DatDude44
Hmmmm?
- Feb 23, 2012
- 6,700
- 4,256
2026 NHL Draft Thread
- Thread starter PerryTurnbullfan
- Start date
| Malhotra, Caleb |
| Reid, Chase |
| Bjorck, Viggo |
| McKenna, Gavin |
| Stenberg, Ivor |
| Verhoeff, Keaton |
| Carels, Carson |
| Rudolph, Daxon |
| Smits, Alberts |
| Belchetz, Ethan |
| Cullen, Wyatt |
| Command, Alexander |
| Lawrence, Tynan |
| Hemming, Oscar |
| Gustafsson, Malte |
| Novotny, Adam |
| Dagenais, Maddox |
| Hermansson, Elton |
| Klepov, Nikita |
| Morozov, Ilya |
| Suvanto, Oliver |
| Bleyl, Tommy |
| Hurlbert, JP |
| Aaram-Olsen, Niklas |
| Ignatavicius, Simas |
| Shcherabakov, Nikita |
| Hakansson, William |
| Hextall, Jack |
| Hoen, Jonas Lagerberg |
| Vandenberg, Tom |
| Sokolvskii, Maxim |
| Cali, Ryder |
| Bilecki, Alexander |
| MacBeath, Ben |
| Liske, Brek |
| Valentini, Adam |
| Nordmark, Marcus |
| Vanecek, Jakub |
| Roebroeck, Ryan |
| Preston, Mathis |
| Pugachyov, Gleb |
| Rogowski, Brooks |
| Mutryn, Casey |
| Alalauri, Samu |
| Goljer, Adam |
| Piiparinen, Juho |
| Lefebvre, Liam |
| Gudmundsson, Mans |
| Berzkalns, Rudolfs |
| Sorenson, Wiggo |
| Vanhanen, Matias |
| Barabanov, Egor |
| Schairer, Luke |
| Di Iorio, Alexander |
| Runtso, Timofei |
| Hamilton, Beckett |
| Andersson, Adam |
| Lin, Ryan |
| Cover Jaxon |
| Shilov, Yegor |
| Vanhatalo, Vilho |
| Svensk, Vertti |
| Olson, Zac |
| Edwards, Beckham |
| Chrenko, Tomas |
| Ruck, Liam |
| Ruck, Markus |
| Villenueve, Xavier |
| Pantelas, Giorgos |
| Sivertson, Jonah |
| Frolo, Jakub |
| Kuhta, Jasper |
| Kostov, Alex |
| Kurtz, Jayden |
| Lemieux, Jean-Christoph |
| Hafele, Landon |
Been a lot of work this year, but this is the way I see it.
Seems like a lot of people are putting Rudolph ahead of Gustafsson, both in terms of who they think will get drafted first and who they think the Blues should take.
I am not sure I agree.
I am not sure I agree.
LetsGoBooze
Trade up to pick 12. Need to pick 11&12
- Jan 16, 2012
- 3,858
- 4,349
I prefer Gusta as well. A right side of: Jiricek Mailloux and Rudolph scares me.
I would even be okay with Gus at #11. I would prefer a C (Lawrence is my target), but I doubt one will be there when we pick.
In fact, Gus may be off the board, too.
I can understand your point. I just watched this kid put Prince Albert on his shoulders all year. I know I saw at least 15 games and had to score in 10 of them. I was impressed anyway. He may be a total surprise at the end of the day in my opinion. I kept seeing he runs around too much. Carson Carels ran around too much, but he could outskate everyone. I really like Gustafsson and Hakansson both and don't know if there is really much difference other Gustafsson having a few more tools. I get your point. I see some Derian Hatcher.
Brian39
Registered User
- Apr 24, 2014
- 8,664
- 19,990
I know you put in a ton of hours watching these kids and I really, really appreciate how deep your list goes. I can say with 100% confidence that you are more knowledgeable about these prospects than I am. This question is fully about your process/logic and not your analysis. I'm also not asking as a devil's advocate or attempting to sway/undermine your opinion.
Let's say we had pick #1 and you were in charge. How comfortable would you be taking Malhotra given how limited the data set is with him? What's the level of concern (if any) that the entire sample comes as the 2C on a stacked OHL team?
Unlike basically all of the other candidates for that top spot, we don't have any U17, U18, or World Junior games to view with him. And we only have the single year OHL season since he was in the BCHL in his D-1 season and wasn't a dominant force down there. Is there any concern that OHL coaches never got an offseason to analyze his weaknesses and that once they did get a bunch of video on him they still couldn't really gameplan around him because they had the rest of that team to worry about?
That's one of the big things holding me back from really believing in him. There is a pretty loud voice in my head saying that he hasn't been challenged to nearly the same way degree as these other guys. Is there any concern/consideration from you about the limitations of that sample?
greybush314
Registered User
- Dec 23, 2020
- 251
- 227
I think Gus may have passed Smits and Rudolph. He could be the third or fourth dman off the board.
Absolutely. That is one of the main obstacles with Malhotra to overcome. He did have a pretty talented team around him with O'Brien in front and Jiricek (the main reason I watched) on the backline. Even when O'Brien was out, Malhotra hopped right over the boards in his spot and they didn't miss a beat. I'm a big O'Brien fan, but often wondered who the #1 center actually was. Both ends of the ice. Taking on defensive assignments that O'Brien just wasn't up to. I would ask why Layne Gallacher didn't pass him, but he just wasn't near as good....and I would spend a later pick on Gallacher. I think he is a better prospect than O'Brien is...now. He may only be a 75 point center, but he will be more valuable than McKenna or Stenberg slotting in the middle. That is why he is my #1. Reid and Bjorck are not far behind. You build a team up the middle...not on the wings.
STL fan in MN
Registered User
- Aug 16, 2007
- 8,503
- 9,073
I don’t agree with having Malhotra at 1 but I also can’t argue against the need to build through center and defense over the wings.
In the end, nobody in this draft truly took charge to say to the world, “I’m the best”. I think this is a year where it’s not remotely obvious who will end up being the best player from this draft. Same feeling I got in the Power and Slafovsky drafts.
That said, this draft ended up a little deeper than my initial impressions at the beginning of the season. Just a good amount shallower than normal at the very top.
STL fan in MN
Registered User
- Aug 16, 2007
- 8,503
- 9,073
Excellent work. Always value your opinions and views of prospects.
Curses to you though for not putting numbers next to the names.
