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I will lose my s***. We've been looking for a legitimate 2C since signing Stephen Weiss. NINE YEARS. It genuinely reminds me watching Rafalski, Lidstrom, and Stuart leave over the course of a year and then watching Holland replace them with nobody. People are always like "pretty sure So-and-So General Manager knows more than you do", and then you see these glaring mistakes and wonder how true that actually is. I'll allow for the fact that we drafted Ras and Veleno each in the first round and maybe the HOPE was that one of them would be a 2C, but there were some pretty strong signs (even on draft day) that wasn't gonna happen. But to have shot after shot in the top ten of the draft and not walk away with a top end center is a problem at some point. HAVE to take one this year.

Sounds like he’s a Red Wing, already!

Nazar is the 2C for the USNDTP this year. I've seen some folks say they think he might be a winger in the NHL because he's smallish and they always say that about any guy who isn't 6'3/200lbs/freakishly skilled. They said the same things about Rossi, Zegras, Turcotte, Kent Johnson, etc. I think Nazar will play center because of his skillset. He's a great playmaker, highly competitive, and defensively responsible. Lekkerimaki is the opposite. He WAS a center at lower levels but probably won't be at higher levels because he's not competitive/physical, doesn't play defense well, and his best attribute his is shot (very Vrana-like). Kasper is a true center. The question with him is his upside. A lot of folks don't seem to see the high end skill to be a true top center. I agree with them, in part. Most of his production in the SHL has been of the rebound/deflection/crash the net variety. But he's big, athletic, fast, and defensively responsbile. So I think his floor is that of a Bo Horvat or Ryan Kesler type player. But, I've seen enough flashes of skill to make me wonder if he's not playing conservatively because A) his coaches told him to, and B) that's how you grab minutes on a league-best SHL team when you're 17. Think Seider in the German League here. If that's the case then you're looking at more of a Larkin/O'Reilly type guy at his ceiling. I also like Kasper a lot because of the three he's probably closest to NHL ready. The other two probably need a few years to develop their bodies.

I'm really at a loss for who we'll pick this year. I liked Nazar and Kasper when I thought we'd be picking in the 12-15 range. I might like Nazar higher than that still. He's now outscoring Cooley (the consensus #2 pick) and has probably worked his way into the top ten. I think Kasper continues to climb draft boards too. He's having a great 17 yo year in the SHL and gets nothing for minutes on one of the SHL's best teams. Worth noting that Yzerman seems to really like the SHL and USNTDP/College guys with his higher end picks. Aside from Cossa he hasn't taken anyone in the CHL with his 1st and 2nd rounders and both Nazar and Kasper would continue that. I'd be pretty pissed if we took another defenseman considering we're pretty stacked there. And I don't really want any wingers (aside from maybe Slafkovsky) in that range. So I guess I'd target Nazar with my first pick, using my extra 2nd to move up if necessary. If he's off the board when we pick, along with Slafkovsky, then trade back and take Kasper and try to get some extra draft capital for doing so. My wildcard pick is Lekkerimaki, but only on the condition that we somehow nab a young (and legit) 2C before the draft. He's scoring VERY well in limited minutes in the SHL and reminds me a lot of Vrana. He's going to be good, just not what we really need right now. Finally, I've mentioned these guys before but look at the following guys for depth picks in rounds 2 and 3: Ostlund (2nd) Bystedt (2nd) Kaskimaki (3rd) Sjodin (4th)

Dont need to. Only need to pick in the top 10 to get an elite player this year.

Stecher: good, imo. He’s played 16 games this season and we got something for it. Beaulieu played 24 games for Winnipeg and they got a conditional 7th.

Yzerman was super cool about it. Yzerman was the first to speak out about dumb restrictions. I don't think Yzerman agrees with you as much as you probably think he does. If Bertuzzi is traded its because he doesn't fit into Yzermans timeline and his value is at an all time high. Not because SY is butt hurt about a vaccination.

God bless Jeff Blashill

The defense - everyone outside of Seider is utter garbage. They cannot handle a strong forecheck at all and routinely give up defensive zone turnovers. It's like they have no idea how to break the puck out of the zone once they obtain it. This leads to us getting hemmed in to our own zone for too much of the game. You'd think Blash would have a solution or change or remedy for this by now, he's been dealing with this same problem for 7 seasons. But it's just business as usual. When Babcock started losing D men and his blue line got weaker there was instantaneous action and change. He buttoned down the hatches everywhere and started playing the entire team in a more defensively oriented scheme to compensate for his crippled blue line. Fans griped about these changes and boring hockey, but it was probably exactly the right move given his circumstances. I have never seen any innovation like this from Blash for better or worse. He's just not a tactician in even the slightest regard. Like bro - you gotta try something new. Play trap hockey. Clog up the neutral zone. Do something. I'd be knocking down Yzermans door to get somebody anybody off the waiver wire to help the defense. Give Oesterle a serious stint in the top4. Try Juolevi. Call up Sebrango. Just do. Leddy, Staal, DK are trash. The goalies - thank God Blash had the brains to start Greiss last night. He's running a young goalie into the ground in Ned. It's beyond obvious but it took him 2 weeks plus to notice. The forwards - dump and chase not working. How about drop passing? Drop passing not working. How about dump and chase? PP been a mess for years. What players has he developed in the last 7 years? Bertuzzi, the ultra confident individualist who marches to his own drum and could probably will himself to success anywhere? Raymond, the super high pick that was instantly an impact player? Svech, the dissapointment? Ras, the dissapointment? Zadina the dissapointment? Veleno, the dissapointment? AA, the dissapointment? Mantha, the dissapointment? Don't fire this guy tomorrow. Fire him now.