Nave

Well I'm praying that doesn't happen.

I like the centers more than the defensemen in this draft, but I would way rather get a defenseman than another winger.

That just pushes a good center down.

Who went 1st overall... Simashev probably doesn't have the same offensive potential, but he has a very high ceiling.

I don't think it's very likely Simashev will be gone by our pick, because of the Russian factor... But this last minute hype is making me nervous, and if he's there at 11 we should maybe just take him and forego a trade down. That's the thing. Simashev is so good at skating out of trouble, but if the forecheck bears on him, he's hard to knock off the puck. Very rare to see that kind of skating and size together.

If we take Simashev we would have such good skaters on the backend. Simashev, Hughes, Hronek. Wow. I'm fairly confident he'll be there at 11 too, if not a later pick in the case of a trade back. Russians will go a lot later than they should because of the uncertainty around them.

I'm pretty comfortable with where we are... and I was pro-tank. There's still a chance Michkov falls to us. I think people are overlooking or downplaying the Russian factor. I'm much more comfortable with taking Michkov at 11 than I would have been at 5.

Same here man. I'm on Salt Spring--a beautiful place--and all I can think about is the draft.

These 8 year deals are getting a bit out of hand.

I'm hoping we take a center at 11, or trade down and get a defenseman + a 2nd rounder. My favourite guys are probably: Dvorsky Leonard Wood Moore Danielson Simashev ASP Willander

Glad to see Toffoli with the Devils. Hated to see him go.

Can't believe the draft is tomorrow.

I wanted Boldy, but didn't think Podz would be there. Still think he'll be a valuable middle 6 player you win with.

Yeah I'm starting to soften up to this train of thought. If we could get two 2nds in a deep draft that would be amazing. Imagine Simashev dropping because of concerns around his Russian status and shot, and we get him in the 2nd round.

I didn't know Willander was a LWer

Rooting for Panthers. Want to see Luongo lift the cup.

Yeah I heard that too. Yzerman watched him play and allegedly wanted the Islanders' pick for him. That's why I assumed he wouldn't be there in my initial post.

I'd be very happy if he was there at 19 and we had the pick.

I don't have a problem with trading down if we're targeting defensemen. Picking Dmen at 19 and 44, for example, would go a long way in stocking our cupboards. But I would prefer to stick and pick a center like Dvorsky, Leonard, Moore, or Wood (assuming they translate to the position).

There are a lot of good Dmen that will be available in the 2nd round. I say we see who is there at 11 before making a decision. No trade before the draft ala OEL.

What are the odds he's there after a trade down?

I wish we got Tkachuk.

I would like to keep Garland. He's showing out in this tournament, and as previously mentioned, his best season was under Tocchet. That being said, if we can get a good deal for him, we have to consider it. Between Garland, Boeser, and Beauvillier, whoever gets the best offer might have to go.

I campaigned hard for Tkachuk. However, I think Juolevi would have been good if he didn't deal with such bad injury issues.

3.7k likes lol