Draft and UDFA Thread 2018-19: Part II

[True Blue]

Outside of getting Hughes or Kakko, I freely admit my next dream scenario involves taking Byram and then seeing someone like Turcotte, Newhook or Zegras fall a little into a position where the Rangers could trade up and grab one of them.

Apparently, you and I have been eating the same food as I have the same dream.

 

[offdacrossbar]

drafting a dman in this draft makes no sense to me at all. not in this draft.

there are any number of high end forwards who i believe would make more sense over byram especially if we are drafting top 5. byram is a solid prospect no doubt, but i not sure i pass impact forwards at 3 or even 4 or 5 to grab byram.

fining an impact centerman is priority 1 to me.

hughes
cozens
newhook

second would be a forward with some size and ability to finish

kaliyev
lavoie

lastly a right dman end of round 1

i see decent looking dman prospects among the top 30 players and a few of those lefty dmen are risers or potential risers. i would also be looking at a righty like for example lassi thomson the cool finn who skates beautifully and has a flair to his game. this is a more offensive play as Thomson is a dangerous pp guy who looks to create offense first. good hard accurate shot too. non stop motor.

seider or soderstrom both also come to mind mid to late 1st round. adding another righty to the pool makes more sense than another lefty.

forward first an second no question for me and then perhaps a righty dman makes more sense. with those 3 dmen, trading up may not even need to happen.

we may be looking at a draft where we have 3 potential first rounders.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

I’m with ODC on this aspect. Give me another Krasvtov level (or higher) forward prospect with our highest pick. Hopefully we have another later first which I’d then be looking at D man with potentially.

 

[Edge]

drafting a dman in this draft makes no sense to me at all. not in this draft.

there are any number of high end forwards who i believe would make more sense over byram especially if we are drafting top 5. byram is a solid prospect no doubt, but i not sure i pass impact forwards at 3 or even 4 or 5 to grab byram.

fining an impact centerman is priority 1 to me.

hughes
cozens
newhook

second would be a forward with some size and ability to finish

kaliyev
lavoie

lastly a right dman end of round 1

i see decent looking dman prospects among the top 30 players and a few of those lefty dmen are risers or potential risers. i would also be looking at a righty like for example lassi thomson the cool finn who skates beautifully and has a flair to his game. this is a more offensive play as Thomson is a dangerous pp guy who looks to create offense first. good hard accurate shot too. non stop motor.

seider or soderstrom both also come to mind mid to late 1st round. adding another righty to the pool makes more sense than another lefty.

forward first an second no question for me and then perhaps a righty dman makes more sense. with those 3 dmen, trading up may not even need to happen.

we may be looking at a draft where we have 3 potential first rounders.

It would be an internal debate as to whether I'd take Byram over Dach or Cozens. But I'd probably take him over him over some of the other forwards you mentioned.

But if I double-back to my dream scenario, I'd love to find a way to end up with both an impact defense and an impact forward. Now whether that's even an option remains to be seen. So if there's a way to grab Byram at (say) fifth, and then a forward in the teens, I'm particularly interested in that. And there's a chance that some of the names we've talked about will fall into the teens. Personally, I'd be willing to move multiple assets to pursue that particular scenario.

 

[Joey Bones]

Same concern as me. I can see where he would make a good candidate for a "swing for the fences" pick in the middle of the first round, but I would stay away. Him and Laouvie scare me as first rounders.

It's odd to me. I think Lavoie will make it into the pros, but not sure if the offense will follow. Other aspects might hinder to. He's exciting when the puck is on his stick, but when it isn't he looks uninterested.

I think Kaliyev will either be a top 6 goal scorer or bust, but it is nice to note that he's been on the PK lately (credit to @Blue Blooded for that one)....

 

[Joey Bones]

I think the only two defenseman can be potential top 10 picks come draft day. The obvious one is Byram, the other is York. Soderstrom is knocking on the door, though, as a "position of need" pick and would be solid.

I don't think Broberg will go top 10....

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

I think the only two defenseman can be potential top 10 picks come draft day. The obvious one is Byram, the other is York. Soderstrom is knocking on the door, though, as a "position of need" pick and would be solid.

I don't think Broberg will go top 10....

I’m not saying I think he should because I definitely don’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Broberg is the 2nd defenseman off the board

 

[Joey Bones]

I’m not saying I think he should because I definitely don’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Broberg is the 2nd defenseman off the board

I don't doubt it. His skating alone will make him a pro. It's more so the amount of turnovers that he commits is what I worry....

 

[Ola]

I would definitely prefer that if we draft a D high in a draft — it’s someone with a bit more size, and long as it’s not a shoe in to be a franchise type it should be a RHS. Not a McIlrath type, but someone that is 6’2-3 at least.

I don’t think it’s far fetch to argue that in general, it’s negative if a forward has size. You can’t be 5’5, but when you get up towards 6’3-4 it’s hard to keep up.

But size definitely still matters for defenders. I’ve followed the last two Swedish WCHs when Sweden have won gold. They never win both those golds without the size they had on the backend; OEL is 6’3, Adam Larsson 6’3, Mat Ekholm 6’4, Carl Klingberg 6’2, Hampus Lindblom 6’3 and so forth.

It not about big hits, but just as a forward playing against someone with that reach is harder, infront of the net it matters if the Ds that comes at you with croaschecks and shoves and what not are 5’11 or 6’3.

There are so many young talented defenders coming up. If you have room for 2-3 guys on a blueline that is closer to 6’0 than 6’3 I don’t think it will be impossible to fill them with great options NOT picked top 10 in a draft. But getting that D that both can play and have size — that can be very hard outside the high end of a 1st round. OEL/Lindholm/Larsson are good examples to mention since they already have been brought up. A Jacob Trouba type. And to find that big guy that can skate and play and is a RHS, that gets even harder.

 

[Mac n Gs]

I would definitely prefer that if we draft a D high in a draft — it’s someone with a bit more size, and long as it’s not a shoe in to be a franchise type it should be a RHS. Not a McIlrath type, but someone that is 6’2-3 at least.

I don’t think it’s far fetch to argue that in general, it’s negative if a forward has size. You can’t be 5’5, but when you get up towards 6’3-4 it’s hard to keep up.

But size definitely still matters for defenders. I’ve followed the last two Swedish WCHs when Sweden have won gold. They never win both those golds without the size they had on the backend; OEL is 6’3, Adam Larsson 6’3, Mat Ekholm 6’4, Carl Klingberg 6’2, Hampus Lindblom 6’3 and so forth.

It not about big hits, but just as a forward playing against someone with that reach is harder, infront of the net it matters if the Ds that comes at you with croaschecks and shoves and what not are 5’11 or 6’3.

There are so many young talented defenders coming up. If you have room for 2-3 guys on a blueline that is closer to 6’0 than 6’3 I don’t think it will be impossible to fill them with great options NOT picked top 10 in a draft. But getting that D that both can play and have size — that can be very hard outside the high end of a 1st round. OEL/Lindholm/Larsson are good examples to mention since they already have been brought up. A Jacob Trouba type. And to find that big guy that can skate and play and is a RHS, that gets even harder.

They won’t go high in this draft, but there are some really intriguing WHL guys this year. I’ll edit this post with more info when I have some free time later.

Edit: @Ola finally got around to this. Ok, so preface: this draft isn't entirely all that great on dmen, nor is it great on depth past the 2nd round IMO. My notes are heavily influenced by kids playing in North America, so any of the stuff I have on soft euros is from you, Tobbe, random videos here and there, etc.

There aren't any Cal Foote types of D in this draft, so not many D fit the mold you're looking for, but a few that I like in order are :

1) Drew Hellenson - surprise, I'm biased towards USDP kids. Not huge at 6'2 but has good size and should develop into a decent frame. I like his north-south speed and the ability to get the puck out of danger. He's really good at defending oncoming traffic, but sometimes can get a little flat in the d zone. He's got to start shooting a bit more if he wants to become an all-around threat. My guess is he'll be one of the main dman at the WJC for the US this spring.

2) Kaeden Korczak - another kid with a good frame and all-around skating skills. His numbers aren't flashy, but that's because he isn't getting PP time in Kelowna. He's got some jam in his game, and I could see him settling in as a more modern type of throwback dman. Some say he'll be a late first rounder, but I think he'll be a mid 2nd.

3) Ryan Siedem - unspectacular last year, but I mean that in a good way as in you never noticed him on the ice because he wasn't making mistakes. The only downside is that he wasn't scoring either, but that changed when he jumped to a new team in the USHL this year. I think he may struggle with fitness and maintaining his compete level throughout the game, but that should get corrected when he plays for BC next year and gets into a better training regimen. Overall, I'd say he's a 3rd pairing guy with the potential to be a 2nd pairing dman at his peak.

 

[Joey Bones]

Updated mocks....

2019 NHL Mock Draft & Simulator | Tankathon

1 (8) C: Alex Turcotte (USA)(5'11"/194lbs., Shot: Left, USNTDP/USHL) *19/20 U. of Wisconsin Commit*
1 (31) D: Thomas Harley (CAN)(6'3"/183lbs., Shot: Left, Mississauga/OHL)

2019 NHL Mock Draft | 2019 NHL Draft | NHL Draft

1 (10) LW: Peyton Krebs (CAN)(5'11"/181lbs., Shot: Left, Kootenay/WHL)
1 (31) D: Mikko Kokkonen (FIN)(5'11"/190lbs., Shot: Left, Jukurit/Liiga)

2019 NHL Mock Draft - NHL - DraftSite.com

1 (7) D: Philip Broberg (SWE)(6'3"/203lbs., Shot: Left, AIK/Allsvenskan)
1 (31) LW: Nolan Foote (CAN)(6'3"/187lbs., Shot: Left, Kelowna/WHL)
2 (38) D: Ilya Mironov (RUS)(6'3"/198lbs., Shot: Left, Yaroslavl/MHL)
3 (69) D: Tobias Bjornfot (SWE)(6'0"/187lbs., Shot: Left, Djurgardens J20/SuperElit)
5 (131) C/LW: Yegor Spiridonov (RUS)(6'2"/192lbs., Shot: Right, Stanlye Lisy/MHL)
6 (162) D: Ethan Frisch (USA)( 5'11"/192lbs., Shot: Right, Green Bay/USHL) *19/20 U. of North Dakota Commit*
7 (193) D: Mike Koster (USA)(5'10"/181lbs., Shot: Left, Chaska/HS-MN) *20/21 U. of Minnesota Commit*

Good value in this draft albeit defensive heavy. Broberg is a reach at No. 7, IMO. His skating and offensive ability are solid for already playing pro hockey. Defensive reads are good, too. Think he causes a lot of turnovers, which he hopefully could get over. Bad habit to have. Foote has an excellent shot, but god awful skating. Haven't seen anything on Mironov so I'll refrain from any analysis on him. Bjornfot is a steady defender that's very good under pressure with the puck. Has the ability to grow into a complete defender, which is really exciting for a 3rd rounder. A bit of a steal there. Spiridonov oozes power forward qualities and could be a better scoring Anisimov. Frisch was a minute munching defender for Moorhead last year. First full year in the USHL has been up and down, though. Not a bad gamble in the 6th. Don't know anything on Koster.

Thoughts?

 

[FireGerardGallant]

Having Byram and Kandre on the first and second pair for the next decade would sure be something special.

 

[Joey Bones]

I would definitely prefer that if we draft a D high in a draft — it’s someone with a bit more size, and long as it’s not a shoe in to be a franchise type it should be a RHS. Not a McIlrath type, but someone that is 6’2-3 at least.

I don’t think it’s far fetch to argue that in general, it’s negative if a forward has size. You can’t be 5’5, but when you get up towards 6’3-4 it’s hard to keep up.

But size definitely still matters for defenders. I’ve followed the last two Swedish WCHs when Sweden have won gold. They never win both those golds without the size they had on the backend; OEL is 6’3, Adam Larsson 6’3, Mat Ekholm 6’4, Carl Klingberg 6’2, Hampus Lindblom 6’3 and so forth.

It not about big hits, but just as a forward playing against someone with that reach is harder, infront of the net it matters if the Ds that comes at you with croaschecks and shoves and what not are 5’11 or 6’3.

There are so many young talented defenders coming up. If you have room for 2-3 guys on a blueline that is closer to 6’0 than 6’3 I don’t think it will be impossible to fill them with great options NOT picked top 10 in a draft. But getting that D that both can play and have size — that can be very hard outside the high end of a 1st round. OEL/Lindholm/Larsson are good examples to mention since they already have been brought up. A Jacob Trouba type. And to find that big guy that can skate and play and is a RHS, that gets even harder.

Bowen Byram is your guy, Ola.

 

[FireGerardGallant]

drafting a dman in this draft makes no sense to me at all. not in this draft.

there are any number of high end forwards who i believe would make more sense over byram especially if we are drafting top 5. byram is a solid prospect no doubt, but i not sure i pass impact forwards at 3 or even 4 or 5 to grab byram.

fining an impact centerman is priority 1 to me.

hughes
cozens
newhook

second would be a forward with some size and ability to finish

kaliyev
lavoie

lastly a right dman end of round 1

i see decent looking dman prospects among the top 30 players and a few of those lefty dmen are risers or potential risers. i would also be looking at a righty like for example lassi thomson the cool finn who skates beautifully and has a flair to his game. this is a more offensive play as Thomson is a dangerous pp guy who looks to create offense first. good hard accurate shot too. non stop motor.

seider or soderstrom both also come to mind mid to late 1st round. adding another righty to the pool makes more sense than another lefty.

forward first an second no question for me and then perhaps a righty dman makes more sense. with those 3 dmen, trading up may not even need to happen.

we may be looking at a draft where we have 3 potential first rounders.

We need the impact center but if they can get Byram anywhere after 2 you do it. He is absolutely insane

 

[Mikos87]

Cam York and who else?

Ryan Johnson.

 

[Fitzy]

Peyton Krebs is such a 90's NHL name.

 

[Mac n Gs]

Updated mocks....

2019 NHL Mock Draft & Simulator | Tankathon

1 (8) C: Alex Turcotte (USA)(5'11"/194lbs., Shot: Left, USNTDP/USHL) *19/20 U. of Wisconsin Commit*
1 (31) D: Thomas Harley (CAN)(6'3"/183lbs., Shot: Left, Mississauga/OHL)

2019 NHL Mock Draft | 2019 NHL Draft | NHL Draft

1 (10) LW: Peyton Krebs (CAN)(5'11"/181lbs., Shot: Left, Kootenay/WHL)
1 (31) D: Mikko Kokkonen (FIN)(5'11"/190lbs., Shot: Left, Jukurit/Liiga)

2019 NHL Mock Draft - NHL - DraftSite.com

1 (7) D: Philip Broberg (SWE)(6'3"/203lbs., Shot: Left, AIK/Allsvenskan)
1 (31) LW: Nolan Foote (CAN)(6'3"/187lbs., Shot: Left, Kelowna/WHL)
2 (38) D: Ilya Mironov (RUS)(6'3"/198lbs., Shot: Left, Yaroslavl/MHL)
3 (69) D: Tobias Bjornfot (SWE)(6'0"/187lbs., Shot: Left, Djurgardens J20/SuperElit)
5 (131) C/LW: Yegor Spiridonov (RUS)(6'2"/192lbs., Shot: Right, Stanlye Lisy/MHL)
6 (162) D: Ethan Frisch (USA)( 5'11"/192lbs., Shot: Right, Green Bay/USHL) *19/20 U. of North Dakota Commit*
7 (193) D: Mike Koster (USA)(5'10"/181lbs., Shot: Left, Chaska/HS-MN) *20/21 U. of Minnesota Commit*

Good value in this draft albeit defensive heavy. Broberg is a reach at No. 7, IMO. His skating and offensive ability are solid for already playing pro hockey. Defensive reads are good, too. Think he causes a lot of turnovers, which he hopefully could get over. Bad habit to have. Foote has an excellent shot, but god awful skating. Haven't seen anything on Mironov so I'll refrain from any analysis on him. Bjornfot is a steady defender that's very good under pressure with the puck. Has the ability to grow into a complete defender, which is really exciting for a 3rd rounder. A bit of a steal there. Spiridonov oozes power forward qualities and could be a better scoring Anisimov. Frisch was a minute munching defender for Moorhead last year. First full year in the USHL has been up and down, though. Not a bad gamble in the 6th. Don't know anything on Koster.

Thoughts?

TURCOTTE AND HARLEY HNGGGGGGG

Turcotte is my 3rd C and Harley is my 2nd D in this draft.

 

[Ola]

Peyton Krebs is such a 90's NHL name.

Imagine if we finally gets a bonafide homegrown super star forward and his name is ‘Peyton Krebs’. What would be worse for the Ranger fans community, Hank winning a Cup with the Islanders or that?

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Imagine if we finally gets a bonafide homegrown super star forward and his name is ‘Peyton Krebs’. What would be worse for the Ranger fans community, Hank winning a Cup with the Islanders or that?

Krebs means cancer in German. Not sure he'd be a great locker room presence

 

[Ola]

Krebs means cancer in German. Not sure he'd be a great locker room presence

I wonder if the word "Krebs" has a positive meaning in any of the 8 million languages that exists on planet earth?

 

[ElLeetch]

Have him fifth, but in the same tier as numbers 3 and 4 --- so that means I tend to view them as fairly interchangeable.

Outside of getting Hughes or Kakko, I freely admit my next dream scenario involves taking Byram and then seeing someone like Turcotte, Newhook or Zegras fall a little into a position where the Rangers could trade up and grab one of them.

Thats mine, too. Byram could be *both* our biggest need and BPA, and then we add scoring depth mid-round.

 

[Edge]

Thats mine, too. Byram could be *both* our biggest need and BPA, and then we add scoring depth mid-round.

Personally, he's the only defenseman I would consider taking that high at this point in time, and the only one I have in my top 10.

Not to say there aren't other potentially very good options in the 11-20 range, but Byram is the only who has thus far made me stop and say, "Yeah, I'd take him with the Rangers top pick."

 

[offdacrossbar]

byram is not the BPA for this organization. in this draft, where we likely pick, no way.

i dont touch that guy until the top 5 forwards are off the board.

the love affair with this kid is off the charts.

you are telling me that if we step up we take byram over dylan cozens ? that would be very rongos but wrong-o.

we drafted 2 dmen last year tho have top 4 potential easy. we have 3 other d prospects who project to be solid top 4. we take another dman with our first pick with guys like cozens, podkolzin, turcotte, zegras and newhook avail.

no thanks

 

[Edge]

byram is not the BPA for this organization. in this draft, where we likely pick, no way.

i dont touch that guy until the top 5 forwards are off the board.

the love affair with this kid is off the charts.

you are telling me that if we step up we take byram over dylan cozens ? that would be very rongos but wrong-o.

we drafted 2 dmen last year tho have top 4 potential easy. we have 3 other d prospects who project to be solid top 4. we take another dman with our first pick with guys like cozens, podkolzin, turcotte, zegras and newhook avail.

no thanks

Yeah, not really sure what love affair you're referencing. It's actually the minority opinion.

Don't know who the Rangers take. Don't think Byram over the Cozens is far-fetched, but I wouldn't call Cozens going first a given either. I think they're in the same tier. If I had to put money on an outcome, I'd say the smart money is on both Dach and Cozens coming off the board before Byram.

Once you get past that, no I don't know think I'd take the remaining forwards ahead of Byram.

But at the same time, it's kind of a moot point. The Rangers, most likely, will finish around the 5 spot. So at that point, Hughes, Kakko, Dach and Cozens are likely off the board anyway. At the very least, four of them likely will be.

I feel like this arguing, just for the sake of arguing at this point.

 

[True Blue]

First round comments only: In the first, they cannot pass up on Byram to take Turcotte. In the secone, no way would I take Krebs ahead of Turcotte.

It's the third one that I am scared of. Clarke going off board again and being cute. Broberg at 7? Ahead of Byram, Zegras, Turcotte? I may well be marching on MSG with a pitch fork.