If I were the Flyers, I would take Pulock or Ristolainen ahead of Nurse if all three were on the board. That doesn't mean Nurse can't end up being the best of the three but I think he requires the biggest leap of faith and the most patience until he is about 23 or 24 years old.
Nurse succeeds in the OHL because he's a great athlete and is physically a man against boys -- and will only fill out in years to come -- despite having only turned 18 in February. However, I've seen him play enough this year to have some concerns about how much patience it will take at the NHL level to get him through his learning curve years. You might see his massive potential turn into being a bonafide star. There are mixed reviews from scouts on whether he could be a point producer in the NHL (stats this year aside) and he's a guy who really could go either way and become either a two-way standout or a little nastier version of Coburn (i.e., a big guy who can skate well and tends be defensively streaky with modest offense).
Far and away, Pulock has the highest pure offensive upside of the three. I don't even think he's all that bad defensively. He can use his size better and get more consistent away from the puck but the tools and there.
Ristolainen, whom I have only seen play at the WJC and in game highlights (it's is all but impossible to find SM-liiga streams but daily free highlights are available within an hour of a game ending) but have talked to a Finnish-based NHL scout about, is the safest pick of the three. He'll be a good puck-mover in the NHL and be decent defensively (although not a shutdown guy against the opponent's top line). He plays with an occasional edge. He's probably not going to be a top-pairing player unless his offensive skills further develop into being a point-producer.
I know for a fact, because Mikael Renberg said it on TV during the WJC, that the Flyers have scouted and like Swedish defenseman Robert Hägg (the Philly scouts solicited Renberg's own opinions on him). He's probably going to get picked sooner than his projected mid-to-late 20s range, but would be an off-the-board hunch if he went around where the Flyers will pick. He's been compared to Kenny Jönsson and Kim Johnsson and I can absolutely see him developing along those lines. - bmeltzer
With coburn, schenn, grossmen as pretty good physical defenders and kimmo getting older I really think we need a blue liner with some kin of offensive upside. While I would not turn down a Ristolian, or even a high end forward(best pick available ) I really just want to be in that perfect position to get that d man with offense so we don't have to trade and listen to the world second guessing said trade, ie bob & jvr.
say columbus offers 18 and 24 for 8 (hypothetical, of course)... are people interested? does it depend on what players are available? - FlyerMike18
Yes based on the article posted at the beginning of this comment section, we would win that trade by about 3 points. For it to be fair we would probably have to give them our 3rd rounder as well.
With coburn, schenn, grossmen as pretty good physical defenders and kimmo getting older I really think we need a blue liner with some kin of offensive upside. While I would not turn down a Ristolian, or even a high end forward(best pick available ) I really just want to be in that perfect position to get that d man with offense so we don't have to trade and listen to the world second guessing said trade, ie bob & jvr. - flyler
I think you mean Lauridsen, Schenn, and Grossmann. We should trade coburn for either draft picks, prospects, or a 3rd liner and some draft picks.
say columbus offers 18 and 24 for 8 (hypothetical, of course)... are people interested? does it depend on what players are available? - FlyerMike18
Yeah. If it happens it's just before the flyers pick. Should a gem for Philly still be there they'll take em but if no & columbus is still interested... Sure.
Problem is the team sitting or 5 6 or 7 would probably make that deal as well. - hereticpride
no one's trying to predict the future... just getting a feeler for what people think would be best for the flyers
i'm honestly not sure if i'd be for it. it seems to me to hinge on nurse and pulock. if you're bullish on them, you probably should hold on to the pick ( i don't know nearly enough about them to make the call....pulock sounds really intriguing though). and of course there's always the chance that a guy like monahan or barkov or someone gets overlooked and falls in the draft
considering the lack of high end prospects in the system, i'd think it makes sense unless you're certain you're looking at a bona fide star at 8
I think you mean Lauridsen, Schenn, and Grossmann. We should trade coburn for either draft picks, prospects, or a 3rd liner and some draft picks. - JAKEw1234
I think coburn's stock is low and he's going to have a bounce back year. Conversely lauridson is flying way to high for his talent level and need to see when he come back to earth(and after everyone falls out of love with him . The only way I trade coburn is in a package for someone like Yandle . A puck mover with offense.
Yeah. If it happens it's just before the flyers pick. Should a gem for Philly still be there they'll take em but if no & columbus is still interested... Sure. - flyler
fair enough... so you'd be a no, say, fifteen minutes before the draft? a tough call for me. it could be a kick in the groin if a guy like monahan/barkov/the russky fell that far
I think coburn's stock is low and he's going to have a bounce back year. Conversely lauridson is flying way to high for his talent level and need to see when he come back to earth(and after everyone falls out of love with him . The only way I trade coburn is in a package for someone like Yandle . A puck mover with offense. - flyler
And we probably could, too. Him or Goligoski, or possibly Carlson.
