Looking at the depth rounds of our scouts' prospect draft in this Sunday Ramblings…
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For the last few weeks I've been sharing the results of the prospect draft with rosters run by the scouts here at DobberProspects. You can read about Rounds 1-3 here, and Rounds 4-7 here. This week, I'll be sharing with you our true depth rounds: 8-11. If you're looking to see who our expert scouts think are worthy of late-round picks that could prove to be useful prospects down the road – look no further. These may not be future superstars but our scouts know how to find value as the pickings get slim, and the competitiveness of our team really showed in the form of trades and forum board curses as coveted players got selected. Let us know who you think are the winners and losers so far in the comments section, as debating and justifying picks is half the fun of drafts like this!
Round 8
| 169 Nashville – Tyler Benson, EDM | 181 Vancouver – Anton Slepyshev, EDM |
| 170 Minnesota – Jordan Greenway, MIN | 182 Edmonton – Vitali Abramov, CBJ |
| 171 Carolina – Oliver Kylington, CAL | 183 Pittsburgh – Hunter Shinkaruk, CAL |
| 172 St. Louis – Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, BOS | 184 Dallas – Denis Cholowski, DET |
| 173 Toronto – Adam Pelech, NYI | 185 Tampa – Spencer Watson, LA |
| 174 Winnipeg (via COL) – Ryan MacInnis, ARI | 186 San Jose – Kalle Kossila, ANA |
| 175 Toronto (via OTT) – Mario Lucia, MIN | 187 Calgary (via WSH) – Dylan McIlrath, NYR |
| 176 Colorado (via CGY) – Austin Czarnik, BOS | 188 Florida – Travis Dermott, TOR |
| 177 Buffalo (via CLB) – Ryan Graves, NYR | 189 LA – Lucas Johansen, WAS |
| 178 Chicago – Rourke Chartier, SNJ | 190 Winnipeg – Michael Mersch, LA |
| 179 Arizona – Linus Soderstrom, NYI | 191 Montreal – Jeremy Bracco, TOR |
| 180 Buffalo – Jake Guentzel, PIT | 192 New Jersey – Seth Griffith, BOS |
As seen by the long run of traded picks in Round 8, owners started reaching for what they thought were forgotten gems in this late round. Many owners still sought high-upside players still years away (such as Guentzel – who would've been my next pick) who may prove to be key selections in a few years. In terms of an immediate impact, McIlrath and Shinkaruk could take a roster spot this year depending on their usage, but the vast majority of this round composed of gambles with offensive upside.
Round 9
| 193 New Jersey – Griffin Reinhart, EDM | 205 Columbus (via BUF) – Cal Peterson, BUF |
| 194 Montreal – Miles Wood, NJ | 206 Arizona – Matt Grzelcyk, BOS |
| 195 Colorado (via WPG) – Adam Erne, TB | 207 Chicago – Noah Juulsen, MTL |
| 196 LA – Nic Dowd, LA | 208 Columbus – Yakov Trenin, NSH |
| 197 Florida – Ryan Gropp, NYR | 209 Calgary – Linus Hultstrom, FLA |
| 198 Washington – Riley Barber, WAS | 210 Ottawa – Kristers Gudlevskis, TB |
| 199 San Jose – Frederic Allard, NSH | 211 Colorado – Jack Dougherty, NSH |
| 200 Tampa – Juho Lammikko, FLA | 212 Ottawa (via TOR) – Nicolas Meloche, COL |
| 201 Dallas – Oscar Lindblom, PHI | 213 St. Louis – Austin Poganski, STL |
| 202 Pittsburgh – Dominik Simon, PIT | 214 Carolina – Dmytro Timashov, TOR |
| 203 Edmonton – Sam Steel, ANA | 215 Minnesota – Kirill Kaprizov, MIN |
| 204 Vancouver – Rinat Valiev, TOR | 216 Nashville – Sergei Tolchinsky, CAR |
Round 9 started looking like you may have expected when I described this article as our "depth rounds". Many names taken here are likely unknown to fans outside their respective organizations, but make no mistake – there is still lots of room here for picks to turn into solid owns down the road. Barber will get a shot in the bottom-six of a strong Washingston lineup within the next two years – and an injury in that lineup could give him the chance to unleash his offensive talents shown in the AHL. D-men Doughertey and Meloche have the potential to turn into all-around contributors if their development continues in the positive directions they have been thisyear. Gudlevskis could turn into the backup on one of the best teams in the league if the Ben Bishop trade rumors come to fruition over the next season. These picks aren't just grasping at straws – these are calculated gambles as we fill out our reserve spots with the most depth we can find.
Round 10
| 216 Nashville – Kale Clague, LAK | 228 Vancouver – Gustav Forsling, CHI |
| 217 Minnesota – Sean Day, NYR | 229 Edmonton – Cam Dineen, ARI |
| 218 Carolina – Dylan Sadowy, SJS | 230 Pittsburgh – Tristan Jarry, PIT |
| 219 St. Louis – Gustav Olofsson, MIN | 231 Dallas – Adam Fox, CGY |
| 220 Toronto – Zach Fucale, MTL | 232 Tampa – Joe Hicketts, DET |
| 221 Colorado – Zach Hyman, TOR | 233 San Jose – Anton Forsberg, CBJ |
| 222 Ottawa – Vincent Hinostroza, CHI | 234 Washington – Alan Quine, NYI |
| 223 Calgary – Emile Poirier, CGY | 235 Florida – Matt O'Connor, FLA |
| 224 Columbus – Daniel Zaar, CBJ | 236 LA – Kevin Gravel, LA |
| 225 Chicago – Tyler Parsons, CGY | 237 Winnipeg – Michal Kempny, CHI |
| 226 Arizona – Maxim Letunov, SJS | 238 Montreal – AJ Greer, COL |
| 227 Buffalo – Stanislav Galiev, WSH | 239 New Jersey – Andrew Nielsen, TOR |
Many picks in Round 11 were ones that could have been comfortably made in earlier rounds. Poirier's offensive upside is undoubtedly worth the risk of him being too diminuitive for the NHL. Joe Hicketts' strong play in an organization with room for defencemen to earn spots above their pedigree makes him another worthy pick. Despite some trash talk from my fellow owners, I was quite comfotable with my pick of Zach Hyman – who may not have the highest upside but has already proven to be capable of NHL play, making him a lower risk than most players remaining at this stage of the draft.
Round 11
| 240 New Jersey – Alex Khokhlachev, BOS | 252 Buffalo – Ryan Dzingel, OTT |
| 241 Colorado (via MTL) – Alex Saarela, CAR | 253 Arizona – Brandon Hickey, CGY |
| 242 Winnipeg – Filip Gustavsson, PIT | 254 Chicago – Trent Frederic, BOS |
| 243 LA – Daniel Carr, MTL | 255 Columbus – Roland McKeown, CAR |
| 244 Florida – Cam Morrison, COL | 256 Calgary – Pascal Laberge, PHI |
| 245 Washington – Igor Shesterkin, NYR | 257 Ottawa – Matt Puempel, OTT |
| 246 San Jose – Tommy Novak, NSH | 258 Buffalo (via COL) – Tobias Lindberg, TOR |
| 247 Tampa – Brandon Carlo, BOS | 259 Toronto – Laurent Dauphin, ARI |
| 248 Dallas – Julius Nattinen, ANA | 260 St. Louis – Danny O'Regan, SNJ |
| 249 Pittsburgh – Brandon Halverson, NYR | 261 Carolina – Jordan Kyrou, STL |
| 250 Edmonton – Jonathan Dahlen, OTT | 262 Minnesota – Robert Hagg, PHI |
| 251 Vancouver – Victor Mete, MTL | 263 Nashville – Nicolas Kerdiles, ANA |
Picks got even more interesting and risky in round 11 – my favorite being that of Khokhlachev. Sure there's a very good chance he stays overseas for a long part of his career, but there's also a very good chance that most players taken at this stage never make it to the NHL at all. So swinging for the fences in the form of a talented defecter who already has the talents for an NHL role should he choose to pursue one was a good move in my opinion.
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What picks do you think will turn out to be steals or busts? Leave a comment, and our team writers will be happy to defend their picks with all the competitiveness that is making this draft so exciting for everyone involved. We love to hear what other fantasy nuts think, in fact its half the purpose of this website!
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As always, thank you for reading and best of luck in your upcoming drafts!
Hayden Soboleski
@soboleskih