Draft and UDFA Thread 2018-19

[Mikos87]

I'll disagree, I think he's definitely on the Matthews level.

He's got 1,000 point potential imo. Small as he is, the speed and skill outpaces current NHLers.

I think his brother is going to get beat up bad due to the position, but Jack is going to be in open ice more often.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I'll disagree, I think he's definitely on the Matthews level.

Is he a better scorer than Matthews? Because otherwise, he won't be having a Matthews type of impact.

I've made this point elsewhere, but is Hughes going to be a 1.25PPG guy? Otherwise, I can't see the case that he's level with Eichel and Matthews.

Looks to be around Svechnikov or Hall level to me.

 

[Leetch3]

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Weak backhand at the end pfff.

 

[Mac n Gs]

Is he a better scorer than Matthews? Because otherwise, he won't be having a Matthews type of impact.

I've made this point elsewhere, but is Hughes going to be a 1.25PPG guy? Otherwise, I can't see the case that he's level with Eichel and Matthews.

Looks to be around Svechnikov or Hall level to me.

Hall just had a 1.22 ppg season, so...

 

[Leetch3]

elite prospects has no future teams for hughes (ie college commitments)...i'm pretty sure its assumed that he will play next year with the USNDTP again. but has that been confirmed?

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

elite prospects has no future teams for hughes (ie college commitments)...i'm pretty sure its assumed that he will play next year with the USNDTP again. but has that been confirmed?

Northeastern secured its first verbal commitments from players born in 2003 on Wednesday after it was announced that Ryan St. Louis and Jack Hughes both pledged their collegiate eligibility to Jim Madigan’s program. St. Louis and Hughes are considered two of the elite 2003-born talents in the nation, and are huge gets for the future of Madigan, Jerry Keefe, and Jason Smith’s program.

The NU Hockey Blog


Haha. Sorry, just had to do this.

 

[Leetch3]

Northeastern secured its first verbal commitments from players born in 2003 on Wednesday after it was announced that Ryan St. Louis and Jack Hughes both pledged their collegiate eligibility to Jim Madigan’s program. St. Louis and Hughes are considered two of the elite 2003-born talents in the nation, and are huge gets for the future of Madigan, Jerry Keefe, and Jason Smith’s program.

The NU Hockey Blog


Haha. Sorry, just had to do this.

damn he must be really good to get drafted next year as a 16 year old

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

damn he must be really good to get drafted next year as a 16 year old

But yeah. A serious answer: No. There has not been any commitment by Jack Hughes. There have been some rumors he was maybe going to join Michigan and play with his brother but I am not sure how serious that really is/was.

I expect Hughes to play for the NTDP again.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Ola: Just returned from an event with John Carlson carrying the cup. Have seen and touched the cup several times and still get a chill from the experience.

Two pieces of information about Macleod. First, he was not invited to the Tampa Bay prospect camp suggesting that he will not be signing with them. Second, the BU defense was loaded last year with six players drafted in the third round or higher not including MacLeod. I think I remember that BU got off to a slow start and Quinn must have shaken up his lineup. So your information makes sense as he only played in 23 games last year.

Bottom line is that Quinn knows the guy better than an scout and if he thinks he is a player he should be available to be signed by the Rangers or Hartford.

Ranger Ric- Great stuff!

Saw this though on Ryan M :
“Last summer, I heard some rumors going around that the Lightning had offered MacLeod an entry level contract if he wanted to leave BU early. Weather that’s true or not, he did return to BU for his senior year. Unfortunately for him, the BU coaching staff has decided to ride their younger defensemen this season and he’s only seen four games of action out of 10 games.”

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Hall just had a 1.22 ppg season, so...

I was talking about career wise. Crosby is 1.29, McDavid is 1.22 and that'll likely go up. Malkin is 1.19, Ovechkin 1.12. Hall is .90, Kane is 1.00.

Matthews is going to be one of the best defensive players in the league eventually. Give it a few seasons, and he'll get there. Complete center in all areas of the ice. And despite the reputation Eichel is given, I also think he's going to be a complete center. More of an offensively talented guy than Matthews who is more of an all-situations guy, but he'll be all situations and good in all situations eventually from the center of the ice. I just don't get that impression watching Hughes, which is why I am saying that for his overall impact to be that of a Matthews or Eichel, he better be scoring up near where the best players of this generation are scoring. He needs some way to compensate for a lesser overall impact in other areas of the game that I think Matthews and Eichel will have him beat.

I think a lot of people are really mistyping Hughes game in hope that he's something that he's not. He's basically Patrick Kane in how he plays hockey and his overall team contribution. He's not Crosby or McDavid or even Eichel or Matthews, in my opinion.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Couldn't even go bar down? Meh

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

elite prospects has no future teams for hughes (ie college commitments)...i'm pretty sure its assumed that he will play next year with the USNDTP again. but has that been confirmed?

It hasn't been confirmed, but pretty much everyone who claims to have knowledge of the situation says he'll be back for another season at the NTDP.

 

[Edge]

Is he a better scorer than Matthews? Because otherwise, he won't be having a Matthews type of impact.

I've made this point elsewhere, but is Hughes going to be a 1.25PPG guy? Otherwise, I can't see the case that he's level with Eichel and Matthews.

Looks to be around Svechnikov or Hall level to me.

Based on what he’s shown to this point, yes, I think 90+ points is not an unreal expectation.

This kid has a profound impact on every, single game he plays.

 

[Joey Bones]

Good list Joey, did you do one last Summer for '18 draft? Curious to see what you thought a year out....

Yeah I did!! I'll try to find it and @ you.... Don't think I was nearly correct though, lolol.

 

[Joey Bones]

1. RW: Andrei Svechnikov
2. D: Rasmus Dahlin
3. C: Joe Veleno
4. D: Ryan Merkley
5. C/LW: Isac Lundestrom
6. C: Allan McShane
7. D: Quinton Hughes
8. D: Jarred McIsaac
9. W: David Levin
10. D: Adam Boqvist

@Sarge13 This was my too early mock for the 2018 class last July. As you can see.... most were misses

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

1. RW: Andrei Svechnikov
2. D: Rasmus Dahlin
3. C: Joe Veleno
4. D: Ryan Merkley
5. C/LW: Isac Lundestrom
6. C: Allan McShane
7. D: Quinton Hughes
8. D: Jarred McIsaac
9. W: David Levin
10. D: Adam Boqvist

@Sarge13 This was my too early mock for the 2018 class last July. As you can see.... most were misses

Here's a mock draft from a year ago by draftside.com. Eggenberger went undrafted, Kravtsov and Hayton aren't even on the list. This mock was from June 2017. A lot changes in a year.

 

[Ola]

1. RW: Andrei Svechnikov
2. D: Rasmus Dahlin
3. C: Joe Veleno
4. D: Ryan Merkley
5. C/LW: Isac Lundestrom
6. C: Allan McShane
7. D: Quinton Hughes
8. D: Jarred McIsaac
9. W: David Levin
10. D: Adam Boqvist

@Sarge13 This was my too early mock for the 2018 class last July. As you can see.... most were misses

I don’t think it’s ‘misses’, that much changes from 17’ to 18’.

I think this is very interesting to look at because it shows us how much movement there are, and if we did another one 1 year after the draft there would be a lot of movement again, surely.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I will go with a preduction:

1. Jack Hughes
2. Kaapo Kakko
3. Nolan Foote
4. Alex Turcotte
5. Maxim Cajkovic
6. Matt Boldy
7. Albin Grewe
8. Ryan Suzuki
9. Peyton Krebs
10. Valentin Nussbaumer

 

[YoSoyLalo]

I’ve only watched highlights, but Lavoie looks like a guy who could end up challenging for first overall.

He looks like a carbon copy of Jason Spezza

 

[Edge]

I’ve only watched highlights, but Lavoie looks like a guy who could end up challenging for first overall.

He looks like a carbon copy of Jason Spezza

I think there are a lot of excellent talents. Will it be enough to catch Hughes? Hard to say.

But even if the other top prospects don’t overtake Hughes, there’s no shame in that. In fact, if they progress as their potential indicates they can, multiple teams with high picks in the 2019 draft will come away very happy.

 

[Ghost of jas]

I think there are a lot of excellent talents. Will it be enough to catch Hughes? Hard to say.

But even if the other top prospects don’t overtake Hughes, there’s no shame in that. In fact, if they progress as their potential indicates they can, multiple teams with high picks in the 2019 draft will come away very happy.

Do you have a quick top 10 you’d like to put together before the season starts?

 

[Edge]

Do you have a quick top 10 you’d like to put together before the season starts?

On the radar.

I want to review some notes first.

The last few weeks were so focused on the 2018 draft, I want to come at it with fresh eyes.

 

[brians1128]

Do you have a quick top 10 you’d like to put together before the season starts?

Dont worry no need for a mock, you know the Rangers strategy accumulate left hand D.

but seriously this draft is looking to be a strong forward group, especially down the middle, The defense seems skewed left, with Soderstrom looking like the front runner on the right side. Im not sure on the depth of this draft compared to last years but the top 10 is looking really good.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

This will be a strong draft simply because of the the center depth, a stronger NTDP (forward-wise) and a much better Canadian crop. Also like some of the Russians and Finns, but it's a surprisingly weak year for Swedes; Also weak in puck movers with elite skill.

PB is right about Zegras. Got a chance to see him live at the USHL playoffs with the bulk of the key guys at the U18 WC's. He's a beast on the puck. Very strong and plays imposing but isn't classically big, if that makes sense. Great vision and stickhandling. Connects with everyone from anywhere on the ice. New York kid too.

Here's a link to my Sporting News article with notes on my top 31.

NHL Draft big board 2019: Jack Hughes peerless atop way-too-early prospect rankings