 2012-13 season but didn't come over until the lockout was resolved.

I could understand if an 18 year old would take the certainty of making six or seven figures rather than gambling and possibly making a prorated 70K for most of 2020-21.

 

[YP44]

I was thinking about why I was just annoyed last night after the win and I think it's more that I have a certain handful of guys that I want in the draft after the obvious Hughes/Kakko picks and if we somehow end up 6th or 7th(especially 7th) it throws a rather large wrench into that mix of guys. The only way that this season is palatable is that we have a potential Top 3 Forward or a Top 2 Dman in this group:

Cozens
Dach
Turcotte
Byram

I think that these first 6 guys will be impact players to some extent and I want one of them. There are no guarantees in draft picks but they all have the talent to be elite.

If we drop to 7 then my next guy would be Krebs. I am not down on Krebs and he very likely could be picked over the 4 that I just mentioned I just like the others more. Krebs seems like more playmaker than scorer and his build is somewhat slight which makes me wonder if he will be easier to knock off the puck and have more difficulty with the physicality than the other guys I have listed. We probably could add Zegras in there as well but he is another guy that can be knocked off the puck. After that, there is a dropoff to guys like Newhook and Boldy.

We could win the lottery and it will all be great but I am just preparing my lists for what could happen if we go the other direction. The one wildcard here is Podkolzin. If he gets picked before we pick then everyone slides down which is great because I want no part of the Russian due to his KHL affiliation and their deep pockets.

Unless LA picks 7th and Podkolzin falls. Then I would.
Actually I would be ok if LA took him at 4. Nervous sure, but I would be ok

 

[AzKing]

Unless LA picks 7th and Podkolzin falls. Then I would.
Actually I would be ok if LA took him at 4. Nervous sure, but I would be ok

Biggest cloud is if he doesn’t come over and the Kings lose out of the best draft position they have had since Doughty. If we had a deep team in terms of Forwards, it wouldn’t scare me off as much. I think some team in that category will get an elite talent that can afford to gamble.

 

[YP44]

Biggest cloud is if he doesn’t come over and the Kings lose out of the best draft position they have had since Doughty. If we had a deep team in terms of Forwards, it wouldn’t scare me off as much. I think some team in that category will get an elite talent that can afford to gamble.

and then we will look back at this draft thinking what could have been had LA drafted the Russian.

I want LA to take BPA

 

[regulate]

Well, whoever we pick, the only two that have a legit shot at the NHL at 18 years old are Hughes and Kakko. Everyone else with be in the CHL, MHL, Euro leagues or NCAA at 18.

 

[Brodeur]

Updated Bob McKenzie survey of scouts: https://www.tsn.ca/hughes-kakko-in-tight-race-for-top-spot-1.1284470

Interesting note as 10/10 scouts still had Hughes #1, but most conceded that it's a close race with Kakko now. Kakko also won't be at the U18s in a couple weeks since he was added to Finland's senior squad for the World Championships in May. Some scouts are bummed that they won't get one last head-to-head look between the Kakko/Hughes.

Eight of ten scouts had Podkolzin at #3, but they're obviously projecting on talent. GMs could audible depending on how a team feels about his KHL contract situation (my thought, not McKenzie's). Bob notes that there's a tight cluster in the next grouping with Cozens/Dach/Byram.