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2018 NHL Draft Thread

Yeah, I'm not sure that we need a bottom pair dman between Borgman-Dermott-Hainsey-Carrick.

Rielly-XXX
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Hainsey
Borgman-Carrick
 
leafman101 said:
Well ideally Carlsson, Doughty, Karlsson, Ellis/Subban, or OEL.
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Agreed. The only realistic one in the bunch at this point would be Ellis though imo, unless we're willing to go large on the Carlson contract

Lots of high end talent out there, and if any of them move the Leafs should be all over it. And the list of "expensive" dman available could be longer than that with names like Faulk, Hamilton, Hanifin, Barrie, Spurgeon, Dumba etc. being thrown around.
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Problem with these names is cost imo. I don't see anyone giving up a Faulk or Hamilton for a reasonable price. Dumba isn't very good (but his price would be steep despite that), Hanifin plays the left and isn't very good (and his price will be stupid based on potential.

As far as a depth dman like Gudas goes, I would rather Dubas use his Dubasness to get us cheaper, undervalued depth options with higher upside like they did in Vegas, rather than waste cap space on a player that we don't want to get a decent 4/5. And that may even be someone already in house like a Holl.
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Yeah, that would be great but I don't know how many undervalued RHD are roaming around waiting to be uncovered. I don't think Holl is one of them either.
 
MindzEye said:
Agreed. The only realistic one in the bunch at this point would be Ellis though imo, unless we're willing to go large on the Carlson contract



Problem with these names is cost imo. I don't see anyone giving up a Faulk or Hamilton for a reasonable price. Dumba isn't very good (but his price would be steep despite that), Hanifin plays the left and isn't very good (and his price will be stupid based on potential.
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I'm not too concerned with giving up value for a legit good, young defensman. There are so many potentially available that has to be the main objective rather than sacraficing significant cap space that could be used on an impact player to settle for a 4/5. Aim high. Maybe it doesn't work out, but that should be the goal.

Yeah, that would be great but I don't know how many undervalued RHD are roaming around waiting to be uncovered. I don't think Holl is one of them either.
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Well yeah of course you don't. But that is why we are paying Dubas the big bucks. Exploiting inefficiencies in the market is his thing.
 
Well yeah of course you don't. But that is why we are paying Dubas the big bucks.
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Sure, but he's been looking to find one for a couple of years now. He didn't start this hunt when they promoted him, this has been an ongoing search by the organization for a couple of years now.
 
Right, but they also signed other guys like Hainsey and Polak, which may not have been who Dubas would have signed. Now he is the one making the decision.

I don't see the point in pretending like there are no undervalued players out there that could shine given the opportunity. We know that is not true. We are talking about someone that would be a good depth defensman, not the next Erik Karlsson.

Doesn't seem efficient/Dubas like move to spend $8+ mill in cap space on a depth dman.
 
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if Dubas has been pitching the moneypuck approach on the blueline, it either hasn't been listened to or simply hasn't panned out because we haven't done anything like that by trade or signing. guess we'll find out which it is soon enough.
 
The team has been spending large looking to uncover players from overseas, that's where they see the inefficiencies.
 
Obviously at 24 it depends on who falls, but out of the realistic options I would love to add any of the following, probably in this order:

1. Ryan Merkley - the talent speaks for itself. Not only is his production historically good, but his shot assist/scoring chance assists are the best in the draft. He should not be available anywhere close to 24, but may be. The criticisms of him are effort and play without the puck. But to me he is a 17 year old kid and you can work on that stuff. You can't teach that skating and hockey IQ though. He is the only truly elite talent that could reasonably be available there.
2. Vitaly Kravtsov - Played in the KHL last year, had ok production but only played limited minutes and exploded in the playoffs once he got to play a little more. And he still only played 13 mins/game in the playoffs (was averaging 9:19 in the regular season). He is a big, fast, highly skilled natural goal scorer.
3. Bode Wilde - The dude has all the talent in the world, but is not a smart hockey player. Think Jake Gardiner. Big, fast, can handle the puck, can shoot, can pass, but he is going to make stupid plays.
4. Akil Thomas - very highly skilled. Put up 1.19 ppg as a 17 year old in the OHL. Plays center. He is not the biggest, or fastest, but he is extremely smart and is a high end playmaker. Kind of reminds me of a 17 year old Kadri without the edge.
5. Nils Lundqvist - Was named top dman in the U20 league over Boqvist. Played 28 games in the SHL. Has comparable production to guys like Brannstrom and the D Aho at the same age. Great skating defenseman, with high hockey IQ and puck skills, and has played at the highest possible levels.

Other names of interest are Calen Addison, Jonatan Berggren, Gregory Denisenko, Rasmus Sandin and Joel Farabee. However, I think the upside is lower there.
 
Merkley would be an absolute steal. Getting two RHD in back in back to back drafts with the kind of talent he and Timmy have would be huge for us.
 
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IMO this draft really thins out after the top 10-15, so someone should absolutely take Merkley before us despite any character issues. But he is ranked all over the place, and Bob Mackenzie, who just survey's actual scouts, had him at 32. NHL GMs doing stupid things is more common than rare.
 
I wonder if we see Dubas move down. If the talent is comparable and he can get the guy he wants in the 30's maybe add an extra lottery ticket.

I don't know about Merkley. He is 100% a homerun pick and i wouldn't be the least upset if we picked him. BUT it does seem as though there are a lot of question marks regarding his attitude. There have been a few guys in recent years that poor attitudes but elite skill that didn't pan out. DeAngelo is one name i recall off hand. If Dubas picks Merkley i won't doubt the pick for a second though. I fully support swinging for the fences at 25.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
I get the feeling Dubas may trade up this year.
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The only way he trades up is if a kid like Merkley (pretty much only Merkley...) slips to the low 20's and he doesn't want to risk missing out on him. Any other scenario is way more likely to see him go money puck again and trade down a couple of times.
 
Leafin' said:
I wonder if we see Dubas move down. If the talent is comparable and he can get the guy he wants in the 30's maybe add an extra lottery ticket.

I don't know about Merkley. He is 100% a homerun pick and i wouldn't be the least upset if we picked him. BUT it does seem as though there are a lot of question marks regarding his attitude. There have been a few guys in recent years that poor attitudes but elite skill that didn't pan out. DeAngelo is one name i recall off hand. If Dubas picks Merkley i won't doubt the pick for a second though. I fully support swinging for the fences at 25.
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He's a supremely talented 17 yr old with anger and impulse issues. If he was a Gud Pro, he would be a consensus top 5 pick. Same with Lilly last year, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Mono, being an *******, same thing really right?
 
This seems like a good year to trade DOWN instead of trade up actually. I don't know much about the draft class for this year, but it sounds like it's pretty much a crap shoot from 15, 16 to 40.
 
number17 said:
This seems like a good year to trade DOWN instead of trade up actually. I don't know much about the draft class for this year, but it sounds like it's pretty much a crap shoot from 15, 16 to 40.
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The same could be said of almost every draft ever.
 
@michealfarkasHF

Talked to Ty Dellandrea today. Only interview he had this weekend was with Toronto. They pick 25, probably around where Dellandrea will go. #NHLDraft

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
 
#DubDiligence

I imagine that Dubas has interviewed a dozen kids who could be available in that range.
 
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