Speculation: The 2019 Draft Thread - Sabres pick 7th

[1972]

I disagree. I think the Sabres need a 3C and more D. I'd rather draft a faller like Turcotte or Newhook, and slide a center to wing. Especially if Skinner is re-signed.

NHL is all about offense, get as many gifted offensive players as possible.

 

[Der Jaeger]

NHL is all about offense, get as many gifted offensive players as possible.

Have you watched Turcotte or Newhook?

Turcotte would be my ideal pick with the highest of the three picks.

 

[1972]

Have you watched Turcotte or Newhook?

Turcotte would be my ideal pick with the highest of the three picks.

I wasn’t talking about those players specifically.

 

[Der Jaeger]

I wasn’t talking about those players specifically.

I build up the middle. Wingers are always available, but team pay through the teeth for D and Centers. I'd rather draft a kid like Turcotte, who plays a 200 foot game, skates well, has very good hockey IQ, and is gifted offensively. After that, figure out who moves to wing. Or make a trade for one. Skinner cost little compared to his contributions.

 

[1972]

I build up the middle. Wingers are always available, but team pay through the teeth for D and Centers. I'd rather draft a kid like Turcotte, who plays a 200 foot game, skates well, has very good hockey IQ, and is gifted offensively. After that, figure out who moves to wing. Or make a trade for one. Skinner cost little compared to his contributions.

Wingers are always available, but legit franchise wingers like Pastrnak, Hall, Benn, Laine, Kane, Tarasenko and usually pretty impossible to acquire. I know Hall got traded, but it’s still rare.

I don’t care about Center or wing all that much, if a guy drives possession from the winger like a Marian Hossa then that’s huge as well. We just need offense, talent, scoring. I want the best talents available regardless of position at this point.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Wingers are always available, but legit franchise wingers like Pastrnak, Hall, Benn, Laine, Kane, Tarasenko and usually pretty impossible to acquire. I know Hall got traded, but it’s still rare.

I don’t care about Center or wing all that much, if a guy drives possession from the winger like a Marian Hossa then that’s huge as well. We just need offense, talent, scoring. I want the best talents available regardless of position at this point.

Those wingers aren't impossible to acquire. Pastrnak and Benn weren't even top 10 guys.

Agree on the possession driving forward. Most wingers don't drive possession, though. The center does, just due to his positioning in the defensive zone. The wingers which drive possession are hard to acquire - Marchand, Kane, etc.

I'd rather draft and develop centers and D, then make future moves to shore up wing through trades. Like the Skinner deal.

 

[1972]

I want this team to draft its Mitch Marner.

 

[Deleted member 27798]

Can someone give me a refresher on the 1st round picks we acquired from the Blues & Sharks...

- Do we get their 1st pick next year as long as they don't win the lottery, or up to them even if they are just in the lottery?

- If they both make the playoffs, we automatically get their 1st in 2019 draft?

 

[Jim Bob]

Can someone give me a refresher on the 1st round picks we acquired from the Blues & Sharks...

- Do we get their 1st pick next year as long as they don't win the lottery, or up to them even if they are just in the lottery?

- If they both make the playoffs, we automatically get their 1st in 2019 draft?

SJ pick:

2019 conditional 1st round pick*
2019 conditional 4th round pick**

Conditions: *Becomes a 2019 1st round pick if Sharks re-sign Kane. If Sharks don't make the playoffs in 2019, then Sharks have the option to retain the 2019 1st and Buffalo receives a 2020 first round pick instead.
**San Jose has the option to retain the 2019 4th round pick. If they retain the 2019 4th, Buffalo receives a 2020 3rd round pick instead.

Result: *Sharks re-signed Kane. Buffalo receives a 1st round pick. If Sharks don't make the playoffs in 2019, Sens receive the 2019 1st. If Sharks make the playoffs Buffalo receives the 2019 1st and Sens receive Sharks 2020 1st instead.

StL pick:

Tage Thompson
Patrik Berglund
Vladimír Sobotka
2019 conditional 1st round pick
2021 2nd round pick

*Condition: If St. Louis' 2019 1st round pick ends up being a top 10 pick, the Blues have the option to keep the 2019 1st round pick and send Buffalo their 2020 1st round pick instead.

 

[Deleted member 27798]

SJ pick:



StL pick:

Thx!

 

[Der Jaeger]

I want this team to draft its Mitch Marner.

Every team does.

Only one winger in the draft comes close, and it’s Podkolzin. Sabres need to tank for him.

 

[Gabrielor]

The more I prospect watch (I'm up to notes on about 20 guys right now), I can't get over how deep this draft is. It might be stronger than 2015...

 

[Zman5778]

The more I prospect watch (I'm up to notes on about 20 guys right now), I can't get over how deep this draft is. It might be stronger than 2015...

So I take it that it's a good year to have 3 first rounders?

 

[Dingo44]

Girl and I went to the NTDP U17 game against Pekar's old team Muskegon. They are doing OK without him - the were 7-0 and now they are 8-0. But my girl and I got a private tour of all the facilities including the U18 locker room. Here is her and I in Jack Hughes' stall. Yes it does smell like a hockey locker room.

 

[Gabrielor]

So I take it that it's a good year to have 3 first rounders?

Amazing year. Please please please pick with all 3. The top 20 is loaded with basically every flavor of player you want. There's serious 1st-round talent potential with about another 20 after that.

For comparison, I thought 2018 largely sucked. The top 10 was pristine, but by about 23, it fell hard. This draft's quality stock will go well into round 2.

 

[Zman5778]

Amazing year. Please please please pick with all 3. The top 20 is loaded with basically every flavor of player you want. There's seriously 1st-round talent potential with about another 20 after that.

For comparison, I thought 2018 largely sucked. The top 10 was pristine, but by about 23, it fell hard. This draft's quality stock will go well into round 2.

Sounds like a great opportunity to re-stock talent in the pipeline. Obviously take best available, but ideally it'd be 2 forwards and a D IMO.

 

[Gabrielor]

Here's a list of guys I think could be in the top 10:

Hughes Kakko Dach Cozens Krebs Podkolzin Newhook Turcotte Lavoie Byram Suzuki Boldy Broberg Zegras (not ordered)



Then, it's an extended list of guys I think could be in the top 20:

Honka York Soderstrom Cajkovic Holmstrom Seider M.Robertson Knight Caufield Kokkonen Poulin Pelletier McMichael (not ordered)



To top that off, there's names the mainstream media is throwing around that I haven't seen enough of to have a good opinion:

Guskov Gutik Likhachyov Foote Wolf Nussbaumer N.Robertson Grewe Vlasic Warren




Yeah, this just looks like a list of names, but for the 1st 2 lists, I've done my homework (and watched a lot of games), and a lot of them are legit.

Edit: didn't even mention Arthur Kaliyev, who I have a lot of questions about, but he has 1 incredible talent for sure

 

[Dingo44]

Fun afternoon game watching the NTDP U18 beat up on the Dubuque Fighting Saints 8-3 today. Hughes looked great as always and Cole Caufield and Trevor Zegras had pretty goals but Matthew Boldy stood out on offense and defensively. Cam York looked the best of the D.

 

[HaNotsri]

NHL is all about offense, get as many gifted offensive players as possible.

Or we make everyone talk about the Buffalo model in 2023 when we choke other teams with our supreme defensive talent.

 

[Club]

Girl and I went to the NTDP U17 game against Pekar's old team Muskegon. They are doing OK without him - the were 7-0 and now they are 8-0. But my girl and I got a private tour of all the facilities including the U18 locker room. Here is her and I in Jack Hughes' stall. Yes it does smell like a hockey locker room.

This is absolutely awesome!!

 

[Der Jaeger]

Every player I'd like is slowly going to go out of reach.

Dach
Cozens
Turcotte
Newhook

Sabres should just load up on D. Seider and Vlasic would be sweet. Then maybe a power forward like Murray.

 

[threeVo]

I would like to come away from this draft if we had 3 1sts with a combination of 3 of these players:

Honka or Turcotte (8-12) Blues or ours
Podkolzin (16-20) Blues or Ours
Soderstrom (28-32) Sharks

 

[Gabrielor]

I would like to come away from this draft if we had 3 1sts with a combination of 3 of these players:

Honka or Turcotte (8-12) Blues or ours
Podkolzin (16-20) Blues or Ours
Soderstrom (28-32) Sharks

Turcotte at 8-12 is very unlikely, but possible if he continues to have injury problems, and other guys continue to rise.

Podkolzin isn't making it anywhere near 16-20

Soderstrom at 28-32 is also unlikely.

In 2015 terms, this is hoping:

(no player style correlation, more position drafted)
a Marner is at 8-12
a Rantanen is at 16-20
a Chabot is at 28-32.

Would love it. Won't possibly happen.

 

[1972]

Hell I’d take one Rantanen and gladly strike out on every other pick this draft

 

[threeVo]

Turcotte at 8-12 is very unlikely, but possible if he continues to have injury problems, and other guys continue to rise.

Podkolzin isn't making it anywhere near 16-20

Soderstrom at 28-32 is also unlikely.

In 2015 terms, this is hoping:

(no player style correlation, more position drafted)
a Marner is at 8-12
a Rantanen is at 16-20
a Chabot is at 28-32.

Would love it. Won't possibly happen.

Im just going off the rankings that came out on The Athletic over the last couple days. They had the top 62, lots of things can change between then and now