2021 NHL Entry Draft

[HighOnHockey]

8 hours ago, janisahockeynut said:

1. Buffalo...................Power..................Best player in the draft, until he goes to Buffalo

2. Seattle...................Benier..................Top 2 player, could be the best player, build down the center

3. Anahiem................Hughes...............Here is the LHD to play alongside Drystale

4. New Jersey...........Clarke..................Here is the RHD to play alongside Smith

5. Columbus..............Eklund.................Top 3 skill, speed, drive, he should have been gone

6. Detroit....................Edvinsson...........Here is the LHD to play alongside Seider

7. San Jose................Wallstedt.............It take 5 years to develop a goaltender, so in a weak draft, take the franchise goalie

8. LA..........................Guenther.............LA is pretty solid down the middle with prospects, and this is a top 5 talent

9. Vancouver..............McTavish............Multi positional, aggressive, playoff style body, great 2/3 center. Canucks considered Svechkov

10. Ottawa..................Johnson.............Best Player Available, great skater

11. Arizona..................forfeit.................Stupid, stupid, stupid!

12. Chicago................Svechkov.........., Time to rebuild up the middle

13. Calgary.................Lysell..................Smart, aggressive, goal scoring winger

14. Philadelphia.........Lucius.................Slid down because of injury, top 10 talent

15. Minnesota.............Sillinger..............Minni needs more goal scoring? Yes, they do. Sillinger can play center as well. BPA

16. NY Rangers..........Lambos..............the RHD side is build, and this is the last player needed to finish the left side. BPA Considered Chibrikov

17. St. Louis...............Chibrikov............This guy dropped 3 or 4 spots. BPA

18. Nashville..............Ceulemans..........2nd best RHD in the draft

19. Edmonton.............Cossa.................2nd best Goaltender in the draft.....may even be the best....fills a positional need, in a weak draft it a no brainer

20. Detroit/Wash.........Raty....................This guy will be a diamond when polished

21. Minnesota.............Bolduc................BPA, and tenacious

22. Columbus/Tor.......L'Heureux...........talented and miserable, needs discipline, but if he learns that, the sky is the limit. Fell because of discipline 

23. Minnestota/Pitts....Pasttujov............BPA and a good goal scorer, pretty much wear he belongs

24. Florida..................Pinelli

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

 

 

 

 

Very solid. I actually kinda like it better than mine. Ron Francis did say they want to build from the middle first, and here I have them picking Eklund. Eklund to Columbus and Edvinsson to Detroit make a lot of sense, as two teams that love picking from Europe.

[HighOnHockey]

8 hours ago, janisahockeynut said:

1. Buffalo...................Power..................Best player in the draft, until he goes to Buffalo

2. Seattle...................Benier..................Top 2 player, could be the best player, build down the center

3. Anahiem................Hughes...............Here is the LHD to play alongside Drystale

4. New Jersey...........Clarke..................Here is the RHD to play alongside Smith

5. Columbus..............Eklund.................Top 3 skill, speed, drive, he should have been gone

6. Detroit....................Edvinsson...........Here is the LHD to play alongside Seider

7. San Jose................Wallstedt.............It take 5 years to develop a goaltender, so in a weak draft, take the franchise goalie

8. LA..........................Guenther.............LA is pretty solid down the middle with prospects, and this is a top 5 talent

9. Vancouver..............McTavish............Multi positional, aggressive, playoff style body, great 2/3 center. Canucks considered Svechkov

10. Ottawa..................Johnson.............Best Player Available, great skater

11. Arizona..................forfeit.................Stupid, stupid, stupid!

12. Chicago................Svechkov.........., Time to rebuild up the middle

13. Calgary.................Lysell..................Smart, aggressive, goal scoring winger

14. Philadelphia.........Lucius.................Slid down because of injury, top 10 talent

15. Minnesota.............Sillinger..............Minni needs more goal scoring? Yes, they do. Sillinger can play center as well. BPA

16. NY Rangers..........Lambos..............the RHD side is build, and this is the last player needed to finish the left side. BPA Considered Chibrikov

17. St. Louis...............Chibrikov............This guy dropped 3 or 4 spots. BPA

18. Nashville..............Ceulemans..........2nd best RHD in the draft

19. Edmonton.............Cossa.................2nd best Goaltender in the draft.....may even be the best....fills a positional need, in a weak draft it a no brainer

20. Detroit/Wash.........Raty....................This guy will be a diamond when polished

21. Minnesota.............Bolduc................BPA, and tenacious

22. Columbus/Tor.......L'Heureux...........talented and miserable, needs discipline, but if he learns that, the sky is the limit. Fell because of discipline 

23. Minnestota/Pitts....Pasttujov............BPA and a good goal scorer, pretty much wear he belongs

24. Florida..................Pinelli

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

 

 

 

 

But on the other hand, Murray in Anaheim very rarely picks from NTDP, unless it is a pretty obvious BPA as was Zegras in 2019.  And as I mentioned, in his 20+ years with San Jose, Doug Wilson has never picked a goalie higher than the third round, so that one would shock me.

[johngould21]

31 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Mostly anybody with a chance to be a top two or three round pick for Canada was likely at U18s so everyone will be pretty familiar with.

 

A couple guys I remember really liking at the U17s but weren't at U18s were James Malatesta, Riley Kidney and Connor Lockhart. Lockhart played for a Canada Red, which was the least talented of the three Canadian squads, and played a very defense-first game. Lockhart seemed to be the only one really trying and able to make things happen offensively. Malatesta was a little firecracker, running around throwing hits, forcing turnovers, had a couple breakaways and scored a nice goal on one. And Riley Kidney was another smallish, but sturdy, smart and skilled forward.

Thanks, this will be one of the NHL entry draft for the ages, imo! I can see some of these 2nd and 3rd round picks turn out to be studs in later years.

[Off_The_Schneid!]

Looking forward to draft day! 

 

I for one strongly believe that Benning is an excellent Drafter and feel confident with him and the scouting staff on Draft day 

 

I believe things are going to go one of two ways 

 

1. They select a player at 9th that they feel strongly about and had ranked higher than 9th in there own rankings. I obviously don’t know there rankings but Trust there judgment over mine. 

 

2. There are no players that land at 9th that they had higher on there list. There are 3-4 2nd tier players that they are still comfortable picking (Sillinger, Svetchkov,  Ceulemans, that Finnish RHD that was mentioned, etc)  and they trade down 3-5 spots.

The Podkolzin year apparently they had a deal to trade down but Podkolzin was the last player on there list in that 1st Tier where the wouldn’t move down from. It’s in Bennings repertoire 

 

Either way I trust the Scouting department and believe they are going to get 2-3 key pieces moving forward out of this draft 

[Bure_Pavel]

15 hours ago, Isam said:

But lacks the athleticism of a vasilesky or askarov

But makes up with it with world class positioning, reflexes, and spacial awareness. Easily the most technical sound goalie prospect of the last 10 years. 

[Nucker 67]

Bettman "Next up with the Number 9 pick are the Vancouver Canucks. Oh, wait a second, you're gonna want to hear this. Vancouver trades..."

[J.I.A.H.N]

7 hours ago, Canuck Surfer said:

I was going to post without you asking.

 

Could be your best post on CDC..., awesome!

 

 

It does throw BPA out to some extent?  But digs absolutely into the mindset of each teams fans!

I am not sure it throws BPA out to be honest Surfer. I tried to keep it real.

 

IMO, the list is sorta broken into 4  tiers in the top 15

 

Power, Beniers and probably Eklund are in the first tier, although Eklund being a winger drops him down a little. So, I sorta went with

 

Tier list of Power, Beniers

then Eklund, Hughes, Clarke

then Edvinsson, Wallstedt, McTavish, Johnson, Guenther

then Sillinger, Svechkov, Lambos, Lysell, and Lucius

 

So, IMO, because it is such a flat top this year, with practically any one in the top 5 being ranked #1, until late in the season, I sorta of used a best fit for the Team within the tier, because, IMO all the players in the tier are somewhat ranked with similar scores.......if that makes sense???? 

[nergish]

9 hours ago, janisahockeynut said:

1. Buffalo...................Power..................Best player in the draft, until he goes to Buffalo

2. Seattle...................Benier..................Top 2 player, could be the best player, build down the center

3. Anahiem................Hughes...............Here is the LHD to play alongside Drystale

4. New Jersey...........Clarke..................Here is the RHD to play alongside Smith

5. Columbus..............Eklund.................Top 3 skill, speed, drive, he should have been gone

6. Detroit....................Edvinsson...........Here is the LHD to play alongside Seider

7. San Jose................Wallstedt.............It take 5 years to develop a goaltender, so in a weak draft, take the franchise goalie

8. LA..........................Guenther.............LA is pretty solid down the middle with prospects, and this is a top 5 talent

9. Vancouver..............McTavish............Multi positional, aggressive, playoff style body, great 2/3 center. Canucks considered Svechkov

 

 

 

 

Dear god, you're right...

L. Hughes next to Drysdale is "modern NHL" personified. 

Clarke next to Smith? Edvinsson next to Seider?

Screw this, now I'm jealous. Let's trade our pick in a deal for a big RHD to play with Quinn. 

I am perfectly okay with McTavish there, though. He's the kind of guy that helps us compete with the Golden Knights of the league.

 

[J.I.A.H.N]

9 hours ago, spook007 said:

If LA takes Guenther at 8th it'll be another reason for me to hate em...

Really starting to like Guenther, and we may get lucky. Alternatively, Svechkov is also starting to grow on me. Definitely would fill a positional need and another hard to play against, play off performer (like Horvat)... 

When I took one of my coaching levels in Minor hockey, we had the BC U17 coach teach the class, he said, what so many pro people have said time and time again, you can't teach size, so when 2  or 3 people are ranked in the same tier, that is a factor that can separates them. In saying that, player agent Bobby Orr (yes that Bobby Orr) suggest that for a player to be elite, they must have at least 1 elite talent/skill, and also suggested when looking at talent.

 

When looking at the 4 players around where we pick..........McTavish, Johnson, Guenther, and Svechkov, it is really splitting hairs as to who is better, but one thing that stands out to me is size and team play. Of that, Johnson stands out as having less of those intangibles. More skill, but less of that. Svechkov on the other hand, gets ignored because he is Russian????? It is really a crap shoot when separating these four for me, but my ranking is probably in the right order for me, regardless of team need. (aka BPA)

[J.I.A.H.N]

9 hours ago, AlwaysACanuckFan said:

Guenther, McTavish, could go either way but I'd be happy with either one. 

Yeah, that is where I was at too. Splitting hairs. Guenther probably has had a more stable career, with less movement within the top echelons for a longer time, which is why I put him ahead. Less bust factor, IMO

 

Too close to call, almost!

[J.I.A.H.N]

2 hours ago, Jimmy McGill said:

good stuff, thanks.

 

The only spot I would disagree with you on maybe is Detroit. Their future core is still a few years away, and their current goalie prospects are not doing well. I think Stevie Y goes for Wallstedt given he's actually shown what he can do in a mens league.

 

I know DET also has the #24 pick and could wait for Cossa but I've seen at least one mock draft with him going at 20 I think fwiw, so if he passes on Wallstedt he might miss out on Cossa too. 

 

 

 

 

You could be right Jimmy, I do think there seems to be a demand this year. The 2 goalies have both been ranked high, with the edge going to Wallstedt.

[J-Dizzle]

22 minutes ago, nergish said:

 

Screw this, now I'm jealous. Let's trade our pick in a deal for a big RHD to play with Quinn. 

 

 

 

[nergish]

1 minute ago, J-Dizzle said:

 

Is that Dobson? I'd target him for sure. 
Don't think I'd do 9th straight up, though.

[J.I.A.H.N]

1 hour ago, debluvscanucks said:

Great work, Jan.

 

I'd take Johnson over McTavish though.

I don't think you could go wrong either way Deb

 

My reason for picking McTavish was McTavish's physical play, vs Johnson's speed. I love speed, and Johson is a very good prospect, but some of the comments have pushed me to think that McTavish can handle to tough play.

 

It is personal choice, and yours is as good as mine. 

 

I like the high end moxy............I always ask myself, this

 

If these guys played head to head, which one wins the contest? A very subjective argument for my head. But in my head, McTavish wins. Of course, he has to catch him first.

 

Man, I love this time of year.......I have been toiling in the 2nd round picks lately, and it is much tougher to decide........

[J.I.A.H.N]

1 hour ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

But on the other hand, Murray in Anaheim very rarely picks from NTDP, unless it is a pretty obvious BPA as was Zegras in 2019.  And as I mentioned, in his 20+ years with San Jose, Doug Wilson has never picked a goalie higher than the third round, so that one would shock me.

Well he could take Edvinsson, but he has a bigger boom/bust factor than Hughes

 

I will really love to compare lists afterwards....................probably 180 degrees off.......lol

[J.I.A.H.N]

59 minutes ago, Bure_Pavel said:

But makes up with it with world class positioning, reflexes, and spacial awareness. Easily the most technical sound goalie prospect of the last 10 years. 

Spacial Awareness.....................I love that phrase! Kind of Star Treky

 

Good comments by the way!

[nergish]

1 hour ago, Bure_Pavel said:

But makes up with it with world class positioning, reflexes, and spacial awareness. Easily the most technical sound goalie prospect of the last 10 years. 

As someone who's played the position coming on 20 years, I agree. 
Wallstedt is my favourite goaltending prospect of the last 10 years, and it's because of his poise.
 

He's not as "sleepy" a netminder as Spencer Knight (who definitely comes from the Carey Price school of ice cold goaltending), but is definitely very calm in the crease.

Stylistically, he reminds of Jacob Markstrom AFTER being groomed by Ian Clark. For an 18 year old it's damn impressive.

 

That said, I am endlessly intrigued by Sebastian Cossa as well.
As a smaller goalie myself, I always turn my nose up at 6'6 crease-monsters who get by on their size. But with Cossa, you just can't deny it - the kid does not let many pucks past him at his current level. I believe there is a world where he is the best goaltender in this class, and if I imagine hard enough I can even see him representing Canada at the highest level.

 

Great year for goaltending.

[theo5789]

38 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

When I took one of my coaching levels in Minor hockey, we had the BC U17 coach teach the class, he said, what so many pro people have said time and time again, you can't teach size, so when 2  or 3 people are ranked in the same tier, that is a factor that can separates them. In saying that, player agent Bobby Orr (yes that Bobby Orr) suggest that for a player to be elite, they must have at least 1 elite talent/skill, and also suggested when looking at talent.

 

When looking at the 4 players around where we pick..........McTavish, Johnson, Guenther, and Svechkov, it is really splitting hairs as to who is better, but one thing that stands out to me is size and team play. Of that, Johnson stands out as having less of those intangibles. More skill, but less of that. Svechkov on the other hand, gets ignored because he is Russian????? It is really a crap shoot when separating these four for me, but my ranking is probably in the right order for me, regardless of team need. (aka BPA)

For me it's Svechkov, toss up between McTavish and Johnson and Guenther last.

 

Guenther reminds me a bit of Virtanen. Good potential, but we have plenty of wingers and there will be many on the board still in later rounds. He's not "elite" enough for me as a winger to surpass any of the centers on the board.

 

Johnson has top 6 potential, but is one of those guys that have to produce or may struggle finding a place in the lineup. So while he has the highest offensive potential, I think the floor is higher for McTavish and Svechkov which makes them safer bets. It's possible that we go this route because we were interested in Zegras before he was taken one pick before us and he has that sort of offensive potential.

 

McTavish seems like he would be a very solid 3C with some potential to be a 2C. If he's strong on faceoffs, then he's pretty much another Bo Horvat. Nothing wrong with picking another Horvat. I'm just not so sure how his offense will translate to the NHL level.

 

I have Svechkov first because I believe he's the most balanced. Can be trusted defensively and has solid offensive potential. I think he may not be as physical as McTavish, but has the higher offensive ceiling. Not as high as Johnson, but is huge difference on the defensive end of things. I would like to know his faceoff stats as if he's solid in that department, then that really puts him over the top for me.

[stawns]

3 minutes ago, theo5789 said:

For me it's Svechkov, toss up between McTavish and Johnson and Guenther last.

 

Guenther reminds me a bit of Virtanen. Good potential, but we have plenty of wingers and there will be many on the board still in later rounds. He's not "elite" enough for me as a winger to surpass any of the centers on the board.

 

Johnson has top 6 potential, but is one of those guys that have to produce or may struggle finding a place in the lineup. So while he has the highest offensive potential, I think the floor is higher for McTavish and Svechkov which makes them safer bets. It's possible that we go this route because we were interested in Zegras before he was taken one pick before us and he has that sort of offensive potential.

 

McTavish seems like he would be a very solid 3C with some potential to be a 2C. If he's strong on faceoffs, then he's pretty much another Bo Horvat. Nothing wrong with picking another Horvat. I'm just not so sure how his offense will translate to the NHL level.

 

I have Svechkov first because I believe he's the most balanced. Can be trusted defensively and has solid offensive potential. I think he may not be as physical as McTavish, but has the higher offensive ceiling. Not as high as Johnson, but is huge difference on the defensive end of things. I would like to know his faceoff stats as if he's solid in that department, then that really puts him over the top for me.

If eklund and Clarke are gone, it's svech for me too.  They might even be able to trade down to get him

[S N Y P E R S 7]

2 minutes ago, stawns said:

If eklund and Clarke are gone, it's svech for me too.  They might even be able to trade down to get him

Eklund doesn't make it past Detroit