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2018 NHL draft


Crusader1969

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My assumption is that Buffalo will draft the highest rated winger they have on the board at 32. The exception would be if a quality defender slid. You can count all the centers in this area to be viewed as wingers by Buffalo. They will pick a good skating one with a high compete level. They probably will shy away from CJHL players can favor foreign players or college bound guys. 

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They are taking that Thayer kid (O’Brien?) at 32. He’s everything Botterill wants to add, and he should be available.

You mean this guy https://canucksarmy.com/2018/05/24/canucksarmys-2018-nhl-draft-profiles-86-jay-obrien/

 

I agree, I think he is the front runner judging by what we know about the Sabres front office and how this kid plays. 

O'Brien btw is not 6' but 5' 10.75" (Elite has him listed at 6') and 176.12lbs. His November birthday makes him one of the more mature players in the draft. 

Edited by Skurk Liger
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My assumption is that Buffalo will draft the highest rated winger they have on the board at 32. The exception would be if a quality defender slid. You can count all the centers in this area to be viewed as wingers by Buffalo. They will pick a good skating one with a high compete level. They probably will shy away from CJHL players can favor foreign players or college bound guys.

 

Jonatan Berggren could fit that description. Could be taken late Rd 1. Plays RW/C and shoots left. Someone from one of,the draft sites compared him to BRayden Point

 

https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/274796/jonatan-berggren

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Grant McCragg runs recruits.ca along with Brian Wilde. They put out a draft guide that has Jay O’Brien going at 24 to Minnesota. He interviewed two scouts one said bottom half of the first, the other in the top half of the second.

 

I think he definitely is in play at 32.

 

 

Also it’s a small sample size, but I do like Botterill drafting College and European Players particularly in the later rounds as the team has control for 3-4 years of their development before losing their rights without signing them.

 

 

I’m sure he would draft high end CHL Prospects though.

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Anyone doing “draft party in the plaza”?

The thought had crossed my mind. 

 

Grant McCragg runs recruits.ca along with Brian Wilde. They put out a draft guide that has Jay O’Brien going at 24 to Minnesota. He interviewed two scouts one said bottom half of the first, the other in the top half of the second.

 

I think he definitely is in play at 32.

 

 

Also it’s a small sample size, but I do like Botterill drafting College and European Players particularly in the later rounds as the team has control for 3-4 years of their development before losing their rights without signing them.

 

 

I’m sure he would draft high end CHL Prospects though.

I think part of the College or Europe drive is it also gives him more time to develop his AHL players. After 2 years you either moving your guy from the CJHL to the AHL or you aren't signing them basically. College guys have at least 3. Euro guys like Olofsson up to 4. I also thinks Botterill views the college and especially SHL development route as superior to just the CJHL to AHL route. 

 

All that said, I am not as high on O'Brien as others but that is partially because he played against inferior opponents all last year. How will he do when he's the little fish in a big pond? If they take him at #32 I won't freak out even if other players I like more are there but it will help us evaluate Botterill's scouting department as the years go by. They need a middle six player at #32 at the very least. 

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Jonatan Berggren could fit that description. Could be taken late Rd 1. Plays RW/C and shoots left. Someone from one of,the draft sites compared him to BRayden Point

 

https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/274796/jonatan-berggren

 

Let's talk about Berggren. He played most of the year in the Swedish J20 league. His birthday is in July making him very young for this class. In comparison to O'Brien, he is 8 months younger and at 17 that is an enormous gap. In the J20 league he put up 57 points in 38 games which if he was in the CJHL or USDP would be noteworthy. To add context to the J20 SuperELite "The SuperElit Under-20 just isn’t a great league, for starters. Most of the scouts I’ve spoken to compare it to the BCHL regarding the league’s quality, and that aligns relatively well with my own perception of the league. A lot of the draft analytics at our disposal courtesy of the indispensable Jeremy Davis align with that, too." - From Canuck's Army

 

He had 10 games in the SHL where he put up 0 points. That is not concerning at all because he would have been 17 in the SHL and physically just wasn't there yet. At the WJC U18 he had 10points in 7 games. 

 

He's got good speed and he is quick. He needs to add muscle and I do not believe he came to the combine so his height and weight are still questionable. He's right around 5'11" and 180lbs. Most scouting sites note his agility, hardwork, and soft hands. His shot needs more power. He is noted as more of playmaker but apparently loves to go to the front of the net. Sounds like a great winger for Eichel but he's probably 2 years away from NA and another year after that in the AHL. 3 years seems roughly correct. 

 

Canuck's army is either not listing him in their top 100 (unlikely) or he is in their top 20 as I believe they have released 21-100 already. That will be a good report to read when it comes out. 

 

Edited by Skurk Liger
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We could also draft Jacob Olofsson (6' 2.5" 189lbs) at #32 and get a Swedish version of ROR (I read 3 different draft reports that compared him to ROR). I actually think he has more offensive upside to his game than he showed playing against men at 17. Of course I have only watched some highlights and could be wrong. Still an interesting option who could play LW or C in the NHL

https://canucksarmy.com/2018/06/07/canucksarmys-2018-nhl-draft-profiles-35-jacob-olofsson/ 

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Davis had Berggren at 25th in his may rankings. (I have also seen him as low as 52nd on a ranking from this week.)

 

Liger, I'm still going with a D at 32 assuming we don't trade the pick for a goaltender.

Maybe. I don't see us trading that pick for a GT. If anything they would trade the SJ first for one. 

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Let's talk about Berggren. He played most of the year in the Swedish J20 league. His birthday is in July making him very young for this class. In comparison to O'Brien, he is 8 months younger and at 17 that is an enormous gap. In the J20 league he put up 57 points in 38 games which if he was in the CJHL or USDP would be noteworthy. To add context to the J20 SuperELite "The SuperElit Under-20 just isn’t a great league, for starters. Most of the scouts I’ve spoken to compare it to the BCHL regarding the league’s quality, and that aligns relatively well with my own perception of the league. A lot of the draft analytics at our disposal courtesy of the indispensable Jeremy Davis align with that, too." - From Canuck's Army

 

He had 10 games in the SHL where he put up 0 points. That is not concerning at all because he would have been 17 in the SHL and physically just wasn't there yet. At the WJC U18 he had 10points in 7 games. 

 

He's got good speed and he is quick. He needs to add muscle and I do not believe he came to the combine so his height and weight are still questionable. He's right around 5'11" and 180lbs. Most scouting sites note his agility, hardwork, and soft hands. His shot needs more power. He is noted as more of playmaker but apparently loves to go to the front of the net. Sounds like a great winger for Eichel but he's probably 2 years away from NA and another year after that in the AHL. 3 years seems roughly correct. 

 

Canuck's army is either not listing him in their top 100 (unlikely) or he is in their top 20 as I believe they have released 21-100 already. That will be a good report to read when it comes out. 

 

 

 

i re-watched his shifts in the Sweden vs Finland semi final U18 game and he was easily Sweden's most dangerous offensive player. Good skating, relied on him to make the zone entries, not afraid of going to the net and great vision.

 

as mentioned, he could go as early as 15 but you never know.

 

Though I wasn't really paying attention to him, as I just watched PP's and Berggren's Shifts but one player that stood out (besides the Kakku and Kotkaniemi) was Niklas Nordgren 5'9 RW from Finland.  Im surprised he measured in at 5'9 as he looked bigger. 

 

 

https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/nhl-entry-draft-picks-2018/2018/6/9/17437086/niklas-nordgren-2018-nhl-draft-prospect-profile-stats-highlights-video-analysis-scouting-report

Edited by Crusader1969
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Maybe. I don't see us trading that pick for a GT. If anything they would trade the SJ first for one.

 

Haven’t we already unsuccessfully given up a 1st for a goalie?

 

As to who to draft at 32, If you look at our prospect pipeline, we really have nothing after Borgen and Guhle. Dahlin is going straight to the NHL and Pilut was signed to help fill that gap. However, we really have no higher end D prospects outside of pro hockey.

 

This is a D rich draft and there should be some very good players available to us at 32. Looking at my board; it looks like there are 6 D I have ranked from 22 to 33, Merkley, Sandin, McIssac, Miller, Samuelsson, and Alexeyev. I also have D Woo, Addison, Tychonick and Lundqvist in my top 40. Odds are that 2-3 of the 1st group will be available at 32. My guess is Merkley, McIssac and Alexeyev will be available at 32.

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Haven’t we already unsuccessfully given up a 1st for a goalie?

 

As to who to draft at 32, If you look at our prospect pipeline, we really have nothing after Borgen and Guhle. Dahlin is going straight to the NHL and Pilut was signed to help fill that gap. However, we really have no higher end D prospects outside of pro hockey.

 

This is a D rich draft and there should be some very good players available to us at 32. Looking at my board; it looks like there are 6 D I have ranked from 22 to 33, Merkley, Sandin, McIssac, Miller, Samuelsson, and Alexeyev. I also have D Woo, Addison, Tychonick and Lundqvist in my top 40. Odds are that 2-3 of the 1st group will be available at 32. My guess is Merkley, McIssac and Alexeyev will be available at 32.

 

 

I totally agree, I would even be more specific and say we need a RHD but then I look at the depth for wingers. Is it much better?   

 

Merkley has the talent but not the head. I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't even on the Sabres draft board.

 

McIssac and Alexeyev both good players but I don't think bring enough offensively to be more than a mid to late 2nd rounder...plus they both shoot left.  Though, it looks like a lot of draft publications do rank McIsaac in the 20's.

 

IF things go right, Sabres should be able to write in Dahlin and Guhle as top 2 LHD for years. 

Edited by Crusader1969
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With Ullmark, Johansson and Lukkonen in the system, I’m not really big on picking a goalie at 32.

But really, it’s BPA.

Pilut, Guhle, Borgen and especially Dahlin is improved enough that the D isn’t as far behind the offence as it once was.

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Ylonen, https://canucksarmy.com/2018/06/05/canucksarmys-2018-nhl-draft-profiles-44-jesse-ylonen/

 

He's interesting but just doesn't do much for me at #32. That isn't because he's bad it is just I like other players more. 


https://canucksarmy.com/2018/06/12/canucksarmys-2018-nhl-draft-profiles-20-jonatan-berggren/

He comes in at #20 for them. He is 9 months younger than Ylonen for what it is worth. Underlying numbers are solid and he basically just needs time to add strength. Could be in the NHL in 3 years. 

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