2007 NHL Draft Review
It was a big night for the NHL in Columbus last Friday where the League held its annual Entry Draft. It was a typical draft year where there were no “generational” studs waiting in the wings, but a solid group of guys who should go on to decent careers. As with most things in life, there are no guarantees that the higher picks will flourish or the lower picks will fail.

The primary focus here is on the Boston Bruins, who will pick at #8 in the first round, barring a trade which can always upset the apple cart. The rumor mongering reaches critical mass on draft weekend as teams are always looking to flip picks to upgrade their team. Some clubs have an eye on the future while others use their picks as bargaining chips for established talent. It’s always a lot of fun to watch how things shake out.

Which way will they go this year? A forward or a trade appears to be the most likely options for Boston. They recently swung a trade with Columbus to acquire Adam McQuaid, a 6’4” 21-year old defenseman who was in junior hockey in Ontario. McQuaid was a second round pick who wasn’t going to sign with the Blue Jackets, so the B’s picked him up for a fourth rounder in this draft. At the moment, the defensive end of the rink is in pretty good shape for the future. In goal, Tuukka Rask (acquired last year from Toronto for Raycroft) will be coming over from Finland to play in Providence. He is considered by most hockey evaluators to be among the finest goaltending prospects around. Barring a trade, there is also the development of Hannu Toivonen to consider. Hannu hasn’t been the same goalie since getting injured in early 2006. Last season, he hit a pothole in terms of development and played most of the year in Providence, where he redeemed himself somewhat with a good playoff run. Goaltending is such a precarious commodity and it’s never wise to give up someone too soon. And, truth be told, developing goalies hasn’t been one of Boston’s strengths over the years.

At last year’s draft, the B’s chose Phil Kessel with their first selection. Kessel played one season at the University of Minnesota before turning pro. He was at one time considered to be a #1 overall candidate, but his stock fell in the months preceding the draft due to questions regarding his attitude. He made the big leap to the NHL right away and had a memorable rookie campaign both on and off the ice. For the courage he displayed for returning to the lineup shortly after undergoing surgery for testicular cancer, he was awarded the NHL’s Bill Masterton Trophy. There may be more than one GM out there regretting the fact that they passed on this kid. He’s going to be a wonderful player.

The B’s performance on draft day is sketchy at best. Their best draft choice ever also came at #8 (courtesy of a great trade by Harry) in 1979 that brought a young defenseman named Raymond Bourque. However, for every Bourque, there have been many, many more first-round busts among the more notable being:

Lars Jonsson #7 (2000)
Johnathan Aitken #8 (1996)
Sean Brown #21 (1995)
Evgeni Ryabchikov #21 (1994)
Kevyn Adams #25 (1993)
Shayne Stevenson #17 (1989)
Robert Cimetta #18 (1988)
Dave Pasin #19 (1984)
Nevin Markwart #21 (1983)

There are quite a few more, but for relevance we’ll look at the last 25 years. The Bruins also encountered bad luck with Gord Kluzak and Normand Leveille, who showed great promise before being struck down before their prime.

To be fair, there were also a number of steals the B’s have made on the draft board since ’82:

Bob Sweeney #123 (1982)
Allen Pedersen #102 (1983)
Don Sweeney #166 (1984)
Randy Burridge #157 (1985)
Bob Beers #210 (1985)
Ted Donato #98 (1986)
Joe Juneau #81 (1987)
Mariusz Czerkawski #106 (1991)
Shawn Bates #103 (1993)
Hal Gill #207 (1993)
John Grahame #229 (1994)
P.J. Axelsson #177 (1995)
Andrew Raycroft #135 (1998)
Andrew Alberts #179 (2001)
Milan Jurcina #241 (2001)
Yan Stastny #259 (2002)
Patrice Bergeron #45 (2003)

Perhaps there are no superstars in the above bunch but all of these guys took regular shifts or were later flipped for draft choices. So, it would appear that the Bruins have done fairly well in selecting depth players in the mid-late rounds than the so-called “can’t miss kids.” Compared to the drafting skill of other clubs, it’s hard to tell in a post-lockout world. The next dynasty-in-waiting is in Pittsburgh, where fans endured a number of woeful seasons (as well as a relocation threat) after Mario retired only to be rewarded with a boatload of high picks (Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Staal, etc.). The Pens have been built the same way as Pittsburgh’s Cup-winning teams of fifteen years ago. At a certain point, the kids mature and veterans are brought in to compliment the core group. Despite the B’s lackluster draft history, they produced a number of great teams because Harry was a sharp wheeler-dealer who always kept the team competitive. When his influence began to fade on Causeway Street, so too did the team. The moral of the story is teams that draft well have a higher probability of success than those who don’t.

For the first time in history, the Bruins actually have a “pipeline” of young talent on whom the jury’s still out, yet have an appreciable buzz among dedicated hockey watchers. These are the young players that scouts and fans are truly excited about:

Mark Stuart D, Kevin Regan G, David Krejci C, Martin Karsums, LW, Matt Lashoff D, Petr Kalus C, Vladimir Sobotka C, Yuri Alexandrov D, Milan Lucic LW, and Brad Marchand C.

When is the last time anyone can remember such a tremendous pool of potential talent waiting to get to Boston? Answer: Never. The Bruins already have some great building blocks in place with veterans Chara and Savard. They have tremendous young players in Bergeron and Kessel. They simply need to be patient and allow their young players to develop. It’s going to take a few years to see how it will all play out. This weekend is a big step in the process.

This year St. Louis and Edmonton have three selections each in Round One. So there ought to be considerable movement by the clubs who have greater flexibility and cap room than others whose cap liabilities have hindered their ability to move up or down on the board. Prior to the draft, there were a couple of significant trades involving established goaltenders. Leafs acquired Vesa Toskala and F Mark Bell from San Jose for three or four picks. Later on, Florida picked up Nashville’s stud goaltender Tomas Vokun for a bundle of picks. There was some talk that the B’s were interested in Minnesota’s Manny Fernandez, but the asking price appeared to be too steep. He’s not really much of an upgrade over the goaltenders Boston already has.

Additionally, there was news regarding Nashville. The proposed sale of the club to the “blackberry inventor” (and his intention to relocate the club in Hamilton) just may not go through after all. The current owner has basically told Mr. Blackberry to “…or get off the pot.” If the team maintains an average attendance of 14,000, then the club’s lease with the arena can’t be broken. If the sale goes through, it’s just another black eye for the League and its short-sighted commissioner. The League had no business expanding into markets that had “potential” for profitability while abandoning Canadian cities like Winnipeg and Québec where the fan support was intensely loyal. The rush to expand or relocate franchises to non-hockey markets like Miami, Atlanta, Raleigh, Anaheim and Phoenix was no more than an “expansion fee” cash grab by the owners (led by the Concessionaire King). They sold out the game and its fans by allowing a diluted product on the ice in places where it has no meaning at the expense of markets where hockey is the focal point of the community. Under Bettman’s tenure as commissioner, the popularity of hockey has faded to the point of being on a par with Professional Bull Riding. He may have made a lot of money for a select few, but may have irreparably damaged this beautiful game along the way.

The Predators also made some bad choices at the trade deadline when they cashed in their future for an ill-fated Cup run. The picks and prospects they surrendered to the Flyers to obtain two months’ of Forsberg’s services were a brutal bargain. The owners also lost over $25MM in the last two years. They foolishly went “all in” at the poker table and lost. When the piper came due, the team had to sell off their best players on the cheap. Timmonen and Hartnell were traded to Philly, Voukun was dealt to Florida and Forsberg and Kariya aren’t coming back. No matter where the club ends up down the road, they’ll be doing so on the cheap.

Picks 1-5:
At 7:20 Chicago went on the clock. At 7:22, Hawks picked Forward Patrick Kane, an American kid who played for London in the OHL. At 5’9”, Kane may be a bit on the smallish side but he is a goal scorer. LW James van Riemsdyk, a member of the US National Development Team, went to Philadelphia at #2. This kid looks like he’ll need a few years and a thousand milkshakes to round into a big leaguer, but he’s a gifted offensive player. It’s the first time ever that American kids went 1-2. Phoenix chose C Kyle Turris at #3. Turris has committed to U-Wisconsin, so the Dogs are looking to him to contribute later on down the line.

At #4, Kings went “off the board” and chose defenseman Thomas Hickey from Seattle of the WHL. On most mock drafts, Hickey was listed anywhere from 15-30, so it was somewhat of a surprise. No one (except for the folks in LA) had this guy anywhere near the top 10. But the Kings have such an abundance of young talent that it’s frightening to consider how good they’re going to be a couple of years. Washington was next at #5, will they pick Cherapanov? No! They picked defenseman Karl Alzner, a big kid who played for Calgary in the WHL.

Picks 6-10:
At #6, Edmonton (using the first of their picks) selected forward Sam Gagner, also from London Knights. He’s the son of a guy who played very well for a long time in the NHL. Scouts characterize him as a bright, skill forward. If his career in any way approximates his dad’s then Oilers would’ve made a tremendous selection. Just after 8:00, the hometown Blue Jackets stepped up to the podium at #7 to the roar of the large crowd and chose C Jakub Voracek, from the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. He’s an electric player and Columbus was lucky that he fell to them at #7.

Boston Bruins at #8:
Then, it was the Bruins’ turn at #8. Cheraponov (who was looking a lot like Brady Quinn out there in the stands) was available, as was Angelo Esposito. Cam Neely stepped up with the B’s management team and made the selection and…it was Zach Hamill, a high-scoring playmaking center from Everett of the WHL. Hamill was all over the map in various mocks, everywhere from 9 to 23. Hamill was highly regarded by scouts and fans alike…but the choice seemed so bland. No one will be rushing out for season tickets on the basis of this pick.

At #9, St. Louis flipped the pick to San Jose for #13, #44 this year and a third-round pick in ’08. It’s a good move for the Blues, since they only drop four spots and still have a ton of picks. Sharks selected Logan Couture from Ottawa 67’s. Couture, along with Cherapanov and Esposito were widely touted as possible choices by Boston. He was in the 9 to 11 range in most mocks, but many scouts really didn’t care all that much for his game and had him slotted lower in the round. At #10, Florida Panthers picked the lanky 6’4” defenseman Keaton Ellerby from Kamloops. Ellerby has the rep of being aggressive, but he’s as skinny as a rail. The boy is going to need to fill up on some meat n’ taters before he hits the big time. Bruins fans pretty much had a thumbs-down reaction to Ellerby when his named was floated around the eighth slot.

Picks 11-15:

At #11, Carolina selected Brandon Sutter from Red Deer. He’s a Sutter, and that’s all anyone really needs to know. Though he appears taller than his famous dad and five uncles, surely that nasty edge was inherited along with the great hockey sense. At #12, Canadiens are up, and they have to pick Esposito. It just fits too perfectly for them to grab Esposito here, a hometown hero to carry the torch and return the team to glory. Oh my goodness! They passed on Esposito and chose Ryan McDonagh, a highly touted high school defenseman from Minnesota! At #13 St. Louis used their first pick and selected Lars Eller, a Dane (a rarity in the NHL) who’s a highly skilled forward that many teams shied from because Denmark isn’t exactly a hockey hotbed. So what? If a kid can play, it makes no difference where he hails from. There were a lot of B’s fans on the message board who really thought highly of him. At #14, Colorado went defense, choosing defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, a USNDP prospect who projects to be a power-play quarterback type. Edmonton came up for a second bite of the apple at #15, and picked another tall defenseman, Alex Plante, from Calgary of the WHL.

Picks 16-20:

Minnesota came up at #16, and it was time to grab either Esposito or Cherapanov. No…it was Colton Gillies a big, tough forward from Saskatoon who’s more of a banger than a scorer. It is inconceivable to think this kid (who projects as a third liner) goes off the board before two of the highest-rated scorers available. The sentiment on the B’s message boards was to avoid Gillies entirely. NY Rangers at #17 were ecstatic to select Cherapanov. Having Cherapanov fall in their laps at 17 was grand theft. The kid idolizes Jagr and now will learn the NHL game at Jagr’s knee. It could not have worked out better for the player and the club. Calgary flipped #18 to St. Louis for #24 & #70. They will choose Esposito here, without a doubt. It would make no sense to trade up otherwise. So, they selected defenseman Ian Cole from the USNDP. Anaheim was up at #19 and selected center Logan MacMillan, a PEI kid who played for Halifax in the Q. He’s also the son of a long-time NHL player and a fine playmaking center who will compliment a very good team in the years to come. Pittsburgh came up at #20 and selected Esposito. The rich just got richer. Now, he doesn’t have to carry the burden of being the big gun with the Penguins because that role will be ably filled by Crosby for the next decade or so. As with Cherapanov, he may be thanking his lucky stars that he went into freefall and into the waiting arms of the NHL’s next dynasty. Within a couple of years, Pittsburgh will two lines of firepower for opponents to agonize over.

Picks 21-25:
At #21, Phoenix flipped the pick to Edmonton for #30 and #36. Oilers selected Rodney Nash a Tier II center from BC who’s going off to Cornell in the fall. Nash was rated everywhere from 33rd to 94th by the scouting bureaus. Oilers must’ve seen something that the other scouts didn’t. Montreal selected LW Max Pacioretty, a Connecticut kid who played in the USHL and who’ll be attending Michigan next year. Nashville came up at #22 and selected defenseman Jonathan Blum, a big California kid who played in the WHL. The kid has endured a lot of family sorrows and is highly regarded. This was a solid pick for the Preds. At #24, Calgary selected Mikael Backlund, a forward from Sweden who slid further than many of the experts predicted. Vancouver chose Patrick White at #25 (23, 46, and 60) a USHL product from Minnesota who will be going to the Gophers in the fall.


Picks 26-30:
At #26, St. Louis chose David Perron, a high scoring forward from Lewiston in the Q. The experts speculated that he fell to the bottom of the round because he only had one full season of junior “A” hockey. With a ton of picks this year, the Blues can afford to take such a gamble. Detroit selected Brendan Smith at #27, another Tier II pick from Toronto who’s going to Wisconsin. Detroit always finds a way of finding diamonds in the rough that no one else seems to target, and that’s why they’ve been competitive for so long. Capitals chose for the second time at #28 and flipped the pick to San Jose for #41 and second round pick in ’08. The Sharks chose American defenseman Nick Petrecki, a nasty hitter who will be attending Boston College in the fall. At #29, Cup-finalist Ottawa selected center James O’Brien from the University of Minnesota. O’Brien also has the flexibility to play defense. The final pick belonged to Phoenix (from Edmonton via Anaheim) and they chose Nick Ross, a playmaking defenseman from Regina in the WHL.

The kids picked today seem to reflect the “new NHL” where the lads are bigger, faster and meaner than in previous years. It’ll take between 3-5 years to see how many of the picks become studs and how many duds. Ten Americans were selected in Round 1, tying last year’s record. What was noteworthy was the number of USHL prospects who were selected as well as the NCAA powerhouses they will be attending. The other really interesting development was how San Jose entered Round 1 without any picks and somehow maneuvered their way into picking twice. It’s that sort of proactive management style that builds Cup contenders. Meanwhile, the Bruins played it safe. There’s a gnawing feeling that the teams who passed on Cherapanov and Esposito are going to rue their decision.

Day 2:
On Saturday, the Bruins went into the day with single picks in the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. In the second round, they traded their third-round pick to move up three spots, where they chose defenseman Tommy Cross at #35, a tall, high school kid who played prep hockey last year and will go to the USHL next season. He’s not projected to be NHL-ready for at least five years. With no selections in Rounds 3 and 4, the B’s had to wait until #135 before drafting Denis Reul, a huge and extremely frightening looking defenseman from Germany. Many posters have compared him to “Uncle Fester”. (Actually, he’s more of a Fester-Lerch hybrid.) If he can’t make it in the NHL, there’s a good chance he can make it in Hollywood. In Round 6, they flipped next year’s sixth choice to Calgary for their sixth this year. They chose two more defensemen, Alain Goulet (a Tier II player from Ontario) and Radim Ostrcil from the Czech Republic. Both of these kids aren’t even in junior “A” leagues yet, so it’ll be a few seasons before the team determines whether they can make it to the NHL. With their final pick in Round 7, the B’s chose Jordan Knackstedt, an forward/enforcer who played for Moose Jaw in the WHL.

Unlike last year’s picks, the players drafted by Boston this year were met with a collective shrug. Maybe the ambivalence is due to all the musical chair foolishness that has been going on over there on Causeway Street ever since Harry’s influence faded. The ice beneath Chiarelli’s skates appears to be melting and the team doesn’t seem to have a plan other than throwing something on the wall to see if it sticks. It’s not that fans are angry, they no longer care.

Hamill and Cross were not “reaches” by any stretch of the imagination, but there was no excitement attached to their selection. In weak drafts such as this year’s, where there were no Crosby’s or Ovechkin’s for the picking, it was all pretty much a crapshoot. More than half of the kids who proudly stood on the podium Friday night will never skate a turn in the NHL while others who were afterthoughts in the fifth and sixth rounds will go on to solid careers. Bruins fans wanted a “name” regardless of whether the player’s potential materialized. The B’s scouting staff has done very well in the past few seasons finding value picks. Hamill projects to be a very good player for Boston. He most likely won’t be a franchise player. There’s an even better likelihood that somebody else will be sitting in the GM’s chair when Hamill’s ready for the big time.