Official 2015 NHL Draft Thread

[Crusader1969]

I'll make this wild prediction right now that Kylington drops into the 20's and maybe even out of the first round.

 

I agree with you Derrico - I was really hoping for two top 10 picks before the season started. Now we have to hope either the Blues and Isles drop down into the Wild Card slots and go out in the first round. Then we have 2 picks between 15 and 22 plus the #2 overall.

 

You are then looking at a draft that nets you Eichel (20% McDavid) and guys like Svechnikov, Meier, Greenway, Harkin and Bittner.

Another guy who hasn't got a lot of love yet is Dergachev - he played with Russia on their WJC team this year - I think we will see moving up the draft ranks as we get closer to the draft.

 

Or maybe if Zacha drops out of the top 8 - you have the ammo to move up to grab him.

 

 

 

i would think its a really good possibility but the main guys Hanifin, Werenski and Provorov will be gone. Leaves Carlo, Meloche, Roy and Kylington as potential draft picks

 

liking my prediction more and more. Maybe Kylington may be someone to look at with top pick in 2nd round?  Zacha in the 20s and Im doing cart-wheels.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Crusader1969

[...]

Eight?  Wow, that's quite the disparity with the other lists.  Has he addressed the reason for this anywhere?  He doesn't at that link.

[LGR4GM]

Eight?  Wow, that's quite the disparity with the other lists.  Has he addressed the reason for this anywhere?  He doesn't at that link.

He might in the video but while they will let me watch the commercials they then politely tell me I can't watch it from my location.

[Randall Flagg]

He answered on Twitter that he generally ranks by upside and that while he thinks hanifin is a safe pick likely to be a Bouwmeester-type, the others have higher upsides.

[Hoss]

Tim Murray is in Erie scouting tonight... Rumor has it there's a couple good players on Erie. Maybe looking for a diamond in the rough for their first rounder this year. #mysteryplayer

[...]

Nice weather + GM of an NHL team = road trip!

[Crusader1969]

Corey Pronman mock draft:

 

Buffalo - Connor McDavid

Edmonton - Jack Eichel

Arizona - Noah Hanifin (says he is between 50-75% sure of this pick) certainly not a slam dunk.

Carolina - Strome

Toronto - Marner

Columbus - Crouse

NJ - Rantanen

Philadelphia - Barzal

Dallas - Wernenski

Colorado - Provorov

 

Sabres 24th pick - Jordan Greenway.

[LGR4GM]

I think that is fairly accurate but I would guess that you could switch Marner with Crouse.  Toronto I think will be wooed by size. 

[Randall Flagg]

I think that is fairly accurate but I would guess that you could switch Marner with Crouse.  Toronto I think will be wooed by size. 

Gosh I hope this happens.

[rakish]

More rankings... Craig's List for March

 

http://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-mcdavid-stands-alone-1.227769

Just want to add 1 thing...

"Brock Boeser of the Waterloo BlackHawks has continually shown that he has a well rounded game and he has been a big mover in the ranking – going from No. 28 n September to No. 9 in March"

 

In part 3, craigslist is a bit more difficult, I can't find any prospect rankings earlier than 2009.  As for 2014, if you take WJC participation as a metric, Button did an awesome job in quantity (7 of Buffalo's 9 picks, to Murray's 2) though they weren't all core players. So overall, a little better than Buffalo, about the same, a little worse?

 

2009 13 (Kassian) Jacob Josefson

 

2010 23 (Pysyk) Kirill Kabanov

 

2011 16 (Armia) Nathan Beaulieu

 

2012 12 (Grigorenko)  Teuvo Teräväinen

    14 (Girgensons) Malcolm Subban

    44 (McCabe) Gemel Smith

 

2013 8 (Risto)  Valeri Nichushkin

    16 (Zadorov) Zachary Fucale

    35 (Compher) Nicolas Petan

    38 (Hurley) Laurent Dauphin

    52 (Bailey) Artturi Lehkonen

 

2014 2 (Reinhart) Reinhart

    31 (Lemieux) Vlad Kamenev

    44 (Cornel) Braydon Point

    49 (Karabacek) Anton Karlsson

    61 (Johannson) Ondrej Kase

    74 (Martin) Martin

    121 (Willman) Spencer Watson

    151 (Brown)    Vladislav Gavrikov

    181 (Olofsson) Emil Johansson

[Huckleberry]

Been thinking, with the blackhawks in cap trouble and Saad becoming an RFA, would our late first rounder be enough to get him ?

Maybe add a low level prospect like carrier.

[Hoss]

Been thinking, with the blackhawks in cap trouble and Saad becoming an RFA, would our late first rounder be enough to get him ?

Maybe add a low level prospect like carrier.

No. It's going to take a lot to get Saad. Those pieces aren't even a starting point.

[TrueBlueGED]

I think the Hawks would trade anyone not named Toews, Kane, or Keith before they moved Saad. Age and ability to control his contract dictate he's not going anywhere.

[rakish]

McKenzie!!!

 

McKenzie rocks.

 

I can't find how many of his 2014 picks played WJC because tsn took down all his picks past 15, I found 1-30 somewhere else, but I would need the top 60 or so

 

2006 24 (Persson) Leland Irving
    46 (Enroth) Alexander Vasyunov
    57 (Weber)

2007 31 (TJ Brennan) Brett MacLean
    59 (Schiestal) Maxim Mayorov

2008 12 (Myers) Myers
    26 (Ennis) John Carlson
    44 (Adam) Colby Robak

2009 13 (Kassian) Kulikov

2010 23 (Pysyk) Emerson Etem

2011 16 (Armia) Beaulieu

2012 12 (Grigorenko)  Teravainen
    14 (Girgensons) Maatta
    44 (McCabe)

2013 8 (Risto) Nichushkin
    16 (Zadorov) Zadorov
    35 (Compher) Fucale
    38 (Hurley) Hagg
    52 (Bailey)

2014 2 (Reinhart) Reinhart
    31 (Lemieux) Barbashev
    44 (Cornel) McKeown
    49 (Karabacek)

[Robviously]

I think the Hawks would trade anyone not named Toews, Kane, or Keith before they moved Saad. Age and ability to control his contract dictate he's not going anywhere.

To the credit of this board, Saad's name used to come up a lot 2-3 years ago (before he'd become an NHL regular) when we were talking trade ideas with the Blackhawks.  Obviously that ship has sailed but at least we were on the right track (and too bad we couldn't pull that off).

[Robviously]

2014 2 (Reinhart) Reinhart

    31 (Lemieux) Barbashev

    44 (Cornel) McKeown

    49 (Karabacek)

Everyone is about to get pissed off at me, but reading this post made me go back and look at our 2014 draft picks.  And after the Reinhart pick, in a draft where we had three 2nd rounders and two 3rd rounders, it looks like a complete disaster.

 

• Lemieux: Had a great season but was already a head case who wanted out of Buffalo
• Cornel: Took a step back this season
• Karabacek: Also pretty awful this year.
• Jonas Johansson: Possibly a bright spot in this group because he didn't suck this year, but only because he was injured the whole time.
• Brycen Martin: Not awful.  Flat to last year in production.
• Willman: 3 points for Brown this year.  In 30 games.
• Brown: ???
• Olofsson: Started well but got hurt.  He's 5'7".

 

Not sure if this is a result of poor decisions by Devine and Murray, or just a really lousy draft year, but we can't miss on an entire draft where we had extra (high) picks.  [Or maybe now we understand why Murray wanted to move all three 2nd rounders to get back into the first round.]

 

I'm really hoping we find some value after our first pick this year.  And basically counting on our 2nd-round-or-later guys from 2013 to make it.

[Randall Flagg]

I was real upset when that first pick in the 2nd round didn't end up being Barbashev. I also wish we could have pulled off that trade for Larkin.

[Robviously]

I was real upset when that first pick in the 2nd round didn't end up being Barbashev. I also wish we could have pulled off that trade for Larkin.

Not sure how the Kane trade shakes out but, yeah, our organization looks a lot different (in a good way) with Barbashev as the pick there.

[dudacek]

Last year was a shallow draft, that's why Murray was willing to trade all three seconds for a first, and probably why no GM would take him up on that idea. Agree that Murray's first set of picks aren't much to get excited about.

 

Picking a nit, but Martin had an awful start to the season but has really been ripping it up since a mid-season trade.

Probably the only guy we picked whose stock has risen since June.

[LGR4GM]

Not to nitpick but Victor Olofsson is 5'10" currently.  Outside of that I disliked the second round immensely and am very curious to see what Murray does this year.  As others have said it was a shallow draft but Barbashev and Kirkland out of the 2nd round would have made me feel better about it.  Justin Kirkland who I would have taken over Karabacek increased his ppg from 0.706 to 1.02 this year.  Won't be 19 until august and is a 6'2" RW... sorry but they that pick up IMPO.

 

Brock Boeser continues to impress me.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Ligerovich 4GM

[TrueBlueGED]

Not sure how the Kane trade shakes out but, yeah, our organization looks a lot different (in a good way) with Barbashev as the pick there.

Speaking of the Kane trade, I have a hard time bring down on Lemieux when apparently he was a coveted piece in that deal.

 

I honestly just think the results speak to the coin flip nature of projecting 17 year olds and that most considered it a weak draft anyway. But then again, I pray at the altar of Tim Murray :lol:

[K-9]

Eichel with three more helpers today for a total of 2g, 4a vs. Merrimac in the first two games of their playoff series. 

 

GO SABRES!!!

[Rasmus_]

Not to nitpick but Victor Olofsson is 5'10" currently.  Outside of that I disliked the second round immensely and am very curious to see what Murray does this year.  As others have said it was a shallow draft but Barbashev and Kirkland out of the 2nd round would have made me feel better about it.  Justin Kirkland who I would have taken over Karabacek increased his ppg from 0.706 to 1.02 this year.  Won't be 19 until august and is a 6'2" RW... sorry but they ###### that pick up IMPO.

 

Brock Boeser continues to impress me.

 

I agree that Kirkland was a better pick over Karabacek and I had a higher grade on Barbashev as a mid 1st rounder last year, from what I viewed.  I really wanted Barbashev, but I wasn't devastated to take Lemeiux.  Now that's completely retro-active to what has happened.  I also liked Ville Husso over Jonas, and was very high on Daughtery.  To each there own.  I wasn't in love with the Cornel pick either.   

[LGR4GM]

I agree that Kirkland was a better pick over Karabacek and I had a higher grade on Barbashev as a mid 1st rounder last year, from what I viewed.  I really wanted Barbashev, but I wasn't devastated to take Lemeiux.  Now that's completely retro-active to what has happened.  I also liked Ville Husso over Jonas, and was very high on Daughtery.  To each there own.  I wasn't in love with the Cornel pick either.   

I agree.  

 

If the draft were held tomorrow I would do something like this...

 

2nd overall - Jack Eichel

 

23rd overall - Brock Boeser

 

31st overall - MacKenzie Blackwood 

 

54th overall - Insert LH defender here

[Rasmus_]

I agree.  

 

If the draft were held tomorrow I would do something like this...

 

2nd overall - Jack Eichel

 

23rd overall - Brock Boeser

 

31st overall - MacKenzie Blackwood 

 

54th overall - Insert LH defender here

 

What's your take on MacKenzie, I haven't done enough evaluation yet on the 2nd round to be honest.  Boeser over Bittner?? Does he have more skill, better hands?  Puck presence?