GDT: 4/21/13 - 6:00PM EDT - Carolina VS Tampa Bay

[Steve Yzerman]

Watch Yzerman pick somebody nobody has on their top-5 or even top-10 list with our top-3 pick.

Or: Do you guys see him trading our 1st rounder (+x) for a stud defenseman?

Yzerman's drafting has been really good actually. He's gotten quality prospects even in later rounds.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Yzerman's drafting has been really good actually. He's gotten quality prospects even in later rounds.

Only time will tell. They look good on paper but most of those picks are still just prospects.

But my point was that nobody, including legit experts like Bob McKenzie, really had Connolly or Koekkoek on the radar until Yzerman picked them "out of nowhere".

 

[2 Weekes Notice]

Only time will tell. They look good on paper but most of those picks are still just prospects.

But my point was that nobody, including legit experts like Bob McKenzie, really had Connolly or Koekkoek on the radar until Yzerman picked them "out of nowhere".

Really? I remember Connolly being rated as just outside of the Hall-Seguin debate. I thought the whole time he was only considered a risk due to injury, but an elite prospect otherwise.

But Koekkoek, you're right about that one. Last year was a weird draft all around, but the Vasilevskiy pick really saved it for us I think. If Vasi had gone 10 and Koekkoek had gone 19, I don't think many would have batted an eye.

 

[BoltSTH]

Really? I remember Connolly being rated as just outside of the Hall-Seguin debate. I thought the whole time he was only considered a risk due to injury, but an elite prospect otherwise.

But Koekkoek, you're right about that one. Last year was a weird draft all around, but the Vasilevskiy pick really saved it for us I think. If Vasi had gone 10 and Koekkoek had gone 19, I don't think many would have batted an eye.

The wild draft analysis had Koekkoek as their pick at 16, and Hockey Writers anywhere from mid 1st to 2nd round, so 10th is not that of a stretch.

http://www.hockeywilderness.com/2012/5/25/3043251/nhl-draft-2012-prospects-16-slater-koekkoek

http://thehockeywriters.com/slater-koekkoek-the-next-ones-2012-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/

 

[The Wyzerhood]

Really? I remember Connolly being rated as just outside of the Hall-Seguin debate. I thought the whole time he was only considered a risk due to injury, but an elite prospect otherwise.

But Koekkoek, you're right about that one. Last year was a weird draft all around, but the Vasilevskiy pick really saved it for us I think. If Vasi had gone 10 and Koekkoek had gone 19, I don't think many would have batted an eye.

Yeah, Connolly was slated to go anywhere in top 10 because of the injury concern, but he was in the discussion of challenging for #1 overall until his season abruptly ended.

Koekkoek was definitely a reach, but not completely out of the blue, since he was slotted to go late in the first round between picks 20-30.

SFY seems to draft players who were once rated highly, but fell in the draft because of injury. With the plethora of prospects we currently have and our success rate in developing them, he is afforded the luxury of taking higher risk players than other GMs.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Only time will tell. They look good on paper but most of those picks are still just prospects.

But my point was that nobody, including legit experts like Bob McKenzie, really had Connolly or Koekkoek on the radar until Yzerman picked them "out of nowhere".

Gotta disagree here - Connolly was slated to be in the top three and potentially first overall if hip flexors didn't slow him down. Koekkoek was just a wildcard because of the shoulder injury.

 

[The Wyzerhood]

I can see Florida drafting MacKinnon at #1 overall. He seems like a safer pick than Drouin, as he's been slated to go 1st overall for a couple years now. His production in the playoffs has been on pace with Drouin and his regular season numbers would undoubtedly have been better had he not been injured.

Also, Florida already drafted a high risk, high reward type player with a similar skill set in Huberdeau, so I think MacKinnon makes more sense than Drouin as his game is more about balance, puck control and vision, where as Drouin's is deking, creativity and vision. In theory, the two centers (Hub and MacKinnon) would complement each other very, very well, similar to how MacKinnon and Drouin have meshed at Halifax.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Shame on me, for whatever reason I thought Connolly had dropped a lot further than he actually did at the time of the draft because of his injuries. NHL Central Scouting had him at #3 among North American skaters, while McKenzie had him at #8 overall. So nevermind.

At least in Koekkoek's case I remembered correctly: NHL Central Scouting even ranked him at just #23 in their final rankings among North American skaters only: http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=79331

All I'm saying is you never know with Yzerman. Especially since Connolly wasn't "his" pick to begin with, IIRC.

(Man, three years is a long time...)

 

[The Wyzerhood]

Shame on me, for whatever reason I thought Connolly had dropped a lot further than he actually did at the time of the draft because of his injuries. NHL Central Scouting had him at #3 among North American skaters, while McKenzie had him at #8 overall. So nevermind.

At least in Koekkoek's case I remembered correctly: NHL Central Scouting even ranked him at just #23 in their final rankings among North American skaters only: http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=79331

All I'm saying is you never know with Yzerman. Especially since Connolly wasn't "his" pick to begin with, IIRC.

(Man, three years is a long time...)

not your day LS. Connolly was SFY's first ever draft pick as Tampa GM:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-lightning-make-brett-connolly-their-top-pick

 

[LightningStrikes]

not your day LS. Connolly was SFY's first ever draft pick as Tampa GM:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-lightning-make-brett-connolly-their-top-pick

Hehe yeah, but he let Kurvers and the scouting staff decide who to pick since he was just named the Lightning's GM:

Yzerman said assistant GM Tom Kurvers, who had been serving as interim GM following Brian Lawton's dismissal, is heading the group that will make the final determination on who the Lightning take.

"Being here at the Combine, they're going to run the draft and make decisions on who the Lightning pick," Yzerman said. "About all I can do is question and challenge and make sure they're thorough in their decisions."

Kurvers told NHL.com that he feels the work he and his scouting department -- headed by Director of Player Personnel Jim Hammett and Head Amateur Scout Darryl Plandowski -- have a good handle which prospects will best help the club. But he said he's very eager to get Yzerman's input.

More: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=530362

(Dodged that one. )

 

[MattM92]

Yzerman's first official pick was used on Vladdy, wasn't it?

 

[HotPaquette]

Yzerman's first official pick was used on Vladdy, wasn't it?

Correct

 

[bassassin]

Yzerman's first official pick was used on Vladdy, wasn't it?

Looking like a damn good pick so far, our future 2nd line centre (vinny's replacement)....book it!

 

[The Wyzerhood]

Hehe yeah, but he let Kurvers and the scouting staff decide who to pick since he was just named the Lightning's GM:


More: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=530362

(Dodged that one. )

Good catch and fair play! However, Connolly is still "technically" SFY's first pick as a GM, no matter what semantics the others in here are arguing. SFY was the Tampa GM going into, during and after the draft