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2018 NHL Draft Preliminary Thread

With regard to the way our roster is built, I'm not sure how long this thing is going to take, but I know it's not an issue that can be "tweaked" over a summer. We act like it's a simple thing to "go get a center." In truth, we could use THREE of them. With our roster in the state it's currently in, I don't see easy fixes. I see a couple of years of changes and acquisitions. Skinner's not an idiot, so he probably sees that too. I have absolutely no qualms about moving ANY of our ill fitting players so long as it's a part of plan to build a roster that works. You know ... defined first line, defined checking line, defined supporting offensive line, with no passengers and no misfits in the top 9 ... the way EVERY successful NHL team is structured. Skinner? Whatever. Unless we're churning the whole roster and he fits with whatever we build coming out the other side, then trade the guy.
 
The Canes have pretty much stated that they're taking Svechnikov at this point, which is a huge difference from 2003, when folks were worried that they'd go for Fleury, and there was even a chance they'd take Horton. In any case, it was a guessing game right up to the end, but Dondon made it pretty clear in the N&O what he was going to do this time around.


Necas is supposed to make the jump, and Staal isn't going anywhere. A huge chunk of our prospects are listed as centers as well, from Geekie to Wallmark to Kuokkanen to Nicholas Roy. Lindholm and Rask should have some competition for their jobs, shouldn't they? Don't even get me started with Derek Roy...
 
Only Wallmark and Necas I think are realistic options at center amongst those kids for this coming season. All of those other kids I expect need at least another year of AHL seasoning. Even Necas as an NHL center this season is questionable.
 
cmaleski2 said:
Only Wallmark and Necas I think are realistic options at center amongst those kids for this coming season. All of those other kids I expect need at least another year of AHL seasoning. Even Necas as an NHL center this season is questionable.
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I've watched enough of Necas play this past year that he certainly has the talent and skill to at the very least fill a third or fourth line center role this season, he also is skilled enough to be part of a second power play unit. Viktor Rask to me is trending down and might actually be more of a fourth line center...expensive as hell for a fourth line center, but personally if Necas shows he can play at the NHL level, I'd rather have him playing more of a top 9 role than just getting his feet wet on a fourth line. What will be most interesting is what this Canes team looks like after all the trades and tinkering have been completed.
 
I'm still worried about either Necas or Wallmark playing a full season in the NHL. Not for talent reasons either. Wallmark hasn't been able to last through the limited NHL time he's already seen without getting hurt and Necas is yet another beanpole. Talented as heck, but slightly built in a league trending heavily the other direction.

Not trying to be a bucket of cold water here. I've just seen a lot of people speculating about a line of Necas centering Aho and Svechnikov next season and that line is YOUNG, and really small.

BTW ... is everybody else's computer INSISTING that they really means Necks when they type in Necas, or is it just mine?
 
100% agree. Personally, I think we're still in trouble if we can't shore things up a little better than having to rely on those youngsters to lead.
jeffbear said:
I'm still worried about either Necas or Wallmark playing a full season in the NHL. Not for talent reasons either. Wallmark hasn't been able to last through the limited NHL time he's already seen without getting hurt and Necas is yet another beanpole. Talented as heck, but slightly built in a league trending heavily the other direction.

Not trying to be a bucket of cold water here. I've just seen a lot of people speculating about a line of Necas centering Aho and Svechnikov next season and that line is YOUNG, and really small.

BTW ... is everybody else's computer INSISTING that they really means Necks when they type in Necas, or is it just mine?
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Unless the approach changes, we're still going to be Edmonton. Over reliance and the rushing of young players to fill gaps. Kudos to RF for stocking the cupboard, but after the type of play that advanced teams in the playoffs, what we have in the minors and overseas is not physically mature enough.
 
SlapShots said:
Unless the approach changes, we're still going to be Edmonton. Over reliance and the rushing of young players to fill gaps. Kudos to RF for stocking the cupboard, but after the type of play that advanced teams in the playoffs, what we have in the minors and overseas is not physically mature enough.
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I think the approach HAS to change and we need to start building the NHL lineup utilizing the very decent prospects we've accumulated to trade for more mature assets that fill the holes in the roster. That is, after all, how the roster building game is played. And that is, after all, the one thing missing from Francis' approach that got him reassigned/fired.

Bottom line ... I'm not going to get too dug in on the roster until we get a lot closer to camp and see what they're actually working with.
 
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The Canes have been reluctant to spend money on established veterans that play a defined role well. I'm referring to the Smith-Pelley and Patrick Maroon types that are valuable in the room and willing to pay a price on the ice to block shots, drop the gloves on occasion, throw the body around nightly, etc. Brindy has been pretty vocal about the need for those type of role players, so I guess there is a chance we could see change in that area, but I will believe it when I see it.
 
The last players of any substance that did that kind of thing was Craig Adams, Scott Walker, Tim Gleason and our very own wee man, Nathan Gerbe.

We could use a Patrick Maroon and I hope the Canes might go after him in free agency rather than once again waiting for a trade to happen. I realize this is not the Canes of RF/JR/PK, but it is the debt of PK we need to overcome.
 
CanadaCanes said:
The Canes have been reluctant to spend money on established veterans that play a defined role well. I'm referring to the Smith-Pelley and Patrick Maroon types that are valuable in the room and willing to pay a price on the ice to block shots, drop the gloves on occasion, throw the body around nightly, etc. Brindy has been pretty vocal about the need for those type of role players, so I guess there is a chance we could see change in that area, but I will believe it when I see it.
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Well, as you know I personally prefer a fourth line made up of guys like Beagle and Smith-Pelly rather than a fourth line made up of prospects. I'd be all for going back to that lineup model. Carolina's better teams always had a strong veteran presence on the fourth line.

You know how it goes around here though. If Waddell starts with the pressers announcing that he's signed Pat Maroon or traded for Kyle Clifford or whatever, you can go ahead and cue up the "how the hell do we get better adding guys like that" comments.
 
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jeffbear said:
Well, as you know I personally prefer a fourth line made up of guys like Beagle and Smith-Pelly rather than a fourth line made up of prospects. I'd be all for going back to that lineup model. Carolina's better teams always had a strong veteran presence on the fourth line.

You know how it goes around here though. If Waddell starts with the pressers announcing that he's signed Pat Maroon or traded for Kyle Clifford or whatever, you can go ahead and cue up the "how the hell do we get better adding guys like that" comments.
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Joel Ward, Patrick Maroon, Devante Smith-Pelley, Chris Kunitz, Matt Calvert, Antoine Roussel, Ryan Reaves...any of those current UFA's could help the Canes in a bottom 6 role over the likes of Nordstrom, Jooris, Wallmark and the other fodder used this past season. I guess it's all about saving a buck but it's time you start spending some additional cash for those type of role players.
 
CanadaCanes said:
Joel Ward, Patrick Maroon, Devante Smith-Pelley, Chris Kunitz, Matt Calvert, Antoine Roussel, Ryan Reaves...any of those current UFA's could help the Canes in a bottom 6 role over the likes of Nordstrom, Jooris, Wallmark and the other fodder used this past season. I guess it's all about saving a buck but it's time you start spending some additional cash for those type of role players.
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For me it's all about spending money wisely instead of whatever the heck we've been doing in the name of being cheap. We've wasted all sorts of money of the likes of Jooris, Kruger, Ryan, et all when you could have spent maybe 25-30% more and gotten effective players in those roles. It's down to scouting, really. As in we haven't done much scouting and acquire guys based on reputation or a good showing at the Worlds or whatever ... without being really sure where they fit. Some of those guys require an investment ... like Kunitz ... but most of them are cheap enough.
 
hey ... we made it to Draft Week!

Anybody planning to go to the club's draft party? I'm gonna sit at home and hope for the best.
 
jeffbear said:
hey ... we made it to Draft Week!

Anybody planning to go to the club's draft party? I'm gonna sit at home and hope for the best.
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I'm excited for a bunch of trades and activity this week, not just with the Canes, but league wide I think you are going to see a fair amount of trades and teams looking to clean up their cap space and make their plans for the draft and free agency by making some moves this week.

So do the Canes make their move for a goaltender this week with Grubauer and maybe flip their second round pick or a prospect or is he Islander bound? How about a Canes blockbuster trade to find that much needed center...O'Reilly or Nugent-Hopkins?

The names being shopped hard are pretty big...Pacioretty, Karlsson, Hoffman, Skinner, O'Reilly...
 
I think the potential is there for an interesting week. Luckily we aren't going to sit and watch, wondering where the heck Francis is all week!

The draft will be watched at home most likely.
 
jeffbear said:
hey ... we made it to Draft Week!

Anybody planning to go to the club's draft party? I'm gonna sit at home and hope for the best.
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I will be there. The last 2 at PNC were pretty good and I haven’t been to the Raleigh Beer Garden yet.
 
From Bob McKenzie's draft piece today on TSN.ca:

“If you want to know the truth,” one scout said, “Svechnikov may be closer to Dahlin for No. 1 than the rest of the field is to Svechnikov.”

The point is, outside of Dahlin, Svechnikov has separated himself from the rest of the field.

Svechnikov has size, speed and skill. He can play a power game or a finesse game, make plays or score goals any way they can be scored - off the rush, one timers from far out, getting his nose dirty in front of the net or off the cycle.

As Russians go, Svechnikov is well acclimated to the North American game and life, having lived with his mother in Muskegon and Barrie for the past two years. He’s not absolutely fluent in speaking or understanding English but he more than gets by.
 
CanadaCanes said:
From Bob McKenzie's draft piece today on TSN.ca:

“If you want to know the truth,” one scout said, “Svechnikov may be closer to Dahlin for No. 1 than the rest of the field is to Svechnikov.”

The point is, outside of Dahlin, Svechnikov has separated himself from the rest of the field.

Svechnikov has size, speed and skill. He can play a power game or a finesse game, make plays or score goals any way they can be scored - off the rush, one timers from far out, getting his nose dirty in front of the net or off the cycle.

As Russians go, Svechnikov is well acclimated to the North American game and life, having lived with his mother in Muskegon and Barrie for the past two years. He’s not absolutely fluent in speaking or understanding English but he more than gets by.
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Am I the only one that is nervous the Canes can bungle this somehow? I fear the more the consensus continues to point to Svechnikov as a no-brainer at #2 the more tempting it is for the Canes to do something else!
 
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