Matt Karash: Thoughts on draft day for Canes

Matt Karash: Thoughts on draft day for Canes
- CarolinaMatt63

I like the Lindholm pick.

Can anyone interpret the thought process on drafting a center at #5 when you have Eric and Jordan Staal, and wanted to deal the #5 for a top 4 d-man? I figured Nurse was a lock for Carolina.

Lindholm is a beauty pick, don't get me wrong, I just figured that a team starving for D would have picked a top rated D-man.

Some Carolina draft day musings:

-
The Canes took a major step towards building a long term "third line" by drafting Lindholm to pair with Skinner. Chemistry is a hard thing to predict, but Linholm has the perfect mix of playmaking and defensive awareness that a guy like Skinner requires.

-Well, this still leaves the Canes short on paper a "top 6" forward and a third guy to round out the theoretical Lindholm-Skinner-? line. I think long term, that role goes to Victor Rask, but for this season, it's probably imperative that the Canes find a veteran to steady that line. Those cost money. As for who plays with Jordan and Ruutu? I suppose we'll be overslotting Patty Dwyer again.

-Going from McBain to Sekera is an upgrade. No two ways about it...

...But this by no means solves our blue line issue. And to hear Jim Rutherford say that team is less urgent to improve the D now that they've landed Sekera is very troublesome.

-I don't know if he did or didn't but JR should have been blowing up the NSH phone line once Seth Jones fell to 4. I'd have been offering the 1st, 2nd and McBain (or in hindsight, essentially Lindholm and Sekera) to NSH for their pick. Yes, to move up one spot. Aggressive moves like that are precisely what the Canes need to take a step away from mediocrity. To be one pick away from EXACTLY the thing this Canes team needs...and then fail to get it, was incredibly frustrating.

Two things....

-Skinner, who makes 5.75 projects to your 3rd line wing?

-The Sekera deal was one of the worst deals I've seen in awhile. To give up a very high 2nd rounder in this draft AND an NHL defenseman for a fringe 2/3rd pairing defenseman is ridiculous.

Two things....

-Skinner, who makes 5.75 projects to your 3rd line wing?

-The Sekera deal was one of the worst deals I've seen in awhile. To give up a very high 2nd rounder in this draft AND an NHL defenseman for a fringe 2/3rd pairing defenseman is ridiculous.
- Just5

"3rd line" was in quotes for a reason. Tlusty-E.Staal-Semin are the unquestioned first line. And then you have Jordan Staal-Ruutu-? and in theory Linholm-Skinner-?. The ice time for those 2 lines would be neary identical. Second line A and Second line B.

-I wouldn't go as far as to call the Sekera deal one of the worst trades in awhile, but if Rutherford thinks that deal even remotely fixes the blue line, maybe it really is time he thinks about giving up some of his GM duties with the Canes.

No reason to worry regarding Sekera. For some reason people around here love to hate him, and in Buffalo he's always been in the trade talks; that's because he has an affordable cap hit and actually holds value, unlike a lot of other guys on the Buffalo blueline.

As long as you don't expect a top pairing guy, you'll be happy. He's reliable enough. And for some reason, he's been constantly reported as specifically a defensive defenseman... he actually has some decent offensive upside when put in the right situation.

I don't know about the trade. I'm happy to see McBain go and wish him well in Buffalo he just could not get the system down and was having a hard time with Kirk Miller. If JR thinks the D is all of a sudden fixed then this is going to be a looooooooooooong season in a tough divison and I feel sorry for Wardo because he is going to see alot of rubber. Now, I just hope Corvo is finally finished in Carolina, too. He should have never come back and we should have kept Bryan Allen.

The only time you'll notice Sekera,
Is when he makes a major screwup,
Which does happen enough that it's all some Buffalo fans think about with him

But he really is a decent, unspectacular defenseman, who'll def help u guys out

What are your thoughts on McBain?
Y'all watched him a lot more than I have
Seems to me like he's a 5/6/7 type guy that had some offensive talent

I don't know about the trade. I'm happy to see McBain go and wish him well in Buffalo he just could not get the system down and was having a hard time with Kirk Miller. If JR thinks the D is all of a sudden fixed then this is going to be a looooooooooooong season in a tough divison and I feel sorry for Wardo because he is going to see alot of rubber. Now, I just hope Corvo is finally finished in Carolina, too. He should have never come back and we should have kept Bryan Allen.
- fosterjdhockey

Hi foster...Welcome! As you said, hopefully the Sekera trade is part 1 of 2.

The only time you'll notice Sekera,
Is when he makes a major screwup,
Which does happen enough that it's all some Buffalo fans think about with him

But he really is a decent, unspectacular defenseman, who'll def help u guys out

What are your thoughts on McBain?
Y'all watched him a lot more than I have
Seems to me like he's a 5/6/7 type guy that had some offensive talent
- jdfitz77

McBain's is a 5/6 with some offensive upside. At one point he was on track to become a pretty good puck-moving top 4 and has shown flashes at the NHL level but he just never got there. He regressed last season and was just horrible last season. But as a 25 year old with NHL level skill A change of scenery, a different system and most importantly a boost in confidence could make him a great find.

I don't see why Sekera would be a depth guy. He sounds like a defensive guy (maybe Dennis Seidenberg'ish?) who has a history of playing against the other teams best in the defensive zone, and excels at getting the puck out. Which is exactly what we needed to pair with Gleason, and allow Faulk to play with Pitkanen 25 minutes a night.

As for McBain, what value would he have exactly? He was outplayed by an aging Joe Corvo. He was on par with Bobby Sanguinetti. And he makes close to 2 million a year. He's 25, but he's been getting, arguably, worse each year. We all cringed through his time on the ice this season. How much is a guy you wish you could scratch every night making 1.7 million a season worth?

Great point re: Seidenberg. That's exactly what JR seems to be chasing here with Sekera. Of course, we already had Seidenberg and let him go...

Two things....

-Skinner, who makes 5.75 projects to your 3rd line wing?

-The Sekera deal was one of the worst deals I've seen in awhile. To give up a very high 2nd rounder in this draft AND an NHL defenseman for a fringe 2/3rd pairing defenseman is ridiculous.
- Just5

Yeh, a total waste of a 2nd rounder! ...after passing up a potential superstar for a "SAFE PICK" ie i could've done as well with a dart board...and i suck at darts!!!
look at the Dmen Buff. drafted...and our "D" still sucks!!!

Can anyone interpret the thought process on drafting a center at #5 when you have Eric and Jordan Staal, and wanted to deal the #5 for a top 4 d-man? I figured Nurse was a lock for Carolina.

Lindholm is a beauty pick, don't get me wrong, I just figured that a team starving for D would have picked a top rated D-man.
- PuckingOpinion

Because drafting for need isn't smart.

Oilers needed a big rugged forward last year, we didn't pass on Yakupov for Tom Wilson.

Because drafting for need isn't smart.

Oilers needed a big rugged forward last year, we didn't pass on Yakupov for Tom Wilson.
- ystoil

Yes, but at some point JR must admit that his strategy of not drafting D in the 1st round is killing this team's blueline. It would be different if we could afford or get a FA like Suter last year, but that is not going to happen...Canes got uh-oh Corvo, & as soon as Ward went down...the Canes D was exposed, & the team fell like a rock!

Canes entire draft history since 1997 only has 5 1st round D. NIKOS TSELIOS was a bust. DAVID TANABE was an ok NHL D, but never as good as the Canes made him out to be, IGOR KNYAZEV was a bust, JACK JOHNSON refused to sign & was traded for Gleason(could have drafted Marc Staal), & RYAN MURPHY is very small & he is just starting his pro career.

Now I'm not saying Nurse or Rasmus Ristolainen would have been better than Lindholm...but at some point you got to fix you biggest problem through the only way the Canes can afford to do it...the draft.

By the way the Canes could have also had Robert Hägg the swe D-man in the second round with there #35 pick...Nurse & Hagg would have been a great start to a long term solution on the blueline.

Assigning Grades to team based on Entry Draft Selections

Before you e-mail or PM me angered by my disrespect and misjudgment of your favorite team's choice, let me one make it clear concerning this specific draft: All team GMs and fans could say how they did great. Or how poorly they did. Because of the depth this draft class at the first four tiers (See Draft Tier explanations elsewhere on DraftSite…),this draft class, from pick 1 to pick 211, may bring major contributors and impact players to many NHL teams. Whether they admit it or not, NHL teams hope that the high character youngster they select not only graduate to the pro game, but develop into high impact stars, no matter which slotting there are chosen in. This draft provides MANY chances of unearth those type players.

My grades will be based NOT on the amount of picks, but on the possibility of the drafted prospects making contributions on NHL rosters FIVE years from now.
I will start by saying the upside of this class is by far one of the finest, but I and NHL teams cannot accurate predict NHL success for them at this juncture,just draw on my opinions of the player's canvass at this particular juncture in the journey.

Of, course I will bump up grades for team where they took my favorites, or prospects are clearly ahead of the curve towards NHL long term advancement and domination. Value in the players picked and where they are picked will also be key factors.
At first glance, I like a lot of team boards.
http://www.draftsite.com/nhl/draft-history/2013/


Carolina Hurricanes
Grade C+
Elias Lindholm (5)


I view the Hurricane's fall that afforded them the chance to pick fifth as one that was directly based on their losing goalie Can Ward for a huge part of the season, so they were blessed by one of the strongest drafts ever by that five slot. Elias Lindholm gives them another offensive generator with scoring ability. Brett Pesce was an absolute steal in the earlier 3rd round. He is superb gap control guy already, with an active stick, with 4-way skating ability and very good offensive tools and hockey sense. As he starts college, he will need to put more muscle and weight on his lanky frame. Pederson is also a bit of a longer term project well-balanced wing who has natural scoring ability and a bit of aggression. Tyler Ganly has NHL size but a ways to go before becoming an NHL defenseman. I downgrade the Hurricanes because I felt they have taken four players who must still develop further to be NHL rostered players. I may the only one who feels that the larger ice surfaces Lindholm plays on in Sweden afford him more space. He looks like a mobile player but there is no certainty to him making it at centre. He's good going up ice, but he is not a big foot speed guy by any means either. He does have plenty of power behind his stride and that also translate well as an NHL player. His highlight footage display an attacker who has little trouble generating quickly across the pond hasn't played is as many phone booth situations that smaller NHL rinks bring. If he fares well with less time to make plays in a smaller surface, he may really be another weapon at forward for the 'canes.