GDT: 2024-25 season game 27 LA Kings vs Minnesota Wild @5:00pm 12/7/24

[All The Kings Men]

I wonder which player Blake was going to draft before he was talked out of it and chose Clarke.

thanks for listening to All The Kings Men

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I remember Clarke being a guy they had tabs on for a long time. Wallstedt is the only other name Ive heard from that draft that they were in on. Also think I remember hearing they thought Eklund may fall to them if Clarke didnt.

I think there has been publications saying Blake had a say in the high picks from those retool years. The picks after the lottery ones he relies on his scouts and doesnt know as much about the players but gives direction on things like position,size,etc.

That is probably safe to say about all 32 GMs......I would argue outside of the top 10 most GM's are relying a helluva lot on their scouts,

It's pretty common practice for GMs to make the ultimate choice with first-round picks. They'll travel and scout the potential first-rounders, particularly top-10 picks. They don't have the bandwidth to travel all over and watch all the place to have a strong personal opinion for picks in rounds 2-7.

It's the hitting on later round picks that really define how good a scouting staff is. Yannetti and Co. are great at finding NHLers like Laferriere, Spence, Faber, etc. Which is why I'd run through a wall to keep the amateur scouting staff.

Blake definitely deserves credit for the top picks. I love the Turcotte, Byfield, and Clarke picks. But I also think it's fair to say that his best moves in the later rounds is to let the scouts do their thing.

I understand your point about giving credit where it's due, but I think until Blake gets this team beyond the first round, his body of work makes it harder to give him full credit.

Exactly.

Blake doesn't run LA any different than any other pro sports team, in terms of drafting/scouting etc, he doesn't go around and watch all 200 players, I would venture to say he doesn't spend a lot of time watching live, players outside the top 10, guys like Kupari etc, that's on the scouting staff, the differences to how much each GM trusts their scouts.

 

[VILARGOD]

Ok, so Blake chose Byfield, Turcotte, but didn't choose the other players that were drafted? I mean that's the logic you are going with. Who is to say that the scouting department didn't want to pick Joustin Sourdif, and Blake over ruled them there? Or Cade Webber, and Blake said no, we are going with Spence?

I'm just saying it's a bit...ludicrous to blame anyone....Blake, Lombardi, the man on the moon, for all failures, but then refuse to give credit for the successes....it's either all or none.

Do I believe Blake has f***ed up some drafts, absolutely (Turcotte over Zegras isn't one of them though) Zegras is a f***ing shitstorm of whatever the hell that is over there....but if I'm willing to say he f***ed up, then I'm sure as shit willing to say he has hit on picks as well.

Why aren't you?

I debated responding because it feels a little redundant, but when discussing Laf specifically, It's as simple as knowing rounds 2-7 is primarily Yannetti and his team. "Blake gets NO credit" could be hyperbolic you could argue, but there are things I am willing to give him credit for, and things I am not. Drafting past the first round isn't typically one of them, due to the talent of the amateur scouting department, and the Kings draft pecking order.

I have a lot of grievances with Blake. His wins (he definitely has some) don't outweigh his losses for me. Not nearly enough for me to give a short list of his W's every time I criticize him.

Blake still might have gotten that one right.

Agreed. I like Turcotte. If you listen to some Ducks fans today they'll tell you Zegras was returning to form before he got hurt, but idk. Character stuff is ?. Just happy Turcotte is back in the conversation again.

 

[Statto]

It's pretty common practice for GMs to make the ultimate choice with first-round picks. They'll travel and scout the potential first-rounders, particularly top-10 picks. They don't have the bandwidth to travel all over and watch all the place to have a strong personal opinion for picks in rounds 2-7.

It's the hitting on later round picks that really define how good a scouting staff is. Yannetti and Co. are great at finding NHLers like Laferriere, Spence, Faber, etc. Which is why I'd run through a wall to keep the amateur scouting staff.

Blake definitely deserves credit for the top picks. I love the Turcotte, Byfield, and Clarke picks. But I also think it's fair to say that his best moves in the later rounds is to let the scouts do their thing.

I understand your point about giving credit where it's due, but I think until Blake gets this team beyond the first round, his body of work makes it harder to give him full credit.

Exactly.

Yannetti has all but stated that Blake makes the first round picks which as you say is standard practice. The footage of him doing so is out there with Turcotte. Yannetti’s team, he’s very clear it’s a team effort, makes the subsequent decisions.

It’s also worth saying that Blake doesn’t make the 1st round pick in a vacuum because he gets a lot of information from amateur scouting. So even if he makes the final choice, amateur scouting will have had input.

So Blake gets a bigger proportion of the blame/credit with the 1st round picks. What we don’t know is if he went with or against his scouts with those picks (maybe Turcotte but that’s unconfirmed). When that happens it’s all on him, either way.

The trade to move back for Greentree is the first time Blake was persuaded by Yannetti to move back in the draft. He’s clearly inferred he’s wanted to move back in the first previously, so it suggests to me that Blake holds a tight rein on picks in the first round, even the later ones. I’m fine with that btw.

Blake gets some credit for rounds 2-7 by virtue of having Yannetti as head of his amateur scouting department. That’s his decision.

 

[Surf Nutz]

Bruh, everyone knows I’m @Surf Nutz and I post here all the time.

Took these guys, some of the brightest minds in Hokey to figure it out!

 

[Schrute farms]

Do we get to include Brock Faber?

Yes, Yannetti made a great pick on Faber

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Yes, Yannetti made a great pick on Faber

Blake has traded away the two best pick Yanetti picks in last 7 years, Faber and Vilardi.

 

[Schrute farms]

Blake has traded away the two best pick Yanetti picks in last 7 years, Faber and Vilardi.

Indeed two horrible trades by Blake -- setting the franchise back a few steps.
But did Yannetti make the GV pick or Blake? I would think that pick was Blake making the decision. But i honestly don't recall now.

 

[King'sPawn]

Indeed two horrible trades by Blake -- setting the franchise back a few steps.
But did Yannetti make the GV pick or Blake? I would think that pick was Blake making the decision. But i honestly don't recall now.

Blake became GM shortly before the 2017 draft. So I don't know if he scouted the players extensively the same he could/would have since.

I do remember reading the staff were pounding their collective fists as Vilardi fell to them, but I never read enough to convince me Vilardi was a scout/Yannetti pick to argue otherwise.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Indeed two horrible trades by Blake -- setting the franchise back a few steps.
But did Yannetti make the GV pick or Blake? I would think that pick was Blake making the decision. But i honestly don't recall now.

I thought every good player drafted is the choice of anyone other than Blake?

 

[FSL KINGS]

I thought every good player drafted is the choice of anyone other than Blake?

Face offs, Blake can get the occasional win & still be terrible. (Can win 40% of faceoffs & suck)
Faber was a win in the 2nd round. Blake got himself out of that win.

Trading Kuemper for a guy that didn't score a goal one year was the most Blake thing to do, but it got so much worse from there before we got Kuemper back. It's like Pet Sematary. Kuemper came back.

Disagree with Vilardi being a good pick. Would have much rather had the two players that went right after him. Injuries, bad work ethic, saying inappropriate things & now he's breaking out in a contract year while being carried by Connor & Schieflele. Sign a big contract & go right back to being injured & declining.

 

[BaileyFan]

If Blake had his way then the pick that became Clarke would’ve been traded to Columbus for PLD literal days after The Shift. We’re lucky that Jarmo stupidly wanted only current players instead of futures in return and saved Blake from himself.

 

[Sol]

If Clarke was good enough you'd know Blake would have immediately traded him for Heatley.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

If Clarke was good enough you'd know Blake would have immediately traded him for Heatley.

Still might!

 

[FSL KINGS]

If Clarke was good enough you'd know Blake would have immediately traded him for Heatley.

We didn't have enough picks to add.

 

[Schrute farms]

I thought every good player drafted is the choice of anyone other than Blake?

It's a real travesty how far the US grade school education system has fallen and the lack of reading comprehension of those coming out of it have become.

 

[Surf Nutz]