Craig Button releases a new Craig's list for 2023 draft

[MarkusNaslund19]

This is hfboards in a nutshell.

"How can you argue for the consensus opinion amongst pro scouts, as someone who has scouted the player himself, versus me glancing at boxcar stats twice?"

Followed by mocking of the 'eye-test' by people who don't know how to watch hockey.

This place becomes more and more insufferable.

 

[WayneGretzky]

This is hfboards in a nutshell.

"How can you argue for the consensus opinion amongst pro scouts, as someone who has scouted the player himself, versus me glancing at boxcar stats twice?"

Followed by mocking of the 'eye-test' by people who don't know how to watch hockey.

This place becomes more and more insufferable.

 

[NickH8]

Perhaps it’s not that they look better on video, but that the flaws are much more apparent in person


To accurately assess a player, you need to watch EVERYTHING he does for a few games, at different points in the season, against different competition. Video just doesn’t cover what’s needed from a professional standpoint, it’s fine for fans.

Video can be at any point in the season you want and against whatever competition you want. That's literally one of the main strengths of it. I'm not talking watching YouTube videos. I'm talking watching live games through streaming. If you only watch what people have put on YouTube yeah that's gonna be skewed.
The off puck game you miss is maybe a dman covering opposing forwards high in the neutral zone or something. Sure, important, but not being able to see it hardly prevents someone from having a good or even great picture of a players game. And if they do well or poorly and it's of consequence, (the puck goes there) the camera will show it because the puck and play have shifted there.

 

[WayneGretzky]

Video can be at any point in the season you want and against whatever competition you want. That's literally one of the main strengths of it.
The off puck game you miss is maybe a dman covering opposing forwards high in the neutral zone or something. Sure, important, but not being able to see it hardly prevents someone from having a good or even great picture of a players game. And if they do well or poorly and it's of consequence, (the puck goes there) the camera will show it because the puck and play have shifted there.

Again, for a fans needs, that’s all you want.

But from a professional standpoint, you’re undercutting the value, properly seeing the game away from the puck is the difference between taking Byfield 2nd (many people were calling for 1st) and knowing there’s at least 4 safer picks with equal or better upside.

 

[WayneGretzky]

Video can be at any point in the season you want and against whatever competition you want. That's literally one of the main strengths of it. I'm not talking watching YouTube videos. I'm talking watching live games through streaming. If you only watch what people have put on YouTube yeah that's gonna be skewed.
The off puck game you miss is maybe a dman covering opposing forwards high in the neutral zone or something. Sure, important, but not being able to see it hardly prevents someone from having a good or even great picture of a players game. And if they do well or poorly and it's of consequence, (the puck goes there) the camera will show it because the puck and play have shifted there.

Also, you or someone mentioned the intangibles you only see in the locker room, self confidence, maturity, does he take responsibility…these are things scouts learn from conversations in the rinks, talking to coaches/staff, sometimes (but not often) parents, at tournaments etc…can’t be done through video.

Accurate physical size is another we look for in person, sites lie, kids cheat the measurements, all kinds of issues with reported sizes

 

[Fyodorov]

This is hfboards in a nutshell.

"How can you argue for the consensus opinion amongst pro scouts, as someone who has scouted the player himself, versus me glancing at boxcar stats twice?"

Followed by mocking of the 'eye-test' by people who don't know how to watch hockey.

This place becomes more and more insufferable.

Glad you found one of your older account logins, Wayne.

 

[LeProspector]

Definitely a hard story to believe.

I also don’t think he has gotten off since I last posted here. Not a bad thing we’ve all been there but I can’t help but feel the Most interesting man in the world should be doing something better with his time.

Not saying he isnt but it is an incredibly difficult story to believe.

Now if you were to go to this thread Do not Draft lists

And follow Ducati Boy and his posts you will see that he Doesn’t need to tell people he was a pro scout, he lets the stories do the talking, and you make your own assumptions from there. Amd they’re so ripe with information that they have to be true.

 

[WayneGretzky]

Glad you found one of your older account logins, Wayne.

Haha I wish, I’d love to go back and see some of my previous hits & misses, Trio down memory lane, that account is too active

 

[SoundAndFury]

"How can you argue for the consensus opinion amongst pro scouts, as someone who has scouted the player himself, versus me glancing at boxcar stats twice?"

And what is the consensus? Reinbacher had been climbing like crazy. Sportsnet has him at #10 in March ranking already, EP at #12.

 

[WayneGretzky]

Definitely a hard story to believe.

I also don’t think he has gotten off since I last posted here. Not a bad thing we’ve all been there but I can’t help but feel the Most interesting man in the world should be doing something better with his time.

Not saying he isnt but it is an incredibly difficult story to believe.

Now if you were to go to this thread Do not Draft lists

And follow Ducati Boy and his posts you will see that he Doesn’t need to tell people he was a pro scout, he lets the stories do the talking, and you make your own assumptions from there. Amd they’re so ripe with information that they have to be true.

I will take the most interesting man thing as a compliment, I don’t see it a very far fetched at all, but again, it’s been my day to day for decades so, for me it’s just life.

Again, you’re looking for me to be seeking some kind of validation from you…I don’t care, my info is take it or leave it.

 

[Bubbles]

Nice, Nico in the 2nd <3 Is Milic not being in the top 80 just a height issue?

Yeah it's nice to see Nico get some "mainstream" love.

Yeah, the height bias is still there despite Milic playing possibly better this season than last.

 

[LeProspector]

I will take the most interesting man thing as a compliment, I don’t see it a very far fetched at all, but again, it’s been my day to day for decades so, for me it’s just life.

Again, you’re looking for me to be seeking some kind of validation from you…I don’t care, my info is take it or leave it.

I’m Of the belief if you cared, you wouldn’t respond at all .

 

[WayneGretzky]

I’m Of the belief if you cared, you wouldn’t respond at all .

I’m happy to respond to any queries or questions around my statements. I know they are rooted in hard earned data that I’ve accumulated myself.

I misspeak sometimes, always happy to make sure the point I’m making is clear to anyone who cares…that’s it.

 

[Connor McConnor]

Button is one of the biggest clowns in the industry, does anyone actually take him seriously?

 

[Tryamkin]

Button is one of the biggest clowns in the industry, does anyone actually take him seriously?

For sure he's taken seriously by some. As the lead draft analyst for TSN he definitely has respect on his name. Is it merited? No. He chooses a few players each year to boost based on international tournaments and his own personal preferences. I would argue he even has an impact on teams and percieved player rankings.

 

[Kevin Musto]

For sure he's taken seriously by some. As the lead draft analyst for TSN he definitely has respect on his name. Is it merited? No. He chooses a few players each year to boost based on international tournaments and his own personal preferences. I would argue he even has an impact on teams and percieved player rankings.

No organization worth their salt cares what Craig Button thinks

 

[Fantomas]

Haha I wish, I’d love to go back and see some of my previous hits & misses, Trio down memory lane, that account is too active

Wayner, have you released your own list for the draft yet?

 

[WayneGretzky]

Wayner, have you released your own list for the draft yet?

Don’t have my finals ready by any means, but off the top, looks something like this for now:

1. Connor Bedard
2. Matvei Michkov
3. Adam Fantilli
4. Leo Carlsson
5. Zach Benson
6. Brayden Yager
7. Will Smith
8. Colby Barlow
9. Andrew Cristall
10. Eduard Sale
11. Ryan Leonard
12. Dalibor Dvorsky
13. Matthew Wood
14. Oliver Moore
15. Axel Sandin-Pelikka
16. Samuel Honzek
17. Nate Danielson
18. Gabriel Perreault
19. Calum Ritchie
20. Quentin Musty
21. David Reinbacher
22. Charlie Stramel
23. Riley Heidt
24.Hunter Brzustewicz
25. Lukas Dragicevic
26. Ethan Gauthier
27. Mikhail Gulyayev*
28. Danil But*
29. Koehn Zimmer
30. Dmitri Simashev*
31. Bradly Nadeau
32. Oliver Bonk

Leonard/Wood/Honzek/Danielson trending upwards, could finish higher, likely some heavy movement from 28-32 for my finals. Then of course some big tournaments coming as well, some tinkering will be done.

 

[Fantomas]

Don’t have my finals ready by any means, but off the top, looks something like this for now:

Thank you. A Yager fan, I can see.

 

[WayneGretzky]

Thank you. A Yager fan, I can see.

I am, if I was doing a mock draft, he’d be lower.

 

[Connor McConnor]

For sure he's taken seriously by some. As the lead draft analyst for TSN he definitely has respect on his name. Is it merited? No. He chooses a few players each year to boost based on international tournaments and his own personal preferences. I would argue he even has an impact on teams and percieved player rankings.

You’re right but when I made my post I thought most of us on here know how to filter through the multiple paid analysts common speak and formulate our own opinion. If you watch TSN and form your hockey opinion around that I don’t want to talk hockey with you lol.

 

[ORRFForever]

Come on boys... Time to shake hands and walk away.
If you don't like someone, block them.

Less fighting, more info on players, please.

 

[Tryamkin]

No organization worth their salt cares what Craig Button thinks

While this is correct, his opinions affect people who matter in NHL organizations. It’s just fact.

 

[Cancuks]

This same Craig Button?

1 FLA Aaron Ekblad D Barrie (OHL)

2 BUF Sam Bennett C Kingston (OHL)

3 EDM Leon Draisaitl C Prince Albert (WHL)

4 CGY Sam Reinhart C Kootenay (WHL)

5 NYI Michael Dal Colle LW Oshawa (OHL)

6 VAN Jake Virtanen RW Calgary (WHL)

7 CAR Haydn Fleury D Red Deer (WHL)

8 TOR Nick Ritchie LW Peterborough (OHL)

9 WPG Nikolaj Ehlers LW Halifax (QMJHL)

10 ANA* Kasperi Kapanen LW/RW KalPa (FIN)

11 NAS William Nylander LW Modo (SWE)

12 ARZ Brendan Perlini LW Niagara (OHL)

13 WAS Julius Honka D Swift Current (WHL)

14 DAL Dylan Larkin C USNTDP

15 DET Jared McCann C Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

16 CBJ Sonny Milano LW USNTDP

17 PHI Anthony DeAngelo D Sarnia (OHL)

18 MIN Robert Fabbri C Guelph (OHL)

19 TB Travis Sanheim D Calgary (WHL)

20 SJ Kevin Fiala RW HV71 (SWE)

21 STL Ryan MacInnis C Kitchener (OHL)

22 PIT Alex Tuch RW USNTDP

23 COL Adrian Kempe LW Modo (SWE)

24 ANA Nick Schmaltz C Green Bay (USHL)

25 BOS Jakub Vrana RW Linkoping (SWE)

26 MTL Ivan Barbashev C/LW Moncton (QMJHL)

27 CHI Marcus Pettersson D Skelleftea (SWE)

28 TB** Nikita Scherbak LW Saskatoon (WHL)

29 LA Roland McKeown D Kingston (OHL)

30 NJ+ Brendan Lemieux LW Barrie (OHL)

 

[Goodman68]

Maybe generally not, but in a draft like this he does. That’s why I don’t think a d will go in the top 10, if one does, it’s a reach. The pros don’t even have a consensus on the d this year, like I said, could be any of the 6-7 I mentioned before, any of them could be first off the board, any of them could be second round picks…it’s a BAD year to need a dman.

No doubt in my mind that someone will take a dman in the top 15, but the fact that the pros don’t know who it should be, is indicative of a down year, which are usually followed by great D drafts, so here’s to 2024 if you need a dman!

Which defenders from '24 do you have in mind?