STL fan in MN
Registered User
- Aug 16, 2007
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The only one I currently have in the top-5 is Buium at 5.Just curious, how do you rank the top handful of defensemen, and which are worthy of a top 5 pick?
I’m just not as high on this D class as most. I like a lot of them but pretty much each one has what could be a pretty fatal flaw.
5 - Buium. Has the high hockey sense I like. Anticipates play very well. His game has grown a ton in the last year. I think he’s good defensively but not excellent. Going to be a good two-way guy but question if he can be a #1. Ok size at 6’0”.
6 - Silayev. He’s huge (6’7”) and skates pretty well. That’s pretty much it. Could be the next Chara type. Or next Tyler Myers. Hard to get a read as he’s been playing in the KHL. Is his game super basic because that’s really all he’s capable of or is it because he’s playing in a top pro league and he’s keeping it simple? He hasn’t shown that creativity at lower levels in previous years so I lean towards the former.
10 - Levshunov. Brings pretty much all of the physical elements you want but I question his hockey sense a bit. Are his dumb plays because he’s trying too much in college hockey and hasn’t adapted yet (he was the 3rd youngest player in college hockey this season) or is it because he’s just not processing the game super fast? He’s good but very inconsistent.
11 - Yakemchuk. He’s all over the place for me. Sometimes his D looks like a mess, other times he’s very smooth. Sometimes he appears to have high hockey sense and other times he seems to completely misread a play, ignore his mark etc. He’s a guy that has a lot of potential if he can smooth out his game. I plan on trying to find more of his games as right now, I don’t have a solid opinion of his game. Boom/bust type IMO.
12 - Dickinson. I’ve already discussed what I see in him.
13 Parekh. I really want to like Parekh but he’s so frustrating. He’s a joy to watch in the Jr game as his skills and offensive hockey sense are extremely evident but he has so many defensive holes in his game, I have a hard time projecting his game as a pro. He has a lot to smooth out. He’s made strides this season though. He’s smart and I tend to bank on smart players learning the adjustments they need to make. But he’s also 6’0” so a bit undersized. In the end, I think he’s going to become a good NHLer as his offensive skills are they good but he’ll have to be sheltered and not counted on to be your team’s stud all-situations d-man.
After that it’s guys like Jiricek, Badinka, Kiviharju, Vaisanen, Pulkkinen, LSW, Hutson, Freij, Elick, Emery, Mews, Galvas, Solberg, Ustinkov…I see a lot of quality d-men ranked in the late 1st all the way through the 2nd and into the 3rd.
My focus almost all season has been on d-men as that’s what the Blues really need and this draft was billed as being D heavy…BUT, as I’ve dug in more and more, I seem to keep lowering the d-men and raising the forwards. The Blues main need may be D but IMO, the way this draft is shaping up, the most likely best player available is much more likely to be a forward at pick 16 than a d-man.