Prospect Info: 2026 Draft
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trick9
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Interesting video from HockeyProspect.com
Super low on Lawrence and Command. Not in top 32. Doesn’t think they will be more than 4th liners. Question whether Lawrence can even stick at center.
Super high on Gleb Pugachyov. Have him 11th overall above other power forwards like Belchetz and Hemming. “Russian Tom Wilson.” They believe he will go closer to their ranking than the consensus which would align with the Caps picks.
2026 NHL Draft Final Top 32 Prospects Ranking - HockeyProspect.com
They also released their top 32. Bjorck at 1. Don’t expect him to drop out of top 10 at this point. Malhotra, McKenna, Stenberg, Carels at 2,3,4,5. 16 and 18 are Klepov and Belchetz.
Significantly different from consensus, but I have always thought they had good takes and they are well-connected with NHL scouts.
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- Mar 21, 2010
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As I no longer have any hope for Bjorck falling, hopefully people agree and he falls, because I like Lawrence a lot. He was dealing with the same sh*t show that Hutson was at BU. And Hutson came in and put up a better point/game in the NHL than he did at BU. I feel very comfortable with Lawrence having a floor of a 3C.
That said, I'm not that surprised Lawrence is a bit polarizing. He had some really bad games when he first got to BU (bad as in completely invisible), but he had some great games later. But if you missed those later games, or only saw one where he was okay, it would be easy to add his bad early performance with his bad counting stats and assume he was never good.
I wouldn’t have a problem taking Lawrence over any of the typical players mocked to us like Command or Hurlbert, but I would be lying if the lack of playmaking didn’t give me pause. Lack of playmaking kind of forces you to the wing. If he is purely a wing, then there are higher ceiling wingers. Definitely hope some of the other top guys fall instead.
Admittedly my watching of Lawrence in those early games concern me. Other than good speed I just didn't see flashes of any elite traits compared to a Hutson.
Div1 college hockey though is a different animal that I am still getting used to as far as talented young players maturing and adjusting to the play.
I will continue to beat the dead horse and say I’m doubtful they make both picks or either. If they use both picks I’m starting to feel doubtful they will be able to improve the team this summer. Those picks seem like they should be the ammo to make a move.
Silky mitts
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There are hundreds of different things the Caps could do with their picks. There are 3 or 4 things the Wizards can do with the 1st pick. I still have more confidence in the Caps not screwing it up.
I hope you are correct. GMCP hasn’t been particularly impressive at improving the team thus far. Hopefully BMac is still really pulling the strings.
hockeykicker
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BMacs Burner
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It is funny how fans seem to give BMac all the credit for the 2024 offseason when no one has any idea who was most responsible.
An educated guess would be that the pro scouting and analytics departments are most responsible and they happened to be run by Chris Patrick at the time.
Also, people seem to ignore that the Caps stole a 24 year old elite 3C from Florida last offseason.
Regardless, BMac and Chris Patrick were the brain trust in 2024 and they still are now. The only thing that has changed is job titles.
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Picked up a young 2 way center for a 2nd and got a 1st for a rental last year, and no one gives him credit for at least bidding up Ehlers, imagine if he would have pulled that off
BMacs Burner
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The player economy changed when the yearly cap explosion began, which was also the same summer he got the job. Free agency is dead and high-value trades have diminished since then.
Being the GM of a 'retooling' team is arguably the harest position to be in right now. You don't have a contender already laden with core pieces needing optimal depth pieces or maybe hockey trades with your better players. Nor are you rebuilding and able to take advantage of a sellers' market. You're in the mushy middle in a league with abnormally high parity (and mediocrity as these playoffs proved) where no one wants to choose long-term gratification by biting the rebuild bullet and potentially miss out on the revenue for two playoff home games before being swept by a real team like Carolina or Colorado.
So instead you have to contend with a steep incline while praying a potential core piece becomes available for unique reasons like Jason Robertson, and hope that the seller likes Connor McMichael, Chesley, Cristall, and two 1sts (which in the old market would be an overpay) enough to accept a trade.
They are also a bit limited by Ovi at this time. Him coming back may not effect their cap situation in any way, but it will effect many aspects of their game and ice time allocation for him and others like Strome.
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- Mar 21, 2010
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This x100.
And this especially goes for the really big stuff. Maybe fGMBM isn't dealing with smaller stuff, like the Lappy negotiations for example, but if people think he's not heavily involved in big potential FA like Ehlers, then what do you think he's doing there?
BTW, besides the Sourdif trade, the Chychrun extension was also officially under GMCP, and that's looking great. (And I was a bit of a Chychrun skeptic at the time.)
So…go back to the press conference that summer after FA. Those were all moves they mentioned BMAC had been working on and planted the seeds for. I give BMac and the pro scouts credit which includes Patrick. Absolutely.
As GM though he has struck out on getting his targets and so I’m looking to see him effectively execute a plan and convince a player to come.
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He’s the credited GM for the Logan Thompson deal as well, which looks incredible.
I like the highlights I've seen of Gleb Pugachyov, not sure he has the upside to pick at 18, but could be a Barbashev type, so I'd think about it. He hits and loves playoff hockey, so count me in.
TheSmokingMan
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What a disaster that 2005 draft turned out to be. We got so screwed by the NHL. Not to mention McPhee’s obsession with big defenseman who couldn’t skate or handle the puck…
TheSmokingMan
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It’s fair to say he has struck out on the big moves, but he hasn’t made any disastrous moves either. Sometimes, the best sign of a good GM is the moves they don’t make.
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