Re 2013 Draft

[BC Bandits]

I know we are a year away but I'm checking to see if there is anyone in the 2013 draft better then any of theses three Yakupov, Galchenyuk and Grigorenko.

Thanks

[smoothfun]

2013 - 2014 - Nathan McKinnon #1 ?
That's the guess for now but , I'm sure we'll
hear of a few more names in the near future.

[bigbabybuda]

I much prefer Sean Monahan and Nathan MacKinnon to any of them outside of Yakupov. I think Mackinnon and Yakupov is a toss up with me prefering Mackinnon.

In terms of D I prefer Seth Jones to any Dman in this years draft except for Dumba

[BC Bandits]

Thanks for your help. I have the first over all pick in this year draft and i'm going to draft Yakupov.

I was going to trade down the pick for the 2nd over all pick and his 1st round pick in next years draft but Yakupov in Edmonton is going to be great in a couple years.

[4horsemen]

I've had the pleasure to watch MacKinnon this year with the Halifax Mooseheads and I can tell you one thing for sure, this kid is going to be/already is a BEAST!!! He lights it up every single time he touches the ice but what really sets him apart in my view is his all-round game. He is a pit-bull in the corners, never giving up on a battle and emerging with the puck more often than not. He'll rough it up anytime the need arises. He's absolutely tenacious on the back-check and never ever quits on a play. Don't even get me started on his offensive game (check it out for yourself on youtube). Halifax is a solid team this year but they don't really have a great secondary option to MacKinnon so you have to truly marvel at what this 16 year old has done in his rookie season. Yeah, Frk is alright but he was missing for most of the year and wasn't great on his return, in my opinion he's highly overrated and on many occasions he's hurt the team more than he's helped it by taking absolutely stupid, selfish penalties and not knowing when to dish the puck.

Now on to Grigorenko......

The ongoing series against the Grigorenko's Remparts has given me a good chance to evaluate these two head to head and based on my limited viewings this is a no brainer decision for MacKinnon.......and he's 16 months younger than the big Russian!!!!

I've read the knocks on Grigorenko and based on what I've observed they aren't unfounded. He didn't seem to battle hard every shift, never got involved physically, only really seemed to have any jump once the puck was in the offensive zone and wouldn't get his hands dirty even though this is a playoff series against a competitive opponent (if you can't get up for that then what can you get up for?). As an NHL GM these traits would have me very concerned but the real question here is how should a fantasy GM treat him. Well I think it really depends on what sort of league you're playing in, he will not help you if you are interested in peripheral stats like Hits, Blocks and PIM. He really looks like a guy who's NHL fortunes will be dictated by his situation not the other way around as I see with MacKinnon. In the right system with the right players Grigorenko could shine offensively and be a jugernault on the PP but in the wrong system I see him as the type of guy who could have very disappointing years and be a very frustrating player to own (think Kovalev).

Now I don't know if the guy is playing through an injury or something but he was simply invisible for long stretches of time. In fact some of the only times I've observed what all the hype was about was on the PP where he was dominant. He has sweet hands and with his big body and long reach he can contain the puck at will dishing some beautiful, crisp passes.

As for MacKinnon I can't help but pull the obvious comparison.....the kid reminds me of Crosby (only the lite version). It's not hard to see who he's modelled his game after and that's a huge compliment. He's the sort of player franchises would LOVE to build around, he's the complete package and will make everyone around him a better player. NHL GM's will be drooling over him and fantasy GM's should do the same.

I can't comment on Galchenyuk because I've never seen him play but from what I've heard he's not in the same class as MacKinnon. The only real comparable here is Yakupov.

So Yakupov vs MacKinnon.....this should be a thread onto itself but when faced with a difficult choice like this I take the Canadian player 100% of the time.