a look back at the 05 draft

[SpItFiReZ]

I don't agree with Downie as a Powerforward. He's not big enough to be one...also don't think he has the offense...he reminds me of a fellow past spitfire in Ott....could score in junior and be a huge pest but the offense will not follow to the NHL. 50 Points would be great for him.

Gotta say though....was one of my favourite players for the Spits and got to know him a bit when he was here.

 

[Russian_fanatic]

Everyone in the top 15 left with the blue chipper(expect Washington). There was some awesome late round steals too.

 

[Seth Lake]

I admit that I really wanted a center on draft day and was mystified that the Predators selected a defenseman with our first three picks, but...I love the picks.

Ryan Parent is a fluid skater who loves to play defense. He will not put up flashy offensive numbers, but definitely more than makes up for it at his own end. In addition he is really coming into a leadership role and fits the Predators personality profile to a tee. I really believe that he will be wearing a Nashville jersey for the next decade once he arrives on the scene.

Teemu Laakso slid in his draft year due to injuries. He will continue to develop in Finland, but made it through the season injury-free and assumed a larger role on his team as the season progressed. A two-way defenseman, I think it'll take him a few more years to come over and maybe some time in Milwaukee to season, but I believe it'll be well worth it when he does arrive.

Cody Franson exploded offensively last season with Vancouver (WHL). Standing at 6'4" 220+, he needs to develop his physical game more, but is an above-average skater and is known for making a good first-pass out of the defensive zone and possesses a hard, low shot from the point. I really look forward to seeing his development first hand at training camp this season and will definitely be following him through the Memorial Cup (Vancouver hosts this season and gets an automatic bid).

Add these three to Hamhuis, Suter, Klein, Weber, Koistinen, Zidlicky, etc...and we are so loaded on defense for the next decade. Now the key is to allow our prospects to develop at their own pace and keep them in the organization.

I really wouldn't change the selection of Parent for anyone drafted above him in the first round. He might not have the best NHL career of those drafted after him, but I believe he was the best selection for the Predators.

 

[Gamefreak]

Looking at the NHL games played so far for all 2005 prospects, it's a pleasant surprise to see Danny Syvret at second behind Crosby.

Mind you, ten games is far less than 81... and he was an injury callup... and went unselected in two previous drafts... and he'll be much farther down than second in games played at this time next year.
Oh well, he'll have just as much opportunity to earn a permanent roster spot as the Oilers' other contenders come training camp.

 

[Yayo]

The 2005 draft has played a total of 98 games.

How about we wait until more than three players play in the NHL before declaring everyone "steals"?

 

[kdb209]

i justed wanted to look back at the first round of the 05 draft an give some comments on some of the selections. because i feel some of the where pretty bad. any feedback would be nice because i will probably not be right one every one.


8. devin setoguchi. how could they take setoguchi over kopitar

11. anze kopitar. another steal.

Tim Burke, Sharks Director of Scouting, not long after the draft stated that Kopitar was overrated, was the darling of so-called draft previews but not of NHL scouts or GMs, and that had the Sharks not traded up, Setoguchi would NOT have been on the board by the #12 pick.

Setoguchi did all he could to make Burke look right - looking great in camp and being the last pre-season cut.

So, let's give it a year or two before giving it a .

 

[Redwingsfan]

how could pouliot a nice pick , but carey price a bad pick , imo brule ,kopitar and many other own pouliot


14. sasha pokulok. i dont now very much about him, but i think he whent too high. he could be good for the capitals dought. they need some defence that can shut the oponents down.

you should hate the pick because parent was still on th board ....

i dont have any complains with the pouliot pick i also believe that kopitar and brule is better, but they dont own him. pouliot is also great. as for pokulok i don't know that much about him. can't really tell who the better one is, but i know that parent is good.

 

[Redwingsfan]

I don't agree with Downie as a Powerforward. He's not big enough to be one...also don't think he has the offense...he reminds me of a fellow past spitfire in Ott....could score in junior and be a huge pest but the offense will not follow to the NHL. 50 Points would be great for him.

Gotta say though....was one of my favourite players for the Spits and got to know him a bit when he was here.

then i guess you didn't see him in the wjc,

 

[Redwingsfan]

And how much ahve you really seen of him? The guy had some big injuries early on which set him back. Since being drafted he has been improving quite a bit. To the point the top team last year (London Knights) wanted his services to further improve their team. The guy is a HUGE shut down defenseman with a wicked mean streak. Little to no offense, but that doesn't bother me at all. The guy has top 4 potential, not top pairing but top 4. He looked quite solid at the Flames prospect camp as well.

ok, but thats your opinion. everybody believes in their own prospects.

 

[Redwingsfan]

Everyone in the top 15 left with the blue chipper(expect Washington). There was some awesome late round steals too.

thats true. like zubov, pospisil, lindgren,lascek, laakso, ryder, zubarev and kostitsyn. these are the guys i believe will be steals. do you know about any others.

 

[Redwingsfan]

The 2005 draft has played a total of 98 games.

How about we wait until more than three players play in the NHL before declaring everyone "steals"?

i'm not saying the guys would definately be steals. i just gave my opinion on every selection. and i'm probably wrong on many of them. thats why i wrote this to see other opinions vs. mine

 

[Redwingsfan]

here is what i would have wanted the first round to look like.

1. sidney crosby
2. jack johnson
3. gilbert brule
4. bobby ryan
5. benoit puoliot
6. jack skille
7. tuukka rask
8. anze kopitar
9. carey price
10. marc staal
11. luc bourdon
12. devin setoguchi
13. marek zagrapan
14. brian lee
15. niklas bergors
16. alex bourret
17. ryan o'marra
18. kendall mcardle
19. ryan parent
20. t.j. oshie
21. jakub kindl
22. martin hanzal
23. steve downie
24. matt lashoff
25. ryan stoa
26. peter kalus
27. andrew cogliano
28. matt niskanen
29. brendan mikkelson
30. ondrej pavelec

not considering wich team that selected or what the team needed.

 

[gars59]

LOL, what are you talking about he shows nothing worthy of a first rounder. Just cause his stats arent huge? I mean 35 goals in 51 games... thats pretty good if you ask me.

This kids rare combination of size speed and skills is second to none other than crosby in the draft. Thats what made him a first rounder, his potential is phenomonal, its just a matter of if he can bring it all together. His biggest concern is obviously his temper, something Lemaire should easilly correct.

lantendresse put 43 goal in 50 game in a bad year and some people said he suck ....

 

[Raisy]

then i guess you didn't see him in the wjc,

I saw him at the WJC and for 2 years as a Spitfire. He is not a power forward, nor is he a Steve Ott type. Ott was fast and scored goals, but needed a play maker to set him up. He never really created for himself. Downie does not have the speed that Ott does, nor does he score as much, but he is a much better play maker, defender, and plays with more of an edge. Attitude wise, Downie is a Bobby Clarke clone. He will do whatever it takes to win, dirty or not. Most likely his career will be similar to Darcy Tucker, but less goals and more assists. Depending upon his linemates, I think 60-70pts is his max.

 

[RUSqueelin*]

And how much ahve you really seen of him?

I've seen him play a lot

The guy had some big injuries early on which set him back.

This is very true. He's way behind in his development. Can he catch up? We won't find out for 3 or 4 years. Very up in the air.

Since being drafted he has been improving quite a bit. To the point the top team last year (London Knights) wanted his services to further improve their team.

London took a huge risk and got burned. He didn't come as advertised. Calgary also took a huge risk. Both took him without seeing much of his play because of injuries and based their decision on his potential. His only guarantee was his heart and character. Hunter got burned. Will Suter? Only time will tell.

The guy is a HUGE shut down defenseman with a <b>wicked mean streak</b>. Little to no offense, but that doesn't bother me at all. The guy has top 4 potential, not top pairing but top 4. He looked quite solid at the Flames prospect camp as well.

Now that's funny stuff. Knights fans would get a kick out it. But perhaps he was just a big soft bunny in London because of his injuries which included two broken jaws from fighting.

 

[RUSqueelin*]

LOL, what are you talking about he shows nothing worthy of a first rounder. Just cause his stats arent huge? I mean 35 goals in 51 games... thats pretty good if you ask me.

This kids rare combination of size speed and skills is second to none other than crosby in the draft. Thats what made him a first rounder, his potential is phenomonal, its just a matter of if he can bring it all together. His biggest concern is obviously his temper, something Lemaire should easilly correct.

Nothing to do with his stats. Everything to do with his play. You don't have to ask me, ask some Sudbury fans.
You are right, he has some high upside if he can put everything together including his attitude. Unfortunately his downside is just as great and considering his drafting position there is a good chance of him being a big bust.

 

[BabyBennettov]

I don't like to talk about the 2005 draft, I'm still pissed off about where we had to pick...

Fortunately, Keenan was able to grab McCardle... I would have loved to get Bourdon !

 

[Pascal]

As a Habs fan i was pissed off they picked Price when we had so many good goaltenders in the system (Theo, Danis, Halak). While Danis and Halak might not be no1 goaltenders down the line, I still felt Brule or Kopitar would have been a better pick, considering we are very weak down the middle as far as prospects go.

Anze would have been perfect.

 

[Redwingsfan]

As a Habs fan i was pissed off they picked Price when we had so many good goaltenders in the system (Theo, Danis, Halak). While Danis and Halak might not be no1 goaltenders down the line, I still felt Brule or Kopitar would have been a better pick, considering we are very weak down the middle as far as prospects go.

Anze would have been perfect.

a habs fan who doesn't love price and admits all the prospects you have is not going to be stars. thats nice to see.

 

[nuckfan insk]

I don't agree with Downie as a Powerforward. He's not big enough to be one...also don't think he has the offense...he reminds me of a fellow past spitfire in Ott....could score in junior and be a huge pest but the offense will not follow to the NHL. 50 Points would be great for him.

Gotta say though....was one of my favourite players for the Spits and got to know him a bit when he was here.

probably a power forward in the brendan morrow mold

 

[Jeffrey]

a habs fan who doesn't love price and admits all the prospects you have is not going to be stars. thats nice to see.

99.9% of habs fans will tell you that they would rather had brulé and kopitar at that time, Myself wanted brule and when timmins announced from whl I smiled untill timmins said tri city ...I was speechless.


BUT, Price is a very nice guy with ALL the tools to be a superstar...
sure I would STILL pick brulé and kopitar over him but i'm also happy to have price.

Also if you look our other selections in that draft, I beleived we did VERY well!!
Latendresse,Mikus,Aubin,D'agostini and Kostitsyn !!
the only problem I had with that draft (other than the price pick) was that we didn't draft any defenseman.

Yes the habs passed on brule and they will probably regret it but the habs are not pissed untill we see what price can do in the nhl but we are pissed at other teams fans trying to dismiss our selection when it only happened last year!

 

[SpItFiReZ]

then i guess you didn't see him in the wjc,

I only seen him for some odd 50+ games.

Steve Ott was a great junior forward who put up 50 goals one year.
Otter is 6'0, 185lbs basically close to Downie's 5'11, 190lbs. Both had offensive flare and led their team in Junior both on and off the ice. Both were well liked among most teamates. Both were also among the biggest pests in the league for their in your face style.

If Downie becomes a Powerforward I'll be shocked, sure he has the potential to but to say he'll be like Morrow.....doubt it. He is more of a 3rd Line grinder who will chip in roughly 40 points. He doesnt have the hands to play on a top line. He is a great energy player and gets a team going. Once he controls his temper he will be fine.

 

[Buddhaa]

Most places rated Bouwmeester over Lehtonen if my memory serves me correctly. The Blue Jackets traded up to #1 in order to make sure they got Nash, as there was an overly complicated side deal where CLB/ATL/FLA would take Nash, Lehtonen, and Bouwmeester in that order.

Teams really shouldn't draft for need. Most prospects taken out of the top 5 are usually 3-4 years away from really making an NHL impact. What you need today will most likely be very different from what you need 3-4 years from now. Best strategy is to take the best player, or at least who you think is the best player and accumulate assets.

And really, who you think is the best player available might differ entirely from what an NHL team thinks is the best available player.

Current team needs is one thing, but prospect pool needs is another. If a team has no future starter goalie prospect, it is more reasonble that they pick a goalie in the draft ahead of a perhaps at that point higher rated center where the team is deep prospect-wise at center position. This certainly was the point of Tampa Bay this year (although they could have taken a defenceman...)

 

[thestonedkoala]

I've been quiet for sometime now, but I have to address the Pouliot pick. Minnesota made an outstanding pick there at the time. A lot of Wild fans were clamoring to get him. And they are still high on the pick. He has the size, the speed, and the ability to become a superstar. Minnesota needed a big forward with some skill. Pouliot is by no means a power forward but as shown, he can hit, and he has the ability to elevate his game. I think he'll do just that if you read the quotes right on what is expected from him and what he expects. I think you'll be surprised at how well Lemaire will mold him and I think he'll reach his potentional in Minnesota.

 

[boredmale]

Tim Burke, Sharks Director of Scouting, not long after the draft stated that Kopitar was overrated, was the darling of so-called draft previews but not of NHL scouts or GMs, and that had the Sharks not traded up, Setoguchi would NOT have been on the board by the #12 pick.

Setoguchi did all he could to make Burke look right - looking great in camp and being the last pre-season cut.

So, let's give it a year or two before giving it a .

Alot of teams seem to have guys who were recently drafted be the last guy cut it seems. I am not sure if they do it sometimes to give themself a pat on the back for good picking