36 Jared McIsaac

[Frk It]

I think we did well with our draft overall, but I am concerned that we didn't walk away with at least one slightly more skilled defensemen. That is what I wanted going into the draft. I didn't need four defensemen in the first two rounds, but I did see them as the strength of this draft class. I think next year will not be nearly as strong in terms of defensemen, especially high in the first round.

FWIW I did not expect JBD to be taken that high. I guess time will tell. If we move AA for a strong defensive prospect I will probably feel better about it.

I get you, I’m a big fan of the 3 forwards we drafted, finally got some guys with puck skills like I’ve been asking for with Zadina and Berggren.

But it’s a little bittersweet when we are walking away with McIsaac as our best defensive prospect. I can’t pull up his game log, but I feel like he did have a much better ppg over the 2nd half of the season. I hope he has some untapped offense there, I guess we will find out.

 

[Big Ed]

I get you, I’m a big fan of the 3 forwards we drafted, finally got some guys with puck skills like I’ve been asking for with Zadina and Berggren.

But it’s a little bittersweet when we are walking away with McIsaac as our best defensive prospect. I can’t pull up his game log, but I feel like he did have a much better ppg over the 2nd half of the season. I hope he has some untapped offense there, I guess we will find out.

27 points in his last 29 games, not including playoffs.

 

[Spitfire11]

This draft has taught us a lot about what people really want on draft day. You hear a lot of talk throughout the year about swinging for the fences, skill over size, targeting upside, yadda. When push came to shove, people really wanted safe players with size (see Veleno and McIssac).

It's a mix. You point out Veleno and McIsaac, but then Berggren and basically the rest of their draft picks are all swinging for the fences, targeting upside as you say. Not a bad idea to pick a couple prospects you can be fairly sure are going to contribute, especially after their impressive run of complete busts. Not to mention Veleno/McIsaac were both projected top-10 picks a year ago and have upside of their own. I think it's safe to say no one here projected Larkin to become the player he is now when he was drafted.

 

[A Few Good Males]

I feel that defenseman drafted in the second-round are never pegged as having top-pair potential, yet a significant number of second-round defenseman turn out to be top pairing guys. Biggest dig on McIsaac is his lack of offensive skill, but check out this highlight reel .

1:13 looks like a pretty decent display of skill to me.

Probably in the minority here, but I like his upside.

 

[newfy]

Newfy, you and I both know that many less than smart players still manage to produce well at the junior level. Junior hockey isn't professional hockey. I find Veleno's hockey IQ pretty average on most nights. He is still a good use of a 30th pick and will be a useful NHL player that outplays his draft position, but expectations need to be reeled in a bit in my opinion. Like I said before, if people are expecting him to turn out like Larkin, they will be disappointed.

Did you watch the U18s this year? The Canadians were awful. Being the third best player on that team in that tournament is like being the third tallest midget. Again the point isn't that you can't pair a defense-first player with an offensive one. The point is that the defensive player still needs to be smart and make good decisions with the puck in a timely fashion. You didn't see Stuart coughing up the puck a ton in his prime even against stiff match-ups.

Again, McIsaac has the right to prove me wrong, but color me skeptical until he does.

Miscommunication I guess. I agree, not smart to think Veleno is another Larkin, fair to think he'll be better than 30th. I might think theres more untapped offense there than you do, but I dont think we're far off in what we think of him actually. Better than a typical 30th overall, still a long way to go is how I would put it.

And ya I did watch the u18s and didnt think McIsaac was bad except for the USA game. I think Stuart is a very fair comparison really for his potential. McIsaac can make a good outlet pass and has some offensive qualities but is still a primary defensive guy that hits hard, very similar to Stuart. Hes a second round dman, I'm not going to say hes going to be a top 4 D, but I think his track record at this point is better than the second round D the wings have had in years past like Ouellet and Sproul (not that thats much to be proud of)