Prospect Mailbag: Podkolzin vs. Broberg, the Veleno drop and extra

The 2019 NHL Draft is only one week away and I for one am very excited. Not solely as a result of Vancouver has devastating dim sum, but additionally as a result of this guarantees to be such an intriguing draft class. Who goes No. three to Chicago? When does Cole Caufield get taken? So many questions.
I suspected you, the readers, could have had some queries as effectively, so I known as out on Twitter in your submissions. Right here’s a bunch of your questions and hopefully, some passable solutions. Holler if you happen to see me in Vancouver!
Who ought to the Canucks take if each Philip Broberg and Vasili Podkolzin are there at No. 10? – Jeff Putnam, @Putsky88
If Podkolzin continues to be there at No. 10, you gotta seize him. I really feel he’s a top-five expertise and whereas the ‘Russian Issue’ could ding his inventory a bit of (he’s signed within the KHL for the following two seasons), he’s well worth the wait. This can be a child who performs all-out in large conditions and could have a good meatier function at subsequent 12 months’s world juniors than he did on this season’s bronze-medal squad. Whereas Broberg is super-intriguing, I see his draft vary as being a bit of additional down. So value-wise, go Podkolzin.
If Podkolzin begins to fall previous 15 might you see a workforce just like the Caps transfer as much as get – ECB, @bce1801
Based mostly off my enthusiasm from the earlier query, I guess you possibly can guess my reply: Sure! Particularly because the Caps have had such nice success with Russians.
Who do you suppose is the Charlotte Checker probably to have an effect on the NHL degree subsequent 12 months? – Trevor Davidson, @lasthopehockey
It will be straightforward to say Martin Necas, Jake Bean or Haydn Fleury, however I’m gonna go off the board a bit and say Morgan Geekie (and congrats to the Checkers on profitable the Calder Cup). It was Geekie who completed tied for second in playoff scoring on the workforce and his hard-working recreation can translate to the NHL shortly. Even when he’s solely a fourth-liner to begin with, he has worth. The extra marquee guys I named have to have large summers in the event that they wish to change into full-timers and whereas Bean and Fleury have a gap due to Trevor van Riemsdyk’s harm, they nonetheless must earn it.
I’ve to ask who the Avs are rumored to take at No. four. Plus any daring predictions on who may be a shock early decide like Barrett Hayton was final 12 months? – Jackie, @tigervixxxen
I don’t have any intel on Colorado, sadly (and I’m detest to imagine something ‘leaked’ main as much as the draft), however I wouldn’t be shocked to see them seize Bowen Byram if he’s there. As for daring predictions, I’ll say Ville Heinola. I don’t see the Finnish defenseman going as excessive as Hayton (fifth general), however I might see a workforce leaping up within the 10-15 vary for him. A number of scouts described Heinola as a “poor man’s Miro Heiskanen,” so there’s clearly lots of potential there.
Can Nic Hague steal a roster spot in Vegas subsequent season? – Aaron Goldschmidt, @lateinthegoldie
You realize what? I believe he has an outdoor likelihood. Trying on the Vegas depth chart proper now, there’s a path if he has an ideal camp. His primary competitors can be Jimmy Schuldt, one other left-shot D-man (albeit with a unique ability set) who was signed as a sought-after school free agent from St. Cloud State and, to a lesser extent, NHL veteran Jon Merrill. The Golden Knights set a cultural tone early once they refused to reward Vadim Shipachyov with an unearned roster spot, so if Hague can sustain his sturdy play this fall, there’s no purpose to not give him a shot with the massive membership.
Do you suppose the harm Peyton Krebs suffered will play lots in is choice? That he might be out of the highest 10-15? – Novam Desjardins, @LeFrere93
I believe he’ll be OK. Sure, a torn Achilles tendon is nasty, however scouts already acquired a full season’s price of Krebs to know what he tasks to be sooner or later. Maybe much more essential, they noticed what he might do when surrounded by top-end expertise, as was the case with Canada on the world under-18s. Krebs had 10 factors in seven video games whereas sporting the ‘C’ as captain.
Whichever workforce drafts him will simply go in realizing that Krebs will want a bit of extra time to develop than initially anticipated. However that’s fantastic; take a look at what injury-plagued Edmonton Oilers decide Tyler Benson did with AHL Bakersfield this 12 months (spoiler: he killed).
Which prospect might have the Joe Veleno fall this 12 months? – JJ Hanke, @JJ_Hanke
I’ll return to Veleno’s QMJHL for this one and say Raphael Lavoie. I really like him, however I had a ‘Q’ exec say one thing fascinating to me about him this 12 months: “Some NHL groups need him, different groups need another person to draft him.” Personally, I believe Lavoie’s playoff run with the Halifax Mooseheads ought to put to mattress the concerns about inconsistency, however that’s simply my opinion. If he ought to slide from the center of the primary to the tip, it might be a steal. Similar to Veleno was for the Purple Wings.
I preserve seeing that Ethan Keppen is a “sleeper.” At what level is he not a sleeper if everybody thinks he’s a sleeper? Do you suppose there’s an opportunity he’ll be a 2nd-Third rounder? – Colton Hunter, @ColtonHunter17
Ha ha! That’s a reasonably good level about “fashionable” sleepers. I see Keppen as a third-rounder with the potential to go within the second if a workforce loves him. Keppen is one to maintain a watch out for as a result of he has energy ahead potential and that’s onerous to seek out as of late. A man who can rating and impose his will on a recreation bodily? Everyone is on the lookout for that subsequent Tom Wilson. Whether or not or not Keppen can flip right into a Wilson clone is up within the air, however for groups on the lookout for that mixture, he’ll be a preferred choice.
At 15th general, would you draft the Finest Participant Accessible or draft in your want? – Miguel Leduc, @LeducMiguel13
Right here’s the humorous factor: at 15th general, a workforce nonetheless most likely has lots of choices from excessive on their record. It’s at all times suspicious when a GM says “we didn’t suppose he’d be accessible after we picked” after a child is picked, however oftentimes it’s true as a result of particular person franchises have such differing opinions, even on top-end prospects (take a look at Columbus taking Pierre-Luc Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi, for instance). So for that workforce, they’re going BPA as a result of that participant could have been fifth on their record. Drafting for want tends to occur extra when a workforce has exhausted their record within the center rounds and seen that hey, they haven’t taken a left winger in two years.
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Tags: ahl, carolina hurricanes, draft, prospects, vancouver canucks, vegas golden knights, washington capitalsConnect: Concerning the AuthorRyan KennedyRyan Kennedy is the affiliate senior author and draft/prospect professional at The Hockey Information. He has been with the publication since 2005 and in that span, Don Cherry, Lil Jon and The Rock have all known as his home. He lives in Toronto along with his spouse and youngsters the place he listens to loud music and collects NCAA pennants.