NHL Entry Draft 2018 Draft - Prospect Discussion (Poll added)

[Blarginator]

Questions for those of you who follow the draft closely: Who in our range (roughly top 10) is ready to play next year? Dahlin and Svechnikov and maybe Zadina? Anybody else after that?

 

[DJB]

Questions for those of you who follow the draft closely: Who in our range (roughly top 10) is ready to play next year? Dahlin and Svechnikov and maybe Zadina? Anybody else after that?

Tkachuk could play but its definitely not in his best interest or development to do so.

 

[JungleBeat]

yea... hughes is a completely different talent level than Tkachuk

I’d definitely take Hughes over Tkachuk, he’s just too skilled and smart not to. I have Hughes ahead of Dobson as well. He’s much more dynamic from the backend and makes things happen every shift.

 

[BondraTime]

Why so down on Hughes? Is it size concerns?

I don't think his transition will be able to hold the aspects of his game he plays now. I like Wahlstrom/Farabee/Tkachuk more from the NTDP guys. I am really low on Hughes, like very low. I honestly struggle to take him over Wilde, my opinion is obviously off the beaten path I know.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Questions for those of you who follow the draft closely: Who in our range (roughly top 10) is ready to play next year? Dahlin and Svechnikov and maybe Zadina? Anybody else after that?

@Thedraftanalyst on twitter, whos opinion ive come to take very very seriously over the years, said high level IQ is dominant in this year top 10 (if I understood correctly) he said he wouldn't be surprised if 7 of the 10 might be in the NHL opening night. free to disagree but this guy doesn't miss on much.

EDIT: for some background.. he guests on dobbers prospects often enough. last year he has middelstadt as his top guy. this year I BELIEVE he has svechnikov as his top guy. now this is his opinion and that does not affect his mock drafts.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I don't think his transition will be able to hold the aspects of his game he plays now. I like Wahlstrom/Farabee/Tkachuk more from the NTDP guys. I am really low on Hughes, like very low. I honestly struggle to take him over Wilde, my opinion is obviously off the beaten path I know.

yeah, I don't know, I love watching hughes (like 6 times now lol) I think hes a future star. he just got such amazing skatting and looks like hes processing the game at a high level. like hes constantly angling getting to the puck first and this guy seems to ALWAYS get a stick on the puck when the ouck carrier is coming.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Tkachuk could play but its definitely not in his best interest or development to do so.

eh I don't know.. remember this is a kid who has no issues banging bodies on the third line. let him learn the ropes, and has enough skill to audition in the top 6 every so often as well. but I am always in favor of letting top picks play.

 

[BondraTime]

yeah, I don't know, I love watching hughes (like 6 times now lol) I think hes a future star. he just got such amazing skatting and looks like hes processing the game at a high level. like hes constantly angling getting to the puck first and this guy seems to ALWAYS get a stick on the puck when the ouck carrier is coming.

More than fair.

My opinion is that, only an opinion. He'd still be the 6/7th D off the board for me.

 

[stempniaksen]

Starting to figure out where the drop off in the draft is at this point and I'd have a real hard time keeping the pick if it fell between #7 and #10 with all the uncertainty going into next year. I'm really starting to get a vibe the organization is going to give this pick up anyways, but it certainly becomes a much easier decision after the top-six, imo.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I think the real key when looking at some of the undersized defensemen, is more about what the NHL will look like in the next 5-15 years. I have a hard time believing the NHL is going to stay as open and interference/clog-free in the next decade. There does seem to be a bit of apathy setting in with a section of fans over the lack of physical play overall and big hits. Now, I'm not suggesting fighting will ever make a return, but I do think there will be more of an effort to bring more opportunity for open ice hits and more reason to have bigger bodies return in the near future. The question is...can the smaller/slighter guys (especially defensemen) adapt? You have to make sure those kids have elite skating skills (both speed and edgework/elusiveness) along with good vision/IQ to have a chance.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Starting to figure out where the drop off in the draft is at this point and I'd have a real hard time keeping the pick if it fell between #7 and #10 with all the uncertainty going into next year. I'm really starting to get a vibe the organization is going to give this pick up anyways, but it certainly becomes a much easier decision after the top-six, imo.

Purely going off of second hand knowledge since I don't watch these players, this is similar to the way I've read/heard the draft described, that there are three tiers at the top of the draft, tier 1 being Dahlin, tier 2 being around 2-6, and then tier 3 starting around 7.

If we do not win the lottery, I think we're fully prepared to give up the pick. It would not surprise me if making a deal at the deadline that involved a 2018 1st coming back was partially motivated by the team preparing to most likely give up what was projected to be a 5th-10th overall type pick. That way, they can still have a pick in the 1st round this season.

I still fully believe we're trading Karlsson at the draft, and this is why we're giving up the pick because with Karlsson we'll be really bad next year while we try and rebuild this team.

As far as how a Karlsson trade further figures into us giving up our pick, we could possibly walk away with a high 2018 pick as a result of the Karlsson trade. I forget which "insider" or "analyst" brought this up, but there was talk about the aspect of an under performing team with a top 10 pick being able to use it in a Karlsson package to try and go for a quick turn around....maybe we give up our pick at (currently 4) and then get either DET 5, NYR 10, or DAL 14 as part of a package for Karlsson.

I think Dorion's conference call gave the Sens some breathing room in that I think some fans now have hope that Karlsson will still be here on July 1st, but I highly doubt we'd be exploring giving up a top 10 pick if we expect to have Karlsson here next season.

The idea that we expect to be a playoff team, but won't keep the pick because we could barely miss the playoffs and pick 1st overall doesn't make a lot of sense. The risk/reward in that evaluation is completely off. Bubble teams have very low chances of winning the draft lottery, so Dorion giving up the pick in fear of just barely missing the playoffs and having a 1-3 percent chance of winning the lottery seems more like spin to me.....

The current talk of giving up the pick to COL seems to me like Dorion has come to the conclusion that next year's pick has a very good chance of being equally or more valuable than this years, and for that to be true, it means we'd have to be really really bad. We won't be really really bad with a healthy Karlsson....so put two and two together....

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

More than fair.

My opinion is that, only an opinion. He'd still be the 6/7th D off the board for me.

Is it his swashbuckling style he plays that makes you think his game won't translate? I think he plays like that simply because he can. That's just his talent level. But right now he is a rookie, one of the youngest players in the NCAA, and already one of the best defenceman.

I don't think he'll have any major problems adapting his game to the pros because he has elite skating and great hockey IQ, I'd rather draft a guy who has to be told to simplify his game than a guy who plays a simple game.

also he looks like Karlsson here lol

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Lets assume Dahlin, Svechnikov, Zadina go top 3...
How do you rank the Defensemen Boqvist, Hughes, Dobson, Bouchard, Smith
Where do Tkackuk and Wahlstrom rank?

Where would you give up the Sens pick?

I think Tkachuk and Wahlstrom will be in the top 7 ... leaving 2 slots for the Dmen in the top 7
I would think Boqvist takes up 1 slot.; Leaving 1.
Dahlin, Svechnikov, Zadina , in no particular order (Tkachuk, Wahlstrom,Boqvist)

So for the last top 7 spot is it Dobson, Hughes, Bouchard or Smith or posssibly someone else.

Any way that falls; Assuming Smith (or someone else) is 10th ; We have Hughes, Dobson, and Bouchard at 7,8,9 in some order... I would have a hard time passing on any one of the top 6 assembled here or the next 3... I may give up Smith at to 10 to keep next year's pick ... Smith is a good player to give up on. The only way I give up on him is if I think we are going to be a bottom 10 team next year.

 

[BondraTime]

Lets assume Dahlin, Svechnikov, Zadina go top 3...
How do you rank the Defensemen Boqvist, Hughes, Dobson, Bouchard, Smith
Where do Tkackuk and Wahlstrom rank?

Where would you give up the Sens pick?

I think Tkachuk and Wahlstrom will be in the top 7 ... leaving 2 slots for the Dmen in the top 7
I would think Boqvist takes up 1 slot.; Leaving 1.
Dahlin, Svechnikov, Zadina , in no particular order (Tkachuk, Wahlstrom,Boqvist)

So for the last top 7 spot is it Dobson, Hughes, Bouchard or Smith or posssibly someone else.

Any way that falls; Assuming Smith (or someone else) is 10th ; We have Hughes, Dobson, and Bouchard at 7,8,9 in some order... I would have a hard time passing on any one of the top 6 assembled here or the next 3... I may give up Smith at to 10 to keep next year's pick ... Smith is a good player to give up on. The only way I give up on him is if I think we are going to be a bottom 10 team next year.

Dahin -(D1)
-
Svechnikov (F1)
-
Zadina (F2)
Dobson (D2)
Kotkaniemi (F3) - Going to be a riser IMO
Boqvist (D3)
Wahlstrom (F4)
Bouchard (D4)
-
Tkachuk (F5)
Farabee (F6)
Wilde (D5)
Hughes (D6)
Smith (D7)

I'd keep Dahlin and Svech regardless, and have to make a decision based on Karlsson and who is left every pick thereafter. ~6 It would start to get muddy.

The strength of next years class, in both top talent and the talent of the group slated to go 2-15 makes keeping anything other than a homerun pick this year that much harder.

 

[Viletho]

Dahin -(D1)
-
Svechnikov (F1)
-
Zadina (F2)
Dobson (D2)
Boqvist (D3)
Wahlstrom (F3)
Tkachuk (F4)
Bouchard (D4)
-
Farabee (F5)
Kupari (F6)
Kotkaniemi (F7) - Going to be a riser IMO
Wilde (D5)
Hughes (D6)
Smith (D7)

I'd keep Dahlin and Svech regardless, and have to make a decision based on Karlsson and who is left every pick thereafter. ~6 It would start to get muddy.

The strength of next years class, in both top talent and the talent of the group slated to go 2-15 makes keeping anything other than a homerun pick this year that much harder.

To me that's the main question.. I know people around here tend to believe we are going to be trash next year, rightfully so.. But what if we are not finishing bottom 5. Let's say we finish 15.. Just outside a playoff spot by some miracle

Are the pick around 10-20 next year, better then this year 6-7-8-9? If yes, it help to idea of giving our pick.. Since we know we could get a similar pick in term of quality even if we are making a surprise and making the playoff. I heard that the 2019 and 2020 are deep draft.. If it look like 2015 in term in depth ( i'm not talking about the very top ), then we might get an even better player next year.

I'm not even looking at top 3, since it is a lottery and the chances are so slim.

What do you know about next years depth?

 

[BondraTime]

To me that's the main question.. I know people around here tend to believe we are going to be trash next year, rightfully so.. But what if we are not finishing bottom 5. Let's say we finish 15.. Just outside a playoff spot by some miracle

Are the pick around 10-20 next year, better then this year 6-7-8-9? If yes, it help to idea of giving our pick.. Since we know we could get a similar pick in term of quality even if we are making a surprise and making the playoff. I heard that the 2019 and 2020 are deep draft.. If it look like 2015 in term in depth ( i'm not talking about the very top ), then we might get an even better player next year.

I'm not even looking at top 3, since it is a lottery and the chances are so slim.

What do you know about next years depth?

The only notable guys I have seen play live for 2019 are:
Newhook
Budgell
Pelltier
Poulin
Parent
Lavoie

From that group, the 3 bolded are going to be highly sought after guys. For example, I really like Lavoie out of Halifax, more so than I think I do Zadina, though Zadina is better now. His skillset is unbelievable, he is going to light up the Q next year.

Add in guys like Hughes, Cozens, Byram, Dach, Kakko, Krebs, Kaliyev, Suzuki, Turcotte, Vlasic and you have some very impressive guys in the top half of the 1st.

It's not wise to give up a pick as high as we will be, and part of my judgement is due to me being disapointed we may miss out on getting a guy like one of the guys above. I'm not exactly non-biased in my projection here, I'm just upset that we will be missing out on one or the other.

 

[Icelevel]

Sorry for repeating. But we are not giving away a top 10 pick.
I could see us using both 1sts to move up a couple spots.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Based on what I have seen of the two thus far, I'd take Hughes above Boqvist.

Mostly based on skating ability. Hughes is an excellent skater whereas Boqvist has just average skating. Skating is just so important to the success of a D.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Sorry for repeating. But we are not giving away a top 10 pick.
I could see us using both 1sts to move up a couple spots.

That is contradicting what Pierre Dorion said during the conference call he recently had with season ticket holders.

“Until the lottery is done, we don’t know exactly where we’re going to pick,” Dorion said. “Right now, we haven’t had our amateur scouting meetings, but there is a certain line where we probably would give up the pick if it’s in the top 10."-Pierre Dorion

Senators haven’t decided whether they’ll keep first-round pick

 

[Pancakes Pancakes]

Where does everyone stand on this?

Does winning the lottery, meaning Dahlin, increase or decrease the odds of EK being traded?

I think it increases it since they would feel they have his replacement. Maybe better not to win.

 

[DJB]

Where does everyone stand on this?

Does winning the lottery, meaning Dahlin, increase or decrease the odds of EK being traded?

I think it increases it since they would feel they have his replacement. Maybe better not to win.

 

[Pavlikovsky]

That is contradicting what Pierre Dorion said during the conference call he recently had with season ticket holders.

“Until the lottery is done, we don’t know exactly where we’re going to pick,” Dorion said. “Right now, we haven’t had our amateur scouting meetings, but there is a certain line where we probably would give up the pick if it’s in the top 10."-Pierre Dorion

Senators haven’t decided whether they’ll keep first-round pick

And I am ok with that there is still 8 Games left in the season and we could end up as low as 10 and as high as 1st in those games and the lottery makes it hard to decide anything.

 

[InTkachukWeTrust]

I would do anything for a home run pick

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Sorry for repeating. But we are not giving away a top 10 pick.
I could see us using both 1sts to move up a couple spots.

Is it really worth it? Seems like, after the first 3 picks, there's a bunch of guys who are all pretty close to the same tier...at least, no one seems to stand out enough to spend a first round pick to move up a few spots to target a specific guy (unless that moves us into the top 3).

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Where does everyone stand on this?

Does winning the lottery, meaning Dahlin, increase or decrease the odds of EK being traded?

I think it increases it since they would feel they have his replacement. Maybe better not to win.

I think it has zero effect. if karlsson wants to leave he is leaving regardless of where we pick