Prospect Info: 2023 Draft Thread (Yotes picking #6 & #12)

[PHX FireBirds18]

Cliff Fletcher did that. Daymond Langkow for a conditional 1st. What an idiot.

Loved Langkow and that line, but obviously that was a huge mistake. Do you happen to remember what those conditions were? My PTSD started circa Barnett via the Briere trade…

 

[hbk]

Do you happen to remember what those conditions where? My PTSD started circa Barnett via the Briere trade…

Philli could choose a 1st from the very weak 2002 draft or the best draft ever in 2003.

 

[rt]

Loved Langkow and that line, but obviously that was a huge mistake. Do you happen to remember what those conditions were? My PTSD started circa Barnett via the Briere trade…

We doubled down on that crappy Langkow trade by moving him for Saprykin and Gauthier in order to make room for the new No1C that Wayne Gretzky was dying to add: Petr Nedved. Yikes.

 

[PHX FireBirds18]

Philli could choose a 1st from the very weak 2002 draft or the best draft ever in 2003.

Awesome! Looking back at the trade. Tampa trades langkow+ for Gratton+. Than we trade briere for Gratton and give up basically a top 10 pick in a legendary draft to get Langkow. Sigh…

We doubled down on that crappy Langkow trade by moving him for Saprykin and Gauthier in order to make room for the new No1C that Wayne Gretzky was dying to add: Petr Nedved. Yikes.

Yeah it just gets worse and worse the longer you look at the chain… Not sure why I decided to go down memory lane like that

 

[Dirty Old Man]

They’re gonna do it like Colorado. Have like one really bad season and get MacKinnon (Bedard) and then just immediately be good forever after that.

Didn't they get Makar from the really bad season (2017 48 pts)? By losing the lottery 3 times as well?

Coz I remember thinking "how do they have all those guys - including MacKinnon - and only score 48 pts?"

 

[rt]

Didn't they get Makar from the really bad season (2017 48 pts)? By losing the lottery 3 times as well?

Coz I remember thinking "how do they have all those guys - including MacKinnon - and only score 48 pts?"

Maybe that was it.

 

[rt]

This kid is so impressive. If we can’t get this tank right, he’d be a good consolation prize, later in the top ten.

 

[Jagged Ice]

This kid is so impressive. If we can’t get this tank right, he’d be a good consolation prize, later in the top ten.

Who are you referring to?

 

[rt]

Who are you referring to?

Wood. I guess I messed up my Twitter link?

 

[rt]

Wood. I guess I messed up my Twitter link?

It's very rare in general for a 17 year old to play, let alone produce in the NCAA at that age.
Here is the list since the lockout though.

View attachment 607014

 

[rt]

U18 NCAA scoring over the last 20 seasons, sorted by points-per-game:

 

[TheLegend]

Pronman looking ahead at 2024….

Pronman: A way-too-early ranking of the top prospects at the 2024 NHL Draft

A preliminary ranking of the NHL Draft class of 2024 — plus, a very early look at some top 2025 draft-eligibles.

theathletic.com

 

[PHX FireBirds18]

U18 NCAA scoring over the last 20 seasons, sorted by points-per-game:

Weren’t people questionable about Toews offensive upside in his draft year? The guy seems like a winner and it never a bad thing having those types. We’ve been missing leadership and character ever since Doan left. Anything below top 3 would be a huge disappointment. Can’t say I haven’t been there though with our draft luck.

 

[GhostofYotesFan47]

Weren’t people questionable about Toews offensive upside in his draft year? The guy seems like a winner and it never a bad thing having those types. We’ve been missing leadership and character ever since Doan left. Anything below top 3 would be a huge disappointment. Can’t say I haven’t been there though with our draft luck.

I'd like top 3, but if the difference between top 3 and top 4-10 is a team that tries hard every day and sets an example for young guys coming in, I'll take top 4-10. I really don't want this to be an oilers situation as I was not on board with the rebuild. I wanted us to spend 2-3 years retooling.

 

[PHX FireBirds18]

I'd like top 3, but if the difference between top 3 and top 4-10 is a team that tries hard every day and sets an example for young guys coming in, I'll take top 4-10. I really don't want this to be an oilers situation as I was not on board with the rebuild. I wanted us to spend 2-3 years retooling.

Guess I view the top 3 prevents us from another 3-4 years of bottom 10 finishes. Land one of top 3 and you might be able to shave the rebuild down by a year or two. Never been an advocate for rooting to lose but a little lottery luck would be nice for once.

 

[rt]

Guess I view the top 3 prevents us from another 3-4 years of bottom 10 finishes. Land one of top 3 and you might be able to shave the rebuild down by a year or two. Never been an advocate for rooting to lose but a little lottery luck would be nice for once.

I agree. If you get Bedard or Fantilli, you can even think about trading some or this huge cluster of ‘24 and ‘25 2nds for younger players. RFA holdouts like Nic Hague or disgruntled, buried prospects like Lundkvist or Heinola.

I think picking a franchise player like Bedard or Fantilli really speeds this up in a lot of ways.

 

[hbk]

Weren’t people questionable about Toews offensive upside in his draft year? The guy seems like a winner and it never a bad thing having those types. We’ve been missing leadership and character ever since Doan left. Anything below top 3 would be a huge disappointment. Can’t say I haven’t been there though with our draft luck.

I think people were enamoured with Johnson’s potential as a D and the bloodlines of Staal. I’ve told this story a lot but i sat beside a flames scout at a game against Wheeler and the scout told me flat out he had Toews as the best player in the draft.

 

[BlazingBlueAnt]

I think people were enamoured with Johnson’s potential as a D and the bloodlines of Staal. I’ve told this story a lot but i sat beside a flames scout at a game against Wheeler and the scout told me flat out he had Toews as the best player in the draft.

Didn't Erik Johnson destroy a knee early in his career as well? It's possible we never saw the best version of him, I feel like the recovery for knee injuries wasn't nearly as good 15 years ago

 

[hbk]

Didn't Erik Johnson destroy a knee early in his career as well? It's possible we never saw the best version of him, I feel like the recovery for knee injuries wasn't nearly as good 15 years ago

Rolled a golf cart at a team bonding golf event.

 

[rt]

Brock’s OHL list is out.

Kid he’s got ranked 2nd is very interesting:

Preliminary Top 50 for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft

It's time for my first official ranking for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. I say official because I release a preseason ranking in the summer (wh...

ohlprospects.blogspot.com

Colby Barlow - Wing - Owen Sound Attack
I just wrote a piece on Barlow for McKeen's and Tony Ferrari and I recently spoke at length about Barlow on our THN podcast (found here). Needless to say...I'm a fan. I see his game transitioning to the NHL level extremely well. That combination of power, size, two-way ability, and goal scoring ability is just rare. He's also just a really good kid who's already wearing the "C" in Owen Sound as a 17 year old. He generates speed so quickly and it makes him very difficult to contain in transition. But, he's also very middle of the ice centric, which is something NHL scouts really look at. When he's using his speed to back down defenders, he's taking the puck to the middle and looking to get to the net. He's also physical and is a potential lock down defensive forward, something that he showed at the Hlinka/Gretzky and something that he has continued to show in the OHL. As a goal scorer, he has many weapons. He finishes well in tight. He has soft hands for re-directs. He has a wicked wrist shot and one timer. His scoring instincts are sound. We just saw a similar player in Cutter Gauthier go inside the top five and I'd honestly prefer Barlow as a long term prospect.

Barlow has 81gp in his OHL career (including playoffs) and he’s. 45 goals in that time. He’s already his team’s captain and he won’t be 18 until February.

Big, physical, shut down winger, who can skate, go inside, and score a bunch of goals and be a captain? Sounds a bit like Lawson Crouse. Definitely seems to be a Bill Armstrong type player.

 

[rt]

His teammate Koehn Ziemmer is also a ‘23 eligible. And is still ahead by a point. They now are 2nd and 3rd in league wide WHL scoring behind only Bedard. And I don’t mean U18 scoring. I mean all WHL players.

We need more 1st round picks. The early production of this draft class is truly amazing. This is not normal.

 

[Grimes]

We need to do everything we can to have multiple 1sts. I'm getting worried teams like the Blues, Nashville or Vancouver will start making calls soon and will have more attractive pieces than us.

 

[hbk]

We need to do everything we can to have multiple 1sts. I'm getting worried teams like the Blues, Nashville or Vancouver will start making calls soon and will have more attractive pieces than us.

Bigger cap hits and commitment timelines are issues for those teams.

 

[Grimes]

Bigger cap hits and commitment timelines are issues for those teams.

Agreed so it kind of balances out the better talent.

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

Some team is going to be so lucky to get King Leo