Draft and UDFA Thread 2017-18

[darko]

Same... my ideal first round would be Dobson(Wahlstrom)/Dellandrea/Berggren.

I don't think Dobson is there at 9 and I don't think Berggren is there at 26 or 28.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Farabee

I continue to remain skeptical that the Rangers would pick Farabee over Kravtsov.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Dear Rangers (and other teams): do not be so certain we won't take Tkachuk...

Stick to your guns, Gorts. Don't trade for 3 unless it's not a crazy price, and if you do trade, take Zadina.

 

[offdacrossbar]

sign me up for taking some swings this draft. weve got the picks to do it.

there are quite a few homerun/boom type picks available in the top 90 or so players and we have 7 picks there.

the russians are intriguing and there are a few under the radar guys lurking there.

guys like alexeyev, shafilgullin, kurashev (hes swiss/russian), khovanov, kotkov and even denisenko if he drops.

there will be opportunities in that 2nd-3rd round area where we can find a few gems.

drafting talent and skill in those rounds rather than safe/high floor guys is the way to go.

 

[Edge]

Doesn't Noel have some really good potential? 6 foot 5 210 pounds already holy ****. How's his skating? plus he's right handed if i believe.
And Dobson at 9 would be great wouldn't it? Considered many feel he could go 4 and a RHD.
From what i hear Berggen could even be a top 20 pick.
I know there are probably safer picks at 26 than Noel but if we came away with those three especially Dobson I would be happy.

Personally, I'm not a huge Noel fan --- particularly as a first round pick.

The short answer is that he's incredibly raw. He's made good strides with his skating, but I'm not really sold on the awareness or the actual attributes. I think he's a hell of a physical specimen, and that covers up for some elements that aren't nearly as developed as other kids. But as I say these things I find myself almost verbatim repeating what I said about Hugh Jessiman 15 years ago --- and that causes a weird allergic reaction in my body.

 

[Beer League Sniper]

Gorton (it would appear) has been trying to draft high offensive talent the past couple drafts.

It's just rumor and conjecture, but we apparently had a trade in place two years ago to try and land Clayton Keller that was submarined by CBJ going off the board and taking Dubois instead of Puljujarvi (the right move in retrospect, but big shock at the time).

Last year, our two targets were apparently Petersson and Glass, who went in consecutive picks right before ours. So, they elected to go with a safe pick in Andersson, then swing for the fences with Chytil late in the first.

Gorton is trying to get offensive talent. If Zadina starts to fall, or Wahlstrom is hanging around at our pick, I would expect us to try and nab one of them. I've said before that I wouldn't be upset with Farabee at 9. But, if he's the guy, we better be going 100% boom potential with our other picks.

 

[Edge]

Doesn't Noel have some really good potential? 6 foot 5 210 pounds already holy ****. How's his skating? plus he's right handed if i believe.
And Dobson at 9 would be great wouldn't it? Considered many feel he could go 4 and a RHD.
From what i hear Berggen could even be a top 20 pick.
I know there are probably safer picks at 26 than Noel but if we came away with those three especially Dobson I would be happy.

I like Dobson at 9. I think he's a very good defensive prospect who will play for a long time. Like Bouchard, I'm not sure he's an obvious first pairing prospect, but he's at least a second pairing type.

I like Berggren, just probably not with a first. I love the energy, love the zip and drive. Not sure the offense is there. I'd be happier with him in the second.

 

[bl02]

I like Dobson at 9. I think he's a very good defensive prospect who will play for a long time. Like Bouchard, I'm not sure he's an obvious first pairing prospect, but he's at least a second pairing type.

I like Berggren, just probably not with a first. I love the energy, love the zip and drive. Not sure the offense is there. I'd be happier with him in the second.

Thing is if we don't grab a Dobson who has potential to be a number one dman at 9? unfortunately, 9 isn't pick 3 or 4 which is what it will take to grab a Hughes who I am assuming you feel has top pairing potential? I guess Boqvist has that potential 3-4 years down the line if all goes perfectly...talent and injury wise

 

[Gardner McKay]

FYI - The results of the mod mock draft for the Rangers went like this:

Adam Boqvist
Akil Thomas
Martin Kaut
Fillip Hallander
Axel Andersson

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Edge]

Thing is if we don't grab a Dobson who has potential to be a number one dman at 9? unfortunately, 9 isn't pick 3 or 4 which is what it will take to grab a Hughes who I am assuming you feel has top pairing potential? I guess Boqvist has that potential 3-4 years down the line if all goes perfectly...talent and injury wise

Dobson isn't a bad pick at all. He's about where I've had for a while (10). In terms of upside, I prefer Hughes and Boqvist over Dobson and Bouchard. So yeah, I'd go with Boqvist and the upside/increased risk.

I guess when I look at the Pronman draft, I see safe, high risk with a reward I'm not sold on, and a good, but not necessarily high-end player.

It's not bad, it's just a little underwhelming.

Essentially it's coming away with the 10th, 41st and 50-something players on my list at the 9th, 26th, and 28th spots.

 

[offdacrossbar]

dobson is the better pick at 9 between him and bouchard. comes down to the ability to play defense and contribute offense as well. dobson shows more top pair shut down ability to me and he's the better skater. advantage noah.

i love boqvist more than both of those guys and if he's there at 9 (doubt it) and say wahlstrom isnt, then you take the swede. period. boqvist head and shoulders over noah and evan here.

between wahlstrom and boqvist its a toss up, but i lean wahlstrom there because of his ability to score goals and lots of em. having said that, ending up with adam boqvist at 9 would be a very very nice first pick.

 

[bl02]

Dobson isn't a bad pick at all. He's about where I've had for a while (10). In terms of upside, I prefer Hughes and Boqvist over Dobson and Bouchard. So yeah, I'd go with Boqvist and the upside/increased risk.

I guess when I look at the Pronman draft, I see safe, high risk with a reward I'm not sold on, and a good, but not necessarily high-end player.

It's not bad, it's just a little underwhelming.

Essentially it's coming away with the 10th, 41st and 50-something players on my list at the 9th, 26th, and 28th spots.

You still have Berggren that low? may i ask why? Sorry if you've covered reason why.

 

[Zibanejbread]

Personally, I'm not a huge Noel fan --- particularly as a first round pick.

The short answer is that he's incredibly raw. He's made good strides with his skating, but I'm not really sold on the awareness or the actual attributes. I think he's a hell of a physical specimen, and that covers up for some elements that aren't nearly as developed as other kids. But as I say these things I find myself almost verbatim repeating what I said about Hugh Jessiman 15 years ago --- and that causes a weird allergic reaction in my body.

This is similar to what Pronman said in his write up on Noel...

"Noel is a guy with a wide variance of opinions among people I’ve talked to due to a lot of potential but issues with his hockey IQ. Some teams have him top 15, others outside the first round. "

 

[bl02]

dobson is the better pick at 9 between him and bouchard. comes down to the ability to play defense and contribute offense as well. dobson shows more top pair shut down ability to me and he's the better skater. advantage noah.

i love boqvist more than both of those guys and if he's there at 9 (doubt it) and say wahlstrom isnt, then you take the swede. period. boqvist head and shoulders over noah and evan here.

between wahlstrom and boqvist its a toss up, but i lean wahlstrom there because of his ability to score goals and lots of em having said that, ending up with adam boqvist at 9 would be a very nice first pick.

I felt Boqvist was the second best dman (potential wise) in this draft but after the head injuries and him being 3 years plus away (from what i hear) thats a huge risk (especially if someone like Dobson is still there at 9 which i doubt he would be). I would still be excited if we picked him but nervously optimistic.

 

[Edge]

Dobson-Bouchard is pretty close in scouting circles. Dobson seems to be slightly favored, and has been linked to higher picks, but could end up going after Bouchard depending on how things shake out.

Boqvist is probably higher on my list at this point than he is on most others.

Hughes is in a similar boat to Dobson in that he's been linked a little higher, but could also fall a little further depending on how the first 4 picks go.

 

[Levitate]

Using a pretty high pick on a defenseman with skating issues seems like a big risk to me...maybe the skating issues are overrated but all the best defensemen in the NHL are very good to excellent skaters. It takes a huge amount of talent to overcome mediocre skating and be an impact player on defense. I'd worry that it's basically resigning ourselves to taking a #4 at best.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Not sure if it's been posted, but Peters has his mock up this morning as well.

Final 2018 NHL mock draft

He thinks it's likely the Rangers will move from their later picks, but if they stick where they are, he has them going:

9: Boqvist
26: Bokk
28: Dellandrea

 

[Lion Hound]

Its funny. Yesterday the report is that Montreal is all aboard the Kotkaneimi train. Today news is the Habs had dinner with Tkachuk. So which is it?

Or...maybe in case they do swing a deal and want other options if they miss their first guy.

All this means they will probably draft someone entirely different!

 

[Edge]

This is similar to what Pronman said in his write up on Noel...

"Noel is a guy with a wide variance of opinions among people I’ve talked to due to a lot of potential but issues with his hockey IQ. Some teams have him top 15, others outside the first round. "

I'm just not sure what the sum of the parts becomes. There's very few comparables for him.

As a hockey player, I just don't see anything special.

As a 6'5 hockey player, it's somewhat unique. At a player who could end up at 6'6 or even 6'8, it's downright crazy.

But how much of what he's been able to do is because he's just so different physically than anyone.

I just don't know if that is going to work against NHL defenseman. They're going to be bigger, they're going to be stronger.

I get where the fantasy comes from --- what if you have have 6'6 or 6'8, 240 pound winger who can pop in 25 or 30 goals? That's insane.

But what if you have a guy who just doesn't have the skills outside of the size and becomes more of anomaly and not an impact player?

The fantasy is fantastic and one of a kind. But the odds are very, very long.

Right now, the skating is improved but will not cut it, the awareness isn't there, the skills aren't clearly evident.

That's a lot of hoping when it comes to a first round pick.

Sometimes a kid only needs one amazing attribute to push them over the line. Noel could be that kid.

But I see a lot of Hugh Jessiman in him --- without the size, he's not a great hockey player.

 

[Edge]

Not sure if it's been posted, but Peters has his mock up this morning as well.

Final 2018 NHL mock draft

He thinks it's likely the Rangers will move from their later picks, but if they stick where they are, he has them going:

9: Boqvist
26: Bokk
28: Dellandrea

That I like --- I think there's a good balance of upside and a higher floor mixed in there.

 

[Edge]

Its funny. Yesterday the report is that Montreal is all aboard the Kotkaneimi train. Today news is the Habs had dinner with Tkachuk. So which is it?

Or...maybe in case they do swing a deal and want other options if they miss their first guy.

All this means they will probably draft someone entirely different!

The whole dinner thing can be a bit misleading.

Some teams' activities are a little more public, but in most cases they're not necessarily doing any more diligence than another team. It's just more...open.

 

[Nopuckluck]

I'm just not sure what the sum of the parts becomes. There's very few comparables for him.

As a hockey player, I just don't see anything special.

As a 6'5 hockey player, it's somewhat unique. At a player who could end up at 6'6 or even 6'8, it's downright crazy.

But how much of what he's been able to do is because he's just so different physically than anyone.

I just don't know if that is going to work against NHL defenseman. They're going to be bigger, they're going to be stronger.

I get where the fantasy comes from --- what if you have have 6'6 or 6'8, 240 pound winger who can pop in 25 or 30 goals? That's insane.

But what if you have a guy who just doesn't have the skills outside of the size and becomes more of anomaly and not an impact player?

The fantasy is fantastic and one of a kind. But the odds are very, very long.

Right now, the skating is improved but will not cut it, the awareness isn't there, the skills aren't clearly evident.

That's a lot of hoping when it comes to a first round pick.

Sometimes a kid only needs one amazing attribute to push them over the line. Noel could be that kid.

But I see a lot of Hugh Jessiman in him --- without the size, he's not a great hockey player.

Brian Boyle!

 

[Sarge13]

If you're going to go with someone with size go with Jack McBain, at least he can play.

 

[bl02]

Not sure if it's been posted, but Peters has his mock up this morning as well.

Final 2018 NHL mock draft

He thinks it's likely the Rangers will move from their later picks, but if they stick where they are, he has them going:

9: Boqvist
26: Bokk
28: Dellandrea

I would take that over Dobson/Noel/Bergrenn. Bokk and Dellandrea would be surefire terrific value for 26/28. I would take dobson over Boqvist but if we got those three guys man we should all be excited.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Why all the overboard concern about Ryan Merk? Don’t you guys remember when you were 17 years old? You knew everything and nobody could tell you different. He’ll outgrow it.

He's also not that good. Hockey is played in three zones. He plays in one.