I understand the idea that we should just take BPA because we need prospect depth everywhere. Yes and no, though. We have two very important early second rounders. We need to draft for upside for sure. If those upside guys are centers or right defensemen, even better.
These two players are potential heir apparents to Crosby, Malkin, Letang or Karlsson. Sure, we will need heirs to Rust, Rakell, too. It is just not as important. Left defense makes sense too, since our three current guys have questions around them (Pettersson final year, Joseph RFA, Graves needs to rebound). I would not take a goaltender until the last round.
That all said, there is talent on the board. I am all for drafting Cole Hutson. If he can play right defense, awesome. If not, awesome. He has what it takes to eventually be our next Karlsson, imo. Teddy Stiga is another guy I want badly. Can he play center? Hopefully. If not, awesome. Both of these guys can be slow-cooked to maximize potential.
Justin Poirier is not big, nor is he a center. But damn he can score. So, if they decide to swing for this fence, I am all for it. Brunicke, I like. Mews, I like. Need + upside picks as RDs. If they decide to go with a giant like Jesse Pulkkinen, I would not be upset. Bet on his size-talent combination and hope he becomes that elusive shutdown D that this organization has rarely had.
Later in the draft, I would go heavy on Russians and other euros. Two players who intrigue me quite a bit are Aatos Koivu, Saku's son. I have a feeling he would be gone before the fourth round. The other is Alexander Zetterberg, a smallish Swedish center with a lot of offensive ability. That to me looks like a Dave Kingman-style swing for the fences.
Let's go!
Who is the Czech Kevin Stevens? Anybody out there?