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Draft and UDFA Thread 2018-19: Part VII (No Kakko/Hughes Talk)

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Kaapo Feel said:
Haven't seen him play, but he sounds a lot like Lundkvist
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Edge said:
Wrote this last week -

Soderstrom: I find him intriguing because unlike a Byram, or even a Broberg, he's not necessarily a guy who makes you sit on the edge of your seat if he has the puck on his stick. But he's incredibly smart and makes so many of the plays. He knows how to move the puck, get it to the open made, and then get himself in position to support the play. In some ways, his strengths are almost the opposite of Broberg's. He transitions the puck well, can easily go back and forth between supporting the offense and playing tight defense. Not the biggest guy in the world, and can be outmuscled, but his positioning is so good that I'll be damned if he doesn't end up coming away with the puck more often than not. The knock might be that there's not that "wow" dream factor at work. He simply a smart, well-balanced game that doesn't lend itself to either a lot of mistakes, or a ton of highlight reel clips.
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All of that stuff... and then I read things like the very first thing on Elite Prospects is "An uber competitive..." and then "He never looks disinterested and it's always apparent just how badly he wants to win"

Seen the same kind of thing in other places, which is really what makes me feel like he's a Rangers-esque pick.
 
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NYR Viper said:
I know it's the cool thing to do to write off Howden and Andersson as 2C prospects but to me, they both still project to that 2/3C 2-way center. It's going to take them some time but their struggles haven't dissuaded my thinking
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I think the Rangers are a stronger and deeper team if one of Howden/Andersson is the 3C, especially if it’s because they’re adding a center with higher offensive upside.
 
jas said:
I think the Rangers are a stronger and deeper team if one of Howden/Andersson is the 3C, especially if it’s because they’re adding a center with higher offensive upside.
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I think people don't really realize that the chances of this happening are pretty high anyway. Mentioned this in the Hughes vs Kakko thread... Zibanejad will be here for probably the next 8-9 seasons. Then you have Chytil, Andersson, Howden, Kravtsov, or Kakko that could end up being a 2C or better as well. That would likely put one of Howden or Andersson at 3C anyway.
 
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offdacrossbar said:
thoughts on the following dmen late rd 1

lassi thomson

ville heinola

thomas harley
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sorry, I realize you asked this yesterday and I never circled back to it:

Harley is a very good playmaking ability and a strong ability to make smart decisions with the puck on his tap. Incredibly patient and not afraid to wait for his teammates to find an opening and get into position. Doesn't panic with the puck, but I do wonder if his shot is enough to be a weapon should he need to get the puck through traffic and to the net. Has spent some time working on his defense, and while it's not a strength, I honestly don't think it's as much of a concern as it was a year ago. Could stand to make his life in the defensive zone a little easier by being more aggressive and using his reach to force opponents to the outside. I don't know if he quite has that skill set where he can step up and completely change the course of a game like a Byram, or a Broberg, or that he has steadying presence of a Soderstrom. I'm a little iffy on him though, he reminds me a lot of Bobby Sanguinetti in 2006.

Thomson is a guy who gambled on himself and it's paid off. There's a lot of work in progress going on with him. He's a very good skater, but still learning how to consistently make the right decisions. There's an offensive side there, but I'm not sure how well he actually sees the play around him. He's perfectly capable of jumping into the play and getting involved, but I'm not sure he actually visualizes the play and fully grasps how he can use all the pieces on the board (aka his teammates). He's got a good, accurate shot and makes smart breakout passes, I'm not quite sure how the offense would look at the higher levels. His defense needs some work --- positioning, winning battles against bigger players, getting back to his responsibilities if he jumps into the play, etc. He's an older prospect, so expectations are a little higher for him. If this was his D+1 year, it would be considered solid, but not necessarily spectacular. I have him as an option for the latter half of the second, but I don't know if I'm in the same boat as some who have him in the 20s or even the 30s.

Heinola intrigues me as a potential late first round pick. He's a boy playing among men and he's grown throughout the year. He's a good playmaker who has a good idea of when to jump into the play and how to best use his linemates. In some ways he's kind of the opposite of Thomson. I don' think his shot is spectacular, but his ability to find the open man and keep the play alive is strong. He's a slippery skater who is very good about getting himself into a position where he can make a play or give his linemates time to set up. His defense has come a long way and he might turn it into one of his better assets if he can keep up the progress. Like most kids playing in a men's league, he needs to get stronger and his size doesn't particularly help him at the moment. Being able to pick up emerging plays a second sooner will also go a long way in helping him defensively. He's better if the play is coming at him, than if the opposing team has time and space to set up.
 
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I'd love to jump and grab one of the centers like a Zegras, Newhook, etc.... (Dach, Turcotte, Cozens are lovely too, but not likely even somewhat realistic).

If not, I'd be very pleased to jump up a bit like last year if they can nab Victor Soderstrom. I like everything I've read and the little bit I've seen on him. Hey could really strengthen RD along with Lundkvist in the future. Those kids don't grow on trees.
 
jas said:
I think the Rangers are a stronger and deeper team if one of Howden/Andersson is the 3C, especially if it’s because they’re adding a center with higher offensive upside.
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That's also kind of why I'd love to find a way to nab one of the centers we were initially talking about.

Aside from the fact that I really like them as players, it has the added bonus of also being good fit organizationally as well. That's always the best of both worlds, when a player is arguably the top player still on the board, and a guy who makes sense based on how your team is being constructed.
 
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Edge said:
That's also kind of why I'd love to find a way to nab one of the centers we were initially talking about.

Aside from the fact that I really like them as players, it has the added bonus of also being good fit organizationally as well. That's always the best of both worlds, when a player is arguably the top player still on the board, and a guy who makes sense based on how your team is being constructed.
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Yea I’m hoping there is something that can be had with Edmonton or with Arizona for newhook. I don’t see him sliding to 22, but should be some hesitation in the top 10 bc of Jost. Ideally I would give up a lot for one of remaining top centers

Zibby. Kakko

Zegras/Dach Kravstov
 
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Edge said:
That's also kind of why I'd love to find a way to nab one of the centers we were initially talking about.

Aside from the fact that I really like them as players, it has the added bonus of also being good fit organizationally as well. That's always the best of both worlds, when a player is arguably the top player still on the board, and a guy who makes sense based on how your team is being constructed.
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Your last point is why I really want Gorton to continue to exercise patience. It’s not just asset accumulation, but putting together the pieces to fit. We have discussed it ad nauseum, but the flaw of the last run was not have the high end talent that could put that group over the top. @Machinehead has said this, but put the current version of Mika on those teams, and that squad likely wins a Cup. Add one or two more high end pieces to go with Mika, Kakko, Kravtsov and Miller, and I believe you have a perennial Cup contender. Just be patient one more year. It’s why I don’t give any credence to the, ‘the Rangers are ready to go all in’ mantra some here are espousing. What is the point of signing a Panarin when the majority of the core of your team is has likely not even played an NHL game yet.

Also, I am thrilled to see players like Chytil and Andersson being pushed down on the depth chart. It means that we’re seeing a great influx of young talent being added to the organization. We don’t need the likes of Chytil, Andersson, Howden or even Buchnevich to be the higher end pieces and ask them to become more than what they’re capable of becoming.
 
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jas said:
Your last point is why I really want Gorton to continue to exercise patience. It’s not just asset accumulation, but putting together the pieces to fit. We have discussed it ad nauseum, but the flaw of the last run was not have the high end talent that could put that group over the top. @Machinehead has said this, but put the current version of Mika on those teams, and that squad likely wins a Cup. Add one or two more high end pieces to go with Mika, Kakko, Kravtsov and Miller, and I believe you have a perennial Cup contender. Just be patient one more year. It’s why I don’t give any credence to the, ‘the Rangers are ready to go all in’ mantra some here are espousing. What is the point of signing a Panarin when the majority of the core of your team is has likely not even played an NHL game yet.

Also, I am thrilled to see players like Chytil and Andersson being pushed down on the depth chart. It means that we’re seeing a great influx of young talent being added to the organization. We don’t need the likes of Chytil, Andersson, Howden or even Buchnevich to be the higher end pieces and ask them to become more than what they’re capable of becoming.
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The truth is that if the team's successful, where a guy was drafted becomes less and less of an issue, so long as that player is a key component in why the team is successful.

The conversations are usually more heated when the team isn't successful, and guys aren't playing to the lofty draft-day expectations placed upon them.

But if you have a scenario where Kakko and Kravtsov are doing their thing, Zibanehad and Zegras are doing theirs, etc. etc., I don't know if most people are going to dwell on Chytil being a LW, or Andersson and Howden "only" being an effective third line, or Buch being inconsistent, or whatever other combination of outcomes we might see.

As high-end talent emerges, and support talent assumes their roles around the high-end talent, people tend to start focusing on the collective team accomplishments rather than uber-specific details of good, but potentially imperfect areas of the team.
 
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I'm all for Newhook with Winnipeg's pick. The Rangers can afford that gamble with Hughes or Kakko on the way. I'd go D with our first 2nd rounder. Heinola, Bjornfoot, Thomson, Johnson, and Kokkonen in particular would all be great picks in that spot.
 
Is this draft possibly deeper than we were led to believe? Maybe it’s just the 1st round that’s deep? Because I see a lot of pretty damn good prospects we could draft.
 
Kakko is 2.

But the real discussion comes after the playoffs end and we know how many 1st round picks we have overall and where they land. Because it is then that this could get interesting. Packaging picks and assets to move up near the top 10. Maybe package up to move up to 12-15. Then make a 2nd trade to move up from there.

A lot of options for Gorton.
 
Brett Howden is going to be at least a 40 plus pt physical fast and relentless 3C as soon as next season. I’m not sure how people didn’t come away from watching him put up 25 pts this year with injury and not see where he’s headed. No one should be writing him off. He’s very much a core player.

Lias on the other hand is probably gone soon or a fourth liner here which is where he can really help us actually. There just are going to be much better players than him coming in and quickly.
 
Update on Nathan Légaré who’s someone I want with the Jets pick (gave a scouting report on him in the team boards mock draft thread)
He’s been named assistant captain for the Canadian u18 team along with Cozens. Krebs is the captain
 
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Kovalev27 said:
Brett Howden is going to be at least a 40 plus pt physical fast and relentless 3C as soon as next season. I’m not sure how people didn’t come away from watching him put up 25 pts this year with injury and not see where he’s headed. No one should be writing him off. He’s very much a core player.

Lias on the other hand is probably gone soon or a fourth liner here which is where he can really help us actually. There just are going to be much better players than him coming in and quickly.
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Just like you dont want people to write off Howden (as the shouldnt) there is no reason to write off Lias.

Lias will be 20 next year. Howden 20/21. Lets see how these still very young kids will progress. All in all, these two both have a future. If one or both are only 30-40 point players but really really good bottom 6 players they will be important to the success of the team and wont cost as much in yearly cap hit.
 
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I've also seen Broberg all over the rankings from 8 to like 29.
 
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