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

[Goldenhands]

Grant is high on Kotkaniemi now. He has him at 3rd.

he is high on him cause thats the only potent center in this draft and Grant seems to believe in a quick retool, so take that ranking for what its worth..

 

[jaffy27]

We should definitely try to get as many 2019 1sts as we can

How da f*** we do that? Other teams aren’t dumb, they know better than anyone here how freggin good that draft will be.....you talking about a full rebuild here aren’t you

 

[G0bias]

How da **** we do that? Other teams aren’t dumb, they know better than anyone here how freggin good that draft will be.....you talking about a full rebuild here aren’t you

What else is there? A Pacioretty + Byron package could net a 2019 1st plus a good prospect. Maybe packaging 2nds this year can entice a GM with no 2nds.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Thanks for your replies.

Based on what you've seen, is there any risk that Kotkaniemi may not be a C down the line? How do you view his work at center, does he have all of the attributes you'd be looking for (minus technical adjustments to his skating which most here believe are fixable since they don't involve adding speed but technique)?

Yes. There is always a risk that a junior center ends up as a winger, no matter how much that prospect has played that position. There's just twice as many jobs for wingers as centers.

As for your further questions, he played center at the U18s and the 5 nations, and IIRC at the Hlinka. He was pretty bad at the Hlinka, he was good at the 5 nations, and then he was excellent at the U18s: a 2 way force. Dangerous offensively, committed defensively. I like that pattern of development, especially for such a young player. He was better than Chytil in his draft year U18 appearance and I was convinced that Filip would play center at the NHL level.

 

[jaffy27]

What else is there? A Pacioretty + Byron package could net a 2019 1st plus a good prospect. Maybe packaging 2nds this year can entice a GM with no 2nds.

So you want to package Pacioretty and Byron for a 2019 1st round pick to a team who we don’t even know what there draft position will be?? So trade 55 nhl goals for a prospect and a 2019 first rounder that we don’t know where they’ll pick??......

Sorry man, but that would never fly.

 

[Habs Icing]

A thing of beauty. Second best defenseman in the draft (admittedly I haven't seen much of Boqvist)

From the little I've seen of Dobson, Hughes and Boqvist I'd rate them in the opposite order that I mentioned them and Dobson is a distant third.

 

[Habs Halifax]

What else is there? A Pacioretty + Byron package could net a 2019 1st plus a good prospect. Maybe packaging 2nds this year can entice a GM with no 2nds.

We can possibly get 3 1st in the 2018 draft!

- our pick
- Patch Trade
- Trade two 2nd rounders

Zadina, Kotkaniemi, Sandin

 

[Habs Halifax]

Even Turcotte, Cozens and Newhook will all be in the mix for top 3, possibly ahead of Dach. Wish we had next year's #3.

Lavoie from the Mooseheads might be a top 10 pick. I like his game and if he improves his skating, I can see him rising in value

 

[NotProkofievian]

Lavoie from the Mooseheads might be a top 10 pick. I like his game and if he improved his skating, I can see him rising in value

I really like Lavoie.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I really like Lavoie.

I actually liked Lavoie more than Zadina this past year! He is a beast and missed this draft year by a few days.

Looking forward to watching him next year in the memorial cup run. Mooseheads will be making moves

 

[MrNasty]

Grant is high on Kotkaniemi now. He has him at 3rd.

He has Kotkaniemi 4th. Zadina 3rd. You are looking at his mock draft. He has Tkachuk 5th.

 

[Habs Halifax]

If Lavoie was in the 2018 draft, where about does he get picked? Curious

 

[G0bias]

So you want to package Pacioretty and Byron for a 2019 1st round pick to a team who we don’t even know what there draft position will be?? So trade 55 nhl goals for a prospect and a 2019 first rounder that we don’t know where they’ll pick??......

Sorry man, but that would never fly.

I'm sure the Avs regret getting an unknown 1st from Ottawa who were in the playoff picture at the time of trade.

 

[G0bias]

If Lavoie was in the 2018 draft, where about does he get picked? Curious

Yeah I'm a big fan of Lavoie he's been great in Halifax and was a standout at the U18s. Being a 6'4 right-handed center with good wheels, he'd be in the conversation for #3 if he went this year. Which says alot considering we haven't seen his D-year.

 

[Fazkovsky]

It’s so hard to draft I can’t blame Timmins

After the 1st round it’s pretty much a. Crapshoot

How can you project guys like drury or jake McBain? They may become absolute studs even if drury is a bit undersized. Jake had a better season in a much better league though .

In the second round you can find subbans or kucherovs but don’t make those US projection picks such as tinordi, Kristo, McCaron . Learn from that . It’s better to take a chance on those in later rounds. 4th to 7th rounds are made to take risks such As cayden primeau, Jake Evans.First 3 rounds are made to draft players that stood out among his age class such as u-18 , u-20 , ushl , juniors. Kucherov was dominant In the mhl.I find even vejdemo was a bit of risk in the 3rd but he is improving

 

[Mrb1p]

If Lavoie was in the 2018 draft, where about does he get picked? Curious

Number 3 for sure, hed be extremely young (lets say we move his birthdate to the limit), a C, 6'4, talented as hell.

2019 is strong though and its going to be a huge year for him to prove if hes worth a top 10 or not, lets hope he falls to us, thatd be perfect.

Kotkaniemi, Poehling, Lavoie, Ikonen, Evans is as strong a C prospect pool as I can think of, short of landing Hughes.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Yeah I'm a big fan of Lavoie he's been great in Halifax and was a standout at the U18s. Being a 6'4 right-handed center with good wheels, he'd be in the conversation for #3 if he went this year. Which says alot considering we haven't seen his D-year.

I'm a fan of Lavoie as well but I'm not sure if I see him at C at the next level.

I'm a huge fan of Dach tho and want him if he continues his progression.

 

[Mrb1p]

I'm a fan of Lavoie as well but I'm not sure if I see him at C at the next level.

I'm a huge fan of Dach tho and want him if he continues his progression.

If a team wants a player to be a C, hell be a C. I can hardly see a reason why a player that has played C cant be groomed as an effevtive pro level center.

 

[Runner77]

So you want to package Pacioretty and Byron for a 2019 1st round pick to a team who we don’t even know what there draft position will be?? So trade 55 nhl goals for a prospect and a 2019 first rounder that we don’t know where they’ll pick??......

Sorry man, but that would never fly.

You can only get so much for a player like Pacioretty on an expiring contract, nearing 30 and coming off a bad season. The time to exact his best value has passed, it should have happened when he was coming off a better season and still had term on his deal.

If you can get a first rounder out of him next year and another asset TBD, I'd say make the deal. That pick stands a good chance of becoming a top 6C.

 

[Runner77]

If a team wants a player to be a C, hell be a C. I can hardly see a reason why a player that has played C cant be groomed as an effevtive pro level center.

C'mon, you can't apply that line of thinking to every organization. Look at how the Habs have handled their C position -- they can't groom shit.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Getting a pick in that 10 range for Pacioretty would be decent enough. Even if Kotkaniemi is off the board, Barrett Hayton would be a nice consolation prize.

 

[NotProkofievian]

We can possibly get 3 1st in the 2018 draft!

- our pick
- Patch Trade
- Trade two 2nd rounders

Zadina, Kotkaniemi, Sandin

*Alexeyev. But let's not get greedy.

 

[G0bias]

I'm diggin Cozens for next year personally.

As for Lavoie, apart from the odd awkward moments - it's obvious he's still adjusting to his lanky frame- I like what I see as far translating as a center. He's smart, committed and sees the ice well. Was probably Canada's best center after getting moved up between Lafreniere and Noel.

 

[NotProkofievian]

It’s so hard to draft I can’t blame Timmins

After the 1st round it’s pretty much a. Crapshoot

How can you project guys like drury or jake McBain? They may become absolute studs even if drury is a bit undersized. Jake had a better season in a much better league though .

In the second round you can find subbans or kucherovs but don’t make those US projection picks such as tinordi, Kristo, McCaron . Learn from that . It’s better to take a chance on those in later rounds. 4th to 7th rounds are made to take risks such As cayden primeau, Jake Evans.First 3 rounds are made to draft players that stood out among his age class such as u-18 , u-20 , ushl , juniors. Kucherov was dominant In the mhl.I find even vejdemo was a bit of risk in the 3rd but he is improving

I love Drury. He was a bit of an undesirable target early in the year, but there's no two ways about it: his year was tremendous. You can't really raise ''offensive concerns'' over a prospect that registered a point in almost every single game from November until the end of the season. He's a workhorse and a contributor all over the ice.

 

[Garnet76]

I love Drury. He was a bit of an undesirable target early in the year, but there's no two ways about it: his year was tremendous. You can't really raise ''offensive concerns'' over a prospect that registered a point in almost every single game from November until the end of the season. He's a workhorse and a contributor all over the ice.

Sounds like chris Drury. I'm sure they are related?