Castle8130
Registered User
- May 9, 2017
- 2,856
- 2,193
The Hawks just won the 2023 NHL Lottery and guaranteed the ability to pick Connor Bedard, a Franchise talent at the very least. Similar to that, the Oilers and the Leafs drafted Mcdavid and Matthews. Two players that had tons of hype as well. Both of these teams have had continuous regular season success, but have had trouble in the playoffs. The one thing I noticed is they lack a strong blue-line. Both teams have either an average or below average defensive core each year. Lets take a look at the defensemen they took in the 1st 2 rounds of each draft after taking Mcdavid in 2015 and Matthews in 2016:
Oilers:
2016: None
2017: None
2018: Evan Bouchard (huge impact player)
2019: Phillip Broberg (still young, but a roster player)
2020: None
2021: None
2022: None
Leafs:
2017: Timothy liljegren (semi-impact player), Eemeli Rasanen (bust)
2018: Rasmus Sandin (impact player, traded for salary cap reasons), Sean Durzi (roster player that can play PP)
2019: None
2020: None
2021: None
2022: None
After looking at all these players, I recognized a similar pattern. Most, if not all, are offensive defensemen. These offensive powerhouses were trying to add more fuel to the fire by adding more offense. This is where I think they went wrong. They needed safe defensive players to draft in the top 2 rounds to add strong support for their star players.
Now lets take a look at the Hawks since 2016-2022:
2016: Chad Krys (bust)
2017: Henri Jokiharju (Roster player), Ian Mitchell (bust)
2018: Adam Boqvist (still young, but a dissapointment), Nicolas Beaudin (bust)
2019: Alex Vlasic
2020: None, but hit with Isaak Phillips and Wyatt Kaiser with later picks
2021: Nolan Allan
2022: Kevin Korchinski, Sam Rinzel
Now I know the first half is not appealing, but let's take a look at the types of players the Hawks drafted. All of the players we drafted from 2016-2018 were all players that were smaller offensive defensemen. They all have that in common. This type of player is very rare and hard to find. IT IS VERY HARD TO HIT WITH THAT PLAYER TYPE.
From 2019-2022, the Hawks selected a completely different group that is much different (Safe). Outside of Korchinksi, none of these players have a huge offensive punch to their game. They are all relatively big and are good skaters. These are the types of players teams like the Oilers and the Leafs needed. They don't need anymore forwards than the cores they have. Depth scoring is far easier to add from free agency and deadlines than these defensive defensemen.
MY PROPOSAL IS THIS: From here on out, the Hawks draft big bodies with good skating and two-way ability. Players that are weaker in the offensive zone and always use either a 1st or 2nd round pick on these types for every draft Bedard is a Hawk. And if the Hawks draft one of these players with a later second round pick, we pick another defenseman with the next pick we have.
This is similar to how the 49ers and Patriots draft running backs with 3rd round picks in the NFL. I know it's not the same, but this seems relatable.
Oilers:
2016: None
2017: None
2018: Evan Bouchard (huge impact player)
2019: Phillip Broberg (still young, but a roster player)
2020: None
2021: None
2022: None
Leafs:
2017: Timothy liljegren (semi-impact player), Eemeli Rasanen (bust)
2018: Rasmus Sandin (impact player, traded for salary cap reasons), Sean Durzi (roster player that can play PP)
2019: None
2020: None
2021: None
2022: None
After looking at all these players, I recognized a similar pattern. Most, if not all, are offensive defensemen. These offensive powerhouses were trying to add more fuel to the fire by adding more offense. This is where I think they went wrong. They needed safe defensive players to draft in the top 2 rounds to add strong support for their star players.
Now lets take a look at the Hawks since 2016-2022:
2016: Chad Krys (bust)
2017: Henri Jokiharju (Roster player), Ian Mitchell (bust)
2018: Adam Boqvist (still young, but a dissapointment), Nicolas Beaudin (bust)
2019: Alex Vlasic
2020: None, but hit with Isaak Phillips and Wyatt Kaiser with later picks
2021: Nolan Allan
2022: Kevin Korchinski, Sam Rinzel
Now I know the first half is not appealing, but let's take a look at the types of players the Hawks drafted. All of the players we drafted from 2016-2018 were all players that were smaller offensive defensemen. They all have that in common. This type of player is very rare and hard to find. IT IS VERY HARD TO HIT WITH THAT PLAYER TYPE.
From 2019-2022, the Hawks selected a completely different group that is much different (Safe). Outside of Korchinksi, none of these players have a huge offensive punch to their game. They are all relatively big and are good skaters. These are the types of players teams like the Oilers and the Leafs needed. They don't need anymore forwards than the cores they have. Depth scoring is far easier to add from free agency and deadlines than these defensive defensemen.
MY PROPOSAL IS THIS: From here on out, the Hawks draft big bodies with good skating and two-way ability. Players that are weaker in the offensive zone and always use either a 1st or 2nd round pick on these types for every draft Bedard is a Hawk. And if the Hawks draft one of these players with a later second round pick, we pick another defenseman with the next pick we have.
This is similar to how the 49ers and Patriots draft running backs with 3rd round picks in the NFL. I know it's not the same, but this seems relatable.