draft order (pre lottery)

[turnbuckle*]

Well it's official. St. Louis just lost in OT, so they get last place. Here's the unofficial draft order (done in my head) before the lottery:

1/STL
2/PIT
3/CHI
4/WAS
5/BOS
6/CLB
7/NYI
8/PHO
9/MIN
10/FLA
11/LA
12/ATL
13/TOR
14/VAN
15/TB
16/MTL
17/MIN from EDM
18/COL
19/ANA
20/SJ
21/NYR
22/PHI
23/NJ
24/CGY
25/NAS
26/BUF
27/DAL
28/CAR
29/OTT
30/ DET

Sorry my brain is a little overloaded at the moment. I can't recall if any other first rounders were dealt. That's the way it's looking right now I believe. Columbus hurt their draft chances with that late season spurt, and now the Bruins could get a top five pick. You have to feel for Toronto and Vancouver, teams that miss the playoff and don't get top 12 picks.

Click to read more...

 

[RangerBoy]

St.Louis has the Canes pick and the Caps have Nashville's pick

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Dallas and Carolina should be flopped - Dallas has 53 wins to Carolina's 52 and thus would be ahead in the standings.

The six division winners should be listed 25-30, meaning it should go NYR-CGY-CAR-DAL-OTW-DET.

 

[RangerBoy]

TO and Atlanta have the same exact record but TO won the season series 4-0 so TO gets #13 and Atlanta #12

 

[RangerBoy]

30-Red Wings-124 points
29-Ottawa-113
28-Dallas-112
27-Carolina-112-Blues have this pick-Doug Weight
26-Flames-103
25-Devils-101
--------------------
24-Buffalo-110
23-Nashville-106-Caps have this pick-Brendan Witt
22-Flyers-101
21-Rangers-100
20-SJ-99
19-Ducks-98
18-Avs-95
17-Oilers-95-Minnesota has this pick-Dwayne Roloson
16-Habs-93
15-TB-92
Non-playoff teams
14-Canucks-92
13-TO-90
12-Thrashers-90
11-LA-89
10-Panthers-85
9-Wild-84
8-Coyotes-81
7-Islanders-78
6-Columbus-74
Lottery
5-Boston-74
4-Caps-70
3-Hawks-65
2-Pittsburgh-58
1-Blues-57

 

[Ted Hoffman]

All 14 non-playoff teams are in the lottery. Just that the winner moves up 4 spots unless it's one of the bottom 5 teams, in which case they go to #1.

 

[Vman]

All 14 non-playoff teams are in the lottery. Just that the winner moves up 4 spots unless it's one of the bottom 5 teams, in which case they go to #1.

So Vancouver has a chance of picking higher than #14 after the lottery?

 

[Ted Hoffman]

So Vancouver has a chance of picking higher than #14 after the lottery?

They could pick 10th (0.5% chance) or 14th (99.5% chance).

 

[montreal]

So Vancouver has a chance of picking higher than #14 after the lottery?

about 1% chance

 

[turnbuckle*]

TO and Atlanta have the same exact record but TO won the season series 4-0 so TO gets #13 and Atlanta #12

That's the way I had it. I remembered that Toronto slaughtered them head to head, so i knew thay'd get the 13th pick since they had the same amount of wins.

Thansk for the modifications gentlemen - forgot about the divsional winner thing, even tho I disagree with it. i had the lottery order correct at least. LOL

Here's a quick mock up until Montreal's pick:

1/STL Kessel New owners looking for a scoring star and drawing card. Kessel has talent to be best St. Louis homegrown forward since Bernie Federko, perhaps best ever.

2/Pitt Johnson Great fit for team that needs defencemen. Will likely play right away on great young team next season

3/Chi Staal Another great fit - fills need for big talented center. Line of Bell, Staal and Ruutu would be deadly someday.

4/Wash Toews Will be great linemate for Ovy in near future. Fills a need for legitamite number one center prospect

5/Bos Backstrom One-two punch at center with Bergeron gives Bruins hope

6/CLB Mueller He'll be an important piece to top line depth in 2 years along with Zherdev, Nash, Picard and Brule. Will add some size to group.

7/NYI Brassard Yet another team looking for top two center

8/PHO Tlusty - Barnett doesn't mind gambling on a wild card - some have him in top 8 (RLR at least) so it's not a big reach. Phoenix needs offensive talent.

9/MIN Okposo Solid winger rising fast on draft charts. He a Minny boy as well.

10/FLA Williams Keenan likes defence and size - a good fit since they have lots of forward prospects

11/LA Bernier - Lots of good prospects, but still no notable up and coming goalie prospects. Bernier will fill that void. Underrated goalie will be solid NHLer.

12/ATL Sheppard - Happy to see him still there - fills a need for size/grit on the wing

13/TO Frolik -Young power forward prospect - what a concept. Toronto should be thrilled if Frolik drops to them.

14/VAN Little Nice future replacement for Morrison, brings smarts and offensive abilities.

15/ TB Sanguinetti - TB looking for depth on defence. Kubina and Boyle may not be around much longer...they need a quality offensive defenceman in their system.

16/MTL Wishart - Just what the doctor ordered. Doesn't hurt to have another 6-5 defence prospect that can skate to go along with O'Byrne. Imagine a defence someday with Wishart, Komo, O'Byrne, Souray/Rivet, Markov and Emelin. Not a group that many will be messing with.

i'm worried that Tamp will want Wishart however.

To me Bernier and Tlusty are the wild cards. If Los Angeles grabs Bernier at 11, then it increases the odds that Montreal will get a crack at Wishart or Little, perhaps even Frolik if Toronto opts for the local kid in Little. I'm not sold on Sanguinetti, and hope he is gone before Montreal picks.

 

[King'sPawn]

I will seriously get sick if the Kings draft a goalie in the first round.

 

[Legionnaire]

I will seriously get sick if the Kings draft a goalie in the first round.

Agreed.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

I still don't think we're taking Kessel, folks. Unless I get a message from someone in the Blues organization that says, "We're seriously looking at Kessel with our pick," then I don't think he's on their short list for the #1 or #2 pick.

 

[Reaper45]

Kings wont take a goaltender, even if he is the BPA, they'll grab a defenseman or a center. Both are needed sooner than a goaltender.

 

[Alberta Yote]

Barnett won't take a wildcard pick for Phoenix this year.

Edit: I pray with my entire being that Barnett won't take a wildcard pick for Phoenix this year.

 

[RangerBoy]

Kings wont take a goaltender, even if he is the BPA, they'll grab a defenseman or a center. Both are needed sooner than a goaltender.

The Kings really need to find a goaltender.The revolving door has to end.Dean Lombardi did have Kiprusoff,Toskala and Nabokov so he values drafting goaltenders

 

[Reaper45]

The Kings really need to find a goaltender.The revolving door has to end.Dean Lombardi did have Kiprusoff,Toskala and Nabokov so he values drafting goaltenders

And we have Garon, LaBarbera, Brust, Fukufuji, Munce.

 

[RangerBoy]

And we have Garon, LaBarbera, Brust, Fukufuji, Munce.

Quality.Not quantity.A legit possible #1

 

[GoBoltz56]

15/ TB Sanguinetti - TB looking for depth on defence. Kubina and Boyle may not be around much longer...they need a quality offensive defenceman in their system.

Tampa will not take another D-man with their first rounder. With Ranger emerging, Lundin as another offensive D-man and Rogers, Smaby, Mihalik, O'Brien and Egener in the system..no way.

 

[Garp]

Tampa will not take another D-man with their first rounder. With Ranger emerging, Lundin as another offensive D-man and Rogers, Smaby, Mihalik, O'Brien and Egener in the system..no way.

I could see tampa grabbing Bernier if he's still there...

 

[Hatter]

The Kings need to take the best available Defenseman. period. In a perfect world we need a "phaneuf" at 11. (******** should have dumped the last 2 games)

We traded Grebeshkov. You want to see our pipeline on defense?:

Petiot


There it is.

 

[King'sPawn]

The Kings really need to find a goaltender.The revolving door has to end.Dean Lombardi did have Kiprusoff,Toskala and Nabokov so he values drafting goaltenders

With the new CBA of giving teams shorter time to sign players, and since it takes several years for a goaltender to develop... I honestly believe you'll find very few goalies drafted in the first round anymore. The exception being that he's an elite goalie a la Lehtonen and Fleury. Plus, by the time most goaltenders develop anymore, they will become a UFA.

It's not even the matter of drafting a goalie in the first round that strikes the fear of God in me... it's the fact that in terms of managing assets, doing that with goaltenders is difficult.

 

[VanW27]

With the new CBA of giving teams shorter time to sign players, and since it takes several years for a goaltender to develop... I honestly believe you'll find very few goalies drafted in the first round anymore. The exception being that he's an elite goalie a la Lehtonen and Fleury. Plus, by the time most goaltenders develop anymore, they will become a UFA.

It's not even the matter of drafting a goalie in the first round that strikes the fear of God in me... it's the fact that in terms of managing assets, doing that with goaltenders is difficult.

Completely agree, especially this year with no elite goalies in this draft none will be taken in the top 15 IMO and if one is i will be very happy b/c that makes one more skater that will be available when the leafs pick.

 

[montreal]

With the new CBA of giving teams shorter time to sign players, and since it takes several years for a goaltender to develop... I honestly believe you'll find very few goalies drafted in the first round anymore. The exception being that he's an elite goalie a la Lehtonen and Fleury. Plus, by the time most goaltenders develop anymore, they will become a UFA.

It's not even the matter of drafting a goalie in the first round that strikes the fear of God in me... it's the fact that in terms of managing assets, doing that with goaltenders is difficult.

If you draft a goalie at 18 and they aren't from the NCAA, then they have to be signed in 2 years, (age 20) then you put them in say the AHL for 2-3 years if need be. They would be 22-23 years old, 4-5 years away from UFA status. They could be the backup for say 2-3 years if need be. Over this time you will start to see what the goalie has and if he can make it as a starter. This is a lot of development time, 2 years CHL/Euro league, 2-3 years in the AHL, 2-3 years as an NHL backup. Some might take longer just as some might not take as long since different players will progress/develop at different speeds.

So you could have a NHL starter by say 25 years old, give him back to back one year contracts, see how he handles the NHL (assuming he's made it this far and has shown progress) Then you can sign them long term, say 3-4-5 years, so you'd have them in your system from age 20 to 30-32. Then you might lose them as a UFA or they might want to stay.

It could just as easily backfire like any prospect but the whole UFA problem imo is flawed to a degree. Either way you should be able to have the goalie in your system for 7 years since they will have to be signed after 2 years of being drafted, which usually means age 20. From there they have 7 years before becoming a UFA, and a lot can happen over 7 years. Add into that who knows what the new CBA will have in it.

 

[turnbuckle*]

Completely agree, especially this year with no elite goalies in this draft none will be taken in the top 15 IMO and if one is i will be very happy b/c that makes one more skater that will be available when the leafs pick.

Haven't seen much of Bernier or Helenius I presume. Both are elite goalies, and both will be drafted in the first round, perhaps top 12 for Bernier.

How many elite goalies in the past decade leave their team as soon as they became UFA age? Very few. Most resign at least once with their original teams, moreso than a lot of forwards, so I am not a proponent of the "don't draft a goalie high" mindset.

I get a kick out of the Kings fan listing guys like Munce - you honestly think a Ryan Munce can lead an NHL team to a Stanley Cup? Kings fans are the first to boast about how strong their prospect list is, but now some whine that they have to take a forward or defenceman. I don't get it.

BTW - If LA doesn't take a goalie - which I think they should - I can see Tampa wanting Bernier. As for Tampa not taking a defenceman...Rogers, Smaby, Mihalik, O'Brien and Egener are decent players, but none of them are what one would consider to be offensive defencemen in the Boyle mold. I could see them adding a Sanguinetti, but yes, they have some defensive defenceman depth on the blueline without question.

As for the Blues not taking Kessel...why not? Perhaps I'm blind but I still see a dynamic player that will produce and excite at the NHL level. St. Louis needs a young scoring star to rejuevenate fan interest, and Kessel will provide that. I like Jackman, Brewer, Backman, Jackson, Wideman, Lynch, Woywitka, etc., I don't think St. Louis is exactly hurting on the blueline in comparison to their forward woes, so Kessel IMO is a good fit, would make the team next season and contribute.

I hear you about not wanting Barnett to "reach", but Tlusty isn't looking like a reach at 8. He is a top ten talent when it comes to offensive capabilites, and Phoenix first and foremost needs an up and coming young scorer. They have plenty of big prospects and some fair scorers, but no potential scoring stars in the system. Sjostrom is not going to be a 100-point man, nor is Wheeler. I think Tlusty might be the best fit.