Craig Button's List: Defensemen Dominate the top of '21 Draft

[CapSpace]

If defensemen are the top ranked prospects you know it's a very weak year.

No. Just look at 2018.

 

[Eggtimer]

Will be very interesting how the top 10 shakes out. I’m surprised by Johnson being that low and Edvinsson that high.
Oh god I hope my Devils can grab one of Clarke Power Hughes.
Hopefully it doesn’t go like this list.

 

[Goon42]

No. Just look at 2018.

he is probably having 2012 nightmares

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

I guess if Raffi Torres can get picked in the top 5 then there’s a chance LHereaux can as well.

Yeah, but that was by the Mike Milbury-led Islanders. Does that really count as a valid precedent in 2021?

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

Three goalies in the top 32? That's a lot...

Remember, it's a ranking not a mock, so teams' reluctance to take a goalie with a first-round pick shouldn't affect Button's list. I think a good argument can be made for Gaudreau to be a late first-rounder. He's most likely a second-rounder, but Craig must have seen something he liked in Texas to move him up.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

If your looking for a Wilson type player, Samuel Helenius is your guy

Take a look at Tyler Boucher’s game tape if you want to see a player comparable to Wilson.

Players are compared every draft to Wilson, and they almost never are similar. Boucher is the most similar I’ve seen since I started following the draft closely in around 2015.

 

[ijuka]

No. Just look at 2018.

That's one defenseman, not top 4 being defensemen.

Because defensemen are so much harder to project than forwards at such an early age, if there are so many of them at the top it means the overall crop must be quite weak.

Quinn Hughes did well yes, I guess case in point is that he wasn't even top ranked and was borderline considered a reach when picked.

I also expect the actual skill order of the players to end up being quite different from their picking order.

 

[Wintersun]

That's one defenseman, not top 4 being defensemen.

Because defensemen are so much harder to project than forwards at such an early age, if there are so many of them at the top it means the overall crop must be quite weak.

Quinn Hughes did well yes, I guess case in point is that he wasn't even top ranked and was borderline considered a reach when picked.

I also expect the actual skill order of the players to end up being quite different from their picking order.

Really? I had Hughes as the clear cut 3rd overall after he dominated at the Men's World Championship. Everyone thought he was a steal when he was picked by Vancouver.

 

[Sweetpotato]

This is 2012 all over again. A ton of top pair or top 4 dmen available. Love it.

 

[ijuka]

Really? I had Hughes as the clear cut 3rd overall after he dominated at the Men's World Championship. Everyone thought he was a steal when he was picked by Vancouver.

I don't consider you to be the leading agency on player scouting, no.

McKenzie for example had him behind Bouchard and Dobson.

 

[Wintersun]

I don't consider you to be the leading agency on player scouting, no.

McKenzie for example had him behind Bouchard and Dobson.

Never said I was a leading agency lol. Most people here thought Hughes was a top 5 pick.

 

[newfy]

Yup, I used to trash Button's lists but if you go back and look at every year's, he ends up being surprisingly accurate for the most part. I respect what he does and I respect these rankings, no matter how different they are from consensus.

To me, what sticks out most is how high L'Heureux is, and how low Johnson is.

I think it was Buttons last list that someone combined his previous lists (maybe a prospect ranking) as a way to show how bad he was. But when you looked at it the general trend of the list was really good players down to worse players. Yeah there were guys who stuck out as not belonging, but look at how teams draft and the same thing happens. He does a pretty solid job at what he does.

With that being said, I would have a hard time taking L'Heureux over a guy as skilled as Johnson and that played as well as Johnson did as a newcomer to the NCAA from a weaker league.

I’m not touching Edvinsson with any pick in the top 10 or 12

I dont know why Edvinsson gets shit on so hard on here but hes gonna go high and be a solid player. Its like everyone thinks a good dman has to be a Makar or Quinn Hughes to be good.

Edvinsson reminds me of this drafts Seider, except hes not underrated (except on HFboards). He does everything really solid, he wont put up a bunch of points but hes going to munch minutes. I hope the wings land him and can actually pair him with Seider in the future.

 

[Castle8130]

I'd feel terrible drafting Bolduc in the top 16. He's the one guy I feel will never be a successful top 6 forward.

 

[flying v 604]

That's one defenseman, not top 4 being defensemen.

Because defensemen are so much harder to project than forwards at such an early age, if there are so many of them at the top it means the overall crop must be quite weak.

Quinn Hughes did well yes, I guess case in point is that he wasn't even top ranked and was borderline considered a reach when picked.

I also expect the actual skill order of the players to end up being quite different from their picking order.

Quinn Hughes was not a reach. I do agree tho with worrying about D in the top part of the draft. For me because most are usually ranked so high because of their size. One of he reasons I had Quinn ranked highly was because he dominated on skill and IQ, not being bigger.

 

[mratch19]

That's one defenseman, not top 4 being defensemen.

Because defensemen are so much harder to project than forwards at such an early age, if there are so many of them at the top it means the overall crop must be quite weak.

Quinn Hughes did well yes, I guess case in point is that he wasn't even top ranked and was borderline considered a reach when picked.

I also expect the actual skill order of the players to end up being quite different from their picking order.

Do you have a source for anyone saying Hughes was a reach at 7? Bob's list had him at what, 8 in final rankings? And to me that was too low, which I think a ton of people on here agreed with. Like wintersun, I saw more than a few people ranking him third. The only players who seemed consensus were Dahlin and Svech.


I was pretty certain at the time he wasn't making it past Detroit at 6..

 

[theslatcher]

Really? I had Hughes as the clear cut 3rd overall after he dominated at the Men's World Championship. Everyone thought he was a steal when he was picked by Vancouver.

Hughes played decently in a 6/7D role, he far from dominated, what is this revisionist history lol.

 

[Wintersun]

Hughes played decently in a 6/7D role, he far from dominated, what is this revisionist history lol.

Yes, dominated was a very strong word. But to me, he looked great at that tournament against high-end NHLers, and that was easily enough for me to have him 3rd overall.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

And there is another scout saying Power is number 1

I hope Anaheim picks him

 

[Maplebeasts]

L'Heureux at 8 is interesting but I understand it. Lots of talent and he was doing very, very well in recent games. The fact he has a mean streak is a bonus too.

 

[SantosHalper]

I dont know why Edvinsson gets shit on so hard on here but hes gonna go high and be a solid player. Its like everyone thinks a good dman has to be a Makar or Quinn Hughes to be good.

Edvinsson reminds me of this drafts Seider, except hes not underrated (except on HFboards). He does everything really solid, he wont put up a bunch of points but hes going to munch minutes. I hope the wings land him and can actually pair him with Seider in the future.

This.

 

[justHypnos]

I’m not touching Edvinsson with any pick in the top 10 or 12

hopefully the five or six teams ahead of Jersey have scouts that think that way, too

 

[BCNate]

Never said I was a leading agency lol. Most people here thought Hughes was a top 5 pick.

I think that most had Hughes slightly ahead of Boqvist, Bouchard and Dobson, but I don't think many would have been stunned if any of them went in any order. Hughes and Boqvist were regarded to have the highest ceilings, but also the most risk attached.

 

[Hinterland]

Michigan Mock: Button has Power to Sabres; Beniers to Seattle, Johnson a Canuck

He's most likely right about Power and Othmann but other than that I think he could be mostly far off.

No way Beniers and Guenther are gonna go this early and I don't see New Jersey passing up the opportunity to draft another Hughes if he's still there at 4.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Michigan Mock: Button has Power to Sabres; Beniers to Seattle, Johnson a Canuck

He's most likely right about Power and Othmann but other than that I think he could be mostly far off.

No way Beniers and Guenther are gonna go this early and I don't see New Jersey passing up the opportunity to draft another Hughes if he's still there at 4.

It's very possible NJ takes Clarke at 4, but man I feel like they would lean towards Hughes barring them getting some scary news about his foot.

I don't understand why you think that's too high for Beniers. Lots of mocks have him going top 2.

 

[Hinterland]

It's very possible NJ takes Clarke at 4, but man I feel like they would lean towards Hughes barring them getting some scary news about his foot.

It's possible they take Clarke but I think they're gonna take Hughes if he's still there.