2017 Draft & UDFA Thread

[ManUtdTobbe]

If we manage to get another late 1st then i'd want one of the D-men (Brännström my 1st choice) and Yamamoto, we really lack a F prospect with that kind of skill.

 

[Mac n Gs]

Is Lipanov as skinny as listed? Just watched some highlights and there's no way he's only 165lbs

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The thing I don't like about Timmins is that he's almost a full year older than players like Brannstrom, Lipanov, some others. You have to take things like that into account. Had he been born a few days earlier, last year he wouldn't have even been drafted.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Is Lipanov as skinny as listed? Just watched some highlights and there's no way he's only 165lbs

I've seen him listed at 175. I think that seems closer to his actual weight.

 

[Mac n Gs]

I've seen him listed at 175. I think that seems closer to his actual weight.

Yeah, that seems more like it. Also, when you consider Timmins, do you really think the age gap is that much of a difference? Yes he's one of the older players, but he's technically not an overager, and he still played well last year even though Bouramman was getting more playing time. He's eclipsed him this year being a full year younger and established himself as a first round pick.

He screams Justin Braun to me, and I'd love to nab that type of player with our pick. I really like Jokiharju too.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Age certainly makes a different when its like 11 and a half months. He's been playing hockey for an extra full year. Thats not to say you don't pick him, but I would not rank him as high as some others have ranked him, and not just because of age.

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

I'd be fine with Timmins in that late 1st slot but not over guys like Brännström, Finns except Vaakanainen, Hague... Always depends who's still on the board, i take Jokiharju over Timmins every day of the week.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I should articulate my point better. Timmins is a decent player, but I don't think he has an impact player skill-set, and I don't want us picking a guy in the first round without significant upside. I think Timmins has a decent chance to make the NHL, but I don't see any great strengths or great weaknesses. I don't think he really has big upside. I see him more in the late 2 or early 3 range.

I wouldn't be against drafting Timmins later in the draft, but I don't think he should be under consideration with our first round pick.

 

[Ranger Ric]

Notre Dame unlikely to make it to the final four so if Gross wants to turn pro he probably would do it next week.

In his weekly column two weeks ago Elliotte Friedman identified Michael Kapla of U Mass Lowell, Josh Healy of Ohio State and Nick Disimone of Union as being in the top of the defense NCAA fee agent class but did not mention Gross. Gross does move the puck well but in the one game I saw he didn't look great on defense.

In looking at the Rangers' NCAA free agent list again I realized that since 2012 the Ranger free agents have all played in the northeast except for Kyle Jean from Lake Superior State. Perhaps the sample size is too small and it is just a coincidence but you never seem to hear about the Rangers being in on guys playing for midwestern schools.

Great post.

Lots of interest around Jordan Gross. He's one of those understated players out there but the Rangers should definitely be fishing here.

 

[Ranger Ric]

NCAA Playoffs

For those of you watching any of the NCAA hockey playoffs this weekend the Hockey News published this article on drafted players on each college team including Tyler Wall of Mass Lowell.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/a...m_source=the-hockey-news_Newsletter-All_Users

I am providing the following list of some of the top free agents playing for each team:

Midwest Regional, March 25-26

U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio

Saturday, March 25, 1 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNews/WatchESPN

No. 1 Denver (29-7-4) vs. No. 4 Michigan Tech (23-14-7)

Denver -- Defenseman Will Butcher -- Drafted by Colorado but may go UFA

Michigan Tech -- None

Saturday, March 25, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN

No. 2 Union (NY) (25-9-3) vs. No. 3 Penn State (24-11-2)

Union -- Right Wing Spencer Foo, Center Mike Vecchione, Forward Sebastian Vidmar, Defenseman Nick Desimone

Penn State -- Goalie Peyton Jones

Sunday, March 26, 6 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN

Midwest Regional Championship

Northeast Regional, March 25-26

SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire

Saturday, March 25, 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN

No. 1 Minnesota (23-11-3) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (21-11-5)

Minnesota -- Forward Justin Kloos, Center, Tyler Sheehy

Notre Dame -- Defenseman Jordan Gross

Saturday, March 25, Noon Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN

No. 2 Massachusetts Lowell (26-10-3) vs. No. 3 Cornell (21-8-5)

Massachusetts Lowell -- Defenseman Michael Kapla, Left Wing C. J. Smith, Center Joe Gambardella

Cornell -- None

Sunday, March 26, 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN

Northeast Regional Championship

East Regional, March 24-25

Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island

Friday, March 24, 4 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN

No. 1 Harvard (26-5-2) vs. No. 4 Providence (22-11-5)

Harvard -- None

Providence -- None

Friday, March 24, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN

No. 2 Western Michigan (22-12-5) vs. No. 3 Air Force (26-9-5)

Western Michigan -- Center Sheldon Dries, Left Wing Griffen Molino

Air Force -- None

Saturday, March 25, 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN

East Regional Championship

West Regional, March 24-25

Scheels Arena, Fargo, North Dakota

Friday, March 24, 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN

No. 1 Minnesota Duluth (25-6-7) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (21-11-6)

Minnesota Duluth -- Center Alex Iafalio, Center Adam Johnson, Defenseman Neal Pionk

Ohio State -- Defenseman Josh Healy (Suspended this weekend), Right Wing Nicholas Schilkey

Friday, March 24, 3 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN

No. 2 Boston University (23-11-3) vs. No. 3 North Dakota (21-15-3)

Boston University -- None

North Dakota -- Goalie Cam Johnson

Saturday, March 25, 6 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN

West Regional Championship

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

Article about undrafted NCAA guys from Josh Khalfin.

http://blueseatblogs.com/2017/03/23/ncaa-undrafted-free-agents-keep-tabs/

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Vecchione should be on the Rangers radar. Haven't heard anything on him linked to anyone

 

[silverfish]

Has anyone been keeping tabs on Patrick this year? I know he was hurt, but his pts/gp don't really inspire tons of confidence for the apparent consensus #1 pick.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Has anyone been keeping tabs on Patrick this year? I know he was hurt, but his pts/gp don't really inspire tons of confidence for the apparent consensus #1 pick.

I wouldn't even consider him for the first few picks of the draft. I am worried about what I've read about his sports hernia injury, and I'm also worried about his offensive upside, along with his age relative to other players in his draft.

The best comparison I've seen for him is Ryan Kesler. He's going to be a good player, if he stays healthy, but probably not a good enough playmaker to be a PPG scorer. His skating is also okay, but not much better than that. He has a good shot, but its not so good. Defensively, he's very good for a kid his age. He'll probably play a lot of minutes, and be a very good NHL player, but I don't think he's more than a 1A/1B center.

 

[Joey Bones]

Has anyone been keeping tabs on Patrick this year? I know he was hurt, but his pts/gp don't really inspire tons of confidence for the apparent consensus #1 pick.

He's fine, still think he'll turn out to be the No. 1 pick. Think the only one to push him off is Hischier at this point. Just because his point totals are off this year (which they actually aren't because he is still above PPG), doesn't mean his play on the ice has stalled. He dominates the opposition every time he is out there.

 

[Mac n Gs]

I wouldn't even consider him for the first few picks of the draft. I am worried about what I've read about his sports hernia injury, and I'm also worried about his offensive upside, along with his age relative to other players in his draft.

The best comparison I've seen for him is Ryan Kesler. He's going to be a good player, if he stays healthy, but probably not a good enough playmaker to be a PPG scorer. His skating is also okay, but not much better than that. He has a good shot, but its not so good. Defensively, he's very good for a kid his age. He'll probably play a lot of minutes, and be a very good NHL player, but I don't think he's more than a 1A/1B center.

Yeah, but you also thought Laine was better than Matthews

Kidding aside, who do you have ranked above him in the top-3 besides Liljegren? Hirschier and Petersson? What do you like more about Hirschier if that's the case because I already know (and agree with you) about the other two.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Yeah, but you also thought Laine was better than Matthews

Kidding aside, who do you have ranked above him in the top-3 besides Liljegren? Hirschier and Petersson? What do you like more about Hirschier if that's the case because I already know (and agree with you) about the other two.

Pettersson, Liljegren, Vilardi, Patrick, Hischier in that order.

And since I think you are assuming I have Hischier #3, and are asking me why I have someone else above Patrick, I'll answer why I like Vilardi more, as I actually prefer Patrick to Hischier.

I think Vilardi has the best overall skill level when it comes to draft-eligible CHL players. He does just about everything well, except he's a bad skater. And he's not like an okay skater who's just not that explosive, I think it would be fair to say for a high level draft prospect that he's a bad skater, so different from someone like Pettersson who's only an average skater. Thats really the only knock on his game, although its kind of a big knock. He's very young for this draft though, about 11 months younger than Patrick. If he improves his skating to around average or slightly above average, he could be a 1st line center. Some previous players who were knocked a lot for their skating in their draft year, and improved it include Tavares and Draisaitl, and a player who didn't or hasn't so far is Strome.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Has anyone been keeping tabs on Patrick this year? I know he was hurt, but his pts/gp don't really inspire tons of confidence for the apparent consensus #1 pick.

Brandon lost a ton. Lots of changeover, and big names. Hawryluk was a 100-point center, Quenneville, McGauley, Erkamps, Provorov all left.

So keep that in mind when you look at his 1.39 PPG. He was second only to Yamamoto in PPG among draft eligibles and would have had a 2nd straight 100-point season.

He's the best player on the ice. The Wheaties are thinner so he draws a ton of attention, double teams etc. He doesnt have the luxury that Vilardi has, and that is playing alongside an All Star cast.

We're getting into the "Analysis Paralysis" phase of the pre-draft year. People get bored talking about or seeing the same thing, so literally they look for thing to change it up.

Patrick is a Toews/Getzlaf type. Big center with excellent puck skills but plays the 200-foot game and wears down opponents because he treats practically every shift like a war. Vision is exceptional.

I hate the fact that the Rangers havent had a player like him in over 20 years.

 

[RangerBoy]

Pierre McGuire compared Patrick to Sean Monahan. I would take Monahan on my team.

 

[silverfish]

Brandon lost a ton. Lots of changeover, and big names. Hawryluk was a 100-point center, Quenneville, McGauley, Erkamps, Provorov all left.

So keep that in mind when you look at his 1.39 PPG. He was second only to Yamamoto in PPG among draft eligibles and would have had a 2nd straight 100-point season.

He's the best player on the ice. The Wheaties are thinner so he draws a ton of attention, double teams etc. He doesnt have the luxury that Vilardi has, and that is playing alongside an All Star cast.

We're getting into the "Analysis Paralysis" phase of the pre-draft year. People get bored talking about or seeing the same thing, so literally they look for thing to change it up.

Patrick is a Toews/Getzlaf type. Big center with excellent puck skills but plays the 200-foot game and wears down opponents because he treats practically every shift like a war. Vision is exceptional.

I hate the fact that the Rangers havent had a player like him in over 20 years.

Great info. Thanks, Steve!

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Patrick out of Brandon's opener with a LBI, per Mike Morreale. Unrelated to UBI's that had him miss half the season. Left a game vs Regina last week and sat out the following night - both blowout losses.

Im telling you, lottery teams have is way tougher this year.

 

[Zil]

Brännström, Brännström, all hail Brännström:

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

Yeah, please draft Brännström, 1+1 tonight as HV71 clinched a spot in the semi finals in the J20 SuperElit playoffs, 2+3 in 5 games so far.

Am i the only one who see a lot of Shayne Ghostisbehere in him? Apart from the pirouettes that is.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I see that.

 

[Mac n Gs]

He's a Kimmo Timonen clone.