Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick M.
It's hard to say what GM comments (or lack of comments) mean this time of year given the possibility of deliberate misdirection.
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Agreed. They will never say which guy they favour. But if all of them happily let you know about 6-7 players they would consider and Nylander isn't in that grouping for any of those GMs then IMO that does indicate something. Sometimes this helps us find the real consensus. We've heard CBJ is bringing in Brown for a full day (as per Jeff Marek Sportsnet.) Chiarelli has talked about Tkachuk, Dubois, Brown (he brought Brown up unprompted), and 3-4 defensemen as being in their range. Benning has talked about Tkachuk, Dubois, Brown and 2 defensemen. Benning has said there's a defenseman in their top 6 and Dubois is heavily rumoured to be one of their favourites. Meanwhile Burke has said our 4-6 is Tkachuk, Dubois, Juolevi and that Brown/Nylander aren't in our range.
In fact if you want to read between the lines both Benning and Chiarelli have been a bit coy on the defensemen and have been very happy to blab about Dubois, Tkachuk and Brown. Might indicate they have something they want to hide on the defensemen.
I think Nylander ranks high amongst scouts who don't have to worry about building a team because they aren't GMs. When GMs start to get involved in the process a guy like him can drop because most GMs believe that Dmen and Centres are much harder to find than wingers. I think Nylander is close enough to Brown and the d-men that teams will break the tie by drafting the more important position. Whereas Tkachuk/Dubois I think are more BPA in the 4-6. Nylander isn't a clearcut BPA anywhere near that range.
I just think its very interesting to note that nobody who is drafting top 6 has really even referenced Nylander except Burke who said he's not in our range. I think it does say something. If you want to believe that everything these GMs are saying is misdirection thats a fair stance to take. But I think they do let some things slip, its hard not to.