2018 NHL draft

[inkman]

Well then I'll keep giving you something to bitch about

It's a valid point, it just gets revisited. A lot. I'll move on. Hopefully you will too at some point.

[Crusader1969]

Dec 1st mock draft

 

-draft order predicted by Tankathon

 

1) Anaheim ⏫8

Rasmus Dahlin LHD Frolunda SHL. 6'2 183lbs.

Ducks already have one of the best D corps in NHL, the addition of Dahlin will allow them to trade from a position of strength to add another high end goal scorer.

2) Carolina ⏫10

Andrea Svechnikov RW Barrie OHL 6'2 187Lbs

Carolina adds a pure goal scorer. Svechnikov's hand injury doesn't impact his draft status as the 2nd best prospect. He returns to the colts line-up this weekend

3) Colorado ⏫12

Filip Zadina LW Halifax. QJHML 6'1 192lbs

Avalanche move way up in the draft after dropping 1st to 4th last year. Zadina adds a bunch of skill to their forward ranks. Boqvist will be considered but they go Zadina because they drafted Makar last season.

4) Arizona ⬇️3

Adam Boqvist RHD Bryan's SHL 5'11 170lbs

The coyotes add the smooth skating Karlsson clone.

5) Buffalo ⏬3

Quinn Hughes LHD Michigan NCAA. 5'10 174lbs

Tough call between two former USNTD players (Hughes & Tkachuck) but Sabres select the puck moving demon from the wolverines. Hughes can be the qb for PP and will significantly improve the Mobilty on the back-end. Helping Housley implement his system

6) Edmonton ⏬3

Brady Tkachuk 6'3 196lbs

Oilers add McDavid's LW partner that boosts their skill and grit level. oilers are then able to move Draisaitl to 2nd line centre.

7) Florida ⬇️3

Oliver Wahlstrom RW US NTD. 6'1 205lbs

Offensive dynamo that is committed to Harvard next season.

8) Philadelphia ⏬3

Jesperi Kotkaniemi C Assat Liiga 6'2 190lbs

Playing against men in Liiga, Kotkaniemi rockets up draft boards and is selected by flyers.

9) Ottawa ⏬3

Ty Smith LHD Spokane WHL 5'10 174lbs

Senators add BPA even though they are extremely deep on defence. Smith is an excellent offensive defenceman but is also considered to be one of the best defenders in draft

10) Detroit ⏬3

Bode Wilde RHD US NTD 6'2 192lbs

Has size, skill, speed and high IQ. However, can sometimes be a bit too overconfident which leads to turnovers.

 

2018 is a very strong draft especially if you are in the market for mobile Dmen (who isn't?).

 

Other dmen who will hear their name called early in the draft- Ryan Merkley, Jared Mcissac, Jett Woo, Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson

[Crusader1969]

Done with the Sabres for the month of December. Will be concentrating on draft eligibles and the WJC. Maybe, I'll pay to watch an Amerks game or two on AHL live

 

Switched over to Knights game during 2nd period of Sabres. Pu looking very dangerous and his skating really stands out though he was held off the scoresheet

 

Draft eligible Evan Bouchard (d London) definitely looks like a 1st rounder. Had nice goal sneaking in from the point. Sermon Noel (rw Oshawa) has pretty good wheels considering he is 6'5. He is moving up draft boards and is now rated as an A prospect by NHL scouting. He started the season as a B prospect.

 

See you all in January!

[LGR4GM]

You know, you're right.

[Thorner]

It's looking like a VERY strong draft.

 

So little Canadians near the top is interesting.

[Eleven]

With no real Olympics and a team that I can't bear to watch in Buffalo, it's IIHF and this for me right now.

 

As of yesterday, on The Instigators, I have heard four players in three years referred to as "generational."  Do people even know what words mean anymore?

 

(The player in question was Dahlin; the others are McDavid, Eichel, and Matthews.)

[Thorner]

With no real Olympics and a team that I can't bear to watch in Buffalo, it's IIHF and this for me right now.

 

As of yesterday, on The Instigators, I have heard four players in three years referred to as "generational."  Do people even know what words mean anymore?

 

(The player in question was Dahlin; the others are McDavid, Eichel, and Matthews.)

Right. I can't really see Matthews as generational when he entered the league about the same time as McDavid.

 

10 years between is enough for me. Crosby was generational. Now McDavid is. That's what I'm comfortable with.

[Weave]

With no real Olympics and a team that I can't bear to watch in Buffalo, it's IIHF and this for me right now.

 

As of yesterday, on The Instigators, I have heard four players in three years referred to as "generational."  Do people even know what words mean anymore?

 

(The player in question was Dahlin; the others are McDavid, Eichel, and Matthews.)

 

No, they don't. 

[Sabre fan]

certainly both McDavid and Mathews are generational players. jack, well we'll see how that plays out and Dahlen looks great but there ain't no hope he'll ever be a Sabre. Couldn;t help but laugh when someone said that he (Dahlen) will be great coming into the zone with McDavid!  Probably better chance of that then the Sabres ever getting him...

[Crusader1969]

http://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/world-juniors-viewing-guide-scouting-report-goalie-rankings-must-watch-tv-and-more

 

5 guys who will greatly help the Sabres are profiled here. Really looking forward to seeing them play in the Tourney. Or maybe its Im really looking forward to the tournament to distract me from the Sabres season for a bit.

[Brawndo]

Hughes with an assist on Mittelstadt’s Goal

[GoPuckYourself]

Will we ever get #1 overall pick in the rigged Lottery? Doubtful, but if we do get #2 overall I think it would be real hard to pass up on RW Andrei Svechnikov, he's exactly what were looking for, a fast, big framed skater with skill. Obviously the Kyle Okposo experiment didn't work out for us and Pomminstein shouldn't be a top 6 forward either. I see Kane traded by the deadline and Nylander called up from Rochester to fill a spot so we'll be adding some speed.

[LGR4GM]

Lol Nylander is most assuredly not being called up anytime this season.

[LGR4GM]

So, how good is Tkachuk's skating?

[Brawndo]

So, how good is Tkachuk's skating?

He should be in consideration for a Top 5 Pick.

[Huckleberry]

Dhalin is pretty much the clear #1 

Svechnikov always goes #2

 

Don't think we'll get lucky for these two but after them do you got:

 

Boqvist ( we could use D)  or Zadina / TKachuck.  

 

If Nylander was doing better I'd say Boqvist , but not so sure now.

[Huckleberry]

Late rounder picks if we get any in a Kane trade.

 

Grigori Denisenko LW 

Needs to add muscle though, and is on the small side.  5-foot-11

 

Evan Bouchard London knights D

Doubt he drops to late round area though.

 

Vitali Kravtsov RW

Highly skilled forward, 

[Sabre1974]

Dhalin is pretty much the clear #1 

Svechnikov always goes #2

 

Don't think we'll get lucky for these two but after them do you got:

 

Boqvist ( we could use D)  or Zadina / TKachuck.  

 

If Nylander was doing better I'd say Boqvist , but not so sure now.

Quinton Hughes will be another D if available botts may look at. Would still like Botts to go after a forward though. Any of those 3 if available would do nicely.

[Crusader1969]

Quinton Hughes will be another D if available botts may look at. Would still like Botts to go after a forward though. Any of those 3 if available would do nicely.

Yep, as it is unlikely that the Sabres move out of top the bottom 3 in the league, looks pretty clear that one of those 6 will be a Sabre next season.

 

I'll go further by saying that only Boqvist is 0% in NHL next year. Hughes would be about 20-25% with a year of college hockey under his belt, I think he goes back to Michigan for sophomore season

 

Dahlin, Tkachuk, Svechnikov and Zadina are all 90% to be NHL players in 2018/19

 

As for late 1st rounder / Early 2nd rounders , I've been tracking Calendar Addison

[LGR4GM]

Calen Addison is an interesting prospect.

[Crusader1969]

January 2018 Mock draft

 

Not an interesting result for me but would be a franchise changing result for the Sabres

 

1) Buffalo ⬆️1. Rasmus Dahlin - no brainer pick for the Sabres. What can be said about Dahlin that hasn't already been said? I think "the McDavid of defensemen" sums it up best. Not sure how a PP that includes Eichel, Nylander, Dahlin and Mittelstadt could be stopped

2) Vancouver ⬆️3. Andrie Svechnikov - went into the WJC as the #2 prospect and has done me enough to hold that spot even with his limited ice time playing for Russia. Canucks add another pure goal scorer to their lineup.

3) Arizona ⏬2. Filip Zadina.

4) Ottawa ⏬1. Adam Boqvist - Karlsson clone drafted to replace Karlsson

5) Montreal ⏬1. Noah Dobson - Canadians go slightly off the board. Dobson has been moving up the rankings and is now considered best D prospect out of the "q" in years.

6) Edmonton. Brady Tkachuk. - battle of Alberta just amped up a few notches

7) Detroit. Quinn Hughes - Red Wings stay close to home selecting smooth skating Michigan U dman

8) Pittsburgh. Ty Smith

9) Florida. Oliver Wahlstrom - silky smooth US national team forward. This years Owen Tippett joins the team that drafted Owen Tippett last year

10) Philadelphia. Joe Veleno - First player given exceptional status in "q" draft stock had fallen but trade from bottom feeders Sea Dogs to team with much better supporting cast will help Veleno move back into top 10

Edited January 1, 2018 by Crusader1969

[Sabre1974]

January 2018 Mock draft

 

Not an interesting result for me but would be a franchise changing result for the Sabres

that would do nicely :)

[GASabresIUFAN]

If tkachuk lasts til 6th I’d be shocked.

[ubkev]

If tkachuk lasts til 6th I’d be shocked.

We'll pick 3rd.

 

Just a feeling

[LGR4GM]

Again, how well does he skate? No one seems to be able to give any account of his skating.