April Redline Report in USA Today

[blackpilot]

INTERESTING!

***

Red Line's list of the top draft-eligible prospects for the NHL's 2007 Entry Draft in Columbus on June 22-23
No. Player Pos. Height/Weight Shoots DOB 2006-07 team

1. Pat Kane LW 5-10/167 L 11/19/88 London

2. Jakub Voracek RW 6-1/178 L 8/15/89 Halifax

3. Kyle Turris RW 6-0/170 R 8/14/89 Burnaby

4. Karl Alzner D 6-2/210 L 9/24/88 Calgary

5. James van Riemsdyk LW 6-3/198 L 5/4/89 U.S. NTDP U-18

6. Sam Gagner C 5-10/187 R 8/10/89 London

7. Logan Couture C 6-0/191 L 3/3/89 Ottawa

8. Zach Hamill C 5-11/182 R 9/23/88 Everett

9. Ian Cole D 6-1/209 L 2/21/89 U.S. NTDP U-18

10. Ryan McDonagh D 6-1/200 L 6/13/89 Cretin-Derham Hall


Rising:

Lars Eller — Came up huge for Frölunda in Championship of Swedish Junior playoffs, then has a goal and three assists for Denmark to open the World U-18 B pool championships. Great combination of the three S's: size, skating ability and stickhandling.

Brendan Smith— Everybody's been slagging on him all year for not dominating in the Tier II ranks. Well, he sure looked pretty dominant at both ends to us in the playoffs.

Taylor Matson— Meant to get him on this list last month. Missed some time due to injury and is flying a bit under the radar, but he's got skill and skating ability.

Simon Lacroix — Shawinigan went out four straight in the playoffs, but he showed well and also put up a lot of points down the stretch.

Ian Cole— Other than Karl Alazner, we haven't seen a steadier, more consistent or better all-around defenseman all year. And still, nobody talks about him.

Falling:

Alexei Cherepanov— This dog will be a coach killer. Has a Nikolai Zherdev attitude, but with a lesser skill level — that's a bad combination.

Jens Hellgren— He's such a tease. Has everything necessary to be a top 20 pick – but never seems to put it all together for more than a shift or two. Then he's right back to Mr. Invisible.

Tyson Sexsmith— Has always run extremely hot and cold, and wow… was he ever cold in the first round of the playoffs. Just awful, looking completely baffled.

Keven Veilleux— Showed the same problem in the playoffs as he did all regular season – a curious lack of passion. Somebody needs to tell the big fellow it's time to wake up now. Then, he separated a shoulder at the World U-18s to end his season.

Click to read more...

 

[veronesepk]

And redline continues to try to be "cool and different" and dog Cherepanov. Woop-te-doo.

 

[Fozz]

These guys certainly aren't afraid to express an opinion.
I consider RDR like one of the NHL team in terms how the rank the draft... All 30 teams will have players they plain don't like that everyone else likes and the opposite is true as well... Good information.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Ian Cole in the top 10? Cut me a break. He's a decent defender but he does NOT warrant a top 10 pick.

If he goes top 10, I will eat my hat.

 

[blackpilot]

Ian Cole in the top 10? Cut me a break. He's a decent defender but he does NOT warrant a top 10 pick.

If he goes top 10, I will eat my hat.

I guess you weren't at World's. His stock rose significantly. Picked by Coaches poll top three player on Team USA. On a lot of lists. Draft day will tell.

 

[Nielson81]

Kind of a joke that Cherepanov isn't in the top ten...Kyle Woodleif let's his personal preferences play to much into his decision making.

No Keaton Ellerby?? Heck of a lot better then Cole.

 

[haelwho]

Kind of a joke that Cherepanov isn't in the top ten...Kyle Woodleif let's his personal preferences play to much into his decision making.

No Keaton Ellerby?? Heck of a lot better then Cole.

I think Woodlief is putting too much stock in the benching he received earlier this year. He's been dogging him for it.

 

[Stories]

I guess you weren't at World's. His stock rose significantly. Picked by Coaches poll top three player on Team USA. On a lot of lists. Draft day will tell.

I don't even think he's the best D-man on his own team (Shattenkirk), let alone top 10 draft eligible.

 

[Snoopy]

draft day

I guess you weren't at World's. His stock rose significantly. Picked by Coaches poll top three player on Team USA. On a lot of lists. Draft day will tell.

Draft day wont tell, it will be 4-5 years from now when these guys are playing or not playing in the NHL.

 

[Slats432]

Falling:

Alexei Cherepanov— This dog will be a coach killer. Has a Nikolai Zherdev attitude, but with a lesser skill level — that's a bad combination.

Here is Red Line's identification list of the top draft-eligible prospects for the NHL's 2003 Entry Draft in Nashville on June 21-22.
No. Player Pos HT/WT Shot DOB Team
1. Marc-Andre Fleury G 6-0/174 L 11-28-84 Cape Breton
2. Nathan Horton C 6-3/195 R 5-29-85 Oshawa
3. Nikolai Zherdev LW 6-0/176 R 11-5-84 Elemash
4. Andrei Kastsitsyn RW 6-0/189 L 2-3-85 CSKA Moscow
5. Milan Michalek LW 6-2/204 L 12-7-84 Budejovice
6. Tomas Vanek RW 6-1/202 R 1-17-84 Univ. of Minnesota
7. Eric Staal C 6-2/183 L 10-29-84 Peterborough
7. Braydon Coburn D 6-5/208 L 2-27-85 Portland
9. Anthony Stewart RW 6-2/235 R 1-5-85 Kingston
10. Hugh Jessiman LW 6-5/207 R 3-28-84 Dartmouth College

Didn't stop him from ranking Zherdev four spots above Staal.....

 

[nanzenkills]

Here is Red Line's identification list of the top draft-eligible prospects for the NHL's 2003 Entry Draft in Nashville on June 21-22.
No. Player Pos HT/WT Shot DOB Team
1. Marc-Andre Fleury G 6-0/174 L 11-28-84 Cape Breton
2. Nathan Horton C 6-3/195 R 5-29-85 Oshawa
3. Nikolai Zherdev LW 6-0/176 R 11-5-84 Elemash
4. Andrei Kastsitsyn RW 6-0/189 L 2-3-85 CSKA Moscow
5. Milan Michalek LW 6-2/204 L 12-7-84 Budejovice
6. Tomas Vanek RW 6-1/202 R 1-17-84 Univ. of Minnesota
7. Eric Staal C 6-2/183 L 10-29-84 Peterborough
7. Braydon Coburn D 6-5/208 L 2-27-85 Portland
9. Anthony Stewart RW 6-2/235 R 1-5-85 Kingston
10. Hugh Jessiman LW 6-5/207 R 3-28-84 Dartmouth College

Didn't stop him from ranking Zherdev four spots above Staal.....

Am I missing something, or did he not even have Phaneuf in the top 10 that year?

 

[nanzenkills]

Didn't stop him from ranking Zherdev four spots above Staal.....

And speaking of dogs, from what I've seen of Cherepanov, he is definitely a harder working player than Zherdev. But who knows, maybe Woodlief has seen something we haven't.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Am I missing something, or did he not even have Phaneuf in the top 10 that year?

Phaneuf wasn't ranked top ten that draft, he was suppost to be the 3rd best defensmen behind suter and coburn.

 

[KingPurpleDinosaur]

Didn't stop him from ranking Zherdev four spots above Staal.....

It seems to me that he is learning and adjusting his rankings according to what he sees in prospects everyday. This is natural thing we all do and would relaly be embarassing if he wasn't able to get any better year after year. Seeing a player who has a similar attitude with Zherdev should set off some sort of warning signs. Seems like he believes Cherepanov has potential to follow the same road

 

[John Flyers Fan]

He's not the only one to say that Cherpanov can be a dog at times.

On numerous occasions Paul Holmgren when talking about Cherpanov has discussed that it all depends on what night you see him.

On some you walk out of the building thinking he's a can't miss all-world prospect ... and on others you walk out of the building shaking your head no production, no effort, etc.

 

[Redwingsfan]

Draft day wont tell, it will be 4-5 years from now when these guys are playing or not playing in the NHL.

i agree

 

[msky]

Bad attitude.. lol

 

[bleedgreen]

Kind of a joke that Cherepanov isn't in the top ten...Kyle Woodleif let's his personal preferences play to much into his decision making.

No Keaton Ellerby?? Heck of a lot better then Cole.

arent personal preferences crucial to being a scout? you have to like guys or dislike them regardless of what everyone else says. the whole thing is a pretty inexact science. when he makes a list of course he lets his personal preferences influence it, just like 30 teams in the nhl do. we see it every draft, 4 or 5 guys at least end up in the first round or positioned in some way where everyone just shakes their head saying they didnt see that coming.

for better or worse how a guy performs within a month or two of getting drafted can change the order pretty drastically. the kids are so young they can develop quite a bit in a few months.
to slats and nanzen:
you can take every single teams lists from any year and find pretty huge mistakes. anyway, phaneuf definitely wasnt ranked by many to be above suter and coburn. staal was never described by anyone as a 100 pt scorer. they thought he would just be a reliable two way gyu, maybe a point a game at best.

 

[ginner classic]

Lars Eller continues his climb up the rankings

Marco Sturm and Martin Havlat were two prospects that came from out of nowhere to push solidly in the first round that had the kind of game Eller has. I think Sturm might be a great comparison for him. In this draft it's entirely possible he gets picked as high as 15. Eller may not have Havlats all world sitckhandling and offensive skills, but he really sounds like a sure fire second line winger.

 

[mister lerock]

Eller seems like a guy that could be a real darkhorse in this years draft he seems like a real intriuing prospect from alot of the scouting reports he seems like aplayer in the mold of a hennrik zetterberg can anyone confirm this

 

[ViD]

But who knows, maybe Woodlief has seen something we haven't.

oh sure he has seen a lot of Avangard Omsk games and even practices. And I dont even talk about international competitions.

Zherdev's first season in RSL

2002-03 CSKA Moscow Russia 44 12 12 24

Cherepanov's

2006-07 Omsk Avangard Russia 47 18 11 29 45

18 goals vs 12...Of course he has worse skills than Zherdev at that time

 

[Meat Wave]

It seems like Eller is really starting to make a name for himself.
At this point, is it possible that he's still available in the mid-twenties or has he risen to the point of being a probable top-15 pick?

 

[Anthony Mauro]

Ian Cole in the top 10? Cut me a break. He's a decent defender but he does NOT warrant a top 10 pick.

If he goes top 10, I will eat my hat.

Jon, don't sweat this. Redline's a joke of a scouting agency IMO and more of a PR firm. Not even for their personal preferences and rude bashing, because all scouts will have varying lists, but because of their unethical ways of ranking.

Am I wrong in thinking Redline has a set number of guys in the top ten that they will never let drop out, and then for the other spots, they routinely cycle guys in and out like Cole, McDonagh, etc. (I don't really remember previous reports) just to say they had them listed top ten should an NHL team take them that high.

They are just a back patting service is all. It's really a shame, as scouting's about having your "guys," and your convictions, and sticking with them until they are realized at the NHL level.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Jon, don't sweat this. Redline's a joke of a scouting agency IMO and more of a PR firm. Not even for their personal preferences and rude bashing, because all scouts will have varying lists, but because of their unethical ways of ranking.

Am I wrong in thinking Redline has a set number of guys in the top ten that they will never let drop out, and then for the other spots, they routinely cycle guys in and out like Cole, McDonagh, etc. (I don't really remember previous reports) just to say they had them listed top ten should an NHL team take them that high.

They are just a back patting service is all. It's really a shame, as scouting's about having your "guys," and your convictions, and sticking with them until they are realized at the NHL level.

This is really a rather confusing comment. Red line is paid by NHL teams (and others) and are basically the only service that gives a true opinion on where they see prospects ranking, including their scouts personal prefereces, versus hedging their opinions when compared to the general consensus (although admittedly, Central scouting seems to do this pretty well). I find ISS and even McKeens tend to play catch-up with a player in their rankings (if they hadn't a player exceptionaly low or high compared to the rest of the scouting services, they'll gradually move closer to the median ranking).

The bottom line is if you saw team draft lists, you would be shocked at the variance in rankings. This is why players like Latendresse, Hudler and O'Sullivan drop to the 2nd round, while amateurs on these boards (like me) say things like "they will never drop past 12". It's comical sometimes.

I'm not saying Redline is any better than an other service, but it's an interesting comparison because it at least gives you a feel for a how an individual teams list might vary, where as the others are a little more main stream and rarely predict a major rise or fall.

 

[timlap]

...
I'm not saying Redline is any better than an other service, but it's an interesting comparison because it at least gives you a feel for a how an individual teams list might vary, where as the others are a little more main stream and rarely predict a major rise or fall.

This is exactly why I appreciate Redline, which seems to me to be the closest thing to what an actual team might do. I would love to get a look at the Leafs (or any other team's) rankings, but since that's unlikely, Redline is a nice thing to have.