Speculation: Top defense prospects

[maplepred]

currently our prospect board is not great but I trust in Poile to rebuild. I just wanted to get a grasp on what you guys think of our depth for defense prospects?

I wanted to get a top five rating from some of you if you don’t mind. After Fabbro I am having a hard time sorting it all out as far as potential.

Here is my top five preds D prospects:

1. Fabbro
2. Farrance
3. Allard
4. Carrier
5. Paquette


Would that be a good judgement on the top five defense prospects?

Click to read more...

 

[Scoresberg]

I think Carrier and Allard are now ahead of Farrance but their potential isn’t as high. Also day by day when they’re not getting looks in the NHL decreases their value.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Coming soon, to a trade proposal near you...

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I think Carrier and Allard are now ahead of Farrance but their potential isn’t as high. Also day by day when they’re not getting looks in the NHL decreases their value.

Yeah... I don't watch them play in Milwaukee, so just spitballing on the stats, but it looks like maybe Allard is still showing progression, whereas Carrier maybe has stalled out somewhat? Whereas in the NCAA you still can hope for Farrance. But honestly at this point if we see any of them except Fabbro in the NHL, it will have to count as a pleasant surprise.

Would be a good year to draft some D. If we keep any picks. Well, except I guess we don't really have much in the way of F prospects either. But our track record says we are supposed to be good with D, right, so why not stockpile. (Definitely have enough goalies kicking around.)

 

[triggrman]

I wouldn’t give up on Allard

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

Carrier and Allard are similar in style and value.

 

[maplepred]

I feel like farrance is a pretty solid defense prospect to be honest. Quite underrated.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

whats going on with Allard? I own him in a dynasty league. would really like him to get a chance next season. I know u guys are very very deep on D. what are the chances he finally sees some NHL games next season?
also good luck in the playoffs. I got u guys in a pool so dont let me know. unless it's Tor-Nsh in cup finals. lol

 

[King Weber]

whats going on with Allard? I own him in a dynasty league. would really like him to get a chance next season. I know u guys are very very deep on D. what are the chances he finally sees some NHL games next season?
also good luck in the playoffs. I got u guys in a pool so dont let me know. unless it's Tor-Nsh in cup finals. lol

well, he's a righty so he has Subban, Ellis, Fabbro and Weber ahead of him in the depth chart, so the chances of him seeing NHL action anytime soon don't seem too good right now unless we trade one of them, there's injuries or he takes big strides in his development. Him and Alex Carrier both will be "stuck" in Milwaukee for now.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

well, he's a righty so he has Subban, Ellis, Fabbro and Weber ahead of him in the depth chart, so the chances of him seeing NHL action anytime soon don't seem too good right now unless we trade one of them, there's injuries or he takes big strides in his development. Him and Alex Carrier both will be "stuck" in Milwaukee for now.

It'd be tough to put any money on any of our D prospects outside of Fabbro ever making it at this point. Maybe if we're really lucky one of the younger guys like Farrance takes a step. But nobody should be holding their breath. The coming draft hopefully helps us re-stock a bit.

 

[Armourboy]

It'd be tough to put any money on any of our D prospects outside of Fabbro ever making it at this point. Maybe if we're really lucky one of the younger guys like Farrance takes a step. But nobody should be holding their breath. The coming draft hopefully helps us re-stock a bit.

Ultimately I think it's why Poile didn't really want to trade off Fabbro and Tolvanen or the first. Granted I'm not sold he believed in this version of the team either.

 

[LOUISVILLE ICE CARDS]

I really like what I’ve seen about Brandon Fortunato. Only thing I don’t like is size

 

[Legionnaire11]

Farrance took a huge step forward last season as a Sophomore. Next year as an upperclassman will be more telling, he'll have a bigger role (#1D?), and if he continues to progress, I'd really like that for his pro chances.

 

[IceColdOx]

Where would you slot Fabbro in the six next season? Do you have him on the third pair if no one moves or do you send him to be the top guy in Milwaukee?

https://lastwordonhockey.com/2019/06/03/dante-fabbro-looking-for-spot-with-nashville-predators/

 

[NoNecksCurse]

Where would you slot Fabbro in the six next season? Do you have him on the third pair if no one moves or do you send him to be the top guy in Milwaukee?

Dante Fabbro Looking for Spot with Nashville Predators - Last Word on Hockey

unless he forgets how to play hockey like jon blum did then he will be in nashville. it's just a matter of what pairing. if subban or ellis is traded, then he will be in the top 4. if no trades, he will be on the third pair with hamhuis.

i would like to see ellis traded and fabbro with josi. i wouldn't mind another 3rd pair guy with hamhuis so we could balance the ice time between all 3 pairs more evenly. none of this 80% of ice time to 2 pairs. our top 4 has been overrated for years. moving ellis and slotting in fabbro with josi then signing a solid UFA for the 3rd pair allows that.

josi-fabbro
ekholm-subban
hamhuis-UFA/weber

potential UFAs would be stralman, mcquaid, or hainsey. veteran presences that play the right side. not super familiar with where their level of play is at this point in their career since they are in the east. just talking out loud.

 

[Gh24]

I believe Fabbro is skilled enough to handle top4 minutes next to Josi. He seemed confident and poised, so I see no reason to doubt his mental side, but he's still a rookie. Is his condition good enough? Well, as I said, the skillset is there at least.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I think it should still be difficult to project Fabbro in the Top 4 right away. He looked like he could hold his own in a limited 3rd pair role for a short stretch. But stepping up to a full NHL season will be a big challenge for even the best prospect. I bet there will be times when he looks like he could fit in the top 4. And other times when he struggles a bit.

If we don't trade a D then just play him with Hamhuis on the 3rd pair. But at least give him some spot duty elsewhere, not just the 10-12 minutes of our usual 3rd RD.

If we do trade Ellis or Subban... there is no way Fabbro suddenly picks up their workload and plays 25 mins a night and both special teams. That would just be too unrealistic to expect. Give him a year or two to settle in before that could be an option. Maybe he plays on a top pair 5-on-5, but then you have to sign a UFA RD who can pick up some of the remaining minutes.

And especially if it's Subban we trade, then make extra sure that UFA RD brings some size and physicality too. Fabbro doesn't bring any of that and our team is already small and soft on the back end. We're about to enter an era with a small young goalie carrying the load and the team needs to be ready to protect him.

 

[Legionnaire11]

I wish we had someone like Gudas from Philly. Capable of playing on the 2nd pair and brings an intimidating level of physical play.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I wish we had someone like Gudas from Philly. Capable of playing on the 2nd pair and brings an intimidating level of physical play.

Absolutely. I thought Emelin might have been bringing some of that when we got him. Maybe for a very brief period he was ok, but quickly faded into obscurity.

Gudas is exactly what we need. He might take a fair number of undisciplined penalties too, but he keeps the opponents' heads up. Not that Weber or Jones are exactly looking to kill anybody, but imagine the different look we'd have running Josi-Shea and Ekholm-Jones on D. Right now, Subban is the only one who is even a little bit obnoxious out there, and for all that he tries, he's not the biggest guy and it seems to have taken a toll on his health.

Guys like McQuaid are mentioned. I just don't know if he's actually all that good at hockey anymore. Ditto Engelland, even older. Chiarot is there on LD. But these are all 3rd-pair only options.

 

[Gh24]

Gudas would be great. So would Hamonic.

 

[Soundgarden]

On one hand Fabbro is going to be 21 when the season starts, he should be capable of handling at least 20 mins, maybe not 25 but close. On the other he's coming from a league where they only play 38 games, he might hit a wall late in the season like a few others have before him.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

On one hand Fabbro is going to be 21 when the season starts, he should be capable of handling at least 20 mins, maybe not 25 but close. On the other he's coming from a league where they only play 38 games, he might hit a wall late in the season like a few others have before him.

I don't think it's just the games and minutes. The travel is a whole other level compared to Hockey East too.

I mean who knows what he ultimately ends up being able to handle... maybe he can handle 20+ mins for 82 games and totally stick in a full-time top-4 role. That'd be nice. I just don't think it would be smart to rely on that right away. It would be smarter to have some insurance in place, because it would be entirely fair if he wasn't quite ready for that yet either.

 

[Soundgarden]

I don't think it's just the games and minutes. The travel is a whole other level compared to Hockey East too.

I mean who knows what he ultimately ends up being able to handle... maybe he can handle 20+ mins for 82 games and totally stick in a full-time top-4 role. That'd be nice. I just don't think it would be smart to rely on that right away. It would be smarter to have some insurance in place, because it would be entirely fair if he wasn't quite ready for that yet either.

Yeah, I'm hoping for another solid vet signing to shore up the right side for that reason.

 

[glenngineer]

Move Ellis. Move Subban up to play with Josi, let them play 25 minutes a night, as a number 1 pairing should. Slot Fabbro in with Ekholm. If he can't handle it, move him back to the third pairing with Hamhuis and slot Weber up with Ekholm. I could live with those pairings all day long.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Move Ellis. Move Subban up to play with Josi, let them play 25 minutes a night, as a number 1 pairing should. Slot Fabbro in with Ekholm. If he can't handle it, move him back to the third pairing with Hamhuis and slot Weber up with Ekholm. I could live with those pairings all day long.

If we got something good for Ellis, I'd be all over this. I'd also be totally fine with it if we just kept Ellis but STILL clearly had it as Josi-Subban being the 1st pair, and a recognition that Ellis is NOT on par with the other three 25-minute per night guys.

Maybe I'm not as confident in Weber as you? I definitely do see him as a step up from Irwin, these last 2 seasons anyway. But I still don't think I'd be comfortable with him in much more of a role than he has had so far. At least, not as my starting gameplan. If we do trade a RD, I'd still rather sign some stopgap UFA as my insurance policy than rely on Weber.