Borgstrom/Kyrou/Necas/Vilardi

[rd69]

I currently have Borgstrom, Kyrou and Vilardi. I've been obsessing over adding Necas but I've had a difficult time justifying dropping one of these other 3.

I could technically add all 4, but, my team was an expansion team as of last year and is full of young players. I'm not wanting to dump any of my moderately established young veterans for another prospect.

How I see them;

Borgstrom: oldest of the 4, which may be a good thing considering my youth. His size and skill, as well as NCAA domination seem to point to him being a sure thing. Only downsides are how poorly he was used in his brief stint this year (3rd or 4th line centre, awful zone starts and no PP time). I worry he'll be misused as a 3C next year behind Trocheck and Barkov.

Kyrou: I think he has the high end speed and hands that you need in today's game. He's a RW (a position I'm lacking and more difficult than C to obtain). I thought he'd have a shot at possibly top 6 or 9 given the Blues lack of scoring depth, and maybe PP2, but I've seen Blues fan say he's destined for the AHL next season. And his disappearance in the OHL playoffs worries me.

Necas: similar skillset as Kyrou, but better (faster, better hands, and appears more consistent). Carolina is obviously lacking offense and centres. Unlikely they play him as a 1C next season but I'd think 2C seems like a possibility. Plus, playing with Aho, Teravainen and Svechnikov/Zadina, gives him weapons. The only reason I haven't swapped him for Kyrou is the C vs RW issue. With that said, there is a chance he plays some wing and gets dual position eligibility.

Vilardi: huge, great hands and seems to be very physically and mentally mature for his age. He's also the youngest of the bunch. Was considered a top 3-5 pick for good portions of last season, so he's highly regarded. And he was flat out dominant in the OHL this season as a very young draft +1 player. My worries are the speed concerns (not many guys succeed anymore with speed concerns), and where does he fit in LA's immediate lineup? Similar to Borgstrom, he has a chance of being misused as a 3C. My hope is that he'll play some wing on the second line or even push Carter to his wing like he played in the past with Richards.

Anyway, sorry for the long read. I just wanted to get some opinions of some other hockey heads as I'm struggling.

Who would you guys keep? Who plays next season in the NHL?

Thanks in advance!

[Jouko-Pouko]

If your team is so young, why do you care about next season? Think long-term if you're rebuilding.

Kyrou is the one I'd be willing to drop but there might someone else worth dropping from your pro roster.

[STONE.]

Very tough call on these -- bit of a guessing game at this point.
I'm more interested in the "moderately-established young veterans" you have that might be worth considering.

If I had to rank these four, I think I'd put them:

Necas - seems Carolina (and the new owner) LOVE this guy.
Borgstrom - got into games in the NHL already and I've read/heard people gush over his possible upside
Kyrou - obviously has racked up some points already in Jrs, but was a 2nd rounder for a reason. AHL season will be telling
Vilardi - could be safer than those above, but could also settle in as least productive overall (middle six)

[rd69]

Thanks for the responses! You both bring up valid points and questions.

To Jouko-Pouko;

I don't have a very good response to that lol, other than maybe my competitiveness and small hope for prize money (the league has a decent pay out). More so the competitiveness, I think. I'd say the limits we have on minor players is a factor, as well. We technically can move minor players to the bench, but I wouldn't wanna have a bench full of prospects.

To STONE.;

Your thoughts on each guy are excellent. Your concern with Vilardi is spot on with my thoughts. His dominance in junior makes me fear dropping him, but something about his game makes me worry it won't translate completely, and I'll be stuck with a middle sixer.

Valid point on Kyrou too (second round pick). I'll admit that my hanging onto him is almost exclusively his position (I need RW), and being Canadian, since he was our best forward at the World Juniors (silly, I know).

I've now added my full roster in my signature. I was considering dumping Guenztel, but his current playoff run is making me think twice. Keeping in mind that I have to dump at least 3 players for my entry draft (I have 4 picks, including 3 first rounders), who would you guys consider letting loose?

I'm already considering dropping Spooner (Rangers are going young and he might be odd man out), Zibanejad (always injured and my overabundance of C), and Slavin (likely not getting PP minutes again next season), or Buchnevich. Of those, I think I'd want to keep Buchnevich the most. I need his position and I truly believe in his ability. I wanna see him play without AV as his coach.

Two more questions for you guys; do you think Guentzel can have a bounce back regular season next year or is he just a guy who's built to excel in the postseason? And of the 3 Cs I originally asked about, who is most likely to get time on the W?

[rd69]

Huh, for some reason, my signature didn't show up, but I can see in My Profile. Never mind, lol, it posted now.

[lucafen4]

what Vilardi did after returning from injury can't be ignored.. this kids a frickin' beast. if he had a full season under his belt, man there'd be a lot more hype around him - a lot more. it's not like LA is stockpiled in their top 6. I can fully see him making the jump and matching Toffoli's production as a rookie. I would not drop him. I dangled him at my deadline last year in several offers, no one was interested. Probably for the best, it'll turn out to be the best move I never made.

[CaptainCally]

In my opinion this is a good looking young team even in a 10 team league. You have great forwards and goaltending, but I think you need some upgrade at D. I would package Kyrou with one of Lindholm/Dermott/Slavin to get some (small) upgrade at D. After that you can pick up Necas for free. If this is not possible, then I'd swap Kyrou for Necas.

[STONE.]

Definitely wouldn't drop Guentzel -- sophomore slump might be the reason for the rough go. The potential is too good to let go for nothing. Spooner would be an easier drop for me, but position does matter.

Looking to trade to upgrade D is a solid suggestion.
What is GHHT? (Maybe this is a dumb question, but I haven't used that).

Oh, and welcome to the boards. Rep for firing out a thread!

[MasterX57]

I'm already considering dropping Spooner (Rangers are going young and he might be odd man out), Zibanejad (always injured and my overabundance of C), and Slavin (likely not getting PP minutes again next season), or Buchnevich. Of those, I think I'd want to keep Buchnevich the most. I need his position and I truly believe in his ability. I wanna see him play without AV as his coach.

Two more questions for you guys; do you think Guentzel can have a bounce back regular season next year or is he just a guy who's built to excel in the postseason? And of the 3 Cs I originally asked about, who is most likely to get time on the W?[/QUOTE]

Personally, I'd drop Slavin. Too much great d-mens on his team to give him pp time (Faulk, Hanifin and eventually Bean). Go for Necas (that's what I'd do since I really like this guy). I'd like to see Carolina take Zadina with the 2nd pick so they would get Necas and Zadina to play together. Seemed to be a great chemistry between these two at world juniors.
Guentzel sure is a 60 pts player IF he plays with Crosby, which will probably be the case since they have a lot of success in the playoffs.
I think Borgstrom may be the one playing as a winger if Tippett isn't NHL-ready by next season since Florida has two open spots on their top-6 (Sceviour and Bjugstad are covering for the moment).
Sorry if sometime I'm not clear when I'm writing, English isn't my first language.

[lucafen4]

Slavin is def. droppable - very limited offensive value. yes Guentzel can bounce back... 60-ish pts would be my expectation. With this post season, I suspect they'll look to keep Guentzel with Crosby a bit more often

[rd69]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

To lucafen4;

Agreed on Vilardi. While I worry he'll be a middle sixer, it is really hard to ignore just how dominant he was. It seems everyone is in agreement that I should keep Guentzel. I keep the same hope that this year was simply a down year and the best is yet to come.

To CaptainCally;

Thank you! I'm excited for the future too. I agree on my defense. It's quite weak. Too many young players/question marks. I like your idea of packaging two players for one to get the most value. I think it might be difficult since guys in my league are mostly win now and don't value prospects all that much (hence why I've been hoarding them). But I'm still gonna try that.

To STONE.;

It stands for Gordie How Hat Trick. It's definitely a silly, unnecessary stat but they're rare enough that they don't really matter. Can't say why the league runner decided to add that, lol. Thank you! Glad to be here. I had been surfing for some time but figured I'd start contributing.

To MasterX57;

No worries man! Your English is strong, and very easy to understand. I'm kind of hoping the same! Seems Necas and Zadina on the same NHL team makes sense. They were quite impressive at the World Juniors. Agreed on Borgstrom. I think he needs to begin as a top 6 winger since he's an offensive dynamo. Playing 3C really isn't what he needs. I'm gonna keep him for sure.

It seems if I can't swing a 2 for 1 trade to open space for Necas, I'm leaning towards dropping Kyrou for Necas.

[lucafen4]

I blame sophomore slump

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

To lucafen4;

Agreed on Vilardi. While I worry he'll be a middle sixer, it is really hard to ignore just how dominant he was. It seems everyone is in agreement that I should keep Guentzel. I keep the same hope that this year was simply a down year and the best is yet to come.

To CaptainCally;

Thank you! I'm excited for the future too. I agree on my defense. It's quite weak. Too many young players/question marks. I like your idea of packaging two players for one to get the most value. I think it might be difficult since guys in my league are mostly win now and don't value prospects all that much (hence why I've been hoarding them). But I'm still gonna try that.

To STONE.;

It stands for Gordie How Hat Trick. It's definitely a silly, unnecessary stat but they're rare enough that they don't really matter. Can't say why the league runner decided to add that, lol. Thank you! Glad to be here. I had been surfing for some time but figured I'd start contributing.

To MasterX57;

No worries man! Your English is strong, and very easy to understand. I'm kind of hoping the same! Seems Necas and Zadina on the same NHL team makes sense. They were quite impressive at the World Juniors. Agreed on Borgstrom. I think he needs to begin as a top 6 winger since he's an offensive dynamo. Playing 3C really isn't what he needs. I'm gonna keep him for sure.

It seems if I can't swing a 2 for 1 trade to open space for Necas, I'm leaning towards dropping Kyrou for Necas.

[Jouko-Pouko]

Is Hampus Lindholm really a strong player on your league? I feel like he's in the same boat with Slavin. Maybe you could trade him for a pick or add another player like Zibanejad for 2-for-1 deal. Landeskog is another guy I'd be willing to trade in your league.

Or maybe use your depth at center and see if you could land Erik Karlsson or Victor Hedman by dangling Barzal and maybe Mittelstadt as well.

You have a huge advantage over your league if players like Necas are available and they're not adding them, so you can afford to overpay on 2-for-1 deals because you can get a very good player for free as a replacement.

[rd69]

He actually is a quality player in my league. He was my 2nd best defenseman this past season on average (behind Rielly). I guess it's due to his positive +/- and nice goal totals. I do agree though, he does seem to have a bit of Slavin to him; a guy you'd kill to have in real life but is expendable in fantasy formats (plays PP2, etc.). I'm going to see if I can package him and someone else for a minor defensive upgrade, like you guys suggested.


No doubt! The only thing that makes being an expansion (without much being given to us) okay, is that I've been able to hoard many prospects due to many of the guys being in win now mode in my league. It is a bit of a gift and a curse though, since I can't get anyone to make a trade for prospects, they all want established players but I'm sure it'll bode well in the future.

[fungchen3]

rd,

I love Necas. I think his offensive upside is the best out of all 4 youngters you listed.
I would definitely add him, probably at the expense of Slavin as well.
Go top-heavy, your squad is young. Necas is a very talented prospect - big fan of his game. And the Canes will improve with Svechnikov or Zadina.
Good point on the Necas-Zadina chemistry as well - I was in Buffalo and watched these kids work magic together.