Michael Stuart: August Draft Happenings

I’m a big believer in drysdale and my own opinion is that he will be the better player. That said I’m not a scout and it’s not like I haven’t made predictions with prospects that turned out to be flops.

I think if I’m sens management I ask myself two questions when deciding between the two. The first is what player is the BPA? If there is no clear cut answer you move onto the second question which is is do you believe that one of JBD, Thomson or Branstrom can become top pair RDs? Normally that’s not a deciding factor but when you are getting one high end forward already you can be picky as this will shape the team for the next decade.

The other hand you are 100% getting a center at 3 so you also have the opportunity to grab a winger to pair together for their careers, or you can pick Rossi if you get and want to develop Stutzle at wing instead of C.

Any interest in Athansiou for a pick or two (one of the mid-2nds and a lower pick)? It's looking plausible that the Oilers won't be able to fit him and a 3C under the cap. Alternatively, would there be any interest in Athanasiou for Tierney?

How about Virtanen/Stecher/Roussel for Berggren/2nd

I’m a big believer in drysdale and my own opinion is that he will be the better player. That said I’m not a scout and it’s not like I haven’t made predictions with prospects that turned out to be flops.

I think if I’m sens management I ask myself two questions when deciding between the two. The first is what player is the BPA? If there is no clear cut answer you move onto the second question which is is do you believe that one of JBD, Thomson or Branstrom can become top pair RDs? Normally that’s not a deciding factor but when you are getting one high end forward already you can be picky as this will shape the team for the next decade.

The other hand you are 100% getting a center at 3 so you also have the opportunity to grab a winger to pair together for their careers, or you can pick Rossi if you get and want to develop Stutzle at wing instead of C.
- RedC21

I would love for the sens 2 draft two forwards/centers with 3 and 5. It's hard to pass on drysdale. But if they do choose D Man. Please get drysdale instead of Sanderson. I've seen some of his highlights and not that impressed as I am with drysdale.

Stutzle/rossi

LAF/ drysdale

Byfield /raymond

I would like for the 3 and 5 picks to play in the NHL this coming season. Raymond and holtz still have 1 more year oversea which sucks.


Please PD dont waste OUR 5th pick on SANDERSON😡😡😡

was heavily leaning to Raymond at 5. really think elite scoring forwards is our # 1 weakness. especially Rw is quite weak compared to our Center and Lw depth

However seeing how much jones / werenski dominated that leafs series, going to be hard to pass up the best dman in the draft.

LD - chab / brann/ wolanin
RD - Drysdale/ JBD / lassi

pretty nice depth, not too mention other wildcards (guenette / alsing/ zub / jaros)

if all these young guys develop well, perhaps too much talent to distribute the ice accordingly during the.... wait for it..... UNPARALLELED RUN OF SUCCESS

Good dman are always in demand, easy to trade one of the young guns if need be down the road.

Be interesting to see what pd and the crew do at 5

Were getting a stud either way whether its rossi, raymond or drysdale

Im thinking more and more we should pick up Drysdale. He's the best Dman of the class and they are so hard to come by. Sure, Raymond and/or Rossi will be amazing players but RHD is still our weakness and adding Drysdale would give us one of the most talented groups at the back while we already have quite some front end talents.

was heavily leaning to Raymond at 5. really think elite scoring forwards is our # 1 weakness. especially Rw is quite weak compared to our Center and Lw depth

However seeing how much jones / werenski dominated that leafs series, going to be hard to pass up the best dman in the draft.

LD - chab / brann/ wolanin
RD - Drysdale/ JBD / lassi

pretty nice depth, not too mention other wildcards (guenette / alsing/ zub / jaros)

if all these young guys develop well, perhaps too much talent to distribute the ice accordingly during the.... wait for it..... UNPARALLELED RUN OF SUCCESS

Good dman are always in demand, easy to trade one of the young guns if need be down the road.

Be interesting to see what pd and the crew do at 5

Were getting a stud either way whether its rossi, raymond or drysdale
- Torontosensfan

Commented without seeing this, 100% agreed

How about Virtanen/Stecher/Roussel for Berggren/2nd
- Nighthawk

no thanks, we have enough depth

So, Garrioch says Rangers are open to talk about dealing the #1. Supposedly, they really like Byfield. Does LA really want Stutzle? Could the Sens make this happen?

No way Ottawa gives up #3 and #5 for #1. But, would I give up #3 and #21 for #1? I think so! But, Rangers probably need more.

Would I be open to talking about Brady Tkachuk in an even larger deal? Maybe.

I think the Rangers want to be a Stanley Cup contender now. Kakko did not live up to the high expectations. He was okay. But Rangers want more.

I was settled in my mind that Ottawa was going to have Byfield fall into their lap. I was happy.

I am concerned that if Ottawa gets drawn into negotiations over the #1 they can only end up taking a backwards step.

I would love for the sens 2 draft two forwards/centers with 3 and 5. It's hard to pass on drysdale. But if they do choose D Man. Please get drysdale instead of Sanderson. I've seen some of his highlights and not that impressed as I am with drysdale.

Stutzle/rossi

LAF/ drysdale

Byfield /raymond

I would like for the 3 and 5 picks to play in the NHL this coming season. Raymond and holtz still have 1 more year oversea which sucks.


Please PD dont waste OUR 5th pick on SANDERSON😡😡😡

They absolutely have to get one center with those 2 picks.....so if they get byfield at 3, then Drysdale at 5 is okay (not my choice, but not bad).....but if they get stutzle at 3, they HAVE to go Rossi or Perfetti at 5. Ottawa doesn't have a legit top line C in the system, and they need one desperately. they can't miss on getting one this draft

was heavily leaning to Raymond at 5. really think elite scoring forwards is our # 1 weakness. especially Rw is quite weak compared to our Center and Lw depth

However seeing how much jones / werenski dominated that leafs series, going to be hard to pass up the best dman in the draft.

LD - chab / brann/ wolanin
RD - Drysdale/ JBD / lassi

pretty nice depth, not too mention other wildcards (guenette / alsing/ zub / jaros)

if all these young guys develop well, perhaps too much talent to distribute the ice accordingly during the.... wait for it..... UNPARALLELED RUN OF SUCCESS

Good dman are always in demand, easy to trade one of the young guns if need be down the road.

Be interesting to see what pd and the crew do at 5

Were getting a stud either way whether its rossi, raymond or drysdale
- Torontosensfan

Drysdale is not Jones, not even close.........Ottawa has PLENTY of good young D prospects....they need forwards

This is a deep draft. A deep draft means more NHL quality prospects, not prospects with a higher ceiling than other drafts. Get over it. There are no Connor McDavid in this draft. There's Lafreniere and the rest. In 2 years from now once the Sens have the coaching situation settled we should revisit this draft and compare to what was already in the system.

This is a deep draft. A deep draft means more NHL quality prospects, not prospects with a higher ceiling than other drafts. Get over it. There are no Connor McDavid in this draft. There's Lafreniere and the rest. In 2 years from now once the Sens have the coaching situation settled we should revisit this draft and compare to what was already in the system.
- granpa

just stop man, you're the ONLY person on earth who thinks Smith is a problem and you sound more and more ridiculous with each subsequent post.

seriously, just stop.

just stop man, you're the ONLY person on earth who thinks Smith is a problem and you sound more and more ridiculous with each subsequent post.

seriously, just stop.
- sensarmy_11

I usually don't agree with the comments you post but I don't tell you to stop. So the least you can do is extend me the courtesy of voicing my opinion.

The more I look at playoff hockey the more I believe Smith is in over his head.

I've been saying since the draft that I think LA will pick Stutzle at #2 but if not I think Ottawa should go with....

#3. Byfield or Stutzle
#5 Drysdale

That way we get a potential elite forward and a very solid D core moving forward.

I also think somehow we should put a package together and try to trade up to #4 and also pick up Rossi.

Getting 3,4,5 in this deep of a draft is huge and Ottawa has the abundance of pieces and cap space to make it happen.

This would put the rebuild into the next stage literally over night in my opinion

Drysdale is not Jones, not even close.........Ottawa has PLENTY of good young D prospects....they need forwards
- sensarmy_11

I'm glad that someone else noticed that... Werenski is 6'2/210, Jones is 6'4/210, and both have proven to be very tenacious players. Drysdale is 5'11/170 soaking wet, with a few rocks in his pockets. And while he may become an excellent offensive defenceman, that doesn't mean he'll be able to "shutdown" anyone... let alone the likes of Matthews/Tavares.

The idea of the Rangers trading down to get Byfield is a very interesting one... I'd say Dorion would almost certainly offer the #3/NYI picks if that would actually get the deal done. The real question is what else the Rangers might want instead. I don't think Chabot/Tkachuk are in the discussion, but maybe the #3 overall pick plus a more NHL-ready former 1st round pick, like Brannstrom, Norris, Thomson, or Bernard-Docker? Or might there be a deal possible for the Senators to take on Lundqvist's final year at $8.5AAV vs. $5.5M actual dollars? Which, in turn, could free the Rangers up to take a serious run at someone like Pietrangelo as a UFA?

Probably not, of course... but there are some very interesting possibilities on the table.

I have a hard time seeing the Rangers dealing that pick.

Who are the ones saying Byfield is closer to Laf? Are people’s brains melting because there’s just so much time in between to dissect and create more of a buzz?

And let’s say for argument sake, he was the closest to Laf...why then would he not be the consensus #2 pick?

Could he become the best player in the draft? Sure he can, but so can the other top 10 players as well. Heck, Askarov could end up becoming the best player in this draft!

Lafreniere is the whole package. There should be no debate.

This is also coming from someone who’s actually watched most, if not all the top 20-25 players in some shape or form throughout the season because I knew the Sens would be bad.

I would love for the sens 2 draft two forwards/centers with 3 and 5. It's hard to pass on drysdale. But if they do choose D Man. Please get drysdale instead of Sanderson. I've seen some of his highlights and not that impressed as I am with drysdale.

Stutzle/rossi

LAF/ drysdale

Byfield /raymond

I would like for the 3 and 5 picks to play in the NHL this coming season. Raymond and holtz still have 1 more year oversea which sucks.


Please PD dont waste OUR 5th pick on SANDERSON😡😡😡
- SENS-sational

I agree, Sanderson being mentioned anywhere in the top 8 is a joke. He moved from projected mid-1st rounder to top 10 without playing a game. Definitely a player I would stay away from

I have a hard time seeing the Rangers dealing that pick.
Who are the ones saying Byfield is closer to Laf? Are people’s brains melting because there’s just so much time in between to dissect and create more of a buzz?
And let’s say for argument sake, he was the closest to Laf...why then would he not be the consensus #2 pick?
- Trilla

People really need to give up on the whole 'consensus' thing... it neither exists or matters outside of TSN-world. The only thing that does matter is the New York Rangers' GM and scouting team, and what direction they think will make them a better hockey team. If they believe a high-end C is what need, then they may use the value of Lafreniere to achieve that goal. Or it's quite possible that they really do feel that Byfield is going to be the best player of the draft... we've already seen multiple examples in recent years of teams bypassing the supposed "consensus BPA" within the top-5 picks to select a highly-ranked C... including Barkov over Drouin/Jones, Dubois over Puljujarvi, Kotkaniemi over Tkachuk, and Hayton over Zadina. But at the end of the day, what Bob MacKenzie and the other 30 teams in the league think is irrelevant... the Rangers are going to do what every other team does, and follow their own draft lists based on their own prospect assessment and evaluation.

In a deep draft like this the BPA at #5 should be taken. If both Drysdale and Raymond are considered equal then I would take Raymond. Defense are harder to project and there is a higher chance that Drysdale doesn't turn out to be elite in the NHL. Plus, we have several good defense prospects, and next years draft is suppose to be heavy on quality D-men (assuming we are picking in top 10 somewhere). Take Raymond.

For comparing Lafreniere to Byfield, you almost have to look and LAFs previous year because of the age difference, which I believe puts them neck and neck. I do agree Lafreniere is the better player right now though.

Trade #3 and NYI pick + one decent prospect for #1 , but please do not trade #3 and #5 to get it - I bet Melnyk pushes for the later because it will mean more merchandise sales, even if it produces a weaker hockey team.

Now that trades can be made with the eliminated teams. I'm getting pretty nervous thinking PD will do something crazy and trade 3 and 5 for #1. I hope PD gets #1 by taking lundquist contract and trades 21st pick and other roster players. Imagine if sens had 1,3,5. 👍☺️☺️☺️

Keep 3 and 5

Take the best talent available regardless of position.

For me that would be:
Stutzle or Byfield - assuming Laffy goes # 1 and LA picks one of the two

At 5 - go with another forward - Raymond/Rossi - let Drysdale slide - lots of established and prospecys in the pipeline - Chabot, Thompson, Brannstrom

Vantel just suggested 3,5 brannstrom and thomoson for laffy on the canucks board. Thoughts?

Vantel just suggested 3,5 brannstrom and thomoson for laffy Onvthe canucks board
- neem55

Hes an idiot.🤦‍♂️