Prospect Info: All-Purpose Caps 2016 NHL Draft Thread

[Cush]

Draft Analysis Top 250 for Feb: http://www.thedraftanalyst.com/prospects/feb-2016/

Mock Draft:

30. C Will Bitten (Flint Firebirds, OHL): Washington has paralleled it’s NHL success with an underrated development program, so what better way to continue the trend with this sneaky-skilled center who bears the brunt of top matchups but still finds a way to produce. Bitten plays a lot bigger than his 5’11 frame, and his two-way smarts and blazing speed compliment a strong playmaking acumen.

60. LW Artur Kayumov (Russia U18, MHL): We’re not slotting him to Washington because he’s Russian. We’re doing so because we think he’ll be overlooked and the Capitals take the available player with the most ridiculous skill. Kayumov is a sick puck magician with soft hands and strong balance – he’s a load to handle for a 5’10 skill forward.

120. LHD Ilya Karpukhin (Russia U18, MHL): Karpukhin earned his way onto the Russian U18 power play after a strong showing at the WJAC two months ago, and we put him in a long line of National Team defenders whose real skill and ability to create from the backed are stifled by loaded forward lines. He’s a hard passer and good skater who likes to attack only when the situation makes sense.

 

[Langway]

Weird mock. From Steel on it got wild. I'd scamper up to take Jake Bean at 30 there and Tufte would be a nice surprise as well.

 

[usiel]

We need another Kuznetsov...Vladimir Kuznetsov

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=309244

 

[Langway]

ISS March top 30.

Post-deadline the Caps now own the following 2016 picks: WSH 1st, WSH 4th, ANA 5th, WSH 5th, WSH 6th & WSH 7th.

I'd be very open to moving down from their first rounder unless someone slides to them that they believe will be an impact talent. More likely, though, they'll probably try to move up from their next pick given recent history.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Are all the Nylander kids great?

 

[Langway]

Pretty much. There's just the two I think.

It makes you feel old after a while. There's another Tkachuk after this one. There's the Bellows kid. Ulf Dahlen has a son, Jonathan, eligible this year. Cliff Ronning's son, Ty, should be picked. There's a Pivonka down the line that will get drafted and perhaps very high and a number of others the next few years.

 

[Cush]

Maybe its just me, but google Mitchell Mattson, then google Gunnar Stahl

 

[strungout]

Pretty much. There's just the two I think.

It makes you feel old after a while. There's another Tkachuk after this one. There's the Bellows kid. Ulf Dahlen has a son, Jonathan, eligible this year. Cliff Ronning's son, Ty, should be picked. There's a Pivonka down the line that will get drafted and perhaps very high and a number of others the next few years.

So old.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

So old.

Meet up with you at Cracker Barrel!

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Meet up with you at Cracker Barrel!

Their chicken and dumplings is the truth.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Their chicken and dumplings is the truth.

Everyone makes fun of Cracker Barrel. But then you're on the road and need to stop and it's amazing.

 

[um]

In Canada Cracker Barrel is just a brand of cheese, you guys were confusing the hell out of me.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Everyone makes fun of Cracker Barrel. But then you're on the road and need to stop and it's amazing.

Biscuits and gravy all day.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

In Canada Cracker Barrel is just a brand of cheese, you guys were confusing the hell out of me.

Not a very good brand either.

 

[Langway]

The aforementioned Dahlen kid:



His skating has really improved. Consider him along with Asplund and Grundstrom as typical profile-fitting Swede forward late first round options for the Caps. Ideally a bigger skilled forward fits better long-term but I'm not sure there's a fit outside of maybe Laberge or Mattson but the later may be more of a long-term pick than they tend to opt for there.

Also, I left out Logan Brown earlier in the bloodline talk (he's Jeff Brown's son, very briefly a Capital). Brown may be the best of the three Windsor draft-eligibles lately. While I once considered Stanley a first rounder that was putting it all together, he's taken a step or two back and now seems more like a mid-to-late second round type project.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Also, I left out Logan Brown earlier in the bloodline talk (he's Jeff Brown's son, very briefly a Capital). Brown may be the best of the three Windsor draft-eligibles lately. While I once considered Stanley a first rounder that was putting it all together, he's taken a step or two back and now seems more like a mid-to-late second round type project.

Brown is a pretty big boy (6'6"). Haven't heard to much about him.

Side note: Drafted him in NHL 16 and he turned into a stud (88+ overall) shutdown 3C

 

[capitalsrock]

The aforementioned Dahlen kid:



His skating has really improved. Consider him along with Asplund and Grundstrom as typical profile-fitting Swede forward late first round options for the Caps. Ideally a bigger skilled forward fits better long-term but I'm not sure there's a fit outside of maybe Laberge or Mattson but the later may be more of a long-term pick than they tend to opt for there.

Also, I left out Logan Brown earlier in the bloodline talk (he's Jeff Brown's son, very briefly a Capital). Brown may be the best of the three Windsor draft-eligibles lately. While I once considered Stanley a first rounder that was putting it all together, he's taken a step or two back and now seems more like a mid-to-late second round type project.

Wow I have a feeling that kid is gonna be special. Incredibly skilled and fearless. Hope we pick him.

 

[Langway]

So in this mock I took RW Pascal Laberge with the 30th pick. It was between him and Dineen and I ultimately went with Laberge due to handedness/PP impact. I don't consider Girard & Steel first round players so it might have gone a bit more favorably than the actual draft might. But if it's not those two going top 30 it could be another two like Stanley or Thompson. With the exception of Girard & Steel and maybe Bastian I'd be fine with the Caps getting anyone that went earlier. That said, Laberge is a pretty interesting prospect with a skillset that checks off a lot of boxes at a position of some long-term uncertainty.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

HF Draft Poll

I am doing a HF mock draft poll and the Caps are on the clock with the last pick in the 1st round.

Please see table below and click "On The Clock" to cast your vote.

Pick |

Team​

|

Player​

|

Position​

|

Percentage(link)​

|

Current Team(League)​

|||||
1 |Columbus Blue Jackets|Auston Matthews|

Center​

|

-​

|

Zurich(Swi)​

|
2 |Carolina Hurricanes(+1)|Patrik Laine|

Winger​

|

36.36%​

|

Tappara(Fin)​

|
3 |Tampa Bay Lightning(+11)|Jakob Chychrun|

Defense​

|

64.29%​

|

Sarnia(OHL)​

|
4 |Anaheim Ducks|Jesse Puljujarvi|

Winger​

|

75.68%​

|

Karpat(Fin)​

|
5 |Edmonton Oilers|Matthew Tkachuk|

Winger​

|

57.63%​

|

London(OHL​

|
6 |Buffalo Sabres|Olli Juolevi|

Defense​

|

62.96%​

|

London(OHL)​

|
7 |Vancouver Canucks|Alexander Nylander|

Winger​

|

51.92%​

|

Mississauga(OHL)​

|
8 |Toronto Maple Leafs|Mikhail Sergachyov|

Defense​

|

43.66%​

|

Windsor(OHL)​

|
9 | Calgary Flames|Julien Gauthier|

Winger​

|

44.68%​

|

Val-D'Or(QMJHL)​

|
10 |Winnipeg Jets|PierreLuc Dubois|

Center/Winger​

|

40.74%​

|

Cape Breton(QMJHL)​

|
11 |Colorado Avalanche|Michael McLeod|

Center​

|

63.89%​

|

Mississauga(OHL)​

|
12 |Pittsburgh Penguins|Dante Fabbro|

Defense​

|

41.51%​

|

Penticton(BCHL)​

|
13 | Philadelphia Flyers|Max Jones|

Winger​

|

48.94%​

|

London(OHL)​

|
14 |New Jersey Devils|Clayton Keller|

Winger/Center​

|

53.49%​

|

USNTDP (USHL)​

|
15 |Arizona Coyotes|Jake Bean|

Defense​

|

25.00%​

|

Calgary (WHL)​

|
16 |Boston Bruins (San Jose)|Charlie McAvoy|

Defense​

|

27.91%​

|

Boston U (NCAA)​

|
17 |Ottawa Senators|Tyson Jost|

Center/Winger​

|

34.78%​

|

Penticton (BCHL)​

|
18 |Florida Panthers|Kieffer Bellows|

Center/Winger​

|

45%​

|

USNTDP (USHL)​

|
19 |Nashville Predators|Logan Brown|

Center​

|

44.23%​

|

Windsor (OHL)​

|
20 |Arizona Coyotes (Ny Rangers) |German Rubstov|

Center​

|

36%​

|

Russia (MHL)​

|
21 |Ny Islanders|Riley Tuft|

Winger​

|

16.36%​

|

Blaine (USHS)​

|
22 |Montreal Canadiens|Pascal Laberge|

Center/Winger​

|

22.03%​

|

Victoriaville (QMJHL)​

|
23 |Detroit Redwings|Chad Krys|

Defense​

|

13.64%​

|

USNTDP (USHL)​

|
24 |Minnesota Wild|Luke Kunin|

Center​

|

35.90%​

|

Wisconsin (NCAA)​

|
25 |Chicago Blackhawks|Sam Steel|

Center​

|

25%​

|

Regina (WHL)​

|
26 |St.Louis Blues|Tyler Benson|

Winger​

|

23.53%​

|

Vancouver (WHL)​

|
27 |Boston Bruins|Tage Thompson|

Center/Winger​

|

16.07%​

|

Connecticut (NCAA)​

|
28 |Carolina Hurricanes (LA kings)|Alex DeBrincat|

Winger​

|

43.33%​

|

Erie (OHL)​

|
29 |Dallas Stars|Rasmus Asplund|

Center/Winger​

|

32.56%​

|

Farjestad (SWE)​

|
30 |Washington Capitals|

​

|

On The Clock​

|

​

|

 

[Langway]

Abramov or Dahlen. I went with Dahlen.

I'd be surprised if all of Krys, Steel, Benson & Thompson go in the first round.

 

[Pigskin]

given that mock draft, its an easy one

With the 30th pick in the 2016 draft, the Washington Capitals select

.............................................................. drumroll ......................

Best Goalie Available

 

[Langway]

@SlavaMalamud: Summary of my timeline: Meldonium scandal in RUS hockey starts with children. Entire U18 national roster decimated. 1999s to play in Worlds.

@SlavaMalamud: The ENTIRE Russian U18 roster is replaced with younger players one day before leaving for the Worlds. Biggest mass doping scandal in hockey.

Wow. The Team Russia MHL team was in its first year and then this. Curious how this might impact Rubtsov's draft stock. At the very least he could have opened even more eyes to make him a strong candidate between 10 and 15. Now, though?

 

[trick9]

Hope we still have Ovechkin in 7-8 years. He's going to draw UFA Patrik Laine to Washington.

 

[Langway]

Hope we still have Ovechkin in 7-8 years. He's going to draw UFA Patrik Laine to Washington.

That would be...awesome. Like I said, he's the closest thing to him since him.

Central Scouting final rankings. It's always been strange that they release these prior to the U18s and with various league playoffs still going on.

Speaking of the U18s, they begin Thursday. Since they're in Grand Forks this year I believe FastHockey is covering most if not every game.

 

[Langway]

NHL Network to air all US U18 games. The team features Clayton Keller, Logan Brown and Kieffer Bellows, who should all go top 20 if not earlier. After that there's probably not a late first round option on the team unless Cam Dineen is added once North Bay is eliminated.

Canadians Pascal Laberge, Will Bitten & Logan Stanley are three to maybe watch for the Caps pick. Stanley needs a big tournament IMO to put himself back on the map as a first round option. Libor Hajek (CZE) is another potential late first rounder. That's about it unless there are late additions made. None of the fringe first round Swedish forwards will be there due to late birthdays.