krsmith17

Sheahan for a 2nd to get us back in the playoff hunt... I'd be okay with this. Although, I'd personally prefer to move Tatar over Nyquist.

He was starting to heat up the past couple weeks, but I wouldn't say he was tearing up the league. He'll get a look in the playoffs with the Griffins (if they make it), otherwise, he'll be in juniors again next season, unless he makes the Red Wings.

I doubt it, but I'd gladly eat crow if he develops into a 1C.

A 3C would be a disappointment at 9th overall. Hopefully he develops into a very good 2C. It's really looking like Larkin could be a legit 1C, so if Ras can fill that 2 hole, it bodes well for our future. Now if we can just figure out the defense... If we could somehow land Dahlin, I think this team would be a contender within a couple years.

I wanted us to take Vilardi, but he STILL hasn't played a game this season. He's expected back any day now, but missing this much time with a back injury is concerning at such a young age. Rasmussen will be fine. This injury shouldn't effect him much long term. My biggest concern would be, as Dabura mentioned, he needs a healthy season to continue his development to have a shot at making the Wings next season. It's still way too early, but my bet is on him spending one more season in the W before finally making the Wings in the 2019-20 season. He may even start that season in Grand Rapids.

Who doesn't?...

You're right, I do know Neely isn't a defenseman from Orr's era. I also know Bourque isn't, but that doesn't change the fact that I was referring to Orr and Bourque from different eras. So if I said Mike Bossy and Alex Ovechkin are the two best pure goal scorers relative to era, would you then say, "No, you must have meant Bossy and Marcel Dionne" because they played in the same era?... I didn't mean Robinson. Get over it. Move on.

You're right... I was definitely thinking Robinson... F***ing moron...

What the f*** is your point? Orr played in the 60's-70's, and Bourque and Neely played in the 80's-90's. So relative to era, both Orr and Bourque were biggish defensemen at 6'0", 200lbs. and 6'0", 220lbs respectively.

Not sure if serious...

Why does it matter if Bourque and Orr played at the same time? Bourque and Neely did play at the same time, on the same team. That's who I f***ed up. And no I wasn't thinking of Robinson...

First of all, Russo isn't under 6' or 190lbs. Secondly, Russo sucks. Third, Hicketts and Saarijarvi are small as s***, but both are better prospects AND have higher ceilings than Setkov, despite their height disadvantages... Troll harder... I mean try harder... My bad. I was hung over as f*** yesterday... and again today... I was thinking Bourque, but pretty sure he was relatively healthy throughout his career.

Oh, I think I'm starting to get it now. Because Getzlaf isn't a top 5 player at his position, Adams doesn't have a shot at reaching that sort of ceiling. But because Hedman is a top 5 defenseman, Setkov does have a legit shot at reaching that sort of ceiling, because he's tall and a defenseman of course. It makes total sense now...... Lemieux did suffer injuries, but his career was cut short due to multiple battles with cancer. Lindros was injury prone, I'll give you that, but that doesn't mean that big forwards in general are prone to injuries. Jagr will be 46 in a couple months and is still going strong. What about Bure and Kariya? Two smallish forwards that had their fair share of injuries. What about Orr and Neely? Two biggish defensemen (relative to era) that also had their fair share of injuries. Being big or small has very little to do with injuries, but more to do with hockey sense and awareness. Something Cholowski seems to have, Setkov, I have no idea. I will agree that everything else being equal, bigger is usually better when it comes to any physical sport, but in hockey, that goes for ALL positions; forwards, defensemen and goalies.

I guess I'm just a proponent of using skilled guys in all situations. I'm not a fan of the pure grinders with little to no skill (Miller). I'm okay with Helm and even Glendening in that role because they're both fast and can provide some offense. Larkin has been unreal on the penalty kill, so I'm okay with keeping him there until we find a player that can effectively replace him. Athanasiou looked good there in his limited time, so I'd try that again.

Pretty sound logic you have there Jonas. No holes in that argument. Evgeny Svechnikov is a better prospect than John (Jack) Adams, but Adams has a higher ceiling (because he's taller) than Svechnikov. Adams could turn into Ryan Getzlaf or he could turn into a nobody. Svechdog can't turn into Getzlaf, but he's far more certain to be an NHL player sooner and longer than Adams, making him the better prospect... Am I doing it right?

I agree that Mantha shouldn't be used in a penalty killing role. Like so many have already mentioned, he needs to save his energy for the offensive zone (even strength / power-play). However, I don't think that just the grinder type players (Helm, Miller, Glendening, etc.) should be used on the penalty kill and skilled players shouldn't. Larkin has been arguably our best penalty killer, and in the same way, I believe Athanasiou would be a very good penalty killer. If this thread were called "Why no Athanasiou on the PK?", I'd probably agree. Mantha, not so much.

Yeah, Mantha hasn't been great, and I agree with demoting him from the top line to the 2nd line (I'd prefer him on Larkin's wing anyway), but removing him from the power-play is just dumb in my opinion. You want to try Bertuzzi in that net front role? Great, Mantha shouldn't be there anyway. Put Mantha where he belongs, on the right half board and let him utilize his biggest strength, his shot. I agree on Athanasiou. He's been awful at zone entries, or carrying the puck in general these past few games. He's been single-handedly killing valuable power-play time. I'd prefer to see him taken off that unit before Mantha. I feel like AA's trying to do way too much out there, needs to simplify things.

I'd personally prefer a late first round pick, but Kapanen would be a decent return IF we're offloading a winger. I just don't see Holland trading Nyquist or any other roster players under contract beyond this season. I hope I'm wrong. I hope Holland is very active this trade deadline and next year's draft...

He may be referring to https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/mock-draft/2018/, who have Bouchard ranked 5th overall... However, if this is the reputable source, you really need to find better sources for your draft rankings. This one has to be one of the worst out there in my opinion. As for actual reputable sources, Bob McKenzie has him outside of his top 20 preseason rankings https://www.tsn.ca/the-year-of-swedish-defencemen-1.852963. Craig Button had him at 23 in his pre-season ranking, but moved up to 20 on his list last month https://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-dahlin-dominating-one-canadian-in-top-10-1.915356. I guess you can also consider a couple Sportsnet guys to be somewhat reputable... Jeff Marek had him ranked 13 on his list last month http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sportsnets-2018-nhl-draft-prospect-rankings-november/ and Sam Cosentino has him ranked 14 on his list this month http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sportsnets-2018-nhl-draft-prospect-rankings-november/. I usually just go by the TSN rankings (Mac and Button), as they usually tend to be the most accurate year after year. A lot of other guys usually go for the hot takes, or purposely go off the board with random players, just in case they rise or fall, they can be the ones to say they knew when others didn't... For what it's worth, here are a few other random sites, that I personally don't take a whole lot of stock in, but I'm sure some do... Hockey Prospects have him ranked outside of their top 31 http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2018&layout=&ranking=Rank5. International Scouting Services have him ranked at 13 http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2018&layout=&ranking=Rank3. Future Considerations have him ranked at 16 http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2018&layout=&ranking=Rank4. McKeen's Hockey has him ranked at 28 http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2018&layout=&ranking=Rank6. I don't know much about Bouchard other than his stats, as I haven't done much research on many of the draft eligible players yet, but if we could get him with the Green trade, I'd be thrilled.

I'm high on Setkov as a surprise pick that can exceed expectations, being picked in the 4th round, but I definitely wouldn't put him ahead of Cholowski at this point. Size alone doesn't give a player the "much higher ceiling". Cholowski is a very headsy player that can make plays under pressure with his smooth skating and passing ability. Setkov didn't look great in last night's game against the States. Granted, Denmark lost 9-0, so not many Danes looked good in that one, but I payed close attention to Setkov and there were several plays where he looked completely lost in the defensive zone. He's still very young, and I'm sure he'll figure it out, but he has a long way to go before I'd consider him on the same level as Cholowski, let alone above him. At this point I'd say Cholowski has top pair potential, while Setkov has 3rd pair potential. I hope Setkov surprises everyone and becomes a 2nd pair, but I'd say that's his ceiling.

Apparently I really need to work on my sarcasm via text. I like(d) the Lindstrom pick, he's actually a player I mentioned I'd like us to take pre-draft. It's dumb to say that it was a waste of a pick 6 months after the draft. No one knows how he will turn out at this point, but the fact that he just made a deep Sweden WJC roster, with Dahlin, Liljegren, Brannstrom, etc. is a great sign.

I did the draft lottery simulator on both http://nhllotterysimulator.com and http://www.tankathon.com/nhl. Bad news is we dropped back to 7th and 6th respectively on the first spin on each site. Good news is we moved up to number 1 with the second spin on both...

Yup, total waste of a pick. I'm not sure what Sweden were thinking taking him for the WJC... Stacked blue line and then that scrub Lindstrom...

Yup, it seems like every scout has been saying the same thing for the past year now. No defensive prospect has been this good in forever. He could honestly be just as impactful to a franchise as a Crosby or McDavid. Kid is an absolute stud. He'd look great in the Winged Wheel...

I've seen very little of Rasmussen, other than highlights, and one game earlier this season that I was half watching while drinking with a few buddies. I was really hoping to watch him this week in the WJC, but unfortunately he didn't make the Canadian squad. That in itself is a little telling to me... In the little I've seen of him, I haven't seen the player you speak of at all, but maybe it's more noticeable live? I think anyone would chose a Shanahan over Franzen, but I'd be shocked if he ever develops into that level of a player. I really hope you're right on this one 9. We NEED Rasmussen to develop into an elite player.