Ottawa - Edmonton - Islanders Draft Discussion

[CREW99AW]

I have seen him play on multiple occasions including his games since he's been back. I really think, if anything, his offensive game is well suited to the NHL level. He's a great garbage man who's very difficult to move from in front of the net. He drives hard and shoots first, and while he doesn't have one of the best shots ever, his shot is very good and quick. He creates a lot of space for the people around him with his physical presence and hardnosed playstyle, and he has very good hockey sense. He also has very good hand eye/stick coordination. I fully believe he just offers the most complete game going into the NHL and has the tools to succeed offensively at the NHL level.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Devils1029]

NJ is playing really well but if they somehow manage to stay in the bottom 4, I'd be happy with any of the top four guys although I really want Larrson. With the lottery, who knows, they could come in 4th and still get to pick 1st overall...

 

[Afro Thunder*]

If Edmonton picks first then they take Larsson.
Then Ottawa picks up a center to replace Fisher in 2 years or so which is RNH.
Then NYI picks up Landeskog

 

[philb613]

Ottawa's list RNH, Landeskog, Larsson, Couturier

 

[cjdv16]

NJ is playing really well but if they somehow manage to stay in the bottom 4, I'd be happy with any of the top four guys although I really want Larrson. With the lottery, who knows, they could come in 4th and still get to pick 1st overall...

Sorry. You're not invited to this dance. Your team is too good and just playing possum.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Ottawa's list RNH, Landeskog, Larsson, Couturier

Cool.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

For the Oilers my preference is:

1. RNH- Oiler seem very high on him...western kid, playing very close to home...Oilers desperately need a skilled centerman to keep up with Hall and Eberle. These guys simply don't grow on trees...

2. Couturier- Big body, sound defensively and a center...just what the Oilers need...however, his ceiling maybe be lower than RNH and isn't a great skater

3. Larsson- Maybe BPA but I'm not sure he's the "generational" talent people were saying last year...D-men are WAY too hard to predict and the best ones are never guarenteed to go Top 5 in the draft...

4. Landeskog- Love his grit but he's a winger and I believe he isn't the BPA...still would be happy to pick him at #4 though

 

[Sensfanman]

For me, the priority is:

1) Larsson
Larsson - Karlsson
Rundblad - Cowen

Nuff said

2) Landeskog
While I think RNH is a better prospect, Lando is a valuable commodity. Continuing the Swedish invasion, a potential all around Swedish captain winger...sounds like a good fit for the Sens.

3) RNH
Could be #2 as I like his upside but with the choice, I'd go "safe" with Lando. With all the "big 3" forwards being so good, I'd rather play it safe.

4) Couturier
He could also be #2 as Spezza - SC would be a sick 1-2 punch of size and skill. He's probably safer than RNH but the least exciting prospect. Definitely has a bad rep for some bizarre reason. Kid is still special.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I'm 90% sure RNH goes first overall no matter who's drafting. They other 10% is reserved for Larsson. And any team interested in winning will be really happy with Landeskog after that.

Wierd, i feel the opposite.

 

[SDig14]

For the Oilers my preference is:

1. RNH- Oiler seem very high on him...western kid, playing very close to home...Oilers desperately need a skilled centerman to keep up with Hall and Eberle. These guys simply don't grow on trees...

2. Couturier- Big body, sound defensively and a center...just what the Oilers need...however, his ceiling maybe be lower than RNH and isn't a great skater

3. Larsson- Maybe BPA but I'm not sure he's the "generational" talent people were saying last year...D-men are WAY too hard to predict and the best ones are never guarenteed to go Top 5 in the draft...

4. Landeskog- Love his grit but he's a winger and I believe he isn't the BPA...still would be happy to pick him at #4 though

Co-sign.

 

[Minister of Offence]

If Edmonton goes 1st and selects RNH I can't see whatsoever a scenario where Ottawa would pass on Larsson...I assume he's the player most teams would have at #1 and we have a very close connection to Larsson...he also fills the position we need the least...but could very well be the best we have at that position.

I like Landeskog and all and figured that was #1 for us...but that's before I knew we'd probably be picking top 2 and trading Mike Fisher. I think ideally we will pick one of the top 2 centermen in the draft...but I don't think we'd pass on Larsson....just parlay some defense for help up front later.

Sens would have an opportunity to replace the departed Fisher immediately (and then some, potentially) with either of the top centers. Cup winners generally have two top end centers....I think rebuild would be in fast forward if Ottawa managed a top line center out of the draft....plus their already very strong young defense group....new coach hire, new management hires...many picks. Rebuilding with two top end centers would be key IMO.

 

[ErikKarlsson]

My choices for Ottawa are

1. Larsson
2. RNH
3. Landeskog

 

[McJC]

Oilers:
Larsson - BPA
RNH - Would look sick next to Hall and Eberle
Couturier - I assume he would pick it up defensively for Hall and Eberle, while contributing offensively.
Landeskog - Intangibles.

With that said, I don't think there is anyone in this draft that has franchise potential like Stamkos, Tavares, and Hall. Just a gut feeling.

 

[GorillazXL]

1a - Larsson - He was playing at the WJC one year before his draft year and looked good. He may have setup expectations too high. Better talent than E.Johnson. J.Johnson, Z.Bogosian. Doesn't have the same offensive flare that D.Doughty has but could develop. IMHO he's a step up from V.Hedman

1b - Couturier - Very rare to see this skill, smarts (defensive) and size as a package. Once again he wasn't really in an offensive role during the WJC and he played to what was expected of him. He may not have the same scoring instincts as a Stamkos, Hall or Tavares, but he has high NHL potential. Safe pick with some high potential

3 - Landeskog - Tough winger that any team could use. He has scoring ability that will translate at the NHL level. Good size and speed. Should be able to play at the NHL level today.


4 - RNH - High risk, high reward player. Has very good hands and vision, however size and where he gets the majority of his points is on the PP.

GXL

 

[Qvist]

I would like to start a discussion on what players the bottom three teams will be drafting in June. I think it is safe to assume those three teams will be Ottawa - Edmonton and the Islanders.

Please list what player your team will be most interested in.

Being an Oiler fan I can only think we will be drafting a centerman. We have needed a centerman since Doug Weight left the organization. The general consensus on our board is back and forth between RNH and Couturier. Personally if we were to draft a center I would prefer Couturier because of his size, we are a small team and need to get bigger, although it is hard to ignore what RNH is doing in Red Deer.

What is the consensus in Ottawa and Long Island?

This is an entirely pointless discussion, on the terms defined. The teams aren't going to sit down and decide what kind of player they need the most and then choose accordingly. They are going to evaluate the players and take who they think is best. Defined needs might enter into it if there are several more or less equivalent options, but if previous experience is anything to go by, position and squad outlook normally plays a negligible role in the top selections.

That already makes it difficult to form an opinion of prediction, and added to that is that this year it seems less predictable than normally how you project the top prospects. There wasn't really much divergence of opinion concerning just what you were getting with John Tavares or Matt Duchene, but there is this year. RNH - some seems to think he has elite offensive center upside, others question that he is really a top prospect. That sort of gives you a Kyle Turris kind of feeling. Larsson - nobody questions that he will be a very good defenseman, but opinion is divided on whether he has truly elite potential. Couturier - everybody thinks he'll be a useful big center, but there does seem to be a lack of conviction that he's a sure thing as a big points producer. Landeskog - a Toews (or Kirk Muller?) type prospect if you believe his game will carry over well at the next level, and at the least a valuable contributor in many aspects.

I'll bet that for each team, where you stand on those four individual issues is going to be what decides who gets drafted where. My (fairly worthless) feeling is that Larsson and Landeskog has the best mix of safeness and potential, and will as a result be the most likely to go 1-2.

 

[R S]

RNH - Edmonton
Larsson - NYI
Landeskog - Ottawa

 

[trentmccleary]

I'm hoping that the NYI or Oilers pick Larsson 1st overall. You have to think either one of those teams would be ecstatic to get a high-end D-man considering all of the 1st round forwards they've been drafting in recent seasons.

Then Ottawa's list becomes: Couturier, RNH, Landeskog

That's the thing with all these players. Little negatives get turned into big negatives because these guys have been scouted so much. It also depends on who you ask. If you're talking to a RNH fan, Couturtier's skating is bad enough to warrant him not being drafted 1st overall. If you're a Larsson fan, you're going to get hung up that RNH gets the majority of his points. The big negative that I've heard about Larsson is that he may not have enough offensive upside to be drafted ahead of the other guys. For Landeskog...he's a winger and it's as simple as that.

... and he's in the most offensive CHL league by far this season, but Couturier and Nugent-Hopkins are blowing him away in production anyways. Plus, his offensive game will be limited mostly to the last 5% of the ice surface, while many teams at the bottom are having trouble with the first 95%.

If Ottawa is picking, Murray has apparently hinted it will be a Center. If we had first overall, we still probably would take RNH.

I'd be surprised to see us pick Landeskog.

Not hard to project, there's still a 3rd of a season left and a big run either way could teams around quite a bit... but, Bob Mackenzie's current list (and some others) have 4 centres in the Top-8 or 9 overall rankings. While 3 or 4 of the others depending on the list are D-men (what the heck is Ottawa going to do with yet another 1st round D-man?).

Heh. Landeskog will end up being a 65 point center. It'll be sad if we waste a #1 pick on him.

Landeskog is a winger. But more importantly, it's entirely probably that none of these forwards become great offensive contributors. There's no Crosby, Ovechkin or Kane at the top of this draft. A player who is consistently between 65-70 points may the best this top-10 produces.

I like Landeskog and all and figured that was #1 for us...but that's before I knew we'd probably be picking top 2 and trading Mike Fisher. I think ideally we will pick one of the top 2 centermen in the draft...but I don't think we'd pass on Larsson....just parlay some defense for help up front later.

Sens would have an opportunity to replace the departed Fisher immediately (and then some, potentially) with either of the top centers. Cup winners generally have two top end centers....I think rebuild would be in fast forward if Ottawa managed a top line center out of the draft....plus their already very strong young defense group....new coach hire, new management hires...many picks. Rebuilding with two top end centers would be key IMO.

Exactly. I believe the restructuring without wingers like Alfie, Hossa, Heatley, Havlat will prompt a C-based offense in which Spezza and Couturier/RNH are expected to make our wingers produce more (Michalek, Regin, Butler, Silfverberg, Foligno, etc).

 

[JackBauer]

For the Sens, I hope

1) Larsson - BPA, you don't pass on a franchise level d-man. Yes, it's a strength but we can trade Rundblad or Cowen for a forward prospect. To me, Larsson is a notch above every other draft prospect and OTT prospect.

2) RNH - Most potential. Drafting hoping he becomes a Duchene. WHL is a tough league and he's dominating it playing against big, rough guys

3) Couturier - Gets dumped on for no reason. Still probably has mono-effects. If we get a 70 pt Jordan Staal, I'm happy. I think his bottom is higher than Landeskog and he fills a greater need. His upside is surpassing Spezza in ppg. You win championships with great D and at least 2 great centres. I think we have the D, Couturier gives us the centres.

4) Landeskog - Intangibles are great and everything, but you have top-line talent first and then fill in the forward corps with intangibles. Would still be happy with him, but not if we had the 1st or 2nd pick.

If there was a way to trade this year's pick for a pick in next year's draft and it was guaranteed to be at the same pick (Top 3), i'd do it.

 

[R S]

For the Sens, I hope

1) Larsson - BPA, you don't pass on a franchise level d-man. Yes, it's a strength but we can trade Rundblad or Cowen for a forward prospect. To me, Larsson is a notch above every other draft prospect and OTT prospect.

2) RNH - Most potential. Drafting hoping he becomes a Duchene. WHL is a tough league and he's dominating it playing against big, rough guys

3) Couturier - Gets dumped on for no reason. Still probably has mono-effects. If we get a 70 pt Jordan Staal, I'm happy. I think his bottom is higher than Landeskog and he fills a greater need. His upside is surpassing Spezza in ppg. You win championships with great D and at least 2 great centres. I think we have the D, Couturier gives us the centres.

4) Landeskog - Intangibles are great and everything, but you have top-line talent first and then fill in the forward corps with intangibles. Would still be happy with him, but not if we had the 1st or 2nd pick.

If there was a way to trade this year's pick for a pick in next year's draft and it was guaranteed to be at the same pick (Top 3), i'd do it.

I agree with this logic for pretty much every team, not just Ottawa.

 

[Cynick]

Still high on Landeskog. Would like to see him in a Senators jersey.

 

[Harrison]

This is an entirely pointless discussion, on the terms defined.

What? there is no definite number 1 pick this year. There is no Gretzky - Lemieux - Crosby and Ovechkin. Any of these players could go number 1 that is why I started the thread. I wanted to see what the consensus was. We are currently at three pages and everyone has had a different opinion on what they feel their team would choose.

I think the Oil have RNH listed first. I also think Ottawa may have RNH listed first. Others feel differently. I think it is a good discussion and you must feel the same way or you wouldn't have bothered to post your comments about Larsson and Landeskog going 1 -2.

 

[Harrison]

RNH - Edmonton
Larsson - NYI
Landeskog - Ottawa

I agree that this may be the scenario that goes down.

 

[gifted88]

Why look at the team needs? They will draft the BPA. It seems the top 3 are in order: Larsson, Couturier, RNH.

So if the order is EDM, NYI, OTT then it will look like this:

EDM: Larsson
NYI: Couturier
OTT: RNH

Yes the Isles need D but I can't see them swapping with the oilers or drafting Murphy or Hamilton over guys like Couturier, RNH, Landeskog...I just don't see it

 

[Harrison]

Why look at the team needs? They will draft the BPA. It seems the top 3 are in order: Larsson, Couturier, RNH.

So if the order is EDM, NYI, OTT then it will look like this:

EDM: Larsson
NYI: Couturier
OTT: RNH

Yes the Isles need D but I can't see them swapping with the oilers or drafting Murphy or Hamilton over guys like Couturier, RNH, Landeskog...I just don't see it

If only it were that simple. Who says that is the order of the top three?

 

[SpezDispenser]

Why is/was Couturier being dumped on so much? It's made me think he's the least desirable of the "Big 4".