Zaddy
Registered User
- Feb 8, 2013
- 13,058
- 5,850
(1) 9th overall - LD Olli Juolevi (London Knights, OHL)
(2) 39th overall - LW Jonathan Dahlén (Timrå, Allsvenskan)
(2) 45th overall - C/W Dmitri Sokolov (Sudbury Wolves, OHL)
(3) 69th overall - C Noah Gregor (Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL)
(4) 99th overall - C Pius Suter (ZSC Lions, NLA)
(5) 123rd overall - C Rem Pitlick (Muskegon Lumberjacks, USHL)
(6) 159th overall - G Jack LaFontaine (Janesville Jets, NAHL)
Olli Juolevi & Jonathan Dahlén
Fairly happy with my draft, although it didn't turn out anything like the way I had planned. The first two picks Juolevi and Dahlén were both slam dunks for me, great value for where they were picked and I believe in both of them to be quality NHLers down the road.
Dmitri Sokolov
The third pick is where things got messy. My plan was to take Kyrou but when he was taken just before my pick it really made me unsure of what to do. Technically Bitten and Dube were BPA here but I wasn't in love with the idea of taking another small forward, partly because of already having taken Dahlén but also because of how small Montreal are up front already, especially down the middle. So I started to think of other possible candidates for the pick and eventually it boiled down to Hart, Katchouk, Green and Sokolov. Green was quickly discarded as I thought he wasn't the best value here. Hart is a goalie and I don't like taking goalies that early unless they're really good, so he was removed. Katchouk I like a lot and contemplated heavily but his offensive upside is questionable and this was my 2nd 2nd round pick so I thought I could afford to gamble, hence the answer was Sokolov. He looked awful at times during the season but when it was all said and done he ended up scoring 30 goals and being the leader in both goals and points on a terrible Sudbury team. And that is while adjusting to a new country, new language, playing with a bum shoulder and being out of shape. It's scary to think of what he could do with some proper training and being fully healthy. This is a kid who was ranked as a potential top10 pick in the pre-season and even 2-3 years back. Lots and lots of potential and definitely worth a pick in the 2nd to me.
Noah Gregor
With my 3rd round pick I had targeted defenseman Lucas Carlsson since even before the draft began. Again "my guy" got stolen just before I was due to pick. Luckily this time around there was a good option available in Noah Gregor who was the clear BPA at this point and someone I expect to be a mid 2nd round pick in june.
Pius Suter
Similar story here, I had targeted Jesper Bratt with this pick since before the draft began but this time he was at least taken 8 picks before me so I wasn't ever really close to getting him. Unfortunately my secondary options James Greenway and Eetu Tuulola also got taken so I had to re-think this pick. Suter was someone I had had on my list for a long time but didn't think I'd have to pick until the 5th round. All things considered I think he was the best pick I could make here and I'm very happy with it.
Rem Pitlick
This is the only pick that I'm actually uncertain about, as I have never seen him play outside of some youtube videos. It's a swing for the fences type of pick, but I thought that with his numbers and the progression he's showed over the past year it would be worth taking a shot at. Pitlick went from 16 points in 47 games last year to 89 points (and of them 46 goals) in 56 games and broke a couple of records in doing so. That's an incredible improvement over the course of a year and his 89 points were better than Kyle Connor mustered last year. No idea how his game is going to translate to the NHL level but he's going the college route so he has plenty of time.
Jack LaFontaine
Didn't realize this kid was still available, if I did I would probably have taken him with my 5th round pick. Either way happy to get him, only heard good things about him and seems like a good goalie to bet on in the mid/late rounds of the draft. Committed to a good program in Michigan too.
All-in-all, a pretty heavy-forward draft from my side but I thought the BPA was almost always a forward and if that's how it plays out you should go that route. I got a terrific d prospect in Juolevi already and everyone outside of that top15 is a pretty big questionmark anyway.
select, from the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, goaltender Jeremy Helvig!
