Early draft day winners?

[Duncan]

So who do you think are the early winner in this year's draft?

"Winner" can be defined however you want. I'm gonna define it as a 50/50 split of filling their immediate team needs as well as picking the "best" player available. I'll leave myself out of this list because i'm not sure how to evaluate my picks, but generally i'm pretty happy with who i picked up.

1) Elle: I think she won purely because it'd take a lot to "lose" if you had picks 1, 4, 7. She replenished the cupboard with high end prospects like RNH and Larsson, while filling immediate team needs with guys like Riemer, Rollie, Jagr
2) Dave: Winner purely because with only one pick in the 3 rounds (albeit a 1st rounder, but a mid/late one at that), he managed to nab couturier. I think this was a function of him falling so far in the actual NHL draft. Couturier filled dave's immediate team need to replenish up the middle as well. Thornton/koivu are trending downward.
3) Joel: because he filled a need by moving watson's late 1st rounder for tyson's 2013 potentially higher 1st rounder. Joel's yearly ability to defer later 1st rounders from previous years and turn 1st rounders to earlier 1st rounders in following years continues to astound me. Plus, he's continuing to corner to goalie market and whore guys like Dybnyk. Although Wats did manage to nab up lindback. Wow, the last 5 picks in the 2nd round were all goalies. I guess once i made my stab at the two goalies in a row, others thought it was time to nab one up for themselves.
4) Danny: picking 3 talented dmen in Hamilton, Morrow, Olesksiak. He's probably built his dmen depth for the next 10-15 years if 2 of the 3 pan out.

[joel]

Hard to say when the majority players that are picked up haven't proven anything yet. But a few things I would note.

Fynn picking Murphy and then promptly convert him into 2 1st round picks, that in itself is quite impressive.
I also like Harry landing Parise for 2 1st round picks.

[Duncan]

i think the trade fynn had for murphy was oz's impulsiveness more than fynn's negotiating skills... but impressive nonetheless haha

Parise for two 1sts is pretty good value for harry too i think... considering the past "two 1st rounder" trades in recent past included: St. Louis, Setoguchi, Murphy.

I kinda have seller's remorse with parise because i wanted to keep him for a little while longer but i'm hoping to land someone of similar calibre in next year's 1st round with harry's 1st rounder

[joel]

i think everyone did ok. there were a couple of picks that were really out there, but only a handful in my opinion. not very many people really addressed any immediate needs.

[Duncan]

Anyone itching to wait for the season to start?

Any predictions for 2011 draftees jumping straight to the big show? I predict Larsson and Strome starting with their big clubs

[joel]

Larsson and Landeskog. which will be a surprise to absolutely no one.

[Duncan]

i predict Scheifele making it too

[joel]

After a 4pt night. I predict scheifele not even getting a 9 game stint.

[Duncan]

it's not just the 4 pt night... he's looked good pretty much from the 1st day of rookie camp. I think at least he'll get a 5 game look

[tiger]

Elle also won b/c he got Merrill in the waiver. I had him as early 2nd. Getting Roloson was a prudent move on her part too.

I'm adding Tyson as a winner for 2 reasons.

Getting Eberle. I figured this guy would be a cornerstone on Elle's team, then gets traded in his 2nd year?

And getting the free-falling prospect of this draft. Tim Erixon. Nabbing him just before I could. If I got him, I would have packed it in and wouldn't care who else I drafted. It would have been like getting another late 1st for me. I had him as long shot early 1st, but more realistically late 1st or early 2nd.

Should have guilted Tys into passing on the pick since he told Wats about Byfuglien last year. Whatever. Let the past be the past.


















Then he reminds Joel about Grabovski.

[joel]

grabo is a different scenario since you had no intention of taking him though. it really doesn't affect your team any.

[Duncan]

but i think he's worried at a competing gm picked up a good offensive player to use against him this year haha...

[Wetundies]

Not like dave's gonna win anyways.

[joel]

[tiger]

Nope I don't have a chance. Not with teams like Fynn's out there!



With Grabo, I sooner see him not go to a contender or just end up unpicked. It's one less hole for you to fill. If you took a prospect, that would have been fine, even if that guy turns into a star, that's good for you for scouting him. But for the year, if you're short on depth, then you need to trade for some and there's not that much floating around. Plus with more parity, GMs will be less likely to trade away that depth early.