NHL Entry Draft 2022 NHL Draft Thread

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I would say after number one, it is really tight from two to somewhere around that 12-15 mark.

On a different note, could someone who is a fan of Slafkovsky sell me on him? I've seen a decent amount but not a lot. I just don't see him as a top five player in this draft class right now. What should I be watching for in future viewings?

His ability to play the puck possession game so well for a big guy. Usually guys his size defer the puck to more shiftier players on their line, and they cause havoc around the front of the net and the like(such as Hertl) and what have you, but he is the one who dictates the pace on his line, and when he gets going, his puck protection is unbelievable. The size, speed, skill and raw ability are just tantalizing. Rantanen type impact but perhaps a bit less shiftiness and more assertiveness physically. I've seen Slafkovsky try to take on 3-4 men while attacking the middle of the ice from the corner boards and almost succeeding(from the cycle). He also thinks the game realllly well and that's evident by his subtle stick checks in board battles and he's quite notable defensively. Also, his creativity when he tries to find guys in front as he comes out from behind the net. His pivoting also spectacular for a big guy and can often lose his forechecker with surprising cuts.

I think we havent seen him in top 3ish rankings because some might have expected to have seen better production in the top league with his already mature body.

 

[MatchesMalone]

His ability to play the puck possession game so well for a big guy. Usually guys his size defer the puck to more shiftier players on their line, and they cause havoc around the front of the net and the like(such as Hertl) and what have you, but he is the one who dictates the pace on his line, and when he gets going, his puck protection is unbelievable. The size, speed, skill and raw ability are just tantalizing. Rantanen type impact but perhaps a bit less shiftiness and more assertiveness physically. I've seen Slafkovsky try to take on 3-4 men while attacking the middle of the ice from the corner boards and almost succeeding(from the cycle). He also thinks the game realllly well and that's evident by his subtle stick checks in board battles and he's quite notable defensively. Also, his creativity when he tries to find guys in front as he comes out from behind the net. His pivoting also spectacular for a big guy and can often lose his forechecker with surprising cuts.

I think we havent seen him in top 3ish rankings because some might have expected to have seen better production in the top league with his already mature body.

Cool, thanks. I'll be sure to watch for his possession game next time. A good amount of my viewings on him came from the Hlinkas, and I actually found he did defer a good amount to his linemates, but I guess when your linemates are Mesar and Dvorsky that's a bit of a special circumstance. I did notice his hockey IQ seemed pretty impressive, particularly on the forecheck, but I'll need more viewings to get a better read on it overall. I also remember noticing some impressive work from him battling and protecting the puck down low. I found the thing that stood out most was just his stick skills and confidence to use them, as well as his physicality.

The thing is, if he's not in most top threes primarily due to lack of production at the pro level, it would be completely fair to ask, why isn't he producing more? Size and strength is generally the first excuse for young players at the pro level. I haven't seen any games from him in Liiga so I have no idea what's going on there.

 

[MatchesMalone]

Ok I watched another Slafkovsky game from Hlinkas and one from World Juniors, and I'm starting to come around on him. Wright-Miro is still 1-2 with a bullet for me, but then I'd say Yurov, Nemec, Slafkovsky are neck-in-neck for 3-5, and then Jiricek, Cooley, Nazar, Savoie are all nipping at their heels for top five spots, with Lekkerimaki, Kemell, Geekie not too far behind.

 

[NHL Dude 120]

Just need to stay where we are in the standings. I'm ok with every prospect in the top 10 but I'd rather pick early.

 

[GCK]

Just need to stay where we are in the standings. I'm ok with every prospect in the top 10 but I'd rather pick early.

The schedule maker has done you a favour in that case. I really believe we are about 10-11 in our conference but with our schedule there is no way we move up very far. Starting Monday we play 9 games in 15 days. 9 games, 6 non game days, 5 cities, 0 practices. The league is setting us up for a lot more injuries.

 

[MatchesMalone]

I love these sequences of top prospects head-to-head. Here shorthanded Miroshnichenko intercepts Slafkovsky's seam pass, puts a move on Nemec, and creates a shorthanded goal.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[MatchesMalone]

What an odd statement - "well on his way". He is actually not on pace to breaking the record, and the record in question is defined entirely by pace. He will need to continue to improve his per game totals to break the record (Robert Nilsson - 2.00 p/g).

That said, this is pretty goddamn impressive. And this isn't a Zion Nybeck-type situation, kid is 6'1 and beefy is hell. Some room for mitigation in that he's had a stellar supporting cast in Noah Ostlund, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Calle Odellius, and also the advantage he has from being so physically mature for a U18. But still, something doesn't add up when a kid with those stats and that frame isn't considered a consensus top 10 or 15 pick. He might not have Lekkerimaki's hockey IQ, but his raw tools are exceptional.

As I discussed recently, there's five sub-6'0 forwards considered to be consensus top 10-15 picks, but it seems almost impossible that all five actually go in the top ten. A couple of them will end up falling, and a couple lower-ranked but more normal-sized players will sneak in to that top ten or twelve. My money would be on Liam Ohgren as one of them. But there's a handful of others in consideration - Pavel Mintyukov, Kevin Korchinski, Marco Kasper, Cutter Gauthier, Jimmy Snuggerud, maybe Tristan Luneau. Is Rutger McGroarty still considered in that mix? Seems to be a lot of concerns coming up around his skating. And then of course personally I would add Gleb Trikozov, but I seem to be in the extreme minority on that one.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Man, I have a big feeling there's an Aho/Point/Bergeron/Subban somewhere in later parts of the 1st round or early 2nd.

We have 6 picks in the first 3 rounds. Hopefully we go full force on skill yet again like 2020. Might be able to get another 3rd for Tierney.

 

[GCK]

Man, I have a big feeling there's an Aho/Point/Bergeron/Subban somewhere in later parts of the 1st round or early 2nd.

We have 6 picks in the first 3 rounds. Hopefully we go full force on skill yet again like 2020. Might be able to get another 3rd for Tierney.

Oddly enough 3 of the 4 you listed wouldn’t have been “pure skill” picks.