2016 NHL Draft

[TBone290]

Can it be Friday already?

[SuperMatt18]

Could Laine have had poor interviews at the combine?

Only reason I could imagine him dropping all of a sudden.

[Enoch Root]

I don't think they'll pick 6th

They'll try to get to 3rd (and hopefully do), but if that doesn't happen, and if the top 5 go as expected, I think they'll trade down.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I don't think they'll pick 6th

They'll try to get to 3rd (and hopefully do), but if that doesn't happen, and if the top 5 go as expected, I think they'll trade down.

Agreed. Also I wouldn't mind trading with Edmonton to get up into 4th for Dubois.

[Bandwagon Surfer]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I think we should prepare for the distinct possibility that the 3rd is priced out of our comfort zone and we pick comfortably at #6 with little fanfare or drama.

What! I now expect something that is at least equivalent to the Hamilton trade every draft.

[Henry Fool]

Columbus not having Puljujärvi that much ahead of those below him is more credible than Winnipeg preferring Puljujärvi over Laine. But there sure would be potential for "intrigue" if both of those rumors were true!

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Could Laine have had poor interviews at the combine?

Only reason I could imagine him dropping all of a sudden.

Rumours were out before the combine that the Jets were split on the Finns. This isn't new and simply the Jets doing due diligence here as they should be mulling their options right down to Friday.

I'm sure many have read this already but if you haven't give it a read as these two players are really close and each has strengths over the other;

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/pu...-in-key-areas/

There's a reason the Flames have been working hard to move to 3 and that's because they feel they could be getting a player as good as the teams at 1 and 2.

[FBI]

Did we ever learn how to pronounce Puljujarvi? One of my Finnish buddies said probably pool yarvie

[TheScorpion]

I always thought it was "pull-yu-ar-vee"

[Crumpy-Gunt]

I thought it was pool-you-yar-vee

[Henry Fool]

Even if you like the idea of Puljujärvi's "more rounded" game, he is still clearly the inferior player right now and harder to project. Cheveldayoff would have to be in love with Jesse to even consider taking a risk like that. I don't buy it.

Only one scout out of ten ranked Laine third on McKenzie's list.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Matty81

Dubois is a bit overrated, while a good player, his numbers are inflated because he is in a bad division in an offensive league and should be 7-9.

Hmmm. I think that's a questionable conclusion to draw. I think he averages into the top 5 because he has a tremendous combination of size, strength, skill, skating, two-way play and physicality. IMO he's not overrated at all, he'll go in that 4-6 range because he deserves to. He scored a lot of points against good teams as well.

Originally Posted by Matty81

Juolevi is the best defenceman in the draft, mainly due to hockey sense and is a bit underrated due to the visibility of the flashy forwards. I'd be really happy if the Flames took him, I liked Sergachev's skillset more originally but heard some scouts talk down his hockey IQ and everybody loves Juolevi.

Both have a great skill set, both have high upside. You wouldn't be wrong to prefer one or the other. IMO Juolevi might be a bit safer pick with his incredibly high hockey sense. He's a good bet to be a powerplay quarterback and a minute eating efficient puck moving defenseman. Sergachev might have the highest upside and be less likely to achieve it. His offensive skills are great but he has a few bad habits defensively. However he is more physical than Juolevi. They're very close.

Originally Posted by Matty81

Nylander is consistently rated around 6... everybody likes him and agrees that he is in that second tier and has great upside. He's not at the elite level of the top 3 but I haven't heard anyone put him down and I think he seems like a great pick.

Agreed. He'd be a fine pick although I wonder if Flames management is a touch less sold on him than the scouting staff is.

Originally Posted by Matty81

Tkachuk is a bit overrated due to memorial cup. While a great scorer, not a huge guy, not the best skater and is very much a (good) one way forward right now. For me it sounds like he should be in that second tier but the visibility pumped up his stock.

Great playmaker, great vision. His skating doesn't hold him back and it could easily improve if worked on. I don't think he's overrated at all. He's solidly in that 4-5 range for good reason. Great combination of strength, skill, vision, playmaking, finishing, puck protection, crashing the net, winning board battles. You win with those types of players IMO.

Originally Posted by Matty81

Brown is also getting overhyped a bit, he's big but still has a lot to prove and his conditioning and work ethic off ice has not been top tier. High ceiling but less certainty than the top guys and should go around 9-12 - the 4-6 talk is a bit crazy.

Why does everybody have to be overhyped or overrated? Brown has absolutely massive potential. Some are sold on it and for those people he is legitimately a top 5-6 pick. Some aren't sold on it and for those people he'd be ranked in the teens. The 4-6 talk isn't crazy at all, if certain teams were drafting in that range who love Brown then he'd go that high. It's also possible he could slip out of the top 8 although I wouldn't expect him to ever drop out of the top 10. If he starts to drop somebody will deal up to take him because of that massive upside.

I don't think the Flames are favourites to have Brown in their top 6. But we already have a couple decently sized potential top line centres in Bennett and Monahan so we don't have to roll the dice on Brown. There are teams who lack size in their top 6 centre that may be dreaming of a bigger Joe Thornton and are willing to throw the dice.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Didn't we pick Monahan with the #6? Seems like a great position to be in if our scouts are on point.

The difference is the first and second choices were hotly debated as well as the third and fourth. With us it seemed to be between Lindholm and Monahan. Lindholm was taken so Monahan seemed to be a no brainer for most.

This year the first three are established and than the 4th and 5th picks are being debated. The 6th pick is lumped in with 7th, 8th, 9th or even 10th so yeah our scouts need to be on point.

[Canada 02]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

The difference is the first and second choices were hotly debated as well as the third and fourth. With us it seemed to be between Lindholm and Monahan. Lindholm was taken so Monahan seemed to be a no brainer for most.

This year the first three are established and than the 4th and 5th picks are being debated. The 6th pick is lumped in with 7th, 8th, 9th or even 10th so yeah our scouts need to be on point.

that was fan perception. Flames had the order as Mackinnon, Jones, Barkov, Monahan, Drouin

likewise with this years perceived order. I would not be surprised if the Flames 4 and 5 is not necessarily Tkachuk or Dubois

[Crumpy-Gunt]

I think the most perplexing part of this whole draft thread has been the ridiculous Nylander hate/'hes a soft small swede and ive never seen him play' kind of talk. A lot of Ny-slander in here.

Is it that he's Swedish? Is it because of his dad? Is it because hes like 6'0 170 something pounds and hes still barely 18. Maybe its because a few scouts have said he's a finesse player who doesnt play a power game?

By the sounds of some peoples reaction to Alex Nylander you would think he's like some 4'11 90lb player who only has good hands. He's probably going to reach 200lb in 2 years. Hes already 6'0 tall. He plays a 2 way game and is a great team player. He's no Michael Ferland but he isnt some prototypical soft european who floats and doesnt play defense like some people are assuming.

[activeStick]

That would be two drafts in a row where Treliving sweeps in to steal the day if he pulls this off and the results are a win for the Flames. Pretty sure Button and his staff will quit though... Or just not do any scouting next year since it's clearly a waste of their time and energy...

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I've warmed up to Nylander as concerns about certain things about him look to be unfounded. But calling him a 2 way player is a bit much just as it is when people call him gritty. Is he one of the most offensively skilled players this draft? Yep. But competing physically and defense are his two areas of concern.

For my piece in the Ny-slander I was only ever trying to argue that he might be a couple places lower for the Flames than for some other teams. In doing so I voiced concerns about his grit and his defense, his finesse style and the fact he's a winger. He's still a fantastic prospect I just thought he loses some tiebreakers at #6 and ends up more in the 8-10 range on our list. I think the top end of the draft this year is stacked so saying Nylander isn't top 7 isn't a huge slight to him.

If we draft him I'll be excited about his offensive gamebreakinig potential and I'll be sold on him because our scouts and management are. If we don't draft him I won't be surprised because I've thought all along that a few guys might edge him out for the Flames.

http://www.hockeyprospect.com/2016-n...players-20-11/
There's an interview with the head of HockeyProspect.com where they have Nylander 12th on their final list. It's worth listening to just for the other perspective on him. Mark Edwards does good work with that list. Good info on Chychrun in that interview too and if you haven't heard the top 10 from that same interview, give it a listen!
http://www.hockeyprospect.com/2016-n...-players-10-1/

I believe one of Juolevi, Sergachev, Chychrun or Brown will edge Nylander out for us. I used to think there was very little chance we'd take Nylander but I now believe there's a higher chance we could take him. I don't see us taking him at #6 but I could see us taking him in a deal down scenario.

He's a great prospect. But so are a lot of prospects this draft. It's hard to go wrong here. There's probably 10-12 players I'd be comfortable with, Nylander is one of them. He wouldn't make my top 8 though.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

that was fan perception. Flames had the order as Mackinnon, Jones, Barkov, Monahan, Drouin

likewise with this years perceived order. I would not be surprised if the Flames 4 and 5 is not necessarily Tkachuk or Dubois

I didn't know we had Monahan at 4 so it was even less of a no brainer that we took him.

Yeah the Flames could have a different order here as well. I'm saying that our pick isn't as much of a slam dunk as it was 2013. At least to my eyes and the various draft rankings that I read. After 5 the next order of picks is all over the board.

It won't be as over the top as Feaster saying we got our first choice but I'm curious to hear what the Flames have to say about it after the pick.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Crumpy-Gunt

A lot of Ny-slander in here..

Groan

[Royle9]

Latest update from Jim "Dim" Benning this morning: