Quoting: Alfie11
I don’t think Korchinski’s defensive game is too good right now, but it doesn’t really have to be in junior. Imo he’s got all the tools (NHL frame, good skater) to succeed as a 2-way D. He’ll probably need a year or two in the AHL, but that’s pretty typical of defensemen imo, there are rarely more than 1-2 D per draft that take less than 3 years to develop (like even Power went back to college, L. Hughes and Sanderson both did/are doing 2 years of college). Bischel has all the tools to be a Cernak type on the left side (big defensive stalwart), and Pickering is kinda in this vein too, but imo their puck skills/hockey sense aren’t necessarily gonna be NHL level, and I’d be more comfortable with either of them as the #3 guy, whereas I view Korchinski as being able to be a #2 (I think a good coach can take his size, brain, and skating and help him improve his defense, and there are obviously no concerns about his offense).
I really like Lekkerimaki, but the Ducks already have two right shot goal scorers in Terry and Perreault, and McTavish isn’t exactly a playmaker either. I think they could use a bigger guy but that still has a good shot to complement Zegras (like McGroarty or Snuggerud) or more of a higher skill guy that can make plays and that can afford to be undersized for McTavish (like Howard or Mesar).
At the end of the day, I think what it boils down to is that I’m more of a fan of Anabeim’s future up front, led by Zegras, McTavish, and Terry, than I am of Drysdale and a bunch of 2nd-3rd pair guys on the back end, so I’d use the higher pick to take a higher upside defenseman if I was Verbeek. Especially if I’m confident in my development team to help him focus more on his own end (which given his tools, should be reasonable to expect). I think there’s a lot more cases where guys who are great offensively and project highly because of that learn to round out their defensive game when they turn pro than cases where a defensive rock suddenly develops enough skill to be considered a true top pair guy (and obviously if a guy has both in junior, he’s going top 5 lol).
I just like to look for certain things when accessing a player's future defensive abilities. While this doesn't always work, it does sometimes. I'll definitely rewatch some of Korchinski's tape to see if something sticks out to me.
That's my main concern with drafting Lekkerimäki, as I've said in this thread a few posts earlier.
I do have confidence in the Ducks' development staff, I think I'm just a bit "scared" if you want to call it that since Drysdale's defensive game hasn't been all that good. But it's only his second pro season and he just turned 20. He can still develop that defensive game. At the moment I think one of Mintyukov, Korchinski, Gauthier and Lambert (maybe Nazar) would be the optimal pick at 10.
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