Draft and UDFA Thread 2018-19: Part III

[TheBloodyNine]

Not really an "in a vacuum" comparison and potentially meaningless but for example, in his draft year playing for the OHL, Doughty had 50 points in 58 games. Byram is currently sitting at 68 points in 63 games while playing the WHL which is a lot heavier of a league than the O.

 

[True Blue]

Is it accurate to say he's a 'better variation' of Kreider?

There is no way to tell until he actually develops into a top line player.

 

[True Blue]

i thought we were told that k'andre had 1st pair upside ?

he does have top pairing upside, but not on the same level as Byram.

and lundqvist was a 1st rounder too. certainly, with his skills hes atleast a top 3-4 guy

and hajek was "the guy" in the mcd27 deal. he was the guy we had to have in that deal.

rykov ? kean. lindgren..

Lindqvist is not in the same breath as Byram. And none of the thers you mention have top pairing potential.

yet the forward list is pretty short or non existent after the russian.

The same way you just threw out defensive prospects, I could throw out forwards. Lemieux, Chytil, Anderson.

doesn't seem like I'm hearing the answer here. we have MANY D prospects that range from potential 1st pair to 3rd pair plus youngins 76, 77 and 44 now.

You are hearing it. You are just ignoring it. This is becoming the DeAngelo conversation part deux.

Yes, there are defensive prospects. All but one of them has decent top pairing potential. Sure, you never know what happens, but one should not bank on that.

the forward depth ?? nada. zip. zilch. and lets not forget 36 and 13 are gone too.

36 & 13 are no there because this team was not going to be a Cup contender with or without them.

Depth is an issue. Full stop.

still not sure im seeing that impact forward if we draft bowen byram with our first pick.

If you are not sure what adding a prospect that is a legit top pairing prospect does as far as an impact to a franchise, not sure what to tell you. Aside from Dahlin last year, I could (and do) make a case that Byram is the best defensive prospect in two drafts!

just don't see the logic in picking byram over the next forward whos the BPA when our forward depth is so weak not to mention our roster forwards arent much to brag about either after 20 and 93.

hopefully, BB is gone before we pick

Not sure this can be explained any more to you. Want to make a case for Dach or Cozens? Ok. I may not agree, but I can see the allure. Want to start to say that Kayliev or a Lavoie or even a Krebs should be taken ahead of him, now you are reaching height of ludicrous.

 

[Edge]

What do people think of Turcotte? It’s a toss up between Turcotte and Byram at 3rd for me. Seems most people here aren’t that high on him though.

I love Turcotte and would easily consider him when you start getting to about the 5 spot. But if I had Byram or Cozens on the board, I'd prefer either of those guys.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

I love Turcotte and would easily consider him when you start getting to about the 5 spot. But if I had Byram or Cozens on the board, I'd prefer either of those guys.

Do you prefer Turcotte to Dach?

Also, sort of out of the blue, but would you consider Boldy a guy with limited upside?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

If we win the 3rd pick, who do we take? Byram? Turcotte?

If they take Turcotte at 3 I will go ODC on this place.

 

[Joey Bones]

What do people think of Turcotte? It’s a toss up between Turcotte and Byram at 3rd for me. Seems most people here aren’t that high on him though.

I'm very high!! A lot to like in his game!! Just think that Byram can be a No. 1 defender for any team.

 

[Edge]

I think Byram is the clear #3 at this point. As much as I like Cozens and Dach, he's stepped out as the leader of that 2nd tier group, IMO.

If I was on the clock, right now, and HAD to submit a pick, I'd go with Byram.

It doesn't mean we need forwards any less, but I think the whole defense falls in line around Byram, Miller and ADA.

I like the flexibility that can potentially provide. It gives us the ability to move other defenseman, deal from a position of strength, and tilts the law of averages in our favor.

It doesn't solve all of our problems, and frankly no individual pick will. But, if we can Byram, Miller and ADA to form the backbone of a defense and slot into the 1-3 slots, that means we can have any one of them out there at any given point in a game. In an important playoff game, you have the potential to have one of either Byram or Miller out there on the left side at just about all times.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I'm very high!! A lot to like in his game!! Just think that Byram can be a No. 1 defender for any team.

JB is Kevin Hayes confirmed.

 

[Edge]

Do you prefer Turcotte to Dach?

Also, sort of out of the blue, but would you consider Boldy a guy with limited upside?

I have the centers very close, but as of right now I have Dach slightly ahead of Turcotte. In terms of centers, it's Hughes, Cozens, Dach, Turcotte, Newhook for me.

As for Boldy, I like him a lot, there's just other guys I like a little more. Under normal circumstances, he feels like a typical 4-6 pick for me --- the ultimate compliment player type, not all that different than what I say about guys like Matthew Tkachuk, or Gabriel Landeskog, or Andrew Ladd. He drops a little this year, not because of anything he's done or can't do, but because there are a few guys I have a harder time ranking lower.

Would I take him at 3? No.

Would he be in consideration from that 6-10 spot? You bet.

 

[Edge]

I'm very high!! A lot to like in his game!! Just think that Byram can be a No. 1 defender for any team.

I always try to remind people that just because I have a player ranked behind someone else, doesn't mean I don't like the player. It just means that at some point, I can't have a four-way tie for a particular ranking, or I might like someone a smidgen better.

 

[Joey Bones]

JB is Kevin Hayes confirmed.

 

[Joey Bones]

I always try to remind people that just because I have a player ranked behind someone else, doesn't mean I don't like the player. It just means that at some point, I can't have a four-way tie for a particular ranking, or I might like someone a smidgen better.

Likewise, which is why I don't rank players.

 

[Edge]

Likewise, which is why I don't rank players.

I do it because there's part of me that does like having a sense of order to things, but I also tend to color code by tier as well.

Inevitably, there's always clusters. The difference between 3 and 5 could be negligible, but there could be noticeable differences between 6 and 10.

In this year's case, there's 10 guys I particularly like above the other options.

But in that same vein, I don't do mock drafts. Too many variables when trying to predict different teams and preferences. I stick to my preferences.

 

[bobbop]

This draft is interesting to me because it is loaded with quality forwards and pretty light on defensemen. I don’t know anywhere enough to offer opinions on the prospects but I thought @Edge made a good point about the fact that we are loaded up with a lot of second and third pair types. Need a stud defenseman at some point. I just hope they don’t reach for someone because of positional need. And I do hope they trade up in the first round to get more offense no matter what they do with the first pick.

Once we know our lottery position, a lot will come into clearer focus.

 

[True Blue]

Would he be in consideration from that 6-10 spot? You bet.

To me, he comes to the party after Byram, Dach & Cozens are off the board. He is a tier with Podzokolin & Turcotte for me. Maybe even above the former and have some time to consider regarding the latter.

 

[Edge]

This draft is interesting to me because it is loaded with quality forwards and pretty light on defensemen. I don’t know anywhere enough to offer opinions on the prospects but I thought @Edge made a good point about the fact that we are loaded up with a lot of second and third pair types. Need a stud defenseman at some point. I just hope they don’t reach for someone because of positional need. And I do hope they trade up in the first round to get more offense no matter what they do with the first pick.

Once we know our lottery position, a lot will come into clearer focus.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Miller. But I don’t want everything riding on him. Frankly, I don’t want everything riding on any one prospect — for a variety of reasons.

If we drafted Byram, and both he and Miller hit close to their ceiling, thats’s a WIN. No questions, no qualifiers, I take the W and smile my happy ass off for the next decade.

 

[Edge]

To me, he comes to the party after Byram, Dach & Cozens are off the board. He is a tier with Podzokolin & Turcotte for me. Maybe even above the former and have some time to consider regarding the latter.

I’ve tended to have him just below them for most of the season.

But he wouldn’t be out of line at the spot. In other words, I wouldn’t put my drink down if that’s where someone took him.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Don’t get me wrong, I love Miller. But I don’t want everything riding on him. Frankly, I don’t want everything riding on any one prospect — for a variety of reasons.

If we drafted Byram, and both he and Miller hit close to their ceiling, thats’s a WIN. No questions, no qualifiers, I take the W and smile my happy ass off for the next decade.

And this goes back why the Rangers moved Zuccarello and Hayes and the need to continue to add assets. Until any of these prospects prove otherwise, they’re all just prospects.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Don’t get me wrong, I love Miller. But I don’t want everything riding on him. Frankly, I don’t want everything riding on any one prospect — for a variety of reasons.

If we drafted Byram, and both he and Miller hit close to their ceiling, thats’s a WIN. No questions, no qualifiers, I take the W and smile my happy ass off for the next decade.

It's not just a win...

You're basically 3/4th of the way (those 2 + DeAngelo) to a Nashville Predators esque D.

Like the rest of your D prospects don't even have to hit their ceilings, they just have to be serviceable or slightly better than that.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Do you prefer Turcotte to Dach?

Also, sort of out of the blue, but would you consider Boldy a guy with limited upside?

I do, Dach isn’t the best skater. Turcotte is like Hughes-lite

 

[Trxjw]

If I was on the clock, right now, and HAD to submit a pick, I'd go with Byram.

It doesn't mean we need forwards any less, but I think the whole defense falls in line around Byram, Miller and ADA.

I like the flexibility that can potentially provide. It gives us the ability to move other defenseman, deal from a position of strength, and tilts the law of averages in our favor.

It doesn't solve all of our problems, and frankly no individual pick will. But, if we can Byram, Miller and ADA to form the backbone of a defense and slot into the 1-3 slots, that means we can have any one of them out there at any given point in a game. In an important playoff game, you have the potential to have one of either Byram or Miller out there on the left side at just about all times.

The way I see it is that Byram projects as a potential #1D, while Dach and Cozens are potential #1 centers. Both positions of need and both extremely hard to come by. However, that all-situations D-man is just a tad bit harder to find and Byram, at least for me, is the best of the three right now. He also might have the safest floor of the three as well. When I combine all those factors, I just have to have him as the best guy on the board after Hughes and Kakko.

Then, like you're saying, when you look at it from the building block perspective things start to look even better. Byram and Miller eating 48 minutes a night between them is pretty damn hard to beat down the left side. Then you have a guy like ADA in the mix and you're looking at a very, very strong core on the blue line; and that's you even start talking about the likes of Lundkvist, Reunanen, Hajek, Rykov, and Lindgren.

I can see how folks are worried about the balance of the prospect pool, but I also think the young guys we have up front right now tend to get left out of that conversation. The "prospect depth at forward" looks shallow after Kravtsov, sure, but what about the guys in the NHL already? Chytil, Andersson, Howden, Lemieux, and Buchnevich are all 23 or younger. The forward group at the NHL level looks a heck of a lot better than the group on defense, so why worry so much about the positional balance of a list of guys who aren't playing NHL minutes yet? Draft the best player you can and sort the rest out later. There's always a market for quality, young NHL players, regardless of the position.

 

[Edge]

And this goes back why the Rangers moved Zuccarello and Hayes and the need to continue to add assets. Until any of these prospects prove otherwise, they’re all just prospects.

Prospects who haven’t established themselves all have one thing in common — they’re all suspects.

 

[Edge]

It's not just a win...

You're basically 3/4th of the way (those 2 + DeAngelo) to a Nashville Predators esque D.

Like the rest of your D prospects don't even have to hit their ceilings, they just have to be serviceable or slightly better than that.

Seriously. Imagine a defense that begins with the trio of Byram, Miller and ADA.

And that’s where @True Blue and I are coming from.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Do people see Byram running a PP at the NHL level?

Trying to figure out where he is on the “1D scale.” Is he Bouwmeester, McD, or Suter?