Esposito vs ??? for '07

Is Esposito an overwhelming favorite for 1st pick in '07?
If not, who else would it be?

 

I think he will be the overwhelming favorite. Claude Giroux and Ryan Sparling also could be in there. Not sure about who's coming through from the WHL or OHL.

 

sparling is playing good, and on an expansion team, but not esposito good, although playing with radulov can make anyone look better than they are. mathieu perreault will be one to watch, but none of them will come close to espo IMO.

 

Zach Hamill from Everett

 

Both Giroux and Sparling are eligible for 2006 draft.

 

Perreault is a 88 so he is eligible for 2006 draft

 

too bad Colt Gillies is sucking and pulling hardly any ice time... he'd
be top 10.

 

my mistake

 

Thomas Hickey, Drayson Bowman and Brandon Sutter look pretty good for '89s so far in the WHL this season. I don't know where they will fit in in '07, but they are fine prospects right now!

 

For CHLers for 2007 I would rankd them like this:

Angelo Esposito
Zach Hamill
Alex Grant
Maxime Gretchev
David Skokan
Thomas Hickey
Logan Couture
Stephen Lund
Mark Katic
Zach Torquato
Karl Alzner
Tyson Sexsmith
Dryson Bowman
Logan MacMillan
Jean-Simon Allard
Brandon Sutter
Yuri Chermetiev
Dwight King
Akim Aliu
Brett Leffler
John Negrin
Nicola Riopel
Colin Escott
Scott Brannon
Maxime Tanguay

Lets keep adding to this, I am doing this from the top of my head and know I left off some really good guys:

 

as a remparts' season tickets holder I would like to say that BOTH of em are stars on the ice and Esposito IS CERTAINLY not picking up Radu's work.

Radu makes it easy for Esposito as much as Esposito makes it easy for Radu.

Esposito have a great vision of the game, and his speed.. WOW, his speed as entering the offensive zones has drawned SO many holding penalties this season.

 

You've got to throw Nick Petrecki and Ian Cole in the mix.

 

I don't know about the guys in the OHL, but some like Katic, Couture, and Torquato have had some success so far. I don't know if they are in Esposito's league right now though?

 

The QMJHL will likely be getting a lot more attention with the new NHL because they are a more offensive league then the others. Look for alot of 'Q' players to go high

 

How big is Espo?

 

they have him listed at 6'1'' 175lbs

 

Sam Gagne and Partick Kane

Still a little small but they will grow a little bit

 

Hmmmm, have you seen what Dave Bolland and Robbie Schremp are doing this year? Seems pretty offensive to me.

 

Center Mikael Backlund is certainly the top Swedish prospect eligible for the draft. A 16-year old kid who just recently made his senior debut in the Swedish second tier league. He has scored goals in both of the games he has played and was both times awarded top player of the game.

A complete player that skates well, passes the puck well, has a good release and a nose for the net. Likes to play the body too. His defense needs some fine-tuning though. He is 6'0 and 185lbs and without having seen any of the other nation's top prospect, I am pretty confident Backlund is among the best ones eligible in 2007.

 

Angelo Esposito is Phil's son right?

 

No he's not.

 

Is there any relation at all?

 

Phil & Tony Esposito are from Sault St. Marie (I believe); Angelo Esposito is from Montreal.

 

none...............angelo's family owns grocery stores in the montreal area.

 

they're not related, but grandfather would have been the better guess.