2017 NHL Draft Discussion

[funky]

We could always go the Martin Jones route.

truthfully I would prefer this route. Goalies seem to take longer to develop and those extra few years to scout them is nice.

 

[LAKings88]

I think Kings fans are afraid of drafting goalies because of what happened.

Quick is a franchise goalie. No great need for Jones/Bernier when Quick got the bulk of starts.

Last year does show the need for a capable back up tho.

I still think it is good to have a legit prospect in the system.

If LA can get one in the third I'll be happy.

Give the goalie 3-4 seasons to mature into a number 1 and step in when Quick is winding down.

No need to waste assets on a number 1.

That is best case scenario tho.

 

[damacles1156]

You don't draft for the team that you have now, you draft for the team that you want in five years. We need every position in our stable filled.

100% correct.

If you have a serious need down the line, you trade from position of strength (AKA Jack Johnson). But, the drafting has to keep up with the roster.

The Kings drafting has been ravaged by, poor picks, and trading 1st/2nd rounders.

 

[Butch 19]

Yup, I agree. If what the Kings value is gone by #11, no reason not to trade down, pick up an extra pick and get relatively equal value with a lower pick in the 1st round.

As an organization I would hope the Kings have enough faith in their scouting department to make three picks say in the top 50 more valuable than two picks in the top 42. That's if there isn't something available at #11 they consider a steal and an almost sure thing.

...and always, always the BPA.

um, yeah.... BPA brought us Hickey.

 

[KopitarFAN]

um, yeah.... BPA brought us Hickey.

Who has turned out to be a pretty good NHL player.

 

[Butch 19]

Who has turned out to be a pretty good NHL player.

srsly? as a #4 OA? How'd that help the Kings?!

Surely you aren't saying that Hickey was the BPA are you?

I'm certain Hickey could have been drafted in the 3rd round and wound up in the exact same spot - a 4 - 6D

 

[KopitarFAN]

srsly? as a #4 OA? How'd that help the Kings?!

Surely you aren't saying that Hickey was the BPA are you?

I'm certain Hickey could have been drafted in the 3rd round and wound up in the exact same spot - a 4 - 6D

No, i'm not. But what I am saying is that it isn't a complete failure just because he was put on waivers to make room for a guy who has turned out to be a better player. In a perfect world, obviously they don't take him and they take one of the guys who went in the Top 20 and went to become very good players. But guess what? We don't live in that world, we live in a world where he got claimed on waivers and Muzzin was a key contributor on a team that reached the WCF in 2013, and won in 2014. Poor us.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Hickey was a need based selection. They pretty much admitted to it that they needed to restock on defensemen, and they thought Alzner was a finished product.

Had they went with the best player available, there were plenty of better options available at #4. The Kings just thought they were smarter than everyone else in the room with that selection. I guess they made up for it with the Simmonds selection, but that Hickey pick was absolutely brutal. One of the biggest reaches in recent memory.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

All the high end players will be gone by the third pick.

The Kings are getting a project at 11.

Seriously need to keep our expectations in check. If The pick at 11 somehow turns out a gem by year two, that will be a miracle, considering how weak this draft is on high end talent.

I agree with you and always appreciate your astute insight...but, I think at #11,
you're looking at a little better than a 'project'. A project was Erik Cernak...Lintuniemi...Amadio
A few of: Makar, Pettersson, Tolvanen, Glass, Necas, Tippett, Heiskanen, Suzuki, Rasmussen will be available at 11 and they are all a cut above a project. They are not elite and need to develop, but seemingly better than projects. Not sure what to classify them as. Probably high end prospect.

 

[SFKingshomer]

pretty sure the rumor was Lombardi was worried Hickey wouldn't make it past Boston at 8 and he failed to trade down

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Maybe Lias Andersson is not a reach at #11. Had 19 points in SHL and plays all forward positions. Had 9 points in 7 games at the WJC 2 years ago, as a 16 year old. That's damn good. Not sure why his stats for the recent WJC do not show up. Maybe he was injured or HV71 wouldn't release him?

5'11" 198. Reviews are that he's a very solid player. One publication 'draft buzz' has him at #3 !! McKenzie and Button both have him at 15.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=214318

His dad was a defenseman drafted by the Kings. I recall when they drafted him. When you read these reviews, sounds like a Kings player:

Jeff Marek of Sportsnet - Mar. 8th: "Had a production dip after the WJC, but has been on fire of late putting up big points in the SHL."

ISS Hockey - Feb. 24th: "Work ethic and consistency elevates him above peers. Does it all. Natural leader."

Mike Morreale NHL.com - Jan. 20th: "An excellent skater with speed and good first-step quickness. He's always on the move and can create scoring chances with his mobility, good hands and grit. His father, Niklas Andersson, played 165 NHL games and now is an amateur scout in Europe for the Los Angeles Kings."

Future Considerations: "A smart, mature, two-way center…good decision-making, leadership qualities and advanced understanding of the game…a true three-zone player…defensively responsible…will drop to block shots or find the open option and get his body in passing lanes…dangerous forechecker who reads the defense and uses an active stick to disrupt…covers up the ice for his teammates on the backcheck and always gives an honest effort…doesn’t commit a lot of mistakes and plays a very calm game while in puck possession"

Dennis Schellenberg Hockey Prospectus - Nov. 9th: "Andersson is a competitive two-way forward who excels at both ends of the ice due to his very high hockey smarts. He understands the game mentally on a high level and makes smart decisions."

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

pretty sure the rumor was Lombardi was worried Hickey wouldn't make it past Boston at 8 and he failed to trade down

Considering who Boston wasted their 1st round selection on, that doesn't surprise me. It was still a reach though.

Now imagine if they took a shot at this guy, http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=89716

 

[damacles1156]

um, yeah.... BPA brought us Hickey.

Hickey was a reach of epic proportions. That was a need based pick all the way, and a reminder to not do that.

Look back at the scouting reports, and mock drafts of 2007. Majority of reputable scouting services had Hickey going between 11th-25th.

Major reach by the Kings.

 

[damacles1156]

I agree with you and always appreciate your astute insight...but, I think at #11,
you're looking at a little better than a 'project'. A project was Erik Cernak...Lintuniemi...Amadio
A few of: Makar, Pettersson, Tolvanen, Glass, Necas, Tippett, Heiskanen, Suzuki, Rasmussen will be available at 11 and they are all a cut above a project. They are not elite and need to develop, but seemingly better than projects. Not sure what to classify them as. Probably high end prospect.

Again,

If any of those players make a major impact on the NHL roster within two seasons of being drafted, I would be shocked.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Again,

If any of those players make a major impact on the NHL roster within two seasons of being drafted, I would be shocked.

That is probably a true statement. Even in deeper talent draft years, #10-15 do not
make an impact in the NHL.

 

[kings11]

Again,

If any of those players make a major impact on the NHL roster within two seasons of being drafted, I would be shocked.

Other than Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, every prospect drafted this year will need 2-3 seasons of seasoning before they make their debuts and likely 4-5 before they make an NHL impact... But I will say this, This draft although considered weak has a lot of potential offensive studs: Tippett, Glass, Vilardi, Mittlestadt, Rasmussen, Necas, Kostin, Petterson, Suzuki, Tolvanen, Poehling, Comtois, Robertson, Popugaev, and of course Liljegren and Hieskanen....

Although most of these prospects are raw and need a lot of physical maturation, the talent and skill set the class has is pretty damn outstanding... I would love to obtain another 1st rounder and target Roberston/Kostin/Poehling... also around a dozen of these kids are extremely young for the class so their rating could be underrated...

 

[damacles1156]

That is probably a true statement. Even in deeper talent draft years, #10-15 do not
make an impact in the NHL.

All we can do is hope for the Best.

 

[kovacro]

Craig's List - Final Ranking

Halifax Mooseheads centre Nico Hischier’s slight edge over Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nolan Patrick in the dynamic skill department is the reason he sits atop the final edition of Craig’s List ahead of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

http://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-final-ranking-1.294692

 

[Brodeur]

Craig's List - Final Ranking

http://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-final-ranking-1.294692

I enjoy Craig's rankings, but sometimes I do find some of the movement curious. His last ranking was March 21st and he had Michael DiPietro at #33 and Jake Oettinger at #50.

Since then, Oettinger played in a pair of NCAA tournament games before being eliminated. DiPietro played in a handful more regular season games, lost in the opening round to London, before leading Windsor to a Memorial Cup win last week. Oettinger is now #29 on his ranking, while DiPietro is #38.

 

[BigKing]

Really wanted Voracek with that Hickey pick.

 

[kings11]

I am really curious to see the direction the new FO takes with their draft strategy moving forward...
As i've posted before, Futa stated that the old regime drafted players and placed artificial limits on them in terms what role they would fill and when rather than letting them develop without those limits...

I know we've talked/argued/complained about how rookies on this team weren't allowed to play, I think the bigger issue there was how much of a perfectionist DS was that it placed unnecessary pressures on rookies, like Weal's blunder that pretty much ended his NHL addition, or Gravel's TO's that led to him riding the pine, heck these things even happened to Toffoli how would be placed on the bottom 6 for expected rookie mistakes. The difference was that TT and TP had great veterans and leadership in guys like Mitchell, Scuds and a few others who helped but after those guys all fell off and left the leadership of this team took a major hit that hasn't been replaced...

Sorry for the long post and going off topic, but my point is I hope the new FO isn't afraid to take risks in its evaluation of prospects... here's hoping we land another steal like our last #11 pick....

 

[KopitarFAN]

I am really curious to see the direction the new FO takes with their draft strategy moving forward...
As i've posted before, Futa stated that the old regime drafted players and placed artificial limits on them in terms what role they would fill and when rather than letting them develop without those limits...

I know we've talked/argued/complained about how rookies on this team weren't allowed to play, I think the bigger issue there was how much of a perfectionist DS was that it placed unnecessary pressures on rookies, like Weal's blunder that pretty much ended his NHL addition, or Gravel's TO's that led to him riding the pine, heck these things even happened to Toffoli how would be placed on the bottom 6 for expected rookie mistakes. The difference was that TT and TP had great veterans and leadership in guys like Mitchell, Scuds and a few others who helped but after those guys all fell off and left the leadership of this team took a major hit that hasn't been replaced...

Sorry for the long post and going off topic, but my point is I hope the new FO isn't afraid to take risks in its evaluation of prospects... here's hoping we land another steal like our last #11 pick....

I'm gonna be "that guy", the Kings last #11 pick was Jonathan Bernier in 2006.

 

[kings11]

I'm gonna be "that guy", the Kings last #11 pick was Jonathan Bernier in 2006.

Lmao, you got me... meant Kopi but yes, you are correct sir......

 

[Peter James Bond II]

I enjoy Craig's rankings, but sometimes I do find some of the movement curious. His last ranking was March 21st and he had Michael DiPietro at #33 and Jake Oettinger at #50.

Since then, Oettinger played in a pair of NCAA tournament games before being eliminated. DiPietro played in a handful more regular season games, lost in the opening round to London, before leading Windsor to a Memorial Cup win last week. Oettinger is now #29 on his ranking, while DiPietro is #38.

yeah...and he now has Tippett #23 and Rasmussen #21 !

 

[Brodeur]

yeah...and he now has Tippett #23 and Rasmussen #21 !

To be fair, he's been lower on both those guys than most. He's been asked a bunch of times about Tippett and Button's been fairly transparent on his assessment. Tippett skates well and has a tremendous shot, but Button doesn't like his hockey sense. In some ways, reminds me of Emerson Etem being dominant in juniors but his style of play didn't translate to the NHL.

Tippett was #20 on his March ranking. Rasmussen was #16; Rasmussen dropping is interesting since he's been sidelined with a wrist injury since December/January.

Button's been wrong previously (who hasn't), but he was very lower on Jake Virtanen and Pavel Zacha during their draft years. At the moment, his ranking of Virtanen is looking like a decent call. Zacha showed some flashes during his rookie year, but I certainly see some of the elements (possibly more suited for wing) that Button mentioned during his draft year.