2019 Draft Thread: We Already Got a Kaapo

[Dr Jan Itor]

Have you seen him play? I haven't, besides clips.

Yeah, but not this year.

I was being facetious. He went to my high school, so I’m a fan.

 

[57special]

Yeah, but not this year.

I was being facetious. He went to my high school, so I’m a fan.

I just realized that i've probably seen him play...my son probably played against him a time or two, but really, I just can't remember.

 

[Digitalbooya]

 

[DANOZ28]

what scares me about a very undersized player is one big buff trainwreck and his career could be over. i know johnny hockey is good & theo fleury was good but i'd be worried. remember when granlund took a big hit in his 1st or 2nd season and none of us knew if he'd recover.

 

[2Pair]

what scares me about a very undersized player is one big buff trainwreck and his career could be over. i know johnny hockey is good & theo fleury was good but i'd be worried. remember when granlund took a big hit in his 1st or 2nd season and none of us knew if he'd recover.

Eric Lindros was probably the biggest, strongest hockey player that I have ever seen. How did his career turn out?

 

[Wabit]

Eric Lindros was probably the biggest, strongest hockey player that I have ever seen. How did his career turn out?

He's in the HoF, so pretty well. If Stevens hadn't have wrecked him he could have had a better career, for sure.

Chara (in his prime) is the biggest/strongest hockey player I can think of. Pronger was a beast too.

 

[2Pair]

He's in the HoF, so pretty well. If Stevens hadn't have wrecked him he could have had a better career, for sure.

Chara (in his prime) is the biggest/strongest hockey player I can think of. Pronger was a beast too.

guess again

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He's in the HoF, so pretty well. If Stevens hadn't have wrecked him he could have had a better career, for sure.

Chara (in his prime) is the biggest/strongest hockey player I can think of. Pronger was a beast too.

And that's the point.

 

[Wabit]

And that's the point.

He's the HoF as the biggest strongest player ever; that's how his career turned out.

 

[2Pair]

He's the HoF as the biggest strongest player ever; that's how his career turned out.

 

[AKL]

He's the HoF as the biggest strongest player ever; that's how his career turned out.

And his career was still cut short by injuries, because being big and strong still doesn't guarantee anything.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He's the HoF as the biggest strongest player ever; that's how his career turned out.

Any player of any size can get trucked.

 

[SupremeNachos]

Brain injuries don't care how big and strong you are or how small and agile.

 

[DANOZ28]

are you guys saying an undersized player can take the daily nhl beatings as well as a larger player? ps Lindros dished it out so many teams hunted him.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

are you guys saying an undersized player can take the daily nhl beatings as well as a larger player? ps Lindros dished it out so many teams hunted him.

Yep.

 

[Digitalbooya]

are you guys saying an undersized player can take the daily nhl beatings as well as a larger player? ps Lindros dished it out so many teams hunted him.

This is the mentality that leads to the Wild picking the big safe players instead of the smaller players with skill.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

are you guys saying an undersized player can take the daily nhl beatings as well as a larger player? ps Lindros dished it out so many teams hunted him.

st. louis was.. 5'6? smallest player ever in the nhl was 5'1 i believe. granny is how tall? johnny G is 5'6? spurgeon is 5'7? marchand is 5'9, arvidsson is 5'9, tyler johnson is 5'8, cam atkinson 5'8, conor sheary, 5'8, zuccarrelo 5'8, marchessault 5'9. gonna tell me all of those players cant take the NHL right now?

https://thehockeywriters.com/top-10-undersized-nhl-players/

link for proof

 

[DeagleJenkins]

looks like a shooter.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

We’ll see this year if a leopard ever changes its spots.

I’ve been doing extensive research on the draft this year and here are the players I would want us to take in each potential range of the 1st round.

5-10 range:
Zegras, C
Turcotte, C

10-20 range(most likely):
Connor McMichael: he could slip to the twenty’s of the 1st round, but this is the guy I think we should target. He knows how to play the game the right way. Just watching him it’s obvious that he has the ability to elevate the play of others. He can shoot the puck, he can skate, and he plays the middle of the ice. He will be the steal of the first round IMO.

Alex Newhook, C
Peyton Krebs, C

20-30 range:
Cam York, D
Yegor Spiridonov, D


My projection for our first round pick:
John Beecher: you just know that The wild scouts are going to love this guy. They will identify that we have a need for centers, and select John Beecher. Let me explain why I think wild scouts will love him... strong 2-way center with middle six upside. He has a hard shot that he doesn’t use enough. They’ll see his lack of production and say that because he was stuck on the 4th line on an NTDP team that his production suffered from it. They will select him thinking they just got a steal. He’s been compared to JT Compher and David Backes. I think this would be a horrible election for us, so it only seems fitting.

 

[BagHead]

My projection for our first round pick:
John Beecher: you just know that The wild scouts are going to love this guy. They will identify that we have a need for centers, and select John Beecher. Let me explain why I think wild scouts will love him... strong 2-way center with middle six upside. He has a hard shot that he doesn’t use enough. They’ll see his lack of production and say that because he was stuck on the 4th line on an NTDP team that his production suffered from it. They will select him thinking they just got a steal. He’s been compared to JT Compher and David Backes. I think this would be a horrible election for us, so it only seems fitting.

I'm also not a huge fan of drafting guys that haven't been able to provide good offense at the junior level, but if he did turn into a Backes it would be a fantastic pick in the 2nd half of the 1st round. Don't let who Backes is today make you forget about what he was the first 9-10 years of his career.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

I'm also not a huge fan of drafting guys that haven't been able to provide good offense at the junior level, but if he did turn into a Backes it would be a fantastic pick in the 2nd half of the 1st round. Don't let who Backes is today make you forget about what he was the first 9-10 years of his career.

It wasn’t that I don’t like him, or backes, but that is just a comparison not a player potential. He projects to be a middle-6 center, much like JEE, and I think we have enough two way guys. I want to take a shot on some raw skill.

 

[57special]

It wasn’t that I don’t like him, or backes, but that is just a comparison not a player potential. He projects to be a middle-6 center, much like JEE, and I think we have enough two way guys. I want to take a shot on some raw skill.

I agree. We need a guy who can handle the puck and distribute really well, similar to Granlund. Goal scorers/shooters are always welcome, also.

 

[thestonedkoala]

I agree. We need a guy who can handle the puck and distribute really well, similar to Granlund. Goal scorers/shooters are always welcome, also.

We also need some guys that can skate...

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

We also need some guys that can skate...

That was an issue before we acquired rask, now we should be fine in that department for 10+ years.

 

[thestonedkoala]

That was an issue before we acquired rask, now we should be fine in that department for 10+ years.

Can't tell if that's sarcastic or not. Skating has never been one of Rask's strong suits.