2019 Draft Thread: We Already Got a Kaapo

[2Pair]

I could absolutely see Brink turning into a stud and I don’t think he would be a bad pick at 12, I just think it would be bad value considering we could easily trade back and get him at 20. I would love to get him if we added another 1st. My ideal draft would be adding a first and getting something like this:

12-Newhook. I think the kids a stud. I don’t think he is going to be a good enough player to base out rebuild around, but him and Kaprizov make a great 2 and 3 punch in terms of adding real high skill players. This is why I’m a big propenent of tanking next year because I think if we add a Byfield/Lafrienere/Raymond to Kaprizov/Newhook, we’re in a great position to transition and compete while our defense is still elite.
20-Brink/Tomasino. I’ve spent the last day or two researching Tomasino. I love the way he skates and plays the game. I think he’d make a real good #2 center for us if he was available. Brink I have some concerns about skating and size-wise, but his production is undeniable.
42-Dorofeyev, Puistola, Lassi Thompson, Nikolaev, Kalyonconok. I’d be fine taking a flyer on any of these guys as I think they all have a decent chance of becoming top 6/top 4 players. Dorofeyev has a shot to be a game breaker, but I have some concerns about his compete and the style of game he plays. The others are relatively medium risk huh reward which I think are good moves in the 2nd round.
In the 3rd round I like Robert Mastrosimone and Markus Kallionkelli

There is no way of knowing that

 

[2Pair]

Listening to the actual interview now, I'll point out that the Brink stuff was in response to a question about his thoughts on Minnesota-born players in this draft and it came right after a question about how smaller players (like Caufield) aren't stigmatized the way they used to be. I can see how Minnesota + small would lead him to bring up Brink.

Yeah, it's a huge stretch to hear that interview and think that Fenton is leaning towards drafting Brink.

 

[Bazeek]

Yeah, it's a huge stretch to hear that interview and think that Fenton is leaning towards drafting Brink.

If I'm going to worry about anything in that interview it's that he mentions (twice!) that he regrets not taking Tuukka Rask in the first

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

There is no way of knowing that

No way of knowing if he’d be available or no way of knowing if we could trade back?

 

[AKL]

If I'm going to worry about anything in that interview it's that he mentions (twice!) that he regrets not taking Tuukka Rask in the first

It’s not so much that I think he’ll for sure take Brink, but he offered some high praise for a guy he really didn’t need to get that high on. It’s clear he really likes him a lot, the reaching for him on draft day is just my speculation. It was a pretty visceral response.

Though if he was planning on taking him, it’s not like he would have said so anyway.

 

[2Pair]

No way of knowing if he’d be available or no way of knowing if we could trade back?

both

 

[2Pair]

It’s not so much that I think he’ll for sure take Brink, but he offered some high praise for a guy he really didn’t need to get that high on. It’s clear he really likes him a lot, the reaching for him on draft day is just my speculation. It was a pretty visceral response.

Though if he was planning on taking him, it’s not like he would have said so anyway.

I didn't get that impression at all.

 

[AKL]

I didn't get that impression at all.

The impression that he’ll take him or that he doesn’t like him a lot as a player?

 

[2Pair]

The impression that he’ll take him or that he doesn’t like him a lot as a player?

All he really did was compare him to Caufield as a smaller player that has a chance to be good. And he said it after being specifically asked about smaller players and then asked about Minnesota born players.

 

[Sarge58]

Did you consider that Fenton was hired because he told Leipold his vision and Leipold liked what he heard?

Well it's too early in Fentons regime to make absolute conclusions on what will happen going forward, but when I watched Leipold introduce Fenton during the press conference he said basically they are not doing a rebuild but a retool. I think that's what we saw under Fletcher's time here was just a constant retooling and now that Fenton's here I'm afraid of seeing a repeat. I think it's more Leipold's vision than it was Fletchers and now Fentons. I like Leipold and know he wants to win but you can't cut corners and look for the instant gratification as that's unlikely going to win a Cup.

 

[2Pair]

Well it's too early in Fentons regime to make absolute conclusions on what will happen going forward, but when I watched Leipold introduce Fenton during the press conference he said basically they are not doing a rebuild but a retool. I think that's what we saw under Fletcher's time here was just a constant retooling and now that Fenton's here I'm afraid of seeing a repeat. I think it's more Leipold's vision than it was Fletchers and now Fentons. I like Leipold and know he wants to win but you can't cut corners and look for the instant gratification as that's unlikely going to win a Cup.

What does it matter what anyone says when the reality is that Fenton is in the middle of rebuilding the forward group of the team?

 

[57special]

I guess what really bothers me is that, no matter how I slice it, it's hard to look at this or the Nino deal and not think that Fenton's main goal going in was to get rid of the player he was trading. Whether it was because of fit or contract or underperformance or whatever, it's hard to look at that deal and not think that getting rid of Zucker was at least as important as what he was getting back. And while I don't want to roast him for a deal that he hasn't actually made, it still bothers me.

I get wanting to get rid of Nino...he was inconsistent, and making over 5M/yr. What I didn't get was getting an obviously worse player back in Rask who made almost as much!

 

[57special]

Kournianos has both Dach and Newhook available for us at #12 in his rankings.

 

[AKL]

Kournianos has both Dach and Newhook available for us at #12 in his rankings.

Who

 

[Bazeek]

Who

This guy.

Lots of notes in the replies.

 

[AKL]

This guy.

Lots of notes in the replies.

Well that’s definitely different from most rankings I’ve seen

 

[Bazeek]

Well that’s definitely different from most rankings I’ve seen

Yeah, 3-16 is going to be pretty interesting this year.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

I never here nhl scouts say players have 100 point potential unless there a Crosby/Mcdavid level prospects, so it’s interesting to see him say Zegras could hit that.

 

[Sarge58]

I'm suprised not to see Bobby Brink on that list.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I'm suprised not to see Bobby Brink on that list.

He's out of the 1st round on a couple lists I see. Also in the top 15 or 16 on some.

 

[AKL]

I never here nhl scouts say players have 100 point potential unless there a Crosby/Mcdavid level prospects, so it’s interesting to see him say Zegras could hit that.

Is that guy an actual NHL scout? Or is he just some guy that runs a website that ranks prospects?

 

[Bazeek]

Is that guy an actual NHL scout? Or is he just some guy that runs a website that ranks prospects?

Media guy and blogger, but he's covered prospects for awhile.

Steve Kournianos is the founder of TheDraftAnalyst.com, a blog dedicated to the NHL Draft. He is a former prospects writer for ESPN.com and worked briefly for the Associated Press and McKeen’s Hockey. He also covered the Boston Bruins, the AHL and Hockey East for SportsTicker, and was a minor league baseball editor for Howe SportsData.

Not much different than a guy like Pronman.

 

[57special]

I'm suprised not to see Bobby Brink on that list.

He has Broberg down pretty low, also.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Is that guy an actual NHL scout? Or is he just some guy that runs a website that ranks prospects?

Not an MHL scout, my bad. He has been doing a lot of draft media for a while though. He is a relatively big name in the online scouting industry, but I don’t know what his credentials are or if he just talks out of his ass and everyone buys it.

 

[Bazeek]

Not an MHL scout, my bad. He has been doing a lot of draft media for a while though. He is a relatively big name in the online scouting industry, but I don’t know what his credentials are or if he just talks out of his ass and everyone buys it.

Sounds like he's committed enough to drive around and actually see MNHS and USHL games, so that's something. And he's pretty quick to point out his own scouting biases, which is also something.

The rank and order of these lists always feels like trivia anyway. Guys that'll go prospect-by-prospect and tell you what they think and why are nice, if for no other reason than you get a sense of where they're coming from. It's like reading movie critics.