2019 Draft Thread

[Jimtown guy]

Cole goes to the Habs

[Ron Burgundy 4 President]

He can improve his stride to get a bit faster Ron. If that happens is the question

Assuming he's never really worked on it that is true. I find at hard to believe with the National team he wasn't working on it however. I guess we'll find out.

He didn’t decide hockey was his sport until he was 17 as he played other sports too so I think his speed can be improved

Well, when you put it that way......

[Jimtown guy]

7 of the 15 picks are Americans. Man how times are changing and have been

[Hornets]

Caulfields size is obviously hurting him

DAMN....I wanted him.

[Butch Bradford]

Boldy

[The Replacements]

Caulfields size is obviously hurting him

The 2 teams in the Cup this year played a heavy game. Everyone wants size now. Copycat league.

[mglviks]

Traded up for a Goalie

[mglviks]

Fenton knocking it out of the park here on day 2.

2 players r2 including 2nd ranked Goalie
1 player r3 and 1 in r5

The 4 players picked today were all commonly mocked/ranked in the 2nd round range.

Simply going bpa to stock the cupboard!

Boldy commonly ranked in the top 10. And 4 guys ranked 40-70.
Fenton ordering up his draft wish to the hockey gods, may I please have high first round guy and 4 mid 2nd round guys and make 1 of them the 2nd or 3rd best goalie please and thank you.

Sure theyre just rankings and mocks. Nevertheless its a majority opinion from people who still get paid to come up with rankings and passion from lifelong mockers.

[Ron Burgundy 4 President]

Fenton knocking it out of the park here on day 2.

2 players r2 including 2nd ranked Goalie
1 player r3 and 1 in r5

The 4 players picked today were all commonly mocked/ranked in the 2nd round range.

Simply going bpa to stock the cupboard!

Boldy commonly ranked in the top 10. And 4 guys ranked 40-70.
Fenton ordering up his draft wish to the hockey gods, may I please have high first round guy and 4 mid 2nd round guys and make 1 of them the 2nd or 3rd best goalie please and thank you.

Sure theyre just rankings and mocks. Nevertheless its a majority opinion from people who still get paid to come up with rankings and passion from lifelong mockers.

I have not been a fan of Fenton for the most part, but I think he did well here. Surprised Zucker wasn't traded, but he still will be.

[bubu dubu.]

No one knows how the last two drafts will turn out, but I certainly feel more comfortable with this one, compared to last year.

[The Replacements]

The only thing harder than drafting 18 year olds is handing out grades. Here you go:

Sporting News

It's safe to say that sophomore GM Paul Fenton's haul from the weekend in Vancouver made up for the odd decisions he and his staff made last June in Dallas, beginning with the selection of elite 200-foot winger Matthew Boldy, and continuing with finesse flanker Vladislav Firstov. Both have incredible hands and playmaking proclivity while making life easy for their centers. Goalie Hunter Jones (59th) was a man on an island most nights for Peterborough and has the potential to be a brick wall when he doesn't see as many second and third-chance attempts. Minnesota's ensuing choices were all picks with not only excellent value, were also ranked well above their eventual draft slot. Skilled winger Adam Beckman (75th) is incredibly smooth and impressive with the puck in between the circles, and two-way center Matey Guskov (149th) maximized his time as a depth center on London's powerhouse by creating chances out of nothing and wearing down the opposition in the puck-possession game.

One of the draft's biggest early-round snubs was NTDP puck mover Marshall Warren (166th), an aggressive blue liner who loves to join the rush and snipe attempts from the high slot. I also liked their addition of Brooklyn-born finesse forward Nikita Nesterenko (172nd) who is a long-term project but his wheels and hands help overcome issues with balance and decision making. Minnesota wrapped up the weekend with smallish goalie Filip Lindberg (197th), a double-overage Finnish import who starred for UMass-Amherst this past season. Grade: A-

Yahoo Sports

Grade: B+

First Round Selection(s): Matthew Boldy (12th)

Boldy has the makings of being the complete package between his goal scoring, playmaking, size, and speed, but the 18-year-old forward isn’t NHL ready yet. Part of the issue is that he’s just not consistent. He needs more seasoning and he’ll get it. He’s going to head to Boston College for the 2019-20 campaign. If all goes well, he’ll spend a season or two in the NCAA before turning pro.

Minnesota took Vladislav Firstov with the 42nd overall pick. He’s nothing remarkable, but he’s a decent skater, can play physically, though he could stand to improve in that regard, and sometimes shows high-end skill. He could be good in a few years.

Puckprose(??)

Favorite prospects: The Minnesota Wild drafted Matthew Boldy in the first round. This is probably a hot take, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Boldy winds up having a better NHL career than Cole Caufield. His two-way game and scoring prowess should give the Wild a guy they can rebuild around.

Least favorite prospects: I didn’t like them drafting two goaltenders. In a vacuum, Hunter Jones was fine in the second round and Filip Lindberg probably should have been drafted before the seventh round. But together, I don’t like it.

Grade: B+. The Wild quietly had a pretty darn good draft. Fifth-round pick Marshall Warren is a guy to keep an eye on – he should have been picked in the third round.

[Hole Nova Level]

The best indicator that this was a good draft was Liepold's comment about the draft picks being taller than him this year when he went to shake their hand, vs. the small ball drafts they've had.