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Draft and UDFA Thread 2017-18

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Wahlstrom was still Wahlstrom with and without Hughes. He’s still a deadly sniper that is a threat to score from anywhere in the offensive zone, but that play will obviously get elevated with a talent like Jack Hughes feeding him passes.

My concern with him is if he’ll still be an effective shooter as defenses tighten up, and I’m happy he’s going to BC because he’ll get very coached very well. The ability to open up space, or find it, will be what makes or breaks him at the next level. It’s the reason a guy like Brandon Pirri is a depth scorer-he can’t consistently find or create space for himself to utilize his best talent. I’m not saying that Wahlstrom will be Pirri because at worst I think he’ll be a bigger Michael Ryder, but basically everything will have to go wrong for that to happen.
 
Mac n Gs said:
Wahlstrom was still Wahlstrom with and without Hughes. He’s still a deadly sniper that is a threat to score from anywhere in the offensive zone, but that play will obviously get elevated with a talent like Jack Hughes feeding him passes.

My concern with him is if he’ll still be an effective shooter as defenses tighten up, and I’m happy he’s going to BC because he’ll get very coached very well. The ability to open up space, or find it, will be what makes or breaks him at the next level. It’s the reason a guy like Brandon Pirri is a depth scorer-he can’t consistently find or create space for himself to utilize his best talent. I’m not saying that Wahlstrom will be Pirri because at worst I think he’ll be a bigger Michael Ryder, but basically everything will have to go wrong for that to happen.
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I agree. Wahlstrom is so talented, it would really take a lot for him to completely bust.

It's really a question of just how good he can be. From a ceiling standpoint, his hands are good enough to score 35-40 goals. Do the other components come together to get to that level? That's more of the question for me.
 
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GregSirico said:
He's more of a shooter than a passer.
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I also think he has room to grow. If he has a full season of good chemistry with Kreider, and a legit, consistent shooting option, I think he's certainly capable of 35-40 assists.

Personally, I still think Zibanejad has the ability to score 30 goals and 70 points. There are a lot of factors that go into reaching that level --- some of them that Zibanejad can control, and others that he can't. But I've always believed he has the natural ability within him.
 
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Yeah Zibby can pass, he just also has a good shot and has taken the shoot first mentality lately. I don't think he's the ideal center for someone like Wahlstrom but he can create space and and set guys up
 
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Edge said:
And for as much as I love some of those late first and second round kids, I just couldn't pass on the opportunity to walk away with a combination of some of the names we mentioned.

Obviously, in a fantasy world Zadina is there at 9 and doesn't require a trade, and Farabee/Kravtsov or Boqvist is somehow there at 16, but I'm not inclined to sit and wait for that.

I consider myself a fairly pragmatic person when it comes to trades --- especially draft dealings. But I would be particularly aggressive in some of the scenarios we're bouncing around.

We have 8 of the top 101 picks. If it costs all 8 to turn our draft into a haul of Zadina, Boqvist and Farabee. I'm doing it, knowing that for better or worse it's my defining moment.

That's not a knock on the Addisons, the Wises, the Millers and other intriguing prospects to be found. But I'm going for it with guys who have a chance to completely change the landscape of my organization's depth and prospect cupboard, to say nothing about potential trajectory of the franchise.

I've still got my later picks, I still have my 2019 picks --- including the potential for a second first. I've got wingers to go with my centers. I've got a defenseman, right-handed to boot, to potentially surround with what I have. I have two promising goalies in my system. I have depth at center, i've transformed my potential future on the wings, and I don't have to worry about salary concerns for years.

Yeah I'm gambling, but I didn't blow the rent money either.
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Swap Kravtsov for Farabee and I’m right there with you.
 
jas said:
Swap Kravtsov for Farabee and I’m right there with you.
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The challenge for Kravtsov is that I think he'll go higher than a potential mid-teen pick. So if you don't grab him at 10, you probably don't get him your third trip to the podium.
 
Edge said:
I'll respectively disagree on this one --- big time.

Zadina is unique in the sense that he plays all three zones and is much better defensively than you'd expect an offensive forward to be.

He's surprisingly a three zone, pretty darn complete player. I'm almost surprised it isn't mentioned more often that it is. If he were a center, people would be really hyping the two-way play.

I'm also curious to see how he performs with better talent around him. Because I don't know if he was necessarily surrounded by talent that completely maximized his abilities.

If I were being nitpicky, I'd probably argue that Wahlstrom is more of the one trick pony of this top ten.
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Agreed.

From the little I've seen you're getting an extremely creative shot creator who plays three zones. A guy who's gonna pursue the heck out of the puck and then actually gonna create a play once he gets it. He does not need others around him to set him up, he does it himself.....

....BUT if he had the talent around that could do that, so much the better.

Very, very difficult to play against. Just a heck of a player. A shot-generating machine.
 
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Any goalies worth taking a shot on during the middle and later rounds like Miftakhov, Isayev, Myrenberg, or Daniel Dvorak?

With Skapski gone and Halverson struggling, we have Georgiev, Shestyerkin, Huska, and Wall in the pipeline.
 
From McKenzies final, its pretty interesting to see that only 1 out of McKenzie's list of 10 scouts have Tkachuk out of the top 5. Safe to say McKenzies list of scouts are among the best at prospecting hockey on the Globe. Says alot about this controversial player.

Tkachuk, meanwhile, is a lot less refined and less polished than the other elite picks but the big raw-boned winger plays a hard-driving, aggravating power and agitation game. He proved at the World Junior Championship he can score and make plays in a pressure event against elite competition, which was a good thing since his overall lack of productivity at Boston University was becoming something of a concern. But Tkachuk appears to have that certain something and only one of our 10 scouts surveyed had him outside the top five.


 
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Lion Hound said:
From McKenzies final, its pretty interesting to see that only 1 out of McKenzie's list of 10 scouts have Tkachuk out of the top 5. Safe to say McKenzies list of scouts are among the best at prospecting hockey on the Globe. Says alot about this controversial player.

Tkachuk, meanwhile, is a lot less refined and less polished than the other elite picks but the big raw-boned winger plays a hard-driving, aggravating power and agitation game. He proved at the World Junior Championship he can score and make plays in a pressure event against elite competition, which was a good thing since his overall lack of productivity at Boston University was becoming something of a concern. But Tkachuk appears to have that certain something and only one of our 10 scouts surveyed had him outside the top five.
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That's a paragraph that captures why I find him so intriguing.

But if we have a chance at Zadina, then you take him and almost certainly lose Takchuk.

And that's a shame. Because if you had both we get two guys who would make the Rangers very difficult to play against for very different reasons.
 
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Lion Hound said:
From McKenzies final, its pretty interesting to see that only 1 out of McKenzie's list of 10 scouts have Tkachuk out of the top 5. Safe to say McKenzies list of scouts are among the best at prospecting hockey on the Globe. Says alot about this controversial player.

Tkachuk, meanwhile, is a lot less refined and less polished than the other elite picks but the big raw-boned winger plays a hard-driving, aggravating power and agitation game. He proved at the World Junior Championship he can score and make plays in a pressure event against elite competition, which was a good thing since his overall lack of productivity at Boston University was becoming something of a concern. But Tkachuk appears to have that certain something and only one of our 10 scouts surveyed had him outside the top five.
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With Kotkaniemi presumably going to Montreal, it creates an interesting scenario. Dobson, Tkachuk and Zadina are seen to be on a lot of top 5 lists, but one of them isn't going in the top 5.

Dobson has been mentioned with Ottawa more than few times, but does that hold true?

Detroit at the 6 spot was said to like Bouchard, Hughes and Kotkaniemi, but that was possibly before one of Zadina or Tkachuk was seen as being a possibility.

If Kotkaniemi goes third, and Dobson fourth, 5-10 becomes fun.

And what if Arizona wants to go with a defenseman?

You have to admit, this is an exciting draft. A little nerve wracking, but exciting.
 
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Edge said:
With Kotkaniemi presumably going to Montreal, it creates an interesting scenario. Dobson, Tkachuk and Zadina are seen to be on a lot of top 5 lists, but one of them isn't going in the top 5.

Dobson has been mentioned with Ottawa more than few times, but does that hold true?

Detroit at the 6 spot was said to like Bouchard, Hughes and Kotkaniemi, but that was possibly before one of Zadina or Tkachuk was seen as being a possibility.

If Kotkaniemi goes third, and Dobson fourth, 5-10 becomes fun.

And what if Arizona wants to go with a defenseman?

You have to admit, this is an exciting draft. A little nerve wracking, but exciting.
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Its funny...for years every draft to me is exciting. Mostly thinking the Rangers can somehow make a deal just to even get a first or 2nd rounder. 2017 that changed with 2 picks in the first. This year i cannot wait...and with so many late developments the top 10 is a bit all over the place.

I just really hope that none of the 2 scouts with Hayton, and Smith in the top 10 isn't Gordie. No disrespect to either of these kids going into Friday, but that would be quite infuriating.
 
#39

First round is over. Barring any trades at this point the Rangers have already announced three new players on the prior day. Never really know which player is potentially going to fall out of the first round. Assuming everyone has read some negative press about Merkley at this point. Or… Maybe clubs and their respective scouts just leak bad info to beat writers and bloggers about players they want to be there when they select. With that said, I would assume that the Rangers drafting strategy has targeted some specific players, while they likely are also keeping an eye on potential fallers. Here’s my hopeful for the “faller”, and 4 more players I would be happy to see take the podium for pick number #39.

Ryan Merkley RD Guelph OHL 5’11 170LBS - I see Merkley from an offensive defenseman standpoint right there with Hughes, and Boqvist. I got to watch him quite a bit, thank you to the NHL Network. He’s an excellent skater and this guy can run a PP as good as anyone in the draft. On the defensive side of the puck, that’s another story. Is that coachable? I think so. Maybe more then defensive awareness or lack there of is some sort of a positive mentor. Ryan Merkley, meet Adam Graves. Under the right person, Merkley might be the steal of the late first, early 2nd. Then again he might never find that aspect of his game and end up a career AHL’er. Had a hard time keeping him in the first round, but as an early 2nd rounder, id swing away all day long at this player. I don’t think he is there @ #39, however if he is there I think he’s a player you take a swing at who has potential all-star return

Jake Wise C USA U-18 NTDP 5’10 195lbs – Lots of talk about Wise here on HF. Is he is 1st a 2nd or a 3rd. He came up in the Farabee discussions often. I don’t think the two players are of equal value. I do think Jake Wise at #39 would be a tremendous value. A year ago at this time most had considered Wise a potential top 15 selection for the 2018 draft. Maybe he was buried on the depth chart a bit for USA team. There are some damn good players on that team. He is a very smart player and when I didn’t agree he was top 15. I do think he is a solid 2 way Center man with leadership qualities that would be a very good pick at #39, and be a welcomed addition to a club on the rebuild focusing on young talent.

Johnathan Berggren RW Skelleftea Jr. Swe Jr 5’10 181lbs –Player got all sorts of notice after the World U-18. Small only in height, Berggren is built like Marchand. While it’s unlikely he’s not going to lick players in the face and make them throw tantrums, he is gritty in his own right. I like that the skating is there for Berggren, and the ability to factor into games on a regular basis seems the norm for him. , well coached players with a constant motor and skills will always have value in the NHL. I think this is a low risk player, with a moderate to high return, who has a ton of potential.


Jacob Lauko C/LW Chomutov CzeE 6’1 169lbs – Was overshadowed by Kaut, and Kupari. Lauko is the better skater out of all of them, and has a knack for scoring goals as well. All the talk about shoot-first wingers, then this kid needs more mention. Find a shoot-first winger with an extra gear and a motor to boot. Lauko got some really bad scouting reports. Woodlief was the opposite. He loves him. I agree with him on this one. He would be an amazing 2nd round selection at #39, and adds a skilled player who knows Chytil very well.


Johnny Tychonick D 5’11 165Lbs Pendicton BCHL – Yet another undersized offensive defenseman here who has some serious skating ability. I gave him some grief here earlier in the thread but it wasn’t for his playing ability or lack thereof. It was because every time he touched the puck the commentator had to call out his full name, and mention Penticton. Even if he wasn’t making a play or whatever. Ruined it like Doc Emrick salivating over calling any Neidermayer play ever. But…that should deter from the player obviously. Tychonick I felt was solid in the games I got to see him play, and heavily relied to move the puck up the ice.
 
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I expect any decision on Merkley to be heavily contingent upon whether NYR pick a RD in the first round.
 
Fitzy Duke of NY said:
I expect any decision on Merkley to be heavily contingent upon whether NYR pick a RD in the first round.
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Agree to a point. That would be one condition (We have one of Dobson/Boqvist/Bouchard). I would add a second condition: There is not a clear "faller" that we can scoop up at 39th (Bokk/Kaut/Wilde/etc).

If by 39, and we have three great picks in 9/26/28, then i think there is a good gamble to take Merkley at 39 or 48.
 
Merkley really a Ranger target?

He was suspended by longtime Sather friend George Burnett. Can anyone envision Burnett giving a glowing review to his longtgime pal and old boss?
 
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