2022 NHL Entry Draft - Kraken Edition

[Fistfullofbeer]

Anyways, we're all basically arm chair scouting here and it's fun, isn't it?

Ha ha. It certainly is. I will just say that I have a lot more faith in whoever our team drafts than what I did as a Sharks fan. Francis has a proven history with drafting and out 1st year's draft does look pretty good so far. I know we are unlikely to use all of our extra draft picks this year but the ones that we use give me some hope of our prospect pool getting better over the next few years.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Ha ha. It certainly is. I will just say that I have a lot more faith in whoever our team drafts than what I did as a Sharks fan. Francis has a proven history with drafting and out 1st year's draft does look pretty good so far. I know we are unlikely to use all of our extra draft picks this year but the ones that we use give me some hope of our prospect pool getting better over the next few years.

Yeah, Francis and his scouting staff(which is nearly the same he had in Carolina) seems to be something that can make you hopeful as a fan.

Though, he did have a few gaffes in the first round, for example taking Fleury over Nylander and Eller.

So let's hope he'll do a good job with this years first rounder(you basically have to hit this one) and keep on doing a good job with picks in round 2 - 7.

BTW:; I'm also looking forward to the draft because of all those picks.
I do expect Francis to trade away some of them for immediate help but there'll still be more than just seven picks(like last year, which was incredibly boring after no trades at the expansion draft as well) and a chance for a couple of trades(trading up) to go after guys we'd like.

 

[tank44]

Schwartz was doing well until his first injury.

Wasn't Schwartz 1st hurt in the preseason?

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Fond something fun while checking out the NHL Draft Prospects section of this forum.

DraftPro 2022 Simulator

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Elite Prospect end of march discussion.

Top six prospects in 2022


Complete discussion

 

[RainyCityHockey]

The Hockey Writers with another video, this time of Zator's updated rankings.


Watching those videos it seems like they're all over the place and you've got one side(Elite Prospects) having a guy like Jiricek at #2 or #3 while the other side(Hockey Writers) doesn't even have him in the top 10.

Also, it seems like Frank Nazar's a guy the Elite Prospects folks are really high on and they have him at #4 or #5, even ahead of Cooley.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Elite Prospect end of march discussion.

Top six prospects in 2022


Complete discussion

Interesting top-6.

Wright
Jiricek
Nemec
Nazar
Slaf
Cooley

Not sure if Nazar goes above Cooley but basically they did say that the 2-6 is just interchangeable.

 

[sigma six]

I'm 100% more excited at the prospect of adding Nemec or Jiricek than Wright or Cooley. Is that weird?

 

[The Marquis]

I'm 100% more excited at the prospect of adding Nemec or Jiricek than Wright or Cooley. Is that weird?

Kind of

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I'm 100% more excited at the prospect of adding Nemec or Jiricek than Wright or Cooley. Is that weird?

That's most likely because Wright's numbers aren't where a guy with an exceptional status should be.
Also, things are basically all over(besides Wright being #1) and both Nemec and Jiricek are interesting prospects.

The good thing is that we should be able to add pretty good young player to our prospect pool with that first round pick.

BTW: I'm also interested what else we'll be doing and who might slip out of the first round and right into our lap with that early 2nd rounder.
Orf maybe Francis trades up given all the picks he's got.

 

[The Marquis]

That's most likely because Wright's numbers aren't where a guy with an exceptional status should be.
Also, things are basically all over(besides Wright being #1) and both Nemec and Jiricek are interesting prospects.

The good thing is that we should be able to add pretty good young player to our prospect pool with that first round pick.

BTW: I'm also interested what else we'll be doing and who might slip out of the first round and right into our lap with that early 2nd rounder.
Orf maybe Francis trades up given all the picks he's got.

He’d picked it up lately. They are starting to look better. I say that having not looked in a couple weeks.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

That's most likely because Wright's numbers aren't where a guy with an exceptional status should be.
Also, things are basically all over(besides Wright being #1) and both Nemec and Jiricek are interesting prospects.

The good thing is that we should be able to add pretty good young player to our prospect pool with that first round pick.

BTW: I'm also interested what else we'll be doing and who might slip out of the first round and right into our lap with that early 2nd rounder.
Orf maybe Francis trades up given all the picks he's got.

That is a possibility . There are quite a few teams who don’t have a lot of picks and may be willing to move from the late 1st round to the 2nd round for a more quantity vs quality scenario. Pretty sure we have to give up our own 2nd rounder as a starting point plus another 2nd from this year or next plus maybe a 4th.

 

[Irie]

That is a possibility . There are quite a few teams who don’t have a lot of picks and may be willing to move from the late 1st round to the 2nd round for a more quantity vs quality scenario. Pretty sure we have to give up our own 2nd rounder as a starting point plus another 2nd from this year or next plus maybe a 4th.

And given that the player selected at 35 has very close to the same odds as a player selected at 28 of developing into an NHL player (especially with covid effecting prospect development he past couple of years), I think you keep the picks and stock the system.

Unless there is a very discernible drop off from one tier to another (which I don't believe there is this draft), or you have way too many prospects in the system and you are going to risk having to lose some for nothing, I believe in always keeping the picks. 3 lower picks have better odds of producing a valuable prospect than one slightly higher pick.

 

[HoseEmDown]

I think Jiricek is the more dynamic defender but with him missing so much time with a significant knee injury I would go with the safer option in Nemec. If you were picking after 5 then you take the chance on Jiricek and the knee but top 5 you can't take that risk especially when Nemec is almost just as good.

To me I think they end up picking 3rd so they'll have to decide if they want the 1st defenseman off the board or the 1st winger. With how Francis has drafted in the past and the way he set the team up I believe he goes with the defenseman. Not sure what the plans are for the European kids and if they want to come over right away? They can come over and play in the AHL and not burn an ELC year while getting used to the NA game. Detroit did that with Seider which I think any team that gets Nemec should do as well.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I think Jiricek is the more dynamic defender but with him missing so much time with a significant knee injury I would go with the safer option in Nemec. If you were picking after 5 then you take the chance on Jiricek and the knee but top 5 you can't take that risk especially when Nemec is almost just as good.

To me I think they end up picking 3rd so they'll have to decide if they want the 1st defenseman off the board or the 1st winger. With how Francis has drafted in the past and the way he set the team up I believe he goes with the defenseman. Not sure what the plans are for the European kids and if they want to come over right away? They can come over and play in the AHL and not burn an ELC year while getting used to the NA game. Detroit did that with Seider which I think any team that gets Nemec should do as well.

I think the draft is rather unpredictable this season. I would not be shocked if both Jiricek or Nemec go in the top-5. Similarly I would not be shocked if one of them slips into the 6-10 range. If we do end up with one of them, I would expect them to not make our roster till 2023-24 at the earliest and potentially even 2024-25.

Most of the EU kids are likely to have out-clauses for NA. I would expect them to stay in EU for another season anyway though and not play in NA till the following season

 

[kihei]

Has there ever been a great Czech defenseman in the NHL? Anybody better than Kaberle? I'm not sure it's a good risk for the Kraken to choose either of those guys.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Has there ever been a great Czech defenseman in the NHL? Anybody better than Kaberle? I'm not sure it's a good risk for the Kraken to choose either of those guys.

I don't know if that is a good benchmark to go by though. I don't think there was any good player from Slovenia before Kopitar was there?

 

[The Marquis]

I don't know if that is a good benchmark to go by though. I don't think there was any good player from Slovenia before Kopitar was there?

Great example of a question where the answer is “no”

 

[Irie]

Has there ever been a great Czech defenseman in the NHL? Anybody better than Kaberle? I'm not sure it's a good risk for the Kraken to choose either of those guys.

Hamrlik was drafted first overall and rushed by Tampa. He had a solid career, and had a lot of talent, but probably would have been better if he were developed better.

Zidlicky came to Nashville from Europe later in his career, but I'd consider him a top pairing guy there that put up some good numbers, but he started to decline due to age after only a few seasons.

Z. Michalek was really good for several years, but his numbers weren't amazing. But his D was super solid and he was a very smart defender. The way he played in both Phoenix and Pittsburgh, I think every team in the league wanted him in their top four at that time.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Has there ever been a great Czech defenseman in the NHL? Anybody better than Kaberle? I'm not sure it's a good risk for the Kraken to choose either of those guys.

They've certainly had some good ones but not much in terms of NHL success.
Though, you also have to take into consideration that the NHL wasn't the draw(and goal for everyone) like it is today until about the later 80's or early 90's, IMO.

I mean, earlier in his career people always seemed to look for NHL players to talk about if Draisaitl was the best german player when the actual guy was Erich Kuhnhackl who could've played in the NHL but stayed in Europe/Germany.

Back then the money in the NHL was nowhere near it is today(and why everyone wants to come over) and he was able to stay in Germany, with his family, while making basically the same amount of money playing half the games.

BTW: It's quite crazy to me that there isn't much in terms of NHL defensman by a country like Czechia, with it's rich hockey history, while we Germans had guys like Krupp, Seidenberg and Ehrhoff, with Seider now looking to probably outdo all of them.

I don't know if that is a good benchmark to go by though. I don't think there was any good player from Slovenia before Kopitar was there?

Yep.
You always go BPA no matter where the guy's from even if he's the first Jamaican or Brazilian hockey player or whatever...

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Looking at this draft class we of course are hoping for a home run with that first round pick.

Though, Francis has shown to be able to draft pretty well in the 2nd round and beyond and given our four 2nd rounders(unless we use some of them for trades) and that 3rd rounder I'm really interested what we can do there.

A guy I really like is center Jiri Kulich(if he's not taken in the early 20's), even if we have to trade up a couple of spots(@Irie )


Other guys I'd keep an eye on with those 2nd and 3rd round picks are Aleksanteri Kaskimäki(C/ Finnland) and Vinzenz Rorher(RW/ Ottawa 67's).

 

[Irie]

Looking at this draft class we of course are hoping for a home run with that first round pick.

Though, Francis has shown to be able to draft pretty well in the 2nd round and beyond and given our four 2nd rounders(unless we use some of them for trades) and that 3rd rounder I'm really interested what we can do there.

A guy I really like is center Jiri Kulich(if he's not taken in the early 20's), even if we have to trade up a couple of spots(@Irie )


Other guys I'd keep an eye on with those 2nd and 3rd round picks are Aleksanteri Kaskimäki(C/ Finnland) and Vinzenz Rorher(RW/ Ottawa 67's).

Kulich is an interesting prospect, and I like his tenacity, but there are so many interesting prospects between the 20 and 50+ range in central scouting and other rankings, and the fact that round two draft boards vary so much this year is a testament to the depth.

I don't see the tier drop off in the late first round that makes it worth while of trading 2 or 3 picks for 1 this year.

Even guys expected to go in the early 20s, I think it is possible to make solid arguments to take some guys that are expected to go in the early 40s over them.

And you are sorta making my point for me - do you trade an extra pick that you could use to draft Aleksanteri Kaskimaki to move up to grab a guy like Kulich?

Or do you keep the 35th pick, grab whomever falls to you, and then possibly add Kaskimaki with the Nashville/Toronto pick and have two very good prospects, instead of just having Kulich?

Is there that large of a tier drop off to justify trading up for Kulich and losing that second or even third prospect?

 

[HoseEmDown]

Has there ever been a great Czech defenseman in the NHL? Anybody better than Kaberle? I'm not sure it's a good risk for the Kraken to choose either of those guys.

Considering Nemec is Slovakian I don't see the risk.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Kulich is an interesting prospect, and I like his tenacity, but there are so many interesting prospects between the 20 and 50+ range in central scouting and other rankings, and the fact that round two draft boards vary so much this year is a testament to the depth.

I don't see the tier drop off in the late first round that makes it worth while of trading 2 or 3 picks for 1 this year.

Even guys expected to go in the early 20s, I think it is possible to make solid arguments to take some guys that are expected to go in the early 40s over them.

And you are sorta making my point for me - do you trade an extra pick that you could use to draft Aleksanteri Kaskimaki to move up to grab a guy like Kulich?

Or do you keep the 35th pick, grab whomever falls to you, and then possibly add Kaskimaki with the Nashville/Toronto pick and have two very good prospects, instead of just having Kulich?

Is there that large of a tier drop off to justify trading up for Kulich and losing that second or even third prospect?

I'm not advocating for trading up into the early 20's and throwing away three 2nd rounders or something.

Anything after about #20 is dependend on teams different scouting lists and what not and there'll be guys listed(by all those draft experts) in the 20's that will slide into the 2nd round while others will be taken early than any list would suggest.

Though, if Kulich is available at #31 and we could get him by trading our 2nd rounder + a 3rd or a 4th, I wouldn't mind doing that.
We're not going to keep all those picks anyways and if you like a guy you trade up for him.

I mean, I'm pretty sure the Sabres, for example, didn't mind giving up that extra pick to trade up and grab JJ Peterka early in the 2nd round two years ag.

@HoseEmDown
People were actually talking about Jiricek.

 

[Irie]

I'm not advocating for trading up into the early 20's and throwing away three 2nd rounders or something.

Anything after about #20 is dependend on teams different scouting lists and what not and there'll be guys listed(by all those draft experts) in the 20's that will slide into the 2nd round while others will be taken early than any list would suggest.

Though, if Kulich is available at #31 and we could get him by trading our 2nd rounder + a 3rd or a 4th, I wouldn't mind doing that.
We're not going to keep all those picks anyways and if you like a guy you trade up for him.

I mean, I'm pretty sure the Sabres, for example, didn't mind giving up that extra pick to trade up and grab JJ Peterka early in the 2nd round two years ag.

@HoseEmDown
People were actually talking about Jiricek.

I hear you, and I think it is always dependent on a lot of factors at the time, and I even sometimes agree with your premise.

Historical value of moving up from say 35 to the late 1st round, would typically be a late 2nd/early 3rd. So they would likely be giving away a pick in the 55-65 range.

Peterka is actually a great example.

As it turned out, Buffalo gave up both Thomas Bordeleau AND Carter Savoie for Peterka as the picks went.

I am not sure both Savoie and Bordeleau don't end up being better than Peterka when all is said and done.

I mean, I love Peterka as a prospect, but if someone offers the Sabres Bordeleau and Savoie, they would have to make that deal.

Now sometimes it makes tons of sense to make that deal. Especially if you are a team like Phoenix this year that have too many picks and will not be able to fit all the prospects into their system. But Seattle should be looking for more prospects, instead of trying to leverage quantity for quality this early in their existence.

Buffalo had so many picks and prospects that they could not qualify them all, so Botterill just let Brandon Hagel walk. Terrible move, but that would have been an instance where evaluating farm space and leveraging quantity to focus on quality would have made a lot of sense.

I trust Francis' drafting, so I think having 35th + 58th or 66th will be more valuable than trading them for 31st. Especially as the team tries to develop a farm in their second year.