Prospect Info: 2020 NHL Entry Draft (Round #1 - 10/6/20 @ 7pm ET)

[Mosby]

Marner would be the best player this franchise has ever had.

The gap between Strome/Marner at the time too was much tighter than the huge gap between Laf and Byfield.

 

[lanky]

I've had Byfield above Lafreniere all season long. He's not as good right now but he will be more important to his team over the long run. I'm not even saying he'll be a better player. He doesn't have to reach that potential (and he does have that potential), in order to be more valuable.

Lafreniere's best comparable might be Hall. Hall is truly elite at LW but he's been traded twice. The center picked right after Hall has been an untouchable franchise player since that draft.

 

[Jamieh]

I've had Byfield above Lafreniere all season long. He's not as good right now but he will be more important to his team over the long run. I'm not even saying he'll be a better player. He doesn't have to reach that potential (and he does have that potential), in order to be more valuable.

Lafreniere's best comparable might be Hall. Hall is truly elite at LW but he's been traded twice. The center picked right after Hall has been an untouchable franchise player since that draft.

That untouchable franchise player has also been traded??

 

[lanky]

That untouchable franchise player has also been traded??

Lol. Yeah he was. I forgot about that.

 

[hbk]

I've had Byfield above Lafreniere all season long. He's not as good right now but he will be more important to his team over the long run. I'm not even saying he'll be a better player. He doesn't have to reach that potential (and he does have that potential), in order to be more valuable.

Lafreniere's best comparable might be Hall. Hall is truly elite at LW but he's been traded twice. The center picked right after Hall has been an untouchable franchise player since that draft.

There’s a number of hockey minds who aren’t sold as Byfield being the #2 in this draft let alone a potential first line Center in the NHL.

I don’t think a team should overthink this. Lafrenniere is the top pick.

 

[Jormungandr]

If we somehow win it, and decide to take a center over the obvious BPA in Laf, I’m taking Stutzle.

 

[rt]

Marner would be the best player this franchise has ever had.

The gap between Strome/Marner at the time too was much tighter than the huge gap between Laf and Byfield.

Absolutely correct.

 

[rt]

If we somehow win it, and decide to take a center over the obvious BPA in Laf, I’m taking Stutzle.

Same. At least Stutzle is ready to go. Byfield has so much to work on. Big project. It’s nuts. Zero GMs or head scouts would take Byfield over Lafrenière. It just wouldn’t happen.

Yes Byfield is a center. But he’s not even half the prospect Lafrenière is. It’s not even close to being a dilemma.

 

[rt]

There’s a number of hockey minds who aren’t sold as Byfield being the #2 in this draft let alone a potential first line Center in the NHL.

I don’t think a team should overthink this. Lafrenniere is the top pick.

Byfield is 3rd on the McKenzie poll.

“The Rimouski Oceanic left winger is the undisputed and unanimous No. 1 on TSN’s Final 2020 NHL Draft Rankings. Ten out of 10 NHL scouts surveyed by TSN ranked Lafreniere first overall, as was the case when he was No. 1 on TSN’s preseason list in September and No. 1 on TSN’s mid-season list in January.
“Easy call,” one scout said of ranking Lafreniere No. 1.
“No hesitation, clear cut,” said another.
Lafreniere, a late-2001 birth year, missed being eligible for last year’s draft by 26 days. Some scouts suggest that if he had been 2019 eligible, he conceivably could have been taken first overall, ahead of top prospects Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko.
“There’s no guesswork involved this year,” a scout said. “We’ve seen [Lafreniere] for three full seasons [in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League], we’ve seen him at the Hlinka tourney, we’ve seen him in playoffs, we’ve seen him in the World Juniors, and he’s been the best player [in the Canadian Hockey League] in back-to-back seasons.”
Lafreniere is not viewed as a generational talent like Connor McDavid or necessarily labelled a franchise player, but there’s no doubting what he is.
“He’s a top-line NHL winger right now,” a scout said. “He’ll walk into the NHL whenever we play next season and he’ll be a top player.”

“Five of 10 scouts surveyed by TSN ranked Stutzle No. 2 overall; the same number had Byfield in that slot. But no scout surveyed had Stutzle lower than No. 3. Two of 10 slotted Byfield at No. 6”

“Lafreniere and Stutzle have elite hockey sense and creativity. Byfield can make plays but it’s not quite the same. Lafreniere and Stutzle have engines that rev high all the time. Byfield can do that too, but hasn’t done it as consistently as the others.”

 

[BUX7PHX]

Sounds like the actual pick was the ping pong balls for team E. That would have been Winnipeg if there was a team tied to E.

Seems about right for us. I would just hate to be the team that wins the lottery, then the playoffs are cancelled, and you have to win the lottery again, even though the order has been theoretically established once points percentage is used.

If we lose in the QR, I am hoping for a relocation of the #1 pick from Winnipeg to Arizona

 

[rt]

Sounds like the actual pick was the ping pong balls for team E. That would have been Winnipeg if there was a team tied to E.

Seems about right for us. I would just hate to be the team that wins the lottery, then the playoffs are cancelled, and you have to win the lottery again, even though the order has been theoretically established once points percentage is used.

If we lose in the QR, I am hoping for a relocation of the #1 pick from Winnipeg to Arizona

Haha. Nice! Do you have a link?

 

[BUX7PHX]

Haha. Nice! Do you have a link?

I don't have Twitter, but I believe it was on Bob McKenzie's account.

 

[rt]

If we lose to Nashville, this lottery is going to feel like it has the stakes of the McEichel draft again. Not because Lafrenière is in the same league as those guys, but because the choices suddenly become:

A) Pick 1st overall
B) Lose 10th overall for nothing

 

[BUX7PHX]

If we lose to Nashville, this lottery is going to feel like it has the stakes of the McEichel draft again. Not because Lafrenière is in the same league as those guys, but because the choices suddenly become:

A) Pick 1st overall
B) Lose 10th overall for nothing

Yeah, honestly though, I quietly like where we are at. I actually think that if Kessel was nursing an injury, and we are right health-wise, we are the type of team whose speed can push us ahead. While teams will have practiced and had training camp, I think we may jump on a team like Nashville and the momentum could carry over further. Plus, now we have gotten to practice with Hall and get him comfortable in the system, which is harder to do mid-season.

Maybe I am just highlighting what I think are the positives for us.

 

[BUX7PHX]

Regarding who to take - no overthinking. Lafreniere all the way. The exception that I might make is if we were committed to taking a C and traded the #1 pick and Stepan to Ottawa for #3 and 5

 

[Heldig]

Sounds like the actual pick was the ping pong balls for team E. That would have been Winnipeg if there was a team tied to E.

Seems about right for us. I would just hate to be the team that wins the lottery, then the playoffs are cancelled, and you have to win the lottery again, even though the order has been theoretically established once points percentage is used.

If we lose in the QR, I am hoping for a relocation of the #1 pick from Winnipeg to Arizona

Just a terrible format the NHL went with for this draft.

As you mention, a team has won the lottery but dont get to keep it.

Now we have 16 teams faced with the knowledge IF they lose the so-called "play in" they have a 1 in 8 chance to get the 1st overall pick. Pretty big incentive to not win.

 

[Murf]

For my money, that wouldn’t be enough incentive to get tanky.

 

[BUX7PHX]

Just a terrible format the NHL went with for this draft.

As you mention, a team has won the lottery but dont get to keep it.

Now we have 16 teams faced with the knowledge IF they lose the so-called "play in" they have a 1 in 8 chance to get the 1st overall pick. Pretty big incentive to not win.

Yeah, I think this could have been done way differently. I actually like the way that teams A through H were presented, but what should happen is you keep that under lock and key. All that needs to be known is a QR loser lost, but no one knows which one. That would be phase 1.

If the playoffs get postponed, then whatever order that came up based on point percentage stays the same, as that was the methodology used to calculate who the teams in the QR would be in the first place.

If the QR occurs, once those lottery teams are known, that order is determined based off of point percentage again.

As an example, if I were to flip a coin where heads means the favorite wins and tails means the underdog wins, here are the lottery teams from the QR:

Montreal
Carolina
NYI
Columbus
Chicago
Arizona
Vancouver
Calgary

The points percentage would now reorder the teams as:
Team A - Montreal
Team B - Chicago
Team C - Arizona
Team D - Calgary
Team E - Vancouver
Team F - Columbus
Team G - NYI
Team H - Carolina

So, once this is done, the NHL opens an envelope with the letter and we find out what happens. If this were the scenario that plays out and letter E was chosen, then Winnipeg would get #1 if playoffs are cancelled, and if these are the results, then team E would be Vancouver.

The reason that I disagree with the redraw should be obvious. Take team H in the hypothetical scenario that I showed - Carolina. What is the likelihood that Carolina winds up being anything less than team F, G, or H? Pretty slim right? But by holding each of those 8 teams as "equal value," it is the equivalent of saying that Carolina could hypothetically slide into a spot that Chicago has, even though Carolina is 9 points ahead of Chicago's pace and has two games in hand. It would require such an epic fall for Carolina to go from there to being considered team A or B, so why do another draw where every team has an equal chance of getting redrawn into a slot? Let the QR determine qualifiers and then keep the letter unknown until the reveal.

One drawing needed and one opening of an envelope

 

[lanky]

Byfield is 3rd on the McKenzie poll.

“The Rimouski Oceanic left winger is the undisputed and unanimous No. 1 on TSN’s Final 2020 NHL Draft Rankings. Ten out of 10 NHL scouts surveyed by TSN ranked Lafreniere first overall, as was the case when he was No. 1 on TSN’s preseason list in September and No. 1 on TSN’s mid-season list in January.
“Easy call,” one scout said of ranking Lafreniere No. 1.
“No hesitation, clear cut,” said another.
Lafreniere, a late-2001 birth year, missed being eligible for last year’s draft by 26 days. Some scouts suggest that if he had been 2019 eligible, he conceivably could have been taken first overall, ahead of top prospects Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko.
“There’s no guesswork involved this year,” a scout said. “We’ve seen [Lafreniere] for three full seasons [in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League], we’ve seen him at the Hlinka tourney, we’ve seen him in playoffs, we’ve seen him in the World Juniors, and he’s been the best player [in the Canadian Hockey League] in back-to-back seasons.”
Lafreniere is not viewed as a generational talent like Connor McDavid or necessarily labelled a franchise player, but there’s no doubting what he is.
“He’s a top-line NHL winger right now,” a scout said. “He’ll walk into the NHL whenever we play next season and he’ll be a top player.”

“Five of 10 scouts surveyed by TSN ranked Stutzle No. 2 overall; the same number had Byfield in that slot. But no scout surveyed had Stutzle lower than No. 3. Two of 10 slotted Byfield at No. 6”

“Lafreniere and Stutzle have elite hockey sense and creativity. Byfield can make plays but it’s not quite the same. Lafreniere and Stutzle have engines that rev high all the time. Byfield can do that too, but hasn’t done it as consistently as the others.”

Meh.

@Puck possession wins and I aren't the only ones.
Robinson: “Final” 2020 NHL Draft Rankings (June 2020)
We also know that Chayka isn't influenced by consensus.

We'll find out in five years who was right.

 

[Heldig]

Meh.

@Puck possession wins and I aren't the only ones.
Robinson: “Final” 2020 NHL Draft Rankings (June 2020)
We also know that Chayka isn't influenced by consensus.

We'll find out in five years who was right.

Chayka probably chooses the Russian goalie.

 

[rt]

I see Lafrenière as some unholy mixture of Jamie Benn, Taylor Hall, Brady Tkachuk, and Jonathan Huberdeau.

 

[Sinurgy]

I know it's fun to dream but the Coyotes are not getting the #1 pick. While 12.5% may be decent odds relatively speaking, overall it's still pretty shitty and that's without even factoring in the Coyotes historically good luck.

 

[Sinurgy]

Chayka probably chooses the Russian goalie.

We got our guy! We actually had him as our number 1 for 2020 and 2021, he's that premium!

 

[rt]

Just a terrible format the NHL went with for this draft.

As you mention, a team has won the lottery but dont get to keep it.

Now we have 16 teams faced with the knowledge IF they lose the so-called "play in" they have a 1 in 8 chance to get the 1st overall pick. Pretty big incentive to not win.

Incentive for who? You think Hall or Stepan or Goligoski give a rats ass about the draft? How about Garland or Chychrun? Nope. Tocchet certianly wants to win. So does MacLean and Housley. So who is incentivized?

 

[Heldig]

Incentive for who? You think Hall or Stepan or Goligoski give a rats ass about the draft? How about Garland or Chychrun? Nope. Tocchet certianly wants to win. So does MacLean and Housley. So who is incentivized?

I mostly meant the optics of it.