2015 NHL Draft

[JJ1532]

Because he felt in October Hanifin was 3rd and Werenski was 11th. Now he says they are neck and neck and he's "felt like that for a while". Quite a shift in less than 2 months don't you think? And not really indicative of a long standing belief either.

It's a minor quibble on my part. Be interesting to see if any fellow scouts feel Marner, Strome and Werenski are good enough to force themselves into 3rd like he does.

[Caged Great]

Like every year, there are players that are rising up like Johansen and Drouin and a couple that are stagnant or slipping. I am curious why Kylington is slipping, haven't watched him though at all recently.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

Because he felt in October Hanifin was 3rd and Werenski was 11th. Now he says they are neck and neck and he's "felt like that for a while". Quite a shift in less than 2 months don't you think? And not really indicative of a long standing belief either.

well you have risers and fallers every year. It happens. Last year, Button had Nylander at 3 in September, than had him fall all the way to 13 before he put him 9th on the final list. Bennett and Draisaitl, on the other hand, were rising all year. And to be fair, Werenski has had a great start to his college career. Putting up 10 points and a stellar +11 rating in his first 13 college games is impressive, and when you combine that with the fact that he's already 6'2 and 215, it's not that surprising that he's rising. Who knows, he could easily be a contender for a top 5 pick if he keeps this up.

In any case, it's going to be a sensational draft for the NCAA. Potentially they could have 3 picks in the first 6 or 8 or so.

[sureLoss]

Corey Pronman
December 5th - TSN1260

https://soundcloud.com/lowdownwithlowetide/lthour2-5

McDavid

• is around the range of generational prospects we have seen in the past few drafts
• would lean to no as to whether McDavid is at the same level Crosby was at that age. not quite there
• most certainly above your average 1st overall prospect
• he is above Tavares as a 17 year old

Eichel

• didn't think he was special at the start of the year. thought he was about the same as the average 1st overall prospect you would see in most years
• doesn't think he is at McDavid's level yet but has had such an impressive start in college it is starting to elevate Pronman's opinion of him
• hasn't seen a freshman dominate college hockey like Eichel since Parise or Toews
• considers him a standard to very elite prospect compared to other recent 1st overalls
• nothing but impressive since the start of the season

host asks if McDavid and Eichel are the clearly better than the rest of the group

• yes - for now
• sees a lot of good things when looking at Hanifin, Kylington, and Strome but there are question marks on those 3 guys (nothing huge just some concerns that would put them behind Eichel at this moment)

Strome

• host asks if Strome is like Sam Gagner being boosted by Patrick Kane
• gets the concerns that Strome is playing with Connor. we have seen special prospects make nobodies into "special players" before.
• definitely an elite prospect. former 2nd overall in OHL draft
• his 16 year old stats didn't reflect his true talent
• he is big body center with a high end skill set. not going to find a lot of players like him in the draft and there will be high demand for him
• he is producing very well even without McDavid, so doesn't think it is a teammate effect

other prospects that may go in the top 10 or top 8

• Konecny was there at the start of the year. now considers him a mid first round pick. needs to see more production out of him before he considers him a top 10 pick.
• really likes Marner, Zach Werenski, Jeremy Roy

comparison to the 2003 draft

• 2015 top end is very good. lots of talent for the 1st round
• 2003 was an outlier. don't think it is realistic to bank on this draft class as being as good as 2003
• 2003 saw MA Fleury go 1st overall. They didn't have the elite prospect like McDavid
• we might see a better top than 2003, but projecting the total depth as being better is unrealistic

on tanking

• no real point in tanking unless you tank for 30th.
• 30th gives a 20% chance at McDavid but 100% chance at McDavid or Eichel
• if 30th hasn't been locked up by January you could see some real interesting callups as the bottom feeders might go for it

on the most complete defenceman in this draft

• the top 4 defenceman in the draft are Hanifin, Kylington, Werenski and Roy
• Werenski is arguably the most complete defenceman
• as a 17 year old already Michigan's best defenceman
• plays all situations PK and PP and against opponents best player
• more of an offensively tilted game.
• Werenski isn't as dynamic as Hanifin, Kylington or Roy
• projects as a dynamic two guy in the NHL

[Da_Chief]

Just listening to Craig Button from TSN 1260 segment and he says something along "Over the last 2 years he's watched Hanifin and Werenski and thought there wasn't much difference between them at all and now he's convinced there isn't at all"

So Craig why would you in September have Hanifin at 3 and Werenski at 24? and have another 5 dman between them?

Hanifin is gotten off to a bit of a slow start but if he drops like these "experts" are thinking I really hope the Flames do everything we can to move up to grab him.

[albertGQ]

Above Tavares at 17 is a big compliment

Didn't JT have like 73 goals as a 17 year old?

[neo45]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Above Tavares at 17 is a big compliment

Didn't JT have like 73 goals as a 17 year old?

McDavid has quickness to his game that Tavares never had. Tavares skates a little bit like Monahan and some scouts thought it would cause Hedman to go #1

[CliffFletcher]

McDavid is Tavares with the speed of McKinnon.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

McDavid is Tavares with the speed of McKinnon.

My first thought was that that was a really good description.

But is it? Is McDavid really that fast? I haven't been wow-ed by his speed when I've seen him - I mean he's definitely fast. But McKinnon is one of the fastest skaters in the NHL. Is McDavid that fast?

(not arguing, just asking)

[sureLoss]

Craig Button's December update:
http://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-decem...terms-1.154887

McDavid and Eichel tied for 1.

Despite his rant on radio last week, Hanifin is still 3rd.

Sprong dropped to 13

J. Roy jumped up to 12

Zacha dropped to 17

[JJ1532]

Hmm, those 4 ranked 12-15 look tempting and potentially in our reach if we don't make the play offs. Roy(D), Sprong(RW), Svechnikov(RW) and Boeser(RW). All would fill our need nicely, all are a decent size.

Whilst we may or may not make the play offs, those top tier defensemen look way out of our reach.

[Poe969]

If we don't make the playoffs, we'll win the lottery or find a way to move up and get a top tier D prospect.

[Rick M.]

Too bad about defenceman J. Roy's rise in Button's rankings. I was quite impressed by his skill set in a recent game against Charlottetown. We likely won't have a shot at him unless we plummet in the standings.

[Rick M.]

I see that F. Chlapik is finally on Button's radar. He's an excellent all round center with high hockey IQ. I wouldn't be unhappy if we got him in the first round.

[Poe969]

It's funny to finally say this but with our centre depth, I don't think we should target any more centres but more RW and D. I guess you take the bpa but our priority should be on RW or D.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Poe969

It's funny to finally say this but with our centre depth, I don't think we should target any more centres but more RW and D. I guess you take the bpa but our priority should be on RW or D.

Good point, although most players chosen as centers from junior end up playing wing if they reach the NHL.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Poe969

It's funny to finally say this but with our centre depth, I don't think we should target any more centres but more RW and D. I guess you take the bpa but our priority should be on RW or D.

No you still draft BPA. Especially in the mid to late 1st round. Mid to late 1st is going to be 2 or 3 years from the NHL at least - unless you get someone that jumps the usual development curve. You really have no idea what the team's needs will be then.

If you told people on this board that center depth would be an organizational strength 3 years ago they would have most likely mocked you.

[Poe969]

Fully agree, we need to take the BPA but if it's a toss up and there are 2 players available with one as a centre and one as either RW or D then I'd take them over the centre.

In the mid to late first round I don't think I'd take a D though unless they were higher ranked and slipped for some reason. D can be taken in the later rounds.

[Tbull8]

If we do end up making the playoffs and we're picking 15-20, I could see us trading up a couple spots to be in the range of Roy or Sprong. Both are good size and fill a positional need.

[CliffFletcher]

I disagree that you always take the BPA. The Flames lack depth in defence prospects. It's easy to say you can make a trade later to address weaknesses, but that's easier said than done. NHL GMs aren't exactly lining up to give away promising young d-men.

This has become a draft and develop league. Trades are very difficult to make. Most of the players who make it to free agency are overpaid guys with big holes in their game. I was disappointed that the Flames didn't use one of their 2014 2nd round picks to take a d-man. I'll be even more worried if they don't address that weakness in 2015.