NHL Entry Draft 2024 NHL Draft Talk

[aragorn]

Knights' Sim ejected from Memorial Cup after elbowing Spirit's Parekh

A highly touted final of the Memorial Cup got chippy after London Knights forward Landon Sim was assessed a five minute major and game misconduct for delivering an elbow to the head of Saginaw Spirit defenceman Zayne Parekh.

www.sportsnet.ca

Here is the elbow to the head thrown by Landon Sim on Zayne Parekh.
Nobody that was sitting around me saw it and they did not show it on the replay scoreboard in the Dow centre arena in Saginaw. After that hit Parekh left the game and he had blood that he was spitting out of his mouth. He came back into the game and played but I am sure he was not playing at 100%.

Another example of teams targeting the other team's best player or most effective player to neutralize them & typical of Dale Hunter teams, that's how he played. Mathew does the same thing target the best player & tke him off their normal game, make them pay everytime they touch the puck & sometimes you can hit them hard enough it takes them out giving your team an advantage. it's why coaches are always barking finish your check.

At some point the fanbase has to be more agile and informed then say “Dorion do bad on a 1st round pick” - it’s just such a lazy argument. Yes Boucher busted but really the only thing Dorion did well was draft so pointing to his one big mistake and saying it’s all wrong is just stupid.

Staois might take the BPA Left Dman I don’t think he’ll take but if he gets injured me coming back here and saying Staois is stupid 4 years later would be lame, so I won’t do it

Sens are drafting a right shot Player I will guarantee you that

Nobody ever mentions Boucher when they talk about taking the BPA but it's an example that nobody really knows who each team has as the BPA when they go up to pick & in a number of cases the guy they wanted could be gone or they reach because they like a particular player a lot. Every yr at every draft people are amazed at one GM or another for taking a guy too soon, sometimes the GM turns out to be right & more times than not they turn out to be wrong & their swing for the fences is a strike out. It happens at every draft, BPA is in the eye of the beholder. & this upcoming draft seems wide open with all kinds of players ranked all over the place.

 

[BondraTime]

Another example of teams targeting the other team's best player or most effective player to neutralize them & typical of Dale Hunter teams, that's how he played. Mathew does the same thing target the best player & tke him off their normal game, make them pay everytime they touch the puck & sometimes you can hit them hard enough it takes them out giving your team an advantage. it's why coaches are always barking finish your check.


Nobody ever mentions Boucher when they talk about taking the BPA but it's an example that nobody really knows who each team has as the BPA when they go up to pick & in a number of cases the guy they wanted could be gone or they reach because they like a particular player a lot. Every yr at every draft people are amazed at one GM or another for taking a guy too soon, sometimes the GM turns out to be right & more times than not they turn out to be wrong & their swing for the fences is a strike out. It happens at every draft, BPA is in the eye of the beholder. & this upcoming draft seems wide open with all kinds of players ranked all over the place.

Trent Mann himself said they picked Boucher for a need down the road. He literally said word for word they need certain types of players, it was 100% a pick based on “need” and player archetype which affected their draft list in an extremely negative way

Mann June 2022 - “some of these kids, they’re going to pay dividends, just maybe it won’t be this year, maybe people will question it, but we’re not really worried about that. We have to be worried about what the Ottawa Senators need down the road and in a salary cap world, you need certain things, certain types of players to move forward and help you win, and teams don’t give you those players.”

 

[Tuna99]

Trent Mann himself said they picked Boucher for a need down the road. He literally said word for word they need certain types of players, it was 100% a pick based on “need” and player archetype which affected their draft list in an extremely negative way

“some of these kids, they’re going to pay dividends, just maybe it won’t be this year, maybe people will question it, but we’re not really worried about that. We have to be worried about what the Ottawa Senators need down the road and in a salary cap world, you need certain things, certain types of players to move forward and help you win, and teams don’t give you those players.”

this is true, you won’t win a Cup with 12 Mika Zabinejeds up front and 6 Thomas Chabot’s on defence.

I think the problem is you think teams should always take BPA on their list - IE Ottawa should just draft a LD if that’s the player anon the list when clearly Ottawa doesn’t need a LD for th next 5 years. So who makes you better and win more, drafting another player 1 spot lower on your list who Can fulfill a team need and play top minutes in that roll or picking the LD and leaving him in the 3rd pairing for 5 year getting no PP time or key minutes because he was #7 on your list and stunting his development?

You don’t build a house by designing a kitchen in each room because kitchens are sexy annd are the best, you need a garage and storage and closets and all the stuff that makes houses run. Not sexy, but essential.

 

[BondraTime]

this is true, you won’t win a Cup with 12 Mika Zabinejeds up front and 6 Thomas Chabot’s on defence.

I think the problem is you think teams should always take BPA on their list - IE Ottawa should just draft a LD if that’s the player anon the list when clearly Ottawa doesn’t need a LD for th next 5 years. So who makes you better and win more, drafting another player 1 spot lower on your list who Can fulfill a team need and play top minutes in that roll or picking the LD and leaving him in the 3rd pairing for 5 year getting no PP time or key minutes because he was #7 on your list and stunting his development?

You don’t build a house by designing a kitchen in each room because kitchens are sexy annd are the best, you need a garage and storage and closets and all the stuff that makes houses run. Not sexy, but essential.

If Ottawa has a LD at the top of their list, they absolutely should, and will, draft him.

And there is a very high possibility that’s happening.

You should build your house with a strong foundation, and makes add on’s and renovations as time goes on when needed and attainable. The top of the draft is the foundation. Trades and signings are the renovations.

Teams change, very fast. The only guys who are regulars from 5 seasons ago are Chabot and Tkachuk. This team in 2 seasons, let alone 5, is going to be extremely different, and have different strengths and weaknesses than the one this past year. It’s likely to be extremely different in 2 months. They are likely to have a top 4 RD signed for the next 4+ years. Then we have Zub and UFA in front of the RD we just drafted for the next few years, the exact same thing you’re complaining about if they take a LD.

 

[BigRig4]

this is true, you won’t win a Cup with 12 Mika Zabinejeds up front and 6 Thomas Chabot’s on defence.

I think the problem is you think teams should always take BPA on their list - IE Ottawa should just draft a LD if that’s the player anon the list when clearly Ottawa doesn’t need a LD for th next 5 years. So who makes you better and win more, drafting another player 1 spot lower on your list who Can fulfill a team need and play top minutes in that roll or picking the LD and leaving him in the 3rd pairing for 5 year getting no PP time or key minutes because he was #7 on your list and stunting his development?

You don’t build a house by designing a kitchen in each room because kitchens are sexy annd are the best, you need a garage and storage and closets and all the stuff that makes houses run. Not sexy, but essential.

I totally follow your logic - it’s just so hard to project what your roster will look like 5 years down the road.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Hard to say what Boucher could be, he needs to stay healthy. That draft isn’t looking great in general at the moment, I wonder if they simply didn’t like anyone more in that range.

 

[Tuna99]

If Ottawa has a LD at the top of their list, they absolutely should, and will, draft him.

And there is a very high possibility that’s happening.

You should build your house with a strong foundation, and makes add on’s and renovations as time goes on when needed and attainable. The top of the draft is the foundation. Trades and signings are the renovations.

Teams change, very fast. The only guys who are regulars from 5 seasons ago are Chabot and Tkachuk. This team in 2 seasons, let alone 5, is going to be extremely different, and have different strengths and weaknesses than the one this past year. It’s likely to be extremely different in 2 months. They are likely to have a top 4 RD signed for the next 4+ years. Then we have Zub and UFA in front of the RD we just drafted for the next few years, the exact same thing you’re complaining about if they take a LD.

Drafting Boucher is the exact same philosophy as drafting Brady Takchuk if you read Manns post draft comments - he said you draft Brady because you have a competitor, a measuring stick player, a player that helps your team win in different ways then scoring and so to say Mann had a great draft with Brady and in 2020 and then went nuts and drafted Ty Boucher doesn’t make sense to me.

I don’t understand your argument against Mann saying you need certain players to win - where does Ottawa have a massive hole in their lineup RW2 and RW3 and who is Ottawa looking to acquire Boone Jenner who is basically Ty Boucher if he was in the NHL.

The problem is Boucher got hurt not the draft philosophy.

And it’s easy to project out the Ottaw LD and to pretend like it isn’t is playing dumb. We have Sandy and Chabot for 4 years and Kleven looks like he’ll be an excellent compliment in that LD3 spot so for the next 4 years we don’t need a LD at all in the starting lineup and definitely not one to run a PP or kill penalties

Anyways this is dumb, if Ottawa drafts a LD I’ll think it’s dumb and if Ottawa drafts a right shot RW or RD likeni believe they will we can meet back here and say they got the best player until he gets injured and then you can say it was dumb to draft him

 

[BondraTime]

Drafting Boucher is the exact same philosophy as drafting Brady Takchuk if you read Manns post draft comments - he said you draft Brady because you have a competitor, a measuring stick player, a player that helps your team win in different ways then scoring and so to say Mann had a great draft with Brady and in 2020 and then went nuts and drafted Ty Boucher doesn’t make sense to me.

I don’t understand your argument against Mann saying you need certain players to win - where does Ottawa have a massive hole in their lineup RW2 and RW3 and who is Ottawa looking to acquire Boone Jenner who is basically Ty Boucher if he was in the NHL.

The problem is Boucher got hurt not the draft philosophy.

And it’s easy to project out the Ottaw LD and to pretend like it isn’t is playing dumb. We have Sandy and Chabot for 4 years and Kleven looks like he’ll be an excellent compliment in that LD3 spot so for the next 4 years we don’t need a LD at all in the starting lineup and definitely not one to run a PP or kill penalties

Anyways this is dumb, if Ottawa drafts a LD I’ll think it’s dumb and if Ottawa drafts a right shot RW or RD likeni believe they will we can meet back here and say they got the best player until he gets injured and then you can say it was dumb to draft him

Yes, Tkachuk who we got lower than he was ranked to go because the Habs picked Kotkoniemi for need, we should definitely follow in their footsteps!

Hey as long as they use picking for need like 2020 right!

And I 100% agree this is dumb.

 

[aragorn]

Trent Mann himself said they picked Boucher for a need down the road. He literally said word for word they need certain types of players, it was 100% a pick based on “need” and player archetype which affected their draft list in an extremely negative way

Mann June 2022 - “some of these kids, they’re going to pay dividends, just maybe it won’t be this year, maybe people will question it, but we’re not really worried about that. We have to be worried about what the Ottawa Senators need down the road and in a salary cap world, you need certain things, certain types of players to move forward and help you win, and teams don’t give you those players.”

Unlike you, I agree there are times you go for need since the draft in most cases depending on where you draft is a crap shoot. If you have most of the players you want already why not fill a need. This BPA is in the eye of the beholder, every draft people bitch about who the Sens pick, every yr there are guys lower in the draft that in hindsight should have been picked higher. It also proves my point that teams don't always pick the consensus BPA & go for who they want. This upcoming draft is another example of players ranked all over the place so how do you determine who the BPA is. Different kinds of players help teams win in different ways, you can't have all the same kind of players. You & I have this argument every draft.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Hard to say what Boucher could be, he needs to stay healthy. That draft isn’t looking great in general at the moment, I wonder if they simply didn’t like anyone more in that range.

Yeah I find it hard to believe that they LOVED someone else and said “nah we are taking Boucher

 

[aragorn]

Yes, Tkachuk who we got lower than he was ranked to go because the Habs picked Kotkoniemi for need, we should definitely follow in their footsteps!

Hey as long as they use picking for need like 2020 right!

You have no idea if the Habs took Kotkoniemi for need, I thought you said all teams draft the BPA, which is it? If they took him for need it didn't take them long to get rid of him so that makes no sense. Players are drafted for all kinds of reasons & every scout has their own preferences in what they like about players. There is no right way & as we have seen many times sometimes teams just luck out with their draft pick. Joey Daccord was the last player taken in his draft yr & he's now an NHL regular, some guys never got drafted & became stars, you just don't know what you don't know with 18 yr olds.

 

[BondraTime]

You have no idea if the Habs took Kotkoniemi for need, I thought you said all teams draft the BPA, which is it? If they took him for need it didn't take them long to get rid of him so that makes no sense. Players are drafted for all kinds of reasons & every scout has their own preferences in what they like about players. There is no right way & as we have seen many times sometimes teams just luck out with their draft pick. Joey Daccord was the last player taken in his draft yr & he's now an NHL regular, some guys never got drafted & became stars, you just don't know what you don't know with 18 yr olds.

Yes we do, it was reported long before, during, and after that the Habs wanted to take a Center with their 1st pick because of their need for 1. There are tons of radio interviews and articles discussing it before and after. They had a huge need for Center, and made their list accordingly.

I’m saying that when you draft for need, you get into situations like the Habs, and Sens, where you make a bad draft list based on something that should be taken completely out of the equation at the top of the draft. Teams do draft for need, and much more often than not regret it. Coyotes did the exact same thing 2 picks later because they wanted a Center, they also regret it big time. We should not be following on the footsteps of all the failures going this route at the top of the draft.

Just look at the start of this thread. How many posts are there saying we need to draft a RD with our pick? That’s not a way to start off making and shaping list, scouts and whoever would have a bias started already that certain guys are more valuable because they play a position you feel needs to be filled, and then gravitate towards them.

Need at centre makes Canadiens a wild card in 2018 NHL Draft – Sportsnet.ca

There are two RD from 7-15 that could conceivably be atop their lists, and they’d be more than acceptable picks. That wouldn’t be surprising whatsoever. But, if that list was made with needs or position in mind, it was not done well.

 

[Icelevel]

Unlike you, I agree there are times you go for need since the draft in most cases depending on where you draft is a crap shoot. If you have most of the players you want already why not fill a need. This BPA is in the eye of the beholder, every draft people bitch about who the Sens pick, every yr there are guys lower in the draft that in hindsight should have been picked higher. It also proves my point that teams don't always pick the consensus BPA & go for who they want. This upcoming draft is another example of players ranked all over the place so how do you determine who the BPA is. Different kinds of players help teams win in different ways, you can't have all the same kind of players. You & I have this argument every draft.

No drafting is very simple. You print out Bob Mackenzies list of definitive 100% accurate best players available and simply follow that list down from #1

If you stray from that one list then people will climb out of their caves and criticize you head to toe and rightly soe.


You can argue that every pick is a pick for need. Teams need the best players. Bigger,stronger,faster,smarter than the competition. Every team needs that.

And you can argue it’s next to impossible to know who the bpa is before they’ve even played a game in the nhl against nhl competition.

Anyway…needless to say, it’s complicated.

 

[PlayOn]

Drafting for positional need in the top 10 is just stupid. It shouldn’t be a thing.

I think the conversation about player type needs is a little more complicated when projections are similar. When the Sens took Boucher, some people wondered how they could pass on Sillinger who could be a good 2C. I don’t think the Sens necessarily felt he was a 2C though. Historically they like good skaters, especially early in the draft. So now if you think Sillinger is a 3C, and you think Boucher is a middle six power forward, who is the more valuable player?

I don’t know that the answer is cut and dry. There are so many ways to impact a game. Let’s say you think Sillinger is 50 pt guy, and Boucher a 40 pt guy… is the gap large enough to determine that Sillinger = BPA? I don’t think it is.

I don’t think Ottawa took Boucher thinking there were better players available. I think they believed that some guys would outproduce him, but not enough to make them more valuable than he is given the intangibles. It’s a valid thought process, I think there are a ton of guys that out produce Nichushkin but (issues aside) I’d take him over a lot of them. Not comparing Boucher to him btw, just saying production isn’t everything.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Drafting Boucher is the exact same philosophy as drafting Brady Takchuk if you read Manns post draft comments - he said you draft Brady because you have a competitor, a measuring stick player, a player that helps your team win in different ways then scoring and so to say Mann had a great draft with Brady and in 2020 and then went nuts and drafted Ty Boucher doesn’t make sense to me.

I don’t understand your argument against Mann saying you need certain players to win - where does Ottawa have a massive hole in their lineup RW2 and RW3 and who is Ottawa looking to acquire Boone Jenner who is basically Ty Boucher if he was in the NHL.

The problem is Boucher got hurt not the draft philosophy.

And it’s easy to project out the Ottaw LD and to pretend like it isn’t is playing dumb. We have Sandy and Chabot for 4 years and Kleven looks like he’ll be an excellent compliment in that LD3 spot so for the next 4 years we don’t need a LD at all in the starting lineup and definitely not one to run a PP or kill penalties

Anyways this is dumb, if Ottawa drafts a LD I’ll think it’s dumb and if Ottawa drafts a right shot RW or RD likeni believe they will we can meet back here and say they got the best player until he gets injured and then you can say it was dumb to draft him

Even when playing Boucher has been, at best, underwhelming. He wasn't projected to be a top 10 prospect by anyone but our guys. He's played like a guy who should never have sniffed the top 10. Only our scouting staff thought he was good value at 10OA. And the reason for that is that our scouting staff/GM viewed him through the lens of "need".

Brady Tkachuk was a viewed almost across the board as a top 5 prospect in his draft. Top 3 on many lists. Because the Habs reached in order to fill a need, we got a better BPA who happened to check a few other boxes that most teams have on their needs list.

The mindset that led to the drafting of these two players was totally different. Just because both are physical players doesn't mean they are valued similarly by any scout with a brain.

 

[Senator Stanley]

Drafting for positional need in the top 10 is just stupid. It shouldn’t be a thing.

I think the conversation about player type needs is a little more complicated when projections are similar. When the Sens took Boucher, some people wondered how they could pass on Sillinger who could be a good 2C. I don’t think the Sens necessarily felt he was a 2C though. Historically they like good skaters, especially early in the draft. So now if you think Sillinger is a 3C, and you think Boucher is a middle six power forward, who is the more valuable player?

I don’t know that the answer is cut and dry. There are so many ways to impact a game. Let’s say you think Sillinger is 50 pt guy, and Boucher a 40 pt guy… is the gap large enough to determine that Sillinger = BPA? I don’t think it is.

I don’t think Ottawa took Boucher thinking there were better players available. I think they believed that some guys would outproduce him, but not enough to make them more valuable than he is given the intangibles. It’s a valid thought process, I think there are a ton of guys that out produce Nichushkin but (issues aside) I’d take him over a lot of them. Not comparing Boucher to him btw, just saying production isn’t everything.

Boucher should probably be looked at more like a Curtis Lazar or Colin White kind of selection for that scouting staff, rather than a true "top ten pick" given how that draft class fell off after the top nine. In the mid to late first, the Murray-Dorion staffs always liked those "high floor and maybe more" forwards, where they were easily projectable as pros with a chance, if things went right, to become second liners/core guys. Ridly Greig and Shane Bowers are two other examples of this approach, with Greig trending towards that best-case outcome and Bowers trending towards the Lazar/White outcome.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Drafting for positional need in the top 10 is just stupid. It shouldn’t be a thing.

I think the conversation about player type needs is a little more complicated when projections are similar. When the Sens took Boucher, some people wondered how they could pass on Sillinger who could be a good 2C. I don’t think the Sens necessarily felt he was a 2C though. Historically they like good skaters, especially early in the draft. So now if you think Sillinger is a 3C, and you think Boucher is a middle six power forward, who is the more valuable player?

I don’t know that the answer is cut and dry. There are so many ways to impact a game. Let’s say you think Sillinger is 50 pt guy, and Boucher a 40 pt guy… is the gap large enough to determine that Sillinger = BPA? I don’t think it is.

I don’t think Ottawa took Boucher thinking there were better players available. I think they believed that some guys would outproduce him, but not enough to make them more valuable than he is given the intangibles. It’s a valid thought process, I think there are a ton of guys that out produce Nichushkin but (issues aside) I’d take him over a lot of them. Not comparing Boucher to him btw, just saying production isn’t everything.

Production isn't everything, but there was little to suggest the point gap between Sillinger and Boucher was only going to be 10 points or so over 82GP.

Sillinger had one of the better 16YR old seasons in the WHL in a long time and followed it up with excellent production in the USHL in his draft year.

He hasn't broken out offensively in the NHL but the Blue Jackets have developed him horribly. Inexplicably put him in the NHL at 18 when he needed time to develop at lower levels and improve his mediocre skating, plus they have him playing center (even though he's a better fit for wing IMO) in the bottom 6 due to their depth at LW.

He should have been the slam dunk pick at #10. Had the bloodlines and the grit that the team obsesses over, but they got way too cute and outsmarted themselves with the Boucher pick.

 

[Senator Stanley]

Even when playing Boucher has been, at best, underwhelming. He wasn't projected to be a top 10 prospect by anyone but our guys. He's played like a guy who should never have sniffed the top 10. Only our scouting staff thought he was good value at 10OA. And the reason for that is that our scouting staff/GM viewed him through the lens of "need".

Brady Tkachuk was a viewed almost across the board as a top 5 prospect in his draft. Top 3 on many lists. Because the Habs reached in order to fill a need, we got a better BPA who happened to check a few other boxes that most teams have on their needs list.

The mindset that led to the drafting of these two players was totally different. Just because both are physical players doesn't mean they are valued similarly by any scout with a brain.

I'm not sure need vs. best-player available is necessarily the correct lens through which to view that era of drafting.

Trent Mann in particular was a "most valuable prospect available" over "best prospect available" kind of drafter. He spoke about it publicly often. With each of Tkachuk, Sanderson and Boucher we heard some version of "you can't trade for this kind of player" as justification for what were all, to varying degrees and in different corners, controversial picks in the moment. That seemed to be the biggest differentiator for them.

 

[PlayOn]

Production is everything, but there was little to suggest the point gap between Sillinger and Boucher was only going to be 10 points or so over 82GP.

Sillinger had one of the better 16YR old seasons in the WHL in a long time and followed it up with excellent production in the USHL in his draft year.

He hasn't broken out offensively in the NHL but the Blue Jackets have developed him horribly. Inexplicably put him in the NHL at 18 when he needed time to develop at lower levels and improve his mediocre skating, plus they have him playing center (even though he's a better fit for wing IMO) in the bottom 6 due to their depth at LW.

He should have been the slam dunk pick at #10. Had the bloodlines and the grit that the team obsesses over, but they got way too cute and outsmarted themselves with the Boucher pick.

But ultimately, I think lots of people thought Sillinger would be a 60-65 pt guy and Boucher a 30-35 pt guy. If the Sens like Sillinger a little less than that, and Boucher a little more than that, you’ve got a much smaller gap in their eyes. Now the intangibles are worth consideration. It doesn’t matter a ton what Sillinger was producing in junior if they felt his skating would limit him significantly at the NHL level.

Anyway, I’m making all this up. I have no idea what the Sens thought either way. I’m just saying that taking player style into consideration is part of every draft selection. Did Ottawa overvalue Boucher because they put too much weight on his physicality (popular opinion here) or did they just overestimate his ability to produce/underestimate others which in turn made the whole package seem more appealing? I don’t think we know the answer to that. But one is more just a player misevaluation and the other is a hyper focus on style.

 

[aragorn]

No drafting is very simple. You print out Bob Mackenzies list of definitive 100% accurate best players available and simply follow that list down from #1

If you stray from that one list then people will climb out of their caves and criticize you head to toe and rightly soe.


You can argue that every pick is a pick for need. Teams need the best players. Bigger,stronger,faster,smarter than the competition. Every team needs that.

And you can argue it’s next to impossible to know who the bpa is before they’ve even played a game in the nhl against nhl competition.

Anyway…needless to say, it’s complicated.

NHL teams stray off Bob's list in every draft. Did Bob's list have Stone in the first rd in his draft yr? What about Batherson or Alfredsson? Joey Daccord was the last player selected in his draft yr, where would he go now if his draft was redone? Why have scouting departments & just go by Bob's list? The draft is full of hits & missses, Bob gets his info from scouts & scouts make mistakes in every draft, it's an educated crap shoot.

 

[ijif]

Unlike you, I agree there are times you go for need since the draft in most cases depending on where you draft is a crap shoot. If you have most of the players you want already why not fill a need. This BPA is in the eye of the beholder, every draft people bitch about who the Sens pick, every yr there are guys lower in the draft that in hindsight should have been picked higher. It also proves my point that teams don't always pick the consensus BPA & go for who they want. This upcoming draft is another example of players ranked all over the place so how do you determine who the BPA is. Different kinds of players help teams win in different ways, you can't have all the same kind of players. You & I have this argument every draft.

I do agree that the draft is a crapshoot. It is clearly a risky or uncertain matter, but it is not completely random, so I don't fully understand how you are using the fact that the draft is a crapshoot to conclude that we need or should to take into account team positional needs when making draft selections.

 

[aragorn]

I do agree that the draft is a crapshoot. It is clearly a risky or uncertain matter, but it is not completely random, so I don't fully understand how you are using the fact that the draft is a crapshoot to conclude that we need or should to take into account team positional needs when making draft selections.

If teams have players in most of their key positions, but lack a certain kind or type of player & that player is arguably as good as another player considered by some rankings or Bobs as the BPA why wouldn't you fill the need? In this particular draft these players seem much closer in talent level that the BPA could also be the player they need. It could just be a few degrees of difference. Ott has org depth at LD, they need a RD, it's likely they could go to FA to get a pro RD for right now, but they could also use a RD for org depth & if two players are close why not take the RD?

This is all I am saying especially when we have no idea who is the BPA at #7 at the moment, although a number of lists have Parekh RD, but is he what the Sens need long term? For example, I view Dickinson LD & Yakemchuk RD as very close in talent level, one is better defensively while the other is better offensively. I think we have enough LD depth & would take the RD because we lack good RD depth. You can teach defensive awareness, but offensive skill from a big guy who can skate is much more valuable IMO.

 

[JungleBeat]

Looks like we'll get a good player around our pick regardless of who we select.

 

[Cosmix]

this is true, you won’t win a Cup with 12 Mika Zabinejeds up front and 6 Thomas Chabot’s on defence.

I think the problem is you think teams should always take BPA on their list - IE Ottawa should just draft a LD if that’s the player anon the list when clearly Ottawa doesn’t need a LD for th next 5 years. So who makes you better and win more, drafting another player 1 spot lower on your list who Can fulfill a team need and play top minutes in that roll or picking the LD and leaving him in the 3rd pairing for 5 year getting no PP time or key minutes because he was #7 on your list and stunting his development?

You don’t build a house by designing a kitchen in each room because kitchens are sexy annd are the best, you need a garage and storage and closets and all the stuff that makes houses run. Not sexy, but essential.

If we had 12 Zibanejads and 6 Chabots, I think we would definitely make the playoffs. That would NOT be a bad team; it probably would not be good enough to win the Cup but it likely would win a round or 2 in the playoffs.

Looks like we'll get a good player around our pick regardless of who we select.

I don't like the last half of your sentence because the Senators scouts have made mistakes before (e.g., Boucher); however, if they follow Bob McKenzie's list or don't go for a stretch pick I think we will get a good player.

 

[Ouroboros]

I don't like the last half of your sentence because the Senators scouts have made mistakes before (e.g., Boucher); however, if they follow Bob McKenzie's list or don't go for a stretch pick I think we will get a good player.

Why not fire all the scouts and just pick the highest name available from McKenzie's list? You could save the Senators a lot of money by doing this.