NHL Central Scouting Service - Mid Term Rankings

[CTLightning26]

Originally Posted by timothy

I'm not opposed to drafting another center with the 1st rounder provided he has size and Top 6 upside, but it's not like the system is devoid in that area. Beyond Szczechura and Jones (who IMO don't have Top 6 upside), we do have Johan Harju and Alex Killorn who do have Top 6 upside, naturally play the pivot position, and have some size to them. Tyrell can also play center, although he doesn't have prototypical size.

That's true...Killorn did play centre in prep school

[Kowalski]

We don't need a center in this draft. Stamkos and Vinny are staying put for a few years. I think we either take the best winger or defenseman available. I'd rather have talent coming up along the wings and on the back line to be honest. Who is the stud defenseman in the system right now? It was supposed to be Lashoff, supposed to be Mihalik, but I'm still not going to turn down a great defenseman that could be a top 4 guy in a few years. I think the wing should be the top of the list, followed by defenseman, then centers, then goalies. I think our goalie depth is as good as it's ever been.

[timothy]

Originally Posted by Kowalski

Who is the stud defenseman in the system right now? It was supposed to be Lashoff, supposed to be Mihalik, but I'm still not going to turn down a great defenseman that could be a top 4 guy in a few years.

That's a good question. I think if you poll me, Chad, and Pete, we all still probably think Ty Wishart is potential Top 4 guy -- maybe a top pair guy. But his development is coming along a little slower than first thought when acquired from the Sharks in the Boyle deal. Vlad Mihalik is another guy who has yo-yo'd the past couple seasons in and out of showing Top 4 upside. He committed himself to serious conditioning this past summer, and it has done wonders for his game. Everyone saw the potential in Matt Lashoff at the end of last season after the trade deadline deal for Recchi that brought him to Tampa. Is his potential anymore than a better skating Kurtis Foster, who is basically a Top 6 guy and 1st unit PP guy? Lashoff got off to a very slow start in Norfolk after not impressing in camp, and just recently has starting heating up.

All three of these guys are former 1st rounders and all have some potential to be Top 4 guys. I like Wishart the best of all three (and he is the highest ranked at BP -- a Top 5 prospect), but Mihalik and Lashoff are the closest to being NHL ready.

[Coldrice]

IMO I think the main page depth chart has everyone slotted right where they need to be, except for a couple of guys.

After Lecavalier and Stamkos, you have Chewie and then there's more intangibles (at the center position - i.e has, could, or is playing center).

Such as... Konopka, Jones, Wright, Halpern, Tyrell, Fadden, Killorn, Craig, and Hall.

Konopka's the 4th line center. Jones and Wright have shown me to be better suited on the wing as forecheckers, also Halpern has been rejuvenated playing on VL4's line. Speaking briefly on Halpern, just how much longer is he going to be here? Not that I want to see him moved, but... right now he's looking much better on the wing and how much longer he's here is up to mgmt.

Tyrell, I believe, is better suited as a RW'er. Fadden, if he could ever cross the threshold could be in the running. Craig just couldn't cross that threshold unfortunately, and Hall played better as a RW'er as well. I don't think the org. has longterm plans for Hall anyway. Which is a shame really, I liked his play an awful lot as a role player.

Which brings me to Killorn. Watching him play with the Crimson, I am totally sold this is a kid much better suited as LW'er than center. That's just me.

So by process of elimination of the above stated... You have Lecavalier, Stamkos, Chewie, and Zenon. Hopes and prayers for Fadden, and Craig.

Which necessitates taking a Center in this years draft, IMO.

[Coldrice]

To touch base regarding the winger depth thus far...

Basically the RW depth looks absolutely solid... with guys like Panik (looked great on RW at the WJC's), Ashton, (Tyrell), even DeCoste and Sointu. I look forward to seeing their games taken to the next level in Norfolk. Hell, even if you could ever get Tukonen's rear end over to NA to play with the Ad's.

You could argue that possibly the LW position may be just a tad less sparse than center. Hutchings and Killorn is all I see at the moment. Fingers crossed Harju makes the jump back over here (escapes) from Moscow Dynamo.

[Kowalski]

Originally Posted by Coldrice

IMO I think the main page depth chart has everyone slotted right where they need to be, except for a couple of guys.

After Lecavalier and Stamkos, you have Chewie and then there's more intangibles (at the center position - i.e has, could, or is playing center).

Such as... Konopka, Jones, Wright, Halpern, Tyrell, Fadden, Killorn, Craig, and Hall.

Konopka's the 4th line center. Jones and Wright have shown me to be better suited on the wing as forecheckers, also Halpern has been rejuvenated playing on VL4's line. Speaking briefly on Halpern, just how much longer is he going to be here? Not that I want to see him moved, but... right now he's looking much better on the wing and how much longer he's here is up to mgmt.

Tyrell, I believe, is better suited as a RW'er. Fadden, if he could ever cross the threshold could be in the running. Craig just couldn't cross that threshold unfortunately, and Hall played better as a RW'er as well. I don't think the org. has longterm plans for Hall anyway. Which is a shame really, I liked his play an awful lot as a role player.

Which brings me to Killorn. Watching him play with the Crimson, I am totally sold this is a kid much better suited as LW'er than center. That's just me.

So by process of elimination of the above stated... You have Lecavalier, Stamkos, Chewie, and Zenon. Hopes and prayers for Fadden, and Craig.

Which necessitates taking a Center in this years draft, IMO.

That does make it a little more clear. I guess I'm just looking at the next 3-5 years of the center position on the top 2 lines and it looks pretty well filled. I think the replacement for Marty should be the team's top priority at this point. I just think that where we'll be picking in this year's draft we won't be finding someone better at their job than Vinny or Stamkos. So I think you look to take a good winger or defenseman. Elite centers are usually top 5 picks.

[pete]

Who is the stud defenseman in the system right now?

It's not a pressing need because you just drafted Victor Hedman. We could use a righty shot offensive defenseman, and if that guy is BPA where we pick I'm sure they'll take him, but it's not that pressing, IMO.

The absence of a stud centreman prospect hamstrings the Lightning because even if they wanted to move Lecavalier they can't do it without tearing a hole in the team because no team that acquires Lecavalier is likely to swap a good center in return.

[Kowalski]

Originally Posted by pete

It's not a pressing need because you just drafted Victor Hedman. We could use a righty shot offensive defenseman, and if that guy is BPA where we pick I'm sure they'll take him, but it's not that pressing, IMO.

The absence of a stud centreman prospect hamstrings the Lightning because even if they wanted to move Lecavalier they can't do it without tearing a hole in the team because no team that acquires Lecavalier is likely to swap a good center in return.

Maybe true but I think Vinny is staying put for a while. He's playing well and I think as his shoulder and wrist get stronger, he'll get better. If (let's pray it doesn't happen) we somehow end up a lottery team again this year and have a chance to land Seguin or Hall I'm not going to say don't take one or the other. You win either way. I just think if we end up at 3 somehow and Seguin and Hall are gone and we're left to choose between Cam Fowler and Riley Sheahan, I think you take Fowler before you take the center. Let's hope we don't have that problem. I guess I'm just looking at it like this:

If you do someday decide to trade Lecavalier, you're almost better off tanking that season to have a great shot at picking whoever is the top center available to slot behind Stamkos. If not, you can stick with the two fantastic centers we already have for 5 more years and just keep supplying talent on their wings until you find consistent fits. Hopefully they're young players and we pretty much just put in small plugs and ride the combo to a cup or three. Good times.

[Sotnos]

Tanking is a horrible idea no matter what the scenario.

[Avery86]

Originally Posted by Sotnos

Tanking is a horrible idea no matter what the scenario.

Yup. The hockey gods hate it.