The Holiday tradition: 2016 Draft thoughts.....

[Buppy 1,720]

Don't start trading these picks now.... We are finally getting to the top 10 or so, keep the picks draft and develop.

10th pick is currently 8 points behind us. Even 13th is 4 points down. Odds of us picking earlier than 14th are probably worse than the odds of making the playoffs.

14th, 16th, or 17th is where we'll end up.

[13dangledangle 968]

So we have been drafting all these forwards lately so its obvious to move onto getting some Defensive help seems to be the logic thus far....but our forwards cant score, whats the chances we get Dmen that can clear their zone, I assume not very likely

[Richdg 267]

So we have been drafting all these forwards lately so its obvious to move onto getting some Defensive help seems to be the logic thus far....but our forwards cant score, whats the chances we get Dmen that can clear their zone, I assume not very likely

The value isn't there in this years draft. Not to mention we need the help now not 3-4 years from now. I still beleive the draft F's and trade for Dmen is the best idea. Of course that does require Holland making some actual trades and not kicking the tires......

[Richdg 267]

Now back to this topic. When we go ahead a couple of years, after Z and D are gone our top 2 lines will be built around guys like Larkin, Mantha, AA, and Svechnikov. All 4 of those guys are LHed, good skaters, good shooters, and play makers. That should be 2 good pairs of forwards for the top 2 lines. What do they lack? None of them are front of net players and none of them are RHed. If we look down on the farm, same thing is true. Yes Frk is RHed but again not a front of net guy.

This is why to me Gauthier is the perfect fit for us this year. Big tough-but not a big PM guy, and loves to play in the box in front of the net. having a couple of guys like him working low makes the other 4 guys much better. Right now we have been using Mantha low and in front of the net but that is not his strong suite. He is a sniper and loves to drive the net. In our 1-3-1 PP he should be the middle guy in the 3 man row, not the 1 down low. But atm we don't have anyone else to do that job.

Now that is not a put down of the other guys available. Jones is a guy that loves to skate and throw his weight around-need more of guys like that, Brown is a big tall 2 way C and could be Datsyuk's replacement. All would help us out.

[Richdg 267]

Ok we made the PO's. That means we are drafting 15th or later. It also most likley takes gauthier off of the list.

Updating the wish list:

1st round targets: Gauthier, Brown, Jones

2nd round targets: Bastien, Morrison, Hajek

Early look at 2017:

Vesalainen, Hague, Gildon, Valimaki in the 1st round. 3 of those 4 are Dmen.

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

we might not have the next mcdavid but we have a ton of promising forwards but the back end is troubling , I'd personally want to go 3-4 rounds with d's and then go for some Anderson home run selections last few picks

I'd be more than willing to trade back a few times if possible and if possible get 3-4 2nd rounders and draft d's and hope we land one stud dman , God knows a lot of good 2nd round defensemen have been drafted in recent history

Edited April 11, 2016 by nyqvististhefuture

[kipwinger 8,756]

Use Pulkkinen to trade up as far as possible and take the most offensively competant defenseman available...provided he's not a midget.

[frankgrimes 1,836]

we might not have the next mcdavid but we have a ton of promising forwards but the back end is troubling , I'd personally want to go 3-4 rounds with d's and then go for some Anderson home run selections last few picks

I'd be more than willing to trade back a few times if possible and if possible get 3-4 2nd rounders and draft d's and hope we land one stud dman , God knows a lot of good 2nd round defensemen have been drafted in recent history

Nor the next Eichel, Matthews, Laine or Puljujarvi..but thankfully a guy who has so far exceeded expectations in Larkin.

I think the Wings should try everything in their power to trade into the top 10 and get either Chychrun or Juolevi.

[Richdg 267]

It really doesn't matter which way we go in terms of D or F because we need both. I think we all agree that to be a good team you have to have a good top 6 at the F position and a good top 4 on the BL. We are 2 players short in both groups when we look down the road a few years. We have larkin, AA, mantha, and Svechnikov at F-need 2 more and we have Dekeyser and MAYBE Marchenko on the BL. Need 2 at each group.

[krsmith17 7,191]

So Marchenko can be considered a future top 4 but Nyquist and Tatar are not top 6?... You're still trying to suggest that we need just as much help up front as we do on the back end? We are far more set in the future up front, and it's not even close... The only reason we should not be going hard after a defenseman in the first round is if a forward falls to us that we just can't pass up. My preferred option is still to try and trade up and get one of the top defensemen in this years draft. We have more than enough high end forwards in the system, with little to no high end defensemen...

[Richdg 267]

So Marchenko can be considered a future top 4 but Nyquist and Tatar are not top 6?... You're still trying to suggest that we need just as much help up front as we do on the back end? We are far more set in the future up front, and it's not even close... The only reason we should not be going hard after a defenseman in the first round is if a forward falls to us that we just can't pass up. My preferred option is still to try and trade up and get one of the top defensemen in this years draft. We have more than enough high end forwards in the system, with little to no high end defensemen...

We need help at both positions. There really is no debate about it. Our O sucked and our D sucked. That puts us in the great (?) position of taking the best available in the draft. Where we are drafting there is much better F's than there are D, it is very simple.

Do you understand what words like "maybe" or "potential" mean? I didn't say that Marchenko is a top 4 deman. I said that "maybe" he can become one. Big difference. He has the makings of a good stay at home Dman-something we lack atm. Not every Dman has to score points. In fact very few do. Most teams have 1 maybe 2 big time point producers on the Bl. The rest of the Dmen are good at keeping goals out of their own net. Something Marchenko does well.

As for Tatar and Nyquist, no I do not see them are true top 6 forwards. top 9 yes, but not top 6. I am also looking at the roster 3-5 years from now. Abby could be gone, Z is gone, are tatar and Nyquist even still here or have they been traded/left via UFA, etc....

[krsmith17 7,191]

You know who else "maybe" has "potential" to become top 6 players? Bertuzzi, Nastasiuk, Frk, Nosek, Holmstrom, etc... That's what I see as the equivalent of saying that Marchenko "maybe" has "potential" to become a top 4 defenseman. He is and never will become anything more than a bottom pairing shutdown guy in my opinion...

Our offense if subpar right now, because we are in transition, but the potential we have up front in the next few years far exceeds what we have coming on the back end... Anyway, I guess this is all based on opinion, so there's not much point in arguing any further. I think we need much more help on the back end, you think we need just as much help up front. Okay...

Regardless, I hope we can package our first and a player/prospect to move up and take one of the top defensemen available. I don't see us moving up high enough to get Chychrun, but that would be amazing...

[Richdg 267]

Well baring the greatest comeback in the history of sports, we are picking 16th in the draft. 46th in the second round. Do your mock drafts accordingly.

[amato 3,210]

how do you figure 16th? isn't first out 15th?

or is it 16 because philly is behind us in the regular season standings? not 100% sure how that works

[Richdg 267]

if Minny goes out in the 1st round they pick 15th, lowest point total. Then us, then Philly.........

[amato 3,210]

Ah point total, gotcha. Thanks

[Richdg 267]

So... with the 16th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft the Detroit Red Wings take......

If the answer is any of these players I am happy:

Chychrun 6-2/195 LH D

Sergachov 6-2/205 LH D

Brown 6-5/215 LH C

Jones 6-3/205 LH LW Michigan kid

The 2 Dmen may not be there when we pick. All 4 make us a better organization. None will be ready for 2-3 years.

In the second round with pick 46th here are the guys I want:

Hajek 6-1/200 LH D

Bastien 6-4/210 RH C

Riddysh 6-1/200 RH RW

Day 6-2/230 LH D Michigan kid********

Day might be the most talented kid in the draft but has some serious attitude issues going on. Needs a firm hand to develop him. If a team can do that, he will be a steal. But there is some serious risk here. But we are also talking the second round. This is were teams should be taking some risks.

[krsmith17 7,191]

Absolutely no chance Chychrun is available at 16. He will likely be gone in the top 7, maybe even 5. In saying that, I'd definitely trade up to get him if that were an option, just like I wanted to last year with Werenski. Unfortunately, I don't see any team in the top 10 trading down, unless it's massive overpayment... I really like Bean if we're keeping our pick, although he may be gone before 16 as well...

[Richdg 267]

Absolutely no chance Chychrun is available at 16. He will likely be gone in the top 7, maybe even 5. In saying that, I'd definitely trade up to get him if that were an option, just like I wanted to last year with Werenski. Unfortunately, I don't see any team in the top 10 trading down, unless it's massive overpayment... I really like Bean if we're keeping our pick, although he may be gone before 16 as well...

Not a big fan of Bean.

[krsmith17 7,191]

Care to explain?...

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

If we don't trade up to get a top 10 dman , I'd rather trade back once or twice and get 3-4 picks in the top 60 and get some dmen , really think we got some talent upfront and should only get a forward in the top 60 if hes a potential gritty forward who can skate and is like 6'4 210

I really think we should stick to drafting 3-4 dmen and boost our prospect pool and hope one or 2 turns out to be good

Wanted us to draft Lucas carlsson last year and he went undrafted ... This year he's ranked 15th European skater

That's a video of one of his goals , he's got some skill ... I'd be more than happy if we got him in the 2nd or 3rd round ... Just remembered we don't have a 3rd

Anyways we need some dmen , that's all I care about

Edited April 26, 2016 by nyqvististhefuture

[Richdg 267]

If we don't trade up to get a top 10 dman , I'd rather trade back once or twice and get 3-4 picks in the top 60 and get some dmen , really think we got some talent upfront and should only get a forward in the top 60 if hes a potential gritty forward who can skate and is like 6'4 210

I really think we should stick to drafting 3-4 dmen and boost our prospect pool and hope one or 2 turns out to be good

Wanted us to draft Lucas carlsson last year and he went undrafted ... This year he's ranked 15th European skater

That's a video of one of his goals , he's got some skill ... I'd be more than happy if we got him in the 2nd or 3rd round ... Just remembered we don't have a 3rd

Anyways we need some dmen , that's all I care about

You mean like Jones the 6-3/205 LW from Detroit that most "experts" have in the 15-20 range?

[Andy Pred 48 337]

We got to somehow get Abramov, the kid is a highlight reel machine.tore up the Q in his first season.

[Richdg 267]

Care to explain?...

Bean is a defenseman that doesn't play defense. He is a smaller version of Smith. Yes he could grow/will gain weight. He also can learn to play D. His strength is passing/playmaking. But he needs a lot of work in his own end. There are other directions that I would go over drafting him.

[krsmith17 7,191]

Richdg, where do you get all of your know-all on all of these 17-18 year old prospects? I'll admit to knowing very little on any of them other than what I read online and a scattered clip. I've never seen most of them play and the one's I have seen have been 2-3 games at most, and those games I watched, they were never really on my radar... So, I guess I'm just wondering, do you actually scout these players or are you just like the rest of us? Because you seem to be pretty confident in your lists an analysis on every player every year...

Anyway, this is what I found on Jake Bean - "A shifty and intelligent defenceman that plays with panache and poise. An excellent skater that is a good puck-carrier up the ice. Makes very good decisions with and without the puck, and plays strong positionally. Works hard and doesn't give the opposition much to work with, but could stand to be a bit more assertive during high pressure situations. That being said, he is not a one dimentional player. He displays natural talent in the offensive end, but also plays a complete defensive game in his own end. He has a proactive stick and boxes the opposition out, limiting lanes. All-in-all, the type of all-around defenceman that you want to have on the ice as much as possible". - eliteprospects.com

Certainly doesn't sound like a defenseman that doesn't play defense to me based on that. Care to support your statement with some sort of evidence?

Either way, I'd take an offensive minded defenseman that can skate and control the play any day over a defensive minded defenseman that can hit and play in his own zone. But that's just me...

Edited April 26, 2016 by krsmith17