Jan Levine: Hockey Buzz Mock Draft: Van/Colo trade, Avalanche pick, Philly on clock Pick #10 is in....

To all you Dads out there -------- HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Carol >>> Benning


ty Carol

Difference in value between 10 and 16 = last year's #16 pick, a 2nd and taking on cap dumps that would've costed Vancouver at least a 2nd and a 3rd worth of value to be free of...

if Buffalo interest in Vesey is true, wonder what the return would be

I was thinking 58th from Tampa and Vesey for the 31st overall pick they got from St Louis seems reasonable

maybe the Rangers 3rd rounder and Vesey instead

I think Dallas is going to trade down to get more picks:

Dallas Morning News:

Because of a busy February, the Stars could have a quieter June.

The Stars have only four picks in next week's draft -- which begins Friday night in Vancouver with the first round, and continues with rounds 2-7 on Saturday -- after trading three of them away during last season. Dallas does not have a second-round pick (lost in the Mats Zuccarello trade deadline deal), third-round pick (in acquiring Ben Lovejoy) or a seventh-round pick (trading for Connor Carrick).

Instead, the Stars hold pick Nos. 18, 111, 142 and 173, and general manager Jim Nill is open to the possibility of trading down to acquire more selections.

"The big thing is to hit on that first pick," Nill said. "Will we have an opportunity to pick up more picks talking to teams? But you never know. So we're prepared if we stay where we're at, we're happy the mix of players we're in. If we get extra picks or move down to get extra picks, we're comfortable picking in that group as well."

The Stars could also collect more picks by trading some of their players. Perhaps former first-round picks Julius Honka or Valeri Nichushkin will garner interest at the draft.

The Stars have not had fewer than five picks in a draft since 1968, when the franchise was based in Minnesota and the draft was only three rounds. Dallas also has only four picks in next year's draft, with one pick lost in the Zuccarello trade (currently a third-rounder that becomes a first should he re-sign with Dallas), a second-rounder lost in trading for Marc Methot and a seventh-rounder in exchange for Taylor Fedun.

"When the fans get all excited at the trade deadline when you want to make trades, you always hear me saying 'Be careful,' because when you get to the draft, that's when you want those picks," Nill said. "It's a real balancing act between making trades, giving up players."

With the current pick makeup, the Stars will do most of their work in later rounds, where they have struggled to pick in recent years.

None of the last 26 picks in rounds 4-7 has played a game for the Stars. Only two have reached the NHL, and both did so with other teams (Dylan Ferguson played one game for Vegas, and Nick Paul played 56 games for Ottawa). Gemel Smith was the last Stars late draft pick to play for Dallas, and he was picked in 2012, before Nill's arrival in Dallas.

What makes drafting in later rounds so difficult?

"They're players that all have major weaknesses," Nill said. "You're trying to figure out who can improve from those weaknesses, some guys may be undersized, who's going to sprout up 3, 4, 5 inches and gain 20 pounds. That's the unknown part of the draft and that's where the scouts do their homework, and try to find out things from their family background. They've all got a weakness, but they've got something special too."

Some of the Stars' cornerstones are late-round picks. Jamie Benn and John Klingberg were fifth-round picks, but finds like them are tough to uncover.

"You're trying to hit on somebody that's really skilled, but really small and weak," Nill said. "Or somebody that's got good size and just hope his skating gets better. It's really all over the map. If there was a perfect blueprint, whoever had that blueprint would be doing very well."


Nill said the Stars would consider their current talent pipeline when making selections, especially in the first round. The Stars have a glut of forward prospects (such as Denis Gurianov, Joel L'Esperance, Ty Dellandrea, Jason Robertson, Tye Felhaber and Riley Damiani) but are thinner on defense.

Gavin Bayreuther, Ben Gleason and Joseph Cecconi might be the Stars' best defensive prospects, but none is a top-end talent. Since 2012, the Stars have drafted just two defensemen who made the NHL: Miro Heiskanen and Honka.

To all you Dads out there -------- HAPPY FATHERS DAY!
- TommyGTrain

Thank you kind Sir. I'll be BBQing in the rain later looks like, some Fathers Day

Thank you kind Sir. I'll be BBQing in the rain later looks like, some Fathers Day
- B2B76

looks like rain is holding off until about 5 brah

looks like rain is holding off until about 5 brah
- jimbro83

Dinners at 5:30

Dinners at 5:30
- B2B76

you making chicken? you could get that done ahead of time and then do the burgers and dogs in the rain

you making chicken? you could get that done ahead of time and then do the burgers and dogs in the rain
- jimbro83

Steak, burgers, dogs, corn & veggies. No biggie, I got a good umbrella if its bad. Just being a baby

From @TheAthleticNHL re: teams trading their 1st.

VAN: There’s definitely a belief that #10 pick is very much in play and that GM Jim Benning is willing to deal. “There are players they would move the 10th pick for,” They are a team to watch on the draft floor.

Steak, burgers, dogs, corn & veggies. No biggie, I got a good umbrella if its bad. Just being a baby
- B2B76

its the one day a year youre allowed to be one

Will post the Philly pick early this afternoon and waiting on the 12th pick to post later tonight

All the salty tears in the voting poll comments.

New blog up

Thanks for a wonderfully horrible draft, this team now has zero chance of making the playoffs in the spring of 2020, Nylander and Anderson will be all stars in the A for Eagles . Poink WILL Be a 7 8 dman with his old buddy Graves. Vesey will be a good third liner, Sutter and Louie will be wonderful 4th liners or Healthy scratches for most of the year. Neither one of the guys can skate well near well enough to play for Bednar,
Boldy is an great pick for the future in a couple years. But You gave up way too much for the trash you got back. Very sad indeed.

if your plan was to turn a good team into an older less talented team you have been successful. Nice job you should be fired today,