Prospect Info: 2020 NHL Entry Draft Thread

[funky]

Would anyone be interested in doing a series of 7 polls to see what our fans on here would want with each pick. We could probably start at pick 2 as I would imagine the majority of our fan base would pick Lafreniere at 1.

so 1st poll would be for who would you pick if we land # 2. If it’s Byfield that the majority of our fans pick than both he and Lafreniere are off the board for #3 . I am just curious where the majority of our fans slot each player, or to see what all our top seven lists would be on average? I know everyone’s list difference a bit but if we could get common consensus for each slot I think it would be interesting.

We could even go to top 10 just in case Blake and Co go a bit off the board. As long as it’s not hickey off the board.

 

[KINGS17]

And as LA GM you're going to say what to Bjornfot,Anderson,Clague and Hults after drafting Sanderson? Please no Sanderson...not that I don't like him but the Kings are fine on Defense for now. Perhaps they tab a LD,RD with later picks in the second or third round...Viro,Sedoff,Seeley,Krutil,Niemela?

What would I say if I was Blake, "We took Sanderson, because by our measures he was the best player available, and we may trade you, one of your teammates, or Sanderson some day."

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

If we get Laf or Byfield, that's an immediate jersey purchase for me!

Cough, I mean WHEN we get Laf!

Hey Jesus are you saying the draft is fixed,rigged and the Kings have no way in hell of winning the prize?Just once I'd like to see the Kings have the first pick in the draft...Rick Pugnutti doesn't count because the real drafting of the best Amateurs(Entry) didn't happen until 1969!

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

What would I say if I was Blake, "We took Sanderson, because by our measures he was the best player available, and we may trade you, one of your teammates, or Sanderson some day."

You are going to have some really pissed off youngsters they will feel you lied to...We are building with youth and we feel you are a great prospect and can make the Kings soon to very soon...I don't see it personally

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I just can't see a world in which Sanderson is BPA at #7. I see a guy who has the same scouting report as Derek Forbort or Roland McKeown, "good at everything great at nothing" except skating. It's very telling the scouting reports suggest he COULD produce offense when he has never produced offense at any level. I'm sure he'll be a good middle-pairing guy, or top out as a STL-era Jay Bouwmeester #2, but is that the kind of player you want to swing at in the top-10? Different philosophy for me, especially given the stable of guys we have. We need home runs, not depth.

Edit: Besides that--Sanderson feels like a redundancy in our system. We have plenty of vanilla, good skating, all-around d-men on the roster and in the system. He's not a blue-chipper. I'd rather take a later swing at a guy like Barron who is at least boom or bust.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Would anyone be interested in doing a series of 7 polls to see what our fans on here would want with each pick. We could probably start at pick 2 as I would imagine the majority of our fan base would pick Lafreniere at 1.

so 1st poll would be for who would you pick if we land # 2. If it’s Byfield that the majority of our fans pick than both he and Lafreniere are off the board for #3 . I am just curious where the majority of our fans slot each player, or to see what all our top seven lists would be on average? I know everyone’s list difference a bit but if we could get common consensus for each slot I think it would be interesting.

We could even go to top 10 just in case Blake and Co go a bit off the board. As long as it’s not hickey off the board.

I would for sure, and I can imagine it's Lafreniere, Stutzle/Byfield that'll be fought over, then 3-10 are gonna be a frenzy

I could set it up this evening if you guys like and run them for 24 hours each? or longer?

Unless someone else beats me to it, which I'm 100% fine with since I'm bbqing lol

 

[KINGS17]

You are going to have some really pissed off youngsters they will feel you lied to...We are building with youth and we feel you are a great prospect and can make the Kings soon to very soon...I don't see it personally

I don't see why the GM of any NHL team would explain any of this to any player in the organization. Hey, we drafted the kid, because we believe it was in the best interest of the organization. Now, just get out there and compete.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I don't see why the GM of and NHL team would explain any of this to any player in the organization. Hey, we drafted the kid, because we believe it was in the best interest of the organization. Now, just get out there and compete.

How does Sanderson make LA better? Is he better than Bjornfot? Better than Anderson? Better than Clague or Hults...probably...so that would make Sanderson in line for the number 5 Defensive spot...is that where you want a number 4 overall to be your 5th best D-man?I think the Kings are better served drafting a forward that is a Winger since that is our weak spot...that and scoring!

 

[BringTheReign]

You are going to have some really pissed off youngsters they will feel you lied to...We are building with youth and we feel you are a great prospect and can make the Kings soon to very soon...I don't see it personally

It sounds like you're advocating for not picking a prospect because it would hurt other prospects' feelings? What?

Wouldn't the same apply to Kupari, Vilardi, Turcotte, Thomas, etc. if we drafted Byfield or Stutzle by your logic? Why are you so focused on the defensemen being the ones who you said would be "lied to." None of them have earned a spot yet. If they are entitled enough already to be angry that we added another good prospect then their attitude is wrong for a winning team.

This is professional hockey. It's Blake's job to create the most internal competition he can in order to field the best roster of the future he can build.

 

[Rusty Batch]

And as LA GM you're going to say what to Bjornfot,Anderson,Clague and Hults after drafting Sanderson? Please no Sanderson...not that I don't like him but the Kings are fine on Defense for now. Perhaps they tab a LD,RD with later picks in the second or third round...Viro,Sedoff,Seeley,Krutil,Niemela?

This is professional sports where you have to earn your spots. Our current defensive core is not good, I don't think that we should be avoiding drafting Defenseman because we have some current prospects that are doing well. As a NHL GM I don't think you have to explain yourself to prospects when you draft other prospects. They already know that they have to win NHL spots.

Should we not draft Alexander Holtz because of Fagemo, Kaliyev, etc...? That's silly.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

This is professional sports where you have to earn your spots. Our current defensive core is not good, I don't think that we should be avoiding drafting Defenseman because we have some current prospects that are doing well. As a NHL GM I don't think you have to explain yourself to prospects when you draft other prospects. They already know that they have to win NHL spots.

Should we not draft Alexander Holtz because of Fagemo, Kaliyev, etc...? That's silly.

You missed the point totally! Why draft Sanderson as he is not any better than who the Kings have or going to have in the near future. The Kings are woefully thin at the Wing position and need scorers and not another bloody D-man...Remember the reason the Kings have lacked in the Winning department for oh so many years is that they could not score. They even struggled to score during the Stanley Cup years! Only the acquisition of Carter and Gaborik in 2012 and 2014 provided the spark we needed in those glorious Cup wins...that and timely goals from the most unusual of sources and of course the stellar netminding and solid Defensive play. So again we need scoring and can't rely on the aging cast that are pretty much done! Kings need scorers and hopefully they find a replacement for Toffoli,Brown,Carts and a host of others that should be let go! Kings can add a D-man or two later perhaps in the bottom of the second,third or fourth round where we have multiple picks! Maybe we even take a goaltender since Quick is nearing the end in LA. JQ will be taken by Seattle in the expansion draft in 2021 or peddled to a contender at the trade deadline in 2021. I expect the Kings to take 7 forwards,3 D-man and a 'tender for the 2020 Entry(nee Amateur)draft since the Kings will need a back-up for Petersen soon or a replacement in 6-8 years time

 

[Rusty Batch]

You missed the point totally! Why draft Sanderson as he is not any better than who the Kings have or going to have in the near future. The Kings are woefully thin at the Wing position and need scorers and not another bloody D-man...Remember the reason the Kings have lacked in the Winning department for oh so many years is that they could not score. They even struggled to score during the Stanley Cup years! Only the acquisition of Carter and Gaborik in 2012 and 2014 provided the spark we needed in those glorious Cup wins...that and timely goals from the most unusual of sources and of course the stellar netminding and solid Defensive play. So again we need scoring and can't rely on the aging cast that are pretty much done! Kings need scorers and hopefully they find a replacement for Toffoli,Brown,Carts and a host of others that should be let go! Kings can add a D-man or two later perhaps in the bottom of the second,third or fourth round where we have multiple picks! Maybe we even take a goaltender since Quick is nearing the end in LA. JQ will be taken by Seattle in the expansion draft in 2021 or peddled to a contender at the trade deadline in 2021. I expect the Kings to take 7 forwards,3 D-man and a 'tender for the 2020 Entry(nee Amateur)draft since the Kings will need a back-up for Petersen soon or a replacement in 6-8 years time

You should have just said that you don't think Sanderson is or ever will be good enough to make the kings. That opinion would make more sense.

 

[funky]

I don’t really think Sanderson does anything for us either. Everything is fluid I guess. People came and people will go but I kinda have to agree with it @andys on this. Other than center our Left side Defence while weakest at the NHL level has the most prospects in our system. I can see why people want to take a chance on Drysdale as those High skilled all around RH shot Dman seem to be almost as rare as unicorns.

worst case scenario we pick 7th. We know Lafreniere is gone first and Byfield should follow. Drysdale is rumored to go in there as well.

Only 3 picks until ours plus Blake has loaded up picks that a small trade up could also be in the cards. Plus maybe a team prior to us takes a leap at Askarov, Sanderson, Quinn or even a Amirov.

Stutzle
Rossi
Raymond
Perfetti
Holtz

these guys all are needed well before another left D. There are a lot of interesting dman targeted for late first round to early third round. Wallinder, Guhle, Grans, Kleven etc. We have a lot of picks in that range and should be able to grab one of them.

 

[Rusty Batch]

I don't want to get stuck fighting for Jake Sanderson because there are other guys I would rather take. But I do think that you can make an argument that in the #7 draft slot he is the best prospect available. Just because Sanderson is not the best offensive prospect available does not mean he isn't the best prospect available. He's one of the youngest guys at the top of the draft, he's looked excellent vs teams like Boston College and Minnesota, he's a great skater, physical, excellent one on one defender, best stick in the draft.

I don't know if he is the best option, (Nobody does) but the reason we tend to be less excited about defensive players, is because it is a lot easier to watch the slick offensive players and recognize their talent then it is to watch the guys who shut them down.

And as far as our team needing offense, offense isn't only generated from scorers, it also is impacted by taking the puck away from the other team (he appears to be the best at this in the whole draft), by well timed pinches that keep the puck in your zone, by making a good first pass to get the puck up the ice, and overall good decision making from everyone on the ice.

All that being said, I still would be more excited if we got one of those scoring forwards, even if they don't help you win as much, lol. It's just more fun to think you might get the next great scorer then the next great defensive dman.

 

[Master Yoda]

I don't want to get stuck fighting for Jake Sanderson because there are other guys I would rather take. But I do think that you can make an argument that in the #7 draft slot he is the best prospect available. Just because Sanderson is not the best offensive prospect available does not mean he isn't the best prospect available. He's one of the youngest guys at the top of the draft, he's looked excellent vs teams like Boston College and Minnesota, he's a great skater, physical, excellent one on one defender, best stick in the draft.

I don't know if he is the best option, (Nobody does) but the reason we tend to be less excited about defensive players, is because it is a lot easier to watch the slick offensive players and recognize their talent then it is to watch the guys who shut them down.

And as far as our team needing offense, offense isn't only generated from scorers, it also is impacted by taking the puck away from the other team (he appears to be the best at this in the whole draft), by well timed pinches that keep the puck in your zone, by making a good first pass to get the puck up the ice, and overall good decision making from everyone on the ice.

All that being said, I still would be more excited if we got one of those scoring forwards, even if they don't help you win as much, lol. It's just more fun to think you might get the next great scorer then the next great defensive dman.

I think the thing about taking defensive defensemen with somewhat limited offensive upside so early in the first round, is that generally those types end up being a 2nd pairing D.
There's nothing wrong with getting a second pairing D in the first round, but it just seems like you could've made a better pick because there were guys that ended up being a #1 Dman or a top line fwd early in the first round right where you were drafting.
It's better to shoot for the moon and ending up with a 2nd pair D, than trying to get a 2nd pair D.

 

[The Lukeman]

Sanderson between 6-9? Ok Let's move backwards...Chicago at 9...I have them taking a goalie because they are in serious need of one...Askarov...LD for the BlackHawks...Keith,Maatta,Beaudin,A Vlasic,Krys, and Gilbert so maybe Sanderson there...
Montreal at number 8...maybe...If there is a forward they like,like Rossi they grab him otherwise perhaps Sanderson since the LD for Les Canadiens Mete,Kulak,the coming of Romanov and some youngsters in College,Europe or Laval...Harris,Struble,Norlinder,Olofsson, and Leskinen...is thin especially if you envision Papa Sanderson from Hay River,NWT,Canada's kid a top 4 D-man! Buffalo at 7...no they have selected Samuelsson and Johnson recently and really like these two youngsters plus they have the emerging Star Dahlin and McCabe,with Pilut,B Hickey and Bryson waiting for a full time chance,So no there! number 6 N Jersey...they have Ty Smith about to turn pro,Butcher who they are paying lots of dough to,Muller,Colton White and some other draft hopefuls,Okhotyuk,Misyul and Bernard...besides they will select Drysdale at 6 so no! Ducks at 5...they have Lindholm,Fowler,Larsson,the other Guhle,Djoos,Mahura and draft choice from 2019 J Lacombe who they drafted in the second round. So probably not! Kings at 4...Blake would be foolish to draft him because that would send a message to Bjornfot,Anderson,Clague and Hults that they will fight it out for 2 spots as a top 4 choice on Defense sure bloody well be a top 2 D-man in the NHL...

I agree with you 100%. I was just reporting what Corey Pronman said to adjust expectations. If LA fell to 7th, its POSSIBLE they would take a swing with sanderson. I wouldn't like it but its a possibility.

 

[Rusty Batch]

I think the thing about taking defensive defensemen with somewhat limited offensive upside so early in the first round, is that generally those types end up being a 2nd pairing D.
There's nothing wrong with getting a second pairing D in the first round, but it just seems like you could've made a better pick because there were guys that ended up being a #1 Dman or a top line fwd early in the first round right where you were drafting.
It's better to shoot for the moon and ending up with a 2nd pair D, than trying to get a 2nd pair D.

I agree, I wouldn't want the kings to just pick a second pairing defensive dman. But all defensive dmen are not created equal. People have him this high in the draft not because they think he is a #4 Defensive Dman. They think he is a elite #2 Defensive Dman. And he is far from that typical plodding Defensive Dman that historically NHL teams have made mistakes on. The guy is really fast and he also led all defenseman on the USNDTP program in scoring even though he doesn't have good hands. So somehow he is figuring out how to outscore every other defenseman in that program.

 

[kilowatt]

All I’m saying is that if Stutzle, Raymond, or Rossi, are on the board and we pick Sanderson, I’ll never forgive Blake.

 

[KingsCrown]

All I’m saying is that if Stutzle, Raymond, or Rossi, are on the board and we pick Sanderson, I’ll never forgive Blake.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

If those players and Holtz are on the table when the King's pick is on the clock and Blake Shits the bed he should be shown the door unceremoniously!

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Blake's middle name is actually Shits-The-Bed!

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I agree, I wouldn't want the kings to just pick a second pairing defensive dman. But all defensive dmen are not created equal. People have him this high in the draft not because they think he is a #4 Defensive Dman. They think he is a elite #2 Defensive Dman. And he is far from that typical plodding Defensive Dman that historically NHL teams have made mistakes on. The guy is really fast and he also led all defenseman on the USNDTP program in scoring even though he doesn't have good hands. So somehow he is figuring out how to outscore every other defenseman in that program.

I think some people are projecting he will be more of a scorer because Daddy(Geoff Sanderson) from Hay River,NWT,Canada was a two time 40 goal scorer(46 and 41) and other years of 30 plus and 25 during a 16 year NHL career for the Hartford Whalers and many other teams! Maybe Sanderson becomes A Martinez? But maybe Hults becomes AM Or Clague if Seattle doesn't claim him the Expansion draft!

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Kings should trade their first round pick for Dylan McIlrath.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I agree, I wouldn't want the kings to just pick a second pairing defensive dman. But all defensive dmen are not created equal. People have him this high in the draft not because they think he is a #4 Defensive Dman. They think he is a elite #2 Defensive Dman. And he is far from that typical plodding Defensive Dman that historically NHL teams have made mistakes on. The guy is really fast and he also led all defenseman on the USNDTP program in scoring even though he doesn't have good hands. So somehow he is figuring out how to outscore every other defenseman in that program.

It's not that I don't see the value of defense, it's that historically even great defensive d-men are overvalued at the draft and think of how we were able to get similar dudes in Bjornfot and Anderson much, much later. Like drafting Price at 5 when Tuukka Rask is 21. It's a market inefficiency that people have typically moved away from so I'm shocked to see Sanderson jump so much.


Honestly look at the scouting report and highlights. These are the same dude, even down to the university, I'm calling it now.

https://thehockeywriters.com/jake-sanderson-2020-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/




NHL 2010 Top Draft Prospects: Derek Forbort

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

It's not that I don't see the value of defense, it's that historically even great defensive d-men are overvalued at the draft and think of how we were able to get similar dudes in Bjornfot and Anderson much, much later. Like drafting Price at 5 when Tuukka Rask is 21. It's a market inefficiency that people have typically moved away from so I'm shocked to see Sanderson jump so much.


Honestly look at the scouting report and highlights. These are the same dude, even down to the university, I'm calling it now.

https://thehockeywriters.com/jake-sanderson-2020-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/




NHL 2010 Top Draft Prospects: Derek Forbort

Oddly, he sounds similar to this guy.