Silayev, Lindstrom, Catton, Iginla, Parekh, Eiserman

[Rozz]

On the main board mock draft, it looks like the Blue Jackets Forum has voted for Lindstrom meaning that the first 4 picks would be

1- Celebrini
2- Demidov
3- Levshunov
4. Lindstrom

We're up next.

In that situation I'd be more than likely voting for Iginla, but i'm really struggling as i'm also considering Catton and Sennecke.

I'd go Catton all the way!

but apparently, Habs brass are not high on him due to size... or at least that's what a couple pundits have suggested. I hope they are wrong, but either Catton or Iggy 2.0 will be great picks in their own ways.

 

[Habssince89]

I'd go Catton all the way!

but apparently, Habs brass are not high on him due to size... or at least that's what a couple pundits have suggested. I hope they are wrong, but either Catton or Iggy 2.0 will be great picks in their own ways.

I think it makes sense, Catton is talented in his own right but we need to think about the team makeup

 

[Habs]

I'd go Catton all the way!

but apparently, Habs brass are not high on him due to size... or at least that's what a couple pundits have suggested. I hope they are wrong, but either Catton or Iggy 2.0 will be great picks in their own ways.

I think Iggy is just barely old enough to be in this draft, that gives the edge to him.. plus that bloodline.. I would not take Catton over him

 

[Rozz]

I think it makes sense, Catton is talented in his own right but we need to think about the team makeup

hey that's fair.. I am not against Iginla.. I would be very happy if hes the pick... I just believe that Catton ( who is only 1 inch shorter than Iginla and Like 10lbs lighter.. not a huge difference) will be a better player, who scores more points in the NHL.. kids got insane skills, a killer motor, can be plenty aggressive when needed and isn't afraid to attack the middle of the ice pulling off some eye popping plays. iggy2.o is f***ing fantastic too! I just prefer Catton and I don't think Catton or Iginla hurt our team make up at all... just love me some Catton

I think Iggy is just barely old enough to be in this draft, that gives the edge to him.. plus that bloodline.. I would not take Catton over him

yeah all valid points.. his age and bloodline are massive pluses for him! but I just think Catton is a bit better and bit more what we've been looking for ... an offensive star. at least that's how I see it.

 

[SwiftyHab]

BPA will most likely be a defensemen, and there’s a good chance a few will have better careers than most selected forwards.

But seems like Hughes really wants a forward.

I share this opinion

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

There's no concensus on their order, but there's a high probability that the top 10 will consist of (in no particular order):

Celebrini
Demidov
Lindstrom
Iginla

Levshunov
Silayev
Buium
Dickinson
Parekh
Yaremchuk

That means that if you pick top 15, you'll get one of Sennecke, Catton, Eiserman, Helenius.

That's why we must try hard to get into that top 15 using the WPG first + other assets.

Teams like NJ, BUF, MIN and DET might be open to trading a pick that won't contribute before 2-4 years because they're looking to compete immediately .

Not only do we have picks to trade withx we’ve also got a surplus of young blueliners who could step in and play next year. Even if their depth players, there’s still some good value there for teams looking to fill out their lineups.

 

[Runner77]

I think Iggy is just barely old enough to be in this draft, that gives the edge to him.. plus that bloodline.. I would not take Catton over him

Since Iginla is a late birthday, has room to grow.

 

[Xirik]

Since Iginla is a late birthday, has room to grow.

Speaking of draftee's birthdays Greentree's is January 1st.

 

[Kaladin]

Just draft Parekh, trade Reinbacher for that fwd we need and call it a day.

 

[Jack Skellington]

A Slafkovsky-Lindstrom-Dach line would be quite fun to watch.

That would be a much better version of what that Armia Perry Staal line did for us in our finals run

 

[Habs]

hey that's fair.. I am not against Iginla.. I would be very happy if hes the pick... I just believe that Catton ( who is only 1 inch shorter than Iginla and Like 10lbs lighter.. not a huge difference) will be a better player, who scores more points in the NHL.. kids got insane skills, a killer motor, can be plenty aggressive when needed and isn't afraid to attack the middle of the ice pulling off some eye popping plays. iggy2.o is f***ing fantastic too! I just prefer Catton and I don't think Catton or Iginla hurt our team make up at all... just love me some Catton


yeah all valid points.. his age and bloodline are massive pluses for him! but I just think Catton is a bit better and bit more what we've been looking for ... an offensive star. at least that's how I see it.

I'm not sure are going to be offensive 'stars' hopefully just good players wherever they go. However , knowing how bad Calgary wants Iginla, I keep telling everyone we are taking him to see how much Calgary is willing to give up and have some fun with it. If Lindstrom is there, that's our guy.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Just draft Parekh, trade Reinbacher for that fwd we need and call it a day.

Just what we need, another slight, passive offensive defenceman who will be easily overpowered playing against NHL level players. The thought of Parekh playing against the Panthers or Bruins makes me cringe.

 

[River Meadow]

Just what we need, another slight, passive offensive defenceman who will be easily overpowered playing against NHL level players. The thought of Parekh playing against the Panthers or Bruins makes me cringe.

It's a fair point, tbh.

Levshunov and Buium are much more complete Dmen, and I would pick them well ahead of Parekh.

I think if Levshunov slips to 5, we need to grab him... but, Dickinson might be better.........

 

[ChesterNimitz]

It's a fair point, tbh.

Levshunov and Buium are much more complete Dmen, and I would pick them well ahead of Parekh.

I think if Levshunov slips to 5, we need to grab him.

Whether its Levshunov, Buium, Lindstrom, Iginla, Demidov, Yakemchuk, Catton, Dickinson or Sennecke, we're getting a potential impact/core player. Any of them will make us better. I can live with any of them.

It's good to be drafting in the top 5 this draft. Very good indeed.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Just draft Parekh, trade Reinbacher for that fwd we need and call it a day.

Perhaps that is a good strategem if we draft Levshunov.

Or Dickinson if Guhle is the trade bait.

Reinbacher might have the higher trade value. Just one year ago, Arizona was about to take him at 6OA.

Just draft Parekh, trade Reinbacher for that fwd we need and call it a day.

Perhaps that is a good strategem if we draft Levshunov.

Or Dickinson if Guhle is the trade bait.

Reinbacher might have the higher trade value. Just one year ago, Arizona was about to take him at 6OA.

 

[morhilane]

Since Iginla is a late birthday, has room to grow.

In theory, in practice he might be more developed (both physically and hockey-wise) than some of the others, which means he has less room to grow.

NHL scouts knows how to evaluate that. That's why they compare the kids over years and not just in a year.

 

[Tyson]

Habs bursting at the seems with D prospects

Where did you read that ?

That kind of skill and competitiveness, in that frame is very, very enticing.

I can't remember but they said he has had a huge growth spurt and is close to 6"4.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Perhaps that is a good strategem if we draft Levshunov.

Or Dickinson if Guhle is the trade bait.

Reinbacher might have the higher trade value. Just one year ago, Arizona was about to take him at 6OA.


Perhaps that is a good strategem if we draft Levshunov.

Or Dickinson if Guhle is the trade bait.

Reinbacher might have the higher trade value. Just one year ago, Arizona was about to take him at 6OA.

Just what we need. Draft a player, wait a year or two to trade him for another draft pick. Then wait 2 more years 'till he's nhl ready. Then trade that player when he's almost nhl ready to get a better pick. This way we're sure to win the Cup in maybe ... 2038? Yeah yeah. That's the good way to rebuilt, let's take more and more time just to be sure it's done the right way. By chance Suzuki and Caufield will be 38 and 37 years old, it's still very young, lol.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Just what we need. Draft a player, wait a year or two to trade him for another draft pick. Then wait 2 more years 'till he's nhl ready. Then trade that player when he's almost nhl ready to get a better pick. This way we're sure to win the Cup in maybe ... 2038? Yeah yeah. That's the good way to rebuilt, let's take more and more time just to be sure it's done the right way. By chance Suzuki and Caufield will be 38 and 37 years old, it's still very young, lol.

With respect, I believe you missed the strategy based on what the OP @Kaladin proposed. Trade Reinbacher for a top-6 forward in the age group of our core, and draft Levshunov (he suggested Parekh instead) to replace Reinbacher. Levshunov probably has the same window for hitting the NHL (2025-26) but I think his well-rounded game is more similar to Reinbacher than Parekh's offence-primary game.

Therefore, rather than slow things down, this actually accelerates things versus drafting an 18 year old forward who could be 3-4 years away from playing in our top 6 and graduating Reinbacher in 2025-26.

 

[DAChampion]

With respect, I believe you missed the strategy based on what the OP @Kaladin proposed. Trade Reinbacher for a top-6 forward in the age group of our core, and draft Levshunov (he suggested Parekh instead) to replace Reinbacher. Levshunov probably has the same window for hitting the NHL (2025-26) but I think his well-rounded game is more similar to Reinbacher than Parekh's offence-primary game.

Therefore, rather than slow things down, this actually accelerates things versus drafting an 18 year old forward who could be 3-4 years away from playing in our top 6 and graduating Reinbacher in 2025-26.

That had the potential to be great, but it will be very difficult to pull off so it's can't be a plan A or a plan B.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

With respect, I believe you missed the strategy based on what the OP @Kaladin proposed. Trade Reinbacher for a top-6 forward in the age group of our core, and draft Levshunov (he suggested Parekh instead) to replace Reinbacher. Levshunov probably has the same window for hitting the NHL (2025-26) but I think his well-rounded game is more similar to Reinbacher than Parekh's offence-primary game.

Therefore, rather than slow things down, this actually accelerates things versus drafting an 18 year old forward who could be 3-4 years away from playing in our top 6 and graduating Reinbacher in 2025-26.

I get the idea, I think I misread the post or should have read the post you were referring to.

delete

 

[SlafySZN]

Where did you read that ?

That kind of skill and competitiveness, in that frame is very, very enticing.

Yeah, he basically grew from 5’10 to 6’3 in the last year and a half.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

It's a fair point, tbh.

Levshunov and Buium are much more complete Dmen, and I would pick them well ahead of Parekh.

I think if Levshunov slips to 5, we need to grab him... but, Dickinson might be better.........

As I have said repeatedly, all the usual suspects are great options. Levshunov, Buium and Dickinson on defence and Lindstrom, Sennecke, Iginla, Demidov and Catton at the forward position. There will be no wrong decisions. I may have my favorites, Hughes and his staff may lean in another direction. Because of the closeness of all these players potential, this may be the rare situation that positional preference may be the determining factor. Anyone of these players when selected will immediately become our best prospect not named Hutson.

The only outlier that I would add to the list of players that I would consider at 5 OA is Yakemchuk. He reminds me of Shea Theodore, only bigger, with better hand skills and faster. I watched Yakemchuk at the most recent Prospects Game, and he really stood out. Taking Yakemchuk at 5 OA may be seen as a horrible reach, but I think when all is said and done, in 5 years from now, Yakemchuk may well be regarded as one of the best defenceman coming out of this draft.

 

[Doublechin]

Year after year it's clear that the most efficient teams are the ones with the best combo of size and skill, draft with that in mind.

Unless someone falls a la Caufield, focus on the bigger picture and go big.

The playoffs always make this clear and rarely with exception

 

[Scintillating10]

As I have said repeatedly, all the usual suspects are great options. Levshunov, Buium and Dickinson on defence and Lindstrom, Sennecke, Iginla, Demidov and Catton at the forward position. There will be no wrong decisions. I may have my favorites, Hughes and his staff may lean in another direction. Because of the closeness of all these players potential, this may be the rare situation that positional preference may be the determining factor. Anyone of these players when selected will immediately become our best prospect not named Hutson.

The only outlier that I would add to the list of players that I would consider at 5 OA is Yakemchuk. He reminds me of Shea Theodore, only bigger, with better hand skills and faster. I watched Yakemchuk at the most recent Prospects Game, and he really stood out. Taking Yakemchuk at 5 OA may be seen as a horrible reach, but I think when all is said and done, in 5 years from now, Yakemchuk may well be regarded as one of the best defenceman coming out of this draft.

If 4 forwards are first picks our pick will be worth a lot. Levshunov a stud right shot Defenseman. Even if we don't take him many teams will overpay for him