just reading about surin sounds exactly what our prospect pool definitely needs. what round do you think he’ll go in?
nevermind tankathon has him going early 2nd round. would love to have him
Pre-Game Talk: 2024 Draft Thread
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He will go before that. A sand paper center with good size, speed, and skill. I have to agree with Recrutes scouting. He may creep middle first especially after the playoffs he had.
Linkens Mastery
Conductor of the TankTown Express
Buccigross shared a picture of a draft board with SJS and Utah as the top two picks and deleted it. Probably nothing but a test but would be a funny leak if it's true.
Would be funny, he said they were doing rehearsals. Didn't have Chicago at the top so can't be real
Linkens Mastery
Conductor of the TankTown Express
Yeah, I really can't believe he would be careless enough to actually leak that. I just think it would be hilarious
i'm still working through my draft list after u18s, but i will say that i have softened my conviction that the best player available at our pick will be a forward. it may well be a forward, but there may be option to pick d who could still be thought as bpa. i'm still finalizing my thoughts, but emery, bruenicke, and freij could all be in that conversation after each had moments where they looked to be top defender in this tourney.
I would have to agree with you. What’s the difference between taking a second line forward and a top four defenseman?
ezcreepin
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It seems like from draft rankings that we will surely land on a forward. It looks sort of up in the air in terms of where guys will land, but you have Iginla, Connelly, Boisvert, Chernyshov, Basha, etc all in that range but then there's a chance that Yakemchuk or Buium will be available, and then Emery, Freij, Brunicke should all be available in the first if the Blues want to reach. If we trade down, then we're talking about getting some solid pieces on both forward and defense. Anaheim, Chicago, Ottawa, Calgary, and Philly could want to move up and make it worthwhile for the Blues, though I don't know if that's conducive for use to move down that far or not.
I honestly don't see Buium being available at 16 or Yak either for that matter. My guess is they go somewhere between 8-13. I could see Jiricek being available but it is kind of a gamble given he hasn't played much this year. I would also add Badinka into the reach category. I see him going somewhere in the mid 20s but he is intriguing to me.
I would be ok gambling on Jiricek or moving down & getting another draft pick with one of the other def.
Linkens Mastery
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LetsGoBooze
Let the re-tool breathe
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Hate it, shoulda sold a few pieces and finished 8-10pts lower. Or waited till end of the year to change coaches. Horrible horrible outcome.
Linkens Mastery
Conductor of the TankTown Express
Bobby Orrtuzzo
Ya know
Majorityof1
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Demidov. I have seen him 2nd most places I've looked. I don't think I've seen Eiserman in the top 3 anywhere.
Snubbed4Vezina
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May the Blackhawks select Demidov and as a result of the Blackhawks being unwilling to meet his demands, he stays in Russia.
this will be first of my u18 wrap up thoughts. starting with teams that didn't medal. only focusing on draft-eligibles, so while there were lots of good 2025 kids i didn't really focus on them. there weren't any prospects of interest on kazakh or norway teams (norway has a couple top prospects but they are a bit too old for u18).
1/4 losers-
swiss- their top player (muggli) got hurt on high hit earlier in tourney. he is probably only guy likely to go top couple rounds, and it's too bad didn't get more extensive look. they have another couple d (ustinkov and meier) who are likely to get drafted but neither excites me. like fine, take one in 4th or 5th, hope for the best. but muggli is interesting as potential top 4 d. a bit smaller than ideal, he is likely about leddy size so not too bad. he didn't look out of place at u20s a couple months ago either. i could see being happy with him in 2nd.
latvia- uljanskis i think gets drafted in mid-rounds. he was top '24 prospect on their team, but they seem to be getting better and overall talent level on team didn't look out of place. wouldn't surprise me if there is another player or 2 here that get a shot but they are below level at which i can opine with any level of detail.
czechia- this team was huge disappointment. they went from beating swedes to losing to kazakhs (their 1st ever win but they still got relegated) and then got eliminated by what was thought to be weak slovak team. they have a couple d i was excited to see, but both fbigir and galvas had disappointing tournaments. they weren't bad per se, but as talented undersized d they needed to stand out for me more than they did. i see them as guys i'd maybe take a flyer on in mid rounds, but not as anyone worth targeting.
finland- the host fins were another huge disappointment. i thought they had chance to take this tournament, but boy was i wrong. they were huge bust. helenius is stud but he had only fair tourney (he will play in men's worlds so he was likely only half there). Hemming underwhelmed, showing nice shot and little else. i came in thinking he was potential 1st rounder and now i wonder whether he will even go in 2nd. kivarju is coming off injury but he looked small and slow and like he peaked at age 15. vaisanen was another guy who underwhelmed, a smooth skating 6' lhd who offers nothing else of interest either offensively or defensively who will likely go mid-late rounds. the less touted jokinen looked better at times as a late round option. i was also excited to see koivu (saku's kid) but he didn't show much in either game of theirs i saw.
semi-loser
slovakia- i want to give props to these guys. they came in with nobody touted as 2024 prospect and were on verge of relegation. they were youngest team in the field, with about half their roster 2025 draft eligibles, and they made huge improvement over course of tourney. not bad for what is really a down year between some much better slovak draft classes.
1/4 losers-
swiss- their top player (muggli) got hurt on high hit earlier in tourney. he is probably only guy likely to go top couple rounds, and it's too bad didn't get more extensive look. they have another couple d (ustinkov and meier) who are likely to get drafted but neither excites me. like fine, take one in 4th or 5th, hope for the best. but muggli is interesting as potential top 4 d. a bit smaller than ideal, he is likely about leddy size so not too bad. he didn't look out of place at u20s a couple months ago either. i could see being happy with him in 2nd.
latvia- uljanskis i think gets drafted in mid-rounds. he was top '24 prospect on their team, but they seem to be getting better and overall talent level on team didn't look out of place. wouldn't surprise me if there is another player or 2 here that get a shot but they are below level at which i can opine with any level of detail.
czechia- this team was huge disappointment. they went from beating swedes to losing to kazakhs (their 1st ever win but they still got relegated) and then got eliminated by what was thought to be weak slovak team. they have a couple d i was excited to see, but both fbigir and galvas had disappointing tournaments. they weren't bad per se, but as talented undersized d they needed to stand out for me more than they did. i see them as guys i'd maybe take a flyer on in mid rounds, but not as anyone worth targeting.
finland- the host fins were another huge disappointment. i thought they had chance to take this tournament, but boy was i wrong. they were huge bust. helenius is stud but he had only fair tourney (he will play in men's worlds so he was likely only half there). Hemming underwhelmed, showing nice shot and little else. i came in thinking he was potential 1st rounder and now i wonder whether he will even go in 2nd. kivarju is coming off injury but he looked small and slow and like he peaked at age 15. vaisanen was another guy who underwhelmed, a smooth skating 6' lhd who offers nothing else of interest either offensively or defensively who will likely go mid-late rounds. the less touted jokinen looked better at times as a late round option. i was also excited to see koivu (saku's kid) but he didn't show much in either game of theirs i saw.
semi-loser
slovakia- i want to give props to these guys. they came in with nobody touted as 2024 prospect and were on verge of relegation. they were youngest team in the field, with about half their roster 2025 draft eligibles, and they made huge improvement over course of tourney. not bad for what is really a down year between some much better slovak draft classes.
hmm, trade back a little get extra second? imo 2 things we need are D and jam. should be good d available in 2nd?
That's a solid list. There's some bold things to come out of your list. Not a dice roller on the lower league guys. Stick around the law of averages with size. Willing to take a risk on a player that has lots of talent, but needs to work on his skating. Not big on the Q this year. All in all like good size players with a good pro projection. Two thumbs up!
sweden u18 team was nowhere near as good as last year's team. this draft class isn't close to as deep for them. there are a handful of mid-late round picks, but there are 6 players that i think have shot at top 2-3 rounds.
zetterberg- small, small forward. got hurt and missed semis and bronze game. he's likely a 3rd rounder but good player.
fernstrom- potential middle 6 winger. has some offensive skill and a projectable frame. he came in much less touted than a guy like hemming, but he looks like more intriguing prospect to me. not a huge area of need, but i would be intrigued by value if he is still there for us in 3rd.
lsw-good player, but he isn't good enough that i want to draft him in top 2 rounds at his size. someone likely will. i just think at 5'11" and 176lbs you gotta be really special to make it and i don't think he is that special.
eriksson- i really like. he looks to be 200' center who can play in all situations. not sure how much offensive upside he has, so may be more of a 3c than a 2c. he gets interesting towards end of 1st round for me.
petterson-has bit of slight frame and is under 6', but he seemed to consistently be able to get to dangerous areas and create prime scoring chances. and not just against lesser teams, against good teams too. he seemed to get better as tourney progressed. he's a 1st rounder for me. i don't think i would pick him at our pick, but i wouldn't object if we do. if he fills out i could see him playing in top 6, either at 2c or on wing.
freij- he really struggled early in tournament, to the degree that i was wondering why he was being talked about so high when his game had so many holes. and then something clicked. not sure if it was confidence or he had been sick or what, but i didn't see any other player show as much improvement over the tourney as him. he was excellent in semis, showing great rush d, fantastic transition passing, great wheels, he looked like he was calm and in control. against slovakia in bronze medal game, he was better than any d i saw all tournament. i started off thinking he could be option at 16, questioned after first couple games if i would even take him with our 2nd, and by the end of the tournament i am wondering if he might not be the best d in the class. now i think he is still more risky than some of the guys ahead of him in the consensus rankings, but his upside is a 1d and there aren't many guys you can say that about. he might be our guy.
zetterberg- small, small forward. got hurt and missed semis and bronze game. he's likely a 3rd rounder but good player.
fernstrom- potential middle 6 winger. has some offensive skill and a projectable frame. he came in much less touted than a guy like hemming, but he looks like more intriguing prospect to me. not a huge area of need, but i would be intrigued by value if he is still there for us in 3rd.
lsw-good player, but he isn't good enough that i want to draft him in top 2 rounds at his size. someone likely will. i just think at 5'11" and 176lbs you gotta be really special to make it and i don't think he is that special.
eriksson- i really like. he looks to be 200' center who can play in all situations. not sure how much offensive upside he has, so may be more of a 3c than a 2c. he gets interesting towards end of 1st round for me.
petterson-has bit of slight frame and is under 6', but he seemed to consistently be able to get to dangerous areas and create prime scoring chances. and not just against lesser teams, against good teams too. he seemed to get better as tourney progressed. he's a 1st rounder for me. i don't think i would pick him at our pick, but i wouldn't object if we do. if he fills out i could see him playing in top 6, either at 2c or on wing.
freij- he really struggled early in tournament, to the degree that i was wondering why he was being talked about so high when his game had so many holes. and then something clicked. not sure if it was confidence or he had been sick or what, but i didn't see any other player show as much improvement over the tourney as him. he was excellent in semis, showing great rush d, fantastic transition passing, great wheels, he looked like he was calm and in control. against slovakia in bronze medal game, he was better than any d i saw all tournament. i started off thinking he could be option at 16, questioned after first couple games if i would even take him with our 2nd, and by the end of the tournament i am wondering if he might not be the best d in the class. now i think he is still more risky than some of the guys ahead of him in the consensus rankings, but his upside is a 1d and there aren't many guys you can say that about. he might be our guy.
So I was just playing around on mock draft simulator, decided to draft all defense for our first three rounds based on who was the best player available.
This is who I ended up with
16: Dominik Badinka (website projection was 26)
48: Will Skahan (projection was 39)
56: Tomas Lavoie (projection was 60)
81: Alfons Freij (projection was 77)
97: Adam Kleber (projection was 93)
All that being said there were several forwards available when I made these selections that I think were the better players but I was committed to defense. Doesn't really mean anything but just a fun time killer.
This is who I ended up with
16: Dominik Badinka (website projection was 26)
48: Will Skahan (projection was 39)
56: Tomas Lavoie (projection was 60)
81: Alfons Freij (projection was 77)
97: Adam Kleber (projection was 93)
All that being said there were several forwards available when I made these selections that I think were the better players but I was committed to defense. Doesn't really mean anything but just a fun time killer.
Feel like the new Steen- Swedish pipeline + we have familiarity with Vaxjo from the Bokk pick will make this scouting staff very in tune on Freij. I'm really high on him and think having Lindstein-Freij as lefty on D would be awesome for the D going forward. 16 May be too high , trading both seconds to get him at the end of the first would be awesome but who knows , his range on lists is so volatile.
I have only seen one ranking that had Freij as a very late 1st rounder. Most have him anywhere from mid 2nd to early 3rd. I just think taking him at 16 would be a massive reach but very real possibility with our early 2nd.
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