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

[The Great Weal]

Takes are meant to be hot, breau.

I like him too, but a tad too high for me. Definitely a 1st round talent though.

 

[NotProkofievian]

On the topic of YESperi GOATkaniemi and his skating, I just thought I'd share this little video. Kotkaniemi is really good at doing this. I've seen him do it several times in Liiga, and not just as a defensive play using the net either. In one of the last games of the season he actually pulled this in the offensive zone, on the half wall. He baited an attacker in just to open up space for himself in the middle. Then, with his surprising directional mobility he cut to the center and had a clean scoring chance. He opened up a good body length for himself in a prime scoring opportunity with a little bit of trickery.

 

[Mrb1p]

DO you think he can be that on this team? Drouin plays too quick for Zadina's style IMO. A centre like Tavares would get the best out of Zadina. But we don't have that centre for him.

Yes I think so. If Pacioretty can do it with Desharnais why can't Zadina do it, who has much the much better array of shots and playmaking skills/tenacity and overall game. One thing is for sure, Zadina, Galchenyuk, Drouin, Weber, Petry and Gallagher are really good to have on the powerplay and that's where Zadina would shine, whereas Pac sucks there. I think the whole sniper mantra got caught on Zadina and it's unfair. Kid can do much more than sit on the ice and shoot. He's got hands for days, he can turn on a dime, he's smart (Much more than Wahlstrom if I may.), he works hard, he's deceptive AND to top it all off he might be the 2nd best shooter in the draft.

I never said he was meh. He's a goal scoring winger who's gonna need a play driver on his line. He doesn't rate up as high as Voracek, Hischier, Ehlers, MacKinnon or Drouin from their draft years. You would like to get more at #3.

You've clearly stated that he's unimpressive as a 3rd forward picked, just in this post you're stating he doesn't rate as high as Ehlers, Drouin and Voracek... Kinda telling. I think he's comparable, and if he's not, he shouldn't be anywhere near a top 10.

I think muh boy Barry will play wing from now on. He's 14 on my list. Kaut is 15.

There's still a really good center skillset in Berggren and a competent team that picks him will get a top 6 C, anyway, you could do a lot worse than a top 6 winger.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Yes I think so. If Pacioretty can do it with Desharnais why can't Zadina do it, who has much the much better array of shots and playmaking skills/tenacity and overall game. One thing is for sure, Zadina, Galchenyuk, Drouin, Weber, Petry and Gallagher are really good to have on the powerplay and that's where Zadina would shine, whereas Pac sucks there. I think the whole sniper mantra got caught on Zadina and it's unfair. Kid can do much more than sit on the ice and shoot. He's got hands for days, he can turn on a dime, he's smart (Much more than Wahlstrom if I may.), he works hard, he's deceptive AND to top it all off he might be the 2nd best shooter in the draft.



You've clearly stated that he's unimpressive as a 3rd forward picked, just in this post you're stating he doesn't rate as high as Ehlers, Drouin and Voracek... Kinda telling. I think he's comparable, and if he's not, he shouldn't be anywhere near a top 10.



There's still a really good center skillset in Berggren and a competent team that picks him will get a top 6 C, anyway, you could do a lot worse than a top 6 winger.

Well being from Halifax and seeing all of these guys live.. I have a pretty good handle on them all.

When those guys had the puck. You knew they were going to create something every time. They were absolutely dominant. Zadina was not that way to the point he was non existent against Charlottetown.

Zadina is a prototypical sniper where you don't notice him all the much until the puck is in the net. He's valuable in that sense but yes, as a #3 overall, when you're hoping for a guy who will run the offense.. he's not it.

 

[Redux91]

I never said he was meh. He's a goal scoring winger who's gonna need a play driver on his line. He doesn't rate up as high as Voracek, Hischier, Ehlers, MacKinnon or Drouin from their draft years. You would like to get more at #3.

1 goal in 12 WJC games voracek?, i know youll bite me in the ass for bringing up WJC lol but surely Zadina ranks as high as voracek and ehlers , mack and hischier are faster so ill give you that, and i guess i hold drouin higher even with theshitty year he had i think he's still capable of being one of the best playmakers in the league with the right team

Adding Zadina would be massive, but at this point, ill be happy with anybody i almost dont care, being 3 is better than 7, the REAL thing here is about getting another 1st round pick imo

 

[Redux91]

Yes I think so. If Pacioretty can do it with Desharnais why can't Zadina do it, who has much the much better array of shots and playmaking skills/tenacity and overall game. One thing is for sure, Zadina, Galchenyuk, Drouin, Weber, Petry and Gallagher are really good to have on the powerplay and that's where Zadina would shine, whereas Pac sucks there. I think the whole sniper mantra got caught on Zadina and it's unfair. Kid can do much more than sit on the ice and shoot. He's got hands for days, he can turn on a dime, he's smart (Much more than Wahlstrom if I may.), he works hard, he's deceptive AND to top it all off he might be the 2nd best shooter in the draft.



You've clearly stated that he's unimpressive as a 3rd forward picked, just in this post you're stating he doesn't rate as high as Ehlers, Drouin and Voracek... Kinda telling. I think he's comparable, and if he's not, he shouldn't be anywhere near a top 10.



There's still a really good center skillset in Berggren and a competent team that picks him will get a top 6 C, anyway, you could do a lot worse than a top 6 winger.

Man youre really coming around lately! lmao i agree with everything

 

[schnapshot]

I never said he was meh. He's a goal scoring winger who's gonna need a play driver on his line. He doesn't rate up as high as Voracek, Hischier, Ehlers, MacKinnon or Drouin from their draft years. You would like to get more at #3.

Strangely enough, he has the same PPG Voracek had (1.44 vs 1.45) and the same GPG Ehlers had (0.77). He's also similar stats-wise when it comes to Hischier, who had 4 more points in the same amount of games. Voracek went after Alzner and Hickey, and Ehlers went after guys like Dal Colle, Virtanen and Fleury. Sure they were very good prospects, but at the time they weren't clear cut top 5 prospects like Zadina is.

Stats don't tell the whole story but what he did this year with Halifax is pretty damn good compared to three of the five guys you named. I believe he definitely deserves the number 3 rank.

 

[tooji]

I have a hot take here guys: Zadina and Svech will have very comparable rookie seasons... reasoning: Svech relies a lot on physically dominating weaker competition in a way that won’t be as feasible in the NHL. Zadina relies more on hockey IQ and finding soft spots on the ice which is more translatable.

 

[habsterr]

1. Rasmus Dahlin
2. Andrei Svechnikov
3. Filip Zadina
4. Adam Boqvist
5. Noah Dobson
6. Oliver Wahlstrom
7. Quinn Hughes
8. Brady Tkachuk
9. Evan Bouchard
10. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
11. Ty Smith
12. Joel Farabee
13. Joe Veleno
14. Grigori Denisenko
15. Barrett Hayton

 

[WeThreeKings]

1 goal in 12 WJC games voracek?, i know youll bite me in the ass for bringing up WJC lol but surely Zadina ranks as high as voracek and ehlers , mack and hischier are faster so ill give you that, and i guess i hold drouin higher even with the****ty year he had i think he's still capable of being one of the best playmakers in the league with the right team

Adding Zadina would be massive, but at this point, ill be happy with anybody i almost dont care, being 3 is better than 7, the REAL thing here is about getting another 1st round pick imo

Voracek in the Q for the Mooseheads.. up to that point was one of the most dynamic players I've ever seen live at that level. Every time he had the puck he made something happen. Speed and playmaking. He had it all. What a player.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Poehling is looking good, I agree. Kotkaniemi just has every tool Poehling has, and more. He's also an awesome shooter.

Kot has the better shot, but Poehling is the better skater. Poehling is also more of a sure fire center.

 

[Mrb1p]

Kot has the better shot, but Poehling is the better skater. Poehling is also more of a sure fire center.

I really don't think Poehling is a better skater than Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi has top notch agility, Poehling has meh skating all over the board.

Also, center or not is mostly a developemental thing, not a base potential. If a team thinks a player is a C, he'll be a C. (If the players wants it.)

 

[Mrb1p]

Well being from Halifax and seeing all of these guys live.. I have a pretty good handle on them all.

When those guys had the puck. You knew they were going to create something every time. They were absolutely dominant. Zadina was not that way to the point he was non existent against Charlottetown.

Zadina is a prototypical sniper where you don't notice him all the much until the puck is in the net. He's valuable in that sense but yes, as a #3 overall, when you're hoping for a guy who will run the offense.. he's not it.

I think he's better on the rush than you give him credit for. How many of his goals came off the rush this year ? It seemed to go in every time he walked down from the blue line.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

I really don't think Poehling is a better skater than Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi has top notch agility, Poehling has meh skating all over the board.

Also, center or not is mostly a developemental thing, not a base potential. If a team thinks a player is a C, he'll be a C. (If the players wants it.)

I disagree on both counts but I guess we can just leave it at that.

 

[Andrei79]

Apparently, Button said Kotkaniemi would be no later than 5th on his next list.

 

[Andrei79]

Voracek in the Q for the Mooseheads.. up to that point was one of the most dynamic players I've ever seen live at that level. Every time he had the puck he made something happen. Speed and playmaking. He had it all. What a player.

This is exactly how I remember it.

I'll add his WJC production was in no way representative of how he played. He looked amazing.

We see this every year, consensus is usually wrong after the 1st and 2nd pick, thats why posters in the draft GDT should keep an open mind on Boqvist and Kotkaniemi. They may not be at the same developmental point as Zadina, but theyre also much younger, showed more variety in their skills and progressed faster.

 

[Janne Niinimaa]

I disagree on both counts but I guess we can just leave it at that.

Man you're really going to be disappointed in Poehling.

 

[beaverBFP]

One thing I found to be interesting and not talked about too much, this was Zadinas first year on NA ice meanwhile Svechnikov played in the USHL last year. Makes me wonder what one more year of adjusting to NA ice would do for Zadina.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Man you're really going to be disappointed in Poehling.

Before the season he said that he's the best C prospect not in the NHL.. so yeah.

 

[Janne Niinimaa]

Before the season he said that he's the best C prospect not in the NHL.. so yeah.

Oh so he definitely will.

 

[Saxon]

One thing I found to be interesting and not talked about too much, this was Zadinas first year on NA ice meanwhile Svechnikov played in the USHL last year. Makes me wonder what one more year of adjusting to NA ice would do for Zadina.

Svechnikov is better at everything except stick hadnling. Way better skater, better shot, better along the boards, better defensively player. Literally everything but stick handling. Svechnikov is closer Dahlin than he is to Zadina.

 

[The Great Weal]

Whether we draft Zadina/Wahlstrom, we need that center so badly.

 

[ProspectsFanatic]

What did Denisenko done to deserve staying in the top15?

 

[G0bias]

It's probably been answered a few times but simply put, is there fair depth in 2nd/3rd rounds of this draft? Like I'm not asking if it's a stud draft or anything, just if our 2nds can potentially pick up a few good players.

Along with its top 2, this draft's strength is probably its 2nd round.

Last year's top 15-20 had more value compared to this year but I think there's gonna be a greater number of solid picks coming out of this year's 2nd than most.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Man you're really going to be disappointed in Poehling.

On the contrary, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Shot might be inconsistant but his offensive tools are under the radar very good. Everything else is quite excellent.