2019 Draft Discussion

[Steve Zissou]

Obviously Caufield remains a stretch at #5, but hot damn the kid can bury the biscuit in the back of the net.

 

[Rusty Batch]

Could see Chicago taking Podkolzin, who'll be what they've been missing since Artemi Panarin.

Podkolzin reminds me alot more of a Jaden Schwartz type than a Panarin type.

 

[kilowatt]

new iss rankings: ISS Top 31 - Top Prospect Rankings

caufield higher than dach and zegras

if i try hard enough maybe i can will the kings drafting turcotte or byram into existence

 

[Herby]

Pronman's IIHF Under-18 highlights: Who will be the No. 3...

Pronman's U-18 article from the Athletic.

• Cole Caufield: Caufield was my vote for MVP of the tournament, an honor he did eventually win. He scored 14 goals, moving his season total to 72. He scored them in several different ways. Snipe jobs, hard plays to the net and breakaways. Caufield has had doubters in the industry all season, myself included in terms of the top 10 range, but he’s done too many good things lately. A six-goal game, a 14-goal tournament, so much skill and hockey sense, and a special shot that were all on display in Sweden made him a candidate with the very best in the draft crop. Talking to teams around the tournament, several scouts felt the 5-foot-7 winger was a candidate to be a top-five pick, with others feeling he’s more in the 6-10 range.

So Pronman seems to think it's consensus Top-10 with some scouts thinking Top-5. He won't go any higher than 3rd, and Chicago at 3 might be looking to fill bigger holes. But you can make a case for Colorado or the Kings taking him. The Kings desperately need goal-scoring and MacKinnon seems like he'd be the perfect center for Caufield with how much he handles the puck and how much attention he generates. Caufield is alot like Luc in that he has a world class shot and that knack for finding space to get it off, playing with Mac there would be a whole lot of space.

 

[Herby]

Lombardi made some reaches that didn't work out as planned (Teubert, Hickey) - but his draft philosophy was sound in building from the back and center.

Easier to do when you inherit a 19 year old HOF caliber center. Blake had no such luxury

 

[Frolov 6'3]

My choice for Toronto's pick;

Brink, Leeson, Harley, Kaliyev or someone who seriously drops.

 

[AzKing]

If Byram is there, he is going to be the pick I am starting to believe. That would probably mean that Turcotte is gone. I don't think that they will take Krebs that high and that isn't because I don't like him. I could see them going one of three in Byram, Turcotte or Cozens. If they go Forward then probably they go with a Defenseman with the 2nd pick especially if guys like Seider, Harley or Broberg are still on the board. Bjornfort seems rated a bit low. If he is there with their 2nd rounder, that would be a great value. If they can get that 20th pick, it would be fantastic. I am not as high on Robertson.

I like the Defense options that should be there more than the forwards with the 2nd pick. I don't see too many top 6 scoring Forwards at 20-23 but I do see some Top 4 Dmen.

 

[Scottkmlps]

If Byram is there, he is going to be the pick I am starting to believe. That would probably mean that Turcotte is gone. I don't think that they will take Krebs that high and that isn't because I don't like him. I could see them going one of three in Byram, Turcotte or Cozens. If they go Forward then probably they go with a Defenseman with the 2nd pick especially if guys like Seider, Harley or Broberg are still on the board. Bjornfort seems rated a bit low. If he is there with their 2nd rounder, that would be a great value. If they can get that 20th pick, it would be fantastic. I am not as high on Robertson.

I like the Defense options that should be there more than the forwards with the 2nd pick. I don't see too many top 6 scoring Forwards at 20-23 but I do see some Top 4 Dmen.

I would be surprised if Byram got past Chicago. They need a replacement for Keith, he would fill that hole.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Pronman's IIHF Under-18 highlights: Who will be the No. 3...

Pronman's U-18 article from the Athletic.



So Pronman seems to think it's consensus Top-10 with some scouts thinking Top-5. He won't go any higher than 3rd, and Chicago at 3 might be looking to fill bigger holes. But you can make a case for Colorado or the Kings taking him. The Kings desperately need goal-scoring and MacKinnon seems like he'd be the perfect center for Caufield with how much he handles the puck and how much attention he generates. Caufield is alot like Luc in that he has a world class shot and that knack for finding space to get it off, playing with Mac there would be a whole lot of space.

Verbalized it a lot better than I could. Caufield isn't going to carry the play, but he's going to finish it all. Guy has just scored on every level immensely. He's Toffoli on roids. Put him next to McDavid, MacKinnon, or anyone who can draw attention and make plays and he'll pot 50.

 

[kovacro]

I would be surprised if Byram got past Chicago. They need a replacement for Keith, he would fill that hole.

I wouldn't, their pipeline is stocked with defense prospects as @johnjm22 noted on the previous page of this thread.

And his list didn't even include Chad Krys who is another pretty good defenseman prospect they have.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I wonder if any of this would dispel the "don't draft a Russian" mindset?




Bowman also had this to say about Caufield and the comparison to DeBrincat:

A lot of people are making the Alex DeBrincat comparison with Cole Caufield. In trying to figure out where Caufield should get picked. I’d be curious where you think DeBrincat would go in a re-draft of the 2016 draft. Has to be top five, right?
During the season I looked at it. I think he’s probably third or fourth in goals (from that draft). It’s (Auston) Matthews, (Patrik) Laine and (Matthew) Tkachuk who have more goals. Tkachuk has played a full year more. Goals per game, he (DeBrincat) might be third in the draft. So you’d have to think he would be, I don’t know, top five, top 10, for sure.

Do you see those same comparisons when you watch both Caufield and DeBrincat?
They’re both smaller right-handed forwards with incredible goalscoring abilities. I think they’ve probably both been questioned because they’re smaller guys – ‘Well, yeah, he’s not going to do it’ – and they keep doing it, year after year. In Alex’s case, he scored 50 goals three years in a row. The first year, he’s with Connor McDavid, right. Then he’s with Dylan Strome. OK. Then he’s by himself and he scored 65 goals by himself. OK, maybe it’s not a fluke, right?
Cole is sort of the same thing – yeah, he’s playing with Jack Hughes. But I think they’ve both benefitted from each other. He just keeps scoring. The thing about Alex that I see a lot in Cole, the reason they’re open all the time – there’s a lot of guys who aren’t open all the time. They don’t have the anticipation or the ability to be where they can get their shot off. Then you have to have that great release to score like he does.

Any predictions on where Caufield ends up getting selected?
He’s going to go a lot higher than DeBrincat.

(laughs) That’s safe to say.
He did something that’s never been done.

I know, it’s crazy. He didn’t just beat U.S. goal-scoring records. He obliterated them.
Just look at what he did in the USHL last year as a 16-year-old, like, that’s a really hard league to score in. Look every year, I don’t think there was a 40-goal scorer this year. It might have been maybe one or two. It’s not like it’s a super high-scoring league. For a 16-year-old kid to go in and score as much as he did, it was like, ‘Wow. How is he doing it?’

 

[KINGS17]

Pronman's IIHF Under-18 highlights: Who will be the No. 3...

Pronman's U-18 article from the Athletic.



So Pronman seems to think it's consensus Top-10 with some scouts thinking Top-5. He won't go any higher than 3rd, and Chicago at 3 might be looking to fill bigger holes. But you can make a case for Colorado or the Kings taking him. The Kings desperately need goal-scoring and MacKinnon seems like he'd be the perfect center for Caufield with how much he handles the puck and how much attention he generates. Caufield is alot like Luc in that he has a world class shot and that knack for finding space to get it off, playing with Mac there would be a whole lot of space.

It's going to be interesting to see how the dominoes fall in picks 4 through 10. If there is a Caufield or Turcotte that falls a little, it would be nice if Blake could package the Toronto 1st, the Kings 2nd, and whatever he has to add from the existing NHL roster to move up and get another top 10 through 12 pick in the 1st round. Not sure if that kind of deal would be on the table from another team, but it would definitely be worth exploring.

 

[Herby]

I think many fans just have a hard time accepting that someone 5'7 might be a top 5 pick in a draft. Same thing is happening in the NFL with QB's. Even 5-6 years ago it would have been unheard of to see a guy Kyler Murray's size go #1 overall. But times change, sports evolve. NBA centers is another example. 7'1 post centers are now almost obsolete in a guard driven league.

 

[Herby]

It's going to be interesting to see how the dominoes fall in picks 4 through 10. If there is a Caufield or Turcotte that falls a little, it would be nice if Blake could package the Toronto 1st, the Kings 2nd, and whatever he has to add from the existing NHL roster to move up and get another top 10 through 12 pick in the 1st round. Not sure if that kind of deal would be on the table from another team, but it would definitely be worth exploring.

Would still like to have both the guys going to Wisconsin, love them both as players, and it fits a need for the Kings with skilled players. They could both tear it up in Madison for two years and join the Kings for the 2021 playoffs.

I kind of get the feeling Caufield has maybe jumped Turcotte, so if anyone falls it might be Turcotte. But I just don't know if the Kings have enough to move into the top 10. What would it take in addition to TOR 1st and our 2nd to move up to the top 10?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I wonder if any of this would dispel the "don't draft a Russian" mindset?

It doesn't for me. Plenty of east coast teams--most notably the Rangers and Caps--have ZERO issues with Russians. Maybe it's closer to home, maybe there's a solid Russian community, I don't know. But LA has shit luck, as does the entire west coast. How many Russians are there in the Pacific? Just Goldobin? And he's marginal. Gusev with VGK but he has yet to play.

 

[KINGS17]

Would still like to have both the guys going to Wisconsin, love them both as players, and it fits a need for the Kings with skilled players. They could both tear it up in Madison for two years and join the Kings for the 2021 playoffs.

I kind of get the feeling Caufield has maybe jumped Turcotte, so if anyone falls it might be Turcotte. But I just don't know if the Kings have enough to move into the top 10. What would it take in addition to TOR 1st and our 2nd to move up to the top 10?

Well, let's see we have the following:

7. Buffalo Sabres
8. Edmonton Oilers
9. Anaheim Ducks
10. Vancouver Canucks

I think all of those teams with the exception of the Ducks might listen to an offer from the Kings, if it involved a veteran that fits their immediate needs to improve enough to get a playoff spot next season. Martinez would definitely be a prime candidate for inclusion in that type of deal, maybe Lewis, maybe sweeten the deal further with the addition of Clifford?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

It doesn't for me. Plenty of east coast teams--most notably the Rangers and Caps--have ZERO issues with Russians. Maybe it's closer to home, maybe there's a solid Russian community, I don't know. But LA has **** luck, as does the entire west coast. How many Russians are there in the Pacific? Just Goldobin? And he's marginal. Gusev with VGK but he has yet to play.

Here's a list of every Russian in the NHL.
http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?rep...r=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points,goals,assists

Most are definitely in the East, but the West has two really good ones in Radulov and Tarasenko (who are both tearing it up in the playoffs).

After those names, in the West you have Anisimov, Kovalchuk, and then its a steep drop. Some prospects like Goldobin and Barbashev who have produced some numbers in bottom six roles.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Here's a list of every Russian in the NHL.
http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?rep...r=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points,goals,assists

Most are definitely in the East, but the West has two really good ones in Radulov and Tarasenko (who are both tearing it up in the playoffs).

After those names, in the West you have Anisimov, Kovalchuk, and then its a steep drop. Some prospects like Goldobin and Barbashev who have produced some numbers in bottom six roles.

I forgot Zadorov, he's at least a little closer.

And the closest of those in Radulov is 1500 miles and two time zones away from the Pacific.

I think the bigger problem is I'm also not sold on Pod as a prospect so the risk is too much for me to stomach.

 

[kings11]

Well, let's see we have the following:

7. Buffalo Sabres
8. Edmonton Oilers
9. Anaheim Ducks
10. Vancouver Canucks

I think all of those teams with the exception of the Ducks might listen to an offer from the Kings, if it involved a veteran that fits their immediate needs to improve enough to get a playoff spot next season. Martinez would definitely be a prime candidate for inclusion in that type of deal, maybe Lewis, maybe sweeten the deal further with the addition of Clifford?

Buffalo and Edmonton would be our best bets...
BUF- 7OA+Bogosian for 20-23rd OA+Martinez($1mill ret.)+Toffoli($1mill ret.)
EDM- 8OA+Sekera for 20-23rd OA+33OA+Toffoli

what else would we need to add... because if we do this we better end up with Alex and Cole

 

[Herby]

EDM and BUF would be ideal trade partners if the Kings had a very good 26-28 year old star or semi-star player, say like Richards was when he was traded here. Because they are kind of tired of rebuilding and would probably rather have an established good player than an 18 year old kid 2-3 years away. This is another area where the collapse of Pearson and Toffoli has hurt the Kings, this would have been an ideal time to cash in those chips.

If Toffoli were coming off a 35-30 type season (he had 58 pts at 24) he would be a big piece of getting a top 10 pick. But how he's played the last 120 games? No chance.

 

[KINGS17]

I think many fans just have a hard time accepting that someone 5'7 might be a top 5 pick in a draft. Same thing is happening in the NFL with QB's. Even 5-6 years ago it would have been unheard of to see a guy Kyler Murray's size go #1 overall. But times change, sports evolve. NBA centers is another example. 7'1 post centers are now almost obsolete in a guard driven league.

Meh, give me a Ratenan-type player anytime over a 5-7 guy. Problem is finding them though. Guarantee you in the playoffs a guy with size and skill beats small and skill every time.

 

[kings11]

Meh, give me a Ratenan-type player anytime over a 5-7 guy. Problem is finding them though. Guarantee you in the playoffs a guy with size and skill beats small and skill every time.

Are we talking Kings style hockey

 

[KINGS17]

Are we talking Kings style hockey

We're talking any style hockey.

 

[kings11]

We're talking any style hockey.

Physical hockey almost always wins out in the POs. when you have skill but can also grind down your opponents, odds are you'll get far. The Caps beat the VGK because they banged them, the shorks did the same... Carolina is doing it to NYI while CBJ and BOS are the equivalent of a Mexico Vs Puerto Rico boxing match..

 

[KopitarFAN]

My choice for Toronto's pick;

Brink, Leeson, Harley, Kaliyev or someone who seriously drops.

Hoven actually mentioned Kaliyev, but not in the early 20s.

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