Compete Level

Finally

The Drafting Hour Draws Nigh
Hark, the Trade Horn Echoes from the Plains
All the GMs agreed to reasonable contracts this year

How the fuck do I post without causing an internal server error

Hello darkness [draft lottery] my old friend

Beating MTL and BOS in the last five days costs the SNES 2 draft spots, good job.

What’s their biggest positional need, defense? Scoring winger? Options at both of those at 7. People love Demidov.

I’ll do my yearly How God Will Smite Me rankings of lottery preferences when the season’s officially over. Looking at draft boards my gut says the Wings pick Brandsegg-Nygaard or however that guy’s name is spelled. I’ve really liked Zeev Buium when I’ve watched him play but he’ll be long gone by the time the Wings pick (and probably when the SNES pick).

Uhhhh. A top 4 RHD I guess?

I tried to post a list of their organizational needs but I keep getting an internal server error

Their D is poorly constructed. The F needs some pieces added/removed but has a good "core" (I think? At this point, I'm less confident about this that I was a year ago for obvious reasons)

They also badly need a good coach and a goalie who can perform at-or-above league average (high bar, I know)

There does seem to be a number of top-4-calibre RHD, kinda assuming they will go with one of those guys, can't imagine that ALL of:

Yakemchuk
Levshunov
Parek
Buium

will go in picks 2 through 6 (assuming they don't move up or down, they pick 7)

They should draft a coach, they’ll definitely get the top one on the board

RHD worth it are Levshunov (they’d need to move up), Yakemchuk (Pronman has him at 3, somehow), and Parekh, who is the most likely to be around when they pick. That guy seems like a boom/bust candidate.

Buium’s a LHD but I prefer him to Parekh, hands down (and with a prospect pool similarly in need of that position)

Adam Jiricek is an interesting option at RHD, missed a lot of the season due to injury, but my guess is he goes after the SNES and before the Wings

Oh shit I meant to say Jiricek not Buium

I looked through the player comps for Pronman's most recent top 40 for 2024 and as if to confirm my feeling that this draft stinks after the top ten or so, the following Red Wings are cited:

Andrew Copp (#22 Cole Beaudoin)
Robby Fabbri (#24 Linus Eriksson)
Justin Holl (#27 Dominik Badinka)
Daniel Sprong (#34 Ryder Ritchie)

San Jose Sharks (25.5%)
Chicago Blackhawks (13.5%)
Anaheim Ducks (11.5%)
Columbus Blue Jackets (9.5%)
Montreal Canadiens (8.5%)
Utah (7.5%)
Ottawa Senators (6.5%)
Seattle Kraken (6.0%)
Calgary Flames (5.0%)
New Jersey Devils (3.5%)
Buffalo Sabres (3.0%)

I really hope the Sharks get Celebrini, that's the best case scenario for my rooting interests and the Wings' competitive standing.

Lottery will be May 6th or 7th

I wish I had the obliviousness of this HF Wings fan

I don't think this is a good year to pick a forward. If the guys we're looking at are Greentree and Sennecke at 15, meh. I'd rather take a swing on Buium or Yakemchuk or Parekh if one of them falls.

Sabres getting back in the business

SNES should really rehire Bryan Murray

Not sure what firing Quinn is supposed to do for the Sharks but ok

I wonder if they're going to give a billion dollars to David Carle

Katie Strang ethered Meruelo again, capping it with this

One young fan held up a sign that featured a border of Coyotes player photos. “THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME FALL IN LOVE WITH HOCKEY,” he wrote. In the center of the sign was a picture of Meruelo. Under that picture, in red, were the words:

“NOT YOU.”