View Single Post
Old 03-16-2026, 01:04 PM   #100
gvitaly
Franchise Player
 
gvitaly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by The EBUG's EBUG View Post
I agree, right now it's a couple high floor guys and a bunch of borderline lottery tickets.

NHL: Bahl, Kuznetsov, Hanley
AHL: Morin, Grushnikov
NCAA/Jr: Wiebe, Jamieson, Hurtig, Phillips

Could end up getting addressed at the top of the draft if they fall out of the top 3. Injecting a Carels or a Smits into that group would go a long way.

Arguably I'd prefer that then reaching on a centre just because it's another area of need (unless they absolutely love Malholtra or Bjorck I guess). Take a stud LD and then address the centres later in the draft or top of the draft next year.
There's atucally a pretty good unsigned LD in the KHL right now. Machulin, 23, is 6'4" 200lbs, and he's absolutely nasty to play against. He defends well, he's physical, and is no stranger to dropping the gloves. He's relatively mobile, and has a good hard shot. His biggest downside is that he's a bit prone to making unforced errors when he has the puck on his stick.

I think he's a bottom pairing D for sure, but there's top 4 potential there, especially if his game becomes less of a rollercoaster with the puck on his stick.
gvitaly is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to gvitaly For This Useful Post: