2012 NHL Entry Draft

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

#8, Sutter and a prospect?

So, yeah, some folk here were a little optimistic about what he'd cost.

I can't believe how little it cost Carolina to get Staal.  I would have thought that we could have given a better package deal.  Granted, that is assuming he would want to play for the Leafs.

So, essentially, two first round picks, and a second rounder. 

 

[BermudaBudsFan]

Maybe the defenseman are better than Grigs and Forsberg?  Maybe the Leafs scouting staff knows more about talent than people on this board?  Just sayin'

That's the argumentative fallacy known as an appeal to authority. Dicey at the best of times, downright sketchy when the Leafs' scouts have spent the last three years convincing us that they don't so much.

You should submit your application...

 

[Kin]

It's almost pointless to draft for current need in the NHL draft. It's not like the NFL where most first-rounders come in and contribute right away. Only a select few talents can make that jump in hockey, and obviously not many think either Forsberg or Grigorenko can.

That assumes that the idea of drafting for need means drafting to solve a need immediately as opposed to taking a long term strategy to address a team's weakness.

 

[L K]

Maybe the defenseman are better than Grigs and Forsberg?  Maybe the Leafs scouting staff knows more about talent than people on this board?  Just sayin'

That's the argumentative fallacy known as an appeal to authority. Dicey at the best of times, downright sketchy when the Leafs' scouts have spent the last three years convincing us that they don't so much.

I can't say that I'm not intensely disappointed with the pick.  Riley a decent prospect and all, but he's not a future top pairing guy.  The Leafs have a glut of defensive prospects and are extremely thin when it comes to top 6 centers who can actually fill the #1 role.  The 26 GMs can praise Colborne all they want, but a month or two of scoring at a top line pace surrounding two+ years of scoring like a future 3rd liner doesn't strike me as a future #1 center.  The Leafs need a guy who can fill that role because they sure as hell haven't been able pick up anything good in free agency to this point.

 

[Bonsixx]

It's almost pointless to draft for current need in the NHL draft. It's not like the NFL where most first-rounders come in and contribute right away. Only a select few talents can make that jump in hockey, and obviously not many think either Forsberg or Grigorenko can.

That assumes that the idea of drafting for need means drafting to solve a need immediately as opposed to taking a long term strategy to address a team's weakness.

And the Leafs' weakness is...?

My guess would be a lack of good players in general.

 

[Kin]

You should submit your application...

I keep getting rejected. MLSE is afraid that under my stewardship the Leafs would continually miss the playoffs.

 

[BermudaBudsFan]

Yzerman an looks like he could still play...

 

[Bonsixx]

Yzerman an looks like he could still play...

There's our centre!

 

[Kin]

And the Leafs' weakness is...?

Goaltending, size, down the middle. You know, the stuff Burke is constantly saying the weaknesses are.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Maybe the defenseman are better than Grigs and Forsberg?  Maybe the Leafs scouting staff knows more about talent than people on this board?  Just sayin'

That's the argumentative fallacy known as an appeal to authority. Dicey at the best of times, downright sketchy when the Leafs' scouts have spent the last three years convincing us that they don't so much.

I can't say that I'm not intensely disappointed with the pick.  Riley a decent prospect and all, but he's not a future top pairing guy.  The Leafs have a glut of defensive prospects and are extremely thin when it comes to top 6 centers who can actually fill the #1 role.  The 26 GMs can praise Colborne all they want, but a month or two of scoring at a top line pace surrounding two+ years of scoring like a future 3rd liner doesn't strike me as a future #1 center.  The Leafs need a guy who can fill that role because they sure as hell haven't been able pick up anything good in free agency to this point.

Where do you get that he won't be a top pairing guy?

 

[BermudaBudsFan]

You should submit your application...

I keep getting rejected. MLSE is afraid that under my stewardship the Leafs would continually miss the playoffs.

Look at that, still no Grigorenko or Forsberg.  All of the scouts in the league must be idiots.

 

[L K]

Well, it is what it is... Time for some positive vibes;

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/profiling-the-nhls-2012-draft-class-the-top-10/article4300325/

Rielly scouting report: Like Galchenyuk, he missed most of the season with a torn ACL, playing just 18 games before returning late in the playoffs. Like Dumba, he?s not overly big but is a good skater with offensive ability. Our scout calls him the potential steal of the draft ? ?the best defence prospect since Drew Doughty? ? given his stickhandling and playmaking skills. McKeen?s: Rielly ?possesses similar attributes? to Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson ?as the two play an almost identical skating and puck possession game.?

Sweet, if we pair Reilly up with Luke Schenn who was the "best defensive defenseman prospect since Scott Stevens" we can live in the candy mountain in the sky where all of the pre-draft scouting reports compare every single player to an elite counterpart for their potential best case scenario.

 

[maplesyrup]

Riley a decent prospect and all, but he's not a future top pairing guy. 

How can you say that for sure?

 

[Etiam Vultus]

Maybe the defenseman are better than Grigs and Forsberg?  Maybe the Leafs scouting staff knows more about talent than people on this board?  Just sayin'

That's the argumentative fallacy known as an appeal to authority. Dicey at the best of times, downright sketchy when the Leafs' scouts have spent the last three years convincing us that they don't so much.

You should submit your application...

And not just to the Leafs; five other teams (so far) have passed on the favoured picks on this site.  What do they know?

 

[BermudaBudsFan]

Maybe the defenseman are better than Grigs and Forsberg?  Maybe the Leafs scouting staff knows more about talent than people on this board?  Just sayin'

That's the argumentative fallacy known as an appeal to authority. Dicey at the best of times, downright sketchy when the Leafs' scouts have spent the last three years convincing us that they don't so much.

You should submit your application...

And not just to the Leafs; five other teams (so far) have passed on the favoured picks on this site.  What do they know?

Exactly.

 

[Kin]

I'm not sure what point I'm missing as I'm just discussing what I think is the wisest strategy for drafting. I'm not discussing what TSN was talking about.

But that's the context it was being discussed in.

Anyways, if the consensus #1 pick was a goalie and the Habs had it, you'd think they should take a goalie?

 

[BermudaBudsFan]

I'm not sure what point I'm missing as I'm just discussing what I think is the wisest strategy for drafting. I'm not discussing what TSN was talking about.

But that's the context it was being discussed in.

Anyways, if the consensus #1 pick was a goalie and the Habs had it, you'd think they should take a goalie?

That's artificial.

 

[Kin]

Look at that, still no Grigorenko or Forsberg.  All of the scouts in the league must be idiots.

Or, you know, the Lightning may not have the exact same need for a #1 centre the Leafs do.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I like Corey Pronman's prospect analysis, so here's what he says on Rielly:

Morgan Rielly was a guy scouts had talked about as someone who could go in top 5. Most upside of any D in the draft.

Rielly is a high-end skater, puck handler and passer who projects as a premier offensive defenseman. Size is his one major concern.

Scouts Ive talked to have said if Rielly played a full year, he may have ended up as the consensus top dman in the draft.

Rielly is a risk for TOR, but he's a classic risk/reward type of selection.

You wonder if Rielly will check top opponents because of his size, but if his hockey sense translates well to the NHL, it's plausible.

Rielly is a small dman who missed most of his draft season. Common logic says that kind of player will take at least 2 years.

 

[Bonsixx]

And the Leafs' weakness is...?

Goaltending, size, down the middle. You know, the stuff Burke is constantly saying the weaknesses are.

Sure, but defence was also a weakness, scoring from the blue-line in particular, although that improved this year from last. Still, it's obvious neither Burke or the scouts thought enough of the available centremen or goaltenders to make him believe they'd help address anything significant, either now or down the line.

The Leafs don't have a true star. Kessel is close, but that's it. Maybe the feeling is Riley becomes one? And that helps the team more than another flawed prospect at a "position of need."