Where does everyone rate our D prospects

Thrun - Kyle McLaren
LaCombe - Brad Stuart
Hunter - Niko Dimitrakos
Hill - Scott Hannan
Berkovitz - Mike Rathje

From the outside looking in, it's a whole lot of nothing special imo.

I really like Mahura, can be in the NHL rn, has decent top 4 potential
Guhle, is already a decent NHLer, still has some room to grow, probably a low end 4 to average 5
Larsson-Good shutdown guy, third pairing shutdown guy
LaCombe-decent top 4 potential, but is a few years out, could follow a similar development track to Samberg in WPG
Thrun (and everyone else)-meh, bottom pairing guys at best likely

I agree. Certainly no top pairing potential there. It just begs the question what should we do at the draft?



I too really like Mahura, but have concerns about his defensive game. The kid can skate and shoot, but so could Montour. Admittedly, Mahura seems to scramble less than Montour did/does, but he's lacking the physical size of a Lindholm or Manson and doesn't appear to have the elite skills of someone like Fowler to get out of sticky situations if put under pressure. I see #4 potential out of him. Not someone I'd want leading a pairing, but a good 2-way guy to compliment a real leader on the pairing.

Guhle is just bad. I know he's young, but I haven't been impressed with him at all and I think Fowler, who he has been partnered with most of the season, has been good. He's clearly got the talent and physical attributes to be successful, but his brain is all over the place. Who knows? Could be another Nurse type that takes a bit longer to find his way.

Larsson is what he is IMO. A solid, but not spectacular 3rd pairing guy with above average mobility. I am happy with his development and how he has turned out given his draft position.

Lacombe and Thrun seem "meh" to me. I am wondering whether, bar getting 1st OA and drafting Laf, that we should be looking at Drysdale. He's got high-end potential, is right-handed and could partner with Lindholm within 2-3 years of being drafted. The problem is that this appears to be a forward-heavy draft and we could certainly do with getting another elite C on board.

Mahura can be more than a number 4, his offense alone will probably make him somewhat overrated, and in his limited time this year he wasn't awful defensively this year, good no, below average yes, he gave up a bunch of shots, but not really a ton of good scoring chances, obviously small sample size, but we do need an ofd, we don't need 6 Manson's lol, would I complain with 6 Manson's... No, but having an ofd on you're sessions pair isn't bad, he could easily be just as good as Fowler was before this season imo

Guhle has shown continual improvement and has been decent this year, if he continues that for one more year he could easily be a decent number 4, he's already proven enough this year imo to deserve a relatively safe roster spot next year

Larson, yeah, he is what he is lol

I like LaCombe, he could easily become a decent second pairing OFD, Thrun I really haven't seen much of, good number 4 maybe?