2017 NHL Draft

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by JTech780

You might be right, but to me he profiles much more as a Michael Stone type player. I just don't see Foote as having top pairing potential, I also don't think you will see much offense from Foote at the NHL level.

Somewhat rhetorical question here but what exactly differentiates a Seabrook from a Stone, other than Hossa, Toews, Sharp, and Kane? Both guys are sizey all-situation RHD with questionable skating and great point shots who played their best hockey with Keith or OEL/Brodie and were not great when away from those partners. Skillwise, what about Foote makes him more of a "Stone" than a "Seabrook" and why does that make him less enticing?

Originally Posted by Point Blank

How would you feel about trading up to nab Suzuki?

Depends on Suzuki's combine results. If he is 5'11+ I do it. If he is 5'9.5 or so I probably just let the chips fall into play as he seems like a good 2nd/3rd liner but not a gamebreaker like Keller last year.

Honestly, I am just hoping Liljegren falls to us though. Just feels right. Heck convert him to a RW if there's not fit on D.

[circle]

Couldn't sleep so decided to look for some dark horse picks for the Flames when I came across Jason Robertson. I've maybe seen his name once or twice in this thread but was surprised at how low his draft rankings are by different scouting services (ranked in the low first, high second round area).

Here's the stats for the 6'2" left shot LW (Kingston Frontenacs in OHL):
Regular Season: 68GP 42G 39A 81P
Playoffs: 11GP 5G 13A 18P

The really mind boggling stat is that Robertson's 42G in the regular season accounted for 23.5% of the team's goals. He also notched 30 more points than the next highest point getter on the team.

Reading some reports, it looks like he has a heavy shot, is an excellent passer, and always seems to be at the right places to score in front of the net. The one issue that comes up is that his skating isn't too great as it seems he doesn't have explosiveness off his first strides and is an awkward skater with clunky footwork.

Definitely someone to keep an eye out for come draft day.

http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/sh...hp?p=129287181
https://thebloggerstribune.com/2017/...son-robertson/

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by circle

Couldn't sleep so decided to look for some dark horse picks for the Flames when I came across Jason Robertson. I've maybe seen his name once or twice in this thread but was surprised at how low his draft rankings are by different scouting services (ranked in the low first, high second round area).

Here's the stats for the 6'2" left shot LW (Kingston Frontenacs in OHL):
Regular Season: 68GP 42G 39A 81P
Playoffs: 11GP 5G 13A 18P

The really mind boggling stat is that Robertson's 42G in the regular season accounted for 23.5% of the team's goals. He also notched 30 more points than the next highest point getter on the team.

Reading some reports, it looks like he has a heavy shot, is an excellent passer, and always seems to be at the right places to score in front of the net. The one issue that comes up is that his skating isn't too great as it seems he doesn't have explosiveness off his first strides and is an awkward skater with clunky footwork.

Definitely someone to keep an eye out for come draft day.

http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/sh...hp?p=129287181
https://thebloggerstribune.com/2017/...son-robertson/

I wanted to post on this for a while, because i noticed all of the same things you did-he put up a boat load of points on a team that essentially has no other point-producing forwards. He's a big (6'2")kid with a little power forward in his game too. I kinda gave up on him a little bit though after hearing/ reading about how his skating is actually bad enough that it will hold him back at the next level. I know there is big power forwards in the modern era that have had the same problem coming out of of junior, and have worked hard to improve the problem (James Neal comes to mind) but it's a big concern, although this is one guy i can't remember watching play first hand. Has anyone in here sen him play that can comment on his skating?

[Love]

McKeens top 31

https://www.mckeenshockey.com/nhl-bl...-31-31st-2017/

1 Nolan Patrick
2 Nico Hischier
3 Miro Heiskanen
4 Gabriel Vilardi
5 Casey Mittelstadt
6 Owen Tippett
7 Cale Makar
8 Cody Glass
9 Kristian Vesalainen
10 Michael Rasmussen
11 Elias Pettersson
12 Martin Necas
13 Urho Vaakanainen
14 Juuso Valimaki
15 Robert Thomas
16 Nick Suzuki
17 Lias Andersson
18 Isaac Ratcliffe
19 Erik Brannstrom
20 Timothy Liljegren
21 Klim Kostin
22 Eeli Tolvanen
23 Conor Timmins
24 Kailer Yamamoto
25 Jason Robertson
26 Ryan Poehling
27 Nicolas Hague
28 Josh Norris
29 Shane Bowers
30 Cal Foote
31 Henri Jokiharju

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by Love

McKeens top 31

https://www.mckeenshockey.com/nhl-bl...-31-31st-2017/

I would be quite happy if this is exactly how the Draft plays out. I think Nick Suzuki on the RW in the future could very well be an excellent thing to have. If everything comes up roses, we could have a great top six RW to play on either Gaudreau or Tkachuk's line. Exactly what this team is in need of.

If they want to keep him as Center, then you could possibly look at a future replacement for Backlund as a great two way center with a little more high end skill.

[Erick Estrada]

Too early to say this is going to be a bad draft but it's definitely lacking compelling prospects. Teams picking 4-20 may as well be throwing darts on the draft board.

[Sandman]

I'm surprised at how high they rated Vesalainen, and especially Vaakanainen-although i like both players.

[FCAV]

For those that haven't picked up the 2017 NHL Draft Guide, you can now view our Final 100 ranking on our website. The Guide has our Final 250 in it!

Final 100: http://futureconsiderations.ca/top-rankings-2017/

[Commandant]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Care to explain? Last Word on Hockey has him at #46.

http://lastwordonhockeyprospects.com...-nhl-draft-46/

In fairness, I have Joseph lower than most at 46. I know many of my colleagues have him a bit higher. But I don't see anyone having him as high as 16.

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by Commandant

In fairness, I have Joseph lower than most at 46. I know many of my colleagues have him a bit higher. But I don't see anyone having him as high as 16.

Craig Button has him at 17, being plucked up by the Leafs in his latest mock.

17. Toronto Maple Leafs: Pierre-Olivier Joseph, D, Charlottetown (QMJHL) Needs time, but has all the elements necessary to be a very good defenceman. He thinks and skates well, his puck play is strong and he competes.

http://www.tsn.ca/nolan-or-nico-butt...-mock-1.750199

[Commandant]

I usually look at ranks instead of mocks... but sure, Button has him that high.

I see most have him in the mid 20s though.

As I said, my 46 is lower than most. Its not a prediction of where he will be drafted, its where I would rank him on a BPA scale.

Scouts disagree on that all the time.

[868904]

Having done my research, I think Lias Anderson is the guy I want for the Flames at 16.

He's produced at the highest level in Sweden against men, he's built like a tank, he knows how to use his body to protect the puck, he's got a good shot, he's a good skater, defensively responsible, and he's good on faceoffs.

He's like the Swedish Bo Horvat. He'll play for sure, and I think in the right situation, he could step in right away and play. For the Flames, they could probably let him develop a bit more in Sweden.

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by 868904

Having done my research, I think Lias Anderson is the guy I want for the Flames at 16.

He's produced at the highest level in Sweden against men, he's built like a tank, he knows how to use his body to protect the puck, he's got a good shot, he's a good skater, defensively responsible, and he's good on faceoffs.

He's like the Swedish Bo Horvat. He'll play for sure, and I think in the right situation, he could step in right away and play. For the Flames, they could probably let him develop a bit more in Sweden.

Or have him come over and play big minutes in the AHL to learn the system and get used to the smaller ice.

[albertGQ]

Juuso Valimaki sounds intriguing. THN has his best case as Mark Giordano. 6'2 and 200 pounds.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Juuso Valimaki sounds intriguing. THN has his best case as Mark Giordano. 6'2 and 200 pounds.

Put up some great point totals too. Skating is said to be not the best, but won't hold him back. Looks pretty good to me.

[Caged Great]

If I was making the pick and he was available, I'd take Lias Andersson as well for the exact same reasons as 868904. Might not fill a "need" but I feel he is the best of the bunch in that zone of picks. If he's off the board, I would think that trading down might become more of a reasonable option as there isn't a huge difference between the rest of the group.

The player he reminds me a bit of is fellow Swede Alex Wennberg from Columbus.

Andersson had 19 points in 42 games in the SHL in his draft year
Wennberg had 21 points in 50 games in the SHL in his draft + 1 year.

Andersson is a bit more stocky than Wennberg as well as they are the same weight but Andersson is 5-11, where Wennberg is 6-1.

I don't know if Andersson will reach the heights offensively that Wennberg has (59 points this year with CBJ), but he should at the minimum become a solid middle sixer either on the wing or up the middle.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

If I was making the pick and he was available, I'd take Lias Andersson as well for the exact same reasons as 868904. Might not fill a "need" but I feel he is the best of the bunch in that zone of picks. If he's off the board, I would think that trading down might become more of a reasonable option as there isn't a huge difference between the rest of the group.

The player he reminds me a bit of is fellow Swede Alex Wennberg from Columbus.

Andersson had 19 points in 42 games in the SHL in his draft year
Wennberg had 21 points in 50 games in the SHL in his draft + 1 year.

Andersson is a bit more stocky than Wennberg as well as they are the same weight but Andersson is 5-11, where Wennberg is 6-1.

I don't know if Andersson will reach the heights offensively that Wennberg has (59 points this year with CBJ), but he should at the minimum become a solid middle sixer either on the wing or up the middle.

Worth noting that during his draft year Wennberg was viewed in a very similar light as Andersson - solid all around player but a lot of questions of whether or not his offense would translate.

Though I also think that Wennberg's production in the first half of last year will prove to be a blip. I view him as a 40 point type guy

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Wild GM

Worth noting that during his draft year Wennberg was viewed in a very similar light as Andersson - solid all around player but a lot of questions of whether or not his offense would translate.

Though I also think that Wennberg's production in the first half of last year will prove to be a blip. I view him as a 40 point type guy

Same here although you just never know how far a player can go. Similar veins of player as Backlund and Frolik. Can't go wrong with someone who is an all around threat, even if they are just a depth player in the organization.

[TheScorpion]

To note of Wennberg: he's scored on a >40-point pace twice now in his two-year NHL career.

2015-16: 69 GP, 8 G, 40 P (0.58 P/GP, 48-point pace)
2016-17: 80 GP, 13 G, 59 P (0.74 P/GP, 60-point pace)

Why wouldn't he get better from here? He's still only 22

[Knut]

This is the time of year when the guy I want changes daily based on what more knowledgeable posters type here.

Lias Andersson it is (at least until someone hypes up a different guy)