Official 2015 NHL Draft Thread

[LastPommerFan]

I am saying it here too so it can sink in, The Arizona Coyotes are not in the midst of a tank. Their fan base (no jokes) wouldn't survive that process and we all know it. They have to make the playoffs every year.

 

If there ever was a year they could do it, it's this year. New owners, new lease, new lines of credit.

 

Not saying they're definately going to do it, but IF they wanted to, the stars are aligned.

[LGR4GM]

For all of you bored at home... The Hockey Writer's top 60 prospects. Not sure if this has been posted already but if it has look at it a second time because there will be 1st line NHL players in this draft outside of the top 2.

http://thehockeywriters.com/2015-nhl-draft-rankings-war-room-first-look/

 

For fun today I will be showing you Mikko Rantanen from our favorite hockey producer outside NA, Finland. He is 6'4" 196lbs and is 17. He plays center and has good hands and obvious size. His issue is currently skating, of course he grew about 6" in 2 years so ya know, makes sense. Anyways the point I am making is there is going to be a ton of talent in this draft and Eichel and McDavid are not the only things.

[LGR4GM]

ISS top 30 rankings...

http://futureconside...y-ranking-2015/

 

Edited July 8, 2014 by LGR4GM

[LastPommerFan]

We're totally ending up with Kyle Connor and Connor McDavid

 

Just to add to the Girgs Grigs issue.

[Brawndo]

Three months ago NHL.com asked nine top evaluators from NHL Central Scouting who their choice would be as the first pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.

The impromptu poll had McDavid, a center with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League the 5-4 choice against Eichel, who will be a center at Boston University in the fall.

Many top scouts believe that slim difference between the two will be par for the course in 2014-15 when the two players will be scrutinized and publicized in every way leading up to the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=725549&pjx=nhl&affiliateId=43737&clickId=965260294&affiliateCustomId=oy9bqagmg0xl&creative_details=2-29342

[Crusader1969]

If that's the type of collection of players that would need to be traded to get 1 or 2, if we had one of those picks I definitely would be open to trading it. If we have learned anything, a generational talent in itself doesn't guarantee a Cup. Sure, I would love to have an Ovechkin or Crosby on the Sabres, but they were sitting watching the Stanley Cup Finals on TV just like you and I. If we look at the Cup winners of the last 5 years, we see complete teams. It's the complete teams that are the recurrent winners.

 

You do realize that Crosby has won the cup right??? He also helps make his team contenderers each and every year! Can he do it alone? no, but the Penguins are MUCH better with him then without.

[shrader]

http://www.nhl.com/i...details=2-29342

 

If there really is the slim difference between the two that is mentioned there, McDavid playing that OHL schedule will only serve to widen that gap in his favor. Eichel is going to hit a bit of a learning curve as he goes up against the older competition and the much shorter schedule in the NCAA.

[LGR4GM]

You do realize that Crosby has won the cup right??? He also helps make his team contenderers each and every year! Can he do it alone? no, but the Penguins are MUCH better with him then without.

Yes. The Penguins as discussed in other places, have failed to win again because of their horrendous draft record. 2007-2011 with the exception of Beua Bennett are all complete misses for Pitts which is why they continually fail. Crosby isn't able to play 60minutes again.

 

If there really is the slim difference between the two that is mentioned there, McDavid playing that OHL schedule will only serve to widen that gap in his favor. Eichel is going to hit a bit of a learning curve as he goes up against the older competition and the much shorter schedule in the NCAA.

You don't think Eichel being against older and presumably tougher competition gives him the ability to really show how good he is? If he were to dominate at the NCAA level versus McDavid dominating at the Junior level I wonder how much that will play into scouts minds. I personally like Eichel because he is bigger and grittier than McDavid and his flash but that's not to say right now at first overall I wouldn't take McDavid.

[Brawndo]

Yes. The Penguins as discussed in other places, have failed to win again because of their horrendous draft record. 2007-2011 with the exception of Beua Bennett are all complete misses for Pitts which is why they continually fail. Crosby isn't able to play 60minutes again.

 

 

You don't think Eichel being against older and presumably tougher competition gives him the ability to really show how good he is? If he were to dominate at the NCAA level versus McDavid dominating at the Junior level I wonder how much that will play into scouts minds. I personally like Eichel because he is bigger and grittier than McDavid and his flash but that's not to say right now at first overall I wouldn't take McDavid.

 

Eichel seems like the type of player who will spend his entire career proving why he should have been the first overall pick.

 

If there really is the slim difference between the two that is mentioned there, McDavid playing that OHL schedule will only serve to widen that gap in his favor. Eichel is going to hit a bit of a learning curve as he goes up against the older competition and the much shorter schedule in the NCAA.

 

Eichel was rumored to be considering playing in the OHL to get head to head match ups with McDavid, but the Q owns his junior rights and would not let him go.

 

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/juniorhockey/blog/buzzing_the_net/post/eichel-to-ohl-rumours-debunked-nearly-impossible-to-pull-off?urn=juniorhockey,wp30609

[IKnowPhysics]

Sabres compete for the top bottom spot in the draft with their pick and the Isles number 1.

 

Top bottom spot?

 

Buffalo Sabres: Power Bottoms

[shrader]

Yes. The Penguins as discussed in other places, have failed to win again because of their horrendous draft record. 2007-2011 with the exception of Beua Bennett are all complete misses for Pitts which is why they continually fail. Crosby isn't able to play 60minutes again.

 

 

You don't think Eichel being against older and presumably tougher competition gives him the ability to really show how good he is? If he were to dominate at the NCAA level versus McDavid dominating at the Junior level I wonder how much that will play into scouts minds. I personally like Eichel because he is bigger and grittier than McDavid and his flash but that's not to say right now at first overall I wouldn't take McDavid.

 

If that were to happen, sure. That kind of thing doesn't happen anymore. These highly hyped freshmen don't come in and shock the world anymore. The talent level and the maturity of the rest of the league is a lot to overcome. On top of that, BU has a very young team (11 freshmen) and a new 2nd year coach. There are going to be a lot of growing pains there. He's not going to have much experience talent to work with.

 

Eichel was rumored to be considering playing in the OHL to get head to head match ups with McDavid, but the Q owns his junior rights and would not let him go.

 

https://ca.sports.ya...rhockey,wp30609

 

The CHL leagues like to create those rumors each year with top college recruits at this time of the year. You can set your watch with them, they've become so predictable. This one was so far fetched since every single Q team would have had to let him pass through waivers in order to get him to the OHL. Even with that, everything in the local press here has had Eichel being very committed to heading to BU for quite a while now. If he was ever going to jump to major junior, it would have been last offseason when the BU coaching changes were front and center.

[BuffaloSoldier2010]

 

 

If there really is the slim difference between the two that is mentioned there, McDavid playing that OHL schedule will only serve to widen that gap in his favor. Eichel is going to hit a bit of a learning curve as he goes up against the older competition and the much shorter schedule in the NCAA.

 

A nice little factoid to keep in mind: The USHL route means we have the flexibility to put him in Rochester if necessary. If the kid is as good as people seem to think he will be, then we won't need to worry about it. But if quality of competition for his development is a concern, I'd say the A would be better than sticking in juniors. It'd be nice to not have the same issues we had with grigorenko if he ends up needing more time.

[kas23]

You do realize that Crosby has won the cup right??? He also helps make his team contenderers each and every year! Can he do it alone? no, but the Penguins are MUCH better with him then without.

 

You do realize Crosby only has 1 Cup right??? I don't want just 1 cup, and I doubt TM does either. Point still remains, one "generational talent" doesn't equal consistent winning.

[shrader]

A nice little factoid to keep in mind: The USHL route means we have the flexibility to put him in Rochester if necessary. If the kid is as good as people seem to think he will be, then we won't need to worry about it. But if quality of competition for his development is a concern, I'd say the A would be better than sticking in juniors. It'd be nice to not have the same issues we had with grigorenko if he ends up needing more time.

 

It has nothing to do with the USHL though. When he is drafted, he will already be playing for BU, so it's NCAA, not USHL. But yes, he could go to the AHL... assuming he doesn't leave college after one year and jump ship to the QMJHL. In that case, he's right back into that NHL or bust role.

 

You won't see Eichel in the AHL at any point. If a team wanted him out of college but didn't think he was NHL ready just yet, they'd probably wind up convincing him to jump to the Q. A few highly drafted college guys have gone that way in recent years thanks to the influence of their NHL team.

 

You do realize Crosby only has 1 Cup right??? I don't want just 1 cup, and I doubt TM does either. Point still remains, one "generational talent" doesn't equal consistent winning.

 

I'd take one and I'm pretty sure just about everyone here would as well.

[Crusader1969]

50 Weeks and 50 Prospects until the 2015 NHL Draft

 

#50

 

Brock Boeser C Waterloo USHL 6’0 195lbs

 

 

Boeser will represent USA in the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Tourney this August. He played on the USA`s top line with Denis Yan and Tom Novak during the recently completed under 18 Summer Camp. Reports indicate that he played well with the puck and caused mayhem in the attacking zone.

Committed to University of Wisconsin for the 2015-16 season and will play this season with Waterloo of the USHL .

Brock was drafted 4^th overall in the 2013 USHL draft by Sioux City - Playing 8 games (3g 1A +/- -2) for them during the 2013-14 season before being traded to Waterloo last month.

Prior to the USHL he played at Burnside High School in Minnesota where he was described as a hard-nosed, intense player that possesses good size and skill. He led Burnside with 46 Points in 24GP and a plus minus of +25 and was named `Player of the Year` by the Minnesota Star Tribune after this past season.

Currently projected as a mid to late 2^nd round pick. His game is improving and with a good display at the Under 18`s he should move up draft boards.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Crusader1969

[Crusader1969]

You do realize Crosby only has 1 Cup right??? I don't want just 1 cup, and I doubt TM does either. Point still remains, one "generational talent" doesn't equal consistent winning.

 

Consistent Winning? in his 9 seasons the Pengiuns have missed the playoffs once (his rookie year). They have been to the cup finals twice - winning once. Since his rookie year their record is 373W 193L and 56 OTL and have 3 Division Championships.

 

Lets just win ONCE before he start worrying about multiple championships.

[Hoss]

I'm in Erie and have been for a few days... I'm shocked by the number of people that have never heard of him or have but have no idea who he is or what he does or how good he does it. The building I've been in is about 100 feet from the stadium they play in...

[MattPie]

I'm in Erie and have been for a few days... I'm shocked by the number of people that have never heard of him or have but have no idea who he is or what he does or how good he does it. The building I've been in is about 100 feet from the stadium they play in...

 

I'm not in the least bit surprised. I have no idea who is coming up in any draft other than the NHL (NFL, MLB, NBA), why would the residents of Erie be any different?

[Hoss]

 

 

I'm not in the least bit surprised. I have no idea who is coming up in any draft other than the NHL (NFL, MLB, NBA), why would the residents of Erie be any different?

 

Because he plays here and brings a lot of media attention to the area. I don't know who the top prospects are in the Murder League, but I hear a few names on the new once in a while so I could at least give them the water cooler talk.

 

 

I'll be back for more training likely this fall so I'll definitely go to as many Otters games as I can.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Tankalicious

[IKnowPhysics]

My estimated NHL equivalency points:

Connor McDavid (OHL, 0.29) 42 points

Jack Eichel (USNTDP, 0.27?) 41 points

 

Note that this is based on their statistics from this year. They've got another year to go before the draft, during which they could legitimately jack these up 25-60% (50-64 NHLe points).

 

Eichel is headed to BU (NCAA, 0.41), where we might expect him to post 1.5-2.0 points per game based on that NHLe. Comparing to last year's NCAA scoring race, that would put him in the top three. Is that realistic? Possibly, but not probably. Players that post 1.5-2.0 points per game in the NCAA are upperclassmen- there were only two freshmen in the top 50 in NCAA scoring (~0.95 points per game and higher). More likely is that Jack Eichel will post about 1.3-1.4 points per game in the NCAA (this uses Compher's progression as a model). He'll be regarded as a special and outstanding freshman, but the increased challenges of the NCAA will present themselves. In that model, Jack Eichel's NHLe points will increase to somewhere about 44-47 points. Not a big increase in points, but he will have generated them in a much higher level against much tougher components, playing a much more complete system of hockey on both sides of the puck, and maturing more mentally and physically. It'll be very close to the level that Jonathan Toews was at (45NHLe points) after his sophomore and final season at North Dakota, except that Jack Eichel may arrive there after his freshman year.

Edited July 8, 2014 by IKnowPhysics

[shrader]

You're dead to me, physics.

[IKnowPhysics]

You're dead to me, physics.

 

Meh, I live as if I'm never going to die, then die having never really lived.

[Crusader1969]

the countdown is on - 350 days until the 2015 NHL draft.

[Crusader1969]

Early Look at the Top 10 in 2015

 

So exciting that the Sabres have a great opportunity to draft one of the "generational" players AND another of the top end talents coming out next year.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Crusader1969

[Claude_Verret]

Early Look at the Top 10 in 2015

 

So exciting that the Sabres have a great opportunity to draft one of the "generational" players AND another of the top end talents coming out next year.

 

Yes indeed. Listening to my ipod on the drive this morning, shuffle mode brought up a deep cut from Rush's Moving Pictures album, The Camera Eye. It has a line that sums up my view the 2014-2015 season perfectly. Tank Part II.

 

I feel the sense of possibilities

I feel the wrench of hard realities