2018 NHL draft

[Randall Flagg]

I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks Jack and Casey kind of look alike.

He's got a little Okposo in the eyes/nose region too.

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Thanks for making me laugh. I’ve been stuck in a hospital taking care for 3 days for my elderly Mom.

Edited April 5, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN

[Randall Flagg]

Thanks for making me laugh. I’ve been stuck in a hospital taking care for 3 days for my elderly Mom.

Oh man, best wishes to you guys.

[Robviously]

It's basically a 50% shot at Dahlin/Svechnikov/Zadina and a 50% shot at our choice of Wahlstrom/Tkachuk/Boqvist/Hughes.  We need a little luck and/or for Botterill to hit another HR in the first round, but whoever we get should be a big part of the eventual turnaround.

[Brawndo]

Comparisons of Top Draft Prospects to current players

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/rasmus-dahlin-draws-nhl-comparisons-to-victor-hedman/c-297657256

 

Dahlin Hedman

 

Svechnikov Tarasenko

 

Zadina Pasternak

 

Bouchard Pietrangelo

 

Tkachuk Wayne Simmons

 

Hughes Letang

 

Based on the fact Hughes plays for Michigan and compares to Letang he will be a Sabre.

[WildCard]

I see Dahlin as being a mix of Doughty and Karlsson

 

 

 forward Auston Matthews, taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs at No. 1 in the 2016 NHL Draft, with a skill set comparable to Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews; 

 

:lol: :lol:

Edited April 5, 2018 by Jokertecken

[North Buffalo]

Thinking Bouchard if Sabres lose Dahli steaks and pick 4th

[GASabresIUFAN]

Other then the top 3, it doesnt really matter who we draft at 4 since he is unlikely to contribute to the Sabres for another year or two. The lone exception is Tkachuk, who maybe NHL ready by the fall.

 

A line of Reinhart, Nylander and Tkatchuk. The 2nd sons line.

Edited April 5, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN

[LGR4GM]

A players entry date into the NHL shouldn't matter. Overall talent though does.

 

Hope your mom's okay.

[GASabresIUFAN]

A players entry date into the NHL shouldn't matter. Overall talent though does.

Hope your mom's okay.

Thanks

 

And no the entry date doesn’t usually matter unless you need instead cost effective help like the Sabres. That is also my point about picking 4th. Since these guys aren’t immediate help, jbot should grab the guy he likes. However, again trading down in this tier makes sense. To me Wahlstrom, Hughes, Tkachuk, Bouchard are pretty even. We could use any of the 4 long-term. If Jbot feels the same, trade down and get additional assets. I know this kind of move isn’t common at the top of the NHL draft, but that doesn’t make it wrong.

Edited April 5, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN

[Brawndo]

Thanks

And no the entry date doesn’t usually matter unless you need instead cost effective help like the Sabres. That is also my point about picking 4th. Since these guys aren’t immediate help, jbot should grab the guy he likes. However, again trading down in this tier makes sense. To me Wahlstrom, Hughes, Tkachuk, Bouchard are pretty even. We could use any of the 4 long-term. If Jbot feels the same, trade down and get additional assets. I know this kind of move isn’t common at the top of the NHL draft, but that doesn’t make it wrong.

Wahlstrom and Hughes definitely will be in college next season.

 

Tkatchuk as you mentioned probably comes out.

 

Bouchard probably gets a nine game tryout with the Big Club

 

TBH I wouldn’t trade down because I believe Bouchard and Wahlstrom are a step above the other two.

 

Also all the best to Your Mom, hip fractures can be a difficult recovery

[Thorner]

ISS Rankings for April

https://www.isshockey.com/iss-hockey-releases-iss-top-31-april-rankings-top-prospects-2018-nhl-draft/

My Top Six

1. Dahlin

2. Svechnikov

3. Zadina

4. Wahlstrom

5. Bouchard

6. Boqvist

Serious question no snark: Can you or someone else explain to me why the world of scouts and draft rankers all love Tkachuk, who’s a top 5 staple in nearly every list, yet this board ranks him so much lower?

 

I don’t mean the things specifically that scare you about him. I’m sure scouts can see those things too. Why is there such a disconnect regarding Tkachuk between here and everywhere else? Legit curious.

[Robviously]

Serious question no snark: Can you or someone else explain to me why the world of scouts and draft rankers all love Tkachuk, who’s a top 5 staple in nearly every list, yet this board ranks him so much lower?

 

I don’t mean the things specifically that scare you about him. I’m sure scouts can see those things too. Why is there such a disconnect regarding Tkachuk between here and everywhere else? Legit curious.

Well, I don't have him *much* lower.  He's my 5/6 -- and honestly his attitude and aggression might make him way more appealing to our currently sleepy team.  He's a jerk and he hates losing.  Good.  At least he has a pulse.

 

But I don't have him at #4 because I really like Wahlstrom's upside.  He's 9 months younger and his goal-scoring for the USDP is ridiculously impressive.  I think he could be this year's Mittelstadt, a guy that should be taken higher but won't be because he's not in a league that scouts respect as much.  

 

My board (which is entirely based on reading other people's boards and scouting reports and the occasional YouTube highlight reel) is:

Dahlin

Svechnikov

Zadina

Wahlstrom

Tkachuk/Boqvist

Hughes/Bouchard

 

And pretty decent chance I change my mind between now and June.  With a top-4 pick though, we need Botterill to land another blue chip to build around and he should have his chance.

[Brawndo]

Serious question no snark: Can you or someone else explain to me why the world of scouts and draft rankers all love Tkachuk, who’s a top 5 staple in nearly every list, yet this board ranks him so much lower?

I don’t mean the things specifically that scare you about him. I’m sure scouts can see those things too. Why is there such a disconnect regarding Tkachuk between here and everywhere else? Legit curious.

 

Pretty much every description about him talks about his grit and his elite physical game, but his stats are not elite. He seems to be more of a playmaker then a finisher and this team desperately needs a winger who is a finisher. If they were drafting 6 or 7, he would be a better pick for the Sabres

 

And as Rob mentioned he was born 24 hours too late to be in the 2017 NHL Draft.

[LGR4GM]

Serious question no snark: Can you or someone else explain to me why the world of scouts and draft rankers all love Tkachuk, who’s a top 5 staple in nearly every list, yet this board ranks him so much lower?

 

I don’t mean the things specifically that scare you about him. I’m sure scouts can see those things too. Why is there such a disconnect regarding Tkachuk between here and everywhere else? Legit curious.

Remind me tomorrow and I'll explain.

[Derrico]

Serious question no snark: Can you or someone else explain to me why the world of scouts and draft rankers all love Tkachuk, who’s a top 5 staple in nearly every list, yet this board ranks him so much lower?

I don’t mean the things specifically that scare you about him. I’m sure scouts can see those things too. Why is there such a disconnect regarding Tkachuk between here and everywhere else? Legit curious.

And bodqvist. Feel like he’s ranked much higher everywhere but here.

[Thorner]

And bodqvist. Feel like he’s ranked much higher everywhere but here.

True.

 

But those were very informative answers from Rob and Brawndo re: Tkachuk. And especially Liger :p

 

Thanks guys.

[Robviously]

Pretty much every description about him talks about his grit and his elite physical game, but his stats are not elite. He seems to be more of a playmaker then a finisher and this team desperately needs a winger who is a finisher. If they were drafting 6 or 7, he would be a better pick for the Sabres

 

And as Rob mentioned he was born 24 hours too late to be in the 2017 NHL Draft.

That weird birthday might help defend his stats though too. I read somewhere that he was the second youngest player in college hockey this year. His stats aren't elite but he's definitely been impressive this year, especially after a slow start to the season. His WJC performance against his age group was outstanding.

 

I like him after the top 4 a lot and I'd trust Botterill if they took him at 4 too. Plus I like that he seemed to enjoy his time in Buffalo in December (posting about BillsMafia at the outdoor game).

[Derrico]

Good read from the hockey writers. https://thehockeywriters.com/nhl-draft-ranking-april-2018/My pick for 4th overall is Adam Boqvist. I'd even really consider him at 3. http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=265684

[North Buffalo]

And bodqvist. Feel like he’s ranked much higher everywhere but here.

Hughes has elite speed and jumps up more but a D liability. People are enamoured by his speed, Me I like Bouchard, more size offensive skater but without the D liability.

[LGR4GM]

That weird birthday might help defend his stats though too. I read somewhere that he was the second youngest player in college hockey this year. His stats aren't elite but he's definitely been impressive this year, especially after a slow start to the season. His WJC performance against his age group was outstanding.

 

I like him after the top 4 a lot and I'd trust Botterill if they took him at 4 too. Plus I like that he seemed to enjoy his time in Buffalo in December (posting about BillsMafia at the outdoor game).

His college stats are fine. That isn't why I ranked Wahlstrom lower than him. I had a post about comparing their 17 year old years from the same league and Tkachuk was much lower. 

 

Don't have time right now to explain why Tkachuk is sitting at about 7-9 on my list but will later. 

I will add that at 4, I have Dobson ranked higher than Bouchard. Dobson skates better. 

[WildCard]

His college stats are fine. That isn't why I ranked Wahlstrom lower than him. I had a post about comparing their 17 year old years from the same league and Tkachuk was much lower. 

 

Don't have time right now to explain why Tkachuk is sitting at about 7-9 on my list but will later. 

I will add that at 4, I have Dobson ranked higher than Bouchard. Dobson skates better. 

Also not big on Tkachuk myself. 

[Derrico]

If we go D and we're not picking first it seems to be between: Boqvist, Bouchard, Hughes and Dobson. Good players but real crapshoot after the top 2 or 3.

[LGR4GM]

Okay: Tkachuk and why he isn't #4 for me but is on a bunch of national lists. 

 

Tkachuk came into the season with a lot of hype. He was ranked highly even though you really shouldn't even put a preemptive list together until after the WJC. Tkachuk basically lived up to expectations. He played how people felt he should. When you look at the lists of rankings and you read draft profiles you will see things like "physical" "aggressive" "hard to knock off the puck" "big strong frame" when dealing with Tkachuk. A lot of people who create these lists are guys who value those aspects of the game more than I do. Physicality is great but Scoring and Skill are better. The other thing you will hear is "NHL ready" and it seems to have a big impact on rankings. Is the player physically ready to play at the NHL level. To be honest I think the easiest thing to fix is strength.  A 6' 170lb forward with tons of skill is better than a 6' 210lb guy with less skill even if the 2nd player is more NHL ready. Tkachuk being NHL ready has helped him. 

 

Finally Tkachuk has a great name. Every single report I have read mentions his dad and brother. How he is cut from the same cloth. How he is better than Matthew and look at what Matthew has done. To a point this is true. You always want comparables. A brother is an interesting comparable. A father means nothing. This family connection gives him a boost. Not from 15 to 4 but more like from 7 to 4. Call it nostalgia bias. 

 

Now when I rank prospects I start with production versus age. It is one of the reasons I don't worry about Nylander. He's still really young for the AHL. That said I think Sergachev was a better pick there. Tkachuk is the oldest player in this draft. Wahlstrom is 9months younger.  So when comparing the two, we need to compare them for their 17 year seasons. So for Tkachuk I compare his 2016 USDP season to Wahlstrom's 2017 season. I find a large discrepancy in points. 0.89ppg compared to 1.54ppg.  This leads me to believe that Wahlstrom will score more NCAA points because he scored more than Tkachuk at the same age. In this scenario Wahsltrom is 3 months older than Tkachuk. 

 

Next I look at skating. It is the most important thing I need to know about other than production. Can you skate? Because once you hit 18, your skating isn't going to greatly improve. Reinhart has worked hard on his and he went from mediocre to good. Now Tkachuk is above mediocre. He is a little slow to start but has decent top speed. His agility and edges are fine. He is not quick. Wahlstrom has better top speed. Better edges and agility. He is quicker. That matters more to me than it will to a guy compiling a list. 

 

Third is tape. I watch highlights or if I can find at least a game or two. I don't need to see them score 5 goals and be team MVP. I am looking to see if the skating is what I read. Are they just the beneficiary of someone else creating offense or do they create on their own. Usually you can tell even through highlight reels. Both are good contributors. Tkachuk is clearly more of a passer. Wahlstrom is much more of a sniper. 

 

Finally I look at size. If production/age are similar. If skating is similar. If the tape is similar. Size then is something I think about. Weight less so. That said if you are 5'8" 150lbs and there is a guy who is 5'10" 190lbs that is interesting. So Tkachuk and Wahlstrom have good height and weight for their respective ages. Wahlstrom is 6'1" 205 and Tkachuk is 6'3" 196.  Height and Weight really only matter when it comes to extremes. 

 

All of this adds up to the rankings. I don't take position into account other than knowing forwards will have more goals and points typically then defenders. It is why Bouchard is of interest. That said Bouchard has taken a hit as I see more highlights and read more reports. I have skating questions. That is why for me Tkachuk is not the 4th best player in this draft. There are several other players with higher ceilings who look good. 

[LGR4GM]

My current top 6 (subject to change): 

1. Dahlin
2. Zadina
3. Svechnikov
4. Wahlstrom
5. Dobson
6. Boqvist