WingedWheel1987
Registered User
The silver lining to Buffalo and Montreal picking top three means that the Wings should lose even more next year.
Thats great and all but can he project to be that top guy, that horse who plays a ton in all situtions against the best players?
Fair enough...maybe Bouchard and Dobson project to be that type of player but Hughes has an absolute motor and provides a crucial need....moving the puck. Bouchard will blast shots from the point and pass the puck...but is he going to provide that ability to transition the puck to our forwards more effectively than Hughes? Hughes is the best skater in the draft and has the IQ has well.
Fair enough...maybe Bouchard and Dobson project to be that type of player but Hughes has an absolute motor and provides a crucial need....moving the puck. Bouchard will blast shots from the point and pass the puck...but is he going to provide that ability to transition the puck to our forwards more effectively than Hughes? Hughes is the best skater in the draft and has the IQ has well.
We have Cholowski for the skating transition. This draft it's time to pick the PP point blast master. The guy who shoots for Rasmussen to screen/tip-in.
I could bet Hughes is not gonna go in TOP6.
Sounds like it’s NCAA onlyIt just makes 0 sense for a top 10 pick to go to Harvard. He will go to another D1 program or the Q next year.
Thats great and all but can he project to be that top guy, that horse who plays a ton in all situtions against the best players?
Good for them for being lucky and getting #2 then. I don't think a team should automatically get rewarded for being incompetent for years on end ala Buffalo/Edmonton.
There is a really good chance U of M has the best team in the NCAA next year. I think both Jack Hughes and Wahlstrom end up there and it is likely Quinn spends one more year there. That is going to be a devastating team to play in the NCAAs.
This makes me sad
Me as well. I root for the same school that you do.
I was alright with Larkin being there in terms of the constant feedback we got. I mean if Wahlstrom or Hughes is our guy we would at least get to see a lot of them.
I still hope MSU beats them.
The silver lining to Buffalo and Montreal picking top three means that the Wings should lose even more next year.
Fair enough...maybe Bouchard and Dobson project to be that type of player but Hughes has an absolute motor and provides a crucial need....moving the puck. Bouchard will blast shots from the point and pass the puck...but is he going to provide that ability to transition the puck to our forwards more effectively than Hughes? Hughes is the best skater in the draft and has the IQ has well.
Cholo is pretty fast. He's not Hughes fast, but considering he's like 4 inches taller and 40 lbs heavier, he doesn't have to be. He's still a very good puckmover. I actually consider him a two-way puckmoving specialist more than any kind of offensive force in the making.No disrespect to Cholowski (I have barely seen footage of him even now) but Hughes is wayyyy faster. Seems like he projects to be more of a Rafalski on steroids. Isn't Choloswki looking more like a 2 way guy who likes to shoot from the point.
So, I mean, I don't really see the burning need for Hughes from a pure puckmoving standpoint. The NHL team definitely sucks in that department, but it's been a focus in terms of the prospect pool for a couple of years now. That's not to say they're done drafting puckmovers, but they don't need to draft a guy just because he moves the puck better than the others.
Besides, in my opinion all 4 of those guys move the puck really well. You mention Bouchard, but I think Bouchard is actually a better passer than even Hughes, who is a very good passer himself. And Bouchard is still a very good skater.
But in absolute terms, Bouchard is not a bad skater. Being a 7/10 isn't shameful just because you're in a room full of 10/10 skaters.The gap in skating between Hughes and Bouchard is big... very big.
The only defenseman in this draft that's projected to do what you're asking is going #1.
But in absolute terms, Bouchard is not a bad skater. Being a 7/10 isn't shameful just because you're in a room full of 10/10 skaters.
Doubtful, the MSU hockey program has been trash for years.
You don't think Bouchard has dynamic PP QB ability? I really do. I was so underwhelmed when I finally got to see Hughes at the point. So much hype, but I really didn't like his decisionmaking or puck distribution (or lack thereof...). He strikes me as more of a very good option that the QB uses than a guy who QBs it himself.As I have watched these guys more closely in terms of some tape, I have to tell you Bouchard is falling for me. He isn't as dynamic as Hughes, Boqvist and Dobson are for me. Dobson is the guy who I really love watching him play the more I watch the more impressive he gets.
But what I'm saying is, just because they're good doesn't make him bad. And even then, it kinda comes across like we're saying skating is all that matters here. I think framing it that way ignores the fact that Bouchard is amazingly good in a number of other areas. Not every defenseman needs to rush the puck to be successful. And I'm not even convinced that this team needs a guy to rush the puck like a Hughes or a Boqvist does. I don't know how it happened, but somehow "moving the puck" has become synonymous with "skating super deep into the offensive zone and never coming back."I know you’ve disputed this but I would call it average, personally.
It’s not bad overall, but in comparison to Hughes, Dobson, and Boqvist...? Relatively speaking, compared to those guys it kinda is to me.