Draft and UDFA Thread 2018-19: Part VII (No Kakko/Hughes Talk)

[Joey Bones]

I've got an exercise....

Say the WIN pick is solidified at No. 19 come draft day. Rangers don't trade up or down with it.... they stay at the position. The draft plays out with both C. Caufield and Newhook available at No. 19. Two different players with massive boom potential. Who do you take and why?

My pick is Caufield simply because he has an excellent talent for scoring goals while also maintaining a very good worth ethic and grind to his game. He broke two records within the USNTDP history with the most goals scored and most goals scored during the U18 Worlds. Seeing him alongside a playmaker like Kravtsov or Zibanejad could be menacing for defenses.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I've got an exercise....

Say the WIN pick is solidified at No. 19 come draft day. Rangers don't trade up or down with it.... they stay at the position. The draft plays out with both C. Caufield and Newhook available at No. 19. Two different players with massive boom potential. Who do you take and why?

My pick is Caufield simply because he has an excellent talent for scoring goals while also maintaining a very good worth ethic and grind to his game. He broke two records within the USNTDP history with the most goals scored and most goals scored during the U18 Worlds. Seeing him alongside a playmaker like Kravtsov or Zibanejad could be menacing for defenses.

I'd want access to the voodoo that caused both of them to drop that far for it to be an option.

But Caufield with out a 2nd thought. The goal scoring ability is too good to pass up.

 

[Edge]

Seider is that guy but I'm with @Edge on getting someone like Korczak. Big, RHD shut down guys who won't kill your transition game are really rare and while they won't "Boom" like a more offensively minded guy, I'd argue that they're just as important to have.

I think he’s a potentially great choice for the second round, especially in a scenario where the Rangers swing for fences on offensive talent in the first.

IMO, 37 would be great value for him, and there’s the added bonus that he really does potentially fit a need as well.

 

[Edge]

I've got an exercise....

Say the WIN pick is solidified at No. 19 come draft day. Rangers don't trade up or down with it.... they stay at the position. The draft plays out with both C. Caufield and Newhook available at No. 19. Two different players with massive boom potential. Who do you take and why?

My pick is Caufield simply because he has an excellent talent for scoring goals while also maintaining a very good worth ethic and grind to his game. He broke two records within the USNTDP history with the most goals scored and most goals scored during the U18 Worlds. Seeing him alongside a playmaker like Kravtsov or Zibanejad could be menacing for defenses.

Newhook.

I think he has that extra little room in his ceiling to be a line driver.

Caufield is an excellent support player in my opinion. I think he’ll be an effective NHLer, but I don’t know if I’d quite classify his ceiling as being a guy who drives a line. I think he’s the guy who flanks the player driving the line.

 

[Joey Bones]

I'd want access to the voodoo that caused both of them to drop that far for it to be an option.

But Caufield with out a 2nd thought. The goal scoring ability is too good to pass up.

Yeah, hence why I said the draft playing out as....

 

[Ola]

I fear that Newhook is playing himself into borderline top 10 consideration, and certainly a top 15 prospect.

I am still fine tuning my ranking (I did one last season, just for fun, and have had a lot of time this spring after some healthy issues, it is what it is, I only rank kids I can see, just to put it in black and white and get something that you can look back at in 5-10 years and see what you can learn), but this is how it looks:

1. Jack Hughes
2. Kaapo Kakko
3. Alex Turcotte
4. Alex Newhook
5. Vasiley Podkolzin
6. Spencer Knight
7. Matt Boldy
8. Bowen Byram
9. Travis Zegras
10. Phillip Broberg
11. Cole Caufield
12. Dylan Cozens
13. Kirby Dach
14. Kaedan Korczak
15. Victor Söderström
16. Ralph Lavoie
17. Moritz Seider
18. Alex Vlasic
19. Karl Henriksson
20. Igor Spiridonov
21. Jamieson Rees
22. Drew Helleson
23. Ilya Nikolayev
24. Cam York
25. Leevi Aaltonen
26. Case McCarthy
27. John Beecher
28. Peyton Krebs
29. T Harley
30. Kean Washkurak
31. Albin Grewe

It seems like a knock on a few guys in the top 15, but it really isn't. 7 to 13 is just really tight for me, I have nothing against Cozens or Dach, they have just not blown me away and I prefer the skill that someone like Zegras has over what they have + size, both are really skilled.

There is a group of very talented -- very good -- hockey players, who just don't do it for me from a 'can they make it big in the NHL'-POV. Its Nikolayev, Suzuki, Pelletier, Krebs, Brink and Tracey. I am not sure on how to handle them. What are their flaws? Can they improve those? Leapfrog the guys a head of them in some areas? Its also a group of guys that I don't really see becoming great guys in more complimentary roles, they need to make it big or they won't make it at all. Nikolayev is higher than the others because he is more suited for like a 3c/4c if he didn't make it higher.

Vic Söderström is actually one of my biggest fallers.

I am still considering quite many more names, one way or the other.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Spiridonov over Dorofeyev makes no sense

 

[Ola]

I've had him at either 8 or 9 all season and I'm loving the fact that a broader audience on here has a chance to see him finally.

Yeah I've heard his name forever, thought his skating looked amazing in highlight vids. But its just so hard to tell, I am not saying that I am right or others are wrong, but you can see some wanting Bobby Brink to be top 10 and others wanting Newhook be top 10, I like the later a lot more than the former. From watching highlights it was the other way around. But I can't watch highlights only, so hard to a grip on how good a player really is in a certain area.

For me, Brinks motor just isn't there. He kind of drowns way to often.

Newhook is a bit risky, but very high reward too.

 

[offdacrossbar]

I've got an exercise....

Say the WIN pick is solidified at No. 19 come draft day. Rangers don't trade up or down with it.... they stay at the position. The draft plays out with both C. Caufield and Newhook available at No. 19. Two different players with massive boom potential. Who do you take and why?

My pick is Caufield simply because he has an excellent talent for scoring goals while also maintaining a very good worth ethic and grind to his game. He broke two records within the USNTDP history with the most goals scored and most goals scored during the U18 Worlds. Seeing him alongside a playmaker like Kravtsov or Zibanejad could be menacing for defenses.

newhook.

his overall skill set, top end skating and ability to play the middle and then transition to the wall gives him the edge here.

hes a complete package that i believe can play 2 yrs at BC and come out ready to be a top 6 kid immediately.

caufield is a scorer but i see some limited upside beyond that role. the high end skills arent there and hes a kid who could well end up a 2/3 tweener.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

I've got an exercise....

Say the WIN pick is solidified at No. 19 come draft day. Rangers don't trade up or down with it.... they stay at the position. The draft plays out with both C. Caufield and Newhook available at No. 19. Two different players with massive boom potential. Who do you take and why?

My pick is Caufield simply because he has an excellent talent for scoring goals while also maintaining a very good worth ethic and grind to his game. He broke two records within the USNTDP history with the most goals scored and most goals scored during the U18 Worlds. Seeing him alongside a playmaker like Kravtsov or Zibanejad could be menacing for defenses.

Don’t do that to me

 

[Edge]

Yeah I've heard his name forever, thought his skating looked amazing in highlight vids. But its just so hard to tell, I am not saying that I am right or others are wrong, but you can see some wanting Bobby Brink to be top 10 and others wanting Newhook be top 10, I like the later a lot more than the former. From watching highlights it was the other way around. But I can't watch highlights only, so hard to a grip on how good a player really is in a certain area.

For me, Brinks motor just isn't there. He kind of drowns way to often.

Newhook is a bit risky, but very high reward too.

Despite our rankings, I’d say it’s probable that Newhook goes after Dach, Cozens, Turcotte and Zegras.

With that said, he’s also potentially the target for a number of teams who are willing to accept some risk for the chance to come away with a prospect who could be every bit as good as those other centers, maybe even better.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Yeah, hence why I said the draft playing out as....

My answer doesn't change.

I really want to learn the type of dark arts that would make that go down. Trust me, I'd put it to use on June 21st.

But I'd be happy with either and would be willing to trade up for either. I really want another pick in the top half of this draft.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Newhook...1C upside...enough said.

 

[eco's bones]

I've got an exercise....

Say the WIN pick is solidified at No. 19 come draft day. Rangers don't trade up or down with it.... they stay at the position. The draft plays out with both C. Caufield and Newhook available at No. 19. Two different players with massive boom potential. Who do you take and why?

My pick is Caufield simply because he has an excellent talent for scoring goals while also maintaining a very good worth ethic and grind to his game. He broke two records within the USNTDP history with the most goals scored and most goals scored during the U18 Worlds. Seeing him alongside a playmaker like Kravtsov or Zibanejad could be menacing for defenses.

I'd probably go with Newhook but I'm thinking he'll go somewhere between 10 and 15. Good possibility Caufield will be gone a couple to a few before 19 too. I think we could use a center and Newhook's got decent size and is a great skater and a creative player. Part of it is I see Lias becoming a wing or a player like Strome who plays wing some of the time and center some of the time but there are some things about Andersson that remind me of Strome. That said I could see Caufiled becoming the new DeBrincat.

 

[Edge]

Newhook...1C upside...enough said.

That’s difficult to pass up, especially if you’re outside the top 10.

Some have expressed a concern as to how Newhook will do against tougher competition. Personally, I’m more interested to see how he’d do with more talent around him.

 

[Edge]

I'd probably go with Newhook but I'm thinking he'll go somewhere between 10 and 15. Good possibility Caufield will be gone a couple to a few before 19 too. I think we could use a center and Newhook's got decent size and is a great skater and a creative player. Part of it is I see Lias becoming a wing or a player like Strome who plays wing some of the time and center some of the time but there are some things about Andersson that remind me of Strome. That said I could see Caufiled becoming the new DeBrincat.

I suspect either will probably require a trade-up.

I think you have to be in the top 16, probably top 14.

 

[eco's bones]

I am still fine tuning my ranking (I did one last season, just for fun, and have had a lot of time this spring after some healthy issues, it is what it is, I only rank kids I can see, just to put it in black and white and get something that you can look back at in 5-10 years and see what you can learn), but this is how it looks:

1. Jack Hughes
2. Kaapo Kakko
3. Alex Turcotte
4. Alex Newhook
5. Vasiley Podkolzin
6. Spencer Knight
7. Matt Boldy
8. Bowen Byram
9. Travis Zegras
10. Phillip Broberg
11. Cole Caufield
12. Dylan Cozens
13. Kirby Dach
14. Kaedan Korczak
15. Victor Söderström
16. Ralph Lavoie
17. Moritz Seider
18. Alex Vlasic
19. Karl Henriksson
20. Igor Spiridonov
21. Jamieson Rees
22. Drew Helleson
23. Ilya Nikolayev
24. Cam York
25. Leevi Aaltonen
26. Case McCarthy
27. John Beecher
28. Peyton Krebs
29. T Harley
30. Kean Washkurak
31. Albin Grewe

It seems like a knock on a few guys in the top 15, but it really isn't. 7 to 13 is just really tight for me, I have nothing against Cozens or Dach, they have just not blown me away and I prefer the skill that someone like Zegras has over what they have + size, both are really skilled.

There is a group of very talented -- very good -- hockey players, who just don't do it for me from a 'can they make it big in the NHL'-POV. Its Nikolayev, Suzuki, Pelletier, Krebs, Brink and Tracey. I am not sure on how to handle them. What are their flaws? Can they improve those? Leapfrog the guys a head of them in some areas? Its also a group of guys that I don't really see becoming great guys in more complimentary roles, they need to make it big or they won't make it at all. Nikolayev is higher than the others because he is more suited for like a 3c/4c if he didn't make it higher.

Vic Söderström is actually one of my biggest fallers.

I am still considering quite many more names, one way or the other.

I don't have Knight that high but he's a wild card who could easily drop between 10 and 15. I'm also wondering if Seider might be our second guy if we don't move with our Jets 1st. You've got Beecher at 27--big and nasty, good skating center from my hometown. I wouldn't mind him with one of our 2nds. He's going to be an asshole to play against.

 

[Kovalev27]

Remember who kept telling you but Jamieson Rees is a player.

I’d be thrilled to get this kid just continues to impress

 

[Edge]

Remember who kept telling you but Jamieson Rees is a player.

I’d be thrilled to get this kid just continues to impress

Definitely a kid who appears to be more than the sum of his parts.

He’s a perpetual motion machine, but I do wonder about the offensive ceiling and the ability to stick at center.

Definitely a kid I’d consider in the second though.

 

[eco's bones]

I suspect either will probably require a trade-up.

I think you have to be in the top 16, probably top 14.

I agree. To me Newhook is in the conversation with Zegras, Turcotte and Dach. Caufield should go somewhere between 14 and 17. Newhook should go before him though. Personally Newhook would be the guy I'd target if the Rangers only moved up a few spots with the Winnipeg pick and if he and the other centers were gone I might not move up at all.

These are the guys I move up for--Byram, Cozens, Dach, Turcotte, Zegras, Boldy, Newhook.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Definitely a kid who appears to be more than the sum of his parts.

He’s a perpetual motion machine, but I do wonder about the offensive ceiling and the ability to stick at center.

Definitely a kid I’d consider in the second though.

Matters less to me but I get it.

He's basically the quintessential player for the way we want to play though. He forces positive action on the ice and thats valuable on any line.

Personally, the though of he and Andersson flanking Howden makes me giddy.

 

[Edge]

I agree. To me Newhook is in the conversation with Zegras, Turcotte and Dach. Caufield should go somewhere between 14 and 17. Newhook should go before him though. Personally Newhook would be the guy I'd target if the Rangers only moved up a few spots with the Winnipeg pick and if he and the other centers were gone I might not move up at all.

I have him ranked at 9, and the first center I have ranked after Hughes is Cozens, at 4. The only break in centers on my list is Podkolzin. So they’ve all been close for me.

Right now he’s top of mind for a lot of people because of the tournament. But it will interesting to see who pops back into the conversation in the coming weeks.

Depending on when you read, there’s going to be no less than 15 guys who people will make a case for including in the top 10.

 

[Edge]

Matters less to me but I get it.

He's basically the quintessential player for the way we want to play though. He forces positive action on the ice and thats valuable on any line.

Personally, the though of he and Andersson flanking Howden makes me giddy.

I love the style, wonder about the upside. I’m also a little hesitant with high-motor guys who post solid, but not necessarily spectacular numbers in the CHL.

They’re easy prospects to dig, but the downside is that they can be easy to over-project.

 

[RangerBlues]

I am still fine tuning my ranking (I did one last season, just for fun, and have had a lot of time this spring after some healthy issues, it is what it is, I only rank kids I can see, just to put it in black and white and get something that you can look back at in 5-10 years and see what you can learn), but this is how it looks:

1. Jack Hughes
2. Kaapo Kakko
3. Alex Turcotte
4. Alex Newhook
5. Vasiley Podkolzin
6. Spencer Knight
7. Matt Boldy
8. Bowen Byram
9. Travis Zegras
10. Phillip Broberg
11. Cole Caufield
12. Dylan Cozens
13. Kirby Dach
14. Kaedan Korczak
15. Victor Söderström
16. Ralph Lavoie
17. Moritz Seider
18. Alex Vlasic
19. Karl Henriksson
20. Igor Spiridonov
21. Jamieson Rees
22. Drew Helleson
23. Ilya Nikolayev
24. Cam York
25. Leevi Aaltonen
26. Case McCarthy
27. John Beecher
28. Peyton Krebs
29. T Harley
30. Kean Washkurak
31. Albin Grewe

It seems like a knock on a few guys in the top 15, but it really isn't. 7 to 13 is just really tight for me, I have nothing against Cozens or Dach, they have just not blown me away and I prefer the skill that someone like Zegras has over what they have + size, both are really skilled.



There is a group of very talented -- very good -- hockey players, who just don't do it for me from a 'can they make it big in the NHL'-POV. Its Nikolayev, Suzuki, Pelletier, Krebs, Brink and Tracey. I am not sure on how to handle them. What are their flaws? Can they improve those? Leapfrog the guys a head of them in some areas? Its also a group of guys that I don't really see becoming great guys in more complimentary roles, they need to make it big or they won't make it at all. Nikolayev is higher than the others because he is more suited for like a 3c/4c if he didn't make it higher.

Vic Söderström is actually one of my biggest fallers.

I am still considering quite many more names, one way or the other.

Broberg and Vlasic are higher than most.
Id be very happy if the Rangers picked Vlasic

 

[offdacrossbar]

podkolzin continues to fail at production.

hes a tough one to figure out