Speculation: 63rd Overall

[BerSTUzzi]

I'd be nice if someone like Victor Mete was there at 63.

From Brock's Blog

If he were over 6'0, we'd be talking about Mete as a surefire NHL first rounder. But as it stands, the undersized (5'10) defender is still a pretty special player. It all starts with his fantastic skating ability. Offensively he's almost impossible to pin in his own end because of how explosive he is. Starts the breakout with the blink of an eye. Defensively, he's learned to use his speed and overall mobility as an asset and has become a very difficult player to beat one on one. And he's never out of a play and has worked hard to really increase his intensity level in his own end. In terms of being a PMD, Mete is as good as it gets. He rarely turns the puck over in the neutral zone and does a great job with his entries. And when he does get trapped, his skating ability allows him to quickly recover. He doesn't yet possess an elite shot and as such isn't incredibly aggressive in looking to shoot (especially on the powerplay). Teams play him to pass and that limits his offensive effectiveness at times, but he's still got lots of room to grow in that area. I suppose how you view Mete depends on how well you think he'll defend at the NHL level. Personally, I think there is enough evidence to suggest that he could easily develop into a Kris Russell kind of player. His performance in the OHL playoffs was exemplary and I think should have gone a long way to prove to NHL scouts that he can be an NHL player.

 

[thefeebster]

I like Mete, but there a few other defenders i do prefer more at this spot like Fox/Lindgren. I know arsmaster likes Mete quite a bit. He's getting a bit under-rated, i like Mete much more than Krys who is ranked similarly. Mete has a pretty strong defensive game that he has worked hard to improve over this season and he has been played as a top defender for the Knights. And what acceleration he has!

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Any WHL sleepers you like BerSTUzzi? What are your thoughts on Noah Gregor? He is ranked around this 64th pick, very intriguing injured most of last season so he pretty much lost a development year. He didn't stand out to me at the U18s though.

I am continually curious about Mahura and Josh Anderson being ranked quite highly, but not sure if they deserve it. Any take on them?

 

[StroShow]

Chad Krys ?

 

[BerSTUzzi]

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Any WHL sleepers you like BerSTUzzi? What are your thoughts on Noah Gregor? He is ranked around this 64th pick, very intriguing injured most of last season so he pretty much lost a development year. He didn't stand out to me at the U18s though.

I am continually curious about Mahura and Josh Anderson being ranked quite highly, but not sure if they deserve it. Any take on them?

In terms of Noah Gregor, he sure can free wheel the puck in the offensive zone and very smooth skater. I don't think he's that far off of Clague, but clearly just needs to play more games. Sleeper for sure.

Josh Anderson is just a fearless defender, will go out of his way for a hit, at times reckless. I watched PG vs Kamloops live twice this year and both times he hammered someone and fought, other than that tough player to gauge. His skating is decent though.

 

[MS]

Josh Anderson is the sort of player who would have been a really high pick in 1995.

Big, mean, skates ok, throws huge hits ... but no talent. Simply won't be a player in a post-2016 NHL. Will be a bad pick for a dumb team in the 3rd-4th round.

 

[Verviticus]

I'd be nice if someone like Victor Mete was there at 63.

From Brock's Blog

isnt brock a smart guy? why on earth would you compare a player to ****ing kris russell

"I think, with enough training and hard work, if he eats right... he could definitely compare to jonathan sim"

 

[biturbo19]

isnt brock a smart guy? why on earth would you compare a player to ****ing kris russell

"I think, with enough training and hard work, if he eats right... he could definitely compare to jonathan sim"

I mean, apparently it's a more flattering comparison around the league than Dan Hamhuis these days.

I don't really quite see the comparison from Russell to Mete other than being small all-around sort of defencemen. But a comparison to an NHL player like Russell can be completely valid. Not everyone is going to compare to superstars or players that look good on your fancystat spreadsheets.

 

[F A N]

why on earth would you compare a player to ****ing kris russell

5'10" Dman ~170-175lbs.

 

[BerSTUzzi]

Anyone have some further insight to some Swede defenders:

Moverare
Cenderholm (yes, the brother of our less than spetacular defender)
Carlsson

 

[thefeebster]

Limited to only the little i saw of Sweden at the U18s, Cederholm would be on my no-draft list, Moverare struck me as a smart defender and competitor, has a nice shot but was limited a lot by his skating.

Other sleeper impressions for our later picks:

Tim Walhgren surprised me though, he reminds me of Axel Holmstrom in a lot of ways: same skating issues, but very smart and effective, and will probably go much lower than he should because of his skating ability. Respectable numbers in J20, similar to that of Linus Lindstrom who is often ranked higher. I would target him in the late rounds; he'd be good value there.

Also curious where Markus Nurmi goes. He reminded me of Bastian, so maybe Nurmi would be better value. Tall, rangy, seemed to have good instincts but maybe a rather limited offensive game.

For the US, i have liked Lockwood nearly every time i saw him before the tourney, i liked him at the U18s as well. He was rarely put into offensive situations, but generated a fair bit of offense from the bottom 6, through his speed and tenacity. I also liked Zack Walker's game, plays a heavier game, a LA Kings/Sutter kind of game, showed more offense at the U18s than he has in the past, young but going to BC. Might be more of a guy to keep your eye on, than draft.

Saw the Canucks put out a video for Ronning... i would hope that they aren't targeting him with this pick, a bit too early for him. But i wouldn't mind him later on. If he is gone, i think of Kyle Maksimovich as the "Ronning-East", who plays a similar kind of game and could be good value late as well. My other small sleeper from the OHL is Domenic Commisso.

Quenneville looks like a Hicketts clone, really good U18s. And probably an unpopular opinion, but i still like Menell. He has impressed me when i watched the Giants, with his puck movement and vision. Might not have a lot of draft interest, a camp invite would be nice.

 

[GetFocht]

Markus Niemelainen

or

James Greenway

I really want Greenway, I have feeling he's going to develop into an awesome top 2 defenceman.

 

[VanJack]

Chad Krys ?

What happened to this guy?....appears to have fallen way down Button's list and a lot of other draft boards.....I remember some posters talking about him at #33 at one time.

 

[Verviticus]

5'10" Dman ~170-175lbs.

lol figures that you think thats the most important thing

 

[thefeebster]

What happened to this guy?....appears to have fallen way down Button's list and a lot of other draft boards.....I remember some posters talking about him at #33 at one time.

I wondered that too at the beginning of the season when he fell out of the 1st early on, but more viewings make it very apparent why scouts/publications have soured on him.

Doesn't think the game well enough offensively to make up for his defensive short-comings. I don't think he makes great decisions with the puck. IMO, he looks worse defensively than Fox and doesn't have nearly the dynamic game offensively that Fox has. So who really wants a small defenseman who hasn't really excelled offensively or defensively? I don't.

In HF speak, my NTDP defender rankings would go: Fox > Lindgren >>>>> Greenway >>> Krys.

 

[Verviticus]

But a comparison to an NHL player like Russell can be completely valid. Not everyone is going to compare to superstars or players that look good on your fancystat spreadsheets.

why would you draft someone that compares to russell

 

[Skirbs1011]

Markus Niemelainen

or

James Greenway

I really want Greenway, I have feeling he's going to develop into an awesome top 2 defenceman.

Niemelainen will be long gone before the 3rd rd. Greenway may still be available.



I agree I want to take a Dman with the pick, Mete, Krys, Cedarholm, Budik, Day are the likely players to still be available....Long shots that drop that far would be Dineen, Girard and maybe Hajek or Lindgren

 

[biturbo19]

Anyone have some further insight to some Swede defenders:

Moverare
Cenderholm (yes, the brother of our less than spetacular defender)
Carlsson

Don't really have much to add to what thefeebs said about the first two.

Carlsson is a guy i like quite a bit as a later round flyer from everything i've seen. The kind of guy who gets a bit overlooked. Not "big" and isn't an extremely dynamic skater or the most prolific scorer. But he's also not that small, and he's still a pretty good skater. Just doesn't stand out that much. Smart defenceman who can move the puck though. I'd take him over either of those other two.

Markus Niemelainen

or

James Greenway

I really want Greenway, I have feeling he's going to develop into an awesome top 2 defenceman.

I'd be plenty happy with either of these two at 64. Don't expect either to be there though. Niemelainen is too big and mobile for teams to pass up that many times. Greenway is also that huge package of tools to work it that teams always covet. I think he's easily a better prospect than his brother, who just went 50th overall in a draft that looked a lot deeper into that territory. Plays arguably the more important position as well.

 

[biturbo19]

why would you draft someone that compares to russell

You say that as though getting a 600+ games and counting NHL Defenceman out of a 3rd round pick isn't a solid result.

 

[Nick Lang]

I'd be nice if someone like Victor Mete was there at 63.

From Brock's Blog

Him or Luke Green if they are still there.

You say that as though getting a 600+ games and counting NHL Defenceman out of a 3rd round pick isn't a solid result.

Lol, typical, scathing, and short-sighted slander.

 

[Verviticus]

You say that as though getting a 600+ games and counting NHL Defenceman out of a 3rd round pick isn't a solid result.

if i said "hey, this player is going to turn into dan girardi", would you draft him with a third round pick?

 

[Verviticus]

"this guy really compares well to dan carcillo". draft him?

 

[biturbo19]

if i said "hey, this player is going to turn into dan girardi", would you draft him with a third round pick?

It's an absurd hypothetical, as there's nothing even close to a certainty in the real draft. Your example bears no real relevance to building an actual prospect list in the real world at all, where there is a massive range of risk/reward to weigh. You're never going to get anywhere close to completely eliminating the risk component, even with a 1st overall pick...much less a 3rd rounder which stands maybe a 1/4 chance of even making it to the NHL at all in any noteworthy capacity.


But yeah, if i had some ridiculous 100% certainty guarantee that my third round pick would play 700+ NHL games and fit in as a Top-4D wearing a letter on a Cup Finals calibre team...and have that player from 18 years on? Absolutely, i'd take that with a 3rd round pick. I'd prefer to have an absurd guarantee on a Kris Letang with my 3rd round pick if that's available. But if i was that certain a guy was going to be Kris Letang to the point i'd forgo a guaranteed shutdown Top-4D, i'd almost certainly have spent an earlier pick than a 3rd rounder on him (presuming i had the pick to spend).


But of course the "mystery box" could be anything! It could even be a Dan Girardi or a Kris Russell!!!

 

[me2]

You say that as though getting a 600+ games and counting NHL Defenceman out of a 3rd round pick isn't a solid result.

Wouldn't you rather draft someone that compares to a better player? If they ended up Russell well that's a still good.

 

[Verviticus]

It's an absurd hypothetical, as there's nothing even close to a certainty in the real draft. Your example bears no real relevance to building an actual prospect list in the real world at all, where there is a massive range of risk/reward to weigh. You're never going to get anywhere close to completely eliminating the risk component, even with a 1st overall pick...much less a 3rd rounder which stands maybe a 1/4 chance of even making it to the NHL at all in any noteworthy capacity.


But yeah, if i had some ridiculous 100% certainty guarantee that my third round pick would play 700+ NHL games and fit in as a Top-4D wearing a letter on a Cup Finals calibre team...and have that player from 18 years on? Absolutely, i'd take that with a 3rd round pick. I'd prefer to have an absurd guarantee on a Kris Letang with my 3rd round pick if that's available. But if i was that certain a guy was going to be Kris Letang to the point i'd forgo a guaranteed shutdown Top-4D, i'd almost certainly have spent an earlier pick than a 3rd rounder on him (presuming i had the pick to spend).


But of course the "mystery box" could be anything! It could even be a Dan Girardi or a Kris Russell!!!

as usual, i dont think you understood what i was saying. oh well

But yeah, if i had some ridiculous 100% certainty guarantee that my third round pick would play 700+ NHL games and fit in as a Top-4D wearing a letter on a Cup Finals calibre team...and have that player from 18 years on? Absolutely, i'd take that with a 3rd round pick.

A: i didnt say 'dan girardis career'
B: dan girardi ****ing sucks
C: dan girardi is not qualified to be a top 4 defenceman
D: dan girardi's letter is ****ing valueless
E: it doesnt mattter where his team ended up

 

[Verviticus]

Him or Luke Green if they are still there.



Lol, typical, scathing, and short-sighted slander.

you have literally no idea what slander means, lol