GDT: 2023 Caps NHL Draft Thread

[CapitalsCupReality]

Leave it to Toronto to draft someone named Easton….so he’s easily unlikeable.

 

[RedRocking]

Cowan seems like a major reach?

 

[The Instigator]

He got some love in the Draft Preview on 32 Thoughts. Interesting pick.

 

[usiel]

Is Alex Semin an example of a "high skill, low compete level" kind of player? I always felt he was a guy who never realized his full potential, because the desire was not quite there.

Semin being the face of the franchise post Bondra and before AO and seeing those early years no I wouldn't characterize him as low compete. Was he was not Wilson on the boards on the forecheck that is a not he would go for the strip. Unfortunately he didn't really expand his game beyond the skill and the points to some degree and became a luxury a bit. And unfortunately the wrist injuries did him in later in his career. (edit my crappy keyboard.

 

[HTFN]

Semin being the face of the franchise post Bondra and before AO and seeing those early years no I wouldn't characterize him as low compete. Was he Wilson on the boards on the forecheck that is a not he would go for the strip. Unfortunately he didn't really expand his game beyond the skill and the points to some degree and became a luxury a bit. And unfortunately the wrist injuries did him in later in his career.

His injuries f***ed with him way more than his compete level. Prime Semin was a two-way talent who just didn't get appropriate credit for his takeaways. In this NHL he'd be a f***ing menace

 

[Kalopsia]

I also find it odd that we should trust the scouts. Who, since MacLellan got here, has been a home run pick? Do they deserve to be trusted over my Excel sheets? Hard to make that case!

Again the pick isn’t terrible. It might be good. But appealing to Caps brass as to why it’s a good pick is a rubbish (as the Brits say) argument.

We don't have your past excel spreadsheets, so it's you who needs to make the case that you know better than them. Keep in mind this is the first time MacLellan's picked higher than 20th since the 2014 draft that was a month after he got the job, so the number of "home runs" he even had a shot at was pretty limited.

 

[RandyHolt]

"Muscles in his face" - don't hear that scouring scouting reports very often.

Bite and jam in his game. Sturdy. Hits. Gets in there. Diet Tom Wilson. Space creator. Teams would kill to have.

They couldn't stop comparing him to Willy.

I thus officially approve.

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

I’m sorry I don’t have the source (just read too many scouting reports and numbers the past week) - but that line had big drop off w/out Leonard. He actually was the glue according to multiple pieces I read.

Per TLSH scouting report.

This is also an aspect of his game that goes a little under silence, but his defensive game is very advanced. This mostly stems from the fact that his compete-level is remarkably high and that he does everything he can to help his team win games, which includes stepping up in front of shots, sacrificing offense and getting involved in battles for loose pucks in his zone. On his line that he formed with Will Smith and Gabe Perreault, Leonard is the one who performed all the ‘Heavy-Lifting’. All the dirty work, defensive responsibilities, winning puck battles, getting in front of the net, into the corners of the rink, etc. I also watched games of his two acolytes in the season when they were without Leonard on their line and their efficiency took a toll ! He really is the so-called ‘Glue-Guy’ on this line, the player who makes everything stick together and work.

 

[RandyHolt]

His injuries f***ed with him way more than his compete level. Prime Semin was a two-way talent who just didn't get appropriate credit for his takeaways. In this NHL he'd be a f***ing menace

Semin was a boss in those dark years. I remember watching the games and many of his goals he would singlehanded beat 3 4 5 players to score with NO help from his teammates. Loved his signature move bongos of firing off one skate. Peak Semin was a Caps top 5 offensive talent all time.

 

[MileHighCapsFan]

Per TLSH scouting report.

This is also an aspect of his game that goes a little under silence, but his defensive game is very advanced. This mostly stems from the fact that his compete-level is remarkably high and that he does everything he can to help his team win games, which includes stepping up in front of shots, sacrificing offense and getting involved in battles for loose pucks in his zone. On his line that he formed with Will Smith and Gabe Perreault, Leonard is the one who performed all the ‘Heavy-Lifting’. All the dirty work, defensive responsibilities, winning puck battles, getting in front of the net, into the corners of the rink, etc. I also watched games of his two acolytes in the season when they were without Leonard on their line and their efficiency took a toll ! He really is the so-called ‘Glue-Guy’ on this line, the player who makes everything stick together and work.

All great qualities.. but in a top 8 pick?

 

[usiel]

"Muscles in his face" - don't hear that scouring scouting reports very often.

Bite and jam in his game. Sturdy. Hits. Gets in there. Diet Tom Wilson. Space creator. Teams would kill to have.

They couldn't stop comparing him to Willy.

I thus officially approve.

Was pretty obvious they were prepared there for the Flyer to pick Leonard and Michkov going to the caps. Was easier to hide with Michkov but it felt like squeezing in Flyers talking points for Leonard going to the Capitals which I find just kinda funny in the grand scheme of things.

Off season singular wish please Wilson stop falling down.

 

[HTFN]

Semin was a boss in those dark years. I remember watching the games and many of his goals he would singlehanded beat 3 4 5 players to score with NO help from his teammates. Loved his signature move bongos of firing off one skate. Peak Semin was a Caps top 5 offensive talent all time.

No doubt, his wristers vs. Ottawa are the reason I practiced shooting from all the way behind my body. His off-leg wrister is maybe one of the most beautiful hockey plays of all time, especially the one from Ottawa's half boards with virtually zero pretense.

dude was better than his value and it wasn't until another fanbase got him that we got validated for our position, albeit short lived.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

this isn't a zero-sum game where any player with star scoring ability suddenly has zero compete level. Shoot, Kuznetsov is the poster child for "zero compete level" and he's arguably the biggest reason why we won in 2018 lol.

Edit: woof, I'm way late on this others already said what im saying here. Ignore lol

Yeah, nobody is saying Kuzy wasn't instrumental in 2018.

 

[RandyHolt]

Was pretty obvious they were prepared there for the Flyer to pick Leonard and Michkov going to the caps. Was easier to hide with Michkov but it felt like squeezing in Flyers talking points for Leonard going to the Capitals which I find just kinda funny in the grand scheme of things

Agree its clear they shifted from the prepared broad street bullies theme to panic mode of hey lets compare him to Willy. From what little I know he seems more like Oshie than Willy.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Leafs on the clock. HF should crash in aboot 5-10 min

Well maybe they should stop using gerbils on a wheel to run their server power!

 

[Langway]

MacFarland is good at his job.

 

[RedRocking]

Damn, friggin’ Avs strike again

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

JF

All great qualities.. but in a top 8 pick?
View attachment 723227

JFresh Hockey also listed Michiko at 148 pounds so I think their ratings are a bit dated.

 

[Hivemind]

Avalanche are about as good at scouting & drafting D as any team in the league, gotta believe Gulyayev could be a good one for them.

 

[Capsman]

The pick isn’t awful compared to what other teams have done but it’s not ideal. I give it a C+. I don’t like when compete level is a big component of when you’re drafting someone that high unless it’s used as a tiebreaker. Guys with high motors are always available in free agency, for instance.

I would have preferred Benson or even Dvorsky at that spot over Leonard.

From the highlights I’ve seen he has more than compete level.

 

[marcel snapshot]

Is Alex Semin an example of a "high skill, low compete level" kind of player? I always felt he was a guy who never realized his full potential, because the desire was not quite there.

I always thought Alex Semin made his absolutely amazing wrist shot and incredible stick-handling look far more effortless than it actually was. I also thought that, like Kuzy, he had an artistic temperament whose consistency and work rate varied with his moods, and you just had to accept that because his up cycles were so off the charts

 

[Hivemind]

Jumping on the Semin-appreciation-bandwagon (Okay, I never left this bandwagon ).

He was a guy who got unfairly maligned because he made the game look effortless, and eventually because he developed a reputation for stick penalties. But they weren't low effort stick penalties when a player blows by him, they were penalties because he was so aggressive with his stick in terms of trying to create takeaways. But people saw a guy who could take over the game when the stars aligne, and got upset that he couldn't force the stars to align every single night. And his lack of PR in the English-speaking media certainly didn't do much to endear himself to the fanbase as a whole.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

To me, it wasn't his physcial

"Muscles in his face" - don't hear that scouring scouting reports very often.

Bite and jam in his game. Sturdy. Hits. Gets in there. Diet Tom Wilson. Space creator. Teams would kill to have.

They couldn't stop comparing him to Willy.

I thus officially appro

"Muscles in his face" - don't hear that scouring scouting reports very often.

Bite and jam in his game. Sturdy. Hits. Gets in there. Diet Tom Wilson. Space creator. Teams would kill to have.

They couldn't stop comparing him to Willy.

I thus officially approve.

To me, Leonard impressed me more with traffic play and ability be a team player rather than just focus on individual plays. He showed no fear going in the traffic zones. The physical stuff is a great attribute and he's going to add more size. There is still a lot to prove and the NHL game is more punishing with traffic areas. So far I like what I see. I wasn't against getting the Russian either, however Philly chose him and he's the best pick and fit IMHO for the Caps. I'm happy they didn't take a defenseman too. I mean Caps could have wasted the pick and did what Montreal did, however we're not going to know for a few years anyway.

 

[Kalopsia]

All great qualities.. but in a top 8 pick?
View attachment 723227

That was a two paragraph excerpt from a 20 paragraph scouting report. Again, it feels like people are going out of their way to interpret "high-compete level" as "no other significant skills," which is just flat out wrong.

Those NHL equivalency models are based solely on boxcar stats, so anything a player does that doesn't contribute directly to points isn't factored in. They systematically underrate guys like Leonard contribute to every facet of the game and overrate guys who do nothing but put up points.

 

[usiel]

Avalanche are about as good at scouting & drafting D as any team in the league, gotta believe Gulyayev could be a good one for them.

Well I will give Gulyayev mad props for best draft stat of the night 'get this suit jacket off me as fast as possible'.