Momesso Conference: [Brawlers] [Dykes] [KumQuats] [Bunnies] [Zebras]  [Ducklings] [Epidemic] [Ice Dogs] [Royals] [Violators]

Murzyn Conference: [Bombers] [Hyacks] [Jazz] [Jets] [Trifecta] [Blondes] [Bullmax] [Seals] [Stalefish] [Storm]  

 

8.) Logan Couture (Sharks, #9, 2007)

28.) Max Pacioretty (Canadiens, #22, 2007)

48.) William Sweatt (Black Hawks, #38, 2007)

73.) John Negrin (Flames, #70, 2007)

96.) Ruslan Bashkirov (Senators, #60, 2007)

109.) Evgeni Dadonov (Panthers, #71, 2007)

Grade: B

Best pick: Couture – I think he was one of the most underrated players going into the draft, and the Sharks have a solid track record on picks they trade up to get

Worst pick: Bashkirov – has plenty of talent and will likely have a long career… in Europe

The skinny: Very solid showing from the Brawlers. Couture is a great pick up, whereas Pacioretty, Sweatt and Negrin will all be solid pros. High grade for picking so many players with high low-end potential; however it is hard to see anyone but Couture really being a top2 line player

Logan Couture was touted as a potential top 5 pick going into the season, however played through mono and a shoulder injury and put up good, but not stellar numbers. The failure to live up to the lofty expectations had the scouts starting to look for flaws and Couture dropped like a stone in the pre-draft rankings, with some having him ranked as low as 20^th. It was however pretty clear that he’d be picked early in the NHL draft and there were several teams in the 8-12 range rumored to be interested, with several reports suggesting Florida would’ve picked him at 10, hadn’t Sharks traded up. Couture has great vision and playmaking skills, to go with strong leadership and a great two-way game. Rod Brind’amour has been mentioned frequently as a projection; Ron Francis is another player and with these as comparisons, it isn’t odd that Couture went early. Skating and finishing skills are Logan’s primary short-comings, however neither is at a level at which it should be an obstacle from Couture developing to at least a solid 2^nd liner. Extremely solid pick with no downside and a lot of upside

Bryan continued to pick forwards with Hab’s prospect Max Pacioretty, out of the USHL. Pacioretty has had a solid year offensively, yet his totals clearly aren’t those of a high-end scorer and some Montreal fans were surprised – and disappointed – by the pick as they’d expected a prospect with more upside. Pacioretty has great speed, good size and plays with a ton of grit. He is a strong leader and is the sort of player that wins championships. That being said, from a fantasy perspective, his offensive upside is likely not high enough to be more than a third liner and even with strong defensive skills, I thing Pacioretty will have limited value in a 20-team league as a 3^rd/4^th line player. Solid pick with limited downside, though a player with more offensive upside would’ve been more exciting

Billy Sweatt was the third pick of the day for the Brawlers, and I was very close to picking Sweatt as the best pickup considering the value for pick position. Sweatt was mentioned as a potential top15 pick in some circles going into the NHL draft and surprisingly fell into the 2^nd round. He is possibly the best – and certainly the fastest – skater of the draft which in itself is very interesting and when you add a very solid 2-way game to that, it is clear that Sweatt may turn into a very interesting pro – and fantasy player. I actually consider his upside higher than Pacioretty’s and it is interesting to note that, while Sweatt’s offense has been questioned by scouts, he actually scored more points per game in the WCHA than Pacioretty has in the less competitive USHL. Sweatt also managed to get selected for the US WJC20 team, which speaks highly of his ability given his age. Great pick! Future is somewhere between Mike Fisher and Marco Sturm

After adding loads of skills upfront, the Brawlers turned to D and defensive d-man John Negrin; one of many talented WHL d-men in the draft. Negrin is a typical Flames pick – a defensively extremely sound player with strong leadership skills and plenty of grit. What particularly stands out with Negrin is that he is very mobile and has a very high hockey IQ; two traits that aren’t necessarily always part of the “defensive d-man package”. Negrin was very highly regarded going into the draft, however likely fell in parts due to injuries that made him miss 20 games this season. Playing on a poor Kootenay team didn’t help things either. I think Negrin is a great pick-up; he could very well see 2^nd pairing time and be an important PK contributor, something that will also mean a decent fantasy performance.

Ruslan Bashkirov was, along with his brother Roman, mentioned as rookie sensations in the QMJHL and many mentioned them in the same breath as Jakub Voracek, which is lofty praise indeed. The Bashkirov brothers also played very well in the early goings but, looking back at the full season, it is pretty difficult to say that Ruslan’s output of 67pts in 64games in the QMJHL is in any way very impressive. It should also be noted that those points partly was while playing on the PK with Angelo Esposito. The way Bashkirov plays when he is at his best – which is once or twice in a game – he has top line upside, however his average level of play rather makes me think of Nikolai Antropov in that the package of skills and size is tantalizing, but at the end of the day, the results are few and far in between and skating issues prevents him from being effective in most situations. To add to these concerns, the Bashkirov brothers appear to want to play together and Ruslan has just signed with a Russian team to play with his brother, rather than to continue in either the QMJHL or the AHL in pursuit of the NHL dream. Since a player with 3^rd line NHL ability will attract better contract offers from Russian clubs than from American, I think it is a good bet to expect the Bashkirovs to play out their careers in Europe.

11.) Maxim Mayorov  (Blue Jackets, #94, 2007)

31.) David Perron (Blues, #26, 2007)

51.) Taylor Ellington (Canucks, #33, 2007)

76.) Eric Tangradi (Ducks, #42, 2007)

99.) Mike Smith (Stars, #161, 2001)

Grade: B-

Best pick: Eric Tangradi – the upside is evident and the fact he got snapped up by the Ducks is a positive sign. Getting a player with Tangradi’s potential (and limited downside) at 76 is a steal

Worst pick: Maxim Mayorov – I don’t know whether Jorge tried; but I’ve gotta figure that he would’ve gotten a significant upgrade to his goalie position by trading the 11^th pick – and Mayrov would certainly still have been available at 31

The skinny: Jorge is normally one for making very astute picks of high-upside players. Perron and Tangradi are excellent picks in this regard, but I believe the Mayrov pickup at 11 is so off the board that I can’t help but feel the overall draft results ends up below average.

Dykes pulled the single biggest upset of the draft in picking slick Russian Maxim Mayorov at #11; a whooping 83 spots earlier than in the NHL draft. Mayorov has an intriguing skills package with regards to shot, skating and some grit; however Mayorov has only really been regarded as a 1^st round talent by ISS (who had him in the top10). Eugene Balaschenko of Russianprospects and McKeens had Mayrov ranked 7^th of Russian players going into the draft and noted in a discussion I had with him that Mayrov will take at least 3 seasons to have a reasonable shot at the NHL; and that he is far away at the moment. Mayorov does have traits that set him apart from most Russian players – he is considered extremely coachable, very disciplined and with great work ethic and he also has an ambition to play in the NHL. I like Mayorov as a prospect; however, I am almost certain he’d still have been on the board at 40 and with several early first rounders still on the board (Eller, McDonagh) this pick is a head scratcher to me. Add in the fact that Dykes have an all-round good team but the worst goaltending in the CNGHL and I fail to see why this pick wasn’t used to shore up the goaltending situation, rather than on a very high-risk pick. Poor asset management!

Seemingly to make up for the start, Jorge then went on to make an interesting pick in David Perron – a player that oozes offensive upside. Perron fits all the criteria in my “who not to pick guide” in terms of being an offensive wiz in the QMJHL who lacks size, defense, grit and could have better skating. That being said, Perron’s vision, hands and playmaking skills are all off the charts and, most importantly, he has seemed to continuously elevate his play all season suggesting that he has a high upside. Perron is certainly a high-risk proposition – he needs to be a top6 forward or he will be in the minors but to me, he feels like a reasonable bet to develop into a PM Bouchard like player that sees significant powerplay ice time and posts assists-heavy 60-70 pts per season. This is a pick I like!

A collective groan could be heard all the way down to San Francisco when the Canucks picked Taylor Ellington with the 33^rd overall pick. Naturally this is because Canuck fans wanted a potential top six forward for their goal starved team. At #51 and without such disappointment stacked like so much cord wood on his shoulders Ellington actually looks slightly better – though he is still not an exciting pick. His game does remind me of a player that most Canucks fans love, Willie Mitchell, remember him? Thought you did. Add this “gamer” similarity to the fact that he is a BC boy and you can see where “the Nonis” was aiming in making this his pick. Ellington is essentially a defensive D-man that stands up at the blue line well. He has above average mobility. He is tenacious and loves the physical game. However where he is weak is at times he tries to hard and gets too caught up in the physical side of things. A little more attention to detail would help here. In any event, considering how fantasy hockey values high IT I’d venture that Jorge has landed himself a pretty decent pick with this player.

Eric Tangradi was the 42^nd pick in the NHL draft and the Dykes snapped him up at #76. This is a player that really moved up after an impressive OHL playoff as his regular season numbers were nothing to write home about. He a big player and that inevitably forces him into the category of “power forward” with one scout comparing him to Shawn Mathias, who was taken at roughly the same position last year. Initially Tangradi was a football player and was at 6’3”, 270lbs…since shifting to hockey full time he has slimmed down to 215, but one would think that he’ll eventually find a playing weight similar to that of Todd Bertuzzi at around 240. His ultimate success will be determined by how much he chooses to get physically involved. Right now he can play a little bit of the perimeter game and this is the main knock on him from the scouts. Overall a solid pick on a bit of a project player and it’s a little surprising given his style of game that he was overlooked by so many GM’s in the CNGHL. The Ducks have been very astute at drafting and signing prospects that fit Tangradi’s description (Getzlaf, Perry, Penner) the past few years, which in itself is encouraging. High potential upside and a very solid late pick.

Jorge closed out his drafting with a value pick, using the 99^th overall on overage goalie Mike Smith. Smith is an unheralded prospect that has always been considered an afterthought, however, who has risen through the stars ranks beating out several other goalie prospects such as Jason Bacashihua, Dan Ellis and Tobias Stephan. He entered this year as a lock for the backup position and made his NHL debut with 23 games, including 12 wins and an impressive .912 save percentage. Smith is a fundamentally solid goalie with great size and good positioning. He will likely never be a starter – he is currently behind Turco and there is no one else coming up in the Stars’ system so he is pretty much type cast into the backup position for the foreseeable future. Even so, a solid and cheap backup is pretty valuable and considering Jorge’s pathetic goaltending depth, nabbing Smith with a late rounder was a very solid pickup indeed.

15.) Jonathon Blum (Predators, #23, 2007)

55.) Aaron Palushaj (Blues, #44, 2007)

80.) Sergei Korostin (Stars, #64, 2007)

112.) Timo Pielmeier (Sharks, #83, 2007)

Grade: D

Best pick: Jonathon Blum – despite reaching for Blum, I believe he’s the only pick with a reasonable chance of making the NHL

Worst pick: Aaron Palushaj – size/speed combination makes me cringe

The skinny: Blum may be a future star and there have been scouts suggesting he has the most upside of all defenders in the draft; however, considering what other D options were on the board at 15, unless you share this view, even this pick could have been improved upon. Outside of Blum, the other picks feel like an afterthought in terms of potential impact

The Kumquats went for a bit of a reach at #15 snagging the California Kid, Jonathan Blum and in doing so disappointed a few who hoped that this smart and skilled player might fall to them. As effective as Blum has been at the junior level there are many that are concerned about his size but more specifically his weight. He currently sits at 6’0” and 160lbs and would likely get thrown off the puck pretty easily were he to hit NHL ice today. That said there are plenty of smaller D-men that have been successful at the big league level such as Kimo Timonen, a player that relies on positioning and a high hockey IQ to play at a very high level. I could easily see Blum’s career following this sort of path. Blum is a very high upside player; however given the size concerns and the fact that Ellerby, McDonagh and Shattenkirk were all still available, I would’ve probably gone with either of the other 3 who have similar upside, yet seems to be less risky picks

Aaron Palushaj was not a well known commodity going into the 2007 draft and the St.Louis Blues made a bit of a reach to get him. McKeen’s describes him as the kind of player you either love or hate. He has great offensive instincts and is somehow able to anticipate the play a second faster than the opposition and make things happen in limited time and space. He also has one of the hardest shots in the draft – a howitzer which make up for slight lack in accuracy with a lot of power. Where he inevitably falls down is on the two bugbears that prevent average prospects from being very good ones, skating and weak defensive play. At 5’11” and 180lbs he is not large player by any means, kind of falling into the average category here as well. Palushaj could become a productive complementary player; but the combination of size and speed issues could be too great an issue and apparently Palushaj was a great disappointment at the Blues post-draft prospects camp, as he was constantly getting knocked around. I am personally leaning towards Palushaj topping out at the AHL level

Kumquats were likely pleasantly surprised to see Sergei Korostin fall to them at 80 – the shifty Russian was mentioned as a potential first rounder and went 64 in the NHL draft. He impressed in international play and the offensive skills are apparent. Plainly put – Korostin is the type of player that makes me think of Sergei Berezin and it is plain that he squarely fits the MO of a number of Russian snipers scooped up in the 2^nd round each year – strong offensive skills set, good mobility, lacking defensive game and questionable desire. Most of these are never heard from again post-draft. I think Korostin has a good enough skills set to be a 2^nd line player in the NHL – but should he fulfil this potential, I’d still expect him to earn more money as a star in the RSL. Expect Korostin to follow an Alexander Korolyuk-like career development. I think it is unlikely that Korostin will contribute to the Kumquats’ team down the line

16.) Keaton Ellerby (Panthers, #10, 2007)

36.) Oscar Moller (Kings, #52, 2007)

56.) Dana Tyrell (Lightning, #47, 2007)

66.) Maxime Tanguay (Black Hawks, #69, 2007)

81.) Jeremy Smith (Predators, #54, 2007)

104.) Drew Schiestel (Sabres, #59, 2007)

Grade: A-

Best pick: Keaton Ellerby – if he gets it right, he’s going to be really good!

Worst pick: Jeremy Smith – simply overrated due to the lack of other goalie choices in the draft

The skinny: Extremely solid outcome. Ellerby, Moller, Tyrell will all be very solid pros and the others at least have a reasonable shot. PF continues to pick potential winner

Keaton Ellerby surprisingly fell from 10 to 16, an outcome that was surprising as Ellerby was considered having a shot at being the top defender in the draft. There is plenty to like in Ellerby – he has good size, great mobility and very high end potential and I feel he could be one of the sleeper picks of the CNGHL draft. The one concern around Ellerby is around strength and attitude – despite his large frame and penchant for hitting, Ellerby very surprisingly turned out one of the weakest players at the prospects combines in terms of physical strength. In two years, however, he could very well turn into a 6’5”/230lbs monster that moves better than most blueliners. Add to that his great passing skills and vision and he could be a two-way workhorse excelling in all situations. An extremely solid pick; though it seemed like an obvious choice!

Oscar Moller was a name on many Canucks fans lips as a player they would have liked to have seen the team draft with the 33^rd pick, he ended up going 52^nd overall to the Kings. Clearly the VBunnies liked him a lot as they made a bit of a reach and snagged him at #36—in principle not a bad move as most of the scouting magazines had him ranked at around this range. Moller is a very good all-around player that doesn’t show too many weaknesses in his game. He is a smaller player at 5’10” but displays a lot of courage in going into the corners after loose pucks. He also has great character and leadership abilities. Scouts suggest that were he two or three inches taller he’d be a sure fire top 15 pick. For myself, I like this pick…I mean, what’s not to like besides the size? I might even say that even with the reach this may have been one of the VBunnies best picks of the draft.

Dana Tyrell was one of the worst kept secrets in the draft in the sense that most NHL GMs were hoping for him to fall in the third round, while acknowledging he’d never last the 2^nd. Tyrell is a heart-and-soul two-way player that will be a productive pro. He could likely play any role with reasonable success, though he’s never going to be mistaken for a top end scorer. I could see him in a complementary role on a top2 line or as an elite checker on the third line. Tyrell has solid mobility, plenty of grit, great attitude and solid defensive acumen. One solid NHL comparison is P.J. Axelsson – a player that can put up solid numbers on a top line, but who’s value will be noted most on the PK and come playoff time. Great pick; though his value in the CNGHL will be strictly as a bottom 6 forward

Obviously a believer in gene pools, Peca got Alex(ei)’s younger brother Maxime Tanguay at 66; a reach considering that top50 NHL picks were still on the board. Tanguay’s game is similar to that of his brother with high creativity, soft hands and good hockey IQ as stand-out skills. His mobility, however, is a notch below that of Alex. Maxime is a pure finesse player and could well see action on an NHL 2^nd line. He does however lack sandpaper and will have to find away to claim a scorers role as it is hard seeing him playing a checking role. He so far hasn’t had a true breakout season scoring-wise, though it should be noted that his offensive numbers are actually similar to those of Angelo Esposito. Tanguay is an interesting pick with clear upside and I believe he is a smart value pick

Peca found his next pick in a very shallow goalie pool; picking the alleged “best goalie of the draft” Jeremy Smith at 81. None of the goalies in this year’s draft stood out as solid and in fact it wouldn’t surprise me if none of them make it as starters in the league. Smith posted very solid numbers throughout the regular season, however was still consistently outplayed by Capitals prospect Michal Neuvirth and hardly saw any playing time in the playoffs. With Neuvirth returning to Plymouth this year, it is very likely that Smith will continue to play the backup role and I don’t foresee him to have a short-term track to the NHL. I tend to have a hard time evaluating goalies that aren’t of the Carey Price caliber (and avoid drafting them unless late). I think at 81, it’s never wrong to take a chance on a goalie, especially not considering the lack of depth in this draft, and it seems Smith is as good a pick as any, though there were options available in overagers that could’ve potentially been lower risk propositions such as San José’s Taylor Dakers

With the 104^th pick, the VBunnies went for the best – or at least highest drafted – player available and the Draftbot spit out Buffalo Sabres pick Drew Schiestel. Shockingly this is almost exactly the way the Sabres do their scouting these days. They have fired their scouting staff and now do all of their player evaluations via video and that how we somehow get Schiestel at the extremely flattering NHL draft position of #59. On the other hand, Buffalo has apparently been more successful in this approach than the Coyotes have been with live scouts. Anyways, two organizations that actually saw Schiestel play – McKeen’s and ISS – ranked him at #140 and #223 respectively. Now what does that mean? Maybe nothing except that similar to American Idol’s Sanjaya, Drew Schiestel looks his best when he’s up on a TV screen. But more importantly, since my scouting information only gives information on players ranked up to a hundred unfortunately I have absolutely zero information on Schiestel, so all I can offer is “Good luck in Buffalo Drew!”

27.) Christoph Schubert (Senators, #127, 2001)

32.) Karri Ramo (Lightning, #191, 2004)

47.) Brett Sterling (Thrashers, #145, 2003)

72.) Ryan Callahan (Rangers, #127, 2004)

75.) Daniel Girardi (undrafted)

103.) Blair Jones (Lightning, #102, 2005)

108.) Mark Giordano (undrafted)

Grade: C

Best pick: Callahan – should have a solid pro-career as a 2^nd/3^rd liner with scoring upside

Worst pick: Schubert – provides immediate depth, however, at 27 there were plenty of more interesting choices

The skinny: Anthony, like another couple of GM, resigned himself to reclamation projects. While he ended up with several prospects that are reasonably established, they all appear to be destined for 3^rd line obscurity. Schubert is productive for the team now and Ramo may be a starter down the line, but the overall impression is that Anthony picked a lot of players that will ultimately stock his farm team for a playoff run

The Zebras first got on the board early in the 2^nd round after having used their first rounder in “rapid rebuild” picking up Pavel Datsyuk. There was some anticipation that the team would use the pick on a high end offensive prospect, but instead Anthony selected journeyman d-man and reserve winger Christoph Schubert. The big German had a nice season for the Sens, appearing in 80 games and posting an impressive +30 rating, which will in the short term make him valuable as a depth d-man. Looking behind the numbers, however, Schubert has averaged 11.2 minutes of ice time and been used as a checking line winger, rather than as defender. On a team that had two journeymen-turned-reclamation projects in Tom Preissing and Joe Corvo, this isn’t exactly a strong testament to Schubert’s ability to be a top6 d-man on a regular basis. The fact Preissing is gone makes Schubert a lock for the #6 position this upcoming season; however I have a hard time imagining that this 25 years old will improve by leaps and bounds and ultimately, I believe the Zebras would’ve been much better served picking a high-end prospects and taking Schubert somewhere around 70

Karri Ramo emerged as a legitimate prospect last season after a successful season in Finland and a decent season in the AHL. Some of the hype is certainly justified; Ramo has a very solid skills set, good reflexes and great size. His play in the AHL suggests that he could also well take the next step, at least becoming a credible backup and possibly emerging as a starter. Some of the hype around Ramo, however, is due to Finnish goalies generally being seen as strong and the fact that the Lightning system is devoid of top end prospects. Ramo certainly has a chance to be this year’s Nicklas Bäckstrom. Looking at the goalies in Tampa, neither Denis nor Holmqvist have really proven anything other than that they are at best 1A goalies. From a salary cap perspective, I would expect there to be significant incentives for Tampa to cut Denis one way or another should he fail to emerge as a clear starter out of camp, since they are close to the cap and would save $2.2 million by playing Ramo over Denis. Solid pick with interesting upside

Anthony got back on my bad side when continuing his draft with Brett Sterling at 47. Sterling is a player that have defied odds at every level, and who put up eye-popping numbers in the AHL last season (though it should be noted that he played on the top line of an absolute powerhouse team) and it would appear he is on a fast track to make the Thrashers line-up, especially considering the lack of depth in Atlanta. There are however some flaws to the perfect picture: Sterling is a midget at about 5’7” and 175lbs soaking wet. He has good but not great mobility and is a one-dimensional scorer. It would of course be tempting to label him the next Martin St.Louis – though I would lean towards seeing the next Eric Perrin. While his performance last season was indeed impressive, it should be noted that Darren Haydar put up similar numbers on the same line and he has seen a total action of about 8 NHL games over the past 3 seasons. To me, Sterling is the sort of player it isn’t wrong to take a chance on given his offensive upside; however it surprised me that anyone would do so as early. With a player like Billy Sweatt taken with the next pick, I think this pick could have been spent more wisely

As if anticipating this review, Zebras next made a great pick in getting hard-nosed winger Ryan Callahan, who impressed with the Rangers down the stretch and in the playoffs, as well as who was near the rookie lead in AHL goals per game. Callahan is the sort of player that will excel in any role through sheer determination. He has great grit, is strong and mobile and owns underrated vision and hands. He could settle into anything from a Mike Grier-type role player to a strong complementary player on a scoring line, working the boards and crashing the net and it wouldn’t surprise me if he could end up a 25 goals scorer on a regular basis should he get this role. I was keeping my fingers crossed Callahan would fall to me at 77; and I must say in retrospect that I am surprised he fell this far in the draft as I believe he has very interesting upside. Great pick and by far the Zebras best of the day (in absolute terms – not just relative draft position)

Steady as you go is probably the best description of Daniel Girardi – like Callahan, he is a Rangers prospect and Guelph Storm alumni that arrived in the NHL last season. Girardi was never drafted but has since taken great steps towards becoming a strong pro, likely long-term rounding into a solid 2^nd pairing d-man. Girardi doesn’t have any strong stand-out skills; he is the type of player you don’t notice, which in a sense is a strong indication of his quality. I like Girardi as a pick – he is great value. At the same time, I see him as a spot player in a league like the CNGHL, as his ratings are unlikely to ever land him more than a #5/#6 spot.

Zebras picked up Blair Jones at 103, a pick that to me more or less is a “Callahan-light” pick. Jones has a similar makeup as Callahan, though slightly less talented and with a stronger focus on playing the defensive game well. I think Jones is a solid pick – I am certain that he will be a regular in Tampa Bay already this year – but I have concerns over his overall upside. I can see Jones developing into a Kevyn Adams type of player and while those are very important in the NHL, they end up being eternal farm players in a league like the CNGHL. I may underestimate Jones’s upside – he did put up decent numbers in Juniors after all – but his first AHL season doesn’t hint at anything more than checking line upside. Decent return at 103 though

12.) Lars Eller (Blues, #13, 2007)

52.) Akim Aliu (Black Hawks, #56, 2007)

68.) Sergei Shirokov (Canucks, #163, 2006)

70.) Juraj Simek (Canucks, #167, 2006)

110.) Logan Pyett (Wings, #212, 2006)

Grade: D

Best pick: Lars Eller – Talk about a GM getting his man! That aside, I believe Eller will be a star!

Worst pick: Toss up… I don’t like any of the other picks, but I’ll go with Aliu. Is it at all possible to work on that attitude?

The skinny: Eller is a great pick; the rest is thoroughly uninspiring. European, late-round Canucks picks should have a red warning sign the size of Kansas attached to them to discourage fantasy GMs, who should’ve learnt from the recent experiments. Picking one could be viewed as a mistake, picking two feels more like some seriously flawed master plan. Aliu doesn’t exactly help the overall impression either

Anders started the draft on an excellent note, picking up fellow Dane Lars Eller 12^th overall. To tout my own horn, I called this pick before the draft started! Of course, somewhere in the Ducklings franchise mission statement, there is something about drafting every eligible Dane that could one day be an NHLer, so short of another GM reaching to pick up Eller, it was clear where he’d go. I really like the Eller pick-up –he is one of those players that have continuously improved his performance as the season has gone on, rising from obscurity to scrutiny and managing to keep a high level of play even when having his game picked apart by scouts. He is a speedy and very skilled winger, who has good finishing skills as well as strong playmaking acumen. His game is extremely well-suited for the “new” NHL and it will be very exciting indeed to see a future St.Louis Blues first line with Eller and T.J. Oshie on it – with the speed such a line would have, it’ll be very difficult for opponents to defend against. Great pick – pity this turned out the only highlight of this year’s Duckling draft!

There wasn’t a player who went into the draft with more baggage than Akim Aliu. He has in 18 months managed to get into his celebrated scuffles with Steve Downie and challenging his coaches which resulted in him being batted around the OHL like a ping pong ball. Consider that this is a guy that – despite a year ago being touted as a potential top 10 pick – was actually benched and then sent home by the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL playoffs. He was at one point considered as possibly the purest power forward available in the draft. There are of course two sides to each coin – with the draft being devoid of spectacular talent in the later rounds, he is certainly one of the highest upside bets in the 40-60 range and hence a case could be made for reaching to land him. The reviewers are torn – Mike gives the pick the benefit of the doubt and looks forward to seeing Aliu fire on all cylinders as a member of the powerhouse London Knights – and assuming he’ll be set-up by Sam Gagner on the PP, this is a distinct possiility. For Andreas, Aliu was the second player crossed off the draft list (after Garrett Klotz) and he feels Aliu won’t ever manage to adjust his head and attitude to where they need to be for him to develop into a quality pro. Add to that the fact that many organizations are looking at him with a lot of scepticism and it is evident Aliu has a mountain to climb

Koltsov, Grot, Krikunov, Topol, Mikhailov, Gladskikh, Fedorov, Duma, Chubarov… the list of Russians picked by the Canucks 1998 – 2003. See anyone you fancy? See any reason Sergei Shirokov would be the player that turns the lackluster track record the Canucks have in picking Russian players? Shirokov is an offensively skilled and undersized forward that has declined Canucks overtures to come over to North America on a 2-way contract and will remain in Russia for the next season. Smarter guys than me can figure out the odds of Shirokov ever suiting up for the Canucks – they’re pretty bad. To me, Shirokov is Konstantin Koltsov revisited – only this time the Canucks didn’t waste a second round pick. From a CNGHL perspective, I think this is a waste of a pick unless we use RSL statistics to model the farm team rosters.

Juraj Simek was a late round draft pick by the Canucks from Switzerland that had many scratching their heads wondering who he was. They got a quick course when he came over to play with the Brandon Wheat Kings during 06/07. He got off to a fast start, impressing many with his strong skating, wily one-on-one skills, and strong stick-handling. Unfortunately for Simek the long season of the CHL took its toll and his torrid pace slowed towards the end of the season. Nonetheless he put up some respectable numbers, 28G and 29A for 57pts in the end – while this is decent, it’s pretty far off the pace of the league leaders at ~100pts and Simek clearly won’t be a defensive contributor in this life or next. This season he will play in the AHL for the Manitoba Moose, which will provide an even stiffer test for this promising youngster. I think this pick is decent for its upside, but the true tale will be told as early as this season whether his fate is in the AHL with the Moose or the ECHL with Victoria. It isn’t inconceivable that the AHL is as far as he goes though; few Swiss players have fared well when the going gets rough. As far as successful skaters go I can really only think of Mark Streit

3.) James Van Riemsdyk (Flyers, #2, 2007)

23.) Colton Gillies (Wild, #16, 2007)

43.) Jim O’Brien (Senators, #29, 2007)

59.) Keven Veilleux (Penguins, #51, 2007)

86.) Dale Mitchell (Leafs, #74, 2007)

Grade: B+

Best pick: Van Riemsdyk – the other picks don’t compare

Worst pick: O’Brien – a solid pick in his own right, but if anything, his upside may be too low for him to be a significant CNGHL forward

The skinny: I don’t know what is more shocking – Bryce having 5 picks, using all on 2007 draftees or actually coming out of the draft with several interesting players. JVR may be a future star and Gillies / Veilleux could become future impact players, though they both come with question marks. Should at least one of them fulfill their potential, then this draft will look mighty impressive down the line

Some saw James Van Riemsdyk as a player clearly a notch below the consensus Kane/Turris in the top3 and I know most CNGHL GMs would’ve ranked him 3^rd. That being said, Van Riemsdyk is clearly a safer bet than either of the two other players and, notably, his upside is through the roof. Many take a look at him and the fact that the Flyers picked him and write him off as a “big=good” category player. The fact, though, is that JVR happens to be more of a skills player than anyone gives him credit for. To put it in perspective; JVR scored at a 1.5PPG clip for the US NTDP-18 team largely playing against NCAA opponents, several 4-5 years older. By comparison, preciously few NCAA rookies managed a point per game. Van Riemsdyk’s absolute downside is a that of Mike Knuble (the 60pts version), however it wouldn’t be out of the question to see him have a similar impact to Rick Nash as a rookie three seasons from now

Colton Gillies in many ways the “signature player” for this draft – in an ordinary draft, he’d be a consensus early 2^nd rounder based on his character and good-but-not-great skills set. In this draft, however, some had him ranked as high as top10. Gillies is the type of player that does win you championships in the real world, however who’s accomplishment is poorly translated to the fantasy hockey world. He is big, mobile, tenacious, has leadership in spades and grit to spare; yet, the odds of him ever breaking 50pts as a pro-forward are slim indeed. The upside with Gillies, however, is that there has been some speculation the Wild will look to converting him to defense, similar to the track they've chosen for Brent Burns to quite some success and I believe that Gillies – should he succeed in such a translation – could be a very good 2-way d-man that would ring up a lot of assists on the PP from his above average IQ, while using superior skating and good defense to be an asset on both special teams. I thought that Gillies was a decent pick in the NHL draft at 16 and I think he is a great pick at 23 in the CNGHL draft; however don’t expect him to be an offensive superstar

As a general rule, going with an Ottawa pick is rarely a bad move and that’s why it’s tough to criticize the Epidemic’s selection of James O’Brien –but I must. O’Brien seemed to be a split decision by the scouting services, with some praising his skating ability and others criticizing his awkward looking stride. One area where they do agree is that the basic tools are there in that he has a quick release, sees the ice well, and protects the puck, but they don’t think that he has the creativity to be a true playmaker and he will likely top out as a checking forward. O’Brien made an interesting move this year in leaving the University of Minnesota because he was concerned about getting ice-time on such a deep team and will play for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL instead. It will be interesting to see what, if any, impact this will have on his development. Indeed, while Freshmen generally has lots to prove to get ice time on the premier NCAA teams, a player of first round caliber really shouldn’t have this problem and a quick look at the stats sheet (15 points in 43 games) supports the claim that if he is indeed expected to be a scorer, it would have to be of the late bloomer variety. O’Brien is the type of player that was picked for limited downside rather than spectacular upside – those are never really great from a fantasy perspective

There was a little confusion at this point of the draft with Eugene hacking out things like “is there a Garvin Vellman or Kelly Villante on the list?” Eventually between us we figured out it that there was a Keven Veilleux and that’s who the Epidemic ultimately got. (Hope that’s the right Bryce…) Veilleux generally fits into that category of uninteresting prospects between 40 and 80 circa 2007, but with one difference, this cat is big…or at least tall. 6’5” and a beanpole too, at 195lbs. For such a rangy player he is a very good skater and has great hands and a fantastic shot. Where the concerns lie are in his unwillingness to battle hard for the puck. For the most part he’s a soft and passive player unwilling to pay the price. The general consensus is that Veilleux is the type of player that, with the right attitude, could be someone with a Tkachuk-like impact – alas, it appears few teams expect that to happen. It is pretty significant that the Pens picked him – loaded with young forward talent (Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Christensen, Talbot, Stone, Filewich), they took a fly on two boom-or-bust prospects in Esposito and Veilleux, likely figuring that they can live with the downside as they already have the depth. The question, of course, is that with the question marks already surrounding Veilleux’s likelihood of realizing his potential, the other question is who he’s gonna beat out for a regular shift at C for the Pens. Tough, huh?  As ISS says in their final damning sentence, “he has top two line skills, but could be a total bust”. Unfortunately, I lean towards bust, but at least the pick has intriguing upside and gets decent marks for effort.

24.) Anton Stralman (Leafs, #216, 2005)

33.) Jan Mursak (Wings, #182, 2006)

38.) Simon Hjalmarsson (Blues, #39, 2007)

44.) Troy Brouwer (Black Hawks, #214, 2004)

90.) Tyson Sexsmith (Sharks, #91, 2007)

92.) Jonathan Ericsson (Wings, #291, 2002)

Grade: C

Best pick: Stralman – should be a safe bet to become a future 2^nd pairing d-man with offensive upside

Worst pick: Mursak – yeah, I may end up eating my words, but at 33…? Seriously?

The skinny: Chris went bargain hunting at the $1-store and consequently, the picks generally fail to impress. Stralman is a guy I believe can be a productive pro; however my overall feeling is that this is a group of players where the absolute upside is that of marginal pros, but each with significant question marks as to how likely they are to realize potential

I knew someone would buy into the hype and it actually happened later in the draft than I expected. Anton Stralman was picked as an overager at 24 overall and I had actually expected him to go even earlier. Should he? Nope! But with the amount of hype the Leafs’ nation has heaped on him I almost expected that someone would nab him really early. Zealot Leafs fans compare him to Niklas Lidstrom. While style-wise, the comparison is somewhat accurate, I think that this is a projection which is based more on hope than anything. Stralman has had a couple of really solid seasons in the SEL – he emerged as a top pairing d-man in Timrå and stands out as a very solid two-way player and his offensive game above all is what will be his meal ticket to the NHL. Defensively, his positioning is sound, but his physical game and size will be a concern especially in the corners and in front of the net. I remain very positive about Stralmans future prospects, though I think Kim Johnsson is a much more realistic projection of where his upside might be and as long as this is the expectation level, I am fine with the pick. I think Stralman would have been a huge reach early in the draft; at 24 however, I think he was a very solid pickup as most other d-men available at this point (Petrecki, Cole, Plante, Smith etc.) have a significantly longer ETA to the pros. Very solid pick

Next up was another overager in diminutive winger Jan Mursak of the OHL Saginaw Spirit. Mursak is a late Wings pick that has created considerable hype amongst the Detroit faithful, not the least because of his mobility and shiftiness as well as his vision. He has drawn comparisons to players like Ales Hemsky, which goes to show that there is a lot of belief in Mursak’s upside. So, what is it Mursak has done to earn the praise? Well, he has managed 27 goals and 80 points in 62 games for in the OHL, impressive numbers to be sure. This of course is a great feat, however to put things in perspective:

• It still ranked 29^th overall in the OHL, tied with likely future checking liner Dale Mitchell and behind (still) undrafted Scott Tregunna of Owen Sound
• It was 65 pts off the league lead in the OHL, while playing several more games than the leaders
• Fellow Wings prospect Evan McGrath tallied 114 points in 67 games 2005/06 for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL – this year, he had 14 points in 59 games in the AHL and was demoted to the ECHL for 9 games

Don’t get me wrong – Mursak and McGrath are different players, however I believe a fair amount of the Mursak hype has to do with an unknown putting up big numbers in the CHL. Looking at the Saginaw roster, he is tied with players like Tyler Haskins and Tom Pyatt in scoring, prospects that project as third line checkers. I think Mursak has a couple of things going for him in stand-out mobility, above average hands and a strong competitive spirit and some sandpaper. This I believe will serve him well and may mean he succeeds as a 2^nd line winger at the NHL level; however, at this point I am very hesitant at buying into the hype personally. I thought there were several 2007 prospects available in the draft at this point with both higher upside and less downside. Meh.

Going for one of those 2007 picks, as if in redemption, Chris turned to Sweden – which seem to be one of his favorite drafting countries – to pick up sniper Simon Hjalmarsson from Frölunda. He excelled in international competition as well as in Swedish juniors and drew comparisons to players like Mike Cammelleri because of shiftiness, skating and finishing skills… and because of his diminutive stature. Hjalmarsson is listed at 5’11”/165lbs, however I would think those 165lbs would have to be soaking wet. Simply put, Hjalmarsson is paper thin and while he isn’t shy about initiating contact, he needs to very seriously bulk up if he wants to be effective at the pro level. To put it in perspective; he is 3 inches taller than Cammalleri but weighs around 20lbs less. His skating also isn’t quite as good. On the flip side, it is clear that Hjalmarsson’s skills set is extremely good for a player available this late in the draft and I personally thought Hjalmarsson was underrated going into the draft. His upside potential is extremely high, which certainly warrants an early pick. Solid pick-up!

Chicago Black Hawks’ budding power forward Troy Brouwer was next in line of the reclamation projects. At 22, he isn’t exactly a fresh-faced rookie. A case can certainly be made for Brouwer being a great pickup – he exploded in the WHL the year after his draft and then went on as a rookie this year with the Norfolk Admirals in the AHL, posting 41 goals and 79 points in 66 games. These numbers and Brouwers’ skills set certainly makes one think of a player like Dustin Penner and the future would indeed look bright for the Ice Dogs should Brouwer follow a similar development track. However; there are several reasons why I wouldn’t expect a similar situation to develop:

• Brouwer’s numbers in the AHL were partly inflated from playing on a superior line and his thoroughly ugly numbers in the NHL (10 games, 0 points, -7) plainly show that Brouwer’s future is in a scoring support role, similar to Mike Knuble – he is dependant on strong playmakers to be effective and will never carry a line himself
• Chicago has a plethora of young forwards, especially wingers, that arguably are ahead of Brouwer on the depth chart. Havlat, Ruutu, Toews, Kane are a given; and with Skille, Blunden and Bolland making a case this year, it’d surprise me if Brouwer can make the pro roster
• Brouwer isn’t nearly as talented as Penner and also will not be very effective in a more defensive role on a 3^rd line – he needs to make the team in a scoring capacity to be effective

All things considered, Brouwer does have upside but at the end of the day I think he’ll continue to ply his trade in the AHL. There is a long-shot opportunity if Kane is returned to juniors and Skille especially fails to make an impression, but long-term I have a hard time seeing Brouwer be more than a complementary player at the NHL level

Tyson Sexsmith is a goalie that was in some ways under rated this year with many naysayers implying that he wasn’t worthy of his 1.79 GAA average as he started the season weakly and played for a powerhouse team in the Vancouver Giants. However his play in the WHL playoffs and in winning the Memorial Cup should have shown that he is a notch above your average goalie. Scouts praise Sexsmith’s solid fundamentals and love his lateral movement from post to post. One weakness is that he is not the quickest when getting back up once he’s down and this gives his opponents ample time to pick the holes. Perhaps his best quality is his ability to exhibit a calm demeanor between the pipes that in turns instills confidence in his teammates and allows them to play their game like the best goaltenders do. It will be interesting to see what Sexsmith does for an encore this season after the high of winning the Memorial Cup. It is clear, however, that the Sharks have traditionally been solid at drafting goalies (Nabokov, Kiprusoff, Toskala, Schaefer), but with Greiss, Dakers, Patzold and possibly Piehlmayer ahead of him on the prospect charts it isn’t clear that Sexsmith’s future lies with San José.

14.) Joe Pavelski (Sharks, #205, 2003)

17.) Jaroslav Halak (Canadiens, #271, 2003)

54.) Ian White (Leafs, #191, 2002)

61.) Joshua Godfrey (Capitals, #34, 2007)

85.) Olivier Fortier (Canadiens, #65, 2007)

91.) Martin St. Pierre (undrafted)

101.) Yanick Weber (Canadiens, #73, 2007)

114.) Max Campbell (Rangers, #138, 2007)

Grade: C

Best pick: White – getting a developed 2^nd pairing d-man at 54 is great!

Worst pick: St. Pierre – already an AHL all-star, however I fail to see how he could ever take the next step

The skinny: Similar to the Ice Dogs, Andy went on a treasure hunt on the availables list. There were some nice finds for sure, but several headscratchers. The main problem I have with this draft is that I see no player with top2 line potential, save maybe for White

Royals started the draft by picking up Joe Pavelski, who made a memorable pro debut by first dominating the AHL and then being very productive in the NHL. Pavelski is a very allround player that can be used at center as well as wing and who can play on the PP as well as PK. He is a very good finisher and has nice vision and hands, however his skills set is generally slightly below “elite”. With Thornton and Marleau entrenched in San José, Pavelski will in the mid-term have to make do with a 3^rd line role, though it isn’t conceivable that he could make the second line on wing. I like the pick (and I think Pavelski has more upside than fellow Sharks overage pick Clowe), however 14 was somewhat early for my taste since I believe there were plenty of relatively high upside players still on the board; such as for instance Keaton Ellerby.

Jaroslav Halak was one of the few bright spots down the stretch on a Habs team that, in the end, fell short. Once Huet went down with injury, Aebischer was the incumbent backup, however Halak quickly usurped the starting gig, playing with a lot of confidence and poise and almost managing to lead the team into the post-season. Halak’s play was a revelation; he had already beaten out Yann Danis from the starting job in Hamilton to begin the season and the Canadiens management showed a lot of confidence in the youngster when deciding not to resign Aebischer. Of course, Halaks future prospects are still unclear – there is the little matter of Carey Price turning pro this season and likely claiming the starting job sooner rather than later. The question, of course is, whether Halak or Huet is the odd man out. I believe Halak has the upside of being an NHL starter – he showed enough to impress me at the end of the season and there is a distinct possibility that he will be the starter this upcoming season especially if the Habs want to give Price a year in the AHL first. Be as it may – an excellent pick by the Royals. Let’s hope Halak gets a fair shot tho!

Andy continued in great style by nabbing Ian White at 54. White is one of those numerous undersized, supremely talented OHL defenders that gets picked in any given draft because their skills set is apparent, however gets picked late due to concerns over size and how well their game translates to the pro-level. White will never be an all-round defender and also will never see top 3 minutes, since his size and defensive game simply won’t be at the highest level possible. That being said, he will continue to fill a defined role in taking a regular shift on the third pairing and then seeing significant PP time where his hockey IQ and passing game is leveraged to the max. I think White has continuously over achieved since entering the league, however I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t continue at the level he is at. Certainly, when looking at the Leaf’s defensive depth, there isn’t a lot of apparent threats that could replace him. I think White is another excellent pick at 54

Those looking for the next Sheldon Souray should look no further than Josh Godfrey, he of the 99mph+ slapshot. Clearly that shot is not only a bullet, its reasonably accurate too as he rippled the mesh 24 times last season for the Soo Greyhounds. That said before one should gets too excited here are four things to consider;

• First, this is the second go around for Godfrey having been passed over entirely in the 2006 draft
• Secondly, he was ranked 203^rd by McKeen’s and 149^th by ISS and the Caps made a major reach in grabbing him at #34.
• Thirdly, the Caps defensive prospect pool is very deep…now overflowing with the likes of Alzner, Green, Schultz, Seabrook, Pokulok, Finley, Lepisto, McNeill…Godfrey must outshine all of these
• Finally – looking at that defensive prospect pool it is clear that Washington has made reaches at the end of the 1^st round to pick up defenders in each of the last drafts (Pokulok, Finley, Schultz) and none of the players selected have really impressed post-draft

I’m not saying that all of these are negatives (well…), just things to consider, and taking into account that Godfrey was selected for the Canada/Russia Super series, this should give the Royals hope that he is at or near the top of that long list of Caps hopefuls. Certainly at #61 it was not a poor choice, but it is a pick with clear boom-or-bust profile

Oliver Fortier is for better or worse a player that has third line checking center written all over him. This is fine, for when you get up into the 80’s of the draft you would expect to unearth a lot of these types…you know…the waterbug whose engine never quits…great work ethic…never afraid to crash the boards… Eventually they may even become fan favorites, but in a 20 team league they don’t have a great deal of fantasy value. Fortier is likely fated to be the next Andy Hilbert or Vernon Fiddler because he simply lacks the finishing skills to succeed offensively at the next level, though who knows? He could surprise. There were certainly worse picks that could have been made at #85

Royals went back to picking reclamation projects with their Martin St.Pierre pickup – this is the pick that gets the annual Simon Gamache-award. If Hockey was a no-contact sport, I believe St.Pierre would’ve been at or near the league lead in points. His hands and skills package is that good. A Oilers draft choice, the team declined to resign him (and we’re talking a team that is seriously lacking in prospect depth) and instead he signed as an UFA with the Hawks. While belonging to the Oilers, he was an ECHL all-star, partly due to their lack of a sole AHL affiliation. The move to the Black Hawks organization has instead seen him take the step to be amongst the league leaders in the AHL and also meant a first taste of NHL hockey, were he wasn’t bad at all. That said, with Jonathan Toews, Jack Skille and possibly Pat Kane incoming, it is very difficult to see St.Pierre making the pro roster this year if he couldn’t crack it last year. At the end of the day, St.Pierre could be a productive player on an offense-only first line, but he doesn’t have the necessary skills to qualify for that role. Expect him to continue piling up AHL points or bolting to Europe for a payday. Pick wasted IMO.

Snatched out of the waiting hands of the Seals the Royals handed them their disappointment of the day in picking Yannick Weber at #101. So I’ve admitted it. I like this player. So what exactly is there to like or love about a 5’11” Swiss born D-man? (Good question, Andreas’ comment). Well first off there’s his shot, which is a rocket (though, confession time…its not always perfectly placed), second is his ability to run a power play, always a valued commodity in the NHL, finally, although he is on the smaller side he is neither afraid to dish out a hit or to take a hit. In many ways he reminds me of Brian Rafalski…OK, let me up the ante and expand the range to Sergei Zubov lite. I wish there was something negative I could say about him, but I just can’t and if I had only played my cards smarter he’d be mine. Curse you Royals! A great late pick…

84.) Ted Ruth (Capitals, #46, 2007)

87.) Will Weber (Blue Jackets, #53, 2007)

107.) Maxime Macenauer (Ducks, #63, 2007)

Grade: D

Best pick: Will Weber – could be a real diamond in the rough; and it isn’t as if he has a lot of competition for the distinction

The skinny: Yawn…..

Ted Ruth was a mid 2^nd round pick of the Capitals in the entry draft, pretty much where he was projected to go based on pre-draft scouting publications. The observation on Ruth is that he is the sort of player that will be drafted early based on being safe, not because of his amazing upside. Like many other d-men, Ruth’s make-up is somewhat non-descript – he is not very big, not very physical, not very offensively gifted, not very fast… indeed, a case could be made that he could well be type cast as the prototypical “glass out”, defensive d-man. Like many other picks in this draft, it is somewhat difficult to see him rounding into a high-end, difference making player, however, at 84, he is still a very solid pickup

Ken’s best moment of the draft came at 87, where he picked up the underrated Will Weber, who has significant upside as a future all-round blueliner. At 6’4”/210lbs, he already has a very imposing and projectable frame; however he has great mobility to go with it and a pro-calibre shot. Weber is a real project and will need significant seasoning before potentially blossoming as a pro – specifically, defensive positioning and decision making are areas of concern. Weber was the #1 overall pick in the USHL draft, where he will play for Chicago Steel the upcoming season, before having committed to the University of Miami (Ohio) for the 2008/09 season. He is likely at least 4 years away from NHL duty and of course may never play; however if he does make it, he may end up a tremendous steal

10.) Karl Alzner (Capitals, #5, 2007)

30.) Mikael Backlund (Flames, #24, 2007)

71.) Cal O’Reilly (Predators, #150, 2005)

98.) Kyle Cumiskey (Avs, #222, 2005)

Grade: A- 

Best pick: Alzner – getting the consensus (except for Dean Lombardi) best defender of the draft at 10 is excellent

Worst pick: O’Reilly – not for being a poor pick; but someone’s got to get the distinction!

The skinny: Four picks resulting in one likely future impact player and three players with solid pro upside; that’s about as much as anyone can ask. Very solid overall result!

I was as surprised as any to see Karl Alzner fall to #10 to the Bombers, but I shouldn’t have, as the same exact thing happened to Steve in the 2005 draft with Luc Bourdon, (though this time Steve was there to make the pick). One clear difference however; Bourdon was not the consensus best d-man in the draft then; Alzner however is and has been described as the most pro-ready player in the draft. Indeed, most observers believe that Alzner will have a much easier track to the NHL than Lucky Luc. It’s most likely that Alzner fell in our draft because he is not a flashy player, described as more of a “Steady Eddie” type with many scouts describing him as the safest player in the draft. Alzner does everything well, but not exceptionally well, for example, he can hit, but he is not a punisher like a Dion Phaneuf or Shea Weber. He is decent offensively but his coaches wish he would use his excellent shot more. I’d venture to suggest that he is more Wade Redden than Chris Pronger, but lowered expectations aside, all in all this was a great pick here at #10.

The Bombers not only got lucky in landing Karl Alzner, they found themselves with horseshoes up their you-know-what what when they scored Mikael Backlund with their #30 pick. I only have two bad things to say about Backlund, but I’ll wait until the end and instead concentrate on his positives; Scouts all confirm that he’s a top notch skater loaded with skill, intelligence, and leadership qualities, and the kind of well rounded package any coach would desire – however, there have been questions around his overall offensive upside and he hasn’t put up the numbers expected of him. The rub? The coach will be Mike Keenan, who either elevates players through his systematic humiliations or grinds them into a pulp, and the team is Calgary, known for a defense-first approach. If any other team besides Calgary had drafted Backlund I’d feel much better about his prospects. Mikael’s other downside is the leg injury he suffered earlier in the year. At the draft did state that it was “100%”, but it was quite a catastrophic injury and most observers say he hasn’t quite looked quite the same in tournaments since. All of this said, Backlund was considered a top 10 pick earlier in the year, and Keenan can’t coach forever (heck, he may not even last the year) so my reservations aside I’m going to give the Bombers two big thumbs up for this pick for the pure upside potential

Bombers next picked-up overage prospect Cal O’Reilly, a AHL rookie with the Milwaukee Admirals. O’Reilly was a late 2005 draftee; he has always been producing offensively at the OHL level, but questigon marks have surrounded his ability to keep scoring at a higher level. His first season in the AHL, with 65 points in 78 games, suggest that he could turn into a future pro-level contributor, however I will go out on a limb and state that I believe the AHL level is where his ceiling is at. O’Reillys biggest assets is his speed and his (technical) playmaking skills; however, he is lacking defensively, struggles in physical contests and shows poor decision making which is all traits that are absolute killers to make it to the NHL level. Currently, I think his defensive potential is too poor to be a strong third liner and his offense is too limited to be a top6 forward at the NHL level. That being said, the upside is definitely there, and with Nashville losing a lot of veteran forwards (Forsberg, Kariya, Hartnell) and having Sullivan out to Christmas, opportunity may knock for O’Reilly. I like the pick in that there is plenty of upside, which is what you look for at 71. I am however personally not sold on O’Reilly’s chances

9.) Angelo Esposito (Penguins, #20, 2007)

Grade: A-

The skinny: In a draft with few stand-out players beyond the top3, Hyacks went with perhaps the biggest boom-or-bust prospect in the draft. True, Esposito may turn out to be a bust, but I really li