Official 2018 NHL Amateur Entry Draft Discussion Thread

[Wheelchairsuperhero 1,453]

2 minutes ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

 

You guys think this is a good or bad thing? I'm leaning towards good, but just curious if people think this may sour players to the organization.

[SwedeLundin77 460]

Just now, Wheelchairsuperhero said:

You guys think this is a good or bad thing? I'm leaning towards good, but just curious if people think this may sour players to the organization.

I'd say it's a good thing. Players that are serious and want to succeed in the league will have to appreciate that we are serious about the rebuild and finding the right piece to help bring the team back to it's winning ways.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

5 minutes ago, Wheelchairsuperhero said:

You guys think this is a good or bad thing? I'm leaning towards good, but just curious if people think this may sour players to the organization.

Good.

The Wings have clearly been re-emphasizing the need for players with good personality a lot lately. It's what led us to draft Rasmussen and Kotkansalo in the last draft. IMO, it's because of guys like Mrazek, Tatar, Hudler, and others I'm probably forgetting. All were decent players, but they clashed with the team over dumb crap. Athanasiou is looking like our next skilled player with bad habits...

We now have the opportunity to draft some really good players picking so high. We need to select the "right players" so to speak. What I mean by this is: We want to select the next Zetterberg, not the next Evander Kane. Both are incredibly high skilled players deserving to be picked high, but one is a good-natured, loyal, humble, hard-working leader, and the other is a lazy, classless, showboat who cares more for his dollars than his team.

[Wheelchairsuperhero 1,453]

17 minutes ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Good.

The Wings have clearly been re-emphasizing the need for players with good personality a lot lately. It's what led us to draft Rasmussen and Kotkansalo in the last draft. IMO, it's because of guys like Mrazek, Tatar, Hudler, and others I'm probably forgetting. All were decent players, but they clashed with the team over dumb crap. Athanasiou is looking like our next skilled player with bad habits...

We now have the opportunity to draft some really good players picking so high. We need to select the "right players" so to speak. What I mean by this is: We want to select the next Zetterberg, not the next Evander Kane. Both are incredibly high skilled players deserving to be picked high, but one is a good-natured, loyal, humble, hard-working leader, and the other is a lazy, classless, showboat who cares more for his dollars than his team.

You pretty much summed up my thoughts on how the Wings have been drafting, and it's why I was okay with the Rasmussen pick. I think some folks really underestimate the importance of the right attitude.

[Dabura 12,207]

1 hour ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

 

"So you're a left-shot forward."

"yeh"

"You sure about that?"

"Um, pretty su--"

"THEN EXPLAIN THIS!" [whips out an old polaroid pic of the player where he's holding his stick like a righty]

"How did you get that p--"

"I'M ASKING THE QUESTIONS HERE, BUCKO!"

Edited June 4, 2018 by Dabura

[LeftWinger 4,951]

2 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Will The Wings Make a Play for Kovalchuk?

Article: Red Wings have shown interest in the past, but Kovy wants to go to a contender. More likely we sign Vanek.

The more interesting parts of the article are: Detroit prefers Zadina to Svechnikov and would still consider trading up. Detroit also prefers Bouchard and Dobson over Boqvist and Hughes because of size.

What? Are they now Bigots and anti-small finesse player now too? Isn't it strange that I say the same thing and I am a bigot or anti-finesse Euro-Style player, or whatever you want to call it, but its news worthy when someone in the know says it...hmmm, maybe I am on to something, no?

They prefer Zadina or Svech? Wow! Everyone in the hockey world says that Svech is the most NHL ready and the closest thing to a superstar in the draft (forwards.) Maybe they prefer Zadina, not only because he is good (is he also a center?) but they want Carolina to draft Svech so they can trade them the other Svech.

Imagine this if you could, Wings get Zadina, Bouchard, Dobson AND Wahlstrom! All without losing Larkin or Mantha.

Dunno how, but Kenny would be Da'Man!

I think the writer is correct though, Detroit will trade the #6 and the #30(31) for the #3 or #4. Maybe offering Ottawa the #6 and their 2nd rounder back, maybe they could swing the #4 and at least get Dobson or Bouchard. Zadina is electrifying, but dang it, if they were going O, I was really hoping to get Wahlstrom….guess we'll see what Kenny does.

Then again, there is talk that Carolina will draft Zadina to play along side Necas. I tend to believe that if they do trade up, its to guarantee one of the big D-men.

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Theres quite some Guys i Like in the top 60 so if we can somehow land the rangers 9 and 28 or Hawks 8 and 27 then id do it , then maybe try and land the 17th from nj To get a bokk or/and one of the islanders firsts 

Or maybe the islanders want our late first and we can land 41 and 42 back

Think its possible we can trade Ericsson for Dallas's 44th with say 750k paid , Dallas's d looks pretty bad 

 

Also what do you guys think of the jay o'brien , he's looking good to me , going to ncaa next Year, had 43 goals and betting some comparisons To Ryan Donato ... id take a shot at him early 2nd 

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

1 hour ago, Wheelchairsuperhero said:

You pretty much summed up my thoughts on how the Wings have been drafting, and it's why I was okay with the Rasmussen pick. I think some folks really underestimate the importance of the right attitude.

Exactly. I think it's easy to forget from behind a screen that these names/stats are real people with a range of personalities and motivations, some of which we might not share or agree with.

5 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

What? Are they now Bigots and anti-small finesse player now too? Isn't it strange that I say the same thing and I am a bigot or anti-finesse Euro-Style player, or whatever you want to call it, but its news worthy when someone in the know says it...hmmm, maybe I am on to something, no?

They prefer Zadina or Svech? Wow! Everyone in the hockey world says that Svech is the most NHL ready and the closest thing to a superstar in the draft (forwards.) Maybe they prefer Zadina, not only because he is good (is he also a center?) but they want Carolina to draft Svech so they can trade them the other Svech.

Imagine this if you could, Wings get Zadina, Bouchard, Dobson AND Wahlstrom! All without losing Larkin or Mantha.

Dunno how, but Kenny would be Da'Man!

I think the writer is correct though, Detroit will trade the #6 and the #30(31) for the #3 or #4. Maybe offering Ottawa the #6 and their 2nd rounder back, maybe they could swing the #4 and at least get Dobson or Bouchard. Zadina is electrifying, but dang it, if they were going O, I was really hoping to get Wahlstrom….guess we'll see what Kenny does.

Then again, there is talk that Carolina will draft Zadina to play along side Necas. I tend to believe that if they do trade up, its to guarantee one of the big D-men.

You said you prefer Bouchard and Dobson because of size and someone called you a bigot and anti-finesse...?

[Buppy 1,720]

55 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

What? Are they now Bigots and anti-small finesse player now too? Isn't it strange that I say the same thing and I am a bigot or anti-finesse Euro-Style player, or whatever you want to call it, but its news worthy when someone in the know says it...hmmm, maybe I am on to something, no?...

They don't have a years-long history of demonstrable anti-Euro bias. Nor were they making up idiotic "page 2" nonsense suggesting that Hughes/Boqvist are inferior players who would only be picked because of where they're from.

Best part of this is that now if they do pick one of the small guys, you're really going to explode. 

[LeftWinger 4,951]

2 hours ago, Buppy said:

They don't have a years-long history of demonstrable anti-Euro bias. Nor were they making up idiotic "page 2" nonsense suggesting that Hughes/Boqvist are inferior players who would only be picked because of where they're from.

Best part of this is that now if they do pick one of the small guys, you're really going to explode. 

Nah, that was WAAAAAY before the "pages."

I said awhile ago I prefer Bouchard and Dobson over Hughes and Boqvist, and someone said "why? because they are under 6'? Then it also came to their style of play "small and skilled."  That's ok, because from here on out, I have reference to the Wings saying they prefer Bouchard and Dobson (the same players I prefer) for the same reasons! 

It's ok guys, even though your narrative fails on a daily basis, its fun to read your silly trolling!

3 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Exactly. I think it's easy to forget from behind a screen that these names/stats are real people with a range of personalities and motivations, some of which we might not share or agree with.

You said you prefer Bouchard and Dobson because of size and someone called you a bigot and anti-finesse...?

I know you are, but what am I?

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

26 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

Nah, that was WAAAAAY before the "pages."

I said awhile ago I prefer Bouchard and Dobson over Hughes and Boqvist, and someone said "why? because they are under 6'? Then it also came to their style of play "small and skilled."  That's ok, because from here on out, I have reference to the Wings saying they prefer Bouchard and Dobson (the same players I prefer) for the same reasons! 

It's ok guys, even though your narrative fails on a daily basis, its fun to read your silly trolling!

I know you are, but what am I?

Apparently someone still in grade school

[LeftWinger 4,951]

I notice Calgary does not have a pick until the 4th round!

Maybe they'd be interested in acquiring a late 1st and an early 2nd?

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

I prefer a rightie. I am biased.

[krsmith17 7,191]

6 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

I notice Calgary does not have a pick until the 4th round!

Maybe they'd be interested in acquiring a late 1st and an early 2nd?

For what?

[LeftWinger 4,951]

8 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

For what?

make us an offer we cannot refuse!

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

2 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Apparently someone still in grade school

Says the guy with the Pee Wee Herman avatar 

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

On 6/1/2018 at 4:06 PM, Dabura said:

I've harped on this before, but, again, it really is kind of nuts. The deficiency, I mean. It's to the point now where I'm wondering if there's a philosophical/strategic reason behind it. Frk, Vanek, Brunner, Alfredsson, Glendening, Witkowski. Those are the recent right-shooting forwards I can think of off the top of my head. That's it. And all of them -- with maybe one or two exceptions -- were/are specialists, as opposed to really solid players you could really count on to play big minutes in tough situations and such.

I remember Babcock talking about how important he thought it was to have left-shooting defensemen playing the left side and right-shooting defensemen playing the right side. And I remember joking to myself that when Holland traded for Zidlicky, Holland called Babcock and said, "THERE. YOU FINALLY HAVE YOUR DAMN RIGHT-HANDED DEFENSEMAN. YOU HAPPY NOW? YOU PROUD OF YOURSELF? THE THINGS I DO TO MAKE YOU HAPPY. ALL I DO IS GIVE AND ALL YOU DO IS TAKE."

Interestingly enough, if you look over the Cup winning rosters, you'll see a well balanced F and D group.

97 and 98 you had Brown, McCarty, LaPointe, Knuble, and Dandenault on the RW  (Shanny and Maltby played the off-wing) and you had Vladdy (97), Mironov (98), Murphy, Ward, and Pushor on D.

2002 you had only Hull and McCarty listed as RW, but you still had Shanny, Maltby, Yzerman, Jason Williams, and Dandenault who could be slotted in there. On D, you had only Chelios and Olausson, but you still had Dandenault, and Krupp was signed that year too.

In 2008, you had only Downey, McCarty, Samuelsson, and Maltby at F and Rafalski and Chelios on D, but that's still more righties than we have now.

So yeah, this team has had more success with a more balanced RH to LH roster.

[SwedeLundin77 460]

3 hours ago, F.Michael said:

So for the sake of discussion - the Wings pick Wahlstrom (correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this kid a big fan of the Wings, and probably made a good impression in the interview) with the 6th overall pick...What Dmen might be left later on?

This is actually the scenario I like as I feel Wahlstrom can probably step right in, so they can move some current pieces for later picks and D needs. As far as Dmen available with our other picks (assuming we don't try and package a couple to move up into the 18-20 range:

Alexander Alexeyev - WHL - 45gp, 7 goals, 30 assists - 6'3" 200 lbs, shoots left
   "Alexeyev does a lot of things well. There are a couple of things he can work on, but most aspects of his game are good. The difficulty here is finding one skill where he will be elite. There is a collection of good tools here, but no great one. Alexeyev projects as a potential second pairing defender, who can play in all situations. In terms of style, Alexeyev’s game is reminiscent of Jonas Brodin."

Jacob Bernard-Docker - AJHL - 49gp, 20 goals, 21 assists - 6'1" 181 lbs, shoots right
   "Bernard-Docker will need time to develop, especially with the jump from the AJHL to the pros. Expect to see him spend a couple of seasons at North Dakota before being ready for the pro game. As he faces higher competition and gets better coaching, his defensive game should improve. It is sometimes tough for a player who doesn’t face top competition to improve defensively as he is not challenged by strong opponents game in and game out. Bernard-Docker can also improve his strength. His game is reminiscent of Jeff Petry."

Mattias Samuelsson - USDP - 58gp, 11 goals, 20 assists - 6'4" 217 lbs, shoots left
   "Samuelsson has the unique combination of size, physicality and skill that NHL teams covet on their blue line. He may not have the offensive game to be a top power play unit player, but could contribute to a second unit. Samuelsson will need to work on refining his skills, cleaning up his skating, and improving discipline. As he is headed to the NCAA, there is plenty of time for him to improve. Samuelsson’s game is reminiscent of a left-handed Brent Seabrook."

Jakub Adamek - Czech U20 - 42gp, 1 goal, 4 assists - 6'6" 200 lbs, shoots left
   Can't find any scouting info on him

Calen Addison - WHL - 68gp, 11 goals, 54 assists - 5'10" 179 lbs - shoots right
   "The lack of size and strength will likely prevent Addison from ever becoming a shutdown defenceman, playing on the top pair. However, his skating, puck-moving, and offensive abilities still show him to be an intriguing prospect. He likely needs more time in juniors, to bulk up and play a bit more disciplined with the puck. If things go well in development, Addison has the potential to be a first unit power play defender and second pairing player at even strength. His game is reminiscent of Tyson Barrie."

Axel Andersson - SuperElit - 42gp, 6 goals, 25 assists - 6' 174 lbs, shoots right
   "A long-term developmental defender who needs to add better habits and less gambling in his end and more grit. Strong on the puck and able to hold it in his end, with losing possession. Needs better awareness and presence in his end and bit more grit. Very skilled skater and puckhandler with flash and dash, and a high patience when under forechecking pressure. A long-term developmental right-hander who needs to continue to build his overall game."

Aleksi Anttalainen - QMJHL - 61gp, 4 goals, 18 assists - 5'9" 182 lbs, shoots left
   No information

If we trade into the 15-20 range:

Adam Ginning - SHL - 28gp, 1 goal, 1 assist - 6'3" 196 lbs, shoots left
   "Ginning has the potential to be a defensive defenceman in the top four, however he must continue to improve his skating. He will likely never be a big offensive contributor, but can still keep the puck moving. He will need some time to add muscle to his growing frame as well. Expect Ginning to spend at least another season or two in Sweden before coming to North America. His style is comparable to Johnny Oduya."

Ty Smith - WHL - 69gp, 14 goals, 59 assists - 5'10" 174 lbs, shoots left
   "Smith can be an excellent offensive contributor at the next level. He has all the skills to transform a team’s transition game and to run the power play. It is not clear if his defensive game will be good enough to take on top pairing minutes at the next level. Continued work on getting stronger will be key. He likely needs another year of junior, possibly two. Stylistically, Smith's game is similar to Shayne Gostisbehere."

Jared McIsaac - QMJHL - 65gp, 9 goals, 38 assists - 6'1" 195 lbs, shoots left
   "McIsaac has all the upside and skills necessary to be a top-four defenceman at the NHL level. While he is not NHL ready yet, another year or two in junior, rounding out his game will serve him well. He should continue to play big minutes, and in all situations. This is something that will serve him well in his development. McIsaac’s game is reminiscent of Drew Doughty."

Bode Wilde - USDP - 61gp, 12 goals, 29 assists - 6'2" 194 lbs, shoots right
   "Wilde has the potential to become a number one defenseman in the NHL, but he is more likely to slot in as a number two or three. He plays a solid two-way game and can be an important part of a team’s defensive core, playing both power play and penalty kill minutes. He has to continue to refine his game and will need some time before he will be NHL ready. Wilde’s game is reminiscent of a smaller version of Dustin Byfuglien."

 

Edited June 5, 2018 by SwedeLundin77

[Buppy 1,720]

4 hours ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Interestingly enough, if you look over the Cup winning rosters, you'll see a well balanced F and D group.

97 and 98 you had Brown, McCarty, LaPointe, Knuble, and Dandenault on the RW  (Shanny and Maltby played the off-wing) and you had Vladdy (97), Mironov (98), Murphy, Ward, and Pushor on D.

2002 you had only Hull and McCarty listed as RW, but you still had Shanny, Maltby, Yzerman, Jason Williams, and Dandenault who could be slotted in there. On D, you had only Chelios and Olausson, but you still had Dandenault, and Krupp was signed that year too.

In 2008, you had only Downey, McCarty, Samuelsson, and Maltby at F and Rafalski and Chelios on D, but that's still more righties than we have now.

So yeah, this team has had more success with a more balanced RH to LH roster.

If you look over almost anything it will of course have a more well-balanced group than the current "almost nothing". 2008 could hardly be called well-balanced, even relative to the current Wings, and proves rather conclusively that you can in fact succeed with unbalanced handedness. Just like Buffalo proves the opposite.

The only reason you don't see it more often is simply because it's just weird to see a roster so unbalanced. Like Dabura jokes, it's almost something you'd have to try to do. With the current numbers, you'd expect 35-40% of your roster to shoot right. 10-ish players, counting reserves/call-ups, which would likely mean at least a couple decent ones. In short, it's not something that makes a team successful; it's just something that almost every team, good and bad, has.

[LeftWinger 4,951]

In a heart there are four chambers, in my life I was blessed with four individuals that filled those chambers with life and love, today I lost one. I will be taking a break from things for a while. Stay awesome my friends.

[Dabura 12,207]

36 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

In a heart there are four chambers, in my life I was blessed with four individuals that filled those chambers with life and love, today I lost one. I will be taking a break from things for a while. Stay awesome my friends.

I'm sorry to hear that. Best wishes.

[BringBack19 110]

43 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

In a heart there are four chambers, in my life I was blessed with four individuals that filled those chambers with life and love, today I lost one. I will be taking a break from things for a while. Stay awesome my friends.

I’m sorry to hear that lefty. My thoughts and prayers will be with you. 

[The 91 of Ryans 3,014]

49 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

In a heart there are four chambers, in my life I was blessed with four individuals that filled those chambers with life and love, today I lost one. I will be taking a break from things for a while. Stay awesome my friends.

Condolences and best wishes.

[krsmith17 7,191]

1 hour ago, LeftWinger said:

In a heart there are four chambers, in my life I was blessed with four individuals that filled those chambers with life and love, today I lost one. I will be taking a break from things for a while. Stay awesome my friends.

Sorry for your loss Lefty...

[krsmith17 7,191]

5 hours ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

This is actually the scenario I like as I feel Wahlstrom can probably step right in, so they can move some current pieces for later picks and D needs. As far as Dmen available with our other picks (assuming we don't try and package a couple to move up into the 18-20 range:

I'd love to take any of Wilde, Samuelsson or McIsaac with our 2nd pick, but I don't see any of them being available at 30. I think we'd have to trade up anywhere from 5-15 picks for any of them. I really think we should try to trade up to get another top 10-15 pick. I'm not sure what it would take, but maybe Athanasiou, the Vegas pick and a 2019 2nd round pick could get us up there.