[Rumour] Boomer: Flames are kicking tires to trade up to #2. Draisaitl might be the target.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by ignite09

Yeah, it's gonna suck having to hate Draisaitl. I actually really like the kid.

He really does seem like a great kid. I just couldn't bring myself to hating him. However I will feel very, very sad for him if he gets chosen by the team that is NO GOOD!

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Read Only

Hopefully Draisatl goes to Edmonton so we aren't stuck with him and the Oilers get a crappy pick.

Leaving the draft without Draisatl will be a win in my books even if for some crazy reason they go with one of the other guys if a Sam is available.

Leaving the draft with him would be a win as well. Draisaitl would be an excellent building piece for this team.

Do you like Kopitar? You know, that guy who just helped lead the Kings to another cup? Well that's the kind of player you could be looking at with Leon.

Weird that he's getting hate by some. If he were Canadian I bet it'd be different. Let's keep in mind Germany ≠ Russia.

[Muta]

this is the highest draft position in franchise history. I really don't hope that, once again, we think we're smarter than everybody and go off the board by taking Ritchie at 4. If they want Ritchie, trade down two spots and get a 2nd rounder out if it.

Otherwise, stay at four and draft one of the top four.


Posted from Calgarypuck.com App for Android

[Read Only]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Leaving the draft with him would be a win as well. Draisaitl would be an excellent building piece for this team.

Do you like Kopitar? You know, that guy who just helped lead the Kings to another cup? Well that's the kind of player you could be looking at with Leon.

Weird that he's getting hate by some. If he were Canadian I bet it'd be different. Let's keep in mind Germany ≠ Russia.

Kopitar is a horrible comparable to him. If that is what we are using I hate to miss out on Toews (Bennett), Weber (Ekblad), Tavares (Reinhart), Esposito (Ritchie), Stamkos (Perlini).

If Draisatl showed actual Kopitar potential he would be clear number 1 in a weak draft.

Weird that he has been getting so much love and overrating by some if he were Canadian he would be big and slow but he is European so that must mean talented.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Originally Posted by Read Only

Hopefully Draisatl goes to Edmonton so we aren't stuck with him and the Oilers get a crappy pick.

Leaving the draft without Draisatl will be a win in my books even if for some crazy reason they go with one of the other guys if a Sam is available.

Why don't you like him?

[GoJetsGo]

Moon be moon'in

[Read Only]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Why don't you like him?

When I have watched him play he was soft, lazy (defensively and without the puck) and didn't seem like that smart if a player.

He seemed like when things were going well for him he would be "on" or if playing smaller and/or weaker guys he would excel. When faced with better competition or knocked around a bit he had no problem shutting it down.

To me he seems the least likely to translate his game to the NHL.

[djsFlames]

The moon has risen.

There's only one poster with that much cynicism.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Read Only

If Draisatl showed actual Kopitar potential he would be clear number 1 in a weak draft.

Kopitar went 11th...

[Read Only]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Kopitar went 11th...

Great for him doesn't really mean much to the conversation now.

He has shown he is a better player than that.

[Gaskal]

[Hockey_Ninja]

Originally Posted by Read Only

When I have watched him play he was soft, lazy (defensively and without the puck) and didn't seem like that smart if a player.

He seemed like when things were going well for him he would be "on" or if playing smaller and/or weaker guys he would excel. When faced with better competition or knocked around a bit he had no problem shutting it down.

To me he seems the least likely to translate his game to the NHL.

Answer this honestly: If it was between him or Ritchie, are you seriously taking Ritchie instead? You're crazy if you would.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Read Only

Great for him doesn't really mean much to the conversation now.

He has shown he is a better player than that.

Yeah it affects the conversation. You said if Draisaitl could end up like Kopitar that he'd be a clear #1 this year but that statement is questionable when you see that Kopitar himself went 11th. Lots of prospects with very high upside don't go #1. They don't always achieve that upside but sometimes they do. It's not an exact science.

[Read Only]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Answer this honestly: If it was between him or Ritchie, are you seriously taking Ritchie instead? You're crazy if you would.

I have them in the second tier with Dal Colle.

I would take Dal Colle before either of them and probably Draisatl slightly over Ritchie because he is a potential center, but wouldn't be upset if Ritchie was chosen over Draisatl.

[Read Only]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Yeah it affects the conversation. You said if Draisaitl could end up like Kopitar that he'd be a clear #1 this year but that statement is questionable when you see that Kopitar himself went 11th. Lots of prospects with very high upside do t go #1. They don't always achieve that upside but sometimes they do. It's not an exact science.

When Kopitar went number people didn't see this kind of top 10 player in the NHL upside.

I think people tend to be way to generous with their projections of players which is why you see a lot of Toews, Kopitar, Giroux, Gilmours being tossed out there.

I understand why they are used because it is much more sexy than second line guys like Hartnell, Bozak or Berglund.

But to say if you don't like Draisatl you are missing out on a Kopitar like guy is pretty inaccurate.

[AC]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Answer this honestly: If it was between him or Ritchie, are you seriously taking Ritchie instead? You're crazy if you would.

Maybe, but speaking in absolutes like that (especially regarding 2 players that are very close in most rankings now) is risky IMO.

How many drafts can you look back at and say the order of even the top 5 was correct with hindsight?

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by AC

Maybe, but speaking in absolutes like that (especially regarding 2 players that are very close in most rankings now) is risky IMO.

Nothing risky about speaking in absolutes about absolute things. It is absolutely the case that Ritchie has been playing a different position from Draisaitl, and that is a relevant fact.

How many drafts can you look back at and say the order of even the top 5 was correct with hindsight?

You can't. But you can look back at the aggregate of all the drafts and say which kinds of picks were more likely to pay off. Picking a centre in the top 5 has a higher average payoff than picking any other position, because good centres are so costly to acquire outside of the draft. It's considerably easier to trade for a top-line winger than a top-line centre. And if you end up having too many good centres, you can always move some to the wings.

If a winger, defenceman, or goalie is clearly the BPA, then you pick that player, but that isn't the case here. Some knowledgeable people believe that Ekblad is definitely a cut above Draisaitl and the Sams, and if you agree with them, then you should take Ekblad before you take one of the centres. But I don't know of anybody who thinks that Ritchie is definitely a cut above Draisaitl. At best they're roughly equal prospects.

If you pick a winger over a centre, all else being equal, you are risking a big opportunity cost. You may wind up not having a centre good enough to make the best use of that winger. We all remember how that works out, don't we?

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Read Only

When Kopitar went number people didn't see this kind of top 10 player in the NHL upside.

I think people tend to be way to generous with their projections of players which is why you see a lot of Toews, Kopitar, Giroux, Gilmours being tossed out there.

I understand why they are used because it is much more sexy than second line guys like Hartnell, Bozak or Berglund.

But to say if you don't like Draisatl you are missing out on a Kopitar like guy is pretty inaccurate.

Moon, I really wish you would just "Read Only"

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Read Only

When Kopitar went number people didn't see this kind of top 10 player in the NHL upside.

I think people tend to be way to generous with their projections of players which is why you see a lot of Toews, Kopitar, Giroux, Gilmours being tossed out there.

I understand why they are used because it is much more sexy than second line guys like Hartnell, Bozak or Berglund.

The comparisons being made between Draisaitl and NHL first-line players are made because THAT is precisely what he projects to. He is in the same class as many of these players when they were drafted. Comparisons tend to be made in terms of a player's ceiling because most people prefer to be optimistic. By the same token, these sorts of projections are a far cry from wishful thinking; they are immanently possible outcomes.

Originally Posted by Read Only

But to say if you don't like Draisatl you are missing out on a Kopitar like guy is pretty inaccurate.

I really don't think it is. When making this comparison to Kopitar's pre-draft report, both are very skilled, big players who distribute the puck well, but both also carry with them concerns about foot speed and how their games will translate at the NHL level. When Kopitar was drafted, he had only played 5 games in the SEL, and there was MUCH uncertainty about how he would do at the elite level.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Draisaitl will become as good a player as Kopitar, but he certainly looks like he could, at this stage. And furthermore, it is to be unreasonably pessimistic about his future to limit expectations to those similar to Bozek, Hartnell, Berglund, et al. Draisaitl is CLEARLY a MUCH BETTER PLAYER than any one of these players were in their draft year.

[Samuelsson]

Lets avoid all potential embarrassment and go for a win-win scenario by taking a Goalie.