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GDT Game 81: @ Rangers, Wednesday, April 27, 7:30 PM EST

GGpX said:
Drafting a d-man high is never the "safe" pick.
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OMG you guys all live in the dark ages. If a Dman has above average mobility and playmaking skills you grab him. This type of player is in the greatest demand. Look at Quinn for the Canucks, doesn't play great defense but plays a lot of minutes. We definitely should have drafted Reilly over Galchenyuk for example. I fear habs will make the same mistake, they never draft well high at the forward position. They do better with dmen generally except for that Fischer guy. There are no "Conners" in this draft, so get the best Dman.
 
wiseguy1 said:
OMG you guys all live in the dark ages. If a Dman has above average mobility and playmaking skills you grab him. This type of player is in the greatest demand. Look at Quinn for the Canucks, doesn't play great defense but plays a lot of minutes. We definitely should have drafted Reilly over Galchenyuk for example. I fear habs will make the same mistake, they never draft well high at the forward position. They do better with dmen generally except for that Fischer guy. There are no "Conners" in this draft, so get the best Dman.
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With the power of hindsight, sure.

However, the majority of the time, the best defenseman in a singular draft isn't the first one drafted, and he isn't drafted in the top of the first. The reason being, we have no idea how good a d-man will be until they're 22-23 usually. Whereas a forward, if they're exceptionally talented offensively at 18, there's a good chance that skill will translate into the NHL relatively quickly.

Defensemen are much less judged on their point totals, however.

It's a not a question of living in the dark ages; It's simply that, we don't have enough information to pass proper judgement.
 
GGpX said:
With the power of hindsight, sure.

However, the majority of the time, the best defenseman in a singular draft isn't the first one drafted, and he isn't drafted in the top of the first. The reason being, we have no idea how good a d-man will be until they're 22-23 usually. Whereas a forward, if they're exceptionally talented offensively at 18, there's a good chance that skill will translate into the NHL relatively quickly.

Defensemen are much less judged on their point totals, however.

It's a not a question of living in the dark ages; It's simply that, we don't have enough information to pass proper judgement.
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Maybe, but I think this is all about to change. More and more Dmen will be regulars at a younger age.
 
wiseguy1 said:
Maybe, but I think this is all about to change. More and more Dmen will be regulars at a younger age.
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No, they won't, because those players need experience and there's no such thing as an experienced 18 year old.

Rasmus Dahlin was supposed to be this generational, can't-miss defenseman that Buffalo took. I always thought that was pie in the sky bullshit and turns out, whoops, he doesn't look like a generational d-man. Still a really awesome d-man, but at this point I'd be surprised if at any point he'll ever be in the same breath as Cale Makar. Cale Makar, on the other hand, might be the best d-man in hockey for the next decade.
 
GGpX said:
With the power of hindsight, sure.

However, the majority of the time, the best defenseman in a singular draft isn't the first one drafted, and he isn't drafted in the top of the first. The reason being, we have no idea how good a d-man will be until they're 22-23 usually. Whereas a forward, if they're exceptionally talented offensively at 18, there's a good chance that skill will translate into the NHL relatively quickly.

Defensemen are much less judged on their point totals, however.

It's a not a question of living in the dark ages; It's simply that, we don't have enough information to pass proper judgement.
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That goes double for goalies, who take the longest to mature. Price will be a Hall of Famer but if the Habs with their fetish for goalies didn't exist, he'd have been picked in a later round. Meanwhile Anze Kopitar, who the Habs could have taken instead of Price, won 2 Cups and will probably also make the HOF some day.
 
WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
That goes double for goalies, who take the longest to mature. Price will be a Hall of Famer but if the Habs with their fetish for goalies didn't exist, he'd have been picked in a later round. Meanwhile Anze Kopitar, who the Habs could have taken instead of Price, won 2 Cups and will probably also make the HOF some day.
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Gainey already stated on Melnick’s show the Habs wanted Benoit Pouliot as their pick at 5… after the AKos fiasco, there was little chance they were going after a player from a “small hockey country”
 
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