Prospect Info: All-Purpose Caps 2016 NHL Draft Thread

[Johannes de Silentio]

Assuming the Capitals make a deep playoff run and stand pat in terms of keeping the draft picks they currently possess, what do you see happening in late June? Are there any particular positions or prospects that you think or hope they will select?



MOD NOTE: Converting this to a general 2016 draft thread.

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[strungout]

BPA.

/thread

 

[CapsYeti12]

I suppose our 1st pick will be between 26-30 and I expect another european first round selection and especially forward, so someone from this list (Asplund, Rubtsov, Sokolov, Abramov, Grundstrom)

 

[Langway]

Well, we do need a draft thread I guess.

Rubtsov should be long gone. If not, snap him up. Abramov & Sokolov shouldn't be first rounders, Sokolov in particular.

They should go BPA of course. I think it's a little more likely to be a defenseman than normal and there are also a lot of bigger body NA forwards that could also veer them from the typical Euro forward pick.

 

[Bure]

Well, we do need a draft thread I guess.

Rubtsov should be long gone. If not, snap him up. Abramov & Sokolov shouldn't be first rounders, Sokolov in particular.

They should go BPA of course. I think it's a little more likely to be a defenseman than normal and there are also a lot of bigger body NA forwards that could also veer them from the typical Euro forward pick.

Hey, when did you stop becoming a mod? Congrats on retirement!

 

[Langway]

Hey, when did you stop becoming a mod? Congrats on retirement!

Six months maybe. It's been a bit.

Latest McKeen's rankings.

Latest ISS rankings.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

BPA.

Except for goalies. Don't do that again this year.

 

[Johannes de Silentio]

Thanks for the responses thus far. Are there any concerns that we don't appear to have any strong center prospects? It seems like W (Vrana), D (Bowey, Carrick, Siegenthaler), and G (Samsonov) all have at least some depth.

 

[Melkor]

I think they should pick a big forward in the 1st (if they still got it till after deadline). Prospect pool lacks size up front, maybe Sanford has decent body but thats it. And by big forward I don mean a guy like Willy (he's decent at what he does but thats not what Mahoney shoud look for in the 1st round). It should be a big, skilled forward, preferably center who can be an offensive driver of his line and I would want a center who tends to shoot the puck because Nick and Kuzy are good but they're very similar in that sense. They're pass-first type of guys.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

All things being equal, I prefer a Center. But BPA, always and forever.

 

[Langway]

Thanks for the responses thus far. Are there any concerns that we don't appear to have any strong center prospects? It seems like W (Vrana), D (Bowey, Carrick, Siegenthaler), and G (Samsonov) all have at least some depth.

Somewhat but Sanford is having a pretty strong season and it's not something they should reach for. Bitten & Mascherin could be decent center fits, albeit not with a great deal of size. Or Sam Steel could be an option, esp. given that he's a Regina Pat, but I'm not sure he's a first rounder.

Some defensemen that could still be around: Chad Krys, Kale(!) Clague, Jake Bean, Markus Niemelainen, Logan Stanley, Libor Hajek.
Bigger NA wingers: Riley Tufte, Nathan Bastian, Tage Thompson, William Knierim.

Then there's Debrincat, who wasn't great at the WJC but could be an interesting sparkplug Gallagher type best-case.

 

[hockeyfan88]

What kind of player should the Caps target considering Trotz's system?

I would love a Center similar to Backes.

Big two-way forward, good at faceoffs and with some nasty attitude. Is there someone around 26-30 who fits?

 

[hb12xchamps]

Haven't paid attention to prospects outside of the hyped guys but I agree BPA. We do need to improve our C prospects but they shouldn't reach for a guy.

Also, more offensive oriented prospects would be helpful in general. We seem to have a lot of role player or bottom 6 types in the system right now. Our biggest strength is our D pool and I'm sure if there's a project goalie available in the later rounds they take him (Grubauer, Holtby were both 4th rounders) as they seem to draft a goalie per draft

 

[Acallabeth]

Take the best center available. If all who are any good are taken, draft the most physical big forward and play him at 4LW next year.

 

[Langway]

Big two-way forward, good at faceoffs and with some nasty attitude. Is there someone around 26-30 who fits?

Not really. Logan Brown has the size at least if not the nasty but they'd likely have to move up for him.

I don't think Trotz's system is important so much as they should prioritize to some extent leadership and competitiveness. It shouldn't be done to the exclusion of upside as top priority but should be factored in.

 

[The Wicker Man]

IMO, GMBM should draft the most skilled forward, despite his size and position. There are a plenty of BNA forwards, chosen in the end of 1 round and who showed nothing or close to this in this league. Raddysh, Abramov, Grudstrom or even DeBrincat.

 

[PucksInDeep]

Thanks for the responses thus far. Are there any concerns that we don't appear to have any strong center prospects? It seems like W (Vrana), D (Bowey, Carrick, Siegenthaler), and G (Samsonov) all have at least some depth.

Re: center concern – yes and no. We have some guys with decent bottom-6 or maybe middle-6 potential, but nobody really amazing in the pipeline like a Vrana or Bowey. But we also have Backstrom and (hopefully) Kuznetsov locked-in long term as the 1C and 2C. Backstrom just turned 28 and Kuznetsov turns 24 this spring, so the Caps are set for a long time with those two.

 

[Backstrom #19]

Another goalie. Just to see everybody lose their **** again.

 

[Atas2000]

I suppose our 1st pick will be between 26-30 and I expect another european first round selection and especially forward, so someone from this list (Asplund, Rubtsov, Sokolov, Abramov, Grundstrom)

If you can get Abramov that late then all other GMs are idiots and you are lucky.

 

[trick9]

This draft is absolutely loaded with giant forwards. Wish there was a way to get Patrik Laine for futures alone, but chances are next to 0%. The guy roots for us, has Ovechkin as his idol and ever since Ovechkin was drafted, i don't think there is another guy that reminds me more of him than Laine does. Great skater, giant of a guy (6'4, 210), sick hands, big hits and as close as you can get to Ovechkin's release from his spot on the PP. Wrist-shot off the rush is Tarasenko -lite. Obviously talking about best-case scenario though, he's not McDavid who is 100% slam-dunk to tear the NHL one day. This scenario isn't really on the cards with Caps contending.

They should draft the BPA, but to be honest i think our first pick might be between 55-60.

 

[Melkor]

If you can get Abramov that late then all other GMs are idiots and you are lucky.

No, they're not. He sure tears it up in Q but as almost every russian user on these boards says, 'junior stats in canadian minors dont worth a ****'. Combine this deep thought with his size and that would even be surprising if any GM is going to take him in the 1st.

This draft is absolutely loaded with giant forwards. Wish there was a way to get Patrik Laine for futures alone, but chances are next to 0%. The guy roots for us, has Ovechkin as his idol and ever since Ovechkin was drafted, i don't think there is another guy that reminds me more of him than Laine does. Great skater, giant of a guy (6'4, 210), sick hands, big hits and as close as you can get to Ovechkin's release from his spot on the PP. Wrist-shot off the rush is Tarasenko -lite. Obviously talking about best-case scenario though, he's not McDavid who is 100% slam-dunk to tear the NHL one day. This scenario isn't really on the cards with Caps contending.

Completely agree on Laine. He is kind of raw yet but what a tremendous talent. I really havent seen guys like him and Puljuarvi who teared into shreds World Juniors at that age and with such a dominant performance. I would've really had a tough time to choose between those guys and Matthews despite all the hype that surrounds Auston.

 

[Acallabeth]

Abramov, for what I've seen of him, is a fantastic talent, and if he's not picked when it's our turn, he's absolutely a must draft. Concerns about size in the league with a 150 pound Gaudreau scoring PPG are outdated.

Laine is a beast indeed, was much more impressive than Matthews at this World Juniors.

 

[Melkor]

Abramov, for what I've seen of him, is a fantastic talent, and if he's not picked when it's our turn, he's absolutely a must draft. Concerns about size in the league with a 150 pound Gaudreau scoring PPG are outdated.

Laine is a beast indeed, was much more impressive than Matthews at this World Juniors.

And still Gaudreau is a 4-5 rounder, Johnson undrafted etc. Its not about 'who's talented'. I believe there will be quite a few very talented guys available when the Caps are on a clock. It's about getting as many talented players in the draft as you can. If you can get that skilled, undersized guy with your later pick and get somebody as talented as him but well above 6'0 tall who is going to be stolen right after your 1st pick - why not to pick the latter early? And the tendency with preferring bigger guys to small ones is still there. I'm sure Caps should look for more size in upcoming drafts. They already have plenty of prospects with height near 5'10-5'11. And all things being equal, i'm on the 'skill and size' bus.

 

[Chukcha]

Korshkov could be a steal

 

[Langway]

Abramov, for what I've seen of him, is a fantastic talent, and if he's not picked when it's our turn, he's absolutely a must draft. Concerns about size in the league with a 150 pound Gaudreau scoring PPG are outdated.

There's probably zero chance he goes top 20 at the very least so I don't think it would be a case of him falling much if he were available to them.

In a draft with such depth among defensemen and bigger wingers with upside, Abramov and DeBrincat could both find themselves outside of the first round. Or at least if teams were considering Abramov they'd also seriously consider DeBrincat instead.