I think we are really starting to see the importance of the Dallas pick becoming a first rounder, and the possibility of trading down coming into play. We may have seen our chances of getting one of the true impact players evaporate before our eyes, but there is still potential to come away from this draft with a long term win in my opinion.
Come our pick at number six I see Matthews, Laine, Pul-hardtospell, Dubois and Tkachuk all gone. Going off of the combine list that will leave us with a choice of Nylander, Chychryn, Sergachev, or Juolevi as the early favorites. I'm not enamored with any of these players. I don't see any of the defensemen at the top of this draft becoming impact players, or any more of an impact of the plethora of prospects on the blueline that are already in our system. Drafting one of those defensemen just doesn't make sense to me, not when there are players available that better address our organizational needs. Nylander doesn't seem like a player that would survive in the west. He seems more like an eastern conference player and not someone who is going to do well with the heavy teams in the west. I'm just not happy with the players available in this band. I would much rather take a flier on other players, especially if you can get an opportunity to select multiple players. As things start to gel, I'm liking the idea of trading down that much more.
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