One of the most well-known players in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft will be Brady Tkachuk, brother of Matthew Tkachuk, both who are sons of Keith Tkachuk. And while many know his name on sight, the 18-year-old physical and fast-skating wing is one of the most debated players in the draft with some having him go as high as the No. 3 pick with others having him slip out of the top-10.
While there is little doubt that he will succeed in the NHL, according to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, but how he will compare to his brother. At 6-foot-3, the powerful Tkachuk posted eight goals and 31 points in his inaugural season at Boston University. Matthew, meanwhile, who went sixth-overall in the 2016 draft, scored 30 goals in his lone junior season with the OHL London Knights before getting drafted. But, there is a split between which sibling is better with many thinking that Brady might be the better player.
“He has a little more finesse to his game,” NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said. “Matthew and their dad could go right through the door at you, but Brady may be a little more deceptive with his skill set. But he still has the same drive and tenacity that drives him to the net — except he can also get there with an end-to-end rush.”
- Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down the draft, team by team, to judge how willing each team is to trade their first-round pick. The most interesting observation is Custance notes that the Chicago Blackhawks are the most likely team to trade their first-round pick at No. 8. He notes that general manager Stan Bowman intends to make a major move this offseason, which could come in the form of center John Tavares or winger James van Riemsdyk, but the Hawks might consider trying to acquire a major player for their first-round pick instead as they want to make one last run with their core group of players.
- Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that considering the draft success over the last four years by Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall and the fact that the team has nine draft picks, including the No. 14 and No. 19 picks in the first round, don’t be surprised to see some wheeling and dealing during the draft next weekend. While Carchidi said he trusts Hextall to draft two quality players with those two first picks, he wouldn’t be surprised if Hextall considers moving up in the draft, using both picks to move into the top 10. With many scouts suggesting that the No. 3 through No. 12 picks are interchangeable, the Flyers may be interested in moving into that range. The scribe adds that one legitimate possibility is trying to acquire Vancouver’s No. 7 pick, which the team is dangling.
Why can’t bowman just do the right thing and keep the draft picks. There’s a difference between being in win now mode and actually winning. The hawks can be in win now mode as much as they want, but they won’t win in what has become an extremely talented Central Division
Couldn’t agree more. It’s not like this team is a Jonathan Tavares away from a championship. There is a reason they are drafting 8th, besides back luck in the lottery.
Imo, the hawks are in the worst position. I don’t think they’re bad enough to where they’ll be drafting high next summer, but they’re not good enough to be a contender. In other words, they’re in hockey purgatory
I really hope Tkachuk falls to the Rangers or they move up to go get him.
I agree! They need to keep the pick!
I am not sure what Hawks team some of you were watching last year, but I believe many of you along with a lot of others will be suprised this next season. Yes, we have issues to address…but this team was no better settling in when Crawford went down and at that time there was no better goalie in the NHL! Surely both Toews and Keith had off years and there werw a lot of new faces and that affected the team as well. If Bowman goes out and gets a top-4 defenseman, which I believe he will, then the other issue is finding another scoring winger. I believe that JVR could be that player. I don’t see them trading that #8 pick because even at #8, you have the possibility this year, due to the deep draft class, of getting a future top-4 Defenseman or Top-6 Forward. I just believe the Hawks are not as far gone as many are saying and in a way I hope it stays that way.