FrenchConnection44

I don't think there's any way we get a shot at Kakko though he would be a great addition. I simply don't want any more small, finesse players. We need talented players, but we need more physicality to stand up to bigger teams. It's still a physical game. I'd take Cozens, Boldy, or Dach. All three have size, skill and can skate, thought Dach is not as good a skater as the others. Just not a fan of a 5'11, 180 lb player. We have way too many of those. We've got to get bigger! At the end of round 1, assuming we go with a forward in the top of round 1, I'd look for another quality defender.

1. Don't trade away a first round pick from 2019 for a veteran ... wait. We already did. Nevermind. 2. Draft bigger, more physical players. We are way too finesse and too small. We need physical, fast, and powerful skaters. The game may not have as many fights but it is dominated by big players who can skate and shoot. - Obviously a kid like Kaapo Kakko would be great but we won too many frigging games down the stretch to have a shot (dumb!). If we can draft either Podkolzin, Boldy, or Cozens with our first pick I'll take any of those three. Just stay away from smaller players. We need big, physical, skaters. 3. Pray that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has successful hip surgeries and becomes the top end goaltender that everyone hopes. He is listed as one of the top 5 prospects by Chris Peters at ESPN. Peters comments: "Finland native Luukkonen was nothing short of dominant for Sudbury in what will likely be his only OHL season. UPL also dominated the World Junior Championship, backstopping Finland to gold with a .932 save percentage while earning a tournament all-star nod. He's a massive goalie at 6-foot-5 and 212 pounds, but he is also very explosive. Offseason hip surgery may slow his progress, but the 20-year-old looks like he could be an impact goalie in the NHL in the relatively near future." https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/26786645/nhl-prospect-year-why-cale-makar-franchise-defenseman

Very likely. But, if their goalie pitches a shut out, he'll wind up winning 16 games in the playoffs - most ever by a rookie. I really want the Blues to win. The first time I watched hockey was 1970 and it was the finals with - who else - the Blues and the Bruins. Bruins 4-0. Plus, I hate the Bruins (except when they are playing an expansion team from the past 20 years - I dislike them more). Give me original 6 plus 60's-70's expansion teams (e.g., Buffalo, LA, STL, Vancouver) any day over any other franchise.