Why not this?

...because they'd probably trade down if they're going to want Veleno.

Veleno? With 3rd OA? Are you nuts? If they want a center, ofc they will go with Kotkaniemi, a projected #1 Center who proved to be very talented. Any scout would tell you Kotkaniemi is a safer pick than Veleno.

Because some people have smart hockey minds. And don't draft players after a disappointing year in the Q. If you want Veleno, just hope Montreal deals Pacioretty for a mid first round pick and get him where he deserves to be drafted...

I disagree, Veleno has the best vision of any player in this draft and Montreal is more likely to pick the Quebec born center that fills every requirement that they need. Kotkaniemi is good, but he takes a long time to go from 1-60. And no I am not nuts any scout that can see Veleno play can tell that he is an excellent player and would make the jump to the NHL smoothly. Kotkaniemi may take a year or two to get used to North American ice. Both are very skilled but Kotkaniemi may just turn out to be nothing out of all of this drama. But to be honest, I doubt that the Habs would pick either of them 3rd overall.

Or they would trade for the Isles 11th overall, and pick either Veleno or Kotkaniemi. The point that I am trying to make is that neither centers deserve to be drafted 3rd overall.

You're telling me that Kotkaniemi didn't have a bad year in Liiga? Sure it was not disappointing but that was because Jesperi was not known as a top prospect until just recently. Jerry Turkulainen had a better year than Kotkaniemi, and he is a projected 7th rounder. My point is that neither center deserves 3rd overall. I do hope that Montreal trades for the Isles pick and gets Veleno or Kotkaniemi.

My point is that no center in 2018 deserves to be drafted 3rd overall, even though they may be.

Jerry Turkulainen is 19 years old, 5'7" winger. 7th highest scoring player on his team.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi is 17 years old, 6'2" center. 3rd highest scoring player on his team.


So, are we being completely honest about his age and how the team effected their stats?

Please, tell me what you know that McKenzie, Pronman, Button, etc. don't.

To be clear, Kotkaniemi will be 18 in very soon and it doesn't matter where they sit for points on their team, it matters how many points they can produce. Let's not forget that we are comparing Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a 7th round prospect. I can't image how he could match up against all of the rest of the draft

The reason Veleno was expected to go first overall the past few years was because he was granted exceptional player status and joined the CHL a year early. The reason he's fallen since then is because his increase in production has been very slow, only getting a little bit better every year as opposed to other players who've taken big steps in their production.

My point is that neither center deserves this spot, especially Veleno but Kotkaniemi too.

It absolutely matters that a kid 2 years older is out producing him by 4 points in a mens league. It absolutely matters that Turkulainen was on a much stronger team and receive far more help from his teammates. I don't know what you are trying to prove here, but you are failing to use logic to do so.

I'm trying to prove that if someone can argue about Turkulainen being better than Kotkaniemi, Veleno should be a very close contender to Kotkaniemi's skill and could easily be the best center of the draft.

You could argue a potato is better than Kotkaniemi. It's a terrible argument based on nothing, but the argument could still be made. You are ignoring very important factors just to make this argument. Many scouts that do this for a living don't think Veleno is better than Kotkaniemi, whats your beef with Kotkaniemi being better than Veleno? You Joe's cousin or something?

No way Van passes on Dobson and/or Bouchard to take another winger...

True point, but if Tkachuk is slipping, the Canucks are better off picking him and trading him for a defenseman later.

Funny, no I have no relation to Joe and I have no problem with Kotkaniemi being better than Veleno. I just believe that he doesn't deserve the 3rd overall selection and I used Veleno to prove my point. I could've used Hayton to prove the point but I think that Veleno has excellent vision and I perfer him over Hayton.