kipwinger

I suddenly feel really good about our future forward depth. Holy s*** this looks pretty. Zadina-Larkin-Mantha AA-Ras-Bert Svech-Veleno-Berrgren Smith-Turgeon-???

So considering we just drafted a solid top six scoring line with our first three picks im assuming the writing is on the wall for Andreas Athanasiou.

I still like Kupari at center too.

Smith or Miller

Smith, Addison, Merkley, Miller, Wilde, all still available on defense.

I like this: Mantha-Z-Abby Bert-Larkin-Svech Frk-Neilsen-Vanek Helm-AA-Ras Glendening Also, I traded Nyq+30th overall+2019 3rd for Edm's 2018 1st. With that I take Wahlstrom at 6 and whatever top end defenseman is left at 10. Probably Dobson.

For sure but every American has the right to bear arms, and who are you to say who should and should not use their constitutionally granted rights to hold a chainsaw?

They've decided they're not going to sign him? I just had heard they needed to before training camp. Edit: Looks like you're right. Hmmm. Oh well, must be he stalled. I really hadn't watched him or anything.

I agree with the "could maybe" part. Assuming most of the guys we drafted late last year (many of whom were gigantic), we're still looking at Cholowski who's up to 6'2 and over 200 lbs, Sambrook (6'2, 200), Sulak (6'2, 200), Lindstrom (6'2, 200), some of these are projections of course. Hronek, Hicketts, and Saarijarvi are smaller for sure though. While that first set of guys aren't huge, they're all above average by NHL standards. I'm definitely not opposed to taking a bigger defenseman, espacially with our late 1st or early 2nd rounders, I don't know that we're so small on the back end that size needs to be a priority with our early 1st. I'd still much rather we take someone with elite level offensive upside.

I mean, the guys most likely to be gone from last year are Booth, Ouellet, and Green, followed by Z and Kronwall in the coming years. All of those guys are average or below average size for the NHL. I think we'll get noticeably bigger despite anything that happens at this year's draft.

The size and weight thing should change pretty quickly though given how big our prospects are. Remove any three smaller forward and replace them with Rasmussen, Svech, and Smith and suddenly we've got one of the bigger forward groups I'm sure.

It's odd to me to see some many references to needing size. While that may have been true at one point, it really isn't now. We're not noticeably smaller than most other teams, and we've drafted for size since Mantha. We're actually pretty big going forward. If anything, I'd say we need more skill.

Ummm...I don't really want to go back and read all this Hicketts stuff so I'm just going to assume that some people REALLY want Hicketts on the team, and some people (correctly) think he's not very good. I'd only add that he was resoundingly outplayed by Hronek last season in the AHL and still got a call up, where he was gifted minutes he didn't earn (Blashill even acknowledged this) and scored enough powerplay points to make some folks overlook how abysmal he looked at even strength. He got badly outplayed in the AHL last season by Lashoff and McIlrath, so I'm not sure why anyone thinks he's better than Ouellet or Jensen. And we're leaving out the obvious fact that despite his supposed "grit" or whatever, the plucky little pluckster from Kamloops is one Tom Wilson forecheck away from death at the NHL level. He's neither big, nor quick, nor overly skilled. He's the Rudy Ruettiger of hockey, and while it makes a good story folks need to remember that Rudy never played an NFL game.

I thought Bouchard was one of the older players in the draft this year?

Unless something crazy happens, one of the dynamic guys (Hughes, Walhstrom, Boqvist) should still be around at 6. If so, I take whoever is available (if all three are available prioritize who the scouts think has the best chance at elite status). If not, I'd trade back (but still in the top ten), get some extra picks, and take whomever is left over out of the non-dynamic guys (Dobson, Bouchard, Tkachuk, Kotkaneimi). The only one I'm not crazy about is Tkachuk, but if the return got us another late first or early second rounder I'd take it. There is going to be tons of talent in that area and I'd like to have as many bullets as I can in that range.

I've always rooted for Frk, so I'm biased here, but I really don't understand not re-signing him. He gave the team 11 goals as a rookie averaging 10 minutes a night. For a team that supposedly wants to score more goals I don't know why you'd turn your nose up at that. I realize he's not great defensively, but I'm not really sure he needs to be given our current roster. I assume this has more to do with making spots for a couple of Ras, Svech, and a UFA or two.

Yikes. http://www.theplayerstribune.com/nhl-daniel-carcillo-steve-montador-video/

They do a series where they study video on each player. There aren't any quick and simply "breakdowns" so to speak, but here's his conclusion: "In a draft class full of top-level projections on defence, Hughes’ elite skating ability is the best quality among them. His puck skills and smarts are tops on the board. As a whole package, I believe that no defender has a better, more diverse tool kit than Quinn Hughes. "

I agree with this, maybe Mantha is a Blake Wheeler type who will put it all together in his late 20's but that's a hell of a gamble. I haven't seen anything to suggest he'll be elite. Very good, yes, but not elite. A guy like Zadina or Wahlstrom has that kind of upside. A year ago Either one of those guys may have gone first or second overall. Zadina even reminds me a bit of Hischier. And if you wouldn't trade a guy like Mantha for a guy like that I don't know what to tell you.

Obviously I'd like to see a Caps win tonight. Both because I want to see Ovechkin lift the Cup, and because I want Don Cherry to die of a hate induced heart attack on the same night.

My office is next door to the Capitals Arena and I'll be outside in the sea of humanity watching the game on the big outdoor screens for the remainder of the series. I'll try to get some pics and vids if the Caps clinch.

Over his career Carlson has been just as good as Doughty at both ends of the ice. He's also better than Erik Karlsson defensively, though significantly worse offensively (but so is Doughty). He is just not as popular as those guys, which may explain why you think he's worse despite his obvious ability.

Not defensive at all. I'm criticizing fans for something they do, which I think is stupid, on a fan forum. Particularly I'm criticizing fans for using it as a way to legitimize taking worse players (who they happen to like) because it seems legitimate despite that legitimacy having been blown completely out of proportion many years ago. So while I don't doubt coaches find it useful, I do doubt it factors into a draft strategy unless that draft strategy is being developed by some fan who needs one extra reason to list Player X over Player Y.

Only if you assume fans can't think for themselves and their thoughts and opinions about the game are implanted in their heads by "experts" and "analysts". Otherwise the s*** that comes spewing out of your mouths is ours alone.

Am I the only one who thinks this who left handed/right handed fetishism has gotten completely out of hand. Roughly 2/3 hockey players across the entire league are left shots. Most players on most teams are left shots. Whether a player is any good or not dramatically outweighs what side he shoots from. It seems like right handedness has become a trump card in the minds of fans trying to advocate for certain players. All else being equal it probably matters a little bit, but since all else is rarely equal amongst kids with differing degrees of skill, it probably doesn't matter as much as skill does.