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

[Runner77]

But you've got Hayton and Veleno ranked just outside the top-10. Objectively rank Kotkaniemi against last year's draft and I don't have him in the top-10 of the first round or top-5 available centers.

Hayton gets no great shakes here, so I'll defer to our regulars.

But, Veleno? He belongs nowhere in the first round.

 

[NotProkofievian]

But you've got Hayton and Veleno ranked just outside the top-10. Objectively rank Kotkaniemi against last year's draft and I don't have him in the top-10 of the first round or top-5 available centers.

Yep, and there's just no reason why Kotkaniemi is ranked by everyone ahead of those guys except for the fact that he's a center. Nothing at all to do with his talent or upside.

I'd rather have Hischier, Pettersson and Glass than Kotkaniemi. Pretty even tie between him and Chytil, and that's with Chytil's excellent year. With what we knew by the draft, though? Kotkaniemi all the way.

 

[417]

Smart man.

I'll definitely challenge guys like WTK or NotProko on things they'll say...but I tip my hat for all of the information they have.

 

[Runner77]

I'll definitely challenge guys like WTK or NotPro on things they'll say...but I tip my hat for all of the information they have.

Seriously, I don't know how they do it. Watching hours and hours of film so we don't have to watch as much. And I hear the pay's not that great either.

Can't say it enough, kudos for all they do.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Seriously, I don't know how they do it. Watching hours and hours of film so we don't have to watch as much. And I hear the pay's not that great either.

Can't say it enough, kudos for all they do.

Honestly, it's 10 times easier to watch this stuff than habs games given where I live. The games are on-demand, which means that I can fast forward through all the bullshit. It takes me about an hour, hour-20 to watch a game, and I averaged about 4 or 5 games per week.

 

[Mrb1p]

But you've got Hayton and Veleno ranked just outside the top-10. Objectively rank Kotkaniemi against last year's draft and I don't have him in the top-10 of the first round or top-5 available centers.

Kotkaniemi is a better prospect than Andersson, Rasmussen, Vilardi, Suzuki and Tippett. He's in a similar tier to guys like Glass and Pettersson, he's just "under" the radar amongst fans.

 

[Mrb1p]

Honestly, it's 10 times easier to watch this stuff than habs games given where I live. The games are on-demand, which means that I can fast forward through all the bull****. It takes me about an hour, hour-20 to watch a game, and I averaged about 4 or 5 games per week.

Heh, it's much easier to watch through any junior level or what ever game than to watch the Habs period.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

But you've got Hayton and Veleno ranked just outside the top-10. Objectively rank Kotkaniemi against last year's draft and I don't have him in the top-10 of the first round or top-5 available centers.

I have him higher than all the center selected.

Kotkaniemi is getting vastly underrated it's insane.

 

[Bacchus1]

The best example of this IMHO was the Quebec Nordique's drafting Eric Lindros #1, Lindros & family balked at playing for Quebec. The efforts to trade Lindros became an NHL bidding war, eventually won by Philadelphia a year later, for a package that included Mike Ricci & Peter Forsberg amongst others. NYR's were up in arms feeling that Quebec had made the deal with them. Big time PR for the NHL, Lindros was considered a franchise type of center, which he was despite ever winning the SCC. Imagine Quebec with Lindros & Sakic & Roy playing in Quebec City, Lindros could have saved that franchise back then.
The 2018 Entry Draft biggest story IMHO is teams actually deciding which is the order of BPA from 2-5. Hard to differentiate the value of those players, truly evaluating the BPA eventually will be close. Boqvist, Svechnikov, Zadina & Hughes can all be great, possibly Kotkaneimi also. When considering the worth of many HOFers, picked outside of the Top Ten. Players like Larry Robinson, Bobby Clarke, Mike Bossy & Bryan Trottier come to mind, it's not an exact science is an understatement. Zadina bears a resemblance to Guy Lafleur.(Minus the blazing speed, Lafleur stood out as did the "Rocket" & the "Roadrunner"[Name given Yvan Cournoyer, whom ran the roads leading to the Forum, besides having blurring speed]). Hopefully the Habs can draft a very good blend of talent with speed given their many high 1st & 2nd round picks in 2018.

Thanks S Bah. I remember the trade well, but as you wrote, the deal was done after the draft. I’m talking about during the draft. Never seen that before. I wonder if there is some tacit agreement.

 

[Runner77]

Honestly, it's 10 times easier to watch this stuff than habs games given where I live. The games are on-demand, which means that I can fast forward through all the bull****. It takes me about an hour, hour-20 to watch a game, and I averaged about 4 or 5 games per week.

Yeah but then you have all that time invested in the more obscure prospects with the grainy camera on a swivel, like that 15 minute clip G0bias was kind enough to put together on O'Brien, where G0bias plucked highlights from 3 games O'Brien was in where he not only wore a different number in each of those games, but you couldn't even tell where he was on ice. G0bias ended up having to put a red circle around the guy when he was in the offensive zone.

I mean, how in the hell do you plow through that. Not to mention the extremely amateurish play by play that is a stock feature with the grainy swivel camera.

 

[The Great Weal]

Heh, it's much easier to watch through any junior level or what ever game than to watch the Habs period.

It's easier to watch paint dry than to watch half a period of Habs hockey.

 

[Mrb1p]

It's easier to watch paint dry than to watch half a period of Habs hockey.

Dry paint has more skill

 

[The Great Weal]

Dry paint has more skill

Maybe the Habs were saving all that cap space for dry paint as the #1 C?

 

[schnapshot]

Bad pick, better than the three you named though, because he's a plain better hockey player, if that makes sense. Nobody was surprised McCarron was drafted in the first round, it's not even a reach.

McCarron was ranked #52 by Future Considerations and around 45 by other scouting services. So yes, a few were surprised.

 

[Mrb1p]

Yeah but then you have all that time invested in the more obscure prospects with the grainy camera on a swivel, like that 15 minute clip G0bias was kind enough to put together on O'Brien, where G0bias plucked highlights from 3 games O'Brien was in where he not only wore a different number in each of those games, but you couldn't even tell where he was on ice. G0bias ended up having to put a red circle around the guy when he was in the offensive zone.

I mean, how in the hell do you plow through that. Not to mention the extremely amateurish play by play that is a stock feature with the grainy swivel camera.

The worst for me are russian leagues like the MHL, its tough to follow with the language being so foreign and the cyrillic alphabet, plus the camera quality... still do it though.

@WeThreeKings wouldnt know tho

 

[Mrb1p]

Maybe the Habs were saving all that cap space for dry paint as the #1 C?

Wait, isnt Cap space he 1C? Im confused, isnt he paid 9M?

 

[The Great Weal]

Wait, isnt Cap space he 1C? Im confused, isnt he paid 9M?

Probably has a better shot than hughes according to you

 

[Mrb1p]

Probably has a better shot than hughes according to you

Technically yes, as he never takes any shot, meanwhile all Hughes does is give up possession when he shoots.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Yeah but then you have all that time invested in the more obscure prospects with the grainy camera on a swivel, like that 15 minute clip G0bias was kind enough to put together on O'Brien, where G0bias plucked highlights from 3 games O'Brien was in where he not only wore a different number in each of those games, but you couldn't even tell where he was on ice. G0bias ended up having to put a red circle around the guy when he was in the offensive zone.

I mean, how in the hell do you plow through that. Not to mention the extremely amateurish play by play that is a stock feature with the grainy swivel camera.

Lol, yeah, and that's highschool hockey which is...I just can't do it. This is a hobby for me, I need to enjoy myself. SHL and Liiga (most teams) are actually fun to watch. The OHL, better teams in the Q, and some matchups in USHL and Jr. A are fun to watch too, but it depends more on who's playing. I'm not watching Madison vs Central Illinois. That's just bad hockey.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

McCarron was ranked #52 by Future Considerations and around 45 by other scouting services. So yes, a few were surprised.

Who ? Us amateurs ? At that point in the draft teams will have players ranked all over the place. Most drafts outside of the top 5 it's hard to have a consensus and the further you go, the more wild and unpredictable it becomes.

 

[sandviper]

Seriously, I don't know how they do it. Watching hours and hours of film so we don't have to watch as much. And I hear the pay's not that great either.

Can't say it enough, kudos for all they do.

I don't put nearly the time as some others so yeah, I will typically listen to what they have to say.

Thing is, I see a lot of bu**hurt people also when you counter their arguments. I typically choose my battles though and I'm careful about what I say if I can't back it up.

Maybe it's the academic in me, I always believe in not just the quality of source but also to make sure you get some quantity. I think I mentioned it in this thread, but I read... A LOT. I read scouting reports from multiple sources almost daily and if there is a prospect I want to learn about, well, I read more. I am also big on stats, so if I can, I'll go over stats as well.

At the same time, I harp on stats watchers. I always say you need more. Quantitative data is important and you can use that as a starting point, and I'll adapt qualitative analysis to understand the numbers. It sounds complicated, but it really isn't. However, I do this in order to determine if I need to do more research.

From there, I'll look for video or watch live games. I live in the heart of Ontario, so OHL research is easy for me.

The mock draft also gives you a great opportunity to learn about prospects, especially as you get past round 4. Myself for example, I keep a modest list of my top-50 players I know well. 50-100 players, I know enough to decide if I should read up more before drafting. Once it gets past 100 players, I'll zero in and pick 5-10 prospects every couple days for research.

I think this is the first time I really invested myself in prospect watching. When your team is garbage, it frees up more time to armchair scout. End of the day, many here put a lot more time. Guys who know 300+ prospects, I dunno how they do it.

 

[The Great Weal]

2019 NHL Mock Draft - NHL - DraftSite.com

Dem centers

 

[Mrb1p]

Lol, yeah, and that's highschool hockey which is...I just can't do it. This is a hobby for me, I need to enjoy myself. SHL and Liiga (most teams) are actually fun to watch. The OHL, better teams in the Q, and some matchups in USHL and Jr. A are fun to watch too, but it depends more on who's playing. I'm not watching Madison vs Central Illinois. That's just bad hockey.

I think a lot of what makes liiga and SHL good hockey is obviously, the skill level and big ice, but also these crazy euro/soccer style play by play announcers.

 

[The Great Weal]

I started my first round list but I gave up. I'm weak, forgive me.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I think a lot of what makes liiga and SHL good hockey is obviously, the skill level and big ice, but also these crazy euro/soccer style play by play announcers.

I can't listen to Canadian commentators now. Quite often they don't even tell you who has the puck, which is f***ing annoying. Put a sock in it, Ferraro, unless you're telling me who has the puck and what he's doing with it. I don't give a f*** who player x reminds you of.