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Pronman?s 2018 NHL Draft Rankings: Top 74 Prospects


Gravesy

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Read an interesting article by Corey Pronman in the Athletic this morning. He doesn't love the prospects after Dahlin nearly as much as everyone else.

 

He says:

The 2018 draft class is an average draft class. At the top of the class, a bulk of the talent is in defensemen, with very few centers. The top prospect is a legit first overall talent, with the next tier being a reasonable bunch of players for the top five but none who stand out as exceptional for that range. The talent level is solid but there’s more risk than usual.

 

Seems to suggest that, in his opinion, pawning the house to trade up for Svech/Zadina might not be a great idea.

He then goes significantly off the board in his ratings. The top 3 is the same as everybody else, but from there he goes

 

4. Kotkaniemi

8. Bokk

10. Merkley

17. Bouchard

20. Dobson

21. Ty Smith

27. Farabee

 

Interesting to read a very different take on the draft. You might think he's just trying to be controversial, but the legwork to arrive at the ratings is solid enough.

 

And before you ask, Tkachuk is at #9. Some of you will be happy with that.

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Read an interesting article by Corey Pronman in the Athletic this morning. Can't post the article obviously, but he doesn't love the prospects after Dahlin nearly as much as everyone else.

 

He says:

 

Seems to suggest that, in his opinion, pawning the house to trade up for Svech/Zadina might not be a great idea.

He then goes significantly off the board in his ratings. The top 3 is the same as everybody else, but from there he goes

 

4. Kotkaniemi

8. Bokk

10. Merkley

17. Bouchard

20. Dobson

21. Ty Smith

27. Farabee

 

Interesting to read a very different take on the draft. You might think he's just trying to be controversial, but the legwork to arrive at the ratings is solid enough.

 

And before you ask, Tkachuk is at #9. Some of you will be happy with that.

 

Haha, how can it be an "average" draft if he has Bouchard, Dobson, Smith and Farabee at 17, 20, 21 and 27?!

 

That's more ridiculous than Merkley at 10. Sidenote: with all the high character players there is no way I'd take a chance on Merkley in the 1st round. Or even early in the second. He is off many teams boards completely, discussed by the combine announcers. If we are taking Gorton seriously, Merkley is not on our board.

 

Bokk is interesting, been thinking about him at 26 and 28. Farabee will not be around for us at 26. If he is we'll snatch him up.

 

Entering the Mem Cup playoffs Dobson had climbed into everyone's top 10. What did he do in the playoffs to drop him into the 20's besides dominating and winning the Cup? I'll predict he goes 4,5,6 or 7.

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What about talking to Canadiens about Lias/Howden for their pick? Add something from our side ofcourse. Both Zib and Hayes are relatively young so do we really need Chytil, Lias and Howden? We can also pick a C with the later first round picks.

 

We are in desperate need of young wingers and it looks like we won't get one with the #9 pick (I think both Tkachuk and Wahlstrom is gone by then).

 

Lias, #9 for #3, #38? Dont know much about Montreal's prospect pool, but could switch out the #38 for a D or a Winger.

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No need to panic. We have a pool of players and picks to trade, Lias and Howden are not among them. Let the draft come to us.

 

Howden is a much better prospect than people give him credit for. Even Dunny liked him pre trade. There is a rumor that mgmt is open to him winning a job in camp, very high on him. I'd prefer a more conservative approach and have him start in Hartford and can always promote him later.

 

I'm a fan of Zadina, but trading with Montreal may not be realistic. Not so much the cost, though it is certainly an issue. More because if Montreal really wants Kot, they are not going to risk Detroit, Vanc or Chicago grabbing him before #9. Some say they could even take him at 3. They may trade down, but 9 is very risky since Detroit and Chicago met with him offsite.

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Haha, how can it be an "average" draft if he has Bouchard, Dobson, Smith and Farabee at 17, 20, 21 and 27?!

 

That's more ridiculous than Merkley at 10. Sidenote: with all the high character players there is no way I'd take a chance on Merkley in the 1st round. Or even early in the second. He is off many teams boards completely, discussed by the combine announcers. If we are taking Gorton seriously, Merkley is not on our board.

 

Bokk is interesting, been thinking about him at 26 and 28. Farabee will not be around for us at 26. If he is we'll snatch him up.

 

Entering the Mem Cup playoffs Dobson had climbed into everyone's top 10. What did he do in the playoffs to drop him into the 20's besides dominating and winning the Cup? I'll predict he goes 4,5,6 or 7.

 

Well, in his opinion:

 

Bouchard: Bog standard skating. Projects as a 2nd pair guy and doesn’t see him being able to play tough minutes.

Dobson: unconvinced his point scoring translates to the NHL. Tbh I think his reasoning for leaving Dobson that late is a bit weak.

Farabee: doesn’t possess skills to project better than a 3rd liner.

 

To be fair he doesn’t think they’ll go as late as he rates them. Thinks Bouchard goes 5-7 for example.

I think when he calls the draft average he is thinking about the elite prospects, ie the top 5 apart from Dahlin.

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Yeah, not feelin the Bouchard criticism. Tough minutes? He played the most minutes in the entire OHL. He did pretty well in the skating drills recently, matched up against Dobson. There is hope. His backward skating is very good, only his speed is average.

 

His is my concern with Dobson. Can he make a real impact on the scoresheet and his ability to finish in the NHL. But his shot is good and he has size and strength to develop a very strong shot. And right handers seem to have an advantage there. He is just too much like a RH McD to drop out of the top 10.

 

Sure, Boqvist and Hughes can score in spades. And Bouchard is a legit PPQB who can consistently read defenses better than any D prospect I can remember. Yet, Dobson grades out really high in every other attribute.

 

Farabee doesn't excite me and I wouldn't trade up for him. But at 26 or 28, he's almost a no-brainer. He's up and down the ice like a machine and is a good playmaker.

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His reasoning:

 

Pronman: I don’t love the combine argument. It’s an area where I find the NFL and NHL really differ, in that a lot of that stuff I find in combine drills is not very translatable to games. It’s fine being able to skate well in a straight line without having to think or make a play. Morgan Frost skates well and did excellent in the combine drills last season, but I find Frost doesn’t play exceptionally fast. I discussed this issue earlier in the season. Nic Petan with the Jets suffers from the same thing where he has the speed but doesn’t play fast.

 

Bouchard thinks the game at a very high level and makes quick decisions, but I didn’t see him use his skating to create exits, entries or offense at an above-average level when I went to London games.

 

I’m also not sure I’d call Bouchard a strong defender. He’s a decent defender, for me. Good for the level, not particularly strong on his checks and more about using his brains very well positionally. I have questions on whether he’ll be a tough minutes guy at the NHL level.
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As for Merkley, I wouldn’t be against it if he’s available to us with the late 1st round picks.

Most seem to agree his upside is tremendous, one of the best available, and I’d like to trust Quinn to sort him out.

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His reasoning:

 

Thanks. He's right, he didn't use his skating to make plays, though he makes tons of great exits with his passing.

 

If i may disagree with Pronman, though I get what he is saying. There was a question about how good his skating is overall. The tests weren't even at the combine, but prior. They matched Bouchard with Dobson. Dobson was clearly faster going forward, though Bouchard was better than expected. However, when matched up for backward speed, he stayed even with Dobson, an excellent skater. This was a surprise to everyone. It certainly eliminates the worry that he is slow, even if it wasn't on display during the London games he saw.

 

He's too smart and poised to be a liability defensively. He will keep growing physically and mentally, this guy gets hockey. His backward skating will reduce anyone blowing by him and he won't let himself get flat-footed. He'll be fine once he gets a little more experience against older players. Give him one year in the A.

 

As for Merkely, you know I'm a sucker for the kind of fancy moves he can make when he has the puck up at the blueline. But just no. No way in the first or even 39. Among his other issues, a guy who is hated by teammates from multiple teams, scares me.

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I still feel Merkley could be worth it at 26.

He’s a little prick by most accounts but if Quinn & co can sort him out...

Pure filth.

 

I'd probably prefer him at 28, just to make sure the Rangers get two solid cracks at first-liners with 9 and 26, but I'm not opposed to drafting a project like him. If you can make right on it, you're getting an insanely talented player.

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I'd probably prefer him at 28, just to make sure the Rangers get two solid cracks at first-liners with 9 and 26, but I'm not opposed to drafting a project like him. If you can make right on it, you're getting an insanely talented player.

 

True.

In reality though, I expect someone to take a punt on him somewhere between 10-20. I'm not going to pretend having watched him apart from a couple of youtube clips, but a lot of really good scouts and writers feel that - on talent alone - he's one of the best players available in this draft.

 

Someone is bound to feel they'll be able to fix him.

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If Tolvanen can drop to 30 (Kostin 31, Timmons 32, Hague 34, Heponiemi at 40) because he was one dimensional. What about a Dman that has shown no capability of playing good D and sometimes unwilling to put n the effort?

 

How can anybody expect this kid to go higher than 30 in a draft as deep as last year? I'd still pass at 39 and even 48, considering there will be a few legit prospects still around. Why waste a good pick on a guy with multiple issues, including character. With this load of 18 year olds showing up at camp, not to mention the other kids, we don't need new personality issues. Nor do we need an example of what a NY Ranger should not be.

 

Let's reestablish that it is a privilege to play here and character counts. Mgmt can't just talk the talk. Walk the walk. There is no shortage of talent in the top 40 or 50.

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