2022 NHL Draft Rankings

[Hank]

I'm hoping they draft three Centers in the first round. I hope they draft two more in the second round. Go BPA after that as long as BPA is a center. 

[sabresparaavida]

Just now, Hank said:

I'm hoping they draft three Centers in the first round. I hope they draft two more in the second round. Go BPA after that as long as BPA is a center. 

This team needs RHd almost as much as it needs centers. Our pipeline/young players are better at C than Our RHd.

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, Hank said:

I'm hoping they draft three Centers in the first round. I hope they draft two more in the second round. Go BPA after that as long as BPA is a center. 

Draft BPA, maybe lean away from LHD but BPA outside of that. 

[Taro T]

39 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Draft BPA, maybe lean away from LHD but BPA outside of that. 

Even if it's a LHD, if he's clearly the BPA then take him.  Just because Botterill could never convert any of his abundance of D-men into anything better than a 4th round pick doesn't mean the new regime will necessarily suffer that same strange affliction.

But yeah, if it's close, they have enough LHD for the foreseeable future.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Taro T

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, sabresparaavida said:

This team needs RHd almost as much as it needs centers. Our pipeline/young players are better at C than Our RHd.

This isn't wrong, but you draft best available player. You trade and sign FAs to fill any deficiencies that might emerge. So sure, if 2 guys are similar take the RHD, but only if they are similar in your rating. 

Always draft a goalie. 

[LGR4GM]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

This isn't wrong, but you draft best available player. You trade and sign FAs to fill any deficiencies that might emerge. So sure, if 2 guys are similar take the RHD, but only if they are similar in your rating. 

Always draft a goalie. 

Good news is the chances of bpa being a lhd in round one this year are exceedingly low.

[LGR4GM]

9 hours ago, Taro T said:

Even if it's a LHD, if he's clearly the BPA then take him.  Just because Botterill could never convert any of his abundance of D-men into anything better than a 4th round pick doesn't mean the new regime will necessarily suffer that same strange affliction.

But yeah, if it's close, they have enough LHD for the foreseeable future.

That's not it will work outside of the top few picks. There won't be a "clearly" this over this, but instead be different tiers of players that you can pick from. 

They'll grade guys out sure but you'll have 3-4 guys at the same grade and at that stage you can look at positions. Again in the 2022 draft, there's only about 3lhd that might go in the first. 

[Hoss]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

That's not it will work outside of the top few picks. There won't be a "clearly" this over this, but instead be different tiers of players that you can pick from. 

They'll grade guys out sure but you'll have 3-4 guys at the same grade and at that stage you can look at positions. Again in the 2022 draft, there's only about 3lhd that might go in the first. 

This and teams will definitely consider what positions/players they like later before making a selection. If they think it’s a deep draft where the gap between a player in the current tier and the next few isn’t big but there’s a steep drop off of, say, goalie talent, they may be more inclined to take the goalie now. A lot of factors go into draft outside of just making a list of hundreds of players and taking the one at the top every time.

[LGR4GM]

43 minutes ago, Hoss said:

This and teams will definitely consider what positions/players they like later before making a selection. If they think it’s a deep draft where the gap between a player in the current tier and the next few isn’t big but there’s a steep drop off of, say, goalie talent, they may be more inclined to take the goalie now. A lot of factors go into draft outside of just making a list of hundreds of players and taking the one at the top every time.

Yup

You also have scouting assets to consider. Sure you will scout those 3 lhd that might be in the first but you might triple scout the RHD because you know you need that player have to get that pick right. You can't scout every player at the same level of intensity even with video scouting and analytics involved. 

[Thorner]

10 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Draft BPA, maybe lean away from LHD but BPA outside of that. 

 

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

Even if it's a LHD, if he's clearly the BPA then take him.  Just because Botterill could never convert any of his abundance of D-men into anything better than a 4th round pick doesn't mean the new regime will necessarily suffer that same strange affliction.

But yeah, if it's close, they have enough LHD for the foreseeable future.

You can go BPA to an extent but you can't go three straight drafts without taking a C in the first couple rounds. It'll get you into trouble down the line

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, Thorny said:

 

You can go BPA to an extent but you can't go three straight drafts without taking a C in the first couple rounds. It'll get you into trouble down the line

I'm not sure that's true for us. With Tage unexpectedly converted and adding Krebs suddenly we're not as thin at C as we thought we were. No guarantees obviously, but if Krebs is the real deal and Cozens continues his development as a 2 way shut down center, pretty soon Mitts will be fighting to hold onto a roster spot. 

Not saying we shouldn't look at adding more young prospect centers, just that it's not as dire and urgent as it appeared.

My personal view is BPA is the approach overall but in later rounds I would lean towards more size and grit. We tend to look towards speedy small guys that might overcome their size deficiency with their talent, and it can work to some extent, but I think if we do become a playoff team with tons of young talent I want some maybe less talented grit we can call up when needed. Rather have our own younger guys than trading for some has been grit like Toronto did with Simmons etc. 

and, (I will keep saying this forever :)) always draft a goalie. 

[LGR4GM]

Grit matters but size, meh. Lots of tall guys who suck at hockey. 

[LGR4GM]

JJ Peterka is not tall but has plenty of grit and skill and he's what I want in my picks. I would add that in 2021 the Sabres did add some wingers with size in Nadeau and Bloom who also have skill. 

[Flashsabre]

28 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

JJ Peterka is not tall but has plenty of grit and skill and he's what I want in my picks. I would add that in 2021 the Sabres did add some wingers with size in Nadeau and Bloom who also have skill. 

Bloom is a Centre. He plays Centre for Saginaw.

[Hoss]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Grit matters but size, meh. Lots of tall guys who suck at hockey. 

Lots of little guys, too! Nobody has ever been good because of size.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Hoss

[Brawndo]

 

[Crusader1969]

21 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

I dont get ranking that have that have Savoie at 8 or so.  I guess he isn't a "complete" player with his defensive game but has all the offensive tools you could want. Though, I have read where people are not convinced he translates to an NHL center

[Flashsabre]

51 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I dont get ranking that have that have Savoie at 8 or so.  I guess he isn't a "complete" player with his defensive game but has all the offensive tools you could want. Though, I have read where people are not convinced he translates to an NHL center

He is small and that will always be used against him. His issue is that he is a fearless small player who goes flying into all situations full tilt. He has been knocked out cold by two massive hits the past couple years so I think some worry about durability with that style.

At the end of the day I think he goes top 3, just too much talent there.

[LGR4GM]

How not to draft and why the Sens are going to be bad...

 

[dudacek]

25 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

How not to draft and why the Sens are going to be bad...

 

This is interesting to me.

I thought Boucher was a bad pick, but I do want to see why a team that picked Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle the three previous years are going to be bad.

[Brawndo]

37 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

How not to draft and why the Sens are going to be bad...

 

 

7 minutes ago, dudacek said:

This is interesting to me.

I thought Boucher was a bad pick, but I do want to see why a team that picked Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle the three previous years are going to be bad.

[LGR4GM]

8 hours ago, dudacek said:

This is interesting to me.

I thought Boucher was a bad pick, but I do want to see why a team that picked Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle the three previous years are going to be bad.

You listed a 3rd overall, a 4th overall, a 5th overall, and Pinto (32). The reason they are going to be bad is because their drafting in the last 2 years outside of the very top is highly questionable and 2021 was really bad. If that process repeats (I think it will) then that will not be enough good players entering the system to be competitive long term. 

[LGR4GM]

The real reason I am here:

A name to watch, late July bday and center Jonathan Lekkerimäki

[French Collection]

13 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

The real reason I am here:

A name to watch, late July bday and center Jonathan Lekkerimäki

Thanks for the link.

I am optimistic the Sabres are on the upswing but realistic in seeing another lottery pick. Having 3 first rounders keeps me engaged with mock drafts.

[Thorner]

31 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

The real reason I am here:

A name to watch, late July bday and center Jonathan Lekkerimäki

You had me at “centre”! 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Thorny
That will never not autocorrect to the Canadian spelling