[Flames Draft Watcher]

Something interesting about this draft is that the forward rankings seem to be fairly consistent but the difference of opinion on the d-men is crazy this year. Let's take a closer look at the disparity in opinion

Chychrun:
-5th by Redline, they say he's in their clearcut top 5 grouping with Tkachuk and the big 3
-4th by Future Considerations
-7th by ISS but still the top d-man
-4th in NA by CSS but still the top d-man
-2nd by The Draft Analyst
-10th by McKeen's, 3rd best d-man
-9th by hockeyprospect.com, 3rd best d-man
-9th by Craig Button, 2nd best d-man
-5th by Bob Mackenzie's Midterm Rankings

So the majority of scouting services still think he's the top d-men

Sergachev:
-10th by Redline, 4th best d-man
-8th by FC, 2nd best d-man
-8th by ISS, 2nd best d-man
-8th in NA by CSS, 4th best d-man
-10th by The Draft Analyst, 3rd best d-man
-9th by McKeen's, 2nd best d-man
-8th by hockeyprospect.com, 2nd best d-man
-10th by Craig Button, 3rd best d-man
-12th by Bob Mackenzie's Midterm Rankings, 4th best d-man

No one seems to think he's the top d-man but he's right up there with the rest consistently

Olli Juolevi:
-Not one of Redline's top 4 d-men, not in their top 10
-12th by FC, 3rd best d-man
-10th by ISS, 3rd best d-man
-5th in NA by CSS, 2nd best d-man
-8th by The Draft Analyst, 2nd best d-man
-5th by McKeen's, top d-man
-7th by hockeyprospect.com, top d-man
-7th by Craig Button, top d-man
-7th by Bob Mackenzie's Midterm Rankings, 2nd best d-man

Some people think he's best, some think 2nd best, some think 3rd

Charlie McAvoy:
-not in Redline's top 4 d-men, not in their top 10
-15th by FC, 4th best d-man
-21st by ISS, 5th best d-man
-6th in NA by CSS, 3rd best d-man
-27th by The Draft Analyst, 5th best d-man
-11th by McKeen's, 4th best d-man
-14th by hockeyprospect.com, 5th best d-man
-22nd by Craig Button, 7th best d-man
-14th by Bob Mackenzie's Midterm Rankings, 5th best d-man

All over the place.

Jake Bean:
-7th by Redline, 2nd best d-man
-16th by FC, 5th best d-man
-15th by ISS, 4th best d-man
-15th in NA by CSS, 5th best d-man
-30th by The Draft Analyst, 6th best d-man
-12th by McKeen's, 5th best d-man
-17th by hockeyprospect.com, 6th best d-man
-11th by Craig Button, 4th best d-man
-11th by Bob Mackenzie's Midterm Rankings, 3rd best d-man

All over the place. Whichever team wants an offensive defenseman may pick him up

Dante Fabbro:
-9th by Redline, 3rd best d-man
-21st by FC, 6th best d-man
-not in the 1st round by ISS, not in their top 5 dmen. Not sure how they only have 5 dmen in their first round, seems unlikely that few would go
-18th in NA by CSS, 6th best d-man
-21st by The Draft Analyst, 4th best d-man
-not in the 1st round by McKeen's, not in their top 9 dmen
-12th by hockey prospect.com, 4th best d-man
-12th by Craig Button, 5th best d-man
-17th by Bob Mackenzie's Midterm Rankings, 6th best dman

Wow, huge difference of opinion here. Kind of expected since he plays in the BCHL in Penticton and often scouts disagree on how well players playing at a lower level can translate their game. You've got to wonder how much the smaller scouting services actually scouted him in the BCHL or if their opinion is based mostly on tournaments.

IMO the d-men are the most unpredictable element of this draft and is the most interesting aspect to watch.
Chance to go top 5-6 IMO: Chychrun, Juolevi, Sergachev
Chance to go top 10-12 IMO: All of the above

If teams start drafting these guys early then it may start a run on them. It may very affect which forwards drop to the 6-10 range.