Swedes in the first round two years in a row is likely impossible to happen on the Thrashers, but I ran across this quote that was mildly interesting, out of what I think is the Gotland, Sweden newspaper. Talks about Johan Larsson, who made a big run up some draft lists with his performance at the U18 World Championships in Minsk.
Google translation of the section:
[quote] Fredrik Jax, Atlanta Thrashers scout, has seen Johan Larsson several times in Brynäs J20 and he is one of the scouts who were not surprised at the hysteria created by Larsson still in hockey circles.
- It is strongly influenced by him to perform as he does. John takes with the team. He is a true team player and important in all parts of the game.
Like most other scouts, Jax avoids answering the question whether Atlanta would be interested in Larsson. Precisely because it is so secret between the clubs.
- I can not sit and talk about right now. He is a good player clearly. We make a list of those we are interested in, says Jax.[/quote]
Showing posts with label nhl draft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nhl draft. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Kevin Doell on Oliver Ekman-Larsson
I was writing a story on draft-eligible Oliver Ekman-Larsson, one of Kevin Doell's teammates from Leksand this year, so I decided to contact him for his input. Doell went above and beyond in helping, which has always seemed to be his approach on everything.
Here's the finished product, which should be interesting to Thrasher fans primarily because OEL is someone the Thrashers are looking at seriously for their No. 4 overall pick.
.
Here's the finished product, which should be interesting to Thrasher fans primarily because OEL is someone the Thrashers are looking at seriously for their No. 4 overall pick.
"He has improved a ton in just the time I was with him in Leksand," Doell said. "He's a great skater with very good hands and makes smart plays with the puck. He has a lot of potential, but probably the most impressive thing about his game is his patience and calmness when he has the puck...
.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Prospects the Thrashers have and haven't talked to for the 2009 draft
I'm at the U18 World Championships, and when I interview players, I generally ask which NHL teams they've talked to. It's not always a good gauge of which teams are the most interested, since some wait to talk to a guy so as not to tip their hand, but it is a good gauge of how much general interest there is in a player. So that's why I ask.
But in the process, I've been able to come up with a list of players that the Thrashers have talked to. Add to that knowledge of Kane from a news report, and my knowledge of Holland, Beck and Latta from my OHL trip and we have a list. I'll update it as I talk to more players.
Have talked to:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (first-rounder)
Evander Kane (first-rounder)
Carl Klingberg (second rounder)
Anton Lander (third rounder?)
Peter Holland
Taylor Beck
Michael Latta
Have not talked to:
Simon Bertilsson
Robin Lehner
William Wrenn - he said he's done surveys from teams but not talked to them.
Toni Rajala
Chris Lynch
Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Klingberg behind him.
But in the process, I've been able to come up with a list of players that the Thrashers have talked to. Add to that knowledge of Kane from a news report, and my knowledge of Holland, Beck and Latta from my OHL trip and we have a list. I'll update it as I talk to more players.
Have talked to:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (first-rounder)
Evander Kane (first-rounder)
Carl Klingberg (second rounder)
Anton Lander (third rounder?)
Peter Holland
Taylor Beck
Michael Latta
Have not talked to:
Simon Bertilsson
Robin Lehner
William Wrenn - he said he's done surveys from teams but not talked to them.
Toni Rajala
Chris Lynch
Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Klingberg behind him.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Dr. Stuart fixed knee of top prospect
Dr. Michael Stuart, father of Colin and Mark Stuart, performed knee surgery on one of the top prospects for the 2009 draft, Jared Cowen. Dr. Stuart works at the Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minneapolis, and was previously the team doctor for the US national junior team.
“Our team has its own surgeon, but my agent recommended Dr. Stuart because he has a lot of experience performing the surgery," Cowen said. "We wanted to pick a guy who NHL teams know. I expect there will be questions about the injury and the surgery at the NHL combine, so I don’t think it will hurt that many of the teams know about Dr. Stuart.”.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
HF on Atlanta-trained Landon Ferraro
Former Thrasher Ray Ferraro's son Landon is eligible for the 2009 draft, and quite highly rated in fact. Hockey's Future did a feature on Landon, and I made sure we asked him about the time he spent playing travel hockey in Atlanta while his dad was playing here. Those were his formative years.
.
..."In Atlanta I was a bit older so I could actually figure some stuff out. Just seeing where my hockey league [in Atlanta] started from and the fanbase for the Thrashers to where it ended when we left in ’02, it grew tremendously.”
Ferraro began playing competitive hockey while based in Georgia but explained that in order to get enough teams into one league, the boundaries were extremely stretched.
“My league was the whole south-east of the United States,” he smiled, “So I was playing and every other weekend we were on the road and we’d go to Tennessee or North and South Carolina or Florida.”Another former Thrasher has a son eligible for this draft -- Bjorn Krupp, who also learned to play hockey in Atlanta. He is considered a long shot in the draft though. He has his father's size, but perhaps not his skill.
.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Thrashers have talked to three '09 Guelph prospects
Taylor Beck told me that he, Peter Holland and Michael Latta were taken out to lunch after practice by someone from the Thrashers early in the year. All three are rated highly for the 2009 draft (Holland a bit overrated).
It wasn't hard to determine based on description and that the rep was based in Toronto, that it was Dan Marr who took them out. This kind of thing isn't unusual at all, as it's the team's philosophy to talk to top guys early in their draft year. But that's not to say that the team has taken guys out from every team either. A couple other OHL players I talked to who are rated pretty highly said they haven't had any personal contact with NHL teams yet.
.
It wasn't hard to determine based on description and that the rep was based in Toronto, that it was Dan Marr who took them out. This kind of thing isn't unusual at all, as it's the team's philosophy to talk to top guys early in their draft year. But that's not to say that the team has taken guys out from every team either. A couple other OHL players I talked to who are rated pretty highly said they haven't had any personal contact with NHL teams yet.
.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Thrashers still keen on Tavares for 2009 draft
The WJC didn't change the Thrashers' thinking on who the top guy is for the 2009 draft -- to them it's still John Tavares. From CBCsports:
Svensson Paajarvi was really good for sure in the tourney. He looked just as dynamic as Tavares.
I recently talked to a goalie who played with Tavares, who talked about his shot. That was interesting. Now I just need to remember I have that material for when the right time comes.
.
One could quibble with the statement that you have very few chances to get that kind of player. If you're the Thrashers, you have quite a few chances actually. They've only gotten out of the first row of tables, what, twice? Three times?“You have very few chances to get that kind of player,” said Thrashers executive vice-president and GM Don Waddell. “We still have four months left in the season to evaluate, but if it was the Atlanta Thrashers, we’d take John Tavares.”
...Hedman not NHL ready?
“Hedman will be a top defenceman in this league - no doubt. But it may take him a little longer,” Waddell added. “Tavares is ready to play and that may be a factor.” (By the way, the undrafted Swede who really impressed him was forward Magnus Svensson Paajarvi.)
Waddell also related an interesting story about Hedman and last year’s draft. After Steven Stamkos, the next four picks were defencemen: Drew Doughty (Los Angeles), Zach Bogosian (Atlanta), Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis) and Luke Schenn (Toronto).
“I asked our guys where they would take Hedman if he was available,” he said. “They told me not ahead of Doughty and not ahead of Bogosian. I then went outside our organization to another scout I trust and respect. He said the same thing.”
Svensson Paajarvi was really good for sure in the tourney. He looked just as dynamic as Tavares.
I recently talked to a goalie who played with Tavares, who talked about his shot. That was interesting. Now I just need to remember I have that material for when the right time comes.
.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Time for meaningful games at the WJC
You may have heard some of the blowout scores in the preliminary rounds of the 2009 World Juniors against some of the lesser teams like Kazakhstan and Latvia. Those might be fun for padding stats, but those kind of games don't show you much about the players on either side.
From Jason Menard at Hockey's Future:
Tonight we have a meaningful game with Canada vs. USA. Now we see how players play when it really matters. Game 1 of the playoffs, if you will.
NHL Network has employed Matt McConnell for the USA games. This saves us from having to listen to Pierre McGuire, which is a a win, but they could have done a lot better.
.
From Jason Menard at Hockey's Future:
"Games like those blowout games, you have to be careful in your evaluations," Montreal Canadiens director of player recruitment and development Trevor Timmins said. "You have to be there more as a fan than as a scout. The games against Canada, the U.S., Sweden, Russia -- those are the ones that count."
Tonight we have a meaningful game with Canada vs. USA. Now we see how players play when it really matters. Game 1 of the playoffs, if you will.
NHL Network has employed Matt McConnell for the USA games. This saves us from having to listen to Pierre McGuire, which is a a win, but they could have done a lot better.
.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Setoguchi? No thanks, Bourret's the guy
Those who are new to the Thrashers might look at San Jose Shark Devin Setoguchi and think what a nice success story for the Sharks and Setoguchi himself. Those with longer memories look at him and shake their heads.
The storyline here actually goes back to 2004, a year before Setoguchi was drafted. In that year, the Thrashers had the 10th pick and took Boris Valabik. They were criticized throughout the league for taking him so early in the draft -- virtually everyone knew Valabik could have been had much later. The smarter thing to do, if the Thrashers really wanted him, would have been to trade down in the draft and get full value out of their position by gaining extra picks.
So in 2005 they had the 8th pick, and coveting a player that could be had lower than 8th (Alex Bourret), the Thrashers then did what the conventional wisdom said and traded down. Twice, to be exact. In doing so, they gained picks and with one of those selected Ondrej Pavelec, making what would have been a complete disaster merely a really, really bad first-round pick.
Setoguchi, who was taken at 8th with the Thrashers original pick, is currently tied for 11th in the NHL in goals, tied for 16th in points, and tied for 9th in plus/minus. Few teams had Setoguchi rated quite that high, but they did have Marc Staal, Luc Bourdon, etc. that high and the Thrashers passed on them too. And it's not like Setoguchi was hiding somewhere -- he was in the WHL where everyone was very aware of him.
Alex Bourret, taken by the Thrashers at 15th, is one of many they've taken out of the Q with an intriguing tool or two, but no tool box and 10-cent heads. The stories I heard about Bourret while he was with the organization were discouraging, and the ones I heard after he was gone were just unbelievable.
The Thrashers traded Bourret to the New York Rangers (for Pascal Dupuis and a pick), who have since traded him to Phoenix (for just a pick). He's now with the San Antonio Rampage, his third AHL team. He scored at a .71 points per game pace when he was with the Wolves, a .66 rate with Hartford, and is down to just .38 with the Rampage.
This is Alex Bourret at practice. It was a morning skate for most of his team, but it was practice for him because he was a healthy scratch for that evening's game.
He spent a lot of the game tooling around on his phone, as many know he is wont to do.
.
The storyline here actually goes back to 2004, a year before Setoguchi was drafted. In that year, the Thrashers had the 10th pick and took Boris Valabik. They were criticized throughout the league for taking him so early in the draft -- virtually everyone knew Valabik could have been had much later. The smarter thing to do, if the Thrashers really wanted him, would have been to trade down in the draft and get full value out of their position by gaining extra picks.
So in 2005 they had the 8th pick, and coveting a player that could be had lower than 8th (Alex Bourret), the Thrashers then did what the conventional wisdom said and traded down. Twice, to be exact. In doing so, they gained picks and with one of those selected Ondrej Pavelec, making what would have been a complete disaster merely a really, really bad first-round pick.
Setoguchi, who was taken at 8th with the Thrashers original pick, is currently tied for 11th in the NHL in goals, tied for 16th in points, and tied for 9th in plus/minus. Few teams had Setoguchi rated quite that high, but they did have Marc Staal, Luc Bourdon, etc. that high and the Thrashers passed on them too. And it's not like Setoguchi was hiding somewhere -- he was in the WHL where everyone was very aware of him.
Alex Bourret, taken by the Thrashers at 15th, is one of many they've taken out of the Q with an intriguing tool or two, but no tool box and 10-cent heads. The stories I heard about Bourret while he was with the organization were discouraging, and the ones I heard after he was gone were just unbelievable.
The Thrashers traded Bourret to the New York Rangers (for Pascal Dupuis and a pick), who have since traded him to Phoenix (for just a pick). He's now with the San Antonio Rampage, his third AHL team. He scored at a .71 points per game pace when he was with the Wolves, a .66 rate with Hartford, and is down to just .38 with the Rampage.
This is Alex Bourret at practice. It was a morning skate for most of his team, but it was practice for him because he was a healthy scratch for that evening's game.
He spent a lot of the game tooling around on his phone, as many know he is wont to do.
.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Thrasher prospects and the 2009 WJC
If it's Christmas shopping season, that means the World Juniors is coming up. The Thrashers will have two, with an outside chance of three, prospects competing. That's a low number.
Team USA has announced a final roster (not a preliminary one). They don't have a camp right before the tournament to pick the team, so they dive right in. Zach Bogosian, John Albert and Vinny Saponari attended the August camp. But now Bogosian is both hurt and in the NHL, so he wasn't named to the team. Neither Albert nor Saponari made the cut. This is Albert's last year of eligibility, but Saponari can try again next year. The biggest surprise on that team was Blake Kessel, Phil's little brother. I saw him play in the USHL in his draft year and was not impressed whatsoever. He went on to be drafted in the 6th round by the Islanders. He's improved some and is at UNH now. His NCAA location had to have had a lot to do with his selection, because you can't tell me there aren't several Americans in the CHL who aren't better than him.
Nicklas Lasu has been named to the Sweden team, and Niclas Lucenius has been named to the preliminary Finland roster. He should make the roster with little problem, given the rest of the roster.
For Team Canada, Angelo Esposito was named to the 38-man camp roster. He's been cut from the team three times already. That's hard to do, because it means you were really really good really young, but didn't improve enough to later make the team. New Team Canada coach Pat Quinn has said he wants a hard-working gritty team. That does not describe Esposito, so he'll headed for the distinction of being cut four times. That's a record that may never be broken. You can chime in with a vote on whether or not he'll make the team in a poll at the upper right.
On a side note, it's trade deadline time in the QMJHL, and Esposito's name is back in the trade rumors this year. His Montreal Junior aren't doing that well, so they may deal Esposito. They are ninth in the Q, with a record of 16-14-1.
From the Telegraph-Journal:
And briefly on the 2009 entry draft, more on Evander Kane. I put our WHL writer up to asking Kane how he'd feel about being a role model for African-Americans if he was picked by Atlanta (who I noted earlier had interviewed him). When the piece came back, I realized that I had made two Canadians talk to each other about a place that neither had been to. The outcome was amusing. I added the clarification to the article that Atlanta is heavily African-American so that Canadians, even the ones asking and answering the questions, would understand.
I suppose Canadians see American movies set in big cities that have a lot of blacks and don't realize what regional variation there is to it. But of course there are parts of America that are whiter than Britney Spears' teeth. My school had one black girl in it -- and she was adopted. And my dad had a guy on his softball team who was black. It was quite exotic. Those were all the black people I knew until I went to college.
Anyway, here's the quote:
.
Team USA has announced a final roster (not a preliminary one). They don't have a camp right before the tournament to pick the team, so they dive right in. Zach Bogosian, John Albert and Vinny Saponari attended the August camp. But now Bogosian is both hurt and in the NHL, so he wasn't named to the team. Neither Albert nor Saponari made the cut. This is Albert's last year of eligibility, but Saponari can try again next year. The biggest surprise on that team was Blake Kessel, Phil's little brother. I saw him play in the USHL in his draft year and was not impressed whatsoever. He went on to be drafted in the 6th round by the Islanders. He's improved some and is at UNH now. His NCAA location had to have had a lot to do with his selection, because you can't tell me there aren't several Americans in the CHL who aren't better than him.
Nicklas Lasu has been named to the Sweden team, and Niclas Lucenius has been named to the preliminary Finland roster. He should make the roster with little problem, given the rest of the roster.
For Team Canada, Angelo Esposito was named to the 38-man camp roster. He's been cut from the team three times already. That's hard to do, because it means you were really really good really young, but didn't improve enough to later make the team. New Team Canada coach Pat Quinn has said he wants a hard-working gritty team. That does not describe Esposito, so he'll headed for the distinction of being cut four times. That's a record that may never be broken. You can chime in with a vote on whether or not he'll make the team in a poll at the upper right.
On a side note, it's trade deadline time in the QMJHL, and Esposito's name is back in the trade rumors this year. His Montreal Junior aren't doing that well, so they may deal Esposito. They are ninth in the Q, with a record of 16-14-1.
From the Telegraph-Journal:
"A lot will depend on whether Saint John and/or Montreal are buyers or sellers at the deadline," said Moncton Flyers midget AAA coach John DeCourcey. "(Saint John's) Alex Grant and Chris DiDomenico and (Montreal's) Angelo Esposito are all guys that could shift the balance of power."
And briefly on the 2009 entry draft, more on Evander Kane. I put our WHL writer up to asking Kane how he'd feel about being a role model for African-Americans if he was picked by Atlanta (who I noted earlier had interviewed him). When the piece came back, I realized that I had made two Canadians talk to each other about a place that neither had been to. The outcome was amusing. I added the clarification to the article that Atlanta is heavily African-American so that Canadians, even the ones asking and answering the questions, would understand.
I suppose Canadians see American movies set in big cities that have a lot of blacks and don't realize what regional variation there is to it. But of course there are parts of America that are whiter than Britney Spears' teeth. My school had one black girl in it -- and she was adopted. And my dad had a guy on his softball team who was black. It was quite exotic. Those were all the black people I knew until I went to college.
Anyway, here's the quote:
On being interviewed by the Atlanta Thrashers, where he would potentially become an important role model in the heavily African-American city…
“I did speak with Atlanta. And I suppose going to the United States, of course there are a lot of African Americans. But I would be happy to play anywhere in the NHL. If it were Atlanta, well yes, you’re correct on that note and I guess that’s all part of the job and I would be very happy doing it.”
.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Tavares' former protector touts him
It's November, but the standings indicate that Atlantans may want to pay attention to the top picks in the draft for 2009. Currently ranked No. 2 on most lists is John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals. I talked to his muscle from last year, James DeLory. The four questions about Tavares are at the end of the article.
Oh and my guess is that the Panthers will send DeLory to Dayton, where they reassigned goaltender David Shantz. If their affiliate doesn't want to play their players, they'll find someone else who will.
Edit: Nope, they sent him back to junior. "The Thrashers never send players back to junior," but other teams sometimes do.
.
HF: You played with (2009-eligible) John Tavares there in Oshawa. What should fans of the team who drafts him know about him?more...
JD: He sees the ice great, great hands. Obviously by his points you can tell he has a great scoring touch. He works pretty hard so if you get him, he’ll be good for you.
HF: Did you have to fight some of his battles?
JD: Yeah, well, the thing is with JT, he doesn’t really go out looking for it, but obviously being the caliber of player he is, guys are going to be trying to get in his face. It’d be my job to step in there once in a while. Yeah, you could say I had a few because of him (laughing).
Oh and my guess is that the Panthers will send DeLory to Dayton, where they reassigned goaltender David Shantz. If their affiliate doesn't want to play their players, they'll find someone else who will.
Edit: Nope, they sent him back to junior. "The Thrashers never send players back to junior," but other teams sometimes do.
.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Thrashers chat with 2009-eligible Evander Kane
Dan Marr has told me that the Thrashers like to talk to players early in the season before other NHL teams so they aren't rehersed. Well, we have evidence they're sticking with that game plan.
From The Province:
The natural question when you hear the name Kane is if he's related to Pat. Look at his photo and make your own conclusion. Also note that western Canada is a long way from Buffalo.
.
From The Province:
Let the watch of who's watching Evander Kane begin.
The Vancouver Giants sniper had his first extended talk with an NHL type after Friday night's 7-1 win over the Kelowna Rockets when Atlanta Thrashers head scout Marcel Comeau sat him down to chat.
Kane has been pegged as a possible top-10 pick in next year's NHL draft
The natural question when you hear the name Kane is if he's related to Pat. Look at his photo and make your own conclusion. Also note that western Canada is a long way from Buffalo.
.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Chouinard only an infant Atlantan
Eric Chouinard is a microcosm of hockey history in Atlanta. From Legends of Hockey (NHLPA):
Eric of course grew up in Canada and went on to play for Canada in international competition.
This makes Vinny Saponari, taken in the fourth round in 2008 by Atlanta, the first "true Georgian," drafted by the NHL, as Kevin Allen of USA Today put it.
There have been a few other players born in Georgia to play in the NHL as well, namely Jean-Marc Pelletier and Mark Mowers. Dave Caruso, born in New York but raised in Georgia, has made it as high as the AHL.
On July 8, 1980, the day of Eric Chouinard's birth, his father was busy packing up the household, ready to make the move from Atlanta to Calgary. Eric's dad, Guy Chouinard, was a star with the NHL's Atlanta Flames, and when the franchise relocated to Calgary that summer, Guy was part of the franchise's move.
Eric of course grew up in Canada and went on to play for Canada in international competition.
This makes Vinny Saponari, taken in the fourth round in 2008 by Atlanta, the first "true Georgian," drafted by the NHL, as Kevin Allen of USA Today put it.
There have been a few other players born in Georgia to play in the NHL as well, namely Jean-Marc Pelletier and Mark Mowers. Dave Caruso, born in New York but raised in Georgia, has made it as high as the AHL.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
2008 draft: Brothers available on Day 2
Bloodlines not only make good human interest stories, they also add some certainty to what kind of player someone is. There are several younger brothers of NHL players or former top picks still available in the 2008 entry draft.
David Toews, brother of Jonathan (CHI).
Joonas Rask, brother of Tuukka (BOS).
Jared Staal, brother of Eric, Marc, and Jordan.
Mark Olver, brother of Darin (formerly NYR)
Nik Pokulok, brother of Sasha (WAS)
Ian Schultz, brother of Jeff (WAS)
Michael Pelech, brother of Matt (Calgary first rounder)
Brian Lashoff, brother of Matt (BOS)
Thomas Frazee is not related to Jeff as far as I can tell, which actually raises his stock in my book.
If Brian Lashoff is anything like his brother, who is also a defenseman, he'd be a good pickup. Here's an article on him from November. Matt Lashoff played with Boris Valabik in Kitchener back in the day.
David Carle, brother of Matt (SJ) was just discovered to have a heart condition and will have to retire from hockey.
.
David Toews, brother of Jonathan (CHI).
Joonas Rask, brother of Tuukka (BOS).
Jared Staal, brother of Eric, Marc, and Jordan.
Mark Olver, brother of Darin (formerly NYR)
Nik Pokulok, brother of Sasha (WAS)
Ian Schultz, brother of Jeff (WAS)
Michael Pelech, brother of Matt (Calgary first rounder)
Brian Lashoff, brother of Matt (BOS)
Thomas Frazee is not related to Jeff as far as I can tell, which actually raises his stock in my book.
If Brian Lashoff is anything like his brother, who is also a defenseman, he'd be a good pickup. Here's an article on him from November. Matt Lashoff played with Boris Valabik in Kitchener back in the day.
David Carle, brother of Matt (SJ) was just discovered to have a heart condition and will have to retire from hockey.
.
Friday, June 20, 2008
2008 draft: Late bloomers?
There are a number of players who are ranked by scouting services who have been passed over in last year's draft, or in a few cases, both 2006 and 2007. They are the late bloomers.
Here's a list of them, with their birthdays. Tikhonov is expected to go fairly high, maybe the second round.
Viktor Tikhonov 5/12/88 (3rd year eligible)
Kristofer Berglund 8/12/88 (3rd year eligible)
Zack Fenwick 5/19/89
Colin Long 6/19/89
David Ullstrom 4/22/089
Eric Doyle 4/5/89
Steven Quailer 8/5/89
Brodie Reid 8/25/89
Maxim Mamin 5/17/88 (3rd year eligible)
Louke Oakley 4/7/89
Tomi Sallinen 2/11/89
Nicholas Tremblay 4/5/88 (3rd year eligible)
Brent Regner 5/17/89
Tyler Gron 9/7/89
Mark Borowiecki 7/12/89
Anton Korolev 1/26/88 (3rd year eligible)
Jack Connolly 8/15/89
Sam Klassen 1/1/89
Craig Smith 9/5/89
Sebastien Erixon 9/12/89
Mike Murphy 1/15/89
Other players who are in their first year eligible but have been described as late bloomers are Zac Dalpe, Jared Staal and Nicholas Deschamps.
Here's a list of them, with their birthdays. Tikhonov is expected to go fairly high, maybe the second round.
Viktor Tikhonov 5/12/88 (3rd year eligible)
Kristofer Berglund 8/12/88 (3rd year eligible)
Zack Fenwick 5/19/89
Colin Long 6/19/89
David Ullstrom 4/22/089
Eric Doyle 4/5/89
Steven Quailer 8/5/89
Brodie Reid 8/25/89
Maxim Mamin 5/17/88 (3rd year eligible)
Louke Oakley 4/7/89
Tomi Sallinen 2/11/89
Nicholas Tremblay 4/5/88 (3rd year eligible)
Brent Regner 5/17/89
Tyler Gron 9/7/89
Mark Borowiecki 7/12/89
Anton Korolev 1/26/88 (3rd year eligible)
Jack Connolly 8/15/89
Sam Klassen 1/1/89
Craig Smith 9/5/89
Sebastien Erixon 9/12/89
Mike Murphy 1/15/89
Other players who are in their first year eligible but have been described as late bloomers are Zac Dalpe, Jared Staal and Nicholas Deschamps.
2008 draft: Early and late birthdays
A few months ago I posted a link to an article about birth month in sports and how the cutoff for playing years in youth sports can over and underrate players born near the deadline. The argument is that physical development helps those born earlier in the year gain an advantage. The NHL draft deadline for each draft year is Sept. 15. A player must be 18 by that date to be drafted in that year's draft. Why that draft? Because that's the time that NHL camps start, and the league doesn't want anyone who is a minor signing contracts and playing a dangerous sport. You'll never see on-ice workouts start earlier than Sept. 15, and that's linked to the draft.
Anyway, I had a look through some draft-eligible players today and picked out the players on both sides of the magic date. It will be interesting to look back years later and see if they were in fact under or overrated.
Potentially underrated due to their late birthday
Zach Bogosian 7/15/90
Jake Gardiner 7/4/90
Daultan Leveille 8/10/90
Patrick Wiercioch 9/12/90
Andre Petersson 9/11/90
Jared Staal 8/21/90
Ilmari Pitkanen 7/18/90
Travis Hamonic 8/16/90
Marek Viedensky 8/18/90
Maxim Trunev 9/7/90
Dennis Bozic 8/2/90
Pekka Jormakka 9/14/90
Wacey Hamilton 9/10/90
Steven Spinnell 9/9/90
Michael D’Orazio 8/16/90
Colin South 8/9/90
Taylor Stefishen 8/15/90
Michael Lomas 8/16/90
Potentially overrated due to early birthday
Colin Wilson 10/20/89
Josh Bailey 10/2/89
Zac Boychuk 10/4/89
Tyler Ennis 10/6/89
Johan Motin 10/10/89
Emil Bejmo 10/10/89
Julien Demers 9/25/89
Jared Festler 10/14/89
Nicklas Lasu 9/16/89
Michael Pelech 10/6/89
Matt Delahey 9/25/89
Kory Nagy 10/12/89
Marc-Andre Bergeron 9/17/89
Zach Harnden 9/23/89
Roman Szturc 9/25/89
Petr Strapac 10/11/89
Joni Liljeblad 9/17/89
Eric Louis-Seize 10/12/89
Dustin Toharski 9/16/89
Braden Holtby 9/16/89
Jaroslav Janus 9/21/89
.
Kings will keep the No. 2 pick
From the LA Times. This makes it even more sure that the Thrashers will get Zach Bogosian.
[GM Dean Lombardi] confirmed Thursday night that he has had offers from three teams in the last two weeks for the No. 2 pick (widely expected to be [Drew] Doughty, a defenseman with the Guelph Storm). The most recent proposal came Tuesday, essentially a three-for-one deal -- a current player, a prospect and a draft choice for the pick.
But Lombardi went to Kings ownership, as he had with the other two, and recommended they reject the offer. He said everyone wanted to keep the selection.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Ottawa to move up and take Doughty?
I'm putting together a few things I've heard today, and that's the scenario I'm coming up with. I'll lay out a few facts, and see if you don't agree.
1. Ottawa is the host team for the draft and the host team always likes to make a big splash.
2. Ottawa recently went on record saying they wanted to move into the top 10.
3. Ottawa just hired a new coach and is looking to shake things up on the roster.
4. Los Angeles holds the No. 2 pick, but does not have a strong preference on a player. They are willing to move.
5. New Ottawa coach Craig Hartsburg is a huge Drew Doughty fan. This spring he called him "the best defenseman in junior hockey." Doughty is projected to go No. 2 or 3.
6. LA beat writer Rich Hammond said today that he has a hunch something big is about to happen with the Kings.
Ottawa holds the No. 18 pick, but roster help, in the form of an established but still young defenseman, could likely be heading LA's way. Dean Lombardi has said he's already turned down offers for the pick, but isn't that what you'd say if you were trying to drive up the price?
1. Ottawa is the host team for the draft and the host team always likes to make a big splash.
2. Ottawa recently went on record saying they wanted to move into the top 10.
3. Ottawa just hired a new coach and is looking to shake things up on the roster.
4. Los Angeles holds the No. 2 pick, but does not have a strong preference on a player. They are willing to move.
5. New Ottawa coach Craig Hartsburg is a huge Drew Doughty fan. This spring he called him "the best defenseman in junior hockey." Doughty is projected to go No. 2 or 3.
6. LA beat writer Rich Hammond said today that he has a hunch something big is about to happen with the Kings.
Ottawa holds the No. 18 pick, but roster help, in the form of an established but still young defenseman, could likely be heading LA's way. Dean Lombardi has said he's already turned down offers for the pick, but isn't that what you'd say if you were trying to drive up the price?
Thrashers draft preview done
I just wrapped up my draft preview over at Hockey's Future. I wrote it all in one day, which is unusual for me. But I knew what I was going to say so it wasn't too painful.
A couple things I cut out because they were a bit of a tangent:
1. If the Thrashers do pick a goaltender (late in the draft), hedging bets in case hockey nets get bigger in the future wouldn't be a bad plan. Tall goaltenders could become a necessity.
2. Most Europeans aren't developed enough within two years to make the NHL and they generally don’t want to play in the minor leagues. Pulling players over to North America at age 20 has caused tension with European countries, and was part of what led to them pulling out of the IIHF agreement. There really do need to be different rules for Europeans, regardless of what the Canadian junior leagues want.
3. Both Thrashers picks in the first round follow a Los Angeles pick.
As far as the mock draft pick goes, I wanted Swedish defenseman Erik Karlsson at No. 29, but our LA writer took him just ahead of me at 28. In real life, he's unlikely to last that long.
I get the feeling that the No. 29 pick is on the market though.
A couple things I cut out because they were a bit of a tangent:
1. If the Thrashers do pick a goaltender (late in the draft), hedging bets in case hockey nets get bigger in the future wouldn't be a bad plan. Tall goaltenders could become a necessity.
2. Most Europeans aren't developed enough within two years to make the NHL and they generally don’t want to play in the minor leagues. Pulling players over to North America at age 20 has caused tension with European countries, and was part of what led to them pulling out of the IIHF agreement. There really do need to be different rules for Europeans, regardless of what the Canadian junior leagues want.
3. Both Thrashers picks in the first round follow a Los Angeles pick.
As far as the mock draft pick goes, I wanted Swedish defenseman Erik Karlsson at No. 29, but our LA writer took him just ahead of me at 28. In real life, he's unlikely to last that long.
I get the feeling that the No. 29 pick is on the market though.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Draft tidbits -- T-4 days
I had to make my last pick in the HF staff mock draft today. The results of that will be posted shortly on the site, but that and some other fact-checking caused me to delve pretty deeply into the ISS draft guide. A few interesting things I noted:
The guide has a "style compares to" section, where they say which NHL player each top-30 prospect most resembles. Brian Campbell, Jay Bouwmeester, Adam Foote, etc. I get to Kyle Beach and it says "Terry Ryan." Who? I looked this name up and the most accomplished Terry Ryan was drafted in the first round in 1995 by the Canadiens, peaked in his draft year and played just 8 NHL games. What kind of backhanded compliment is this? Actually I think it may have to do with the fact that he was from Newfoundland and so is one of ISS's top scouts. How about a comparison more than a few people would get then?
I checked out what my hometown OHL Erie Otters had to offer this year. The top-ranked guy is Mitch Gaulton, a defenseman. He only played 20 games this year due to an elbow injury. That's probably going to keep him from going as high as he should. Poor kid. I'm going to make sure we have a profile for him.
Ever hear of the Don Waddell award? It's a real award, given for the top freshman at Northern Michigan University, Don's alma mater. Mark Olver won it this year. He put up some darn good numbers as a freshman with Northern (led the team in scoring with 38 points in 39 games), but isn't ranked very high, jut 207th among North American skaters by Central Scouting and not at all by ISS. Makes me think scouts are scared off by the experience with his brother Darin a few years ago -- drafted 36th overall by the Rangers and then they never signed him, he went to Europe. Their father is now the GM of the AHL Iowa Stars, by the way.
I just heard back from Dave Caruso, who everyone should know. I was asking him about Vinny Saponari. The two are many years apart, but Dave said he knew Vinny's older brother Al. And of course Dave managed to work in the fact that Ohio State was recruiting Vinny. He cracks me up.
.
The guide has a "style compares to" section, where they say which NHL player each top-30 prospect most resembles. Brian Campbell, Jay Bouwmeester, Adam Foote, etc. I get to Kyle Beach and it says "Terry Ryan." Who? I looked this name up and the most accomplished Terry Ryan was drafted in the first round in 1995 by the Canadiens, peaked in his draft year and played just 8 NHL games. What kind of backhanded compliment is this? Actually I think it may have to do with the fact that he was from Newfoundland and so is one of ISS's top scouts. How about a comparison more than a few people would get then?
I checked out what my hometown OHL Erie Otters had to offer this year. The top-ranked guy is Mitch Gaulton, a defenseman. He only played 20 games this year due to an elbow injury. That's probably going to keep him from going as high as he should. Poor kid. I'm going to make sure we have a profile for him.
Ever hear of the Don Waddell award? It's a real award, given for the top freshman at Northern Michigan University, Don's alma mater. Mark Olver won it this year. He put up some darn good numbers as a freshman with Northern (led the team in scoring with 38 points in 39 games), but isn't ranked very high, jut 207th among North American skaters by Central Scouting and not at all by ISS. Makes me think scouts are scared off by the experience with his brother Darin a few years ago -- drafted 36th overall by the Rangers and then they never signed him, he went to Europe. Their father is now the GM of the AHL Iowa Stars, by the way.
I just heard back from Dave Caruso, who everyone should know. I was asking him about Vinny Saponari. The two are many years apart, but Dave said he knew Vinny's older brother Al. And of course Dave managed to work in the fact that Ohio State was recruiting Vinny. He cracks me up.
.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
