Best offensive d-men next draft

[MasterX57]

Except for Dahlin, who's better?
Merkley Boqvist or Hughes?
And what makes Merkley a risky pick? He actually led his team in points categorie which is great for a d-men.
Personally, I'd say Boqvist. (Maybe because he's more a flashy kind of player then the others.. )

[PenguinHunter]

I prefer Hughes here of the three.

[Jouko-Pouko]

I haven't been watching Merkley but based on comments from scouts I trust, he's pretty bad defensively and makes questionable decisions. He might even slip to the 2nd round in the draft but there's obviously lots of offensive potential if he can get his stuff together. Cam Robinson tweeted this just yesterday:

Today is just another example of how Ryan Merkley can dominate one side of the puck and be completely inept on the other end.

I love swinging on high upside but he?s trying very hard to fall out of my top 15 #2018NHLDraft

Hughes is the safe option at this point. He's further along in his development because he's older than the other two, and it wouldn't be a shock to see him in the NHL next season. I wouldn't be surprised if Boqvist ends up being the best of the bunch but for fantasy hockey purposes, there's no real reason to take that risk if Hughes is available.

[Bubba55]

I haven't been watching Merkley but based on comments from scouts I trust, he's pretty bad defensively and makes questionable decisions. He might even slip to the 2nd round in the draft but there's obviously lots of offensive potential if he can get his stuff together. Cam Robinson tweeted this just yesterday:


Hughes is the safe option at this point. He's further along in his development because he's older than the other two, and it wouldn't be a shock to see him in the NHL next season. I wouldn't be surprised if Boqvist ends up being the best of the bunch but for fantasy hockey purposes, there's no real reason to take that risk if Hughes is available.

I fully agree with this. Merkley could be in for a rough ride in the NHL until he can play all 200 ft and we've seen some excellent offensive defence prospects struggle with this. I like Hughes for sure, not sure if he can crack the squad right off the bat, but he has a shot and is the most NHL ready of the three. Boqvist will also have a learning curve here, likely less so than Merkley but more so than Hughes.

[Eskimo Brother]

Evan Bouchard is a name to keep an eye on too. Past Dahlin obviously, but I think he can push into Hughes/Boqvist territory.

[Fighting_Emu]

I think Hughes is the frontrunner right now but just like your last post- Ive been focusing a bit more on Boqvist as hes more likely in my own personal draft range- and again (mind the bias BUT)- Im getting a real good feeling about his upside. At this point if I had the Hughes pick Id be halfway tempted to see what I could get by trading down for Boqvist. Im guessing not a lot of other GMs would be interested in giving a lot of value for a swap like that but thats just where my head is at- lol! I was initially very high on Merkley and considered this basically a three horse race- but as other more knowledgable prospectors have noted- there have been a lot of red flags seeming to pop up. Id still have interst in him for the pure upside but likely scaling him back for draft purposes.

Lol- both times I came into these threads I felt like I had something to say and basically read that 2-3 other people had already written it- hahah! Hopefully it helps draw a consensus at least :P

[MasterX57]

Should I trade my 1st overall pick to get #3 + #4 and draft Svech/Zadina and Boqvist? (goals and assists only)
Thinking about that.. Also, I think I'll take a chance on Merkley later in the draft. Love his skating and quarterback skills.

[fantasy junkie]

Should I trade my 1st overall pick to get #3 + #4 and draft Svech/Zadina and Boqvist? (goals and assists only)
Thinking about that.. Also, I think I'll take a chance on Merkley later in the draft. Love his skating and quarterback skills.

No. Take Dahlin and enjoy his dominance.

[VincentVega]

Should I trade my 1st overall pick to get #3 + #4 and draft Svech/Zadina and Boqvist? (goals and assists only)
Thinking about that.. Also, I think I'll take a chance on Merkley later in the draft. Love his skating and quarterback skills.

Svech shouldn't be available at #3 and I'd rather have Dahlin than Zadina and Boqvist/Hughes.

[fungchen3]

Sans Dahlin, I'll go...

1. Hughes
2. Boqvist
3. Bouchard
4. Dobson
5. Smith
6. Merkley

Merkley has the best puck movement and offensive instincts but he's tiny and, at least right now, is a liability in his own end. He'll need the absolute perfect situation to come close to reaching his potential. I see a way more Ryan Murphy in his game than Ryan Ellis. I also see some Anthony DeAngelo in him, and not in a good way. These are loose comparisons, but what instinctively come to mind...

Hughes = Gostisbehere
Boqvist = Krug
Bouchard = Carlson
Dobson = Hamilton
Smith = Brodie
Merkley = (best case) Barrie / (worst case) Murphy

[Pierre6666]

I agree with Eskimo here. Bouchard is one to watch.. don’t need to take him ahead of others, but for some reason other prospects are getting more hype. He could be a good value pick depending where he lands (drafted).

[lucafen4]

IMO... Bouchard is going to be the better all-around real life Dman lugging 25min a night an QB'ing the PP - Doughty/Pietrangelo/Keith/Suter... whereas Hughes, Boqvist are going to be more of that offensive flair - Klingberg/Ghost. Bouchard will lose some offense based on Dzone starts and playing top lines every night. He's everything Van needs in a Dman -- right in that 6-8 draft hole

[Jouko-Pouko]

IMO... Bouchard is going to be the better all-around real life Dman lugging 25min a night an QB'ing the PP - Doughty/Pietrangelo/Keith/Suter... whereas Hughes, Boqvist are going to be more of that offensive flair - Klingberg/Ghost. Bouchard will lose some offense based on Dzone starts and playing top lines every night. He's everything Van needs in a Dman -- right in that 6-8 draft hole

You do realize that Bouchard is perhaps the worst defensive defenseman in the projected top 10? Well, I guess Boqvist is really close and it could go either way but Hughes, Dobson and Smith are better defensive players than Bouchard. Most project him to become a middle-pair defenseman with top PP unit duties, and I can't disagree with that.

(Merkley is not in the projected top 10 which is why I didn't mention him. He's clearly much worse than Bouchard.)

[lucafen4]

You do realize that Bouchard is perhaps the worst defensive defenseman in the projected top 10? Well, I guess Boqvist is really close and it could go either way but Hughes, Dobson and Smith are better defensive players than Bouchard. Most project him to become a middle-pair defenseman with top PP unit duties, and I can't disagree with that.

(Merkley is not in the projected top 10 which is why I didn't mention him. He's clearly much worse than Bouchard.)

how much is Bouchard and how much is that liquidated Knights team?

[Jouko-Pouko]

how much is Bouchard and how much is that liquidated Knights team?

Brock Otten from OHL Prospects is perhaps the best source of information when it comes to OHL players, and here's what he said in his Midseason Top 50.

3. Evan Bouchard - Defense - London Knights
Bouchard makes a jump on my list for midseason, bumping Ryan Merkley out of the top defender available spot. I've always been a fan of Bouchard (see this list from March 2016), but I just didn't think his potential for the NHL level was quite as high as others (it can often be tough to read late birthdays in that regard). However, he's a made a believer out of me that he could be a quality second pairing guy who sees top powerplay unit responsibilities. Look, not only is this guy a contender to lead the OHL in defensive scoring, but he leads the London Knights in shots (by a wide margin) and could end up leading the Knights in scoring this year. You can't scoff at those achievements. Bouchard sees the ice very well and he's really cleaned up his game at both ends. Makes a lot of smart pinches to keep pucks in, and knows when to jump up in the play. This vision (in addition to possessing a great shot) makes him an elite powerplay QB. Defensively, I don't think he'll ever be a dominant two-way player, but he's smart enough and big enough to play big time minutes at the next level. Has been playing over half the game for London of late. I think that maybe the one thing that concerns me a bit is the lack of progression we've seen in his skating ability. Bouchard is very mobile and he's far from a poor skater. But I do wonder if his straight ahead explosiveness isn't elite enough for him to be a top notch offensive contributor 5 on 5 in the NHL. Is he Alex Goligoski, or Cody Ceci/Cody Franson?

(When I said that "most project (Bouchard) to become a middle-pair defenseman with top PP unit duties", I didn't take it from Brock's article as I didn't even remember he also said the same thing.)