2018 NHL Draft Thread

[islesfan66]

I respectfully disagree. The Islanders’ pick has much greater value than the one the own from Calgary. Every point the Isles earn now, moves them farther away from the best player available in the draft. For our long term goals, I see it as beneficial if Calgary wins tonight.

BUT if the isles lose and continue this awful streak it may be what ledecky needs to see to actually make some necessary changes

 

[NC 1972]

With the draft occurring before free agency I don't believe the NYI will be making any selections in the first two rounds reasons are as follows.
Because JT has put them in this awkward position Garth will be forced to make trades to prove that the team will be competitive moving into 2019. And I'm of the opinion we just don't have enough quality talent on the roster or in the system that will bring us the personnel needed to right this ship with out using the picks. Will these trades be of the magnitude that we will see an NHL caliber defense finally and will the third line issue be resolved? This will certainly be the watershed moment of Garths horrible reign as GM he is dealing from a position of weakness and everyone knows this. He could make a number of moves and still wind up losing JT should that happen and I hope it doesn't I can only imagine what will be posted here on HF .

 

[CRYHAVOC]

There is no way I see Garth trading those two picks unless in the unlikely event he is overwhelmed by someone stupidly. If these two picks wind up being lottery picks, it's not happening. You may hate the results, and I do, but he stated that they were building mostly through the draft, way back when, and that's exactly what he has done. If JT leaves, which I hope doesn't happen, then there will be some major reconstruction going to happen and those two picks may help hasten that processes. If it were me, and it's not, I would keep the picks and pick the BPA with the two. The Isles have plenty of other assets to move, but not the picks.

 

[CREW99AW]

With the draft occurring before free agency I don't believe the NYI will be making any selections in the first two rounds reasons are as follows.
Because JT has put them in this awkward position Garth will be forced to make trades to prove that the team will be competitive moving into 2019. And I'm of the opinion we just don't have enough quality talent on the roster or in the system that will bring us the personnel needed to right this ship with out using the picks. Will these trades be of the magnitude that we will see an NHL caliber defense finally and will the third line issue be resolved? This will certainly be the watershed moment of Garths horrible reign as GM he is dealing from a position of weakness and everyone knows this. .

I could not disagree more.
If Snow did not move those picks at the TDL,trying to save this season, then he sure as heck will not move those picks 7-10 days before Tavares is a ufa.

Staple said he thinks Snow has 4 yrs left on his contract. Judging by the way Snow iz going about things, he does not act like he thinks his job os on the line

 

[seafoam]

He’ll trade the picks if he can get someone who can “help now and in the future”.

That’s been Snow’s MO for years regarding trading futures.

 

[seafoam]

I will say Kotkaniemi is looking pretty solid along with Veleno.

If they can’t improve the team at the draft, I would love to get one of those C’s and a D who can skate and break the puck out.

 

[Glory Days]

I could not disagree more.
If Snow did not move those picks at the TDL,trying to save this season, then he sure as heck will not move those picks 7-10 days before Tavares is a ufa.

Staple said he thinks Snow has 4 yrs left on his contract. Judging by the way Snow iz going about things, he does not act like he thinks his job os on the line

I agree. Snow hasn't shown any desire to move those picks. I doubt he does so now. We should wind up with 4 good prospects after the first 2 rounds.

 

[CREW99AW]

He’ll trade the picks if he can get someone who can “help now and in the future”.

That’s been Snow’s MO for years regarding trading futures.

Doesn't Snow go into every draft the last several years, saying he is willing to move his first if he is offered a young nhler whose upside is similar to the players expected to be on the draft board when the nyi pick?
How often has Snow been offered such a young nhler? How often has he moved high to mid first rounders for young,nhl talent?

 

[seafoam]

Doesn't Snow go into every draft the last several years, saying he is willing to move his first if he is offered a young nhler whose upside is similar to the players expected to be on the draft board when the nyi pick?
How often has Snow been offered such a young nhler? How often has he moved high to mid first rounders for young,nhl talent?

Never said it was likely to happen Rain Man.

 

[MYIslanders]

SI and Nor’easter were kind enough to explain to me why mathematically, it was better for the islanders to beat the Flames. I never was good at math, but after your respective explanations, I see the point. Thanks for making it clear in laymen’s terms.

 

[MattMartin]

4 picks in the top 50, If there is a player who falls maybe we use both 2nds to get back in the late 1st.

 

[Tres Peleches]

SI and Nor’easter were kind enough to explain to me why mathematically, it was better for the islanders to beat the Flames. I never was good at math, but after your respective explanations, I see the point. Thanks for making it clear in laymen’s terms.

No worries. It's always nice when rooting for your team to win is the same as rooting for your team to have a better draft pick

 

[SI]

4 picks in the top 50, If there is a player who falls maybe we use both 2nds to get back in the late 1st.

IMO - the Isles should not trade up - there is a potential To draft some really good players in the 2nd round

 

[BTrotts19]

What day is the lottery selection? IIRC it is usually during one of the 1st rd games, so guessing it's like end of April.

If we could move into a top 3 range wold be amazing but org has never really had that kind of luck, in fact I'm sure the Rags will be the ones moving up

 

[TeamKidd]

We have about a 20% chance of getting into the top 3 between the 2 picks as of today. I did one simulation on tankathon where the isles moved up to 2 and 3. That’d be sweet

 

[islesfan66]

IMO - the Isles should not trade up - there is a potential To draft some really good players in the 2nd round

i dunno i feel like we have enough B level prospects and can use some more high end prospects imagine getting like bouchard and lundstrom then trading back up and getting bode wilde or mattias samuelsson

 

[islesfan66]

We have about a 20% chance of getting into the top 3 between the 2 picks as of today. I did one simulation on tankathon where the isles moved up to 2 and 3. That’d be sweet

we could really use some luck like that

 

[danteipp]

i dunno i feel like we have enough B level prospects and can use some more high end prospects imagine getting like bouchard and lundstrom then trading back up and getting bode wilde or mattias samuelsson

I completely agree. I believe you only trade back to accumulate extra picks if you have no depth in your system and/or you just don't necessarily like any players in that spot and want to stock up a bit since you are ambivalent on the available players.

If JT leaves, then you definitely have to think about a complete rebuild and maybe trade off anyone who brings back quality assets and just stockpile picks for the future. Then you even shop players like Leddy, Eberle, Lee, etc. You don't sell them at a discount by any means, but you listen to offers.

However, if JT signs, then I think you try to add 2-3 premium players who aren't far off, using some combination of those firsts and seconds and maybe some redundant prospects in the system. Maybe one of Toews, Aho, MVS, Spoon, etc. if it brings back a better player in a package.

In 2017, I advocated that the Isles should trade up, not down, to try to land a player like Tyson Jost or Jakob Chychrun. Don't get me wrong, I am happy that Bellows fell to the Isles at #19 and have high hopes for him going forward, however, if the Isles had Chychrun last season, I bet they would have made the playoffs.

And who knows where they would be this year if Chychrun was playing 20 minutes a night and the Isles didn't need to rush Aho to the NHL or play Seidenberg? I know Chychrun missed some time at the start of the year due to recovery from off season knee surgery, but he is probably better than anyone not named Leddy or Boychuk right now and would have at least helped out a bit more when CdH went down.

Barring the Isles getting lucky and winning the lottery, target a few prospects that look like they can come quickly and make an honest effort to acquire them. That is my opinion given the state of the team. Again a lot depends on the outcome with JT.

 

[Sparksrus3]

I completely agree. I believe you only trade back to accumulate extra picks if you have no depth in your system and/or you just don't necessarily like any players in that spot and want to stock up a bit since you are ambivalent on the available players. at

Maybe Garth shows us this . He plays off 2012 draft but this time trades the Quines and Fritzes and Princes etc etc of our world and tries to aquire the entire 7th round of selections . Then Kevin Connolly, Kevin James, Sean Connery, Sean Landetta , and the little fat Wang kid whose all grown up now all rotate making our picks.
It would be the ultimate clown show. Garth can have his smirk, Weight can chew his gum, and we all can become Vegas fans .
JT why won't you sign? As circus organ music is playing in the background .
Now if we have 2 first rounders between pick 10 and 15 our selections will be good. It's only when we are top 5 we have trouble picking someone who can play for us .

 

[Tres Peleches]

Carolina is winning, Stars are losing.

Avalanche getting dominated but winning as of right now.

Need EDM and the Kings to win

 

[Tres Peleches]

Nvm, Hurricanes pulled their bed Islanders impression... even outdid them, cripes

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

If JT leaves, then you definitely have to think about a complete rebuild and maybe trade off anyone who brings back quality assets and just stockpile picks for the future. Then you even shop players like Leddy, Eberle, Lee, etc. You don't sell them at a discount by any means, but you listen to offers.

I've mentioned it earlier and in other threads, but I really don't feel like Tavares walking = rebuild.

Should he go, the organization just needs to focus the offense around Barzal and then bring in a coach who emphasizes defense.

Signing a Carlson and bringing in a solid goalie would go a long way as well, but even retaining Halak and having a much more defense-oriented system in place could do wonders.

Think Nashville.

What doesn't have you compete is having two scoring lines that score 4+ goals a game 40 times a season, get held to 2 or less the rest of the time, and then allow the most shots and goals against in the league all the while. Yep, that doesn't work.

Barring the Isles getting lucky and winning the lottery, target a few prospects that look like they can come quickly and make an honest effort to acquire them. That is my opinion given the state of the team. Again a lot depends on the outcome with JT.

Whether JT walks or not, conventional wisdom says that this team needs to use those picks on futures. Draft for draft, we're seeing more and more young guys come into this league and make things happen right away, much less in the 2-3 years after being drafted. The amount of guys 22 or younger playing key roles for their teams is just astounding right now. The amoungt of U24 players makes that list all that much bigger.

What we don't need now is to use those picks to get a Karlsson or Ekman-Larsson type, who has one year left on his contract. Those are guys you get if you're just a piece or two removed from the cup.

We're a defense-first coach away from even making the playoffs.

 

[danteipp]

Chapin, while I agree with some of what you said, even if the Isles want to follow the Nashville model and build around Barzal and the defense, it is going to take a substantial influx of talent on the blue line. They would need to add at least two top-4 defenders to the current cast. I like some of the prospects the Isles have already, but I don't necessarily see a clear top-4 player ready to break out. Maybe some nice 4/5's who could get there with more time and seasoning.

Now, will they be able to draft and develop two blue chipper's quickly? Probably not fast enough to maintain a competitive timeline. Maybe you get lucky and one comes quickly. So then they either need to trade for another piece or sign a free agent. If Tavares leaves, they might be able to overpay for a UFA but I would hate to do that if it means lots of term on the contract. Because then you have to decide if/how much you are paying Lee, Eberle, Nelson (I would trade him ASAP to fill another need like 3C) and after that you have Barzal, Beauvillier, etc. starting to creep up in terms of $$$ too.

To me, the worst thing this team could do is go halfway. You are either signing JT and fixing the issues on defense, in goal and on the third line - or you sell off some vet parts and really build for Belmont. You still build around Barzal and some of the young players like Beauvillier, Bellows, etc., but you try to make sure you also add another wave of talent ready to hit when you open your new arena. They don't have to sell off every vet, just the ones unlikely to still be playing at a high level in 2-3 seasons.

But either way, getting back to the 2018 draft thread, I am hoping the Isles can move up in the draft to get at least one premium talent, either by winning the lottery or trading up. It would be nice to add at least a cornerstone player regardless.

 

[buud]

Would anyone who has been following this draft class closely, like to attempt a ranking of the prospects in tiers?

Thanks.

 

[Isles1966]

I still have a gut feeling that with 3 years to go before the new building and making less at the gate with more and more games at the Coliseum, the owners may decide to lessen payroll by 10-15 million and try a mini rebuild to be really competitive when the new building opens.

So this draft will be crucial for the rebuild part and the next draft, I can see Nelson get traded for another first round pick.
If JT wants to sign Knowing this, expect Lee and Eberle to be traded next trade deadline, but I do not think JT will. Either way a top defence tacticle coach needs to be hired.