2018 NHL draft

[ruxpin]

22 minutes ago, Hockey Junkie said:

This is not the NBA.  Much tougher to get to the playoffs with so many teams.  Lehner sucks in shootouts more than any goalie I have ever seen.  I wish I had 5 minutes with him so I can tell him what he is doing wrong. Enroth is a small goalie but very good.   Team Germany who pulled off the huge upset and won Gold, has a few guys I would not mind having.  Back to the Finnish kid, at 19 I do not think 3-5 years away is a fair statement.  If he is good he could be in Rochester next year. If he plays well in the AHL, who knows.  But if that is not the plan, then they must make a deal.  Like the one for Hasek when they robbed the Blackhawks blind.  LOL.  Unlikely to be repeated.  But usually Buffalo has had the knack of finding a goalie that is good at least.  If they get Dahlin, I wonder if they will split him and Ristolainen or pair them?  What do you think?  Obviously on a power play they likely would be paired?  Unless they alternated and used 4 forwards and one D man?

Not sure. I'm probably not the best person to ask. I don't have any kind of educated opinion as far as Dahlin goes. There are others here who would have had more eyeballs on him. I don't actually know if he's NHL ready for next year or if he'll be in juniors one more year.  I'm not sure that they'd pair them in Dahlin's rookie year (but no particular reason they wouldn't), but I would have to imagine they'd be paired eventually unless they trade for /sign sometime like a Doughty. 

 

I think bringing up a goalie at 19 or 20 would be horrible management malpractice. They'd destroy him. He's currently a top 10 prospect in goal, so I wouldn't rush him, especially since there's no real hurry (except that none of us are getting any younger!). All I mean by that is that Risto, Eichel, Reinhart, Dahlin (assuming) are all really young. If Buffalo is a lottery team again next year it would suck from a fan perspective but wouldn't hurt the Sabres in the grand scheme of things. The core would be mid-twenties in time for your possible franchise goalie to arrive. Not a horrible situation. 

 

But i think you're right that if Lehner isn't the guy, you'll probably want to get someone to at least competently split time with Linus.  

 

From your description of his shootout abilities, it sounds like Lehner would make the quintessential Flyer goalie. 

[jammer2]

8 hours ago, ruxpin said:

yeah, I'm not a fan of Lehner either. 

 

 NAHANA is SO desperate for goalie starts, this BUM was picked up with regularity....amazing. A crap goalie on a last place team is regularly pilfered on the waiver wire....unreal. 

8 hours ago, ruxpin said:

Ullmark should be a starter. 

8 hours ago, ruxpin said:

I don't know the answer to this, so to you AND others:   Is Dahlin NHL-ready or likely a year or two out? 

 

 

 

 He should be the favourite to start for the Sabres, or at least an even share of the crease. Kid has nice size and upside....but will obviously see a TON of rubber. second and third shots and odd man breaks etc. 

 

 Dahlin is GUARANTEED to start the year in Buffalo. A real good chance either Dahlin or Middlestat win the Calder....or they split the vote and allow someone else to sneak in. Dahlin will not only start the year in Buffalo, he will, at a minimum get 2nd pp minutes to start, and inevitably share the top pp minutes with Risto, depending on the Sabres top pp alignment (ie 1 or 2 dmen). He's a legit superstar, maybe just falling short of the generational player tag, but could be considered in that cat...hard to say. When veteran scouts say you are better than Denis Potvin at the age of 18....well, that speaks volumes to me. 

[jammer2]

7 hours ago, ruxpin said:

All I mean by that is that Risto, Eichel, Reinhart, Dahlin (assuming) are all really young. If Buffalo is a lottery team again next year it would suck from a fan perspective but wouldn't hurt the Sabres in the grand scheme of things. The core would be mid-twenties in time for your possible franchise goalie to arrive. Not a horrible situation. 

 

 An odd year for Reinhart. His final stats are kinda misleading. The first half of the year he scored at a pitiful 0.29 pts per game. When Eichel went down, he picked up the scoring, due to being inserted on the top pp. If I was a betting man, I'd say Middlestat will inevitably sneak on to the top pp, maybe even start the year there. He is by far, one of the most elite skilled rookies to enter the league for next year....amazing hands, smarts, speed, vision...hitting...just the whole damn package. A true star waiting to happen. Buffalo's top pp is gonna be fantasy gold for the next decade....many think it's only a matter of time till Dahlin hits the 80 pts mark....maybe in just 2 years, he is that good. 

[jammer2]

  This is a pretty decent 7 round mock for this summer's draft. I really like this guy's first round, especially the early picks. Wahlstrom is just flying up the charts, he has him at #4 and I could really see that happening. I'm thinking Veleno just outside of the top 10 is very realistic also. Some mocks have him way down late in the 1st and he's to talented to slip that far

 

. I dunno about the actual players, but having the Flyers draft the best player available at #14 makes perfect sense....then going forward with their own pick is also very plausible. 

 

https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/mock-draft/2018/#round6

 

 Flyers picks from the same mock.....

 

https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/philadelphia/60/

 

 I REALLY like this mock taking Whalstrom at #4 to Zona...and if that does happen, the Wings will GLADLY take 6'2 Evan Bouchard....and not think twice. Not only is he an excellent all round dman...he instantly solves the Wings pp point man delima....in spades ...but he will 90% get sent back to London for one more year. 

[jammer2]

  It looks like there is a real good chance the top 3 picks stick in the NHL. I'm 100% sure Dahlin sticks. I *think* the Russian Barrie kid makes it also....but fc would know better than me. Zadina is so damn talented, Montreal will be forced to insert him in the line up...kid has a WICKED quick release and is a LEGIT goal scoring threat. I think he sneaks on the Habs top pp and might just get 25 goals as a rookie. His hands stick out, but it's the vision and smarts that will make him elite. Not the center the Habs have been praying for...but damn, they are really lucky to be picking an elite star like Zadina. 

[OccamsRazor]

2 hours ago, jammer2 said:

 I REALLY like this mock taking Whalstrom at #4 to Zona...and if that does happen, the Wings will GLADLY take 6'2 Evan Bouchard.

 

I don't think he gets past Arizona. 

 

Yotes will not pass on 6-2 right hand shot to pair with Chychrun in a few years.

 

OEL is only under contract for next year so they could keep him or trade him for a king's ransom.

 

Hjarmalsson is only under contract for next year too.

 

They have Pierre-Olivier Joseph  too who will be there in a few years but he too is only a lefty.

 

So i can see them passing on Bouchard and the offense he projects to bring. Forwards you can find later.

[ruxpin]

2 hours ago, jammer2 said:

  This is a pretty decent 7 round mock for this summer's draft. I really like this guy's first round, especially the early picks. Wahlstrom is just flying up the charts, he has him at #4 and I could really see that happening. I'm thinking Veleno just outside of the top 10 is very realistic also. Some mocks have him way down late in the 1st and he's to talented to slip that far

 

. I dunno about the actual players, but having the Flyers draft the best player available at #14 makes perfect sense....then going forward with their own pick is also very plausible. 

 

https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/mock-draft/2018/#round6

 

 Flyers picks from the same mock.....

 

https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/philadelphia/60/

 

 I REALLY like this mock taking Whalstrom at #4 to Zona...and if that does happen, the Wings will GLADLY take 6'2 Evan Bouchard....and not think twice. Not only is he an excellent all round dman...he instantly solves the Wings pp point man delima....in spades ...but he will 90% get sent back to London for one more year. 

 

Yeah, I've looked at that mock, too, but haven't looked much past first round.   I wouldn't be unhappy if that were the result for the Flyers, but I don't think Kupari is around at 19.   I think we'll be lucky if he's there at 14.    That's actually who I want, but things will need to shake out right.  I've seen some mocks where both Kupari and Hayton are available at 14.  I'm not sure which way I go with that.

 

I don't know.  I don't think using 14 for a dman is a horrible idea, especially an RD.  But I've kind of fallen hard into the BPA camp rather than need, and I don't think Wilde is BPA at 14 -- strictly from what I've read.  I'd need to default to people with first hand looks.

 

Whalstrom has really shot up, huh?  For awhile he was 9-12.    I agree with OR that Zona probably needs to think defense, but again, I also think BPA.  If it's near tie and I'm Arizona, I go defenseman.   No matter what happens, Detroit is coming out with a pretty good dman.  What do think?  I"m thinking if Arizona doesn't take Whalstrom that he falls to the Rangers or Islanders.

[jammer2]

22 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

Whalstrom has really shot up, huh?  For awhile he was 9-12.    I agree with OR that Zona probably needs to think defense, but again, I also think BPA.  If it's near tie and I'm Arizona, I go defenseman.   No matter what happens, Detroit is coming out with a pretty good dman.  What do think?  I"m thinking if Arizona doesn't take Whalstrom that he falls to the Rangers or Islanders.

5

 

 I think Whalstrom has way to much upside for Zona to pass on him. I just do not see him lasting till the Isles at # 10 and 11. You can make a pretty strong argument that forward is a Arizona position of need also. I see Clayton Keller and Christina Fischer (ex-Spit btw) as young stars but after those two, I see question marks in Strome and Domi, the latter regressing badly in most offensive stats last year. I think it's straight up BPA for most teams in the 1st, even more so in the top 5. If its tied, then yeah, lead towards the position of need. 

 

 I remember the first time I saw Hayton play. He was 16 years old, centering the Greyhounds 3rd line and playing and looking like a 19 year old veteran. You rarely see a 16 year old with such commanding two way play. Decent skater, very smart, nice vision....BUT, I question his offensive upside in the NHL. At the very least he will be a #2 or #3 center, but I just don't know how much offensive will be there at the next level. 

[OccamsRazor]

5 hours ago, jammer2 said:

 

 I think Whalstrom has way to much upside for Zona to pass on him. I just do not see him lasting till the Isles at # 10 and 11. You can make a pretty strong argument that forward is a Arizona position of need also. I see Clayton Keller and Christina Fischer (ex-Spit btw) as young stars but after those two, I see question marks in Strome and Domi, the latter regressing badly in most offensive stats last year. I think it's straight up BPA for most teams in the 1st, even more so in the top 5. If its tied, then yeah, lead towards the position of need. 

 

 I remember the first time I saw Hayton play. He was 16 years old, centering the Greyhounds 3rd line and playing and looking like a 19 year old veteran. You rarely see a 16 year old with such commanding two way play. Decent skater, very smart, nice vision....BUT, I question his offensive upside in the NHL. At the very least he will be a #2 or #3 center, but I just don't know how much offensive will be there at the next level. 

 

Don't forget Dvorak, Merkley, Perlini at MacInnis at forward too.

[flyercanuck]

9 hours ago, jammer2 said:

  This is a pretty decent 7 round mock for this summer's draft. I really like this guy's first round, especially the early picks. Wahlstrom is just flying up the charts, he has him at #4 and I could really see that happening. I'm thinking Veleno just outside of the top 10 is very realistic also. Some mocks have him way down late in the 1st and he's to talented to slip that far

 

. I dunno about the actual players, but having the Flyers draft the best player available at #14 makes perfect sense....then going forward with their own pick is also very plausible. 

 

https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/mock-draft/2018/#round6

 

 Flyers picks from the same mock.....

 

https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/philadelphia/60/

 

 I REALLY like this mock taking Whalstrom at #4 to Zona...and if that does happen, the Wings will GLADLY take 6'2 Evan Bouchard....and not think twice. Not only is he an excellent all round dman...he instantly solves the Wings pp point man delima....in spades ...but he will 90% get sent back to London for one more year. 

 

I really don't see the upside to Tkachuk at #4. I don't think I'd pick him til 7-8-9ish, but maybe I'm just wrong. Veleno at 11 seems high, and Jett Woo at 13 really high. Don't like Wilde as the Flyers pick (Kotkaniemi/Farabee?) and he's got Kotkaniemi as a RW when everyone else has him as the best centre in the draft. Merkeley at 15 is insane. 

 

As for Svechnikov...unfortunately for us Colts fans, ya, he's going right into the NHL. Sucks we only had him for one season...and 44 games at that.

[jammer2]

6 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

As for Svechnikov...unfortunately for us Colts fans, ya, he's going right into the NHL. Sucks we only had him for one season...and 44 games at that.

 

 

 That sucks....the Euro draft is mixed bag, you never really know when they are coming...and if they come at 17 and are stars, well....you see the result. Can't blame some of them though..it's asking a lot of a 16 year old kid to relocate on the other side of the world in a new culture...it's a lot for some. Not even talking about being away from relatives and buddies and the language barrrier also. 

[jammer2]

9 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Don't forget Dvorak, Merkley, Perlini at MacInnis at forward too.

  Dvorak....meh. He will have to play on the top line to get meaningful pts. Have not seen enough of Merkley to comment...but Perlini...meh...not overly impressed. 

[jammer2]

9 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 

I really don't see the upside to Tkachuk at #4. I don't think I'd pick him til 7-8-9ish, but maybe I'm just wrong. Veleno at 11 seems high, and Jett Woo at 13 really high. Don't like Wilde as the Flyers pick (Kotkaniemi/Farabee?) and he's got Kotkaniemi as a RW when everyone else has him as the best centre in the draft. Merkeley at 15 is insane. 

 

As for Svechnikov...unfortunately for us Colts fans, ya, he's going right into the NHL. Sucks we only had him for one season...and 44 games at that.

 

 Gotta admit, you see to have a much firmer grasp on the 1st round this year. I have seen a few of the players, but not enough to formulate who should be going where....have watched a fair amount of video, but there is no replacing watching a prospect from a live game....WAY better perspective.  Didn't get out to many OHL games this year, so I'm kinda out of the loop on this years crop. The only reason I knew about Hayton was from last year, the Spits Memorial Cup year.......we are picky in Windsor now....Mem Cup or we don't go...LOL!

 

 Edit...looks like Rychel is gearing up for a 2020 run. He is gonna spin a team out nothing and work his magic!!  Already traded for 3 first rounders from 2 yrs ago....the players, not the picks of course. 

[OccamsRazor]

6 hours ago, jammer2 said:

He will have to play on the top line to get meaningful pts.

 

I don't know if he goes top line but he will certainly get to the 2nd line. He has put up back to back 15 goals seasons so far and is only 22.

 

He has been more productive than Scott Laughton (sure not a high benchmark) but he didn't get much AHL development time due to the Yotes needing him in the NHL i think he will be a 25 goals a season type center.

 

But the Yotes will have to continue to bring the other young forwards along too.

 

I think the Yotes will take Buchard if he is sitting there they will need someone to run their 2nd power play in the future.

[jammer2]

22 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

I don't know if he goes top line but he will certainly get to the 2nd line. He has put up back to back 15 goals seasons so far and is only 22.

 

He has been more productive than Scott Laughton (sure not a high benchmark) but he didn't get much AHL development time due to the Yotes needing him in the NHL i think he will be a 25 goals a season type center.

 

But the Yotes will have to continue to bring the other young forwards along too.

 

I think the Yotes will take Buchard if he is sitting there they will need someone to run their 2nd power play in the future.

 

 It's a stand off ....I think Zona goes best player available ....that being Whalstrom at #5. ...THEN...the Wings can barely contain their sheer joy that Bouchard fell to them....and the Wings get their pp qb of the future. Basically, the pp points have been disappointing ever since Lids retired. The fit is perfect for the Wings cause Bouchard plays a nice all round game and is smart, a cornerstone type of guy. 

 

 Should be intersting to see who is right on this. 

 

 Very exciting to have the Flyers picking twice in the 1st.....you can certainly tell Homer ain't running things anymore. Hard to say what direction the Flyers go in round #2....but I'd explore taking a top-ranked  goalie there....good value and hey....no goalie is guarnateed to be our future starter...in other words, keep throwing spaghetti at the wall and see if it sticks kinda things. You still have decent trade value if Hart or Sandstrom turns out legit. 

 

[OccamsRazor]

5 minutes ago, jammer2 said:

I think Zona goes best player available

 

Absolutely and that is who they have on their board...and i have no idea really who that could be. One thing is for sure you will get a good player.

 

Unless you Patrik Stefan it!!!!!!

 

 

[jammer2]

2 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Absolutely and that is who they have on their board...and i have no idea really who that could be. One thing is for sure you will get a good player.

 

Unless you Patrik Stefan it!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

LMSO....Remember that crap??  You knew from that moment on the lack of production was no fluke....he was truly ca ca!!

[OccamsRazor]

11 minutes ago, jammer2 said:

that being Whalstrom at #5

 

Wahlstrom is a LW  i know this.

 

So you at their depth at LW and you have:

 

Keller C/LW

Perlini LW

Crouse LW

Domi C/LW

-----------------------------------

Bunting LW

Karlsson LW who is coming over from the SHL

Burke

 

So when i look at that depth and the fact as you stated how good Bouchard will be QBing the powerplay i just think it is waaaaaaay harder to find right handed Dmen with his skillset....so this is where need trumps BPA sometimes...because well i think he could also be better than Wahlstrom.

 

Like i said my 2 cents in it.

 

[OccamsRazor]

11 minutes ago, jammer2 said:

 

 

 

LMSO....Remember that crap??  You knew from that moment on the lack of production was no fluke....he was truly ca ca!!

 

And then you look back on his production and it is just down right ugly....

 

...for Sparta Praha he put up 16 points in 27 games.

 

Then in the IHL 15 points in 25 games followed by 35 points in 33 games in the IHL and then gets the #1 overall??? I'm like WTF??

 

Totally f**ked that pick up!!!!

 

Then Daniel Sedin goes #2....man terrible pick....by Atlanta.

 

But in all honesty you look back at the 99 draft and the 1st round as a whole might be the worst ever!!!!!

 

Check out the crap picks!!!!!

 

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1999e.html

 

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

I've made my feelings clear in other posts, but I really hope the Flyers stay away from Bode Wilde. He might have all the tools, but the toolbox is lacking and I've watched enough Braydon Coburn that I don't want a carbon copy clone, which is what Wilde seems to be. 

 

In terms of pick 14, one of Veleno, Kotkaniemi, Hayton and Farabee works. I'm also a fan of shopping the pick, especially if the Flyers can land a young (21 to 24 years of age) right handed right side defenseman that can play in the top four immediately. If the Flyers can walk away with a Dougie Hamilton, Rasmus Ristolainen, etc....). 

 

As for 19, I'd move down. If the Rangers came calling and offered 26 and 39 and a pick next year (say a 2nd), I'm all over it. At that point in the draft, you're looking at a Calen Addison, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Akil Thomas, Ty Dellandrea, etc.....In all honesty, there isn't much of a difference in this draft between guys at 20 and guys at 60. So, you're talking about moving down, adding an extra pick in the 2nd and picking up something next year.

 

I also mentioned that I'm perfectly fine if the Flyers stay where they are and select BPA. The team is now in a position where the pipeline is pretty full of good prospects and that they can afford to continue to add talent based on best player available and not need. Lots of options available.

[ruxpin]

57 minutes ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

I really hope the Flyers stay away from Bode Wilde. He might have all the tools, but the toolbox is lacking and I've watched enough Braydon Coburn that I don't want a carbon copy clone, which is what Wilde seems to be. 

 

I don't think I saw your previous comments on Wilde.  I wasn't excited about Wilde but wasn't sure why.  Thanks for this.

 

And yeah, Hextall certainly set himself up to where he has a lot of options.

[jammer2]

59 minutes ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

I've made my feelings clear in other posts, but I really hope the Flyers stay away from Bode Wilde. He might have all the tools, but the toolbox is lacking and I've watched enough Braydon Coburn that I don't want a carbon copy clone, which is what Wilde seems to be. 

 

 

 Say no more....lol. Was not a Coburn fan at all. I'll take your word on Wilde...stay away!!

[jammer2]

4 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

 

I don't think I saw your previous comments on Wilde.  I wasn't excited about Wilde but wasn't sure why.  Thanks for this.

 

And yeah, Hextall certainly set himself up to where he has a lot of options.

 

 It really was amazing to watch Coburn carry the puck over the blueline....every single time he would panic and dump the puck in a spot that left it up for grabs....totally dead from the neck on up in the offensive zone...totally lost. 

[ruxpin]

7 minutes ago, jammer2 said:

 

 It really was amazing to watch Coburn carry the puck over the blueline....every single time he would panic and dump the puck in a spot that left it up for grabs....totally dead from the neck on up in the offensive zone...totally lost. 

 

Yeah.  I was actually okay with him in the defensive end.  Yeah, I wish he'd used his size more but he was decent.   But when he crossed even the red line it was like he'd entered the Dementalized Zone.

[jammer2]

6 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

 

Yeah.  I was actually okay with him in the defensive end.  Yeah, I wish he'd used his size more but he was decent.   But when he crossed even the red line it was like he'd entered the Dementalized Zone.

 

 Don't want to get to far off topic, but it really hard to believe that a professional athlete could not even improve a bit....show just a tad of poise, that is what Coburn sorely lacked ....any semblance of poise.