2014 NHL Draft Q & A [Dean Youngblood]

[Dean Youngblood]

Is this thread still active?

If so i'd like to know who do you think will be the better fantasy asset longterm, julius honka or ville pokka?

It's alive as long as people keep asking Qs

Good question and tough one. Gut says Honka but I like Ville Pokka's all-around game and see a bright NHL future. Pokka is probably the safer pick but Honka's your homerun pick.

Honka for me.

[Dean Youngblood]

Hey Dean, if Baertschi was available would he rank in the top 10 for this draft year and if so where? Also with all of the left winger prospect that Calgary has accumulated (Baertschi, Gaudreau, Poirier, Klimchuk) do you see one of them as a likely candidate to switch to RW.

I'd say probably outside of the top 10.

Not really in the place to comment about prospects switching positions. He's been in a bit of a lull in his development. Switching something up wouldn't hurt.

[franklin]

Thanks for the answer on my previous question Dean! Another quick one:

-Domi, Lazar and Wennberg are still available in my keeper points only league. Where do you rank them with the 2014 prospects?

Thanks!

[Wrist_Shot]

Love your insight Ross, thanks for doing this.

I've got the third overall pick in our FA draft this fall and I'm considering my options at this point.

Palat, T. Johnson and Kucherov are going to be draft options at my pick. Where would you rank them in comparison to the 2014 draft class (points only here).

Also, considering the top 3-4 centers in this draft class, do you foresee any of them making a move to the wing at the NHL level. I know it's tough to predict this, but do any of them have a history of playing wing or have any shortcomings that might make a move to the wing more likely. Our league counts FW, so drafting centers that stay there is important.

Keep up your solid work!

[donpaulo]

Which prospects do you feel have top pairing potential on the blueline outside AE and HF ?

[ccsitdown]

Hey Ross, thanks for doing this again this year, I got some good ideas for later drafting from your last year's thread. This year's question:

In one of my points-only keepers, I've got the 7th and 13th overall picks this year, and have just finished a complete re-tooling. I'm pretty happy with my young roster going forward, so anyone I draft will have to bump someone from the roster to make it through next year. Who would you target with those picks? This year's crop, and a few decent left-overs from previous years: Jurco, A Lee, Morin, JT Miller, Mark Stone, Poirier, Vey, Rakell, Samuelsson, Namestnikov, as well as Gelinas, De Haan, Morrissey, Clendening, Theodore and Severson on D. Do any of these kids make the 7th or 13th pick? Or who would you target out of this year's bunch?

Thanks again!

[mounD]

DY, I own the 2nd, 3rd, and 11th picks in the first round of my draft coming up on June 5th. The league is a standard multi-cat + FW, Hits, BLKs. I'm almost positive that one of the Sams will be drafted first overall, so I'll be selecting the other Sam with the 2nd pick. I'm just not sure where I should go from there. I really like Draisaitl, and in a league with these categories Centers are a bit more valuable; however, guys like Nylander and Ehlers are REALLY intriguing with their offensive upside.

Assuming no glaring deficiencies at any particular position, who would you select at #3 overall in my spot? Also, with respect to the 11th pick: do you think that's too high to pick a guy like Kevin Fiala? Or would Virtanen be a better selection if he were available? THANKS SO MUCH for doing this, DY. We all really appreciate this.

[sasquatch]

Thanks Dean,

Who are this years best previously undrafted prospects?

Kulda is one, who else?

[The Bottlenecker]

1. Sam Bennett
2. William Nylander
3. Nikolaj Ehlers
4. Leon Draisaitl
5. Sam Reinhart
6. Kasperi Kapanen
7. Michael Dal Colle

.

You would really rank Reinhart below Nylander, Ehlers and Draisaitl in a points only league?

[roenick27]

I was thinking the same thing. Reinhardt was the clear #1 until fairly recently but even still I was under the impression that 1 and 2 would be Reinhardt and Bennett , unless you really really needed a d man and even still I would think in fantasy circles you would trade down to take ekblad.
I guess I'm just shocked to see Reinhardt ranked 5th. Also a bit shocked to see nylander 2nd (but I think he's undervalued and it wasn't long ago it was him instrad of Bennett challenging Reinhardt for the top spot)

You would really rank Reinhart below Nylander, Ehlers and Draisaitl in a points only league?

[Jouko-Pouko]

I have the 2nd overall pick. Currently I'm only doing research on Bennett, Reinhart and Draisaitl. I want a combination of high NHL certainty and good upside, so I haven't even considered anyone else. We don't use PIM or FW, so most of the rankings don't really apply. Most of our skater stats are about offense (G, A, Pt, STP) but we also have two stats I'd like to hear from you regarding these players: hits and TOI-SH. How would you rank those three players keeping these stats in mind? And is there anyone else I should consider? (We also have +/- and blocked shots but you can't really predict +/- and I'm not expecting my forwards to block a lot of shots.)

Of course points are the most important thing but I think these three have similar upside, so I'm curious to hear if anyone has a clear advantage or disadvantage in hits or TOI-SH. And by clear advantage I don't mean 60 hits vs 80 hits. More like 20 hits vs 150 hits. Also, is Reinhart the most likely to play in the NHL this fall or do they all have a good chance to do so?

I posted a reply here earlier but I can't find it anymore. And I never got a reply. Weird.

[tgraveline]

Hey Dean,

Thanks as always. Not sure if you can answer this, but how would you rate college prospects that were recently signed to teams in comparisons to players in this draft? Guys like Folin, Carr, Bodie, Carpenter, who played well in NCAA have a few more years, but how would they rate.

[ultrawhiteness]

I was thinking the same thing. Reinhardt was the clear #1 until fairly recently but even still I was under the impression that 1 and 2 would be Reinhardt and Bennett , unless you really really needed a d man and even still I would think in fantasy circles you would trade down to take ekblad.
I guess I'm just shocked to see Reinhardt ranked 5th. Also a bit shocked to see nylander 2nd (but I think he's undervalued and it wasn't long ago it was him instrad of Bennett challenging Reinhardt for the top spot)

more than any other recent year, the top of this draft is wiiiiide open. i'd be suspicious of anyone who gave you the same order as someone else. their tends to be a lot of groupthink in the scouting community this time of year.

[metaldude26]

Who are you're "red flag" players? Guys who are highly rated but you want no part of?

[The Bottlenecker]

Who are you're "red flag" players? Guys who are highly rated but you want no part of?

Great question. +1