Langway
In den Wolken
- Jul 7, 2006
- 32,930
- 10,072
It's a decent year for goaltenders. No amazing headliner but solid depth.
I'm good with any of Michkov, Reinbacher, Dvorsky or Benson. Those middle two maybe aren't as flashy or high-end but Dvorsky has dominated his peer group pretty consistently. It's easy to be underwhelmed by another player with heavy boots but if he puts in the work he could be a real leader and the sort of transitional center they need. He's relatively young in this class. Reinbacher did more than hold his own at the World Championships. He may not have elite offensive upside but he has the tools to be a play-driving up-ice attacker that's strong closing out defensively. He could be more physical but the tools are there for a consistently sound possession D. The wild card for me is still Moore. He could be bigger but when you think about raw tools to add to your group (esp. this group) to develop further it doesn't get much better (fuel-)injecting that sort of elite skating.
I wouldn't go all-in on MIchkov. Given the stated character concerns I wonder just how aggressive they're prepared to be to land him. Do you really want to stake so much on his relationship at SKA working out for up to three years? Maybe that leads to early contract termination. Or maybe it leads to frequent VHL assignments and arrested development. I'd sooner bank on him figuring it out if he didn't have some legit size concerns (and likely some strength questions). He often gets Kaprizov comparisons but Kaprizov goes at 200 pounds. It's a lot easier to dart into tight spaces like KK does when built like a fireplug. Michkov is closer to Kucherov in stature (but shorter). How he'll fare fighting through checks in the smaller rink is a big unknown that we won't know for some time. To even approach generational hype a player needs to be a mindset master. It seems like this more than anything is the big difference between him and Bedard, a spotless talent that's pretty ruthlessly gone about improving his game and how he trains. No questioning the talent on MM but he would hardly be the first that didn't manage to max their tools out for a variety of reasons. Not to say he won't play but it's not always going to be smooth sailing.
I'm good with BPA at 8 and 40. Maybe it doesn't end up being a super flashy haul necessarily depending on how the board falls. If they were to go Reinbacher at 8 you'd hope they wouldn't double-dip on defense again at 40. BPA at 40 seems more likely to be a forward outside of a few D options (whose value may get inflated due to a thin crop). Regardless of how it plays out it's the competitive culture they're building that needs to be the bedrock of what drives them forward. And there are a lot of viable ways of going about building and fueling that.
I'm good with any of Michkov, Reinbacher, Dvorsky or Benson. Those middle two maybe aren't as flashy or high-end but Dvorsky has dominated his peer group pretty consistently. It's easy to be underwhelmed by another player with heavy boots but if he puts in the work he could be a real leader and the sort of transitional center they need. He's relatively young in this class. Reinbacher did more than hold his own at the World Championships. He may not have elite offensive upside but he has the tools to be a play-driving up-ice attacker that's strong closing out defensively. He could be more physical but the tools are there for a consistently sound possession D. The wild card for me is still Moore. He could be bigger but when you think about raw tools to add to your group (esp. this group) to develop further it doesn't get much better (fuel-)injecting that sort of elite skating.
I wouldn't go all-in on MIchkov. Given the stated character concerns I wonder just how aggressive they're prepared to be to land him. Do you really want to stake so much on his relationship at SKA working out for up to three years? Maybe that leads to early contract termination. Or maybe it leads to frequent VHL assignments and arrested development. I'd sooner bank on him figuring it out if he didn't have some legit size concerns (and likely some strength questions). He often gets Kaprizov comparisons but Kaprizov goes at 200 pounds. It's a lot easier to dart into tight spaces like KK does when built like a fireplug. Michkov is closer to Kucherov in stature (but shorter). How he'll fare fighting through checks in the smaller rink is a big unknown that we won't know for some time. To even approach generational hype a player needs to be a mindset master. It seems like this more than anything is the big difference between him and Bedard, a spotless talent that's pretty ruthlessly gone about improving his game and how he trains. No questioning the talent on MM but he would hardly be the first that didn't manage to max their tools out for a variety of reasons. Not to say he won't play but it's not always going to be smooth sailing.
I'm good with BPA at 8 and 40. Maybe it doesn't end up being a super flashy haul necessarily depending on how the board falls. If they were to go Reinbacher at 8 you'd hope they wouldn't double-dip on defense again at 40. BPA at 40 seems more likely to be a forward outside of a few D options (whose value may get inflated due to a thin crop). Regardless of how it plays out it's the competitive culture they're building that needs to be the bedrock of what drives them forward. And there are a lot of viable ways of going about building and fueling that.
