The No. 1 pick draft: NHL execs reveal how Alexis Lafreniere...
This was really interesting article, how Lafreniere slots against former 1st overall picks. These unnamed scout and executive comments about positions were very interesting. They value certaing things differently than many in here.
They drafted a Top10 of former 10 1st overalls + Lafreniere
McDavid was absolute first and then there was some debate between Matthews and MacKinnon at 2nd and 3rd.
Then from 4th spot, Lafriene came to discussion:
“It’s between Dahlin and Lafreniere for me,” he said. “If Lafreniere was a center, it wouldn’t be close. Hughes, he’s small. Nugent-Hopkins is really smart. Hischier is an interesting one, I don’t think he’s a No. 1 center. He’s more of a two. He’s a really, really good all-around player. Just a smart, two-way, skilled, low-maintenance guy. But I don’t think he’s a pure No. 1.”
“It’s close. Given the fact that Dahlin is a No. 1 D, I would take that over the winger,” said the scout. “Take Dahlin off Buffalo and put him in Colorado, and he’s a completely different player.”
“It’s almost like a gene the great ones have. In big moments, they step up. All the best players in the world – the top, top guys – have that. That’s the thing (Sidney) Crosby has. (Alex) Ovechkin has. It’s that ability to just say, ‘This is me. This is where I’m going to be.’ It’s that ‘It’ factor. When the game is on the line, there’s one person on the planet you want on the ice. I think Lafreniere has that,” the scout said.
“You can’t replace that 30 minute a night D,” he said. And settled on Dahlin.
So finally, Dahlin was 4th on this debate and Lafreniere 5th.
“For me, the Q is one thing. The U20s, Lafreniere was outstanding,” said the executive. “It was pretty amazing to see his ability to get to different places and finish. It seems like he didn’t feel any pressure, which was impressive. Hall obviously comes into play here. Hischier comes into play, but I think Lafreniere has the higher upside. He’s also not afraid to be competitive physically, which is a differentiating factor.”
6th were Jack Hughes and 7th was Aaron Ekblad.
“I think Hughes was rushed. He shouldn’t have been in the league,” said the executive. “He’s not a very big body and it’s not like he was going to the St. Louis Blues or Boston Bruins. I’m not sure he can play No. 1 center, there’s not many No. 1 centers who are that size. I do think he has dynamic qualities like his brother (Quinn Hughes). There’s still upside. I’m not sure he gets there, he has to get stronger, but the talent itself is huge.”
“It’s an interesting exercise because a lot of these guys are really young and not established. Hischier, I’m worried about his ceiling. Ekblad went into a dip but I think they’ve got him going in the right direction. The upside of Hughes is pretty scary.”
“It would be between Ekblad and Taylor Hall,” said the executive in picking Ekblad. “He’s a guy who gives you 23, 24 minutes a night. He’s a right-shot defenseman. That would be hard to pass up. Taylor is a winger. If he’s a center, maybe it’s him. But I’d take Ekblad and I think Taylor is right behind him.”
8th was Nico Hischier and 9th was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. So they preferred a 2nd line center before a 1st line winger. That's pretty telling about the center value.
“He’s a No. 2 but I think he’s responsible,” said the executive of Hischier. “He has high-end skill. I like his skillset overall, in terms of brains, hands, skating and puck skills. If he’s a No. 2 center … that’s a pretty high-end player. What’s (Patrice) Bergeron? Is he a legitimate No. 1 center? A lot of people say yeah, but when he was Hischier’s age, he was probably labeled as a really good No. 2. That’s how I see Hischier. He’s a bonafide, legitimate, still-developing, young, second-line center.”
As for skipping Hall?
“I respect the fact that he won the Hart and can produce points and his speed. … But you can always find wingers,” explained the executive.
10th was Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov (obviously) was left outside as the only bust one.
So what they really gave value in this discussion, was Center position, and
skill Centers with size on that position. That really puts the value of a guy like Byfield very high. Right-handed D was mentioned and logging big minuted was mentioned. We already have that on Seider and Hronek. Drysdale could have some value for other teams, but not maybe for us.
"You can always find wingers" is a great comment. That's how it is, everybodys free agents are wingers and centers a locked to contracts. You have to draft your own centers.
You have to value the center position lot more when you are determing the BPA.
