Wiz can confirm, but word has it the 2014 draft is a sleeper. A 2nd rounder this year is like a third or early 4th in stronger drafts....
- TrueGrit
Yeah I have been muddling over whether this was a Rockford depth move or a guy they think can continue to come on.
The fact that Phoenix kept him with the parent club probably speaks to that.
So maybe the the hawks are hopeful that he continues developing.
He is 23 for goodness sake (the Hedman Ekman-Larsson and Leddy Olsen draft)
Florida thinks Olsen can improve so why can't the hawks think Rundblad can also?
No one has been rushing Leddy or pressuring him, just a gradual process and growth.
In the process of attempting to put my feeble mind through this exercise, I also did think about the fact that they actually got two guys not one, and that in fact this draft is so filled after pick number 24 with guys with warts all over them, so you can't weigh the second as second last year or next year, but it
still is giving the Coyotes a chance to select the guy with the warts they like before the 60th player is picked.
I didn't publish this yet at DraftSite, so I will use the blog (since we are talking about it to put this draft in context:
These are what I see as universal Draft Tiers that can be applied to all drafts. Each draft will have varying numbers of players on each subsequent tier.
Tier One: Elite Prospects - There is strong reason to believe these players, at very minimum, will be NHL players, but most likely will be upper end NHLers, and hopefully star players, top line contributors, and eventual top pairing defensemen.
I am of the opinion there are a possible three - four players that fit this category with an elite three that must be considered as a higher subcategory of tier one. (2013 Draft had an unheard of seven players)
I am of the opinion there are an unheard seven players that fit this category with an elite three that must be considered as a higher subcategory of tier one.
(Let be noted that prior to this 2013 draft, you would have to look hard and long to find a draft year where in weeks prior to the draft, they were viewed with more than a two or maybe three.)
Tier Two: Prospects that are a notch below elite, but most likely will be upper end NHLers, and hopefully high end players.
I am of the opinion there are two players that fit this category. (
2013 Draft had an unheard of ten players.)
(In retrospect, there seem to be only two drafts in past history that you could argue were so well stocked by the late middle of the first, 2003, and 2008. It might be easy to review past drafts and find that solid NHL players have be elected and made solid contributions, but you would be hard pressed to find a draft where the players available at this juncture project to also be impact players,close in ability and upside as the ones, who by consensus, are in marked in the earlier tier.)
Tier Three: Players that are good value in the early, mid first round as players who may have signficant upside and tools and may have long NHL careers.
I am of the opinion there are five players that fit this category, starting with seventh overall slot.
(2013 Draft had six players in Tier three, starting with pick 18.)
Tier Four: Players that are good value through the late first round as players who may have significant upside in some areas, and may have solid NHL careers.
I am of the opinion there are 5 players that fit this category, filling draft slots 12-16.
(2013 Draft had an unprecedented sixteen players in Tier four, starting with pick 18.)
Tier Five: Players that are good value through the the late first round and second round, and may have fallen due to lack of progress in the draft year, or are still working to win over talent evaluators to the idea that they will who may have significant upside, with developing tools, with the chance to have NHL careers.
I am of the opinion there are 10 players that fit this category, filling draft slots 17-26.
(and these are "hopefuls" not guarantees because already they are missing size, or feet, or skill or are just not close to moving past being goos in junior)
Tier Six: Players that teams are targeting in middle rounds because they are deemed "works in progress" as they have deficits to overcome to be NHL players that may require the parts are not yet in place.
I am of the opinion that this year's sixth tier begins before the end of the first round, and extends far into the second round. Most players at this juncture of the draft, still with questions,parts of their game missing, or are not rounded out enough to even project their eventual ascension into the pros.
(In 2013 the 6th Tier started mid-4th round and extended to mid 5th round, not before the first round ended.!)
In the 2013 Draft sixth tier doesn't start to become evident until middle of the 4th round and extends past the middle 5th round. In this area of the draft, teams will start looking players who were not drafted in previous years and possibly have made scouting staffs rethink their decisions on passing on them the year(s) before. A European player might have not been "on the radar," based on his junior team contributions, but that player's advancement into the various Euro pro teams since previous draft(s) might have NHL teams now viewing him in a very different light.
(Players like Chicago's Andrew Shaw can found in this tier with some luck. Shaw was always undersized, but he continued to round out as a player with some many attributes necessary to be an NHLer. San Jose's Tommy Wingels, Minnesota's undersized Jared Spurgeon, Vancouver's Frankie Corrado, L.A's Jake Muzzin, and Philedelphia's Zac Rinaldo. The true diamond in this grouping has to be Dallas' find of Jamie Benn in the 129th overall ion the 5th round. With hard work he got more skilled, bigger, faster and stronger with the Stars being the beneficiaries.)
Tier Seven: Players that teams are targeting because they are are deemed "works in progress" as they have deficits to overcome to be NHL players that may require long term development. Their developmental upside seems "capped" due to limitations in size and/or ability.
It is very difficult for me to delineate when teams will start jumping from Tier Six to Seven. As individual team scouting staffs, start both the second and third rounds, they will be making determinations as to which “weaknesses” are less hinderance as the players are given more time to iron out their wrinkles. Can the lack of size be overcome? He has the size, will he eventually add the skills to compete with time. I expect that each staff is going to have favorites and patience will be a large part of the outcomes after the draft ends.
Tier Eight: Players who are basically long-shots but due to favorable characteristics that they have displayed in their past performances at varied levels of hockey, may be able to overcome various deficiencies and ascend to the NHL level.
I think that this speciifc draft will see teams with almost complete different lists depending upon the depth they have scouted the class and this area will be all about "Their guys" and the selection of players from smaller junior leagues, 3rd year eligible Euro players that maybe only they know will make the move from the KHL IF their (better playoff bound) team takes them
