2018 Draft D-Men

[boredmale]

Dobson is the total package.

 

[SI90]

Exactly

 

[vanarchy]

I like this list but truth be told I had to click reply so I wouldn't have to look at that avatar for a millisecond longer.

Good grief.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Im an islanders fan and I love Wilde. I wanted him bad before the draft and was ecstatic that we got him. That being said, he’s not even close to Dobson. Dobson is the total package.

I was a big fan of both going into the draft. I think its close. I had Dobson one spot ahead pre-draft, and now have Wilde one spot ahead post-draft. Both players could be top 20 defensemen in the NHL or might only be second-pairing D. Dobson's ceiling will depend on how high-end his defensive ability and points ability is, while Wilde's ceiling will depend on how much he can improve defensively and limit the bad puck-decisions.

I know a lot say that Dobson is a lot more of a high-floor player, but I think Wilde's game is mischaracterized to either be an NHL star or an ECHL player. I think his floor higher than it gets credit for being. I think this is yet another case where the offensive defenseman gets considered boom or bust much more than non-OFD. What's the worst case scenario? I'd say its a 1PPQB who is below-average defensively but can show high-end defensive shifts due to size, skating, physicality. That still seems like a definite NHL'er.

 

[Steely Van]

Im an islanders fan and I love Wilde. I wanted him bad before the draft and was ecstatic that we got him. That being said, he’s not even close to Dobson. Dobson is the total package.

I might be wrong as I haven't watched enough of both prospects. However when most people were praising Dobson in the Memorial cup, which I watched every game, I only saw an above average junior defenseman and nothing that special. If I was given more evidence that suggests that he's a better player I am likely to change my mind.

 

[rt]

1. Dahlin
2. Hughes
3. Bouchard
4. Boqvist
5. Dobson

 

[MitchMurphy]

Hughes
Boqvist
Smith
Jenkins
Bartholomew

 

[Havre]

And in Boqvist's draft+1, he is far worse defensively than Bouchard was in his D-1.

Boqvist is really, really bad defensively.

What?

I would at least remove one of those "really".

Not that I disagree that his biggest weakness is and will be his defensive play. But he is hardly going to be a Karlsson/Vlasic (from some years ago) hybrid in any case.

He is clever. Him developing into at least being average defensively doesn't really worry me at all. Seen it so many times with Ds coming from Sweden. They need some time to learn how to defend in NA where games are played quite differently in the D zone.

 

[KingTux]

well you're wrong

HFboard in a nutshell

 

[Starry Knight]

Thats not true.

What?

I would at least remove one of those "really".

Not that I disagree that his biggest weakness is and will be his defensive play. But he is hardly going to be a Karlsson/Vlasic (from some years ago) hybrid in any case.

He is clever. Him developing into at least being average defensively doesn't really worry me at all. Seen it so many times with Ds coming from Sweden. They need some time to learn how to defend in NA where games are played quite differently in the D zone.

It is true. There's no questioning his offensive skillset or his ability to transition the puck, but defensively he misses assignments too frequently to be considered anything but bad defensively. His lack of general effort in his own end results in lots of lost puck battles and open players in front of the net.

He is a frustrating player to watch, because you know he can perform better than he does.

 

[Havre]

It is true. There's no questioning his offensive skillset or his ability to transition the puck, but defensively he misses assignments too frequently to be considered anything but bad defensively. His lack of general effort in his own end results in lots of lost puck battles and open players in front of the net.

He is a frustrating player to watch, because you know he can perform better than he does.

I would say that is quite important when evaluating him as a prospect. So if you know he can be better don't you think that should be part of peoples evaluation of him as a prospect? All we are talking about here, for all prospects, is future potential.

 

[leeroggy]

I hope Dobson has a better career and stays off the juice . . . seen what he looks like now?

 

[Starry Knight]

I would say that is quite important when evaluating him as a prospect. So if you know he can be better don't you think that should be part of peoples evaluation of him as a prospect? All we are talking about here, for all prospects, is future potential.

His potential is undoubtedly high--there's a reason why he was taken 8th overall. However, the potential he has should allow his to take over games, which he doesn't.

Boqvist lacks a consistent compete level, which greatly affects his performance. Will he start putting in more of an effort at a higher level? Who knows? But in my opinion as a Knights fan, he's been the Knights' third-best defenceman behind Regula and Bouchard, two other 2018 drafted defencemen.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Playing in the khl as an 18 year old defenseman and being named the best defenseman in the wjc

Romanov should definitely be ahead of guys like McIssac, Beaudin, and Merkley

He will never be ahead of CHLers on a forum, where 90% users are Canadians and Americans...

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

It is true. There's no questioning his offensive skillset or his ability to transition the puck, but defensively he misses assignments too frequently to be considered anything but bad defensively. His lack of general effort in his own end results in lots of lost puck battles and open players in front of the net.

He is a frustrating player to watch, because you know he can perform better than he does.

I disagree. I know the Knights have been giving up a lot of goals recently, so I suspect you may be saying that in an over-reactionary manner. If that’s not the case, then I disagree to disagree.

I also think the way Boqvist defends makes his defense appear worse than it is. He doesn’t run himself out of position a lot to deliver big hits or have long netfront battles with power forwards, but he has good positioning, is good defending 1v1 and makes smart decisions in his own zone.

 

[Starry Knight]

I disagree. I know the Knights have been giving up a lot of goals recently, so I suspect you may be saying that in an over-reactionary manner. If that’s not the case, then I disagree to disagree.

I also think the way Boqvist defends makes his defense appear worse than it is. He doesn’t run himself out of position a lot to deliver big hits or have long netfront battles with power forwards, but he has good positioning, is good defending 1v1 and makes smart decisions in his own zone.

No, it's been an all-season issue.

And my issue is his defensive positioning, which is lacking. I don't think good defending is measured in hits or 'clearing the crease'.

 

[UnSandvich]

When did Farabee move from forward to defense?

Out of curiosity, did you actually read the post? The second sentence reads "2nd in PPG for any U-19 position in NCAA, he's the tops in PPG for U-19 D-man". 2nd in PPG for any U-19 position means F or D, mate. Goalie too I guess, but that'd be a very interesting situation indeed

 

[chewbaccaman]

Those are Bouchard's D-2's numbers. I was talking about his 2017-2018 ones, the ones before he was drafted if I wasn't clear. Those numbers are:

Boqvist:

2018-19

London Knights

OHL

50

19

37

56

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Bouchard:

2017-18

London Knights

OHL

67

25

62

87

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

If we're going to continuously use the argument that Boqvist is 10 months younger to justify his performance, why aren't his numbers at least comparable to Bouchard? Beyond that, Bouchard is also the better defensive player.

Uhhhh no. D-1 is Draft year minus 1. If you were talking about 2017-18 you call it his draft year not his D-1.

 

[DieTomi]

1. Dahlin
2. Hughes
3. Dobson
4. Smith
5. Boqvist
6. Bouchard
7. Miller
8. Sandin
9. Woo
10. Beaudin

Bode Wilde is a turnover machine who makes just as many mistakes every game as he does good plays. No thank you. His numbers are fooling you all.

 

[The Red Line]

Not to just pump my team up, but pretty freaking crazy that the Wings grabbed McIsaac with their 4th pick in that draft, after stealing both Zadina and Veleno and taking a flyer on Berggren.

Nearly everyone else on this list was taken in the top 20 or 30 with that team's first pick of the draft.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Not to just pump my team up, but pretty freaking crazy that the Wings grabbed McIsaac with their 4th pick in that draft, after stealing both Zadina and Veleno and taking a flyer on Berggren.

Nearly everyone else on this list was taken in the top 20 or 30 with that team's first pick of the draft.

Absolutely 0 people besides you considered Berggren a "flyer".

 

[The Red Line]

Absolutely 0 people besides you considered Berggren a "flyer".

All I'm saying is of those 4 guys he's the only one not producing at or above expectations. Was just trying not to over-gush on my prospects, relax guy. I'm still pretty high on Berggren despite a rocky start and injuries.

 

[Steely Van]

Out of curiosity, did you actually read the post? The second sentence reads "2nd in PPG for any U-19 position in NCAA, he's the tops in PPG for U-19 D-man". 2nd in PPG for any U-19 position means F or D, mate. Goalie too I guess, but that'd be a very interesting situation indeed

Sorry, I left my brain in El Segundo. I gotta get it, I got gotta get it.