conundrumed

While true, I think it gets a bit over-emphasized. Quinn Hughes has the best skating in the world. He probably laughs at Jack, who is an elite skater. So that comparison is a bit much to live up to. So while Buium is a great skater and can create time and space due to his skating and IQ/vision, he's still a world away from Hughes. He's closer to Luke than he is Quinn, and I think Luke is a great player. Quinn's unreal skating puts him in the rarified air of Makar-level dman. Extremely rare. I think only Levshunov has a chance to be a top 5 dman in the world in this class. Dude is a specimen, near all muscle. Not to say 6th to 20th best in time is anything to scoff at.

My dream of Calgary vs Grand Rapids lives to see another day.

Those called back goals against Tampa...oof. I don't know....pretty mild. Same calls IN Tampa? Gotta wonder. Stamkos to Detroit. lol

Herein lies the problem. I've watched a lot of Dickinson, quite a bit of Buium, Levshunov and Parekh. I've watched about half a game that Silayev played in. Just haven't seen enough of him to offer anything tangible. I watched more of the K last year, but the early morn starts just didn't work for me this year. Would Silayev come over and been as clearly dominant as Levshunov? I just don't know. Maybe he's the 2nd D taken? They have eyes over there and undoubtedly access to endless film. We get all the high-end snippets that percolate all the positives. We're going to find out, for sure. Saginaw took it to London tonight, 6-2 to make the series 2-1 London. Saginaw hosts the Memorial Cup this year. Both teams are loaded. Parekh with 2 assists tonight, primary and secondary. Could be a great series. Lots of prospects and draft eligibles.

And there it is. lol So hard to distinguish between leagues. The NCAA was always kinda, yeah, whatever, but now it's going through amazing growth. I'd likely stick with Dickinson, simply due to where he is and how much hockey he's playing, but I have zero against Buium. I assume both are still growing physically also, so that's a wash. Dickinson is just so refined defensively, and I expect his O game to march forward, pretty much like an afterthought. Buium is slick, fast and always a step ahead. Dickinson is more nuts and bolts, he could play that way, I assume. Buium came from very specific "role" upbringings with the programs (Shattuck/USNTDP) he's been in, Dickinson has been more rounded out to do a bit of everything, regardless of situation. Honestly, it's pretty much a saw off. So I'll err on the side of the Dman with better D mechanics that I'm certain will D vs the other team's best without being overwhelmed.

I doubt Dickinson is really behind anyone in that regard. Bear in mind, London wants Bonk to be their offensive d-man catalyst, which is fine and the right call. He's D+1 and a 1st rd pick. Dickinson plays the all-roles D-first guy. Bonk will graduate next year, Dickinson will be their 1D. His numbers will go way up offensively. He's a pretty finished product. The skating is exceptional. All 4 directions. The D play is top shelf, he rarely gets caught out of position. It seems people complain about his offence. They shouldn't. He's just doing as he's told. If they're down a goal and 'ol Dale cuts him loose, he's a very big problem. He could maybe work on his shot some, but he's still maturing physically. Kind of like, "well sure, every kid needs to". The mental and IQ part, he is a significant player. Dale will put him into PP QB next year, expect more O. I say, look out. This guy is near the perfect package of D play, skating, puck-moving and creativity. He's drawing Pietrangelo comps for good reason. He's really solid at everything.

I kind of wonder how far Pulkkinen can fall as an overager. If you take a dman first, I might be inclined to take Misa with the Van pick. Or Beaudoin if there's enough noise there. I have little doubt we'll be in on Michael Misa next year. Maybe buy the set. lol At our 2nd rder @ 41, there are going to still be some pretty promising dmen. It would be near impossible to not consider Wallenius, Freij or Mews at mid-to-late 20's though. That's going to be a really difficult pick to decide on. BPA is good and well, but there are 6 positions on the ice. So a best C and a best D are not the same category. So it's kind of a cop-out. I think you pretty much have to have some form of projection for next year also. Like, what strengths do this year's draft have vs 2025 and vice versa. Let's face it, we need everything, so it won't get solved in one draft. All I know is, it's just nice to have these conversations, because we haven't traded our picks away. Such a breath of fresh air.

Should also add that I'm watching a lot of Dickinson and O'Reilly. The Knights are up 2-0 in the Conference Final. Oliver Bonk QBs London's PP. Next year, Dickinson will. Just more graduating stuff. Dickinson and O'Reilly will likely explode next year as the other guys graduate. The other guys are mainly 1st and 2nd rders, so the Hunter's run a pretty tight grad process. Rarely a year the Knights aren't solid. It's annoying. lol Dickinson pretty much never makes D-mistakes. Always in position and head on a swivel. The comp he's drawing is Pietrangelo. O'Reilly's pulling jacknife duty at C, occasionally RW. PK C, 2nd PP unit. Bouncing between lines 2 and 3. Plays hard every shift. I'd put Beaudoin ahead of him currently. But if that's the type of C you want in your system from rd 2 or 3, I'd say you can't go wrong with either as a mid C with a chance of untapped potential. I really like that both already understand the 200' game really well. For me, that can be the hardest one to teach: create offence from defence. The best teams are doing exactly that. The downfall of the Leafs imho.

I think that it is more that they like to give the older players the seat, knowing the younger ones will have more opportunities. I would say the US also operates this way. Only a Bedard changes that.

Just read a mock-up with Levshunov going 4th, then the D run starts at 6th and ends at 9th with us taking Dickinson. That would be fantastic. Tij goes to NJ next at 10th... Outside of Levshunov, I have little doubt Dickinson will become the 2nd best D in this class. He's been the best CDN dman in his age group for a couple of years now. They honestly should have taken him to the WJC this year. Another year in London, then if he has reached physical maturity, he could foreseeably make the Flames/be a call-up as a 20yo. edit Also thinking that maybe the Flames should be attempting to use 2 of their first 3 picks at D. I really don't want to hear, "high risk, high reward in their first 5 picks". That saying is so askew. More accurately: "High Risk, No Reward". Letourneau and Parascak come to mind. I just don't get the reasoning. If you have so many deficiencies in your game or competition level is so low, that is a lot more than "high risk". There is a point where a moderate risk (Eiserman, Hemming) increases to "impossible odds". So if we take a C not named Celebrini or Helenius, I really hope that it's Beaudoin or O'Reilly. Both are solid all-around players with upside. Not, "boy, if this guy puts it all together". They generally don't. Having to play the right way will usually negate what made you enticing. We've had prospects like that. They get angry and stamp their feet, if I recall correctly.

It's McKenna setting everyone up and driving play. Tij's been okay. I wouldn't say great. Ritchie's been really good. Aitcheson has looked pretty solid. Martone is a giant pita. lol Ex-Sting, traded last year for their big disappointing run.

That's why Reaves was out slack-assing on the 1st and 3rd goals. lol Do they even watch hockey?

The Wings have some really great prospects. The wait is painful. Only Seider and Raymond barged right in within 2 years. Anticipation kinda sucks. Danielson looked fantastic in camp last year. Piques the enthusiasm. Then in 2 yrs, it'll be, "Satoshi Nakamoto, I forgot we had him". lol

Dallas has cost control on a developing prospect, vs a 3rd liner at $5.8. Can't see it working out. @cross16 likely correct. Mangiapane has become a salary dump. Painful, but probably true. Also murmurs of his unhappiness, as ironic as that sounds. Some days, my hopes exceed reality. Hate to see so much time invested turn into such promise and then come crashing down. At the end of the day, we have...hmmm, let's see, do the math...carry the 1 over....okay. Zero large, physical wingers. Coleman the only one that's close. Leading scorer...imagine that! Maybe $5.8 can buy one? edit Okay, Pospisil. He's making inroads being one. He's kinda proving what we lack.

I'm glad they stayed with Swayman. He is clearly in the Leafs heads, and has been all year. I kinda wonder if it wouldn't have been a sweep already. Boston may need Ullmark at some point, but that point isn't now. Still impressed as heck with Boston's 3rd line. They're a handful for any team, I think. Leafs continue to play Reaves, Brodie on LD. Wow. Coach much?

He's coming along, I think. I feel like he's our most under-rated. He was drafted on potential. He really hasn't had compelling ice-time for a few years. Only 21 in a few months. It seems sometimes that people are mad at him. lol Hey, I'll take a solid mid-line LW all day in the 2nd rd. Knowing I'm waiting 5 years. I think he's going through growth atm. He has the size and ability, just have to wait out the maturity, like most prospects. Mind you, I really liked Ronni too and saw him live a few times. Ouch.

I have not watched Russians this year, so my opinion is virtually zero. Whereas last year I watched a fair few with Michkov and Simashev. Just in reading, I don't think the top 2 this year are as good as the top 2 last year. Artamonov seems like a total wildcard for where he might land. As far as the Flames, I'd say they have 5 really solid bullets in the chamber. They should come away with a nice mix of skill and potential. Potential is definitely the most under-rated quality, as your trying to project guys 3-4 yrs out. Jiri Fischer's kid, Lukas, comes to mind. Plays for the Sting. He's an honest 6'3" right now, but is likely not done growing. Chances are better than avg that he'll top out at least 6'5". That would change the dynamic of his ranking right now. So they say he's raw. He has great skills, but it's expected that he's still growing. He likely won't be around at the Dallas pick, but I'd give him heavy consideration if he was. Because there is a lot of potential there, and lineage, of course plays into it. Jiri's like 6'6" and his older bro is 6'7" if I remember correctly. So it's pretty fickle between what a kid is now vs @ 23yo. I don't envy NHL scouts, it's such a fine line. For the record, I still think Kerins and Stromgren are our best prospects. People tend to write things off way too early. I also think Sam Morton is a sneaky good add. Older, but hey, if he wants to be a bottom 6 C at 26-27, I'm all for it. You can't just have 4 top 2 dmen in a cap world, or you better be deciding which ones to trade to boost other areas that will undoubtedly be weaknesses. Look no further than the Leafs and Oilers. You can be very O-centic if you like, but you're going to have big problems with D-centric teams and stellar goalies. A big problem. Kind of obvious, I know. You need to account for more than potential stars when drafting.

Celebrini, of course. Helenius, Levshunov, Buium and Dickinson are virtually nails for me. Helenius should be a 1C, Levshunov a 1D, Dickinson and Buium at least top 2. Levshunov is on another planet, honestly. I can't speak for the Russians at all, I've seen so little of them. I'd just be the internet echo chamber. I've liked Helenius for a long time now. Aho-potential for me. Elite IQ and very good everything else. Gotta be a 2C floor. I'd love us to take him, if not a dman. He takes virtually zero time to be noticeable in good ways. I think Levshunov is the most NHL-ready. He is built like a brick Satoshi Nakamotohouse. I could see him with Anaheim next year. 2 years in NA. The guy's a frigging freak of nature. USHL was nothing, NCAA was nothing. This cat, I doubt anyone even knows his ceiling. It's wild that he arrived from Belarus and just took over in virtually no time. Are we sure this guy's only 18? lol

TSN is covering the U18's right now, early, early morn for you Western folks. A LOT of high level prospects playing. I'm currently watching the US vs Norway. 5-1 in the 2nd. Eiserman with 2, will likely start the tourney with B2B hatties. But they have a world of prospects. Stiga, Humphreys, Bednark, Connolly, Hagens, Hutson, Emery, on and on. edit: 1? What? 5-0. lol

Every good team is the flavour of the month sometimes. Next month we'll be hitching our wagon to the Avs build, because that's what everyone wants to hear.

Exactly! The fun REALLY starts after our first pick. Can't wait to see what we walk away with. Tij popped a shorty and a PP marker today. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it. lol Canada looks good, outside of taking a world of penalties. Greentree's on the 3rd line, showing off his great D play. Calm as all get out. Looks like Canada will take the division after dispatching Sweden and the Chechs. 2 blowout games left - Sunday and Monday, then into the playoffs. Lots of good players on most teams.

I think you're over-amplifying it. He's not the same as Monahan. The OHL is also the top CHL league, so the habit can be underrating OHL forwards when considering guys like Johnson, Evangelista, Cuylie, Robertson, Thomas, Kyrou draft positions. Both Greentree and Misa have appeared underrated to me on most lists. I think maybe if you really wanted Catton's play-style, but he's taken, Misa would be the next guy on that plane.

Oh you so made my girl laugh when I said, "hey look, it's you"! I've now sent it to her so she can share it with her friends and they're calling me an idiot. lol Of course now, it'll be her favourite line and I'm good with that. lol

You'll notice the reports are all from this year, but not necessarily current. I think they mainly re-did their list and kept reports attached from earlier. Plus, these reports are general summaries, or snippets. They scout for various hockey associations as a business. Like every other org, they aren't NHL scouts. Young guys aiming to be, no doubt. They're a fairly visible group in the scouting world, though. I typically say my hellos at midget tourneys, USNDTP games or occasional Sting games. I believe what they're saying is the fwds are a decent group, so they needed to bump some dmen down. Greentree at 6 might be close. He's the one player that I feel whose team has really dragged him down. Windsor was a god awful team. Hate to imagine his numbers if they had a couple of good forwards to at least alleviate him having to do everything. The write-up is pretty accurate, but he was forced to have to do everything, pretty much alone.

I'm a bit bias for these guys because I know a few of their scouts from different rinks. First thing that you'll notice is that they don't follow party lines. They're a good group of guys though and do a fair amount of midget scouting also. So a lot of players aren't new to them. https://smahtscouting.com/2024/04/07/spring-2024-nhl-draft-rankings-1/