Jonathan Huberdeau A mistake for Florida?

[Weast]

I think we can all say that Huberdeau was good enough to go 3rd overall but did Florida make the right pick? Huberdeau is small and not mature enough for the NHL, he should not be ready to play next season, should Florida have chosen Larsson, a D-man who can make a quick NHL debut to an Superstar who is not ready yet?

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[Kayen]

Florida is loaded with defensive prospects, and they iced arguably the worst looking forward corps out there... They need to stock up on some offense.

 

[txomisc]

I think we can all say that Huberdeau was good enough to go 3rd overall but did Florida make the right pick? Huberdeau is small and not mature enough for the NHL, he should not be ready to play next season, should Florida have chosen Larsson, a D-man who can make a quick NHL debut to an Superstar who is not ready yet?

i dont think theres any reason for florida to be picking based on who is closest to teh NHL. I think Larsson is likely the better prospect, but florida is pretty strong as far as d prospects go so maybe they gave the forward the edge.

 

[SpezDispenser]

I love the pick They need some big skill, they need someone to market around up front, they picked a great character player who'll get bigger and better as time goes on.

 

[Panthers are Red]

Florida needed offensive prospects this draft, Huberdeau was probably the best offensive prospect at 3 and was therefore the right choice. Larsson may be better developed at this point to play in the NHL but Panthers were is many close games last year and that was largely due to not being able to score goals. Huberdeau will hopefully go some way to fixing this issue.

 

[ponder]

At 3rd overall you pick for upside, not NHL readiness, that's for late round picks if it ever matters at all. Whether Huberdeau actually ends up the BPA in terms of upside is up in the air, but I see no reason to doubt the pick at the moment. And in terms of fit, Florida already have plenty of young dmen (NHLers and prospects), but are very short of forwards (especially centers), so Huberdeau fits their needs much more than Larsson.

 

[Freudian]

They draft who they think will be the best NHL player in his prime. There is no reason to believe Huberdeau is a bad pick at #3.

 

[torontosports10]

Maybe Colorado made the mistake in not taking Larsson?

 

[JoeLH]

We'll see. IMO Huberdeau was the best pure offensive player available for Florida, maybe in the entire draft.

 

[JAS 39 Gripen]

They made the right choice, going with a C. Im not totally sold on Huberdeau though...dunno why

 

[member 30781]

Maybe Colorado made the mistake in not taking Larsson?

Maybe Edmonton made the mistake in not taking Larsson?

 

[AfroThunder396]

Florida needs skilled forwards in the worst way possible, they made the right pick.

 

[Wee Baby Seamus]

I kinda wanted to see them ice Larsson, Kulikov, and Gudbranson. That D would be incredible.

 

[MXD]

Colorado might have done a mistake, but certainly not Florida.

 

[boredmale]

I think we can all say that Huberdeau was good enough to go 3rd overall but did Florida make the right pick? Huberdeau is small and not mature enough for the NHL, he should not be ready to play next season, should Florida have chosen Larsson, a D-man who can make a quick NHL debut to an Superstar who is not ready yet?

You draft for 5-10 years from now not the next season

 

[jebs]

Maybe Larsson isnt as good as HF thinks he is?

 

[ItsTheBGB]

You draft for 5-10 years from now not the next season

You draft 3-5 years from now. So they hit there prime as RFA's.

 

[svat]

imho they didn't go BPA which is sometimes a mistake, but they have a pretty solid blueline in development. even if larsson turns out to be a megastar, they needed huberdeau.

 

[Blue Dot]

Maybe Colorado made the mistake in not taking Larsson?

i don't think so, they made their big move to get EJ, have some decent D prospects (Elliot as one example) and picked up Siemens later who should be a very good Dman.

and with all the stastny trade rumors last year, one might think he could get moved this year and they picture a center core of Duchene-Landeskog-RoR going forward and Stastny can be used to bring in a proven #4/5 Dman and a 2nd line winger.

as to the topic at hand, i am fine with FLA trying this kid. they need forwards bad, though perhaps they could have snagged Larsson and moved some other D prospects for wingers. i trust they made calls and looked into that sort of thing though.

FLA took who they felt they had to, i just hope some of their kids pan out to be stars because they really need and deserve it

 

[periferal]

I think we can all say that Huberdeau was good enough to go 3rd overall but did Florida make the right pick? Huberdeau is small and not mature enough for the NHL, he should not be ready to play next season, should Florida have chosen Larsson, a D-man who can make a quick NHL debut to an Superstar who is not ready yet?

Evidently the rest of this board doesn't believing in drafting BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE so of course they think Florida did the right thing because "they need forwards."

I for one think they did the wrong thing and this poster is on target. Larsson is an insane talent and has been preforming at a higher level in a men's league longer than Huberdeau.

You can always make a trade later if you're "so stocked on D." But I don't believe in passing on what many scouts believe is the closest defensive prospect to Lidstrom since he came into the laegue. Assuming that's the case, then Huberdeau would need to be a 40+ goal scorer per year. He might be, but it was the bigger risk.

 

[Analyzer*]

Should have traded back and got Couturier.

Thought, it's a week after, so it's way too early to say Florida ****ed up.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Maybe Larsson isnt as good as HF thinks he is?

Maybe not. Of course the same could be said for virtually all the prospects who were at the top of the draft. You could also say maybe he's better than HF thinks he is, as can be said for the others. You just don't know for sure. This question really can't be answered properly without retrospect.

 

[Blue Dot]

Evidently the rest of this board doesn't believing in drafting BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE so of course they think Florida did the right thing because "they need forwards."

I for one think they did the wrong thing and this poster is on target. Larsson is an insane talent and has been preforming at a higher level in a men's league longer than Huberdeau.

You can always make a trade later if you're "so stocked on D." But I don't believe in passing on what many scouts believe is the closest defensive prospect to Lidstrom since he came into the laegue. Assuming that's the case, then Huberdeau would need to be a 40+ goal scorer per year. He might be, but it was the bigger risk.

we read this every year about someone though. he is gonna be a stud, no doubt (if i was drafting for me personally i would have taken him, though i posted in support of what fla did)

 

[SympathyForTheDevils]

Evidently the rest of this board doesn't believing in drafting BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE so of course they think Florida did the right thing because "they need forwards."

I for one think they did the wrong thing and this poster is on target. Larsson is an insane talent and has been preforming at a higher level in a men's league longer than Huberdeau.

You can always make a trade later if you're "so stocked on D." But I don't believe in passing on what many scouts believe is the closest defensive prospect to Lidstrom since he came into the laegue. Assuming that's the case, then Huberdeau would need to be a 40+ goal scorer per year. He might be, but it was the bigger risk.

Just because Florida passed on Larsson doesn't mean they're drafting on need.

In the last couple years, NHL teams have seemingly shied away from drafting defensemen high in the draft, and I think they're right to do so.

 

[jebs]

Maybe not. Of course the same could be said for virtually all the prospects who were at the top of the draft. You could also say maybe he's better than HF thinks he is, as can be said for the others. You just don't know for sure. This question really can't be answered properly without retrospect.

Totally agree. 1 week after the draft, Florida has exactly as much chance of having made a mistake as the devils, oilers or avs do.