GDT: 6/22/2018 | NHL Entry Draft | 7:30PM | NBCSN

Dotter

THE ATHLETIC IS GARBAGE
Jul 2, 2014
8,439
2,880
Imprisonment, TN
goo.gl
I said after round 2... meaning 3rd round and beyond.

Too bad there was no Dahlin, Dobson, Bouchard names in the 3rd round and beyond. Guess that's why it's the 3rd round and beyond, and where the scouts earn their paychecks. Not something you can do sitting behind your computer watching random YouTube highlight videos....
 

Frk It

Mo Seider Less Problems
Jul 27, 2010
36,201
14,684
Too bad there was no Dahlin, Dobson, Bouchard names in the 3rd round and beyond. Guess that's why it's the 3rd round and beyond, and where the scouts earn their paychecks. Not something you can do sitting behind your computer watching random YouTube highlight videos....

Lol... heaven forbid someone who already praised round 1 and round 2 criticizes something.

Thank god for the ignore option.
 

Dotter

THE ATHLETIC IS GARBAGE
Jul 2, 2014
8,439
2,880
Imprisonment, TN
goo.gl
Here's my opinion on every pick:

Zadina: A+ I think he'll be a star for us. Very high upside, high skill player. Awesome pick, the only real issue is our lack of D. He can do it all and is just a great choice. Can't wait to watch him dangle through two defenders before ripping a writer by the goalie.

Veleno: A, I'm really happy with him at 30. He's going to be a 2C IMO. Still need D but you can't pass on BPA. He'll bring great speed and playmaking. He's got high-end vision, and is responsible.

Berggren: A, I'm really high on Berggren. Once again we needed D, but Berggren was BPA. Ton of speed, hard-working and a skilled player. He'll be a solid top 6 forward for us. High floor and high ceiling. More than any other player in the draft, he'd steal my attention when I watched other prospects play.

McIsaac: B-, we needed D but I don't think McIsaac was the best available. He's a safe choice to play and round out our group of Hronek, Cholowski, and Saarijarvi well. We still need a leader on the back end, but McIsaac brings good speed, physicality and inconsistent offence. Solid but not great choice.

Regula: C+, similar to McIsaac I think there were better players available, but he's a solid choice. Great size and some untapped potential, but I don't see high end upside.

Barton: C+, don't know much about him, but he had a decent season in the BCHL. I think there were better players available but he could be a hidden gem.

Eliasson: B-, he's an unknown Hakan goalie. Wings usually do well with those, but there's nothing to go on with him. I'm fine with it.

ROR: B-, solid pick, great name and I think he has good upside for a pick this late. Speedy, strong and has some skill.

Brattstrom: B, overager goalie that's been putting up solid numbers. He's huge. I like the pick.

Otto Kivenmaki: B+, tiny, skilled speedster. Exactly the type of player worth throwing a late-round flyer on. Probably turns into nothing, but he could be good.

Overall I'm very happy with our first two rounds. I don't like our middle picks and think we didn't do well identifying the high potential D available. Then we finished the draft well throwing flyers at guys with some potential. I give this draft an A- overall. We really need to get a leader on defense somehow though.

I wanted Bode Wilde but watching the NHL panel talk about his undisclosed issues, which is why he fell so far, it made me feel thankful Wings went with my 2nd choice; McIsaac. I think he's low risk choice with a decent reward. He's listed as a PMD and he's not scared of physical play. I think of Brent Seabrook. Not that offensively gifted but can still put up important points, but an overall solid dman that will be a big part of the core. I think Bode Wilde has a better high end ceiling, but today I have a big question mark on who he really is. And I think McIsaac is the better player on defense.
 

Run the Jewels

Make Detroit Great Again
Jun 22, 2006
13,819
1,751
In the Garage
Here's my opinion on every pick:

Zadina: A+ I think he'll be a star for us. Very high upside, high skill player. Awesome pick, the only real issue is our lack of D. He can do it all and is just a great choice. Can't wait to watch him dangle through two defenders before ripping a writer by the goalie.

Veleno: A, I'm really happy with him at 30. He's going to be a 2C IMO. Still need D but you can't pass on BPA. He'll bring great speed and playmaking. He's got high-end vision, and is responsible.

Berggren: A, I'm really high on Berggren. Once again we needed D, but Berggren was BPA. Ton of speed, hard-working and a skilled player. He'll be a solid top 6 forward for us. High floor and high ceiling. More than any other player in the draft, he'd steal my attention when I watched other prospects play.

McIsaac: B-, we needed D but I don't think McIsaac was the best available. He's a safe choice to play and round out our group of Hronek, Cholowski, and Saarijarvi well. We still need a leader on the back end, but McIsaac brings good speed, physicality and inconsistent offence. Solid but not great choice.

Regula: C+, similar to McIsaac I think there were better players available, but he's a solid choice. Great size and some untapped potential, but I don't see high end upside.

Barton: C+, don't know much about him, but he had a decent season in the BCHL. I think there were better players available but he could be a hidden gem.

Eliasson: B-, he's an unknown Hakan goalie. Wings usually do well with those, but there's nothing to go on with him. I'm fine with it.

ROR: B-, solid pick, great name and I think he has good upside for a pick this late. Speedy, strong and has some skill.

Brattstrom: B, overager goalie that's been putting up solid numbers. He's huge. I like the pick.

Otto Kivenmaki: B+, tiny, skilled speedster. Exactly the type of player worth throwing a late-round flyer on. Probably turns into nothing, but he could be good.

Overall I'm very happy with our first two rounds. I don't like our middle picks and think we didn't do well identifying the high potential D available. Then we finished the draft well throwing flyers at guys with some potential. I give this draft an A- overall. We really need to get a leader on defense somehow though.
Overall I'd give the draft a B rating. I feel like McIsaac is one of those very low ceiling guys where you can be confident he'll play in the NHL. That's probably a win for Holland given our struggles at developing defense but there's probably little to no offensive upside.

I really like the Zadina and Berggren picks. I am OK with the Veleno pick but as I stated earlier I would have liked to see us be aggressive in trying to move into the middle third of the first round after drafting Zadina. There were picks there to be had but we sat back. It worked out OK as Veleno was definitely good value. For Regula and beyond I don't give those picks too much thought. The odds are pretty long that any of them will turn into quality NHL'ers.
 

Shaman464

No u
May 1, 2009
10,212
4,423
Boston, MA
Zadina: A, Honestly couldn't pass him up. Wish there was some way to blame Holland, but the guy could be the team's first 40/40 guy since Z and Hossa in the late 00's.

Veleno: B/B+, in a vacuum its a good pick. Unfortunately we don't live in that vacuum. He looks to be a solid Jordan Staal style 2nd/3rd line anchor center. And that would be great if Detroit didn't need defense. At this point the grade drops more because of the opportunity cost of drafting a center instead of maximizing their chances at D more than anything else.

Berggren: B+/A-. Again another player that falls into the category 'good in a vacuum, but not great given Detroit's needs'. Detroit needs more wingers like most people need another hole in their heads. Especially with great to elite wingers in the system like Ras, Zadina, and possibly Mantha. Add to that they also have AA, Bert, and Svech who all could be slotted into the top 6, this feels like a redundant pick.

McIsaac: B+, I am pretty happy with this pick, but it would have been better if this pick were part of a spat of 3 others that were high risk high reward, as McIsaac feels like the safest of the d available. Being Detroit's top D pick in a year that was very deep on defense feels like a huge missed opportunity.

Regula: C, Not high on this pick at all, but whatever, its a crap shoot.



Those are all the players I am at all equipped to even remotely analyze. I'd give Detroit a B+ for the draft. But I think drafting 3 forwards with their top 3 picks was a mistake and could set back the rebuild for years. But, at least they will likely score a ton of goals.
 

J15

Registered User
Mar 18, 2009
1,057
305
I can't wrap my head around people criticizing the Veleno/Berggren picks. Wings do not lack D prospects, they lack #1 D prospects. We have Cholowski, Hicketts, Hronek, McIsaac who all have middle pairing upside. Is our franchise really better off if we add two more similar type players to that group instead of Veleno and Berggren?
 

obey86

Registered User
Jun 9, 2009
8,013
1,274
Wait, the Wings drafted a 137 lb center in the 7th round? lol

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golffuul

Registered User
Oct 24, 2011
4,923
2,784
Loved our drafting. Anything in Round 3 and beyond is all about trying to find a Jamie Benn. Especially after you have 4 picks in the top 40. You get the bonus 1st and 2nd round picks to really bolster your prospect pool and then everything else is about swinging for the fences with some "he's good...and if he could get better at 'X'...he would really be good" kind of players.

Solid B+/A- for our drafting, this year.
 

DetroitRed

Crashes the Crease
Apr 7, 2013
2,871
951
Detroit
I think they were very fortunate to get Veleno. That was the biggest surprise of the first round for me.

As for the second round, I'm very curious about Berggren. I felt like he was a good choice where they picked him. Picking McIsaac after him though, made me think the Wings see Berggren as pretty special.

The only other notable I had was seeing them wait until their seventh pick to grab a goalie. I was thinking they would use their second third-round pick on a goalie (one pick earlier). Again, they must think a lot of Berggren, because drafting him pushed back drafting for needs by that one pick. So... I kinda feel like the Berggren pick is important for them to be right about. You know, if they hadn't picked Zadina, it would have been questioned by a lot of people. Veleno is the same in that regard. However, Berggren was a little off script.
 

Go Wings

Registered User
Sep 26, 2009
6,163
4,127
Chatham, ON
From worst to first. Last year's draft was widely recognized by the majority of hfboard folks and fans as the worst of all 31 teams. The fact that no player outside of Rasmussen really took a step forward confirms that so far.

Fast forward to this year when it is widely considered that Detroit and NYI had the best drafts

Isn't it amazing how things can change when you focus on speed and skill instead of size and character like last year.

Last year's draft: D

This year's draft: A+
 

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