what changes will new NHL have on drafting trends?

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Habs4ever

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most obvious thing to notice is lot of top goalies are strugling with way too many breakaways and chances.
Now need for top goalie is more then ever as teams can't be trapped and most of the times only defence for any team is goalie to stop the puck as defencemen can't hook or backcheck, everything gets called now.

Other thing i've noticed is speedy small guys are dominating the flow of the game, and physical teams are exposed very much to lack of speed.

After early observation i can say confidently that goalie prospects and speedy guys will be picked earlier then expected if this is what new NHL is all about, then approach to scouting has got to change to reflect new advantages certain players will have over others.
 

Amadeus

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Habs4ever said:
most obvious thing to notice is lot of top goalies are strugling with way too many breakaways and chances.
Now need for top goalie is more then ever as teams can't be trapped and most of the times only defence for any team is goalie to stop the puck as defencemen can't hook or backcheck, everything gets called now.

Other thing i've noticed is speedy small guys are dominating the flow of the game, and physical teams are exposed very much to lack of speed.

After early observation i can say confidently that goalie prospects and speedy guys will be picked earlier then expected if this is what new NHL is all about, then approach to scouting has got to change to reflect new advantages certain players will have over others.

I agree!

Smallish, crafty guys are more open to show their skill now. I'm a Leaf fan and i'm more excited now that we have prospects like Robbie Earl, Jeremy Williams, Ian White...who are fast and creative...:)
 

Claypool_*

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the 05 draft is already an idication of where the trend will go. There were a ton of under 6 foot players taken in the first round simply because those players have tons of skill.
 

V-2 Schneider

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You don't know how long this new look NHL will last, and strong,large bodies will still carry a premium over those under 6'0 200.It should be a given that no prospect without at least AHL calibre skating should be selected in the top 63,or if a draftee is bordeline, they have the ablity to compensate with superior hockey skills and work ethic.Kids deemed lazy, or lacking heart, should be passed over, so perhaps interviews will command a larger role to better flesh out the character of the assets being selected.If there's an intangible up in the air, then it could be better to avoid that draftee.

One change could be selecting D men that are under 6'1,yet possess superior skating and puckmoving abilities.Strength can be developed, if the will is there,but building hockey brains, where none exist,isn't realistic, so the idea that a chronic,mistake prone D man can blossom into a smart,agile PP specialist with the right coaching, is a folly best left to others.
 

boredmale

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you would think goalies values might become a lil less because most goalie don't hit there stride till they are like 25+ and with the free agency age being 27, it makes it worthless spending 5-7 years to ween a goaltender into your system only to see him sign elsewhere in 2-3 years. I thought that then montreal selected Carey Price 5th over Brule.

Beyond that i would think a premium will be put on big guys who can skate.
 

xander

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Size is no longer going to be at the premium it once was but it's still oging to carry alot of weight, especially on defense. Remember that being 6'6" just doesn't meen that your big, it meens that you have a huge reach and a long stick. Teams are still going to be intruiged by big players, but hopefully the new rules will meen that players will have to be more than just big to get drafted high.
 

Transported Upstater

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Jason MacIsaac said:
Like allways teams will draft players who work hard and are teachable.


That is, if the team know how to draft correctly...
 

RedLightDistrict

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Also, don't take this the wrong way, but i think we can also see a somewhat disregard to the draft, due the decrease in value of draft picks, due to the lowering of the age of UFA status thanks to the new CBA :teach:
 

Hasbro

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College prospects are more valueable now that euro rights are shortened. You can keep a player stashed in the NCAA for up to 4 years and they know how to play without the red line.
 

MS

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Hasbro said:
College prospects are more valueable now that euro rights are shortened. You can keep a player stashed in the NCAA for up to 4 years and they know how to play without the red line.

Only problem is that they immediately become UFAs if they play their full 4 years in college.

CHL players are the only ones that teams have any leverage with because they have to turn pro at 20 and don't want to go back into the draft. Teams have no leverage with European and US college players by comparison.

I absolutely hate how the new CBA handles the draft. It was perfectly balanced before - there was no advantage to taking a CHL player vs. a college player vs. a European. Identify the best talent and that's the best pick. Now it's all screwed up. And the draft is shorter. Blech.
 

Phanuthier*

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I'm on the other side of the spectrum here. I think what will be in demand is highly refined, but less talented players will make the bigs. Teams will look for speed, agility, size and strength over dipsy-doodle talent. Special teams will become more and more important, and penelties will come from players getting beat to the puck either because they can't keep up or they lose the physical battles. Guys who do have the refined, physical nature for the "new NHL" and who can combine their physical tools with hockey sense to position themselves to win the little battles for the puck, will be at a premium. While you'll see a much "cleaner" NHL played, I think when the transient stage ends of the "new NHL" then we'll see tactics - enforced by a higher demand of physical need - come back into play.

The second thing I disagree with is on goaltenders; I think you'll see the elite goaltenders go high, but there will be a very wide seperation between the elite ones and the "good" ones. Elite goaltenders will still stop more goals pre game then a scoring forward will score, and with the crackdown on the battles in front of the net, you'll see goaltenders who can control their rebounds, find pucks in the crease, and make reflex saves drafted high while goaltenders, while others go lower.
 

boredmale

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killerbunny1024 said:
Also, don't take this the wrong way, but i think we can also see a somewhat disregard to the draft, due the decrease in value of draft picks, due to the lowering of the age of UFA status thanks to the new CBA :teach:

I disagree. I think the key to winning wil be having a solid core of guys aged 22-27 who make less money then established UFAs(ie if you can have 3-4 guys who make half the money that players of equal skills who signed as UFAs, it give you alot of leverage when filling out your roster). I forget who said this comment, but it was right on. he said the teams that will win will be the ones who have guys making 1.5 million playing like 3-4 million dollar players.

I know the arguement will be you will lose the player when he becomes 27, but the key will be constantly drafting good players to replenish the guys who leave.
 

Michigan Wolverine

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I'm surprised no one mentioned that Russian prospects might fall a bit over contract concerns, especially after what we've seen this offseason.
 

Sammy*

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Michigan Wolverine said:
I'm surprised no one mentioned that Russian prospects might fall a bit over contract concerns, especially after what we've seen this offseason.
While I agree wholeheatedly, I think thats a function of the new Russia, not the new NHL.
If I was a GM, I really would be loathe to pick a Russian kid with a high draft pick.
 
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