2018 NHL Draft Thread

[nessus]

I've also read that Merkley is not very good defensively, which is another factor contributing to him being a risky pick. You don't want a David Rundblad situation, who coincidentally was also selected 17th overall (2009).

[SterioDesign]

1 minute ago, nessus said:

I've also read that Merkley is not very good defensively, which is another factor contributing to him being a risky pick. You don't want a David Rundblad situation, who coincidentally was also selected 17th overall (2009).

yeah read the same thing and that he'd always have to be sheltered 

[CommonDreads]

That is a fair argument regarding his defensive ability, which is why as a full package I have Merkley ranked below Dahlin (obviously), Hughes, Boqvist, and Bouchard in terms of defensemen in this draft. But, I think from a pure skill standpoint, I think Merkley is the most skilled defenseman in this draft, what he can do on the offensive side of the puck is special among his peers.

[SterioDesign]

30 minutes ago, CommonDreads said:

That is a fair argument regarding his defensive ability, which is why as a full package I have Merkley ranked below Dahlin (obviously), Hughes, Boqvist, and Bouchard in terms of defensemen in this draft. But, I think from a pure skill standpoint, I think Merkley is the most skilled defenseman in this draft, what he can do on the offensive side of the puck is special among his peers.

being special against 16 years old kids might not be that special against men tho

[CommonDreads]

Just now, SterioDesign said:

being special against 16 years old kids might not be that special against men tho

Not saying he's NHL ready right now, but comparing him to his peers is absolutely relevant. This group of players in theory is who is going to follow him through his career as he and his peers graduate to pro hockey, he continues to develop above those in his age group then he should have a leg up on most when he turns pro. Futhermore however, it's not just his stats that make him look so good, it's his skating, vision with the puck, and offensive intelligence that makes him stand out so much, those are going to be skills that should eventually make him a very good offensive defenseman in the NHL.

[LittleBallofHate]

Today's Pulz prospect profile is D-man Evan Bouchard, in case anyone is interested... he sounds like a good pick if he falls to 17? 

https://www.reddit.com/r/devils/comments/8edgxy/2018_nhl_draft_writeups_evan_bouchard_d_london/

Right-shooting defenseman for the London Knights, OHL

6'2" 191 lbs

67 games, 25G 62A 87 points

His draft rankings as of today are:

HockeyProspect - #15

ISS Hockey - #6

FutureConsiderations - #10

McKeens - #6

NHL Central Scouting - #4 (NA Skaters)

[CommonDreads]

1 minute ago, LittleBallofHate said:

Today's Pulz prospect profile is D-man Evan Bouchard, in case anyone is interested... he sounds like a good pick if he falls to 17? 

https://www.reddit.com/r/devils/comments/8edgxy/2018_nhl_draft_writeups_evan_bouchard_d_london/

Right-shooting defenseman for the London Knights, OHL

6'2" 191 lbs

67 games, 25G 62A 87 points

His draft rankings as of today are:

HockeyProspect - #15

ISS Hockey - #6

FutureConsiderations - #10

McKeens - #6

NHL Central Scouting - #4 (NA Skaters)

If Bouchard is available at 17 I jump all over that, but I'd wager he doesn't make it past 6th or 7th. He's not as dynamic a defenseman as say a Boqvist, Hughes, or Merkley, but he's one of the smartest players in the draft, teams are gonna jump all over him for his smarts, size, and the right shot.

[mfitz804]

10 minutes ago, CommonDreads said:

If Bouchard is available at 17 I jump all over that, but I'd wager he doesn't make it past 6th or 7th. He's not as dynamic a defenseman as say a Boqvist, Hughes, or Merkley, but he's one of the smartest players in the draft, teams are gonna jump all over him for his smarts, size, and the right shot.

Yeah it doesn't sound like he'll be anywhere close to available. Anyone want to trade us the 6th pick for the 17th plus Andy Greene?  

[EdgeControl]

Give me 6'2" with good quick hands in front of our net and let the other partner worry about meeting speed at the blue line entrance..  

[nessus]

I highly doubt Dobson will make it to 17, but things like this sometimes happen. Chychrun was advertised in a similar way (solid, smart, very skilled, but without the dazzling, Karlsson-like style) , and he ended up falling all the way to 16. Chychun also was considered one of the top few D in that draft for a large part of that year, and the only one of the group to crack the lineup at the beginning his D+1 year, for whatever that's worth. I won't count on it, but there's certainly hope.

[CommonDreads]

18 minutes ago, nessus said:

I highly doubt Dobson will make it to 17, but things like this sometimes happen. Chychrun was advertised in a similar way (solid, smart, very skilled, but without the dazzling, Karlsson-like style) , and he ended up falling all the way to 16. Chychun also was considered one of the top few D in that draft for a large part of that year, and the only one of the group to crack the lineup at the beginning his D+1 year, for whatever that's worth. I won't count on it, but there's certainly hope.

True and fair, granted however Chychrun was touted as a consensus #2 headed into the 2015-16 season and lost his way behind Laine, Puljujarvi, Tkachuk, etc., meanwhile Dobson at worst maintained his projection but by all counts Bouchard has improved it. Like you said anything could happen, I could see Dobson falling to 17 much more likely than Bouchard though, Dobson is also very intriguing. Actually reminds me quite a bit of McDonagh in play style.

Edited April 23, 2018 by CommonDreads

[SterioDesign]

Barzal was projected top 6-7 and was picked wayyyy later. You just never know

[Nicomo]

8 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

Barzal was projected top 6-7 and was picked wayyyy later. You just never know

Wasn’t Parise projected top 10?

[SterioDesign]

12 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Wasn’t Parise projected top 10?

mmmm i can't remember but i don't think so?... that draft was so insanely deep tho

[CommonDreads]

9 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

Barzal was projected top 6-7 and was picked wayyyy later. You just never know

I get the sense Barzal dropped to 16 because of the injury he had that year, felt the whole time though that he should have been considered up alongside Marner and Strome for 3rd overall however, just a damn shame he dropped to a division rival

[MadDog2020]

mmmm i can't remember but i don't think so?... that draft was so insanely deep tho

Parise was pretty much a consensus top 10 that year, yes. I remember Pierre freaking out when he kept dropping.


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[LittleBallofHate]

Wednesday's Pulz prospect - Nils Lundkvist - sounds interesting:  https://www.reddit.com/r/devils/comments/8evcea/2018_nhl_draft_writeups_nils_lundkvist_d_lulea_hf/

Right-shooting defenseman for Lulea HF, SHL     5'11" 174 lbs

28 games, 2G 3A 5 points

His draft rankings as of today are:

HockeyProspect - #19

ISS Hockey - #NR

FutureConsiderations - #NR

McKeens - #27

NHL Central Scouting - #14 (EU Skaters)

snippet: 

Compared to another player in the draft, like Adam Boqvist, Lundkvist's high-end scoring potential is not as refined - that doesn't mean that scouts haven't taken notice of Lundkvist's game...in fact there have been some rumblings that scouts may not see much of a difference between their games in the long run (especially given Lundkvist's play at the U18 Five Nations Tournament). During the U18's earlier this year, Lundkvist took a lot of risks in terms of reads, pinches, etc. in the offensive game. This is not a bad thing, but rather it was his own recognition of his skating ability, and the two-way ability of the forwards in front of him that helped allow him to make those decisions. I'm saying this because I think he would be in a similar situation here under the "Fast, Attacking Supportive" system that Hynes runs.

[mfitz804]

8 minutes ago, LittleBallofHate said:

Wednesday's Pulz prospect - Nils Lundkvist - sounds interesting:  https://www.reddit.com/r/devils/comments/8evcea/2018_nhl_draft_writeups_nils_lundkvist_d_lulea_hf/

Right-shooting defenseman for Lulea HF, SHL     5'11" 174 lbs

28 games, 2G 3A 5 points

His draft rankings as of today are:

HockeyProspect - #19

ISS Hockey - #NR

FutureConsiderations - #NR

McKeens - #27

NHL Central Scouting - #14 (EU Skaters)

snippet: 

Compared to another player in the draft, like Adam Boqvist, Lundkvist's high-end scoring potential is not as refined - that doesn't mean that scouts haven't taken notice of Lundkvist's game...in fact there have been some rumblings that scouts may not see much of a difference between their games in the long run (especially given Lundkvist's play at the U18 Five Nations Tournament). During the U18's earlier this year, Lundkvist took a lot of risks in terms of reads, pinches, etc. in the offensive game. This is not a bad thing, but rather it was his own recognition of his skating ability, and the two-way ability of the forwards in front of him that helped allow him to make those decisions. I'm saying this because I think he would be in a similar situation here under the "Fast, Attacking Supportive" system that Hynes runs.

Name is too similar to that other guy...not interested. 

[Marshall]

Lundqvist is pretty good but idk if I'd pick him at 17. I'd wager he drops to at least the second round because he's tiny.

[CommonDreads]

6 hours ago, Marshall said:

Lundqvist is pretty good but idk if I'd pick him at 17. I'd wager he drops to at least the second round because he's tiny.

Basically this, I like Lundkvist as a late-1st/early-2nd but I'm not sure he's worth #17, there's a lot of guys I'd prefer over him. I currently have him ranked 34th, FWIW

[Derlique]

I prefer a dman, but I still think this team has to go BPA. Aside from Nico, the young guys are still pretty big question marks. Bratt, Zacha, McLeod and Wood are unknowns at this point and we all remember how this team was stacked with dmen in '15 when we picked PZ. Now, we need D in the worst way. 

[Nicomo]

9 minutes ago, Derlique said:

I prefer a dman, but I still think this team has to go BPA. Aside from Nico, the young guys are still pretty big question marks. Bratt, Zacha, McLeod and Wood are unknowns at this point and we all remember how this team was stacked with dmen in '15 when we picked PZ. Now, we need D in the worst way. 

They have something in Butcher. 

[Derlique]

3 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

They have something in Butcher. 

They could honestly stand to upgrade in two or three spots depending on how you view Severson. 

x-Vatanen

Butcher-Severson

Greene-x

Now aside from Davies and maybe Walsh, there isn't much there in the system that could conceivably make an impact at this level. 

[mfitz804]

18 minutes ago, Derlique said:

 Now, we need D in the worst way. 

That's what she said. 

[nessus]

With my current knowledge of this draft class, it seems to me like there are 3 tiers of potential first round D-men in this draft:

Tier 1: Dahlin, Boqvist, Hughes - standout guys who have accomplished a lot at high levels, tons of skill.

Tier 2: Bouchard, Dobson, Smith, Wilde - also very high level prospects, 2-way defensemen, dependable, a cut above most of their peers.

Tier 3: Sandin, Lundkvist, Miller, Alexeyev, Woo, Merkley, McIsaac, Samuelsson, etc. - lots of potential, but not yet considered elite in their respective leagues.

I think that the Devils should really look at a forward if everyone in those first two tiers has been selected. If all 7 of those guys are taken, that means the Devils are getting a top 10 forward in the draft. Despite this draft being advertised as a draft for defensemen, there will be a lot of good forwards available when the Devils select. Veleno, Bokk, and Lundestrom could be available at 17, and those guys would be tough to pass on.

With all things considered, I could see the Devils taking Bode Wilde and being quite happy with him. I still feel like Bokk might be the right guy, but there's a lot left to learn about these prospects as we get closer to draft day.

23 minutes ago, Derlique said:

Now aside from Davies and maybe Walsh, there isn't much there in the system that could conceivably make an impact at this level. 

This is why the Grabner trade is killing me. Not Shero's fault, but it was just so much to give for someone who didn't turn out.