HFNHL 2019 Columbus Draft Review

[Ohio Jones]

HFNHL 2019 Columbus Entry Draft Review

DAY 1

1/2: LW Kaapo Kakko - Turku
The lottery gods were kind to Columbus, and picked a great year for it. I received some strong offers for the pick - particularly from PHI and COL - but decided I needed quality more than quantity. Kakko competed - and often dominated - at every level he played this year, including the Senior Worlds. Basically my ideal NHLer - while he might not be quite the pure sniper that Laine is, the rest of his game is so complete that I’ll be thrilled with a guy who pots 30+ and contributes all over the ice in every game situation.


3/68: G Isaiah Saville - Tri-City
After trying all week without success to trade up into the early second to grab Kochetkov (damn you Drew!!!), the #2 guy on my goalie list fell to me in the third. USHL GOTY may not be 6-6”, but he’s calm, confident, controlled and competitive. (Side note: if I’d kept my CBJ 2nd rather than trading it to Nick last year for Zaitsev, I would have been able to pick Kochetkov just before Drew - making the Zaitsev acquisition look even worse!)


3/75: LC Adam Beckman - Spokane
Had a last-minute offer from ANA to move the 75 and 76 picks for a 2nd in 2020, but I already have a bunch of 2nds next year, and felt two in hand was better than one in the bush. Beckman started slow but came on strong as the season progressed. Wicked one-timer from the circles but can score in tight too. Raw project needs to fill out and add strength to be stronger on the puck and more willing to engage in the corners. Work in progress has top-6 upside.


3/76: LD Samuel Bolduc - Blainville
Kid is big - he cleaned up at the combine in strength metrics - but he can skate well, and can be counted on to make the safe play in his own end. Physical presence will punish you in the corners. Earned more PP time over the season and has a powerful slapper, but at his best when he keeps things simple. As one charitable GM pointed out to me, teams that go deep in the playoffs all have a guy like this on their blueline.
Samuel Bolduc most underrated prospect #3

3/87: LW Ethan Keppen - Flint
Another big boy, bucking the league trend of skill-first mini-mites, Keppen is raw but is powerful and skates well, displaying a high compete level and work ethic on a terrible team. Potential to be a solid complementary player and possible net-front presence on the powerplay. Will also stick up for teammates, although my YouTube viewing suggests he’s more a willing pugilist than a particularly gifted one. (Don’t tell him I said that!)
Ethan Keppen - OHL Highlights 2018-2019 | HD

Heading into day two the Jackets have picks 99, 148 and 192 (pending trade talks).
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Click to read more...

 

[MatthewFlames]

I think this is a great draft, even if you ignore the obvious in that you got the best player in the draft in Kakko.

Beckman was high on my list and the Keppen = Josh Anderson comparisons had me sold on him as well. Keppen is the type of winger which I can see being back in demand after these playoffs, a bit of old-school, but can still score and be productive with the puck. Would not be surprised if a team grabs him in the 2nd round this week.

 

[HFNHLOilers]

even if you ignore the obvious in that you got the best player in the draft in Kakko.

Very bold statement will be interesting to see how it holds up in time

 

[MatthewFlames]

Very bold statement will be interesting to see how it holds up in time

Bold, James Bold!

 

[Canuck09]

I never have a good read on drafting goalies so I had hoped Saville was under the radar enough to fall to the 4th.

My director of scouting sold me on Keppen at the draft. I thought he might slip to the 4th initially but then tried trading up for a late 3rd to snag him. Even made an offer for your pick to get him I believe.

Overall this looks to be a strong draft for Columbus.

 

[Lord Stanley]

You had the easiest pick in the draft at 2nd overall with Kakko. To be honest I might have taken him first overall if I had that pick, in some ways I'm glad it wasn't me that had to decide.

I really like the Bolduc and Keppen picks, they were under consideration for all of my 3rd round picks, I stuck to my list however with each pick. Keppen though was the one I really almost deviated from my list to select, but I thought he would find his way to the 4th round.

 

[Fan.At]

Saville and especially Beckman were very good picks imo. I had Beckman mid 2nd round.

 

[Ohio Jones]

Thanks - I’m fully prepared to see several of these guys get picked later this Saturday, but I’m feeling like it’s a typical Jackets draft. Hopefully that means I’ll get a couple of players out of it to join KK. More to come...

 

[Hossa]

Congrats on K2. Lotteries are great.

As you know, I like Beckman a lot. Had I moved back in the second, he was the target, so to nab him mid-third is good. Lots of projection required with him, but the shot's there, the stride has promise and the hands as well. If I thought he could stick at centre, I may have taken him at 49.

The other three I have mixed and milder feelings about. I liked Bolduc a lot at the TPG but his game play otherwise gets mixed reviews. Toolsy and athletic, but he also doesn't have a lot of physical projection left. And I can see the argument for Keppen, but he wasn't my favourite of the productive but slow type in this draft (that would probably be Beaucage). Both well worth a third.

 

[Ohio Jones]

Onto Day 2 picks...

4/99 RD Cole Moberg, Prince George
Another big raw project for Columbus this year, Moberg is another who skates well, has solid physical and offensive attributes. Delivers a big shot and plenty of sand from the back end, but needs time to learn the finer points of decision making and positional play - that will be the litmus test for his NHL future. I had Cole as my top-rated player in the fourth, but it was a toss-up between him, Attard, who went a few picks before, and Chistyakov, who went shortly after.


5/148 LW Henrik Rybinski, Seattle
If Adam Beckman was a winger, he might be Rybinski - although Henrik is more playmaker than scorer. An odyssey took him from Medicine Hat to the BCHL and finally to Seattle, where he blossomed with a growth spurt and greater opportunity. His vision and hands stand out, but there is room for improvement in a number of areas from strength to skating power to defensive awareness. The willingness seems to be there, though, and the growth curve is encouraging. Some risk of being overlooked this weekend depending on when teams viewed him, but he finished the season on an offensive tear that should get some attention. The previous guy on my list was Alex Campbell, but he was long gone by this point.


7/192 RC Josh Nodler, Fargo
Disparate views on Nodler - some viewed him as a hard-working bottom-six grinder, others felt he was AHL material at best, held back by height, agility or low offensive ceiling. Either way, he’s an honest meat-and-potatoes who will play hard for his coach and get under opponents’ skin while making plays at both ends of the ice. Longshot for an NHL career - and a real candidate to be overlooked in this weekend’s NHL draft - but stranger things have happened. Missed out on overage Czech pivot Lukas Rousek, who I was surprised to see last into the seventh.

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So there you have it - a full starting lineup, plus a couple of spare forwards. Thank goodness for K2, or it would be an entirely North American affair. No locks outside K2 either, but a few intriguing big guys and a couple of smart skills guys on the comeup.

But really, my draft was won when the lottery balls fell. Bring on the era of Kakko!!!

 

[Ohio Jones]

Congrats on K2. Lotteries are great.

As you know, I like Beckman a lot. Had I moved back in the second, he was the target, so to nab him mid-third is good. Lots of projection required with him, but the shot's there, the stride has promise and the hands as well. If I thought he could stick at centre, I may have taken him at 49.

The other three I have mixed and milder feelings about. I liked Bolduc a lot at the TPG but his game play otherwise gets mixed reviews. Toolsy and athletic, but he also doesn't have a lot of physical projection left. And I can see the argument for Keppen, but he wasn't my favourite of the productive but slow type in this draft (that would probably be Beaucage). Both well worth a third.

Between Bolduc, Keppen and Moberg, I seem to be going against the NHL grain, but each offers more than just size, and Bolduc and Moberg in particular are both fine skaters, so my hope is there is still a role for guys like that, with the outside chance of hitting top-4/middle-six upside.

In my limited viewing of Keppen, I didn’t feel his boots were especially slow, more that he was a pretty solid North-South skater who won’t dazzle with his mobility.

Call it an unintentional experiment - betting on the pendulum swinging slightly back towards size/strength for guys that prove themselves in the playoffs. Not the smartest sim strategy, perhaps, but then it wasn’t a plan - there were plenty of smaller skilled guys on my list who went before my picks. Guess we’ll see what happens!

 

[Lord Stanley]

Between Bolduc, Keppen and Moberg, I seem to be going against the NHL grain, but each offers more than just size, and Bolduc and Moberg in particular are both fine skaters, so my hope is there is still a role for guys like that, with the outside chance of hitting top-4/middle-six upside.

I've had this discussion with Señor Kershaw in the past. Look at the teams that win the cup very few defenders under 6 feet if any. Even looking at there entire roster of players that played during the playoffs maybe 1 or 2 players under 6 feet. So while the skill sure looks great in the regular season, if there isn't size attached to it, it doesn't seem to win much in the playoffs when the real hockey begins.

 

[MatthewFlames]

Between Bolduc, Keppen and Moberg, I seem to be going against the NHL grain,

You're not going against the grain, you're going St. Louis Blues style You know, championship styles!

 

[MatthewFlames]

I've had this discussion with Señor Kershaw in the past. Look at the teams that win the cup very few defenders under 6 feet if any. Even looking at their entire roster of players that played during the playoffs maybe 1 or 2 players under 6 feet. So while the skill sure looks great in the regular season, if there isn't size attached to it, it doesn't seem to win much in the playoffs when the real hockey begins.

Preach!

 

[Vagrant]

chalk me up as another on the K2 being the better player than hughes. just a no lose situation for both of the top picks, but K2 is my favorite. great selection with bolduc as well. teams are starting to realize they need these types.

 

[Ohio Jones]

Time to see how well we predicted NHL GMs’ and scouts’ priorities...

1/2 LW Kaapo Kakko, TPS Turku
NHL: NY Rangers, 1/2: +/- 0.
Batting 1.000! Ok, it was a gimme... so gimme!

3/68 G Isaiah Saville, Tri-City
NHL: 5/135 to Vegas: -68[/b]
Went two full rounds later, but he wouldn’t have lasted in the HFNHL, and the Golden Knights’ scouts have shown to be pretty savvy. Potential replacement for the Flower in a few years.

3/75 RC Adam Beckman, Spokane
NHL: 3:75 to Minnesota: +/- 0
Identical spot. Not super jazzed about him going to Minny, but hopefully they’ll well along in their rebuild by the time he’s ready to challenge for NHL ice.

3/76 LD Samuel Bolduc, Blainville
NHL: 2/57 to NY Islanders: +19
Like this landing spot for Bolduc - the Isles have been doing a pretty good job lately of developing players. The second-rounder is a nice endorsement. Becomes a teammate of the Jackets’ Beauvillier.

3/87 LW Ethan Keppen, Flint
NHL: 4/122 to Vancouver: -35
Dropped a round, but nothing drastic. Improving team situation bodes well for opportunities if he continues to develop - the JT Miller acquisition speaks to their need for this kind of player in their system. Joins Lind and Woo in Vancouver.

4/99 RD Cole Moberg, Prince George
NHL: 7/194 to Chicago: -95
Three full rounds later, but hey: drafted is drafted. Happy to have him go to the Blackhawks, as he should get every opportunity to develop in their system. Could prove to be a real steal for them... or a blown fourth rounder for me.

5/148 LW Henrik Rybinski, Seattle
NHL: 5/136 to Florida: +12
Right about on pace, and part of an organization that is looking to build around star Alexander Barkov. Didn’t think much of the rest of Florida’s Draft, though - hopefully he redeems them.

7/192 RC Josh Nodler, Fargo
NHL: 5/150 to Calgary: +42
Happy to see him go a round earlier to Calgary - I thought he might not get picked, but guess they liked his hustle and competitiveness.

So 8/8 in players getting selected, some earlier, some later, but all with NHL teams. I’ll take it!