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2018 NHL draft


Crusader1969

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Preliminary Prospect Rankings are now coming out.  

 

Craig Button released his yesterday:

 

http://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-defenceman-dahlin-leads-draft-class-1.847739

 

You are seeing more and more Dmen under 6'0 on these lists.

 

Kids I will be keeping a close eye on this year are:

 

1) Adam Boqvist - Swedish RHD. Arguably the best player in this years Ivan Hlinka Tournament.  5GP 1G 7A  (lottery pick)

2) Bode Wilde - RHD US National Team Dman who will be attending Harvard this fall. (1st rounder)

3) Quinton Hughes -LHD US national Team grad who is attending Michigan  (mid 1st rounder)

4) Ryan Merkley  - RHD who plays for Guelph in OHL  5GP 0G 6A in helping Canada win the Ivan Hlinka (Mid 1st rounder)

5) Ty Smith - LHD Spokane WHL - 5GP 0G 3A playing for Canada at Ivan Hlinka (Lottery Pick)

6) Jet Woo RHD Moose Jaw WHL - 0 points an Hlinka but love the name. (1st Rounder)

 

The 2018 draft is shaping up to be much deeper and stronger that the 2017 crop. If teams are looking for a puck moving dman, there should be options available throughout the 1st round.

 

Rasmus Dahlin is considered to be the next big thing, it will be interesting to see if he gets picked apart as much as the other highly touted Dmen entering their draft year - Liljegren, Chychrun and Hanifan come to mind.

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Jet Woo wouldn't instantly become the best name in the NHL if he makes it.

idk Bode Wilde is pretty solid

That said, Bode Wilde does appear to be a really strong defender and if we ended up getting him, could be good. 

 

Jet Woo has a late 2000 bday. He was born in July so he is young for his class. Had 22 points last year in the WHL. Player to watch for sure. 

Edited by LGR4GM
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Swedish posters who have followed Sweden's prospects for years are calling Dahlin the best defensive prospect their country has ever produced - Hedman and Larsson in their draft and draft-1 years were already fully grown, and ropy wiry Dahlin dominates the play far more than they did even if his draft-1 year had less scoring than one of them and comparable scoring to the other. 

Svechnikov is also incredibly interesting. 

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Has Tkachuk had a big rise in the past year?  I would have sworn when he originally was recruited by BU that he didn't project out anywhere near as high as his brother.  I suppose strength of draft class could factor in a bit.

 

And obviously it's super early and things will change, but no canadians until #6.  It's always interesting when you see that.  It reminds me of 2016 until Dubois suddenly snuck in there.

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Has Tkachuk had a big rise in the past year?  I would have sworn when he originally was recruited by BU that he didn't project out anywhere near as high as his brother.  I suppose strength of draft class could factor in a bit.

 

And obviously it's super early and things will change, but no canadians until #6.  It's always interesting when you see that.  It reminds me of 2016 until Dubois suddenly snuck in there.

I say this a lot, but it's only a matter of time until the USA equals us Canadians at hockey in quality player production. It's already getting close. With a much larger population, it's inevitable.

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I say this a lot, but it's only a matter of time until the USA equals us Canadians at hockey in quality player production. It's already getting close. With a much larger population, it's inevitable.

Larger hockey population maybe... though California has alarger population than Canada until Trump and N Korea duke it out.
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I say this a lot, but it's only a matter of time until the USA equals us Canadians at hockey in quality player production. It's already getting close. With a much larger population, it's inevitable.

It's not getting close at all. Canada still has over half the players out there. If you combined the US with the rest of the world, then yes, it's getting close.

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TSN's Bob Mckenzie's initial rankings:

 

 

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/bob-mckenzie-s-pre-season-ranking-show~1207605

 

http://www.tsn.ca/the-year-of-swedish-defencemen-1.852963

 

If you are looking for the Sabres to finally take a Dman with their 1st pick you will be happy to know that there are 8 Dmen in the top 20. 7 in the top 11.  All are considered to be puck movers with offensive abilities. Though, outside of Dahlin, you are probably waiting until 2020 to see any of them in the NHL.

You can definitely see the Karlsson effect as only Dahlin, McIssac and Wilde are over 6'0.

 

IF the Sabres miss the playoffs and get lucky in the lottery (alas NJ / Philly) Brady Tkachuk would be an amazing addition to the forward group.

Edited by Crusader1969
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idk Bode Wilde is pretty solid

That said, Bode Wilde does appear to be a really strong defender and if we ended up getting him, could be good. 

 

Jet Woo has a late 2000 bday. He was born in July so he is young for his class. Had 22 points last year in the WHL. Player to watch for sure.

 

I' just love to see RJ calling a game with Woo and Pu on the same line.

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We better not give two shits about the draft lottery this year, and we better be enjoying Leafs fans calculating their chances from the 11th slot come April.

 

If the Leafs somehow manage to miss the playoffs, Uncle Gary will make sure they are picking first. Bank on it.
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We better not give two shits about the draft lottery this year, and we better be enjoying Leafs fans calculating their chances from the 11th slot come April. 

 

I still think this team is 1 year away from making the playoffs.

 

 I hope they do but when I look at the Forward lines I don't see them quite there yet.

 

I'll be happy if they contend for a playoff spot up to the last 3 - 5 games of the season.

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Bode Wilde has played 1 game for the USDP, he had 1g 2a. #BodeWilde2018

 

There is a clip of Wilde in that game that I wanted to post but haven't had the time. He breaks up a 2-1, gathers the puck and takes it all the way down the ice, beating a dman clean and getting a nice shot on goal. Rebound was put away by a teammate. If you can find the hilites of that game, it's worth the watch.

 

In other news:

 

Tkachuk was the MVP of the US prospects game last night

 

Svechnikov 2 goals in his first OHL game with Barrie.

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