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Richdg

Detroit: Circa June 2018...

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(the voice of Gary Thorn)

Welcome to downtown Detroit for game 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals. The first of many in new Little Ceasers arena. This finals features the Western Conference champs Anahiem Ducks and the Eastern Conference champions Detroit Red Wings. now for the introductions.

For the anahiem ducks....who cares......

Now for the Detroit Red Wings. Starting at LW, the season hits leader and penaty minutes leader, coming in at 6-5/235 pounds: Mike-The Left Bower-Mckee! At center, the regular season goal scoring leader measuring in at 6-3/210 pounds: Anthony-Crimson Death-Mantha! At RW, season totals of 25 goals and 150 penalty minutes, tilting the scales at 235, standing 6-5: Mike-The Right Bower-McCarron! At right defense, the current Norris Trophy winner, coming in at 6-4/215 pounds: Ryan-The Sniper-Sproul! On the Left D, The Captain. Standing in at 6-3/215: Danny-The Flying Dutchman-DeKeyser! In the crease, the grumpy old man. The league MVP: Jimmy Howard!

Back to the present. Let the draft games begin! Some thoughts.

1. Of the lineup I just mentioned for the future, we already have 2/3's of it. Just need Mantha and McCarron in this years draft.

2. If we make the playoffs or not, we will most likely be picking bewtween 12th and 16th. Baring a major change between now and next weekend.

3. Most of the many many draft links have Mantha going between 12th and 22nd. Right were we will be picking. We need big tall goal scorers. Mantha is that player. he is 6-3/180ish, shoots lefthanded, and scored 50 goals this season as a leftwing.

4. We strongly need to add RHed shooters and size. McCarron is currently 6-5/227, RHed, and is from Detroit. Most of the sites have him going between 40 and 55. In other words, where we pick in the second round.maybe the 3rd, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Big American Forwards that can skate, score, and play physical go fast. Grabbing McCarron in the second might be more important than Mantha in the first. There are a few other options in the first that also fit the bill. but not so much in the second.

5. This is a deep draft. Lots of potential 20+ gola scoring power forwards available. The key to how good our draft is, may very well be the 3rd and 4th rounds. Who we get in these 2 rounds will be the deciding factor between a good draft and a great draft.

More thoughts and ideas for the draft later.

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Now, thanks for all the comedy! But, back to reality. This years draft is very deep with scoring forwards. Many of which are righthanded shots. many of which are big and or tall players. Points of need. Next years draft has much of its talent on the blueline and small skilled forwards. But it isn't as deep.

Now looking at our roster and prospect list, we are pretty good at D and G. 5 G's that are or have the potential to play in the NHL. Our D is sitting in the top 10 in goals allowed this season, and it is a fairly young group. But we cant score. we have limited scoring prospects coming. In fact, this year I might not take a single blueliner in the draft. Grab as many forwards that are 6ft or taller that have shown the ability to put the puck in the net. 4 or 5 should be RHed.

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I would like to see players like that in our system as well. Would be nice to have some big guys up front that can put it home. Oh how I wish for a young Bert when I think of that...

I fire up the gamecube every so often and trade a 2002-2003 Bertuzzi to the Red Wings to play with that group. PURE DOMINATION

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I would like to see players like that in our system as well. Would be nice to have some big guys up front that can put it home. Oh how I wish for a young Bert when I think of that...

That would be McCarron. he is already 6-5/227, shoots RHed, from Detroit and this year has a higher points per game average than facshing and hayden for the US Under 18 team. Now he is committed to play at WMU-with McKee, so it will be 3 years before we see him. But he is the perfect fit for us in the 2nd round. In fact, he is the only option in the 2nd, unless he is taken earlier by someone else, which could happen.

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The hard part is figuring out how many holes we will have. So let's take a semi educated guess.

Forwards:

Bet, Sammy, Cleary, Z, Datsyuk, Franzen. Best guess is, maybe 1 will be left playing for us, at most. All of these guys will be 38-43 in the 2017/2018 season. That fills 1 of the 14 roster spots.

Filppula, Abdelkader, TooToo, Brunner, Miller, Eaves. Best guess, 3 of this group will still be here in the 2017/18 season. That makes 4 spots of the 14.

Andersson, Nyquist, Emmerton, Tatar, and Sheahan. All made it to Detroit this year, some still here. I would hope that at least 3, maybe 4 are here playing full Time, and here is the key: producing. That means 7 or 8 of the 14 forward spots are filled.

Of this group, only 3 are RHed and only 2: TooToo and Miller even have a chance of still being here. To say nothing of if they are producing anything.

Propsects we already have:

Small forwards: Jarnkrok, Pulkkinen, Callahan, Ferraro, Raedeke, Athanasiou, Coetzee, Hudon, and Quine. 5 of this group happens to be RHed. Who knows which if any of these guys make it and become producers.

Big Forwards: Jurco, Parkes, Bodin, Tvrdon, Nestrasil, McKee, Aubry, and Frk. 2 of this group is RHed. Again, who makes it? No idea.

Out of these 16 players, maybe 3 will really make it and become something. History shows 1 out of 5 turn out. If 3 make it, we have 10 or 11 spots of the 14 forwards filled.

Defense:

We are much better off on the D.

Kronwall and Ericsson will both be in the mid/late 30's in 17/18. Kronwall 37 and Big E 34. Plan on 1 of these 2 still playing.

Core group: Kindl, Dekeyser, Smith, and Lashoff. All 4 should be here. Kindl is the only 1 over 30 at 31. The other 3 will all be 28ish.

Prospects: Almquist, Nedomel, Fournier, Backman, Marshell, Oullett, and De Haas all LHed and will be in their mid 20's.

Nicastro, Sproul, Jensen, and Marchenko are all RHed and will also all be in their mid 20's.

This group has 5 vets and 11 prospects. We need two to make it, and out of the 11 guys we should have them already.

Point is, we are set at D for the draft for a year maybe two.

Goalie:

Howard, 34 and still here. With his stye of play he should still be playing at a high level, baring the I word.

Propsects: Mrazek, Coreau, and Paterson. 3 very good young G's in the system. Again we are set for a year or two.

Now when looking at this list, we see the weakness at F. Some grinder/checking types and several 3rd line guys. No real stars. Also, we lack RH RWers and RH C's. We need to stick up on both, and good news: this draft has a ton of forwards 6-2 or taller that are RHed. Of course any supers drop, you take them!

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(the voice of Gary Thorn)

Welcome to downtown Detroit for game 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals. The first of many in new Little Ceasers arena. This finals features the Western Conference champs Anahiem Ducks and the Eastern Conference champions Detroit Red Wings. now for the introductions.

For the anahiem ducks....who cares......

Now for the Detroit Red Wings. Starting at LW, the season hits leader and penaty minutes leader, coming in at 6-5/235 pounds: Mike-The Left Bower-Mckee! At center, the regular season goal scoring leader measuring in at 6-3/210 pounds: Anthony-Crimson Death-Mantha! At RW, season totals of 25 goals and 150 penalty minutes, tilting the scales at 235, standing 6-5: Mike-The Right Bower-McCarron! At right defense, the current Norris Trophy winner, coming in at 6-4/215 pounds: Ryan-The Sniper-Sproul! On the Left D, The Captain. Standing in at 6-3/215: Danny-The Flying Dutchman-DeKeyser! In the crease, the grumpy old man. The league MVP: Jimmy Howard!

Back to the present. Let the draft games begin! Some thoughts.

1. Of the lineup I just mentioned for the future, we already have 2/3's of it. Just need Mantha and McCarron in this years draft.

2. If we make the playoffs or not, we will most likely be picking bewtween 12th and 16th. Baring a major change between now and next weekend.

3. Most of the many many draft links have Mantha going between 12th and 22nd. Right were we will be picking. We need big tall goal scorers. Mantha is that player. he is 6-3/180ish, shoots lefthanded, and scored 50 goals this season as a leftwing.

4. We strongly need to add RHed shooters and size. McCarron is currently 6-5/227, RHed, and is from Detroit. Most of the sites have him going between 40 and 55. In other words, where we pick in the second round.maybe the 3rd, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Big American Forwards that can skate, score, and play physical go fast. Grabbing McCarron in the second might be more important than Mantha in the first. There are a few other options in the first that also fit the bill. but not so much in the second.

5. This is a deep draft. Lots of potential 20+ gola scoring power forwards available. The key to how good our draft is, may very well be the 3rd and 4th rounds. Who we get in these 2 rounds will be the deciding factor between a good draft and a great draft.

More thoughts and ideas for the draft later.

I'd be pumped about Mantha, kid's got size and some serious goal scoring skill. Plus he's North American. Seriously, screw the playmakers and defensemen in this draft. Lock this kid up so I can look forward to our wingers in the future.

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Now, who would be on my 1st round list?

Mantha would be choice 1A. But there is a close 1B. That would be Valery Nichuskin. Most expect him to go in the top 10. Maybe even top 5. But he is Russian and has signed a 3 year extentsion with his team in Russia. I think he will drop. Nichuskin and Mantha are almost twins. Both are about 6-3/190, LH shooters with great speed and finishing touch. Either one would be fine with me. But if we have the choice, I take Mantha becasue we know we can sign him and he will be in Detroit within 24 months. Both of these guys are Malkin types. Tall, fast, goal scorers.

My third choice is a different type of big forward: Frederik Gauthier. He is bigger 6-5/210, LHed, and is a great 2 way player. he is not a pure scorer like Mantha and Nichuskin are. But he is better defensively and a better passer/setup guy. Think Joe Thornton when thinking about big Fred.

If all 3 of these guys are gone when we pick, I would like to move down. The next batch of guys are considered late 1st rounders/2nd rounders. More picks is better. This is based off of the thought we will be picking in the 12-18 range. If we are picking 1st or 25th or later, this becomes a mute point.

Now if the big 3 are gone and we move to the late 1st round with our pick, who do I like there? Here are some really good forwards that fit the bill:

Valentin Zykov. He is a 6-1/210 pound Russian RHed forward. Very good 2 way player, has grit, and is already playing in NA.

Jacob de la Rose. LW/C 6-2/200. Typical Swedish forward. Does everything well, both ends of the ice. has good size and uses it.

Justin Bailey. RW/C. 6-3/190 play making forward. A Modano type of player.

On to the second round. Later.

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That would be McCarron. he is already 6-5/227, shoots RHed, from Detroit and this year has a higher points per game average than facshing and hayden for the US Under 18 team. Now he is committed to play at WMU-with McKee, so it will be 3 years before we see him. But he is the perfect fit for us in the 2nd round. In fact, he is the only option in the 2nd, unless he is taken earlier by someone else, which could happen.

I would be happy with McCarron in the 2nd. It seems the Wings have a pretty good relationship with WMU as well.

I like Mantha in the 1st too. Either Him, Rychel or Domi. ( I have given up on a 1st round defender because I believe our D depth is very nice as it sits.) If Holland blows that pick on Ristolainen, Haag or Burakowsky I will puke....I may be on board with Zykov as well. I see Pulock has dropped to 14 again...I know the D seems set, but I see it hard to pass him up if he is there when Holland drafts....

edit: I also think that if Santini is sitting there when Holland drafts, he may pop on him as well.

Edited by LeftWinger

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I would be happy with McCarron in the 2nd. It seems the Wings have a pretty good relationship with WMU as well.

I like Mantha in the 1st too. Either Him, Rychel or Domi. ( I have given up on a 1st round defender because I believe our D depth is very nice as it sits.) If Holland blows that pick on Ristolainen, Haag or Burakowsky I will puke....I may be on board with Zykov as well. I see Pulock has dropped to 14 again...I know the D seems set, but I see it hard to pass him up if he is there when Holland drafts....

edit: I also think that if Santini is sitting there when Holland drafts, he may pop on him as well.

Not a fan of Domi, and it has nothing to do with his dad. How is he different from the other forwards that we have? Nyquist, tatar, Jarnkrok, etc..... he is a small play making good shooting F. We have a ton of those guys.

As for Rychel, I see him and think a young Dan Cleary. He is an effort guy no doubt. But that is all that he has that stands out. Average size, speed, skills. I just have a hard time seeing him as a future star. IMHO of course.

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Ok, the second round. The perfect choice for the Red Wings is of course, Mike McCarron. He is 6-5/227 shoots RHed and from Detroit. He fits all needs. But what happens if some other team grabs him? As much as roiting in the streets appeals to me, we need to have other names. That brings us to the players. Of course, if any of the above names from the first round fall, take em! Justin Bailey is a good possibility. By most draft experts/mock drafts, he is going to go very late in the 1st or first half of the second round. Another tall forward, that shoots RHed, is fast, and puts the puck in the net.

Another good option is: John Hayden. Big 6-3/210, RHed shot, 2 way C. Would be a great 2nd line C to pair with Mantha, who C's the first line.

Jason Dickinson 6-2/180 LW/C would be a good opion. Yes he is LHed. But he is another fast scoring forward.

Edited by Richdg

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Now starts the challenge. In most drafts everything after the first 2 rounds becomes a crap shot at best. But not this year. The strength of this draft is its depth. There are enough players that normally go late 1st and the second round, to fill 2 more rounds. Teams will be able to find top 4 Dmen and 20+ goal scorers through the 4th round. Any combination of the names listed for the first 2 rounds, will produce a very good draft. All are quality players that fit our needs to a tee. But if we draft smartly in the 3rd and 4th rounds, this could be a special draft.

So lets talk the 3rd round. Looking once again for big fast scoring forwards. Here are some names I like:

Adam Tambellini 6-4/180 LW/C

Hudson Fasching 6-2/215 RW

Nicholas Baptiste 6-2/200 RW

Bogdan Yakimov 6-5/210 C

Nick Moutrey 6-2/210 LW/C

Ryan Kujawinski 6-2/205 LW/C

Myles Bell 6-0/210 RW

Some of these guys are risers and others are falling. All have talent and 1 or 2 questions about them.



Tambellini highlights:

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Ok, the second round. The perfect choice for the Red Wings is of course, Mike McCarron. He is 6-5/227 shoots RHed and from Detroit. He fits all needs. But what happens if some other team grabs him? As much as roiting in the streets appeals to me, we need to have other names. That brings us to the players. Of course, if any of the above names from the first round fall, take em! Justin Bailey is a good possibility. By most draft experts/mock drafts, he is going to go very late in the 1st or first half of the second round. Another tall forward, that shoots RHed, is fast, and puts the puck in the net.

Another good option is: John Hayden. Big 6-3/210, RHed shot, 2 way C. Would be a great 2nd line C to pair with Mantha, who C's the first line.

Jason Dickinson 6-2/180 LW/C would be a good opion. Yes he is LHed. But he is another fast scoring forward.

Got any further info on McCarron? I haven't been able to find a scouting report/talent analysis, or even a highlight reel. I see he ended up 35th among NA skaters in the CSS final rankings, but that doesn't give any real notion of how he stacks up against the Euros. The only current combined ranking I can find is from Craig Button, and he doesn't have him in his top 75. Mackenzie had him 49th in January, but offered no other info.

Either way, I think it'll be hard to go wrong in this draft. Our only real need is future star power (which we probably won't have a shot at any of the "can't miss" guys), so we're basically just adding depth to an already strong pool.

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