More fizzle than sizzle at draft
Big event not without surprises, but there was lots of talk about what didn’t happen
When the dust had finally settled, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog were still members of the Colorado Avalanche, Alex Galchenyuk was still playing for the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets were still searching for a No. 1 goalie.
No, the NHL Entry Draft did not quite live up to the hype many had expected.
But that didn’t mean it was a quiet weekend. There were trades, such as Chicago bringing back Brandon Saad from Columbus for Artemi Panarin.
And there were surprise picks, such as Nico Hischier going first overall to the New Jersey Devils.
From Vegas making its first picks as an expansion franchise to the why speed mattered more than size, here is a breakdown of the winners and losers from the two-day event:
Winners ARIZONA EARNS RESPECT
The captain had been booted out the door and the head coach had walked away. But the Coyotes somehow saved face at the draft thanks to some shrewd moves made by GM John Chayka.
First, Arizona pried top-pairing defenceman Nicklas Hjalmarsson from Chicago and then sent a firstround pick to the Rangers for starting goalie Antti Raanta and second-line centre Derek Stepan.
Suddenly, the Coyotes don’t look like the mess many were calling them. Who knows, with top prospects Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome expected to join the team next season, Arizona might have positioned itself into a playoff team.
VEGAS, BABY
The expansion draft was a chance for the Golden Knights to pick a team for next season. But the entry draft was a chance for them to build a Stanley Cup contender for the future. The team took a huge step toward that in selecting Cody Glass (sixth overall), Nick Suzuki (No. 13) and Erik Brannstrom (No. 15).
“When are you ever going to get three picks in the first 15? You may never get that again,” said Hockey Prospect Radio’s Shane Malloy, who particularly liked Vegas’ selection of defenceman Nic Hague early in the second round. “They got great value there. The first three picks, alone, are like three separate drafts. I love it. I love what they did.”
PINT-SIZED PICKS
From undersized defencemen Cale Makar (Colorado) and Erik Brannstrom (Vegas) to rail-thin forwards Lias Andersson (Vancouver) and Morgan Frost (Philadelphia), the first round was notable for the number of undersized prospects who five or 10 years ago would have gone seven rounds without being picked.
But there is small and then there is Kailer Yamamoto. At 5-foot-7, he became the shortest player ever selected in the first round when Edmonton chose him at No. 22.
“I think I weigh the lightest too,” said Yamamoto, who mentioned Johnny Gaudreau and Tyler Johnson as obvious role models. “I thank them for having paved the pathway for smaller players like me. They’ve done a phenomenal job.”
CALGARY BEEFS UP BLUE LINE
The Flames entered the off-season with a wish list that included finding a No. 1 goalie and getting stronger on defence. It was a check. And check.
After acquiring Mike Smith from the Coyotes, the Flames won the bidding war for Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic, who was acquired in exchange for first- and second-round picks in next year’s draft and either a 2019 or 2020 second-round pick (the Islanders also will send a fourth-round pick in either 2019 or 2020).
“We like it on paper,” GM Brad Treliving said of adding Hamonic to a defence corps that already includes Marc Giordano, T.J. Brodie and Dougie Hamilton. “I think we’ve got two pairs out there that can play against anybody. And that’s a big asset.”
SWITZERLAND GOES NO. 1
The tennis-playing nation shocked the hockey world when Nico Hischier — and not Manitoba’s Nolan Patrick — went first overall on Friday night. But the player’s passport was the last thing on the mind of New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero.
“I think it’s a great story, obviously, to draft the first Swiss kid, but honestly he’s a hockey player,” said Shero. “Swiss really didn’t matter.”
Shero also admitted that while everyone was focused on Nico versus Nolan, the two-horse race really included four potential horses.
“I considered everybody,” he said. “I think these two defencemen (third-overall pick Miro Heiskanen and fourth-overall pick Cale Makar) can be really special. I wish I had two picks, because we need a forward and a defenceman.”
Losers RUSSIAN REVOLT
From Artemi Panarin and Nikita Zaitsev to Alexander Radulov and Vadim Shipyachov, more players than ever are coming over from the KHL and playing in the NHL these days. But that still didn’t prevent teams from having cold feet when it came to drafting Russians.
Klim Kostin, whom NHL Central Scouting ranked as the top-European skater, fell to 31st overall and only one other Russian (Alexander Volkov) was selected in the second round.
More went in the later rounds, which sort of makes sense.
After all, many Russians are coming over. But in most cases, they are waiting several years before making the jump.
COLORADO FAILS TO ACT
You had one job, Joe Sakic. Well, maybe two.
Either way, for the Avalanche GM to go the entire draft weekend without trading Matt Duchene and/or Gabriel Landeskog was a massive missed opportunity.
The team still picked Cale Makar at the No. 4 pick, who some are calling the next Erik Karlsson. But he won’t help the team for at least a couple of more years.
Right now, it appears Colorado needs to do what Edmonton did a year ago and shake up a roster that is clearly not fitting together anymore.
Moving Duchene for a package that includes a first-round pick and blue-chip prospects was the start. That should have happened this weekend.
BLACKHAWKS DOWN
The good news: the Blackhawks brought back Brandon Saad and got younger on defence with the acquisition of defenceman Connor Murphy.
The bad news: they lost Marian Hossa for the season because of a severe allergy, and then traded away Artemi Panarin, who ranked 11th in league scoring, as well as top-4 defenceman Nicklas Hjarmalsson.
Of course, this is nothing new for the Blackhawks, who have been losing players every year since winning the Stanley Cup in 2010. But it’s hurts just the same.
“I don’t know what to think … everyone is kind of shocked,” said captain Jonathan Toews.
“Those were changes that I don’t think any of us expected, but I guess we’ve kind of learned to accept the fact that’s part of the game, part of the nature that things aren’t always going to stay the same in the locker-room in Chicago.”
SIZE DOESN’T MATTER
It used to be that height was an asset. It still might be. But it can’t be the only asset. Tall players have to skate, have to be able to move the puck and have to be more than just tall.
Aside from 6-foot-5 Michael Rasmussen going 5th overall and Callan Foote getting selected at the No. 14 spot, height wasn’t much of a factor as it has been in past drafts. Of the top-10 picks, 16 were 6-foot-1 or shorter.
As a result, 6-foot-6 defenceman Nic Hague (ranked 20th among North American skaters) fell to the second round. So did 6-foot5 winger Isaac Ratcliffe (ranked 15th).
“I grew kind of so fast, so I had to catch up and grow into my body a bit,” said Hague, who admitted his foot speed was likely a reason for falling.
“But I think my skating has come a long ways in the last couple of years and it’s going to come better.”
SNAIL-LIKE SKATERS
Skating has now trumped size as the biggest quality. It’s why a certain players shot up the rankings and others dropped.
Gabriel Vilardi, who was ranked fourth among North American skaters, was asked about his awkward stride in the days leading up to the draft. He wasn’t selected until 11th overall. An even bigger drop befell Matthew Strome, who had been ranked 33rd among North American skaters, but dropped to 106th overall.
“I’m going to use it as motivation to prove people wrong,” said Strome, whose older brothers, Ryan and Dylan, were both top-5 picks in their draft year.
“If people did think I slipped, I’m going to prove to them that they made the wrong choice.”