Team Board Mock Draft

[PacificOceanPotion]

Nah got a top 6 that will be with the team for 15 years, by the time there careers finish up we start getting 1st round picks back. Win 10 cups in the meantime, win win.

I’m sold. Hopefully the salary cap is like 2billion by the time all those guys get to max deal territory lol

 

[The Nemesis]

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Lipinski is a Shark guaranteed

I wouldn't hate that because I continue to strongly want a Giants player I can follow to the Sharks (Package that NJ 1st and move up into the 10-15 range to draft Honzek, you cowards) but Lipinski has sort of struck me as a weird guy to get as much positive press as he's gotten. He's not a bad player by any means but I've watched him game-in and game-out for 2 years now and never really thought anything more than "he's fine, I guess."

I made the Grier comparison but the other Shark-centric name I would pull out is one that's not entirely stylistic because Lipinski is not nearly as good of a skater, but in terms of weird career niche: Torrey Mitchell. Like 98% of the time Lipinski is a good enough, perfectly fine, no complaints 2-way C who probably tops out as a 3rd liner that scores you 10-15 goals if he has OK support on his wings. But then every month or two he busts out a crazy high-skill highlight reel goal that leaves you wondering "where the heck did that come from?"

If you want an interesting middle-round Giants forward that didn't light up the scoresheet this season, the one I like more is Ty Halaburda. He's small, he's almost certainly a winger moving forward, and he doesn't wow you with any particular skill (though I think he's got a decent enough shot), but I just felt like he's got some good offensive instincts and he suffered a bit playing ping-pong throughout the year as the 2nd line got juggled a ton while the team tried to figure out who was going to score besides Honzek and over-age team captain Ty Thorpe (not to be confused with depth forward Ty Thorpe. Yes, the Giants had two guys with the same name on the team at the same time. I wouldn't be opposed to drafting Thorpe the younger with a 7th though. He's a mountain of a kid who's a pretty raw/stiff skill-wise but he could be the next "look at the size of him" Weatherbody type. Plus he's a double local product for me as he was signed by the Giants after starting out playing for the Jr. A Langley Rivermen.). I think he's probably more of a longshot to be an NHLer, but I'd take the gamble on a guy with more legitimate offensive skill rather than just pulling a Tim Burke and focusing on low-ceiling grindey guys who probably do something at the NHL level even though that something is toiling in the bottom 6 and not elevating the team.

Lipinski was the 49th NA Skater on the final CSB list. Halaburda was 89th. I do not understand the 40-spot discrepancy except that Lipinski is far more likely to be a "safe" pick and Halaburda is relatively tiny (5'11 vs Lipinski's 6'4)

The other CSB Giants are less interesting after Honzek and those two. Mazden Leslie is 125th and has sorta tumbled down the ranks. A couple years ago he played the bubble season as a 15 year old and didn't look out of place. He gave me poor man's Byram vibes. Now he looks like what you'd find in a dollar store, packaged as "Bowan Birym". 50 points as a d-man is nothing to sneeze at, but he never feels like he's controlling the game back there the way elite WHL puck-moving d-men do.

And Ty Thorpe 2.0 (officially listed as "Tyler Thorpe. But that's less fun because it stops the confusion) is 223rd which is pretty much in "not getting drafted except as a flyer" territory. He had 6 points in 48 games playing a 4th line role and would solely be picked because he's massive and isn't a total pylon and you hope that maybe you can polish him into a respectable crash-and-bang bottom 6 guy.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

I wouldn't hate that because I continue to strongly want a Giants player I can follow to the Sharks (Package that NJ 1st and move up into the 10-15 range to draft Honzek, you cowards) but Lipinski has sort of struck me as a weird guy to get as much positive press as he's gotten. He's not a bad player by any means but I've watched him game-in and game-out for 2 years now and never really thought anything more than "he's fine, I guess."

I made the Grier comparison but the other Shark-centric name I would pull out is one that's not entirely stylistic because Lipinski is not nearly as good of a skater, but in terms of weird career niche: Torrey Mitchell. Like 98% of the time Lipinski is a good enough, perfectly fine, no complaints 2-way C who probably tops out as a 3rd liner that scores you 10-15 goals if he has OK support on his wings. But then every month or two he busts out a crazy high-skill highlight reel goal that leaves you wondering "where the heck did that come from?"

If you want an interesting middle-round Giants forward that didn't light up the scoresheet this season, the one I like more is Ty Halaburda. He's small, he's almost certainly a winger moving forward, and he doesn't wow you with any particular skill (though I think he's got a decent enough shot), but I just felt like he's got some good offensive instincts and he suffered a bit playing ping-pong throughout the year as the 2nd line got juggled a ton while the team tried to figure out who was going to score besides Honzek and over-age team captain Ty Thorpe (not to be confused with depth forward Ty Thorpe. Yes, the Giants had two guys with the same name on the team at the same time). I think he's probably more of a longshot to be an NHLer, but I'd take the gamble on a guy with more legitimate offensive skill rather than just pulling a Tim Burke and focusing on low-ceiling grindey guys who probably do something at the NHL level even though that something is toiling in the bottom 6 and not elevating the team.

Nem, do you see Halaburda as more of a prospect camp invite type or a draftable player? I really like Honzek as well and would love it if MG could figure out a way to get him after our #4 pick.

 

[The Nemesis]

Nem, do you see Halaburda as more of a prospect camp invite type or a draftable player? I really like Honzek as well and would love it if MG could figure out a way to get him after our #4 pick.

I think Halaburda is draftable. Like I said after I edited my post above to make it waaaaay longer, he was 89th on the final CSB North American skaters list. That likely equates to projecting to be picked somewhere in rounds 4-6. I don't think teams are as scared off by size anymore that he would drop to the point of not getting drafted.

He is a bit of a funky skater though. He tends to skate quite bent/hunched over. That might be a red flag.

As a small aside, as I was watching some highlight reels to see if I could find suitable plays, I realized that one non-Giant I'd love to take is Gracyn Sawchyn of Seattle. he's small too, but he's got gobs of skill.

 

[Patty Ice]

Package that NJ 1st and move up into the 10-15 range to draft Honzek, you cowards

One draft I got him at 26. I should have posted it for you, but I didn't want to make you happy.

 

[Gecklund]

I think Halaburda is draftable. Like I said after I edited my post above to make it waaaaay longer, he was 89th on the final CSB North American skaters list. That likely equates to projecting to be picked somewhere in rounds 4-6. I don't think teams are as scared off by size anymore that he would drop to the point of not getting drafted.

He is a bit of a funky skater though. He tends to skate quite bent/hunched over. That might be a red flag.

As a small aside, as I was watching some highlight reels to see if I could find suitable plays, I realized that one non-Giant I'd love to take is Gracyn Sawchyn of Seattle. he's small too, but he's got gobs of skill.

Yeah if Sawchyn is there at our 2nd, I’d definitely be open to taking him especially if we get a D with NJD 1st.

 

[The Nemesis]

Also smaller extra aside: if anyone wants to look ahead to the 2025 draft, keep an eye on Giants pending rookie Cameron Schmidt.

He played 3 games this season with them as a 15-year old (WHL limits for non-exceptional players are 5 games or less at least until the player's normal U16 team wraps up their season) and in his very first game he was only on the ice for maybe 5 minutes tops but he had like 3 breakaways including a goal.



(his goal is at about 1:11. It's not ultra-impressive on its own, but for posterity's sake)

One draft I got him at 26. I should have posted it for you, but I didn't want to make you happy.

He's not lasting that long. Aggressive mocks I've seen have him up as high as the late single digits. Most don't seem to think he'll last out of the lottery.


I've now watched like 15 games' worth of highlight packages and cannot find the odd crazy Lipinski goal. Maybe they don't exist and I'm just having some sort of fever dream.

 

[The Nemesis]

Yeah if Sawchyn is there at our 2nd, I’d definitely be open to taking him especially if we get a D with NJD 1st.

I'm not hung up on position for draft picks. With the exception of the pick at #4 if it's Carlsson or Smith, it'll be 2-4 years before we see any of the guys from this draft even start sniffing the NHL. Things can change in that time and I would never get hung up on believing that they need to pad a particular position out to the extent that it impacts positional choices in subsequent picks.

If they picked nothing but forwards with all their picks that's fine by me if those forwards are the players they considered to be the best available at each spot. I just want them to inject as much skill into the system as they can. Worry about positional needs afterwards.

 

[Gecklund]

I'm not hung up on position for draft picks. With the exception of the pick at #4 if it's Carlsson or Smith, it'll be 2-4 years before we see any of the guys from this draft even start sniffing the NHL. Things can change in that time and I would never get hung up on believing that they need to pad a particular position out to the extent that it impacts positional choices in subsequent picks.

If they picked nothing but forwards with all their picks that's fine by me if those forwards are the players they considered to be the best available at each spot. I just want them to inject as much skill into the system as they can. Worry about positional needs afterwards.

I think my big thing right now is that within that tier around NJD 1st and SJS 2nd, there’s ton of intriguing D. I have a lot of the D ranked in that range higher than the Fs. Sawchyn is an exception (kind of) for me in that I think his ceiling is a bit higher than some of the D.

I want at least one D man to be excited about from this draft. Whether that’s a Simashev, Gulyayev, Dragacevic with NJD 1st or a Molendyk, Cagnoni, Strbak with SJS 2nd, I’m fine with it. Right now we got Shakir, Thrun, Havelid to be excited about and not much else.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

So, I have CBJ selecting Carlsson because every time I’d try to mock sim to the 4th pick, the system had the Jackets taking Michkov. I still ended up taking BPA with every pick besides Bonk. So yeah, outside of Bonk, each of these picks was the BPA!
Edit: this honestly seems like it would be a realistic scenario for each pick.

 

[one2gamble]

when is this draft again, the 8th?

 

[Barrie22]

when is this draft again, the 8th?

28th, should be 1 or 2 weeks after the last possible day the playoffs can go.

 

[PattyLafontaine]

when is this draft again, the 8th?

June 28th (1st round) June 29th (2nd -7th round),

 

[Patty Ice]

Probably my favorite I've done so far. I like Scherzer as my late round gem.

 

[YUPPY 2 7 10 11]

So, I have CBJ selecting Carlsson because every time I’d try to mock sim to the 4th pick, the system had the Jackets taking Michkov. I still ended up taking BPA with every pick besides Bonk. So yeah, outside of Bonk, each of these picks was the BPA!
Edit: this honestly seems like it would be a realistic scenario for each pick.

View attachment 713067

I Like #4 Michkov and #26 Nadeau. Sharks have so many holes to fill. Also, a goalie needed to be drafted before round 5. If Michkov is available at 4th and Grier passes on him, I'm going to be pissed!

 

[YUPPY 2 7 10 11]

Here is a head-scratcher.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired defenceman Ivan Provorov from the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Los Angeles Kings.

Here's how the full trade breaks down.

The Flyers will send Provorov and Hayden Hodgson to the Kings in exchange for Cal Peterson, Sean Walker, Helge Grans, and the Kings' 2024 second-round pick. The Blue Jackets will acquire Kevin Connauton from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall) and a conditional second-round pick in either the 2024 or 2025 NHL Draft. The Kings will then flip Provorov to the Blue Jackets in exchange for Connauton.


I'm trying to read this situation Columbus is doing. Are they getting to draft Michkov or Carlsson? They gave up 2023 1st and 2024/5 2nd round picks for a 26-year-old NHL defenseman. Are they thinking of getting a Russian interpreter for Michkov, Who can be loaned or boughtout immediately from the KHL? NHL teams can buy out KHL contracts? Teams are permitted to buy out a player's contract to obtain a reduced salary cap hit over a period of twice the remaining length of the contract.

 

[TheBeard]

Here is a head-scratcher.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired defenceman Ivan Provorov from the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Los Angeles Kings.

Here's how the full trade breaks down.

The Flyers will send Provorov and Hayden Hodgson to the Kings in exchange for Cal Peterson, Sean Walker, Helge Grans, and the Kings' 2024 second-round pick. The Blue Jackets will acquire Kevin Connauton from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall) and a conditional second-round pick in either the 2024 or 2025 NHL Draft. The Kings will then flip Provorov to the Blue Jackets in exchange for Connauton.


I'm trying to read this situation Columbus is doing. Are they getting to draft Michkov or Carlsson? They gave up 2023 1st and 2024/5 2nd round picks for a 26-year-old NHL defenseman. Are they thinking of getting a Russian interpreter for Michkov, Who can be loaned or boughtout immediately from the KHL? NHL teams can buy out KHL contracts? Teams are permitted to buy out a player's contract to obtain a reduced salary cap hit over a period of twice the remaining length of the contract.

I think the BJs are in better shape than they showed last year. Bad goaltending and boatload of injuries made them look awful but I expect them to suddenly be in contention again.

 

[The Nemesis]

Here is a head-scratcher.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired defenceman Ivan Provorov from the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Los Angeles Kings.

Here's how the full trade breaks down.

The Flyers will send Provorov and Hayden Hodgson to the Kings in exchange for Cal Peterson, Sean Walker, Helge Grans, and the Kings' 2024 second-round pick. The Blue Jackets will acquire Kevin Connauton from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall) and a conditional second-round pick in either the 2024 or 2025 NHL Draft. The Kings will then flip Provorov to the Blue Jackets in exchange for Connauton.


I'm trying to read this situation Columbus is doing. Are they getting to draft Michkov or Carlsson? They gave up 2023 1st and 2024/5 2nd round picks for a 26-year-old NHL defenseman. Are they thinking of getting a Russian interpreter for Michkov, Who can be loaned or boughtout immediately from the KHL? NHL teams can buy out KHL contracts? Teams are permitted to buy out a player's contract to obtain a reduced salary cap hit over a period of twice the remaining length of the contract.

I don't think this necessarily changes anything for the Jackets at the 3 spot. They walk away with Provorov and nothing else and everything I've read is still focused on the fact that they mostly need a center, which puts them on Carlsson or Smith.

I doubt the trade has anything to do with Provorov being Russian and Michkov being on the board as it does that Provorov wanted/needed out of Philadelphia and the Jackets were willing to pay the fairly low price of a late, post-lottery 1st and a conditional 2nd to get the best player in the deal with salary retention.

 

[Hodge]

Has anyone tried the Future Considerations mock draft tool? I had incredible luck on my first spin:

 

[mogambomoroo]

Has anyone tried the Future Considerations mock draft tool? I had incredible luck on my first spin:

View attachment 715775

I lucked into Fantilli too once haha. This would be crazy good.

 

[Barrie22]

I can see the sharks getting Carlsson, but no chance they get Fantilli.

Michkov could easily go to Anaheim, as they are pretty decently set at center. Then that leaves Columbus a choice between what should be only Carlsson and Fantilli.

 

[Patty Ice]

Has anyone tried the Future Considerations mock draft tool? I had incredible luck on my first spin:

View attachment 715775

Looks legit to me

 

[Patty Ice]

Yes please

 

[NiWa]

Has anyone tried the Future Considerations mock draft tool? I had incredible luck on my first spin:

View attachment 715775

Fantilli, Danielson and Nelson at those spots would be incredible!

 

[TheBeard]

Yes please
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Due to the lack of D-men in this draft I can see Wallinder going in the mid-twenties.