Prospect Info: Official 2014 NHL Draft Discussion, Suck for Sam or Play Bad For Ekblad?

[The Gloaming]

I'm not saying that a team should only have players that it drafted in the lineup, but i do think that your main guys should be homegrown.

Look at the #1 D and C's I listed. 11/14 were drafted by the team they won with. (Sorry if I'm off, I went off memory) I think that's pretty telling. The supporting cast can come from trades, FA, and such, but the elite should be self-drafted.

That way, you don't overpay for used-to-be elite players in FA, and your pants don't get stolen when you trade for one.

We have gone the opposite way. We have drafted supporting members, and keep trying to sign big name FA's and trade for big names to be our #1's. And I don't think it's working.

I love Cally, Hags, Step, most of our kids, Staal, Mcd (I count him as homegrown). But except for MAYBE McD, none of those should be our goto guys. We draft just well enough to have some good names, but we don't draft all that great either.

 

[bobbop]

We are much closer to a being a Stanley Cup contender than facing a full rebuild.

 

[Savant]

Boston's rebuild started when they traded Joe Thornton, who was their best player. Try got rid of him to get cap room and tank while they handed the team over to Bergeron. Boston absolutely went through a rebuild. During that time they were able to cultivate their new on ice identity, that you see today. The Kessel trade Completed the rebuild.

The Rangers need to follow the LA rebuild plan to get over the hump by using the trade market to find misfit pieces or players that teams shouldn't be bailing on. If they can pick up some draft picks on the way then go for it.

 

[Championship*]

We are much closer to a being a Stanley Cup contender than facing a full rebuild.

We're a bad week away from missing the playoffs. Even if we're closer to be a contender we're still not that much further away from rebuild mode.

 

[Bullseyes]

I'm not saying that a team should only have players that it drafted in the lineup, but i do think that your main guys should be homegrown.

Look at the #1 D and C's I listed. 11/14 were drafted by the team they won with. (Sorry if I'm off, I went off memory) I think that's pretty telling. The supporting cast can come from trades, FA, and such, but the elite should be self-drafted.

That way, you don't overpay for used-to-be elite players in FA, and your pants don't get stolen when you trade for one.

We have gone the opposite way. We have drafted supporting members, and keep trying to sign big name FA's and trade for big names to be our #1's. And I don't think it's working.

I love Cally, Hags, Step, most of our kids, Staal, Mcd (I count him as homegrown). But except for MAYBE McD, none of those should be our goto guys. We draft just well enough to have some good names, but we don't draft all that great either.

I 100% agree with just about everything you said.

The best way to get forwards isn't through a trade or the free agent market. It's to draft them. Relying on the free agent market or a trade is a bad idea IMO.

We are much closer to a being a Stanley Cup contender than facing a full rebuild.

The Rangers aren't close to being a Stanley Cup contender right now. Even if everyone was healthy. I don't think their a good enough team. I hope they prove me wrong.

 

[SaveByLundqvist]

General question - I haven't kept up with other leagues in the past few years... How deep of a draft does 2014 look?

I mean if we finish in the bottom 5 can one of these kids step in next year and help the team?

 

[Championship*]

General question - I haven't kept up with other leagues in the past few years... How deep of a draft does 2014 look?

I mean if we finish in the bottom 5 can one of these kids step in next year and help the team?

Ekblad, Reinhart will be playing next year.

 

[Clown Fiesta]

Bruins rebuild was a slow process and it did start with the Thornton trade.

Get a top 5 pick draft Draisaitl, enjoy.

 

[hi]

Would it be possible to actually use this thread for its intended purpose? This is a "2014 NHL Draft Discussion thread". It is not a "See who can argue the most about whether or not tanking is a good idea thread"

 

[Savant]

Bruins rebuild was a slow process and it did start with the Thornton trade.

Get a top 5 pick draft Draisaitl, enjoy.

Draisaitl and Virtanen are on the top of my list. Am also high on Schmaltz.

 

[KreidertheGlider]

Draisaitl and Virtanen are on the top of my list. Am also high on Schmaltz.

How deep is this draft? How many "top tiered" players are there?

 

[NYRFANMANI]

10 ...

 

[Anthony Mauro]

General question - I haven't kept up with other leagues in the past few years... How deep of a draft does 2014 look?

I mean if we finish in the bottom 5 can one of these kids step in next year and help the team?

Right now my bets are on McCann for his all around game and Perlini for his game breaking offense to be able to hold pace and contribute.

 

[Anthony Mauro]

How deep is this draft? How many "top tiered" players are there?

Just speaking CHL...

D is not that strong at the top. Fleury could pan out like Pietrangelo and McKeown like McDonagh, but I wouldn't consider them in the top crop.

Reinhart, Perlini, McCann, Dal Colle, Virtanen if he produces, and Draisaitl if his skating gets better.

 

[Savant]

I think there are about a dozen players. Not sure you get a ton of NHL opening night ready players day one though.

 

[Savant]

Just speaking CHL...

D is not that strong at the top. Fleury could pan out like Pietrangelo and McKeown like McDonagh, but I wouldn't consider them in the top crop.

Reinhart, Perlini, McCann, Dal Colle, Virtanen if he produces, and Draisaitl if his skating gets better.

Who do you prefer out of Dal Colle vs Bennett or Ritchie. Those guys seem in a similar tier. I like Virtanen and Draisaitl because I think they have pretty unique skill sets. What would you fix about the German kid's skating, hadn't really noticed anything there.

 

[Anthony Mauro]

Who do you prefer out of Dal Colle vs Bennett or Ritchie. Those guys seem in a similar tier. I like Virtanen and Draisaitl because I think they have pretty unique skill sets. What would you fix about the German kid's skating, hadn't really noticed anything there.

Good pick up..I've been writing profiles for a site with a rating system based off of attributes and production. Bennett's held down first so long I forgot about him.

Bennett hands down. He's playing dominant hockey and showing grit rarely found with his skill level.

Dal Colle is the only one standing out now for his unreal hands, laser shot, and consistency early on.

Ritchie's a real wildcard - if he matures he's going to be a Lucic/Bertuzzi. Right now he's erratic and he's the least guaranteed to pan out.

Virtanen had a dry spell but boy this guy is going to be some player. His skating is powered by nitrous oxide I swear. So pretty to watch, effortless top end. Goal scoring instincts and bangs, so no Rico Fata here.

Draisaitl is hit or miss. One game he'll look like Nash the next Jeff Toms. The game slows down when he's got the puck so you dont notice his skating, but away from the puck his acceleration and fluidity of stride lacks. You can see him labor a bit.

 

[Savant]

Snip

Very nice. Do you have a link for the site?

I absolutely think whoever they wind up with they should be looking for a shoot first finisher (which unfortunately is not always the same thing) but also a guy that is effective at getting through the neutral zone and creating chances of a break using something other than straight line speed.

 

[Clown Fiesta]

Good pick up..I've been writing profiles for a site with a rating system based off of attributes and production. Bennett's held down first so long I forgot about him.

Bennett hands down. He's playing dominant hockey and showing grit rarely found with his skill level.

Dal Colle is the only one standing out now for his unreal hands, laser shot, and consistency early on.

Ritchie's a real wildcard - if he matures he's going to be a Lucic/Bertuzzi. Right now he's erratic and he's the least guaranteed to pan out.

Virtanen had a dry spell but boy this guy is going to be some player. His skating is powered by nitrous oxide I swear. So pretty to watch, effortless top end. Goal scoring instincts and bangs, so no Rico Fata here.

Draisaitl is hit or miss. One game he'll look like Nash the next Jeff Toms. The game slows down when he's got the puck so you dont notice his skating, but away from the puck his acceleration and fluidity of stride lacks. You can see him labor a bit.

Nice assessment, I did notice Draisaitl's skating the few times I keyed in on him and in some highlight videos. It's a bit of an awkward stride, but I have to be careful not to be too critical when it comes to skating. If I don't like a stride a lot of times I don't like a player, it's the first thing I'll notice most of the time. The thing is that it's somewhat of an optical illusion too, he's a pretty big kid and those kinds of players tend to look a little funky at times especially when surrounded by smaller/shiftier players.

It's still early and I haven't seen too much of any of the top 5 to actually make a good judgment on them. Draisaitl is one of those exciting players who you tend to fantasize about because of the combination of skill and size. Unfortunately those are also the ones that tend to disappoint. IE Kreider.

 

[Anthony Mauro]

Nice assessment, I did notice Draisaitl's skating the few times I keyed in on him and in some highlight videos. It's a bit of an awkward stride, but I have to be careful not to be too critical when it comes to skating. If I don't like a stride a lot of times I don't like a player, it's the first thing I'll notice most of the time. The thing is that it's somewhat of an optical illusion too, he's a pretty big kid and those kinds of players tend to look a little funky at times especially when surrounded by smaller/shiftier players.

It's still early and I haven't seen too much of any of the top 5 to actually make a good judgment on them. Draisaitl is one of those exciting players who you tend to fantasize about because of the combination of skill and size. Unfortunately those are also the ones that tend to disappoint. IE Kreider.

What you say is so true. When all is said and done, LD is going to smooth out his skating and it's not going to get in his way of getting to the NHL.

However, this is the wrong crop to have the slightest flaw. Right now, LD sticks out for his skating and is the difference - there's no sugar coating it.

Dal Colle can snipe and dangle just as good. Virtanen can blaze and release. Perlini's skating is smooth as hell and has a variety of tricks to beat the goalie. McCann has no flaw whatsoever.

It's gonna be tough to crack the group, but when on he's a gamer.

Kreider's a burner who can't handle the puck like LD. As far as my scouting is concerned, if you don't handle - make that manhandle the puck - I'm not looking at you with a first round pick. It's very important guys can lead rushes and create at that level based off of skill not speed and LD can.

 

[Raspewtin]

I 100% agree with just about everything you said.

The best way to get forwards isn't through a trade or the free agent market. It's to draft them. Relying on the free agent market or a trade is a bad idea IMO.



The Rangers aren't close to being a Stanley Cup contender right now. Even if everyone was healthy. I don't think their a good enough team. I hope they prove me wrong.

The only real pieces this team are missing are a middle 6 body-banger (A Clowe or Kyle Clifford type), a real PMD (I really hope Del Zotto, somewhat, becomes that player soon), and a top 6 LW.

They're definitely close.

To put that in perspective, if Kreider could start to consistently score 20-30 goals a season, Del Zotto learns how to QB a god damn powerplay (or we get someone who can, Jake Gardiner maybe?), and we acquire someone like Wayne Simmonds (Flyers need D help.......we've got D ) and voila, this team is right there with the best. On paper of course

 

[Clown Fiesta]

What you say is so true. When all is said and done, LD is going to smooth out his skating and it's not going to get in his way of getting to the NHL.

However, this is the wrong crop to have the slightest flaw. Right now, LD sticks out for his skating and is the difference - there's no sugar coating it.

Dal Colle can snipe and dangle just as good. Virtanen can blaze and release. Perlini's skating is smooth as hell and has a variety of tricks to beat the goalie. McCann has no flaw whatsoever.

It's gonna be tough to crack the group, but when on he's a gamer.

Kreider's a burner who can't handle the puck like LD. As far as my scouting is concerned, if you don't handle - make that manhandle the puck - I'm not looking at you with a first round pick. It's very important guys can lead rushes and create at that level based off of skill not speed and LD can.

Can't speak on this group enough, as I said I haven't had the chance to watch them much yet. I'll get into their games a bit more as the season goes on, or see where this team is standing and try guess where they might draft and watch those kids instead. I agree on Kreider and will add that he doesn't have the puck find him much at this level, if at all. Miller does to an extent. Nash is a prime example on this team, look at the LA game he got a ton of touches where he was in the right place at the right time. Cherepanov also had that. It's a rare thing and is probably attributed to vision and hockey IQ, but sometimes it just looks like an affinity with the puck. Any of these youngsters got it?

 

[apoptygma]

Is it any player in the 10-30 ratings that should be nhl ready atleast at the start of 15/16
season?

If we can get a 3. liner, maybe and overager, something ala Caps Wilson we should take him
and not the possible PMD that will play 4 years of college and a season in the A before he is
ready.

 

[jniklast]

Is it any player in the 10-30 ratings that should be nhl ready atleast at the start of 15/16
season?

If we can get a 3. liner, maybe and overager, something ala Caps Wilson we should take him
and not the possible PMD that will play 4 years of college and a season in the A before he is
ready.

I rather have the significantly better player in 3 years than the worse player immediately. 3rd liners can be found in free agency or even in our own prospect pool. We do not lack depth, we lack high end talent.

 

[NYR Viper]

I rather have the significantly better player in 3 years than the worse player immediately. 3rd liners can be found in free agency or even in our own prospect pool. We do not lack depth, we lack high end talent.

I want a player with size and a bit of "wild" in him that plays forward in one of the first three rounds. He doesn't have to score a ton, but he has to be an effective forechecker and a willing combatant. This team lacks that player.