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Richdg

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

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Rubtsov was ranked # 15 by Hockey Prospects in Feb. Future Consid. had him at 19 in March. ISS has him at 15 in May. McKeens at 24. Central Scouting says he is number 5 in Europe. Two mock drafts, Sportsblog and Draft Site have him going at 21 and 22 respectively in their latest drafts. He isn't my choice but it isn't out of the question that they take him.

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It's not like I know a whole lot about most of these kids right now, let alone what kind of players they will be in the future, but if we made that selection on June 24th, I'd be a bit pissed off. Especially if any of the 4 or 5 names I'd like us to draft are still on the board. But again, I obviously don't know near as much as our scouts, so whatever...

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He's not my fav choice either, but he is a Holland type of pick. Very good 2 way C that is a good passer, puck handler, faceoff guy, plays a strong 200ft game, has decent size 6-1 or 6-2 depending on which site you read. His talent level is like Larkin. Like I said earlier, the "Russian Question" keeps him out of the top 10, not his talent. He is that talented.


Something I am seeing more of is the lack of depth in this draft. Most are starting to say 45-50 good picks, another 10-15 guys with talent but issues, then it really falls far and fast after that. G is a really weak position this year.

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Rubtsov looks like a decent player, but to say he's a definite top 10 talent and his talent level is on par with Larkin is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. There's a reason he looks good and has decent numbers, and it's because he's playing in a fairly weak league. Not many players are drafted from the MHL and there has never (to my knowledge) been a player selected from the MHL in the first round (exception being goaltender Vasilevskiy).

You can say it's the "Russian factor", but I don't think that really exists anymore. Sure, there are still some kids that won't want to come to North America, but for most of them, especially top talents, their dream is to make the NHL. Any team drafting around the 20 range that have any interest in the kid, will have plenty of conversations with him leading up to the draft. They will have a good idea whether or not he wants to come over (he likely does), which eliminates the risk of drafting any Russian players...

Regardless, I think it would be an awful decision to take him if any of a handful of other players are still on the board...

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Ya I'm not for the Russian player either , we need defense #1 ... I'm still more for trading back and getting the most picks as possible for the first 2 rounds , highly doubt we will get in the top 10

As for forwards if we get 3-4 picks I'd want to take a chance on koivula , he's still 17 and huge and the Finns have been dominating a lot of comps as well , henrik borgstrom also gets my attention and is ranked higher

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The more I read and watch scouting reports on the upcoming draft class, the more I'm leaning toward Michael McLeod. I think he will likely be gone when we get to the podium at 16, but if he's there, he's probably my top pick. As much as we need defense, I just think he may be that much better than any of the other guys that would be available. I'd be quite happy with either McLeod or Bean, hopefully one of them is still there at 16. Larkin and McLeod as our one-two punch down the middle, could be very good in a few years...

Draft McLeod and trade for Trouba are the two things on my summer wish list...

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Not at all, I'm not sure where you got that. Are you thinking of Max Jones? He's the only guy projected to go in the mid first that I would somewhat compare to a Bertuzzi type player...

McLeod has a ton of speed and skill. His game reminds me a lot of Dylan Strome, who went 3rd overall to Arizona last year. He hasn't put up close to the same numbers offensively but I think he will be a legit number 2 center.

As much as I love Athanasiou, I don't think he's an absolute lock to be a legit top 6 center. Maybe he ends up being a top 6 winger or 3rd line center. Of course McLeod isn't a lock either, but having two high end center prospects capable of filling the number 2 center position of the future, is certainly better than one.

I really like what I see in McLeod and I would love for him to drop to us, but I would be just as happy if we were able to land a guy like Bean.

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Seen it on tsn, Craig button I think when they were talking about mock draft stuff I believe ... Could be wrong , guess I am. ... I do like athanasiou and I think his speed is too great for him not to be a top 6 forward and quite possibly a 2nd line center(think sheahan will be the 3rd line center unless he gets dealt down the road)

As you mentioned he could become a winger later on, who knows ... Isn't svechnikov a center?

I'm still up for trading back and getting an extra pick or 2 , guess I always have the habit of looking for players who could be homerun picks in the later rankings , I always look for players ranked 25+ and I always check out the euro section cause there's always good players that come out from there

I still like Lucas carlsson from Sweden on d , liked him last year and went undrafted and this year he's ranked 15 , if he's available in the 2nd and we have extra pick(s) I'd wanna see us draft him

Was checking out past draft picks after we just made the trade with the Sharks and saw henrik samuelsson

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=130984

2012 Arizona first pick , struggled last year in the ahl after getting 40 points in his rookie season , wonder if it was just a hiccup or someone who can bounce back and wouldn't cost much? I doubt it but anyone here ever see him play?

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I'm as high on Athanasiou as anyone, but I still wouldn't say he's a lock to become the top 6 center we hope he will be. And while Svechnikov has played some center with Cape Breton, he has predominantly played wing just about everywhere else, including Red Wings training camp. I'd like to see what he can do as a 2nd or 3rd line center in Grand Rapids next season though.

I'm usually open to the idea of trading back to get an extra pick, but if any of the big names drop to 16 (Bean, McLeod, Jones), I hope we take one of them.

I don't know a whole lot about Carlsson, but isn't he expected to go beyond the 3rd round? I'm still hoping we can get one of Johansen or Day with our 2nd rounder.

The only bit of hockey I've seen of Henrik Samuelsson is a couple years ago in the Memorial Cup against Mantha and Bertuzzi. He was a beast. Samuelsson and Lazar were by far the Oil Kings two best players. He did have a rough season last year, but I highly doubt Arizona are looking to move him, and I'm pretty sure he's been moved to the wing as well.

Edited by krsmith17

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The only way I want to move down in the draft this year is if all the guys we're eying in the mid round have already been taken, or if there's still a couple left and a team like Philadelphia calls us asking to trade our 16th for their 18th and 48th or 52nd...

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I'm as high on Athanasiou as anyone, but I still wouldn't say he's a lock to become the top 6 center we hope he will be. And while Svechnikov has played some center with Cape Breton, he has predominantly played wing just about everywhere else, including Red Wings training camp. I'd like to see what he can do as a 2nd or 3rd line center in Grand Rapids next season though.

I'm usually open to the idea of trading back to get an extra pick, but if any of the big names drop to 16 (Bean, McLeod, Jones), I hope we take one of them.

I don't know a whole lot about Carlsson, but isn't he expected to go beyond the 3rd round? I'm still hoping we can get one of Johansen or Day with our 2nd rounder.

The only bit of hockey I've seen of Henrik Samuelsson is a couple years ago in the Memorial Cup against Mantha and Bertuzzi. He was a beast. Samuelsson and Lazar were by far the Oil Kings two best players. He did have a rough season last year, but I highly doubt Arizona are looking to move him, and I'm pretty sure he's been moved to the wing as well.

I got no idea about carlsson and where he'll end up , i don't know how the euro rankings go , for some reason first few ones usually go right off the bat and the next ones always go later on which is why I got a tendency to pay attention to them and try and find a few gems in there ... It's too bad we didn't take carlsson 7th rounder last year

I also like johansen and day .... Hopefully by trading back once or twice depending on how much we'd fall we'd be able to land 3-4 good picks

Ya I also doubt they'd give up on henrik samuelsson so soon , just saw the point decline and thought it could be a good gamble to take , wouldn't even know what we'd have to give up to land him

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I'm really looking forward to this draft. Should be lots of activity.

Haven't seen many of the players play very much so I can't say I'm really hoping for any one player.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if we don't end up picking at our current position.

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I'm really looking forward to this draft. Should be lots of activity.

Haven't seen many of the players play very much so I can't say I'm really hoping for any one player.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if we don't end up picking at our current position.

Well probably trade down if bean gets picked before us

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I'd love to land Bean in the 1st, but my target is McLeod if he drops...

1A - McLeod, 1B - Bean, 1C - Jones, 1D - Gauthier

What would we be able to get with Pulkkinen and our 2017 3rd round pick in this years draft? Maybe a mid 2nd?

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I am really hoping we draft a d man in the first round (unless a forward too good to pass up falls to us)

I would be thrilled if we were able to trade up to land either Juolevi or Sergachyov (but very very unlikely)

More likely would be to land one of

Chychrun (seems to be sliding but may not slide far enough)

Bean ( best offensive d in the draft )

Fabbro(watched a lot of him this season down just south of me in Penticton and loved what I saw)

McAvoy (seems solid in all areas)

Would also love to grab Lucas Johansen in the 2nd (watched loads of his games here in Kelowna and would be a steal for us if it happened)

If we went for a forward in the first round I would be happy with McLeod, Gauthier, Jones if we stay at our current position.

If we trade down I wouldn't mind Grundstrom, Rubtsov or Stanley.

Any way you look at it, I think we will be coming out of the 1st round with a very solid prospect on our hands.

Exciting times!

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I think McLeod is that player that would be considered too good to pass up if he slides to us. I just hope one of McLeod or Bean are available at 16.

Chychrun has slid a lot, but unfortunately I don't see him sliding to 16.

Johansen has been my guy for the 2nd round for a couple months now, but he's been rising fast. He could potentially be a late 1st rounder, or early 2nd at worst. I'd like to put together a package that would get us an early 2nd rounder to land him if he's still on the board, but I don't see Holland making it happen...

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Craig Button just did his mock draft, McLeod goes a pick before us to the Wild and we get Jake Bean. I'm a tad biased, because I got to see him play this year, but I PRAY that Craig is right and we get Bean. Exactly what we need, offensive D, big, fast, good passer and no slouch in his own zone.

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I just saw the mock draft now , also Craig picked this finnish player I was hope we'd somehow land late 2nd or 3rd through a trade .... Henrik borgstrom who was ranked 77th and Craig put him 27th spot , makes me want Him even more + he's going ncaa route which should help his development

Ugh part of me wants make bean and other part wants us to trade down and add more picks , can't wait till the draft tomorrow

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