I would like to know the difference in the past few big centers to get drafted and 1.why teams where trying to move up to get them and Nolan Patrick ? How different or similar is his game to Dubois ? He was pegged to be Jamie Benn like , is he really a completely different large center then Patrick ? Would you take 2."The Swiss Forseberg" over Dubois or just Patrick ? I am pretty sure it was been said that if he did make the cut for last years draft that Patrick would have went somewhere between Dubois and Tkchuk 3.So would Colombus or any of you had of reached and taken Nolan or Hischnier over Dubois or Pujujarvi ? Just some thoughts I had and wondered what everyone thought ?
I am for Patrick but I do think most Devils fans seemed to be caught up in Nico fever. I thought instead of comparing them to NHL superstars and picking which we prefer why not compare them to recent high draft picks ? and what their potential was pegged at ? I feel like the top players in this draft are getting a bad rap because they aren't generational but it's odd to me that a guy in the second tier of players expected to go in last years draft ( Dubois ) can get such high comparisons and no negativity but Patrick is scraps even though like I said I am almost certain I have read he would of went somewhere between 3-7 and that entire grouping of players from last years draft has 4.tremendous expectations.
- blizzzard
1. Depends on the player. You want to move up to get McDavid, Eichel, Matthews, obviously... but in normal years centers are rare commodities...
Last year, you had one premium center (Matthews)...
... this year, no real premium centers. Something like six of the top ten players are centers, and they all have about the same ceiling: the teams drafting them will think they eventually play first line. Because they're not as rare this year, the demand for Patrick won't be as high. Some of them are projects, some more than others, but each with high ceiling. Most the teams picking in top 10 aren't in "win now" mode, so they can wait rather than overpay to trade up. Dallas is the exception.
2. That was a gross exaggeration I made to make a point. Forsberg was a prodigy.
3. Last year, if I was picking at 3 as CBJ, I pick Patrick. That's where I think he would have gone. He also would have been in higher demand last year because there were fewer centers available (and because he wasn't injured). Patrick almost made the birthday cut off, so it makes sense to talk about it. He's three months older than Hischier.
4. I don't know what expectations you're talking about. There was a clear 1, 2, and 3: Matthews, Laine were A+ tier, Puljujaarvi A tier, and then 4 beyond were standard picks. Tkachuk was supposed to go 4th, but that sort of got shuffled when CBJ took Dubois. As soon as CBJ took Dubois, Edmonton's draft phone probably lit up before Chiarelli pulled the plug on it. I personally wanted to get one of the two Finns... the others would have been excited to get them as well, but at 12, I think, we didn't believe we were worse off than at #4 and I didn't want to move Severson/Larsson to get to 4.
