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D Erik Brannstrom (2017, 15th, VGK - Traded to OTT)

PG Canuck said:
Don't a lot of rankings have him in the first round, and in the 15-25 range? If so, HF isn't the only one hyping him. McKeen's for example had Brannstrom at 19.
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Future considerations has him at 18, so that's a good point.

I just think we are taking about something pretty unprecedented... a 5'9" defenseman being taken in the top 20... has that ever happened?

Although I guess this might be a draft where a bunch of unprecedented things are going to happen. 5'11 AJHL defenseman projected to go top 10. 5'9 Swedish D projected to go 1st round. HS forward under 6'0 projected to go top 10.

I guess this year is just breaking all the rules???
 
Frk It said:
Future considerations has him at 18, so that's a good point.

I just think we are taking about something pretty unprecedented... a 5'9" defenseman being taken in the top 20... has that ever happened?

Although I guess this might be a draft where a bunch of unprecedented things are going to happen. 5'11 AJHL defenseman projected to go top 10. 5'9 Swedish D projected to go 1st round. HS forward under 6'0 projected to go top 10.

I guess this year is just breaking all the rules???
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I think it will be a bit more common, ie: smaller SKILLED players getting picked. The NHL is heading towards being favourable for smaller players, to an extent.

Being a tiny doesn't guarantee anything, but there is more of a chance than say, 10 years ago it seems.
 
I think it makes a huge difference that he is succeeding in a men's pro league now. If He's USHL or CHL .. there would be more question marks
 
Sens of Anarchy said:
I think it makes a huge difference that he is succeeding in a men's pro league now. If He's USHL or CHL .. there would be more question marks
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Quite easily, and I probably wouldn't be as high on him as I am right now if that were the case.
 
PG Canuck said:
I think it will be a bit more common, ie: smaller SKILLED players getting picked. The NHL is heading towards being favourable for smaller players, to an extent.

Being a tiny doesn't guarantee anything, but there is more of a chance than say, 10 years ago it seems.
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Small forwards is one thing.

It's incredibly more difficult to do it at defense. People take for grated what Karlsson and Letang do, without conceding that very few people on the planet can skate like that.
 
PG Canuck said:
He is not going to drop out of the first round because he is 5'9" instead of 5'10". He is almost a 2018 draft eligible player, and is one of the youngest in this draft class. A couple inches one way or another doesn't/shouldn't dictate him dropping so drastically, and if so, a team in the second round will be laughing their ***** off.
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When you are borderline big enough to begin with, a couple inches most certainly can be the difference between the 1st and 2nd round, and it's not an opinion. Who was the last 5'9" defender taken in the 1st round. At 5'11", he goes top 10, and at 5'9" he slips to the 2nd round imho.
 
Frk It said:
Small forwards is one thing.

It's incredibly more difficult to do it at defense. People take for grated what Karlsson and Letang do, without conceding that very few people on the planet can skate like that.
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Was going to say exactly this. How many successful 5'9 Dmen are in the NHL right now? I can think of 2. Torey Krug and Jared Spurgeon. The odds are definitely against him at that size.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
Why?

Thats not based on hockey.

And you might be right to an extent, but its a stupid approach, I think.
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It's based on the fact that I can't even remember the last 5'9" defender drafted in the 1st round.

Part of it is based on hockey, a smaller defender isn't going to have the reach or range, or defensive presence of a bigger defender, I could go on.

It may be stupid, but it is what it is. You can't say there is no size bias at the draft, and you can't say it doesn't affect defenders more than forwards.
 
Sundinisagod said:
It's based on the fact that I can't even remember the last 5'9" defender drafted in the 1st round.

Part of it is based on hockey, a smaller defender isn't going to have the reach or range, or defensive presence of a bigger defender, I could go on.

It may be stupid, but it is what it is. You can't say there is no size bias at the draft, and you can't say it doesn't affect defenders more than forwards.
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I agree with this and I would be a bit terrified to use our 17th on him.
 
Sundinisagod said:
When you are borderline big enough to begin with, a couple inches most certainly can be the difference between the 1st and 2nd round, and it's not an opinion. Who was the last 5'9" defender taken in the 1st round. At 5'11", he goes top 10, and at 5'9" he slips to the 2nd round imho.
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Ryan Ellis was 5'9" when he was drafted as the 11th OA in 2009.
 
I was blabbing away with someone and missed some of the guys in his group get measured but multiple scouts told me Brannstrom came in at 5'9" 179 lbs

I bet a few guys he wouldn't be 5'10" - he came in just about as I would've guessed.

He showed he knows his way to the gym...unlike a few players I saw today.

I listened to a scrum and spoke to him briefly too. He did a good job.

Overall an enjoyable and productive day.
 
Mark Edwards said:
I was blabbing away with someone and missed some of the guys in his group get measured but multiple scouts told me Brannstrom came in at 5'9" 179 lbs

I bet a few guys he wouldn't be 5'10" - he came in just about as I would've guessed.

He showed he knows his way to the gym...unlike a few players I saw today.

I listened to a scrum and spoke to him briefly too. He did a good job.

Overall an enjoyable and productive day.
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You have an idea where scouts have him ranked?
 
Mark Edwards said:
I was blabbing away with someone and missed some of the guys in his group get measured but multiple scouts told me Brannstrom came in at 5'9" 179 lbs

I bet a few guys he wouldn't be 5'10" - he came in just about as I would've guessed.

He showed he knows his way to the gym...unlike a few players I saw today.

I listened to a scrum and spoke to him briefly too. He did a good job.

Overall an enjoyable and productive day.
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How much sway do you think poor strength exercise exhibits have on a teams list? I get why teams might see it as a character thing, but for underdeveloped guys might it be seen as a lot of untapped potential versus more physically matured players?
 
Some might call this a reach, but Vegas clearly liked him a lot and went and shot their shot. What I think is fascinating, if you would have told someone 12 months ago that Brannstrom would be drafted ahead of Liljegren... they would have laughed in your face for days on end. But hey, here we are.
 
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