NHL Entry Draft 2024

[Viqsi]

So many Debbie Downers here. If the kid has some skill and is tough to play against, he'll play in the NHL. If you pair this kid with L'Heureux in two years, then we might have something that causes teams problems in the playoffs. Who the hell do you think we're getting at 22, Mario Gretzky?

Perhaps, just perhaps, the draft isn't where GMBT makes a move this year. He's thinking we need instant help, which pick #22 doesn't get you. He trawled with Askarov and didn't get a bite. Fine, but that's not what is dictating success or failure next season.

I'm just not that high on L'Heureux myself so I'm not really high on this as a strategy. I just figured there were higher upside swings available.

 

[triggrman]

I've watched basically every Preds game for the past 10+ years. Didn't realize my shit hot takes were irrelevant due to lacking a TN postal code.

No but it’s not your dollars keeping them here, which was the post i was referring too

 

[AintLifeGrand]

damn California gets Matvei Gridin- thought we could steal him in the 2nd round

 

[Viqsi]

listen Sunshine, this is a team for Southerners by Southerners

I'm a quarter Southerner on my mother's side, so I have every right to be here.

 

[Osprey]

Only good thing I can think of about this pick that Surin is under contract in Russia until 2026. So our development staff can't ruin him in the meantime.

I'm not sure that that's a good thing. It seems like the longer that prospects stay in Russia, the harder it is for them to fit into NA once they get here and the easier to think about going back. I'd feel better about a Russian prospect who's committed to coming over and playing in the CHL immediately.

 

[glenngineer]

We next pick at 55 and 59. If he was anywhere from 21 to the 80's, he may or may not be there. I'm not saying this was a good or bad pick, if they felt this kid is what they want, then that's what it is.

If it were me and I had teams calling me about the 22nd pick, I probably would've moved down into the 30's to grab him and grab some extra draft capital.

The problem with draft capital, if you keep the picks and you get nothing out of it, but you get the player you want, you haven't "lost" anything per se but you may have given a team you're competing against a good player.

The year we traded down to draft Pickard is a good example as we got the player we wanted, unfortunately, he didn't pan out. We also got Taylor Beck out of that deal, who didn't pan out. Bad thing is, the player we could've had was Erik Karlsson. This is an extreme case scenario.

On the flip side, if you can grab the player you want, they pan out and the draft pick you landed in a deal pans out, you're golden. We complain that we gave up a 1st to get Paul Gaustad but got a 4th round pick back in that deal and we are signing that pick to an 8 year contract on Monday. Funny thing is, that 1st went to Calgary, who went on to pick Jankowski, who now plays for us.

Trades, drafts, free agent signings, player development are all calculated crap shoots. As a GM, you hope to be on the better end of the deals you make in the long run.

I'm all for taking big swings. I loved the Molendyk pick from last year. At the same time, do you take big swings for players that are within the range of where they should be picked or do you completely off the board? If you go off the board too much, while the reward may be better, the risk is also greater, once again leading me back to the point of making better moves in the long run.

We'll see how this turns out in 3-5 years. Until then, free agency starts on Monday and that's where the rubber meets the road.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

No but it’s not your dollars keeping them here, which was the post i was referring too

Admittedly glossed over that part of the post, lol.

 

[Fantomas]

Of course they're not and I didn't mean that Surin would do the same, but Trotz was just recently a victim of the KHL threat, so it's just a little surprising that he'd use another high pick on someone who could also use it.

Look, if you draft a Russian and he turns into a nothingburger like Afanasiev then sure you might get a KHL threat.

 

[triggrman]

Look, if you draft a Russian and he turns into a nothingburger like Afanasiev then sure you might get a KHL threat.

That’s the thing some of these kids don’t get.

 

[maplepred]

Did I say he was? You said Molendyk was a reach last season. You say this years pick is a reach. I’m thinking maybe your scouting skills suck.

Wow, one guy. So my scouting sucks cuz of one guy. The best scouts in the world have less than 50% success rate. They can’t all be winners. Grow up dude. This was not a good pick. Period. Nobody ranked him even as a first round pick. And Russian is even icing on the cake.

Also, didn’t realize Molendyk was an nhl success already. Must have missed that. Maybe my eyes just aren’t good like my scouting skills lol

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Everyone Needs to chill...this is a great pick

 

[BigFatCat999]

If he pans out, I could see him on the right wing with happy on the left

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Look, if you draft a Russian and he turns into a nothingburger like Afanasiev then sure you might get a KHL threat.

This guy compared to Afanasyev is night and day...He is a pure Russian...not a Turncoat who left in his teenage years to play in the USHL

 

[predhead1]

I'm just not that high on L'Heureux myself so I'm not really high on this as a strategy. I just figured there were higher upside swings available.

Understood, but having watched our miserable playoff performances over the past few years where we've been outmuscled and outplayed, I think L'Heureux can bring us a bit of physicality and attitude that we desperately need. And his AHL playoff run signals exactly that. If Yegor is cut from the same cloth, then I'm all for it. No one ever bitches about how hard it is to play against the soft guys in the playoffs. It's always been the borderline jerks (Claude Lemeiux, Dino Cicerelli, Draper, McCarty, Marchand, etc.) who seem to have an extra gear and cause the opponent problems when it matters.

 

[Viqsi]

Understood, but having watched our miserable playoff performances over the past few years where we've been outmuscled and outplayed, I think L'Heureux can bring us a bit of physicality and attitude that we desperately need. And his AHL playoff run signals exactly that. If Yegor is cut from the same cloth, then I'm all for it. No one ever bitches about how hard it is to play against the soft guys in the playoffs. It's always been the borderline jerks (Claude Lemeiux, Dino Cicerelli, Draper, McCarty, Marchand, etc.) who seem to have an extra gear and cause the opponent problems when it matters.

Truthfully, I look at L'Heureux's history and I'm reminded of why the Leafs gave up on Nazem Kadri in the playoffs.

I mean, if we do get that kind of outcome, then hells yes, all for it. I'm just less than sanguine about the possibility.

 

[predhead1]

And a Cup winner traded for Nazri for exactly that, so I guess it depends on the front office's philosophy.

 

[Viqsi]

And a Cup winner traded for Nazri for exactly that, so I guess it depends on the front office's philosophy.

Point acknowledged. I'm just a worrier sometimes.

 

[glenngineer]

I'm just not that high on L'Heureux myself so I'm not really high on this as a strategy. I just figured there were higher upside swings available.

What are your concerns?

I know everyone talks about his PIMs. Sure, I get that. Marchand had issues when he came into the league. It wasn't for the longest time where he finally found the balance but even before he did, the positives outweighed the negatives.

His playoffs this year give me a lot of hope that this is a trait that he has, where he raises his game to the next level when it counts.

He could turn out to be a dud. He could turn into another Marchand. He could turn into Nick Cousins. We'll see where he lands.

I worry more about the kids that we thought would be on the roster full time by now but aren't. My guess is they get passed over by guys like ZLH, Kemell and Svechkov, which is fine because that's easily a middle 6 line if they track well. They become a top 6 line if they pan out and who knows, maybe they even pan out into a number 1 line, much like Marchand/Bergeron/Pasta did in Boston. Even if they're a second line version of them, I'd take that and run with it all day long.

 

[Viqsi]

What are your concerns?

I know everyone talks about his PIMs. Sure, I get that. Marchand had issues when he came into the league. It wasn't for the longest time where he finally found the balance but even before he did, the positives outweighed the negatives.

His playoffs this year give me a lot of hope that this is a trait that he has, where he raises his game to the next level when it counts.

He could turn out to be a dud. He could turn into another Marchand. He could turn into Nick Cousins. We'll see where he lands.

I worry more about the kids that we thought would be on the roster full time by now but aren't. My guess is they get passed over by guys like ZLH, Kemell and Svechkov, which is fine because that's easily a middle 6 line if they track well. They become a top 6 line if they pan out and who knows, maybe they even pan out into a number 1 line, much like Marchand/Bergeron/Pasta did in Boston. Even if they're a second line version of them, I'd take that and run with it all day long.

The short version is that I think Nick Cousins is the most likely outcome.

 

[glenngineer]

The short version is that I think Nick Cousins is the most likely outcome.

And that's totally cool. I think we as Preds fans have been beat down that none of our guys will ever turn into something. As I said earlier, all of this is a crapshoot to some degree. We'll find out where he lands in time.

 

[Viqsi]

And that's totally cool. I think we as Preds fans have been beat down that none of our guys will ever turn into something. As I said earlier, all of this is a crapshoot to some degree. We'll find out where he lands in time.

In my case it's got more to do with when I saw him in juniors. (At that time I was watching a fair number of Charlottetown Islanders games mostly because George Matthews was calling them, and any time they were up against Halifax I kept noticing him specifically as someone who would routinely cause more problems than he solved.)

 

[hido]

The short version is that I think Nick Cousins is the most likely outcome.

Nick Cousins is why Florida won the Cup!!

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Bluechip prospect has him ranked as one of the top 10 power forwards in the draft as well..

 

[glenngineer]

In my case it's got more to do with when I saw him in juniors. (At that time I was watching a fair number of Charlottetown Islanders games mostly because George Matthews was calling them, and any time they were up against Halifax I kept noticing him specifically as someone who would routinely cause more problems than he solved.)

Counterpoint, he's got Scott Nichol as a mentor. Dude found a way to stick in the NHL by being a sh*t disturber. He definitely crossed the line many a time. Having been there and catching a young man's ear may help in this department.

Is this going to go away in his game, I sure as heck hope not. What I do hope for is that he knows when to use it to his advantage and when to walk away and as long as he learns that before he reaches the NHL, he's in a good place.

I'd say that part of his game has gone down. It needs to come down some more but you don't want to take that completely away from him because that's what makes him who he is.

On a comparative flip side, I sometimes wish Weber would've played with more of an edge than he did because when that flip got switched, he was a dominating force on the ice that scared the crap out of opponents. I know the two are apples and oranges but it comes down to finding that sweet spot of agitator with skill and physicality versus a guy who takes too many penalties and puts his team in a bad spot.

 

[Viqsi]

Bluechip prospect has him ranked as one of the top 10 power forwards in the draft as well..

Immediately after him in that video is Igor Chernyshov, which is who I wanted and who I think has higher upside.