I wouldn’t touch Kaliyev in the 1st round. He’s not very dynamic and has bust written all over him.

Kakko was better than Hughes in the WJCs, but still I think Hughes will have an advantage, being a center and all.

I'm curious as to how you justify Byram being ranked below Broberg and Robertson.

If Hughes can translate his game as a center to the NHL, he's the undisputed #1. If scouts get cold feet and think he'll play more as a winger, I agree with him going 2nd. Cozens > Dach I'm starting to agree with, and I actually expect Dach to slide a bit due to his injury. I'm not sure how you're ranking either of them below Podkolzin though.

You are sleeping on Boldy, but having Kaliyev ranked higher than 15 makes up for it.

Matthew Robertson won't go higher than 20th btw.

Is this strictly because of the Galchenyuk comparison he's bringing on? Above-average skating and a g/gp consistently higher than what Tippett had in his first 2 seasons of junior suggest he's a 1st Round Pick.

fwiw, I have him in the 11-17 range depending on who picks where.

Some team will take him 10-20, but I wouldn’t. He’s not a driver of a line and his only real + tool is his shot. There’s a chance he’ll score 30 in the NHL but his OHL numbers don’t sway me at all and I don’t think they’ll transfer to the NHL.

I'd be more comfortable agreeing with this if his s% was abnormally higher than it was in his rookie season, but it's only a difference of 2.3%. Having his primary assists jump up from his rookie year should help sway some of the belief that he's strictly a finisher. Having more of his goals come from outside of the slot is encouraging too.

If you're a team like Edmonton, Carolina, Anaheim, or Dallas, is his ability to drive a line all that significant? From the perspective of Arizona, Minnesota, or NYR, I could understand valuing it a bit more. If you're ranking players strictly by skillset and how likely it is to translate to the NHL, I can see where you're coming from. But if you're a team starved for scoring that already has players that drive - and you're in the market for a pure finisher - I don't think Kaliyev is the worst pick out there. I'd be more hesitant on a guy like Lavoie (combo of size and age compared to rest of QMJHL) or Turcotte (ranking based purely on what he's achieved in the past, has barely played this season) than I would be regarding Kaliyev.

http://prospect-stats.com/player/27384# if you want to look at some of the data yourself.

You clearly know what your talking about so I’ll trust your opinion, but he’s just the type of player that I really don’t like. It’s kind of personal preference/bias, but I also look at high-end shooters like Tolvanen and Bellows who have struggled to adapt to pro-hockey and see the same thing with Kaliyev. That being said, there’s also players like Debrincat who aren’t super dynamic, but light-up the league. From a Blues perspective, he’s a guy that they’d never draft (I don’t think) but he could definitely help a bunch of other teams.

Yeah I wouldn't be worried about any winger not named Kappo if I'm STL management, and that'll require a lottery win regardless. My best guess is one of Byram/Broberg are the main target if there is no lottery win for STL, with Boldy or Zegras being the ideal consolation prizes.

I want Buffalo to pick if we don’t win the lottery. This draft is okay, but next year is incredible. I’d go Podkolzin anywhere after 3 and Broberg in the 8-10 range. If we get another 1st rounder I would absolutely love to pick Moritz Seider. He’ll inevitably slip because he plays in the DEL, but he’s a stud. I think he could be the best defenseman from this draft.

Depends what the draft order is, I think Colorado would want another Center, on their RW Rantanen is elite and Compher is maturing well and having a good season too

If StL does that (let Buffalo take the 2019 pick) though they run the risk of being competent next year and picking super low in the first, the reverse Ottawa

I’d way rather have that than he Ottawa situation. Plus, there’s no way that happens. If the Blues are in the top 10 they’ll make a pick, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they work their way out of the top 10 (they’re currently 9th in point percentage)

I don’t see Broberg going this high at all. He’s not very dynamic and a pretty poor puck handler. I could see him late 1st round. Kalieyev has good production but is a poor skater and very very lazy.

As long as 1 or 2 goes to Detroit I'm happy