Pre-Game Talk: 2019 NHL Draft, Pt. V: Got your ticket? (Mod note in pinned post)

[F A N]

I actually think Moritz Seider will be a better D option than the guys being talked about in the 10-15 range. It kinda reminds me of 2016 when people were talking about Chychrun, Sergachev and Juolevi, but McAvoy looked like he could be the better option (but was rated a bit lower).

Taking Newhook at 10, and then moving up from our 2nd round pick to grab Seider in the back half of round 1 would be nice.

I like Seider too but you think he would go as late as the back half of round 1? I think Seider has a claim to be the 2nd best Dman to be taken (although he'll likely be taken behind Broberg) so he's a guy that can go real early.

 

[Timmer44]

Can anybody remember any examples of a pre-draft injury that dropped a player out of the top 10 like Krebs potentially could?

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

What time do the doors open for day 1 of the draft? Is it 1 hour before the event starts?

 

[VanillaCoke]

Can anybody remember any examples of a pre-draft injury that dropped a player out of the top 10 like Krebs potentially could?

Easy one, Jake Virtanen

 

[Horvat1C]

I would be pretty happy if Broberg went before our pick.

 

[Bleach Clean]

Interesting note in that Sat Twitter thread:

That's crazy to me, if true.

I've been thinking on this for a while, mostly because I want Zegras to fall, but it does not seem that outlandish to me.

The potential destinations for Zegras include DET, BUF and EDM. I don't think LA or ANA take him. Their past draft history suggests that they will take a bigger, or at least more robust player type. Someone like Dach or Boldy.

EDM has huge organizational holes at W, D and G. Holland is on record saying he prefers Cs and Ds. However, they are set at centre... A Dman makes a great deal of sense for them if they are chasing need.

DET and BUF offer the highest likelihood of taking Zegras, but DET will have its pick of Cozens, Podkolzin or Dach. I can't see them forgo those combinations of size + skill to shoot for the moon on skill alone. They should get one of Cozens or Dach. Or they shock and pick up size + skill in Broberg.

Next, BUF is going to the US. Wing is a more pressing need for them, and player type is paramount. They have small and skilled, they don't have size + versatility + skill in their top6. This is where I think Boldy goes.

So you see, unless ANA does about an about-face on their draft tendencies, I think Zegras will slip past to pick #10. It's DET or BUF that has me the most concerned that Zegras will not make it through.

Tbh, I have been their biggest cheerleader over the years, but their final list is something odd. I listened to many interviews from mark earlier in the year, he explained that for this scouting season, they switched to a whole new scouting system, which rates each prospect in categories to mimic NHL team's methods. But holy, I can't say I agree with their final conclusion very much. Anyways, something to consider.

I think the wildcard (McAvoy) is Harley.

Harley is high end, as is York. Early on I had Soderstrom and Heinola in consideration, but Brackett was forced to take a Dman, I would go with one of these two NA options. They are being severely underrated.

Yeah, I don't agree with HP's ranking or how they see Newhook/Krebs. It's off, IMO. The scouting change is a good explanation for it.

 

[TruGr1t]

Heh yeah unfortunately I totally see Zegras going to the Wings at 6 and Cozens going to Buffalo at 7.

 

[DFAC]

I've been thinking on this for a while, mostly because I want Zegras to fall, but it does not seem that outlandish to me.

The potential destinations for Zegras include DET, BUF and EDM. I don't think LA or ANA take him. Their past draft history suggests that they will take a bigger, or at least more robust player type. Someone like Dach or Boldy.

EDM has huge organizational holes at W, D and G. Holland is on record saying he prefers Cs and Ds. However, they are set at centre... A Dman makes a great deal of sense for them if they are chasing need.

DET and BUF offer the highest likelihood of taking Zegras, but DET will have its pick of Cozens, Podkolzin or Dach. I can't see them forgo those combinations of size + skill to shoot for the moon on skill alone. They should get one of Cozens or Dach. Or they shock and pick up size + skill in Broberg.

Next, BUF is going to the US. Wing is a more pressing need for them, and player type is paramount. They have small and skilled, they don't have size + versatility + skill in their top6. This is where I think Boldy goes.

So you see, unless ANA does about an about-face on their draft tendencies, I think Zegras will slip past to pick #10. It's DET or BUF that has me the most concerned that Zegras will not make it through.





Harley is high end, as is York. Early on I had Soderstrom and Heinola in consideration, but Brackett was forced to take a Dman, I would go with one of these two NA options. They are being severely underrated.

Yeah, I don't agree with HP's ranking or how they see Newhook/Krebs. It's off, IMO.

This is how I see it playing out:

NJ-Hughes
NYR-Kaako
CHI-Byram
COL-Turcotte
LA-Dach
DET-Cozens
BUF-Zegras
EDM-Krebs
ANA-Boldy

Leaving us to choose between Broberg, Caufield, Newhook or Podz.

Newhook is the easy choice for me here, followed by Caufield. Who would you guys pick?

 

[The Drop]

if that's what is to choose from I'd guess that the Canucks take Broberg.

 

[TruGr1t]

This is how I see it playing out:

NJ-Hughes
NYR-Kaako
CHI-Byram
COL-Turcotte
LA-Dach
DET-Cozens
BUF-Zegras
EDM-Krebs
ANA-Boldy

Leaving us to choose between Broberg, Caufield, Newhook or Podz.

Newhook is the easy choice for me here, followed by Caufield. Who would you guys pick?

That's pretty close for me, but it sounds like Broberg will replace Krebs in the top nine.

I'm personally hoping Boldy falls, though I would not mind Broberg or Newhook either.

 

[Teflon Jim]

I think they would take Newhook or reach for Seider as he's a big riser and seems to fit what Jim is looking for in a rhd. After all he seems to want one after saying how well SLB are doing in the playoffs with big dmen

 

[Bleach Clean]

This is how I see it playing out:

NJ-Hughes
NYR-Kaako
CHI-Byram
COL-Turcotte
LA-Dach
DET-Cozens
BUF-Zegras
EDM-Krebs
ANA-Boldy

Leaving us to choose between Broberg, Caufield, Newhook or Podz.

Newhook is the easy choice for me here, followed by Caufield

I think we have to lend weight to the intel we are getting. Reporters beyond Sat Shah have intimated that Broberg will go before pick 10. Shah has isolated EDM or ANA, but DET is also a possibility. Stauffer has also linked EDM with Broberg. There's smoke there.

Button is also very, very sure that Caufield will go early. He's the wildcard.

If it goes like you suggested, then it's all on BUF. If they go with Zegras, then one of Krebs or Boldy should be there at 10 along with Newhook. If they go with Boldy, then Zegras has a strong chance of being there at 10, IMO.

 

[Cquant]

This is how I see it playing out:

NJ-Hughes
NYR-Kaako
CHI-Byram
COL-Turcotte
LA-Dach
DET-Cozens
BUF-Zegras
EDM-Krebs
ANA-Boldy

Leaving us to choose between Broberg, Caufield, Newhook or Podz.

Newhook is the easy choice for me here, followed by Caufield. Who would you guys pick?

Caufield has the swagger. Podkolzin has the potential. Newhook is the safe bet. And I'd have Seider as the top defenseman here.
I'd go Podkolzin, Seider, Caufield, Newhook, Broberg in terms of potential.

I'm honestly hoping someone falls. I have Boldy ranked around 6/7. It's going to be darn hard making that decision. Benning will either have the easiest decision of his life to make (if someone falls), or a very hard one. The last time he had a hard decision to make, he picked up Boeser. If we're really going with skill it should be Caufield. If we're going for skill and speed it's Newhook. I'd personally probably go for Podz or Seider, preferably Seider due to the premium in position and because Podz will take quite a bit of time to get over here - right about when Lind and Gadjovich will be looking to get into the lineup.

 

[VIPettersson]

This is how I see it playing out:

NJ-Hughes
NYR-Kaako
CHI-Byram
COL-Turcotte
LA-Dach
DET-Cozens
BUF-Zegras
EDM-Krebs
ANA-Boldy

Leaving us to choose between Broberg, Caufield, Newhook or Podz.

Newhook is the easy choice for me here, followed by Caufield. Who would you guys pick?

Krebs probably falls due to his injury, I see Newhook rising.

For me it would go C. Caufield, Broberg, Podz, Krebs

 

[DownGoesMcDavid]

Can anybody remember any examples of a pre-draft injury that dropped a player out of the top 10 like Krebs potentially could?

Gabe Vilardi. And rightfully so...his career is probably over now.

Back injuries are worse than ligament injuries tho.

 

[CanaFan]

I think we have to lend weight to the intel we are getting. Reporters beyond Sat Shah have intimated that Broberg will go before pick 10. Shah has isolated EDM or ANA, but DET is also a possibility. Stauffer has also linked EDM with Broberg. There's smoke there.

Button is also very, very sure that Caufield will go early. He's the wildcard.

If it goes like you suggested, then it's all on BUF. If they go with Zegras, then one of Krebs or Boldy should be there at 10 along with Newhook. If they go with Boldy, then Zegras has a strong chance of being there at 10, IMO.

This is my best reading of the tea leaves, with some fingers crossing as well:

1 NJ Hughes
2 NYR Kakko
———————-
3 Chi Byram -> defense is an .org strength but feels BPA
4 Col Dach -> have heard forwards for Col even if Byram is available so I don’t think it is too dependent on what Chi does. Could be Turcotte but feel like Dach’s 6’4 frame and skill set combo will sell them on him.
5 LA Podkolzin -> LA is tough to read and they could easily go for Turcotte or Cozens here but I feel like they’ll lean towards a power forward type who fits their heavy style and Podkolzin still has a lot of fans in the scouting world. Being a winger hurts him but his intensity is something NHL scouts and GMs drool over.
6 Detroit Turcotte -> A small fall for Turcotte who could go as high as #3 but I feel a bit of size bias could tumble him to #6, which makes Detroit scuttle plans to take Zegras and opt for Larkin 2.0 instead.
7 Buffalo Cozens -> Tough to project what Buffalo will do but based on the board so far Cozens seems like a reasonably likely outcome. Size, pace, and ability to play wing with Eichel or Mittelstadt. Could also see Boldy or Caufield going here, probably not Zegras though.
8 Edmonton Broberg -> As per heavy speculation. If Broberg goes earlier I feel like Krebs could be their next choice, depending on his medical prognosis.
9 Anaheim Seider -> This one is a true guess, but I feel like Anaheim will be the wildcard of the top 10. With several tantalizing forward options like Boldy, Zegras, Krebs, Newhook, and Caufield available, they surprise and take a right-handed Hampus Lindholm clone to rebuild their no-longer-young-and-deep defense core. With the trades of Vatanen and Montour in recent years, their right side looks depleted and Seider has immense potential.

All this creates a path for Vancouver to have its choice of:

Zegras (their top target IMO)
Newhook (their possible #2)
Krebs (a possible option pending medical reports)
Boldy (unclear as to their interest but fits the recent “all things being equal we’d like to draft size” comments)
Soderstrom (if their opt for positional need over BPA)

 

[biturbo19]

The thing with Kreb's injury is what if it causes him to fall to pick 20+?

I'd be reaallly trying to find a way to add a late-first rounder if that were the case.

I have a really hard time with Krebs injury. On the one hand, it doesn't seem as bad as it could've been. But it's such a key thing to Krebs game...there's that big risk he's just never the same player you think you're drafting, ever again. With things so close, depending on who is available...it's hard to justify. But at the same time...he was never going to jump directly to the NHL this year anyway. It's a lost development year, or part of a year...but if he *does* heal up fully, considering it's a partial and clean tear via skate blade...he's going to go lower than he probably should.

If he's falling into the 20+ range though...to me, on the outside as an armchair scout...that'd be an indication that a lot of doctors aren't super convinced his prognosis is great, and full recovery.

I'd love to move up into that 20+ range anyway, but i don't know that we have the assets to do it. I'd just be wary if Krebs starts falling that far.

Where did I say it wasn’t?

I said the 2 years of his contract is irrelevant, not the risk that he might *never* come over. Those are entirely different things.

If he says he definitely wants to play in the NHL but not until his contract expires in 2021, then you treat him like any other prospect that won’t be NHL ready until that time - which is pretty much all of them.

If he says he’s unsure about the NHL or you get bad vibes from your interviews, then you avoid. Pretty simple.

I don't think the "risk" with Podkolzin is that he'll never come over. It's more in that if he comes over and isn't a star...he's always got that KHL out. And even if he does "boom"...he's always got that KHL leverage in any contract you're going to sign with him beyond his ELC. That's what the "Russian Factor" is to me.

A 1st round NHL draft pick like Podkolzin is going to come over and play in the NHL at some point...but the risk goes a lot deeper than that.

Seider is soaring after that WC performance. Getting some Hampus Lindholm comparisons now, which I kind of like. I think he plays with a bit more of an edge though, maybe more of a defensively focused Parayko

I still don't really see Lindholm or Parayko especially, who is a giant. I see a Brett Pesce...which i wouldn't be at all upset to draft with a 10th overall pick. That'd be a good solid pick, if he ends up that sort of player. We could use one of those. Or a couple actually.

Tbh, I have been their biggest cheerleader over the years, but their final list is something odd. I listened to many interviews from mark earlier in the year, he explained that for this scouting season, they switched to a whole new scouting system, which rates each prospect in categories to mimic NHL team's methods. But holy, I can't say I agree with their final conclusion very much. Anyways, something to consider.

I think the wildcard (McAvoy) is Harley.

I think there are a lot of potential "wildcards" in this draft. Harley could be the guy who has that meteoric Chabot-like post-draft rise. He's got huge upside...but i'm really not sold on the way he defends. It's not bad, but there are just too many over-aggressive "ooops" moments for me to dismiss.

Cam York is the guy who i think might be that "wildcard". He's got Cam Fowler sort of upside imo, as a skater and mover of the puck. Probably even better on the PP too.

But there are so many potential "wildcards" in this draft. It's so wide-open.

 

[Horse McHindu]

Canucks need to come out of this draft with a young right handed dman. Period.

I haven’t followed this year’s draft as closely as previous ones and so I’m not too familiar with the players outside of Hughes, Kakko, and Byram.

What I will say is this: If Viktor Soderstrom and other RD’s are deemed “not good enough” to be selected at #10, then I highly suggest that we try and make a move for Eric Bouchard from Edmonton.

Eriksson + 10thOA + ??? For Lucic + Bouchard.

I really don’t want to derail this thread with a trade proposal, but I do want to stress as to just how important it is for the Canucks to be walking away from this draft with a young RD.

If it’s not Soderstrom or whoever, push for Bouchard. Edmonton is desperate, and we should take advantage of this.

 

[valkynax]

Canucks need to come out of this draft with a young right handed dman. Period.

I haven’t followed this year’s draft as closely as previous ones and so I’m not too familiar with the players outside of Hughes, Kakko, and Byram.

What I will say is this: If Viktor Soderstrom and other RD’s are deemed “not good enough” to be selected at #10, then I highly suggest that we try and make a move for Eric Bouchard from Edmonton.

Eriksson + 10thOA + ??? For Lucic + Bouchard.

I really don’t want to derail this thread with a trade proposal, but I do want to stress as to just how important it is for the Canucks to be walking away from this draft with a young RD.

If it’s not Soderstrom or whoever, push for Bouchard. Edmonton is desperate, and we should take advantage of this.

I'm not sure if giving up our 1st round pick is a good idea, especially if what's coming back is one of the few contracts in the league more cancerous than Eriksson's.

A trade like that should have that team adding in sweeteners (maybe not as big as Bouchard) instead of our team putting anything into it.

Like you said, to avoid derailing, I think we should just keep the pick and draft the best we can. Eriksson can rot in AHL for all I care, maybe then he'll admit what an awful player he's been.

 

[Horse McHindu]

I'm not sure if giving up our 1st round pick is a good idea, especially if what's coming back is one of the few contracts in the league more cancerous than Eriksson's.

A trade like that should have that team adding in sweeteners (maybe not as big as Bouchard) instead of our team putting anything into it.

Like you said, to avoid derailing, I think we should just keep the pick and draft the best we can. Eriksson can rot in AHL for all I care, maybe then he'll admit what an awful player he's been.

I completely agree with you, but it definitely would take something of significance to pry Bouchard out of Edmonton. Edmonton might be willing to do that, because they need to be in “win mode” NOW. They need to get rid of cap mistakes NOW and make a push for the playoffs while they have McDavid and friends.

On the flip side of this, the Canucks really need to stock that right side D. Woo and Chatfield are great, but it’s not nearly enough.

As far as this draft goes, I’m not entirely sure if Soderstrom is our answer.....or if the emergent Seider will be there for the picking when it’s our turn to select. A guy like Broberg would be nice, but he’s a left sided dman.

Outside of Hughes, Kakko, and Byram however, the only two guys that really interest me are Boldy and Podkolzin. I especially like Podkolzin due to his sky high potential, but I’m not sure I’d either of these guys are going to be available for us.

So basically, all of the guys that I like will likely be out of our range (although I said the same thing about Hughes last year and was pleasantly surprised to be wrong).

In 95% of instances, I would advocate the philosophy of “BPA over positional needs,” but the Canucks REALLY need to be walking out of here with a young RD that will very likely be a top pairing guy.

Given how terrible Lucic’s contract is, I don’t think asking for Bouchard is an unacceptable proposal at all.

 

[Cancuks]

If he's available, I think our pick will be Boldy. They'll take the same route as they did with Boeser and Hughes and let him play the season in college and sign him after his season is finished.

 

[JT Milker]

Canucks need to come out of this draft with a young right handed dman. Period.

I haven’t followed this year’s draft as closely as previous ones and so I’m not too familiar with the players outside of Hughes, Kakko, and Byram.

What I will say is this: If Viktor Soderstrom and other RD’s are deemed “not good enough” to be selected at #10, then I highly suggest that we try and make a move for Eric Bouchard from Edmonton.

Eriksson + 10thOA + ??? For Lucic + Bouchard.

I really don’t want to derail this thread with a trade proposal, but I do want to stress as to just how important it is for the Canucks to be walking away from this draft with a young RD.

If it’s not Soderstrom or whoever, push for Bouchard. Edmonton is desperate, and we should take advantage of this.

Back at it again.

 

[Love]

This is my best reading of the tea leaves, with some fingers crossing as well:

1 NJ Hughes
2 NYR Kakko
———————-
3 Chi Byram -> defense is an .org strength but feels BPA
4 Col Dach -> have heard forwards for Col even if Byram is available so I don’t think it is too dependent on what Chi does. Could be Turcotte but feel like Dach’s 6’4 frame and skill set combo will sell them on him.
5 LA Podkolzin -> LA is tough to read and they could easily go for Turcotte or Cozens here but I feel like they’ll lean towards a power forward type who fits their heavy style and Podkolzin still has a lot of fans in the scouting world. Being a winger hurts him but his intensity is something NHL scouts and GMs drool over.
6 Detroit Turcotte -> A small fall for Turcotte who could go as high as #3 but I feel a bit of size bias could tumble him to #6, which makes Detroit scuttle plans to take Zegras and opt for Larkin 2.0 instead.
7 Buffalo Cozens -> Tough to project what Buffalo will do but based on the board so far Cozens seems like a reasonably likely outcome. Size, pace, and ability to play wing with Eichel or Mittelstadt. Could also see Boldy or Caufield going here, probably not Zegras though.
8 Edmonton Broberg -> As per heavy speculation. If Broberg goes earlier I feel like Krebs could be their next choice, depending on his medical prognosis.
9 Anaheim Seider -> This one is a true guess, but I feel like Anaheim will be the wildcard of the top 10. With several tantalizing forward options like Boldy, Zegras, Krebs, Newhook, and Caufield available, they surprise and take a right-handed Hampus Lindholm clone to rebuild their no-longer-young-and-deep defense core. With the trades of Vatanen and Montour in recent years, their right side looks depleted and Seider has immense potential.

All this creates a path for Vancouver to have its choice of:

Zegras (their top target IMO)
Newhook (their possible #2)
Krebs (a possible option pending medical reports)
Boldy (unclear as to their interest but fits the recent “all things being equal we’d like to draft size” comments)
Soderstrom (if their opt for positional need over BPA)

That would be a dream scenario but I don’t see Zegras, Newhook, AND Boldy falling that far. I could be wrong though and you might be right about teams really wanting to prioritize D and C so it could make for some unpredictable results.

 

[Horse McHindu]

@CanaFan - I thought you were dead! .

Welcome back good sir.

As it relates to the scenario that you played out, I would go with Boldy if those were our options.

 

[BerSTUzzi]

I think we have to lend weight to the intel we are getting. Reporters beyond Sat Shah have intimated that Broberg will go before pick 10. Shah has isolated EDM or ANA, but DET is also a possibility. Stauffer has also linked EDM with Broberg. There's smoke there.

Button is also very, very sure that Caufield will go early. He's the wildcard.

If it goes like you suggested, then it's all on BUF. If they go with Zegras, then one of Krebs or Boldy should be there at 10 along with Newhook. If they go with Boldy, then Zegras has a strong chance of being there at 10, IMO.

I would be over the moon happy and shocked if Zegras was there for us. The amount of times I mistakenly thought he was Jack Hughes on the ice. We need speed and creativity to stir the pot for our team.

Boldy on the other hand just seems like a seamless fit with Pettersson with his game being very Mark Stone-like. Highly intelligent, strong stick, great positional and size (grown two inches this year)