Fargocase

D Marshall Warren.  And a project under-sized offensive defensemen on his way to college

https://lastwordonhockey.com/2019/05/14/marshall-warren-scouting-report/

And the Wild draft another Russina kid that jumped to the CHL.  In this case OHL powerhouse London.   Sounds like a grinder, at best   Another Russian for a Kaprisov posse.

https://lastwordonhockey.com/2019/06/11/matvei-guskov-scouting-report/

Adam Beckman.   I like this Pick.  He might turn out pretty good.  One of those kids who isn't even on the radar, then grows a bunch and gets into the WHL and excels as a rookie.  

 https://spokanechiefs.com/article/nhl-draft-preview-adam-beckman

Everyone from here on out is a longshot.   I think the Wild did pretty good but we'll see, of course.  The Draft is a crap shoot...

https://thestarphoenix.com/sports/hockey/saskatoons-adam-beckman-grows-into-bonafide-nhl-prospect

https://lastwordonhockey.com/2019/06/01/vladislav-firstov-scouting-report/

Don't know what to think about Firstov.   Got what I wanted I think - a boom or bust forward, sounds like a goal scorer.   Might as well stock pile Russkies since the future is apparently riding on Kaprisov.

Reading a little - I'm happy about this kid.  Never been a big fan of Russians but I really like that the kid came over and played in  the USHL.

And the day starts with insanity - Carolina gives the Laff$ a 1st round Pick for washed up old Marleau!

Subban trade really interesting!

CORRECTION - Laff$ give Caro a 1st to take the old guy and the huge crap contract.  I wouldn't have minded seeing MN do that.  In effect, trading Buy Out $ for a 1st Round Pick.   MN is in a total rebuild so why not?

Day 2 getting ready to start soon.   Since the original Draft 2019 thread degenerated into old dead horse comments, let's start a new fresh thread.

Looking at who's left - I think there's a very good chance the Wild can grab a scoring forward, which is what I'd prefer.  I look at lists and there's numerous kids left with good scoring potential.  There's some issue(s), since they didn't go in the first round,  but my preference would be take the chance on a boom or bust scoring forward, not a big kid who projects to be a grinder or a 2nd/3rd pairing defenseman.  

20 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

(yawn)  That's right, because you are the pre-eminent homer?    This team is crap right now.  Even your boy Parise is having second thoughts.  But hey, stay in denial...

Yes, the team's future is very bleak now after Fenton's fire sale gutting of the franchise. The trades went from Terrible to Bad to Outrageous/Absurd.   Obviously this team is no longer remotely near a "Reload" or tweaking phase, it's 100% into Rebuild mode. 

My problem is the repetitive, unceasing over the top, irrational hate against Parise and Suter, the IMO ridiculous Oliver Stone ranting that Parise and Suter are telling Leipold what to do, who's telling the GM what to do who's telling BB what to do on a daily, micromanaging basis.  I absolutely agree that Yeo totally kowtowed to the Vets.   IMO that ended with BB coming on board.

I'm not arguing that skating isn't very important in the NHL  But skating without other attributes is useless.  It's just one of a list.

Boldy turning into a James Neal player would be the ultimate Best Case scenario!  But I don't see that happening because James Neal is an anachronism in the current NHL.   He's a throw back to the old Power Forward days.  J. Neal will score goals but he'll also smash a guy's head into the boards and then drop the gloves against the other team's tough guy.   Very, very few true old school Power Forwards left.   I don't think Boldy will ever develop that kind of tough guy persona, but it would be fantastic if he developed the goal scoring!

I agree the Wild have a problem at Center.   We'll see if Fenton can address it another way - there's always the trade or UFA routes.  I never liked Greenway at Center.   Now I think they need to play Kunin there, give him a long look.   Anyone who still thinks EEk could develop into a Top 2 Center is deluded IMO.

20 minutes ago, sweetshot said:

I only mentioned Bergeron because he's such a good 2-way player. Consensus by scouts is that Boldy has made major improvements in this regard to the point where he may even be a Selke type player as a winger.

I read another article where they compared him to Mark Stone.   That looks to be a good Best Case comparison, too.   Bigger guy who supposedly can't skate but just scores goals and plays D good enough to get Selke attention.  Here's another close to home comparison - Tuch.  Big guy, not a great skater but like Stone, plenty good enough, who plays an all around game.  The more I read about this kid, the more I'm starting to absolutely love the Pick!

Best thing to me was reading US NTDP Coach talk about him being the first guy on the ice every time.  From the weight room to the ice!  I love that kind of work ethic.  You can be a Daigle or Princess Pouliot with tons of talent, but if you don't have the right attitude...    Sounds like this kid has a fantastic attitude and work ethic.  And you can't teach Size.  Even though the NHL is becoming more of a skating league again, it's still a very physical game, especially in the Playoffs.  The Centers after him are both under-sized.

3 hours ago, ruxpin said:

It's interesting to watch the different team boards. Wild fans disappointed they got Boldy and flyers fans disappointed they didn't. 

 

Honestly, i think you guys did incredibly well here. He was very arguably BPA there and is a very good player.  

This board unfortunately has been taken over by a group of "fans" who love to hate the team.  Everything sucks.

Quote

Skating issues. Inconsistent. Tries to get too cute.

Here's a clear illustration.  I love to look at mock drafts and I don't think Boldy dropped to the Wild in virtually any of them.   His US NTDP Coach raves about his skills and work ethic.   He's a goal scorer with a big shot and the Wild desperately needs goal scorers...   But since the Wild selected him, he sucks.

10 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Wild Take Matthew Boldy 12th Overall

 

Had a great time having some food and beers at Reid's with @IllaZilla , my dad and my friend Aaron.  Here is my 2 cents on the Matthew Boldy selection.  Safe pick in some ways since this kid does play a little bit of defense despite his offensive skills, but they needed to draft a Top 6 center and passed up on two of them IMO.  

So you already anoint Krebs and Newhook NHL #1 Centers?   I highly doubt that will happen.

9 hours ago, lynxrattle said:

Another left wing, dictating another (probably bad) trade in the near future...

Pretty likely he'll play at least two years in Boston.  Then a pro development year getting AHL time and some games in the NHL to gain experience.  Three years from now the LW Depth chart could, I think will, be drastically different.

11 hours ago, EmptyShelf said:

Did you hear the comparison of Boldy to Mikko Rantanen by one of the talking heads - that would be a pleasant surprise.

That would be a true Best Case!  Thinking about it, I like the comparison!

11 hours ago, sweetshot said:

Marian Hossa or Patrice Bergeron, anyone?

Hossa I can see.  Can't see him as P. Bergeron-type at all.   The fact that P. Bergeron is a Center pretty much ends the comparison right there for me.

I agree.  Big kid has good upside.  But you can't say that on this crazy paranoid tin hat website where Suter and Parise are the root of all evil and dictate every move of the franchise!

28 minutes ago, sweetshot said:

I've heard more than one scout say that he may be the best goal scorer in this draft--his game translates very well to the NHL. He is one of those guys who hadn't been on the radar much until he turned 16, when he grew from 5'10 to 6'2. His game grew with him and he is currently on a pretty steep upward development curve.

This guy IMO is more than just a "safe" pick--he's currently got alot of game and his upside his very high..

Matthew Boldy.  Super safe, predictable Pick.   Talking heads happy because he's a concensus Pick.  Big American kid.  But not a Center.

As an incredibly jaded Wild fan, this is a solid Pick.   I am really glad they didn't do anything crazy stupid like last year.

Cozens and Podzillkin were the two guys I hoped somehow majically fell to the Wiid.

Anyone actually watching this, this year?  Past years I was sitting on the edge of my seat...  Literally hollering at the TV - DRAFT STAFFORD!  DRAFT STAFFORD!!!  Or TRADE UP FOR PARISE!!! TRADE UP FOR PARISE!!!

Last year was so phucked up I couldn't accept what happened.  Stupidest Pick ever.   A total nobody.  WTF?!?! a huge understatement.  That guy was no Brent Burns.  An absolute total stupid waste of a 1st Round Pick.   This year I have zero faith in Fenton.  Is it possible the Pick is so crazy stupid again?!?!

That was two separate thoughts.   I guess I should have separated them.

I also agree that BB didn't have a choice, he had to play Hanzal or it would have been a huge insult against Fletch.  BUT my guess is BB had input on the deal.  BB coached in Anaheim and saw Hanzal vs Getslaff in many, many games.

4 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Not being an ass, but what would you have done? 

I would have let Bridin go.  He's very over rated by Will fans IMO.  Poor offensive production and shies away from physical contact.  He's a beautiful skater but no grit.

I did like Scadella's grit but IMO he's a great 3rd Pair guy but an expensive, below average 2nd Pait guy.  IMO his Cap Hit necessitated his departure.

Personally, I liked Haula but IMO Yeo grossly mis-used him.  Demoting Haula for lumbering oaf Hanzal was a huge mistake and destroyed the chemistry of the team.  I believe Haula had no chance to stay with the Wild but that his leaving hurt the team.

I think it was a bird in hand scenario.   Tuch was still just a prospect.  Contrary to Wild organization propaganda, the Wild was desperately thin on D.  There were only four decent Dmen, the Wild couldn't afford to lose any of the four.  So they sacrificed the prospect, which in retrospect was a BIG mistake.

If the Wild had ranked their Dmen, IMO Dumba would have ranked ahead of Brodin.   I agree with KA, I would have just bit the bullet and sacrificed Brodin.

You have to remember, the Wild had a pretty good roster at the time and aspirations of contending.   Tuch was a future player, Brodin and Dumba were key pieces.   They hadn't given up on Coyle, Zucker or Nino yet.  Again, Fletcher did not have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.   IMO it's obvious sacrificing Tuch was a huge mistake, but they had Greenway looking like he'd fill the big, strong Forward role.

48 minutes ago, Tomdog said:

So Haula was traded for what?

Haula wasn't traded for anything.  The price to protect other Wild players was Tuch.  Haula was going to be gone regardless.  Tuch was the value, Haula was essentially a throw in.

55 minutes ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Here is the protected list Fletcher submitted:

 

Forwards: Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Jason Zucker

Defensemen: Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter

Goaltenders: Devan Dubnyk

 

AVAILABLE PLAYERS

Forwards: Brady Brassart, Patrick Cannone, Ryan Carter, Kurtis Gabriel, Martin Hanzal, Erik Haula, Zack Mitchell, Jordan Schroeder, Eric Staal, Chris Stewart, Ryan White.

Defensemen: Victor Bartley, Matt Dumba, Christian Folin, Guillaume Gelinas, Alexander Gudbranson, Gustav Olofsson, Nate Prosser, Marco Scandella, Mike Weber.

Goaltenders: Johan Gustafsson, Darcy Kuemper, Alex Stalock.

 

He could have protected Dumba instead of Brodin and NOT given up Tuch. Tuch was not eligible for selection since he was only a first year professional. He was traded to Vegas so Vegas would not select Dumba.

 

I would have protected Dumba, exposed Brodin, and not traded Tuch.

 

Without any 20/20 hindsight.

If you say so, I believe you.  I just don't remember it.  But lots of people were desperate to protect Brodin.