dathockeydoe
@dathockeydoe
I feel like people don't realize how good he can be. His creative skill set is off the chart.
NHL Entry Draft: "What If" selections
- Thread starter dathockeydoe
- Start date
I feel like people don't realize how good he can be. His creative skill set is off the chart.
flamebird
Registered User
- Jul 28, 2007
- 937
- 144
Barring injury, I'd say he's all but guaranteed to at least carve out a decent NHL career. Speed/Shot/Playmaking/Physicality/200ft game, he does it all.
For the Leafs however, the best player to take is Crouse IMO.
Holland & Kadri are developing scoring line Cs so the need for Marner/Strome is not as pressing. Kessel & JVR are top line flankers. However after these two, were extremely thin. I expect Nylander to get run at 2RW sooner rather than later, & oft-injured Lupul is hit or miss. With Crouse he can step in as 3LW & and move up to 2LW with an injury to Lupul.
dathockeydoe
@dathockeydoe
Interesting thoughts. It's not often people suggest the Leafs not take a top C. Especially with their current placement. Love it.
RyanOhReally
Registered User
Here's how I see it. Teams with #1 centres will take Crouse. This means Philly, Colorado, Dallas, LA and even Florida or Boston out of the teams who may be in the range he's expected to go. I think the other teams like Toronto, Ottawa and New Jersey take a stab at either a #1 Centre or Top-2 Defenceman. Columbus goes D or RW (Werenski, Provorov, Rantanen etc.)
In Toronto's case specifically, they won't be taking a safe pick. If they wanted that, this group would have taken Ritchie. This FO wants skill over everything. Guys like Marner, Barzal, Konecny, they all fit a scheme that the Leafs are looking into. Incredibly talented, unselfish, offensive players with the potential to learn a 2-way game, if not already there.
If they miss out on the consensus top 5, they'll look at Werenski. He may be left handed, but he plays the right side, basically a near perfect fit for Morgan Rielly.
Kadri may be a #1 Centre in the future, Holland a #2. But more realistically they're both stellar 2-way #2. Or better yet, two 1B/2A Centre. Taking someone like Marner gives a gamble of a 2-way #1 centre or a 2-way #1 RW. At Left Wing, you have JVR, he is the least likely to be traded because he's the one getting the most slack at the moment. After that, you have Leipsic who projects as a #2 LW, but is more likely a 2B/3A. Same with Leivo.
As a Leaf fan, expecting Marner being drafted and Kessel, Bozak, Lupul, Phaneuf being traded, I see the team projected as this in 2-3 years (Ignoring future FA signings and returns on trades):
JVR - Marner - Nylander
Leipsic - Kadri - Brown
Johnson - Holland - Leivo
Komarov - Gauthier - Rupert
Rielly - Chychrun (It's very likely...)
Gardiner - Polak
Percy - Finn
Bernier
Sparks/Bibeau
Are they small? Meh, a bit. Do they play with heart? Yes, and that's the point. Sorry for the long post.
Cowumbus
Registered User
dathockeydoe
@dathockeydoe
Jarmo has always taken the BPA. The BPA according to Jarmo... it's fun how he's usually right.
