2020 Draft Review: ANA - CAR
Anaheim
| Drafted | Jaromir Pytlik (82), Blake Biondi (104), Zayde Wisdom (106) |
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Weyl’s Thoughts: Anaheim did a nice job getting value at each of their picks. Pytlik and Wisdom were cooking late into the 3rd and 4th rounds, both of whom could go higher come draft day. Biondi, a very sought after selection was a nice selection as well. None of these picks have top line potential but could carve very nice careers on a team’s middle six.
Grade: C+
Try’s Thoughts: Value wise, these are some great picks here for Vanilla. Pytlik and Biondi have some good potential offensively and Biondi specifically is really underrated because of the current high school scene. Wisdom has had the opportunity to play alongside top prospect Shane Wright and has shown solid middle six potential with a hard working engine. Despite not having tons of picks he did well in terms of value.
Try’s Grade: C+
JBFA’s Thoughts: Anaheim got solid value with Pytlik and Wisdom, two players who will most likely be snatched up on the second day of the draft and could round into solid bottom 6 players. Biondi I am not a fan of and would list as DND, he has a good engine but I dont think he’ll ever put it all together.
Grade: C
Lax’s Thoughts: Guess I’m gonna have to start off by disagreeing with my colleagues. Pytlik plays a responsible game defensively, making him likely to have some success at the pro level but his offensive upside is very questionable. The Soo was not a good offensive team, but as a late birthday 01, I think you expect more points out of Pytlik both in junior and at the WJC. Biondi is probably the best USHS forward in the draft but its not a great year for prep prospects and projecting them to even the NCAA level is often a crapshoot. Wisdom is a glue guy who can make a line work, but relies on his linemates to do the scoring making him more of a gamble.
Grade: C-
Arizona
| Drafted | Jeremie Poirier (27), Brady Burns (120) |
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Weyl’s Thoughts: I felt Toews made a very smart selection taking Poirier at 27, definitely one of the higher offensive guys in the draft and has a good risk of getting many fantasy points. Brady Burns has some nice skill but I feel there were definitely better options at 120. Overall a very quiet draft for Arizona however they added one very decent piece to their already stacked defensive pipeline.
Grade: C+
Try’s Thoughts: Saint John Coyotes in this draft as Toews grabs one of the biggest steals of the first round in Poirier. Has potential to be a top 10 player from the draft in terms of fantasy value, if not higher. Burns is a decent pick, but not someone really on my radar of NHL level talent.
Try’s Grade: B
JBFA’s Thoughts: Toews made two nice picks this draft, Poirier is one of those defensemen who will perform better in fantasy than in the real NHL, that is if he ever reaches the NHL. Burns is a sneaky good pick, hopefully he can add some size and defense. I really like Toews’ thought process in this draft, if it works out he could have hit a home run here.
Grade: B+
Lax’s Thoughts: Looks like Arizona only needed to scout the St. Johns Seadogs for their draft prep this year, but both Poirier and Burns are major contributors there. With only 2 picks, the odds aren’t great you’re going to get an NHLer out of the crop so Toews went for broke by taking possibly the biggest boom or bust prospect in the draft in Poirier. He could be a 60 point defenseman in the NHL, or never make an impact at even the AHL level depending on if he ever wants to play defense. Burns had a breakout year offensively but really needs to put on weight to his small frame to survive pro hockey, but he has a good amount of potential for where he was taken.
Grade: C+
Boston
Weyl’s Thoughts: As a team that went all in, having no draft picks is fairly excusable especially considering how far they went. F for their draft but A for effort this season.
Grade: F
Try’s Thoughts: No picks, and having no 2021 picks hurts as well. The lack of prospects in the pool is rough, I’d like to see them sign some young free agents.
Try’s Grade: F
JBFA’s Thoughts: thats A bumer!
Grade: F
Lax’s Thoughts: 404 error, draft picks not found. Went all in this year, hurting their prospect pipeline.
Grade: F
Buffalo
| Drafted | Anton Lundell (9), Tyson Foerster (29), Justin Barron (49) |
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Weyl’s Thoughts: Buffalo taking the no brainer at 9, Lundell is an excellent choice and will definitely provide top value to the franchise for many years. Foerster was great as well, as “the kid can rip it”. Paired with the right centre he could be a stud and is a good risk. Barron is great value, he has offensive top 4 dmen written all over him and while he’s risky, at 49 that’s stomachable.
Grade: B+
Try’s Thoughts: Lundell is going under the radar heavily. 9 is a good spot to pick him and I wouldn’t have complained seeing him go as early as 6 to be honest. Heavy upside could see him become a great pick here with a very good chance of at least sticking as a top six/middle six center. Foerster is a nice pick with a good shot that has solid top six potential, at this spot a decent one. Justin Barron is pick I’m not very on board with. I just don’t understand taking him over guys like Guhle and Schneider at that stage and I don’t think he makes the NHL.
Try’s Grade: B
JBFA’s Thoughts: Lundell at 9 was the obvious pick, he is an all around stud with a super high ceiling. Foerester is a great scorer with a solid defensive game as well, I would not be surprised to see him as a 2nd line, top PP scorer. The Barron pick is a huge miss as I would have him on my DND list due to injury concerns.
Grade: B-
Lax’s Thoughts: Lundell was slept on by many for a perceived lack of offensive upside, but actually produced near a level of last year’s 2nd overall pick Kappo Kakko and brings tremendous leadership qualities, a future captain at the NHL level. In a format that rewards goals the most, getting a sniper like Foerster is great value at the end of the 1st even if he has warts in other areas of his game. Barron is a big wild card with losing so much time to injury but in a draft that was weak for defenders, he was a good risk at 49.
Grade: B+
Calgary
| Drafted | Aidan Mcdonough (136) |
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Weyl’s Thoughts: Not much to say here, CGY did a good job taking an overager late in the draft. Mcdonough has shown a lot in his freshman year and has a solid chance of making the Canucks in 3-4 years time.
Grade: C
Try’s Thoughts: Fair enough here, picked an overager that plays for the Canucks. Not sure if he’ll actually make the NHL and I don’t think he’ll make much of a fantasy impact but not the worst shot in the dark.
Try’s Grade: C-
JBFA’s Thoughts: McDonough is not a bad pick in this situation, he had a pretty good freshman year at Northeastern, however his odds of becoming an every day NHLer are very low.
Grade: C-
Lax’s Thoughts: Having only a middle 5th makes it hard to improve the prospect situation for any franchise. McDonaugh had a good freshman year at Northeastern, but is already 20 years old and really needs to improve his skating making him a gamble but this late in the draft everyone has red flags on their report.
Grade: D
Carolina
| Drafted | Jake Neighbours (44) |
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Weyl’s Thoughts: Carolina took the most obvious Carolina pick in the entire draft. As a strong powerforward I’m sure GM Goon is hoping he becomes as dirty as Lucic. I think he develops into a solid middle 6er/2nd liner and at 44 that’s solid. I think Carolina could’ve used more picks in this draft though so going with a C+ overall.
Grade: C+
Try’s Thoughts: Goon pick for Goon and Neighbours has some sort of offensive upside. Goon seems to only keep one high pick per draft and this one was decent. Will put up some good PIM numbers which is of value.
Try’s Grade: C+
JBFA’s Thoughts: Neighbours is a good pick at 44, he can pretty much do everything well but his ceiling is probably capped at middle 6er. He will bring some nice scoring and PIMs. Carolina only had one pick this draft which drops the grade just a bit.
Grade. C+
Lax’s Thoughts: As Weyl mentioned, I don’t think there is any other pick in the draft that so perfectly fits a team identity than Neighbours going to Carolina. His physicality, leadership and shooting ability make it easy to see him making the NHL in some capacity. It's just a question of if his hockey IQ and skating can develop to make him a legitimate complimentary scoring winger, or if he is just a crash and banger.
Grade: C
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