DBTB \u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, another Draft is long gone and in the books.\u00a0 And given the atrocious presentation of the \u201cremote Draft\u201d and the calls for it to return to its roots, I\u2019m hoping this year\u2019s Draft was merely a one-off.\u00a0 Not that the original is this wonderful spectacle like the NFL Draft, but it was better than that fiasco I just witnessed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anyways, as everyone here knows at this point, the Sabres selected big right-shot defender Radim Mrtka with their first choice.\u00a0 And I would argue it was a good one, but not for those inclined to short-term gratification.\u00a0 Mrtka will take time.\u00a0 He\u2019s huge (6\u20196 1\/2) and only came over to North America for the first time at mid-season last year.\u00a0 He\u2019s got a lot to learn on and off the ice.\u00a0 I\u2019m guessing he\u2019s on the same timeline as someone like Nikita Novikov, maybe a half-year quicker just due to his raw (but impressive) talent.\u00a0 Defensemen always take a little longer to figure it out, especially big kids.\u00a0 So let me be clear: this is nothing to panic about.\u00a0 The Sabres have a wealth of young D-Men\u2026Dahlin (still young!), Power, Byram, even Kesselring\u2026plus a treasure trove of young defenders in the pipeline.\u00a0 So they can afford to be extra patient with Mrtka.\u00a0 If he turns out the way I expect him to, we\u2019ll all be pleased with the choice in about 5 years. \u00a0 And the Sabres draft, to my eyes, was pretty solid.\u00a0 Nothing spectacular, but in terms of value, I think they got some really good quality with everyone from Mrtka to Meloche to Bedkowski to Schultz.\u00a0 Hardly a reach in the bunch.\u00a0 So a good depth builder for BFLO.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
You might be wondering at this point\u2026who cares what this guy thinks about the value the Sabres landed?\u00a0 What does he know?\u00a0 A fair question.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Judging by my performance this year, not much.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
So here\u2019s a rundown of my showing relative to my Final Mock Draft.\u00a0 I can say for the most part, it was not pretty.\u00a0 But in the interest of accountability, I will share with those of you who care how I did in the prognostication game.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the first round, I managed to get 26 of my first rounders selected.\u00a0 That\u2019s out of 32 players.\u00a0 That\u2019s not very good.\u00a0 Over the years, I\u2019ve typically gotten 28-30 of my first rounders chosen in Round One.\u00a0 Not this year.\u00a0 I did manage to nail several at the exact spot they were chosen, including Mrtka to the Sabres.\u00a0 So that was a bit of bright light in the darkness of my performance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round Two, I didn\u2019t even get half right.\u00a0 15 of my 2nd rounders out of 32 selected in Round Two.\u00a0 Usually I\u2019m over half right.\u00a0 Not this time.\u00a0 Of note, I did have the Sabres\u2019 3rd round choice, David Bedkowsky, in my Round 2.\u00a0 So that\u2019s value IMO.\u00a0 As you will remember, the Sabres did not have a Round Two selection, as they had traded it away.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I had Ben Kindell at #42 overall, but in reality, he went at #11 overall to Pittsburgh.\u00a0 So a big whiff on that one!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round Three was, again, a disappointment.\u00a0 Only 7 of my 3rd rounders were selected in the actual 3rd Round.\u00a0 On a good note, I had future Sabres\u2019 draftee Melvin Novotny in my 3rd round (he later went to the Sabres in 7th round).\u00a0 On a really bad note, I had 5 players who didn\u2019t even GET DRAFTED in my 3rd round.\u00a0 So..bleh.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round Four turned out quite well, considering where things were trending.\u00a0 I matched my Round Three with 7 out of 32, AND I managed to get the Sabres drafting goaltender Samuel Meloche in Round Four.\u00a0 Now, to be fair (and this is a bit tough to follow), I had the Sabres choosing Meloche at #103 overall.\u00a0 Instead, they selected him at #116 overall.\u00a0 So a small reach.\u00a0 But they selected Matous Kucharcik at #103, and I had him in that same range at #107 overall.\u00a0 Considering there\u2019s some rumblings that Meloche could be one of Canada\u2019s goalies on their World Junior team this winter, that might turn out to be a nice move by Buffalo.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round Five reverted back to normal, as the Draft starts to typically venture far afield at this point.\u00a0 I only managed 4 out of 32 here.\u00a0 The Sabres selected LHD Noah Laberge from the Q with their 5th round choice.\u00a0 I did not have Laberge getting drafted\u2026he was just outside of my 7th round (basically, he was the 5th guy out).\u00a0 So I did not shower myself with glory in this Round.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round Six went a bit better.\u00a0 Again, a meager 4 out of 32, so essentially the same as Round Five in terms of overall performance.\u00a0 This time, I had forward Ashton Schultz going as the top pick in Round Six\u2026the Sabres later selected him with the 7th choice in Round Six.\u00a0 So I was pretty close again! \u00a0 Sadly, in the totality, it was a dud, as nearly half the players I had going in Round Six were not selected anywhere in the Draft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round Seven was surprising for a number of reasons.\u00a0 This was easily my best performance in the final round of the Draft since I\u2019ve been doing this here at DBTB, with 8 (EIGHT!) players placed in the correct Round.\u00a0 I stunned myself!\u00a0 As far as the Sabres go, I did not have them selecting Melvin Novotny (had him going in the 3rd round\u2026oops!), Yegeny Prokhorov (although this could be a real strong sleeper of a choice), or Ryan Rucinski (I did not have him being drafted).\u00a0 So I finished strong!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
As you can see, I am no better or worse than any of you out there who take in a few prospect games every year.\u00a0 So don\u2019t rely on my meandering commentary, search out your own favorite junior team(s) and get comfy in your own Big Chair and watch away.\u00a0 In no time, you will surpass me in Draft knowledge!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Interesting how the twists and turns of this past Draft took me on a trip.\u00a0 At this time last year, I was feeling pretty confident that about 8-10 centermen \u2013 many with size \u2013 would dominate the Draft and challenge James Hagens for #1 overall.\u00a0 But things happen.\u00a0 Guys get hurt, players have a hard time adjusting to a new league, a new continent, new expectations.\u00a0 And most of the time, it\u2019s just that I whiffed in my estimation of that player.\u00a0 I thought Roger McQueen for sure would be a Top 3 choice; Ivan Ryabkin would be Top 5.\u00a0 Players like Florian Schenk, Mikkel Erikssen, Mike Misa, Anton Frondell, Will Moore, David Lewandowski, Caleb Desnoyers, and Jan Chovan would all make a run for a lottery spot.\u00a0 And Matthew Schaefer wasn\u2019t even on my radar as a contender for the #1 slot.\u00a0 So while this draft coming up seems heavy on wings and D-Men, and light on centers (very light on goalies), by June of 2026 it might be completely flipped on its head.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Next year\u2019s Draft year will be incredibly interesting.\u00a0 Gavin McKenna is the runaway #1 overall at this point, and to many people\u2019s surprise, he\u2019s off to the NCAA after shattering records in the WHL last season.\u00a0 This is the biggest change in competition since Auston Matthews went to Switzerland in his Draft year, so it will be interesting to see how McKenna performs.\u00a0 Likely, very well.\u00a0 No one is really close to McKenna, so he stands alone at the top without any real challengers at this point.\u00a0 Then it\u2019s kind of a jumble.\u00a0 In these earliest stages of the Draft, it looks like a rebound year for the Russians with some really talented kids \u2013 some staying in Mother Russia, others making the jump to North America \u2013 and the Canadians and Swedes with several talents that could be First Round selections.\u00a0 The US is light again this season, and the Finns look to be better after a rock-bottom year when only one Finn went in the top 2 rounds, but still not great.\u00a0 The Slovaks and Czechs continue to churn out some really talented kids, although not approaching the Big Four hockey nations\u2026yet.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The draft season will really start on August 11th with the Hlinka tournament, this year in both Czechia and Slovakia (including at the Pavol Demitra Ice Stadium, named after the dearly departed former NHL star!).\u00a0 Former Sabre legend Kevin Porter will be coaching Team USA\u2019s entry.\u00a0 The teams haven\u2019t been determined as of yet, so more to come on that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking of which, here\u2019s my Watch List, in no particular order, for next season\u2019s draft:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gavin McKenna, 6\u20190 C\/LW, NCAA\u00a0<\/p>\n
Keaton Verhoeff, 6\u20194 RHD, WHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Viggo Bjorck, 5\u201910 C\/W, SWE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Olivers Murnieks 6\u20191 C, USHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daxon Rudolph, 6\u20191 RHD, WHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan Roobroeck, 6\u20194 C\/W, OHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tynan Lawrence, 6\u20190 C, USHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elton Hermansson, 6\u20191 RHD, SWE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maddox Dagenais, 6\u20194 C, QMJHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ivar Stenberg, 6\u20190 W, SWE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lavr Gashilov, 6\u20192 C, RUS\u00a0<\/p>\n
Xavier Villeneuve, 5\u201911 LHD, QMJHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Simon Katolicky, 6\u20194 W, FIN\u00a0<\/p>\n
Casey Mutryn, 6\u20192 C, US NTDP\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adam Novotny, 6\u20191 W, CZE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan Lin, 5\u201911 RHD, WHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Viktor Fyodorov, 5\u201911 C, RUS\u00a0<\/p>\n
Landon Nycz, 6\u20192 LHD, USHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colin Fitzgerald, 6\u20192 C, OHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chase Reid, 6\u20192 RHD, USHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adam Valentini, 5\u201911 W, USHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joe Iginla, 5\u201910 W, WHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caluum Croskery, 6\u20190 LHD, USHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oscar Holmertz, 6\u20190 C, SWE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luke Schairer, 6\u20192 RHD, US NTDP\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lars Steiner, 5\u201910 RW, QMJHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yegor Shilov, 6\u20191 C, RUS\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tobias Tomik, 6\u20191 C\/W, SVK\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nikita Ovcharov, 6\u20192 RW, RUS\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oscar Hemming, 6\u20194 LW, FIN\u00a0<\/p>\n
Will Hakansson, 6\u20194 LHD, SWE\u00a0<\/p>\n
William Yared, 6\u20192 RW, QMJHL\u00a0<\/p>\n
Enjoy, my DBTB friends!\u00a0 Here we go!\u00a0 A new draft season is upon us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DBTB \u2013\u00a0 Well, another Draft is long gone and in the books.\u00a0 And given the atrocious presentation of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":96262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-96261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-nhl","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114924253700973204","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}