Who would you pick after Dahlin/Svechnikov/Zadina are gone?

[Frk It]

Players that are 6'2'' and 200 pounds at 17 in a setting like the CHL tend to do well because they are man sized playing with boys. This is doubly true when they skyrocket like this kid has. If he had a year before this with elite level play, I would feel more comfortable, but being massive in a youth league gives you a lot of room for error.

First of all, weird that we are considering being productive in your draft season a bad thing.

Beyond that, one thing to consider is London is an OHL team that usually prioritizes playing older kids. You kind of have to pay your dues before you play big minutes there in a lot of cases. So I think that helps add some context to why his numbers jump like they have.

More importantly, you need to assess how a player plays and if elements of their game translate to the next level. Most of what Bouchard does should translate very well to the next level. He is above average in pretty much every area except skating.

 

[jkutswings]

So far, results are:

Boqvist
Bouchard
Hughes
Tkachuk
Dobson

With the number of changes to professional rankings in the last month, it'll be fun to see what the McKenzies of the world say for their final list before the draft.

And how lucky the Detroit ping pong balls are at the end of the month.

 

[Shaman464]

First of all, weird that we are considering being productive in your draft season a bad thing.

Beyond that, one thing to consider is London is an OHL team that usually prioritizes playing older kids. You kind of have to pay your dues before you play big minutes there in a lot of cases. So I think that helps add some context to why his numbers jump like they have.

More importantly, you need to assess how a player plays and if elements of their game translate to the next level. Most of what Bouchard does should translate very well to the next level. He is above average in pretty much every area except skating.

Two parts of that are what scare me, he has good to great in most areas, but nothing elite and his biggest weakness is skating. Its just my opinion but he screams man body in boy's league, which can lead to players getting drafted higher than their actual skill sets allow. People can talk about how they think their skills can translate, but, I've seen with bigger kids coming out of the CHL that translation isn't nearly as good as players who have the same skills but are closer to average in size.

 

[Frk It]

Two parts of that are what scare me, he has good to great in most areas, but nothing elite and his biggest weakness is skating. Its just my opinion but he screams man body in boy's league, which can lead to players getting drafted higher than their actual skill sets allow. People can talk about how they think their skills can translate, but, I've seen with bigger kids coming out of the CHL that translation isn't nearly as good as players who have the same skills but are closer to average in size.

Yeah, I don't think he lacks skill or talent at all personally. His shot is pretty close to elite, and I think he is a pretty polished player offensively.

We have no one like him in our pipeline that has his size + offensive talents.

 

[Shaman464]

Yeah, I don't think he lacks skill or talent at all personally. His shot is pretty close to elite, and I think he is a pretty polished player offensively.

We have no one like him in our pipeline that has his size + offensive talents.

That's because we don't have much, if anything in our pipeline.

 

[Henkka]

Rank	Player	Pos	Nat.	Average
1.	Rasmus Dahlin - 6'2 L	LD	SWE	1011.4
2.	Andrei Svechnikov - 6'3 L	RW	RUS	901.2
3.	Filip Zadina - 6'1 L	LW	CZE	808.2
4.	Brady Tkachuk - 6'3 L	LW	USA	658.7
5.	Adam Boqvist - 5'11 R	RD	SWE	657.5
6.	Oliver Wahlström - 6'1 R	RW	USA	590.5
7.	Quinton Hughes - 5'10 L	LD	USA	586.3
8.	Noah Dobson - 6'3 R	RD	CAN	476.4
9.	Ty Smith - 5'10 L	LD	CAN	470.0
10.	Evan Bouchard - 6'2 R	RD	CAN	453.6
11.	Joe Veleno - 6'1 L	C	CAN	441.2
12.	Joel Farabee - 5'11 L	LW	USA	432.5
13.	Bode Wilde - 6'2 R	RD	USA	389.0
14.	Jesperi Kotkaniemi - 6'2 L	C	FIN	388.4
15.	Rasmus Kupari - 5'11 R	C	FIN	368.6
16.	Grigori Denisenko - 5'10 R	LW	RUS	366.0
17.	Barrett Hayton - 6'1 L	C	CAN	355.3
18.	Isac Lundeström - 6'0 L	LW	SWE	342.7
19.	Ryan McLeod - 6'2 L	C	CAN	341.5
20.	Jared McIsaac - 6'1 L	LD	CAN	312.2
21.	Ryan Merkley - 5'11 R	RD	CAN	292.6
22.	Akil Thomas - 5'11 R	C	CAN	276.9
23.	Dominik Bokk - 6'1 R	RW	GER	276.3
24.	K'Andre Miller - 6'3 L	LD	USA	268.4
25.	Jacob Olofsson - 6'2 L	C	SWE	256.4
26.	Serron Noel - 6'5 R	RW	CAN	246.6
27.	Martin Kaut - 6'1 R	RW	CZE	244.4
28.	Vitali Kravtsov - 6'2 L	RW	RUS	241.8
29.	Benoit-Olivier Groulx - 6'1 L	C	CAN	239.7
30.	Mattias Samuelsson - 6'4 L	LD	USA	234.7
31.	Alexander Alexeyev - 6'3 L	LD	RUS	232.8
32.	Jett Woo - 6'0 R	RD	CAN	229.5
33.	Calen Addison - 5'10 R	RD	CAN	220.1
34.	Jonny Tychonick - 5'11 L	LD	CAN	218.8
35.	Jack McBain - 6'3 L	C	CAN	215.1
36.	Nils Lundkvist - 5'11 R	RD	SWE	210.0
37.	Bulat Shafigullin - 6'1 L	F	RUS	201.6
38.	Jesse Ylönen - 6'1 R	RW	FIN	201.1
39.	Filip Hållander - 6'1 L	F	SWE	200.2
40.	Alexander Khovanov - 5'11 L	C	RUS	198.0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

This is my updated rank, weighted average which is based on other ranks.

 

[Ulysses31]

Interesting stuff.

fantastic video for people like myself who arent familiar with a lot of the prospects

 

[SCD]

I think Detroit will take Hughes, do to what I call the comfort factor. They have been able to monitor his development over the last several years and will be more comfortable with his abilities than Boqvist.....just like Larkin.

 

[Dotter]

I think Bode Wilde is going to be a stud. Ken Holland would get torn apart for taking him #5 but I think he's going to prove the mock draft wrong.

 

[Goalie guy]

I think Detroit will take Hughes, do to what I call the comfort factor. They have been able to monitor his development over the last several years and will be more comfortable with his abilities than Boqvist.....just like Larkin.

I hope I really like what I see out of him, My only fear is Holland has said before he really wants to get bigger. I fear he is out of touch and trying to build a mid 00's west coast team.

 

[Marky9er]

Really seems like a reach(Wilde), not to say your wrong... Things can really change. It would be such a ballsy selection. He's the type of player that takes a long time to ripen, he kinda fit's the profile of someone who could be a straight up steal looking back years later. I think he's going pretty square between our 2 firsts but we'll see.

 

[Winger98]

I hope I really like what I see out of him, My only fear is Holland has said before he really wants to get bigger. I fear he is out of touch and trying to build a mid 00's west coast team.

Getting bigger isn't a bad thing if there's also a good chunk of skill there. Are we really going to be able to amass the sort of small skill to counter a team like TB? Or even Toronto? I think it's a hard thing to do. So, I think you have to look ahead and try to assemble a team that neutralizes that advantage while creating mismatches of their own. We saw how teams with size/skill were massive hurdles for the Wings going up against Anaheim and SJ. Getzlaf, Thornton, Marleau, Perry, Pronger, etc.

These wings might not be as physical as those early Anaheim clubs, but if they're skilled enough, they will force some of mismatches against smaller, though more skilled teams. We just have to hope Holland&Co. don't misread someone to the extent that we pick the next McIlrath.

 

[Goalie guy]

Getting bigger isn't a bad thing if there's also a good chunk of skill there. Are we really going to be able to amass the sort of small skill to counter a team like TB? Or even Toronto? I think it's a hard thing to do. So, I think you have to look ahead and try to assemble a team that neutralizes that advantage while creating mismatches of their own. We saw how teams with size/skill were massive hurdles for the Wings going up against Anaheim and SJ. Getzlaf, Thornton, Marleau, Perry, Pronger, etc.

These wings might not be as physical as those early Anaheim clubs, but if they're skilled enough, they will force some of mismatches against smaller, though more skilled teams. We just have to hope Holland&Co. don't misread someone to the extent that we pick the next McIlrath.

That is my fear the league is no longer built that way.