Official 2018 NHL Amateur Entry Draft Discussion Thread

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

9 minutes ago, Wheelchairsuperhero said:

The use of Rasmussen as an example of an overrated draft prospect has me confused considering his recent playoff performance.

I’m optimistic about Rasmussen like Alot on here, but one good playoff run in juniors doesn’t mean he is going to be a great NHL player. Jury is still out of course. But because the Wings drafted Rasmussen, no reason to draft a similar type player the next year in Tkachuk.

 

[Wheelchairsuperhero 1,453]

3 minutes ago, Datsyukian-Deke said:

I’m optimistic about Rasmussen like Alot on here, but one good playoff run in juniors doesn’t mean he is going to be a great NHL player. Jury is still out of course. But because the Wings drafted Rasmussen, no reason to draft a similar type player the next year in Tkachuk.

 

I agree, it just seems like he's referencing Rasmussen like the jury is already out and he was an overrated pick when that clearly isn't the case, yet. I'm also not looking to take Tkachuk. The only forward I'd be okay with is Wahlstrom, otherwise give me one of those promising D prospects.

[Dabura 12,206]

13 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

I like the Wahlstrom. I do. But Wahlstrom isnt clearly the better pick than Bouchard at this point.

And Im normally for drafting the best player available, but in the case Im siding with team need. And that is defense.

We have Larkin and Rasmussen down the middle and Mantha at wing. These are pretty much sure things. Who knows where the rest end up. We have no sure things at D. We need a sure thing at D.

Im a Bouchard guy.

To be fair, Bouchard isn't a sure thing. But I know what you mean. Larkin and Mantha have shown enough at the NHL level that we can at least tentatively identify them as core players. We don't have a Larkin or a Mantha on the back end, and while Cholowski and Hronek are both very promising, the operating assumption should be that neither of them is going to become That Guy. Hughes/Boqvist/Bouchard/Dobson would be the best defense prospect we've had in a very long time. For an organization that desperately needs an infusion of that kind of talent into the defense pipeline...well, picking one of those defensemen seems like a no-brainer.

I guess the main counterargument, from where I stand, is that defensemen are kind of a crapshoot. If the Wings have some doubts about their ability to turn Hughes or Boqvist or Bouchard or Dobson into a top-pairing NHL defenseman and they're more confident in their ability to turn Wahlstrom or Tkachuk into a player who's as good as or better than Mantha, I'd say that's a respectable rationale for picking one of those wingers over any of those defensemen. I don't know if it'd be the right call, but I could appreciate the logic behind it.

In theory, a Mantha-Larkin-Wahlstrom line could be an absolute juggernaut, even with a s***-tier defense group behind it.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Dabura

[LeftWinger 4,935]

If we go Offense, it'll be Wahlstrom. 

But Holland is gonna trade AA, Nyquist, VEG's 1st our 2020 1st to Vancouver for #7 and get both Bouchard AND Wahlstrom anyhow...

[marcaractac 3,960]

36 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

If we go Offense, it'll be Wahlstrom. 

But Holland is gonna trade AA, Nyquist, VEG's 1st our 2020 1st to Vancouver for #7 and get both Bouchard AND Wahlstrom anyhow...

I certainly ******* hope not

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

13 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

Dang, this is like the first time that all of us are on the same page with a draft pick. 

I wouldn't go that far. My biggest concern is that it means he picks someone that none of us expected.

5 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

If we go Offense, it'll be Wahlstrom. 

But Holland is gonna trade AA, Nyquist, VEG's 1st our 2020 1st to Vancouver for #7 and get both Bouchard AND Wahlstrom anyhow...

As much as I would like to see us get both players, 2 middle six wingers on expiring contracts and essentially a 2nd round pick isnt getting you #7.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

Pronman has his draft rankings up now, but behind a pay-wall. Someone told me he's got Hughes at 5 and Bouchard at 18!

Pronman ranks prospects based who has the highest ceiling, and he doesn't favor size or physicality at all. Purely ceiling and skill based ranking.

I think he probably has a problem with Bouchard's skating, he's supposedly not the best skater.

Edited May 22, 2018 by ChristopherReevesLegs

[krsmith17 7,191]

3 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Pronman has his draft rankings up now, but behind a pay-wall. Someone told me he's got Hughes at 5 and Bouchard at 18!

Pronman ranks prospects based who has the highest ceiling, and he doesn't favor size or physicality at all. Purely ceiling and skill based ranking.

I think he probably has a problem with Bouchard's skating, he's supposedly not the best skater.

This is true. Here's what he had to say about Bouchard...

Bouchard was fantastic for London this season and was a huge part of why a rebuilding team ended up finishing in a significant playoff spot. He put up monster counting numbers and generated a ton of shots on goal while playing half the game most nights. His counting numbers were one of the best ever by a U19 defenseman in the OHL. Bouchard put up a lot of points for a reason. He has a hard, dangerous shot and can be a primary trigger guy on an NHL power play. The more I’ve watched him the more I appreciate his vision, with one scout referring to him as a general in how well and calmly he moves the puck. He has a lot of poise in the offensive zone to wait out options. I think his hands and skating are good but not great. He can get a little upright in his stride, which takes away power, but he can get up and down the ice well and shows good speed. He’ll need to continue improving defensively in his reads/battles to be solid defensively as a pro, but he’s shown progress there and took the tough matchups this season.

London’s assistant coach Rick Steadman said: “His ceiling is very high. We forced him to play D first, he didn’t have much of a leash when he first came in. Now that he’s a good defensive player, now we let him go up and down the ice. His outlets are really good, he’s got great vision, he can really make plays and, once he gets that shot off, it’s hard to stop.”

 

Bokk is also ranked 8th, and he's supposed to be a late first rounder. I really hope we can get him with the Vegas pick, but I have a feeling he'll be gone in the 24-28 range.

[joesuffP 1,746]

I personally prefer a 50 point jack of all trades D man that can play 30 minutes if need be in the playoffs a la Duncan Keith compared to a Brent Burns who has dominant games but if you watch him night in night out he’s kind of infuriating

Basically I’m team Bouchard. I’d rather our D create and play from the back end. Also, young players have been able to improve there skating once they have have access to professional coaching with the right attitude

Edited May 23, 2018 by joesuffP

[SwedeLundin77 460]

14 hours ago, joesuffP said:

I personally prefer a 50 point jack of all trades D man that can play 30 minutes if need be in the playoffs a la Duncan Keith compared to a Brent Burns who has dominant games but if you watch him night in night out he’s kind of infuriating

Basically I’m team Bouchard. I’d rather our D create and play from the back end. Also, young players have been able to improve there skating once they have have access to professional coaching with the right attitude

It's interesting because I've seen some scouting reports/reviews state that Dobson is just as gifted offensively but better defensively than Bouchard... this draft is giving me headaches. After watching clips of him, I'd prefer Hughes just for his speed and tenacity/creativity. He basically seems like a Larkin on D.

[AtlantaHotWings 973]

At this point I just want someone NEW and SHINY so they can be analyzed under the LGW forums microscope. 

[LeftWinger 4,935]

if after Ken Holland went on record saying that you can't have a team full of 5'10" d-men, then passes on Bouchard and drafts Hughes or Boqvist, welcome to Page 2!

Edited May 23, 2018 by LeftWinger

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

3 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

if after Ken Holland went on record saying that you can't have a team full of 5'10" d-men, then passes on Bouchard and drafts Hughes or Boqvist, welcome to Page 2!

So page 1 is signing young goalies and page 2 is drafting short defenders. Got it.

Well folks we got Rybar, therefore were drafting Hughes. Leftys done the math.

[Buppy 1,720]

3 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

if after Ken Holland went on record saying that you can't have a team full of 5'10" d-men, then passes on Bouchard and drafts Hughes or Boqvist, welcome to Page 2!

So it's a book about you ignoring reality and blowing things way out of proportion? Christ, I hope you never print that book out. There aren't enough trees on the planet to produce that much paper.

[Dabura 12,206]

6 hours ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

It's interesting because I've seen some scouting reports/reviews state that Dobson is just as gifted offensively but better defensively than Bouchard... this draft is giving me headaches.

I would say Dobson has the more mature, robust two-way/all-around game but isn't as naturally gifted in the areas that Bouchard is. But Dobson's bigger and is the better skater. *shrug*

I give Bouchard the edge because where people have concerns about Bouchard's skating, I have concerns about Dobson's ability to drive possession and create offense and put up points at the NHL level -- and where skating is something that can be improved upon, you can't really teach the natural gifts that Bouchard offers.

Honestly tho, it's a coin flip. Depends on what you value most in a high-end Wings defense prospect in the year 2018.

6 hours ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

After watching clips of him, I'd prefer Hughes just for his speed and tenacity/creativity. He basically seems like a Larkin on D.

That's exactly how I think of him -- Larkin, if Larkin were a defenseman. And significantly smaller.

[LeftWinger 4,935]

It's a book or manual about how Ken Holland conducts business. He always starts by signing some no name player to a contract and usually buries that player so deep in the organization the player splits after the contract. Then as the book continues, he does the same things as he always does.  I don't have to print it, Holland already wrote it. I am just hoping he signed this goalie for the reason's you guys are saying (out of need) and then continues to write new pages!

My point about Hughes/Boqvist was, if after he says "can't have a team full of these players," then does it anyway, is typical Holland saying "change change change" but doing the same thing, like he is, are you sitting down? FOLLOWING HIS SAME OLD MANUAL. I'm Just getting ready for the same old Holland and hoping for something new! I can't believe you guys do not understand my reference.

BTW, I am not knocking this goalie at all, competition is awesome considering our current situation.

[Buppy 1,720]

16 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

It's a book or manual about how Ken Holland conducts business. He always starts by signing some no name player to a contract and usually buries that player so deep in the organization the player splits after the contract. Then as the book continues, he does the same things as he always does.  I don't have to print it, Holland already wrote it. I am just hoping he signed this goalie for the reason's you guys are saying (out of need) and then continues to write new pages!

My point about Hughes/Boqvist was, if after he says "can't have a team full of these players," then does it anyway, is typical Holland saying "change change change" but doing the same thing, like he is, are you sitting down? FOLLOWING HIS SAME OLD MANUAL. I'm Just getting ready for the same old Holland and hoping for something new! I can't believe you guys do not understand my reference.

BTW, I am not knocking this goalie at all, competition is awesome considering our current situation.

You don't need to keep providing examples of your inability to recognize reality. We're all well aware. 

I would explain some of the flaws in your logic, but I don't want to waste my time. You wouldn't get it. 

[LeftWinger 4,935]

Whats reality? Holland doesn't say things every year only to do different? Please tell me what reality is...

Edited May 23, 2018 by LeftWinger

[LeftWinger 4,935]

10 minutes ago, Buppy said:

You don't need to keep providing examples of your inability to recognize reality. We're all well aware. 

I would explain some of the flaws in your logic, but I don't want to waste my time. You wouldn't get it. 

Nevermind, I don't realty care. 

I have said, its not a bad signing and hope he does what he says he is going to do.  But that is about as optimistic as I can get. Until the draft and he doesn't draft a D man that he says he doesn't want a team full of, I'll remain cautiously optimistic. If he does? Same old Holland...

[Buppy 1,720]

31 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

Nevermind, I don't realty care. 

I have said, its not a bad signing and hope he does what he says he is going to do.  But that is about as optimistic as I can get. Until the draft and he doesn't draft a D man that he says he doesn't want a team full of, I'll remain cautiously optimistic. If he does? Same old Holland...

Lol. Quinton isn't Latin for five. I'll just leave it at that.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

3 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

Nevermind, I don't realty care. 

I have said, its not a bad signing and hope he does what he says he is going to do.  But that is about as optimistic as I can get. Until the draft and he doesn't draft a D man that he says he doesn't want a team full of, I'll remain cautiously optimistic. If he does? Same old Holland...

I love that youve decieded to run with this quote. Its from the radio interview a month back that I know we both listened to because you posted about it.

So everyone knows...

What essentially Holland said: I have no problem drafting smaller skilled Dmen, but one cant build a team out of only small Dmen.

What this means in Leftys mind: If Holland doesnt draft a large Dman with the first pick in 2018 he is a liar and we are doomed to repeat the last 7 years of mediocrity, and signing a young goalie is proof of this.

Youre absolutely right lefty, these truly are spoooooky times lol

 

Edited May 24, 2018 by ChristopherReevesLegs

[LeftWinger 4,935]

Glad you agree 

[LeftWinger 4,935]

So, we're either getting 30 or 31, I bet if someone offers Holland two more 2nds for that 1st he takes it. Montreal has 4 2nds, maybe there will be someone they really want at 30 and they give us THREE of their 2nds for the 1st and XO. They can keep their 2nd and give us the other 3.

[krsmith17 7,191]

45 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

So, we're either getting 30 or 31, I bet if someone offers Holland two more 2nds for that 1st he takes it. Montreal has 4 2nds, maybe there will be someone they really want at 30 and they give us THREE of their 2nds for the 1st and XO. They can keep their 2nd and give us the other 3.

I doubt Montreal would give up three 2nd round picks, but maybe if they were willing to give up 35 and 56 I'd consider it, depending on who is available. If a player drops, or a player we really like is available at 30, I don't think I'd trade back, unless we have a very good idea they'll be available at 33.

[kliq 3,755]

Nothing groundbreaking by any stretch, but just some draft thoughts from Caputo. Interesting that he doesn't even name Bouchard.