Prospect Info: 2019 NHL Entry Draft Part I

[Jack Be Quick]

The player people are sleeping on in this draft is Peyton Krebs, he’s an absolutely phenomenal player.

He has the same misfortune as Ty Dellandrea in that he’s overlooked because he plays on a dumpster fire of a team. He’s more or less the only good player on Kootenay, his already impressive statline would likely be incredible if he had more talent to work with.

While LW isn’t an organizational need so to speak, he’s too good to pass up if he’s available when we pick. I have him as the BPA after Hughes/Kakko are off the board, although Cozens isn’t far behind and fits our positional needs a little more. Cozens is a hell of a player too, but he has an infinitely better supporting cast in Lethbridge, it makes a considerable difference.

Thanks for the analysis.

The only thing I would refute is left wing not being an organizational need. MarJo isn't ideal on that line as it is, we're probably losing him anyway, and Wood in his current form isn't ready for that responsibilty. You could give Mr. Pickle a shot, but I'm hesitant as one of the few bright spots this season is his production in the role he's been given.

Edit: grabbing a center and shifting Zacha to LW could be a decent idea. Then again he could end up being a slightly more physical defensively responsible MarJo.

 

[Nubmer6]

so funnily enough, our RD side is really light, as is our left side. logically speaking, we should be going after LH centers who can pivot to LW

also add bernard to LD

I think left wing is the least of our concerns since we have centers (Zacha and Seney) who can supplement it. The ones we have are also pretty high quality. If McLeod doesn't work out, it would be nice to have a right handed center for 2c to compliment our left handed Nico.

 

[Call Me Al]

But can Krebs cycle?

nerd!

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

Ok. Let's look at the pipeline and potential NHL players worth noting (i.e. I'm not bothering including guys like Rooney and Pietila).

C: Seney (if you still count him as a prospect), McLeod, Gignac, Quenneville, Sharangovich.
Seney looks more like a winger at his size. McLeod and Gignac have a shot at being top 6 centers. I've written off JQ (perhaps prematurely).

LW: Boqvist, Talvitie
Boqvist is hopefully a top 6 winger. Talvite looks to be a good middle 6.

RW: Anderson, Studenic, Zetterlund, Lappin, Bastian
We've been drafting pretty heavy on the RW, so I feel like we have a lot of potential mid 6 wingers here. Maybe even top 6.

LD: Smith, Davies, Sissions, Davies
Potential 1st pairing D in Smith. I'd hope that at least 1 of the the other 3 become top 2 pairing material.

RD: Walsh, Jacobs
Walsh hopefully develops into 1st or 2nd pairing. I feel Jacobs has an outside shot at 3rd pairing.

G: Umm... err... uhh....
I agree with Jim. Goalies are so unpredictable that it's probably not a good idea to spend a high draft pick on one.

I think your projections are beyond optimistic for some of these players. If we are being realistic I think you should mention the prospect pool and the young players currently on the team to see the full picture.

 

[Nubmer6]

I think your projections are beyond optimistic for some of these players. If we are being realistic I think you should mention the prospect pool and the young players currently on the team to see the full picture.

Yeah, I probably should, but where do you draw the line? Under 23? Under 20? 1st and 2nd year players?

As for the optimism, I'm not saying what the players will become, just what their potential is. Out of that group, I do expect to get a top 6 LW, a 3rd line RW, a 3C, a 3rd pairing RD, and at least a 2nd pairing LD over the next few years. Anything less would be disappointing while anything more would be cream.

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

Yeah, I probably should, but where do you draw the line? Under 23? Under 20? 1st and 2nd year players?

As for the optimism, I'm not saying what the players will become, just what their potential is. Out of that group, I do expect to get a top 6 LW, a 3rd line RW, a 3C, a 3rd pairing RD, and at least a 2nd pairing LD over the next few years. Anything less would be disappointing while anything more would be cream.

I think that projection is fair but to see Gignac can be a top 6 center is crazy to me. He'll be lucky to make the NHL full time at all, and the left D outside of Smith are borderline NHL D men. I think you can look beyond 23 when looking at what this team needs. Also this draft is weak on RHD and Im more thinking about specifically Byram since I am in love with him (as a hockey player) at the top of the draft.

 

[OmNomNom]

I think that projection is fair but to see Gignac can be a top 6 center is crazy to me. He'll be lucky to make the NHL full time at all, and the left D outside of Smith are borderline NHL D men. I think you can look beyond 23 when looking at what this team needs. Also this draft is weak on RHD and Im more thinking about specifically Byram since I am in love with him (as a hockey player) at the top of the draft.

to be fair, gignac seems to be JUST getting his legs back. before he tore his ACL, he hardly had a chance to play much on the top lines, and now that he's returned, he's clearly having a scoring explosion

i wouldn't count him out just yet. the guy JUST turned 21 in november, after all

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

to be fair, gignac seems to be JUST getting his legs back. before he tore his ACL, he hardly had a chance to play much on the top lines, and now that he's returned, he's clearly having a scoring explosion

i wouldn't count him out just yet. the guy JUST turned 21 in november, after all

Im saying he has no chance to be a top 6 center which I think is fair. Realistically he could be a solid bottom 6 guy at best.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

RD is definitely a weakness. But there aren't really any RH shooting d-men in the first round at where the devils will pick.

For 2c, there's potentially zacha, boqvist, and mcleod. for rd...walsh and that's about it, unless Jacobs surprises.

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

RD is definitely a weakness. But there aren't really any RH shooting d-men in the first round at where the devils will pick.

For 2c, there's potentially zacha, boqvist, and mcleod. for rd...walsh and that's about it, unless Jacobs surprises.

If we go center in the first round I wouldn't hate going with a RHD in the second, specifically Kaedan Korczak. We need D prospects to fill out the pool because we arent really stacked anywhere besides LW really in the NHL.

 

[Nubmer6]

If we go center in the first round I wouldn't hate going with a RHD in the second, specifically Kaedan Korczak. We need D prospects to fill out the pool because we arent really stacked anywhere besides LW really in the NHL.

I'd be fine going RHD in the 6th round

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Devils need to take BPA as there are a lot of holes both in NJ and in the system.

C:

• Hischier is a fine 1C at the moment, and should be a star in the near future
• After a disappointing offensive season from Zacha, 2C is one of the biggest holes on the team. Perhaps Boqvist shifts to center and excels. If we're picking top 5-10, this is ideally one hole that will get filled in the next two-three years if they draft a C.
• Zacha and Zajac are both good 3Cs
• Seney, McLeod don't really profile to be impact players.

Verdict: a center would fill a big need organizationally.
LW:

• Hall. Not much to be said here. Hopefully he re-signs.
• Johansson is likely gone, and that opens up a huge hole at 2LW. Boqvist may be ready to seize it; maybe Bratt moves back to his natural LW; Wood has been good lately; maybe they want to give Coleman a more offensive role; maybe Zacha?
• Quenneville doesn't seem to have much of a future in the org. after his recent stint of literally producing nothing.

Verdict: based on need, there isn't really much of one.

RW:

• Palmieri is a fine 1RW
• Bratt is a fine 2RW
• Anderson as a 3RW seems less than ideal until he shows more offensive chops; Noesen and Stafford are good as gone.
• Studenic and Zetterlund are intriguing prospects, but not likely to make an impact next year; would not be upset if they gave Lappin a long look at 4RW. He's better than a lot of 4th liners in the league.

Verdict: with Bratt showing he's legit this year, there isn't really much of a need here.

LD:

• I don't think Greene is a total disaster yet, but he should probably be on a third pair.
• Butcher has shown he can adequately handle top 4 minutes
• Not really enamored with Mueller, but he is a passable bottom pair dman.
• Ty Smith is the GOAT, and will likely be a top 4 dman with the potential for much more.
• Davies is one of the best dmen in the NCAA and hopefully turns pro this spring. Has top 4 potential.

Verdict: if NJ decides that the LD is the BPA (Byram Bowen?) then I'd be on board, but it's not a major need.

RD:

• Both Severson and Vatanen are fine second pair dmen, but I have a strong feeling both won't be here next year. Hynes really doesn't like Severson and Vatanen has not been as good this year as last year.
• Lovejoy is likely gone, and hopefully Santini can fill his role as 3RD and PK specialist. I have a feeling it will be a decent step backward considering LJ has been sneaky good the last two year
• Walsh has good offensive potential but the skating really scares me

Verdict: seems like a pretty big need to me

G:

• Depending on what happens with Schneider, Kinkaid should not be back.
• Boy, Blackwood better be legit!

Verdict: obviously, they can't spend a top ten pick on a goalie, but if NJ manages to get a late first, or Spencer Knight sneaks into the early second round, I'd get him. And I'm very anti-goalie in the first two rounds.

To summarize, by need:

1) Center
2) RD
3) LD
4) RW
5) G (should be higher, but based on the riskiness, I'll put it lower.)
6) LW

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

First pick will probably be a center since the top half of the draft are almost all centers. I know some of you guys are assuming Hall re-signs, but if he doesn't LW suddenly becomes a gaping hole with a lot of quantity but not really much quality. Can't go into draft thinking, "we have hall, we don't need lw".

As someone pointed out, if the scouts feel krebs is bpa, then you need to pick him even if he's lw.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Smith plays on the right side a ton despite being left-handed, I don't know if it's right to pigeon-hold him to being a LHD. I would love to add Byram this draft. Smith and Byram could be our top pair of the future if happens. Or, if the start insists on Smith playing on the left side, then having a one-two punch of him and Byram would also be great.

 

[MartyOwns]

Devils need to take BPA as there are a lot of holes both in NJ and in the system.

C:

• Hischier is a fine 1C at the moment, and should be a star in the near future
• After a disappointing offensive season from Zacha, 2C is one of the biggest holes on the team. Perhaps Boqvist shifts to center and excels. If we're picking top 5-10, this is ideally one hole that will get filled in the next two-three years if they draft a C.
• Zacha and Zajac are both good 3Cs
• Seney, McLeod don't really profile to be impact players.

Verdict: a center would fill a big need organizationally.
LW:

• Hall. Not much to be said here. Hopefully he re-signs.
• Johansson is likely gone, and that opens up a huge hole at 2LW. Boqvist may be ready to seize it; maybe Bratt moves back to his natural LW; Wood has been good lately; maybe they want to give Coleman a more offensive role; maybe Zacha?
• Quenneville doesn't seem to have much of a future in the org. after his recent stint of literally producing nothing.

Verdict: based on need, there isn't really much of one.

RW:

• Palmieri is a fine 1RW
• Bratt is a fine 2RW
• Anderson as a 3RW seems less than ideal until he shows more offensive chops; Noesen and Stafford are good as gone.
• Studenic and Zetterlund are intriguing prospects, but not likely to make an impact next year; would not be upset if they gave Lappin a long look at 4RW. He's better than a lot of 4th liners in the league.

Verdict: with Bratt showing he's legit this year, there isn't really much of a need here.

LD:

• I don't think Greene is a total disaster yet, but he should probably be on a third pair.
• Butcher has shown he can adequately handle top 4 minutes
• Not really enamored with Mueller, but he is a passable bottom pair dman.
• Ty Smith is the GOAT, and will likely be a top 4 dman with the potential for much more.
• Davies is one of the best dmen in the NCAA and hopefully turns pro this spring. Has top 4 potential.

Verdict: if NJ decides that the LD is the BPA (Byram Bowen?) then I'd be on board, but it's not a major need.

RD:

• Both Severson and Vatanen are fine second pair dmen, but I have a strong feeling both won't be here next year. Hynes really doesn't like Severson and Vatanen has not been as good this year as last year.
• Lovejoy is likely gone, and hopefully Santini can fill his role as 3RD and PK specialist. I have a feeling it will be a decent step backward considering LJ has been sneaky good the last two year
• Walsh has good offensive potential but the skating really scares me

Verdict: seems like a pretty big need to me

G:

• Depending on what happens with Schneider, Kinkaid should not be back.
• Boy, Blackwood better be legit!

Verdict: obviously, they can't spend a top ten pick on a goalie, but if NJ manages to get a late first, or Spencer Knight sneaks into the early second round, I'd get him. And I'm very anti-goalie in the first two rounds.

To summarize, by need:

1) Center
2) RD
3) LD
4) RW
5) G (should be higher, but based on the riskiness, I'll put it lower.)
6) LW

i’m confused. you say we should draft BPA but then talk about our organizational needs?

 

[OmNomNom]

i’m confused. you say we should draft BPA but then talk about our organizational needs?

the two can collide. ideally, we should take BPA, but if it's another LW, maybe we go with the C or RD instead

idk, either way, the write up is good

 

[Nubmer6]

i’m confused. you say we should draft BPA but then talk about our organizational needs?

There's a difference between who we SHOULD draft and who we HOPE to draft

 

[Brodeur]

CHL Top Prospects game should be on NHL Network next Wednesday. Obviously it's only one game so we shouldn't draw too many conclusions, but it's a nice appetizer to see some of the draft eligibles in action. Central Scouting's midterm rankings are supposed to be out sometime before the game next week and Bob McKenzie said his updated rankings will come out next Thursday.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

i’m confused. you say we should draft BPA but then talk about our organizational needs?

If all things are equal, tie should go to those positions.

 

[MartyOwns]

If all things are equal, tie should go to those positions.

oh ok..that makes more sense

 

[135ace]

I really hope we end up with a top 5 pick as there's some really good talent there. I'd be happy with any of Hughes/Kakko/Cozens/Byram.

 

[thethinglonger]

For what it's worth, I'm going to be looking at my notes over the weekend and working on my top-62 list as of this point.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

I really hope we end up with a top 5 pick as there's some really good talent there. I'd be happy with any of Hughes/Kakko/Cozens/Byram.

Agreed. One of those guys would do wonders for this organization.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I really hope we end up with a top 5 pick as there's some really good talent there. I'd be happy with any of Hughes/Kakko/Cozens/Byram.

Everyone would be happy with the consensus first or second overall, but odds are it won’t happen.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

As of right now who the hell knows where they will end up in the standings but yea overall the chances of getting the 1st overall pick will be low.