This draft was a really entertaining one to plan for.
It seems like there is a bit of a tier of guys 1-5, then the draft in some ways opens up pretty considerably from about 6 until maybe 25.
Picking at 9 yesterday, I was struggling with what to do because I had a few guys rated higher than consensus and decided to take the risk, trade down and add some assets in hopes that I could still pick up a few of my targets.
Pick 13 - Kevin Korchinski (10th on my board)
The Ducks managed to get lucky and draft one of two guys I was considering drafting at the 9th pick.
I absolutely love this kid's skating ability, offensive instincts and first passes out of the zone. He helped the Thunderbirds get to the WHL final, playing 25min to 30min a game as other defensemen on his squad got injured. He was a scholastic player of the year so is a really bright kid.
He is also a June birthday, so one of the later ones in the draft.
Overall this guy just seems very similar to the profile of Jake Sanderson. We're thrilled to have him on the Ducks.
Pick 19 - Brad Lambert (12th on my board)
I was quite surprised to see Lambert still on the board at 19. I figured with the league's propensity for high octane guys he'd be gone...but admittedly there are a number of question marks with him.
The thing is, watching his highlights, it looks like Lambert has a cheat code on the ice. Everything he did looked to be on an entirely different level. He tried to do too much on his own a lot, but man does the kid absolutely fly (and have the ability to handle the puck at those speeds)
Sure, his point totals weren't great and he got lazy at times, but I wonder if it's just a matter of time.
It's funny, scouts criticize Kemell for wondering if he's as good as his point totals are, and then the same scouts criticize Lambert for not having the point totals and wondering how good he is.
Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut, and I think Lambert goes higher than 19th.
Pick 28 - Isaac Howard (21st on my board)
Of the three highly skilled quick wingers largely considered Top 20 picks (Kemell, Lekkerimaki, Howard), I was struggling to understand why Howard was generally considered so much lower a pick. I didn't see as much of a difference between the three to justify snagging Kemell or Lekkerimaki overly high, but also didn't expect to see Howard available at 28 either.
He's got great crossovers, can score goals better than most in the first round, and lit it up in the U18's this year.
I suspect he'll get picked around where I drafted him, but he could be a sleeper pick in the first round.
Pick 49 - Filip Bystedt (35th on my board)
It's always a bit harder getting good info for guys in the 2nd round, but Bystedt seems to be a consensus 'safe' pick for the 2nd round. He's big at 6'4, can skate reasonably well, is responsible defensively, and has some offensive upside. He did put up 5G and 5A in the U18's so he's shown some ability.
Thanks Jiri for hosting the draft, it's my favourite part of CPHL and will really enjoy watching the NHL draft and seeing how this draft year turns out over the next number of years.
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