Prospect Info: Which prospect/draft position do you think are the most important to fill by priority?

[Lafleurs Guy]

There are 2 goaltenders on every team and my table was a very telling example of the fact that goaltenders are the least valued commodity by NHL GM's. You can't say that a team only dresses 1 goaltender per game and use that as a fair representation in a 12-6-1 model and as an example of positional scarcity. The backup goaltender can play close to 50% of the games on some teams but most play closer to 20%-40& of the time which is more ice time than most forwards and dmen over the course of the season. To disqualify a player who plays 60 minute games but less than half of the games just doesn't make any sense especially when that player is often a player that the team spent a draft pick on as goalies take forever to become starters. Furthermore if you want to diminish the value of a backup goaltender by using a 12-6-1 model then you have to do the same for the skaters and use a 6-3-1 model if you are only going to count the most impactful players at every position. Just because goaltenders don't play every game you can't disqualify a backup goalie because it is not possible to play your starter 82 games or anywhere remotely close to that just like you can't play your skaters 60 minutes per game.....therefore a backup goaltender is absolutely an important commodity that is rightfully represented in the standard roster construction (12-6-2) that I was referring to.

If GM's valued goalies as much as skaters it would be reflected in the draft and the opposite has proven to be true at such a profound level that there is little discussion to be had. I did an earlier dive into the absurdity of wasting 1st round picks on goaltenders that weren't borderline generational talents as well. Targeting later 2nd rounders and goalies in the following rounds has undeniably proven to be a more efficient method of finding starting goaltenders over the last decade and has clearly been embraced by the scouting community at the NHL level.

My point is that there aren’t many goalies worthy of being a top pick. But when they come around you should not hesitate.

As I said earlier, draft best player available. Just don’t make the mistake of passing on a highly rated goaltender because you somehow think he’s worth “less.” He’s not.

 

[SOLR]

Wrong way to look at things in my opinion. It’s not that goalies are worth less, it’s that there aren’t that many who separate themselves enough to warrant drafting high. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worth as much if you draft one.

Keep position scarcity in mind. Each team is playing 12 forwards and six blueliners. There’s only one net…

If there’s a strong goalie who’s ranked highly, it’s fine to go there. Higher picked goalies do much better on the whole than lower picked ones. Yes, you can find superstar goalies later on but like any player it’s trying for the needle in the haystack. Drafting Price was among the best moves we made in the past 20 years and if some other prospect comes up and is ranked highly we shouldn’t shy away from it.

It's also because goaltenders develop later very often and then you can have your pick from the whole world when they reach 24-25.

 

[Captain97]

I expect Florida to rebound some, assuming no lottery luck I want our 1st pick to be the best forward available (some projections have us taking Yager which would be awesome) with Florida's pick I'd like Reinbacher or Dragicevic

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Goalies taken in the first round. Those taken later tend to bust more than earlier ones.

The success rate as you would expect is mixed. But it’s much higher in the first round than anywhere else. And goalies drafted top five are almost always very good - most being HOF candidates. If drafted 10 or higher I’ve noted it. On my phone so might have missed a few but this gives you an idea.

Since 1980:

81 Fuhr 8
83 Barrasso 5
87 Waite
89 kolzig muzatti
90 kidd Martin Brodeur
93 Thibeault 10
94 Storr Fuchaud, ryabchicov, Dan cloutier
95 Giguere Biron Brian Boucher, Marc denis
97 Luongo 4
98 Deroches Chinard noronen damphousse
99 Finley 6 ouellette
2000 Dipietro 1 - Khran
2001 Levlaire, Blackburn backashishua Munro
02 Lehkonen 2nd cam ward toivenen
03 Fleury 1
04 Montoya Dubnyk Corey Schneider
05 Price 5th Rask
06 Bernier Henselus, varlamov
08 pickard McCollum
10 Campbell, vestinen
12 Vasilevski, Subban


Definitely worth investing in a top goaltender if they are there. Again though, position scarcity dictates that there won’t be many. Moreover, there’s a ton of parity between goalies now which I would argue makes a good goalie even more valuable. If you can find a guy who’s head and shoulders better you take him!

 

[Miller Time]

BPA
Position matters little at this point, just add & develop NHL talent...

 

[WeThreeKings]

What they need

Another top 6 center, this allows us flexibility with Dach.
A PP QB (this could be Hutson).
A true #1 goaltender.
Another goal scoring talent on the wing.

I don't care what order this goes.. #1 could be solved by a Dubois trade. #2 could be solved by Hutson. #3 could be solved by Dobes. #4 remains without an actual potential solution in the system. Roy or Farrell while guys projecting top 6, can finish, and have finished, but aren't true blue snipers.

 

[chef otto]

We need talent at 2nd center/in the net/better vets
We need support up the middle, this would help the defense
We need better goaltending........period(someone with fire in his eyes)
We better vets to surround the youth. Guys like Armia/Drouin/Dadinov/hoffman just to name a few ,need to gtf