Skeji is reported to be among the upper tier skating dmen avaliable in the draft, hence his rise in the rankings despite limited offense. His uncle Barry Karn is a professional skating coach with the Flames, Lightning, and Blues. Karn is also reported to have done work with the Blackhawks in the past.
Reports are Skeji is an allaround dman but not standing out at any one thing, maybe except for skating. I like his size and reports about his skating.
Interesting prospect. May go anywhere from lower end of the first thru mid second.
Ludvig Bystrom should be available between #22 and #30
Pontus Aberg will be Top20 Pick, but if we have a chance at him, he would be a good pickup. Djurgarden has some good prospects in the last year with Krüger, Zibanejad and Aberg
Ludvig Bystrom should be available between #22 and #30
Pontus Aberg will be Top20 Pick, but if we have a chance at him, he would be a good pickup. Djurgarden has some good prospects in the last year with Krüger, Zibanejad and Aberg
Article posted today. Lol, premonition? Bystrom is on my short list for dmen if hes avaliable.
Louis Byström dream about Chicago Blackhawks
Which NHL team do you hope to play for?
- Chicago Blackhawks. They have nice dude, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews.
I'd consider drafting Andrei Vasilevski even with the Russian factor. He is impressive and could be a top 10 goalie for a lot of years.
I also like Slater Koekkoek-D, Pontus Aberg-W, Brady Skjei-D, Tomas Hertl-F, Nicolas Kerdiles-W, Colton Sissons-W, Zemgus Girgenson-F, Damon Severson-D
Some later round picks I'd be interested in: Adam Pelech-D, Nick Ebert-D(if falls to 3rd round), Gianluca Curcuruto-D, Jon Gillies-G, Travis Brown-D, Jared Rutledge-G, Logan Nelson-C, Emil Lundberg-W, Joonas Korpisalo-G
As far as drafting a goalie #1, its really tempting especially this year.
Id prefer if Bowman could pull a Tallon and get a top euro goalie thus avoiding costing a pick and/or player/s by trade. Goalies are a complete crap shoot and could take 6+ years for development so there maybe no help in the immediate future but that just my opinion.
Id prefer if Bowman could pull a Tallon and get a top euro goalie thus avoiding costing a pick and/or player/s by trade. Goalies are a complete crap shoot and could take 6+ years for development so there maybe no help in the immediate future but that just my opinion.
Fasth is a FA so we could just sign him. Like Salak, best goalie in Sweden with a ceiling like Gustavsson in TOR. Very similar goalies all three, both regarding playing styles and numbers.
Fasth could be something for next season, couldn't hurt to try and sign him.
I think drafting a goalie is more probable this year than any year. We're kind of in a rut goaltending wise and we need a good goalie who is going to be ready in 3 years, maybe 4. Unless Crow's goaltending improves.
I think drafting a goalie is more probable this year than any year. We're kind of in a rut goaltending wise and we need a good goalie who is going to be ready in 3 years, maybe 4. Unless Crow's goaltending improves.
I completely agree. It's time to draft a true goalie of the future. I wouldn't say any of our current goalie prospects are bad, but I also wouldn't call any of them "the future" either.
The good thing for this year is that, unlike the past few years where it's been slim pickings after the first one or two goalies off the board, this year there are four or five goalies that all look like solid choices.
I should say though, I really like hearing about Mattsson. On the scale of draft bust to draft steal, I'd say he's right now at the "petty theft" level, which can only be a good sign. I don't know about his future as a pro, but any time the very last pick of the draft makes any kind of significant impact in juniors -- which Mattsson has -- it's a good thing.
Mattsson was a good pick. We used a 2nd on Simpson as well. Caruth is doing well, could be a future backup. And of course we still have Salak. We don't need to draft a goalie, especially with a high pick. The team should be focused on defense in the early rounds and maybe another center as well.
I didn't actually include Salak when I thought about those goalies. I should've clarified "goalies in juniors", because I really like Giraffe.
I have pretty much zero confidence in Simpson. You can tell me about how he'd perform with a better team in front of him, and it's a valid argument, but considering how our own team plays defense, why should I believe he'd do much better here? He's also one of the worst shootout goalies in the Dub, suggesting he doesn't do so well one-on-one. What will he do when we cough up the puck at the blue line 20 times a game?
I like the way Carruth plays a lot more than Simpson. If he gets better at playing his style (fiery, kid loves to shove around opponents in his crease), I think he'd be exactly what the doctor ordered for the Blackhawks in net. But consistency is a real killer for him, and in my opinion, that's the most important trait a goalie can have.
Mattsson has cooled down a bit since October, but he's still been impressing all the right people since he got drafted. And considering he's still an OHL rookie, I'd say he's been doing pretty well in Sudbury so far.
I feel "meh" about most of our goalies, which is why I want to draft one first, crap shoot or not. But I doubt I'd complain if we got a great defenseman instead, because our farm could be doing better there too.
Mattsson was a good pick. We used a 2nd on Simpson as well. Caruth is doing well, could be a future backup. And of course we still have Salak. We don't need to draft a goalie, especially with a high pick. The team should be focused on defense in the early rounds and maybe another center as well.
What?
On defense, we have Dylan Olsen, Stephen Johns, Adam Clendening, Justin Holl and Klas Dahlbeck.. all battling for, basically, one spot.
At centre we have Marcus Kruger, Brandon Pirri, Mark McNeill, Kevin Hayes, Phillip Danault and Joakim Nordstrom..
In the goaltending pipeline, we have Kent Simpson, Johan Mattsson and Mac Carruth.. none of those guys look like, at this point, to have No. 1 potential. We need a high-end goaltender or a more skilled RW in the first round.
Malcom Subban or Oscar Dansk, those are the two I'm more interested in and honestly, I know this draft was pegged as an "elite" draft, I don't see it.. especially not where the Hawks will be picking. Take a goalie.
