Spot #5!

[Hollywood]

I have the 5th spot in a draft that takes place on July 1st. The league is points-only. I won the league this year and I have a solid and deep team. I won't be drafting for the short-term. I really want the best guy long-term here.

I know that Drouin, Jones and Mac will be gone.

That leaves me with one of Barkov, Lindholm, Monahan or Nichu... One of these four will be gone at 4th and I will have to make a choice quickly...

To me,Monahan seems like a guy I would draft in real life, but not so high in a fantasy world.

Barkov would be great, but I really think that he will be gone at 4th.

That leaves me with Lindholm and Nichu. The way I see it, I will be picking between a risky Russian and a much safer option. I think that Nichu's ceiling is higher, but is it worth it?

I would like your thoughts on this, you Dobberites!

Thanks in advance!

[Spleentastic]

In terms of pure ability/potential, I think Nichushkin is the better prospect. With that in mind:

Is the draft before or after the NHL draft? I ask this because I find that with Russian prospects, their draft position generally reflects how heavily the KHL factor weighs in. You can bet the lottery teams will be kicking the tires rather heavily on Nichushkin's intentions, and if he goes in the top 5 or 6, I think it's fair to say that it's quite likely he's told teams that the NHL is his ultimate goal.

If it's before the draft, then the decision is less clear, and you could make arguments either way. I'd probably base my decision on my current stable of prospects - if I had some upper-tier talent there with a degree of certainty (e.g. Strome/Baertschi/Toffoli), I'd gamble on Nichushkin. But if it was pretty bare and my best prospect was, say, Ryan Spooner or Ty Rattie, then I'd take the safer option in Lindholm to ensure a somewhat productive farm system.

[dodospice]

Of those 4 I would rank them like this:

1- Aleksander Barkov
2- Valeri Nichushkin
3- Sean Monahan
4- Elias Lindholm

People like to look and say Monahan doesn't have high end offensive talent but by watching him play he most certainly does. I like Monahan more then I do Lindholm as well

[Hollywood]

The draft is on 1st of July so we'll know where every prospects will end up. That will come into play also. I don't necessarily want to own a Predator's prospect.

[Mr. Guru]

I would rank them like this:

1- Aleksander Barkov
2- Elias Lindholm

3- Sean Monahan
4- Hunter Shinkaruk
5 - Max Domi
6 - Valeri Nichushkin

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

I'd be targeting Lindholm at 5. He's a much safer pick than Nichuskin which is a bonus, but he's also just a great pick on his own. He's very comparable to Backstrom. If Barkov is there at 5 he's my choice but chances are you're correct and he'll go at 4.