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brad_holland
Jun 23 2007 07:23
That's a Wrap!
So that’s all she wrote for the 2007 NHL Entry Draft from Columbus. Lots of action this weekend, with a few NHL goaltenders getting moved, all the answers reached as to which player went where, and enough shuffling of picks, even in the late rounds, to keep things very entertaining right up to the last pick.
For those of you keeping score at home, the final pick of the Draft was Trent Vogelhuber of Dublin, Ohio, who went 211th to the Columbus Blue Jackets out of the North American Hockey League. Remember that name folks.
The biggest stories of the 2007 Draft will be, of course, the “Big 3,” not to be confused with the Big 3 in Tampa Bay, which went Kane-vanRiemsdyk-Turris (for those of you watching the Draft with your eyes shut, ears closed, humming to yourself). The next biggest story will be, respectively, Cherepanov falling to #17 and to the eager New York Rangers, and Esposito falling to #20 and to the ecstatic Pittsburgh Penguins. Think Espo will look good sitting on a line with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin? Apparently he thinks so. He couldn’t stop smiling at his post-game press conferences. When you consider that 2006’s “sure-fire” 2007 #1 pick fell all the way to 20 and then couldn’t stop smiling, you can imagine just what he thinks of the idea.
Another big story, which I’ve already mentioned, was the amount of Tier II and USHL hockey players selected by NHL teams. All in all, 40 players were selected from these Leagues, with the BCHL representing 7 and the USHL placing 21. It used to be, players would take European players in the late rounds because they could let them develop in Europe. Now, with a shaky transfer agreement and no guarantees, teams are more likely to sacrifice a little skill, take a player who can be left in college for up to four years, and watch him develop. He may not look like much as a 7th round pick, but then, neither did Martin St. Louis after four years of Hobey Baker-quality hockey at Vermont. That seems to have turned out fairly well.
The players selected today, like St. Louis’ Trevor Nill – son of Detroit Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill and a former pick of the Blues himself – have St. Louis (that’s Martin) to thank. Without his Art Ross and Hart trophy seasons, it is doubtful the NHL GMs, Assistant GMs, Head Coaches and Scouts would be quite so eager to pick an 18 year old kid playing in Burnaby, BC. Eh Kyle?
Now, there wasn’t much for trades, but the two goaltenders, the centerpieces of the deal, will have all kinds of impact not only on their teams but on their respective Conferences as well. No backup plans for either San Jose or Nashville means that their clubs better have guessed right, or it could be a rematch of the Western Conference semi-final in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. In the East, an upgrade in goal might have been just enough – only two more points – to thrust Toronto into the playoffs over the Islanders. At least GM John Ferguson Jr. hopes so.
But that’s that. There are some other storylines, of course, and they will be discussed, at length, over the coming months. Or at least over the next week and a half or so, until July 1, when free agency starts, and then we’ll have a whole other rash of players to discuss, mull over, and predict – for whatever it’s worth.
It’s been fun. Hope you enjoyed the video, the rumors, the behind-the-scenes chatter, and everything we could bring you. Stay tuned over the next few days for a full clout of Draft analysis, and wel’ll definitely see you July 1 for perhaps the wildest day of hockey news this side of the Trading Deadline!
- Brad
brad_holland
Jun 23 2007 06:33
Tier II Bonanza
Tier-II hockey, a la the BCHL, and American Tier-I hockey, a la the USHL, are the real winners so far today. Say what you will about College Hockey vs. Major Junior, there is no denying the fact that the feeder leagues for College Hockey and the CHL have taken major strides in recent years.
Top of the heap
Kyle Turris at 3 is obviously the highest Tier II skater in this years’ draft, but he was one of two from the BCHL taken in Round 1. Riley Nash, of the Salmon Arm Silvertips with 38 goals and 84 points in 55 games, was one of three first rounders taken by the Edmonton Oilers. They got Nash at 21.
In addition to Turris and Nash in the first round, there were also four USHL skaters taken, and one from the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League. All of these skaters are slated to play College Hockey somewhere for next season, with three on their way to Wisconsin of the WCHA – including first rounders Turris (PHX) and Brendan Smith (DET).
They will be joined by Ryan McDonagh, taken by MTL at 12, who played his high school hockey in Minnesota with Cretin-Derham. He was selected as Minnesota’s “Mr. Hockey,” and he will add to a very potent Wisconsin class during his freshman season in 2008-09.
Three first rounders…not a bad recruiting job this year.
Crunching the Numbers
Round 1 saw seven players go from either the USHL or the Canadian Tier II Junior Leagues. This is a high-water mark for these Junior Leagues, though they did match the mark once again in Round 4, on the strength of five players taken out of the USHL. All in all, at the end of the 5th round, 28 players total had been taken from the USHL (18), the BCHL (6), the OPJHL (1), the WJBHL (1), and the AJHL (2).
brad_holland
Jun 23 2007 06:32
Chicago - Early Winner?
Obviously it is too early to pick the winner of this year’s NHL Entry Draft, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try. Chicago, already having selected likely the most dangerous offensive player in the Draft with Patrick Kane, has now bolstered that pick with two very dangerous second round picks in Bill Sweatt and Akim Aliu…who are both highly-touted players with high-end potential in their own right.
Sweatt, possibly the fastest skater in this years’ draft, will fit in well with the Chicago Blackhawks’ new offense-minded system, and should thrive under Coach Denis Savard. Aliu, in his own right, is potentially a high-end power forward, and will be a nich touch protecting players like Martin Havlat, Patrick Kane and Jon Toews from any sort of nonsense.
brad_holland
Jun 23 2007 03:49
Weak? I think not
I’ve seen people say that this draft is “a weak class,” and that the lack of a consensus #1 pick reflects poorly on the Draft class as a whole. This is true, that there is no Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby or Vincent Lecavalier-type of player. However, the overall depth of the Draft and the degree to which certain players either rose or fell in the rankings speaks to the general balance in the prospects, at least in the top few rounds.
The Big Three
Everyon it seemed, knew that three players were going to go 1-3. In what order, nobody could really agree, but it seemed that the general #1 overall pick was Kane, that vanRiemsdyk was not going to fall below Philly, and that Pheonix was going to get the odd man out. It all played out, and then LA was left up to perhaps the most difficult pick of the Draft. What did they do? They went off the board, thus signifying the direction of the Draft and proving to everyone in attendance that there would be no easy answers in Columbus. Setting the tone in this fashion allowed everyone to breathe a little easier, knowing that the Draft was not going to follow typical patterns.
Firsts to Second
In the early goings of the second round, we’ve already seen many potential first round players selected, and just a few more to come. With Bill Sweatt, Dana Tyrell and TJ Brennan going early, you could see that some teams, picking early in the first round, were going to be very, very happy with their 2007 Draft, after only a few selections.
Where have all the goalies gone?
Trevor Cann, CSS #2-ranked goaltender, is now the third goaltender taken in 2007, going to the Colorado Avalanche with the 49th pick in the Draft. He follows Joel Gistedt from Frolunda in Sweden, who went to Phoenix with the 36th overall pick and Antoine Lafleur from PEI in the QMJHL, who went to the Rangers one pick before, at 49.
With Jeremy Smith going to Nashville at 54 (likely prompted by the Vokoun trade from a night ago), the top two goaltenders as ranked by CSS are out of the running. Regardless of what was said about the Draft class in general, it will likely go down as a light year for goaltenders.
However, if these two OHL grads will have anything to say about it, perhaps we could all be proven wrong, again. Nashville and Colorado certainly hope so.
evan
Jun 22 2007 17:41
'Do you feel lucky?'
Jack Nicholson uttered one of the memorable lines in movie history when he told Tom Cruise, “You want to investigate me? Roll the dice and take your chances.” Jack could just as easily been talking about the NHL Entry Draft, where general managers and their legions of scouts and experts do just that – roll the dice and take their chances.
They spend all year compiling stats, evaluating talent, examining courage, who goes in the corners and who darts to the front of the net, and in the end, all they can really do is take the guy who appeals to them the most. This year’s draft didn’t have a can’t-lose prospect like Sidney Crosby headlining the first round. Depending on your taste, if you held the top pick Friday night, the No. 1 selection could have been anyone.
Chicago loved Patrick Kane, and that’s the kid they went with. They’re taking their chances on him, just like Philadelphia is banking on James vanRiemsdyk turning into the next big power forward to take that city by storm and so on.
Nobody seemed to want to take a chance on Alexei Cherepanov, the top-ranked European skater, until the Rangers selected “The Siberian Express” at No. 17. Same thing when Angelo Esposito, the top-ranked North American player at the beginning and midpoint of the season, slipped to the Penguins who jumped at the chance to take him at No. 20.
Kind of like the dating game, the NHL Draft is a little bit of to each his own.
In every case though, teams rolled the dice Friday night. And they’ll take their chances.
brad_holland
Jun 22 2007 15:20
Fun for the prospects...
fun for the family. And the friends, and everyone back at home. Some, however, are lucky enough to join the respective prospect on this monumental occasion. And some are even luckier to do so in a large group.
Take a look at the vanRiemsdyk contingent:
brad_holland
Jun 22 2007 15:16
Doesn't stop there boys...
When the prospects are picked, after they have their picture taken and they meet their respective clubs, the fun is just beginning. Watch as first James vanRiemsdyk walks the walk to the media scrum:
...and then again as Sam Gagner walks the line:
darryl_habe...
Jun 22 2007 15:09
The first three picks (remember these guys)
I was lucky enough to be on the floor and right near Patrick Kane, as he is taken first overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft:
…and again as vanRiemsdyk goes #2 to Philadelphia:
...and again, lucky as it is, to see Kyle Turris and Wayne Gretzky share the stage:
evan
Jun 22 2007 13:46
The Scouts and the Coaches weigh in
New York Islanders head coach Ted Nolan remembers when he was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round of the 1978 Draft.
Haakan Anderson is the Red Wings’ European scout who was responsible for drafting Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom, Slava Kozlov, Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Fedorov, just to name a few.
Red Wings assistant coach Todd McClellan talks about relying on the scouts to find the best players:
St. Louis Blues president John Davidson talks about dipping into the free-agent pool this summer:
Garth Malarchuk, amateur scout for the Maple Leafs, wasn’t nervous before the Draft because he and his fellow scouts have done their homework:
Marty Stein, who scouts Western Canada for the Red Wings, talks about what he looks for in players before recommending them to the boss:
And finally, Phoenix Coyotes scout Christian Ruutu weighs in on the Coyotes and who they like at the third overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft:
shawn_roarke
Jun 22 2007 11:14
Ferguson predicts a 'circus'
Toronto GM John Ferguson Jr. just revealed that this year’s draft has the potential to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. In discussing the acquisition of Toskala and Mark Bell, Ferguson admitted there has been more trade chatter among his peers than at past drafts. “I was talking to one of my colleagues today and he said that if everything goes on that has been talked about, it’s going to be a circus tonight,” he said. “So, it should be exciting.” The rumors are flying fast and furious now on the draft floor. According to the scuttlebutt, both Phoenix and Vancouver are making last-ditch efforts to pry the No. 1 pick away from Chicago. It appears both suitors are interested in selecting the top-ranked Kyle Turris if they can pry the pick away from Chicago GM Dale Tallon.