How are the other top picks doing?

[The Yen Man]

Nichushkin may very well be the more talented player, but I'm pretty confident in believing Monahan is going to play a more important role for the Flames than Nichushkin would have. Even if Nichushkin reaches his potential, I don't see him leading the Flames anywhere. Monahan, on the the other hand, I can totally see leading this team to better things in the future.

[Vinny01]

Not sure where to put this because it is minor but considering there has been some Sven chat in this thread apparently he wasn't practicing today because of a lower body injury. It is considered minor and day to day but still discouraging to hear he is already dealing with bumps and bruises

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

The preseason isn't a reason to believe anything.

If it was, Jon Sim would be in the hall of fame. Having said that, Rookies make the team often based on preseason, so you can't totally discount it

[OutOfTheCube]

Ristolainen has all but made the Sabres, at least to start the year. Would be VERY surprising to see him cut at this point.

[PlayfulGenius]

I'd take a potential Toews over a potential Kovalchuk, for sure... Though I admit, I think Nichuskin falling all the way to Dallas will make a few teams regretful...maybe even CGY...he could have gone 4th overall in my book.

[Henry Fool]

The player with the most preseason gifs wins.

Don't even need to watch any games.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Nichushkin may very well be the more talented player, but I'm pretty confident in believing Monahan is going to play a more important role for the Flames than Nichushkin would have. Even if Nichushkin reaches his potential, I don't see him leading the Flames anywhere. Monahan, on the the other hand, I can totally see leading this team to better things in the future.

Well I'm really glad that the Flames prioritise intelligence. Dallas got Nichushkin because the better forwards were all taken. A couple of preseason goals hardly changes that.

[ignite09]

Originally Posted by Henry Fool

Well I'm really glad that the Flames prioritise intelligence. Dallas got Nichushkin because the better forwards were all taken. A couple of preseason goals hardly changes that.

Dallas got Nichushkin 'cause he's Russian. Would have been a top five pick if he was Canadian.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by ignite09

Dallas got Nichushkin 'cause he's Russian. Would have been a top five pick if he was Canadian.

Nichushkin = larger Oleg Saprykin. The Russian Rene Bourque. This is what the gifs tell me.

I mean none of us have seen him play but who cares. Still: I suspect he may suffer from tunnel visionitis.

[FAN]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Disagree respectfully. People have been going off about all sorts of players this past week. From Monahans strong showing to Svens alleged issues. There is plenty to believe in when it comes to preseason. Especially when it comes to rookies fresh out of the draft and how they fare against full time players.

My belief is that Nichushkin is going to wow a lot of people this year. Just as others may believe that Monahan will stick with the Flames the whole year.

I think it's best to take a cautious approach. Teams don't usually play their stars during the preseason and stars tend to use the preseason as more of a tune-up. There are countless of players who completely disappear once the regular season starts despite a strong preseason while other players disappear after a strong start.

For 18 and 19 year olds it's all about projection. There have been quite a few #1 overall picks who didn't have a good start to their NHL career who blossomed into stars. It's really not a race.

[moon]

Originally Posted by ignite09

Dallas got Nichushkin 'cause he's Russian. Would have been a top five pick if he was Canadian.

May have been a top 5 pick. I think the Russian factor is now being used to ignore the fact that there are flaws in his game and that Canadian, Russian, Swedish, Finnish whatever he is behind MacKinnon and Jones for sure in terms of on ice performance and skill and at best in the conversation with Barkov and Drouin.

Based purely on talent and not heritage he was likely a 4-6 type of pick.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by moon

May have been a top 5 pick. I think the Russian factor is now being used to ignore the fact that there are flaws in his game and that Canadian, Russian, Swedish, Finnish whatever he is behind MacKinnon and Jones for sure in terms of on ice performance and skill and at best in the conversation with Barkov and Drouin.

Based purely on talent and not heritage he was likely a 4-6 type of pick.

Like Weisbrod is fond of saying, 'talent' is a pretty abstract concept, you want to see how and when it concretely manifests on the ice, and I would add that it's not enough to get among the top picks. Typically forwards that go first are players that are fairly straight forward to project. You don't want any major question marks, like consistency issues.

Drouin skates with Stamkos and St Louis tonight against Florida, it seems. I assume Barkov is on the second line on the Panthers. Might be interesting to watch, if it's even televised anywhere.

[TurdFerguson]

@BillHoppeNHL: And if you're wondering, Ron Rolston said Rasmus Ristolainen has made the #Sabres. #Buffalo.

Not a suprise but still impressive.

[Meers]

It's interesting that the player who's stock fell the most on draft day has made the Canucks opening night roster.

Now, I'm sure once the Canucks get some players back from suspension and injury Hunter Shinkaruk will be sent back down to junior (as will Horvat). But I've got to hand it to the little guy. It's early days, but this Calgary boy has done a pretty good job so far of proving his detractors wrong.

(+3 in the preseason playing mainly on a third line really surprised me. I was expecting to see his defensive play exposed in a bottom six situation. Shows what I know.)

[Swayze11]

Not a big surprise but Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray made the Blue Jackets.

Jenner playing on the top line with Dubinsky and Gaborik for now and Murray starting on the bottom pairing with Wizniewski.

[toquester]

Nichushkins prima donna potential is phenomenal. That is enough to scare me away.

[Henry Fool]

Last I hear, Hertl was doing great with Sharks this preseason. Might be of interest since he was one of the guys availaile to the Flames in the 2012 draft.

[PeteMoss]

Are the Canucks that hurting for depth that they are going to keep two 18 year olds (who weren't even uber high picks?)

[Tilley]

Originally Posted by TurdFerguson

@BillHoppeNHL: And if you're wondering, Ron Rolston said Rasmus Ristolainen has made the #Sabres. #Buffalo.

Not a suprise but still impressive.

Watched Ristolainen last night and was very impressed. Very composed, made smart plays all over the ice. Not at all surprised that he will stick with the Sabres. Zadorov looked ok, but wasn't as impressive as Ristolainen. Forced a couple of passes, was not in the greatest position at times, but you can see that he will also be a solid defender eventually.

As for the Hurricanes, Lindholm was invisible all night (apparently with a shoulder injury). I would expect him to make the team, likely starting on the wing. The other high profile Hurricane rookie, Ryan Murphy will most likely make the team as well. He's shown excellent offensive instincts, however he looks like a forward playing defense. He was beaten badly a couple of times by Sabres forwards going wide. He looks like a PP specialist right now and I'm not sure how much better he is going to get defensively. He's paired with Jay Harrison who will be responsible for covering up Murphy's defensive lapses.

[MissTeeks]

“@mirtle: Lightning send Jonathan Drouin back to junior.”