I just puked. Would definitely be a Botterill type of pick though.I think he goes Vlasic in that spot and everyone melts down that he didn't take a CHLer.
In terms of talent?
Nicholas Robertson, Pelletier, Puistola, then Legare. Holmstrom is a gamble, could be right in-between the P's due to being a better skater than Puistola and Legare but the body of work is smaller. Johnson is the only defenseman in that group I'm excited about, Vlasic being tall is like people thinking Buffalo should take tall guys after they drafted Myers. They have a better player in Samuelsson already in the pipeline, with a real shortage of offensive guys up front.
Skating being a premium, Robertson, Pelletier and Holmstrom are all quality + skaters. They need more speed with skill.
And they need sets of balls one can see from space, which is why I would be very tempted to reach on Rees.
We'll take Zegras at 7 and Vlasic at 31. We need a fresh infusion of Terrier blood, Eichel/Rodrigues/O'Regan is clearly not enough.
My approach to voting for picks outside the top 10 is like going to a Chinese restaurant and ordering from the menu. This looks good, the #4 is intriguing, that sounds good. ewww fish sauce avoid avoid avoid. I freely admit I based my vote for Nick Robertson soley on reading a few lines about him. Pass the MSG.
I picked stupidly, my real pick is Albin Grewe, this year's "Swede we Need" facilitation. He's got the ability to play a seamless two way game, similar to past picks (Davidsson and Asplund). I have hope for someone like Heinola, Hoglander, Bjornfot, York, Tomasino or someone falling. But, Grewe is a fine selection and really fits a possible trend for Botterill. In the third round, since we have no second Henri Nikkanen is a name I'm not "all in on", but someone I'm fond of.
I don't know about Grewe's defensive game yet, but he does play like some sort of fire-and-forget missile out there. He likes to initiate contact and he hits not just to separate pucks but to crush his enemies before him and hear the lamentations of the stick boys.
That is the best scouting reporting I've ever read.