Byram ain't Barker.

He may be better - he may be worse.

But he ain't Barker.

Time to forget what Pulford did with that #3 pick and let Bowman make his own mistakes.

We know he can do it.
- StLBravesFan

The Barker comparison's are lame. Just because he was a #3 D-man that didn't work out.

4 Andrew Ladd L
5 Phoenix Blake Wheeler R
6 NY Rangers Al Montoya G
7 Florida Rostislav Olesz L
8 Columbus Alexandre Picard L
9 Anaheim Ladislav Smid D
11 Los Angeles Lauri Tukonen R
12 A.J. Thelen

As you can see from the list. The Hawks didn't exactly miss on a "Franchise" player. Wheeler was a great pick...Ladd ok...but the rest....blah....not much better than Barker.

So, let's put the Barker crap to rest. Just another top pick that didn't work out...and there are many....

Well Mr.R I don't think I was suggesting Risto wasn't a player who didn't/couldn't perform at all at an NHL level. What he is, among other things, is a victim of having played his entire NHL career to date on terrible teams in Buffalo. And by terrible I mean every aspect - their roster; coaching staffs; drafting/trading and free agent signings and other ownership decisions. Its been a toxic demoralizing place for anybody to play in. ROR found that out and engineered an escape. Robin Lehner as well.

But, you might not think plus/minus is a relevant stat in today's game, but how does any player in the NHL accomplish -41 for a season and -143 over his entire career? He seems to go from bad to even worse year after year. And those numbers don't suggest he would improve substantially with just a change of address to Chicago or anywhere.

Its too late now but Risto should have been given development time with in the minors. Instead he was rushed into the league at 18 on a real bad team. Let's hope the Sabres don't ruin Rasmus Dahlin by doing the same thing.

And the Hawks & JC just might be doing the right thing totally by proceeding slowly with Joki (despite what fans think).
- RickJ

No doubt his fancies and + - are horrid, said as much but if anyone has watched this guy, and I'm sure you have, you see a big dude man who can skate and has a helluva lotta talent/tools. Add he's been in a horrible situation and is young and you have a guy who is appealing to plenty of NHL types.

Slot him correctly, don't have him average 26:00 a night (twenty six) with a decent organIzation my eyes see a damn solid player with tons of talent and tools.

So, let's put the Barker crap to rest. Just another top pick that didn't work out...and there are many....
- hawk35

Barker was a consensus #3 pick at the time. He just didn´t pan out like we all know. Not every prospect will. You can blame Gm´s picking wrong players but even they don´t have crystalball. And maybe players can look at the mirror sometimes too when things don´t work out. Not always gm´s or scouts fault.

Regardless of what we think, the reason the Hawks stockpiling on mobile, high-IQ passers who can QB a PP is because thats what they want. To that end, is Bowen really that much better than the four top D prospects in the Hawks pipeline?

Wiz isn't so high on him and it looks like he has the same downsides defensively, and any trade of the current defensive prospects will be from a disadvantaged position.

No, I see Stanbo, the perpetual bean counter making the value play, pumping the tires on Bowen and then trading down into the 6-12 range, hoping for a Dach, Podkolzin or Broberg, and picking up some important pieces in the process.
- busmaster

Either that or they want a plays mean abd fast Cozens

But in keeping with the notion to have the new agr players who can think and react make plays at speed - Cozens slows down. You can find an issue with Dach too.So now whim di they draft. Zegras or Turcotte? Maybe they are trying ti guess whim they would choose from if thet mived diwn, and they onky really totaly like a couple players? Well i do not believe that Boldy and Briberg are bad choices - good value picks. Ihave all along a hunch that Stan likes Podlolzin. The point though is that the third overall should be used to select the best overll player. Is it worth whatever Bowman gets if he moves down. Cannot help but think he wants an NHL dman out of it

It´s either Byram/Turcotte or Zegras for me.

The Barker comparison's are lame. Just because he was a #3 D-man that didn't work out.

4 Andrew Ladd L
5 Phoenix Blake Wheeler R
6 NY Rangers Al Montoya G
7 Florida Rostislav Olesz L
8 Columbus Alexandre Picard L
9 Anaheim Ladislav Smid D
11 Los Angeles Lauri Tukonen R
12 A.J. Thelen

As you can see from the list. The Hawks didn't exactly miss on a "Franchise" player. Wheeler was a great pick...Ladd ok...but the rest....blah....not much better than Barker.

So, let's put the Barker crap to rest. Just another top pick that didn't work out...and there are many....
- hawk35

I think the similarities are not as much the players ,although their are some similarities between Barker and Byram .It just that their are two given 1 and 2 picks and then a defenseman from the WHL is the next big thing . Just seems eerie the way the drafts set up . Hoping for a better result

No way.....

But I could see Bowman moving down, grabbing so assets in the process and taking Cole Caufield... Yea, I know the kid is small but he's a beast, a pure goal scorer.. Besides, does it really need to be pointed out that size in the NHL these days means absolutely nothing......

I mean imagine having 2 Alex DeBrincats and TBH, I think Caufield may be better than DeBrincat and obviously that is no knock on DeBrincat lol....

Who knows with Bowman tho, he's not exactly predictable - he could move up in the draft to #2 and grab Kakko..... I mean the Hawks have the assets to do that.
- Savard2Secord

Who’s Caufield?...

Long-time lurker but (likely) my 1st post.

This draft somewhat reminds me of waiting in the delivery room - very anxious as this is a defining moment for the immediate future.

Using the BPA mindset, I figure it's either Byrum or Turcotte. While it seems that the Hawks already have several "offensive-minded" D-men like Byrum, someone earlier stated that D-men are almost like a currency - you can always buy whatever you need with them if you have too many. That resonated with me. But is Byrum rated so high because of a dearth of D-men this year? Where would he have been ranked last year?

But Maata (always liked him) is on board and I think that they land another D from someone in need of cap space (LV?).

This seems like a strong center draft. How many times will the Hawks have a #3 in a strong center draft? Hopefully not for a long, long time.

SB picks Turcotte who seems to check the boxes better than Cozens or Dach.

This means, of course, that someone besides Turcotte is the actual pick.

Either that or they want a plays mean abd fast Cozens

But in keeping with the notion to have the new agr players who can think and react make plays at speed - Cozens slows down. You can find an issue with Dach too.So now whim di they draft. Zegras or Turcotte? Maybe they are trying ti guess whim they would choose from if thet mived diwn, and they onky really totaly like a couple players? Well i do not believe that Boldy and Briberg are bad choices - good value picks. Ihave all along a hunch that Stan likes Podlolzin. The point though is that the third overall should be used to select the best overll player. Is it worth whatever Bowman gets if he moves down. Cannot help but think he wsnts an NHL dman out of it
- jhawk59

Is Wiz teaching you to type?

I agree, I think, the Hawks have to take the best guy at #3. Taking Byram out of the equation for a moment, according to the reports I have read all the forwards bring something a little different. Cozens will make a path through you on his way to the net. Dach brings a more cerebral passing game and is strong defensively. Turcotte is a non stop player who passes and shoots well. All have their warts and none of us know what they really are. I get a laugh out of some posters who are drawn to a specific player and try to build that player up by making dubious claims about the deficiencies in the other competing players. Cozens has a low hockey IQ, Dach is slow, Turcotte is injury prone, etc. The fact is we don't know what the scouts from all the teams know, and those scouts don't know everything. I'm excited to see who the Hawks call to the podium and I will give the team the benefit of the doubt they made the correct call with the information they have. But I'm sure other fans will be calling for Bowman's head, regardless who he chooses.

The Barker comparison's are lame. Just because he was a #3 D-man that didn't work out.

4 Andrew Ladd L
5 Phoenix Blake Wheeler R
6 NY Rangers Al Montoya G
7 Florida Rostislav Olesz L
8 Columbus Alexandre Picard L
9 Anaheim Ladislav Smid D
11 Los Angeles Lauri Tukonen R
12 A.J. Thelen

As you can see from the list. The Hawks didn't exactly miss on a "Franchise" player. Wheeler was a great pick...Ladd ok...but the rest....blah....not much better than Barker.

So, let's put the Barker crap to rest. Just another top pick that didn't work out...and there are many....
- hawk35

Why not? Because for one you are giving up the two best players in the trade by far. For a guy who you hope unlocks some hidden potential that 4 other coaches couldn't. The other 3 pieces are complete unknowns.
- Elbows15

Unless correct pieces are added. both Cat/Strome are one way
hockey players, teams need their most expensive players to
play more than offense in todays NHL.

Is Wiz teaching you to type?

I agree, I think, the Hawks have to take the best guy at #3. Taking Byram out of the equation for a moment, according to the reports I have read all the forwards bring something a little different. Cozens will make a path through you on his way to the net. Dach brings a more cerebral passing game and is strong defensively. Turcotte is a non stop player who passes and shoots well. All have their warts and none of us know what they really are. I get a laugh out of some posters who are drawn to a specific player and try to build that player up by making dubious claims about the deficiencies in the other competing players. Cozens has a low hockey IQ, Dach is slow, Turcotte is injury prone, etc. The fact is we don't know what the scouts from all the teams know, and those scouts don't know everything. I'm excited to see who the Hawks call to the podium and I will give the team the benefit of the doubt they made the correct call with the information they have. But I'm sure other fans will be calling for Bowman's head, regardless who he chooses.
- paulr

You left Podkolzin out. Imagine the meltdown on here if Stan chose that dirty Putin loving Commy who wouldnt show up in Chicago for 2 years.

But he may be the BPA at #3.

*NEW* blog up: http://bit.ly/2Fm8ehw

Hold on to your butts.