12 Comments
Aug 26Liked by David Castillo

Keep on doing what you’re doing!!! It’s much appreciated and top notch quality and great details into our beloved Stars, and game!!!

Expand full comment
author

Thanks carnal!

Expand full comment
Aug 27Liked by David Castillo

It's important to keep the qualifications for who is a prospect in mind with these rankings when predicting. For example, the Athletic is using this criteria: Player eligibility is determined by age. A player is eligible if he is 22 years old or younger as of Sept. 15, 2024.

This means Johnston, Stankoven, and Bourque are included, but not Harley.

Expand full comment
author
Aug 27·edited Aug 27Author

I'm not personally big on that definition. In part because I think we need to change the dichotomy between prospect and veteran. To me, once you're a full time NHLer, you're an emerging veteran. Granted, this can unfairly punish teams that graduate a lot of prospects while rewarding teams who have a lot of prospects that haven't, but the reverse is also true. When I think of a prospect, I think of a non-NHL player with potential to play in the NHL.

I do think there's value in rating teams by age though. Scott Wheeler, for example, has a U23 ranking (or at least I think it's him), which I think is smart. In the same way I don't count NHL prospects in a prospect ranking because I want to know how the prospect system rates, counting nothing but young players gives you a specific rating of how good a team's youth is. So it's important to make those distinctions however you choose to rank a team's prospects.

Just my opinion though.

Expand full comment
Aug 26Liked by David Castillo

San Jose could be scary, or they could be another Buffalo. That's a lot of tools, but you have to figure out a way to put them together. The play book for a rebuild is something like (the order isn't fixed):

-Miss playoffs or get knocked out way to early

-Cap constraints (one key piece walks, or multiple supporting actors go to keep him)

-TDL goes buy, and you aren't ever really mentioned as buyers

-Down season, the core doesn't show up like they needed to & injuries don't fill in the gap of the excuse.

-One good draft pick

-TDL sellers

-Another good draft pick

-Accept cap dumps for magic beans

-Optimistic for the future trade

-Picking up 1 year contracts with hopes of flipping at the deadline

The key thing here is that you also want to avoid

-GM/Coaching change

-Not selling at the TDL

-Chasing older vets (especially your own)

-Not leveraging the skillsets of your future players.

-Overloading on just one position

LA should be the team emerging from this rebuild and it is time to see how they do. However I feel like Anaheim was on the similar timeline and they still give off hot garbage vibes.

Expand full comment
Aug 26Liked by David Castillo

Swapping #14 picks makes sense to me, but again it looks like PIT makes a fair trade look lopsided. But good on both GMs for checking the temperature, realizing what you've got and not ending up with something you don't really want. The Stars shifted on Honka, they should have pivoted on him too since he was a niche guy. Talent is great, but fit is arguably more important for all but the rarest of players. If a restaurant once featured Japanese and now is Italian, dump the Wasabi no matter what you paid for it as it just isn't going to work.

To the poll, I'm swapping talent for talent if I've got a decent read on it. No you can't draw a straight comp on a G at Colgate as one in the AHL or one in the Q. But each year past draft year tells you more, and also should give you a faster path to the needs of your current organization. This org is the poster child for this, Iginla. Terrible trade, but it worked.

Theoretical trade proposal. Stephen Johns his last full year in the league for Bichsel. You are trading youth and potential for the right hand side and a fully cooked product. Bird in the hand or 2 in the bush?

Expand full comment
Aug 26Liked by David Castillo

The two bad things about being in this hockey desert (not to be confused with hockey no longer in the AZ desert) is that you are suffering for content, but also for quality control. Sure it isn't intentional, but when good enough is still the best, then it is understandable how we become "Married, with children" types. We grow comfortable (in addition to the potential beer gut)

This is a who moved my cheese moment DC. The point here is to stay hungry and keep flipping over new stones. Sure not all of them will be great, but you also miss out on the ones that could be. Also, I'm sure you'll have different cuisines that in the end only serve to make the hockey scene here better. We come to your shop for obscure content and for the direct feedback and interaction. Doesn't mean the other guys are wrong for not doing that, but tell me more about Stranges and what perfect storm it would take for him to get a cup of coffee this yer.

Expand full comment
author

lol You just convinced me.

Antonio Stranges mixtape this week!

Expand full comment
author

And thanks Schluck. I don't reply to you much because you seem to cook on your own (which I love), but I'm glad to have you here.

Expand full comment
Aug 26Liked by David Castillo

Thanks, just looking for the lifeblood to keep pumping.

Expand full comment
Aug 26Liked by David Castillo

On the Stars draft picks / development group , we have seen a lot of guys go straight to NHL recently don’t be surprised if one or two more over and above the Swiss Mountain eventually get there . In Peverley / Nill we trust

Expand full comment
author

Yea. I feel the same way. But I do think being open to the possibility will serve teams will. Yea I love Bichsel, but if Carolina said the Stars could have Nikishin in exchange, I'd couldn't type fast enough to hype Nill for what he just accomplished.

Expand full comment