Spencer_12

We’re starting to get to the point now where the rankings for players start to have a bit of variance. There’s a few left who were solid 1st rounders everywhere, but most are going to have 1st/2nd round rankings.

A bit surprised Sale went now. It’s not really a reach, but he’s been falling down draft boards. I thought he might sneak down to us at 33. His ceiling is very high so hopefully he busts.

So far only a couple of surprises about halfway through the draft. Both being the two Russians going earlier than expected (the D more of a surprise than But). No trades either. I’m not bored because I’ve been all over draft prospect reporting especially to prepare for picks 33, 59, 60, and 65. So it’s interesting to see who I’ve targeted still could be there at #33.

I’d prefer to go forward at #33. Depends who drops though. Bonk could be fine if there’s no good high skill forward option.

Lundestrom is a 7th round pick compared to Carlsson.

Damnit. But goes way up there at #12. I wanted him to (unrealistically) fall to us at #33.

It was noticeable in the World’s games I watched. Part of it was Canada overall struggling during Fantilli’s shifts at getting out of the zone, and probably Fantilli playing wing and not center. Carlsson was great at getting the puck out with possession. I watched a bunch of Canada and Sweden’s games, and I came away really impressed with him. And I came in biased against him because I was on team Fantilli.

The one thing I didn’t like about the mock design was the stripes. The horizontal stripes look good. Not too crazy about the logo though. I have a feeling they’ll get favorable reviews from fans around the league though.

Michkovvvvvv. Washington must be mad lol. Philly just drafted an absolute steal at #7 if it works out for them.

"Leo has tremendous hockey IQ with the potential to dominate at both ends of the ice," said Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek. "His size, creativity, strength and skill was evident when we watched him play in Sweden against professionals. With our long-term plan to build a perennial contender, we believe he projects incredibly well for what we are building. We are thrilled to add him to our stable of elite prospects." Verbeek on the pick. More quotes will come out later and at the end of the draft from Madden.

WOW Simashev #6. He’s been in some top 10, but this is even higher.

The problem is the NA hockey media has been all over Fantilli all year and especially after the draft lottery. So you’ve got a lot of fans who don’t really follow prospect stuff in depth and just take in the quick hits that they come across. There’s been much more of that for Fantilli than Carlsson. There’s very real reasons to prefer Fantilli to Carlsson and to be concerned about this pick, but in general the reaction so far isn’t coming from in-depth knowledge.

Price hahahahahahahaha I feel bad for that kid having his moment go down like that.

It’ll be interesting to see how well Fantilli does to start his career. Columbus has a better roster than the Ducks so he’ll be entering a decent situation there. If he comes out the gates firing pressure will really be on Carlsson to live up to the Ducks choosing him.

The pre-draft buzz was right. Crowd was pretty surprised. Time will tell who was right.

Really sucks ESPN feels the need to produce their own draft show. We in the US are the worst for it. I think only the woman on the panel does scouting for a living. Everyone else mainly follows the pro game. Buccigross does some NCAA stuff so he’ll be informed with that, but we’re not going to get as great of an insight with ESPN covering this.

The intrigue begins shortly after Chicago’s pick though. A majority of my league sources think this will be Leo Carlsson. Some think it will be Fantilli. Most in the league think it should be Fantilli, which is my evaluation of the players as well. But throughout the draft year, there’s been a significant Leo Carlsson-at-No. 2 camp that sees a big center with game-breaking skill and hockey sense. Sometimes you hear rumors around this time of year and know what is and isn’t real. I don’t know what Anaheim will do, but Carlsson at No. 2 is a legitimate opinion around the league. I’ve heard the Matvei Michkov rumors here. I’m not buying it. I wouldn’t fall out of my chair if they called that name, but it would rattle. https://theathletic.com/4644044/2023/06/28/nhl-mock-draft-2023-pronman-final/ If the majority opinion of the league is that the Ducks are taking Carlsson then it’s probably going to be next to impossible to pry an asset away from Columbus to swap picks. If your Columbus you’re probably seeing right through that. Carlsson would be the most boring pick at #2, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be the right pick. Only time would tell, but it’s going to be the biggest decision Verbeek has had to make as a GM and it’s one he has to absolutely get right. Personally, I could stomach it if he drafts Fantilli and Carlsson ends up being the better player. If he takes Carlsson though and Fantilli ends up on a different level that would be very hard to accept.

Definitely undervaluing Vilardi. Turcotte is also a massive bust right now. He’s not even putting up numbers in the AHL.

Hard to say. Vilardi had a solid year and was really good in their playoff series. If he takes another step it could be a solid trade for Winnipeg. Kupari is also still young with decent AHL stats so maybe he figures it out too. Iafallo is a good depth piece, but given his age he’s probably not the one who will determine who wins the trade.

Dubois is a bit overrated. His best production was last season at 63 points in 73 games, but he’s talked about like being a much better player. He’s also played on playoff teams for most of his career too so it’s not like he’s been producing on bad teams. That said, his age is great and most of that contract will be in his prime years. If he keeps repeating last season then it’s not too bad, and there’s upside potential with his age. It’ll be interesting to see what LA had to give up. Side note, CBJ crushed Winnipeg with that deal.

I hadn’t seen any analytics when discovering the player, but they back up all the info I read about him. Now I want him even more. If he makes it past #65, I would be afraid Carolina takes him at #71. He seems like their kind of player. Maybe even at #62 if they really like him.

With draft day 1 day away, here is my 2 realistic hopes: 1. Felix Unger Sorum is still available at #85 and the Ducks draft him. He’s ranked anywhere from a late 2nd rounder to an early 4th rounder. I think he’ll be available at #65, but it’s dicey at #85. I’d be ok with #65 if there isn’t someone else available that should have went earlier. He’s the youngest prospect in the draft - if he was born 2 days later he’d be in next years draft. He’s got NHL size, and a lot of offensive upside. 10 points in 7 games at the recent U18 world’s. 2. Koehn Ziemmer is available at #59/60 and the Ducks draft him. I’ve seen mock drafts place him here, but I’ve also seen him going earlier in the 2nd. He’s got size, great skill and point production in the WHL. The concern is his skating, which is why he’s not a 1st rounder. I’ve seen his skating style compared to Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars. If he figured it out then maybe Ziemmer will too. This would be a great pick at this stage in the draft. My unrealistic hope is that Danil But is available at #33 and the Ducks take him. He’s Russian so maybe…. but he has way too much game/athleticism and size to fall out of the 1st round. If not him, then I’m hoping someone with a lot of skill falls to us here. If I’m greedy he’ll also have NHL size, but there’s a few smaller/high skilled players ranked in the 1st round so one of them is probably more likely. I’m more focused on forwards since our D pipeline is stocked, but if Dmitri Simashev is available at #33 and a comparable forward isn’t, then I’m not sure the Ducks can pass on him. There are some who think he’s more of a later 1st/early 2nd, but the majority have him solidly in the 1st. Some even in the top 10.

It’s hilarious hearing about all these teams trying to move up to the top 4 in the draft. Too bad so sad Nashville, enjoy not making the playoffs and your 15th overall pick.

The draft begins on Wednesday.

I guess it depends on how they define “long.” If I’m guessing they probably mean the Ducks will be ready to start contending in 3 years. I think that’s realistic. It could happen sooner if development goes quicker. Zegras, McTavish, and Terry should all be at the top of their game by then, and that gives Mintyukov, Zellweger, and Gaucher 3 years to figure out the NHL. You can add in LaCombe and Helleson to this if you want. Possibly Pastujov too. Luneau will have 2 years to figure things out. That’s also 3 more years to build assets/figure out what you already have that can then be traded for more experienced (but hopefully still under 30) players. That sounds like a pretty good recipe for long term sustained success. This can be done with Fantilli, Carlsson, and Michkov though. Fantilli probably makes us a little better sooner than the other 2, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if he spends most of this up coming season in the AHL if he decides to turn pro. I don’t think that would be a bad thing either. I’d be a little surprised if we went Michkov at #2 considering Fantilli seems like his type of player and there’s more risk involved. If he takes him though that signals to me that Verbeek and our scouting department thinks he’s the #2 player in the draft and the next Russian superstar. So that’s exciting too.