Every team's draft needs?

[HanSolo]

No, what I mean is the thing you say about teams like Florida ("Everyone you draft is a bust lulz") and Minnisota ("You guys really suck at drafting").

I don't care that you got some wrong, that's the point of the thread.

It wasn't meant like that. I actually feel bad that their picks didn't pan out. I wish they did.

 

[Caged Great]

The Flames have only one area of need. Offensive forwards. They have plenty of good D prospects and goalies, as well as defensive forwards, but are completely devoid of anything resembling talent offensively.

 

[Draftman]

The Islanders have very good prospect depth at forward and goal. Other than de Haan and Donovan on defense there is little to get excited about IMO. Note: I no longer consider Hamonic a prospect. The Isles need to draft a top level defenseman.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

Need: Defenseman

Reason: The New Jersey Devils are lacking some solid talent at the backend. They have enough firepower on offense with Kovalchuk, Parise, Zajac, Elias and a couple of youngsters in Jacob Josefson and Mattias Tedenby so adding a stud blueliner should be a no-brainer but Lou will take the route he's been taking for the past 20 years... BPA.

If Adam Larsson is off the board at #4, I would love to grab Gabriel Landeskog. I know he's not a blueliner but a player of his caliber should be at the top of Lou's list and like I said, he'll go with the best possible talent. We have alot of depth up front but we are lacking a legit right winger and Landeskog look insane on a line with Parise and Zajac.

If Both Swedes are off the board, I'd go with one of Jonathan Huberdeau or Ryan Murphy. Huberdeau looks ****ing amazing and reminds me of Claude Giroux everytime I watch him play. Ryan Murphy would bring something this team has been lacking since the departure of Scott Niedermayer or to a lesser extent Brian Rafalski and that's a d-men that can create offense from nothing while being able to QB our very weak PP.

Potential Picks: Larsson, Landeskog, Huberdeau, Murphy, Couturier

Other potential positions of need: center (Huberdeau or Couturier), puck moving d-men (Ryan Murphy) and right wing (Landeskog)

My Pick: Adam Larsson

 

[SLAPSHOT723]

Isles need defense more than offense. That's why most Islander fans want Hamilton, Larsson, or Murphy at the draft. None of us would be upset if we drafted Couturier, Huberdeau or Strome, though.

 

[Columbus Jack]

Jackets need someone that can run a PP and give them some scoring from the blueline *cough* Murphy *cough*

 

[YNWA14]

Avs: Defense-first defenseman. High end wingers.

Larsson, Landeskog or Hamilton?

 

[YNWA14]

Need: Forward, wing or centre

Reason: Organizational depth at the position is pretty weak to say the least. Although we've gotten some surprises coming up and there are some other promising young players like Silfverberg and Stone, we really need some top level talent coming through our system to place in our top 6 (we've got a ton of bottom 6 talent.) Ideally we also get someone that has good work ethic, character, and leadership abilities due to the young state of our team and Alfredsson's impending retirement.

Potential Picks in order of preference with OTT 1st: Landeskog, Couturier, Strome/Huberdeau

Potential Picks in order of preference with NSH 1st: Jensen, Scheifele, Jenner, Puempel

Potential Picks in order of preference with OTT 2nd: Jurco, Prince, Rask

Other potential positions of need: Left side defenceman or goalie.

My Pick: Landeskog[/QUOTE]

My prediction of the top 10 picks:

EDM - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
COL - Adam Larsson
FLA - Sean Couturier
NJD - Ryan Murphy
NYI - Dougie Hamilton
OTT - Gabriel Landeskog
ATL - Ryan Strome
CLB - Jonathan Huberdeau
BOS - Duncan Siemens
MIN - Joel Armia

 

[R S]

Larsson, Landeskog or Hamilton?

I would say Huberdeau too

 

[YNWA14]

I would say Huberdeau too

It was more of me asking you who you would pick between those three?

 

[chasespace]

Tampa Bay Lightning

Needs: Defense and another goalie prospect or two. Depth at right wing as well.

 

[HanSolo]

Love some of the effort put into these answers.

 

[hdtrax]

Screw it, I'll do all of them. Here's what I think each team is looking for going into the draft:

Anaheim - top 4 d-man who can play a lot of minutes and work in a shutdown role; goalie depth wouldn't hurt.

Atlanta - size down the middle and probably a playmaker; a guy who can display leadership qualities as well (oh, those intangibles)

Boston - puck moving d-man; playmaking winger/sniper

Buffalo - more center prospects with size; defensive depth

Calgary - top line and bottom line center depth; top 6 winger

Carolina - high-end d-man prospects; goalie depth

Chicago - bottom-6 grinder with scoring potential; hard-hitting D-man; possibly a 2nd line C.

Colorado - high-end forward to play behind (2C) or with Duchene (1W); high potential all-round d-man; some goalie depth (even with Pickard); top 6 winger

Columbus - high end puck moving d-man; potential 2nd line C; top 6 winger

Dallas Stars - defensive depth; top 6 winger; bottom 6 grinders

Detroit - defensive depth; bottom 6 grinders; top 6 player with speed

Edmonton - desperately need a franchise d-man; no. 1 center; goalie depth; effective grinder

Florida - high end center or winger; some bottom 6 depth

Los Angeles - some center depth; possibly top 4 d-man

Minnesota - power forward; scoring winger; defensive depth; bottom 6 grinders

Montreal - power forward; top 6 forward with size; top 4 d-man

Nashville - high-end forward with 2-way savvy; centers with size

New Jersey - high end center; puck moving d-man; all-round d-man

NYR - high-end center; bottom 6 winger; goalie depth

NYI - no. 2 center; playmaking winger; defensive d-man

Ottawa - no. 1/2 center; top line winger; bottom six grinder/power forward

Philadelphia - goalie depth; defensive depth

Phoenix - top 6 winger; defensive d-man; some goalie depth

Pittsburgh - high-end playmaking winger; bottom 6 grinders

St. Louis - top 6 forward; bottom 6 grinder; defensive depth

San Jose - strong defensive d-man; grinder with knack for going to the net.

Tampa Bay - defensive depth; goalie depth

Toronto - top-line center; playmaking/scoring winger; bottom 6 grinders

Vancouver - 2nd line playmaking winger; bottom 6 depth

Washington - top 6 2-way winger; power forward; bottom 6 grinders


Again this is all opinion and based on observations I've made over the course of the year.

 

[zeus3007*]

Your assessment of the Oilers is pretty good, a potential top line center, and potential top pairing d-men. Aside from that, we quite simply just need more prospect depth. Our best prospects have jumped to the NHL, and I would anticipate two or three more doing so again this year (1st overall pick, Hartikainen, and probably Petry). While we re-stock the NHL team with our kids, our AHL team is getting decimated in terms of depth. Although Hamilton and Pitlick should help with that next season.

TML1988, goalie depth isn't as much of an issue, we have two top end prospects in the system in Olivier Roy and Tyler Bunz. Although drafting another top notch goalie would not hurt.

 

[Chainshot]

Biggest draft need: Center that projects as a scoring center.
Beyond that: Skilled forwards with offensive upside, two-way center that has 3rd line upside, some goaltending depth.

Basically everywhere but defense. Different from previous years they have enough grinding type of players and could use some high-end skill on all forward positions.

Agreed, centers. All sorts of 'em but guys who can play in the top 6 especially.

Offensive guys of all stripes, but center has gone from a position of need last year to a position of dire need this year. It also wouldn't surprise if they take another over-ager in the later part of the draft, trying to catch a guy who's passed through one draft already but might be a late bloomer.

 

[Hello Johnny]

Assuming we keep our first rounder...

The Jackets' biggest need is merely contributing players, whether that's on the wing, down the middle, on defense, or in net, we really just need players who can help us, as simple as that sounds. We've ****ed up too many drafts, and with this being kind of an off-year, I'd rather go with a safe pick like Zibanejad or McNeill than try and go for the fences, because we've been burned. I would without a doubt take the Colin Wilsons, Josh Baileys, and Joe Colbornes over the Nikita Filatovs at this point in time.

As far as defensemen go, we let in a lot of goals last year, and we really don't have much in the way of a pure shut-down guy that strikes fear into the opposition's eyes, so Siemens would be a nice pick. At the same time, our puck possession abilities from the back end are atrocious, so Murphy, Hamilton and perhaps Beaulieu could help.

We need some goal-scorers up front as well. Nash is the only legitimate threat we have, although Umberger provides good secondary scoring. But Nash is our only guy who can consistently hit 30, and you need 1 or 2 more guys who can approach 30 IMO.

And we'll likely be targeting a goalie in the second and third rounds.

With all that said, I'm of the belief that we should trade our first pick if it brings back immediate help.

 

[S E P H]

Avs: Defense-first defenseman. High end wingers.

For me,

1) 2-way defensemen that plays fantastic defense.
2) High end wingers with grit/size.

 

[rt]

Phoenix:

Centers. Preferably with size and grit.

 

[Kurrilino]

Screw it, I'll do all of them. Here's what I think each team is looking for going into the draft:

Anaheim - top 4 d-man who can play a lot of minutes and work in a shutdown role; goalie depth wouldn't hurt.

Atlanta - size down the middle and probably a playmaker; a guy who can display leadership qualities as well (oh, those intangibles)

Boston - puck moving d-man; playmaking winger/sniper

Buffalo - more center prospects with size; defensive depth

Calgary - top line and bottom line center depth; top 6 winger

Carolina - high-end d-man prospects; goalie depth

Chicago - bottom-6 grinder with scoring potential; hard-hitting D-man; possibly a 2nd line C.

Colorado - high-end forward to play behind (2C) or with Duchene (1W); high potential all-round d-man; some goalie depth (even with Pickard); top 6 winger

Columbus - high end puck moving d-man; potential 2nd line C; top 6 winger

Dallas Stars - defensive depth; top 6 winger; bottom 6 grinders

Detroit - defensive depth; bottom 6 grinders; top 6 player with speed

Edmonton - desperately need a franchise d-man; no. 1 center; goalie depth; effective grinder

Florida - high end center or winger; some bottom 6 depth

Los Angeles - some center depth; possibly top 4 d-man




Again this is all opinion and based on observations I've made over the course of the year.

uhmmm these are positions we need under any circumstances.

At the center position we have Kopitar - Loktionov - Schenn- Richardson - Stoll - Lewis.
For what do we need center depth.

Doughty and Johnson, Voynov, Hickey Forbort are our top line defenders.
Having Mitchell, Greene, Scuderi and Martinez doesn't hurt either.



The only thing we really need is left wingers. As many as we can get. Unfortunately it's a league wide weakness.

 

[HockeySauce]

Chicago doesn't have any pressing needs on the back-end. They have a solid group of prospects that include Leddy, Olsen, Lalonde, Vishnevskiy, Holl and Johns.

They could use some centre depth, a higher-end offensive RWer and a goaltender.

 

[Pual Statsny]

Screw it, I'll do all of them. Here's what I think each team is looking for going into the draft:

Anaheim - top 4 d-man who can play a lot of minutes and work in a shutdown role; goalie depth wouldn't hurt.

Atlanta - size down the middle and probably a playmaker; a guy who can display leadership qualities as well (oh, those intangibles)

Boston - puck moving d-man; playmaking winger/sniper

Buffalo - more center prospects with size; defensive depth

Calgary - top line and bottom line center depth; top 6 winger

Carolina - high-end d-man prospects; goalie depth

Chicago - bottom-6 grinder with scoring potential; hard-hitting D-man; possibly a 2nd line C.

Colorado - high-end forward to play behind (2C) or with Duchene (1W); high potential all-round d-man; some goalie depth (even with Pickard); top 6 winger

Columbus - high end puck moving d-man; potential 2nd line C; top 6 winger

Dallas Stars - defensive depth; top 6 winger; bottom 6 grinders

Detroit - defensive depth; bottom 6 grinders; top 6 player with speed

Edmonton - desperately need a franchise d-man; no. 1 center; goalie depth; effective grinder

Florida - high end center or winger; some bottom 6 depth

Los Angeles - some center depth; possibly top 4 d-man

Minnesota - power forward; scoring winger; defensive depth; bottom 6 grinders

Montreal - power forward; top 6 forward with size; top 4 d-man

Nashville - high-end forward with 2-way savvy; centers with size

New Jersey - high end center; puck moving d-man; all-round d-man

NYR - high-end center; bottom 6 winger; goalie depth

NYI - no. 2 center; playmaking winger; defensive d-man

Ottawa - no. 1/2 center; top line winger; bottom six grinder/power forward

Philadelphia - goalie depth; defensive depth

Phoenix - top 6 winger; defensive d-man; some goalie depth

Pittsburgh - high-end playmaking winger; bottom 6 grinders

St. Louis - top 6 forward; bottom 6 grinder; defensive depth

San Jose - strong defensive d-man; grinder with knack for going to the net.

Tampa Bay - defensive depth; goalie depth

Toronto - top-line center; playmaking/scoring winger; bottom 6 grinders

Vancouver - 2nd line playmaking winger; bottom 6 depth

Washington - top 6 2-way winger; power forward; bottom 6 grinders


Again this is all opinion and based on observations I've made over the course of the year.

Paul Stastny? And even if he weren't there, Joey Hishon?
We need wings. All sorts of wings. No centers. We need defense, but that seems to be improving. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say we need wings.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Sens need pretty much everything, with the exception of skilled d-men, which is of course, why we'll probably end up taking Ryan Murphy with the 6th pick. Which will mean we then REALLY don't need any more smaller / skilled d-men.

But the team has a very high need for depth at center, on the wing and goalie. And given you can never really have enough d-men, those too.

BPA basically, but with so many picks this draft (5 in the first 65 picks), there is plenty of opportunity to grab the player the team's scouts like the most, while still getting some decent balance at most positions.

 

[CodeE]

Islanders need centers and defensemen.

We've got nice forward depth but the majority of our high-end prospects are wingers. Wouldn't mind drafting a goaltender in one of the later rounds as well - we've learned from the DP experiment that nobody's a sure thing.

 

[hawksfan50]

Biggest draft needs for Chicago?


Well there is the usual hunt for the "2nd line centre solution" so that SHARP can play LW where he prefers...CHI has several prospect candidates 4th line centre competition --everyone agrees Bolland is most suited as 3rd line centre and that should be a fixture.. Toews of course is #1 line centre.

THE debate about 2nd line centre is whether this should be a skilled playmaker for Hossa --OR should be a bIG centre who can also play with some physical edge as well as 2nd line scoring (this would take a lot of d-coverahe on Toews down a peg)..


THE PROBLEM is that at #18 --any BIG centres left on the board just might not have enough skill to project to a real "2nd line centre solution" ..

MCNEILL FAILED bugtime at the World U-18's... Schiefele was good in the earlier games but failed in the final 2 games for Canada to prove he's got enough ability to
project to tht "solution" ...In any case he his big in height not weight yet and is not really that physical (yet) . Also contrary to his Barrie experiencewhere he was more playmaker than sniper--at the World U-18's he was the reverse...So what is he? Too many iffy qurestions for my liking. Some scouts may bet he really improves (possible) but right now I don't know if I would bet on him as the right "solution".

VIKTOR RASK -well he gets slammed for not producingenough as the top 4 quality pick he once was thought to be ..he has all the tools--size and skill --but somehow doesn't dominate enough-if he did he'ds be in the top 5. So iffy questions abound.



WELL that leaves the average size to smaller centres...Maybe Phillips or Khokhlachev
willbe there at #18 or the tiny but scarey good dynamo Rocco Grimaldi. (I don't think the Hawks will gamble Grimaldi small though).


IF not centre-then the OTHER priority nEED?

TOP line LW partner for Toews and Kane....it is recognized that while Sharp makes the line put of lots of points -its not really optimum after the reg. season when things get more physical in the playoffs. THUS in ES situations the NEED is for the BIG physical yet talented enough to add scoring punch power LW
for the first line.. KYLE BEACH was supposed to be that solution-but he struggled in +/- in the AHL ...skating and defense must improve or he'll bust.

Is there a LW solution of this type at #18? Well I'm not sold on Tyler Biggs with thatmuch upside for top line duty...I do like STEFAN NOESEN -but he's ranked only #35 NA skater by Central Scouting (too low in my opinion but still probably on the board in the mid to late 20's 9Maybe STAN should trade down ?).


3rd NEED : Goalie depth in the org? Nothing to get excited about at Rockford....the 2 drafted kids Simpson and Carruth -well they are not spoke of as that exceptional --ok but that's all... ALEXANDER SALAK who they got from FLA in the FrOLIK for Skile and Potulny deal could be that insurance depth (in case Crawford got injured or we lose him to offer sheet ) BUT he got hurt late in the playoffs of the sEL and had to have shoulder surgey (I read in a post) ...who knows how he will recover?
SO CHI may want to add a goaly early -but probably not till round #2 (they own the ATL and CGY pick slots).
Stan couls also package those to move up back into round one if he really has a target in mind who he thinks would be off the board when we make our first selection of round 2...

THE "BPA" issue--what if at #18 Stan thinks a RW is a clear BPA over a "need" of C,LW or goalie? Here you could geta wildcard NIKITA KUCHEROV who dazzled with as much talent as asny of the top 3 forwards for this draft -yes that nuch ability...
HOWEVER -a wildcard in that the KHL factor, the fact he played in Russia,and the size issue (6'0 but only 165lbs -though he is a june birthdate so lots of time to fill out ) could keep him down no earlier than the late teens -STILL he might just be the best pure goal scorer in the draft and seems to play with some edge and urgency too.. So he is a BPA wildcard who could go much earlier than expected a la Blake Wheeler surprise or stillbe there at #18.

CHI has not had success with russkies -but IF this guy is Mike Bossy --how can you bypass that chance at greatness.

IF they do take him and he turns out to be Bossy with that shot and release then bye bye Patty Kane--not long for Buffalo...

So nOT a "NEED" but maybe a great "opportunity" for a generational type player ...OR the guy could be a "tease" like Chistov or in cHI's case like those 2 stars of the World U-18's of their day (YAKUBOV and VOROBIEV) --2 draft busts who willlive in infamy from CHI's 2000 draft.

However seeing kUCHEROV and that relesase and shot-I do not think he will bust.

The question is -is he now going to last till #18 --or are the scouts all salivating at how they put one over all the other teams by grabbing him off much earlier -maybe even top ten now?


The other draft wildcard is big 6'5 Swedish goalie MAGNUS HELLBERG who willbe 20 years old already at the draft (a late bloomer who played in the ALLSVENSKAN league not against just Jrs.) ...Redline's kyle Woodlief calls him the sleeper of the draft but still says he has no goalies rated in round one and only 1 going in round 2.

In that case-- The Hawks probably could take Hellberg with one of their 2 2nd rounders OR package them to move up to late round one--just to be sure.

 

[HockeySauce]

Biggest draft needs for Chicago?


Well there is the usual hunt for the "2nd line centre solution" so that SHARP can play LW where he prefers...CHI has several prospect candidates 4th line centre competition --everyone agrees Bolland is most suited as 3rd line centre and that should be a fixture.. Toews of course is #1 line centre.

THE debate about 2nd line centre is whether this should be a skilled playmaker for Hossa --OR should be a bIG centre who can also play with some physical edge as well as 2nd line scoring (this would take a lot of d-coverahe on Toews down a peg)..


THE PROBLEM is that at #18 --any BIG centres left on the board just might not have enough skill to project to a real "2nd line centre solution" ..

MCNEILL FAILED bugtime at the World U-18's... Schiefele was good in the earlier games but failed in the final 2 games for Canada to prove he's got enough ability to
project to tht "solution" ...In any case he his big in height not weight yet and is not really that physical (yet) . Also contrary to his Barrie experiencewhere he was more playmaker than sniper--at the World U-18's he was the reverse...So what is he? Too many iffy qurestions for my liking. Some scouts may bet he really improves (possible) but right now I don't know if I would bet on him as the right "solution".

VIKTOR RASK -well he gets slammed for not producingenough as the top 4 quality pick he once was thought to be ..he has all the tools--size and skill --but somehow doesn't dominate enough-if he did he'ds be in the top 5. So iffy questions abound.



WELL that leaves the average size to smaller centres...Maybe Phillips or Khokhlachev
willbe there at #18 or the tiny but scarey good dynamo Rocco Grimaldi. (I don't think the Hawks will gamble Grimaldi small though).


IF not centre-then the OTHER priority nEED?

TOP line LW partner for Toews and Kane....it is recognized that while Sharp makes the line put of lots of points -its not really optimum after the reg. season when things get more physical in the playoffs. THUS in ES situations the NEED is for the BIG physical yet talented enough to add scoring punch power LW
for the first line.. KYLE BEACH was supposed to be that solution-but he struggled in +/- in the AHL ...skating and defense must improve or he'll bust.

Is there a LW solution of this type at #18? Well I'm not sold on Tyler Biggs with thatmuch upside for top line duty...I do like STEFAN NOESEN -but he's ranked only #35 NA skater by Central Scouting (too low in my opinion but still probably on the board in the mid to late 20's 9Maybe STAN should trade down ?).


3rd NEED : Goalie depth in the org? Nothing to get excited about at Rockford....the 2 drafted kids Simpson and Carruth -well they are not spoke of as that exceptional --ok but that's all... ALEXANDER SALAK who they got from FLA in the FrOLIK for Skile and Potulny deal could be that insurance depth (in case Crawford got injured or we lose him to offer sheet ) BUT he got hurt late in the playoffs of the sEL and had to have shoulder surgey (I read in a post) ...who knows how he will recover?
SO CHI may want to add a goaly early -but probably not till round #2 (they own the ATL and CGY pick slots).
Stan couls also package those to move up back into round one if he really has a target in mind who he thinks would be off the board when we make our first selection of round 2...

THE "BPA" issue--what if at #18 Stan thinks a RW is a clear BPA over a "need" of C,LW or goalie? Here you could geta wildcard NIKITA KUCHEROV who dazzled with as much talent as asny of the top 3 forwards for this draft -yes that nuch ability...
HOWEVER -a wildcard in that the KHL factor, the fact he played in Russia,and the size issue (6'0 but only 165lbs -though he is a june birthdate so lots of time to fill out ) could keep him down no earlier than the late teens -STILL he might just be the best pure goal scorer in the draft and seems to play with some edge and urgency too.. So he is a BPA wildcard who could go much earlier than expected a la Blake Wheeler surprise or stillbe there at #18.

CHI has not had success with russkies -but IF this guy is Mike Bossy --how can you bypass that chance at greatness.

IF they do take him and he turns out to be Bossy with that shot and release then bye bye Patty Kane--not long for Buffalo...

So nOT a "NEED" but maybe a great "opportunity" for a generational type player ...OR the guy could be a "tease" like Chistov or in cHI's case like those 2 stars of the World U-18's of their day (YAKUBOV and VOROBIEV) --2 draft busts who willlive in infamy from CHI's 2000 draft.

However seeing kUCHEROV and that relesase and shot-I do not think he will bust.

The question is -is he now going to last till #18 --or are the scouts all salivating at how they put one over all the other teams by grabbing him off much earlier -maybe even top ten now?


The other draft wildcard is big 6'5 Swedish goalie MAGNUS HELLBERG who willbe 20 years old already at the draft (a late bloomer who played in the ALLSVENSKAN league not against just Jrs.) ...Redline's kyle Woodlief calls him the sleeper of the draft but still says he has no goalies rated in round one and only 1 going in round 2.

In that case-- The Hawks probably could take Hellberg with one of their 2 2nd rounders OR package them to move up to late round one--just to be sure.

First, a bad or average U18 tournament is not the determining factor as to whether a player will turn out to be a good NHLer or not..

Second, no player in this draft at #18 will ever make Pat Kane expendable in Chicago.

I honestly can't believe I read that entire post.