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

[Vinny Boombatz]

Simashev is someone that I think could be had in the 2nd round...not a ton of offense there, but I haven't watched a ton of tape on him. Big kid though, so you know that BA likes that.

 

[lanky]

I wouldn't draft Reinbacher high because we need a big, two way RD.

I would draft Reinbacher high because big, two way RD are always extremely valuable.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

I don't think we should draft for need. That never works out. Draft BPA and who you have the most confidence will contribute to your team the most in the future.

To me the D are all mostly interchangeable and depend most heavily on what you want out of them. Only ASP and Reinbacher are similar. Want offense? You'd be better off getting Dragicevic. Want defense? Simashev is your man. Want a combination of both? ASP and Reinbacher are the best two way guys.

You don't spend a top 10 pick on fixing that problem, Especially not when Bonk, Price, Allen, Molendyk etc are all available later.

Agree with this...there are alternatives to all of those guys as I've said, I don't see any #1Dmen in this draft.

 

[rt]

For such a bad skater please tell me how he is putting up a PPG as the youngest player in the NCAA? His skating is so bad but yet his stats are good.

Time and space. Remember Johnny Walker? Extreme example but that’s the idea.

Can you imagine if he improves on his skating how good he will be?

.

Exactly why many here are saying he’s a solid 8-16 selection. Even if some are saying it should be much closer to 16, that’s not a slam on him.

 

[Dead Coyote]

Simashev is someone that I think could be had in the 2nd round...not a ton of offense there, but I haven't watched a ton of tape on him. Big kid though, so you know that BA likes that.

Thing is no one knows his offensive capabilities because he's playing high, hard minutes on a KHL squad that doesn't have much offense to begin with.

He has a big shot. Would his offensive stats be better if he was in the WHL against kids smaller than him instead of against adults bigger than him? How much better would they be, if at all? My take is that like every D in this draft, his problems are over exaggerated and he could easily become a good two way d-man in the NHL. I also think he's the most ready of the d-men in this draft to immediately transition into an NHL role.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

Thing is no one knows his offensive capabilities because he's playing high, hard minutes on a KHL squad that doesn't have much offense to begin with.

He has a big shot. Would his offensive stats be better if he was in the WHL against kids smaller than him instead of against adults bigger than him? How much better would they be, if at all? My take is that like every D in this draft, his problems are over exaggerated and he could easily become a good two way d-man in the NHL. I also think he's the most ready of the d-men in this draft to immediately transition into an NHL role.

Well yeah, the kid is 6'4'' 202 lbs, I'd say he's ready

 

[Dead Coyote]

I'll likely be happy with whoever we draft, even if it's not who I would have chosen.

But my mentality is that you want the guy who has the highest upside and the highest chance of reaching that upside.

Warning: Way too much wall of text following; tldr look at what is needed for success and chance to reach upside and choose based on that

Let's take Simashev for example. He's already in the KHL, already playing against men, already munching minutes and defending well. He knows what it takes to defend against men. There might be an adjustment period to the ice, and the talent of the NHL, but his baselines skills that are good- his size, physicality, his reach, stickwork- those are all things that work just as well in the NHL as they do in the KHL. So in that sense he's an extremely safe pick to be at least a #6D or a Justin Braun type. And if his offense continues to develop, or he meshes well with a system, or he already had the offense but needed opportunities and teammates to show it- well than you have probably a guy who's big, mean, and can run a PP and score with a big booming shot, and we all know how much guys like Chara and Weber are coveted in the NHL. So that's super valuable. What are the chances of him reaching that upside? Is his shot good enough already? His skating? Does he have good vision and IQ? Good positional awareness? These are all questions that the scouts can probably somewhat answer or project for in the future. These are all the questions we should be asking of any of our options. If Simashev has that upside, is there someone else in the draft who could have that same upside and a better chance at reaching it? If there isn't, how do the players differ? Reinbacher, for example, is smaller and less physical. But he's also producing a lot better in another, albeit weaker, mens league. Does he have a better chance at reaching that upside? Is his floor lower than Simashev's? If he can't reach that full upside, is there a middle ground that he has a higher chance of reaching than Simashev? Would we prefer the middle ground of Reinbacher to the middle ground of Simashev?

You can take all these questions and apply them to any prospect. The higher we get in the draft the more the answers to these questions become clear- if we applied the same criteria to Bedard and Michkov for example, we could see that we have less questions about their development, chance to reach their upside, and that their baseline skills are already NHL quality in many respects- even elite.

That's at least how I would approach it, though there's no guarantee by any means that our NHL scouts and GMBA will approach it the same way. The question becomes even more important the later the rounds are because you have less data and more questions about prospects, so it becomes about picking out who among the crop has the highest chance of success in rectifying whatever problems in their game they have, and asking if they have or can develop the skillset needed to succeed at the NHL level. Not all problems are created equal, either. On the one hand, it's a lot easier to teach a big guy how to have an NHL quality shot than it is to teach a small guy how to grow 6 inches. On the other hand it's a lot harder to teach a big guy how to skate and balance and have good edgework than it is to teach a small guy how to strengthen his legs and core to protect the puck.

The top 5 definitely have the least amount to work on, and there's a large diverse amount of players after that in the top 10 who so, so many people think have varying degrees at a chance of success...so to tie this back in I'll probably be happy with whoever BA picks, because I think our scouting department has way more information than we do (I was really unhappy with the Moser pick for example, because I thought we could take him a round or two later)...but ideally we can just skip over all that and take Michkov or Bedard!

Well yeah, the kid is 6'4'' 202 lbs, I'd say he's ready

Size doesn't have much to do with it. It's how he uses that size- pushing people off the puck with his strength, using his large reach to strip the puck, his stickwork, his ability to clear the crease- that's what matters. Reinbacher for example is smaller but they play fairly similarly defensively, Simashev just has more tools to use because of his size.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

I'm with you in hoping that our scouting staff picks the right guys. Like always, just crossing fingers we can land some more top flight talent.

 

[Mosby]

Draft lotto to be held May 8

 

[rt]

Draft lotto to be held May 8

I hate that it’s not after the election. We’re gonna win Fantilli and have our vibes absolutely crushed a week later when we lose the election.

 

[Mosby]

Or we win it and that motivates even more people to vote because they have the chance to see the next McDavid.

 

[rt]

Or we win it and that motivates even more people to vote because they have the chance to see the next McDavid.

Bedard save us!!!

 

[Arizonatah Coyetis]

May is going to be ______________________ (fill in the blank)

I'm gonna go with stressful

 

[Mosby]

Also, this year's actual draft is on a Wednesday and Thursday. Wtf?

 

[rt]

May is going to be ______________________ (fill in the blank)

I'm gonna go with stressful

Transformational? Win Bedard and the vote. Changes everything.

Also, this year's actual draft is on a Wednesday and Thursday. Wtf?

Hate it.

 

[GhostofYotesFan47]

If we end up with picks 7 and 11, I'd like to land Dvorsky (or Benson please) and Moore. It would be nice if we could add a pick that allows us to grab Dragicevic as well. That would feel like a big draft to me.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

I could see Reinbacher go before michkov at this point with how things are trending

 

[Magonus1703]

I ran Tankathon and got shocked.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

man, that would be the worst...but yep, fits the bill and true to form. #ThisIsTheWay

 

[Grimes]

I could see Reinbacher go before michkov at this point with how things are trending

I could see Reinbacher going before Michkov at this point. But the Russian thing is part of the equation. It's also because there are so many other can't miss prospects. If it was Michkov vs Slafkovsky how many are taking Slaf? But when it's Michkov vs Benson how many will risk passing on Benson for the greater unknown?

 

[Jormungandr]

Also, this year's actual draft is on a Wednesday and Thursday. Wtf?

Already requested those days off. Added Friday in as well, just because. Haha. Do it early enough and no one bats an eye.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Or we win it and that motivates even more people to vote because they have the chance to see the next McDavid.

A nice thought, but I think that there are maybe five voters in Tempe who know who Connor Bedard is, and I don't think that'll be enough of a swing for us.

 

[Jakey53]

Draft lotto to be held May 8

The day our dreams are crushed.......again.

Or we win it and that motivates even more people to vote because they have the chance to see the next McDavid.

Arizona is not in Canada.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

Already requested those days off. Added Friday in as well, just because. Haha. Do it early enough and no one bats an eye.

I'm with you...Draft day (both days), although typically 2nd day is always on Saturday...but yes, these are national holidays as far as I'm concerned so yeah, I take them off as well.

 

[rt]

Was trying to think of small wingers that play the game with both tremendous skill and pace but also with tremendous heart and guts. I thought about Claude Giroux as a comp for Benson. Going back and reading scouting reports from his draft year, and it checks out:

Philadelphia Flyers: A Look Back at Scouting Reports – Part 2

Claude Giroux, Radko Gudas, and Vinny Lecavalier—have these Flyers lived up to their scouting reports?

broadstreetbuzz.com

Assets: Has electric moves, outstanding offensive creativity and smarts, as well as plenty of finishing skills. Is at his best with the puck on his stick. Has amazing hands, which he uses to lay soft passes on linemates’ sticks. Can play both center and wing. Dominates on special teams.

Flaws: Doesn’t shoot the puck instinctively, so he tends to pass up quality scoring chances from time to time. Lacks ideal size to win corner battles at the highest level but is extremely courageous and resilient, and physical play doesn’t bother him.

Giroux’s greatest talent is his playmaking ability. Boasting excellent hands and great vision, the diminutive winger is able to use his quick skating ability to turn something out of nothing. Giroux, despite his size disadvantage, does not mind getting his nose dirty, and will stand in to take a hit in order to make a play. He does get bodied often, but the shifty winger is agile enough to avoid checks on a regular basis.