Team Board Mock Draft

[Bluenote13]

You’re telling me a goalie with a .907 save percentage was a key reason they got to the final? He was a liability. You can get that in FA for near min price.

I can't use this one stat as the be all end all to describe the full picture, that's for sure.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

no goalies

give me another paisano

Yeah, with DeAngelo gone and PDG likely on his way out too, we're sorely lacking in that dept.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

I went with Raty, because I like the boom potential at 15, the 2 way play and the lack of any truly significant center prospects in our system. However, I wouldn't be mad with Wallsted if that was the pick, although I think he's gone in the top 10.

 

[Edge]

At 15, Wallstedt would be very hard to pass on --- especially in this draft.

Other considerations include Chibrikov, Raty, Svechkov and Pinelli.

 

[mas0764]

My personal diatribes aside, Raty was #1 in this draft at one point. I'm more intrigued by that than alarmed. Hockey is dumb and players fall in the draft for dumb reasons.

Heard he admitted to not really loving hockey and not taking it seriously during the pandemic.

Not saying that should knock him, just saying, that's apparently what is causing him to drop so far.

 

[mas0764]

That’s on the GM. Gorton was doing it properly by building a foundation of high end prospects, unlike Sather.

If Slats tried to build a team instead of continuously mortgaging pick after pick or blowing the teams cap space on free agents, we could be having a completely different conversation right now.

I think we can all agree we don’t want to see a team build around a goalie, and for obvious reasons. Drafting Wallstedt isn’t building around a goalie though.

I like Raty, despite the shitty year he had. I wouldn’t take him over Wallstedt though.

I think Machinehead has a valid point here that he's taking just a bit too far.

 

[mas0764]

I mean, I don't think you draft a goalie 15OA to just be another guy and not a franchise cornerstone, but that's just me, and every draft is different.

Feel like at 15 if you can get a replacement for eventually 31 year old Shesterkin, pop Wallstedt in for 5-6 years himself at a cost-controlled salary, that's a win actually in favor of what you are arguing - not feeling forced to tie up lots of money in a goalie contract.

 

[mas0764]

So are you prepared to tell him to f*** off when he commands 10 x 8?

That's a hypothetical and a long way away, but not building around a goalie means giving them a strict shelf-life/dollar limit.

I can say yes as I was sitting here saying that I would have dealt Kreider, Buch, Strome, etc.

I'm not married to these players like some are (or, married to the concept of NEEDING VETS IN THE ROOM).

 

[mas0764]

NYR, NYI, PHI, WAS, PIT, NJD: 16 Conference finals in the last 20 years.

Out of those goalies only Henrik & Holtby in their prime were picked outside the first 2 rounds. Happy hunting trying to find one of them in free agency at a low cost.

Right, the argument is don't overpay goalies, but if you have to get a competent one in free agency it will cost more than extending your 15th overall pick coming off an ELC most likely.

 

[Edge]

It's interesting because Shesterkin himself is still a relatively new player. So the idea of taking another goalie can seem weird.

But there is 7 years between Shesterkin and Wallstedt.

The means you could theoretically even ride Shesterkin for the next half-decade and still find yourself in a scenario where Wallstedt isn't even as old as Shesterkin is today. In fact he'd barely be older than Lundqvist was when he debuted for us.

 

[H00fHearted]

At 15, Wallstedt would be very hard to pass on --- especially in this draft.

Other considerations include Chibrikov, Raty, Svechkov and Pinelli.

If the real draft actually fell this way and the Rangers have those forwards on the same tier on their board, I wonder what type of deal they could work out with Edmonton at pick 19. I would think that the Oilers would be VERY motivated to move up to grab Wallstedt, and the Rangers would still be assured to get one of their guys at 19.

The Oilers don't have 2nd or 3rd round picks this year, but I'm sure something could be worked out.

 

[Edge]

If the real draft actually fell this way and the Rangers have those forwards on the same tier on their board, I wonder what type of deal they could work out with Edmonton at pick 19. I would think that the Oilers would be VERY motivated to move up to grab Wallstedt, and the Rangers would still be assured to get one of their guys at 19.

The Oilers don't have 2nd or 3rd round picks this year, but I'm sure something could be worked out.

Personally, I don't think Wallstedt will be there at 15. I think teams are going to be more keen to snatch him up than fan polls will be.

Having said that, if he's on the board at 15, he'll be a consideration for the Rangers. They've liked what they've seen there. If they do trade down, its because there's an NHL player being offered whom they feel can help them immediately. I think that would be their prime motivation for making a move, as opposed to more picks.

 

[SA16]

There seems to be this assumption with early goalies (Knight/Askarov/Wallstedt) that they are sure fire quality NHL goalies. This is not the case. In each case they are more likely to range between relatively average to replacement level compared to being an all star. Not all that different from forward. We here this every year now that "Goalie This Year is the best goaltending prospect since Goalie Last Year".

You just need to look at the history of goalies taken in the first round to see this. Of all the goalies taken since Fleury it seems Fleury, Schneider, Dubnyk, Rask, Price, Varlamov, Bernier, Vasilevskiy are the only ones to turn into starting NHL goalies and Bernier/Dubnyk are nothing special.

Let's take a look at some quality to high quality skaters taken between 15 and 30 from like 2005 to 2015.

2015 - Barzal, Connor, Chabot, Boeser, Konecny, Beauvillier
2014 - Larkin, Tuch, Pastrnak, Sanheim, DeAngelo, Kapanen
2013 - Pulock, Mantha, Burakovsky, Theodore
2012 - Wilson, Hertl, Teravainen, Pearson, Skjei
2011 - Miller, Klefbom, Murphy, Danault, Rakell
2010 - Tarasenko, Kuznetsov, Coyle, Nelson
2009 - Kreider, Johansson, Palmieri
2008 - Karlsson, Eberle, Carlson
2007 - Pacioretty, Backlund, Perron
2006 - Giroux, Foligno
2005 - Hanzal, Oshie, Cogliano, Niskanen

Plenty of quality players and some depth pieces. Not all of these were considered the greatest drafts yet every single year has at least one first line quality player taken 15+. Nobody knows who it will be. If they did they would not go 15+. But if you don't take one you now have zero chance to get that type of player. Sacrificing that chance to take a goalie who may be good is crazy when it is way easier to find a goalie for cheap who can perform at an elite level than it is to find a skater for cheap who can do the same.

 

[bl02]

If the real draft actually fell this way and the Rangers have those forwards on the same tier on their board, I wonder what type of deal they could work out with Edmonton at pick 19. I would think that the Oilers would be VERY motivated to move up to grab Wallstedt, and the Rangers would still be assured to get one of their guys at 19.

The Oilers don't have 2nd or 3rd round picks this year, but I'm sure something could be worked out.

If Wallstedt is the real deal that would be the perfect trade partner. The Oilers should overpay for a Wallstedt. Their goalies are garbage (even if Smith had a decent playoffs). They are not going anywhere with that duo. Not sure if they have anyone in the pipeline. Take their 19th overall and make them overpay with other assets/picks.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I wouldnt be against drafting Wallstedt at 15. Theres a part of me who thinks Igor will have injury issues througout his career anyway. Hell, I thought his career was over after that groin explosion this season. Dramatic, yes - but it looked hellabad when it happened.

Not to mention it is always preferred in my eyes to have a healthy competition at every roster spot, and none is more important than the goalie position. If he is there it would be hard to argue against the pick and selecting him no doubt improves your team greatly going into the future

 

[Off Sides]

How does he give Shesterkin competition unless he is in the NHL?

I assume he would be at least 2 years from that, yet more likely probably 3 or 4 years.

Even then, 3 or 4 year from now, then what? He is not going to just replace Shesterkin as a rookie.

In 3 or 4 years what contract is Shesterkin on? Does he have a clause? Even without a clause will any team want his cap hit when the Rangers are moving on from him to play a rookie/sophomore? If no, then the Rangers have a very expensive back-up.



If this is how the draft breaks, I would like to see them trade down.

Or draft him and then don't extend Shesterkin beyond the next 3-4 years. Trade him for a center.

Basically don't end up where Shesterkin is on an expensive clause filled contract when this pick is ready to be a NHL starter.

If they are not totally confident this pick will be a NHL starter in D+3, D+4, then don't draft him.

 

[Harbour Dog]

We don't need to draft him with the idea that he needs to push Shesty out, or be a starter in x amount of years.

He is much more likely to pan out than any individual player left at 15OA in this scenario. So if we're going to make the pick, I would prefer to bet on him or Shesty (whoever the odd man out is in two or three years) having more value in a trade than whichever one of the skaters we would take in his place.

It may not work out that way. Maybe Wallstedt loses a bunch of value and it turns into a loss. Maybe Shesty does, and Wallstedt turns into our starter.

I see the better value in maybe being able to flip one of the two (potentially elite) goaltenders in three years than to take a roll of the dice on one of these kids who doesn't fit into the top25 the majority of drafts.

I don't think we would have any problem at all getting better value than 15OA in this draft for Shesty. Wallstedt is tracking toward having that kind of value too. I'd much rather have that commodity to go for a surer bet than what this first round has to offer.

 

[Edge]

I wouldnt be against drafting Wallstedt at 15. Theres a part of me who thinks Igor will have injury issues througout his career anyway. Hell, I thought his career was over after that groin explosion this season. Dramatic, yes - but it looked hellabad when it happened.

Not to mention it is always preferred in my eyes to have a healthy competition at every roster spot, and none is more important than the goalie position. If he is there it would be hard to argue against the pick and selecting him no doubt improves your team greatly going into the future

I'm more or less in the camp that I think he's a consideration, and is as good of a goalie prospect as we've seen over the last 10-15 years. In other words, taking him at 15 isn't an automatic no for me.

Personally, I find myself very intrigued by Pinelli at the 15 spot. I'd be perfectly happy with that outcome.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I'm more or less in the camp that I think he's a consideration, and is as good of a goalie prospect as we've seen over the last 10-15 years. In other words, taking him at 15 isn't an automatic no for me.

Personally, I find myself very intrigued by Pinelli at the 15 spot. I'd be perfectly happy with that outcome.

Do you think they'll stick at 15, or is there any indication they'll move that pick?

Personally I think if there is a deal on the table that can help upgrade the team immediately Drury will use it. Especially since he has 5 picks in rounds 3&4 at his disposal to move up somewhere in the 2nd if a player they like falls. Even if they keep 15 I think they may try to do that.

 

[Edge]

Do you think they'll stick at 15, or is there any indication they'll move that pick?

Personally I think if there is a deal on the table that can help upgrade the team immediately Drury will use it. Especially since he has 5 picks in rounds 3&4 at his disposal to move up somewhere in the 2nd if a player they like falls. Even if they keep 15 I think they may try to do that.

I think it's 60/40 right now for keeping vs. trading. I think the pick is definitely in play for the right move. How one "defines" right move might get a little tricky.

I do still get a sense, albeit in much more limited viewings, that balancing contracts and age moving forward is very much top of mind for them. There is something to be said about drafting someone who can come in cheap in 2-3 years when certain players are more expensive. So if they're taking on salary, at the cost of a mid-first, it's probably going to be for someone they view as having a long-term future here and could very well mean someone else on our current roster is moving on.