chickenman's top 90 players/mock draft- dec 27th

[DuklaNation]

I would change Strome and Khokhlachev in that list.

This. No way a NHL team would take that Russian kid over Strome.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

Nice to see someone else likes Kale Kessey as much as I do

 

[Ian Esplen]

Chara just signed a 7-year extension. There is zero chance the Bruins take Siemens there. If Landeskog or Murphy are on the board (which they are in this mock draft), I can bet that they select one of them.

EDIT: Based on who is on the board for the Bruins' picks in the first two rounds, I'd go:
4- Landeskog/Murphy
18- Nieto/McColgan/Clendening/Prince/Ambroz
40- Scott Mayfield
48- Nicklas Jensen

at 4 I went with Siemens over those 2 because the Bruins need a blue chip D more then a blue chip forward. when Neely came on board he said he wanted to try and draft more out of the west and get bigger some I think Siemens would be the best fit at 4. all 3 are going to be good though.

18- again neely wanted bigger players and mcneill is also better then most of those 5 guys. Nieto and Price are the only 2 that I considered there.

40- mayfield was strongly considered but I went jenner again for size up front and a solid 2/3 line player.

48- jensen was on the raydar but I liked Scarlett a bit better. plus he is out of the west and I which I think Neely likes. I also though a D would be a good pick here because that is the bruins need imo.

 

[Ian Esplen]

As a Flames fan I have very little interest in Murphy. This team needs forwards that can score, and as much as Ryan Murphy can be an offensive catalyst from the back end, he's still an undersized defenseman.

offence starts from the back end. The reason the Flames can't score is because theid D has zero skill on it. If you look at all the top scoring teams they all have D's that can score. Murphy is exactly what the Flames need. He can skate the puck up with the forwards or pass it.

 

[Ian Esplen]

jensen is a first round pick and if for somereason he isnt ottawa will take him with there pick

I thought Phillips was a better pick for the sens. The kid can score a bit more then Jensen. As for Jensen I have him going 35-60 and think he is closer to the end of that range.

 

[Ian Esplen]

You also have Victor Berglind going 44th and 75th.

thanks, fixed now

 

[Ian Esplen]

Any opinions on Luke Juha??? I feel if he was playing in the OHL he would be getting far more love then what he's getting right now.

I love the way he plays. IMO He should be top 30 but will likly fall into the 2nd-4th rd because of the level he is playing at, he is a tad small, and he wants to go the college route.

as far as his talent I would have him top 30, maybe around 25. He could be the steal of the draft for someone.

 

[Ian Esplen]

Do you see both Keeney and Galansky as better goalies than guys like Honzik, Teichmann, Binnington, Broissoit?

Also, do you know anything about Jackson Teichroeb?

Good overall analysis!

Keeney is playing as good as any goalie imo, I think he could be a solid player one day.

Galansky has all the tools to be good but he isn't playing much so it is hard to get a read on him

as for Honzik, Teichmann, Binnington, Broissoit, they seem to be projects at best. This draft might be the worst I've seen for goalies.

Jackson Teichroeb- I don't know much about him. seems to be a big goalie who is having a solid year in the USHL.

 

[Ian Esplen]

I think the Leafs take Michael St. Croix if he falls to them.

Burke has said he wants size in his top 6 so Mark Scheifele was a good fit there

 

[Ian Esplen]

I doubt he falls that far. Ive seen this kid play and he has all the tools to be a first rounder even top 15

at the u-18 camp he looked like a player who would be lucky to get drafted at all. If he continues to play the way he is, and put up points. I can see him rising in to the 1st round, but I'm not sold on him there yet.

 

[Ian Esplen]

A little bit surprised you don't have Christopher Gibson from Chicoutimi in your top 90, but other than that it looks like a solid list. Seems like you're big on Xavier Ouellet and it could be possible he goes that high, but I think he may drop a little bit lower than that. Still, he's a very good defensemen with a lot of promise. Also, I would have put Philip Danault ahead of Jean-Francois Leblanc.

I have Danault and Leblanc around the same in rankings. I like Danault a bit better personaly, but I see a 6'4 player going over a 5'11 guy in the draft. The Q looks like it could have its best draft year in a while though. At least 8-10 guys who could go 1st rd if someone likes them enough.

 

[Fearless]

Toronto will for sure get Jenner if he falls that far

 

[rt]

If Phoenix leaves Strome on the board, I'll scratch my eyes out.

 

[R S]

Brent Benson climbs into the top 90 in my mind.

Too smart of a player not to.

 

[AmericanDream]

I was under the impression that Mayfield was already a solid mid first rounder with some helium. Not that this list or Central Scouting, etc ulltimately mean much.

he is....just like many others on here, they simply do not see enough or value the USHL this early on. Same goes for US highschools.

Mayfield is a top 15-20 pick, and could go even higher. He is simply too damn talented to not be. People that rate him lower are only looking at stats and not the entire package. At 6'4 190 this kid is a physical offensive defensemen, and though his stats dont blow you away (neither did Erik Gudbransons his draft year, and both similar guys), his overall talent, size, and skillset will. It also doesnt help that Mayfield plays on the crappiest team in the USHL, and I wish he would have went to Kitchener this year, because if he did he would be a top 15 lock at this time.

No way Mario Lucia goes end of the third round, kid is a first rounder or at worst 31-40 pick..at worst.

Still missing some talented USHLers and US highschool kids, but that is expected early on.

 

[DaveG]

8 Alexander Khokhlachev - Just don't see this happening. The Canes are beyond hesitant to take Russians to begin with, so one would have to be beyond a doubt the best on the board at that point. That's not the case here with Saad and Hamilton going in the next two picks. Canes would probably take Saad if he's still on the board.

38 Rocco Grimaldi - I will never doubt a JR draft pick again (until the next time he takes another Paradis type pick) if this happens.

78 Scott Harrington - Don't know much about him other then he was on the OHL all-rookie team last year and the U-17 all star team. What kind of game does he play?

 

[GenerationalTalent]

78 Scott Harrington - Don't know much about him other then he was on the OHL all-rookie team last year and the U-17 all star team. What kind of game does he play?

Haven't followed him in the OHL but, at 15 he played some Junior A games, I was amazed at his poise for his age. Two-way defenceman? ... should be a solid pick in the 3rd round.

 

[DaveG]

Haven't followed him in the OHL but, at 15 he played some Junior A games, I was amazed at his poise for his age. Two-way defenceman? ... should be a solid pick in the 3rd round.

Thanks. I'm more a NCAA/WHL follower so I didn't notice much out of him last season or this season yet. I figured with his number from last year not really standing out he has to be a pretty good cerebral, defense first guy.

 

[Cooperman]

A little bit surprised you don't have Christopher Gibson from Chicoutimi in your top 90, but other than that it looks like a solid list. Seems like you're big on Xavier Ouellet and it could be possible he goes that high, but I think he may drop a little bit lower than that. Still, he's a very good defensemen with a lot of promise. Also, I would have put Philip Danault ahead of Jean-Francois Leblanc.

Xavier Ouellet is the most intelligent and with the most hockey sense d-man to come out of the Q since Kristopher Letang and Marc-Édouard Vlasic in 05. And i have not forgotten Kulikov and Gormley.

 

[JackBauer]

if we walk away with Saad, I'm happy.

good job on this!

 

[Ward Cornell]

Thanks. I'm more a NCAA/WHL follower so I didn't notice much out of him last season or this season yet. I figured with his number from last year not really standing out he has to be a pretty good cerebral, defense first guy.

Harrington is a top defence first type of player. He can play physical
but more likely to read the play correctly and play the angles and percentages.
His offensive upside IMHO is limited but will be a very solid 3 or 4 d-man in the NHL.
Long term he very well would be a team captain or assistant.

 

[Prussian_Blue]

I can't see the Blues taking another center -- even the highly-regarded Strome, whom I doubt will still be on the board at that point anyway -- when Baertschi, Rattie and Nieto are still on the board. St. Louis' organizational cupboard is bare at LW, and in my eyes it'd be a toss-up as to wether Strome or Baertschi is the ephemeral "best player available" at that point. All else being equal, or relatively so, I'm inclined to lean towards the WHL player over the OHL player in most cases.

What can tell me about this Bross kid you have going to the Blues in the second round? The size looks OK, but I'm a little concerned about his currently having the worst plus/minus on the Otters (minus-14) when Blues' draft pick David Shields leads the team with a plus-11.

If the Blackhawks get John Gibson, I'll puke...

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

Ryan Strome at 15? This guy will be going in the top 7 for sure. He has all the tools.

 

[Ian Esplen]

I can't see the Blues taking another center -- even the highly-regarded Strome, whom I doubt will still be on the board at that point anyway -- when Baertschi, Rattie and Nieto are still on the board. St. Louis' organizational cupboard is bare at LW, and in my eyes it'd be a toss-up as to wether Strome or Baertschi is the ephemeral "best player available" at that point. All else being equal, or relatively so, I'm inclined to lean towards the WHL player over the OHL player in most cases.

What can tell me about this Bross kid you have going to the Blues in the second round? The size looks OK, but I'm a little concerned about his currently having the worst plus/minus on the Otters (minus-14) when Blues' draft pick David Shields leads the team with a plus-11.

If the Blackhawks get John Gibson, I'll puke...

Broll, is a strong, Physical player, who can score a little. He's a pretty good skater for his size, but like most 225lbs guy he could use some work on changing direction. Excellent in the corners and always comes out with the puck. very hard to knock off the puck or knock down at all. Can score a bit but I dout he'll ever be known as a scorer. I can see him being a solid 3rd line guy that can hit and get 15-20 goals one day. I think he would be a solid replacment in the blues organization for Ian Shultz who they traded last season.

 

[txomisc]

if it played out that way my first choices at those spots for dallas would be
24 Scott Mayfield
54 Oscar Klefbom
84 who knows