Confirmed with Link: Rangers Select Brandon Halverson (G - OHL) with 59th Overall Pick

[broadwayblue]

It's still our earliest pick, with players on board that we really could've used.

And we could really potentially use a G. Nobody we would have picked at that spot would be playing for us in the next couple of years anyway.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Awesome.

Only guys I possibly would have preferred were Warren Foegele, Jack Glover, or Jonas Johansson. I wanted a goalie in the second round and Demko was off the board (which I figured he would be). I guess a bunch of people passed on Husso, so I'm going to trust Clarke on that one.

Glad to see we took a goalie up high.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I love this draft so far, because all of the regular Negative Nancies are out in full force. I've seen most of the regular whiners, still a few more though...

In all honesty, I feel pretty happy with what we did.

Missiaen's a bust. Stajcer's a bust. Basically we have Lundqvist and Talbot and Shapski's the only one developing. It was an organizational need.

Anyway there's **** that happens. If Henrik gets hurt--god forbid--we'll be scrambling around for anything. Talbot's a potential UFA after next year. Got to have goalies in the pipeline--doesn't matter how good your No. 1 is.

Two of our biggest organizational needs coming into today--goaltending depth and puckmoving defensemen--have been addressed, to varying degrees.

You can't completely restock a system in one draft, particularly without a first. They focused on a couple areas and grabbed some interesting players. Fine by me.

Yeah, it's actually a nice mix. Considering we weren't getting a surefire 1st liner in thie draft I'm happy with the selections and moving down a couple times to add picks.

Yes, the absurdity of some of these complaints is very entertaining.

I liked the stockpiling mentality of this draft. Picked up a lot of later picks, stocked up on some types we need. Could use a draft of quantity with our pick situation.

Our third rounder also seems like a potential steal.

You guys all hit the nail on the head so far that you drove it all the way through the foundation.

You are all absolutely correct.

 

[Savant]

Wanted Turgeon, but I am relatively okay with this pick

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

If this kid was good and is arguably BPA, then it's a good pick.

 

[Mikos87]

Would have liked to seen Brayden Point with the pick, Tampa took him a few spots before the Rangers next pick.

Know nothing about the goalie. But it's not like he'll be in the A next year so it's a long term organizational need. I'll trust the organization on the pick.

Been a while since a goalie was taken in an early round.

 

[RangerBoy]

Chris Dilks is a hockey blogger who follows the US players and college hockey

He likes Halverson

http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/201...118/2014-nhl-draft-prospect-brandon-halverson

Halverson will be attending the US WJC camp later this summer. Keegan Iverson will also be part of that camp.

 

[Ail]

A goalie who can play the puck is another bonus to a team who focuses on speed, transition and puck possession. If they are going to select a goalie in the second round I am glad it is one with a lot of upside and being compared to MB with his paddle.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

It is legitimately amazing how folks on both sides of the fence (for and against a goalie) keep purposely obfuscating arguments and points. The dishonest...:

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Obviously there are a ton of variables so I try to not be too harsh when judging a pick. But strategically I don't get it.

No first round pick 3 years in a row. Two 2nds in the same time span. Talbot a successful NCAA UFA, Skapski coming along. NHL quality tenders traded for peanuts around the league annually. Screams "outsmarting yourself".

 

[broadwayblue]

Obviously there are a ton of variables so I try to not be too harsh when judging a pick. But strategically I don't get it.

No first round pick 3 years in a row. Two 2nds in the same time span. Talbot a successful NCAA UFA, Skapski coming along. NHL quality tenders traded for peanuts around the league annually. Screams "outsmarting yourself".

All valid points. Although if we used our 2nd on Halverson and have two 2nds next year, wouldn't that make 3 seconds over 3 years?

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

All valid points. Although if we used our 2nd on Halverson and have two 2nds next year, wouldn't that make 3 seconds over 3 years?

Yes, you are correct on that. My b.

 

[chosen]

yeah a pick made with the second to last pick of round two should remind you of a pick made at #6 overall

Yes, bad picks can remind me of each other.

 

[Barnaby]

If none of the players available blew your doors off, and you think this kid could be special, then why not go for it? I wasn't looking to grab a goalie, but sometimes you have to let the draft come to you. He's a big athletic kid who is going to the US WJC camp…

 

[chosen]

Two of our biggest organizational needs coming into today--goaltending depth and puckmoving defensemen--have been addressed, to varying degrees.

You can't completely restock a system in one draft, particularly without a first. They focused on a couple areas and grabbed some interesting players. Fine by me.

What makes a player interesting to you, and is being interesting an important thing?

Again, if you have the best in the game, signed for a long time, how is using your first pick - whenever it is - a smart move towards restocking?

The system has been thought of as one of, if not the weakest. I didn't read the article surrounding this assessment, but I will guess that it wasn't a lack of goalie depth that made this assessment so negative.

Now, when you add another goalie to the same draft, it only makes it seem comical.

The tea leaves of this draft certainly are pointing to Talbot being moved sometime next season, though.

 

[nyr2k2]

What makes a player interesting to you, and is being interesting an important thing?

Again, if you have the best in the game, signed for a long time, how is using your first pick - whenever it is - a smart move towards restocking?

The system has been thought of as one of, if not the weakest. I didn't read the article surrounding this assessment, but I will guess that it wasn't a lack of goalie depth that made this assessment so negative.

Now, when you add another goalie to the same draft, it only makes it seem comical.

The tea leaves of this draft certainly are pointing to Talbot being moved sometime next season, though.

Henrik Lundqvist may or may not be "the best" in three or four years' time. You can't just ignore goaltending because you assume everything will be the same as it is now.

Here's HF's assessment of our system:

STRENGTHS
Potential power forwards
Defensive and two-way defensemen in system
Depth in potential third/fourth line players

WEAKNESSES
No future number one netminder in system
No purely offensive defensemen in system

I think the organization made an attempt to address those two weaknesses today. I'm okay with that. The goaltending depth needed to be addressed eventually, and they decided that this would be the year. So be it.

 

[Barnaby]

What makes a player interesting to you, and is being interesting an important thing?

Again, if you have the best in the game, signed for a long time, how is using your first pick - whenever it is - a smart move towards restocking?

The system has been thought of as one of, if not the weakest. I didn't read the article surrounding this assessment, but I will guess that it wasn't a lack of goalie depth that made this assessment so negative.

Now, when you add another goalie to the same draft, it only makes it seem comical.

The tea leaves of this draft certainly are pointing to Talbot being moved sometime next season, though.

You probably wouldn't see this kid for 4 years AT LEAST barring a small miracle.

Talbot will be gone, but it has nothing to do with this draft. Talbot is a UFA after next season, and I don't see why on earth he'd want to resign when HL will be still be under contract for another 5 seasons which would take Talbot into his 30's. He'll want to go someplace where he can play.

Comical? I am unaware that every prospect makes it. We should have 35 NHL forwards right now!

 

[BearishRiggs]

The armchair will is stronger than usual in here.

 

[Ghost of jas]

I get that we have little depth at G in the system. But we've also seen that goalies don't generally have much value when you want/need to move one...and conversely don't usually cost a ton if you need to acquire one.

There's my issue with this pick. While it's not as pronounced as it used to be, goalies almost always have the least amount of trade value, and take the longest to develop. I hate taking a goalie before the 4th round, since there is a good a chance of getting a quality goalie late in the draft as there is in the first three rounds.

 

[Ghost of jas]

A goalie is the last thing we need.

Teams should not draft for need. It should always be about value. If the braintrust believed this kid had the highest value on the board, then you pick the kid. My skepticism is that goalie do not usually have as much value as D-men or centers. Needs can change on a yearly basis. You need to accumulate as many desirable assets as possible, in order to be able tofeel needs at the NHL level.

 

[TeamStewie]

There's my issue with this pick. While it's not as pronounced as it used to be, goalies almost always have the least amount of trade value, and take the longest to develop. I hate taking a goalie before the 4th round, since there is a good a chance of getting a quality goalie late in the draft as there is in the first three rounds.

I was bored so I decided to see where the 30 goalies that started the most games this year were drafted.

1st 9
2nd 3
3rd 4
4th 1
5th 2
6th 1
7th 1
9th 3

and 6 FA

 

[nyr2k2]

There's my issue with this pick. While it's not as pronounced as it used to be, goalies almost always have the least amount of trade value, and take the longest to develop. I hate taking a goalie before the 4th round, since there is a good a chance of getting a quality goalie late in the draft as there is in the first three rounds.

I looked at the top 30 goalies from last season in terms of wins. Not the most telling stat, I know, but all the standard goalie stats have their faults. Anyway, this is the breakdown of where the guys were taken:

Round 1: 8 players
Round 2: 4 players
Round 3: 5 players
Round 4 or later: 9 players
Undrafted: 4 players

So really, ~57% of the "top" goalies in the league are taken in the first three rounds. It's not entirely accurate to say your chances are as good in round four or later. It may be more likely to find a quality goalie in the mid-to-late rounds than a quality skater, but it's by no means accurate to suggest there's no drop-off in quality at the goalie position after the first few rounds.

 

[Ghost of jas]

I looked at the top 30 goalies from last season in terms of wins. Not the most telling stat, I know, but all the standard goalie stats have their faults. Anyway, this is the breakdown of where the guys were taken:

Round 1: 8 players
Round 2: 4 players
Round 3: 5 players
Round 4 or later: 9 players
Undrafted: 4 players

So really, ~57% of the "top" goalies in the league are taken in the first three rounds. It's not entirely accurate to say your chances are as good in round four or later. It may be more likely to find a quality goalie in the mid-to-late rounds than a quality skater, but it's by no means accurate to suggest there's no drop-off in quality at the goalie position after the first few rounds.

But, how many goalies picked in the top three rounds didn't make it? It's a bit flawed.

 

[chosen]

I looked at the top 30 goalies from last season in terms of wins. Not the most telling stat, I know, but all the standard goalie stats have their faults. Anyway, this is the breakdown of where the guys were taken:

Round 1: 8 players
Round 2: 4 players
Round 3: 5 players
Round 4 or later: 9 players
Undrafted: 4 players

So really, ~57% of the "top" goalies in the league are taken in the first three rounds. It's not entirely accurate to say your chances are as good in round four or later. It may be more likely to find a quality goalie in the mid-to-late rounds than a quality skater, but it's by no means accurate to suggest there's no drop-off in quality at the goalie position after the first few rounds.

Statistically speaking, there is not enough info to make a very accurate statistical assessment.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

If there's one thing I've learned quickly, it's to never overreact to draft picks, whether good or bad. It's such a crapshoot, there's really no point.