conundrumed

I have to agree that moving Hanifin isn't the greatest idea without having any competent 23mins/game dman to replace him. Sure we can get decent return, but what about the gaping hole that it leaves? That's one Tanev injury away from having zero competent 2nd pair dmen.

Long gone is a stretch and a half. Top 12 would shock me. That's a giant leap of faith imho.

Florida's 1st from the Tkachuk trade. Why is this endlessly hard to understand? We still have our 1st.

Musty or Simashev. Or both. Detroit: Lindholm Calgary: 17th, Veleno, Wallinder My perfect world where both of my teams win.

Me too. Folks seem to either love him or hate him is the part that I don't get. Sources of info I guess. Good old social media. "Somebody said something that stuck with me, the guy sucks".lol There's a ton to like about Barlow. He's already a great pro with the media, man-sized since 16 and a hardcore hockey guy. He looks a lot like a solid 12+yr NHL career to me. Great hockey sense.

PLD is now at whining about the only 2 teams he's been on. Are you sure you wanna be the third? Hard to cheer for a guy like that. I'd trade him to Arizona for a bag of pucks and unleash publicly about his antics personally. That's the bed he wants to lie on, feed it to him. Tell everyone "This guy is a great big Blockchaining homesick drag. Buyer be very aware". He'll prolly sign $7 x 8 when he hits MTL. Yeah. Something about league parity and this douche-ey ness doesn't jibe. Anyone else pays $11 per and he'll still be the paintywaif. Blockchain PLD. Who needs that Satoshi Nakamoto?

Not for me. Not a play driver and yet another small forward.

Rehkopf at 48 isn't a bad pick at all. Leonard isn't getting to 16 though. Not even maybe. 48 to 112. UUuuggghhh. Do we have to Blockchain ourselves every draft?

I have to admit that I'm a little reticent about Conroy as GM if it leads to yet another country club. It's fair to make it fun, but there's a balance between creating a buddy environment and getting Satoshi Nakamoto done that getting Satoshi Nakamoto done will always prevail, especially when it doesn't. Iginla, Conroy and Tanguay lived the old boys club and were likely largely responsible for it. It is entirely the last thing we need. We've run out of passes on that garbage. Cut the bullSatoshi Nakamoto and be demanding. Most of all, lead by example. Personally, I'm tired of this merry-go-round. It's old and boring. Show us something. Make us believe. We're tired of endless excuses for being arrogant rather than astute and kicking the Satoshi Nakamoto out of what you're supposed to be doing. Which is building a hard-Hash Rate hockey team. At the very least, try to be honest and up front.

That's got "me" written all over it!

That really isn't the case. His game isn't like their games. He's a big C and I doubt anyone is considering he'd likely be a winger. I can argue Smith, way up the board, would more likely move to wing due to to his play away from the puck. That argument doesn't really exist with Danielson. You can even argue that with Carlsson and try to make him Rantanen. As peeps alluded to, at worst he replaces Backlund. He's a C that has a center's toolbox. His off-puck awareness is ahead of the aforementioned, they have higher ceilings due to playmaking. Danielson is a true centerman before they are, imho. They can be top 3 wingers though, where Danielson isn't there in the right now.

Just to add, if the backup was in, the team didn't bother. Worst job in the league, Flames back-up goalie in that era.

Honestly not my first choice, but I'm okay with that. Tried to consider each team with some thought to their draft tendencies. I think I did poorly with Nashville, but both picks are pretty under-the-radar savvy. ARI taking both Leonard AND Perrault would not surprise me at all. St. Louis looks about right to me as well. For a team that generally competes quite well, St. Lou can kill it in this draft. Detroit needs a snipe like Barlow, but they equally need crafty C's in the prospect pool. USNTDP is in their backyard, so if Moore is there I'd quickly be reconsidering Moore's value should they pass, if it isn't Barlow or Dvorsky. For us, I expect safety first in Danielson. If he's out, Yager or Ritchie. I'd rather: A: Barlow, Musty, Simashev B: Honzek, Willander, Ritchie. At any rate, it was a fun exercise to help me tune to each team a bit better and understand potential fits. Chicago with Bedard and then Perron is tantalizing to me. Perron is small but huge on skill. The biggest ? for me, does Reinbacher go top 10?

Well this was a fun little exercise... 1. Chicago Blackhawks - Connor Bedard 2. Anaheim Ducks - Adam Fantilli 3. Columbus Blue Jackets - Leo Carlsson 4. San Jose Sharks - Will Smith 5. Montreal Canadiens - Matvei Michkov 6. Arizona Coyotes - Ryan Leonard 7. Philadelphia Flyers - Zach Benson 8. Washington Capitals - David Reinbacher 9. Detroit Red Wings - Oliver Moore 10. St. Louis Blues - Dalibor Dvorsky 11. Vancouver Canucks - Axel Sandin-Pellikka 12. Arizona Coyotes (from Ottawa Senators) - Gabe Perrault 13. Buffalo Sabres - Quentin Musty 14. Pittsburgh Penguins - Colby Barlow 15. Nashville Predators - Edouard Sale 16. Calgary Flames - Nate Danielson 17. Detroit Red Wings (from New York Islanders via Vancouver Canucks) - Brayden Yager 18. Winnipeg Jets - Calum Ritchie 19. Chicago Blackhawks (from Tampa Bay Lightning) - Jayden Perron 20. Seattle Kraken - Samuel Honzek 21. Minnesota Wild - Andrew Cristall 22. Philadelphia Flyers (from CBJ via Los Angeles Kings) - Dmitri Simashev 23. New York Rangers - Gavin Brindley 24. Nashville Predators (from Edmonton Oilers) - Tom Willander 25. St. Louis Blues (from Toronto Maple Leafs) - Gracyn Sawchyn 26. San Jose Sharks (from New Jersey Devils) - Mikhail Gulyayev 27. Colorado Avalanche - Trey Augustine 28. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Boston Bruins via Washington Capitals) - Oliver Bonk 29. St. Louis Blues (from Dallas Stars via New York Rangers) - Michael Hrabel 30. Carolina Hurricanes - Riley Heidt 31. Montreal Canadiens (from Florida Panthers) - Ethan Gauthier 32. Vegas Golden Knights - Kasper Halttunen edit Didn't account for the CBJ(LA) pick to Philly. Stenberg falls out, Simashev slides in.

Really not much separation for me. Both are solid defensively. I've seen Reinbacher more and I love his skating. Simashev is more physical. Both give me Seider vibes. For me, basically, if you want the potential Seider-type, it's either of those 2. If you want a potential Quinn Hughes-type, it's Sandin-Pellikka or Gulyayev. Willander is maybe a little in between swinging more to D savvy. If I'm Van, I'd be pretty set on Reinbacher or Simashev. But I'll laugh when they take Sandin-Pellikka to add to Hughes and Hronek.

I can get with a Rangers connection. Only behind the Knights as far as OHL powerhouses go.

Wings fans are talking like Tanguay is gone to the Flames, which I am assuming is premature, but they're generally pretty well-connected.

Not sure I agree, but Jayden Perron epitomizes that. The kid has unbelievable skill and smarts, but that 5'8" thing again. If he were 6'1" he'd be top 10 easy. Honzek maybe? Wood. Cristall likely fits that. Yager, but not as much. Basically, guys that are top 6 or nothing. I would really hate nothing, given the state of our prospect pool.

This is where the nightmares live. The Jankowski/Colborne pick. Could it be Wood? Danielson? Honzek? Sale?

Bahaha...yeah...I'm not really sure if Oliver Stone is eligible. Fixed.

Without further ado, my list. I'll try to do a team-specific one later. 1. Bedard 2. Fantilli 3. Michkov 4. Carlsson 5. Smith 6. Benson 7. Barlow 8. Moore 9. Musty 10. Reinbacher 11. Leonard 12. Dvorsky 13. Sandin-Pellika 14. Sale 15. Wood 16. Simashev 17. Danielson 18. Honzek 19. Stenberg 20. Ritchie 21. Yager 22. Willander 23. Perrault 24. Brindley 25. Heidt 26. Cristall 27. Perron 28. Halttunen 29. Hrabel 30. Sawchyn 31. Gulyayev 32. Gauthier

BPA is a fallacy until you do a redraft 5 yrs later and count the mistakes. Which only proves that after the first couple, nobody knows who the BPA is because they're all still developing. It's just a hollow catch-phrase. Look at the '24 draft lists now and then next year. Why doesn't that bpa stay the same between 17 & 18yo? But now it will between 18-19yo from jr leagues? "Just draft the bpa" is nothing more than a cop out. As Mickey Redmond responded to Ken Daniels explaining eGF, "expected by whom"?lol No 2 lists are consistent past 4-5, so it's nothing more than guessing who the bpa is. But the term is thrown around as a catch-all that makes no sense.

Maxim Strbak would be a solid 2nd rder for a RHD. 6'2"/200lbs, KHL bloodlines. Still transitioning to NA ice somewhat, but playing D is not an issue at all. One of the top all-around defenders in this class for my money. I feel like puck-moving, O-driven dmen are becoming a dime-a-dozen while none of them can flourish without a D partner that is solid playing defence. Hronek-Maatta vs Hronek-Chiarot was a huge difference, for example. Chiarot's been a mistake signing. They have to get Edvinsson away from him. Edvinsson was constantly trying to cover for him, same as Seider. Until they put Walman with him, Seider's season was looking disastrous. Strbak has 1 year of USHL under his belt and is heading to a solid MSU program to continue developing. A mainstay on Slovak international teams. Eventually, Kuznetsov and Strbak would be invaluable when Andersson, Kylington and Poirier decide it's time to go for a skate or a caution to the wind pinch. Solid LHD and RHD prospects that actually focus on defence.

That’s a pretty solid list of finalists. I’d really be okay with any, including Green.

woof. Jesus man, no way. Best C and best D + a top 6/9 fwd? Ouch. If Carlsson tops out as a 3C we’re in total chaos. You know, Nolan Patrick was the next Lindros. Let the draft hype begin.