not so fast on minnesota. their system is good. the names that appeal most to me in those systems (michkov's not happening)
- buium - min
- wallstedt - min
- yurov - min
- edstrom - nsh
- rossi - min
- drysdale - phi
- bonk - phi
- luchanko - phi
- evangelista - nsh
- wood - nsh
of those names, obviously buium and wallstedt are the most appealing. i doubt they give up either guy but you never know.
with buium he was obviously the top guy left on MIN's board when they picked, but they could very well have a higher grade on jiricek. and wallstedt is clearly the top goalie prospect in hockey, but they have a good young goalie in gustavsson already there.
would love to get yurov. slam-dunk top six forward who has taken big steps since moving to center full-time. smart, competitive, skilled player who i think has a shot to be a star. seems like they expect him to come over this summer which is why they may be looking to move rossi.
i'm higher on edstrom than rossi long-term, but rossi looks really good right now and they need to bolster the forward group.
drysdale would be interesting but ultimately uninspiring. definitely a great skater but would run into some of the same issues here that jiricek did – unless evason would have the guts to have him leap-frog severson.
less confident on the projections for the other guys. evangelista is a fine young player but i see him more as a middle six complimentary piece. wood reminds me of laine in a way that makes me nervous.