[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

I found the defensemen quotes pretty interesting as well.

On Juolevi:

"Olli Juolevi offers up the most efficient game and is the easiest defender to project. He owns extremely high-end hockey intelligence and his knack for kick starting the breakout under pressure is as good as anyone in the past few years. His feel for the game is the best among any defender in this draft class and while his pure offensive upside remains a mystery, any team would be satisfied with his number two defenseman projection, who should be able to kick in 45-50 points in his prime.

Of course, there's a chance that he could surge past those numbers and that's what teams are banking on if you choose him first. Juolevi is the safest pick and if I'm a betting man, he's likely the first one selected."

On Sergachev:

"Mikhail Sergachev, my third ranked defender (currently), intrigues me a lot. He stepped into North American hockey and didn't miss a beat elevating his game each time he took the ice and eventually walked away with OHL Defenceman of the Year honours. I love his offensive instincts, especially from inside the offensive blueline. He makes calculated pinches along the boards to keep pucks active and his ability to walk laterally along the offensive blueline is the best of the bunch. Sergachev has proven time and time again that his point shot has a great knack for finding seams and its created a lot of scoring opportunities for his teammates.

There's some room to grow defensively but I suspect that will come as he continues to familiarize himself with the North American game."

On Chychrun:

"Jakob Chychrun is a player I've been lucky enough to speak to on several occasions and watch over 30+ times since his minor midget days with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. He remains my top ranked defender for several reasons and it starts with his presence on and off the ice. Few players in the entire draft show the maturity that Jakob does and he personifies everything that you want to see in an aspiring professional hockey player.

Chychrun has had his share of critics - and rightfully so, because he'll admit that he didn't have his ideal draft season - but the young man has handled the pressure extremely well. A lot of people forget that Chychrun is coming off a serious off-season shoulder surgery and played his draft season under new coaching as well. I've witnessed him mature into a responsible defensive defenseman changing his game almost entirely from his minor midget days.

Let's remember that Jakob previously played as a forward and is now considered one of the best defensive defencemen in major junior hockey. That's a big progression. I think it was a let down for a lot of us scouts to see his numbers stay idle (only increasing his points-per-game totals slightly from his rookie season). But, remember he remained finished top four in OHL defensive scoring after major surgery and still established himself as a better defensive presence than his draft eligible counterparts - in my opinion. Top that accomplishment with the fact that he had just an "average" year and owns better physical gifts, and I am comfortable leaving him as the top defenceman of this draft class. I think we'll see Chychrun take a big step forward offensively after learning to improve his defensive game last season."

The scouts who love Chychrun don't see this "hockey sense" issue that the fans have latched on to. We have no idea whether the Flames love him or not but he's an intriguing prospect. I think the concerns on him are a little overblown, I think he fell due more to other guys having amazing seasons rather than Chychrun being a massive disappointment. And for some scouts and perhaps teams he hasn't really dropped much if at all.

I still think there's a very good chance that 1-3 of those defenders are ahead of Nylander on the Flames list. None of the GM's in the 4-6 range have talked about Nylander one bit. The names that typically come up in all the interviews I've watched/heard are Tkachuk, Dubois, Brown and 2-4 defenders.

It's hard to say what GM comments (or lack of comments) mean this time of year given the possibility of deliberate misdirection.