By Steven Ives
11) Nashville
Predators
The Team: Since
their incarnation in 1998, the Predators have been coached by Barry Trotz and
built their team on smothering defensive play. After 16 years, Nashville has
finally decided to open things up a bit. After firing Trotz, they hired the
more offensively-minded Peter Laviolette and seem intent on acquiring more
skilled players. This makes the 2014 draft an interesting one to watch for the
Preds.
The Pick: LW/RW Kevin
Fiala, HV71, SWE Nashville would love to draft a first-line center to build
around, but any team would be thrilled to land the Swiss dynamo Fiala. The
explosive winger with sick hands rocketed up the draft charts all season long
by dominating virtually every international tournament he played in. Fiala has
been compared by major scouting sources to Phil Kessel and Alex Semin, two
players who topped the 40-goal plateau at the NHL level, and it is not a
stretch to conceive of the quick and ultra-skilled Fiala doing the same. The
young winger needs only to work on controlling his turnovers and overall
defensive play. Still, if the Predators are truly committed to upping the
offensive ante, Fiala would be an outstanding bet for them.
12) Phoenix Coyotes
The Team: When
researching NHL teams’ draft tendencies, it is impossible not to gvet a kick
out of the Coyotes’ penchant for picking sons of former NHL stars. Two years
ago they selected Ulf Samuelsson’s son Henrik in the first round, last year
they spent their top pick on Tie Domi’s son Max. Unfortunately for them,
Michael Nylander’s son is expected to be long gone when they pick 12th
and Claude Lemieux and Sami Kapanen’s kids might be a bit of a reach there.
The Pick: LW Brendan
Perlini, Niagara, OHL Perlini’s size (6’3”, 210) and speed combination are
impossible to ignore. He uses his huge body and athleticism to dominate the
dirty areas, in the corners and in the crease. He has the skill-set and hands
to develop into a first-line power forward at the NHL level and draws comparisons
to Jeff Carter. The only factors potentially driving the extremely projectable
Perlini out of the top ten are a bit of a late season decline in play combined
with the emergence of Ehlers and Fleury. Still, it would not be shocking to see
Perlini go as early as the sixth pick, and if he falls to the legacy-minded
Coyotes, they can at least console themselves that Brendan’s father was drafted
by the Maple Leafs in 1980 and played eight games at the NHL level.
13) Washington
Capitals
The Team: It is
always most difficult to predict what a team will do at the draft after they
change over the front office. Long-time GM George McPhee and head coach Adam
Oates were dumped during the off-season. Brian MacLellan takes over the general
managing duties and a team with unbelievable talent on the scoring lines
(Ovechkin, Backstrom, Kuznetsov) but holes virtually everywhere else. The
goaltending is weak all throughout the organization and the blueline
desperately needs a boost beyond the top pairing of John Carlson and Kyle
Alzner.
The Pick: D Travis
Sanheim, Calgary WHL Sanheim is the perfect example of why this draft is
difficult to predict. The highly-respected ISS scouting bureau has him ranked
53rd in the 2014 draft class. The Hockey News has him listed at 21st.
TSN.com has him 8th. That is quite an uncommon range. As for us, we
don’t see what’s not to like about this kid – he’s big, he can skate, he has
terrific puck skills. Sanheim came on strong all season long, seemingly
improving his overall game with each shift he was on the ice. The young
blueliner has been compared to a wide range of players from Jay Bouwmeester to
Johnny Boychuk and has been rumored to have been scouted heavily by the Caps.
Look for new GM MacLellan to re-build his team from the backline out, and
Sanheim should be the best available d-man here.
14) Dallas Stars
The Team: The
Stars scored a major coup last off-season when they pick-pocketed the Bruins
for young star center Tyler Seguin. Along with Jamie Benn, these two form the
nucleus of one of the most dangerous offensive lines in the league, a combo
Dallas hopes could be their version of Getzlaf-Perry for seasons to come. What
the Stars seek in the 2014 draft is more forward depth around those two, along
with some defensemen with top-pairing upside.
The Pick: C Jared
McCann, Sault Ste. Marie OHL The franchise first-line center may be the
most valuable commodity in today’s NHL, but do not discount the value of a
big-bodied, two-way second-line pivot. McCann is that kid who it is impossible
to read a scouting report on without coming across the words “smart” and
“hard-working”. He does it all -- blocking shots, winning draws, battling for
loose pucks. Though he will never challenge for an NHL scoring title, he
certainly has the upside to contribute 50-60 points at the NHL level. Compared
flatteringly to Patrice Bergeron, McCann is the type of player you win with,
and the perfect kid for the Stars to build their second line around.
15) Detroit Red Wings
The Team: Superlative
statements which might sound subjective in most cases come off as simply
self-evident when talking about the Wings. GM Ken Holland is a genius,
Detroit’s hockey franchise is one of the most successful in the entire sporting
world. A consecutive post-season streak of an astounding 23 seasons and an
NHL-best four Stanley Cup championships in the past two decades support these
theories quite well. As always, the Holland’s Red Wings will draft the best
available player regardless of need with every draft pick, as always some of
these picks will surprise the pundits, as always several of these picks will
turn out to be absolutely terrific hockey players in Detroit.
The Pick: C/LW Dylan
Larkin, US-NTDP USHL My favorite description of one of my favorite players
in this draft comes from courtesy of the scouts at Future Considerations: “he is a high-compete, high-intelligence,
three-zone center”. That might say it all. Larkin far from the most talented
player in this draft, but he is one of the best skaters and he could be the
smartest player. You can watch this kid game after game without seeing him make
a single mistake or slack off the intensity for even a fraction of a shift.
With most players there is a ceiling and a floor to their talent levels – with
Larkin the upside might be of a very good second-line center, but because of his
off-the-charts character his floor is of a very good third-line center. The
can’t-miss NHL-er hails from the Detroit area and grew up rooting for the Red
Wings, a franchise which built its success on intelligent players like Larkin.
16) Columbus Blue
Jackets
The Team: The
Jackets’ brain trust came from the St. Louis Blues organization, where they
built a great team on physical, two-way players with size. In Columbus, they
reached this year’s post-season using a similar blueprint. A long-time NHL
doormat, the Blue Jackets now pride themselves on being a huge and physical
team which is extremely difficult to play against.
The Pick: RW Alex
Tuch, US-NTDP USHL
This kid’s last name actually rhymes with “truck”, which is
a fairly apt description of what he looks and plays like. At 6’4” and 220 and
with terrific athleticism, he is virtually impossible to beat in the corners or
to move from the front of the net. He is simply a force down low, but it is the
completeness of his game which makes him a surefire first-rounder. Compared to
Blake Wheeler, this physical force is precisely the type of player Columbus
hopes to build their team around.
17) Philadelphia
Flyers
The Team: Since
Chris Pronger’s career was tragically cut short by post-concussion syndrome,
the Flyers have desperately sought a true #1 defenseman to replace him. In the
2013 draft they desperately wanted Rasmus Ristolainen, whom was taken just
ahead of them by Buffalo. After this, they seemed to panic a bit by reaching
for large-bodied project Samuel Morin when they could have had the most
Pronger-like prospect in years in Nikita Zadorov. New GM Ron Hextall needs to
resist the temptation to reach for another defenseman in a thin draft for
blueliners and instead take the best available player.
The Pick: RW/LW
Kasperi Kapanen, Kalpa, FIN Kapanen is another player who divides scouts.
Some have him in their top ten due to his outstanding skating and playmaking
skills combined with an NHL-ready one-timer. Others have him dropping near the
second round due to some inconsistency in his game and the fact that he can
become visibly frustrated when opponents amp up the physical game on him. The
Flyers would certainly love to take a chance on his upside of NHL scoring star,
and Kasperi’s father Sami starred in Philadelphia for several seasons. Kasperi
would make perfect sense here, where he could project to a top-line role
alongside Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.
18) Minnesota Wild
The Team: Over
the past two seasons, the Wild have transformed themselves from perennially
mediocre into what looks like an annual Western Conference contender. The first
step towards this achievement was certainly the twin free-agent signings of
superstars Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, but last year they supplemented the pair
with some terrific young talents like Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle and Erik
Haula. This team is solid all across the organization at every position, except
in goal where Josh Harding’s struggles with Multiple Sclerosis has left them
with several questions between the pipes.
The Pick: G Thatcher
Demko, Boston College NCAA There are generally two schools of thought in
the NHL right now regarding drafting goalies in the first round: don’t do it and you better not blow it if you do. This year’s Stanley Cup battle
featured two netminders often considered the best in the world: Henrik
Lundqvist, with his Olympic gold medal and Vezina Trophy, was a 7th
round pick by the Rangers in 2000, while Jonathan Quick, with his pair of
Stanley Cups, was a 3rd round pick by the Kings back in 2005. With
projecting the future success of goaltenders so inexact, many teams would
rather roll the dice on one later in the draft. It takes a special type of
goaltending prospect to buck this trend, but Demko is precisely that special
type of prospect. Demko has a rare combination of size (6’4”, 190),
athleticism, maturity and smarts which has led to him not only winning the
starting job at Boston College as a freshman (a rare feat), but also dominating
older NCAA competition for long stretches. It would not be surprising at all to
look back on this draft in a decade and realize the best player in the class
was Demko. The question is not whether a team should risk a first-rounder with
this kid, it is whether a team looking for a future goaltender can afford to pass
on him. If Minnesota does not make this pick, it is a strong bet that a team
like Buffalo or Washington starts working the phones trying to move up into the
late first-round for a crack at future franchise goalie Thatcher Demko.
19) Tampa Bay
Lightning
The Team: Under
the leadership of GM Steve Yzerman, the Lightning have a very bright future.
Already armed with a franchise player in Steve Stamkos, last year Tampa enjoyed
major breakthroughs from several players. Ben Bishop took the step from
prospect goalie to Vezina Trophy candidate. Viktor Hedman finally emerged as an
elite, top-pairing NHL defenseman. Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson were only
outshined among rookie forwards by Nathan McKinnon. There is more talent coming
through the pipeline, where Andrey Vasilevskiy is the top young goalie in
Europe and Jonathan Drouin is the top scoring prospect not currently in the
NHL. If Tampa needs anything, it is to restock more depth on the blueline, but
with two first-round picks in the 2014, that should be addressed quickly.
The Pick: C/LW Robby
Fabbri, Guelph OHL Expect the Lightning to take the best available player
with their first pick and then take a defenseman with the second. Fabbri is
another small, skilled player with inconsistent rankings among the scouting
bureaus – some have him in the top ten due to his blinding speed, tenacity, and
electrifying scoring skills. Others have him closer to the second round, due to
his rail-thin 160-pounds on a 5’10” frame which lead many to believe his future
is not at center, but on the wing. We say here that Fabbri’s fearlessness and
pure goal-scoring ability evoke shades of Zach Parise, and he may not even make
it this deep into the draft.
20) San Jose Sharks
The Team: The
Sharks’ annual ritual of outstanding regular seasons and ensuing playoff
disappointments hit a crescendo this spring, after San Jose blew a 3-0 lead
over the Kings. GM Doug Wilson promised major changes in the off-season and
even dropped the dreaded R-word: rebuilding.
Though it would be foolish for such a quality team to go through an absolute
overhaul, the Sharks do need to make a major move. Expect cornerstones Joe
Thornton and Antti Niemi to stay, along with their ultra-talented young nucleus
of Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Thomas Hertl and Marc-Andre Vlasic. The player
we expect to see shipped elsewhere is Patrick Marleau, rumored to have been in
talks with the Islanders for the 5th overall pick or with the Leafs
for Dion Phaneuf.
The Pick: RW Josh
Ho-Sang, Windsor, OHL The buttoned-down, business-like Sharks have fallen
in the playoffs to more intense teams for several seasons in a row. There are
few more intense than Ho-Sang, who we like to call Josh Ho-Highlight. This kid
ricochets all over the offensive zone like a rabid pinball, and there is no one
in this draft with a greater ability to turn a routine zone entry into a highlight-reel
goal. The fact that Ho-Sang is always thinking goal leads to some glitzy plays,
but also some head-scratching turnovers which have falsely garnered him the
reputation among some pundits as a selfish player. Ho-Sang’s flash and dash and
off-the-charts offensive skill remind us of a young Pavel Bure, and he is the
kind of player San Jose could use to amp the electricity in their arena.
No comments:
Post a Comment