Draft #39 - Laurent Dauphin

[Kaibur]

It's strange because if they had traded up and snagged Robert Hagg, I would have thought it a good trade. McKenzie had him ranked 27th and he played for Ulf this year.

But trading up to grad Dauphin, who McKenzie had ranked 38th doesn't seem worth the gamble. I would have rather stood pat and seen if Dauphin was still there 3 picks later. If not, grab one of Bailey, Carrier, or Nastasiuk and then pick up Bjorkstrand with our 3rd. To me that's a better haul. But I do like what Dauphin brings. Just undersized like a lot of the fliers taken in the 2nd round.

 

[ParisSaintGermain]

Judging briefly by the U18 video, he seems to have great hockey sense on both sides of the puck. He appears to have a natural understanding of positioning around the net.

I am excited by this pick.

 

[Jormungandr]

It's strange because if they had traded up and snagged Robert Hagg, I would have thought it a good trade. McKenzie had him ranked 27th and he played for Ulf this year.

But trading up to grad Dauphin, who McKenzie had ranked 38th doesn't seem worth the gamble. I would have rather stood pat and seen if Dauphin was still there 3 picks later. If not, grab one of Bailey, Carrier, or Nastasiuk and then pick up Bjorkstrand with our 3rd. To me that's a better haul. But I do like what Dauphin brings. Just undersized like a lot of the fliers taken in the 2nd round.

Don't know why you're putting so much stock into McKenzie's list. Knickle stated they had Dauphin rated in the first round.

 

[PhoPhan]

It's strange because if they had traded up and snagged Robert Hagg, I would have thought it a good trade. McKenzie had him ranked 27th and he played for Ulf this year.

But trading up to grad Dauphin, who McKenzie had ranked 38th doesn't seem worth the gamble. I would have rather stood pat and seen if Dauphin was still there 3 picks later. If not, grab one of Bailey, Carrier, or Nastasiuk and then pick up Bjorkstrand with our 3rd. To me that's a better haul. But I do like what Dauphin brings. Just undersized like a lot of the fliers taken in the 2nd round.

Dauphin is significantly better than all of those players.

 

[Kaibur]

Dauphin is significantly better than all of those players.

I'm not saying they shouldn't have taken him. I'm just saying that unless they knew NJ, Dallas, or Philly were going to take him, they should have been patient. There was pretty low risk in waiting.

 

[hbk]

I don't have a problem trading up to get a player you have targetted much higher. The risk between not getting him (someone you had say 10-20 slots higher than your second choice) justifies the means. It could be the difference between grabbing that second line center your organization has desperately needed for years and grabbing a 3rd line checking winger or a #4/5 D man. If you assume that everyone else has seen what you have seen and believe you could lose this player you have to do what it takes to move up. This is the selection though that will let us know what we have in Knickle as Director of Scouting. This is a defining selection. No pressure....

 

[Kaibur]

Don't know why you're putting so much stock into McKenzie's list. Knickle stated they had Dauphin rated in the first round.

I see it as a pretty universal barometer. Everyone checks it and everyone basically respects it, year in and year out.

I had Hagg at 26 and Dauphin at 32. Again, not saying they shouldn't have taken Dauphin, just surprised they moved a good 3rd round pick for 3 spots in the 2nd. I know Maloney's willing to pull the trigger on those kinds of moves if his amateur scouts tell him to. I believe the Tikhonov trade was one, and the Mike Lee trade was another. I give credit to Maloney for giving his scouts room to do their job.

Let's hope Knickle and co. have identified a good fit and good pick. I think they're going to give Dauphin plenty of development time, so he should have a chance to put on some muscle mass over the next few seasons.

 

[PhoPhan]

It's as good a public list as there is, but it's still only a poll of ten or so scouts.

Philly went off McKenzie's board with Morin at 11, but Montreal was trying to trade up to get him. Philly could have looked at McKenzie's list and thought they could trade down and still get their guy, but they would have been wrong if Montreal then traded past them or someone else liked him as much as those two teams.

I don't think Maloney would have traded up had he not gotten the sense that someone else would have grabbed Dauphin. And even if it was just a hunch, we're talking about the 73rd overall pick here. Not exactly a super valuable asset.