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I like the Wahlstrom. I do. But Wahlstrom isnt clearly the better pick than Bouchard at this point. And Im normally for drafting the best player available, but in the case Im siding with team need. And that is defense. We have Larkin and Rasmussen down the middle and Mantha at wing. These are pretty much sure things. Who knows where the rest end up. We have no sure things at D. We need a sure thing at D. Im a Bouchard guy.

Agreed. Drew Doughty has a good shot.

Canadian fans do, and nearly everyone watches playoff hockey in Canada, even if they are casual fans and don't have a favorite team. The Jets lose this series, and that's pretty much the end of the playoffs for many viewers. Two teams in the lower US states playing for the Cup, will be limited interest, not just in Canada but parts of the US as well. Some fans do like the Vegas story season, while some think it's making the NHL look ridiculous. Which it is. $500 million bucks and a very favorable draft format and you have a Cup in your first season? Uncle Gary strikes again. Not enough that the Pens won back to back Cups the past two seasons in a league that talks about "parity". Since 2008-09, four teams have won every Cup. Chicago with three, Pittsburgh with three, LA with two, Boston with one. Parity sure is working. It's the same as it was when four teams won every Cup from 1995-2003.

Vegas to the SC Final

That's assuming he continues to suck. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't -- but, personally, I'm willing to bet his current trade value is pretty negligible anyway. We'd be selling low. Like I said, he might have some value as a deal-clinching sweetener. But I reckon that's about the extent of his trade value right now.

I agree, it just seems like he's referencing Rasmussen like the jury is already out and he was an overrated pick when that clearly isn't the case, yet. I'm also not looking to take Tkachuk. The only forward I'd be okay with is Wahlstrom, otherwise give me one of those promising D prospects.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.blueshirtbanter.com/platform/amp/2018/5/18/17349830/blueshirt-banter-2018-nhl-draft-rankings-9-brady-tkachuk-boston-university-ncaa-scouting-report-usa Good read on Tkachuk. Really hope we stay away. I like him, but not where we are drafting. We have bigger needs.

Dang, this is like the first time that all of us are on the same page with a draft pick.

Didn't mean to imply that you did. Was just saying. I mean, it's largely a matter of personal interpretation. I guess there's also an element of semantics. That being said, I haven't noticed a big difference between the way people are projecting Wahlstrom and the way people are projecting Bouchard. For defensemen, people have Dahlin in a class of his own and then Hughes, Boqvist, Bouchard, Dobson making up the second tier. For wingers, it's pretty much Svechnikov & Zadina at the top and Tkachuk & Wahlstrom in a tier ever-so-slightly below them. (Personally, I might actually put Wahlstrom right alongside Svechnikov and Zadina.) Some quick-read takes: http://www.mynhldraft.com/2018/NHL-Draft-Profiles/Evan-Bouchard http://www.mynhldraft.com/2018/NHL-Draft-Profiles/Oliver-Wahlstrom I think it also comes down to wing vs. defense. Is a scoring winger scoring at an elite rate? If so, then you can comfortably call him an elite scoring winger (relative to his peers). It's not as easy to evaluate a defenseman. If we're talking point production, Bouchard's elite (relative to his peers). If we're talking hockey IQ and playmaking ability, Bouchard's elite (relative to his peers). Do these things plus a perfectly competent defensive game give him true elite upside (at the NHL level)? Hard to say. It's not like it is with scoring wingers, where you just care about their ability to put the puck in the net and you can boil it down to basic stats.

Thank you for your service

Caught some WJC action, which helped me check off a bunch of names on the "to-see list." Have some friends all across Canada and once every few years I go on a big trip to visit all of them where they're living and we'll typically catch some local CHL action. This year was one of those years. Sometimes they'll send me "scouting reports" and/or crappy cell phone footage via the interwebz, because we're hopeless hockey nerds. Also have some friends in Scandinavia Land and it's the same basic dealy.

Thats where ur sorely mistaken nancy Held a girls hand in the 7th grade once Was hot AF 10/10 would do again

You'll enjoy this then: https://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2018/5/19/17364276/noah-hanifin-andrei-svechnikov-and-the-red-wings-flagging-down-canes-country-for-some-trade-talk The big deal In talking about what makes sense, Brian did bring up that there is a bit of smoke around Noah Hanifin. The 5th overall pick in that same 2015 draft in which the Red Wings took Svechnikov. While obviously you’re not getting that one-for-one, but in including Andreas Athanasiou, it seems we struck a balance that was the right kind of uncomfortable for both sides. Detroit would be giving up two wingers who add scoring from a team that needs a lot more scoring while Carolina would be pulling the plug on an all-star defenseman to take a gamble on an unproven guy and an electrifying-but-inconsistent youngster. To be perfectly honest, this is probably a deal that requires Detroit to throw in slightly more value, but there’s a decent chance that the extra intangible value of the Svechnikov brother connection doesn’t boot this off the table from the get-go.

Now I want Bouchard Id want a fast skating, hard-nosed, big bodied, shutdown Dman to pair with a guy like Boqvist. Boqvist - Mckee ... would have made a great pair

HUGE Bon Scott fan here.

In order to have that flashy defenseman that can jump up in the play, you need a solid stay at home defenseman that will cover for him, which the wings don’t really have either. So either way drafting Bouchard or Boqvist we are getting something the wings desperately need. I lean Bouchard myself because Bouchard is the more defensive defenseman and boqvist is the better offensive player but I think bouchards offensive capabilities are stronger than boqvists defensive capabilities if that makes sense.

How the hell have you seen all those players play in person? That's insane. Did you go to the WJC or something? I haven't seen a single one of them in person, and only a handful live on TV. I completely agree regarding highlight videos. That's why I don't put a huge amount of stock into them. I more so base my opinion on reading articles written by, or quoted by the experts.

#teamboqvist

Which one is Leftwinger?

I remember everything. Thought you noticed it when I quote people’s old posts to expose them.