2018 NHL Entry Draft Thread (Less then 24 Hours Edition)

[Mike Hasselhoffman]

Boqvist and Hughes can become 1D.
Zadina can become an elite top line winger.
Usually you would choose the defenseman over the winger.
But in this case, Zadina's floor is a top 6 winger and Hughes/Boqvists floor are bottom pairing pp specialist.

At 3rd overall, you don't take the risk with Hughes/Boqvist when you got a much safer pick in Zadina who has as much potential as the other 2 (in his respective position).

Agreed. Best case scenario, Zadina ends up a similar caliber to Pastrnak. Worst case, he ends up as Galchenyuk. Likely ends somewhere in between a la Forsberg.

Big fan of both D-men but we need scoring and Zadina can provide that.

 

[WeThreeKings]

The only way Boqvist would become a PP specialist and not at least a top 4 day is if someone took a time gun and shot him back into the dead puck era.

 

[sandviper]

Boqvist has one of the highest ceilings in this draft IMO.

 

[NotProkofievian]

The only way Boqvist would become a PP specialist and not at least a top 4 day is if someone took a time gun and shot him back into the dead puck era.

Pretty bold claim about a player who hasn't been able to win himself a job in the SHL yet.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Pretty bold claim about a player who hasn't been able to win himself a job in the SHL yet.

I've seen his attitude and character per 60 charts.

 

[sandviper]

Pretty bold claim about a player who hasn't been able to win himself a job in the SHL yet.

True, but he was a 17 year old and still needs time physically to fill out. Yeah, Dahlin did this at 16, but that goes without saying he is in his own tier.

I still maintain Boqvist’s ceiling is among the highest in the draft and #2 defenceman after Dahlin IMO, but he’s not at the same point yet developmentally as some others yet.

 

[HuGort]

People are putting way too much emphasis on small tournaments these days.

Be interesting to see where Bob McKenzie ranks Thomas on his final rankings.

 

[Mrb1p]

Tournaments are pretty much the only games in which Denisenko has put up a dominant performance, and even that's been sporadic.

Ive seen Greg take over shifts in the MHL enough.

 

[S Bah]

I've seen Denisenko rip it. He can definitely shoot.

I'd take his Loko season with a grain of salt as well. I saw him get 3rd line minutes and Kovalenko (who's a bit older) aside, no one really produced. Slepets had an awful season there. Denisenko actually had one of the better ppgs despite all of this.

He's pretty much all skills. He has everything you want but sometimes he's a little too focused on unstructured play. Thats where the Afinogenov comparison is decent and why hes more of a mid to 20s pick. Id pick him high, but thats because after about 13 theres not much skill like his.

The big concern for all prospects is consistency, if he stands out on a 3rd line, he should be playing higher in the lineup.

Didn't look out of place next to a player like Svechnikov, even on the smaller ice surface. Definitely looked better than Khovanov in most areas.

In my viewings he was great in Plymouth but did tend to disappear at times in the couple Lokomotiv games I saw. Looks like the type of player who needs a specific environment to really thrive. Won't drive a line but he has top 30 talent, just the rest of his game and shift-to-shift consistency keeps me from putting him higher than 20's.

Which is why Khovanov has fallen into late 2nd besides injury issues. Denisov has talent, that's what makes him a 1st round target.

The tourney is an important metric because most of the players are part of the same age group and represent the best that group. It's one of the only times you can see them compete without making excuses like "oh the competition they play against is so much weaker/stronger/bigger/faster/slower"

This is a true measure of ability against talent, where the prospect needs to shine.

Tournaments are pretty much the only games in which Denisenko has put up a dominant performance, and even that's been sporadic.

See above, that's where shining is important, talented players are the NHL stars.

Ive seen Greg take over shifts in the MHL enough.

Want prospects that can dominate games and shifts, starts with dominating shifts, consistency brings game domination. Scouts look for those types of players, sometimes one shift like that can change their confidence. It starts with one shift in a game then two then... you get the idea Consistency.

 

[NotProkofievian]

See above, that's where shining is important, talented players are the NHL stars.

Forsberg was pretty mediocre in all his predraft NHL tournaments. So was Pastrnak. Meanwhile Collberg was brilliant at the same U18 tournament as Forsberg. Plenty of players have had mediocre or weak international tournaments and done well, and plenty have done better than Denisenko ever has and busted.

You have to watch these guys in a variety of situations to come to a proper conclusion about them. This is one reason why I don't really like the Canadian development system, from a drafting perspective. You only get to see these kids play in one or two tournaments, whereas everyone else plays about 5, and have access to the pro leagues. You really have a lot more independent sources of information for non-CHL players. Those sources, in Denisenko's case indicate a fantastically talented player who has trouble making an impact on a game by game basis. I'm not the only one saying this. One Russian poster said, a while back, that he would take Shafigullin ahead of Denisenko. That said, his talent puts a floor on how low he can sink in the draft for me. I won't change his ranking drastically (he's somewhere around 20-23 on my list).

 

[tooji]

I'm pretty solidly on the Zadina hype train. It will be nice to have a forward option besides chucky (who barely ever hits the net) that can actually snipe it on the powerplay. This kid just knows how to score...you can't teach that.

 

[Mrb1p]

Yeah I remember a lot of people whining about Forsberg's lack of production in the Allsvenskan and the WJC.

Not me. Not me, I had him as my favorite in the draft.

So get a load of this, I know more than all of you plebeians.

 

[ProspectsFanatic]

Anyone still has Wahlstrom at #3 or challenging that spot? Or am I left alone?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Anyone still has Wahlstrom at #3 or challenging that spot? Or am I left alone?

Have him at 4. Boqvist got me.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Anyone still has Wahlstrom at #3 or challenging that spot? Or am I left alone?

Zadina and Wahlstrom are 3 and 4 for me. Not a lot separating the two in my mind and I may end up leaning Wahlstrom by the draft.

 

[Mrb1p]

Anyone still has Wahlstrom at #3 or challenging that spot? Or am I left alone?

No reasons a guy like Wahlstrom should be ahead of Boqvist or Zadina, no matter how good a shot he has.

 

[NotProkofievian]

No reasons a guy like Wahlstrom should be ahead of Boqvist or Zadina, no matter how good a shot he has.

You're just lucky he has no more games to play this season. You can feel free now to say that he's not physically implicated in the game.

 

[tooji]

I simply like Zadina’s compete a bit more than Wahlstrom. I find Zadina hustles and battles more, more of a puck hound. I like his puck protection skills better than Wahlstrom. In terms of raw shooting ability I’d say they are about equal. I think Zadina’s vision is better too.

 

[NotProkofievian]

They're not equal in shooting ability. Wahlstrom has him beat. He has a wider array of shots that he can score with than Zadina. Where Zadina has the edge, to me, is that I think he is better at doing the sniper thing than Wahl-e is. He's better at getting lost and finding open ice. I can't remember too many goals where Wahlstrom disappears, only to be left alone in front of the goalie. He just overpowers most goalies.

 

[WeThreeKings]

They're not equal in shooting ability. Wahlstrom has him beat. He has a wider array of shots that he can score with than Zadina. Where Zadina has the edge, to me, is that I think he is better at doing the sniper thing than Wahl-e is. He's better at getting lost and finding open ice. I can't remember too many goals where Wahlstrom disappears, only to be left alone in front of the goalie. He just overpowers most goalies.

Wahlstroms equal to Zadina in the getting lost and finding open ice category. From my viewings of both, and this is a particular strength of Zadina that not a lot of players have. He's just better at anticipating where the puck is going to go, through crowds or scrambles or the cycle. That's a sense he has that's very strong. Wahlstroms still very good at getting lost in coverage or creating that little bit of space to get his one timer off.

I think people who say that Zadina is a better playmaker or has better vision are wrong. I can only say that you may get that impression if all you've seen us post Jack Hughes Wahlstrom. Where Wahlstroms is just smart enough to give Jack to puck to do his thing.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Wahlstroms equal to Zadina in the getting lost and finding open ice category. From my viewings of both, and this is a particular strength of Zadina that not a lot of players have. He's just better at anticipating where the puck is going to go, through crowds or scrambles or the cycle. That's a sense he has that's very strong. Wahlstroms still very good at getting lost in coverage or creating that little bit of space to get his one timer off.

I think people who say that Zadina is a better playmaker or has better vision are wrong. I can only say that you may get that impression if all you've seen us post Jack Hughes Wahlstrom. Where Wahlstroms is just smart enough to give Jack to puck to do his thing.

I agree with on the playmaking point, as well. Wahlstrom is actually a pretty good play maker, and he attempts to use that more than Zadina. This contributes to Wahlstrom being ''noticed'' more. Zadina will hand the puck off almost immediately and slither away. It's not a bad thing either, he's just committing to the sniper game.

 

[ProspectsFanatic]

Wahlstrom is also a faster skater which is the most important attribute to look at imo, your going to need that speed to create time&space for yourself and find spaces to make yourself available in order to be successful at the next level. I know Zadina isn't that bad of a skater, but when we are projecting elite, I have my concerns.

 

[Mrb1p]

Get a room you guys

 

[sandviper]

Anyone still has Wahlstrom at #3 or challenging that spot? Or am I left alone?

I have him ahead of Zadina.
Dahlin
Svechnikov
Boqvist
Wahlstrom
Zadina

That said, while I like Wahlstrom, I would be surprised if he’s ahead of Zadina or even Tkachuk on the Habs’ list.

 

[WinterLion]

Wahlstrom has the edge in size, skating and shot. Zadina has the edge in hockey sense and creativity. I think they are both going to be very good players, but I think Zadina will be harder to shut down, so I have him higher.