Askarov

[Dead Thing]

Bearing in mind that I think that draft picks are pretty much crap shoots, here's my fearless pick for the the Wings at #4.

TBA takes Lafreniere at #1
LA takes Byfield or Stutzle at #2
OTT takes Byfield or Stutzle at # 3

After reading far too much analysis about the other most talked about top 10 prospects which (supposedly) includes Drysdale, Perfettti, Raymond, Rossi, Sanderson, Holtz and Quinn, I concluded that there did not seem to be a sure fire concensus pick at 4. Of all the top prospects, I think the only NHL ready player is Lafreniere. Byfield is back in junior and Stutzle is back in Germany. Choosing the best player available is never a bad idea (and if it it helps fill a glaring need for the team-even better) and I think that's Askarov.

Everything I have read indicates that he has the ability to be a top end tender, if not the franchise player that some are claiming him to be. Some has speculated that the Sens would be prone to pick Drysdale at 5 if he was still available so that he could be paired with Chabot on the Sens PP but, given that the 2021 draft is supposedly defensemen heavy, I'm sure that they too would give very serious consideration in picking Askarov. After having to deal with one franchise tender in Price with the Canadiens, not sure that the Wings want to have deal with another potential future hall of famer ending up with a division rival.

I know the blowback on picking a goalie at 4 will be huge, but as I said at the top, it's all a crapshoot so go big or go home.

P.S.: I have serious doubts that the playoffs are actually going to happen because of the surge of covid-19 cases(primarily in the States). Long story short, league declares the 2019/20 season over and there will be no playoff season. There is no Cup winner(has happened before) and the the final standings will be based on point percentage after each teams first 69 games results. Given that the top 16 teams will not be playing for a chance at the Cup, they too would be involved in my modified draft lottery. Only one team will be allowed to move up a maximum of 4 spots, thus insuring that the Wings pick no lower that #2.

Flame away.

Click to read more...

 

[Bench]

You've got a friend in me.

 

[Filppula]

Couldn’t think of anything worse.

Watch it happen.

 

[MBH]

Sanderson/Askarov/Perfetti.
Those are the 3 I'm looking at.

 

[Shaman464]

Askarov would be a huge mistake. Odds are you're as likely to find a top goalie outside the first round as it is that you'll find him in the first round. Better to go for skaters.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Couldn’t think of anything worse.

Watch it happen.

Lundell...Sanderson....

 

[MBH]

Askarov would be a huge mistake. Odds are you're as likely to find a top goalie outside the first round as it is that you'll find him in the first round. Better to go for skaters.

Not many top 5 goalie types have failed.
The two that did were hampered by injuries - which could mean that injuries are a concern for goalies - but you'd need more data.
But Price. Fleury. Luongo. Those are pretty good goalies.

Other first round goalies have been good.
Fuhr. Barrasso. Ward. Giguere. Rask. Pretty good goalies.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

I think after the top 3 Askerov has the most star potential.

Of course it will take years to know either way but I see him as a franchise goalie and none of the others remaining are franchise centres, wingers or dmen.

 

[Bench]

Not many top 5 goalie types have failed.
The two that did were hampered by injuries - which could mean that injuries are a concern for goalies - but you'd need more data.
But Price. Fleury. Luongo. Those are pretty good goalies.

Other first round goalies have been good.
Fuhr. Barrasso. Ward. Giguere. Rask. Pretty good goalies.

Vasilevskiy has to be on that list. And if you're going back to the likes of Barrasso, one must include first rounder Martin Brodeur.

I'm sure the Devils are happy they didn't subscribe to the no goalies in the first round rule. Imagine, they could have had... let me check my notes here...

Bryan Smolinski. Who wasn't bad or anything, but you know, Brodeur.
After that there was Ryan Hughes, who played 3 NHL names.
And then Jiří Šlégr, a depth player at best.
And so on.

Basically, you have to go 10 picks past Brodeur to get to another star player Potvin, another goalie.

 

[Shaman464]

Not many top 5 goalie types have failed.
The two that did were hampered by injuries - which could mean that injuries are a concern for goalies - but you'd need more data.
But Price. Fleury. Luongo. Those are pretty good goalies.

Other first round goalies have been good.
Fuhr. Barrasso. Ward. Giguere. Rask. Pretty good goalies.

None of them are worth a top 4 pick. Price is a goalie you're never sure who will show up any given season. Lou was never a guy you could count on in the playoffs. And MAF is a head case. And, ironically, all but 3 of those names didn't stay on the team they were drafted by. Meaning that good goalies are available without needing to waste a top 5 pick on them.

 

[KJoe88]

He’s my guy. Literally don’t care about anyone outside of the top three, so he’s my pick.

 

[Frk It]

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

None of them are worth a top 4 pick. Price is a goalie you're never sure who will show up any given season. Lou was never a guy you could count on in the playoffs. And MAF is a head case. And, ironically, all but 3 of those names didn't stay on the team they were drafted by. Meaning that good goalies are available without needing to waste a top 5 pick on them.

You still have to build a team around them...

I always enjoy the forward that has no talent to play with gets let off the hook. The D-man all alone, well he cannot fix it. Meanwhile Price who for the record at this point might be the best/greatest International goalie ever challenging Tretiak is to blame for being the MVP of his team for 9 years and his GM being a moron wasting away at his prime years. That is the proof that you shouldn't get a goalie?

Hey and Askarov is free to leave after helping deliver 3 cups as well, I will take that trade. Lou was traded because of another 1st overall pick and being on the two worst run franchises in the league in his first two stops during that era.

You might get a goalie somewhere else, you are going need one, because you need one playing at least in the top half of the league to get out of the first round. Yes they peak and valley, but if you don't have one in this league you're in big trouble. If you have a mediocre one you can waste a really good roster, like what is happening in Carolina the last two years for instance. St. Louis went from perennial disappointment to a Cup winner because they found one. I get that everyone thinks hey that will just happen for us or we will just hopefully get miraculous help in free agency. Where actually many don't have that luck and it becomes a significant problem for their team. Askarov fixes that for a decade, we control his entire prime and likely only pay him well in the back half of the decade.

I don't think we have to draft him, but the idea we should avoid the best goalie in 15 years is a little silly. Especially when a quarter of this board wants to draft a 5'8" smurf with skating problems... I can name more successful 1st round goalies than I can top 10 draft picks like Rossi.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

I just saw a vid of a huge California Condor flying while holding a large shark over the beach & people.

On that note, I'm writing a song: Sugartits-Cat Psychedelic Blues.

Askarov @6-8, not @4.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I know virtually nothing about him but like that he catches rightie.

 

[lilidk]

I would not complained if we get Askarov, wish we can get with him extra second

 

[Oddbob]

If we were Ottawa with 2 Top 5 picks I heavily consider taking him with one. For us, we need way too much help up front to ignore the other good players there, and sorry to say goalies are a much bigger crapshoot than any player we pick.

 

[jkutswings]

Totally different angle:

Sports is entertainment.
#4 on a goalie doesn't entertain me.

 

[The Zermanator]

We'll see how it shakes out. If either Byfield or Stutzle falls, then I want one of them hands down. But if the top 3 goes as expected, it seems from everything I've heard that Askarov has the biggest boom potential of the rest. So I wouldn't hate the pick if it ends up being him. But I won't mind if it's Drysdale/Raymond either.

Frankly once we got jobbed out of the lottery once again, I'm open to a lot of things. Go with the safe pick of Drysdale/Raymond, swing for the fences with Askarov, trade the pick, trade Mantha and the pick, etc. If the league is going to keep screwing us out of ready-made stars then Yzerman is eventually just going to have to get creative in other ways anyway.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

The DRW need stars not more 55-60pt level players.

Askerov has more star potential than most likely all those we will choose from.

If SY agrees and drafts him I am all for it.

We're gonna be atrocious the next 2 years as well. Might as well set ourselves up for the years beyond that big swinging for the fences only

 

[NickH8]

I'm in the wouldn't mind camp. If Yzerman & co. believe he can be a franchise goalie then you take him 100% of the time. That's one position you won't have to worry about for a decade or more. Yes, goalies can be inconsistent, but I'd rather have a guy who at times is a Vezina candidate but at times is a middle of the pack goalie than a guy who'd be lucky to post a top 10 season.

 

[BlackEye from Xhekaj]

None of them are worth a top 4 pick. Price is a goalie you're never sure who will show up any given season. Lou was never a guy you could count on in the playoffs. And MAF is a head case. And, ironically, all but 3 of those names didn't stay on the team they were drafted by. Meaning that good goalies are available without needing to waste a top 5 pick on them.

Price is a Vezina, Hart, Jennings and Ted Lindsay winner, multiple all-star and has had a couple of down seasons. He's been a gem on many bad Canadiens teams (who he was drafted by and played for his entire career).

Fleury played 13 seasons for the team that drafted him, 3x Stanley Cup champion.. and while you say head case, many goalies have their quirks.

Lou, sure drafted by the Islanders, but then played his entire career with Florida and Vancouver. The Isles were run by Milbury, and he thought DiPietro was the next big thing.

All 3 are all-stars, Olympians and perennial all-stars.

Yes you can find goalies anywhere in the draft, you can find FA goalies etc.. but these 3 top 5 picks have had extremely long careers, all started very young, and are all playing deep into their 30s.

 

[DetroitRed]

I just think Drysdale and Raymond are safer and they both have, like Askarov, a lot of potential.

We need a goalie more than anything, and maybe need settled it last draft for the Wings. So, I'm not writing off the possibility of seeing them take Askarov. I would be open-minded about it, but it would be a surprise to see Steve go the same route on a goalie without a second first-round pick. Personally, I don't want to gamble with such a good spot in the draft order.

One thing I believe we know already is that Steve isn't going to pay a ton of attention to outside rankings.

 

[SirloinUB]

Askerov has more star potential than most likely all those we will choose from.

I’ve seen this sentiment parroted around by Askarov supporters as if it’s some fact and I find myself wondering where it came from? What about Askarov makes him the “surest star” (Biggest boom, etc.)?

If Askarov really was a surer bet to be a star he’d be the consensus 4 or 5 pick. In reality McKenzie’s list has him at 11.

To be clear, I don’t mind him but I just don’t understand why Askarov has star potential but all the guys ranked ahead him don’t?

 

[BlackEye from Xhekaj]

I’ve seen this sentiment parroted around by Askarov supporters as if it’s some fact and I find myself wondering where it came from? What about Askarov makes him the “surest star” (Biggest boom, etc.)?

If Askarov really was a surer bet to be a star he’d be the consensus 4 or 5 pick. In reality McKenzie’s list has him at 11.

To be clear, I don’t mind him but I just don’t understand why Askarov has star potential but all the guys ranked ahead him don’t?

I feel like if it was 2002, he would be right up there as a top 3 selection. He has done a ton internationally, medaled 6x and only had 1 bad tournament. His poise and athleticism are far above where they should be as a 17yr old and he should only get better.

That being said, goalies take a lot of time for the most part to develop (I can see, if all falls right, Askarov getting a shot much earlier than most, a la Price, Fleury, Hart, etc).

When taking a forward, I feel like the risk is minimized since he can be put in a depth role if he doesn't pan out in the top 6 in the short term. A goalie, he's either a starter, backup, or paying in another league (AHL, KHL) developing.

The safer pick is Rossi/Raymond - I like Raymond as the #4.. but the homerun swing, next highest upside guy to Lafreniere/Byfield is Askarov.. but it takes a lot of guts to pour a top 5 pick into a goaltender when the return may not be seen for the next 2-3 seasons at best (and for most goaltenders that don't have the same accolades, 5-7 years).