2016 NHL Draft

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by jaymac106

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Tkachuk is going to be a much better NHLer than Marner. I do not think Marner stirs the drink on that line, I would be more than ok if the Flames grabbed Tkachuk after the consensus top 3.

Tkachuk just does not have the overall talent of Marner.

[dissentowner]

Marner and Tkatchuk are very different players. Marner has more skill and will certainly be the better offensive player. I think Tkatchuk will be a guy that can knock in 25-30 goals and bring a physical presence. Not Lucic by any means but he won't be a pushover. As a Knights ticket holder I have never heard anything to indicate he has a bad attitude or is a locker room problem.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Marner and Tkatchuk are very different players. Marner has more skill and will certainly be the better offensive player. I think Tkatchuk will be a guy that can knock in 25-30 goals and bring a physical presence. Not Lucic by any means but he won't be a pushover. As a Knights ticket holder I have never heard anything to indicate he has a bad attitude or is a locker room problem.

I can second this - have heard no issues about Tkachuk.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Does Benning look more like an old school vampire, or a russian tow truck driver?

I can't believe I almost missed this post in this mega thread.

LOL

[Bourque's Twin]

I am really hoping for one of the two Finns.

[Table 5]

I was hoping for Matthews or one of the Finns (and in many ways still am), but after last night, I would definitely be pretty excited to draft Dubois as well. The guy seems to have a great mix of skill and muscle.

Chychrun seems like a pretty nice pick up too.

[playmaker]

Looking at our future core... we've got our highly skilled winger in Gaudreau, our Krejci-Bergeron center combo in Bennett and Monahan, as well as very promising dcore that's gonna be further upgraded by Hickey or Killington. We've got our heart and soul guys in Bouma and Ferland, or perhaps Hunter Smith and Carrol as well.
The element that's missing is a pure sniper - that's why I'd be thrilled if this group could be reinforced by a guy like Puljujärvi or Julien Gauthier.

[flamesforcup]

Originally Posted by playmaker

Looking at our future core... we've got our highly skilled winger in Gaudreau, our Krejci-Bergeron center combo in Bennett and Monahan, as well as very promising dcore that's gonna be further upgraded by Hickey or Killington. We've got our heart and soul guys in Bouma and Ferland, or perhaps Hunter Smith and Carrol as well.
The element that's missing is a pure sniper - that's why I'd be thrilled if this group could be reinforced by a guy like Puljujärvi or Julien Gauthier.

i agree with every thing except the bergeron krejci comparison. Id say more like a duchane and turris? or maybe giroux for bennet

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by druetetective

IDK about that man. Iv'e watched lots of Knights games and Marner is legit. He has similar offensive potential as Bennett.

I think Tkachuk will be a 50-60 point guy in the NHL. Like a JVR in T.O.

Marner may have a similar skill level to Bennett but I think Bennett's drive, physicality, determination and speed mean he'll be a more effective NHLer overall.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by playmaker

Looking at our future core... we've got our highly skilled winger in Gaudreau, our Krejci-Bergeron center combo in Bennett and Monahan, as well as very promising dcore that's gonna be further upgraded by Hickey or Killington. We've got our heart and soul guys in Bouma and Ferland, or perhaps Hunter Smith and Carrol as well.
The element that's missing is a pure sniper - that's why I'd be thrilled if this group could be reinforced by a guy like Puljujärvi or Julien Gauthier.

Bennett has a higher upside than Krejci/Bergeron IMO, he has Forsberg type upside.

As far as pure snipers go, I'd say Laine looks like more of a pure sniper than Puljujarvi to me. And if you're part of the crowd that doesn't think Ferland can be a top two line power forward then we're also missing that piece of the puzzle.

Really any of Laine (sniper), Puljujarvi (dynamic winger), Tkachuk (power forward), Chychrun (good overall d-man with skating, size, strength, skill) fit big needs for us. I'd also be quite happy with Juolevi (D), Sergachev (D), Fabbro (D), Gauthier (RW), Dubois (LW/C), Nylander (W), Jones (LW).

We're pretty much guaranteed another good piece. The rest of the season and the lottery will let us know if its another 1st line/top pairing guy or just a 2nd line/2nd pairing type guy. At this point it looks more likely we'll get the former.

[dammage79]

I'm throwing Mike McCleod into the preference bucket too. I really liked what I watched last night in the prospects game. If the Flames end up out of the top 5 I'd rather go after McCleod than Gauthier.

[hockey.modern]

Where is Dubois projected to go? Would love the Flames to draft him if we can trade for another first.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by hockey.modern

Where is Dubois projected to go? Would love the Flames to draft him if we can trade for another first.

Somewhere in the 6-14 range if I had to guess.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by cral12

E-Mac (Eldon MacDonald) is back with his updated massive draft spreadsheet at THW (downloadable).

Two articles published today featuring this database:

1. NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings Combined
Link: http://thehockeywriters.com/nhl-cent...ings-combined/
- E-Mac & I through the NHL-CS rankings into a blender to combine them! Actually, E-Mac used his tried and true system of combining the segregated 4 lists to give a more accurate depiction of where Central Scouting is ranking a player.

2. THW's War Room Midterm Draft Rankings, featuring

- E-Mac’s exclusive Top 75 prospects ranked, plus
- 5 honourable mentions
- 3 sleepers
- The Others, where other notable draft eligible prospects are highlighted (787 prospects in total are noted on the spreadsheet including all prospects ranked by NHL Central Scouting in their mid-season rankings)

Link: http://thehockeywriters.com/thws-nhl...nuary-edition/

Enjoy! Feedback welcomed and appreciated.

More THW draft stuff:

or an alternative perspective:

2016 NHL Draft Midterm Consensus Rankings by Ryan Pike

THE PROCESS

Five January rankings from prominent sources were selected for inclusion:

International Scouting Services
Future Considerations
The Sports Network (TSN)
Sportsnet
HockeyProspect.com

as well as

2016 NHL Draft January Alternate Rankings - Pike's Picks

Pike does a nice job of formulating his rankings based on tiers.
Do you agree with his current tier setup?

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by cral12

2016 NHL Draft January Alternate Rankings - Pike's Picks

Pike does a nice job of formulating his rankings based on tiers.
Do you agree with his current tier setup?

Gonna have to disagree quite a bit with his tier set up.

IMO Laine is closer to Matthews than Puljujarvi is and all three should be in that top tier.

2nd tier for me is Tkachuk, Chychrun, Dubois, Sergachev (who is ranked in the 2nd round?), Juolevi, Nylander, Fabbro

3rd tier for me ATM is: Jost, Gauthier, Jones, McLeod, Bean, Keller, Bellows

My current top 10 for the Flames:

1) Matthews (C)
2) Laine (RW)
3) Puljujarvi (RW)
4) Tkachuk (LW)
5) Chychrun (D)
6) Dubois (LW/C)
7) Sergachev (D)
8) Juolevi (D)
9) Fabbro (D)
10) Nylander (W)

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

My current top 10 for the Flames:

1) Matthews (C)
2) Laine (RW)
3) Puljujarvi (RW)
4) Tkachuk (LW)
5) Chychrun (D)
6) Dubois (LW/C)
7) Sergachev (D)
8) Juolevi (D)
9) Fabbro (D)
10) Nylander (W)

Assuming we finish outside the bottom 5, I would be elated with any of the guys you have listed 6-10. Sucks how Edmonton is all but assured to come away with one of the big top 5 though.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

Assuming we finish outside the bottom 5, I would be elated with any of the guys you have listed 6-10. Sucks how Edmonton is all but assured to come away with one of the big top 5 though.

Well if you don't want them to get one you can hope they go on a run with McDavid coming back. Of course cheering for the Oilers is something most Flames fans aren't into

The standings at the bottom of the league are so tight that the top 5 is still too up in the air to predict. Any win streaks by EDM, BUF, CBJ, TOR, WPG or us could change things drastically. Trade deadline deals and injuries could play big factors as well.

Should be an interesting draft pick race going forward. The lottery can change things mores this year than past years too with teams being able to drop further than before and the three winners.

[jaymac106]

Originally Posted by druetetective

IDK about that man. Iv'e watched lots of Knights games and Marner is legit. He has similar offensive potential as Bennett.

I think Tkachuk will be a 50-60 point guy in the NHL. Like a JVR in T.O.

I am aware of the talent and skill(in spades) that Marner has but to me in my limited viewings (probably 10-12 games over past 2 years), he either tries to do too much by himself or he attempts low percentage plays trying to be too fancy. IMHO He will need to simplify his game to be an effective NHLer. I think Thachuk plays a simply game and appears to have more on ice awareness. Time will tell I guess and I know its a stretch, thus I said I was going out on a limb.

[Flamescuprun2018]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Gonna have to disagree quite a bit with his tier set up.

IMO Laine is closer to Matthews than Puljujarvi is and all three should be in that top tier.

2nd tier for me is Tkachuk, Chychrun, Dubois, Sergachev (who is ranked in the 2nd round?), Juolevi, Nylander, Fabbro

3rd tier for me ATM is: Jost, Gauthier, Jones, McLeod, Bean, Keller, Bellows

My current top 10 for the Flames:

1) Matthews (C)
2) Laine (RW)
3) Puljujarvi (RW)
4) Tkachuk (LW)
5) Chychrun (D)
6) Dubois (LW/C)
7) Sergachev (D)
8) Juolevi (D)
9) Fabbro (D)
10) Nylander (W)

Recent HF poll agrees with you; Laine over Puljujarvi by a bit.
http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/sh....php?t=2005473

Laine 165 51.40%
Puljujarvi 156 48.60%

It is a fine line based on some of the comments:

Puljujarvi: character; work ethic; skating; defense; age (3 weeks younger)
Laine: shot; hockey IQ; size (one inch taller); tougher.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by cral12

More THW draft stuff:

or an alternative perspective:

2016 NHL Draft Midterm Consensus Rankings by Ryan Pike


as well as

2016 NHL Draft January Alternate Rankings - Pike's Picks

Pike does a nice job of formulating his rankings based on tiers.
Do you agree with his current tier setup?

Can't agree with anything that doesn't have Laine in the clear top 3. Laine/Puljujarvi both have Hall-of-Fame upside. Even last year's draft only had two guys you could say that about despite being a better draft, and before the 2014 draft, I don't think anyone would even have said that about Ekblad. These are both guys who would have given MacKinnon a run for the 2013 1st OA too. Laine is arguably a better pre-draft prospect than Strome, Marner, Hanifin, Bennett, Ekblad, Reinhart, Draisaitl, Monahan, Seth Jones, Barkov, Drouin.

My early top 11 is looking like:

1) Matthews
2a) Puljujarvi
2b) Laine
------------
4) Chychrun
-------------
5) McLeod
6) Dubois
-------------
7) Tkachuk
8) Sergachyov
-------------
9) Nylander
10) Juolevi
11) Gauthier

Also hoping we can get another mid-late 1st to grab Pascal Laberge.