2016 NHL Entry Draft Discussion

[peety16]

If you were to show a hockey fan this highlight with no prior knowledge of it being Auston Matthews and all they know is that this is a pro league they would likely guess that Matthews is a prime 26 year old in this clip. Looks a lot older then 17/18.

Looks like he would have jumped into the NHL this year.

The kid has serious wheels...

 

[WTFMAN99]

Tonight is the first time I've watched Jones and Tkachuk. First impression: I like Jones more than Tkachuk.

You have a full year to change your mind. Keep in mind that Marner and Dvorak need to go back to London and centre them.

 

[Drew75]

Agreed.

Hypothetically, under Babcock, we can expect ourselves to be losing a lot more 3-2, 2-1 type games. He'll preach puck support and use our mobile D to his advantage, so we can expect much better puck possession as well, the problem will be translating that into goals.

The loss of Kessel isn't just removing him from the lineup, it's the loss of the insulation having a guy like him provided to guys like JvR, Kadri, Lupul etc. With him gone, teams are going to be able to focus more evenly across all 5 guys on the ice. Time will tell if Kadri can step up (his P/60 is pretty comparable to Tavares/Duchene, like it or not it's just a fact), so it'll be interesting to see if more minutes/PP time translates into more production from him or if facing top matchups will slow him down.

Coupled with the fact we are incredibly thin in terms of top-end talent, one major injury (which is to be expected from Lupul) can and will absolutely slow us down immensely. We have 3 offensive threats in Kadri/JvR/Lupul, if one of those guys goes down we're talking about a top-line featuring Dan Winnik or Shawn Matthias.

Bottom-3 isn't guaranteed, maybe we get a huge step-up from Rielly/Gardiner/Kadri or maybe Bernier is totally lights out, who knows? But with the wear and tear of the NHL regular season, I expect this team to be more competitive, immensely more watchable, but still totally mediocre next season.

This year will be a challenge for me to watch - I want a complicated mix of a team that plays REALLY hard, has the kids (Rielly / Gardner) step up a level, the rentals and core all play lights out thus increasing their trade value .... but the team still loses 2-1 every night!

 

[Mess]

If you were to show a hockey fan this highlight with no prior knowledge of it being Auston Matthews and all they know is that this is a pro league they would likely guess that Matthews is a prime 26 year old in this clip. Looks a lot older then 17/18.

Looks like he would have jumped into the NHL this year.

Keep in mind Matthews birthdate is Sept 17th and the NHL cut-off date for the 2015 draft was Sept 15th.

Matthews is essentially in this years draft class and would have gone #2 or #3 overall and missed this years draft by just 2 days.

No doubt had he been selected by Buffalo or Arizona this past draft he would be in the NHL this year.

 

[pspot]

So are we deciding on
Eichel vs hanifin, merkley. 3rd

 

[WTFMAN99]

So are we deciding on
Eichel vs hanifin, merkley. 3rd

I'd take Eichel. It is the sure thing lol.

 

[LaPlante94]

Lots of games on tonight.

Flint vs Saginaw
Ottawa vs Peterborough
Windsor vs Erie

Gonna mainly watch Windsor vs Erie, but are there any other 2016 draft prospects on any of those teams I should try and keep an eye on?

 

[WTFMAN99]

Lots of games on tonight.

Flint vs Saginaw
Ottawa vs Peterborough
Windsor vs Erie

Gonna mainly watch Windsor vs Erie, but are there any other 2016 draft prospects on any of those teams I should try and keep an eye on?

Logan Brown - Windsor

 

[Kamal007]

Alex Nylander ranked 6th in Bobby Mac's preseason list... Looks like we won't get him with pens pick but maybe our own?

 

[Mess]

Here are TSN Bobby Mac's preseason preliminary rankings for 2016

http://www.tsn.ca/elite-prospect-matthews-tops-mckenzie-s-ranking-1.364099

 

[PJJ]

A couple of you really unnecessarily hyped up Logan Brown. Not even ranked in Mckenzie's top 15.

 

[LaPlante94]

A couple of you really unnecessarily hyped up Logan Brown. Not even ranked in Mckenzie's top 15.

It's the very 1st ranking of the year. He'll be in the top 15 if he plays well.

 

[horner]

Max Jones 2 goals in the prospect gm tonight.

He is going to be a stud.

Big tough and talented.

 

[LaPlante94]

Mikhail Sergachyov looks really good. Doesn't even looks like he's trying because everything he does looks so effortless. Really good stick in the defensive zone.

 

[BigWilly]

So are we deciding on
Eichel vs hanifin, merkley. 3rd

Eichel > Matthews
Chychrun >> Hanifin
In my humble opinion anyway. Chychrun is the best D-prospect since Doughty.

anyways..

JVR - Matthews - Marner
XXX - Nylander - Brown

Profit??

 

[Hero]

Bobby Mac has A. Nylander as 6th OA.


Bobby had W. Nylander as 9th OA in his draft year.

 

[Hero]

Eichel > Matthews
Chychrun >> Hanifin
In my humble opinion anyway. Chychrun is the best D-prospect since Doughty.

anyways..

JVR - Matthews - Marner
XXX - Nylander - Brown

Proft??

What about Kadri and Kapanen ?

 

[RyanOhReally]

Watching Moose Jaw vs Regina and one VERY noticeable player is Brett Howden. Big body, smooth skater, very smart. He has a goal and an assist so far.

Sam Steel has been pretty good too, had a 'play of the night'-worthy play

 

[91Kadri91*]

Bobby Mac has A. Nylander as 6th OA.


Bobby had W. Nylander as 9th OA in his draft year.

He was ranked 3rd pre-season: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1499791

 

[Alexanderthe89]

Since when is Nylander a top ten type of prospect?? I thought most had him as a 2nd rounder?

 

[VictorLustig]

Since when is Nylander a top ten type of prospect?? I thought most had him as a 2nd rounder?

Most haven't seen him play and just assume he's a worse version of his brother, which isn't necessarily the case depending on what you like in a player.

 

[BigWilly]

What about Kadri and Kapanen ?

They combine for a potent pair on the third line

 

[Cor]

Since when is Nylander a top ten type of prospect?? I thought most had him as a 2nd rounder?

I think most had him late first round.

As Bobby Mac mentioned, 15 prospects not on his ranking got votes to be in the top 10, so it's fairly wide open.

 

[BigWilly]

Meh, Alex definitely isn't as good as Will. I'd probably take him from 15 onward, but more for the sentiment than anything.

 

[Mess]

Since when is Nylander a top ten type of prospect?? I thought most had him as a 2nd rounder?

Bob McKenzie asked 10 different NHL scouts and their combined preliminary ranking placed him #6 overall at present.

However these are ranking before the games are played and its the players performance throughout the year that will determine their final rankings.

At this stage it appears the scouts think very highly of Willie's little brother.