Roman Yoshi
#164303
We shouldn't be trying to improve this team next year. We should be sucking and get a coach who will grow the young guys
Armchair GM Thread
- Thread starter Scoresberg
- Start date
Thinking about this team going forward, we REALLY need some elite talent in there.
--
Svechkov - I like the player but I think tops out as low-end 2C, or high-end 3C. He has the tools and will be interesting to monitor his development. The framework is there.
ZLH - Think he can be a long-term player for the team. Really like his work ethic and how he has cut back on all the shenanigans when making the jump to the NHL. Probably doesn't have enough offensive upside to be a mainstay in the top-six but will be a useful piece for the middle-six long-term.
Evangelista - Has looked a lot better when he's had the chance to play with the big guys (duh) but I'm still not completely sold on his ultimate upside. He's not a line driver, as his skating is not good enough. More of a complementary scorer in the top-six unless he takes a MASSIVE leap in his development. Keep rolling him in the top-six and on the top PP unit and see what happens.
Wood - Will be super-exciting to see him in the NHL. I'm probably still a bit higher on him than most on this board, as I think he has that type of "it" factor in him that many don't. Meaning that mechanically he might not look like the best player (skating and other wise) but I still hold out hope for him that he can be a legit offensive threat in the NHL. Lord knows that he's not going to be a very useful piece in the bottom-six.
Edström - Will be interesting to see whether he makes the jump to the AHL next year or spends one more year in Sweden. Either way, a few years away from being an option. Doubtful of his offensive upside in the NHL-level but could be a useful, versatile piece for the bottom-six. Big dude who can skate well and has some bite to his game, you just never know.
Surin - Looking like a solid pick after all. Putting up some respectable numbers in the KHL despite very low ice-time. A fierce competitor with good size and mobility? Should be a recipe for an NHL player at least but probably won't ever more than a 40 maybe 50 point guy.
Stiga - Was an absolute steal last year and nothing has changed since that. Looking like a solid player all-around and is a true sleeper in our forward prospect pool. Could pop off next year in the NCAA and start gain more traction towards NHL. Unsure of his offensive upside but we have to get a "steal" in the draft at some point, right? You would think at least.
Kemell - Rapidly approaching bust territory. I don't envision an NHL future for him, unfortunately.
All-in-all, there's a lot of 1st round draft pedigree in the pool but not too many impactful players there. Svechkov, ZLH, Surin and Stiga are longer term NHL'ers for me. The rest, we'll see.
--
Svechkov - I like the player but I think tops out as low-end 2C, or high-end 3C. He has the tools and will be interesting to monitor his development. The framework is there.
ZLH - Think he can be a long-term player for the team. Really like his work ethic and how he has cut back on all the shenanigans when making the jump to the NHL. Probably doesn't have enough offensive upside to be a mainstay in the top-six but will be a useful piece for the middle-six long-term.
Evangelista - Has looked a lot better when he's had the chance to play with the big guys (duh) but I'm still not completely sold on his ultimate upside. He's not a line driver, as his skating is not good enough. More of a complementary scorer in the top-six unless he takes a MASSIVE leap in his development. Keep rolling him in the top-six and on the top PP unit and see what happens.
Wood - Will be super-exciting to see him in the NHL. I'm probably still a bit higher on him than most on this board, as I think he has that type of "it" factor in him that many don't. Meaning that mechanically he might not look like the best player (skating and other wise) but I still hold out hope for him that he can be a legit offensive threat in the NHL. Lord knows that he's not going to be a very useful piece in the bottom-six.
Edström - Will be interesting to see whether he makes the jump to the AHL next year or spends one more year in Sweden. Either way, a few years away from being an option. Doubtful of his offensive upside in the NHL-level but could be a useful, versatile piece for the bottom-six. Big dude who can skate well and has some bite to his game, you just never know.
Surin - Looking like a solid pick after all. Putting up some respectable numbers in the KHL despite very low ice-time. A fierce competitor with good size and mobility? Should be a recipe for an NHL player at least but probably won't ever more than a 40 maybe 50 point guy.
Stiga - Was an absolute steal last year and nothing has changed since that. Looking like a solid player all-around and is a true sleeper in our forward prospect pool. Could pop off next year in the NCAA and start gain more traction towards NHL. Unsure of his offensive upside but we have to get a "steal" in the draft at some point, right? You would think at least.
Kemell - Rapidly approaching bust territory. I don't envision an NHL future for him, unfortunately.
All-in-all, there's a lot of 1st round draft pedigree in the pool but not too many impactful players there. Svechkov, ZLH, Surin and Stiga are longer term NHL'ers for me. The rest, we'll see.
I don't think top picks matter at this point because BT hasn't shown he would even play them. They would go to AHL for several years at least then start out on the 3rd/4th lines at about 7-8 min grinding away.
herzausstein
Registered User
Agreed. Most of our top prospects project to be middle of the lineup guys unless they overachieve. It is the thing that constantly holds our prospect pool down in the league rankings. We don't have any players that you look at and say that he is a top of the lineup player. If we can keep it to two crappy seasons (this and next) and get a couple top 5 picks, I think it would dramatically improve the teams long term outlook. But in the short term, Bruno or whoever is coaching has to start working young players into bigger roles. Next season: Evangelista, L’Heureux, svechkov need to be given nhl roles and stapled to good veterans. Kemell and Wood needs
to have an extended stay (or atleast a real shot) after we fail miserably during the season after the trade deadline (or start in the NHL). Weissblatt needs to be given a shot at 4th line energy guy. I'd personally like something more along the lines of
Forsberg RoR Kemell/Wood
Stamkos Svechkov Evangelista
Bunting Hagens Marchy
Smith Sissons Wiesblatt
McCarron
Wilsby Josi
Skjei Blankenburg
Lauzon Barron
Oesterle stastney
If we suck, trade out Bunting, Blankenburg, lauzon, sissons, and any other UFAs to be that have value. This of course is assuming we keep mostly the same roster and miss out on any ufas of value because seriously why join this team after this season ?
Porter Stoutheart
Ineptly Tanking
- Jun 14, 2017
- 15,080
- 14,327
I don't think there's a broad consensus about ANY of this year's top-5 picks being able to play in the NHL immediately anyway. There is no Celebrini or even Bedard. Schaefer is a little slender still and missed most of the year. Misa or Frondell might be able to, but they likely wouldn't have any impact and people would be criticizing the meager numbers they could put up. Hagens almost certainly needs another year in college. I guess Martone has more of the physique to potentially play, but also has to work on speed and consistency.
Top picks do still matter, though. Because even if they aren't ready for 2025-26, I think they very much would be for the next season. A pick that high really shouldn't need to spend ANY time in the AHL at all.
herzausstein
Registered User
When you center depth is as weak as ours, there is definitely a shot they could jump right into the NHL. Should they is a different question.
glenngineer
Registered User
Until this team fires its scouts and development team, we will not develop top 6 forwards.
What we could do is draft defensemen and goalies only, develop them and then trade them to other teams who are good at drafting and developing forwards.
I know this isn't realistic in the slightest because we haven't been good at drafting anyone lately it seems. If this was still in the Poile days, it might work. Draft D because you're really good at it and trade for forwards with upside.
Something has to change because 25 years of drafting and "developing" mediocre forwards has gotten stale.
What we could do is draft defensemen and goalies only, develop them and then trade them to other teams who are good at drafting and developing forwards.
I know this isn't realistic in the slightest because we haven't been good at drafting anyone lately it seems. If this was still in the Poile days, it might work. Draft D because you're really good at it and trade for forwards with upside.
Something has to change because 25 years of drafting and "developing" mediocre forwards has gotten stale.
And our d prospects aren’t as good as our forwards. This is huge draft for us.
herzausstein
Registered User
I'd say Molendyk and Gibson are as good as any of our forward prospects. We just don't have the quantity and depth of prospects on the defensive end. Chystyakov would be added to that list if there was certainty he was coming over.
We do really need to splurge on some defense in the late 1st round and 2nd round. At that point, I'm not sure if there will be any forwards that I think are definitely a step above what we got in surin, Fink, edstrom, svechkov, kemell, stiga, etc. Should be able to grab some d prospects that are better quality then what we got though.
Porter Stoutheart
Ineptly Tanking
- Jun 14, 2017
- 15,080
- 14,327
I think Gibson is a notch below. He definitely got very poor reviews for his WJC showing, we're probably overrating him around here relative to how the rest of the world sees him?
He's still our best RD prospect, mind you. Which isn't saying a lot. He's probably a lot closer to Ufko/Kulonummi level than he is to Molendyk's level. But I would expect him to need 2 or 3 years in Milwaukee and then basically be 50/50 to make the NHL. Which is still good. But no sure thing.
We definitely do need to plan to spend at least 2 of those #25/30/35 picks we have in this year's draft on D IMHO. And really, out of our 10 picks I think we should take at least 5 D. That's where you don't necessarily go strictly by an aggregate ranking list in the later rounds... we need to set a positional quota, we can't end up with 9 forwards. Last year we ended up 6F-1D-1G, and the year before 8F-2D-1G.. We have to re-balance by focusing more consciously on picking D this year.
herzausstein
Registered User
1st - 1F 2DI think Gibson is a notch below. He definitely got very poor reviews for his WJC showing, we're probably overrating him around here relative to how the rest of the world sees him?
He's still our best RD prospect, mind you. Which isn't saying a lot. He's probably a lot closer to Ufko/Kulonummi level than he is to Molendyk's level. But I would expect him to need 2 or 3 years in Milwaukee and then basically be 50/50 to make the NHL. Which is still good. But no sure thing.
We definitely do need to plan to spend at least 2 of those #25/30/35 picks we have in this year's draft on D IMHO. And really, out of our 10 picks I think we should take at least 5 D. That's where you don't necessarily go strictly by an aggregate ranking list in the later rounds... we need to set a positional quota, we can't end up with 9 forwards. Last year we ended up 6F-1D-1G, and the year before 8F-2D-1G.. We have to re-balance by focusing more consciously on picking D this year.
2nd - 2D or 1D 1G
3rd - 1D or 1G if we didn't nab one in the 2nd
4th - 1D
5th and beyond - best of what's left.
Agreed. That's why Trotz (if he truly intends to contend as soon as next year) needs to hit with one of these Chychruns and Mikkola's you see happen virtually every summer. JUST drafting and hoping for development is not enough - the defense needs a lot more help than just that.
Wood's statistical profile is actually very similar to Tage Thompson's so far. Wood played one more NCAA year but is the same age as Thompson was in his 2nd NCAA year and they had practically identical output. Thompson is bigger but they have similar play styles. All this is not to say that he's going to become the next Tage, but I don't think we're in any real worrisome territory at this point either.
I wouldn't give up so quickly on Kemell though. I know all of us were hoping he'd pop more but he's still very young even by AHL standards. If he doesn't improve significantly next year I'll agree he's looking like a bust.
Generally though, yeah, a lot of middle six upside in this pool. Which is not a bad thing, but won't get us where we want to be.
I still think Kemell has an above 50% chance to be an NHL regular, but my hope that he can be a real top-line talent is definitely fading
Porter Stoutheart
Ineptly Tanking
- Jun 14, 2017
- 15,080
- 14,327
Yeah, he plays with energy and fearlessness, so I feel like even at his size he has enough skills to be an industrious 3rd liner if he shifts his attention more to defense/checking. The big problem is that his strength was supposed to be as a volume-shooter and finisher. And in the AHL it's considered you have more time and space, so some players with that style have a tough time bringing their same scoring ability to the NHL. Except if you are only getting 2 shots/game and can't score 20 goals in the AHL...
Maybe he'll break out next season, as we keep saying he's still young. With his contract slides, he can still play 2 more full seasons in the AHL before we need to panic.
AintLifeGrand
Burnin Jet-A
Evangelista seems like he tops out as The 2nd coming of Craig smith
im sure he’s capable of maybe producing a 30-35 season if the stars align
Porter Stoutheart
Ineptly Tanking
- Jun 14, 2017
- 15,080
- 14,327
Maybe. Although with less offense?
I dunno, while Tolvanen finished his checks, backchecked responsibly, I never really got an "energy" vibe from like with Kemell, though.
Maybe a Colin Blackwell or Salomaki?
I agree with this! This Org has NOT shown EVER it knows how to develop a drafted top 6 forward. If so then who? Most seem to bash or talk down all of our drafted forwards as middle to lower type players. I think that is a dis-service to those players. This Org has not shown it can draft them and then develop them into a top 6 type role. The ONLY one I can think of is Fiala that was run off. He played 1 full season 17-18 with the Preds in 4.5 years. In that year he was at .6ppg. Since leaving he has had a .84ppg, .80ppg, 1.04ppg, 1.04ppg, .89ppg, seasons with two other teams. And he is just now 28.
I am on a lets wait and see how some of the other Preds who are now on other teams are going to turn out before I think this Org can draft a top 6 and keep them. They haven't shown it can do it for 25 years. Maybe with a new Owner something can change.
Roman Yoshi
#164303
Not to make things more depressing than they already are but my usual source says it's a 70/30 chance Bruno comes back.
I'm begging the hockey gods for this team to not win a single game the rest of the year and have a horrible goal differential
I'm begging the hockey gods for this team to not win a single game the rest of the year and have a horrible goal differential
GMBT "Likes" him and thinks he is the one who can lead this team. He has "culture".WHY?
Who did we piss off to be stuck with such obvious incompetence?
If by "culture" your referring to the biological definition of the growing of bacteria I would agree.GMBT "Likes" him and thinks he is the one who can lead this team. He has "culture".
Porter Stoutheart
Ineptly Tanking
- Jun 14, 2017
- 15,080
- 14,327
30% is actually a lot more hopeful than I was thinking. I thought it would be < 10%. Like, only if there was essentially a full-scale mutiny plan expressed in the exit interviews. So at 30%, you're saying we could actually have some hope...
Yeah, he plays with energy and fearlessness, so I feel like even at his size he has enough skills to be an industrious 3rd liner if he shifts his attention more to defense/checking. The big problem is that his strength was supposed to be as a volume-shooter and finisher. And in the AHL it's considered you have more time and space, so some players with that style have a tough time bringing their same scoring ability to the NHL. Except if you are only getting 2 shots/game and can't score 20 goals in the AHL...
Maybe he'll break out next season, as we keep saying he's still young. With his contract slides, he can still play 2 more full seasons in the AHL before we need to panic.
He is downright skinny. Saw him post game the other night in a t-shirt and he looked like a 15 year old. He has to gain upper body muscle period. Touch him and he goes flying. This is where “development” becomes a reality. Put him on a program to gain upper body strength or he’s an after-thought player.
