Draft and UDFA Thread 2018-19: Part II

[Savant]

This is starting to look like a really good goalie draft. The previously mentioned Spencer Knight, Dustin Wolf, Taylor Gauthier, Hunter Jones and Hugo Alnefelt, but also Mads Sogaard, Isaiah Saville and Lassi Lehtinen are some to keep an eye on. All are performing vey well!!

I don't know if I can handle the Rangers taking a goalie early after wast....err spending a 2nd on Lindbom last draft

 

[Joey Bones]

For all the people smarter than me; where the hell did Brett Leason come from and how was he not ranked/drafted in either 2017 or 2018. He's just been named to the Canada U20 squad and he's absolutely destroying the WHL. Is it just a case of him being bigger/stronger than those he plays against, or has his development really jumped up that much? And if it is that he was just a 'late-bloomer', surely there were some signs of his latent skill level that should have seen him drafted before now, especially in the later rounds? I know scouting and player development is a very inexact science, but with how heavily scouted the CHL is it seems strange a guy like this can 'slip through the cracks'.

Do people think he'll go in the first round come June, or will teams be reluctant to spend a 1st on an over-ager?

It definitely is an inexact science, but I doubt he'll go in the 1st round. Most double overagers go in the later rounds. I think the last overager that went in the 1st round was Pearson and that was at No. 30.

You, also, have to see if it's the team he plays on because Prince Albert is currently 26-1 on the year. With that said, he's their leading scorer. Interesting for sure. We'll have a closer look at him at the WJC's.

 

[Miamipuck]

I didn’t even realize he was trying to reply to me with that, I’d still dig in on Tkachuk’s upside, but I’m not going to argue that with the guy who talks down to anyone who disagrees with him.

And as for Caulfield I mean I’d like him (without really making a number ranking in my head) with an acquired first round pick after like #18, which seems like we’re mostly in agreement with that

Hey man if you don't want him to talk down to you just agree with him, it's pretty simple.

 

[Miamipuck]

This is starting to look like a really good goalie draft. The previously mentioned Spencer Knight, Dustin Wolf, Taylor Gauthier, Hunter Jones and Hugo Alnefelt, but also Mads Sogaard, Isaiah Saville and Lassi Lehtinen are some to keep an eye on. All are performing vey well!!

Awesome maybe the Rangers can get an extra second rounder to use on a goalie.

 

[Blue Blooded]

Speaking of overagers like Leason, Fagemo and Struthers, there are several somewhat interesting players that have entered UDFA eligibility:

Nikita Mikhailov, 1998-05-08 (20 years old, 2016 draft eligible), left shot C, 6'0 163 lbs, Sibir Novosibirsk KHL, 0.34 NHLe 0.2 GNHLe
Mikhailov leads his team with 15 points (9 goals) in 33 games (same NHLe as Leason's 60 in 28 in the WHL), so he isn't being carried by his teammates. Scored 48P in 63GP in the NHL last year, so is somewhat lacking scoring pedigree unfortunately.

Denis Alexeyev, 1997-10-01 (21 years old, 2016 draft eligible), right shot C, 6'0 183 lbs, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL, 0.39 NHLe 0.11 GNHLe
Alexeyev is third in Lokomotiv scoring this season with 18 points (5 goals) in 33 games. Has decent scoring pedigree as he scored 18P in 23GP in the VHL alredy in the 16-17 season and played 16 games in the KHL that year (10 RS + 6 PO). Scored decently in the MHL and VHL last year though he mostly played in the KHL.

Radovan Pavlik, 1998-02-12 (20 years old, 2016 draft eligible), left shot RW, 5'9 172 lbs, Mountfield HK Czech Extraliga, 0.33 NHLe 0.13 GNHLe
Pavlik is fourth in Mountfield scoring this season with 14 points (5 goals) in 23 games. Has a good pedigree having played for the national team at all levels (U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and senior team in the EHT). Played 18 games in the Extraliga in his draft year (no points) and scored 9 points in 9 games in the Czech U20 league last year. Had 6 points (3 goals) in 7 games in the 2018 WJC.

Charles-Édouard D'Astous, 1998-04-21 (20 years old, 2016 draft eligible), left shot D, 6'2 201 lbs, Rimouski Océanic QMJHL, 0.20 NHLe 0.04 GNHLe
D'Astous is third in Rimouski scoring this season with 37 points (8 goals) in 25 games, though how much of that is simply giving the puck to Lafrenière is hard to say. Was named captain this season and had 64 points in 66 games last year.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Awesome maybe the Rangers can get an extra second rounder to use on a goalie.

Must you?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Awesome maybe the Rangers can get an extra second rounder to use on a goalie.

Lmao.

If they snagged knight in the 2nd that would be alright with me though.

 

[Miamipuck]

Must you?

Yes, I can't help myself. lol Stirring that pot.

 

[Edge]

My rankings for December:

1. Hughes

2. Kakko

3. Podklozin

4. Dach

5. Byram

6. Cozens

7. Turcotte

8. Newhook

9. Zegras

10. Boldy

11.Suzuki

12. Broberg

13. Caufield

14. Krebs

15. Kaliyev

16. York

17. Soderstrom

18. Knight

19. Robertson

20. Bjornfot

21. Dorfeyev

22.Mironov

23. Korczak

24. Lavoie

25. Poulin

26. Pelletier

27. Harley

28. Warren

29. Soderblom

30. Foote

31. Vlasic

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[McRanger]

My rankings for December:

1. Hughes

2. Kakko

3. Podklozin

4. Dach

5. Byram

6. Cozens

7. Turcotte

8. Newhook

9. Zegras

10. Boldy

11.Suzuki

12. Broberg

13. Caufield

14. Krebs

15. Kaliyev

16. York

17. Soderstrom

18. Knight

19. Robertson

20. Bjornfot

21. Dorfeyev

22.Mironov

23. Korczak

24. Lavoie

25. Poulin

26. Pelletier

27. Harley

28. Warren

29. Soderblom

30. Foote

31. Vlasic

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Looks good.

Would 1, 2, 3-6, 7-10 be your top 10 tiers?

 

[Edge]

Looks good.

Would 1, 2, 3-6, 7-10 be your top 10 tiers?

Still determining my tiers, and they'll shift.

But at this snapshot in time: 1, 2, 3, 4-10, 11-15

That 4-10 pack is tough to separate at the moment. Especially when it comes to the centers. I can make a case for any of them, and raise a slight red flag for any of them.

 

[True Blue]

Still determining my tiers, and they'll shift.

I have Boldy at #7, but aside from that your top 10 look great. To me if the Rangers can get into that top 7, they will be getting an impact player.

I also keep getting the feeling that most on this board are sleeping on Byram and would be disappointed if he was the pick.

 

[Edge]

I have Boldy at #7, but aside from that your top 10 look great. To me if the Rangers can get into that top 7, they will be getting an impact player.

I also keep getting the feeling that most on this board are sleeping on Byram and would be disappointed if he was the pick.

I could certainly make a case for sliding anyone in the 4-10 range around. Beyond Kakko, you could even make the argument for ranking him ahead of Podkolzin as the second best wing in the draft, and I've heard from a few people who see it that way.

Coming into this season, I saw Boldy more as an elite support guy. To some extent, that's still how I view things. You put him with a quality center, and it looks amazing. But if you put him with "good" center, does he elevate that guy? Not quite as sure about that. I need to see more.

 

[Joey Bones]

My rankings for December:

1. Hughes

2. Kakko

3. Podklozin

4. Dach

5. Byram

6. Cozens

7. Turcotte

8. Newhook

9. Zegras

10. Boldy

11.Suzuki

12. Broberg

13. Caufield

14. Krebs

15. Kaliyev

16. York

17. Soderstrom

18. Knight

19. Robertson

20. Bjornfot

21. Dorfeyev

22.Mironov

23. Korczak

24. Lavoie

25. Poulin

26. Pelletier

27. Harley

28. Warren

29. Soderblom

30. Foote

31. Vlasic

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

My only concern is Broberg @ No.12. Why do you feel he's up that high? I'm viewing him as a raw late 2nd-early 3rd rounder, ATM.

 

[Edge]

My only concern is Broberg @ No.12. Why do you feel he's up that high? I'm viewing him as a raw late 2nd-early 3rd rounder, ATM.

Raw as the day is long. But if those pieces come together, he’s a guy who impacts the game.

A potential impact player is always someone who gets a few more points from me.

 

[Joey Bones]

Raw as the day is long. But if those pieces come together, he’s a guy who impacts the game.

A potential impact player is always someone who gets a few more points from me.

I understand that logic. I just think his body reacts quicker than his mind does, which doesn't give me the impression of that "game breaking" IQ.

 

[Edge]

I understand that logic. I just think his body reacts quicker than his mind does, which doesn't give me the impression of that "game breaking" IQ.

Can totally see that. I figure if his body operates at even 60 percent of his mind, he’s still a hell of an intriguing prospect.

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

I'm starting to cool on this draft (except top 3 which for me includes Byram), it's imo quite a bit weaker then the drafts surrounding it.

 

[Mac n Gs]

I'm starting to cool on this draft (except top 3 which for me includes Byram), it's imo quite a bit weaker then the drafts surrounding it.

We say this every December, and then the U18s happen in the Spring and suddenly there are 60 guys who could be first rounders

 

[Trxjw]

We say this every December, and then the U18s happen in the Spring and suddenly there are 60 guys who could be first rounders

I think we're just about due for the "2020 is looking like the deepest draft in years and we should consider trading our picks for picks in that draft" posts.

 

[True Blue]

I'm starting to cool on this draft (except top 3 which for me includes Byram), it's imo quite a bit weaker then the drafts surrounding it.

I think, and it has been echoed by others, that where this draft is weaker is once you get out of the top 10 or so. That said, if the Rangers get a top 7 pick (let's say 3-7), unless Clark gets cute, they will get an excellent upper echelon player.

 

[offdacrossbar]

My rankings for December:

1. Hughes

2. Kakko

3. Podklozin

4. Dach

5. Byram

6. Cozens

7. Turcotte

8. Newhook

9. Zegras

10. Boldy

11.Suzuki

12. Broberg

13. Caufield

14. Krebs

15. Kaliyev

16. York

17. Soderstrom

18. Knight

19. Robertson

20. Bjornfot

21. Dorfeyev

22.Mironov

23. Korczak

24. Lavoie

25. Poulin

26. Pelletier

27. Harley

28. Warren

29. Soderblom

30. Foote

31. Vlasic

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

this draft to me is all about the top 5 guys. 1-5. my top 5 is like yours pretty much.

after that it drops off considerably from really excellent to just very good.

theres a big difference between those 2 in my mind.

not a great draft to have multiple lower 1sts imo.

 

[Edge]

this draft to me is all about the top 5 guys. 1-5. my top 5 is like yours pretty much.

after that it drops off considerably from really excellent to just very good.

theres a big difference between those 2 in my mind.

not a great draft to have multiple lower 1sts imo.

I like the top 10 this year better than last year, 11-15 a little less than last year.

I would say it's not as deep as last year, or the talent hasn't generated quite as much intrigue heading into the second half. But it's still an above average first round IMO.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

The first round of 2019 is good. Outside of that it's not as great

Last year was a lot deeper. But there's so much time left that it could change

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

We say this every December, and then the U18s happen in the Spring and suddenly there are 60 guys who could be first rounders

I never do though, i was the one defending the 2017 draft from the get go, saying it was actually strong. This one doesn't stack up imo, not at this moment atleast.