Really need to get Reichel over to the wing as you've shown here. I like Rinzel too, think he will take another season after this at least before he joins, maybe even another after that depending. Im also quite high on Vlasic.

I'm not convinced Top 6 is a bigger area of concern vs RD though. And I really don't like the "more immediate" thing there. (No offense, sorry if perceived that way) The build will take as long as it takes. If you have a top 3 pick, make sure you draft best available. I feel for Dach because he can't stay healthy which sucks, but that wasn't exactly a hit. We don't have a #1 RD. Levshunov looks like he's that guy. I'd actually argue the opposite to you, a #1 RD (IF that's what Levshunov turns out to be) is more important than a top 6 forward. You can find top 6 forwards in the NHL...#1 RD you won't find in the UFA market. They're locked up.

Oh, and I'd try to get as many picks as possible at the TDL and move up in the draft. Let's say you have (4) 2nd rounders. Per sound of hockey, of you take the average 2nd and multiply by 4...just because we don't know where they land yet...you can get a #13OA pick. I'd 100% do that if we had a taker. We need high end talent more that more picks imo.

I am definitely convinced top 6 is more important than RD. We have Jones for 7 more years, Murphy for 3 more, Rinzel is looking like he won't take as long as originally predicted, and Kelley is having a decent year. Some positions could always be addressed through free agency or trades, if/when it becomes necessary, and RD kind of fits the bill for that. Most of what have right now for forwards seem like 2nd liners tops. We need another BIG talent to play with Bedard on the top line, IMO. Someone who can think the game the way and speed he does. But, we'll see. I do certainly want to add RHD to our pool. But I don't think we need to use a top pick on an RHD right now. I'd strongly consider guys like Mews, Elick, Cristoforo, etc. with that TBL pick or in the early 2nd round, depending where the rankings end up and the picks land.

Side note: VAN has an absolute WEALTH of RHD out of the 2023 draft. Bruzcewicz, Willander, and A. Celebrini are ALL hitting for them. If we can figure out a way to steal one of them away, that would also help our RHD pool.

So you don't think Moore/Nazar/Reichel can play a top 6 role? If we're on the same page that Rinzel can be a 2nd pair guy...and at least I do believe so far he can do that....and...that Seth Jones is getting older. We don't have a #1 RD in 4 years. Is 34 Seth Jones a #1 RD? I just see that as a bigger need. I'm not saying if you get the #1 OA that you force yourself to Levshunov. You draft best available, but I don't see Demidov as a better choice than Levshunov.

I agree, the Reichel at center experiment has been a complete disaster, it’s time to move him back to the wing

And honestly I knew that experiment wasn’t going to work, he didn’t play center when he was called up last year so I thought it was quite a bad decision

But you have to try, and experiment. You don't learn without trying and failing! The team is not trying to win this year, they are working to develop and evaluate what they have and how they adapt and mesh. I'm sure that there will be some moves people will call outrageous, but they will make the team better in the long run!

The thing about top six wingers is they're always going to be available from somewhere. The Hawks obviously need a couple, but you can go find those guys. The Panthers went out and got Verhaghe, Reinhart, and Tkachuk in the span of two seasons. The Blues plucked Buchnevich out of thin air when they let Schwartz walk. The Devils payed for Palat and traded for Meier. Debrincat, Gaudreau, Fiala, these are all top end guys who moved not too long ago.

Also, if Bedard is everything he's supposed to be, you're probably looking at something of a Chris Kunitz/Michael Bunting effect, where you don't NEED (and probably won't be able to afford) world beating wingers next to him. You can just have, like, guys.

Nobody is trading top pairing-ish RHDs that don't have a flaw of some kind. The only big example I can think of to the contrary is Marino, and even he doesn't play on the top pair. Everyone else, they're trading for an old guy, they're trading for a guy who wants too much money, MAYBE they're signing them in free agency, sometimes. If the Hawks pick 3 and Levshunov is the best available, they should take Levshunov. Shore up that top D. There might be enough guys who will play NHL games, but none of those guys in the Hawks' system (or in Vancouver's, for that matter) are tracking to be much more than bottomish pair defensemen.

There's enough other ways to source the wingers, if your management is smart and proactive.

I hear what you guys are saying about top 6 players are easier to find then a top 2 RHD which is true. Rinzel, I think most agree, is probably a 2nd liner the way he's going, but keep in mind he could be a 1st liner to play with Korchinski if Korchinski becomes that puck moving elite level talent some predict. We have a very strong left handed defensive prospect system which is good and something we can lean into and thus making the right side perhaps more of a supporting role for the lefties so I'm not so sure we need a true #1 which is what Levshunov is expected to be. Additionally, because of the puck moving type of player he is, could absolutely be redundant with Korchinski. Say it another way, if Korchinski develops into the true #1 a lot project him to be, then we don't need Levshunov as those two together on the first line wouldn't be ideal; pair a puck mover with a physical stay at home D man. Hence why Rinzel just may end up being that first line pairing for Korch. I agree, Seth Jones in a couple years will be declining and Murphy definitely will be, but they are working on Allan on his off side and Rinzel is the wild card here.

Right now, we don't know what we have yet in Nazar and Moore, both could end up as wingers in the NHL just like Reichel likely will. Even if they don't, our prospects after Reichel, Bedard, Nazar and Moore, leaves 2 more spots and are awfully thin for top 6 projections outside of these guys...we have a plethora of bottom 6 and a few middle 6 guys that could potentially play 2nd line but hard to say right now. Hands down, if we have a top 2 pick, we should go Eiserman or Celebrini. Eiserman is a elite sniper that will pay big dividends as we don't have a true goal scorer with a deadly shot outside of Bedard, and Celebrini is an elite 2 way center which we don't have. With the amount of draft picks, including adding another 2nd and or 3rd rounder with TDL moves, the Hawks can use the late 1st and a 2nd or two to draft 2 to 3 RHD guys later in the draft. Defensive guys are extremely hard to predict in terms of development versus forwards as well.

I see Moore Nazar and Reichel middle 6 forwards with a chance at more. CHI needs another top line forward or two, and I don't want it to be Nylander. Jones is getting older and certainly could be in decline in 4 years, but we also don't HAVE TO draft our future top pair RHD. That can be addressed in many different ways. I doubt an RHD drafted in 2024 will be a bonafide top pair RHD 4 years from right now anyway. But also, if Korchinski is our future #1 defenseman, then what we need is a defensive minded RHD to pair with him for the long term, not another offensive dman.

Also, Demidov is absolutely a better choice than Levshunov. I like ALev a lot, but Demidov is the 2nd best prospect in the 2024 draft, by far. Eiserman is an amazing goal scorer, but he is very one dimensional in comparison to Celebrini and Demidov. I wouldn't take his numbers this early in the season into consideration. He is essentially a KHL rookie in the early season on one of the best teams in the KHL. He is buried in the lineup and acclimating to the pro level and playing against men. But, I've watched quite a bit of him and he is without a doubt a superbly special talent.

One thing I don't get is some Hawks fans obsession with Dickinson. Like, sure, he is a pretty darn good draft eligible dman, but he is also an LHD, and he isn't good enough to risk adding yet another redundancy while ignoring actual pipeline needs.

That's true. But I don't see anyone in the 2024 draft (yet) that is making me pick them over Celebrini or Demidov. There are also other ways to get that top pair RHD. Adam Fox went through like 3 teams before he landed with NYR and became a superstar. VAN has a glut of very promising RHD right now that could all end up as top 4 dmen. BUT, most of all, and like I said to exo, if Korchinski is our future #1, then what we really need is a defensive minded RHD that can eat a lot of minutes and still be effective. We don't need two cooks. That is too many cooks. haha. Putting two #1 dmen on a top pairing is asking for them to fail. I would love to draft Levshunov, but if given the choice between him or Celebrini, Demidov, or Eiserman, I'm taking one of the latter, all day. Also, there are an ABSOLUTE F#@K TON of really promising dmen in the 2024 and 2025 drafts and a lot of them will be later in the 1st round. VAN got Aiden Celebrini from the 6th round and Hunter Brzustewicz in the 3rd round, and they are both looking better than Willander.

Also, top 6 players may or may not be "easier to find", but you are gonna pay out the nose for them in trade, and you are also gonna pay out the nose for them on their contracts. Home grown and young means longevity.

Just so we're clear I'm team "take the best player available". If the best player available is a winger, then of course take the winger. If you're picking first overall again and it's another top-lineish center, then take that guy, even if you have Bedard.

What you don't want to be doing is playing this game of "let's draft for what we think we might need in a few years when we're good again" because you just can't predict that with any degree of accuracy. We don't know what Korchinski's career is going to look like. He'll probably be good. He might not be. He might blow out his knee in October 2024 and never play again. You don't want to be in a position where you took a player you didn't like as much but thought would fit your penciled in roster than a better player at a position of strength. A perfect example of this is when Buffalo took Benson. They've got wingers coming out of their ears in the NHL and AHL. But Benson was so good he made the opening night roster anyway.

With regards to Adam Fox, yeah if you're lucky enough to have an elite talent who only wants to play for your team and will manipulate things so that that happens then I suppose it is possible to get a RHD. But compared to the amount of good wingers available and how often NHL GMs under-value them, it's not remotely comparable. Again, look at New Jersey. They grew Jesper Bratt and they traded for Timo Meier. Both of those guys are making what they're worth. They didn't save a bunch of money on Bratt just because he's homegrown. Did the Blues overpay for Buchnevich? The Panthers for Tkachuk or Verhaghe? Conversely, look at the Leafs- did any of those guys take a paycut just because they were Maple Leafs draft picks? Again, it's about being smart. Don't sign a 28 year old guy to a 7 year contract to fill your winger spot. Then you will overpay and that will be a bust. I don't think the Blues/Panthers/Devils are regretting any of those trades/signings.

And I just can't agree on this Canucks thing. Better than Willander in the very very beginning of their draft+1 season is not much when Willander was kind of a reach in the first place. Pettersson, Hirose, Kudryavtsev, the two guys you mentioned- it's not impossible that those guys will turn into something but this is not a prospect pool I would be losing my mind over. It is overwhelmingly likely that all of them will be mediocre NHL players at best. There is no top end talent in the Canucks' system right now.

So far, it looks like the next 5 to 10 players after the top 3 in the 2024 draft are in and around the same tier and could go in any order. So, yeah, BPA and then team need. So, If there are players in the same tier, then you take the player of that tier who plays a position of need. Although, Levshunov is making a pretty good case to put himself solidly into that number 4 spot above the rest. There are too many unknown variables at this point to argue about this in any meaningful way, though. Also, in most cases, BPA is completely subjective and, more often than not, completely wrong even when there is consensus. The Blackhawks also have to pick the best player FOR THEMSELVES, and have stated as much on multiple occasions that they are drafting for CHI and no one else.

As far as "being better than Willander", I said "looking better" not "are better." There is a difference. Context is important, I try not to speak in absolutes for this very reason. BUT when it comes to Brzucewicz, he was a very highly rated prospect going into the 22-23 season, significantly higher than Willander, and dropped because he didn't have a great season, and Willander jumped up significantly last year with his skating and a very strong second half of the season. Willander wasn't much of a reach, though, and I still think he could be a great piece for VAN in the future.

So, yeah, it's difficult to quantify and predict, but that is KD's job and what he gets paid millions of dollars for. That is why they have built an extensive analytics system custom tailored to their wants, needs, and overall vision. That's why they have professional scouts that specialize in certain regions, leagues, and/or positions. The reality is RHD is our pipelines biggest need. Where it makes sense to draft RHD is completely TBD. But, again, at this point, personally, I'm not taking ANY D-man over Celebrini, Eiserman, or Demidov. I am completely open to that opinion changing over the next 6 months, but that is where I currently stand.

Also, I am not talking about discounts or anything. But, being patient gives you time to see what you have and what you need. Jumping the gun to compete quicker is the fastest way to get your team in trouble. We can certainly reach out for long term pieces, but now is not the time. Also, our draft picks now are worth more than NJD's picks were in the Meier trade. We need to ice a team that is almost there before we start throwing 1st round picks on guys.