now that we have two 2nds... (2012 NHL Entry Draft Thread)
 

Who would you like to see us grab?

Here's some names that I'd love to grab with either pick:

Henrik Samuelsson
Tanner Pearson
Lukas Sutter
Dalton Thrower

Time to start reading my Red Line Report.....

Michael Matheson and Stefan Matteau another two that I like.

Names that seem very Poile- Tom Wilson(may be gone by that point). Phil DiGiuseppe.

Henrik Samuelsson or Tanner Pearson

Can we turn this into the "Official Draft Thread" seeing how it's only a week away?

Martin Frk could be a good power forward available. Was supposed to go top 15, got a concussion, and fell a rock. Not great skating, but has a big shot and is tough. Risk/Reward.

Sadly, if we do get him, we'd have to buy him a vowel.

I want Dalton Thrower based on name alone.

If Pearson is still on the board at 37, I have to think that's a no-brainer.

I'm really impressed with how Pearson stepped up his game this year. Obviously the question is, is this year a one-year thing or not? But the two important things are there- the work rate/determination and the hockey sense. He'd fit in fine here and would look good across from Hornqvist or Watson.

He's also not small and moves pretty well. He looked pretty solid to me at the WJCs. He might need a year or two in the AHL, but he shows a ton of promise.

At 51, there are a lot of options, but my favorite is Nick Ebert. That kid has "Ryan Suter" written all over him. Tanner Richard is a speedy Swiss center at Guelph. Brady Vail is a big, versatile American winger (is there any other kind?) at Windsor.

This draft looks pretty heavy on defensemen in the middle rounds. I'm interested to see what we do. We need at least one goalie and we're a little sparse on forwards. As usual at the draft table, I'm expecting the unexpected.

I would be shocked if we actually picked with both of these 2nds. I see us trading up or using at least one to get a roster player.

The more I look at this draft, the more I think about it the more I view this draft as a Nail and... everyone else kind of draft. Everyone has a different order from 2nd down. One guy who is fantastic is Reinhart. I can't believe how far down some people have him.

You are correct though, later in the 1st and into the 2nd the draft gets pretty defensively heavy. The flashy forwards near the top are intriguing. Perhaps Poile will try to do an Ellis for a top pick swap like he did last year. I certainly wouldn't mind that.

Having said that, Pearson looks to be a steal as there really isn't any weakness to his game, but he needs polishing in all areas.

I could see Ebert or Thrower being options.

We need to restock our defensemen. The cupboard is looking pretty weak (for us) with all of our graduations. Plus we need another goalie. I only expect us to draft about 3 or 4 forwards, mostly in later rounds. Don't see us trading up either, as it's likely way too expensive to move into the first round from where we're at. I wouldn't be surprised if we even swapped some later round picks for next year's draft.

While I wouldn't mind if we drafted defense with one or both of our 2nds, I would hate to draft a goalie right now. We just drafted Hellberg with a 2nd last year, and with Rinne signed for 7 years I'd rather focus on forwards.

When you have the best goalie coach in the world, you have to keep feeding him prospects to work with. Otherwise you are just wasting his talents. If you draft now, by the time a goalie is ready Rinne is nearing the end of his contract. I don't think drafting one is dire, but if there is a late gem I wouldn't hesitate to take him.

I'm not saying we shouldn't spend a 6-7th rounder on one, but if we waste the 37th or 50th pick on one it'd be a waste as we just spent a mid thirties pick on one last year.

I do NOT want a 2nd round goalie, but I hope we snag one in rounds 4-7, preferably a 6'5 or 6'6 Scandinavian.

that we can turn into two second round picks in a few seasons :handclap:

who do you guys think at #37-#50 would be available that would be strictly a goal scorer? center possibly, decent all around... but a goal scorer.. you get what im going for lol

id like to spend majority of the picks on offense.. but if poile feels a shea weber in the making at #37 ... then take him

honestly, im not too educated on prospects past the top 5-10

I'm pretty much feeling this too, but about 15-20. It blows my mind how much people know about so many prospects.

I'll do a ton of research once we get our guys.

I was just having this conversation with a friend this morning. Wouldn't be surprised to see the Preds draft a goalie this year, but it'll likely be mid to late rounds due to drafting Hellberg and having Smith under team control for a couple more years.

Last year they NEEDED a goalie. This year they need goaltending depth...

Makes sense, defensively the Preds could use depth and top end talent (At least with the defensemen)

As usual, forward wise, Preds have depth no top end but that's not expected.

I just wonder IF the Preds can get ANYTHING for Radulov to add to the draft.

I agree we need to restock defenseman right now, but with Josi, Ellis, Blum, and Ekholm (assuming they all stay obviously), there are 4 roster defenseman for the next decade. Klein is hardly old. If Weber stays around, him, Klein, and the 4 rookies makes our defense for a long time. Roussell and Co. would be nice additions if they pan out, but we don't desperately need D right now. Should we take a few, especially in a D heavy draft? Absolutely. Do I think we should pick a forward first? Absolutely. We have Watson, Latta, Smith, Budish and Beck, but, outside of Smith, I don't see anyone on the same level as Josi, Blum, or Ellis.

I vote take a forward for sure with one of our 2nds, take BPA with the other one, then about 50/50 forwards and D with a goalie thrown in for the rest of the draft.

with Rinne signed for 7 years I think it would be borderline insanity to use anything higher than a 4th rounder on a goalie in the next 3-4 years. As long as Rinne holds strong, if the guys in the pipeline don't pan out as backups there are always reasonable UFAs...