Quote:
Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler
ReadingTHN's draft issue now. Some interesting defensemenin the bottom of the first round. Just from reading the summaries, it seems quite possible that anyone of Chabot, Roy or Larsson could turn out better than the guys at the top of the draft... So, I would not mind if we dropped down ~5 spots and picked up another good pick, or if we picked up another draft choice in the 22-28 range... Keeping in mind that I have not seen anyone play, I just have this feeling that Larsson in particular could be the gem. All 3 of those guys sound like Brodie to me... I think I would also be happy with taking Svechnikov at 15, unless by some miracle the Finnish kid drops.
|
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of moving down in drafts unless we have an inkling the guy we want is going to drop a few places to us. In a draft like this if you look at rankings, there are 3 defensemen in more or less every top 10 list – Hanifin, Provorov and Werenski. There is a reason why all 3 are ranked so highly. This year seems to be a deeper draft for defensemen. Last year there were a total of 5 defensemen taken in the first round which is a very low number. In 2013 there were 9, and in 2012 there were 13. However, in 2012 there were 8 defensemen picked in the top 10, which is obviously a very high number. If you look at some of those players from that draft mostly all of them are playing right now. Rielly, Lindholm, Dumba and Trouba are all big pieces of the blue line on their respective teams. Ryan Murray would have been too, if he wasn’t riddled with injuries. So, in a deep draft for defenseman if top 10 lists include 3 or 4 of them there is a much higher chance statistically of them panning out, and being a top 3-4 defenseman. And it is for this reason that I wouldn’t mind moving up in the draft and parting with a few other picks to nab one of those 3 defenseman. Now, obviously I wouldn’t forsake every one of our 3 second round picks and third round picks because that is just stupid, but I would at least test the waters and get a feeling for what’s out there. Even if we could move up 5 places we may have a shot at Werenski, or Provorov if he falls that low.
Saying this, if we stick with our pick at #15 I would still go with a defenceman because I think there is a greater need for that in the team long term. Although, Hanifin, Provorov and Werenski seem like high end defenseman, I would still take a defenseman at 15 and go for Chabot, because my preference is to draft a defenseman in the first round. Dropping 5 spots probably wouldn’t give us a shot at Chabot because I don’t believe he will fall that low. So, overall I agree that Chabot or Roy could turn out to be great NHL defenseman, but the 3 above them are ranked higher for a reason. However, I’d be happy with Chabot simply because it’s a deep draft for defensemen, and there is always a chance he could be the next Brodie. Chabot’s average ranking through various lists hovers around 15, which is still pretty good for a defenseman. Incidentally, he was projected to go much lower than 15.
Although, we primarily rolled 4 defencemen in the Ducks series, with Schlemko getting more time as the series progressed, it was evident how well Anaheim’s defence moved the puck, with Lindholm, Vatenen, Fowler and Depres all excellent puck movers. In the system we play mobile puck moving defenseman are at a premium, and everything I’ve read about Chabot says that he skates and moves the puck really well. In fact, those are the 2 aspects that really stand out with him, but he also has the size. It’s clearly evident in the interviews that Treliving and Hartely give that they want their defenseman to be good 2-way puck moving players and I think with Giordano and Russell getting older it will serve us well having those types of players in the system.