Winners Losers on Draft Day
Early Look at Winners & Losers of the Draft
Winners:
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1. Buffalo
Solid choices throughout the draft, Buffalo acquired two very good choices
in the first round and continued to pick players which will be heard of for
many years in the NHL. They did not necessarily draft superstars, but very good
potential contributors. Keith
Ballard's name being called with the 11th overall pick surprised many,
but not those in the know. Ballard isn't huge but he's wide and nasty, plain
nasty. He's got a very solid future ahead of him for sure once he makes the
NHL jump. We see a lot of Dimitri Yushkevich in him, possibly with more offensive
upside.
Paille was making a lot of noise in the last few weeks before
the draft and we feel he was one of the better players outside the top five
available on draft day. An honest player who will always give his all, he is
an absolute lock to make the NHL and evolve into a 2nd line winger. Maxim
Sheviev was robbery being taken with the 178th pick and will at the
very least develop into a solid defensive forward. A very curious player with
a fantastic offensive touch, but has not yet emerged as a scoring winger. He
could, and could be a fantastic NHL'er one day. The rest of their choices were
fairly solid, and could also produce some NHL talent, but the three we mentioned
clearly make them one of the winners from the weekend.
2. Washington
What can you say with three first round picks, they chose some of the better
talent available. Steve
Eminger being their 1st choice, a highly talented rearguard who is good
at both ends but excels offensively. A smart kid with a bright future. Alex
Semin, a shifty winger from Russia with tones of offensive potential.
We're thinking Sergei Berezin low, Alex Moginly high, when we look at Semin.
Gordon is about as honest as a player gets with a solid future as a
3rd line winger but perhaps more as a support player for a sniper - likely a
defensive minded guy, but one you'll never worry about when he's on the ice.
Daigneault was the 3rd best North American goalie available, according
to Central Scouting, and a solid choice at 59th overall. Max has lots of potential
and could one day be the heir to "Ollie the Goalie" if things go right
for him. Nothing wrong with taking a French Canadian goaltender with attitude,
now is there??!!
Beyond those top four, their picking slipped but their high-end choices give
the Caps our stamp of approval and give their prospect depth a very baldly needed
shot in the arm.
3. Montreal
The Habs had another solid draft this year, picking Chris
Higgins 14th overall. Higgins has been criticized by some major publications
but it would be very foolish to write this kid off. One of the most intelligent
young players we've ever had the privilege of interviewing, Higgins is simply
an excellent character guy, which backs up his nice package of skills and aggressiveness.
Linhart, who was just drafted by the new-look Mississauga IceDogs of
the Ontario Hockey League in the CHL Import Draft (this is not such a bad thing
anymore) looks like a very solid defensive d-man who will steady up any blueline
in a few years. All in all the Habs chose good players with good potential, which should only
add to their rank of top NHL prospects list once again.
4. Philadelphia
Could be accused of near-theft for their acquisition of the 4th overall pick
and chosing Joni
Pitkanen with it. Beyond this pick their draft was rather dull but they
edge into our winners category for such a shrewd move.
**5. Los Angeles - it was pointed out to us by one of our valued readers
after the fact that the Kings first three picks were in our Top 30 list. Although
Grebeshkov and Sergei
Anshakov are a few years away from NHL duty, Petr
Kanko was one of our favorites outside the top five and they snagged
him in the 3rd round. Thanks to Louis for pointing out our oversight.
Losers:
1. St. Louis - The Blues have really tapered off in the past few years
with their ability to draft quality players. The perfect example is their 2nd
choice, Andrei
Mikhnov. Yes, this was a weak draft but what are they thinking with
this kid? One of the most classic cases of "big floating European winger"
we've ever seen, there is a reason this guy was ranked 77th for North American
skaters. Probably their best pick was the 165th overall choice of Justin
Maiser, who is a 4th line role player at best. The rest of their picks
are gigantic question marks and we highly doubt even two of them will make the
NHL.
2. Carolina - purely because of numbers they were rated as losers, with
only four picks in the entire draft, obviously the Hurricanes bought into the
theory of this being a weak draft and used their picks for other resources.
Still, the top choice of Cam
Ward had eyebrows raised, followed by a few snickers. There were far
better choices with the 25th overall pick but obviously they like the kid. Sorry,
but we don't (at least not for a first rounder).
3. Tampa Bay - The "fleecing" the Bolts are accused of taking
in this draft may not be as bad as some think it is. Even Larry Robinson called
Fedontenko "a very good player", so why shouldn't we? The operative
for the Lightning was to get better NOW, and not wait five years for Pitkanen
to be a contributor, but we still think they panicked and took the one deal
that was on the table. Perhaps they should have done some more shopping? The
deal was not as bad as it's being made out to be but we still feel they could
have done much better. Beyond that, their day at the draft was uninteresting
and produced very little promise except for some longshots. A very large collection
of mid-to-late round choices flood their pick list but quantity doesn't usually
equal quantity unless the nine players they chose in rounds six to nine are
all sure-fire NHL players.
4. Minnesota - The Wild did not make out very well in our opinion. Pierre-Marc
Bouchard has talent pouring out of every orifice but there are huge
concerns that this young lad can put it together in the NHL and not spend most
of his game cowering at the red line. A very timid player in physical situations,
Bouchard could turn out to be a Pierre Turgeon or a complete bust. We are concerned.
Foy was a good choice at 175, but aside from him, it looks pretty bleak.
The rest of their choices were virtually unheard of players which really means
very high-risk. Not the best strategy for an expansion club to be taking.
Biggest Risk Takers
1. Edmonton - Oilers dipped way down the CSB ranks to find their first
choice in Jesse
Ninnimaki, but they had good reason. The youngster oozes raw talent
and has great potential if he can put it together. Already has good size but
needs experience and maturing before we see what he's made of. Jeff
Deslauriers was not a risk at all, but a fine choice for the 2nd round.
Almost everyone had him as the 2nd goalie to go in this draft yet he slipped
through to the 31st pick. Jarret
Stoll is no risk at all when it comes to the player, but choosing him
higher than his previous draft position is such a big no-no in NHL management
circles, we consider it a bit of a step for the Oilers to do it. Brock
Radunske has a lot ahead of him and we also felt was a risk pick but
with great potential payoff.
2. New Jersey - David Conte is one man we rarely question, so we won't,
but he did do his usual picking of a player nobody else had even heard of with
his first choice. Anton Kedeykin is about as unknown as you can get,
so forgive us if it takes some time to gather a scouting report on him. We've
realized we need a disclaimer for those who sign up for our prospects section
"we will not necessarily be able to keep up with Conte". Barry
Tallackson is another big gamble.. do we have Ryan Smyth or do we have
zilch? Jason
Ryznar utterly collapsed in the 2nd half of his last season, yet still
climbed charts and Conte kept up with him. Most of the Devils' choices fall
into the gamble category.
3. Boston - Not always known for being overly risky at the draft, the
Bruins took the crapshoot to a new level for them this year. Hannu
Toivonen is a solid young goaltending prospect, however why they chose
him over Jeff Desleauriers who went two picks later is beyond us. After that,
the Bruins traded up over the Maple Leafs to pick Vladislav
Evseev, perceived as one of the most talented, yet biggest risks of
the draft. Evseev is a big power winger with talent to spare but has struggled
with injuries and consistency for a few years now. We are also concerned with
his willingness to get physical, but to a lesser extent. Two somewhat risky
choices with their top two picks but it could pay off big-time for the bears
one day.